life lately + christmas!

Two blog posts in a month? I'm on a roll! But my horrible blogging consistently aside, here are some rad life things I've been a part of the past month:

// After a looong hiatus of not participating in any Collaborative Thread events (see: twins), I, along with a couple friends, went to their speed-dating-for-creatives event last month. It was hosted at the beautiful Moniker General store, and I loved the format because it forced me to talk to more than just two people (I'm so shy at these things). I met tons of awesome women in all different kinds of fields, and I even met a fellow Virginian :)

The girls I rolled with: Summer has her own personal chef business, and Leah of Tiger + Ox

// I'm one of those people who can only handle about two holiday parties during December, and then I just want to retreat under a blanket until the second week of January. But I'm really glad I went to my husband's work holiday party this year! I offered to take portraits at the event photobooth-style, and it. Was. A. Hit. My ambitious endeavor of gluing 600 sequins to foam boards totally paid off, and bonus: my sister-in-law was visiting too, so she attended the party with us! So I got to shoot lots of great portraits such as these:

// The twins' second Christmas! This time with all the wrapping paper and bows their little hearts could want! We didn't want to go too crazy with buying gifts this year, which was a good thing, since most of their presents came from two sets of very generous grandparents :)

I will never get tired of seeing cute kids in Christmas jammies :)

twin life // first haircut!

I caved. 

I had visions of not letting a pair of scissors touch my babes' heads for at least the first two years, but even I had to admit that, after 14 months, they desperately needed a good trim at least. I was constantly brushing their hair out of their eyes, so I told myself, "Okay. If I'm gonna do this, the only person I want to cut their hair is my girl Jennie."

She works at the lovely Lighthouse Salon in North Park, so my husband and I (and my mother-in-law who was visiting) brought Hazel and Vincent to their appointment, and I documented along the way.

This salon always has the prettiest things for sale, and on display.

Hazel poses for her "before" shot...

...and after!

Vincent's shaggy mess "before"...

...and all cleaned up!

They both handled it great! As long as they had a comb or a clip to play with, they just let Jennie do her thing. Super easy.

Selfie and portrait time!

Let the next 14 month's worth of hair growth begin!

personal work // 36

Today, I am 36.

While my mother was visiting last month, we had a really great conversation about aging and what it feels like getting older. We laughed, but also lamented on how tragic it feels that our bodies seem to age quicker than our minds. That the sharpness and vitality of our brains doesn't match up to the never-ending gray hairs, the age spots that have creeped over our skin, and our slowly diminishing energy.

We revealed to each other the "true age" we feel inside, despite the number of years we've been on this earth. My magic number is 28. My mind feels 28, and my body generally feels 28 until I look really closely.

I know I'm still relatively young. I hope I'm still saying that when I'm 70 years old, and my mind feels 55.

I'm on Ello!

Are any of you fellow creatives on Ello? I joined last week on a whim, and I'm really liking it so far. The minimal, clean format makes my brain happy, and it's easy to discover new art, whether you like photography, gifs, illustration, etc. I also love that it lets you indicate which of your works are for sale, and allows you to link directly to it.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed with how many different social media platforms I use to share my work (flickr, instagram, tumblr, facebook), so it seems counter-intuitive to join yet another one. But I've found I use each one a little bit differently. I've been on flickr the longest, so it has all of my old work from 2007 on, plus a lot of my travel photography and scanned film photos. I use instagram to share more of my day-to-day life, especially life as a mother with twins. Tumblr is sort of like my online scrapbook of art I love plus my own work. And my facebook page is sort of a mish-mash of all that. And now I officially feel like a crazy person for sharing in so many ways, but for now, it works, and it makes me happy.

I think I'll use Ello for sharing just my best, personal, recent-ish work. You can check out my profile here!

the babes are one!

Things just got really real: I don't have babies anymore. My twins are one year old, and it's been the hardest/best/eye-opening/longest/shortest year ever. It feels strange to call them toddlers, but I guess that's what they are now? They're both walking about 60% of the time, eating just about everything I offer them, and just all around happy, babbly babies. I feel so damn lucky, I could burst.

As usual when I plan parties, I got super excited with decoration ideas, but I figure you have to go big for the first birthday, right? Yes, they're too little to remember this, but that's what photos are for! So they can one day look back and see how much Pinterest influenced their mom's party ideas, ha. (I have a love/hate thing with Pinterest, but I'll save that for another day.)

Not pictured: the Korean-style tacos we served up later during the party. (beef bulgogi and spicy pork belly. yum!) My mom made the kimbap rolls and japchae noodles that are on the table. I also wanted to serve Soju-inspired cocktails, so I set it up where the guests could make their own Soju-mojitos or Korean Mules. In my book, alcohol at a kids' party is fully acceptable when you're celebrating the fact that you survived the first 12 months with twins :)

If you know me at all, you know that I love a good photo booth set up. My friends and family definitely put it to good use!

We surprised the babes with a ball pit during the party! They were a bit unsure of it at first, but soon warmed up. Plus I need an adult-sized version immediately, please.

