365.3: Sticker Elf

As I was occupied doing something, the kids were also busy. I turned around and Susannah's hair was adorned with stickers, which made me think of Narnian wood nymphs with hair trimmed in leaves. Nanna's always looked sort of elven.

365.2: Clean

Not wanting all my photos to be of my children, I had to look elsewhere for inspiration.

365.1: Sisters

While I had some more interesting and better-lit shots from Day 1, I couldn't decide between them. So, I'll just post my first one. My girls are so big!

365

That's a big number.

I have been inspired to join some blogging friends in taking a picture a day for a year. I'm not sure of the most efficient way to post this, which other sites to post them on, etc. But I figure it will certainly be an interesting experiment if I can follow through. I'm already starting to learn more about my camera than I had known before!

I've decided to put my pictures on my Trenches blog, but I figure that taking more pictures more often will provide me plenty of fodder for our family blog, Sibling Revelries. (I still feel a little schizophrenic having two blogs, which is why I'm explaining this, I guess.)

Here come the first two days' photos!

Place Mat Matters

Mom's can worry about silly things. The other day, a friend asked me to stop and buy a place mat for her younger son because big brother had one and little brother was getting jealous. I found the small display and instantly liked the bright colors and whimsical drawings. An alphabet design caught my eye -- my eldest enjoys pointing out letters and we are traveling and leaving many messes on friends' tablecloths, so I decided to indulge the impulse and purchase a couple for my girls. Then the dillemas hit.

At first, I thought I'd get two different ones. One for Susannah, and one for Maggie: there were two alphabet designs after all. But wait. I'll be able to keep straight whose is whose, but Daddy certainly won't care. Maggie will then tell Daddy he's got the wrong one, or she'll demand to use Susannah's and little sister won't give up without a fight. OK, so I'll get the same for both girls. (Of course, it still took me some minutes to pick the perfect one.)

Anxiety struck again as I stood in line at the check out. Some day, I may have more children, I thought. I will then have to get a third place mat. What if they don't have the same alphabet design any more? I'll have to get a different one, and then they'll be fighting over the different one. Or I could buy three of the same in the future, but what would I do with these two? Maybe I should go back and get two different ones instead of two of the same.

Fortunately, the sense that this was ridiculous inner struggle began to surface on the turbulent inner waters of my thoughts, and I paid the $3.99 per place mat and got on with life.

My Trench Has Been Deep of Late

I have not had the opportunity to see outside of my trench very often this year. My kids have their needs. The house and I have our own. And my husband needs a few things I can give too. Sometimes, his need is fulfilled simply by making sure the kids needs, the house's, and my own still allow him time to study. And that is why I have not recently had a chance to climb out of my trench, take a breath of fresh air, look around, and communicate (commiserate?) with the other trench-dwellers.

Writing is once again on my radar. I posted again to our family's blog after a long interval sometime a couple of weeks ago, in preparation to take on some writing work again. The very next Monday found me already committed to a (rather boring, but also easy) project, so my hopes of catching up my blogs for a few weeks before getting a real assignment had to be laid aside. I am now in the stride of this project, and since I am nearly writing the exact same thing for every post, I can do it without thinking and within the space of about an hour.

Today's struggles were many: I was too tired; I didn't know what to cook for supper; the kids would have to watch a second video; I was too tired. Ultimately, I bit the bullet, and got to work. An hour later, I can happily report that my submissions are submitted, my dinner is half started, and unfortunately, my kids are probably still watching Goofy. There are worse things. (For instance, I am being tempted to start nearly every sentence of this post with a conjunction, and while I approve of that occasionally, the novelty quickly wears off.)

I have gathered my thoughts and written down what I need to do this week. My laundry day is planned, an outing to the Zoo penciled in, and my submissions, my work(!), noted. As I re-enter the world of the work-at-home-Mom, I want to reign in the CHAOS and establish routines or I will end up living in a home filled with crusty dishes and people running on little sleep (which may happen anyway from time to time).

Ironically, taking on more work has allowed me this break, a chance to look around and call out to inhabitants of other trenches running alongside mine. I create and reflect in the midst of the needs I must fulfill. Then I dive back in and do all those mundane things that mothers do and that their families cannot live without.

(Photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com)