I should have know what kinda week this would be...

when on Sunday my morning started off with the five year old refusing to eat a cinnamon waffle! I've ranted about this enough for the past 2 days that I don't even want to write about it! To make a long story short, I read him his rights and let's just say at dinnertime the meal was "delicious!" Enough Said!

Monday was one of those days that was productive but felt stressful. There was nothing in particular that happened to make it feel that way. Let's just say that when five o'clock hit, I was walking out of the door and happy to be leaving!

Today was a different story!!! Camille was up off and on throughout the night w/a crazy cough and in and out of our bed. When she woke up at 4:45 AM asking for juice, I knew that my plan to go to the gym had been foiled! So instead I changed a diaper, washed clothes, fed Camille some cheerios, packed a bag for the gym and the list goes on. Needless to say, we left the house at 7:40 only to be stuck in traffic. A mere hour and some change later, I arrived at work. Here I am still trying to diffuse from the drive with my coffee and the papers on my desk that are daring me to actually do something with them! Let's hope that today turns around for the better. I am willing to let go of the gym, the drive and the irritation so here's to waiting for something good to happen today!!!!!

Living in the Here and Now....

So, I get these daily reflections and although I don't read them everyday, I make an effort to read them regularly. Today's reflection really resonated with me and I've been thinking about it all day. The part of the reflection that hit home the hardest was the "idea of stopping life momentarily in order to achieve something." In other words hitting the pause button on whatever it is that is happening in order to enjoy the outcome. So not enjoying the now b/c you are waiting for what could happen (or not happen for that matter) in the future. I was always that person - the "when I do this, then I will do that" person. It's really the comma in between the 2 statements that mean something. That's why making healthy choices are so important to me and I am so hard on myself when I don't live up to my own expectations. When I was heavier, I always used the excuse that maybe someday I'll figure it out. Now that I've figured it out I want to enjoy the space that the comma represents and I want to enjoy the process of maintaining my weight - the here and now. This picture of Camille reminds me of just that.....life and all of its simplicities wrapped up in a little girl singing with her eyes closed b/c nothing else matters but this moment - right here and now. And boy oh boy is it good!

Bedtime Chronicles Cont....

The Chronicles continue as we try to figure out our bedtime routine. Tonight I asked the dad to NOT have the TV on when we arrived home b/c I think it's over stimulation. So far so good - dinner, check, one bath down, check, next bath on the docket, check, lots of complaining - not so much! Overall it's been pretty decent. We are finally getting Dylan's allergies under control and our dear friend Rani is over planting flowers. Dylan really wants to be out there with her and dad but after being out there for 10 minutes when we got home, it was a sneeze fest! So much for that professional gardening career....however, I do wonder if his allergies will always be this bad b/c that might mean we have to keep hiring a lawn guy. I was hoping to get some free labor when he turned into a teenager!!!! HA!

The Morning Struggle

I won today! Well sort of! Although I still sat down at my desk at 8:33, I was able to leave the house at 7:43 AM with everyone in tow and ready to go by 7:40AM. This new chapter in our life is our biggest obstacle to overcome. I am convinced that our children are smarter than we are because they, on a regular basis, are able to manipulate us into letting them stay up beyond what normal functioning hours for young children should be. This is starting to really annoy me as a wife and a mother. I love my children and the joy that they have brought to our lives BUT I am continually frus-ter-ated (pronounce it out loud and you will say it like Dylan!) by the inconsistency of our parenting skills in this area! Everyone is affected by this one thing - the adult relationship and most important, the functioning children! It also makes my mornings a struggle in more ways than I would like to admit! I am doing my best to continue to do what I know is best for us all! What might that be???? Well working out of course! A physically and emotionally fit mom is good for everyone EXCEPT when she feels like she's making all the sacrifices to get this one thing right! I am hopeful that with diligence and persistance that this is just a small cross to bear. Until then, I'll hope and pray for the best! HA!

Annoyed but a good weekend all in the same!

So, I am trying to do this blog but it doesn't help when it's confusing!!!! I mean, seriously, I can barely remember what I am wearing muchless another password and login!!! I even wrote this one down and had to reconfigure my password! Anyway, enough about that! SO I have decided that I love our house and what it has done for my work/balance relationship but I HATE the commute. I am still trying to "get it right" for lack of a better way to put it! I know that part of the problem is that my people are not morning people but I feel like if I have to adjust my schedule then guess what???? Everyone should have to adjust their schedules too. Besides, I'm the one who's getting up earlier while everyone is still sleeping so in my mind that means that there should be NO ISSUES!!!! Well, not so much! To my dismay, I still have oversleepers and grouchy people in the morning. This still puts me in that "in a rush" mode when leaving and all I can do is clock watch while driving - knowing good and well that my clock is set 10 minutes fast ON PURPOSE! So while I drive I subtract time constantly!

Moving on to the actual "Gibson Family Update!" and away from the "Mommy's Pissed off and Ranting Update!" We had a really nice Easter weekend. Saturday was beautiful and Camille and I got a chance to spend some quality time together while the boys hung out. We went to the mall and played outside in the backyard, snuggled and argued and put together Easter baskets! She watched and "assisted" by constantly asking her favorite question - "what's that?" while I put together the baskets. On Sunday, the kids actually slept in until about 8:30. Shannon and I were able to actually have an uninterrupted conversation about nothing and I got dressed in peace! Camille woke up, Dylan shortly after and they discovered that the Easter Bunny arrived overnight! Camille's toy was broken w/in 2 minutes of opening - I think that's a record but I can also thank Michael's for having cheap toys that I don't really care about! Dylan enjoyed his toys as well. It was nice this year b/c I actually didn't go overboard w/the candy. I went for the "less is more" way of thinking and I saved myself some money, time and stress! It was much more pleasant for everyone! We also welcomed our favorite visitor and BFF Crystal to town!!! Yay for Crystal visits - even if they are short! We had a free sprinkles cupcake b/c I am following them on twitter and had lunch at Breadwinners! (She also brought with her, per my request and most recent expectation of her, that addicting Garret's popcorn!!!! YUM!) It was a great day - family, wonderful friends and home improvement projects!

We also realized that we have a visiting friend in our backyard. A red Cardinal has taken up residence in our backyard and on our fence from time to time. Crystal thinks that he has a nest somewhere near but I have come to enjoy seeing him around the yard! Dylan noticed him yesterday in the yard. We attempted to name him but the final verdict is still up in the air....I caught a picture of him from my kitchen window! BTW, my kitchen window is probably my favorite feature of our house b/c it's big, it slides open and you can see the whole backyard from it! It just helps me to appreciate the small things....like a little red cardinal!

1st Day of Spring

So it's the first day of spring and we are in the house b/c it is ridiculously cold outside!!!! I mean RIDICULOUSLY cold! I am ready for a break in the weather - now, I'm not asking for 100 degrees or anything - I'd take an 80 degree forecast for now! I'll be setting up the Wii here shortly so that Dylan can play his "people" game. Frankly, I am running out of excuses as to why I can't set it up and today is the perfect day to play some indoor video games! Here's to a cold and dreary Saturday! (And there's no reason for Shannon's picture here....I just thought I would post a picture! HA!)

Who Knew????

So, who knew that this blog still existed???? HA! I don't even know that I know how to tell people to get to it but now that I remember my log in and created a new password, I might be able to actually do something here. We'll see! Here's to fresh starts in my 33rd year!