Your home, your story - NJ family documentary photographer

"Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens and happy kids."

A very dear friend gave me a magnet with this quote. It's on my refrigerator as a reminder that right now is a fleeting season of life.

The fingerprints on the walls are there because of the face paint and art supplies that are used every day. Those unmade beds? They're for cuddling and chatting on Saturday mornings. The dust on the floor lights up like fairy sparkles during the dance parties. The LEGOS and blocks strewn across the living room are evidence of their creations and engineering feats. The dress-up clothes piled high in baskets are taking a breather after the afternoon's imaginary adventures. There are stacks of books in every room because she just started reading and can't get enough of it. It's OK that there are pancake crumbs and drips of syrup on the floor because they made breakfast with a buddy today. The chalk footprints in the laundry room leave a trail to the love they drew outside. Pieces of that board game are left out because we were all laughing too much to clean it up last night. Little ponies and tiny people wait patiently in the bathtub for their next adventure. I know that those socks had to come off before she showed us her jumping skills. And those window smudges show where they stare into the backyard, deep in thought, navigating the world around them.

Am I making excuses as to why my house isn't clean and tidy at all times? Well, maybe.

But the thing is that I know this isn't forever.

I know one day I won't be tripping over toys or have to wipe fingerprints. I know the laundry won't be piled a mile high and that the books will be arranged neatly on the shelves. And when that time comes, I want to remember every detail of how it is now. So I film it all, in my home, no matter how sticky the floor or dirty the oven.