Family Portraiture

So as I mentioned earlier, we had our family pictures about 10 days ago. I booked the session back in March when I realized we hadn't had pictures in nearly a year, but I didn't want summer pictures when it's a million degrees outside and everyone's hair is bleached and skin is shiny with sunscreen. October sounded nice, so I set the date with the photographer (the same one who took last year's) and wrote the date on my calendar. October was a decade or so away and I pushed it from my mind.

Until late September when I flipped over my adorable Shutterfly calendar to write in a doctor's appointment and saw "family pics" on the first Sunday of the month. In 8 days. Oh. It was still in the 90's (high of 98 today WTF) so it didn't feel like fall, but off to Target I went hoping to magically find the perfect fall-ish, coordinating but not matching ensembles that also perfectly captured the individual wearer. A tall order for a lunch break on a busy day.

But I found them and I LOVE them. I got to wear my favorite dress ever. James wore a shirt I forced on him when I gave away all his old ones. Landon got to wear a shirt I'd bought at Gap and then felt guilty for not returning because he wears uniforms every day and really doesn't need a button-down shirt. It all just came together.

Then came actual portrait day. This was the weekend I decided we should clean the garage and also our entire house and go to Ikea at midnight the night before, so things were a little harried. I'd eaten a large number of Swedish fish. The kids only wanted to take pictures in trees and princess chairs. Cora woke up grumpy when she ALWAYS wakes up happy, and she stole two purses and two plastic phones on the way out of the house and then refused to put them down for most of the shoot. We took the pics at our favorite park. It's three blocks from our house, with paths and bridges that go on for a nearly a mile, that we come to at the end of our traditional 3-mile weekend walk. It's the park we discovered accidentally after going on a long, aimless walk during our first weekend in this house and were so thrilled to discover. We were missing Austin and it felt like we'd found a bit of it here. It's across the street from the kids' elementary school and it's a very special place for me.

So here we are, with captions, obviously:

Cora just woke up from a 4 hour nap and would like to know WTF is all this cheese you keep talking about.

unimpressed with your peek-a-boos

Ha! Tricked her into showing us what she really does look like most of the time. Family portraits FTW!

party pack!

Absolutely will not put down her purse, despite me showing her that I put mine down about 100x. Just because I'm a fool doesn't mean she has to be. But then we were walking further back into the park and I quietly asked the photographer if she could capture this moment and I will love it for all time. The purse dangling between them makes it for me.

looking for cheese

We paused at a bridge for an attempted family shot. Claire was certain she was about to plummet into the empty creek bed a whole 8 feet below, so her smile is a little strained, but she willingly suffered for art.

In search of safer ground, we sat on the rocks in the creek bed. Cora forgot who we were and had further questions about the cheese.

Claire had been asking to sit in the princess chair since our photographer pulled it off her wagon, so into the princess chair she went.

nailed it

Landon scampered about the rocks, heedless of the dust he was getting all over his clothes, so it seemed like a good spot to make him get an individual shot.

did you know he's moved out of the nursery?

Cora then tried to escape, so the kids ran up to hold her hands and boom, one of my other favorite pictures was born.

"It's okay Cora, sometimes we have to take pictures for mom. But then we get candy!"

But I hate candy! Hold me.

Cora then spied the stool the photographer had set aside, so she ran over, picked it up, and ran off with it. Our photographer followed and when Cora set it down, she climbed aboard and became the very essence of Cora and I love this shot so very much. This is Toddler-Cora. Crazy, feisty, adorable, loving, joyful, highly motivated by cheese. I love her so much it makes me ache.

Cora took a moment to reorganize her purse, so James and I stood behind and got another familyish shot. I must admit I really like it.

The kids were now over it, so they went to sit on a bench. Cora was all, when's the bus? We're getting out of here right?

will not have exact change

I tried to get a picture holding Cora, but I foolishly attempted to move her purse out of the frame and she yelled and cried and I gave her a hug and the photographer just happened to capture what I feel like is my "what am I going to do with you? / oh my god I love you so much" face. I wear it a lot with her.

