A quote:  ”We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.” -Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Something personal:  What a lovely weekend.  Although I have been under the weather recently, I still enjoyed spending the day at the Annual May Day Festival at St. Benedict’s Episcopal Day School.  It’s such a wonderful school, and it has far surpassed any expectations I had for Kylie’s first year of “real school.”  Her teachers are wonderful, genuine, and caring individuals.  And the community to which we now belong is truly fantastic.  I volunteered to take pictures during the event so they could have them for the yearbook, etc.  It was hot, and very tiring, but so much fun.  I loved seeing the teachers, parents, children, and administrators all having fun together.  It felt good to be a part of something so special.  Here are a few pictures from the day.

The kids started off the festival with some musical inspiration – directed by their fabulous music teacher, Mr. Butler.

Kylie and her BFF Ainslee.

 The highlight of the day was the dunk tank.  Both of Kylie’s teachers participated (below), along with Father Brian, and even the Interim Head of School, Mr. England.  The kids were ecstatic!

Jake could be found showing off his muscles for the ladies….

This is Ms. S and Mrs. R (as the kids call them).  I call them the best Kindergarten teachers EVER!  ;)  I can’t believe the school year is almost over and they won’t be Kylie’s teachers anymore after May 25th.

Something interesting:  On another note, I wanted to share some thoughts on the recent “win” in California.  The state successfully gathered 971,126 signatures in order to get the first-ever ballot initiative to label genetically engineered foods.  This is something that an overwhelming majority of Americans want, and yet legislators WILL NOT allow it on ballots for us to vote.  Over 15 other states have started legislation, only to have it get caught up and snuffed out in various committees.  The big food companies, and chemical companies (Monsanto, DOW, etc) do not want these foods labeled for fear that people might actually have a choice and stop buying them.  The good news about California is the awareness it brings to the table.  AND, if 80% (or more) of processed food contains GMO’s, it will be very complicated for these companies to “label” them for California but not for the rest of the U.S.  These foods will also be prohibited from being labeled “Natural.”  I’m very excited to see what happens with all of this.  And to think that the California Right to Know movement was started by one woman, a grandmother, who was concerned about what she and her family was eating.  You can read about Pamm Larry in the Huffington Post HERE.

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

A quote:  ”Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralizing.”  Harriet Braiker

Something Personal:  So often in my life I have found myself waiting to do things until I can do them perfectly.  Even when I launched my photography business in 2007, I was so worried about what people would think of my work, my website, my talent (or lack thereof).  What would people think of ME?  It’s uncomfortable.  Terrifying actually.  There was another quote I came across by Rosalynn Carter, “Once you accept the fact that you aren’t perfect, then you develop some confidence.”  Right now, today, in this moment, I feel like I have finally accepted that I’m not perfect.  I have always known that I’m not perfect, but accepting that fact (and loving yourself anyway) is a much different feeling.  The most interesting part about this “awakening” is that I not only have a deeper love for myself, but also for my family and friends.  I find myself wanting to reach out to them and tell them how perfect they are in my eyes.

I see you.  I see how hard you are trying.  You are a good person, an AWESOME person.  You have a beautiful smile.  You are doing a great job at this thing called life.

That’s what I would say.   And hey, I just said it.  To you.  Believe it!

And so, in the spirit of imperfection, I wanted to share some photos that are far from perfect.  Taken with my iPhone, in those quick moments that would have been lost if not captured on camera.

iPhone_01 iPhone_02 iPhone_03 iPhone_04 iPhone_05 iPhone_06 iPhone_07 iPhone_08 iPhone_09 iPhone_10 iPhone_11 iPhone_12 iPhone_13 iPhone_14 iPhone_15 iPhone_16 iPhone_17 iPhone_18 iPhone_19 iPhone_20 iPhone_21 iPhone_22 iPhone_23 iPhone_24

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

I couldn’t pick just a couple, so enjoy your long sneak peek!  :)

How adorable is this?  Matching Converse shoes!!!!

It was pretty dark in her room, but I just knew I had to get a few images in her “special” place.  The room where so many memories of the first year take place.  Endless diaper changes, night feedings, peaceful slumber…..

She loves her lamby!  And doesn’t it look like he loves her too!  :)

After the cake, we went inside to play and rinse off in the bath. 

Love you guys!  :)

A quote: “Today you are You, that is truer than true.  There is no one alive who is Youer than you.”  -Dr. Seuss, Happy Birthday to you!

