Mommy Guilt...Why?

I'm sitting at my desk, editing a gorgeous senior session and praying that a) I have a cold and not allergies (I am so not ready to deal with non-stop allergies) and b) That said cold will be gone by tomorrow since I have P's fieldtrip to attend, when I hear the melodic sound of the boys' laughter coming from the back yard. And I immediately feel guilty. Guilty that I'm working and not playing with them. But why? It's obvious that they don't need me to entertain them 24/7 by the sound of laughter filling my ears. Today's society, however, has become one of instant gratification. Kids don't know how to just be bored, how to entertain themselves using their imagination. Our boys, who watch limited TV and play very little video games, are guilty of this as well. Sometimes I wonder if it's my fault. Since Day 1 of P's life, I've kept him busy, exploring things, going places and being surrounded by people. E hasn't fallen into that pattern as easily because of different circumstances but the boys and I still lead a busy life. When I was a kid my brother and I were allowed to watch 1/2 hour of TV a day (except Saturday cartoons) and video games were a luxury. We played outside pretty much from sun up to sun down without our parents watching our every move. We knew where we could go and what we were not allowed to do. I have countless childhood memories filled with fun times with friends. Although we were a tightknit family and my parents made our childhood fun, I remember so much more with my friends than my parents. That's because my parents didn't feel the need to entertain us all the time. So I need to stop feeling guilty and just enjoy hearing the boys play together, using their imaginations and just being brothers. Generation after generation before us has let kids be kids, without adults constantly entertaining them, and they've turned out just fine. So now it's time to put away the mommy guilt and do the same. Then maybe, just maybe, they'll grow up appreciating their childhood as much as I did.

DIET

In my opinion, DIET is the worst 4 letter word out there. For 3 years now I've complained about my extra baby weight, wanting to get back down to where I feel confident in how I look. I've tried...unsuccessfully...to lose weight several times. I tried to start eating healthier again a couple weeks ago and work out a little. But here's what I've learned about dieting:
1. If I'm told I can't do something I will. It's just my personality. So when certain foods are off limits those are the foods I gravitate to. I already have a sweet tooth but knowing I "can't" have candy just makes that craving worse.
2. I'm a yesterday girl. I want results...NOW! So, after eating healthy for a few days, when Rob had lost a couple pounds, I saw absolutely no results. Rob tried to convince me that muscle weighs more than fat but I don't think my muscles got that big after 2 days of P90x.
So, I've decided that I'm just not good at dieting. I will continue to gripe about my weight and how I'm limited in clothing because of it. Yet I won't give up Cadbury eggs, Girl Scout cookies, Reese's PB cups, Blue Bell ice cream, etc. One of these days I'll get my act together and get my baby weight off but until then I think I hear Cadbury eggs calling my name!

It's Happening....

Rob is my new blog supervisor. I didn't know I needed one but apparently I do. Someone to hold me accountable and tell me when it's been too long since my last blog. HA! So, today I was informed that I was behind on my blogging so here you go....
A lot of GOOD has been happening around here for the past week or so. This is the time of year that I do like the South- cold days mixed with just enough low humidity warm days to make it enjoyable weather. We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend by spending all day Saturday on the river (It's actually a lake but for some reason it's called False River). We fished for a few hours and even got minor sunburns. The Vitamin D was refreshing as was the warm air blowing in our faces (Although E may disagree because he didn't like when Daddy's boat went fast!). Saturday night Rob and I went on the first double date we've been on in years! It was so much fun to have dinner and watch a movie with another couple. We laughed, shared stories and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Oh, how I needed that! When we were getting ready for our date, one of our good family friends from back home called to see what we were doing the rest of the weekend. He was off work in Lake Charles because of weather and wanted a dose of "home". On our way home from our date, we picked him up and brought him to our house. Sunday, after church, he and Rob took the boat out but didn't catch anything. Scott's work was on hold longer than anticipated due to the weather so he's been staying with us since Saturday night. It's been nice having him here. He's been super helpful around the house and today, when we got severe weather, he helped "batten down the hatches" before the storm hit.
After almost 3 years here, I still haven't got used to the weather here! Last night it was predicted that today's storm was going to be the worst one LA has seen in a long time so all the local school districts closed schools for the day. Praise the Lord our immediate area was not terribly affected by the storms. But, just down the freeway, in a small town that I was in yesterday, a tornado touched down and cause quite a bit of damage. Other places, close to where we live, major tornadoes touched down, causing mass destruction and a few deaths. I can't wrap my head around the fact that we were on the boat this weekend and 2 days later there's mass destruction all around us due to storms. And now the next few days it'll be "cold" here and then it'll warm up again this weekend.
All in all, it's been a great last several days. It's nice to have someone from NV visiting, giving me a small taste of home. It's been nice spending QUALITY time as a couple and as a family. And it's super nice (like in miracle nice) that no one we know was hurt or had to deal with major destruction with today's storm!
It's happening and it's happening good around here.....g'night all!!

