A Photo Session for Me

Having a neighbor who is a professional photographer has its advantages. Like when she wants to practice some new techniques and asks you to be her model, this is exactly what happened on a recent evening.  Stephanie is the owner of StarLight Photography which is based in North Kingstown, RI. She specializes in weddings, but also does a variety of photography including family portraits, children’s photo sessions and glamovers.  She is very professional and will offer you different suggestions so that your photo session goes smoothly and the pictures come out beautifully. 

On the particular evening she photographed me she did what I called a “mini glamover”.  She did my hair and makeup in such a way that made me still look like me, just fancier.  I wore my own clothes so I was comfortable and natural looking.  Stephanie photographed me outside as the sun was setting, which gave my pictures a glow and look that I like.  Now for the actual pictures, I will let them speak for themselves….

 

                                          This is one of my favorite pictures, I love the way
                                          the sun is just setting, and gives off the glow that I
                                          mentioned earlier.

 

                                        I love photographs taken by the water.  All of the photos

                                        in this post were taken right outside of a residential
                                        community in North Kingstown, RI.

Happy Birthday Zoe!!!!

As I sit writing this I have a five year old, when it is published I will have a six year old….six how can it be?  Wasn’t it just yesterday I was waking my husband up at five in the morning to tell him I was pregnant, wasn’t it just yesterday I was figuring out my due date, making sure it want going to be the same as my first born?  On May, 14 2009 at 12:56 we went from a family of three to a family of four.  We went from having one car seat to two, from a single stroller to a double, from one crib to two all this happened six years ago.  From the moment I found out I was pregnant I knew I was having a girl, I knew her name was going to be Zoe Elizabeth, that is until Mr. O suggested we change her middle name to Laura after my grandmother.  This change made her the fourth generation to carry the name Laura in my family, the initial “L” was also after my recently deceased grandfather, and his middle name was Leo.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that we decided to take both children on vacation when she was just 3 months old, or that we were fighting with our then pediatrician to get to the bottom of her constant crying and belly troubles?  That first year was tough; we were struggling to find our new dynamic, struggling to afford the new formula our daughter had to be on because of her milk allergy, struggling through my postpartum depression.  That first year went by too fast, and the subsequent years have gone even faster!!!

The past six years have been filled with laughter and tears, achievements and disappointments, love and loss, struggles and achievements.  There have been vacations, dance classes, fights over clothes, painted nails and skinned knees.  Zoe can dress the part of a dainty little girl, but don’t let that fool you; she is a child who knows what she wants and will argue a point with you until she is blue in the face…..reminds me of someone else I know.  She loves to dance and twirl, but she will also climb on top of a rock like all the boys do, she will ask for me to paint her nails and then go dig for worms in the mud with her dad.  She has gone from a child who didn’t care for books as a toddler to a child who will “read” to herself or her dolls.  Often times you can hear her before you ever see her, she will notice every car that drives by or when the neighbor walks their dog which has earned her the title of “Mayor” in our little neighborhood.  Everyone wants to be her friend, but she will only play with a few children that she chooses.

She is the reason I have more gray hairs, more laugh lines, and more silliness in my life.  Recently she has begun calling me princess as in “Let’s go princess it’s time for ballet” when asked who the queen is she says “me of course”.  She can bring a room of adults howling with laughter, which has prompted her own hashtag #thingszoesays that I started as a way to keep others laughing along with us.  Often times I will preface a statement regarding something she has said or done with the phrase “I couldn’t make this up if I tried” and it’s true.  Recently when she realized that her brother keeps a magazine or books that he is reading under his pillow she began doing the same thing only she keeps a book, crayons, paper dolls, and even a pair of children’s scissors amongst other things.  Every day as her mother is an adventure.

I don’t know what the future holds for her or me, or anyone for that fact but I do know that whatever she decides to do with her life she will ROCK at it.  Zoe has an unbelievable spirit that makes her who she is, she is the best of everything Mr. O and I possess in us.  So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE, as I said on Facebook yesterday, the world is yours go out and get it!!! xoxo Mama

 

                                                                        May 14, 2009

                                                                    May 2012

May 14, 2015

Not always so little

When I first decided to start writing a blog my hope was to point out all the little things that can go without realizing in our daily lives, the things that make our days easier, our lives simpler, our time more valuable.  The little things that can sometimes make you stop and say “at least….”.  When I first set out to write a blog I was a mom of 2 toddlers, I was a mom of 2 toddlers who were home with me all day, I was a wife of someone that was healthy, that had a fairly decent job, I was worried about our future (as all moms are) but knew things would get better, that we would move to a better house, a better community, that our children would go great schools (this is where being a teacher and a mom sucks) there was hope. 

