Photo Contest Entry: taken from a low angle

I am entering the photo contest over at Our Reflections blog again. I love that Laura hosts these because I enjoy looking through my photos and finding new ideas for photos. It gets my creative juices going.

This photo was taken on my husband's birthday as he played with our little girl on the playground. I was laying in the sand to get the picture, which was a mess, but totally worth it:)

You can check out my entries to her previous contests here, here, and here. And be sure to stop by Laura's blog to check out the other entries and her photography tips.

~Angela

A Little Perspective

Someone recently said to me “I follow your blog and you are really lucky. Your life seems so perfect.” Hmmm....I am lucky in a lot of ways, but my life is far from perfect. I choose to focus on the good things -the simple things- in life.

A lot of things in life can be looked at from several different perspectives.

I blog about the things that make me happy, the things I will want to remember, I blog about the things I create, most of which turn out pretty decent, but I have occasional fails, like this one. I have bad days too- usually those days I don’t want to relive, let along blog about it.

Each day has highs and lows and a lot of “in-betweens” or ordinary days.  I choose to enjoy the highs and cherish the “in-betweens.” In turn, this makes any lows seem to pale in comparison. And sometimes even the “lows” can actually be funny, like when my daughter spilled milk ALL over the kitchen. We could have allowed that to ruin an evening, or we could laugh about it, take pictures and all of the sudden, it becomes an adventure. This is how we discovered our little girl loves mopsJ

My days consist of the same mundane tasks that I am willing to bet the average person has to do: laundry, cooking, bathing, grocery shopping, paying bills, working, cleaning up…the list goes on. But in between all the stuff we need to do to survive day to day, we have fun and I choose to focus on that. I could focus on the massive amount of extra laundry I did or the shower that made such a mess, but made my daughter think she was at a waterpark. I could focus on the dog poo that got all over my daughter’s rain boots and the garage and the rug and me or the fun time she had jumping in the puddles! I could focus on the fact that my clothes are a little tight from not being able to exercise for months, or the even better fact, that the sedentary lifestyle was temporary for me and I can exercise now. I can focus on the guilt I have EVERY.SINGLE.DAY I drop my little girl off at daycare (which I why I love my husband even more for dropping her off) or the giant smile and shrieks that ensue when my car pulls up at daycare to pick her up and take her home.

My life is not perfect…no one’s life is. But there are usually multiple perspectives to every situation…

~Angela

Our Not-so-Little Bundle

I have always called my little girl “Bundle.” I remember those early moments just after bringing her into this world and looking at my little baby for the first time like they were yesterday. When really, it was two years ago. The nurse put this little baby in my arms, this baby we had been wanting for years, I had been carrying inside of me, anticipating her arrival for 10 months, this baby we were SO excited to meet. I said to my husband “She’s such a little bundle- our little Bundle of joy.” And she was, so small and cozy, all wrapped up (bundled) in blankets. The nickname stuck. I call her that now and she has brought us so much more joy than I ever could have imagined. Other parents said this would be true, but now I know it. I feel it.

Daddy & his little Bundle

Often people will ask me what her name is if they hear me refer to my little girl as Bundle. I reassure them it is just a nickname as her given name is beautiful and I call her by that name as well

Although she is no longer a “little” Bundle, (she is a running, jumping, dancing, talking, singing toddler who is very active and very intrigued by life) we still get these moments to bundle her up- whether after a bath in her big towel or before bed cuddled in a chair, reading together.


And she will say to me “Like a Bundle, Mommy!” and each time it brings me back to the day this little Bundle came into our lives for the first time. And it is moments like that I never want to forget.

~Angela

Welcome to My Nest

I love our home. I pictured my family living here years (yes, years) before we moved in. I was organizing closets in this home in my sleep before we even bought it (yes, again I am serious). In the two years we have lived here, we have taken our time making it ours, decorating with care, even though that has meant a few blank walls for awhile. My style is very clean and simple so I was in no rush. I am excited to say that our entry is finally done!!


I scavenged this twig from a neighbor's burn pile last fall. Nothing is safe around me. My neighbors are just lucky I work during the day so I am not dumpster diving in their trash cans (kiddding...sort of). Anyway, I had a vision for this twig, but was busy with life so it remained in the vase with the other twigs I scavenged from the neighbors for several months.


I finally dug it out and got a plan in place to mount in on the wall in my entry. Well, my husband did the work; I did the planning and supervising. And I attached the frames. I LOVE the finished product, because not only does it bring nature into my home, but I enjoy stopping to look at the photos of my family. It is exactly as I had pictured it in my mind.

On the opposite wall, I found a simple 12 x 12 frame at Michaels for $14.99 that I can change the artwork in periodically. This is perfect for someone like myself that does not like to commit to decor for too long and doesn't want to spend a fortune to redecorate as often as I change my mind. Currently in the frame is my daughter's handprint:

What simple things have you used in your home to decorate? I would love to hear about it!

~Angela

Sock Monkey Project Fail!

