Project 52 {17}

My favorite thing about you is:

You hair.

f/1.8 1/80 ISO-640

I love that you have long hair and you let me do it (most days anyway).  Long hair is just you.  We braid it, it goes up in ponytails, "Peek A Boo, I Love You" (pigtail buns), a half ponytail and about a hundred other ways.  I love all of our options.  I love that every outfit has a matching set of curly cue Gymboree clips.  But we've been lazy lately, gone are the days of pigtails every. single. day.  These are the days of "Do it yourself" headbands, and brushing it yourself as well.  I love that you are capable of brushing your hair yourself, but I'm sad that you look and act more like a big girl and less like a little girl (in this respect).  

This week my dad sent me a great picture of me and my sister from when I was (maybe) 7, so 1988(ish).  Great hair, huh?  I remember how much I loved my mom doing my hair (looking back, perhaps I should have taken the reigns a bit earlier).  To this day, having someone play with my hair, is the best feeling in the world.  Not long after this picture we cut my hair into a short Dorothy Hamill style (so short, I was constantly mistaken for a boy).  Obviously it was a long period of poor choices in haircuts.  My sister never seemed to love it quite as much, and who can blame her, my mom was famous for braids that were tight enough to give a face lift to a 6 year old.  I remember the day my mom decided to cut my sister's hair - she argued with my dad that if he wanted it to be long, then he should be the one to take care of it.  They cut around 18" off (still sits in an envelope in a filing cabinet somewhere).  Perhaps it's appropriate to note here also, that my mom's favorite hair color was always red, not auburn, R.E.D. Like a fire truck.  To this day, I don't know how, she totally pulled the color off.  Personality, I suspect.

But I digress,  I hope that someday when Haley looks back a pictures of herself she remembers the time we spent together brushing, and styling her hair.  Girls club doing what we could to pull the hair out of her face so that her beautiful eyes could shine without obstruction and that it stayed out of the way while she was trying to learn.  And I pray that her hair is classic enough that she never has to live with a picture like this up on facebook (or whatever the deal will be when she's 30), but if she does, I hope she's able to own it with a sense of humility and self deprecation, like her mother.  

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

 . Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood .  Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .  

Can I link you too?  Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {16}

My favorite thing about you is:

Your helpful heart.

f/1.8 1/250 ISO-400

This week has been a practice in asking for help, saying yes when it's offered.  And I need it.  Help cleaning the carpets, cleaning the house, organizing the house, keeping the house clean, getting a garage sale ready, a place to hold said garage sale, someone to take the kids here and there, with laundry, with dishes, with an ear.  I'm not sick, or hurt, just the most overwhelmed with things I've ever been in my life.  We've moved before, sure, but I've never done it with two preschoolers mostly by myself.  It's a chance to prove to myself how resilient I am, how strong I am, and to truly rise to the challenge.  And little things like the kids' willingness to put their socks away, is one less task off my plate, and for that I'm thankful. 

This week we had the where with all to bring Jeff's mom out "for her birthday" (don't feel too bad, we did get her a great present).  This week she helped me with the kids, took on two back to back leader days (talk about exhausting), helped me get the house ready for pictures, set up with the garage sale, and so much more.  Without her and some really great friends, I couldn't be doing this - there's a white padded room reserved for me, just waiting, and without my incredible support system, I'm certain that's where I'd be right now.  This coming week is looking better, more manageable, and I'm ready to tackle it, one day at a time, with my little helpers.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

 . Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood .  Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .  

Can I link you too?  Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {15}

My favorite thing about you is:

Your adaptability.  

f/2.8 1/60 ISO-3200 (full disclosure:  Used the flash and shot auto)

We're in the full throws up a life upheaval.  Sounds more dramatic than it is, we're getting ready to put our house on the market and move.  We've done a lot of talking with the kids about the move, and a lot of prepping of the house (the only house they've ever really known).  They roll with the punches so well.  Including this weeks big one, right to Haley's gut:  Her room had to be painted back to boring beige from powder pink.  We did this late in the evening and with the fumes we just didn't feel comfortable letting her sleep in there, so she and Kale had a sleep over.  They just zonked right out.  Then the next morning begged to have a sleep over every night.  Little do they know that Grandma is going to be at the airport tomorrow, and they'll get to have about a week of sleep overs.  

This adaptability is something that I pray they hold on tight to.  Life throws so many curves at you that to be able to just accept the situation and figure out the best way to deal with it or change it can completely alter how you live it.  You can either complain, or figure out how to fix it.  Mope around about the change, or look to the bright side:  make lemonade from the lemons.  You may not be able to control each aspect of your life, but you are able to control how you react and your outlook.  Make the choice to make the best of each and every situation.  Mope for a minute, then find the best part of the situation and focus on that.  There's always a bright side, find it grasp hold, and roll with it.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

 . Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood .  Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .  

Can I link you too?  Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {14}

My favorite thing about you is:

Your amazing imagination

f/2.8 1/250 ISO-4000

When we wake up in the morning I never know what's going to end up in my bed... lots of days lately it's been a Kale kitty and his owner.  Sometimes I get a little mama, and her baby or husband.  And throughout the day we have many kinds of family scenarios, lots of princesses, kids who run marathon laps around the house, professional painters, rock stars, police officers (who ride motorcycles), cowboys, and the list could go on for days.  

I love the different personalities and personas you act out (and not just because it occupies you with little assistance from me).  You're figuring out the world through your dramatic play, an incredibly vital part of growing up.  What's especially fantastic about this is that you rope Kale in every chance you get, you're teaching him to be a part of these things much earlier than you were, and that's going to serve him well in life.  You have no idea the many, many things you're teaching him through this.  I know one day these will quit, but for now, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're successful at every. single. thing. you pretend.  You have the supplies to be a painter, the shoes to be a marathoner, bicycles for motorcycles, instruments for rock stars, costumes for everything.  I'm thankful I get to be around to see what you come up with - we're never bored, that's for sure. 

Last weekend we went to a fair and they had face painting.  There were lots of options, butterfly, ninja turtle, robot, fairy, pretty much anything, and for an entire afternoon (until nap), we hung out with a beautiful princess and her knight, they even got to ride their horses.  

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

 . Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood .  Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .  

Can I link you too?  Leave me a comment.