 Today I am a mom of 2 children who attend school (one part-time preschool, one full time first grade), I am a wife to a husband who never knows when a seizure will strike (despite being on medication),  I am trying to hold my world together while falling apart inside, we are in a new house that we prematurely thought was going to be a great move for us and turned out to be not so great, my children are in great schools with amazing teachers who love them, we like so many American’s are fighting a losing battle with the economy.

 As I sit typing this Mr. O is preparing to take a leave of absence from work again (code: go back to on TDI) to focus on his health, something I know he has to do but at the same time scaring the life out me, leaving me with more questions than answers, leaving me more stressed than reassured, leaving me more short tempered with my children than I ever wanted to be.  I’m not writing this down because I’m looking for sympathy, or looking for a shoulder to cry on, I’m writing this down because it is what is in my heart right now.

 Right now all of the little things have added up to one big thing, a big thing that is completely out of my control, a big thing that has me worried.  So for now instead of taking one day at a time I need to take one hour at a time and if that is too much than I will cut it down and take 15 minutes at a time. I will try to make sure my children aren’t aware of the craziness that is happening around them, make sure that they always come first, make sure that I try to find at least one little things each day to be thankful for.

 

What TGIF means to me...

TGIF...Thank God (goodness) It's Friday, boy has this term changed for me. At one point these words meant the work week was over and welcome to the weekend. I could hang up my teaching hat (mostly) and be me, I could stay up late watching Leno or SNL, sleep in a little, take it easy...ahhhhh!!

It used to be come Wednesday Mr. O and I would start making plans for the upcoming weekend. Dinner out with friends, catching that great movie we had been wanting to see, maybe heading to Boston for the day. Of course every weekend wasn't this exciting, but we were able to do these things if we so chose.
Fast forward....now I'm a stay at home mom and many people would probably say that I don't get the privilege of saying "TGIF" to which I would say "WHAT"!!! Of course I do, my weekends may be very different than they once were, may be a little more child friendly, but I still look forward to each and every Friday!!!

Friday still signals the end of the work week and while I may not be working in the traditional sense, I do work. Friday also means that Mr. O will be home for 2 days which allows us as a family many opportunities and allows myself the chance to get caught up from the week or a chance to steal sometime for myself, who cares if its at Stop & Shop.

Now that the warmer weather (cross fingers) is coming I am excited about the weekends especially!! Neither of the children take naps or rests on the weekend so that means no "we have to get home for Z's nap" or plan our day around it, that leaves the whole day open. We can go on many adventures together. We are looking forward to spending many weekends outside, either playing at the water table, swinging at the playground among many other things. Much different than how our weekends once were....

The weekend is now full of going to the zoo, meeting friends for ice cream, taking a day trip to the aquarium or maybe just staying home and playing "Candyland", which is our new favorite around here!!! Saturdays and Sundays are a time to get laundry caught up (ideally), make those arts and crafts that maybe we didn't get to during the week, maybe for Mr. O and I watching a show that we DVR'd during the week because we were too tired to stay awake. Once and a while it even means the chance for a "date night" and going to dinner at a restaurant we normally wouldn't go to!!!

Whatever the weekend brings, whatever TGIF means to you I hope it is enjoyable, relaxing and most of all fun!!! What does TGIF mean to you? Has it changed in the past few years? Do you still look forward to it?

A gal can dream....

Now that winter is officially a month away from being over many people are not only thinking and wishing for warmer days but are planning for them too. My inspiration for this post comes from a writing prompt I saw on Mamaslosinit.com, she rolls out a new list of writing prompts every Tuesday, so if you are stuck check her out. One of this weeks prompts was to "Describe your pretend vacation home"...well twist my arm.

