Listening

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. (James 1:19)

That James guy really knows what he is talking about. The concept is novel in our culture. Yet, it could be and should be exactly how we interact with one other. Works with grown-ups. Works with kids too. 

Quick to listen.

Slow to speak. 

Slow to become angry.

Because you love the out-takes

In between summer clients, I had some time to take pictures of my own children looking all spiffy. 

They clean up so nice. This one is going on the Christmas card.

I've also been working on my logo/web design.

Since I give a copy of all the images to each client on a CD, I wanted to have a card/mailer to present it a bit more professionally. Currently, I print a CD label and put it in a windowed sleeve and then send it in a regular white envelope. The above image will be the outside design of the square card and the inside and back are the blue parchment looking paper. I'm excited to see how they turn out. 

I wish I had hours and hours to spend on this stuff. I enjoy it a lot. Instead I spent an hour here and there and prayed I spelled everything right.

You can see the pictures that turned out from my kids' session on my photography site: AlysunPetersPhoto.com

I post previews after each session, so all my recent client photos are up too, in blog format at AlysunPetersPhoto.com. I am having so much fun with my clients and I still feel completely blessed to continue in this business.

PS I don't have a place to comment on my photography blog, but you can click "like" at the bottom of each post to let me know you stopped by.

Short-order

I'm not a parent who caters to my children's culinary whims like a short-order cook. "This is what's for dinner. Live with it. Preferably with a smile on your face."

There are a few simple rules for meal times.

• Eat the food on your plate.

• Do not insult the food on your plate. It makes mommy mad.

• Thank the cook. It took work to get the food on the table.

My first child has never had an issue following these rules. From baby-hood she always ate what I gave her. She even chowed down on all sorts of weird stuff when we were in Africa. What 2 year old eats fish heads without complaining? Because I thought her non-pickiness was due to my brilliant parenting, I was writing chapter 32 of my book, "How To Get Your Child To Eat Anything." Then Mandy came along. She has always been a picky eater. One time I tried to feed her sweet potatoes and she smacked the little jar out of my hand and sent it flying 10 feet away. I'm amazed that children can be so different in their tastes. 

While I don't short-order cook for my kids, I keep their preferences in mind. Okay, it's usually just Mandy's preferences because Emma will still eat anything. Mandy doesn't like mixed food groups; casseroles are her worst nightmare. While I'm dishing up her food, I separate the noodle/potato from the meat on her plate. The world can keep on turning. Also, Mandy doesn't like bread or pasta usually. "No, you must fill up on useless carbs!" That makes no sense, so I let her skip the bread. She's weird, but we love her.

Tonight's main course was a huge issue for Mandy. Ravioli: a noodle with cheese inside. Gasp! Horror! Indignation!

And I heard my child ask, "Please can I just eat the trees?" (Broccoli).

I made her eat 3 Ravioli and she took seconds and thirds on Broccoli.  I'm such a nice mommy. Mandy even thanked the cook when she was done.

Remington is more like his eldest sister in the eating department. He'll eat anything with a smile on his face. Well, almost. He doesn't like bananas. Thankfully I wasn't serving bananas for dinner tonight. Fhew. Broccoli, he loves.

You win some. You lose some.


Needless to say, my plans for writing, "How To Get Your Child To Eat Anything" are on hold.


Indefinately.

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall

who can find the best deal of them all? 

(Overstock.com $142.99)

Mirrors are all the rage in decorating right now. Or so the experts say. A mirror increases the visual space in a room and reflects light. I'm convinced.

The problem is, I'm not the only one listening to the experts. If you go to buy a nice big mirror for your wall, you are going to pay a lot.

(Pottery Barn, $299)

(Trouver Antiques, L400)

(Amazon.com $259.99)

(London antique shop, L2,245)

I have expensive taste.

So when I saw this beauty at a local second hand shop, I got really excited. It was $15, solid wood and in perfect condition.

I am really thankful to be married to a man who doesn't come unglued when I spend $15 on something completely unnecessary for our home. He's an easy-going guy and I love him for it. It took him about 2 days of seeing the mirror propped up against the wall in the living room before he asked, "What's going on with this mirror?"

