catch the moment: wk 52

Posted on January 5, 2016 by mommyinthemidwest

I have such mixed feelings about not continuing this project into a third year. In fact, I haven’t taken a photo with my DSLR since New Year’s Eve. On one hand, it’s been liberating to not have that pic-of-the-day hovering over me but it feels wrong to not intentionally take a picture every day. While I love the finished product, the day to day and week to week obligation starts to take the fun out of it after so long. All in all, it’s been a great year. The time between Christmas and returning to work today has just flown by. We had company or were visiting my in-laws the entire time I was off and I loved the family time. My niece and nephew stayed with us for 4 extra days and it just made me realize how much I’m missing out on with them in Tennessee while I’m in Indiana. I always feel a little sad this time of year. The anticipation of the holiday is over – the Christmas decorations are not putting themselves away. All of the fat food I consumed is now consuming me and I’m mad at myself for having no self-control for the past 2 months. Cold weather and snow are surely on their way. We’ve got a couple of months (minimum) before sandal season returns (and my first baby turns 6??). Can we skip ahead to spring now please?

Gratitude puts you in a good mood, right? Let’s go there. I’m grateful to have a vacation towards the end of this year to look forward to. I’m glad to have a clean slate, starting fresh at the gym this year after finally slowing down on the kitchen remodeling that kept me away for the last couple of months. I’m thankful that the Bachelor is back on. Ha! I’m thankful to be able to have a job I like with great people. I am thankful for another year of good health with my husband and little boys. There, that feels better. Now I can move along.

358/365: Thursday, December 24th. Christmas Eve (and my mama’s birthday!). The gang’s all here…except Penelope was already asleep. The 4 big kids put out cookies and milk for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.

359/365: Friday, December 25th. Christmas! Some of Dexter and Penelope’s favorite gifts.

360/365: Saturday, December 26th. We made the short trip to Richmond to visit family and go to a Christmas dinner/baby shower at my uncle’s restaurant Hometown Dining Co. It was nice to see everyone.

361/365: Sunday, December 27th. A lunch at Jagger’s before it was time for my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and little Penelope to go home. I hate that they live so far away and will always cherish the memories of this Christmas that they spent with us.

362/365: Monday, December 28th. Ryan and I were off work the whole week. We took the kids to the Eiteljorg Museum to see the huge miniature train exhibit, Jingle Rails.

363/365: Tuesday, December 29th. We took the kids to the YMCA for a little exercise and Dexter wanted to show off his new shirt that of course matched his boots. Lucky for him, it rained for about 5 days straight following Christmas. Not that it would have mattered, he’d have worn them anyway. He can be kind of adorable.

364/365: Wednesday, December 30th. A little shopping at the mall with this cool guy to get those Bath & Body Works deals for mom and some new jeans for dad.

365/365: Thursday, December 31st. I drove Isabella and Malachi to Lexington to meet my brother-in-law and Penelope so he could take them on home then we went to Ryan’s mom and dad’s to celebrate Christmas with them. This sweet, 10 year old boy knew how much I loved one of his pieces from art camp this summer and recreated it for me to put in my kitchen. I was a split second from crying but held it together. My nephew Spencer is one talented artist and an awesome kid.

So, that’s it guys! The end of my journey with Catch the Moment 365…for now.

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: wk 51

Posted on December 30, 2015December 30, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

Whoa, I should have posted this last Wednesday or Thursday but got way too busy with holiday fun. My sister and her family arrived for Christmas on the 23rd and my mom on the 24th so posting my photos for the week before was the last thing on my mind! I haven’t spent much time on my phone and even less on the computer over the past 7 days and while I feel a little more disconnected from my friends than usual, it’s been nice to focus on the here and now. It just occurred to me yesterday that I hadn’t sorted, edited, or shared last week and now it’s almost time to post another set – the very last set – of photos for 2015.

351/365: Thursday, December 17th. Theo’s busy making Spider-man drawings with his new art set from Aunts Emily & Lauren.

352/365: Friday, December 18th. Sorry for the blurry photo, but that’s the best I could do at capturing Theo in all of his excitement about wearing pajamas to school for Polar Express day. Also, he was gearing up for a fun weekend at Nana and Pop Pop’s.

353/365: Saturday, December 19th. With our kid-free weekend, we got TONS of stuff done. Including buying and assembling new bar stools, buying new TVs and a new entertainment center, finished shopping and wrapping Christmas gifts, and cleaned the house in preparation for our holiday house guests.

