Continual State of Becoming

I put Aaron to bed tonight, cleaned the kitchen, let Eve out, did some laundry and some more picking up around the house.  Then I sat down to relax and enjoy the quiet before I went to bed.  Around 10:00 Dylan came into the family room saying "I'm hungry."  And all I could think was "why are you still awake?!?"  I could have sworn I saw Matt starting to put him to bed while I was finishing up with Aaron.  But anyway, I got Dylan a piece of bread and sent him back to his room.  Then I decided it was time for me to go to bed as well, so I headed upstairs... and saw this.  The reason why even though the house was quiet Dylan was still awake.

We've had a couple of really beautiful, mild temperatures days.  I've been trying to get the kids outside as much as possible to enjoy it while it lasts, because I know the oppressing heat and humidity are coming back.  Last night Dylan was with Matt at a softball game, so I took Aaron to a playground for a bit before his bedtime.  Then tonight Matt was at the Nationals game with work so I took both kids out to dinner at Panera (because it's quick, easy, inexpensive, relatively healthy, and the kids eat the food from there).  Across the street from Panera is a fountain playing area and of course Dylan wanted to run around in the water.  I was completely unprepared for it, but went along anyway.  One of the wonderful ways being a mom has changed me, learning to embrace being flexible and spontaneous.

Self portraits are HARD.  And yet I feel compelled to try and do some.  I think this is really more about body image for me than photography.  I feel like I've started taking good pictures of other people, and yet I always feel like pictures of me are terrible.  But I know that's not really true... I know it's that when I look at my image I choose to focus on the (too many) imperfections.  So in a way I think that taking self portraits may help me get over that.  I'm not so convinced that will happen, but I'm willing to give it a try.  So here we go. I decided to start with the hardest and my least favorite aspect of my body......... my skin-- so these are close up portraits.  I still have high school-ish oily skin.  Nothing really helps it.  I've heard that the benefit of oily skin is that you don't winkle as much, but for some reason I don't think I'm seeing that benefit either as I already have some decent forehead and eye wrinkles....

A while back Dylan came up with the idea of starting a Lego Club.  Basically he picks a night in which he and his dad build legos in his room.  So here is their more recent Lego Club.  It consisted of deconstructing Sponge Bob and replacing it with a new face. Lots and lots of little pieces... good thing Aaron was already asleep. Time to take Sponge Bob apart. Inspiration Matt starts the construction.   Dylan works on the destruction. Lazy feet Toes!  haha Taking a brief break to pose for mom and her "annoying" camera. Dylan does his sorting...  I think he's still working on it, haha. Almost done.  Matt's Batman needs glasses or he can't see. BATMAN!  Perfect fit. Resting after the hard work. Dylan rests too. A good way to spend our night.