Juggling it all...

...like if you're living under a rock, or if you don't ever peek over at my other blog or check me out on Facebook , well then... Seriously, if you live in the bay area contact me as I would love to set up some photo sessions while I'm out there...seeing as I don't go home to NorCal that often anymore. And if you know of any family or friends out that way be sure to spread the word...THANKS!

There. I said it. I've had this blog title picked out for weeks and didn't know if I had the guts to actually post all my feelings about what is going on. I have not documented the battle our family is waging, which I should, however when emotions are just so close to the surface and the mere thought of what is transpiring right now is enough to make me crumble I tend to keep this stuff to myself. You see, I have a mother-in-law like no other. Marlene is just the most beautiful human being that I have ever met and I feel beyond lucky that EVERYDAY I am related to her. She is...Compassionate. Selfless. Loving. Beautiful. Patient. Serving. And almost 4 years ago she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. To say that this was not fair is the biggest understatement of all time. At the time we knew this was the beginning of the end, but when you have a woman who refuses to go down without a fight you get someone who beats ALL the odds and statistics. Fast-forward to about 2 mon...

Here is Sam at this week's swim meet, which was the backstroke - her absolute favorite right now. This first pic is of her just before her first swim which was the backstroke sprint. And here is the video of her race... There was a little snafu at the end with her ribbon. She was presented with an 8th place ribbon and while she clearly didn't win top 4, she certainly wasn't dead last. Even the group of other moms I was sitting near all said that there was no way Sam touched last. So, being the vigilante mother than I am, I calmly walked over to the judges area an asked to know what place my daughter finished in, to which they replied 6th. Ahhhh yes, much better. It seems the blind fellow at the end of her lane passing out the ribbons likes to arbitrarily hand out whatever color ribbon he's feeling in the mood to give out... shame on you mister... get some glasses. Sam's face as she was handed the 8th place ribbon was so sad. When I asked her what happen she...

...for the twiners... and really, just baby steps for me. I do have a goal to completely redecorate their room by their 4th birthday which is just under a month away. So, in preparation for this we went ahead and took down their cribs. I've joked with several friends that the reason why my babies are so small is similar to the theory that a caged animal can only grow as big as it's cage... hence the twiners have only been able to grow as big as their cribs. I mean, they are turning 4 so I suppose now as good a time as ever to make the transition. So long my baby cribs... it truly feels like the end of an era for me! Now that the twiner's room has a slight empty feeling the kids find that to be much more fun as their new play room... naturally!! And when Sam asked to play with the video camera this morning I allowed it... only to find this little slice of heaven recorded. It feels a lot like watching animals in their native habitat only because I can never get this ...

...because, when it's good, it's this good... Hop on over to my other blog to see a few more photos of these girls. They were such patient models for me while I did some photography lighting experimenting. Such troopers!

It's something we kept promising Sam we would do and now we've finally committed. She has shown some amazing swimming skills last year and even this year, too. So, she is now enrolled in our city league swim team and this week was her very first meet. Check the video here... We are so proud of her. She placed 6th (out of 8) on her 25yd freestyle race (7/8 year olds) and 6th place in her team relay. We kind of committed cardinal sin #1 with this meet and that was to keep her out of the sun and swimming the day of the meet. But, when it's 108 degrees out and her cousin's pool looks more like the poshest resort, and you are 7 years old... well, let's just say it was really hard to keep her locked down. We now know better for next time. Lots of rest. Lots of hydration. Possibly a RedBull before the meet. Maybe. We'll see... ;-)

I remember this day like it was yesterday... tears and all (on my part, of course)...it was the first day of 1st grade... And now here she is with 1st grade done and over with and sooooo completely ready to tackle 2nd grade! The differences are subtle, like the kind only the mother can see, but when I compare the two sets of photos it's my little baby that is missing. Those sweet innocent features and thoughts of barbies and baby dolls have now been replaced with dreams of kick ball, a boy named Matthew and being the first girl on an NFL team. No joke! Oh man I can only imagine what 2nd grade holds for us!! We absolutely fell in love with her teacher, Mrs. G. We honestly thought her kindergarten teacher had set the bar so high with her love and attention to Sam that there was no way anyone could come close to being as good as Mrs. H. Then came Mrs. G. That teacher will forever be the gold standard in my book. You could truly feel her love and care for Sam and each one of ...