Something personal: Exactly one week has passed since I turned FORTY!  Say it with me…. FOR-TEEEEE!  It’s hard to believe because I remember being twenty-something, and forty sounded REALLY old.  But honestly, I don’t feel really old at all.  I feel great.  And like many forty-something people have told me, it’s the beginning of some of the best years of life.  It’s a time of confidence, wisdom, and living without so much worry about what everyone else thinks.   I think I’m beginning that part of my journey.  Accepting who I am.  Loving myself for all my strengths and weaknesses.   I’m trying to put myself back at the top (or at least somewhere NEAR the top) of the priority ladder.  I want my kids to see a woman (not just a mother) who lives life to the fullest, who loves her family and most of all her husband, who is strong but admits weakness, who can laugh at herself and admit wrongdoing.  A woman who is not perfect in any way, and yet still beautiful.   That is my goal for the next 10 years (or more)!  :)

I felt so unbelievably grateful for the company of friends and family at my birthday celebration, and most of all I felt loved.  There is no greater gift than that.  Thank you!  XOXOXOXO to my sweet husband, for giving me the gift of love every.single.day.

So, enough of the mushy stuff…..  It’s about a month overdue, but I wanted to write about my Kylie Bear’s 6th birthday.  A far cry from the Spa Princess Party last year!   After much deliberation, she decided on a Pirate theme, with a treasure hunt of course!  The second choice was a Star Wars party since, in Kylie’s words, she’s “into boys.”

Argggghhhh!  Every time I wanted to take a picture, Kylie gave me a really good pirate growl – but I convinced her that I needed at least ONE “nice” pirate picture too.

Jeff was in charge of the treasure hunt, and he did not disappoint.  He made a treasure maps for everyone (to scale, matching Taylor-Brawner Park of course!).  We told Kylie this would be the last year that she could have a BIG party so she got to invite all of her friends at school, plus all of her neighbor friends.  And then, there are all of the siblings as well.  Needless to say, there were A LOT of kids – close to 40.  And leading them on a treasure hunt was no small task.  I have to admit I was so proud watching Jeff entertain the kids for this fun event.  Love that guy – ahem, pirate!  :)

I loved this picture of the kids swarming down the hill to find the next treasure.  I’m sure the other people at the park were amused by the madness.  Or maybe not.

The Pirate family.  ARRRGGGHHH!

That’s it for today.  Happy Monday!!!

I’m going to share some of my discoveries and I’ll keep these posts short and sweet.  I’ve tagged them with “product reviews” in my Categories so you can find them and refer back to them easier.

First up: Cereal and Bread

My kids always liked Kix so this Gorilla Munch cereal from EnviroKidz was a great find.  It’s a bit crunchier than Kix (and stays crunchy in the milk), and it only has 8 grams of sugar per 3/4 cup serving.  Comparatively speaking, Kix only has 2 grams of sugar but it also has Modified Corn Starch and Corn Syrup (both of which are surely made from GMO corn).  Plus, Kix has double the sodium content at 210 mg.  Gorilla Munch is Gluten Free and has exactly three ingredients: Organic Corn Meal, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, and Sea Salt.  They stopped selling it at the Whole Foods in Buckhead for some reason, so I just went ahead and ordered a case directly from Nature’s Path.  It was cheaper that way (only $3.97 per box) plus I got free shipping.

Rudi’s Organic Bakery makes an awesome Honey Sweet Whole Wheat Bread.  Although I have always bought 100% Whole Wheat Bread, now that I’ve been eating this organic bread, it’s hard to go back to the regular stuff.  This bread is more dense, filling, and has such a great taste.  It’s worth the extra “points” — if you know what I mean!   Of course Whole Foods has a store brand of Organic Whole Wheat Bread too.  It’s pretty good, and cheaper, so that’s a good option as well.

Enjoy your peek!  :)

A quote: “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.” Phyllis Diller, Phyllis Diller’s Housekeeping Hints 1966

Something personal:  Today was awesome!  I had a full day to do the things that I always procrastinate doing, for fear of being interrupted.  I always find that when I want to clean, it seems to get worse before it gets better.   I knew that once I started with the “clearing” of all the paperwork, post-it notes, office supplies, and of course, dust-bunnies, it would be an all-day-affair.  And it was, but it was worth it.  Boy does it feel good to have a clean desk again.  Whew!

That was my cup of coffee up there — it got me through the morning.  And I have to say, I’m mad that little post it note is still stuck to my computer in this “after” pic.  Hmph!

As for the rest of my house, total destruction zone.  But, alas, tomorrow is another day!