I created most of the decorations for my little girl's sock monkey themed 2nd birthday party and everything turned out as planned except this project. Yikes! In my head, this project was much cooler than the finished product, but it is good for a laugh- therefore, I had to share it:) I always enjoy a good laugh, even at my own expense!

Even my little girl wants nothing to do with it!

~Angela

Sock Monkey Birthday Party for a Very Special 2 Year Old

I still cannot quite fathom that the day they placed our little blessing in my arms for the first time-the day that changed my life in every way wonderful- was two years ago.  We celebrated my little girl's birthday in the only way we know how- with love, laughter, family and food.

My little girl loves sock monkeys (especially her 4 foot sock monkey named Marty), so the sock monkey theme of the party was an obvious choice. My little girl enjoyed a weekend (celebrating birthdays for multiple days it totally our style) with grandparents, uncles and all of her favorite foods.




There were books and cuddling and playing with family that we don't see often enough. The shrieks of laughter & pure happiness still echo in my mind and make me smile. It is days like today that make the difficult things in life seem so unimportant. I am exhausted in a very contented way. It is days like today that my soul needs- my heart is happy, and the photos and videos we took are only a glimpse into a celebration of a very special little girl.

There were sock monkeys hidden throughout our house:

And the food...we can't forget the food...

Here is Kaia's keepsake from the party- her "family tree"

~Angela

Easter!

We had a great Easter with our family, celebrating together at church and singing around the dinner table "Jesus Christ is Risen Today!" I'll spare you a video as singing on key is not my family's strong point, but it is the message that matters anyway.

In preparation for Easter, we dug out our Easter baskets and Bundle had fun opening all the eggs!

When Daddy decided to put the eggs in his hair to make her laugh, she was NOT amused.

We found messages I had hidden in an egg from last year that were a fun discovery!

My favorite conversation from Easter:

My Uncle to my husband and daughter: “Get in the front yard so we can hide eggs”

My husband:  “She won’t be paying attention”

My Uncle “But you will and you’re participating”

My husband: “I’m 35 years old; I don’t think I will be”

My grandma: “Oh Yes you will; if you are a grandkid, you are participating!”

What Grandma says, goes.

Average age at the Easter egg Hunt: 26J

I left my camera at my grandma's house for Easter so I don't have any pictures of the "adult" grandkids hunting for their eggs to share. But here are a few pics from an organized Easter Egg hunt we went to (for children under ten only).

 

~Angela

Shadows! (Photo Contest Entry)

I am entering the weekly photo contest over at Laura Hernandez's Blog Our Reflection. The theme is shadows and this photo was taken last year on Christmas Day. It was so nice outside, we were able to go for a walk. This is my little family: my husband, my little girl and I. Good memories of a rare warm holiday in my husband's hometown. I love capturing simple moments like this with my camera...it justifies me lugging it with me everywhere I go:)

I encourage you to check out Laura's blog for great photos from previous contests and photography tips as well.

~Angela

Gift Wrapping Ideas

I was only recently made aware that wrapping paper is not recyclable. Since I try to do my part to save the planet, I reuse gift bags when wrapping gifts.

I like to reuse boxes I already have, like this one below:

This is the packaging that vinyl wall art came in from a previous post.



I simply covered this box with double sided tape and scrapbook paper- Easy & inexpensive!

Here are a few other creative ideas for wrapping gifts:

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~Angela

 

 

This is a home where a child lives

This is a Home Where Children Live

You may not find things all in place,
Friend, when you enter here.
But, we’re a home where children live,
We hold them very dear.

And you may find small fingerprints
And smudges on the wall.
When the kids are gone, we’ll clean them up,
Right now we’re playing ball.

For there’s one thing of which we’re sure,
These children are on loan.
One day they’re always underfoot,
Next thing you know, they’re gone.

That’s when we’ll have a well kept house,
When they’re off on their own.
Right now, this is where children live,
A loved and lived in home.

~Judith Bond

I saw this poem here and loved it. I cannot bring myself to wipe the fingerprints off our glass doors, our windows, the fireplace. I love the reminder that children play here. My little girl and our little friends play here; they explore; they run, they jump, they dance; memories are made here.

It reminds me of the evenings when my daughter first pulled herself up to the fireplace. And then looked to see what I had to say about it...

The fingerprints on our windows remind me of the evenings we spend watching the deer graze in the neighbor's yard (they feed them) and play with each other in our backyard.

There are a few crayon marks on our hardwood floors from a coloring project that got a little out of hand. (much to my husband's chagrin)

However, the crayon mark, brings me back to this day:

Then we have our door of artwork. This is the steel door that goes to our garage. I love changing out my little girl's artwork and placing it here. We see it every day!

 

Our home is our haven; it is the place that we play together and we laugh together. We live here and it shows. And although I have miracle cleaners to remove the fingerprints and crayon, they will remain...as a reminder of memories past and memories to come.

~Angela

Photo contest entry: faceless portraits

Here is a family picture from a vacation last year.