Tiny and not-so-tiny guests :)

My Korean heritage is important to me, so I wanted to incorporate the first birthday tradition of the doljabi. It's a fun game that's supposed to help predict the child's future. Various items are laid out, and whichever item the baby chooses represents their future profession. I handed out raffle tickets so our friends could guess what Hazel and Vincent would choose.

But first, we had to get the twins dressed in traditional Korean hanboks, and according to this photo, it takes approximately four people to dress a wriggly child into a multi-layered garment. Hazel wore the same hanbok that I wore on my first birthday, and it's giving me the feels all over again as I type this.

We had four items laid out: a medallion (government/politics), a brush (artist), bow and arrow (warrior/athlete), and scroll books (writer/scholar). Hazel made a beeline for the artist brush, which of course made my heart so happy!

When it was Vincent's turn, he went straight for the scroll books. The cutest future writer ever.

Oh man, the babes' birthday cake time was hilarious, but a bit overwhelming for them. The sparkler candles freaked Vincent out a bit, so he was crying and eating at the same time (we've all been there.) Hazel didn't seem impressed with the whole frosting business, not to mention they were both kind of tired by this point in the day. A birthday well spent.

Happy first birthday to my favorite little nuggets!

Party decoration sources:
Gold 'one' balloon, confetti, streamers, and small balloons // Oh Happy Day
Polka dot backdrop, cups, plates, straws, and napkins // Target
Tassel garland, cake topper, confetti balloons, and 'yay' balloon // OhShinyPaperCo  
Vincen't hanbok and Doljabi items rental // EventAccessoriesbyMJ 
High chair pom-poms // DIY from a friend
Confetti cake // Twiggs Bakery

music // let's booty barre

I've been taking barre classes for the past six months, and I've never been this addicted to working out before. I've taken yoga in the past, and salsa aerobics, but never with the same consistency and excitement that barre has given me. Plus, hearing those old familiar ballet terms (I practiced ballet for several years growing up) like relevé and plié gives me the nostalgic happy feels. I like that my barre instructors also incorporate pilates, yoga, and cardio into the workouts. So we're not just toning our legs and booty; we're giving our core and arms a workout too.

Also, it's been making my butt look realllly good :)

I wanted to put together a little playlist of some of the jams I listen to while I'm driving to class, to get myself stoked. Enjoy with a round of squats.

1. Girl Talk // Bounce That

2. Jay Z // F*ckwithmeyouknowigotit

3. Fannypack // Hey Mami

4. Touch Face // Kick, Push N' Stuff (Lupe Fiasco vs Deadmau5)

5. Kstylis // Booty Me Down

6. ComaR // Give Heat Up (Twista & Pharrell vs Phoenix)

7. Missy Elliott // WTF (Where They From)

8. Theophilus London // Big Spender Ft. ASAP

9. Junglepussy // Bling Bling

10. D.veloped // Bring Em Home (Edward Sharpe vs T.I.)

I'm not sure what to call this post...

I haven't been sure of what to write about lately. I thought about writing something funny like, "Things Strangers Have Said To Me When They See My Twins" or something practical like "Five Baby Products I Didn't Really Need" but it seems like those kind of posts are all over the internet already, and does the world really need another one? I don't know.

Or maybe something deeper and more honest, like "My Husband Has Been Working Really Long Hours Lately And I Never See Him And I'm Eyeball-Deep In Babies." Which is actually true. I'm so very tired. Not tired in the sense that I'm getting no sleep, because I actually am (they still sleep through the night which is amazing and a blessing and I need to knock on some wood  now), but tired from just being needed by two squishy 10 month olds all day long, for multiple days in a row. I'm not complaining about this, I'm just writing about what my life is like right now.

I hate the term "stay-at-home mom" because it doesn't feel accurate. It's more like "work-at-home mom." Because that's what I do, and I'm proud of it. Taking care of children at any age is WORK. Caring for twins by myself while keeping my home at an acceptable level of cleanliness is WORK. Letting my home get dirty while attending to my twins is still WORK. And sometimes ignoring my twins so I can clean my house is also WORK. And in between all that, I try to carve out some time for myself, and spend quality time with my husband, and call my parents on a regular basis, and hang out with friends to talk about everything BUT babies.

My life is full, but I love how full and (sometimes) chaotic it is. Over these months, I've surprised myself by how much I can handle and how my confidence has grown. I remember a time when the thought of going out with my babies in public by myself terrified me, but I've proven to myself that I can do that, and so much more. Like most things, it becomes less and less scary the more often you do them. Not to mention routines and being organized is half the battle when it comes to twins. The diaper bag is always ready, and the babies eat and sleep at the same times. My OCD tendencies have really come in handy for motherhood.

When a stranger says to me, "Must be a handful!" upon learning I have twins, I never know quite how to respond. Since these are my first babies, I don't know any other way. This is just my normal. I have two babies, but I also have two hands; what could be more natural? My husband and I joke that if we had just one baby, we'd have so much free time! The things we could do! But I know everything is relative. I wouldn't change a thing.

The next few weeks will continue to test my stamina while my husband puts in more time at work. But the plus side to all of it: more twin cuddles, more twin laughter, more opportunities to take them out to the park, or a store, or walks around the neighborhood. More time getting to be their mom. More time to love them so hard, and so fiercely.

A little video I made the other day using my fancy camera :)