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In honor of a new year and some of my goals for 2016, I’m beginning a new project. Along with some very talented photographers from all over the globe, I’ll be participating in a Project 52 blog circle. We will each share one image per week according to the week’s theme, and then we will link to the next photographer in the circle. That way, it is easy for you to follow along and see a bunch of awesome images all in one swoop : ) I met these lovely women through the Public Breastfeeding Awareness Project, so many of us shoot similar material in terms of client photos, but this project will likely give you a glimpse into our personal lives as well. This week’s theme (appropriately) was new.
If you know me, you probably know that my oldest son is not, and has never been, a sleeper. I can’t complain, though. This kid is so excited about life. What more could I ask for? Anyway, he recently started asking to “rest” on his bedroom floor. This is definitely something new for us. Plus, I couldn’t ignore that beautiful, quiet light.
Stop by to see Leilani Rogers, Photographer, who is next up in our circle!
I’m so excited to finally be writing this post! I have been revising these lists in my head for months now. You’d think I might have grabbed a piece of paper and a pen or typed these things into my phone at some point, but I didn’t. Two babes, 2 and under. It’s no joke, I’m telling you. Pens? AKA weapons and tools of destruction. They are locked tightly away. Or at least too far away for me to grab one quickly when I have an idea. So this is the first time I’m getting all of this down.
I have never really written my goals down before. It feels weird to say that, or even to think it. I guess when you’re doing something like going to grad school and your goal is to get your PhD, everyone knows (and they ask you when you’ll be done ALL. THE. TIME. ; )) It’s a little bit different with these goals, though. If I don’t get them down and put them out into the universe, it’s almost like they never existed. So, here goes. (If you read my last post, remember that my word for this year is trust.)
Business Goals
Try a new genre of photography. I’m really excited and nervous about this one. It’s going to take me out of my comfort zone. And no, I’m not going to tell you what I’m thinking quite yet. But look for a portfolio-building call very soon!
Shoot at least one birth from belly to baby. That means maternity, birth, and newborn sessions all for the same client(s). I want to tell a story from beginning to (new) beginning. I am so thankful I have this for my boys and I want to give it to other mothers.
Blog more. Already working on it, see? As a former academic, I used to write all day long. It’s a different kind of writing, sure, but I do miss it sometimes. Plus, I’d love it if we could be online friends and you’d follow me! : )
Select some amazing products to offer my clients. Although this is a business goal, it has a personal element. I have been TERRIBLE about printing photos. We have lived in our house for almost an entire year, and I don’t have a single photo on our walls. Not one single photo! So I need to be better about this on a personal level, but I also want my clients to have the option of holding their photos in their hands. I know we live in a digital age, and digital files are really important to me and Travis. Yes, we totally plan on passing down a hard drive (or several) of images to our kids. But I want them to have something tangible, too. And I want to have something tangible in the meantime.
Personal Goals
Finish shooting one photo of Eliot every day for his first year. This shouldn’t be too hard at this point because I’m almost done. He turns one in March, you guys. I can’t believe it. I will go ahead and pat myself on the back a little bit here, though. I wasn’t sure if I could do it. It’s a project I did for Merit, and it was difficult then. But it was infinitely harder with two kids. I often think that my personal photos are not as good as my client photos because I’m worried about someone bashing their face or losing a tooth (life with boys, I guess?). Even still, I am so thankful that I have these records. And I will finish it! Even if it makes me slack off on some of my other goals (ahem — see below).
Engage in more self-care. Take time to paint my toenails (or get a pedicure!), take a bubble bath, go get a coffee by myself. Moms, you know what I’m talking about. With two little ones so young, I am really bad about this. But I know how important it is, so I want to do better!
Travel. Somewhere. Anywhere. As a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom, I would really like to go somewhere other than the grocery store and the kids’ gym. I miss traveling so much. I just want to stay in a hotel and walk around a new place. It doesn’t even have to be new, actually. Just anywhere other than here. (Still love you, Gainesville, but I need to switch it up!)
Finish “tidying up”. Have you read Marie Kondo’s book? I thought some of it was a little out there in the beginning, and I was unsure how it would go with kids in the picture, but I am seriously loving it.
