Project 12..Month 12! The Way I view..Holidays

This post concludes the Clickin Moms monthly project revolving around different themes for 2012. It was so fun participating in the blog circle and am so proud of those of us that were able to make it through all year! So here is my final 2012 project 12 post about How I view: Holidays:

Christmas kind of snuck up on me this year for some reason so cookie baking took place on Christmas Eve day with lots of help from Oldest and Youngest. They took a break to Skype with family across the country. Christmas Eve includes family that lives in town, munching good food, and opening some gifts. Christmas Morning starts at dark thirty with the pickle ornament hunt and the rest of gift opening. It is always such a joy to watch the girls, they so enjoy both the giving and getting

New Year’s Eve is very family focused for us, involving food, fireworks, and fun. We devoured some delicious and not so nutritious foods (hot wings for youngest, delicioso pulled pork- I tweaked the recipe a bit by adding a jalapeno and chipoltle in adobo sauce instead of the green peppers..so awesome- for non fire breathers, and decadent desserts!)Youngest is our firework monster so despite the rain and fog out she went to blow some things up..it was very short lived since it started to pour but she was happy! We then started to compete in our family “Minute to Win it tournament..of Doom!” These little games were way more challenging than expected but lots of fun!

Finally New Year’s Day is never complete without my husband taking a noon polar bear plunge! When we lived in the Northern part of the country this was a much crazier thing, however despite Christmas being 75 degrees, we hit a rapid plunge in temps so the 20 mph winds and 47 degree temps qualified as cold Last year Youngest did it too but it was actually cold today so she opted to be a fan instead . We follow his annual plunge by trying out a local restaurant, this year’s choice was a winner since I can hardly wait to have the blackened mahi-mahi sandwich again lol!

Thanks for taking a moment and checking out how I viewed the holidays. Follow the blog circle to see how Dawne views the Holidays. I hope you continue to visit my blog through 2013 as I embark on some more fun projects Happy 2013!

Project 12 November: How I view…”Blessings”

So very many things fall under this months project 12 photography Challenge. I can’t believe we’ve almost made an entire year!

Since there are so many ways I’m blessed I am going to share with you images from the top of my “Blessings” list:

Oldest …who drives me crazy and cracks me up in the same moment with her teenagerness! Her  kindness, compassion, and depth of emotion are a true blessing to us

Youngest..who is getting so much older everyday! She is a constant source of light and laughter with her earnest actions and silly tactics :)

Pup dog..who is always happy to see us. She brings joy to our family; we can’t remember life without her.

{and my husband, who likes to be an internet ghost so no shot of him but who works hard for our family}

I’m very grateful to be blessed with wonderful family and friends who make our lives better everyday.

Thanks for stopping..follow the blog circle of talented photographers to see how Dawne views the project chalenge “Blessings”

Project 12…The way I view “Dress Up”

“On Halloween Night when the ghosts come out, they all get together and they start to shout!  Boo, Boo, we love to scare you, that’s what ghosts are supposed to do!”

This month’s project 12 theme is “Dress up” ..perfect for Halloween!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Youngest was a “Nerd” this year and got herself all dolled up for a Halloween party while Oldest did the scary makeup for two neighboorhood friends (she was in heaven..she loves doing stage make up..I think it turned out really well!) then she rushed to get into her Baseball Vampire costume, the fangs are finicky..her costume was inspired by one of her fav Vampires, Rosalie Cullen. The pup was in charge of Supervision while I made Cowboy Spaghetti for dinner, I make the girls eat real food before they leave! Fun Night!

Trick or Treat!

Thanks for stopping by! Make your way through the circle of talented photogs to see how they view this month’s theme  of Dress up

The way I view…”Back to school”

Realistically back to school is a super busy time for our family. As an educator I go back  to work the same time as my kids so everything that I had time to do over the summer takes a back burner this month while we incorporate meetings, homework, sports, events, and hobbies!

Day before school photos (hard to take them on the day of; I have to leave really early the first day of school to beat all the parents who drop off kids for a parking spot at work! lol)

Cell phone pixs of this year’s Open House Evening

Youngest is in 6th grade and Oldest is in 8th grade this year making them both middle schoolers. I don’t know where the time went but I do love it when they go to the same school…one open house, one place to go for events, are you seeing the pattern here? This year they’re even in the school choir together so there is only ONE music event to go to..can you tell how much I LOVE it when that happens

Homework time

They do each have thier own extra curricular schedule so we are trying to balance all the running around with the new school work routines!

