Monthly Archives: December 2013
Noah- the artist
I have been wanting to post this for over a month now but, since this project was Noah’s Christmas present to his family, I had to be patient so that everyone could be surprised.
When Noah started preschool, my refrigerator doors began to fill up way too quickly with random smudgy art, tattered construction paper covered in cotton balls and glitter, and different colored hand prints smooshed on paper plates. At first, all of this art was so precious and I treasured everything his teachers sent home. That lasted about a month.
After that, I began to dread walking into his classroom and seeing another piece of artwork in his cubby that I had to take home, squeeze onto the fridge, and then feel guilty about throwing away. [Which, by the way, I still can’t bring myself to do. I have several boxes full of random art that I just know will make me a bad mother if I throw it away.]
I had to come up with a way to enjoy his art again. That first month of treasures felt so good. I didn’t want to be bitter about his wonderful creativity anymore. I decided to do something about it.
At Michaels, they sell packs of blank canvases. I bought a pack of 7, a pack of kid-friendly paint brushes that included all different sizes of sponges and bristled brushes, and some Crayola washable paints. We put a sheet down on the carpet, put a towel over his little table, and let him go to town.
At first, he was a little hesitant (he is not a big fan of getting messy) but it only took a few canvases and he was all about the art. He used all of the brushes and sponges and, eventually, got his hands in the paint as well. Right as he would get one canvas to (what I would consider) a nice place, I would swap it out for a new one. He loved it!
Once we had made our way through all of the canvases, I set them aside to let them dry. I later signed his name with the year at the bottom. I wrapped them individually to give as Christmas gifts to the family and everyone seemed so excited to have an original work of art from Noah. He was beaming with pride as his family opened their presents from him.
Now, I also have original artwork from Noah hanging in my office at work. I am not bitter about it and it makes me smile every time I look at it. I might even hire him out to create original pieces for my coworkers… at the right price!
Family Photo Shoot
It occurred to me as I looked through a bunch of Noah’s baby pictures that something was missing (or at least very sparse). And it was something very important if I do say so myself. In looking through all of my pictures (and let me assure you, I take quite a few), I could only find myself in about 10 or 15 pictures. And I think all of those pictures are posted on my photos page of the blog.
Something had to be done. I scheduled a photo shoot for the family over the Thanksgiving holiday when we were in the mountains. I knew, with Noah’s history of being a “runner” (as the photographers have called him numerous times) that an outdoor setting with lots of room to be active and showcase his true personality, we would be sure to get some amazing shots.
And, I look terrible in those posed family shots with people on the floor in front of a fake background. Noah looks great and other people look great. I look like a frozen, puffy idiot.
Well, it started out great. Noah’s regular new situation shyness was short-lived as he could only see the great wide-open space in front of him. He took off running, 90 miles an hour, and smiling the whole way. Thank goodness the photographer was pre-warned about the rambunctiousness of my son as she was ready. Although, she did have to switch her lens in the middle of the shoot because he was running too fast (she referred to it as a “Noah Lens”).
Then, as things were going just way too perfectly, Noah gets all red-faced, looks at me and Matt, and says, “Mommy, I have to poop. Please go.”
Well, Noah, like most men, needs a lot of privacy and time when he does his business. The photographer understood and used the time to get some individual shots of my nephew, Andrew. Noah, wandered around trying to find the best place with the most privacy. Meanwhile, Matt and I spent our time hiding behind bushes, trying to keep an eye on him but not letting him see us. The minute he would catch us looking, he would say, “Please go” and shoo us away, thus making him start the whole process over again.
What really makes me smile is that the photographer took the opportunity to catch some photos while he was “handling business” and they totally make me giggle when I look at them.
Now, I have pictures with me in them. I need to make this happen more often.
Brutally Honest Mom 