Shoot more for me. I love taking photos of my kids. Like so many women I know, it’s why I really got into photography in the first place. But maybe I’d like to take photos of something else. Or maybe I’d like to shoot my kids differently. Not worry about shooting for them to remember something. Shooting for me. Different, but related: I’d also like to get in the shot more.
Add new recipes to our rotation more often. Life is too short to eat the same meals over and over.
There are a few more, too. But I have to keep something to myself, right? ; )
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Happy New Year, friends! Did you know that New Year’s Eve is my favorite holiday? It’s true. My husband and I got married on New Year’s Eve. A new year, beginning our new life together. I love all the cheesy countdowns and looking back at all the memories and milestones. Have you seen the idea where you write little things down that you want to remember and put them in a jar and pull them out one by one on NYE? Right up my alley. I’m hoping to start that as a new tradition with the boys this year.
2015 was an incredible year for so many reasons. We became a family of four. We bought our first home. I launched this website! haha. But that’s not why I’m here right now. I’m not writing about looking back. I want to talk about looking ahead. I’m not really one for resolutions. But as a stay-at-home (work on a very part-time basis) mom, I have found myself needing and craving goals. As I began setting both personal and business goals for 2016 (stay tuned for those in a later post!), I realized that there was a common theme. So, I decided that I would choose a word for 2016. A word to define this time, to motivate me. A word to come back to if I ever feel a little bit lost.
My word for 2016 is trust.
I want to trust myself more as a mother. Not that I don’t trust my instincts already, but I’m talking about having faith that I’m doing a good job. Giving myself a little more grace and trusting that everything I do right matters more than the times I (inevitably) mess up.
I want to trust myself more when it comes to my photography business. I’ve been doing this part-time for a while now, and although I’m not ready (or sure I would even want) to make it a full-time gig, there are some changes I’ve been wanting to implement. I need to trust myself to take those risks and try some new things.
If you know me at all, you know that I’m a little ( or a lot ; ) ) Type A. With that, I also just want to trust more in general. Take some things off my plate. Trust others to make decisions. Trust that it’ll all work out.
I’ve realized I need to trust time. I need to believe and know and remind myself that this is just a season in my life. Don’t get me wrong. I love being a mom. I love my boys. But having a two-year-old and an infant is hard. And I don’t get a lot of sleep. And I don’t have a lot of time to do a lot of things that I want to do. But it’s not going to always be like this. I know one day I will look back and miss the way they want and need me now. I am going to miss little hands grabbing at me. I am going to miss being buried in babies as they nap on me. I need to trust that there is a time for everything. And I need to trust that one day my children will sleep and I will not die waiting for it to happen : )
So, here’s to trust. And to 2016. What’s your word?
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Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who is interested in donating a baby carrier to help fellow moms and dads who are fleeing their homes. If you’d like to read more about this effort or are wondering what you’re missing, please visit my last post here.
If you’d like to donate a carrier, there are several ways you can participate.
- If you are NOT local to Gainesville, you can ship a carrier directly to Carry the Future at 121 W. Lexington Drive, Suite L 106D, Glendale, CA 91203.
- If you are local to Gainesville and still wearing a baby/toddler, I will be offering my photography services to those who donate a carrier. Sessions will take place on Saturday, January 16th, 2016. You can sign up for a session by using this form. Please see the details below!!
- If you are local to Gainesville and not wearing any babies (i.e. you don’t need baby wearing photos), I can arrange to pick-up a carrier from you. I was going to set up a drop box, but after hearing about drop box theft from other Carry the Future volunteers across the country (sad, I know), I decided against it. If you have friends that would like to donate a carrier and you can round them up to lighten my pick-up load, that would be AWESOME and greatly appreciated! Just email me to let me know you have a contribution!
Babywearing Mini Session Information
Sessions will take place during the morning and early afternoon of January 16, 2016 in the Thomas Center Gardens. When you sign up with this form, I will ask for your time preference and do my best to accommodate you, but of course, I cannot guarantee a specific time to any individual person. I’ll get times to everyone by the end of the month. You must have your baby or toddler wrapped or in the carrier by the time your session starts. Sessions will be 10 minutes long and I will provide at least ONE full resolution digital image with printing rights via an online gallery link. Children other than the one being worn are welcome at the session, although I will not be taking individual portraits. The focus of the session is on baby wearing, so anyone other than the wearer/wearee will only appear in a group shot. Please keep in mind that this is a very specific type of session for charity and not a family session in the traditional sense. And of course, bring your donation carrier with you! (Remember, only buckle carriers or em this are currently being accepted. No wraps or slings at the time.)
xo, Kristin
Warning: This post might make you sad! But please read anyway.
