Over the past couple weeks, we’ve taken a step back from our Snapchat stories, and it’s not because our deep love for sharing more behind the scenes has faded. Nope. We still adore the app and find sharing there to be more candid and less curated.
But ….
Job number one around here is still the parenting gig and Keith and I were both noticing some changes in Mayhem’s behavior and felt like we needed to spend some time figuring out what was going on. So we’ve be giving that (and her) a lot of attention lately. And just to clarify, I don’t feel like there was necessarily a lack of attention, but the quality of the attention can differ, and perhaps I was dropping the ball a bit on that.
Fortunately, the spring weather arrived extra early around here, so we’ve spent the better part of the past couple weeks outside. We’ve been playing and talking and playing and talking and playing and talking. And it’s been a conscious decision to keep the “interference” to a minimum. We gave our family a 100K step challenge (for each of us) last week and we ended up knocking that out of the park in five days. Side note: Moxie cannot hang with us.
It’s been a whole lotta waking and talking and scooter-ing and hoops shooting and just plain family time. We’ve painted our fingernails, drawn a thousand pictures, made some additions to cardboard city, and I was even treated to a secret spa (complete with paper “pickles” on my eyes). All of this in addition to our regularly scheduled school work.
In a world where round the clock sharing is all the rage, all of this could have been seen as excellent content. (Because that’s what we’ve been dubbed … content creators.) And while we certainly haven’t gone on a total digital detox or anything, stepping back into life outside the screen has been refreshing. We’ve taken field trips where I took not a single photo. Camera or phone. I didn’t snap a second of it. I wasn’t worried about how the background would fall out of focus or which filter was best for the scene. There was no re-shooting anything. I took a cue from our pal Kid President and decided to take brain pictures instead, and it’s been glorious.
This does not signal the end of anything. It simply means we noticed we needed to recalibrate, so we took a little breather and did just that. Keith and I have spent a tremendous amount of time over the past couple weeks mapping out some big plans and we’re super excited about some potential projects. And we also have commitments and obligations in the here and now. We’re in the midst of our own March madness which is photographing ALL.THE.SPRING.TEAMS. but we’re counting our blessings with this amazing weather we’re having.
I’d imagine you’ll start seeing more of us back on snapchat (heck, you can see Mayhem making some pretty sweet throws on a lacrosse field over on our snapchat story for the next six or so hours: FashionByMayhem). Mayhem has been itching to get back in the kitchen, and she’s obsessed with the funny selfie filters, so ….
But in the meantime, I’ll be reminding myself that it’s OK to take a break from real pictures in order to take some brain pictures too.
Have you jumped on snapchat yet? And what are your thoughts on snapchat stories (in general, not just ours)? And if you want to follow ours, you can add us with our snapcode here:
Bravo to you for taking the time away from constant connection. I’m sure the experiences with Mayhem will be remembered for a long time.
We would like to offer you and your family an exciting “field trip” option when you are ready. We run small group walking tours in the French and Italian Riviera and Greece and would love to have you all along. Check us out at http://www.thebluewalk.com. We extend a discount to you on one of our tours. Next year we are adding a leg in Paris to our France trip. Great fashion in Paris from what I hear. Imagine the paper beret collection..
Even if you do not join us we enjoying your posts, snaps and insights.
Carry on
The Blue walk team
Bravo to you and yours. The audience is on their feet and in awe of you choices.
You are too TOO kind! Just trying to share a bit of what we’re learning is good (for us!) as we go. Sometimes it’s just helpful to write it down and share it 🙂
I love seeing different daily lives of others (especially more famous people). Sometimes I’ll just skip through them pretty fast but I must say, your snap stories always brighten my day and love to see what Mayhem’s up to. The kitchen stories are probably my favorite!
Thank so much – the Mayhem in the kitchen stuff is always fun. I enjoy seeing snippets from others’ days as well, but sometimes I feel like people “oversnap” and I don’t want to be an oversnapper 😉
Wise mom. : )
Just trying to learn and do our best as we go …
Great lesson and great post! I do love your snap stories, but understand that breaks are needed. I still can’t believe you all hit 100k! I’ve only managed that once and it included a half marathon and a week at Disney World!
Brain pictures + quality time = a good reminder for all of us! ?
You two are wonderful parents and I greatly respect the choices you make for your daughter. I’ve seen other blogs take advantage of going viral and commercializing their lives and their children. But I very much admire how you guys shield and protect Mayhem, especially in this day and age when most people just want to get famous. Bravo to you both!
I’m glad your back on Snapchat! But I also love you for taking a step back. How do you keep continuing to one-up yourself as Best Parent Ever (tied only with Keith, of course)??
Wow, you can tell it’s late. I obviously meant YOU’RE, dangit.
Hahaha! You’re allowed to slip up every now and then (it makes you seem like more of a real person and less grammar goddess).
You are too too kind! We do love Snapchat, but since it’s such a “real time” thing, we definitely recognize when we need to drop the phone and be totally present. You know us – we’re a constant work in progress, but thanks for the love!