Afternoon Delight

There is nothing better than just hanging out with these two. Every afternoon is a delight when we have nothing on our agenda really other than coloring and watching the sunset. 

We braved the cold and wind this afternoon and ventured out to a favorite little field of ours for some giggles and fun. Fall is barely hanging on around here. All of the leaves on our tree out front blew off this weekend, so we can tell that old man winter isn't too far away. And my husband finally let me turn on the heat, so yeah...it's pretty chilly out there. 

Their school closes for the entire week of Thanksgiving (yippee), so I get to snuggle these cuties for the foreseeable future! We have so much to be thankful for and I am just so grateful to have these babies in my life. 

Happy Monday, friends.

xo

Around Our Clocks - 8am

Happy Monday, friends! 
I am so excited to be collaborating with a group of amazing photographers and artists to capture our days. Our collaboration is all about how we spend the hours of our days; what makes us unique; what our everyday looks like. I have always been a HUGE proponent of documenting those everyday moments; the moments that seem to pass so quickly and are soon forgotten. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am for this opportunity.

For the first "around our clocks" post, we are focusing on the 8am hour. Our 8am varies during school days and weekends for sure. Most Mondays-Fridays both of my kids are tucked into their desks at school at 8am. I'm usually at home cleaning up the house and Scott is up working. Our weekends, though... they're a different story. 

Both Anna and Drew love their beds and pillows. Anna definitely prefers to always sleep sprawled out in her big ole beds and rarely comes into our bed, but Drew....he comes crawling in every once in a while in the middle of the night and I can't say that I mind it one bit. I know the days where he sneaks in to snuggle are fleeting. He's not the best bed-sharer, but he's pretty darn cute, so we let him get away with it. I love to watch him sleeping there next to me, and my very favorite part is when he first wakes up, sees me and smiles. You just can't beat that. 

So that's a look at 8am on our weekends....a sweet boy snuggled into bed with us. To continue the "Around our Clocks" loop, click on over to Aly Dawn's blog.

He, She + Me - December

SHE: loves to be the boss • is so tender hearted • makes lists all day • is the craft planner of our family • skips to the back of her books to figure out how it will end (I can't even...) • begs for breakfast at every meal • starts our family dinner game every night • is obsessed with Halloween but terrified of everything Halloween.

HE: is counting down the days until his birthday (36) • framed a picture of money in a family frame we made (m'kay) • is obsessed with counting + organizing + stacking coins and dollars • loves staying at home • idolizes Anna • prefers to go commando all.the.time • loves to dress fancy • collects + trades + begs for everything Pokemon.

ME: reading Year of Yes + feeling like Shonda Rhimes might be my best friend • working on my new website (yay!) + trying to get up enough courage to follow my heart • struggling with meals and meal planning (why do these people have to eat every night?!?) • obsessed with the light + shadows in my house • craving everything pumpkin + bonfires • leaving the messes the kids make just as they are and choosing to document and celebrate them rather then clean them up • feeling grateful for friends who feel like family

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Project Mama + Me is a monthly project created to remember all the little bits + pieces of our everyday. Follow #projectmamaandme on Instagram.

Project November

As my kids get older and older, I really try to remind them to think of others and to be thankful for all that we have. It's so easy to get caught up in wanting all of the latest gadgets or hottest new toys. I'm guilty too. We all probably are. But, the good news is, we can all do something about it. 

This November, our family is striving to complete 30 acts of giving and/or kindness. I want my kids to think of others. I want them to WANT to give back and look for ways to spread love and kindness even on the most ordinary day. I want them to think of their friends, hold doors for strangers and seek the feeling of giving back. 

Below is our "action" list for November. We all sat down together after school yesterday and decided on what we could do for others. It was so amazing to hear their ideas and I know they will enjoy this project so much. Feel free to print a list and join in on the fun! (Just right click on the list below and save to your desktop.) Kindness is contagious and the more we spread, the more we receive! Hope you will play along!

Oh Halloween...

Oh Halloween. I am so glad you are over. :)

I do Halloween for my kiddos and that's about it. Halloween has never been my favorite. I struggle with what to wear, all of the orange stuff and I eat way too much candy. But my kids....well...they pretty much eat, breathe and sleep Halloween starting around October 1st. I will admit, though, that now that they're older, Halloween is just a weeeee bit more fun. And our neighborhood is fantastic and everyone is out an about, so I try to think of it more like a social hour, lol. 

Anna was the Pokemon, Pikachu, and Drew was Boba Fett from Star Wars. Pokemon and Star Wars are all the rage at our house this year, so these costumes were no big surprise. Kind of an eye-sore, but no shocker! Gone are the days of fairy princesses and pumpkins, I think...

Hope you and your family had a very happy Halloween! And HELLO November!! xo

Everyday Beauty

"It is up to you to see the beauty of everyday things."

Over the past four weeks, I joined many talented artists and photographers in Ginger Unzueta's, Everyday Beauty class at Bloom. I have been a long time fan of Ginger, but I truly didn't know what to expect for this class. I went in with an open mind, but also with a feeling of fear, comparison and negativity. I don't know where I "fit" into these classes. I think I always worry about being judged, or not good enough or bad or wrong or whatever. But Ginger's class.....it opened my heart and soul and helped heal those feelings of comparison, negativity and fear.  Most importantly, it allowed me to see the beauty of my everyday. 

