p52 Week 8 - Cabin Fever

Not too much cabin fever going on when you live in Florida, but the past few days have been a little stormy so we've all been holed up inside enjoying catching up on some tv and doing puzzles and games.

I got some shots of the rain out the front door on Wednesday, so that's my P52 shot this week... I realized the white balance was off a few pictures later, but this was still my favorite, the way the rain was captured, so I went with it anyway.

P52 Week 7 - True Love

I did a whole lot this week regarding love. It was my son's 5th birthday on Saturday, my 7th wedding anniversary on Sunday, and when you throw in Valentines day it makes for some busy, fun, loving times with family.

But for my P52 picture this week I decided to show off some love from my extended family, my beautiful sister and niece, who we got to visit with on Thursday.

Here's my gorgeous niece....

And her equally gorgeous mommy... Now, at 15 months, Emilee is not one to slow down very often when her awesome aunt and cousin are around, but she did sneak some cuddle time with her mommy toward the end of our visit, definitely true love :)

P52 Week 6 - Drink Up

Jordan's 5th birthday is Saturday, so as a surprise I took him to Walt Disney World on Thursday for his present. He had such a good day. When we got there a cast member gave him a button that said he was there for his birthday and all day long everyone kept telling him "Happy Birthday." He loved it! I'll need to do another post with the pics of our day, but for my P52 post I thought I'd keep it short and sweet.

I made reservations for us to eat dinner at the Plaza Restaurant on Main Street. It's a cool little restaurant themed like the 1940's and they have a old fashioned ice cream parlor too. I ordered us a strawberry milkshake to share and then they also surprised Jordan with a cupcake for his birthday. It was sugar overload!!

So here's my P52 Post for this week's theme, "Drink Up."  And we did.....

P52 Week 5 - Shadows

Late this week on my post, but I did take the picture on time.

This weeks theme is Shadows. You'd think in sunny Florida that I'd have plenty of ops for some good shadows outside, but it's been surprisingly overcast this week, but I did get some good shadows as I was relaxing in the bath Thursday night, so I thought I would post one of those.

A dimly candlelit room is not the best place for pictures, but it is a great place to relax, which was desperately needed that night. As Jordan comes upon 5 years old he's also learning how to through a great tantrum. Sometimes a minute in a hot bath with some music, a candle, and a glass (or two) of wine is one of the best things to help me relax and wind down from a draining or frustrating day.

This upcoming week is probably one busiest weeks of the whole year, with Jordan's birthday, his party, and our wedding anniversary all packed into a few days. Add a secret birthday surprise for Jordan and my mind is full of to-do lists and scheduling, but it will all be worth it in the end. I know I'll be filling up my memory card this week... Stay tuned.

P52 Week 4 - Self Portrait

I had elaborate dreams for this weeks theme "Self Portrait." I was determined to take a picture of myself that I loved, one of those "This will be my facebook profile pic for the next year" pictures. But, as usual, life got in the way. Don't get me wrong, I took tons of pictures this week, but none of me. I ended up taking a picture of myself with my point and shoot outside while at work today since I was determined to have a post up before midnight tonight, to meet the challenge. I'm not in love with it, especially when looking at some of the other beautiful portraits linked to the challenge, but it's me so it counts.

Maybe that's what's hard... I don't always feel like the me I see in pictures right now. I think that's the problem.  I've always hated pictures of myself, going back to school days. I don't even really love myself in my wedding pictures, even though they are the best ones of myself out there. I guess I don't like the reminder that I don't look like the me I want to portray to others, the me I know I am inside. And, unlike those who can let that person shine through any exterior, I've always been one to hide behind the things I don't like.

I have to remember though, as the main blog post for this challenge reminded me today, that the people in my life who love me, love the me I am now, the me I was once, and the me I will be in the future; and looking back, they might want to be able to see those me's in pictures, not just in their minds. So maybe another goal I might have to make for myself this year is to see a little bit more me when reviewing my photo files. More than just the occasional "Oh yeah, she does exist..." once a year picture from previous years. Because there is nothing I love more than looking back through old photos of family and reminiscing about the memories and laughing and the way everyone used to look, and I hope one day my children will want to do the same.

Maybe if I take more pictures, I really can get that profile picture I want.....

Adventures in Putt-Putt

Thursdays are Jordan and Mommy day until Kindergarten starts, so I try to take advantage of them by doing something fun and making some memories. Living in central Florida, we have plenty of opportunities to do just that with tons of things to do within about an hour, and some great weather this time of the year. (ie. going to a water park in January. Where else can you do that?)

So that's just what we did this week. Hitting Aquatica in the morning for a few hours of watery fun (great time, not a great photo op, unfortunately).  We hit the Chick (Chick-fil-a) for a late lunch on the way home and while Jordan slowly finished his lunch (I don't scarf my food, really! Why does it take so long for a four year old to eat sometimes?) I though, why not play some putt-putt? So we did.

Really, it was more like hockey with a golf ball, which I'm sure anyone with a young child can relate too. I started to keep score, but around hole 4 I gave up, it just wasn't worth it. Of course, I didn't have my camera because I hadn't planned on taking pictures at a water park, but I did have my phone, so it got some use.

