Sly fox in the kitchen after school #ordinarymoments #whatsthestory

We have had a bit of a re-jig with our hard drives recently and it has unearthed some real gems and i thought i would share some of them. This little bunch of shots made me smile. I can actually remember it like it was yesterday. It was in fact not long after our youngest was born. I think she must have been a couple of months and we were deep into winter.

This was after school one day when it was dark soon after we got home. Only two out of my five were actually in school then! It was one of those times before the extra activities had invaded our schedules as they have now and so when we came home from school it was down time and some snackage and play time.

The school kids were showing me a game they had learnt at school called sly fox and we were playing it in the kitchen and i kept turning round and taking shots as they tried to creep up behind me and  be the ‘sly fox.’ They thought it was hilarious when i didn’t turn round and they managed to get to me in time!

It feels like a simpler time actually without the crazyness that now fills our lives and all the running around. That is the nature of the kids getting older i suppose. Its fun to look back and see the kids all little too!!

 

cMotivational Mondaythe ordinary moments

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A different kind of autumn ordinary #oneweek

I have mentioned a few times before that i tend to like to go for a jog now and again. I nearly always go in the morning as it is a time when i can spare some time! Its also a really handy way to walk the dog at the same time. He isn’t crazy about it. I think he tends to hide in his bed when he hears me come down the stairs in the morning. But as the morning dog walk is up to me then if i can get it out of the way before the school run..well its always good to have one less thing to worry about.

When it starts to get darker in the mornings though I tend to wait till the light is up a little bit which gives me a smaller window of time to go. Im just not crazy about heading out in the dark! So i like to head out, i dont go far, or fast and lately because of the light i do have less time but it is still so important for me to go. Sometimes its just 30 minutes but its like gold to me.

I listen to some tunes and sometimes just stare hard ahead and other times search the depths of my thoughts. Hearing the sounds of the world waking and my own heart beating along with it. There is something meaningful to me that in part I actually can’t explain.

Sometimes i cross paths with others who are out doing the same thing. There is a funny sort of kinship between early morning joggers. A slight acknowledgement is usually all that is needed but its there, the feeling of being part of the opening of a new day.

This past week the weather has been better than usual for me in the morning and my ordinary jog turned into a discovery of how fantastic the autumn can look in the beautiful autumn sunshine. The sun can just lift my spirits. I really love the sun. Seeing it bouncing around the yellows and reds of autumn is incredible.

This is a very ordinary part of my day and i guess walking/jogging with the dog may not seem like much. But, to me, these tiny moments of time are really significant to me. Its my headspace.

It is extra special when there is an incredible accompaniment to marvel at on the way. 🙂

Motivational Mondaythe ordinary moments

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Blocks and Buttons #ordinarymoments #whatsthestory #magicmoments

Having just one little one at home now I am finding that she needs me a little bit more. We ‘hang’ out a bit more. As any mummy of many knows when you have more than one it is hard to give good one to one time with them. In my house this is really hard to achieve. When the older kids are home I have to really consciously think about spending time talking to them and finding out about their day and whats going on with them because after school can be so busy that it can pass by in a flurry of packed lunches, tea, homework and bath time!

But with our little one i can get some time with her and now, with her big sister and playmate in school. She is rarely far away from me, asking what im up to, what im doing, will i play a game. Sometimes we have to make a bit of a bargain and agree that she can sit and watch TV or read a book for a little while so that i can actually get something done! 😉

If I try to do anything on the computer, she wedges herself in behind me and asks questions and presses buttons. You can imagine i don’t get much done !!

Last year she was more independent i think, she played a lot more with her sister and so they got on with it and made games up and adventured round the house. At the moment im trying to step into those shoes for her!! 🙂 So we are re-discovering things like the blocks. She has asked a couple of times for these and we build a lot of ‘houses’ of various options, she has some very definate ideas about construction!!

Even after all these years of toddler-hood….and having build blocks many times…im still trying to capture these ordinary moments of the pre-school years this last time round. 🙂

Motivational Mondaythe ordinary moments

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Extraordinary Ordinary..

