So it looks like I'll be blogging a lot more this upcoming year. My husband bought me a laptop for Christmas! I've been asking for one for years. And now I can sit on my lazy a** and blog and edit pictures from my couch whenever I want. It's been trouble so far. I've gotten yelled at a few times already for being glued to it. I'm sure the newness will wear off soon. It's only two days after Christmas. This has been a really great Christmas. I wish we could do it all over again. There was no rushing, no pressure. But most importantly, we have spent the past 3 days enjoying family. The kids were spoiled, as they always are. But they were very appreciative this year. I think breaking it up over 3 days, too, has helped them from getting too overwhelmed and allowed them to enjoy the gifts as they receive them. We are blessed to have a very large, very tight knit family. And for all of us, the kids is what Christmas is all about. The theme for the boys this year revolved around sports and style. Both got new jersies of their favorite basketball AND football players. There was a new football, basketballs, a chain net for the basketball goal, new basketball shoes....And clothes. They were both happy to receive clothes, which makes me happy since they needed them and we have to buy them for them anyways. Bella got a One Direction nightgown from Aunt Kelly. Pretty exciting stuff. We spent Christmas Eve with the Tellefsen family. The cousins exchanged gifts. We had a wonderful turkey dinner, and then the kids performed their 3rd annual holiday performance. Their songs this year included: Shake It Off (Taylor Swift), Happy (Pharrell), and Uptown Funk (Bruno Mars). Cameron would not participate (no surprise there). He was too embarrassed (or too cool). The girls did great! Vaeda and Bella had a blast. And Jackson showed off his dancing skills.
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Oh my god, I made it!!! Crazy that it's been a whole year, though. {352/365}: Josh wanted to take me and the boys to an ODU basketball game. It was a fun night for just the 4 of us. Sometimes we need a break from Bella. We had a good time. We ate pretzels and cotton candy; the boys enjoyed the game. We ran into some friends as well. And ODU won! (#childhood unplugged) {354/365}: Letter to Santa. The boys showed Bella how to spread oatmeal in the yard for the reindeer. {355/365}: Christmas morning. The boys' gifts from Santa. They were pretty happy. {356/365}: The day after Christmas. More presents. More family time. Daddy made us play our new game, Risk. It wasn't without noise, chaos, arguing and tears. Typical Tellefsen style. But I actually liked the game more than I thought I would and I know we'll enjoy playing it now that we all know how. And without Bella singing on her microphone. And Josh and Mark arguing. And Cameron throwing a fit every time he lost. {357/365}: Cam having a blast on his new trampoline with Josh. That is, until he bit his tongue. But he really likes it. It was a good Christmas. And that, my friends, is my final 365 post of 2014. Stay tuned for pics from 2015. Tomorrow starts week 1 of 52.
{344/365}: A little sibling rivalry. Lunch at AJ Gators for the Eagles v. Seahawks game. As if we don't get enough of this competition at home, Josh & I felt the need to fuel it today. For the record, I don't remember who won. But I enjoyed it. {345/365}: Miss Thang. I gave up and I just let her dress herself. Sometimes, she gets it right.
Basketball practice started this week. Which I was really excited about. I'm having sports withdrawal. I must be crazy. But the boys were really happy to be back on the court. Especially Jackson. He is intent on "getting better this year". He spends a lot of time in the driveway practicing. I didn't get any pictures this week, though. Don't worry; I'll make up for it soon. {337/365}: Tree shopping. We go to the same spot every year. We found our best tree yet this year! The boys played football; Bella wouldn't let me put her down. Something about the tree shopping she didn't like. {338/365}: O Christmas tree. {342/365}: We spent Friday night at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. It was mine & Bella's first trip there. We all had so much fun. The place was decorated for Christmas. We even saw Santa; but Bella wouldn't come within 20 feet of him. {343/365}: Movie night. This week's showing (which became Bella's next obsession): Elf. One of my favorites. The boys loved it, too. I love when they laugh out loud.
