Keeping sane

Our Weekend

We had a busy weekend. Well, maybe not busy compared to a USA busy weekend. Seriously, life there is FAST. How do you all do it?

Busy for us, our little slow moving family in a country known for being "tranquilo." (calm)

Here is a glimpse at our busyness:

1. We played with balloons.

2. Lexi read some books, one of which happened to be about balloons. What are the odds??

3. We had church and it was good.

4. We made a double batch of Easy Yummy Oatmeal Cookies.

5. Captain Alice escaped from her kennel around 3 AM and made a HUGE mess in the living room.

6. Brian and I went to a birthday party for someone we barely know. Then we left because, hello, we barely knew the person.

And there you have it! Our busy weekend.

That is all certainly busy enough for me! I am very easy going and I don't like rushing. At all.

How was your weekend?

Chubby cheeks are meant for kissing.

Bedtime kisses on smooshy baby cheeks, is there anything better?

We think not.

Same old same old

Today was big day around here.

We taught Alice how to play futbol.

She's very passionate about the sport and shows lots of potential. Ha!

Elena drew a picture of this family and then took a picture of it.

Alexandra got into the puppy's water dish (again) and I told her not to (again.)

Abbie pretended she was sleeping so that she wouldn't have to clean up the mess she made. Sneaky.

Just another day in paradise!

Today

We started off with having Eggs In A Hole. Or Eggs In A Basket. Or Man In A Boat. I've even heard of them being called Toad In A Hole.

I love them!

Morning was beautiful, we had a rock hunt in the yard and then the girls painted the rocks with my last little bit of paint in the house.

(Blurry picture, but very accurate.)

I spent the rest of the day talking to myself. Scolding myself actually.

"I'm so sick of waiting to live. When do we start living? We've been packing/moving/packing/moving for over two years now. What gives? When does it end?"

And then I say to myself, "Self, stop complaining. You have a roof over your head. Count your blessings. You are living. This might be the last day. Enjoy it."

And then Grumpy Self says, "I hope it IS the last day. I'm tired. I don't feel like a mom. All I feed these little people is PB&J. Our days feel like a Dr. Seuss book and I want out."

And then I say to Grumpy Me, "The girls love PB&J! And they love Dr. Seuss! You are a mom, every day, like it or not, so be a good one. Circumstance don't decided that!"

And then Grumpy Self says...

You get the picture.

Do you ever have to chew yourself out?

Then came my least favorite part of the day.

5:00 pm.

Brian asked what I needed. I needed two things. Would he please keep an eye on the popcorn popping while I went to the bathroom and could he take over Lexi's bedtime.

I couldn't do it. Not tonight.

As always, because he's perfect for me, he stepped in and saved the day. (Thanks Hon!)

I gave the big girls some Ginger Honey Tea to soothe their runny noses and sore threats. They sipped on it while I read from Little House on the Prairie.

Maybe I do feel like a mom after all.

My thoughts on photography

I've been thinking a lot about photography lately. I might be starting a small, photography business.

Or I might not.

I can't really decide.

The reason we bought my SLR camera was because I had learned how to use my point and shoot to the max. There was so much more I wanted to do but couldn't because the camera was limited. I feel that my life is pretty interesting, and I want to capture that. I think my kids are pretty cute and I want to remember all the cuteness. I didn't buy a fancy camera to make money. I bought a nice camera so I could remember small, but important, details about my life.

Like, how during this rushing season of our life, where our days seem to revolve on building a home, we spend some afternoons at my mom's house. Jayde and Elena will watch The Cosby Show while eating a snack.

One reason I hesitate about a photography business is I'm not very good at setting up a scene or picture. Photo shoots don't come easy to me. I am creative, but creativity leaves me exhausted when I force things to happen. Dressing my kids up in cute matching outfits and setting up a pretend picnic scene with helium balloons sounds like a great idea to me, but I will become frustrated and short tempered when the kids don't cooperate. I'll have cute pictures, but not so good memories.

However, if I happen to make a stack of pancakes for dinner and place them in front of my freshly bathed 3 year old, with wet matted hair, and pink Sleeping Beauty pjs...good pics and good memories.

Abbie thinking. She does this a lot.

Elena, rolling down a grassy hill in Grandpa's yard.

Lexi, and her awesome blue eyes.

The only reason I'm considering a business is because I have a few wants right now. Not needs, wants. A small photography business would supplement some cash for my wants.

But is photography fun when you're being paid to do it? What if clients show up with an idea I just can't stand? What if I get stuck in a rut? What if I don't feel like setting the perfect picnic scene with floating balloons? What if I get so busy that I neglect my kids? I don't have any training! What if my camera breaks while taking pictures of complete strangers and then I can't take pictures of my kids? What if I just plain don't feel like taking pictures?

(See? It's a whole bunch of crazy in my head.)

We'll see what happens.