Feeling the Love

Although Rob and I have never celebrated Valentine's Day since we both see it just as a Hallmark holiday, I wouldn't deny the boys the celebration. Our weekend got a kick start earlier in the week when P painstakingly picked out Valentine cards for his classmates and then picked out candy for the teens at the youth shelter that we've "adopted". Friday Rob had the day off work so he, E and I went to his favorite place for a lunch to celebrate an early (non) Valentine lunch thanks to the gift card my parents had sent us. That night the boys baked cookies for the teens and I put the Valentine packages together for each one. Yesterday we took the packages to the youth shelter. There are only 8 teens there right now so it was a small group for us to visit. One girl asked, "Are you the ones who brought us the stockings at Christmas?" When I confirmed that it was us, she asked if she could hug the boys. Then she told P that she still had the picture he had drawn hanging in her room because it was special to her. Every time we go to the shelter I am blessed. For us, baking cookies and putting together small Valentine packages isn't a big deal. But for the teens who receive them, it's huge! I don't know who is more of a blessing at the youth shelter....them or us.
After leaving the shelter, we met Rob at the pet store where the boys each got to choose a fish for their Valentine gift. P named his "Spot" immediately because of all the black spots on it. E first named his "Big Boy Bike" and then changed it to "Baby Blue Eyes" before finally deciding on "Jacob". I had a baby shower to go to in the afternoon and when I got home I discovered that E had tried to feed the fish peanuts. I don't think he understands the concept of pet fish. Thankfully the peanuts didn't kill the fish and they're still happily swimming in their new home this morning.
Although I want the boys to celebrate Valentine's Day, I don't want it to be an over the top celebration. They had already received candy from my parents and a Valentine card with money inside from a good family friend. So they woke up this morning to a pack of gum and a small box of candy. They were happy to get the treat and appreciated what they were given. Not only did they feel the love, but so did I! Happy Valentine's Day....or Happy Hallmark Holiday. I hope you, too, feel the love today!!

Weekend Get Away

Here you go, Rob- an overdue blog. As much as I've wanted to blog, the only reason I'm making the time to write this one is because I really want to sit down and take a break from mounds of laundry. HA!

I've always told Rob that actions speak louder than words. Listening to what I say I want means more to me than a lot of things. So I was surprised....no, FLOORED...when I opened my Christmas present this past December. Rob had listened back in October when we had originally visited the Bass Pro Pyramid and I had said I'd love to splurge and stay there sometime. For my Christmas present he had arranged for us to stay at our friends' awesome condo in Oxford for one night and then at Bass Pro's lodge the second night. I guess he figured it was overdue since we hadn't been away together for a weekend, just the 2 of us, in over a year.
Friday we both worked in the morning then got the boys and headed out of town. I wondered what kind of trip it was going to be when we got a flat tire a half hour out of town. Luckily, Rob is great with that kind of stuff so we were on the road again in no time. We dropped the boys off at my inlaws and headed North (That's the correct direction, right Rob?). We stopped at a little hole in the wall steak house and I enjoyed the best shrimp and grits I've ever eaten (Although I've only eaten them a handful of times). When we got to Oxford we were too tired to do anything so we went to the condo, turned on the fireplace and relaxed. The next morning we went to breakfast at a place our friends recommended and...OMGosh...it was the best breakfast I've ever had!!! I really, really wanted to eat all of it but it was just too much. We walked off our breakfast at Ole Miss before heading to Memphis.
I didn't know what to expect out of the lodge as I've never really stayed in a fancy hotel, much less a lodge. But, wow! When you spend money you're treated like royalty! There was a gift basket full of goodies in our room and the staff kept asking if they could escort us to our room or what they could do to make our visit the best possible. We also got VIP tix for the top of the Pyramid, where we enjoyed watching the sun set Saturday night. After the sun went down we hit Beale St for dinner and music. By 9pm we were tired (Boy, I make us sound like senior citizens) so we called it an early night. Sunday the restaurant opened early for hotel guests so that's where we ate (Our only less than par meal the entire trip). We walked around the store then headed back to my inlaws because we were missing the boys. We spent the night there, enjoying a delicious steak dinner my FIL grilled and then watching the Superbowl (Let's be real- I read and just watched the commercials and halftime show).

