September 2016 Rural Photo Shoot

I’m excited (and a bit nervous) to release September 2016 rural photo shoot.

September 2016 rural photo shoot didn’t really happen in the way it was originally set up to happen. But it did. I got some cute pictures of the girls this month.

If you’re reading Farm Fit Living for the first time, you may not know what the September 2016 rural photo shoot is. For those of you who are new, be sure to read the next couple of sections. And check out previous photo shoot sessions for some awesome blasts from the past!

But, if you are a loyal follower and lover of my blog and the rural photo shoots, go ahead and scroll down past all this mumbo jumbo to the bright and beautiful photos of the September 2016 rural photo shoot.

WHAT IS THE MONTHLY PHOTO SHOOT?

Well, it is a challenge. I started this challenge in June 2016 as a way to capture the growth of my girls. And also to grow in my photography skills as well. I plan to continue this challenge for many years to come as a way to collect memories with my girls.

Now, I’m not just photographing them in a normal day. But I’m actually dressing them up cute like I would if I was taking them to a professional photographer. I always intended to play with props and use natural lighting to capture their best moments just as a professional photographer would do.

I get to use my creative brain and really think of some ideas to make the best photo work. It’s fun, I’m making memories and I’m saving money by not having to hire a professional photographer. This photo shoot is something I can plan and look forward to each and every month. It will showcase our favorite memories and events of that month.

Furthermore, I encourage you to take part in this challenge as well. Why not? Well, I will tell you why I am doing it. Maybe it will entice you to try it as well.

WHY A MONTHLY PHOTO SHOOT?

Seems like it would be stressful to throw in a photo shoot in an already busy month. But, when Maci was a newborn, I was starting to believe it to be necessary. I was fighting with myself over the fact that I had not scheduled a photo shoot with a photographer after the birth of my newborn.

So, I took newborn pictures of her. A month later, my mom came to visit and encouraged me to take some pictures of both girls myself. During the June 2016 rural photo shoot, I used Mylee’s Allis Chalmers peddle tractor, rocking chair and trees in our own yard for an awesome first photo shoot.

That’s when the idea popped into my head. I have the cute props and the camera. I have the gorgeous rural scenery. Why not?

So, the monthly photo shoot challenge was born. I had so much fun with our first photo shoot in June that I decided to keep it up each month.

Because my girls are growing up and changing so much, I felt this would be a genius idea to keep track of their growth. And so far, the results of each have been timeless treasures for me and our extended family who want to follow as the girls change from month to month.

September 2016 Rural Photo Shoot

The September 2016 rural photo shoot was pretty simple. No fancy clothing or props this month.

In fact, Mylee picked out everything for this photo shoot (I explain later down below). Outfits, location and props were all on her. Notice that her shirt is on backwards and Maci is wearing a Christmas shirt.

She wanted to use her rocking chair and blankets. We simply just traveled out to the backyard where there was some shade. I spread a jean blanket on the ground for Maci to lay on because she’s really rolling over now. I wanted to capture that for sure in the September 2016 rural photo shoot.

Here’s a little bit more about Mylee in the September 16 rural photo shoot.

Mylee

Mylee is three years old. This is her first year in homeschool preschool. So far, Mylee has learned the letters C, A, H (Her Favorite), and P. Right now, we are working on Letter D.

Mylee is a very responsible little girl for her age. But, she’s at the age where she does the things she wants to do. And when she has the mindset to do something, she’s going to do it. She’s is so carefree and keeps us all on our toes.

We are still working on potty training but she showed her first goat at the Kansas State Fair. She did a wonderful job with Anna – Leading her in the ring by herself and setting up her feet. I was so proud of her.

And Mylee loves being a big sister. Sometimes she acts like a baby to get attention from me, but for the most part she loves her little sister. They are starting to play together and have adorable connecting moments that just melts my heart.

Maci

Little Maci is six months old this month! I can’t believe how fast the time has gone already and I’m so glad I’m capturing all her fabulous changes with this photo shoot each month.

She is still working on some teeth, but sleeping better at night. I’m convinced that next month’s photo shoot will present some teeth. For teething pains, she’s wearing a Baltic Amber Teething Necklace. I’m a true believer in them because she’s such a happy girl.

Also, I think Maci will be sitting up by herself next month. She’s so close! She loves sitting in her bumbo seat, her stroller and high chair by herself.

Maci is also rolling over quite well now – even without the help of her big sister. For a while, Mylee was rolling her and I had to explain to her that Maci needed to learn to roll over by herself. I have a feeling Mother Hen is going to want to help her with all of her milestones in life.

Maci did great this month with all of our trips we took. She’s getting to be quite the little traveler. Here’s a few things we did through the month of September.

A Busy Month of Travel

This month was our month to have fun. It was a month of vacations and travel. We took a trip to the Lake of the Ozarks and stayed in a house with a swimming pool right on the shores of the Big Lake.