Some of you may know that exactly one year ago this month, I received my PhD in Criminology & Justice Policy. My dissertation work is not for the faint of heart. I wrote about sexual violence in genocide, and focused largely on the experiences of women and children. In particular, I studied two historic cases of massive human rights violations — the Armenian and Rwandan genocides. This work required me to read hundreds of survivor interviews from these cases, and they were absolutely heartbreaking. I became pregnant with my oldest son during the early stages of my dissertation writing, and perhaps for that reason, the struggles of mothers in those conflicts have stuck with me over time. One theme that I coded repeatedly was the “choiceless choice”, situations in which individuals were forced to make decisions, but none of the options had desirable outcomes. This idea was first identified in Holocaust research, but undoubtedly applies across cases, although it may be manifested in different ways. In particular, I recall stories of parents, especially women, who could no longer physically carry their children. They were forced to make choices that no parent should ever have to make. They were forced to give their children to strangers in hopes that they would survive and that someone would take care of them. They were forced to choose among their children — who could they physically take with them? who was strong enough to walk? strong enough to survive? light enough to be carried the distance? And, in too many cases, they were forced to leave their children behind. I cannot even imagine the pain of not being able to physically carry my child away from danger. I cannot imagine the strength that these parents must have had, how they pushed themselves to their absolute limits for their children.
Although I am not currently active in the research world, these stories haunt me. Today, I have two beautiful babies who collectively weigh 50 pounds. Babywearing has been a saving grace for me as a mother. I wore my first son and walked laps around the house to try to get him to sleep. At 2 1/2, I still wear him sometimes when he doesn’t feel well or when he is too tired to keep up. I currently wear my little one every single day. Every. Day. It is how I manage to love my baby and keep up with my toddler at the same time, how I manage to grocery shop, and cook dinner, and squeeze in naps. I can only imagine how helpful babywearing could be for a refugee fleeing a conflict zone with his/her family.
Because both human rights and baby wearing are dear to my heart, I am getting involved with Carry the Future, an organization delivering baby carriers to Syrian refugees who have made it to Europe. Although the refugees receiving these carriers have made it to European soil, they still have hundreds of miles to travel, usually by foot. Carry the Future’s first trip to deliver baby carriers was to Greece, and they are researching other locations for action. Their next trip is scheduled for February 2016. If you have questions about the refugee crisis and how baby carriers might be helpful, feel free to check out some of the links at the bottom of this post.
If you would like to donate, there are a couple of ways to help.
- If you are NOT local to Gainesville, you can ship a carrier directly to Carry the Future at 121 W. Lexington Drive, Suite L 106D, Glendale, CA 91203.
- If you are local to Gainesville and still wearing a baby/toddler, I will be offering my photography services to those who donate a carrier. Mark your calendar for Saturday, January 16th! I’ll be doing babywearing mini sessions and you can sign up for a spot very soon. Details forthcoming!
- If you are local to Gainesville and not wearing any babies (i.e. you don’t need baby wearing photos), I can arrange to pick-up a carrier from you. I will also be setting up a drop box as soon as I have a location. I will keep you posted!
In terms of what types of carriers are accepted, Carry the Future is currently taking any soft-structured carriers, such as Bjorns, Ergos, mei tais, Tulas, and Kinderpacks. This is because volunteers travel to Europe and literally fit the carriers on to refugees. They often need to be able to do this in less than two minutes, so wraps and slings that have a bit more of a learning curve are not practical at this time.
If you do not have a carrier, but would still like to donate, this is a very cost effective carrier that fits a wide range of ages. You can also check secondhand stores, such as Goodwill or children’s consignment shops, as they generally have some of the accepted carriers available used at great rates.
Please visit these links for more information, and STAY TUNED for further details!
Carry the Future
Huffington Post
Upworthy
TODAY
Refugee Map
Also, if you are concerned about the article saying that refugees don’t need our “used stuff”, please also read this response. Thanks for reading! Please consider helping if you can.
xo, Kristin
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