Since the kids were tired and I'd promised myself I would just let the hour unfold as it was, I asked if James and I could get a few pictures alone. Engagement photos weren't really a thing when we got married and we couldn't have afforded them anyway, so here we are at 10 years and not to get too sappy, but I love him way more than I ever imagined possible 10 years ago, so why not get some anniversary portraits? We're the foundation of this whole enterprise.

This picture is now on my desk at work in the one frame that faces me at my computer. The kids are in my heart, but he's in my soul.

We wrapped our pictures up and came upon a Landon who had been patiently waiting in a tree so we could get a shot of him in his new favorite element.

Claire then needed one too, obvi.

We looked around for Cora and found her many yards ahead, heading off into the unknown to find all the cheese. Like Christopher Columbus, but not a genocidal asshole.

busting this joint

And so the 2015 family portraits were complete. Given how the hour unfolded, I can't believe how much I love them and how well they managed to capture us, the kids, and our family as a whole. Now I just have to pick which one goes on our Christmas card! Somehow this has turned into a tougher project than getting 3 kids to take the pictures in the first place.

Be My Valentine

As we were laying in bed last night, I told JP this was maybe our best Valentine's ever. It was just so delightfully "us"- where we are right now- the kids, family, excitement, giggles, tears, snuggles, kisses, sweet moments, cost-effective lunch dates, and incredibly thoughtful heart-shaped homemade pizzas. It was us.

First up, themed outfits and a table decorated from the $1 spot bins at Target.

 

The kids were pumped. Claire in particular was excited to wear her ladybug outfit she got from Papa and Gigi for Christmas with her beloved black "fancy shoes." Landon was not as into the clothes, but did deign to change into a red shirt when I asked it as a favor.

I tried to get pictures with the kids, but Claire only wanted to show the camera her sparkly headband and Landon only cracked a smile when JP made his 15th disgusting fart joke and my smile was just on the edge of turning into a grimace.

 

The kids had their little bags of Valentine's ready to go and were in the middle of putting on their shoes and trying to recall whether they'd brushed their teeth or not and I was lingering at home even though I really needed to get on my way to work and JP was getting the lunches together and it was just such a lovely snapshot of our morning. No different from any other morning with its usual "Claire, FOCUS, get your socks please!" and "Landon, it takes longer than 10 seconds to brush your teeth, you can't possibly have done it right in the time you've been gone, go try again please." And yet, there's little that makes me happier than being in the midst of the madness of my young family.

literally jumping for joy about going to school

JP and I went out on an impromptu lunch date. He picked me up outside my office and we headed to Rodeo Goat, a fantastic new burger place Fort Worth we'd been wanting to try. We got to sit outside in a gravel filled patio, share a beer and "cheese fries surprise" (it doesn't get more romantic than a platter of fries smothered in cheese, chili, and jalapenos at a place called Rodeo Goat on Valentine's Day) and select one of twenty or so crazy burgers. Mine was a dainty beef patty covered in blue cheese slaw, carmelized onions, and herb garlic mayo, while JP's crazy combo involved a beef chorizo patty topped with avocado, pico de gallo, a fried egg, queso fresco cheese, and tabasco mayo. Delicious, fun, and we didn't even need a sitter.

During lunch I'd mentioned that I was sad we couldn't order our usual heart-shaped pizza from Mangia's (in Austin) for dinner this year. I assumed we'd fire up a frozen pie, though I was so full at the time I could hardly bear to think about it. But then, hours later, I came home to find JP standing over some painstakenly hand-shaped homemade heart shaped pizzas ready to go in the oven. It was one of the most thoughtful things he's ever done.

 

Seriously, I practically got teary right there in the kitchen over some unbaked pizza dough.

