Day 22 | January 22nd
The rainy days are long and numerous over the winter, so being able to get outside is a treat. I still don’t understand why Gavin won’t put on pants and a sweatshirt though!
Day 23 | January 23rd
It got super cold overnight and then the fog rolled in, making everything ice over. It was slippery even trying to walk on the deck to get this photo.
Day 24 | January 24th
I saw the cats playing in this little strip of light so I grabbed my camera and nailed the ultimate “WHAP!” shot that the Itty Bit whacked Luna with.
Day 25 | January 25th
Our playdates have been strictly outdoors due to the governors mandate to not gather outside of your household. So on days it is not raining, Cart-o comes over or Gavs goes to his house. Since playing video games is pretty much off the table, they have to be creative about how to spend their time. This week it is making rocket ships out of cardboard boxes. They were able to laser down many enemies and keep our household safe.
Day 26 | January 26th
As part of continuing my education and growth with photography, I picked seven printed photographs that I took and then proceeded to pick them apart. I took them through a series of about ten questions to see how I could strengthen my image. One of the photos I did this exercise on was one where Gavin had a flashlight pointed up at him, making a shadow on the wall. I believe I snapped it while I was taking a class and the assignment was to use artificial light.
At the time I was so pleased with the photo as I had never used a flashlight to light things before, but after going through the exercise of picking it apart, I realized there was no story to it. Just a picture of a kid with a light on him (boring!). Part of what I realized is that I could tell a super fun story with the same basic concept. So two years later I recreated the general set up and have titled it, “The Monster is always trying to get out” 😅 Below I have included both photos.
Day 27 | January 27th
Ahhhh the reality of our days. It is so hard because there is no where to go, we can’t really hang out with people and the only social time the boys really get is when they are online (either for school or gaming). I absolutely hate video games. I think that the behavior I get from my kids after they have been gaming for an entire day is absolutely atrocious. However, I also recognize that video games are currency in our household. Chores have to be done, homework needs to be completed and behavior has to be civil and kind. And there needs to be a time limit – they may not zone out all day on a screen. So after a lot of trial and error, we have set up a system where they do get time to game, not too much, but enough to be happy. I have leverage to make them get their responsibilities done and to behave.
I also share an office space with the boys while they are remote schooling. One of the games that Carter really enjoys playing involves “drag clicking” with a mouse. Constantly. Now I want you to imagine a clicking noise repetitively happening for an hour or more. It is enough to drive you to want to smash your head into a wall to make it stop. That noise also penetrates noise cancelling headphones. It is AWFUL. So I now am inclined to take a walk during this time of the day so I don’t turn into a grump-master to them.
Day 28 | January 28th
Jeremy has had a lot of deadlines this January and is constantly working. So much so that for about a two week period we saw him for about twenty minutes at dinner time and that was it. So today one of his big deadlines had passed and we actually got to hang out for the evening. But then he had to patiently wait while I shoved an off camera flash in his face and took this photo, haha.
The set up – light was to camera right and about even with his face, but umbrella pointing down. Strength was just enough to illuminate him, but not the rest of the room. Also given the angle of the flash, it did not reflect in the glass doors behind him (yay!).
