Timing is Everything

Sometimes this traveling circus gives the impression that it's organized and choreographed.

But other times the truth becomes apparent.

It all depends on the moment you happen to catch us in action.

I'm focusing efforts on guiding Mila, the Powerhouse of Personality, towards the best version of her. That means I want her to be every bit as wild and crazy as her heart says she should be, but in a way that will be constructive. And safe. So, yes, be enthusiastic and nutty, but time it well.

Y'know, maybe don't jump up and down and scream while in a shopping cart? We should definitely do that when we've got something important to say, but it's not really worth risking injury to raise a ruckus just because we're in Target. Save it for a real special occasion or something. Buying granola bars and yogurt isn't it.

Thus, during our most recent trek for groceries, I uttered the words, "Please sit down nicely" approximately 234652345324204568409 times. And she did! Mila understood the directions and sat down nicely. Sure, she bounced right back up over and over again, but the point is she tried.

She really, really tried.

That's enough sometimes. It takes time to figure out how to turn trying into succeeding, but the only way to succeed is to start by trying. And so, I thought we would end our errand with a treat. An offer of candy or nail polish was met with "NAIL POLISH!!!!!!!!!" and glee.

But then she changed her mind. Not the sparkly blue nail polish. Something from over there.

But then the something over there wasn't quite right and the perfect Belle dress wasn't her size and the toys were overwhelming and there wasn't a doll that was perfect and ... it all fell apart. She who had tried was suddenly she who was flailing. There was screaming and crying and straight up fit throwing happening.

So I called off the reward. You kind of have to make it out the door without losing your mind if you want to be rewarded for not losing your mind, so forget it. There will be no toys, no Belle dress, no nail polish, no candy, no doll, nothing. NOTHING. 

Sorry, kid.

As we stood at the checkout, Mila in full meltdown mode, I could feel the eyes. The same eyes would have been amazed by the perfectly orchestrated circus just minutes before, but at that point, it was more of a sloppy sideshow turned train wreck. 

It all depends on when you see the circus.

There Will Be No Shoes for My Children

We've got a serious "the cobbler's children have no shoes" sort of situation going on over here, which is my only way of explaining why I'm lacking pretty portraits of the girls. Sure, I have piles and piles of candid photos that I love, but actually having them dress up and pose nicely? 

Pshaw.

They get the annual daisy and rose photos. That's me almost achieving.

But, somebody mentioned that I didn't have a recent photo of Mila on my desk so blah, blah, blah, I made up my mind to do actual "Three Year" portraits with her. I planned to dress her up, grab some props, and even go to a nice place for them. But then reality struck and the weather sucked a bunch of days and we were busy all of the rest of the days. Days turned into weeks turned into months and finally I just said "Screw it." We happened to be in Oakland running around the library right around the time it happened to not be raining. Which, that's a rare thing lately. When it is't raining, it's too humid for life, it seems. I dove through that rare opening when I was in the right place and the weather wasn't terrible.

Totally impromptu, we headed into the outdoor garden at Phipps. Alexis snuck off to a corner to read because that's basically her dream come true - time in a "secret garden" hiding behind the pages of a book. Mila had a cute dress on and didn't look like she had been rolling in chocolate recently, so it was as good as things were going to get.

Screw props.

It took about 2.6023 seconds for me to remember the REAL reason I have so few portraits of the girls. I have all the patience in the world for other people's kids when it's photo session time (Truly! I've got all day and then some to get good portraits of other kids!). I have ZERO patience for my own kids. It's almost like they use up their fair share of my patience with every breath they take.

Mila was all "NOOOOOPE."

She had things to jump on and places to hide and the running. All of the running.

I managed to capture a few good portraits of her, but mostly I have outtakes. Lots and lots of outtakes.

So I'm just going to go back to taking portraits of other people's kids. That seems to work out better for me.

Grilled Cauliflower

I've been on a mission to find some new things to throw on the grill, vegetables in particular, and keep coming up blank. There just wasn't anything that was catching my attention, unless I have done it a time or a zillion. And then my neighbor walked across the yard, handed me a little something, and I was all WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT?

Grilled cauliflower. Sometimes the right thing is the easiest thing.

Grilled Cauliflower

1 small head cauliflower
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground salt
Parmesan cheese

1. Start by thoroughly cleaning that cauliflower. Remove all of the leaves and as much of the stem as you can get without it falling apart.

2. Set it on a large piece of aluminum foil. Using a butter knife, spread the butter all over the top of your little friend. Sprinkle the garlic salt and salt on top, and then wrap the foil all around.

3. Toss on the grill for 30-40 minutes, or until the cauliflower is soft but not mushy.

4. Serve with parmesan cheese.

5. Beware children who are willing to fight to get it all. Seriously, that's a thing. Both of the girls fought me to get the most cauliflower. Apparently we need to learn important lessons from our neighbors more often.