My Still Life

Life changing

2010-01-07T03:55:13Z

Today was Baby #3's due date. He's not here yet. So, when I went to the doctor this morning, he decided to schedule me to be induced tomorrow morning at 8:00. It's hard to believe that at this same time tomorrow, another person will be a part of our family. Instead of being a mother of two, I will be a mother of three. Life is such a miracle.

Frozen white

2010-01-06T23:47:49Z

Being from the north, I have always known that winter means a frozen outdoors, but this morning we learned that it can also mean a frozen indoors...in the form of frozen pipes. Come to find that the builders never put any insulation around the second floor laundry room pipes that run along the garage. So, today I woke up, started the washing machine, and poor Husband went into the garage a bit later only to find dripping water and soapy puddles. Which of course didn't stop in the garage, but ran down into the basement. Thankfully, the builder came out this afternoon, unfroze the pipes, put in insulation, and someone will be out to fix the drywall tomorrow. Thanks, Husband, for taking the day to deal with all this! Love you!

Going out

2010-01-05T03:12:18Z

I finally left the house this evening to go pick up some supper. Husband volunteered to go, but I figured since I hadn't gone out in almost a week, it'd be good for me. Plus I hadn't taken a photo for the day yet. I just took a quick shot down our street before I dropped my lens cap in the snow and figured I might as well get back in the house. One good thing, though...I had forgotten how much I love the acoustics of snow. It was nice to be in the stillness for a bit.

Settling in

2010-01-04T03:14:51Z

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Read at least one book per week. I've finished one book already and have begun a second. However, I need some suggestions...what's on your "must read" list?

Complete the 365 Project. I made a feeble attempt at it in 2008, but this time am going to take it more seriously. I'm posting my results to Flickr.

Knit at least one pair of socks per month. Started this one already, too.

Update this space daily.

I read in an article somewhere recently that they don't recommend taking on more than six goals at any one time (I guess because too many would be overwhelming), and that most people fizzle out by the second week of February. I'm going to try hard not to be a fizzler.

Characteristics

2010-01-03T03:30:17Z

I don't know what it is with this girl and her tongue! Some of the very first photos I have of her, she's sticking out that tongue. At first, some of that seemed just to be something that most babies do. But as she's grown, she still is constantly sticking out her tongue. It's interesting to see how as we age and grow older, there are still common characteristics about what we look like and who we are.

Disappearing act

2010-01-02T23:18:57Z

My feet and I aren't so well acquainted these days. I have trouble reaching them...in fact, I have trouble even seeing them. Only five days until the due date of #3. At first I didn't think I'd make it to the seventh, but now I'm starting to think that he could be in for a longer haul than I anticipated. There could be a potential induction in my future. As long as I can dodge the C-section bullet for the third time, I'll be a happy camper. Now we're just waiting, waiting, waiting...

Hello 2010

2010-01-01T05:18:21Z

A new year. A new decade. Pretty soon a new little one in our family. There are many blessings, is much to celebrate, much to be thankful for, and still so much to do. Looking back over 2009 and looking ahead to 2010, I think all I know for sure is that I can never know what will be in store. I can't wait to see what lies ahead for us in the next year.

The fullest

2009-08-17T21:02:36Z

This space has sat empty for quite some time while life has sped on at a frenzied pace. We're in a different state, a different house, living a different life, and I couldn't be happier. I haven't been this happy for as long as I can remember, in fact. I'm in the exact place I want to be, with the exact people I want to share my life with, and I'm buoyant with blessings. I don't think I really realized how unhappy I'd been for so long until we made changes. Our family of four will soon be five, and I'm living the life I've wanted for such a long time.

