Steady as she goes . . .

This woman is BUSY! My daily life is basically dragging my ass out of bed at the last possible moment, rushing my oldest off to summer school, getting in the shower and doing things as fast as possible (I could win a speed leg shaving contest, no cuts and smooth as butter), driving off to work safely yet speedy, having my day here where I do my thang, going home for my half hour lunch, where I speed eat and zip back to work, coming home at 4 where the children greet me, getting ready for either a workout at the Y (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays there -- Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays I run from home) or getting the kids ready to go to the park for a walk, eating a quick supper, bedtime routine (CRAZY STRESS!!!), Facebooking/social networking (is that still a "term"?), working on pictures, and heading to bed by 12:30 or so.

I have been insanely busy with photoshoots, but this is a good thing. This summer, I have done lots of senior sessions and have found that I am really the most passionate about that. I still love family shoots. It's crazy, I have done probably close to 80 shoots over the past few years and I still get nervous for them. Then once I'm there, I get into my groove, and the only way to describe it is I'm almost in my own little world. I interact with the people but I feel like all the stress of the world leaves me and I just aim for that happy place. I am a little perfectionist too and if I am not feeling something right where the subject(s) is standing, I will have us move. I need perfect lighting and that magical light this time of year happens around 5:30. Other photographers will know what I mean. Mmm, it just paints the subject.

Workout-wise, I am kicking ass. Let's just be honest. I am up 3-4 pounds from where I was 2 years ago, however, I lowered my body fat, lost 3.5 inches off my waist, and people are finally starting to say, "wow, you are ripped". Now, I know what "ripped" means, and I am not there nor am I willing to commit to a diet that a fitness model would have, but I know I can celebrate that I have come far from where I was and I can say that I am stronger. I can do 3 sets of 10 of 85 pounds on an overhead press and ain't no shame in that for a female. I'm doing the 30 pounders (free weights) for my standing curls, as well as for lunges and squats and all my legwork. Working out is my one escape -- the one thing I can do where nobody is demanding things from me. I set the pace -- I aim for my goals -- nobody is going to ever take my STRENGTH from me. I also am keeping up with the running -- 4.5 months in now. I recently did an 8:06 minute mile on my (treadmill) 5K. I would love to do a "real" 5K in the fall.

The first pic here is from October of 2012, just as I joined the Y.

The second picture is from June 27th, 2014, so about a month ago:

 

The kids are really doing great -- besides our crazy (think late nights and a frustrated mom) bedtime routine, they're at the age where they're relatively easy. I am still nursing (gasp!) Elise (4.5) and Jameson (almost 3) -- never intended to go this long but a little antibodies/stem cells never hurt. I hope they wean soon and it will most likely be a gradual, self-weaning type thing.

I think that's about all I have as far as an update goes! I'm still kicking, just busier than I ever thought I'd be.

Some random facts.

I slept under the covers until my mid-2os. Is that even normal? Probably not. I was terrified of the dark, ever since I was a child. To this day, I still cannot look at a mirror in the bathroom for fear of seeing something. What, I don't know, but I don't want to find out. I don't sleep under the covers anymore. Becoming a mom changed that and I just don't fear it anymore.

While I love odd amounts of things (like 5 of something placed on the wall, or 3 -- it is more aesthetically pleasing), I buy even amounts of things (4 bags of chocolate instead of 3 or 5). I have no idea why!

I catch myself clenching my jaw when I drive and there is no reason for it. I'm not tense or stressed or scared, but I think it's just a habit.

I wash my hands an insane amount of times per day. I must do it absent-mindedly. I noticed this the other day because the hubby had to fix a leak in the bathroom sink so we couldn't use it and I probably went to it 3 times within 10 minutes before remembering I couldn't use it (I did acutally turn it on once, causing a minor flood under the sink. Oops.

I am a great speller and have excellent grammar but sometimes when I am typing online and not thinking, I accidently type "ov" for "of". How stupid! At least I catch myself before I post it.

Facebook is kind-of like crack. I don't think I could go a day without logging in. I don't want to miss anyone's update. What if something really important is happening and I don't find out about it?! I love logging in and seeing little red boxes that means I have either a message or a comment or even a friend request. What the hell did we do before Facebook?! Maybe I'm just too reliant on being social.

I love the feeling of getting in a hot car when it's winter. Winter is damn cold here. There's nothing better than having the heater blast that heat right in your face, even if it makes your eyes and face feel super dry. When I was a kid, my sister and I used to get up early in the morning and sit on the registers in the house.

I am addicted to doing laundry. I cloth diaper, as you know, and I also enjoy doing the regular laundry. I think it's the organization of it all. I don't always enjoy folding it and sometimes it piles up a little in the hampers, waiting to be put away. I only get to it when I need a hamper. Haha.

That's about it for now.

Yikes! Good thing I caught it . . .

I go home on my lunch break every day to feed my baby and eat lunch myself. I only live 5 minutes away, so it's kind-of a nice break in my day. When I got back to work today, I took my coat off and I realized that my pants were unzipped and unbuttoned! And these are pants that are too big on me (I made the mistake of buying a few new items when I was still losing my weight from my last pregnancy, thinking I had plateaued, when in reality I had some pounds to go), so they could have fallen right off.

What happened was the hubby had just changed Elise and she was enjoying some nakey time and she happened to pee in the bathroom, and after I went, I stepped in the puddle. So, of course, I cleaned it up and changed my socks and washed my hands, never thinking to button my pants. OMG.

Good thing I have my own office. I just put my back to the door and quickly fixed my pants -- good thing nobody walked by or I would have some 'splaining to do!!!