(before picture)

"I'm going to paint it white and hang it above the fireplace!" I said with exuberance. "I saw almost exactly the same thing on Design With Christine's blog and she decorated a room for a client and spent $1,000 on the mirror! Can you believe it?!! And I paid $15!" 

Yes, I spoke with exclamation marks because I was that excited.

My amazing husband caught my enthusiasm and gave me a resounding, "Okay," in response. He trusts me that much. LOVE. HIM.

And I went about painting the mirror white with the trim paint I used on the mantle and built-ins.

(after picture)

Exclamation mark. Exclamation mark.

Multi Surface Duster Scam

I like gadgets as much as the next girl.

I had a coupon and needed to buy a Pledge product. So I grabbed this "Pledge, Multi Surface Duster" off the shelf and I was on my way. The instructions on the box looked easy enough: Unfold handle, Fluff duster, Insert prongs into duster. I was giddy about dusting. And that doesn't happen very often.

I opened the box at home and discovered I had been scammed. I had fluffy white duster things. NO wand thing. In tiny, tiny print on the bottom of the box it says, "refills." Who has time to read these things when their children are blowing up water wings and trying on flip-flops one aisle over?

I felt the same irritation as when I bought into the Swiffer fad only to discover that I had the MAX and Swiffer doesn't make MAX refills. Not to be outsmarted, I now put a damp towel onto the Swiffer and use it anyway.

I am fighting injustice, one cleaning product at a time.

(Craftsman brand BBQ fork)

I don't need no fancy wand.

Eat my dust Pledge.

Ehem. Literally.

Restored

Yesterday escaped by the skin of its teeth. It was one of those days that seemed to attract calamity. By 10 am I had one child sitting on her bed, one on the couch, and one confined to his crib. And me? I was pouring over Psalms 23-26, my daily reading, trying to find some calm amid the storm. You don't want to hear my long list of "what went wrong," but let me just say that it started with the baby getting smacked in the face with a fly swatter and ended with my wonderful partner in this family getting home well after everyone was in bed. In between all that my list also included 2 different chilled diet Cokes spilled before I took a sip. Calamity, I tell you.


At one point I hypothetically asked, "Are you guys just naughtier today or am I more impatient?"


Emma replied, "You are more impatient.... and grumpy." Leave it to a first born female to point out what is wrong in a situation.


Time for another mommy time out. In my Bible reading, I read through the "Lord is my Shepherd" passage of Psalm 23.

 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

 He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

 he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

 ......

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD

forever.

That bit of Scripture couldn't help but encourage me... "He restores my soul." How I longed for that tranquility! The entire description speaks of an extravagance far from reality. Reminded me of my 5 diamond experience at the Grand Velas last Fall. I came up with my own paraphrase regarding the all-inclusive resort:

The LORD is my very own concierge, I shall not be in want for anything from Diet Coke to a pillow menu.

He turns down my feather bed and turns on the AC.

He brings me food service beside the endless pool in my private cabana.

He restores my soul.

(my very own paraphrase).

The problem arose when I tried to bring that extravagance home. Real life doesn't feel like a resort. Not even a little. Real life is toddler-fly-swatting-the-baby-bossy-big-sister-teething-baby-no-one-napping-toilet-plugged-husband-farming-all-the-live-long-day-and-night craziness.

It was as I read on that I began to make a correlation between the peaceful bliss of chapter 23 and the barely controlled chaos that I was dealing with at that moment. Psalm 24 speaks of God's almighty power. Psalm 25 is asking for God's guidance... "Show me your ways, O LORD." And then there was chapter 26 verse 2-3: "Test me, O LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."

Yesterday as I read, I could feel the Almighty looking down on all the enforced time-outs in my home and I felt near to Him. Not "cabana at a resort" near to Him, but "water stop along a marathon route" near to Him. Encouraged and refreshed I kept going. It was swimming lessons next, a rushed lunch that no one liked, naps, swimming and playing in the yard, fighting children who forgot how to be kind, laundry, the baby's diaper rash irritations, dinner without daddy, homemade ice cream that took forever, baths, and bedtime with goodnight thankful prayers.

I realized there will be moments of bliss (this wasn't one of them) when I lie beside still waters. And there will also be testing. The testing is a good thing, according to these verses. "Test me and try me, examine my heart and my mind." God provides the strength and will restore my soul as needed. 

