We got more homework from the school. “Design an Easter bonnet. Be as creative as you like.” People shouldn’t say this to me. It sounds too much like a challenge.

We decided on doing the Easter Chicken. Well everyone’s always talking about the chicks and the eggs. The poor old chicken gets no credit! This was meant to be just a small project. And a small bonnet. It kind of grew into a big Rooster and it took hours. I bought all these feathers and sequins so they had to be used! Seanan was starting to get a little bored after two hours but Mum was still in the zone. Cutting and sticking. Cutting and sticking…

When he went to try it on this morning I was a little bit precious about it to say the least. I wasn’t finished with the sticking. The girls in the house were buzzing around the pretty bird with the pink feathers and the glitter. Seanan’s lack of enthusiasm for having to be the model was apparent. Plus it kept wobbling off his head in the wind. Feathers and bits were blowing away. All my hard work was getting ruined!  Just to make matters worse, as we were heading out the door his Dad whispered to me,

“Don’t you think it looks a bit camp? It is just a school Easter parade – not Rio de Janeiro!”

Typical.

When he got to class he wouldn’t put it on and just decided to carry it under his arm instead. At first I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t pleased with all this hard work and why he didn’t want to show it off.  Then realisation dawned. The ‘artiste’ was gone and the ‘parent’ kicked in. How could I have not seen this?  He was torn between me and his classmates. Not wanting to look silly and not wanting to hurt mummy’s feelings.

I totally missed the fact that little boys in the first year of school just want to blend in. They are learning all these new social skills which we take for granted. They don’t want to stand out from the crowd. That’s tough enough when you are a head taller than anyone else, never mind sticking a two-foot Rooster on top. So there I was getting so carried away with being creative, doing something different, when a simpler approach would have been the best solution for my quiet child.

Today I was reminded of valuable lesson. “Not everyone thinks the way you do.” Making people happy is what’s important. Creative intentions/obsessions shouldn’t get in the way of that.

Anyway it turned out well afterall. All the kids got chocolate eggs from school. The Easter bunny turned up and stole all the attention from the Easter chicken who is now perched proudly on Seanan’s top shelf. He did love it, he didn’t need to wear it, and he didn’t see why he had to go showing it off to all his friends. Kids know stuff that us adults have forgotten.

Here is a picture of Seanan wearing the Easter chicken. Which actually, in hindsight, does look a bit over the top. But fabulous in a camp way all the same!

BTW: I was not alone in the obsessive bonnet-making behaviour going on over the weekend. A certain photographer chum was even tweeting about working out their 3D rendering plans first!

There is kind of an unwritten tradition in our family to meet at the parents house for breakfast on Saturday mornings. I’m not sure exactly when this started, but I think it was around the time my younger brother left home. He was the last one of five to move out. Mum wanted to hang on to him longer, so she lured him back on Saturdays with her big fry-up! The rest of us just invited ourselves. No special treatment for middle-children :(

At the weekend, I found myself with two cancellations and no shoots to do. Saturday morning was gloriously sunny and I had an itchy shutter finger. Good enough reason to bring the camera and take a few shots of the clan together. This is how they are. Babies, kids, bigger kids, dogs, the lot. Just hanging out, oh and jumpin too! I don’t know what it is, but when we get together in the garden/wilderness out there we are transported to childhood again, with full permission to act silly and immature granted.

I’ll miss this in the Summertime when I’m doing the Weddings but we’ll have the late light evenings and bbq’s to catch up instead.

When you are editing a photosession and you suddenly realise your sides hurt from laughing then its got to be something worth sharing.

This stick on a rope has been around since we were young. It’s literally hanging on by a thread!

Niamh is always happiest with Granda in tow.

The youngest of the clan and the most stylish.

And the oldest (in dog years). We don’t actually know what age Nala is. She was grown when we got her and very timid. We’ve have her about 15 years. She is deaf now, and can’t see well either. Still smart and sneaky though! She likes chasing her tail. And the cat.

Our cat is only interested in finding the best place to catch some rays.

You might remember Jerry O’Hara Junior from last year when I blogged about him. He is a real noggin-head.

Big foodie. Here he is in full ‘PLEASE GIVE ME’ plead-mode. Drool bubbles and everything.

And here, trying to show only a passing interest in that lolly (hence the bored look). If she turns away he will go for the lick.

After the swinging we tried to play football. That didn’t work out. Jerry chewed up the ball.

So what now? Bark. Snort.

We went for the trampoline then. Jerry hasn’t mastered this yet. I was struggling to keep the camera steady here looking at their faces. Love these.x

Believe it or not, Michael is a full-time lecturer at the Southern Regional College. Seriously.

Michael words.

“You better not put any of these on your blog. Some students might see them.”

Mr Serious. He can be so Ross from Friends sometimes. My response?

“Maybe they will actually think your interesting now. If not you could always go loco.”

Aisling has perfected the ‘still-look-pretty-even-when-your-jumping-in-mid-air’ look. Unfortunately, Michael has not, and continues to do the polo-mint expression.

I would love to do this with an engagement session, but don’t want to be responsible for the medical bills if someone breaks a leg! Best to just use the relatives.

*Sigh* Saturday morning fun. Such a laugh :)  And I haven’t even posted photos of the actual breakfast. I’ll do that in a part 2 post sometime soon!