… yelping loudly, dropping your watering can and flailing your arms around when a wasp buzzes near you, then looking up and noticing your neighbors are out and looking your way.
Am I the only one that still acts like an 8 year old girl when bugs come near me?
A week or so ago, when I made Kitty Kat her pink and yellow tutu, Jag asked if I’d make him a tutu as well. A red one! Of course I would, but I wondered if maybe he was asking because he wanted a little of the attention Kitty got with hers, so I waited to see if he’d bring it up again. A couple of days ago, he did. He said, in his little sad voice, “Mommy, you forgot to make my red tutu.”
So yesterday we made a trip to the fabric store and bought some red tulle. I asked him this morning if he wanted to help me make the tutu and he enthusiastically said yes (that yes was accompanied by a few jumps and “woohoos!”). Then he started to ask about ballet. “Are there boy ballerinas?” “How do they dance?” I explained about the twirls and the leaps, and about dancing on their tippy toes. And I promised I’d pull up a video of some ballet for him to watch on the computer later.
Here’s the part that really makes me happy and proud. My 5 year old Son sat down and watched an entire 12 minute clip of Don Quioxte with me. I could tell he was a little bored with the interviews, but the dancing? He was fascinated. He watched closely, and I pointed out all the twirls, leaps and tippy toe dancing that we’d talked about before.
Later, while I was making breakfast, I saw him in the family room “practicing” his leaps and twirls. And then he announced: “Mommy! This is my ballet! It’s called The Summer Dance, and it’s in the desert. There are camels, they’re this big *holds arms out wide* and they have big humps. The dance goes like this.” *leaps and twirls and tippy toes* When he was done, he got down one knee with his arms high in the air. I clapped (and his Sister clapped too from her high chair), and he said “I can’t wait for my tutu!”
He’s such an awesome kid. I can’t wait for him to have his red tutu, either.
Yesterday, on the way to the park for my “throw perfection to the wind!” portrait session, I saw an old appliance store (that I’ve easily seen dozens of times before) in a whole new light. The perfect location! See how that worked? I gave up on perfection and it found me. I love that!
I was prepared to ask permission to use the front porch of the charming little building, but when I drove closer, I saw that it was empty and for sale. Yeah, so technically I trespassed. I took my chances. And it was so worth it. It fit my “americana” theme just perfectly. And because it had a covered porch, I had the perfect lighting. AND because it was someplace my kids had never been before, I got some really great, genuine expressions as they explored.
A few of my favorites…
See them all here.
This was one of my New Years Resolutions this year, by the way… giving up on making things “perfect.” The older I get, the more I realize that the harder I try, the less perfect things are. If that makes sense. And well, damn, I’m just tired of caring about the details so much.
Anyway, I desperately need to get some real portraits of my kids. I’m forever putting it off, waiting for just the right weather, or just the right coordinating outfits, or just the right kind of inspiration. This week, I’ve decided I’m giving up on waiting for everything to be perfect. I’ve got some “patriotic” 4th of July outfits for them, they’ll wear those because they coordinate. I have zero inspiration, I’ll just have to take them somewhere, go with the flow and see what happens I guess. I’ve got my fingers crossed for this afternoon. It’s overcast now, and if it’s not raining by the time we’ve had our lunch and I’ve gotten them cleaned up, then we’re all piling into the van and going. If the sun suddenly comes out full force while we’re there, so be it. I’ll make do.
Keep your fingers crossed for me - I need all the luck I can get! And a Sam Adams Summer Ale for when I return!
Jag’s going through some food/meal issues. I know it has a lot to do with me letting go of meal and snack time structure and just letting him choose when he wants to eat and, within reason, WHAT he wants to eat. It’s really coming back to bite me in the arse and I’m not liking it.
So I’m playing hardball again. We eat breakfast at breakfast time, not whenever we please. I go into the kitchen and prepare the meal once and if one chooses not to eat, then one must wait until the next meal or snack time rolls around. Jag evidently finds this unreasonable, as he’s currently sitting at the table sulking about the fact that not only did I make him sit down for breakfast NOW, but because I *gasps* put a banana on his plate. The horror of all horrors, I know!
And that’s my other plan - I’ve always been pretty good, in general, with not providing crap for my kids to eat. But I’ve slacked a bit in the last few months and now I feel like it’s gotten out of hand. One time of letting him have those gummy fruit snack things has led to a weekly fruit snack purchase. Same with pudding cups. And a host of other junk. No more! I’m going back to cheeses, raw veggies and fruits. He’s going to hate it, but if he’s hungry, he’ll eventually eat it, right?
Now, it’s taken me a good while to type this up due to interruptions. Half an hour at least. And he’s STILL sitting at the table with a totally full plate of food in front of him. So stubborn, that boy!
and I am an Ann Taylor Loft addict.
They have the best sales, and I just can’t NOT take advantage of them. Right now, incase you’re in the mood to shop, all their sale items are Buy One Get One 50% Off. Really good deal!
I think I’m going to pick up the white beach crinkle skirt and the ballet neck sweater, myself…
I love it when I get a good deal and don’t even know it until later.
Saw a sweet little white dress on ebay, thought it would be perfect for beach portraits. Picked it up for $7.74, which included shipping. Then after the fact I noticed what the brand was - did a quick google search and saw the same exact dress at a boutique site for $50!
Now let’s just hope it fits Miss Kitty Kat!
1) Why the heck am I blogging again? I’ll answer that later.
And 2) I’m new to Word Press and I can’t figure out how to change the theme to something other than the defaults provided with the software. Not crazy about the current theme I’ve got going on here.
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