adventures in the rain

There really isn't anything like an adventure with my family.  This last weekend was my dad's birthday and he had requested dinner out with the entire family at The Melting Pot in Seattle. Since we didn't have to meet up with everyone until 5, Robb and I decided that even though the weather said RAIN RAIN RAIN, we wanted to take the girls over to Seattle early and spend the afternoon exploring Pike's Place Market and shopping at Pacific Place. It turned out to be a wonderful adventures. The girls' favorite part was when we took them down to see the gum wall. It is so hard to believe the amount of gum that is on that wall until you see it.  I highly recommend to everyone that if you haven't experienced the gum wall, the next time you are at Pike's Place definitely go on down the alley and take a look.

love working with amazing artists

I remember when I was younger and my parents were building their business, they always expressed to me some of the best advice they ever got was to hire professionals to assist and not try to do everything themselves.  This would allow them to devote more time to what they were skilled at and their business would grow.  I have always followed this advice when it comes to our taxes, legal issues, hair dressers, swim instructors for the girls, etc.

I finally came to my senses and decided to bring this philosophy into my business and I hired an amazing designer to help me establish a brand for my business and get that brand out onto business cards and my website/blog.  I am sooooo glad I did.  Becca with RSJ Creative is an amazing artist and I couldn't have hoped for a better person and designer to work with.  She has helped me put my passion into my brand and is working with me to get it out there for everyone to see.  I am so excited to share this little glimpse into this process and I can't wait for all the updates to my website and blog to be up for you all to see. 

balance - i have decided it doesn't exist

I am pretty sure that I have never tried as hard to achieve balance than I do as a working mom. Trying to devote the appropriate amount of time to each aspect of my life while also trying not to forget to devote time to take care of myself. My greatest joy in life is being with my girls. Every moment with them is a new experience and I hate to miss even a second of it. I find myself struggling with each decision I make; asking myself if it is the right decision. Should I work as much as I do? Should I go to the gym? Should I go for coffee with my friend? . . . . or should I be with my girls.

So . . . this is what I have decided. Balance is not possible. It does not exist. There isn't any way to do it. The key is to accept that. I remember reading Goldie Hawn's book 'A Lotus Grows in the Mud' and she discusses this very topic. She says something to the effect that balance is something we swing through on our way to the other extreme. As a mother that is so much more comforting than anything else I have read . As a mother, I have to be happy that I am doing the best I can. I love my children and care for them with my whole heart. I work hard and do my job well. I struggle but I am constantly striving to take better care of myself. All along the way I am going to continue to rely on God during each and every step of the way.

What are things that have been helpful to you as a working mom? Have you read something or heard something that has been influential? If so, please share it here. I would love to hear.

snow day

The snow came in bucket loads in January and with school canceled, I couldn't help but sneak out with the girls to make snow angels and run around in the snow. Of course the first thing the girls wanted to do is scoop up the fresh snow and eat it. I thought about stopping them, but figured snapping photos of it would be a much better use of my time. :)

a busy fall

Here it is already almost the end of February and I am realizing how the time is just slipping away. The holiday season has come and gone and it was all in the blink of an eye.

For Halloween this year, in an effort to teach our children about using what they have and because I read an article about the amount of space Halloween costumes take up in landfills, we told our girls they had to come up with costumes out of items they had in their room already. I think they did an amazing job. Our oldest found a red cape, paired it with a dress her auntie made (Gayle Blais Designs) and a basket from her Grammy and . . . . bam we have Red Ridding Hood. Our youngest found a ballet costume of her older sister, paired it with a pretty pink sweater, had me do her hair in a bun and accessorized with a wand and some flashy gold sandals she found in her room . . . . bam a fairy princess. Awesome job O & E!

November and December brought with it lots of yummy times. We even scheduled out a day for baking with Grammy. It was a hectic day, but the girls did great and other than the continuous mess, we had a lot of delicious treats to show for our day. E chose to make snowball cookies and I was all for it until I realized that each batch into the oven took 40 minutes to bake. Made for a long day.