We also made the long 4 hour trip to the Kansas State Fair. The family time this month was amazing and I’m so thankful for this time together. We will continue to make the trip each year in September to exhibit the best we have from our farm.

These adventures would have been great themes for the September 2016 rural photo shoot.

But among all of these other wonderful moments, I discovered something else about myself. Something you may not have realized or ever would have guess I would be fighting. I certainly didn’t!

A Lightbulb Moment

So, I realized something this month. I’ve been fighting post partum anxiety and depression. And I had no idea that this was even happening to me.

In fact, I believe I’ve been fighting it for three years or longer! As I learn more about it and think upon past events, it all becomes (somewhat) clear. The one causing my own unhappiness in life is no fault of mine. I’m letting the bad days and moments consume me for no reason.

But wait. Before you sweep in to save me and my children from myself, please let me explain that my symptoms are pretty minor. I don’t burst into crying fits. I have never had the desire or thoughts to kill myself or my children.

I just have bad days. And it seems like these days happen before big events or when I’m really worried about something. I just shut down or I get really scared.

For example, after our truck was stolen from our yard back in June, I didn’t want to leave the house. Even take the girls out into the yard to play in the pool or swing. Every time our dog would bark I would be jumpy or be looking over my shoulder at the door.

While those symptoms have gone from every day to a day or two per week, here’s some more symptoms I have that align with normal symptoms of post partum anxiety and depression.

Here Are My Symptoms

My symptoms include: Lack of motivation, thoughts of someone breaking into our house (Only at night now), feeling upset and stressing over minor things, irritability, feelings of hate towards my three year old. And guilt around those feelings. So much guilt. Who could ever feel that way about this adorable face?

I never ever feel the need to hurt my daughter. I just have feelings sometimes of not wanting her near me. But I don’t know – Maybe that’s the feeling of many moms with toddlers? Leave me a comment and tell me if this is a serious symptom or not! I’d sure appreciate it!

And lack of motivation. Oye. The September 2016 rural photo shoot almost did not happen. Luckily, Mylee is on top of things and takes care of me. She’s the one who insisted we go outside and take some pictures. She’s the one who picked out the outfits and the props. I just did what she suggested and snapped the photos.

And if you saw my house right now, you’d probably think the pigs moved in. Seriously. My lack of motivation for cleaning has gotten out of hand. Our house is a disgusting mess. It’s time to get control of myself. My family deserves to live in a better quality living environment than the current state.

So, I’m fixing it before I fall into a deeper despair. Because I believe that every long term goal needs a plan of attack, here’s my plan for overcoming this.

My Plan for Overcoming Post Partum Anxiety/Depression

Tell people. I’m telling you all now. I’m not a talker. Writing it out is the best way for me to express my feelings. This is me talking about this condition.
Find some breaks in the day. It’s just me and the girls most days. All day and every day. Sometimes when they are playing nicely, I will leave the room for a minute or two. I will just close my eyes and find a moment for myself to regroup.
Eat extremely well and take my vitamins & supplements. Some mornings, I don’t even have the urge to eat well or take my nutrients. Since I’m nursing, it’s important for me to keep up my nutrition so I’m going to focus on this a little bit more.
Find more ways to laugh. Live, Laugh and Love. Get more hugs.
Get more sleep. It’s difficult to get Mylee to nap in the afternoons, so quite often I don’t get my nap. I wake up early in the morning to exercise or write so I know I’m not getting enough sleep. My goal is to track my sleep and really focus on getting 8 solid hours.

If you’re wondering about the cleaning part, I’m working hard to clean one room in the house each day. And I don’t have that many rooms, either! This should be easy!

But if my plan doesn’t work and PPA/PPD Worstens:

My disclaimer: I truly believe my condition is very minor compared to others. I don’t believe my symptoms are too severe at all. And I’ve read that with the above steps, the minor symptoms go away with the hormonal changes. I truly believe that things will get better for us, but if they don’t then I will be seeking some professional help.

And at this point would be silly for me to seek professional help because I don’t feel like I need to be medicated. I think I do need some help, but in other ways – Cleaning, breaks from the girls, etc.

And I’m lucky to have great family to help me out when I need them at the drop of a hat. No kidding. I am very blessed. And I wanted to thank them by following through with the September 2016 rural photo shoot.

Counting My Blessings

I’m remembering what is important in my life. I have a wonderful family, a farm and some great part time jobs. The life I’ve always dreamed to have is right at my fingertips. It’s up to me to live the way I want to live and create good times for me and my family.

So this month, I really wanted to remember my light bulb moment. The moment I realized, “Hey – I think this is what I’m dealing with!” Because putting the name with the face not only helped me to reduce blame and guilt. But it also helped me to learn more about the condition and research methods to help me get better.

Positive mindset and clear focus is the name of the game here. And that it’s not how you get things done. Just that you get it done.

Well, we got the September 2016 rural photo shoot done. I’m so glad we did. The memories captured during this photo shoot will last forever.