May Flowers

Today I downloaded...*ahem*...a couple week's worth of photos off my camera, plus I perused about a month's worth of photos that I haven't really looked at.  I've been so stinking busy.  It's sad.  So going through these photos was just like the old days when you'd drop a roll of film off to get processed and then you'd have so much fun flipping through them when you'd get them back.  Fortunately for me, I rarely post process photos so I didn't have the anxiety of "being behind" that flipping through a month's worth of ignored photos might have caused some people.  I just enjoyed looking through them and seeing what we had been up to.  I uploaded a few to my Facebook photography page.

It was nice to look back through these photos because I think it helped rekindle a bit of my love affair with photography.  Lately I just haven't been feeling it.  I've not taken a lot of photos.  Of course, my version of not taking a lot of photos means I don't have two dozen photos every single day.  *hehe*  And there are even several days with no photo at all.  *GASP*  But looking back through these photos made me feel like pulling the camera out again.

While I perusing some more photos this evening, it occurred to me to go check out the Focus 52 prompt for this week and see if I had any that fit the bill.  And well...what do you know...the prompt was May flowers.  And probably my two favorite series of shots from this week actually had a flower connection.

Last weekend we did a bunch of landscaping so all this week we've been watering like crazy.  My kids like to help water. Well let's be real, they want access to the hose and if that means aiming it at some crazy plants their parents planted around the house, so be it.  So here's my daughter watering some of our new flowering shrubs.



(And then after I said that I don't post process, I went right to Photoshop and adjusted the curves on this.  *hehe*)

The second photo is actually of a cake...but there is a flower connection, I promise.  A few weeks ago my mom turned 60.  That's a pretty big deal, right?  I wanted to do something special for her so I started planning to present her with a birthday cake at a little soiree that I would be hosting.  Plus my brother and his wife and my husband and I DID take her out to dinner on her birthday but that actually turned into a big fiasco.  I got super light-headed and had to leave dinner early.  But anyway, back to her birthday.  I ordered a special cake for her and yesterday evening, at my little soiree, I presented her with the birthday/mother's day cake.  And then today I took the bottom layer to my mother-in-law's house and we got to enjoy the mother's day cake with her as well.



See, I told you there was a flower tie-in!

So there you go...my two flower photos for this week.

Crayola Markers

On New Years Eve, we went to the Crayola Factory at Two Rivers Landing with Dwight's aunt and uncle. We had a ton of fun and I definitely would recommend this museum, if you happen to be in the area.  BUT...there's one thing that I walked away with that I MUST share. They told us how to save markers that have been left without the lid. You put them in water for like 20-30 seconds, recap them and then let them sit overnight tip-down.  It works like a charm.

Mavericks

I'm sitting here on the couch watching my beloved Dallas Mavericks take on the Lakers. Dwight is sitting here watching with me. It's hard to describe how much I love these guys, to someone who is not a sports fan. But I'm pretty sure any sports fan gets it.

So I'm wishing my guys lots of luck and hoping for the best!

Blossom Buds

DSC_9944-fb, originally uploaded by hezro.

Oh...I guess I never posted any other blossom photos. Well, I have a few in my Flickr stream and even more on my Facebook page but here's another one of my favorites.  This was taken before the buds were really opening up.

Lip Gloss

My girls love chapstick, lip gloss, lip stick - anything to do with lips. So I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw this drawing lying around. (Courtesy of Kiersten)

Busy

Yesterday I decided that I am FINALLY going to do another layout. As you may recall, I signed up to do Focus52, with the intent of doing one layout a week.  We're already thirteen weeks into the year so I should have about thirteen layouts, right?  Guess how many layouts I've done? Three. *shh*  Yes, that's right. I said three. I've finished three layouts.

So last night I sat down feeling all inspired to do a layout, with grand ideas about trying to get caught back up even.  I popped over to Jan's page and saw that the prompt for this week is silly.  However, I wasn't feeling the word silly.  So I started writing about something else. And to be frank, it wouldn't have mattered WHAT the prompt was, the thing on my mind was that I was ten weeks behind schedule...and WHY I was ten weeks behind schedule. I started writing about my crazy life and about how I'm getting my kids from one place to another all day long and my schedule changes from day-to-day which makes it even more confusing and complicated.

When I had finished my journaling and was starting to think about embellishing my page, it suddenly struck me that this all seemed a little familiar...very familiar, in fact.  So I looked back at those three completed layouts - and this is where silly DOES end up coming into play.  ahem I already did a layout about my crazy schedule. I've now completed four layouts this year, and half of them are about my crazy schedule.

But I think that's fitting.  That's where my life is at right now.

(But next I hope to do a layout that isn't about my schedule.)

Vacation Vacation Vacation

I'm on vacation. I mean, I'm *really* on vacation because it's just me and my husband. I don't have to take care of anyone else for an entire nine days. Imagine that?!  Nine days of vacation from being a mommy.  It wouldn't really matter where I was, I'd be enjoying that.  But we actually ARE somewhere amazing.  We're here in Keystone, Colorado enjoying the best of what winter has to offer. 

I've been reluctant to call home and ask for the kids because I didn't want to upset the apple cart, so to speak. If they're happy, best to leave them be.  But yesterday I got a phone call from home and I asked to talk to them.  The instant I heard my son's voice, I realized just how much I miss those little tykes. I don't miss all the work that comes with them but I sure do miss the wonderful little people that they are and the overflowing love that they bring into my life.

Having said that, I had to chuckle yesterday when I saw what my cousin posted to her Facebook page.  (This is the cousin who's watching the kids while we're here on vacation.)

That really made me chuckle.  I immediately thought, "Welcome to my world!" 

Although, I have to tell you, it surprised me a little because I kept thinking, she's young, surely she'll have the energy and stamina to last a week with these kids.  But, nope, even my 18 year-old cousin is worn out by the little tykes!  And I'm choosing to be flattered by that (as well as trying to not feel guilty for possibly throwing her in over her head).

I think I've remarked before on the frequency that people praise me for the job I'm doing.  I'm always mystified by that because what I frequently focus on are the many ways I believe that I'm failing my children.  But I think maybe people realize that just surviving the day is a feat worthy of celebration.  *hehe* Maybe now I can start realizing that too.