favorites of 2012

I thought I'd post a few of my favorite photos from 2012...

Lots of photos of Max. And a few photos of other things. Hahaha...

Happy New Years Eve, friends!
Wishing you many blessings in 2013.
Thanks for stopping by here and reading.
xo

november 365+1 (and some randomness because I know you've missed it)

1. I never, ever put the pizza directly on the pizza rack. MESS. Never.

2. I iron only about every two or three months. Thus my husband has to buy more shirts for work, which means there are more shirts that have the potential of needing ironing. But like he said, he has to have enough shirts for work to last two or three months. Makes sense to me.

3. I think public schools have gone overboard with the whole trying to be PC thing, and not offend anyone with anything they do. In turn I think they are teaching kids that they need to please everybody all of the time, or at least not tick-off anybody. All bad, IMHO. We are going to have generations of people pleasers on our hands in no time at all. I can say this because I am a people pleasers to a fault. Not a good thing. I'm trying to learn to put me first, set some boundaries for myself and those around me, say no, and be okay with knowing that some things I do or say might not be agreeable to others and that's okay. My opinions make me, ME. I hope Max learns to be himself, and that it's okay to disagree and say no. As many a mom has said before, and will say again, "Life isn't fair." So let's try our best to NOT raise a generation of kids who think everything has to be fair and equal. That's not preparing them for the real world.

4. If given a choice, I'd hire a full-time cook over a house cleaner any old day.

5. I'm recorded on vinyl. Twice, actually. Junior High School band. Not sure if I should be proud of this or a little ashamed. ;-) I do still own the records, just don't have a record player to play them on.

6. I will never understand tail-gating before football games. (Oh, who am I kidding?...I'll never understand the fascination with football period.)

7. The years I lived in the dorms in college were some of the best years of my life. I would go back to those years in a heart-beat.

8. I have zero desire to ever live in any part of the country that annually has to worry about tornados or hurricanes. I can't imagine worrying about losing my home every year. Sure, we are overdue for the "big one" earthquake here in the Pacific Northwest, but I'll take that chance. I worry way too much about enough things - I don't need to add worry over losing my home every tornado/hurricane season.

9. I clean the kitchen as I go when I cook or bake. I'm type A like that.

10. Someday when I go back to work and earn my own money again, I will take my mom on a trip to Hawaii. She has never been (nor have I) and I'm afraid she might never go if my brother or I don't take her.

11. I aspire to all sorts of great things, but worry I will never have the opportunity or the resources or the money to chase those dreams. This kind of breaks my heart.

12. I need some intellectual stimulation. I'm craving it. I spend too much time at home doing monotonous house-work over and over. Not that there is anything wrong with housework, but I crave more. And I have no clue what will fulfill that craving.

13. My brother is getting married this weekend and I am in the wedding. As an attendant/groomsman of sorts, I suppose. It will be the sixth wedding in which I've been an attendant. And hopefully the last wedding in which I'm an attendant. ;) Max is one of the ring-bearers. He will be wearing a tux. You can all take a moment now to image the utter cuteness of my Maxwell in a tux....     <pause>     ...Cute, huh?...

14. I finally caved and bought an Elf on the Shelf. His name is Buddy Meisgeier. And he is CREEE-py! Just plain creepy. Those big eyes looking off to the side...Gives me the chills. But Max seems to think he's really cool, and it has been a useful tool for getting Max to behave a bit more. And now I'm desperately searching Pinterest and blogs for cute Elf on the Shelf ideas.

15. My child who was doing so well sleeping all night in his own bed has been getting up and coming in our room again. Ugh. The day school started he started sleeping all night and not coming to get me, and now?... It was good the almost three months that it lasted. What gives?...

16. Apparently Sammy likes noble fir flavored water. I've caught her under the tree, drinking the water. Silly girl.

That's all for now. Too many deep thoughts roaming my mind these days.
Happy Wednesday, friends!

october 365+1

the friends that are family.

This family is like family to us. Eric and Rob grew-up together on Mercer Island. They've known each other since the time they were Max's age. Eric has always considered Rob a brother, and in a way, they really are brothers when you see them together. And all these years later we ended up moving to the same little SW Washington city that they were living in, Camas. The girls have called Eric, Uncle Meis, for years...and then we got married and I became Auntie Meis (doesn't have quite the same, cute ring to it...) Those girls love Max like the brother they don't have, and Max loves Miss A and Miss H like sisters he doesn't have.

It's a rare and beautiful thing. They're a gift, really. Those friends who would do anything for you, and you for them - no questions asked.

It was an easy shoot - our friends that are family.

Thank you, Afflecks.

xo

52 portraits: two

52 portraits: one

I'm unabashedly copying this great idea from Erika Ray.
He's my one and only. My first and my last.
And I need to capture his cuteness every week.

(That's his "last photo, please?!" face in that last shot.)

september 365+1

linked 52: kitchen

My kitchen...I spend a lot of time there. More time than I'd like. I don't enjoy cooking, really. I used though - before I had Max when I had more time. I don't bake unless it comes out of a box. Well, I do make chocolate chip cookies. I can manage that. My repertoire of recipes is small. Very small. I make the same things over and over. And I'm SO tired of making the same things over and over. But I'm too lazy to look for new recipes and meal plan. Especially when I know that Max won't eat it (he eats a limited menu), and Eric will eat anything so it really doesn't matter if I make a fancy meal just for the two of us.

Anyway, I decided that while I was on my macro iPhone photography kick, I'd take a few shots of some gadgets in my kitchen.

And that, my friends, is all you will see of my kitchen for now! :)

Happy Friday!

52 Linked 2012 A new theme every week.

Tracey, Stacey, Heather, Jenn, Jessica, Amanda, Kristin, Tracy, Janet, Rhonda, Rose, Carla, Heidi, Kristin, Heather, Liza, Kristi, Hanne   

august 365+1

the day before...

Truth be told, there were many, many a day in the past five and a half years of being home all the time with Max when I couldn't wait for this day to come. For Max to head off to school every day. I dreamed of it (is that awful to say?...). It seemed like forever away.
And now it's finally here.
I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Or maybe I should say, I have mixed emotions, which I'm not even sure I will articulate all that well...
Part of me is excited: for him to be challenged and get to play and interact with other kids on a daily basis. For me to not worry about how to entertain him all day, and feel guilty when I have to do other things while he sits around playing on the computer or watching TV. It hasn't always been easy having an only child.
Part of me is sad though. I've heard all my friends with older kids say it: Once they start school it just flies by.
I suppose I'm worried about that part of it.
I'm worried that I will blink and he will be finishing high school and off to college. And our house will be empty once again.
Tomorrow marks a big life change for both of us.
He will spend a lot more time away from me. (And next year he will spend even more time at school...ugh) It marks the beginning of his venturing out into the world on his own. (Just typing that sentence fills me with anxiety and joy. An odd combo.)
And me? Well, I survived being the stay at home mom for those tough baby and little kid years. That part of my journey as mom is kind of over. A new chapter starts with the school years. I wonder what I will do with my time. I used to wonder what stay at home moms of school aged kids do all day. Guess I'm that SAHM mom now.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall tomorrow...
I'd love to see him at recess, and in PE, and music class (oh my! he will love music class), and sitting at his table with his new friends.
I have vivid snap-shot memories of kindergarten. I remember my teacher - Miss Shensky, and the classroom, and the days my mom helped in class...
I remember walking through that door pictured above.

My wish for you, Max, my one and only sweet boy-
smile
laugh
listen
enjoy
run and play
make new friends
remember kindness always
and dream big.

xo,
mom