Dear Cameron, Lately, you get yelled at. A lot. It must be tough, being a middle child. You go through phases (or stages) where you are just....difficult. We are in that stage. I can't describe how painful it can be sometimes. Every night is a challenge. And our nights revolve around your behavior. You and Jackson have been fighting a lot. Even you and Bella. You get your feelings hurt very easily. You crave attention. And you exhaust me. "Mommy, watch" comes out of your mouth about 50 times a night. You require more attention than your 3-year old sister. It's just your personality, and I'm trying. But if you don't get it (attention), you (unintentionally) drive everyone crazy around you. You become loud and whiny and sometimes just plain annoying. You can't keep your hands to yourself. You can't stand if Jackson doesn't want to play with you. You can't understand why it's not appropriate to throw a football in the den or play "tackle football" with your 3-year old sister. You whine and complain about "why can't so-and-so spend the night??" You think we are out to get you and that nobody in this family likes you. For Christmas this year, you even asked for a "family that listens to me!!" because I won't ever let you defend yourself. Today was a good day. You had a great Christmas. Honey & Pop Pop got you and your siblings a trampoline. You spent an hour playing on it today with first your sister and then Daddy. You never stopped smiling (that is until you bit your tongue). But you were so happy and I enjoyed seeing that. You are spending the night with your cousin, Kaleb. You and him have a lot in common. You had been asking for him to spend the night for a few weeks now but there just hasn't been time. We knew you were due for a night out with your cousin, no big brother to get in the way. You are definitely an extrovert and need other kids to play with. You have tons of energy to burn and are always going outside and dragging out the neighborhood kids. You are always asking for someone to come over or spend the night, especially when Jackson gets stuck on his playstation and you have nothing to do (and no one to entertain you). I like that about you, though. Your energy. Even though sometimes (ok most times) it wears me out. You go so hard until you drop (literally). And you wake up raring to go. You hate to lose. You compete with your brother at every level. I guess that is just part of being a boy. I wouldn't understand. The other night, we attempted to play a game of Risk with Pop Pop, Daddy, and Jackson. We finished the game. But not without tears from you, and lots of yelling by me and Josh. And there was, of course, some fighting between you and your brother. Cameron, all of this is a part of who you are. I love you no matter what. I tell you often, "I may be mad at you, but I will never stop loving you. No matter what". I know you have the biggest heart; you just require a little extra work. We're all just trying to survive sometimes and get through these rough spots. You are way older than your years and it is hard to remember you are only 7.
I love your smile (you finally lost the other front tooth) and your laugh (when you're not laughing to be annoying). I love when you are happy (you can be hard to please). But, I love you for who you are. I love you more. I love you the most. Mom. I've been blogged out lately, haven't really been keeping up. Haven't really had a lot to write/post about. Haven't really felt like much of anything. So I'm making a resolution to start with a clean slate after Christmas. I want to get back into but I need some motivation. I realized that I haven't taken very many photos this year. Not that that's a bad thing, necessarily. I usually take too many and most stay on my computer and never make it into a book or a frame. So what's the point? But I was really disappointed when I started culling through this year's photos to put together my annual slideshow and realized that there aren't as many, and even more lacking on holidays and special occasions. I did notice a trend that I tended to focus more on candid lifestyle shots as that was something I worked more on - focusing on the everyday moments that I wanted to remember most.
A few things I want to work on this upcoming year. A different photo project, one that has more meaning and that I can learn from as well. And taking more pictures. And I want to take more portraits - of my family, of friends, and most importantly, of my own kids. So I came across this pretty cool photo project that I want to try next year. It's a mix of a photo project with a "be a more present mommy" project. I've been catching up on my Click issues and stumbled upon this website givemejustasecond.com. Created by Jennifer Bogle, this is what she has to say about how she came up with this idea.... "As a mom of three young kids, I’m no stranger to chaos. Not “the world gone mad” variety, though we have those days too, but the constant balancing of needs and managing of time. As my children grow, and life gets busier, I find I need to deliberately carve out time for them as individuals. This year I started a personal photography project called “Dates with my Kids,” which combines my love of photography and my one-on-one adventures with my kids. Each month, I photograph our date activity, but I’m also quietly watching for those small, quiet moments, all too often missed in our daily chaos." It doesn't sound too overwhelming, and it involves monthly dates with one of her three children. Simple dates. Most center around coffee and dessert at a local Starbucks while putting together a lego kit; building a model airplane over lunch at Panera. Oftentimes, she even sneaks in a quick trip to the grocery store or on an errand. And sometimes gets to make a pit stop to catch a sunset. I worry, sometimes, that my kids are just getting too old. I feel like I've already lost precious time. Especially with Jack and Cameron. Jackson is almost a teenager!! But I feel they would benefit the most from these "dates". Instead of Project 365, I'm going to turn to Project 52. The former was just too much, especially these past few months. I'm still going to continue with the childhood unplugged (it just gives me an excuse to post sports photos). So that's a good enough list for now. I don't want to take on more than I can handle. The date thing is going to be very hard but something I know I need to do (for me and for my kids). Starting tonight. Josh is away in D.C. for the Redskins game, so it's movie night at our house. Penne pasta (the boys' favorite), How the Grinch Stole Christmas, popcorn and cookies. |
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November 2018
AuthorMy name is Kaci. I am a working mom of 3. Wife to Josh. Mom to Jackson, Cameron & Isabella. My life is dinner, homework, baseball, basketball, grocery lists, laundry, middle school, wine, video games, and schedules. I started this blog because I love taking pictures, and I needed a place to document our life. I wanted a place to write it all down, to remember little details so easily forgotten in the mad rush that is the life of a family of 5. Through my photos and words, I endeavor to capture our story. Categories
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