What do you call someone who waits until the last minute to get her Tweens 4-H photography projects developed, framed and/or put on a poster board? One sleep-deprived crazy loon of a Mom who really needs a nap and/or some MAJOR chocolate!
Yes, I did it again. For some reason, I just cannot get my rear into gear to help my girls finish these projects ahead of schedule. I say I thrive under pressure. Hubby says I LOSE it under pressure. I think it's a wacky mixture of both. My best ideas come at the very last second but I nearly lose my mind in the process. I make my kids and husband crazy with last minute changes that I am convinced will help them bring home the coveted "Outstanding of the Day" ribbon. I turn into one of "those" Moms who go a little overboard...get a little competetive...catch the 4-H Fever. Purely for the sake of the kids, of course.
Last night was no exception. While the girls and I had matted and framed their photos on Sunday (yes, 2 days ahead of schedule), Hannah and I finally tackled the project that took the most creativity and time. Last night. At 10:00. What was I thinking??? Thank goodness that I am a night owl by nature or I might not have been able to keep my eyes open long enough to finish. Not to mention having to keep poking Hannah every time her head bobbed and drool started to appear in the corner of her snoring mouth. We actually came up with a game plan pretty quickly. Unfortunately, the execution of said plan shatters my fantasy of cranking the project out and being able to sleep like a baby within a half hour of starting the project. Again, WHAT WAS I THINKING???
Hannah chose to take photos of various church steeples for her "photos in a series." This project has been in the works for over a year because we were GOING to do it last year, but decided at the last minute that we liked sleep more than an extra project! Hence, we gave ourselves an entire year to figure out exactly what we were going to do. So, when did we start said project? You guessed it! Last night. Judging for this project was this morning at 10:10. We finished applying all photos and lettering (which had to be cut out individually) to her poster board at 2 a.m. You might not think that seems like a lot, but when the title of her project is "Here's the Church, Here's the Steeple..." you suddenly realize just how many letters that is and how many e's you have to cut the tiny little hole out of. My fingers have yet to recover from holding that scissors for an hour straight. Yes, Hannah was awake. She was working on getting the photos framed nicely and secured to the poster board. It was during the gluing of the letters that I thought I was going to lose her to the sandman! Needless to say, we managed to finish it and were pretty happy with the results.
But, 7 am came a bit too early for me. So much so that I thought I'd close my eyes for just a little longer...then I awoke with a jolt and discovered it was 7:45 and I'd wanted to leave at 8:15! Fortunately, I'd told the girls to get their clothes ready the night before and I had everything pretty much ready to go. When we got there, we were amongst the first to arrive! YEAH! We actually scored some seats! Last year the girls' times were later so all seats were taken by the time we got there! That's a LONG time to stand with two tired, grumpy girls!
Needless to say, The girls both received all "A" ribbons on their projects. Hannah was awarded an Honorable mention for both her Black and White entry and the storyboard we pulled an all nighter on. So, I guess it was worth the extra trouble. Who needs an Outstanding of the Day ribbon anyway? In my mind, the Honorable Mention is better than the Outstanding of the day...you still get some of the glory without having to advance to the State Fair! I will just be happy with what the girls got. After all, I don't want to be one of "those" moms and obsess over what they could have done better, you know?
Now, I gotta go. We have some work to do for next year's photography projects...Tweens, where are you? (I think they're hiding under their beds) Momma has an idea...........!!!
