Children Family Life My Babies Summer Weekend

{Weekend in Review} Chill.Mode

This weekend was the perfect kick off to Summer.

Addison’s last day of school was last Wednesday and Adrian’s was Friday. Come Saturday morning we had a house full of children to include my nephew, as well as my niece and her friend.

By 11a everyone including the Mr. and I was outside playing.

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When it was too hot to play outside the older children ventured inside to help my MIL make a cake. I just love this photo, as we know Big Mama doesn’t exist any more and it was such a joy to see them in the kitchen with Grandma.

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While everyone was sucking up the air inside and taste testing cake batter I was left outside with a sweet little girl who got a new bike and was dead set on riding and roasting in the afternoon sun.

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Hold on Doc….Hold on!!

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Once it cooled off  everyone made their way back outside for a little evening breeze. My niece caught this photo of the Mr. and I. You know he makes rare appearances around here.

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Later in the evening my bestie Erika stopped by with her family. While watching the playoff game #GoHeat,  we snuck in a few #Usies

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Sunday, we ventured to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday party.

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Today/Monday we are planning to stay close to home. We may take a visit to a local park that has a dedicated memorial section for our fallen soldiers. Maybe I’ll try to recreate this photo from last year

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A HUGE thank you to all who have served and are serving. Please be sure to tell Service Men/Women thank you when you see them.

Have a great Memorial Day!!!

Photography Technology

{Product Review} Mosaic Photo Album App

I will snap pictures for Instagram, and share them on Twitter, and other social media sites all day long on my phone. The major disconnect lies in me actually doing something with those memories that I capture daily. I mean, my kids can’t do anything with those super cute pictures when they get older unless they still have access to my iPhone or Instagram account.

 Mosaic knows all about people like us me. Using this photo book app you can easily transfer your favorite photos from your phone into a photo album that you can have and share with friends and family.

Even though technology makes it easy for us to document beautiful moments in our lives, it’s nice to have an object that you can actually hold in your hands. Creating the book is extremely easy.All you have to do is download the free app and plug your photos into the album.

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Pay that cracked screen no mind. See the app?

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Through the app you can create the album, pay for it, and set your location details for shipping. You don’t have to go through the process of importing photos to your computer or a USB device, making it a great option for moms who want to capture your memories but don’t have a lot of extra time to devote to making a photo album.

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My experience with Mosaic was highly positive and I would definitely recommend it to all of my friends and family. There was no messing around. The shipping was fast and I got exactly what I was expecting; high quality images that were beautifully packaged.

Here are some photos of my Mosaic album:

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How good are you when it comes to printing your digital images?!!

I was provided a complimentary Mosaic photo book to facilitate this post. All opinions are mine. You already know!

Health Mimi

Weight a D@*n Minute

I’m just going to jump right into this post.

I can’t fit any of my clothes and I’ve been feeling really horrible and sluggish lately and I’m certain it has everything to do with the fact that I’ve been sedentary for the past few months.

I’ve gained some weight and I’m totally fine with that, except I can’t sit down without unbuttoning my pants and I’m not in the mood to go on a new jeans shopping spree so I’m setting out on a fitness journey that will hopefully become more of a lifestyle for me this time around than a quest to stay in my current size.

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Truthfully speaking in my head I’m still in my late twenties. I know.

REALITY speaking says I am 5 short years from 40 and I need to get serious about my health. I’ve been having chest pains sporadically and my joints hurt and yeah…I just. I don’t know. I can’t.

I can’t sit around and continue to think that my body isn’t getting older and needs a little help to be at it’s best. It’s showing me that daily and I would be a fool to ignore it.  I’ve been managing my blood pressure and cholesterol well but I need to get my arse up and move. I suppose the metabolism that “I was blessed” with as people say has had it’s run and is throwing me the deuces. I “ain’t got no worries” on that. I been dying for some boot- tay but not at the cost of being unhealthy.

I’m not planning to obsess cause when I push myself too hard I don’t stay with it. I’m taking this at my own pace and setting a goal to run a 5K sometime by the end of the year with a 10 minute mile. However long it takes me to get there is how long it will take.

If I fall off…I’m sure I will. I’ll just get up and start again. I’m promising myself it won’t be months again.

I just want to be well, strong, and healthy and look well in my clothes. That’s it.

I’m hoping this encourages some of you to get moving.

Are you on a fitness journey? How are you staying motivated? Do you need to get moving? What’s stopping you?

Life Rant Soapbox

{Internet Envy} YOUR Perception is YOUR Reality

If you’ve perused the internets for a while you’ve come across that person who just seems to have it all together. They cook every night, they create shopping lists and everything they’ve ever tried from Pinterest turns out perfect, while the rest of us gasp in awe and  question ourselves on just how does she do it.

I assure you sometimes she does have it all together and sometimes she just wants you to think she does and that is fine with me. See, I’ve lived long enough to know that a tidy kitchen or a perfect ponytail on the worst day will never pull the wool over my eyes when it comes to the fact that WE all have our issues and problems. If a person wishes to share the good, I appreciate that. I have enough problems in my life than to spend my precious minutes reading about yours over and over and over again.

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I’m just a little sick and tired of reading posts and statuses where people are whining and accusing people of trying to perpetuate a perfect life on social media.  If what I read is correct unless a person is continuously complaining or sharing every bad moment of their life they are somehow perpetrating a life of joy and happiness? I can not with that. I need answers.

How I see it is, in this age of over sharing, blogging, tweeting, Instagramming etc. if a person is sharing the highlight of their day and you take that into they are faking and shaking, they may be but the reality is they shared a moment of their life and the issue lies on the outsider looking in. Unless said person created a caption that said “I have a perfect life” any illusions of grandeur fall solely on the person observing. I won’t lie and say I haven’t sucked my teeth or unfollowed a few for just doing the absolute most, as there is a thin line between sharing and showing out but they have the right, and I have use of my unfollow button.

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In all seriousness, I would love to see moms and women in general stop comparing themselves in a negative manner to women they come across on the internet. Every woman whose blog I come across I consider myself on even ground with her as I wish all women could. I am enjoying crafting more and more, as I see women who are crafty on their blogs I read and try to learn. I see their gifts as my own motivation. I don’t want to be her, I just want a Cricut so I can make my child’s birthday invitations.

I suppose the start would be making sure that we are confident in ourselves, so that what somebody is doing or saying on the internet is not making us feel any less about our own lives when we don’t actually know her outside of the confines of a typed web address, well designed blog space, and a plethora of Instagram collages.

Truth of the matter is her house just might be that tidy and her husband may just be that great, but do you know how long her walk was, and if you’ve read the poem “Footprints” you may understand that at some point she may have been carried.

Use other people as motivation. You’ll never know their true journey but know they had one, and for the love of all things shiny and pretty and perfect….Stay in your lane.

This was a rant.

Have you ever felt envious of someone you’ve come across on the internet? Is the internet helping or hindering us on our personal journeys to happiness? Be honest.