out with a bang.

you guys, I'm officially finished with Project 365.

can I get a resounding WOO HOO?  or how about a virtual pat on the back?  a cookie, maybe?  I feel like I deserve something, anyway.

pictured below is my 365th photo.  Gary and the kids had just returned home from their backpacking trip.  it was late (11:30ish), and except for Finley, all the littles had long since retired to bed.  actually, Finley had been sleeping but decided to wake up just in time to ring in the new year with us.  how convenient!  already at the ripe age of three months, he can't stand to miss out on the action.  I mean, look how thrilled he is:

Happy New Year! 

so.  now that I'm done with this project, I can't decide whether to jump up and down and toot my horn or bury my head in my pillow and sob uncontrollably.  how's that for mixed emotions?

while Project 365 was lot of fun, at the same time, it was kind of stressful.  especially when it felt like yet ONE MORE THING to add to my already mile-long list of daily chores.  I just finished folding my fourth load of laundry, unloaded the dishwasher for the third time, changed my fifth poop diaper of the day, ran to the grocery store, made dinner and now I'm supposed to take a picture on top of it?  I know.  you think it wouldn't be so hard to just pull out the camera and snap a picture, but it is.  believe me, there were numerous times when suddenly it was nine, ten o'clock at night, and I was scrambling for something to take a picture of.  a sink heaped with dirty dishes?  sure, why not.  *click*   

now that I'm on the other side of the fence, I'm glad I had the determination to stick with it.  it's been fun to look back at the pictures and reflect on the memories, and also marvel at how much the kids have grown in a year, especially Scarlett.  she looks like such a big girl compared to a year ago.    

so what am I going to do with all these photos, you ask?

good question.

for starters, I compiled a few select photos from the highlights throughout the year, along with some everyday ones and put together a slideshow.  obviously, it wasn't feasible to include all 365 photos because, you know, TOO LENGTHY.  as it was, I think I ended up with just over five minutes worth.

after uploading the slideshow to youtube, I sat down to watch it in its entirety.  as the photos continued to flip by, each one triggering yet another memory, I was suddenly overcome by a wave of emotions and I could feel the tears start to well up.  I guess I hadn't anticipated the pictures to evoke that kind of a response, but there it was.  another year, another chapter of our life.  gone, but never to be forgotten.       

anyway, if any of you have ever thought about taking on the photo-a-day challenge, I strongly encourage you to go for it.  it's a huge commitment, but totally worth it in the end.

for what it's worth, enjoy.  



-jessica

snow day.

when the call came in on Monday night informing us that school was cancelled the next day, a chorus of cheering ensued.  even Rowan and Scarlett joined in the frenzy, running up to their siblings and giving them high-fives.  it was quite entertaining to watch, actually.  

as a kid, I remember having those same feelings of excitement whenever school would be cancelled.  it meant you could sleep in!  or go to a friend's house!  or laze around on the couch!  or eat an entire package of Twinkies!  (okay, maybe not.)  the day was yours to spend however you so pleased.  well, to a certain extent.  as long as you didn't do this, or that, or this or that, or heavens!  you better not do that!  then it was all fine and good.  

the part I never quite understood though, was why the parents always grumbled about snow days.  I mean come on.  we're talking about NO SCHOOL here, which, in my books, was definitely a cause for celebration.  why wouldn't they think so, too?  

now that the tables have turned, I completely understand what all those sighs and groans were about.  

oh well.  at least the kids had fun, and that's what counts, right?  besides, it was a good opportunity to get out and snap a few pictures.                  

I convinced Myra to shovel the driveway for me.  of course, a little monetary compensation always helps :-)

Rowan received the award for the most mismatched snow gear ensemble -- striped hat, camouflage jacket, and plaid snow pants, size 12 months.  also, the pink boots completed The Look.  hand-me-downs, gotta love 'em. 

adorable cupcake hat made with love by grandma Kesti.

