We’ve been gearing up for a new year of home schooling, and for me, a new year of added dedication now that my kids are getting older, and the work is getting harder.  Home schooling is a LOT of work, and requires more patience than I ever dreamed I could possibly possess. But on the flip side….I get to be with my kids, I get to be challenged, and I get to be a critical part of their growth. But with all the effort, I have to say, I get to have one of the most gratifying jobs possible! 

I’ve had people who have written me about the constant struggle with BALANCE in their lives, and since this is a topic on my mind for literally hours of my day every day, I have decided to make it a more prominent topic on my personal posts.  One question I am asked often is what a normal home school/work/family life day is like.  Below is a look at a “normal” weekday for us.  (Weekends are full of photo shoots, editing, sports, and breathing.) 

Of course, it hasn’t gone exactly like this, but close! Obviously, on certain nights we have shoots where we have to change it up a bit.  On occassion, we actually DO leave our house (ha!), but this is the general idea.  I am still working on the bedtime thing for me…but I have improved this week, so I have hope! 

7:00 – Up and making breakfast 

7:30 – Eat, clean up, kids do chores 

8:45 – School books out ready to go/ get a drink, use bathroom (excuses they always have to stop working) 

Practice memory work, then Math, Writing, Grammar, Science or History depending on day 

11:30 – If time we read together aloud 

12:00 – Lunch with Brett 

1:00 – Quiet time for everyone (I use this time to grade work, figure out lesson plans, catch up on emails, make phone calls) 

3:00 – Spelling and Vocab, then daily journaling 

4:00 – Review or catch up on something that needs to be completed 

4:30 – Begin thinking about dinner (I am really bad at this part!).  Kids put things away and have free time. 

5:00 – Brett reviews work and does math with kids

6:00 – Dinner 

6:45 – Family bible reading time 

7:00 – Gabe goes to bed 

7:45 – The rest of the kids go to room to read, and then sleep! 

7:45 – I GO TO WORK    

10:15 – I go up for the night to read and preview the books the kids will be reading, and then SLEEP 

Weekends – Brett does school with kids (math, reading, language arts)

I had hoped to take some fun photos to show you some of the things we have done this week so far, but I guess grabbing and loading a camera in between teaching 3 kiddos, and distracting a 3 year old just wasn’t the easiest.  Maybe next week I’ll be more prepared.    So here are a few shots we took playing around as a family: 

As of last week Priya is obsessed with making duct tape purses.  Here she is teaching her brother Adin, and her friend Josie. 

Brett is reading a little “Beowulf” to the boys. 

Adin doing some pipe jumping tricks.  Dad if you are seeing this, I will put a helmet on him next time!!  (My dad is a dentist, and my boys scare him to death.) 

Gabe’s version of the “pipe trick.” 

Riah decided to POGO it up! 

We took a family bike ride the other night up to a local elementary school to play…. 

Again, my boys are half daredevil monkey. 

Priya was with her Grandma, so I just had my crazy boys (including Brett)!! 

I love this picture, minus the fact I look like I’m 12.   

So now we are three days into on our school year and it has been going well for the most part!  A couple of nights ago at dinner Priya said, “I was really nervous that school was going to be really tough this year and I was not going to like it, but it hasn’t been that bad.  I actually had fun.”  I literally jumped to my feet from the dinner table screaming, “STOP THE PRESS!! STOP THE PRESS!!!!  Priya, could you please repeat that for the family to hear?”  It made this hard working Mama a teeny bit happy.  “She’s not hating it…I must be doing OK,” I thought. 

I was in love with this dress!

Her eyes are just GORGEOUS.

Something about this image below is just so incredibly striking to me….

Thanks Kayla!  It was great meeting you, and we wish you all the best this last year of High School. 

And now I’m off to school with the kids (our first day back)….

Happy Monday to you all!

