My Photographic Adventures: Welcome 2011; I am excited to see you

I have been trying to think all day of what my resolutions are and I have always been a girl big on resolutions. They usually involve exercising more and organizing better. I loose both battles every year. I think a better way for me to look at this year is inside myself and if I am happy there then the outside will work itself out. So my resolutions are to be a more attentive mother and be in the moment with my children and away from my electronic devices a bit less. I also resolve to find better balance in my life, balance as a wife, mother and to myself.

This last year has been a good year for me. I remember last year feeling overwhelmed and unbalanced and a bit out of control. It was almost like I was on a rocket heading for a big disaster. I slowed down, started smelling the roses and focusing a bit more on myself in the last year. With that came better patience as a mother and I was not as grumpy or out of control. It also helps that my baby no longer was a baby, but a toddler who could be a bit more independent.

I want to start 2010 by letting myself know what I am proud of for last year. The first thing I am very proud of is that I improved my relationship with my oldest. He is only 3 years old, but there was a long time there where he and I were battling everyday and I knew it needed to stop. When you want change sometimes it is better to look at how you parent yourself and not how the child behaves. I read a great book to put it all in perspective for me, "Raising a Strong Willed Child," and I changed my ways. As a result he knows the limits and although he pushes them constantly I am no longer a screaming banshee and he knows what the consequence will be for his actions. He feels safe knowing he can push, but also knowing when he pushes too far. This is why consistent discipline is so important because it gives him a better understanding. I am in no way saying I am perfect and it will always be a constant learning curve with him, but I now understand better that to achieve change you have to look inwards.

In the balance department I am still working on it. Carl seems to think balance means going out more and taking more weekend trips with friends. I think everyone has their own idea of what it means to them. Although I would like more time away from my children, I do feel comfortable finding this in different forms. I started practicing yoga again regularly which really helps me in the grumpy and happy factor. I also have learned to let my creative diva out. This is a big one for me.

For years I have been bottling it, taking pictures maybe blogging a bit, uploading them and hoping people would look occasionally. I found inspiration from this woman Kellee Hampton and her blog. She is insanely creative and her vision spoke to me. Not as a form of imitation, but as a way to let my own creative diva out that was sitting in hibernation. So I started just taking pictures and letting ideas form and the more I worked on it the more I liked it and the more it became vital to who I was everyday. I no longer sat in front of the tv during the boys nap, I had to get on the computer and write and create and if I couldn't create I was grumpy. You might not like my ideas, pictures, or think I am very creative but I am putting myself out there and tgoing for it. That counts for something.

As I have always said I am better with pictures than words so I want to remind you and myself of some of my favorite moments from 2010.