10 Pictures you should take at home right now

When I scroll through my 70,000+ photos in my iPhone I think lots of things about where I'm currently at in life, where we used to be and how fast time moves.  I think, Finn's never going to be that small again.  Jason and I probably won't grow old in this home.  Our family may not always have just one baby to love and, we all know we may not look this young for long.  This is the exact reason, I take a million photos of simple things throughout the day.  So, the next time you find yourself hanging at home with your phone in your hand you should snap these photos and memories.

1. Simple moments of daily life in the space you spend most time in.

2. Pockets of your home that every time you walk by them, you feel like you're home

3. YOU, mama!  Just you, alone. We need to get out from behind that camera.  I'm talking to you, Husbands!

4. One good "framer."  you know, the one grandma wants to hang on the wall.  Faces closes and with big smiles

5. The one you think would never be the "framer."  the one where someone is possibly throwing a full on meltdown fit but, it's ok.  Cause it's real life.

6. Gadgets.  You know you'd give anything to have a picture of your walkman circa 1995.  Or your old answering machine!  Ha.  Get a couple snaps of the technology around your house because kids these days, don't even know what a CD is!  No, seriously.

7. Candid moment, one unplanned snapshot of what you home life is like right now

8. All the small details.  something around the house that will remind you of exactly what season you are in currently.  It could be your bedroom, your closet, or even your bathroom.  But just snap a quick photo of something material that will bring you back to this moment when you see it again in 10 years.

9. You and your love without the kids.  I know it's way easier to hide the belly roll or to those dang birthing hips with a baby in front of or on you but, you know you need one tiny little glimpse of who you two were before babies.

10. The "look how much he's grown" pic. For me, it's Finn's hair.  He's always been almost bald so when I see a photo with those little ringlets, I want to remember that moment.

When I was younger, every holiday when we would go back home I would want to look through old photo albums.  I loved seeing how people used to dress and really enjoyed laughing at the obscene floral print couches and orange shag rugs my grandma had.  One look at that stone staked fireplace and I would quickly remember all the times that I would sit in that recliner chair in the living room and share an apple with salt on it with my grandpa.  

These days its all too easy to get caught up in searching for that perfectly curated image.  You know, the one with a minimalist back ground, or one that says, I'm always on vacation!  I started a new weekly blog series called #thedailymoments, and it has completely changed the way I look at taking photos these days.  Yes, I want my feed to look pretty and inspire others but that doesn't mean I need to have a couch with perfectly placed pillows or a floor without toys laying around everywhere.  

I use my instagram and blog as a journal that hopefully one day when I'm old and grey and Finn brings his first girlfriend over to visit us for the holidays, I can pull out my blog posts (aka old photo albums) and show her all the embarrassing things he did when he was younger, his first bad haircut, and even how messy his room was.  I can't wait to look back and show him and her how we used to live and even give him a tiny glimpse into what his dad an I were usually doing on a week night in after he went to bed.

These pictures I post, they are a representation of me and my life.  They are what I will leave behind when I'm gone and they will be what my great grandchildren (hopefully) will have to cherish and learn more about who I was, what I did, and what kind of life I had.  It's sometimes messy, sometimes beautiful and most of the time somewhere in between.

A Big thank you to Alison Bernier, who took these photos for us.  She came to our home for an hour on a warm summer night and captured us just being us in our home.  When these pictures were taken we had only been in our new home for about a month, and only Finn's room was actually "done."  We ahd boxes in the hallway and in our bedroom, the bed was still on the floor and I won't even begin to tell you how crazy messy the garage was but it didn't even matter.  I highly recommend doing a session like this with your family at home. I'll hold these moments for years to come no matter how messy the scene behind them was.

#TheDailyMoments

#TheDailyMoments

These days most of us are living busy over-scheduled lives.  It's easy to lose track of the moments that really matter, which can often be the most ordinary parts of our days.   In the midst of all the responsibilities of our day, we need to remember to check in with ourselves so that we don't lose sight of who we really are and what is really important to us.   This series, #TheDailyMoments was started by my good friend @steph.pollock and as soon as I saw her first post, and when she said, 

It's these small moments that make up a lifetime of beautiful ones,

I knew this is exactly what I needed to bring some joy and simplicity back into my daily life.  This is my first day of just keeping my iPhone handy and letting the moments speak for themselves vs finding the perfect white wall to stand in front of, or rearranging all the pillows on the couch before taking that perfect shot and it truly is bringing life back into my daily routine.  This series is helping me to not only grow and learn as an Instagram influencer but as a wife, mom, friend, and an individual.  Today is Tue, July 10th and these are my Daily Moments.  

Just as Steph did, I am inviting you to do the same, join us in this movement of letting life be more enjoyable just by letting it be exactly what it is.  Tag your photos with #thedailymoments so we can all share in the joy of the simple moments that make up a lifetime of happiness.

If you wanna see all the inspo from Stephanie herself, click here.

1. snuggles   2. laugh   3. focus   4. toesis   5. puzzled   6. create   7. destroy   8. hide   9. peek   10. brusha brusha   11. ride or die   12. pretend   13. yourturn   14. flex it   15. cruise   16. smile   17. teatime   18. meltdown   19. naptime   20. end of the line  21. cocktail time  22. daddys home  23. explore 24. goodnight 

I had the best time working on this today and not worrying about the images I was capturing.  I feel like this series is going to be so eye opening for our whole family and I can't wait to see how it evolves and changes from week to week!  Tell me, are you going to join me??

For Week 2, click here.

For Week 3, click here.