Back in March I wrote a blog entry that really solidified feelings I had been having and wanting to share.  The response was amazing!  From comments, to emails, and just people talking with me, I felt so much better because so many said they understood where I was coming from.  Since that point, I am happy to say that this year has been going quite smoothly.  We stuck to a plan that we made and things have been much more balanced around here….one major accomplishment being, I didn’t feel like I was going to have an anxiety attack once this summer!  Instead, we just enjoyed it together.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much that when I went to look over photos for this post, I realized we didn’t take many!!  Oh well. Living in the moment, and just simply living was my goal.  Goal accomplished.

Here are some highlights of the past few months.  These things may have been on my “to-do” list on my desk, or the one in my heart:

- had many dear friends over for dinner and laughs (this was put off too long)

- celebrated my three boys birthdays

- celebrated my two sisters’ birthdays

- celebrated another year of life for me

- got new garage doors put on

- had our red house repainted, red of course

- went to LA for a shoot and hang time w/Jason

- went to a fantastic photography workshop, and met amazing new friends

-saw Ashley graduate from Nursing School

- as guests, witnessed two dear friends get married

-took a spring wildflower trip with just my Dad

- ate lots of yummy summer veggies

- had a great 4th of July party with some of my dearest friends

- took my kids swimming much more than last year

- did a complete redo of Priya’s room

- helped my daughter start her own art and food blog

- went on dates with my sweetie, just for fun

- watched lots of movies

- booked our family vacation!

- Brett took Adin on his first father/son camping trip

- went to a couple concerts

- got the car I’ve been dreaming of 

MOST IMPORTANTLY….did all of this guilt free.  If you own a home based business, you know what I mean!

I have to say, I am a bit nervous for the rest of the year.  I have been soooo relaxed the past couple months that I am going to have to really step it up here beginning Monday.  I plan to share a bit of my/our schedule in the next couple weeks, since I have had so many people curious about the homeschooling/business owning/family raising balance.  I am going to start a new segment on here called BALANCE to hopefully help others, help myself, and just vent through this journey of life.

I would love to hear some fun/great/thrilling things you did or accomplished this summer in the comments below!

]]> http://www.studio3z.com/blog/2010/08/our-last-few-months/feed/ 11 http://www.studio3z.com/blog/2010/08/tracy-shanaka-the-wedding/ http://www.studio3z.com/blog/2010/08/tracy-shanaka-the-wedding/#comments Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:27:31 +0000 jess@studio3z http://www.studio3z.com/blog/?p=6740 We were honored to be a part of the lovely wedding of Tracy and Shanaka.  You may remember me mentioning when we did their engagement session, that they don’t think they’re very good in front of the camera, but we have found it to be the exact opposite- they were very natural.

Here are some of our favorites from their day.

While the girls were getting prettied up….

……the guys enjoyed food and sports, but of course.  Shanaka had the guys wear their favorite jerseys.

Then they watched game 6 of the 1986 World Series between the Mets (Shanaka’s favorite team) and the Red Sox.

Tracy’s sweet mom helped her tie her sash perfectly.

Stunning bride.

Handsome groom.

First looks…..

Tracy is such a natural beauty. She has to be the most patient and laid-back bride we’ve ever had. 

“A wall that matches you perfectly!!!!!!”

Ahhhhh, you two are ADORABLE together.

Beautiful job on flowers by Courtenay Lambert.

And the view of downtown Cincinnati was beautiful.

Prayer before the ceremony.

I just ADORE the look on this little guy’s face.  

Tracy’s brother was the officiant. How cool is that?!

They did a tea ceremony where they served tea to their parents, honoring their two cultures.

Two very beautiful, and proud mamas.  This makes my heart so very happy.

This may be one of my favorite wedding ideas I’ve seen.  This is their “wishing tree” and they asked their guests to sign a note, leave advice, or draw a picture.  I loved watching its transformation over the night into a beautiful and meaningful work of art.

Gorgeous setting, with a very personal twist….Tracy’s mother handmade all of the vases.  They were each a masterpiece!!

They surprised everyone with a “same day edit” by Studio Z Films.  It was FABULOUS!

We were lucky enough to work with a fabulous team of vendors, who all did a wonderful job.

