Happy First day of Spring and Happy Birthday to my baby sister! Aren't my niece and nephew quite a pair? We took a quick trip out to the Fresno County Blossom Trail a few weeks ago to get pictures in the almond orchards. I live thid time of year, my only wish is that the blossoms would last longer because they are a such a pretty backdrop this time of year.
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A few weeks ago I met up with my cousin, my sister, and their kids for a quick session in the blossoms. I'm always excited to see the beginnings of Spring come to the San Joaquin Valley. With all the fruit and nut trees blooming my allergies are horrible, but the view is one of a kind. The only bad thing is that it only lasts a few weeks. We took advantage of the weather and fit in a mini-session to update the kids pictures. And since today is my cousin's birthday I thought I'd share Miss D on the blog. Happy Birthday Kristi!
I was inspired by a few ladies in a film group that I belong to on Facebook to jot down a day in my life as a stay-at- home Mom and business owner. Little did I know last week that the day I chose to do this would be a whopper, I seriously considered trashing the whole idea, but then I wanted other Moms out there to know that it isn't just them... we all have days that we later look back and laugh at but at the time we're going through it you just think, "What the hell else is going to happen today?" A little bit about our family: I am a Mom to four, my two step-sons are grown (the oldest is married with a little guy of their own) and I have a 4 year old son and a 1 year old daughter. My 4 year old, Eric, has Autism and also has delayed speech. He goes to Speech twice a week for an hour while his sister, Amelia (Ellie) and I run errands. My husband is a U.S. History teacher at our local middle school. We've been married almost 6 years. 5:00 am- Amelia wakes up and I search for her binky; my husband brings her a bottle and both of us cuddle up and go back to sleep. 7:30am- Ellie is awake and my hubby comes in to kiss us goodbye. I get up, change her diaper, make her a bottle and get a cup of coffee for myself. 8:00am- check email, check the weather forecast for the weekend- I've already had to reschedule Sunday's family session due to unexpected (but much needed) rain. Saturday is still iffy for my Senior session. Let the dogs out, let the dogs in, lose my coffee, find my coffee, police after Amelia (she's getting into everything these days) More coffee; Start bread by "proofing" the yeast (Eric is an extremely picky eater, so I bake my own bread every week). Feed the animals; watch Ellie as she attempts more steps (she is just starting to walk); attempt to empty the dishwasher without her "help"; What's that smell???? Clean Ellie up and let her loose again. 9:00am- Laundry and Hulu. Time to conquer the growing heap of clean clothes in the laundry basket.that needs to be folded. Add the other ingredients to the yeast and start up my Kitchen-Aid to do the heavy mixing. Eric wakes up and wanders in, he points to my tablet and I tell him "Ok" (it's not a school day, so he gets to play). Time to make breakfast for the kiddos and I can finally empty the dishwasher while Ellie is in "baby jail" (her highchair). Clean up the after the kids are finished eating... Good grief, it's nearly 10am! Back to the laundry. 10:40am- I'm dressed before noon (hooray). The bread dough has risen and I need to separate it into loaf pans. 11:00am- Put Amelia in the tub and contemplate blog and IG posts. She's having fun playing in the tub so I decide to use the time to clean up in the bathroom (scrub the sink and toilet). The dogs (we have 3) start barking so I grab a towel and get Ellie out of the tub. I walk to the front door where the door is wide open, there is a guy with a surprised look on his face, and my 4 year old is toddling down the walkway after his dogs. My. heart. stops. Two of the three dogs come back when called, but my Lulu is a runner and takes full advantage of the chaos. I grab Eric and get him back inside. The solar installer goes after Lulu and I'm holding a wet crying child. I grab my phone and call my husband and luckily its lunchtime so he heads to the park (where the installer last saw her headed). Meanwhile, the out of breath installer jumps in his truck to track her down. I am on the phone five minutes later with my husband when the installer's truck pulls up with my bad girl, Lulu and a very tired installer. I talk to Eric and tell him that he is NEVER to open the door without me with him. That he should always come and get me. He starts to cry, I'm already crying, I tell him how much I love him and that I don't want anything bad to ever happen to him or his sister so he needs to understand to never open the front door without Mom or Dad there. 12:45pm-The bread is in the oven and I am seriously contemplating having a beer after all the drama. Decide to wait until later and have one with the hubby... a girl scout cookie will make me feel better for now. 1:05pm- Ellie is finally down for a nap. I could edit sessions or plant the seeds I'd planned on planting before the day got interesting. The bread is out of the oven and cooling. I decide to go outside and enjoy a little bit of quiet time. The window to Eric's room is open so I can hear Eric watching videos on my tablet. Because he slept in this morning, I know my chance of him taking a nap is next to zero. 2:00pm- Go back inside, Eric has noticed the fresh bread and wants a slice. I take care of him and then head to the office to work on editing last weekend's sessions. I ponder some IG shares and deal with my demanding little guy. 3:20pm- The baby is awake. I post some pictures to IG and then take the kids outside to play until their Dad gets home. 5:45pm- Woohoo! Hubby's home! I warm up leftovers for dinner and then it's family time until bed.