It should come as no surprise to people that know me that my vacation home would be on a beach, or at the very least less than a one minute walk from one. Now I wouldn't want to be on a tropical island surrounded by palm trees and coconuts, that's not practical...I mean after all who feels like going to the beach when it's 100 degrees, not this girl. So I would rather my pretend vacation house be on a quiet beach, somewhere that it is not too hot. Preferably not too close to the hustle and bustle of the beach community but not too far away from the necessity's.

My vacation house would also be well insulated, after all I want to enjoy this pretend house all year around. It would be 2 floors, with all the living space on the first floor and bedrooms on the second floor. I would definitely take advantage of the amazing views I had by having large expansive windows. With big comfy chairs right in front of them for enjoying the views. The furniture would be comfortable and not too stuffy, after all this would not be a museum. Big oversized sofas and chairs, a large square coffee table where. We could play a board game on a rainy day or put snacks on for everyone to munch on after a day in the surf.

Now these next two things would be a necessity to me, and outside shower and a sleeping porch. I have always loved the practicality of an outside shower, wash off when coming back from the beach or even from just building sand castles. Imagine taking a shower with just the light from the moon and stars before retiring for the night....The next thing I would have is a sleeping porch, that's right a whole space devoted to sleeping besides a bedroom. The sleeping porch would be off the master bedroom (but also accessible from another point of entry), it would be a place to read, spend some time alone just gazing out at the ocean, or my favorite, dozing while listening to the sounds of the ocean. Comfy pillows, soft light blankets, and a selection of books sounds delightful!!!

The kitchen would be an open plan kitchen so that we could take advantage of those amazing views once again. Just like the other living spaces it would also be comfortable and able to be lived in. A big table with plenty of extra chairs to accommodate any last minute visitors would be the main eating table. An outdoor pizza oven would be a great place to prepare dinner and then eat on the deck, with the aroma of the pizza lingering in the air.

In the bedrooms all beds would be facing the ocean, once again to take advantage of the view and listen to the waves. The rooms would all be painted white with colorful accents inspired by the ocean, flowers, and natural landscape surrounding the home. Ultimately I would want any vacation home either pretend or real to be comfortable and able to accommodate many people visiting either for the day or longer. Any vacation home of mine would not be a showplace but rather a fun place where my family and I could come to recharge our batteries, spend time together, and ultimately have fun....after all isn't that what a vacation is all about????

Where would your vacation home be? A cozy chalet in a ski destination? An apartment in a high-rise right in mid-town Manhattan? Somewhere familiar or a new adventure? Let your imagination go and tell me where it took you....

Congratulations, it's a....

This is my first time doing a link-up!!!  Through the encouragement of my friend Michele over at Dodging Acorns dodgingacorns.wordpress.com from a blog that she follows allofmenow.com about life before we became Mom's.  I will post my entries over at allofmenow.com and here at thelittlethings-unknown.blogspot.com .  I am looking forward to gaining more followers and spreading some joy to others through my other posts. 

Hard to believe there is now a whole generation of women having babies that do not have to wait until the delivery day to find out if they will need pink or blue booties for their little one. As we know it always hasn't been that way, in the history if medicine ultrasounds to reveal a baby's gender is relatively a new thing. When my mother was pregnant with me and heading past her due date she had X-Rays to see how big I was, but not to reveal my gender.

I do not remember my mother ever saying if she had a feeling of whether I was a boy or a girl, all I know is that she said she had always liked the name Christopher, she never thought of a girls name so when I arrived my parents were clueless.  Now when I was born mothers and babies stayed in the hospital considerably longer than the 48 hours required today, so they had some time to think about a name.  Finally they decided on Michele Anne, Michele after someone my mother knew in high school that passed away and Anne just like all my father sisters and because his middle name is Allen.  Now here is the funny part, my parents had no idea how to spell Michele, hence the 1 "L" unlike the way most people spell it with 2 "L's".  I remember growing up my mother would always say "Michele with one L and Anne with an E".

