Photo Challenge #4: Letterbox

Really?  A letterbox?  This one seemed a little strange, but we went with it.

Letterbox - Betsy

Image Notes:  One of Calvin's kindergarten assignments was to create his own Valentine box for the friendly greetings and treats he would receive from his friends.  And if you know Calvin at all...you know the boy likes bears.  Teddy bears, real bears...any kind of bear you can imagine gets his attention.  So, we knew that his Valentine box had to incorporate bears in some way.  I had the epiphany that it should resemble a bear cave.  The idea simmered in my mind until it was the night before the assignment was due.  This seems to be how we do things these days...last minute and under pressure.  (sigh)  Without any gray paper in the house (of course), Calvin and I colored white card stock with crayons and cut out irregular circles and ovals to serve as the rocks that create the cave.  We glued them on all sides of the box we miraculously found.   That is, until it was too far past Calvin's bedtime.  He toddled off to bed and I finished the letterbox.  I added the bear at the cave opening holding a cleverly worded sign "Have a BEARY nice Valentine's Day".    It really turned out pretty cute and Calvin was proud to take it in to school the next day.  As for this image, I really liked the sun streaming in the window and wanted to capture this glorious letterbox bathed in its light.  The plants in the background are rich green succulents that Calvin and Violet were treated to by their doting father,  

Letterbox - Marcus

Image Notes:   Marcus took a picture of our actual mailbox.  I remember when we bought this mailbox;  it was a replacement to its identical forerunner.  The original had a run-in with a neighbor's house guest's truck - a situation that irked Marcus, as I recall.  There really isn't anything special about this mailbox...except to say that my kids love the responsibility of running out to it to get the mail for us.  Bemused, I watch from our bay window while Violet or Calvin enjoy a bit of freedom...walking out to the mailbox by themselves...getting the mail out of it...dropping the mail on the way back to the house... scurrying to pick it up before the wind carries it down the street.  The color contrast on the mailbox made this image particularly striking...the bright red, the dark black, and the frosted gray.  Marcus and I both liked how he captured the sunlight reflecting on the frost and the bright blue sky that this February day offered. 

Photo Challenge #3: Something You Adore

Adoration is a more than liking or enjoying...and while we could come up with a myriad of things that would fit the ideas of liking and enjoying, finding something that we adore posed a bit of a challenge.  Of course, there are people we adore.  Namely, our children and each other.  But we wanted to challenge ourselves a bit more than the fall-back of selecting a picture of our kids. So here we go...

Something You Adore - Betsy

Image Notes:  I picked jewelry.  OK, this may seem a little materialistic at first...but this jewelry honors the love that my children bring to my life and my partner in this adventure, my husband.  While I was pregnant for Hazel, I was paging through an issue of Real Simple magazine and toward the end there was an advertisement for a jewelry designer that created pressed, linked silver rings.  I could order the ring to have any word I want imprinted on it.  Marcus new how much I fell in love with the idea of this ring and bought it for me for Christmas that year...each ring imprinted with one of the kid's names.  It is perfect and I adore it. I think of it as another sort of wedding ring.  It is a symbol of my vow to be the best mom I can be to these three amazing little people...to take care of them, inspire them, support them, and love them always.  I wear it proudly...almost every day.  When I'm not wearing it, I'm usually wearing one of the rings that I've put in the background of this image.  When each of my children were born, Marcus gave me a ring to celebrate it and honor my having gone through such an incredible physical ordeal.  He gave me an amethyst when Violet was born, a garnet when Calvin was born, and a peridot when Hazel was born.  Each ring is so distinctive and perfectly represents the style of each child.  I have always felt very lucky that Marcus appreciated my pregnancies and deliveries in this way...so it seemed fitting to have these rings in the background.

Something You Adore - Marcus

Image Notes:  There is a beautiful moment during the still of the early morning that Marcus spends with Truffle  taking a romp in the yard.  The two of them go out there, usually when the kids and I are still groggy or sleeping in bed...and they play.  In the midst of our incredibly busy lives, he takes this time with her to play and watch her run.  He hurls this very large ball with a rope attached across the yard and she excitedly fetches it.  They do this for at least 20 minutes, until Truffle tires and just stops bringing it back to Marcus.  He captured this image toward the end of one of their playtimes.  He loved how the frost on the grass sparkled with the sunlight and how you can see Truffle's breath in the cold as she pants.