It was such a great, relaxing, much needed weekend! Every time we go away, just the two of us, we realize how much that is lacking in our lives and that we really need to do it more often. It's always nice to have a weekend full of laughter and creating fun memories!

Our hotel balcony, overlooking BP

Sunset over the Mighty Mississippi, looking into Arkansas, 280 feet up

Memphis as viewed from top of the Pyramid

Inside The Lookout (bar/grill at top of Pyramid)

View of store, coming down the elevator

Sunrise

Bowling alley in BP

Largest alligator gar I've seen (not stuffed)

If all gators were this happy I wouldn't fear them.

The elevator that goes to the stop

View of one of the many swamps inside the store

Playing an interactive duck hunting game

Duck hunting museum in the store

Imaging USA

I had the honor and privilege of attending Imaging USA in Atlanta this past weekend. For those of you not aware of what this is, it's a worldwide photography convention. So, basically, I was rubbing shoulders (so to speak) with some of the most famous photographers in the industry. What an experience it was! I learned I wasn't a fan of traveling alone nor was I a fan of Atlanta traffic. I also learned that ATL has a huge homeless population. Other than that I cannot begin to tell you how phenomenal the experience was. I met Amy Purdy. If you don't know who she is then Google her. Sadly, I didn't know about her until she was the keynote speaker. She has got to be one of the most positive, inspirational people I've met. I also got to get business, photography and editing tips from some of the best photographers in the world. Talk about awesome! I was sitting in one of the seminars, thinking, "I don't think I ever got this excited about teaching conferences." I wished for more photography seminars, something I've NEVER done as a teacher. That, my friends, is a sign that I'm in a career in which I'm passionate. I am excited about all I learned and how it will impact my business in the future. But for right now, enjoy some of the pictures I took while at IUSA.

  

The Start of 2016

I don't know why but I can't wrap my head around the fact that it's 2016! Not that I'm not excited for this year but 2020 no longer seems far away...a year I've never been able to fathom.
Our year is off to, well, a start. It's not busy. It's not bad. It's not crazy. It's just smooth sailing for the most part.
I can say that 2016 has started out LOUD. In my *ahem* older age I have learned that I cherish quiet. With today being the first day P is back to school all is quiet in the house...except for our obnoxiously loud washing machine. No TV blaring (Hallelujah!). No door slamming. No boys bickering. Nothing except a small little voice asking when we're picking his Bubba up from school and the belly laughs that proceed when I start tickling him, telling him "In a little while." I'm digressing so let me start at the beginning.
Speaking of noise, since moving to LA I am become a curmudgeon (Yes, I had to look up how to spell it) on New Years Eve. I can't stand the fireworks going off HOURS after the boys are in bed. So I asked Rob if we could go to deer camp, where it'd be quiet. We took a few fireworks and let them off....around 6pm....and were in bed by around 9. A perfect New Year's Eve in my opinion.
We raced home the next day to prepare for E's birthday party (and to watch the Ole Miss bowl game of course). E has never really understood birthday parties so he's never been particular about one. Until this year. All he wanted was a bounce house party and all his favorites (including his favorite friends...ha!). It was an eclectic party but he loved every minute of it! I left after the party to run a couple errands, only to come home to find him asleep in Daddy's arms. He was so worn out from all the fun!
I am prefacing this paragraph by letting you know that I am NOT a bad mom. This week concluded P's long Christmas break. I have never understood when moms have said they are excited for their kids to go back to school. But, sadly, now I kind of understand. Don't get me wrong. We had fun on his break and I missed him today. But it has also been a very productive, quiet day around the house. P likes to be entertained every waking moment, which is not hard to do....in small doses. E is fine playing along side of me while I work or clean. Occasionally we'll stop to cuddle or tickle or play. But today I didn't feel guilty about getting caught up on work or cleaning. P doesn't take naps but E still needs them. But E also loves his Bubba and has a hard time napping when P is home. I didn't have to feel guilty today when it took an hour of me lying with E to get him to fall asleep (for 30 mins). P has been making a lot of bad choices over his break and since I've been parenting alone more days than not this week the disciplining is taxing. I've lost my cool on more than one occasion. So today it was nice not to listen to bickering, refereeing arguments or having to give Time Outs/spankings for bad choices.
So there you have it. The first official week of 2016 is in the books. Only 51 more to go......