When you have a photographer as a mum. Well a part- time photographer. Your playroom often gets changed into a studio. There are strobe lights and big reflectors. A backdrop wobbling around against your piano and your toys all stacked in the corner and in other rooms in the house.

My kids are used to it, they often come down in the morning and peer into the playroom and ask me who is coming to have their photograph taken today. Most of the time they know not to go in and walk all over the backdrop in their shoes. They are pretty good about it.

But now and again, after a shoot, they all bundle in and i take some shots of them, which they love. This time of year we are starting to think christmas cards so i gave them some silly hats that might well make it onto our seasonal greetings. But might not as well! So far i know of at least 2 out of 4 of my kids classes that are doing that ‘design your christmas card and get it printed’ thing. So we will see.

This first one of this next collage, was the 1…2….3….shot before the jump! Can you tell!! 🙂

Looking back through them was really fun, it was the less than perfect shots that i liked the most. I gave them a little direction and then just left them to it and fired off a load of shots. They seemed to love it and it was pretty obvious to see that the youngest wanted to be doing exactly the same as the oldest but couldn’t quite pull off the ‘jump’ shots very well!!

What really made me smile when i was editing these shots was the ones that had captured a ‘down’ moment. When they weren’t performing and trying to shine for the camera. Little looks and interactions between them, closed eye giggles and chuckles and those little dropped out moments that my youngest has with her ‘boo.’ Then of course there is the inevitable crashes when you try and get five kids to all jump at the same time on a 5foot wide backdrop. They were all pretty good humoured about it though. It was only about 10 minutes of time but they really appreciate being able to be part of what i do. Just like they love it when they get an opportunity to come into the hospital and peer through the glass at the tiny wee babies in our intensive care rooms.

I guess they see it as special. A treat. Funny how what is so ordinary to me can be extraordinary to them.

🙂

cMotivational Mondaythe ordinary moments

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be courageous and brave.

I discovered a blog a little while ago and was inspired by a linky that i discovered. In a nutshell and there is a link here so you can go read about it yourself. But basically it is about connecting a song or some music with an image. This rings so many bells with me. Music is something that is so much part of my life, i listen to music all the time and i am one of those people who can watch a series of images or a video without music and not feel a thing but add a soundtrack or some poignantly worded lyrics and i will be moved to the next week and blubbing into a tissue.

I had stumbled across this blog just when her suggested song for inspiration was a song by Rod Stewart called Forever Young.

Kind of a advice type of song to his son it would seem and it made me think of the crossroads that my son is at right now..leafing through iphoto (does anyone use that still?) where i used to store my images i discovered this image

This is my little boy just before he started school. He is just 4 in this picture, it was the summer before his first year in reception. So little we knew back then, the years of school runs, parents evenings, nativity plays were all alien to us. I miss those days of innocence sometimes. When we were his world and the influence of the outside was so minimal. When the thought of an afternoon watching trains was the best treat EVER and when he still spoke with a southern accent and not a northern one!! 😉

Things have changed so much. His hair is no longer those tight curls. He won’t let it grow long enough to find out. 😉 But there is still so much of what is real about him in this image that is evident in the young man he is becoming. He is still pretty open about whats going on with him, he is a heart on his sleeve kind of guy and i hope that doesn’t change that much. Im not naive though and i know it will to some element.

We were speaking to him about the secondary school choices recently as we have been since before the end of his last term in year 5, his face suddenly crumpled and he looked so young and unsure. I guess he was just overwhelmed with the responsibility of it all.

He is still so young and whilst we can’t protect him from the future, we can help to arm him with ways to deal with the things that are to come and be behind him every step.

The words in the song are a little cheesey but the ones that resound with me..are these in particular. 🙂

“May you grow to be proud,
dignified and true.
And do unto others
As you’d have done to you.
Be courageous and be brave


-Forever Young (Rod Stewart)

Motivational Mondaythe ordinary moments

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