A few days ago we had a “bleaching tshirts” party in our backyard with 5 preschoolers, 3 toddlers, and 1 newborn…. i think. Lets just say there was a lot of kids and a lot of straight bleach. Which by the way, is a bit nerve racking and a tad stressful…. but oh such fun results! I found this idea on this BLOG and decided to embark on re-creation. O loves his shirts that he made and wore them all weekend.
Honestly, I’m not sure if I would repeat this little DIY project in the near future. I think I’ll stick to fabric paint or sew on patches the next time. The results were really cool, but the stress of making sure no kiddos squirted each other in the eyes was a bit overwhelming.
Even J wanted to get in on the action! We kept having to remind each other which guns were filled with bleach and which ones were just water. Thankfully, we made sure to hand a “water” gun to J!
My little man absolutely loves LOVES creek stompin’! Which is so fantastic, since I remember so well growing up stompin’ with my sister in the creek near our house. We would catch salamanders, minnows, and even little crayfish. A while back, O and I were looking for something to do and stumbled upon Lloyd Park, just down the street from our house.
I just cant believe how much he has grown up and how he is making his personality his own. He has this sensitivity that really is showing up lately. Today I was watering the plants, standing on the porch ledge, safely but precariously, and O opens the front door and proceeds to tell me to get down “it’s not safe for you to do that mommy.” I was a bit taken back and asked “why? Am I making you nervous?” He says yes and goes on about how I could fall and hurt myself and that “daddy would NOT want you to be up there!” I’ve always pictured myself having boys and them protecting me. I guess its starting, and I love it!
The other day we completely enjoyed hanging out at the O’Malleys pool. There was a “mommy” party, consisting of three preggos and others (those who are not preggo) and all our million kids. O was a bit shy at first until his oh so wonderful buddies A and J showed him some brotherly love, consisting of a lovingly smack from J, and off he went to swim.
I cant tell you how much I enjoy the fact that O can now swim. Honestly it has been the best $$$ by far that we’ve spent this summer. It has allowed him such a sense of freedom that last year he wasn’t able to enjoy. I am still required to swim though, at least for the first 10min, until his shyness wears off, only then am I allowed to enjoy the company and conversation of adults.
This past Saturday we braved the heat and celebrated Jude turning 2! I plopped myself down in a chair and didn’t move from my spot, calling kids over to try and grab cute photos of them. This little guy brings a smile to my face every time I see him. My usual greeting from him includes a whack and a huge toothy grin, and I LOVE it! Water ice was passed around and the sweetness cooled the heat. Somehow I missed the fact that my son didn’t eat dinner at all, and informed us on the ride home that both mommy and daddy failed to feed him. I guess I was just banking on Rita’s, cupcakes, and lollipops to sustain a growing 4.5YO boy (who now tells me that he is over 4.5, which technically is true).
These two have been friends since they were born, just a week apart. I constantly have to remind A that “boys are silly; they do silly things; and I cant explain them at all.” It seems to work, and at times I notice her staring at O with a confused raised-eyebrow look, glancing at me and then proceeding to enter her fantastical, whimsical, and much often lost to adults, day dream. I love her creativity and pretend play, where she often tries to make O play the prince. It only works when they are running away from J and calling him the “bad, mean, ugly prince.”
The past few months have been pretty quiet on the photography side of my life right now. I have felt low on inspiration, as well as motivation. So the other day I was perusing the web and came across this site and chose a “discipline” to “study”. I chose to work on my shallow depth of field since I shoot most photos with a 50mm 1.4 lens. We went to Longwood and since flowers do not move as quickly as 4YOs, working on DoF with these beautiful subjects was much easier. Whenever I see flowers, I think back to my parents house, and in their front doorway was a painting with lilies and this verse: Matthew 6:25-29. I especially remember verse 29 “Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” O asks often “Why did God make these?”. Because He loves us.
