Every once in a while we enjoy reminiscing with fun old pictures. We found some cute snapshots of Easter memories, and stumbled upon one of our previous Easter dresses! Meet McKenzie: she’s now the head fabric cutter here at One Small Child, but she was once a Fluff n’ Twirl girl (more on that name later). This adorable photo features our cutting queen in a pretty pink dress from 1996. We just had to share!
{We love you Kenzie!}
We’re excited to introduce a new series of posts on the OSC Blog: Mom Talk. Every mother has a story. Every day. Good, bad, adorable, not-so-adorable…we’ve all been there. So let’s share!
First up is Heather, who recently gave birth to her third child…a long-awaited sister to two big brothers. Heather, a professional photographer, has a beautiful sense of style and is very thoughtful when it comes to details in every aspect of her life. As she was preparing for this baby girl, it was only natural that photographing the blessed event would be on her list of must-dos. She graciously shares these thoughts:
“Having a child can be such an amazing experience. The only downfall to it all is that I am always too loopy to really remember much of what is going on or see all the details of my new baby since I am in a bed across the room, or worse in another one completely. I cannot express how much this session means to me and my family. Having [my business partner] Kayla there to photograph the things that I was unable to see was amazing. She was able to capture my kids in the hall building Legos, and the anticipation of all my loved ones, and was there to capture Miss Penelope’s first moments into this new world. At the time I felt pretty aware of what was going on, but after I was able to see the images…..I would have missed sooo many great moments without those images to remind me. It was amazing and I am so grateful to have such a good photographer as a business partner and friend. I recommend anyone having a child seriously consider having a professional photographer there to capture some of the most cherished memories you may ever have.”
Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose mother started a tiny company, making beautiful dresses. She often went to work with her Mama, spending countless hours playing amidst sewing machines, patterns, huge rolls of fabric, and piles of lace waiting to be gathered into yards and yards of ruffles. When she was big enough, she spent many hours in front of the camera, twirling and posing just so.
{One Small Child First Communion Dresses, circa 1991}
{We’ve done a lot of different things in 30 years!}
Today, she’s behind the camera, watching the light, checking her settings, and asking her subjects to twirl and pose just so. (Some of these subjects happen to be her own darling daughters. Also, this image might be a sneak peek for next week!)
{We love you Kayla!}
{Commercial Photography by Paisley Studios}
For the past few years, my sisters & I have been meeting together on a cold Friday in January to have a quick little Valentine’s photo shoot with our kiddos. It usually goes pretty fast and the whole crew of nine kids in one small space can get a little wild, but I love the snapshot of their lives it gives us. It’s becoming a sweet little tradition.
The resulting images come in super handy when it’s time to send Valentines out to school friends and grandparents: a cute photo valentine card along with a little piece of candy makes for a fun, personal little greeting. Here’s our 2014 crop of Valentines, along with our wishes for a Happy Valentine’s Day, from us to you:
{photography & design by Kayla at Paisley Studios}
Highlighting one of our own One Small Child Moms and what a not always normal, but somewhat regular Day in the life of Mom looks like.
5:00am – Accidentally hit “dismiss” instead of “Snooze”. I’ll totally get up….
6:00am – Feed the baby. Finally get up.
6:30am – Bring myself downstairs to eat breakfast and do my daily devotional. Somehow even when I am alone I eat standing up. I stare at the overflowing dishes in the sink from last night. I lay my bowl on top.
7:00am – Exercise to either Jillian Micheals or Richard Simmons. Feeling lazy, Richard it is.
7:30am – “Mommy! Where are you?” I get the kids cereal and turn on a show for them. After a few snuggles I do some laundry, the dishes and feed the dog. Throw away a business card my husband wrote on years ago, no way it’s any good. The garbage man takes it away. Bathe the kids and get them dressed for Preschool. There is at least 1 meltdown and 1 toddler argument. Forget on the way out it’s Show and Tell day. Pick a toy, of course for both it’s the wrong one. Go back in and get new ones.
8:55am – Finally getting in the car, good thing Preschool is only a mile from our house.
9:05am – Get home and feed the baby. Cuddle him tight and really enjoy our alone time together since he is our last. Do a little bit of work and hopefully put on “real” clothes. I don’t…
11:15am – Get home, get lunch ready and do some reading/homework. More laundry.
1:15pm – “Quiet time”. My older two no longer nap. I want to cry uncontrollably over this.
1:30pm – Cleaning and de-cluttering. Doing a “Minimalist Challenge” since all of our junk stuff is starting to drive me crazy. I throw away a few more things I hope my husband doesn’t notice. Husband texts me to ask if I have seen a business card with writing on it, there is a lock combo on it for his work locker. He can’t remember the numbers… “I don’t know where it is.”
