Day 15/365 - The Sweetest Thing

You thought I was going to say family, didn't you?

Yeah, family can be sweet. 

Not only are they sweet, they're COLOR COORDINATED! 

But there's something sweeter - which we relished on this Valentine's Day...

Yes. 

Dairy Bar ice cream. 

We drove over an hour to get there, but it's just SO good. 

And, of course, we did photos. 

And today that's as good as it gets. <3

Day 14/365 - I'm Too Tired to Be Clever

No. Really. 

Shoveling exhausts me - and puts me in a lot of pain, aggravating both my arm and my neck and shoulder on the other side. 

So I'm not clever today. 

In fact, I've gone to bed and told the 12yo to be in charge of the 3yo. It won't end well. But I'll be asleep. 

There's a whole lot of snow outside - today was another snow day and tomorrow has already been canceled as well. 

Stir crazy. 

Stir. 

Crazy. 

Within two hours of waking. 

Today was also my dad's birthday. 

There were brownies. 

And brownie batter.

And a whisk. 

 

And so, while my children run wild downstairs*, coming down from their chocolate dessert high, I leave you with this gem:

* they're actually just playing Lego Harry Potter on the Wii, but to this tired mama, they may as well be running laps. 

Day 13/365 - Puppy Love

Dogs?

Really?

But today our beagle got a bath and became the family member everyone else wanted to be with. She smells like a cupcake and is velvety soft. 

Seriously. 

The cashier at the dog store kept calling her Velvet instead of Violet. 

Fitting. 

Photos of Violet are difficult. She's perpetually moving. 

So, of course today shall be dog themed. 

Didn't A. see that coming??

PUPPIES!

Even I took a selfie. 

Me. 

Alone. 

With EJ's puppy clings. 

But a family photo must occur. 

And this typifies our family. 

 A's "why am I a part of this crazy family" face

My "quick, let's take a photo!" face

And EJ's... well, he's a character. 

And puppy love in the background. <3

Day 12/365 - Peace On Earth

It's a nice thought - and one that's still hanging over our fireplace. (Wait - you take your Christmas decorations down BEFORE Easter??)

It's also pretty ironic this evening. 

At around the thirtieth photo, all I want is for everyone to smile. Just one photo of us smiling. In our jammies. Cuz we're cute like that (and ready for bed!). 

Really, dude?  You need to start with the tongue now??

 Finally. Peace on Earth. 

And to all, a good night. 

Day 11/365 - Say Ahh?

Still battling illness in our family - and attempting to clean out a lot of "stuff" means that my sinuses REALLY don't like me today. 

Today is a Monday. Definitely. 

And this is how we feel about Mondays!

Yep. Blurry and sticking our tongues out!

Best part of this photo? 

Having to utter the phrase: "but don't lick your sister's tongue!" 

Day 10/365 - 73 Times the Charm?

Yes. 73 photos today and this was the best one of all of us. 

(Really, that's more a commentary on my poor selfie skills than anything else.)

Had a great talk with a sales person at one of my favorite stores today. All about body image and letting go of our hang ups - it seemed to (indirectly) speak to the reason I'm doing this project. 

We're all our worst critics. I walked into that store looking for something to mask my arm flab. I hate it. And I hate seeing it in photos. Her response was to then start a long conversation about how hyper critical and hyper observant we are to our own flaws while simultaneously oblivious to those of others. 

She was good. 

I knew this - she's previously sold me on bras that I would never have bought without her encouragement (which, by the way, are now my favorites). 

But, really, who else is staring at my arm flab?  

Probably just me. 

And if no one else is focusing on my flaws - in person or in photos - then why am I so hung up on masking them?  After all, I know they're there. 

So why am I so hung up on not being in the picture? My happy - a smile, a dimple, a twinkle in my eye - shines through my photos. Not my flaws. 

I say this based on the feedback I've gotten so far on our photos. 

Day 9/365 - Everything Is AWESOME!

We went to see The Lego Movie today - in 3D!

And it was wonderful. The movie was great - but hanging out with these kids was pretty awesome, too!

My favorite part of the movie:

I asked him if he liked the movie. He said it was too scary. When I asked what part, he said all of them. When I nodded and said that the scariest part for me was the $37 cup of coffee, I was told that was the only part that wasn't scary. 

A. tolerated our conversation via her earbuds.