sb2013- holla

Yea. Gone are the days of basking in the sun by day and partying it up by night. I did catch a few days at the beach with some lady friends to celebrate the ole Irish redneck style (Florabama Bab-aaaay!) and to enjoy a country concert, even though I don't know much country music. Who? Luke Brown?
I am so thankful for a job that gives me a week off of work for Spring Break. I am double thankful that my Spring Break now involves full days of baby kisses, shopping and lunch dates instead of string bikinis, baked skin and the tiki bar (ok, those still sound kinda fun, but no longer worth it).
Here are some pics from my Adult Spring Break.

Florabama bathroom words of wisdom

St. Patty's Day attire

Ri Baby and I enjoyed lots of morning snuggle time all week long. She never has really just laid there to snuggle this much so she must know to take advantage of me being home for the week.

We had lunch with friends every.single.day this week. We also got out and did a little bit of shopping.

I snatched these two tops from F21 while we browsed around. Very pleased having not tried them on beforehand.

One night we took dinner to some lovely friends who just had their precious 2nd baby boy. It was great to catch up and Ri thought their oldest son, Jake, was a hoot. She is such a flirt and I am in so much trouble.

The weather over spring break sucked so we didn't even manage to be able to get out in the neighborhood in the stroller. But all the more reason to take Ri up on snugglefests.

Oddly enough, it was the fastest and best Spring Break of my life. Oh, how times have changed for that to have just come out of my mouth.

being PRESENT. an emotional read...

In today's technologically driven world, everything is done via internet. Phone books, road maps, letters, bills, catalogs, pictures, notes, journals- you name it; if it was every on paper, now it is not. But it seems like the technology has sucked us all in and sucked our personal, social selves out.

I feel that it is especially true with our children.

When Ri was a newby and I rocked her to sleep each night- or in the middle of the night- I found myself using much of that time to catch up, err, play on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or and my email. Granted, it kept me from falling asleep, but she would snooze away, making the most precious little smiles in her sleep, and I would sometimes miss all but the end of them because I was looking at my phone.

There finally came a night when I realized that I was there, but not present. I was not taking in the invaluable moments that would too soon be gone. I wasn't loving her to my fullest capacity. No, let me restate that. I couldn't love her more, but I wasn't physically and mentally soaking it all in. So I stopped taking my phone in her room just so I could spend my every thought on her. Squeezing her tight. Saying I love you. Staring at her precious little face.

As she gets older, there are times I catch myself spending much of her waking hours trying to get the perfect picture for Instagram or texting while she is in her exersaucer. That is not being present. That is just being in the room.

It is important for us to use our time wisely. Cherish the moments with our kids by being actively present in what they are doing, saying, learning. Make them the priority. Not the smart phone.

I stumbled upon this article on another blog the other day. It is heart-stopping, gut-wrenching, true.