2:00pm – Sit down to work. Suddenly hear running water upstairs I don’t recognize… my kids put a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet and flushed.
4:30pm – Start dinner. Husband calls to say he is on his way home and will promptly be called back to work in about 10 hours. Great. Confess to my card crime.
7:00pm – Get the older two in bed. Praise all that is good and holy.
7:30pm – Dishes/work/attempt to watch a show on Hulu. I get half way through one and promise I’ll finish it tomorrow; probably won’t.
10:30pm – Bed finally. Write my “to do” list on the ceiling like Sarah Jessica Parker did in “I don’t know how She does it”. Maybe I’ll try to watch that tomorrow…
Bethany is our social media consultant and works from home. She has 3 children, ages 4,3 and 4 months. Her husband works on call and is away 2 days at a time, so she has a lot of non-alone time. She dreams of a beach vacation, paying someone to clean her house every week and fall year round. Being with her kids and husband is her favorite way to spend any day.
30 years ago, Ramona Murdock was a mother of five youngsters when she acted on her dream and started a tiny dress company with nothing but talent and determination. This is what her family looked like in 1983:
Today, she’s the loving mother of six grown-ups…here we are in 2013:
As you can see, we’ve grown a bit over the years (both the kids and the company)!
With Thanksgiving upon us this week, we want to thank you so much for being a part of our lives, and trusting us to be a tiny part of yours — we are so very thankful for each and every one of YOU!
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea: every day is a special occasion. It’s true–time is a gift we have only so much of, and when we take the opportunity to be aware of it, we find that there is value to be found in everything we do.
The ‘mundane’ things of everyday life are special. If I take the time to look out the window while I’m processing that never-ending pile of dishes, I can appreciate the beautiful world outside, and the miraculous changes of the seasons. If I stop whatever busy-work I’m doing when my seven-year-old demands attention and look her in the eye, I can feel the deep privilege it is to be her mother and marvel at the gorgeous child she is. If I put a little effort into going for a walk or creating artwork or reading with my children, we will not only learn together, but we will create memories. These are special occasions. Each one builds on the next to create the texture of a beautiful life.
With that in mind, we’ve been putting a lot of thought into highlighting ways you can celebrate your every day special occasions, as well as offering meaningful ideas you can use to make more significant events (such as christenings, blessings, baptisms) truly memorable. We recently produced a christening party photo shoot with some amazing collaborators. I’m looking forward to sharing the details with you, and hopefully helping you find mindful ways of incorporating little bits of yourself into the many special occasions that are part of your life. More to come!
One of my favorite family traditions as I was growing up was popcorn on Sunday evenings. This is one of our go-to recipes, and is definitely at the top of my comfort food list. It’s fast, easy, and seriously addicting!
Ingredients:
-1 cup brown sugar
-1 cup white corn syrup
-1 cup peanut butter
-12 cups popcorn, popped
In a medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, and peanut butter. Stir frequently until the mixture boils. Remove from heat, pour over popped corn, and mix well. ENJOY!
With much joy, my brother and his beautiful wife recently welcomed the addition of this tiny, perfect newborn to their family. We are all beyond thrilled for them. Yesterday we fit in an impromtu photo shoot for some lovely new products (coming soon), and I could not get enough of his sweet little self. Blame me?
(Little Man is wrapped in our gorgeous cable knit blanket. It has awesome drape & stretch qualities…perfect for swaddling!)
Sometimes the days & weeks become so crazy, I find myself saying over and over again: It doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. (Thank you, Nester)
As much as I can clearly see gorgeous holidays in my head and on my Pinterest boards, it just is not realistic to expect that I can nail down all those perfect details in the midst of a blessedly busy life. Reality is that relationships/people, daily necesseties, schedules, and obligations trump visions of sugarplums, impeccably styled photo-ops and dainty handmade decorations.
That said, I still try to pull off as many somewhat-scaled-down traditions as possible. So Easter this year went down like this:
Easter egg hunts – check (3 of them!)
Food & fun with lots of family- check
A beautiful, spiritual feast at church – check
Easter dresses for my girlies – fail (funny, from the girl who makes dresses for a living, no?)
Clean/organized/decorated holiday house – fail (good thing all our festivities took place elsewhere!)
Do you ever find yourself having to reconcile dreams of perfection with the reality of life?
{Oh, and for all of you living life by-the-seat-of-your-pants-with-your-hair-on-fire (like me) I have some great news: One Small Child is now shipping all orders within 24 hours. Woo-hoo!}
