Denise Carty Photography

As I mentioned last week, my brother-in-law's wife Denise Carty took all the awesome photos for my branding for me and my Me & Wee shop. She is a very skilled photographer and is so laid back and easy to work with...we had a lot of fun setting up our shoot! She is very talented particularly in the area of portrait photography for children, families, etc. but she has a particular gift and favor for photographing newborns and pregnant moms to be. She is very skilled with lighting, soft effects, and creating that peaceful sweet shot that only comes once and will last forever. She has two kiddos of her own; so she knows all about baby-wrangling, routines and schedules! And she offers a lot of great photo products like fancy albums, canvases and high-end photo finishes. Her professional retouching is another added value...newborn skin can look very purple and she takes care of it all!  If any of you are in the greater Boston area or particularly the South Shore, I would consider working with her for your special portrait needs!



You can view her newborn and maternity portfolio right here (so cute!)
Check out Denise Carty Photography right here.

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A snowball in the hand...

Hi!
I looked outside and saw we got the snow that had been predicted. Ugh. *grumble*  I heard Paige chattering away in her room so I went on in. When she noticed it had snowed she about passed out with excitement. "IT SNOWWWWWWED!" she yelled. She did a little dance and said: "Let's go play in it! We can play in it! Riiiiight? Right! Yeah, we can do all kinds of things in the snow. Let's go Mommy!" She ran away and down the stairs. I grabbed a now awake Noah from his crib and down we went. I managed to explain she had to have breakfast first before we do anything and she wolfed down her oatmeal like it was nothing. I didn't want to go outside at all. AT ALL. I hate the cold (and I grew up in Maine!). I tried to think up a worthy excuse as to why we couldn't. (Too early, we had to get ready for school, Noah was too little to go, etc.) 
But she looked so darn excited, I just couldn't break her little heart. I knew they wouldn't be playing outside at preschool later, and I also knew that rain was on the way.
Time to seize the moment!
I looked down and she was pulling on her boots (over her jammies). Hold on, I told her. 20 minutes and a fresh outfit for her later, I was getting her decked out in her winter gear (annoying!) and then had to get Noah into  HIS winter gear.(more annoying!) And then I had to get into MY winter gear. (I hadn't even eaten breakfast yet, but we were on a MISSION people!) After the fresh hell of getting everyone into the gear (hats, mittens, snowpants, coats, boots, etc. etc.) I popped Noah in his carseat/bucket seat and also covered him in a blanket. Paige ran outside and said "We're HERE!!! It SNOWED!!!! WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!" She ran all around and threw herself onto the ground with abandon to make her first snow angel of the season. She proceeded to make at least 10 of them all over the place. She instructed me to start the snowman and to "let her know if I needed her help" (Ha!). After all that, we went around to the front of the house to wait for her preschool bus (I'd luckily managed to sneak in making her lunch and getting her bag ready). We then went sledding down the driveway (no worries, we aren't on a real road) several times. More snow angels, snowballs, and eating of snow....and then the bus came.
Paige was smiling and began excitedly telling the driver about all the exciting things she'd just done. Paige was breathless and shaking with excitement while her gorgeous eyes twinkled.

I'm so glad I said yes.

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Simple Ideas

Hey there!

So, the clutter in my kitchen is insane. I just can't seem to keep up. We get so much junk mail, school papers, school art projects...all kinds of little things. And it always ends up in piles on the island and kitchen table. AGGGGHHH! Then, I attack it but it always comes back. It's like The Blob (remember that movie?). If you don't hear from me after this, I may have been consumed by the piles never to be seen again until you try to find the latest electric bill.





I realized a lot of the pile was things I didn't want to get rid of, like special pieces of art or keepsakes, so I ran to Target and got these cool file boxes. One for Chris & me, one for Paige, and one for Noah. I have a folder for each year and I just stick things in the folder that I'd like to keep for them. Easy! Now, I just need to stick with it.


Next, I need to start filing away coupons in their own folders and deal with paying bills right away and I'll be sitting pretty. I'm mortified I just showed you my crazy mess, but it's a part of me. Like teenage acne or a bad perm. It's something to endure.
We also need a new table and chairs. Upholstered chairs and kids don't mix. They are disgusting right now. But I want a cool wood table and chairs and they have to be small. I haven't found anything that fits the bill yet, so we'll see.
Besides, it will be clean for a minute before Paige grabs all kinds of her crap and covers the table with it all. Ya gotta live life, right?



And look what we discovered! You can take that fast food drink carton thingie and use it for little animals! We had a ton of fun at our "zoo" and put the animals underneath in their "cages" where they have little windows to peek out.  Then, we pretended they were mountains and valleys, and then we flipped them over and pretended they were little pools for her marine animals. It was great, cheap imaginary fun. I saved those drinkholders so we could play "store" or "cafe" with them but that hasn't happened yet.  "Zoo" is a worthy choice, I think.

