Mommalicious
Date: Wednesday June 25, 2008Posted in: Emily, Family, Graham, Nathan, Parenting, domestic bliss
I remember when Matthew and I were first married, I would often sit back, look at him, and take in the whole situation.
I am MARRIED. To THAT GUY. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
Those feelings still pop up every once in a while. We are busy beyond all reason, but when I just stop and think every few months or so, I have those same thoughts.
I am MARRIED. To MATTHEW.
Huh.
The same thing happens with the kids.
Take Tuesday, for instance. Graham had his second-last day of Kindergarten. I fired Emily and Nathan into the (Fixed!) minivan and we picked Graham up from school. We all piled back into the van and headed to the grocery store.
Graham was recounting tales of gym class! And crafts! And grade five (GRADE FIVE!) girls that he thinks are “cute”.
Nathan and Emily were making farting noises with their mouths and busting a gut. They are classy like that.
I was hit with that similar wave of conciousness.
I am a MOM. I have THREE KIDS.
HOW DID I GET HERE?
I mean, I KNOW how I got here (HELLO, Pregnancy horribleness, fourth degree tear, and RING OF FIRE) but it still seems surreal somehow. Maybe I need a two-by-four to my head to wake me up.
It is not that I regret having kids (AT ALL), but I still feel like a fifteen-year-old inside sometimes, which means that I SHOULD NOT HAVE CHILDREN.
But I am not fifteen. And I do have children. Three of the most beautiful children on the planet (This is where I insert photos of said beautiful children, while trying to be all smooth about it).
G Force.
Nate Dawg.
(Daddy may or may not have been mooning him while I was taking this shot.)
Miss Emily.
Graham.
Nathan
Emily.
And her eyes.
Maybe I am alone in these ” WHEN DID I BECOME A WIFE?” and “HOLY CRAP I AM A MOM” feelings. However. I have a feeling that I might not be alone.
Am I right?
I do find it humorous that I am so adept at realizing the completely obvious. Next thing you know I’ll realize that I am a woman. Who walks, and talks, and breathes. I am brilliant, I tell ya.
Stefania from CityMama is the woman for recruiting Savvy Source (among her MANY other talents). She’s also having a SWEET giveaway. Details are HERE.
One of the cool things going on around here is not really a secret. As I have mentioned before, I am one of the Channel Editors for Blog Nosh magazine.
(See also the spiffy button on my side bar.)
I have had a bunch of people ask me what the heck Blog Nosh is.
Blog Nosh is the (Brilliant!) brainchild of Megan from Velveteen Mind. Not only is the girl hilarious, she is also one of the hosts of The People’s Party.
I’m going to be there. Are you?
Back to Blog Nosh.
Megan created a loverly FAQ page which will answer a lot of questions, but for those of you who are afraid to click (Hi Mom!), here is a short quote.
“Blog Nosh Magazine is an online magazine dedicated to promoting the best archived posts from your own personal blogs.”
The details are on the FAQ page, but we are basically looking for “magazine quality” posts. If there is a post buried in your (or a friend’s) archives that deserves some glory? Let us know about it!
My channel is the Art & Design Channel, which includes photography. Shocking, I know. Here is the Editor’s Page. I am at the top! Which likely has nothing to do with my ability, but EVERYTHING to do with where my name ranks alphabetically. Good thing there isn’t an Andrea in the mix, or I’d be usurped.
I have a great post in the Blog Nosh queue to start with, but if you wrote (or know of) something that would fit in my channel, LET ME KNOW. We are all about spreading the link love.
I am pretty sure that Blog Nosh will be HUGE. Add it to your feed reader to keep on top of the high quality posts we will be sharing. Blog Nosh is on Twitter as well, because that is where the action is. Once you realize our outstanding awesomeness, you may want to have a button for your sidebar. We have those too.
Come nosh with us!
***
In other food news (NOM NOM NOM), I am a bit BORED with food. Seriously.
Summer is here, and with it is a whole new season of cooking. There are fresh fruits! And vegetables! And the barbecue!
Meh.
I love fresh fruits and veggies, but they can get a little boring when you eat them plain all of the time. Nothing sounds appealing to me. Well, except for nachos. But I cannot eat them every day of the week. Or can I? Not if I want to fit into my wardrobe, I guess.
I have a stack of unread magazines which likely have some good recipes in them. I have been so swamped that the only time I could possibly read a magazine might be on the can, but I’m not in there long enough to even read a paragraph. The stack of magazines keeps growing. I figure I will get to them in September or so.
I need some good summer recipes, people! Can you help a girl who needs some culinary inspiration? Links are (more than) welcome.
Murphy’s Law, Revisited
Date: Monday June 23, 2008Posted in: Blogging, Photography, Sundry, Workin' It, me
I have had a number of really varied and unique opportunities fall into my lap lately due to this here website. Some I have mentioned and some I haven’t. Yet.
I really am in awe that people are interested in working with me. I am quite thankful to be given the chance to do thing that I love such as writing and photography, and even get paid for it. It does not even feel like I am working.
