Finally...All the waiting is over and the new studio is opening!

Ok everyone, the Photo Works studio is finally opening it's doors this Friday. Check out their blog at http://photoworksportraitstudio.blogspot.com/ or find them on facebook under Photo Works Portrait Studio. Please pass the information along to all your friends and family. This is seriously the coolest professional photography studio around and you won't find a better product for the price. Freddie is excited to be a part of such an awesome undertaking so stop by the studio in the University Mall and help us make this new venture a huge success.

Finding time to sweat as a Mama

I have gone through various periods of fitness in my life but I have always considered myself fairly active. Even when I wasn't training for marathons I was still running/walking a couple of times a week and I picked up yoga a few years a go adding that to my fit-list. But I've never really been committed to fitness as a lifelong habit. Partly because I ran and did yoga more for the stress relief than to be fit and partly because I never had a reason to commit to fitness. But as a new mommy I am finding that not only is the time available for me to sweat a little limited but I have to find a whole new category of motivation that is beyond myself. I'm sure all you other mommies out there would agree that when it comes to priorities, you are the lowest on totem pole. So when I tell myself I need a run to burn off a little steam, that often gets bumped in favor of Liam's and even Freddie's needs.

Unfortunately...or maybe fortunately, I am beginning to find that kind of thinking has led to an often unhappy momma . Exercise releases the happy hormones and when you are already sleep deprived and pressed to the max in your schedule you need as many happy hormones to get you through the day as possible. But what to do? Inevitably I will always chose the needs of my family over myself. I'm a wife and a mother, it's ingrained. The solution to this problem has already been presented in this blog. It's simple; I view it as a bonus, nay, a necessity to my family's well being for me to take care of myself. In order for me to be the best mommy possible I need to feel good and be healthy.

So I am working to carve out time for me to sweat just a little and I've managed to succeed at least three times a week for the last two weeks, and I do feel better, I am happier and best of all I am setting a good example for my family. What better way to teach my children the importance of treating out bodies right than by showing them. I work hard to make healthy meals for my family and now I am working hard to keep my body in good physical condition.

I have recently gotten hooked on a new blog http://mamasweat.blogspot.com/. She share, or maybe I should say, pioneered, the philosophy of finding time, any time, as a mom to sweat just a little every day.

For all the other mommies out there, and even those who love a mommy, try to take a few minutes each day to sweat a little. Remember, fitness isn't about looking good, it's about feeling good and giving yourself the best chance of living a long, healthy life, blessing those around you.

On a different but related note, I have given up sugar... at least until after Owen's wedding and it is a lot harder than I thought it would be. While I hit my prepregnancy weight pretty quickly after Liam was born things have... rearranged themselves, and clothes don't exactly fit the way they use to. I don't want to forever be immortalized in Owen's wedding photos in all my postpartum glory so I am working to try and lose a little lose baggage. Since I already eat well, plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains and lean protein, I figured eliminating refined sugar was my best option. I've got to say I've never wanted a cookie so badly but hopefully it's worth not having to grease myself up to slide into a pair of spanks to keep myself from bulging out of my bridesmaid dress.

Nap time Anarchy

I've always considered myself pretty lucky when it came to Liam's sleep habits. Since the day we came home from the hospital he has been a great little sleeper at night. After the first few weeks of obligatory every 2-3 hour feedings he began getting up only once a night to nurse. He never had his days and nights mixed up and it took very little effort to get him down in the evening. Now Liam is even beginning to sleep through the night. Sounds like I should be set up for the perfect sleeping newborn, but not so much. My son refuses to take a nap. He has literally declared war on nap time and it has been a constant battle for day time sleep for the last six weeks.

I have tried everything... seriously everything to get him to sleep; and the second I find something that works, it doesn't anymore. From rocking, to walking, to wearing, to special toys that light up and play music (see Albi the seahorse) to purchasing a swing with funds that should not have been spent out of sheer desperation. I know all the jargon out there says that babies will sleep when they need to but I'm telling you, Liam is a special jellybean when it comes to naps. If/when he doesn't sleep he can be fed, changed, played with and checked over a million times and still be the crankiest stinker in the world. He needs his sleep. So I'm finally going to try and do the one thing I never thought I would do as a parent, I'm going to put him on a schedule and come hell or high water I will try to make him stick to it.