Scarlett wasn't quite sure what to think.

in other news:

I recently joined the instagram craze, and I'm having a blast documenting all those everyday moments.  it's convenient in the fact that after you snap the picture, you can immediately share it to a host of different sites-- facebook, twitter, flickr, etc.  

in fact, I just created a separate blog through tumblr to hold all of these photos.  you can check that out here: because the years are short.  I'm thinking that once I've completed Project 365, I will switch over to this instead.  if you would like to join me, you can find me at instagram under jessicakesti.

have a great day!   

-jessica   

halfway.

WHAAAAAT?

pardon my profound astonishment, but I just realized this year is halfway over.  

do you have any clue what this means?  do you?  because this is like, really important stuff.  you guys, it means that I am halfway through Project 365.  HALFWAY!  can you believe it?  yeah, so I've missed a few days here and there, even threatened to call it quits a time or five.  but I'm still plugging along, one day at a time.  it's been challenging and fun at the same time.  wait, is that possible?            

anyway, here are a few of my favorites, not in any particular order.  and I would venture to guess that at least half (if not more) have been taken with my phone.  but who's counting?  P-shaw.  also, kudos to those of you who have managed to stick with it.  that's awesome!  

btw, I'm still working on Gary for a picture of a cute, dimpled bottom.  

yeah, so there are a lot of Scarlett.  but she's so stinkin' cute HOW CAN I RESIST?

in other news:

-Myra just finished up a three-week long science summer camp.  the camp was held at her school and was, by the way, totally FREE (even breakfast and lunch were provided!) this included a field trip to the Science Museum in Phoenix, also free.  and to top it off, her teacher even bought her a souvenir from the gift shop.  lucky her!  to celebrate the last day (today), her class baked a cake in a solar oven.  cool.

-Ella and Phoebe completed their first round of swimming lessons; both passed with flying colors.  in fact, Ella is now swimming on her own.  I think the lessons gave her that *extra* boost of confidence she needed to "take the plunge."  I signed them up for another session at the end of July.

-I received word from my mother-in-law that all is well with Hannah and Jake.  after texting both of them several times and receiving no reply, I figured I better contact headquarters, just in case.  Jake did text me the next day saying his phone was dead, oops.  yeah sure, SURE IT WAS DEAD ;-) still no word from Hannah, though.  I'll take that as a sign that she's having fun, and therefore too busy to bother with her mother's nuisances.  or maybe her phone's "dead," as well.  kids these days.  I mean, I ALWAYS kept in touch with my parents at that age ;-)

-I'm 29 weeks already, where has the time gone?  glucose test tomorrow, wish me luck.

aaaand, last but not least,

-we're off to colorful Colorado for the Fourth of July.  planning to spend a few days camping and exploring near Dolores/Telluride.  since we'll be gone most of next week, that means no blogging OH DON'T EVEN START.   

wishing everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July!

-jessica          

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

I can hardly wrap my brain around the fact that these pictures were taken only two weeks ago.  shortly thereafter it got cold, and then it snowed, and well, it feels like an entire lifetime has passed since then, or that we just went through another winter or something.  what month is this anyway?  April?  yeesh.  I was ready to turn the Christmas music on.

rewind two weeks: we're at the park, enjoying the first 70+ degree day of the year.  while the kids busied themselves on the playground, I sat in the grass, soaking up the sun's warm rays.  ahhh, this is the life, I thought, and quickly drifted off into la la land.

I swear no more than FIVE minutes had passed when the first kid surfaced, already whining about how hot-t-t-t and thirsty-y-y and boooored he was, waa, waa, waa. figures, right?  I tried shooing him away, "go play," I told him, "it's a beautiful day."  only that did nothing but produce more bellyaching.  it wasn't long after, and the entire kit and caboodle was begging to leave.  begging.  it was like the park had suddenly become a jail, and I was the jail keeper.  I couldn't help but spout off a little.  "are you like, for real?  this is like, the most fabulous day EVER, and like, all you guys want to do is like, rot inside?"  I was like, so annoyed.

enter the infamous Ice Cream Truck.