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Time to Enjoy

Lately, when things have gotten chaotic around here I notice that I get very snappy and annoyed at the kids. I start to sweat the small stuff when I know better. It's easy to slip into that negative mode, isn't it? When the days can wear you down and you just want a break or breather. A little more space to enjoy. I want to enjoy my kids while they are little. I want to sit down to a meal and not yell through half of it over one thing or another.
When we choose to let certain things go; to decide they are not really a big deal after all, a space for joy opens up. For a little while, dinner time had started to become a real pain. Paige would whine and fuss about her food, or she'd take an hour to eat (and only pick at her food), or she'd just not eat and would complain instead. I was constantly on her case..."you need to eat!" "a few more bites!" "Hurry it up, dinner is almost over!" "Paige! Stop playing with your elbow and eat!" "Do you hear me?" "Are you listening?"  and so forth.
I finally decided that I want to enjoy my meals and stop getting stomach aches during dinner. So, I made the choice to stop caring whether Paige ate her dinner or not. I had to act like I could care less. And you know what? I started having more fun at dinner and it became enjoyable again. If she didn't eat, she just ate a bigger breakfast the next morning. By not nagging, she began to stop complaining and whining as much and it makes dinner time so much more enjoyable. It can be easy to nag, nag, nag and I have to catch myself often. But it's worth it to just "let it go." I want to enjoy our time together; to savor the little moments .
We now all eat dinner together in peace. Paige will say funny things or she will answer our questions about preschool that day. We laugh together and she's learning all about proper table manners. Even Noah is now sitting with us in his high chair, even if he's not eating. He'll check out his toys and he seems to enjoy just being with us. It's nice. I'm glad I gave up the food battle. Ironically, she eats better now. Of course.





There are other ways in our lives with little ones that we could perhaps let things go a bit for the sake of our stress levels...for example: potty training struggles (we aren't pressing it), toy cleanup issues (we only leave some out, and the rest are easy for her to clean thanks to baskets), mess-making (we only do messy activities under close supervision when she can get my full attention), etc. Even without children, there are always areas of life where we can choose joy over fretting.  Is there an area in your life that would be much happier and simpler if you just "let go?" Stop asking "Why do I do this to myself?" and just stop. You'll be glad you did!

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On Stay-at-home Motherhood and Positivity

Hi friends!
The past several months have been so heart-warming and wonderful. Alternately, there have been many challenging moments filled with frustration and exhaustion. Being a stay-at-home mother to a three-year-old and an infant can be a physical and emotional tornado (as most people can understand). Being home all day, without the trappings of "water-cooler chat" at the office or lunch breaks with fun co-workers can be very isolating and lonely. Your sense of autonomy is easily vanquished and you start to forget the last time you had a funny conversation with a friend or came up with your own witty tidbits to make a peer laugh. It's easy to get tired and fall into a bit of a slump. But, in times like this, I take heart knowing that I am living up to my potential as best I can in this role I've been blessed with. Sometimes things aren't always how I want them or would like them to be but I know I am fulfilling my duties in this season of my life with as much humor, wit, and graciousness as I can. I am grateful. I am honored. When days are long and I'm feeling sloppy (and it's day 4 or wearing some version of sweatpants and a formula-dribbled t-shirt) I like to remind myself about staying positive and grateful. A trick I use? I tell myself "I get to." For example, instead of saying "I have to get up and feed the baby," I say "I GET to get up and feed the baby." It works on many levels and conditions and ALWAYS forces me to turn things around by adding more spring to my step.
I have to go to the grocery store......I GET to go to the grocery store
I have to clean the kitchen...............I GET to clean the kitchen
I have to change the diaper..............I GET to change the diaper
I have to go to work.........................I GET to go to work (for those that do)
I have to make lunch for the kids....I GET to make lunch for the kids

It's a simple little trick that doesn't seem like much, but makes a big impact when it's practiced. I'm no expert at it yet, but I'm trying and I believe it will become second nature before long. See how it can change your day; see if it doesn't give you just a little lift too.

Here's a tender moment of Paige shampooing her brother's hair. One of life's rewarding moments to witness.

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Home Inspiration

Hi there!

That last post had some great responses! It's interesting to see what others thought about the article. In light of that, I wanted to share this blog post from Meg at Sew Liberated. In it, she shares how she has set up her home for her newly walking little one. She has set it up according to Montessori methods and it seems much more homey and relatable, eh? (I'm not one for the EC method in regards to toileting, but I really found the rest of her setup inspirational). I love how she has the little extra space for the play kitchen. He must love playing in there! What do you think of Meg's toddler setup?

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Style of Living

Hi friends!

A while back, I read this article in NY Social Diary about the home set up and philosophies of Lisa Mahar. (She's the owner of Kid-O toy boutique, etc.) Go take a gander if you'd like; as I'm about to discuss it.

Here's a picture of part of her childrens' play room from the article:

So organized and sleek, right?

As Paige grows, I find that I am taking lots of time to think about how I want to set up the house to accomodate her needs; especially now that she's walking. I'm also pondering how to teach her the things she needs to learn...educational kinds of stuff. I'm really trying to get to know her and what will work best for her.

The article I mention above is inspirational for me but not necessarily aspirational. I like how she has pared the toy chaos down to just their favorites and has everything available for them. I also like how she doesn't just give them baby toys to play with, rather, actual materials that adults use. I believe when children are ready they can rise to any occasion with a little guidance. Emphasis on when children are ready. I also believe that children must have the chance to let their imaginations take flight and too much exposure to commercialization can cloud things a bit.

But, I also feel that she takes these ideals to the extreme (and that's fine for her)...I couldn't go so far with all the ideals she discusses in the article. I'm a little more "live and let live" about things when it comes to toys and household set up. I'm a little more "let kids be kids and if they want Elmo then give it to them" (within reason of course). Some of the viewpoints expressed came off as judgmental, snobby, and rigid. That said, I really respect and admire her resolve and that she cares so much about her family. Not enough people have thought any of these issues through to have a viewpoint. Good for her! I found some nuggets of inspiration there in terms of organization of household clutter and chaos as well as future educational experiences.

What did YOU think of the article? Did it inspire you or turn you off? (For me it did a little of both in equal measure).

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