A few weeks ago I was exchanging emails with a blogging friend of mine who has had some sweet opportunities come her way in the past few months. I was expressing my glee for all that is happening to her, and she replied with something that echoed how I often feel. She was worried that maybe she was talking too much about all that was going on, and did not want to come across as bragging.
I told her that we all love her and are truly happy for her. There will always be a few haters who are so miserable in their own lives that they get bitter and mean when good things happen to others. I told her that the rest of us are content in our own lives. We are secure enough in our own happiness to be truly joyous when great things are happening to people that we consider to be friends.
I have been struggling a little bit with those same feelings that she had. I do not want to come across as a braggart. I am just flattered and awestruck and MAYBE A LITTLE EXCITED. Not that I get excited very often.
Heh.
I am also the type of person that just spews anything and everything about herself with wild abandon. I keep no secrets. Unless they are yours. I am an awesome secret-keeper for others.
My plan is to just keep on being me. To share what is going on when the time is right and to try to also convey how thankful I really am.
My only concern is that blasted Murphy’s Law. I thought I would address it, to make sure I don’t shoot myself in the foot.
Dear Murphy,
My life is horrible. Nothing is going right. I have no job, my camera died, and I cannot string coherent sentences together. I’m going to pack it all in and drown my sorrows in Diet Coke.
Take that, Murphy!
In wedding news from yesterday, I would like to channel a different Murphy. Mary Murphy from SYTYCD, to be precise. My thoughts on the wedding?
THAT. WAS. AMAZING! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I might even have a chance at the hot tamale train. Heh.
The day was absolutely PERFECT.
I had my friend Karen come with me to be my sidekick. Honey prayed for us before we left and I felt a peace wash over me.
The weather consisted of sunny, and warm, with white puffy clouds that covered the sun at the perfect times. I could not have asked for more spectacular weather. I was just praying for it not to rain. God one-upped me, it appears.
Having Karen with me was a lot of fun. I was up in everyone’s face with one camera, while she stood back with the zoom lens and popped off candid shot. I am so very thankful that she was able to come with me. It was a great way to start off my wedding career.
I worried a bit if having her there would make me feel like I could not do it alone for the next couple of gigs that I have lined up, but if anything it made me more at ease. There were a few lulls in the “activities” where I was also free to wander at large and get a lot of candid shots. I loved having her as my sidekick, but I also now know that I will be more than fine on my own.
The couple that got married have an amazing story, but it is not mine to tell. It started in a foreign country, and involves political unrest, international barriers, and a lot of red tape. Love prevailed, however. Yesterday the two became one.
I felt like I had the best job on the planet. Weddings are one of the happiest days of a person’s life. I was swathed in their happiness, and to was privileged to capture snippets of it for them. It. Was. Amazing. I think I’m still on a bit of a high.
I cannot WAIT for my next wedding shoot.
I also cannot wait to talk about the other things going on behind the scenes over here. Stay tuned!
I woke up at four o’clock AM on Friday. That is not a typo. FOUR AM. As in BEFORE THE BUTT-CRACK OF DAWN.
I do this a few days a week, and am not sure if it is classified as insomnia. Going to sleep at night is not a problem for me. I just wake up at hours that are unreasonable to THE REST OF THE HUMAN RACE.
My brain turns on, and all hope of returning to slumber is gone. I get up, drink a glass of milk in the hopes that it will make me sleepy, and return to bed. It soon becomes apparent that I am WIDE AWAKE. So I get up, wander back downstairs, and start working.
This would be unbearable, were it not for the fact that once Honey is awake I can leave him with the kids and crawl back into bed for a “nap” that often lasts at least two hours. Like I did on Friday.
I woke up at eleven to the sounds of he and the kids playing in the yard. I stumbled downstairs and prepared lunch for everyone. Myself included.
Honey then took the kids into town to run some errands and get groceries. I went back to work. They pulled into the driveway just as I was tying up work for the day. I closed my work website and ran outside to play with the kids.
We decided to fill up the kiddie pool. The water was COLD, but the kids had SO MUCH FUN. Each of them had a cup and we had THE HUGEST WATER FIGHT EVER.
It started out with Graham and Nathen chasing each other. While they were standing and chatting, Miss Emily pulled a stealth move. She waddled up behind Nathan’s back and dumped ice cold water on him. Her stealth, and his reaction, were both unexpected and PRICELESS. I laughed so hard that I may have dribbled a little bit.
I don’t have photos of the fight, as I try to keep my camera dry, but I can offer these.
Before the fight, offering his Royalty wave.
Miss Emily, fully concentrating on the water bucket. Don’t ask.
Nathan.
Having WAY TOO MUCH FUN.
The three. From the back.
Also? From the front.
Dang, I have beautiful children. Seriously. At least in my humble opinion.
Saturday is full of work and fun, and Sunday is full of fun and work. Including my very first wedding photo shoot. Woo!
Wish me luck. And send prayers. The forecast is for rain and it is an outdoor wedding. Yikes!
If you do not give a rip about weddings, I would love to hear any “insomnia” tips you have. I’m dying over here. Not literally, of course, but it’s getting to be A LITTLE RIDICULOUS.
See you on the other side of the storm. Have you got anything exciting planned this weekend?