the second the kids tuned in to the jingle jangle of "it's a small world," blaring over the truck's loud speaker, all quibbling promptly ceased and their eyes lit up like the Fourth of July.  I knew what was coming, and braced myself for it.  sure enough, a booming chorus of "mom, can we get ice cream?" erupted.  "please, mom, pleeeeeease?"  who are these kids, and why are they calling me mom?  "okay, okay, but you have to promise me you'll stay....."  they were already half-way to the truck before I could even finish my sentence.

turns out it was the best $10 ever spent.  they were happy, and I was happy that I got to bask outside for a bit longer.  guess every now and then money can buy happiness. or sanity maybe?  whichever it is, I'll take it.

sluuuuuuurp.

the end.

-jessica

PS. so how many of you are still strumming along on the photo-a-day project?  wow, it's definitely been a challenge... and a half!  I admit I've missed a few days here and there, especially during the time we were sick.  and I think I might have mis-numbered a few, even.  I've found out that if I don't download the photo THAT day, I lose track of when it was taken.  oh well, it's still been fun!

project 365.

due to the overwhelming response I received on Monday's post regarding any accomplishments/goals you have for the year, I decided to quit blogging and become a motivational speaker. hold on a sec. did I just "see" a few of you shake your heads and mumble, "from fuitcake mom to motivational speaker, what next?"

seriously though, you mean to tell me that not ONE of you has a single thing on your list that you'd like to accomplish this year? (besides my SIL Ruth who said she hopes to give birth this year instead of next:) no trips or vacations planned, no house projects to tackle, no goals, dreams, aspirations, no... nothing? so you're all just going to stare out the window and giggle into balled-up fists like I do? oh I'm sooo happy! finally, someone to keep me company. *giggle* and before you start hurling rocks at me, I'm totally kidding.

so. if you're not going to share, then I will. cue drum roll, please. you guys, my HUGE project for the year is to take a "photo-a-day." um, I'm just now thinking that huge is an understatement. maybe ginormous x 7 million would be more accurate. anyway, this requires pulling out a camera (even a picture with my phone counts) EVERY day. (don't tell anyone, but I already missed day one, heh.) obviously there will be days that I'll take more than one picture. like who could go to the beach and take only one photo? and no, taking a hundred photos on one day does not qualify as "catching up", nor does it excuse you from taking the rest of the month or year off, are we clear?

so what's the method behind my madness? well, I'm guessing we're all pretty good at pulling out our cameras for vacations and events like birthdays and such, right? but what about when it comes to capturing the everyday? like how your child's tongue hangs out when he/she is concentrating on homework. chubby hands playing with trucks. hubby snoring on the couch, mouth hanging open (no?!) a case of serious bedhead. a cute expression your child makes that you want to remember. a grubby toddler face. potty training. sleeping baby eyelashes. these are the moments that make up the majority of our lives, are they not?

aaaaand unfortunately, the older we get, the further south our minds go, thus the more apt we are to forget these moments when we look back on the years of raising children. sure we have umpteen pictures of the trip to Yellowstone, but what happened in between that one trip in July and so and so's birthday in November? no idea.

if you're slumped over in your chair, overwhelmed at the thought of taking a picture a day, try taking one a week instead. or when the moment strikes. in this case, something is better than nothing. keep in mind, the objective isn't about getting the "perfect" photo, either. in fact, the less perfect and more "real", the better.

I know this is going to be a challenge for me, so to help with brain fog, I'm making a back-up list of ideas for those days where I'm all, "help! what can I take a picture of today?" that way I can pull out my handy-dandy list and go, oh yeah, I wanted a picture of a cute, dimpled bottom. "quick! Gary! pull down your pants!" click.

I promise not to post the "photo of the day" every day out of fear I'd lose you all, but maybe a few here and there will be fun.

here's what I have so far:

Chloe gets some SICK air sledding.

someone discovered leftover bows in my closet and decided they matched Scarlett's outfit.

Rowan smiles for the first time in six months.

I think it'll be fun!

-jessica