We had such a good time I vowed to do it again soon. I have to take advantage of the short time we have left to just enjoy each other without school in the way.

I dreamed a dream

Week 3 in the P52 challenge. I struggled with what to post this week, as the them is "I dreamed a dream." Until last night, when I went in to check on Jordan to make sure he had fallen asleep. Then I saw my picture.

This has started to become the norm. I didn't even know Tanner was in the room when I left, but apparently he wanted to be with his boy. When I went in awhile later Jordan had snuggled up to him and they were so cute. A boy and his cat...

Next week's theme is "Self portrait." I'm already dreading that one, but I've got some ideas so we'll see what I come up with.

Building relationships...

Lego's... I loved them as a kid, now I love them more as a parent, because it's something I can do with Jordan that we both enjoy.

We got some Cars 2 legos for Christmas and then at Target today, I found another set for 50% off, so when we got home we spent the rest of the day building. He really doesn't need my help, but he wants it, and I'm happy to oblige.

We started with a few piles that looked something like this...

Then we began. While Jordan built Lightning McQueen and Mac, I started on the other set... We were focused, I must tell you. But this is what I love, spending time with him doing something we both love. It makes the time more than enjoyable. Not only do I get to be with my boy, but I get to share something with him that I also love to do.

We ended up with some cool things. As Jordan put it "Lego's are even cooler than puzzles Mommy, because when you're done putting it together, you can play with it!"

So maybe I didn't get a whole lot of laundry done today like I thought I would, but at the end of the day, that's not what mattered. What mattered was that I spent some quality time with my son letting him know that he was awesome and more than anything, I want to be with him...

This is also my P52 post for week 2 - Made with Love.  Not my best pictures, but I didn't have much time in order to make sure I kept up the building pace.... lol

A Boy and his Cat

So, I know the old saying is "A boy and his dog," but not in this house. In this house, it's all about a boy and his cat.

We do have a zoo (two dogs, five cats), so Jordan has his choice of pets to love, but he's been chosen already by Tanner, our first. Tanner loves that boy more than I ever thought a cat could love a person. He insists on sleeping in his bed most nights, and loves to cuddle with him while he watches movies (like tonight). And Jordan loves Tanner. Sure, he loves the others too, and dogs sure are fun to play with outside, but there's just something about this relationship that works for the both of them.

Tanner's our first pet as a family, he's almost 10 years old and has diabetes so it takes a little bit of care to keep him comfortable, but he's worth it. At the top of the totem pole in the cat hierarchy, he rules with a iron fist when needed, but lets the others work out their own battles for the most part. He scared us a few months ago and we thought the end might be near, but that wasn't the case, and I know Jordan is thankful for some more time to spend with his buddy...

Back to Reality...

Up and at 'em this morning... VPK is back in session, so I'm back in the gym. My body tried to talk me out of it, but I stuck to my guns and got up and out the door. I'm so glad I did, I feel great about my workout and when I feel good in the morning, I always eat better during the day.
I have a busy few days ahead, but am looking forward to enjoying January, even if it's packed. I also have a few things up my sleeve for February and Jordan's big 5th birthday. I'm super excited and am trying to keep it a secret for him, but it's proving to be hard to do, and I still have a month to go...

In addition to everything else, I'm going to participate in a weekly photo taking challenge I discovered on another blog, http://my3boybarians.com/. I'm excited about the opportunity to use the new DSLR camera that I got for Christmas in ways other than just pictures of Jordan, although, that's still enough for me.
This weeks theme was resolution, and since one of my big ones this year is to get healthier, the gym is a big factor in that, i.e the pic in this post. Hopefully as the year goes on my pictures will get better and better.

 

Living life for today

Only one day left in 2011 and I'm finally starting to realize that living for the future is great, but if you don't also live for today, you'll wake up and find that you've wasted days, months, and years just waiting for the right time to start living and you've lost precious time you could be enjoying what you have right now, which if you look around is pretty freaking awesome.

So, it's time for some decisions (you could call them "resolutions" if you really had too).
1. I'm back in the gym three days a week, no excuses. I really do like it and while I've been back the past few weeks I feel so good about myself.

2. I stop caring about what I weigh, and start caring about what I feel like. When I take care of myself, I feel good. When I don't, I feel like crap. I'm tired of feeling like crap more days then I feel good.

3. I'm going to get out of bed and shower by 9am on my days off (this ties to #2). Spending days in my pjs are over, unless I'm sick.

4. I'm going to take some time to do things for me that I like to do, and trying to figure out what those things really are. I've really been enjoying reading again lately, and I got a new camera for Christmas that I'm so excited about. I'm going to start taking pictures, and not just of Jordan (although, he's such a cutie it doesn't mean I'm going to take less of him.)

5. I'm going to start blogging. My goal right now, just blog about my year and how I feel. Maybe I post them, maybe I don't, but they're here for me to look back and the end of 2012 and see how I did. Did I live the year to the fullest, or put myself off again as normal, hoping another day would feel like a better one to start living....