Hair: Jen Nally

Makeup: Jean Folchi

Video: Studio Z Films

Florals: Courtenay Lambert

Venue: Drees Pavilion

Tracy and Shanaka, thank you so much for including us in your beautiful day!  You are a wonderful couple, and we wish you many years of happiness together.

All the best,

Jess and Brett

Of course in the midst of all of this, the kids get sick.  They are feeling a bit better today, but last night I began losing my voice, and by the time I went to bed I sounded just as sexy as Demi Moore- maybe sexier.

Today all I want is to rest, when in the back of my mind I have guilt of work that needs to be done.  But I’m going to take it easy. I’m sitting here holding my sweet little cuddle bug boy, and doing what we do so well together- snuggling (yes, while I type and he critiques my editing).

Here are some photos I took a couple months back.  One of his favorite things to do is act like he is “napping” at the vent below my feet.  I look down from my office chair and see this:

It’s so funny….I remember pushing my first two to grow up, and get out of the “baby” phase.  Now I find I am just savoring my moments with my three year old who still wants to snuggle and suck his fingers.  I am very happy with my baby boy taking his sweet time.  (Yes, I see the whole “baby complex” in the making- and I’m ok with that.)

Here’s to illness passing quickly, and lots of love in the meantime. 

Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

And that brings me to you….

We are traveling to Chicago, NYC, and New Mexico this fall, and we currently have room for one session in New Mexico, and NYC. Here are our travel dates:

New York City: September 3-6 (Labor Day weekend)

New Mexico (Albuquerque, Taos, and Santa Fe): October 5-13

Please email me at info@studio3z.com if you would be interested in a photography session!

And I leave you with this little photo I shot while on a shoot last month….I looked over to my side and saw this beauty.  We were completely DEEP in a industrial junk yard, and I just thought, “How beautiful.”

Every little detail of this beautiful  outdoor wedding, complete with barn and old fashioned cake reception, made my little  artsy heart *swoon*.

Micki was beyond stunning in her Calvin Klein dress that so perfectly fit her summer wedding theme.

And the girls!! Just ADORABLE.

The boys, hanging in the room beforehand.

Troy, and his famous “million dollar” smile.  Well, it’s famous in my book. 

Rocking the socks.

The super shy flower girl! 

The happy Mr. and Mrs!

Every little detail was so well thought out….

I was in love with their cake! All 10 of them!

Troy’s family has a restaurant in Yellow Springs and did such a great job catering.  The food and cakes were WONDERFUL!

Beautiful old barn at dusk filled with twinkling lights = perfection.

They had very touching toasts….(a photographer I know may or may not have been crying behind her camera)

Troy also surprised Micki with a poem he wrote for her. 

Micki’s sweet little sister.

You may gather from this photo that the cake scene got a bit messy!

Such a beautiful night, beautiful wedding, and one amazing couple!  Micki + Troy, we can’t thank you enough for having us as your photographers!  We’ve loved our time with you two, and being a witness to the amazing love you have for one another.  We wish you much joy through the years together.

jess +brett

I can’t wait to share the full post next week!

Six years ago today our little Riah boy came into this world, and without a doubt, it was completely brightened!!

Of my four births stories, Riah’s is the funniest.  From me vacuuming our entire house while having major contractions (I would pause and breathe, and then resume), to waiting too long to head to the hospital and having a policeman ask me if I wanted to get out of the car in stopped traffic to “squat”….I kid you not…..to arriving at the hospital and having him within 10 minutes.  He had a black mohawk of hair, and he won me over from the first second.

We went bowling to celebrate his birthday, which he has done since he turned three.

I am working on allowing my kids the freedom of dressing themselves (this a a HUGE step for me).  Therefore, I take NO credit for this awesome ensemble he is sporting.  He was killing me with the buttoned down white shirt…Oh well.

Silly band mania!!!!

Gabe tried bowling for the first time. 

Then we came back home for some cookie cake.

Last week Brett was testing his  lighting and Riah and I sat in.  I loved these.  I love my boy. 

Your smile and energy are contagious, and we are so blessed to have you.

Happy birthday sweetheart!!