F.A.Q

1.  Why do you blog?

I started this blog in 2011 as a way of keeping in touch with our huge extended family who are spread across Canada.  I take tons of photos of the kids and I have a lot to say, and Facebook just wasn’t cutting it anymore!  Blogging is a way of keeping connected to our family and friends.  You can read more about our family here.

2.  Are your kids really as crazy as you make them seem?

Worse.  But if I told you what it was really like around here, you just wouldn’t believe me.  The noise level is beyond comprehension, the mess is shocking, and we often examine our boys for barcodes that will tell us more about what planet they are from…just in case.  The name “Testoster-Zone” is a nod to the fact that all living beings in my house are male (including the dog and cat).  I often feel like a just got off the plane in a country far, far away.

3.  How do you do it all?

Do what all??  I call it survival, I don’t have a choice.  I only do the bare minimum in order to survive, trust me.  Plus, I don’t really watch TV.  That frees up a lot of time.  The things I like are photography, writing, reading and hanging out with my boys, so I make those things priorities.

4. How did you handle it when people refer to you as a SAHM?

I get pretty tired of labels.  Being a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) is the hardest job in the world, and I respect them more than I respect any other job.  But I am not one.  My children go to school and daycare.  I work from home – that’s it.

5. Why in the world would you leave such a good job?  Are you crazy?

Maybe to some people, but it made sense for me.  I worked in a corporate environment for almost 10 years.  I gave it a fair shot, but in the end, it just wasn’t for me.  Do I regret not leaving sooner?  Not at all!  In ten years, I’ve collected an incredible amount of skills and training that I’ve been able to apply to being a business owner.  Things always work out in the end, sometimes it just takes longer to get there.  It took me ten years 🙂

6. I can never seem to get my kids to sit still for photos, do you have any advice?

Yup, lots!  I wrote a post about it awhile back.  You can read it here.  I also offer workshops in my studio from time to time on this topic.

7. It sounds like your life is so perfect/you’re so lucky/I’d love to do what you do!

Those are not really questions, but I feel like I need to address anyone who thinks my life or job is any better than theirs.  It’s not.  The reality is that I spend most of my working hours in front of a computer editing photos, sending emails, balancing numbers, and updating websites and blogs.  A very small percentage of my working hours are spent doing the “fun” things like photo shoots and hanging out with clients!

As far as my non-working hours go, most of them are still spent changing diapers, calming crazy kids, chauffering them around, trying to pull dinner out of my a*s, cleaning up barf, and trying to figure out where all our money is going.  Just like you.

Remember this post?  Or this post?  They still apply.