One of the main points I took away from Ginger's class was to let go of feeling like I had to make a perfect shot. Over the four weeks I didn't really worry about composition or lighting or being technically "correct" when it came to shooting. I just captured our life and I found that the images and moments and BEAUTY came without even trying. It was like I finally let my guard down and could see the beautiful world around me. 

The images I captured during this class will probably go down as my very favorite ever. They are real and honest...and us. 

Ginger's class also includes a daily journaling prompt that helped me open my eyes and heart and taught me so much about myself personally, as well as how I wanted to grow. 

I am so humbled to have been a part of this class with so many other talented people, especially Ginger. She's a slice of heaven and I seriously cannot thank her enough for an amazing class. If you feel "stuck" or frustrated, fearful of failure or not being good enough, or maybe you just want to have a good reminder to seek the beauty in your life, then I couldn't recommend Ginger's class more. This class is so much more than just the technical side of shooting. It will touch you on a personal level and will help you grow in so many directions. 

Embracing the mess

I am a self-proclaimed neat freak. I like things clean. I thrive off of order and tidiness. Everything in my house has a place and try every single day to make sure things are back where they belong. I like my counter tops clean and the clothes in the hamper. I make up beds as soon as feet hit the floor, so yeah...obviously, I like things clean.

But...sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on the mess and creativity of my children. One day I know I'm going to wake up and their stuff isn't going to be all over the place. Their messes will be contained to their room where they probably will prefer to hang out. Their toys will be replaced with gadgets and gossip. This phase of life is so fleeting and I've decided to embrace the mess and enjoy my kids "leftovers".

After I drop my kids off at school each morning, I come back home to a "mostly" clean house. The breakfast dishes are put away and beds are made. But, I've made a point of keeping their "piles" and messes as they were. I've left their toys and games and cards just as they left them. And then I grab my camera and document these beautiful parts of our life. 

Sure, these photos aren't amazing or perfect, but they are our life. Our days. Our messes. And just like faces and special events, these "leftovers" are just as important to capture, I think. 

When's the last time you stepped back and EMBRACED the mess, rather than cleaning it up? Have you ever grabbed your camera and looked at those details through the lens before tidying up? If you haven't, I challenge you to do just that! Walk around your home. See the messes and piles and toys and try to capture those "leftovers" now, for soon those leftovers will be gone and replaced by something different.

Happy Thursday, friends! Thanks so much for stopping by! xo

Project 52: Catch Up III

A little Project 52 catch up today! I love this project and all of the images of my kids I've captured so far this year. It's hard to believe we are already 42 weeks into 2016. These little ones have grown SO much over the past year and having these photos is priceless. Here are weeks 35-42 of my sweet kiddos.

Scenes from the backyard

The feel of fall is finally making it's way to North Carolina and we couldn't be happier.  The grass in our backyard is finally starting to green up again and our plants are slowing blooming. We're hopeful these cooler temps decide to stick around for a while because we're ready for boots, sweaters and everything pumpkin!

The Ordinary

"Joy comes to us in ordinary moments. We risk missing out when we get too busy chasing down the extraordinary." -Brene Brown

I'm taking a photography class with one of my favorite photographers, Ginger Unzueta over at Bloom, and one of the assignments for this week is to capture 10 photos of our day.  It has been a while since I purposefully documented the "ordinary" of our day, so I didn't hesitate to pick up my camera and start snapping away.

If you have never purposefully documented the routine and ins and outs of your day, I couldn't recommend it more. There's something about looking at the "ordinary" through the lens that makes it extraordinary. It's these little moments that I never want to forget....

You, Me & the Sea

We spent the weekend at the beach doing absolutely nothing and it was truly everything we thought it could be and more. We played in the sand and waves, watched the sunset and rise each day, snuggled on a tiny couch to watch Star Wars and giggled until our bellies hurt. xo

For the love of reading

8 days people. 8 days until we track out of school for THREE WEEKS. I'm a tad bit excited if you can't tell. My kids go to year-round school, so basically every nine weeks, they get three weeks off. It's the best. Ever.

During dinner the other night, we talked about all of the things we wanted to do over our track out. I try to get my kiddos to think of things they want to do as a family, as well as try to set individual goals for themselves. It's always so funny to hear what they come up with. Here's what we've got:

Anna - weekend vacation (family); read 100 books (her personal goal - she likes to set the bar high, my friends. That's basically 33 books a week....hmmmm.).  

Drew: go to Disney World with our family (probably not happenin'); build legos (daily goal already, I think).

Our latest books from Bookroo will definitely help sweet Anna meet her goal. If you haven't heard of them, Bookroo is fun monthly book subscription for your kiddos. It's truly like Christmas when these box of books arrive. The fact that they come wrapped up like a present is probably my kids very favorite part.

So we're starting our goals eight days early this track and I'm hopeful we can do a few of those things on our list (probably not Disney World, buddy) and meet our personal goals. Keeping our fingers crossed, friends! 

Weekending

We think that every weekend should have two Saturdays...anyone else agree?

We debated going out of town for the holiday weekend, but decided to just stick around home, explore, rest, relax and just hang together. It was everything we thought it would be and more. And let's be honest - it doesn't take much to convince me to stay at home. 

Having just ONE extra day during the weekend is a total game changer. We hit up the lake, every playground within a five-mile radius, had a campout s'mores party and STILL had time to pick up the house, run some errands and do a little bit of laundry. We're giving this weekend a great big high five. Hope you and yours had an awesome weekend as well! Happy Tuesday! xo