brothers

This is a recent photo, taken late this summer, of my two oldest boys. They were rough-housing as boys will do, and were all sweaty and dirty from the 100˚ heat. You can just see how much fun they were having, and how much they love each other in these in between moments—the moments between the fighting, tantrums, and throwing of toys! I had them close together hoping they would have this special friendship.  It might just pay off!

Giving it a shot

I've recently decided to take a break from working a bit to recover from recent surgery and pursue a little something I've always wanted to try.

Photography.

Don't get me wrong, I am not one of these women who thinks they can buy a camera and BE a photographer. And being an Art Director gives me much insight into how difficult professional photography can be and how talented one must be to be successful. That's not me. I'm just a Mom who doesn't want to cringe when I look at our family photos. I know what a great photo should look like, and I'd just like to come a bit closer to that than the typical point & shoot. So let me know what you think.

Blackberry Crumb Bars

OK, Here's a little delightful endeavor I put together this lovely summer afternoon.

They were every bit as wonderful as they look. I imagine you could use any berry in season, I used blackberries from the local farmers market. And although we ate them at room temperature (given that it was 100° today) I will make them again this fall and serve them hot out of the oven with vanilla ice cream. Perfect for a blustery evening, or a cool morning with hot coffee... oh, I need to stop... and go get me some more.

Let me know if you'd like to try this recipe as well and I'll post it!

Where to begin?

This is my first thought on most days. 

This is the first thought when I look at my kids’ room after they've had friends over to play. I explained to my oldest the other day when he was overwhelmed by the thought of picking up his room "all by himself," that you need to start with something small. Divide the task up into smaller parts and just tackle one part at a time. 

So I need to take my own advice, I guess. I need to start somewhere, but the task of starting a blog is just so daunting. Partly, because you want whomever decides to actually read it to take something away, to enjoy it and maybe, just maybe, visit it again. Don't get me wrong, readership, in terms of numbers, is not my goal. This is really just a venue for sharing all of the things I find so comforting and wonderful, and may be some things I could use a little advice on too. Because, I'm finding the older I get, the more I take pleasure in the little things. And sometimes it's hard to remember the little things, in the midst of soccer practice, deadlines at work, grocery lists and homework. So my hope is that this will be a place where I get to focus on those things, revel in those things and celebrate the things I love, one at a time. And maybe I'll find others who love them too.

So stay tuned, and I might just have something wonderful to share... I hope.