You see I was of the warm fuzzy school of thought with newborns. You know the let them eat, poop, sleep, play when they want and my job as a mother is to comfort, feed and coddle. But that just doesn't work for Liam. He wants to be held, but he gets fussy being held too much. He wants to be rocked to sleep but gets squirmy and wakes himself up because he is uncomfortable. I know he is capable of sleeping in his crib and self soothing because he does it at night. But not so during the day.

So to bring order to Liam's nap time anarchy I am instigating rituals, routines and rules for nap time. I see no other way and I will not negotiate with terrorists (yes, Liam is a terror when he doesn't get adequate sleep).

All the Single Ladies....

Ok all my single friends out there. I have one attractive brother-in-law who is a great catch and looking for a date and I am shamelessly trolling for him.

Strengths:

Marine; yes he's ripped, in great shape and can kill a man with his bare hands. Basically, he will protect.

Great with Kids. Just one look at the photo says it all.

Aspires to a career in criminal justice system. His deep rooted chivalry drives him to serve his fellow Americans.

Check out those eyes, yes his lashes are real.

Weaknesses:

He cares too much, works too hard, has a sensitive side that makes him a romantic and is looking for commitment.

If you are interested call, email, text, whatever. There will be a minor screening process by me because really, lets be honest, for as good a catch as he is I'm gonna make sure I get an equally awesome future sister-in-law.

Letting your freak flag fly at the Scottish Festival

Two weekends ago Fred and I made the Scottish Festival a tradition by going for the second year in a row; and like last year we had a blast. Here you see Freddie pushing Liam around in a stroller. Isn't he a good looking father.

Anyway, now that I've posted a gratuitous picture of my excessively attractive hubby I will get to why I am blogging about the Scottish Festival. While I honestly do enjoy the environment, the games and the food, there is one thing about this particular Festival that just makes me bust out laughing... and its the fact that it brings out all the weirdies. I'm not talking about the die hard Scotsmen, I'm talking about the sword wielding, goth dressed, straight of a Renaissance Fair cliche weirdies. I'm asking myself why a celebration of heritage equals a medieval convergence of characters straight out of Dungeons and Dragons. It's not that it bothers me, if anything it makes it so much more of a rich experience to see so many people gathered in one place who feel they were born in the wrong time period. The historian in me just laughs at them because little do they understand that the time period they romanticize was probably the most miserable time to be a human on earth. But at the same time I both pity and admire their draw to gather at one of the few places where their strange obsession is actually accepted. How many of us have secret obsessions that are considered socially awkward? Whether its practicing for your fantasy American Idol audition in the shower, putting together one of your many fantasy football teams, or having imaginary conversations in your car during traffic. Wouldn't it be great to have a safe place to meet others with the same weird quirks? So here's to you goth dressed guy with the broad sword across your back, and here's to the rest of us finding a place to let our freak flag fly.

Albi the Seahorse's namesake.

Liam is the worst daytime nap taker and I was getting desperate. So I bought Liam a new toy this weekend in the hopes that it would live up to the hype of putting babies to sleep. It didn't work exactly as I had hoped but it does calm him down. Anyway, this blog post is the story of how the Seahorse toy got his name. You see for some reason I referred to the seahorse as Liam's dragon because honestly that's what it looks like to me (see picture). Freddy found in my species confusion a funny link to one of our favorite bands, Flight of the Concords who have a song about a racist Dragon named Albi. In honor of that ballad we have lovingly named Liam's new toy Albi. So, for your listening pleasure follow the link to hear Albi's name sake and the tale of the racist Dragon and his Albanian boy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jVAHAuiS4

Just in case you didn't know what Heaven looked like

I have discovered that there are times as a new Mommy when you know that the wreck that is now your body thanks to baby, the sleepless nights, and the fact that the clean clothes you just put on will be covered in some kind of infant bodily fluid in the next ten minutes is worth it... That picture says it all for me. Yep, it's so worth it.