Photo Challenge #2: Breakfast

Our second photo challenge was breakfast.  Breakfast foods are literally my favorite...ever.  This added a bit of pressure, though.  Rarely is the food I make very picturesque...and I am the one in this house who usually makes the breakfast.  Typically, our weekday breakfast is pretty boring, eaten at different times, and is not very picture-worthy:

• Violet - cereal and milk
• Calvin - plain cereal with milk on the side
• Hazel - a frozen waffle, eaten on the last step while we get her shoes and coat on...and whatever remains she eats in the car
• Betsy - a piece of toast with either Marcus's home-canned jam or Brummel and Brown 
• Marcus doesn't even eat breakfast...

So, weekend breakfast was a better option for this photography challenge.  Traditional weekend breakfast fare at our house includes pancakes (that I have only recently started making from scratch), scrambled eggs, and popovers...each of which is coupled with fresh fruit and a glass of milk...my 'old standbys'.  Occasionally, though, we indulge in Marcus's skillet or crepes.  He is always such a reliably good cook and I love it when he cooks one of his breakfast specialties.  

Finding a picture-worthy breakfast took some time, but I think we got it.  

Breakfast - Betsy

Image notes:  We recently celebrated, with my extended family, Marc's parent's 50th anniversary at a wonderful champagne brunch.  The food was tremendous and bountiful...the champagne flowing.  My parents, when they were married, well...they had a difficult relationship.  I'm glad they didn't try to make it to their 50th anniversary...a toxic relationship for both of them.  Marcus and I are blessed;  I truly feel that I have found my partner in life...great love, great respect, and great fun.  My in-laws, despite a sometimes difficult life, are also partners in life and take great joy in every accomplishment, especially their children.  As I said in my toast last weekend, they provide a beautiful example for me of how I want to be with Marcus at our 50th anniversary.  As for my breakfast at the anniversary brunch, I enjoyed a spinach-tomato omelet, eggs benedict, grilled vegetables, dill shrimp salad, brie, a slice of bacon, a waffle, pecan-apple crisp, and too many glasses of champagne to count.  This image is a bit dark, but I loved the color on my plate and the celebration we honored. 

Breakfast - Marcus

Image notes:  As I mentioned above, Marcus has some breakfast specialties...one of which is what we call 'skillet'.  For this challenge, he has photographed the ingredients for skillet.  Basically, skillet is a sauteed potato dish with garlic, onion, cubed ham, and cheddar cheese.  After these are browned, he pushes these ingredients to the side of the large skillet and fries eggs in the center, over-hard.  For Mother's day every year, I get to have whatever I want for breakfast...after I've been left alone to sleep in as long as I want.  I always opt for 'skillet'.  A rare, but delicious, breakfast.  I love how he has composed this image...especially the raw edge on the cheddar cheese and the spilled salt.

Photo Challenge #1: Self Portrait

In my commitment to making progress this year in learning my new camera, I've decided to try a 30-day photo challenge.  Of course, with my hectic schedule and busy family...my 30 days will not be consecutive.  I'm just hoping to have it done by summertime.  That being said, I think posting them here will give me added pressure to finish it.  This seems like such a fun way to not only learn a bit, but chronicle some of my impressions on film.

I've roped my husband into completing the challenge with me.  This of course was a bit of a risk on my part.  Marcus is such artful photographer and has a great eye for composing a beautiful shot. He had a 'fancy camera' before the digital versions even existed...with all the lenses and even a tripod.  He really enjoys photographing nature...up-close images of flowers, snow, insects, etc.  He amazes me.  Many of his shots are publish-worthy.  I wouldn't consider myself a competitive person - my reaction to competition is a bit more childish.  When faced with someone who does something better than me, it doesn't usually drive me to compete harder.  Instead, I tend to give up entirely. Can you believe I actually got frustrated with Marcus once for doing so well on a family craft that I thought it was better than mine?  Just silly.  This time, though, I really hope to learn from his image composition and how he makes the camera do his bidding.  I'll be sharing his pictures here, too.

So, our first challenge was the self portrait.  I'm not sure why we both ended up with black and white images...these just happened to be our favorites.