 

The kids then showed me all their Valentine's one by one, but I was still too full to eat so we decided to go a family walk before dinner. Near the end of our walk, I saw Landon zoom ahead around the turn to our street and suddenly, in what I swear was slow motion, his scooter hit a rock and he went flying-- flying directly over his scooter and into a large mud puddle. The only puddle on our street, leftover from a rain many days ago. I saw it all happen, saw his little body completely parallel to the ground, and thought oh no, this could be bad. Luckily, he was physically fine, but the impact combined with water combined with mud caused him to momentarily lose his mind. He just sort of broke, right there in the puddle. Crying and screaming in a way that reminded me of his infant self with an ear infection. It was definitely nothing we've heard in many years and it caused Tex to look rather alarmed. JP and I tried to brush him off, but he was soaking wet, so we removed his shirt, which caused much consternation ("I'm not wearing my shirt and I'm ouuuuuutsiiiiide.") and tried to prod him toward home with a firm hand on his back, still pushing the stroller, holding a dog's leash, and carrying the scooter. As we approached our driveway Landon simply lost the will to live and refused to move forward. I was having a hard time not giggling because the whole thing had just reached epic levels of drama and it was so perfect that it was Valentine's Day and here we were caterwauling in the street while our beautiful heart-shaped pizzas remained uncooked on the counter. Claire turned in her stroller to GLARE at me, like how could I dare not take this situation seriously- a child is crying, my god woman, have you no idea how to behave? She reached out to stroke Landon's arm from the stroller and said "It's otay Yandon, we'll get you inside and all clean and cozy. It's otay Yandon." Laughing more now, I gave JP a big kiss as we got to the backdoor and split up, him leading Landon to our bathtub for a soak (with Claire following closely behind, still muttering endearments because clearly the parents could not be trusted to do so), while I put the pizzas in the oven. It was just, it was life with small kids, it was so our life at this stage- romance and sweetness and flying into mud puddles and screaming. You can't plan out a thing, but I do love almost every minute.

 

I found a surprise bouquet of roses in our room around that time, solving the mystery of why JP had kept asking me if I was going to go change when I got home and didn't immediately do so. He cut out a little rose for Claire and dropped it in a milk cup, to her utter delight.

 

While she and JP were putting it in a special spot next to her bed, Landon came up to me and said quietly, "what if I want a flower too?" And so now there are two plastic glasses, with a red rose each, sitting in their room by their beds. We got lots of snuggles and kisses before saying goodnight and closing the door and switching to the adult portion of our evening.

 

JP and I exchanged our cards and later, as I admired my bouquet of the 10 remaining roses from my vantage point on the couch while we watched House of Cards, I reflected that while it wasn't fancy and there was an awful lot of mud, I'm not sure I've ever spent a happier, gigglier, more love-filled Valentine's Day.

Two Sides of the Same Lawyer

When you're a lawyer, coming to Washington, DC feels like coming home.  You walk the streets and know that at least 50% of the people walking past you have passed the Bar.  They would probably get whatever dorky lawyer joke pops in your head and would also understand, without additional explanation, why deleting comments on your own blog violates exactly no one's right to free speech.  They're your people, or at least the people of one facet of your being, and you're in their mecca.  Also, the Home Office of your new job is very fancy and you feel fancier for being able to say you work there.  Even if your "there" is actually a regional office in Fort Worth, which is decidedly less fancy.

And for me, being in the city, even in sweltering temperatures 10 freaking degrees higher than the ones I left behind in Texas, felt like home.  Walking to everything, taking marvelously efficient public transportation, being asked by a homeless man to run away with him to California (yes, really) -- home!  On Tuesday night I met up with one of my best friend's from law school to travel to Alexandria, Virginia- another state, and yet a short metro ride away (having lived in Texas most of my life, it will always blow my mind that you can cross multiple state lines in a matter of minutes) to meet up with law school friend #2 and her adorable 4-month-old baby.  A baby I got to snuggle while he looked at me with very blue, very skeptical eyes.  You can tell both his parents are lawyers.  After hubby-lawyer came home, we girls headed out to a wine and cheese bar to chat and eat cheese and drink wine.  After dinner I rode the metro back to DC with Friend #1 to see her absolutely gorgeous apartment in Dupont Circle and drink more wine until we realized it was midnight and a Tuesday and holy crap I need to get back to my hotel to take advantage of the springtail free bathtub before my early day began on Wednesday.  And though I was (am) completely in lust with her little apartment, and I loved loved loved getting to see my friends, I think my favorite part of the night was leaving her place at 11:55 p.m. on a Tuesday, turning a corner, and finding cafes with people still in them, cabs circling about waiting for me to flag them down-- so much noise, activity, LIFE at midnight on a Tuesday.  I smiled the whole cab ride back to the hotel.  I was born and raised in the suburbs of Houston, but The City - Any City feels more like home than any suburb of anywhere ever will.  I used to think it was just Chicago, but now I know it's not.  Wherever we move next, we're downsizing even more and living downtown.  And after JP mows the grass every weekend during another 110 degree summer, I think I can get him to move with me.