7:00pm- Check emails and Facebook on my phone. It's been a long day and my wonderful husband says I deserve a drink. We watch an episode or two of Battlestar Galactica on Hulu (yes, we are nerds) and then it's an early night for everyone. All of us are in bed by 9:15pm. I seriously hope that tomorrow is a much more boring day! Some girls get excited about shopping for clothes, I get excited about shopping for plants. I know, it's strange but that's what I like. Last year the drought took a toll on our lawn and flowers... we stopped watering because we thought it was the "responsible thing" to do. And let me tell you, our house just looked sad. I hated driving up to see brown dead grass and no flowers. This year with things looking up we are thinking of better ways to deal with the water shortage and still have a nice yard. My hubby has been fixing up our backyard and told me we were ready to plant the fruit tree and vines that I have wanted since we moved in almost six years ago. Now I just need to get to work and get everything planted!
The last couple of weeks I found out that trying to plan and get ready for a birthday party and then taking care of a sick child combined with trying to keep up with the blog was just not going to work, so I kept snapping away and I am now trying to catch up with my Project 365... sometimes you just have to figure out the important things and go from there. 21/365 Bath-time 22/365 Having some fun in the sunshine! Getting a picture of my boy looking at me is difficult. Kids with Autism have a hard time making eye contact. He made an attempt to reach for the camera and I am happy to say I was in the right place at the right time to get the shot. I definitely will be printing this one. 23/365 Hoarding his cars while his sister waits for him to shift his attention and make her move. 24/365 I don't need naps! 25/365 Golden light- We went outside to plant flower bulbs and seeds in the warm light. 26/365 Hello Sunshine! We've had some amazing weather. I was actually able to open up the house for most of the day. 27/365 A trip to the Emergency Room. Quite honestly one of the scariest days of my life. Amelia had a febrile seizure... only we didn't know what a febrile seizure was when it was happening. She woke up with a fever and that is what triggered it, a quick rise in body temp that makes the brain "misfire" (this is how the E.R. doctor explained it to me). I am finding out that it is pretty common, but I had never heard of it and neither had my husband. She is fine now 28/365 His Daddy surprised him with a quick visit home during his work day. I happened to notice his reflection in the sidewalk while they played. I'm still working on getting caught up, but at least I'm a little closer now!
One of our favorite places to visit, especially in the Spring when wildflowers are out and everything is blooming. Wonder Valley is located just east of Fresno in the Sierra Nevada foothills. They have free-range cattle and other animals wandering through the valley. Our boy loved being able to run through the field and down to the stream, our daughter had fun investigating nature.It was a much needed retreat for our little family; we're planning a picnic during Spring Break.
Oh, how time flies! Our little Amelia is about to turn one year old. I took her to the park last week and got a few shots of our precious girl and she braved the swings for the first time and loved it.
We had a busy weekend and I didn't get anywhere near the computer, so tonight I am playing a bit of catch up with my blog posts. 18/365 We went to the park while her brother was at Speech today, but it was just too cold to stay very long! 17/365 Taking a few steps with her Daddy 16/365
Feeling under the weather (but Lulu is there to give him comfort) |
AuthorHi, I'm Melissa. I am a wife, mother, step-mother, Gigi (step-grandma) and a photographer. I started out as the family member always asked to bring my camera along and it has turned into my life dream. I just love being able to capture moments for others that they can always cherish.This is my little corner to share my sessions, projects, and a little piece of our daily life. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
July 2021
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