I always thought my name was rather boring, unlike other names I thought were more exciting....Elizabeth, Rebbecca, Zoe (my daughters name) those at least had cute nicknames.  Growing up I was always called Mich, Chele, Meesh, it drove me crazy.  The only people that I didn't mind calling me a nickname were my grandparents, because I know from them it was special.  I can still hear them saying all my nicknames in my mind even though they have been gone for a combined 4 years.  I also remember when I liked my name because my initials spelt a word MAP, just like my father and I thought that was pretty cool!!!  When I was getting married I originally was going to change my last name, but then realized that I had no brothers, or male cousins, my sister was already married and changed her name, so I was the carrier in a way of our last name.  Now I know that I will not be able to make the name go on forever as my children have Mr.O's last name but my name is mine, it was mine long before I was Mrs. O or C's wife, long before I was H or Z's mother.  My name is something I do not mind as much now that I am 36, in the teaching world I am known as Michele Patnaude, many people know me as only that.  So as the saying goes, "that's my story and I'm sticking with it"

The Little Things....Easier Said Than Done

I have not written a post in several months but that does not mean I am forgetting about all the little things, in fact I need to think of them now especially.  While my family managed to skate through the winter without anything more than the occasional cold or sniffles and zipped through spring without any major allergy attacks I was looking forward to a healthy and fun summer.  Well that all changed when my husband became ill around the end of May, and like most men (sorry for the generalization) he just ignored it and chalked it up to allergies, having 2 small children, work, the sky being blue and everything else he could think of.  On June 11th that all changed when he had to be rushed to the hospital, he was unable to stand up at work and was so dizzy unlike anything he had ever experienced.   He was in the hospital for our son's (H) 5th birthday, which was one of the hardest things I have ever had to explain to H, and why we had to cancel his party not once but twice. Fast forward two months he has spent a total of 2 weeks in 2 different hospitals where he endured countless tests culminating with a spinal tap.  He has also spent two weeks at a local rehabilitation facility to strengthen his muscles and learn how to walk again.  Up to this point no Dr. can figure out what is making him ill, he feels as though he is walking in a bouncy house (think children's birthday parties).  All the Dr's can tell us is what isn't wrong, no tumors or cancers, not ALS, Hodgkin's disease or Parkinson's disease, he does not have vertigo, or MS.  And while this should and does bring us comfort it also brings us fear and so many unanswered questions.  The fact that he does not have anything serious and it is probably just a virus should be my little thing for the rest of our lives....but it is not. 
During this time of hospitalizations and rehabilitation centers I was essentially a single parent, yes my husband (C) did talk to the children (H&Z) and they did go to visit him, but the everyday parenting was all me, everyday.  We did have help from some amazing friends and family members but it was still ALL ME!!!!!  The outpouring  of love and support we have received from friends of mine that have never met C, friends of family members, friends from across the country has been amazing and for that we are thankful. 
I have tried everyday to find the little things to be happy about or that make me smile and yes even laugh.  Some of them have included, the hospital having an Au Bon Pain in it, can you say chocolate croissant!!!!  The fact that several times while at the hospital I left so late at night that the gates were up and I did not have to pay for parking.  The fact that when we were at our breaking points the nurses at both hospitals that actually cared, offered a hug or even offered ice cream to me!!!!!  Now there have been small things too, the butterflies we saw daily, the funny texts that my girlfriends and family sent me, the smiles on my H&Z's face when C came home....both times.  Needless to say there has been tons of tears, lots of yelling, times of frustration and days when we didn't want to deal with this any longer, but something keeps us going perhaps it is the little things in life that really are the great things.....
For today my little thing is sitting on the kitchen table cooling in a bundt pan and waiting for a healthy dose of chocolate frosting!!!!!! 

The Little Things...a brief explination

How many times have we all heard the phrase "it is all about the little things"?  Since becoming a mommy of two young children I have come to believe this statement even more.  Some days are busy and we may not take the time to realize what went well that day....whether it is no line at Starbucks in the morning or realizing you have a $20 bill in your pocket that you forgot about, realizing that these types of things are good may make all the difference in your day.  I will be the first one to say it is not easy to appreciate this, sometimes days later we will realize what is good in our days however trivial it is.  For example, I was recently preparing lunch for my children on a rainy, yucky day.  We had been stuck inside and all going stir crazy, on this particular day I was making grilled cheese for them and as I was getting the butter out I thought "spreadable butter what a complete waste of money, but I love it" and it that moment I realized that was my "little thing" for the morning.  Now, I realize that this is totally crazy, in the great scheme of things but I don't care....it is all about the little things.  That is what I hope to do here point out all the little things that can help get us through the day, week, month or even year.  I will share our family story a little later on, but for now I'm focusing on the little things...