Last year I cooked up a hair-brained idea to take a picture every day for a whole month during the toughest hour of my day, which became the Our 5 O’Clock Project. At the time, when my kids were 3 years and 7 months old, 5:00 pm was the hour I did not look to forward to. It was a constant struggle to nurse the baby, get dinner cooked, and keep everyone happy. Not to get melodramatic and sappy, but after 30 days I came out with a new appreciation for my photography. The project tested my skills and my will power. But more importantly, attempting to find a slice of happiness during our witching hour made me realize that even when being a Mother completely stresses me out and pushes me to my limits, there are glimmers of hope. There are connections. And happiness. And love.

The project shifted my perspective enough that I’m ready to do it all again. But this year, let’s make it bigger!

One thing I know about parenthood is we are never alone. Even when we each feel completely isolated in our homes and that nobody else could possibly be having as much trouble putting dinner on the table, we are not alone. There is someone (probably only a few doors down!) thinking the exact same thing. So, I’d love for you to join me in finding a glimmer of good during your hardest hour for the month of March.

This isn’t about photography skills and this project is not only for photographers. If you’re a Mom with a phone please join us. If you’re a professional photographer with a DSLR, come on in. All are welcome and I encourage you to define your own goals for the month….be it finding joy, improving technical skills, catching connections, or staying sane.

My goal is to pull my camera out every day and capture my girls together. Now that my kids are 4 years and 18 months old, my hour of insanity is 4:00 pm. Over the last year as we worked on getting kids to sleep better, it has resulted in early bedtimes around here, which means we often eat dinner before 5:00. 4 O’Clock is when the kids are begging for a snack and attempting to climb the stove. Depending on my husband’s work schedule, sometimes I’m alone. Other times, thankfully, there are 2 adults to manage the chaos. It’s nuts, and I generally can’t wait until the food is consumed and to move onto baths.

Ready to conquer your crazy hour? Here’s the deal:

• Pick your hour. It can be any time of the day (morning or night), as long as it’s the same hour every day.
• Take a picture during that hour every day for the month of March. Phone pic, DSLR image, point & shoot…..the gear doesn’t matter.
• Post your pictures to Instagram using the hashtag #oclockproject2016. Make sure your account is public so we can see your images. Even better if you tag me too (@fiddleleafphoto) so I receive a notification you posted.
• Not on Instagram? Post on Facebook to the Fiddle Leaf Photography wall using the hashtag.
• If you’re on Clickin Moms I’ve also started a thread there where we can share images and discuss.  (If you’re not on Clickin Moms but would like to be, you can sign up here.)
• Search the hashtag and support other Moms who are participating in the project. Be kind. Share encouragement.

And because I know this is hard work, and at some point you’re going to want to stop, I’m going to toss in some random prizes along the way for those who participate on Instagram. You’ll never know what day I’ll do a draw or what it will be for (let’s be honest…I don’t even know all of the prizes yet!), but it will be fun, and who doesn’t love winning?!

I’ll also be doing a wrap up on my blog featuring some of the images that were shared throughout the month (I’ll check with you first).

Who’s in? I can’t wait to see what you capture. I’ll see you over on Instagram or Facebook starting March 1.