Tuesday, December 25, 2012

behind the card

Mono and I take our own Christmas card picture. We decide on the look we want, pick the location and what outfits we want to wear and venture out to take a lot of pictures. I take a few pictures to see what angles I want, and then set the camera on timer on the tripod and snap away! Last year it was fun, stress-free, and easy peasy. This year? A bit different. It was quite the challenge. Two babies and a dog! Thankfully my Dad came along so he could help hold one of the three babies while I set things up. He ended up taking the pictures for me instead of dealing with a wobbly tripod on uneven ground. Everyone told us how lovely our card was, and each time I would laugh at the memories of the more candid shots Dad picked up on. I thought I'd share a few.

We dealt with people in the background and the boys not looking at the camera.
 We had crying babies and a Momma that looked a bit crazy trying to calm them down.
 Blowing hair out of my face was the only struggle I had to deal with on my own. The guys all had it easy with their short 'dos.
 We had little boys all sticking their tongues out!
 We took turns blinking and dealing with too much light in certain faces.
We took many pictures. Many. And we ended up with a few really nice choices.
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

New At This

Today is the Feast Day of St. Nicholas! He stopped at our home last night and filled all of our favorite shoes with goodies! The boys left out their Janie and Jack's from Aunt Erin and Uncle Alex, Mono Sperrys, and my wedding shoes, and even though Jimmy doesn't wear shoes he was left a gift too. The boys got teddy bear ornaments and new Christmas books, Mono got a nice t-shirt from one of his favorite stores, I got a new coffee mug since I am so tired and have started drinking coffee, and Jimmy got some of his favorite treats! Happy Feast Day! Prepare your hearts for Jesus' birth!
 St. Nicholas knew the perfect gift for this Momma! I am loving all things gold right now and have picked up the coffee mug many mornings! I'm still really new at this job as a Momma. Though sometimes I don't remember life before my little babies, it's only been 3 months. I love it. Yes, even the sleep deprived nights, scream filled, fussy days, and many many dirty diapers. I would rather this than anything else! I wouldn't change this for someone else to take care of my boys and give me a break. Some days I do like a little extra helping hand, but I wouldn't want a nanny for sure!

While I write this, I have my little Gus on my lap talking up a storm to all of my readers. He says hello and wishes you all a Happy St. Nicholas Day... and many more things too!

Some days I'm exhausted and I walk from one side of the room to the other, completely forgetting what I was doing. Or I write a list of all that I need to do, buy, etc. and before I get to the fourth line, I am lost, forgetting the 97 other things swirling through my brain to remember. But this one morning in particular, I really wanted some coffee. I am not a coffee drinker. I like Cuban coffee, but not regular coffee at all. At all. I have some French Vanilla flavored from Dunkin' Donuts that is good with chocolate flavored cream and some sugar that I have been drinking. But making coffee is something new to me too, along with being a Momma. I made myself a nice cup of coffee and it was the best I had ever made! I leave the coffee grinds in the machine (open) for a little extra aroma when it is done brewing. Later that day Mono came home and took out the coffee grind filled paper filter to notice I forgot to put the other plastic filter in the machine! He looked at me and laughed and said, "Mare! You're supposed to put this in there!" I just smiled and told him I didn't notice. I always keep it in there so I didn't even notice he had taken it out from a previous cup he made himself. I said, "Well, it's the best cup I've ever had so it was a good mistake!" My days are filled with lots of lost thoughts! But I'm still plugging along... most days with a smile!