I have two little girls right now- a 2 year old and a 7 month old- my
husband is working and doing an evening MBA program- so life is a little
crazy right now- and I’m wondering if you could write about what you
wish you would have known when your first two were these ages. What are
the BEST things to remember and do at this time in life? I want to be
the best mom I can be- but it’s hard to have perspective some days. 🙂

I wove a lot of what I wish I would have known as a young mother of toddlers back in this post about the “early years,” but my quick response would be to remember what I still try to remember now: that “Life is Long” and we don’t have to be perfect and do everything right now as I sure wished I could as a young mother (and still do every day now).  Life is a journey and we all mess up and fail over and over and over again.  But what we learn from those falls makes us stronger.  Also, having a sense of humor is key:) 

I love the
bedspread in the last picture [in this post]…(here’s the picture):


…it has just the colors I’m looking for
for my craft room/guest room. Do you mind sharing where you got it?
Thanks!

Grace and I made that thing together 🙂  More about our project back here….then how we painted the room back here.

I would love to purchase the I LOVE LUCY nature prints on your side bar but the link doesn’t
work. Are they still available? 

Unfortunately those collages are not available any more…(I better remove that link from my side-bar).  I do still offer my temple canvases (more information back here), and I can probably finagle a nature canvas if there are any images you are specifically interested in.  Here are the ones I put up in our family room. 

(More about why I chose those specific pictures scroll down to the end of this post back here.)

That is such a fantastic thing that she is doing. {Elle’s photography from this post.} What does she use for editing? Photoshop? actions? something else?

She uses Lightroom and does do all of her own editing.  She has a pretty good eye for it if I do say so myself.

My son has recently started his own “business” with portrait work {like Elle has in the post linked above}. We
are having a hard time figuring out how to show people the pics without
uploading all of them to a website. Also, how does Elle charge? Fixed
rates, donation, etc. Does she spend time editing as well? 

Since she’s just starting we keep it super simple.  She just edits her photos and burns her favorites in full resolution on a CD.  Right now she charges $50 for one child (she hasn’t done more than one child yet).  It seems like a lot for a 13-year-old but she stands behind her work and gives a really good product as far as I’m concerned.

I would love to know which Love and Logic book you are referring to {in the first question of this post}.  I loved your suggestion about keeping emotions out of the disciplining. That is something I really need to learn how to do.

The
Love and Logic book I have is this one, which I really like.  But I
also went to one “Love and Logic” class and have gleaned a bunch from
friends who have taken classes.  I don’t think it is a perfect system,
but there are so many good things about it. 

I was wondering if you mind sharing where you
got your “LEARN, WORK, SERVE, RESPECT” art above your fireplace?


Read all about my long process of how we came up with this motto, why I love family mottos so much, and how I made it back here.

Happy weekend!

Similar Posts

7 Comments

  1. I have a question I was reading your about religion part and I know that you are LDS. I am a lesbian with an alternative lifestyle and will one day soon have an alternative family as the world calls it, I would like to know your thoughts on alternative families and people, do you have any friends who have unconventional families?

    sincerely Mia

  2. Last weekend I stayed up late pouring over your blog. I was so struck by your comment about "taking the emotion" out of disciplining. That spoke right to my heart.
    I just wanted to THANK YOU for teaching me that. This week, my relationship with my 3 year old son has changed so much. I feel so much more love for him. I haven't yelled once, rather I've talked him through the Why's of his choices…it has made such a huge difference.
    I just can't thank you enough. I read your blog when I'm struggling and I leave feeling so hopeful and excited to try again the next day. You are so inspiring to me. Thank you!

  3. ps- I'm making a list right now of all the things I need to start taking pictures of… simple things…daily things…things I don't ever think to photograph, things I will want to remember. Thanks again for all of your ideas. 🙂

  4. Thanks for the answer about Grace's bedspread! I'm so impressed that you two made it! It is so beautiful. I was glad to find out in the comments of the post that it is Heather Bailey fabric; I will definitely check it out and see if it's still available. Thanks!

  5. I love Friday Q&A, but when do we get to hear the end of you and your husband's love story? It ended on such a cliffhanger! 🙂

  6. Thanks for the daily inspiration. I have a new blog that tracks my project to make the most of my time with my five young kids (1-10). I've already linked to yours several times as I'm working on positive words this month and you are a great example of positivity. I thought about a saying for our wall, too, and wanted to say "live like his son" (from the song) but decided on "LOVE like His son." (wish I had a picture, though its not nearly as cute as yours) Thanks again,
    http://www.5for50project.blogspot.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *