Noah Scalin’s instruction for day 12 was to create or alter something so that it disappears into its background. As a mom, my mind was on my finest creations on this Mother’s Day: my children. Mostly, I focused on relaxing and enjoying those young people … but I did keep Noah’s prompt in mind.

For starters, while lounging in bed this morning (my eight-year-old brought me a bowl of Cheerios at about 7:45 a.m.), I played with a new iPad app: Adobe Ideas, which was free this weekend. This cool drawing tool allowed me to create an image of many layers with varying transparencies. The result is “eh,” but the process was mesmerizing.

Better yet, Jim and the kids and I went out for lunch, then cruised through the Morton Arboretum looking for a great spot to take photos. We returned to a bridge Jim and I visit often, and I told the family my mission: to take a picture where the kids—my creations—seem hidden in my background.

This is so much the reverse of what we try to do as parents. Normally I’m nudging them to the foreground as I sneak away, letting them shine on their own. I’d rather not be in front. Even so, I like this funny view of their eyes over my shoulders …