As my girls get older and I get to experience their creativity and joy for life more and more, it makes me strive to be a better person in all other aspects of my life. They really are a joy and I am so proud to be their mommy.

weekend away with the family

This last fall my husband and I decided we had to stop talking about how we were going to teach our girls to ski someday and actually plan a trip to the mountains and take them skiing. They weren't getting any younger, and as I mentioned in the previous post, time is going by so fast and they are only getting older. ( I suppose so are we.)

I pulled out the laptop and went to the same website we always go to when planning a vacation, VRBO. It proved successful again and we found a perfect little cabin in Greenwater that would work great for a weekend skiing at Crystal Mountain.

I probably should mention that it has been 7 years since Robb and I have been skiing and although we knew this to be true we didn't really evaluate what this would mean when we got onto the mountain. We headed out early on Friday morning straight to the mountain. Once there we got the girls registered and signed in to lessons and being the optimistic pair that we are, we headed straight for the summit. This was sure to be an adventure and I have to admit there was nothing that would have prepared me for the complete meltdown I would soon have.

Luckily for me and all the others on the lift, I remembered how to get on and off of the chair lift. This is where my memory on what I was doing pretty much came to a screaming halt. It was as if I was dropped off at the top of the mountain having never been skiing before. I was at a complete loss. I couldn't remember a thing and I started to freak out. I didn't know where to go but I had to make a decision, right or left, knowing that one way would take me safely to a blue run and the other way would take me to a not very happy double black diamond future. It was at this realization that I completely fell apart into a mess of blithering crying right there on the slope. It was right at this moment my cell phone rang. (I should also probably mention that by this time Robb had already headed down the mountain ahead of me and I was laying in the snow afraid to move any further for fear of what was ahead because I couldn't remember for the life of me what I was doing.)

So I was laying in the snow, a complete mess, and my phone began ringing. I pull myself together to answer it and who should it be but my dad who proceeds to ask me "what you up to?" At that I completely lost it again and he quite calmly demanded that I pull myself together. He reminded me that I am a great skier and I just need to point them down the hill in a pie and it will all come back to me. I don't know why but, after I calmed down, I believed him and stood back up and slowly began to head down the mountain. It wasn't but a couple hundred yards and I was already starting to remember what I was doing and feeling better. By the time we made it down the mountain Robb and I both agreed we were complete fools to try to go all the way to the Summit on the first run and needed to stick to the basics for a little while (at least the first day) until we felt comfortable on our skis again.

After we came to our senses and went back to the basics, the rest of the day went great. We picked the girls up from their lesson at the end of the day and all headed back to the condo. They had a fabulous day and were both moved up to the next level for the next day. All together it was a success and although we were all exhausted, we were already looking forward to the next day.

After three days on the mountain we all wanted to stay there and keep skiing. The girls moved up two more levels and Robb and I were finally comfortable again on our skis and thinking about the next time we would be able to get back up to the mountain. One thing for sure . . . . we will be coming up again soon.

they grow so fast

I have heard the saying since I was young that time flies by too fast. I never really understood it as well as I do now as a mother. Every time I look at my girls I realize just how fast time is flying. Not only as they grow taller and enter into higher grades in school, but also as their personalities become more developed and fine tuned and I really get to see the people they are becoming.

Ever since I myself was in grade school I have detested school photos. Now as a mother and a photographer, I love that I get the opportunity to give my girls "school photos" that really represent who they are at this point in their lives.

This year we were blessed to be able to do our little photo shoot at a lovely event venue in Sequim, Washington. Fern Hollow is a beautiful 2.5 acre estate that can accommodate up to 200 people for weddings, family reunions, corporate retreats and much more. It is a truly magnificent venue. You must check it out.

So here are a few of my favorites from our photo shoot. I love that a different portion of their personality is represented in each of these photos.