Answers, Please.

That was the title of an email I got last night.  First and foremost, I realized that I must blab on way too much about myself that everyone feels like they know everything about me.  Note to self: retain a little mystery.  Without further adieu, here are the answers to the questions posed in this post.

What are your top boy and girl names for the baby?  C and I agreed long ago that since I share so many family pictures and personal stories on the blog, it would be wise from a safety standpoint to omit first names and use nicknames instead.  In that spirit, I’ll have to keep P2′s potential name a secret.  I can tell you that the girl’s middle name is Gabrielle, in honor of the name Gabriel which is a family name on C’s side.  If the baby is a boy, his middle name will be Michael after my father’s brother who passed away a few months ago.  Before he passed away, my father asked him to take on a special assignment when he got to heaven, he asked Michael to watch over L.A. and any future grandchildren that he might have.  It seems fitting. 

Are you thinking of expanding your photography to weddings in the future?  I love the idea of photographing weddings, and being surrounded by all the emotion and anticipation of starting a new life together.  The reality of it though is that for where we are in life, I couldn’t possibly give up that much of my time away from my family.  Weddings are a lot of work, and I need to be around to spend the weekends with my boys.  If things change in the future, I’ll be sure to announce it here first but in the meantime if anyone needs any recommendations for a wedding photographer, I know of a fabulous one.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to another working mother?  This is by far the hardest question for me to answer, because I hardly feel qualified to give anyone advice when I often feel I’m just barely keeping my head above water most days.  If I had to choose something though, it would be the one thing I try to remind myself often, which is to slooooooow dooooown. 

When C, L.A. and I get home at the end of the day, it seems like a mad rush to make sure dinner gets ready, the kitchen gets cleaned, lunches are ready for the next day, baths are had, books are read, and the munchkin is put to bed before he has a complete meltdown.  It’s very easy to get caught up the efficiency of it all and brush off the moments when L.A. comes toddling over to me, Little Tikes basketball in hand saying “Ma, Duk!” which translates to “Mom, watch me dunk the ball” in favor of getting dinner plated and ready to go.  It’s times like these where I have to try to remind myself that those are the memories I want to have 10 years from now, not the hundreds of nights that he was to bed “on time”.  So I’ll stop what I’m doing and follow him into the other room where C and I cheer him on as he shows us his best dunk, and eat dinner just a few degrees cooler.

What sparked your interest in photography?  The short answer?  My son.  I have been interested in photography since high school when I took a class that fascinated me.  I spent hours upon hours in that darkroom, and loved every minute of it.  As life went on, my opportunity for focusing on photography faded until L.A. was born.  In the first few months of his life, I knew wanted to capture every little smile, and change in his face.  I wanted to be able to document our journey as a family and remember the bumps and bruises, the little quirks along the way.  I wanted to remember his silly habits and his first steps.  So I picked a camera back up and tried to reteach myself the things I had learned long ago, and I just haven’t been able to put it down. 

Thanks to everyone who submitted their questions!