(no subject)

[xtradone.livejournal.com]

few quick questions:

"i never imagined i'd have a kid" (or "become a mom" or something similar, saying to an old friend not spoken to recently)
я никогда ни
представила себе мама / маму или воображала что... ???

if saying that, (surprisingly) i love being a mom, seems like
"я люблю материнство" may be a bit too much like stating the obvious, but "мне нравиться материнство" an understatement... how might this be put in russian?

next topic:
i found the "translation" below in a dictionary, but i think i'm not using the correct russian phrase. if it is, then i'm not sure how to finish the sentence-
"a while ago i found myself thinking about you all...(and etc.)"
"недавно, я ловила себя, думая на том, чтo..."
yeah, that seems fairly wrong.
and doubtless not
"я нашла себя, думая о вас"...

yet another one:
"then i stumbled onto some old photos of us..."
потом, я набрешла несколка фотографий нас /о нас
or
потом, я натыкалась (несколка фотографий нас /о нас)

and then if i want to say "i started trying to make some sort of art project with them (these photos)
i'm certian i should not say either
я начинала стараться строить художественный проект
or
я начинала работать на проект с этими фотографами
and this is all to be understood as a person just fooling around with some photos, not a serious / actual "artist" or "art" just a personal project.

i've never really seen much like this in this community. is this sort of questioning appropriate?

thanks