Leaving home

2009-04-03T18:02:05Z

T minus 27 days and counting until we no longer live here. Intellectually, I know how silly it is to be attached to a home, a structure...brick, wood, concrete, that inherently have no eternal value. But it's the emotional investment I've made here that is difficult. We moved in five weeks before the Bug was born. We brought two of our babies home for the first time to live here. I lost my little one here. The Bug's and the Bean's heights are marked on the wall frame into the kitchen. We had the only multi-generational gathering of both sides of our families here...one Thanksgiving with four generations from each side in our home. We became a family here. Sometimes, even though moving on means something better, it's still tough to imagine things any different than they are right at the moment you're in.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

2009-03-14T03:37:47Z

Life has been upside-down since the beginning of the year. It seems like everything in our lives had been brewing for some time, and all of a sudden it led up to making a huge life change. We're moving. And not just across the street or across town. We're moving states. So it's to the north we go. Where they actually have seasons (more than two of them). And basements. Which makes me so excited for Husband since he's never actually lived in a house with a basement! There are so many thoughts swirling around... If everything goes according to plan, (what in life, I ask you, ever goes exactly according to plan?) then we'll be moving into the new abode on August 5. I'm getting ready to hang on tight, it's going to be a crazy ride.

Our own devices

2009-01-05T05:03:05Z

Husband had to leave for out-of-town this morning, and that means the kiddos and I have been left to our own devices all day, which meant that the Bean actually had to wake up early and come with me to take the Bug to school. Wanna know how she felt about it? I think this photo says it all.

Record breaker

2009-01-03T04:43:18Z

And apparently a personal record isn't the only thing I broke today...I also broke the law. Unintentionally, of course, but broken nonetheless. So I'm on my way to Target this evening (of course, where else?) to pick up a few last minute things for supper. I stop at the light near my house (I'm less than a mile from home at this point). The light turns green, I make my left-hand turn, and on go the blue flashers behind me. I didn't even notice the policeman behind me at the light. Busted. For what, I have no earthly idea. Of course I wasn't speeding. I pull over on the one of the busiest streets in town at prime traffic hour, and then I sit and wait. And wait. The trooper finally comes to my window and proceeds to inform me that my registration sticker.is expired...wham-o...my personal record of never having been pulled over in all my twenty-nine years of life, gone in an instant. He takes my license and registration and goes back to his squad car. And we wait some more. In the meantime, the Bug is freaking out in the back seat that the officer indeed has handcuffs and the poor guy is convinced that this complete stranger is going to haul his mother off to jail in a matter of moments. The Bean, on the other hand, takes it as the perfect opportunity to do a little high-pitched screaming from the backseat. He comes back to my window with a $146 citation, and a court date, telling me that if I appear in court with a renewed sticker, they'll most likely dismiss me. I finally get the kids settled down, we continue to the store, do our shopping, and of course on the way home I realize I didn't even remember to get everything I'd gone for in the first place. What a day!

Continue

2009-01-02T06:54:36Z

]]> Meanwhile, I've decided to give the 365 Project another go for 2009. We'll see how it goes. At least it'll get me shooing, and not just things I have to shoot, hopefully things I want to photograph. It feels good to be getting back into that swing of things. Obligation is starting to take its toll.

Clean slate

2009-01-01T05:40:32Z

A new year. Potential...for good, or for not-so-good. I'm taking the good approach myself, and I couldn't have had a better start to the New Year than an email that made my day. I'll hopefully be able to discuss it more in detail later. Lots has been going on, as I'm sure is the case with most folks, especially this time of year, but I'm really wanting this year to be one in which I focus in with laser intensity on the people and activities that are most important to me. I plan on doing some serious prioritizing, as last year so much of my time got away from me while I was doing who knows what, and as a parent, I don't have that luxury...the luxury where you can just jump in and out and catch up. Moments move quickly and time doesn't stop, and little ones aren't little for long. So, hello 2009...nice to meet you. I think we're going to enjoy getting to know one another.

Breaking the silence

2008-10-30T17:21:31Z

]]> We totally enjoyed our annual fall trip to the beach. Wish I was there now.