All the bags and shoes get dropped in the room as soon as they enter! They walk the dog, get ready for whatever is on the list to do that night..ballet, diving, school function, homework..as you can see, we’re still a mess..I mean work in progress!

So that’s how I view “Back to school” …in a rushed manner! Now that October is rolling around we’re getting our schedules in order so we should be able to better organize…I hope

Follow the blog circle to see how Katrina views “Back to school”

Project 12 The way I view…PLAY

“Summer” is officially over since school started this week but it did give me a chance to review the August theme for my project 12…PLAY!

Summer play is intermingled with getting back to school supplies, however, play definitely still takes center stage! For us summer play always involves water…

and this month, my girls have become obsessive about volleyball..

at the beach…

in the backyard…

at the park….

and even in the dark!

They’re volleyball maniacs I tell you, maniacs

Thanks for checking out how I view “play” this month! Now check out how Dawne views play and continue through the circle of talented photographers that span the globe!

Poject 12 Challenge: The Way I view…”Summer Life”

This month’s theme for my project 12 is “Summer Life”. Summer is great for me as I am done with day to day work  for a little while which I look forward to. The past few weeks we’ve spent vacationing with family in Wisconsin. We were hoping to avoid the Texas summer heat but it seemed to be waiting for us when we got there, oh well, we still had lots of fun!

Summer life in July means travel, family, Youngest’s 11th birthday, lots of time spent in the water, and relaxation. I LOVE Summer life!

{The family drove up, I had work, so I flew up later to meet them }View from the plane

(after 8 hours of delays) Hello Milwaukee  Catching up with Family..family…and more family!

Youngest turns 11! Luau time at the lake house

Water!

 Relaxation

Thanks for stopping by and seeing the way I view summer life. Swing ’round the blog circle and check out how Dawne views it!

Project 12 June: The way I view….”Fatherhood”

The Theme this month is “Fatherhood”. Father’s Day was a relaxing family trip to the pool but those shots aren’t making it for the project 12. Instead I’m leaving you with some images of my DH with his girls, “learning” (and I use that term lightly) to play chess, one of Oldest’s favorite games. He loves to be the silly guy with them and they eat it up!!!

PS. Do you notice the puppy smiling in the corner? This is what she does as SOON as she sees Daddy lay down on the sofa in the evening, she “smiles” at him to get him to take her for a walk

Thanks for checking to see how I view Fatherhood! Follow the circle to Dawne and see how she views fatherhood

May…Project 12 The Way I view… “Motherhood”

Sometimes motherhood is the mundane…laundry, cooking, cleaning, transporting, working, breaking up arguments and dealing with eyeball rolling (lots and lots of eyeball rolling ) ! Despite the mundane, the magic of seeing my children, interacting with them and seeing them grow into the amazing people they are always makes it worth it. They amaze me on a daily basis. The way I view “Motherhood” is it is the most challenging but rewarding role on the planet

Of course, for me, no post on motherhood would be complete without my fur baby! She is my shadow (she actually was in the shot above just too short to make the scene lol) and she is as certain as my girls that I’m her mama, which is ok by me! We love her to pieces

Thanks for stopping by! Follow the circle and visit Dawne to see how she views motherhood this month!

Protected: April How I view… “Friendship”

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Monthly Project- The way I view… “Sweetness and Love”

The theme for February’s Project 12 is appropriately titled The way I view “Sweetness and Love”. February was a great month for sweetness and love in our family. In addition to Valentine’s day we have lots of family birthdays and school events going on throughout the month. This year my husband’s parents retired and came for a visit so we got to celebrate these events with them! I’m sharing some images taken this month when my girls took their cousins to the park. It was absolute sweetness to see the love between the four of them…youngest making the little guy laugh so hard he tipped off the slide and oldest teaching her little cousin how to pump like a big girl on the swings

A little bonus..youngest had a “fun run” at school this month. Her dad dressed up as a human cardinal (the school mascot) to cheer her on! Now that is love… youngest still claimed him as her daddy ;) lol!

Thanks for peeking at a snippet of the sweetness and love around here! Take a minute and go round the circle! Check out how Dawne viewed “Sweetness and Love”!