Unfortunately, despite the late hour, long day, copious amount of wine, and FABULOUS hotel room (I think it might be the nicest I've ever seen, and I've stayed in some very nice hotels thanks to the BigLaw amex), I didn't sleep all night.  I canceled a much anticipated early coffee get together with my cousin, and patched together 3.75 hours of sleep before packing up, getting dressed, and racing out the door to my big meeting.  This was probably my second favorite moment of the trip: wearing my favorite dark grey slight houndstooth print suit, with super long pants legs that have to be worn with my 3.5" black hidden platform heels, and fitted jacket (and lilac colored satin shell underneath, and silver pearl necklace and earrings to complete the outfit), walking quickly out of the Mandarin Oriental with a suitcase and shoulder briefcase purse, and hailing a cab to headquarters.  In that moment, I felt like a lawyer fullstop.  I may be low on the totem pole of a large government agency, I may not understand half the accounting terms the guy I was interviewing kept saying, and I may not know much of any practical law (do not call me if you get pulled over by the cops, I have absolutely no idea what you should do), but in that moment, I looked and temporarily felt the part, and that made me smile, even on less than 4 hours of sleep.

Then the day got crazy - prep prep prep with the assistant director; interview, question, and take notes with the guy I was there to meet; successfully move up my flight home by 4 hours; RUN out of the headquarters to hail a cab out to Dulles where I fidgeted my way through security, staring at my watch every 2 seconds, still in my suit and very high heels.  At 3:20 I'd made it to the terminal of my 3:45 already-boarding-flight and realized I hadn't eaten since 7 p.m. the night before.  And that was the meal where I drank more wine than I ate bread and cheese, and before that I hadn't eaten since a snack in the DFW airport at 10 a.m. the day before, and oh, maybe that's why there's black dots hovering in the periphery of my vision and my hands are shaking. Right.  Well at least I profited from the per diem.  I inhaled some white rice and orange chicken, bought the first book I saw in the bookstore (Julie Garwood's the Ideal Man; it's terrible, cost me $8, and only took 2 hours to read on a 3 hour flight).  I re-read the first half of the (terrible) book to keep the guy next to me from talking to me the rest of the flight (he was nice, but oh so chatty, and while I am normally friendly, I see no point in investing in temporary airplane seat relationships).  But the mad dash and near blackout was worth it- I got home just before the kids went to bed and I got to talk to JP- really talk to JP- for the first time in many days.

All in all it was a great trip, minus the insomnia and total lack of eating, and I want to go back.  Friends, hailing taxis, super fun interviews of helpful experts, feeling like a power lawyer, and soaking in a springtail free marble-surrounded-absolutely-gorgeous bathtub in a room I cannot believe we get to book it with the standard government rate... it was a very fulfilling 36 hours in The City of Lawyers.

And then tonight, long after the power lawyer glow had worn off and I was in a normal lawyer skirt, cropped cardi, and open toed heels, I decided to make the tasty summer beer cocktail to go with our inaugural meal from JP's Father's Day grill.  I mixed all the ingredients- frozen pink lemonade, beer, vodka, water, sprite- and lifted the heavy glass pitcher and SMASH.  The bottom falls out, shatters on the floor, and liquid- sticky sweet pink liquid flies everywhere.  All I can think of are the bugs that are going to come over, drink my cocktail, and invite all their friends to come back and get drunk.  I must stop them.  I pull off my beautiful leather peep-toe pumps and skirt, both soaked in tasty beverage, and start mopping and scrubbing and mopping some more in my cardigan and pink thong and think, wow, what a change in 24 hours.  From suited up and out on the town, to half naked and scrubbing floors and hoping neighbors don't drop by- two rather extreme sides of the coin of me.  

But dinner was tasty, my kitchen is now very clean, and it's extra nice to be home.