Thursday, June 10, 2010

{ toasty + chill } ~ austin area child photographer

It's been one of those lovely laid back days where small tasks are accomplished at the pace of a slow moving snail and treats are consumed without any guilt whatsoever. These days make me smile. They are called "my atypical day off." Usually I have piles of work to do and running around tying up loose ends that have unraveled during my work week. I must be doing something right lately though, because today I did have some work I brought home, but I did it quickly while I had the girls color pictures to send to Avery at camp. I even managed to get on the treadmill for a run, followed by a short round of pilates with the cutest 4 year old by my side.

Pardon the confusion left by my last post. I am NOT leaving the blog world, in fact quite the opposite. I have been churning ideas in my head about writing a book and I think I will begin by researching through my blog. So I hope to be posting almost daily. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the thought of trying to DAILY upload pictures and all of that, but this will not always include a picture. This will be a journey of self examination and motivation through challenging myself and then journaling what I learn from each thing I push myself to do. I hope this isn't too confusing, please post questions and ideas for me, even challenges you think I should put myself up to.

Today my first challenge went well. I dared myself to not wear make-up or fix up at all, to just enjoy being relaxed and completely chill for an entire day. Here is what happened....

{ heat }

I let Masyn sleep in until 10 AM. I made Evelyn breakfast and we had a good snuggly morning just reading and talking until she became interested in blocks and I put on my running shoes. After my run we had some good healthy time on the floor doing Pilates and then we stretched and laughed about how sweaty I was. I cleaned up a little and put on some cut offs and a t-shirt. Already I felt like my day was flying by, but I had managed to work out, I swelled with pride. Masyn woke up and I made her some breakfast, we watched Kittens on YouTube which started both girls on a silly laughing spree. I steamed my skirt for tomorrow's work day and tried on my planned outfit, so I knocked out one thing from my to-do list tomorrow! Next I grabbed a stack of cards and went to work on correspondence for work as well as two personal letters to my nieces at camp. This chill day was going great, I wasn't wasting any time on worrying or nonsense.

{ heat }

We weren't hungry until a little later in the day, so after a late lunch I served some banana pudding I also found time to make. Set the timer for 20 minutes of playtime and then called for a household siesta! This was amazing, I got to sleep in the middle of the day. First I read for a while to get drowsy enough to actually sleep, and then I slept! Oh how beautiful it felt, especially because last night I shared a bed with both of my littles and they were taking over, I almost fell off the bed 3 times and Evelyn did fall once. Needless to say I didn't get much sleep. After the much needed nap, we played some more, colored, talked a while. My girls and I just hung out. I can't even tell you how precious this time was for me. The fact that my kids want to spend time communicating and learning, I am SO grateful for this.

{ heat }

Dinner...what the heck, I decided to take them out. They were so good and that's pretty much their favorite thing to do. They chose McDonalds and of course because they wanted to play. I said "yes" grabbed a book, put on a bra and some shoes and out the door we went. What a great time, I let them play and read for a bit. Masyn ran into a friend from her class, Colin, who she refers to as "Colin, not like on the phone." My girls played with him and his little sister and I chatted with their Nanny. It was so nice to just be outside, even in 1000* weather. What a great choice to just go with the flow instead of insisting on something I would rather do, I found a way to make it work together and felt much more accomplished having just let things roll.

Back at home it was time for a bath. I have to pause now to tell you all Masyn's funny comment for the day. Evelyn needed a band-aid for her leg so we stopped at the store and she picked a box of Barbie band-aids. As we talked about these during bath, Masyn happily said "Barbie is pretty. You know, Barbie kinda looks like me. I think Barbie is ME, as a teenager!" I love her confidence.

So that was my first full day of daring myself something. Hope I didn't bore you all. I must admit, I impressed myself with what I could get done and still remain totally laid back at the same time. I didn't even mention that I washed and folded two loads of laundry! :)

Let me know your thoughts and ideas....I'm anxious to hear.

signblog

4 comments:

Lisa~ said...

What will your book be about? If its a biography then I would say definately put in some parenting tips. Your such an excellent mother, I have always admired your patience with the girls. I cant wait to read this book!

amelia said...

the book is still being determined, but loosely based around this idea of how hard I push myself....and what comes from it, the good, the bad, and the unforgivable.

Thanks, you are SO sweet! I sometimes feel like the least patient person alive.

Tanya said...

I'm glad to hear you will be posting more! I enjoy your writing style and I LOVE your photgraphy.

Also -- a side question -- my husband and I have been looking into treadmills for running, I am wondering what kind/brand you use?

Nomi said...

If anyone should write a book, it would be you! I'm excited to read whatever you end up writing!