354/365: Sunday, December 20th. I didn’t take this picture with the intention to post it here but I suppose it works well. Ryan and I bought this entertainment center when we moved in together right before we got married in 2003. I de-cluttered it on Sunday and posted this photo on a local facebook garage sale site Sunday. I was so tired of looking at it and all the clutter we crammed into every drawer, shelf, and cabinet. Ryan felt a little sentimental when it sold. I do remember us assembling it together, sorting through the instructions and millions of pieces. But still…bye.

355/365: Monday, December 21st. The boys’ first opportunity to sit at the new & improved breakfast bar and watch a cartoon with daddy while they ate cereal. Pretty much Ryan’s dream come true. Most of the vision for the kitchen was mine but this was a non-negotiable for Ryan. Turns out, we all love it. The bar is everyone’s favorite place to congregate now.

356/365: Tuesday, December 22nd. Theo has been showing me some of the games and websites he uses at school. During summer, I’d take him to the library and he couldn’t use a mouse or operate a computer at all. It was so frustrating for me to try to show him and have him not listen, I’d just shoo him to something else. He’s learned a lot in his 5 months of Kindergarten! Apparently it’s a good thing I’m not a teacher.

357/365: Wednesday, December 23rd. I got off work early and came home to find our new entertainment center in place and our new TV being set up! YAY! Less clutter! Then we went into last minute madness mode, prepping for my sister and her family and my mom to come stay through Christmas weekend. Also, our sad looking Christmas card tree – funny enough, we’ve received many more cards since the 23rd. It’s all the way down to the floor now!

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: wk 50

Posted on December 18, 2015December 29, 2015 by mommyinthemidwest

I love this group of photos. If asked, I’d say it’s been a stressful week but when I look back at these 7 photos, it’s also been a great week. It’s so easy to complain about the little things but I am constantly trying to keep some perspective. The big things are good…the little things are just temporary nuisances. It’s the holiday season and there’s no shortage of holiday cheer.

344/365: Thursday, December 10th. A night I’d been looking forward to for weeks – an adult coloring event with some good friends at a local toy shop. Mine is on the bottom right and a week later, I still haven’t found time to finish my picture. I even tried to choose one that looked simple enough to complete in 2 hours – no luck! At the root of it though, the point was to relax with friends and I’d say it was a super successful evening. 12-10-2015

345/365: Friday, December 11th. We did a little Christmas shop-n-swap with our friends! We watched their kiddos for a few hours Friday night and then they returned the favor for us on Saturday. It was SO fun playing with the sweeties, especially 6 month old Kennedy. Such a happy snuggle bug. 12-11-2015

346/365: Saturday, December 12th. Unfortunately, our day of shopping did not yield great results. It just didn’t go as planned. After staying up late the night before and the excitement of another playdate with their friends Saturday morning and afternoon, the boys were exhausted. They were in bed at 730 and I spent the next five hours wrapping gifts. I’m glad to have that much done but still have a way to go. I love wrapping gifts -the worst is cleaning up the mess after the wrapping is done! 12-12-2015

347/365: Sunday, December 13th. Dexter is the sweetest thing-he truly loves spending time with me. He suggested we pull weeds on Sunday – because, yes, new weeds are growing with this warm weather. I suggested the grocery. Since Ryan was busy hanging the Christmas lights, I bribed Theo with a Lunchable and both boys came with me to the grocery. We actually had a good time – they’re growing up. This used to be such a stressful thing and now it’s …gasp…enjoyable.

348/365: Monday, December 14th. It was a very strange weather day – sunny and cloudy, rainy and rainbowy.

349/365: Tuesday, December 15th. The boys and I had a dinner date downtown with my wonderful friend, Whitney. Whitney is due with baby Griffin in about 6 weeks and I am so thrilled-I can’t wait for her to experience mommy-hood!!

350/365: Wednesday, December 16th. I was up late making these buckeye brownie cookies for our cookie exchange at work. I forgot the egg, but I don’t think it mattered much – they were still really good! Hashtag thank you pinterest.

That’s it for this week, folks. Just 2 more weeks of 2015 and 2 more weeks of this project. I think I’m going to take a break from this project in 2016. I’ll still be taking photos and try to post them occasionally.

xo,

~C~