Something I love:  As I mentioned before, I’m planning to start taking pictures of the stuff I buy at the store (food, cosmetics, etc).  I have gone through much trial and error as I try new “green” products, so I’ll share my personal opinions with whoever is interested.  Just a quick favorite: Xochitl Chips.  I’ve loved these even before I started buying mostly organic food.  They are super thin, and just the right amount of crispy and salty.  The other day my neighbor was standing on his front porch eating these right out of the bag, and he called them the best chips in the world!  He also recommended putting them in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating – YUM!   I have found these at most of the Publix stores, as well as Whole Foods.

HAPPY MONDAY!!

As Robyn said in her article, “when I first heard the term “organic” several years ago, I dismissed it. It connoted a “status” and conjured up two different images: lifestyles of the rich and famous or perhaps some alternative, hippie thing.”  It made me laugh because that’s exactly how I felt about it.  And when trying to explain all of this stuff to my mother-in-law (she was here when I began this food journey), I felt a little like a “hippie.”  But, what most people don’t realize, is that much of these synthetic ingredients (including GMO’s) were added to our food supply in the last couple decades.  Our parents didn’t have to worry so much about it because it wasn’t so much of a problem.

“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”  Robyn O’Brien used that quote in her book The Unhealthy Truth so many times.  It’s hard at first.  I was literally in the grocery store with tears in my eyes as I realized that almost everything that I was eating and feeding my family was “tainted.”   And so began my journey to eating cleaner, healthier food.  That’s what I’m hoping to share with these posts.  The story behind HOW I did it, WHAT I buy (yes, I still buy cookies and soda), and WHERE I get information, etc.  If I can help someone out there with getting started, then I’m a happy camper!  :)

So start small if you can.  Use this list from EWG with the Dirty Dozen (dirtiest produce) and the Clean 15 (the cleanest produce) and buy organic when you can.   I recently read an article that said Strawberries are sprayed with more than 200 pounds of pesticide per acre in California.  The next highest is carrots, around 80 pounds per acre, just to give you a reference.   I know that many grocery stores don’t have a great selection of organic produce, but it’s getting better.  And, the more you buy, request, or demand it, the more they will provide.  I buy all of my produce at Whole Foods, simply because the selection for organic is fantastic, and the prices are actually cheaper for organic produce there (vs Publix).

Happy eating!  ;)

A quote: “The day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.”  Alden Nowlan

Something personal: Well, I think I’m ALMOST at the forgiveness stage!  What a great quote right?  I feel like my entire “mommy-hood” has been riddled with guilt in some way, shape or form.  The latest guilt is about Jake’s bed.  We recently took the front off of his crib so he could get in and out.  He has never climbed out of his crib, and in fact, I think he rather enjoyed the security of it.  But now that he rarely takes a nap, I felt guilty (there’s that word again), that he had to pee in his pull-up when he’s perfectly capable of going to the bathroom on his own.  Jeff and I have had many heated arguments discussions about the bed “situation” in our house.  I feel like we should have gotten Kylie a full bed rather than a twin, since she has the larger room and will be more likely to have sleepovers, etc.  That being said, I’m thinking we should get Kylie a full bed and move her twin bed into Jake’s room.  Then we have the problem of how do we make her bed look more “boyish.”  And then, we have to get some furniture for Jake’s room, namely a dresser.  Rather than deal with all of these things, we decided to just take the front off of his crib (so it’s a toddler bed), and when I look at these pictures I’m feeling guilty (again) because he’s clearly too big for the bed.  He falls off every night because he can’t even roll over without reaching the edge.  This never would have been “good enough” the first time around, but for the second child, it’s just not that big of a deal right? *SIGH*  I guess it’s time to do some furniture shopping.

I thought I would share the snapshots.  These were taken in VERY low light with my point & shoot camera.  Hilarious right?  Jake rolls off the bed, then continues sleeping on the pad we put next to the bed.

I should add a footnote.  Jeff put the bed rail on at first, but I made him take it off since it’s not “supposed to” be used with cribs.  My bad!  

Something I love: Mexican food!!!  I love it!!  At Chipotle, it’s the veggie bowl with peppers & onions.  At La Paz, I love the Steak and Carmelized Onion Quesadilla.  At Taqueria del Sol, I always get a fish taco and a chicken enchilada with lemon cream sauce.  At Rosa Mexicano – GUACAMOLE!!!  And now, thanks to my friend who had her 40th birthday last weekend, I found another restaurant with wonderful “upscale” mexican food — Alma Cocina!   Okay, who’s hungry??

Happy Monday!!!

Mom and Dad are so relaxed.  We had a wonderful morning, and this sweet little girl barely made a peep the entire time.  Here’s a little peek for you!

I fell in love with this little bunny blanket and bunny hat that Mom brought to the session.  So adorable!