"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014"
He's stubborn and opinionated, hates what he hates and sure loves what he loves. Keys, remotes and "doing his hair" are among his true loves as of late.
I didn't tell him that the reason I went out last night with him was because I knew it was a situation I would normally have avoided: a room full of people I don't know, making small talk abound; a night that didn't even begin until 9:30pm, and in this case didn't end until 1:30am when I collapsed into bed.
I didn't tell him that I went last night because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, do it well, and make it out alive.
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I can't recall if it was last night or this morning, but I was laying in bed and thought: I feel as though we're different people now. I feel like I can't relate to her the way I used to; I thought we'd at least always have that. I'm trying to recall what we have in common, beyond motherhood, but I'm drawing a blank.
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I read in a book the other day that too many people feel they go through their lives not really living it, rather, simply existing. Reading that was like a punch in the stomach. "That's me," I thought. "That's exactly how I feel." And after I caught my breath I thought, ok,now that I've said it, what can I do about it?
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So here it is, the truth: I'm too hard on myself. I can't be everything for everyone and I can't sacrifice what I want it order to make everyone else happy.
I'm a good mother. I may be impatient at times and need time away from DJ, but I am a good mother.
Stop being so hard on yourself, Rachel.
You are a good mother.
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As I collapsed onto the bed in tears, all I could think was: this is the second time I've cried this week and it's only Wednesday.
xo,
rdg
Week 46!
If you don't recognize the fun filler and journal cards, that's because they're new in my shop! You can check them out here.
"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014"
It feels like every day he becomes more adventurous, more daring, more confident. I feel so blessed that he is mine and that I get to watch him grow like this.
When asked how long I have been taking part in Project Life, my answer is always the same: I began when I became pregnant with my son in mid-2012. But that's not the whole truth, not really.
Hey all!
I've been hard at work on some great, new holiday designs that I'm excited to share with you, along with some fun and colorful sets. You can find out more over here, but here's a quick look at the new releases, just in time for your holiday albums and documenting!
I've been hard at work on some great, new holiday designs that I'm excited to share with you, along with some fun and colorful sets. You can find out more over here, but here's a quick look at the new releases, just in time for your holiday albums and documenting!
I hope everyone is having a great week so far!
After the craziness of week in the life I was more than ready for a simple, low-key week, and that is exactly what week 45 turned into.
"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014"
These days it's near impossible to get a photo of him that isn't blurry. He is constantly in motion, something he clearly gets from me, his mother-who-can't-ever-sit-still. This will be one of those photos that he looks back on and says: "ahhh mooomm, why'd you have to share that one?"
Today I'm sharing my completed 2014 Week in the Life album.
I show you my album and talk in detail about it in this video overview, but I wanted to also share photos.
Week 44 (Oct 27-Nov2) was the week that I took part in Week in the Life, so I chose to include a single photo from each day, since the week was oh-so-well documented in my week in the life album.
"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014"
I think that on the particularly hard days, it's as though the universe knows that I need to see him fast asleep like this so that my heart can soften a little, and my cup of patience can be refilled.
Happy Wednesday!
Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my very best to answer them below.
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My son spends Mondays and Tuesdays with his grandparents each week and I try to use those days to work on my spreads, Project Life designs and basically anything business/creative related. Well, I got a heck of a lot of work done this week, including completing my Week in the Life album, so I have something fun to share!
I'm excited to share a video overview of my completed 2014 Week in the Life album this morning.
Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my very best to answer them below.
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* Week in the Life, created by Ali Edwards, is a seven day documentary project designed to capture the simple everyday details of life that represent your life at a particular
point in time.
Number of photos taken today: 48
Well, I did it. I made it through the entire week and I'm oh so glad that I did. What #weekinthelife and Ali Edwards have taught me is that everyone has a story to tell, no matter what your days look like, no matter the size or shape of your family. I'm so very grateful to her for being such an incredible inspiration.
Here is a look at our Sunday.
Number of Photos taken today:102
Saturday began so peacefully. I was up before everyone else as usual and decided to try and capture what the house feels like at that time of the day.
As the day went on, it was obvious that it was going to be one of those days, where your kid is grumpy, you have very little energy and not enough time to get done what needs to be done.
I was happy to curl up with my hubby at the end of the night and watch a movie in bed to finish off the night.
Here's a look at our Saturday.
"A portrait of my child, once a week, every week in 2014"
I'm not a big Halloween kind of person, but when you have children, a little piece of you suddenly remembers that the day is like as a child. While DJ was still too young to comprehend what was really happening, it was cute watching him run around as Superman, nonetheless.
Number of Photos taken today: 65
I felt like a bit of a fraud yesterday in that we did something that really only happens a few times a year: we took the jet ski out to the lake. The opportunity came up and we took it! I complain about the heat a lot here in Vegas but I promise you, I wasn't complaining about being on the water in 89 degrees yesterday! Plus, with Halloween and all, it wasn't truly an average day. Oh well!
Here's a little peek at our Friday.