Now for today...

Living.

Last week was filled to capacity with good things....

Like:

Parading.

We watched the traditional July 4th parade in our little town. Always fun, especially when our state championship basketball team drove through as "grand marshals."

Cheering.

Jesse was there with his team. He graduated in June and is heading off to Prairie College in Alberta soon. We'll miss him.

Visiting.

Our friends from Cali came on Sunday for a visit. Rem and Camille are just 2 weeks apart. It was great to meet the new baby girl for the first time (remember this photoshoot? I flew to San Fran at 36 weeks pregnant. That's insanity, I tell ya). The kids played in the yard, we tried to convince our friends of the merits of country life while they endured miserable allergies, we walked, ate blueberries, made blueberry jam, and consumed enough calories of delicious food to last till Christmas. Good, good times.

Driving.

As our friends headed south, me and my kiddos headed north with my sister and her kiddos to visit my parents. Because it's fantastically fun there.  

Swimming.

Because they have a swimming pool there. And a lake. And an all you can eat buffet for every meal. And a grandma and a grandpa who scurry children from activity to activity with smiles on their faces. Bliss.

Otterpopping.

25 calories of dye-enhanced goodness. Rem will take their word for it. For now.

Photographing.

My cousin Katie is working at Black Lake (where my parents live/work). I was able to do a Senior Portrait Session with Katie in between her lifeguarding duties. Check out the rest of the session here: Alysun Peters Photography

And finally.....

Photoshop-ing.

I apologize in advance for this one.

Apologizing,

Stats

Remington is 9 months old today. It's also my father-in-law's birthday today. Funny how we don't record stats as the years go on. Pretty sure Dad wouldn't appreciate me publishing his age/height/weight. But Rem doesn't mind.

Rem at 9 months:

Height, 28.5", 50th percentile.

Weight, 19 lbs., 17th percentile.

Teeth, 2 bottom, 1 top front, 4 more about to poke through on top.

Crawling on all fours in the grass, but army crawl is his preferred method of cruising.

Pulls himself to standing and thinks he is rad.

Says, "Mama," "Dada," "Baba," (bottle) and "Memememe" (when he sees the girls). He talks pretty consistently for the correct person/object. Jeff still thinks I'm imagining my son's superior linguistic abilities.

2 two hour naps.

10-11 hour nights.

Still easy going and happy. 

Gets excited about seeing animals and cheddar cheese.

A man of discriminating tastes. :)

In love,

Faded

I was changing Rem out of his PJ’s this morning as I normally do after breakfast and play time. I usually do a quick diaper change, put on some clothes and then it’s time for his morning nap. A familiar routine that usually passes without much thought. Yet as my fingers touched his skin, a feeling came over me like a lovely scent that I couldn’t quite place. I looked at the baby squirming about on the changing table. Memories of similar scenes tickled my mind. There were two other babies who left strong impressions, whose soft skin my fingers frequently touched. Things I thought I would never forget were now vague and fleeting as I tried to pinpoint the exact time and place of those common moments. My girls were once this size, once this squirmy, once this soft and sweet, but they grew without asking. Crawling on to the next stage in life.

In an attempt to capture the moment, I sat with my diapered baby in his room. I tickled and blew zerbits on his tummy. His laugh was throaty and his blue eyes seemed to reach into my soul. He crawled over me like a perfect play structure. For an active, almost 9 month old, what could be better than someone to climb on and snuggle with at the same time? He nuzzled his face into my neck as his feet found a perfect perch on my rock hard squishy stomach. Absorbing and loving on this baby was better than any of the luxuries this world has to offer. I’m sure of it.

The girls were entertained in their room with Polly Pockets, an amazing grandma-garage-sale find. But even Polly doesn't keep them for long. They found Rem and me after awhile and I got the camera. I didn’t attempt to wipe anyone’s faces or say, “Sit right here while I take your picture.” I just caught the children doing what they normally do; wrestle and play, squirm and squeel. Being my children, they still found the camera for a cheesy smile every now and then.

Like a warm bath that I would eventually have to get out of, the blessings comforted me to my toes. Time is fleeting and I know that a perfect memory of one particular morning won’t exist. It will fade and be replaced with other things in our ever changing daily life.  But for just right then, it was perfect.