March 31, 2013

Living in the Moment: March Edition

Hmmm.  Between two months of pneumonia (we all caught it back in Jan/Feb), followed soon after by 6+ weeks of Big Dude’s broken ankle, we’ve all been hunkering down at home lots more than usual.  No interesting photo-daytrips.  Way fewer beach sunsets (must change that STAT).  We’ve delayed planned outings to the aquarium, sand dunes, and Joshua Tree.  Gotta admit:  it’s been a little ho-hum here in Kellerville. 

So, the whole purpose of this Living in the Moment blog circle is to simply capture our “moments”, mundane though they may be; and to find the beauty that’s truly right there in the everydayness of life.  That’s the song I photographically sing.  It’s a vision (“lifestyle”) I’m completely sold out for.  But.  To speak quite honestly … sometimes (like now) I lose that vision for my own everyday life.  My kiddos aren’t un-self-conscious little ones anymore.  They don’t do big new milestone things each day.  In fact, a lot of what we do (food, school, computer, exercise, tv/movies, chores) looks an awful lot the same every single day.  They tolerate my camera, but I think they probably appreciate more when I’m not all up in their personal space clicking away.  So, that said … this month I’ve tried to be very intentional about capturing our “ordinary”, our “mundane”, our typical at-home life … all without being intrusive or “too much” or just plain annoying.  Here are our “moments” …

A little friendly game of Yahtzee.  Guess who wasn’t winning?
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School and Minecraft, side by side …
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Always picking through a “news”paper …
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Cooking up tortillas for Egg-ritoes (standing on the dog bowl gives him a little extra reach!) …
cooking up tortillas
Weekend Movie, mess and all … (methinks this was Wreck It Ralph)
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Kindle-ing (Every Word) and Xboxing, side by side on a Saturday morning …
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Dog Dude, hanging out, like always.
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School.
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I’m perfectly fine with you guys hitting/stabbing each other with swords & sabers.  Just take the battle outside …
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Giving Toady some exercise – lap swimming in the tub …
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After eschewing “teaching to the test” (and, in fact, skipping all the testing) all these years, we’re doing some SAT practice, ‘cause, y’know, there might be scholarship money involved.
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And when the ginormous SAT prep book isn’t in use, it makes a handy little platform for the Little & Middle Dudes’ Twisted Critters (Klutz book creations – highly recommended!) …
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Knitting.  Yes, knitting.  Little Dude got lots of craft projects for his birthday.  And Middle Dude got wrapped up in most of them (grin) …
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Yet another birthday-gift-project – Tasty Science (it wasn’t – “tasty” that is) …
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More school, errr, blogging.  But, y’know, in homeschooling the lines between life and school get blurred sometimes.  And blogging = writing = school (see how that works?).  But, the thing here that totally cracks me up?  The Teen, way back to his earliest school days, has always needed to tap, twist, flip, drop, flick something.  It used to just be pencils. 
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Skylandering …
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Perplexed by Perplexus …
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Please go check out Anika's blog next.  If you haven't yet had a large enough dose of boy-life, I guarantee Anika's household of boys can top you off.  :-)

11 comments:

photography by anika alonzo said...

You know what? These moments are so precious and you're going to be so happy you documented the 'boring' life :) These are the photos they're going to look at with their kids. In 30 years :)
I hope everyone is better and the broken ankle heals fast!

stephanie said...

Oh, Susan! This is one of my favorite posts of yours. I get such a great vibe of your wonderful fellas. And these photos will be such a great way to bring back memories of those "boring" days. So glad you did this. Hope everyone is better and you are riding of into a sunset soon :)

Krista Heiser said...

Looking back at my pictures, I sometimes think the everyday snapshots are among my favorites. Well done, I say!

Anita Johnson said...

I love these pictures too...life as we remember it. Spring hasn't come to Wisconsin yet. Yesterday after our kids went back home my husband and I took a walk on a new trail we found. Total ice. I tucked my camera inside my coat and hung on to every tree branch...no new pictures here either!

Tracy P. said...

Ah, I feel right at home here, Susan! Our Marches were not so different, although the only medical issue we had was a case of "Spring Fever"--hopefully soon to be cured. Love the way you keep a "low profile" with the camera. ;-)

Robyn said...

I agree... one of my favorite posts of yours! Love all the little moments, so many are familiar...lol Love the Yatzee game... that would totally be my boys.

Tracey said...

Our kids would fit so well together. These activities look just like our house. Except for SAT prep. Just thinking about the SAT makes me wanna cry. I hated that thing. NOT a good test taker. :(

Angela King said...

these are fabulous! i love all the ones from outside the window looking in. such a neat perspective.

Susanne said...

I love your take on the every day! I've noticed that I tend to take pictures as much as well and partly because of what you said about there not being huge milestones every day. Life is beautiful though and our kids will look back to these images and these times of childhood. I did a 365 project in 2009 and while I do not take a picture every day any longer, I DO try to capture the moment, especially the mundane.

Erika said...

I love this! Probably more than most "Living in the Moment" shoots. It's a glimpse into my future. A future when my camera won't be tolerated as easily. A future where we settle into family routines. And I love it because it isn't a glimpse I see very often in the photography world. Thanks for sharing it so openly.

Jessica said...

These are lovely :)