Self Portrait - Betsy

Image Notes: I took this challenge to mean a head shot...and I delayed taking the picture for awhile so that I would have time to put make-up on and pick something suitable to wear.  Then, one lazy morning...without makeup and still in my jammies, I took this picture.  Its a very natural and relaxed smile.  I can't say that I gave the composition much thought...I was just trying different things and this one seemed to work.

Self-Portrait - Marcus

Image Notes:  This image is really an honest depiction of my husband...potting soil in hand, dirty fingernails, and gently cradling a plant.  He told me after he captured this that he was really trying to make his wedding ring the focal point. I love how this image captures so much about him...his nurturing personality, his hobbies, and his important relationships...in a single shot.  Already I'm learning from him.

reclaiming myself

Last semester was a whirlwind.  Our life was a flurry of stress, deadlines, work, and obligations.  I found myself drinking, eating, and spending more than I should...tending to the house less than I should...and generally feeling out of control and out of touch.  There was so much anxiety and rush that I was rarely 100% present in each moment.  I'd say I was about 45% in the moment and the rest of me was already on to the next thing.  It was painful and exhausting.

Then, the holidays.

We really took time as a family to just...be.  We didn't go anywhere special per say.  Sure, we visited with friends and family.  We exchanged gifts and ate fantastic meals.  We had our over-the-top Christmas morning. But amid the hustle and bustle, we took time to play, to sleep, and to refocus.  I took afternoon naps cuddled up on the couch with Hazel.  I played Jenga with Calvin, teaching him how to steady his hand.  Violet and I worked on designing her first fashion line.  And Marcus and I had a chance to talk.  Pure bliss.

Calvin at Nama and Papa's house for the annual Candy Cane Punch Party.

Hazel excitedly eats her chocolate Santa.  (This one cracks me up.)

Violet shows off her talents.  She loves this hat and likes to wear it when she's taking pictures.

Hazel with her coveted Yo Gabba Gabba characters.  These now go everywhere with her.

Calvin on Christmas morning.  This is such a happy and true smile.

A rare picture of me...with both eyes open.  I love having this picture with my Zelly Bean.

Violet on Christmas morning while we were going through the treasures Santa left in their stockings.

 

Marcus and Violet...a sweet daddy-daughter picture.

 

With only a small amount of sloppy wet snow on the ground, my kids headed out to make snowmen. I was sorry that the snow didn't stick around very long - they had such fun.

And so begins the next semester and I'm a little afraid to jump back into the fray.  There are already deadlines looming in the next few weeks make my chest hurt.  I've had trouble sleeping.  Nevertheless, I'm trying to be brave as I look to the year ahead there are so many things I want for myself to learn and be this year...and relationships that I want to cultivate.  I've set for myself some goals for 2012.  I won't call them resolutions...just goals that I'm going to strive for.  I want to see at least marked progress on achieving them, but if they spill over into 2013, I won't consider it failed resolve.  So here are my goals toward reclaiming myself:

1. Exercise and have it institutionalized in my daily life. 
2. Hire a cleaning service.
3. Read at least 1 book for pleasure.  (I've got Game of Thrones already bought.)
4. Learn how to use my new D-SLR camera to compose a picture and take some artistic shots of my beautiful children.
5. Continue to connect with my closest friends.  I've really tried to do this over the year and it is has been wonderful.  Dinner with Mandy, movie indulgences with Kellie, out to the ballet with Sarah, Sprite Reunion, or late night conversations over wine with Amy...aside from time with my family, these moments are when I feel most like...me.
6. Finish knitting the sweater I've started for Violet and try to knit myself some fingerless gloves before next fall.
7. Finish Calvin's baby scrapbook...and put some time in on Hazel's.  
8. Submit an abstract to a professional research conference.
9. Participate with others on the submission of an RO1 grant application.  (I have some plans for this already.)
10. Have an outing with my mom and sister...either separately or together.  I've taken them for granted over the years and I would really like to reestablish commonality with them.
11. Make some time to date my husband.  Perhaps another Chicago getaway...or just getting a babysitter and going out to dinner. We are so busy with our every day lives now...and my mind drifts to simpler times with him.  I want to recapture those times a bit.  Now that Hazel is older, I think we can really do it.
12. Spend regular one-on-one time time with each of my children.  
13. Plan an awesome camping trip for the kids - our family vacation.
14. Not let the craziness of my work or Marc's work get in the way of remembering what it feels like to be just us 5...our family...loving and being together...and treasuring every moment of it.