A moment for thought.

So tonight at work I did 6 hours of back to back massages and I had some time to think about my life, family, and things to come. All those things I really shouldn’t be thinking about when I’m doing a massage but I’m too exhausted to be completely present and be awake at the same time…

My husband has spent the last 3 months working on a website. He thought he’d make things easier by buying a joomlah template but being an old school programmer this turned out to be more a challenge than a help. Too make matters worse his motherboard exploded and now he’s in the process of building a whole new computer. So I told him that in the meantime he should just create Facebook page so he can get things rolling. So I was kind of brainstorming what things we should put on his page and I started a mental flip book of his photography in my head. I was thinking that we would need to come up with places for people to choose from for photo “backdrops”, but as I was recalling the photographs he’s taken you really don’t see any background in most of them. They are all focused on the person, or animal, insect or plant. So I was trying to figure out how to explain to people why they wouldn’t need a backdrop for their photograph.

Then one picture in particular came to my mind. It’s a photograph he took while we were at the Wildlife World Zoo. You would never have known it was at the zoo because you don’t see anything but her face. It was very hot and very sunny and her new eyes were not used to the light and she hadn’t quite figured out to look away or squint and a tear ran down her cheek. Matt, always with camera in hand, took the photo. Almost all his photos are like this.

That is when it really dawned on me what he’s doing. A lot of people take pictures of people in places. Gorgeous outdoor venues perfect for the eye of the camera and it’s subject. Matt isn’t taking pictures of places. He’s taking pictures of moments. And I thought to myself, what pictures am I really going to treasure when I’m sitting in the nursing home waiting for the next visit from my daughter or husband? Am I going to be the most fond of those taken with her all buttoned up in her best standing stiffly in front of a camera with props and fake backdrop in portrait studio? No. Or even the one taken by a truly talented photographer who was able to capture a photo that looked so natural no one would know it was a photo shoot? No, because I would remember that day probably more clearly than I would remember what I ate for breakfast that day, and I would remember it as the day she had professional pictures taken. I think the ones that I would really treasure are the ones I took at a moments notice, probably with my crappy cell phone camera, and I printed them out and put them in the scrapbook anyway because it caught my little one doing something very spontaneous and cute. Something that really spoke something about her at that very moment in time.

So I guess what I am saying is, that is what Matt really does best. He’s good at spotting and capturing those natural moments. He doesn’t take pictures of places around people, he takes pictures of people surrounded by moments. That’s A Simple Photograph.

Samara’s condition

So yesterday we saw our pediatrician for the first time in 6 months. I had hoped that since Samara has been better and there don’t seem to be any seizure like behaviors that she would nix the MRI idea, but no luck. She wants to go ahead with it to see what’s going on just in case it’s a cyst or a tumor and make sure there is no brain damage. To make things more complicated her insurance runs out on the 1st of October so she has to try an expedite it. I don’t like the idea of giving her anesthesia.

Wish us luck.

Salt Dough Memories Part 1

I know all the rage right now is doing the 3d cast of your babies hands and feet. I agree this a great way to remember what those cute little feet looked like. Unfortunately our little one, and I’m pretty sure we’re not alone, wont quite tolerate the procedure. So I decided to capture the memory of Samara’s little footies the way my mother did, salt dough.

Salt dough is made with 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1 cup water. Knead the dough until smooth. I used my KitchenAid mixer and the dough hook. It’s that simple. Roll it about 1/2 inch thick and let dry for 48 hours. If you want you can also add food color right to the dough. I’m still undecided on what exactly I want to do so I left it plain so I can paint it.

Here is the raw dough just stamped.We had to try a few times and re-roll the dough. Samara can’t quite grasp the idea of NOT grasping. hehe This is also why only one hand. I also made 2 little hearts to add a 3rd dimension and balance it out a bit. I’ll glue them in place later.

After finishing this tonight I was online looking for ideas on how to finish it and came across some great inspiration here…

I’ll be posting soon to show you my progress.

Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!

Pull ups? Slip ons? Really?

So my daughter at 11 months has decided that with her new found mobility she no longer can tolerate being on her back long enough for a diaper change. She screams, kicks and literally cries tears during diaper changing. I googled it and apparently this phenomenon is a common one for her age group. Most parents solution? Pull ups, slip on diapers. So I looked at them and with them being as high as .59 cents a piece I thought. No way. But I found the solution.

Take your regular diaper, whatever your current using, and undo the tabs. Attach the tabs to the diaper. Viola! Pull up diaper! If you have a kicker leave on side unattached.

Pull up diapers for .59 cents…really? Not me.

Put the Bun Back into Your Diet at Indulge

Put the Bun Back into Your Diet at Indulge.

Patty Cake Patty Cake…

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So here I am at 1:10 a.m. working on another logo. Am I completely insane? Maybe. For the last 3 years  every time I have yet another disappointing gluten free experience Matt pokes me to try to sell some of my gluten free treats.  I figured it would be more trouble than it was worth, […]

My take on starting a family at 40

I slept until I could sleep no more. Today is the first day that I have slept well since my daughter was born 11 months ago today. Of the few things that I can say I miss since becoming a mom, sleep is number one on my list. But I know it’s not forever.
Since starting my family I’ve cruised around on the internet trying to find other “older” moms. The topic is surprisingly scarce, although you hear about so many women waiting to start their families until they pursue a career. What I did find equally surprising was that the few articles I found stated that new mothers at this age find it more difficult to make the transition to motherhood than younger moms. I was taken aback at this as I have felt it to be the exact opposite.
I was born with an entrepreneurial spirit and my dream growing up was to be in charge of my life. I wanted a salon with a clothing boutique, a health food store, and I even wanted to be science fiction writer until I realized the reality of that choice. So I ended up opening a dayspa with a boutique when I was 26 years old. I ran that business until 3 years ago when I remarried for the 3rd time and moved to Phoenix. Without my 24/7 lifestyle as a business owner and a new loving husband I could no longer outrun that loudly ticking biological clock. My husband, then a father of a 19 year old daughter, agreed to help me with my sanity. Samara was born September 12th, 2011.
I can’t say that the transition was without flaws. I can’t say that I am a super mom, or ever will be. But I can say that there isn’t much that I miss since becoming a mom. If anything it’s filled a large hole in my life that I was missing. Apparently a large hole that needed to filled with stinky diapers, screaming, crying (both me and the baby), as well as cooing, smiles, laughing and adorable pudgy baby feet.
The few other moms I know are much younger than myself and they seem to mourn their “old life” a lot. While watching a re-run of According to Jim on tv there was a comment made by the tv mom that “Oh yeah, it was the children that ruined our life.” I see this often and after a lot of time feeling that I was doing things backwards by waiting, I really have come to feel that I did it the right way. I got everything out of the way that I wanted to do for myself, and now I have time to give to someone else.

So here is my list of what I DO miss.
1. Sleep (but I still have hope this will change)
2. Video games, there’s nothing like playing a good game for 3 or 4 days in a row

Are you an older mom? Or a young mom? I’d really like to hear your take on becoming a mom at whatever age you are.