Winnipeg real, everyday, beauty.

Why I document our every day messes and moments

I'm sure you've noticed by now, but I tend to take and share a LOT of images of my own family. Maybe too much. But, other than wanting these memories for myself, there's another big reason I share so much. I want you to get to know me. I want you to see that life isn't always nice shirts and clean houses and well behaved kids. Real life is messy. It's chaos. It's windows full of finger prints and a kitchen that's still a mess from last night's dinner that no one ate.

To me, photography is an incredibly powerful tool. My camera is a piece of machinery that I hold in my hand that I can use to stop time. I can freeze things the way they are, right now. In the midst of the busyness, the mess and the chaos I can hit pause, knowing that I can rewind to this moment of my life long after my kids are grown. It's pretty humbling.

So in honour of messes, and kids being their crazy nutcase selves, here is my little Picasso in action. It escalated very quickly. From the first frame you see to the last one, a whopping 18 minutes passed. But these are 18 minutes worth of memories that I have locked down in my personal vault, and you better believe one of them is being printed to hang on my wall. And I know that every time I look at it, I will remember my littlest saying (in his oh so cute toddler speak) "PAAAAYTE MAMA! Paaaaaaaayyyyyyyte" at 5pm... when I should have been starting to make dinner. Instead, they got to paint and I got to procrastinate from my mom duties for 18 minutes to capture the ridiculousness that ensued. Ok, longer than 18 minutes because, as you can see, there was a small amount of clean up required afterwards. Dinner was late. Our kitchen was a mess. I was left wishing my 2 year old would still fit in the sink for a sink bath... but that's life. And I want to remember it.

So here is my challenge to you: the next activity you do as a family, be it big or small, document it. With a *big* camera or your phone. Doesn't matter. Capture it. Lock in your memories. These days are fleeting. This I know, since the main character in this mini story is 2 and a half years old as of today. 2.5 years. I blinked. Or it feels like I did. But I know that I have albums and walls full of ordinary moments, just like this one that will take me back.

Cheers friends. Thanks for stopping by

Alicia