Rebecca Mudrick - Overexposed

At Last

Whew.  C'est finis.  And it's about time!

Are you ready? 

If you feel so inclined, please bookmark or add this new URL to your reader:

http://www.rebeccamudrick.com/blog

or just click

HERE

I'll leave the Typepad version of the blog up for a few more weeks ... but beware, soon it will disappear. 

xoxo,  (for the last time on this blog, sniff sniff)

Reb

Almost There

The new Overexposed is

almost

ready.

The remaining work

is tedious

and boring ...

but if I can

just

hang

in

there

a little bit longer

we will

ALL

enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.

--

Cross your fingers.  Hopefully I'll post a link soon

xoxo,

R.

Bite Size

Friday afternoon I was making a mad scramble to pack and load the monkeys in the car for a quick trip up to my in-laws for an Easter Egg Hunt and Passover Seder (yes, we celebrate both and it's wonderful.  Maybe I'll blog about it one of these days ...) and I walked in on this:

The combination of his "Bite Size" shirt and the fact that he was measuring himself was irresistible.  Luckily, my camera was close at hand and I was able to grab a few shots before he went back to eating his half-finished apple, which I also found irresistible given his Bite Size shirt.   

This week is a bit nutty over here, and although I have loads I want to blog I may hold off until I launch - drum roll please - a new Overexposed (!!!), which I'm putting the finishing touches on.  Stay tuned ...

xoxo,

R.

You're Invited

to a
Dance Party!



When:  Whenever the monkeys need to burn excess energy

Where:  Usually the kitchen, occasionally in a bedroom (bedroom location pictured)

Pre-requisites:  Must have little or no inhibitions, must be able to faux-break dance, must be able to listen to M.C. Hammer's U Can't Touch This twelve thousand times in a row.









p.s.  Here's what baby monkey thought of our most recent party.  Little party pooper.

Sweet Victory

Last night there was a pretty, ahem, big game on for the folks of our fair city.  So big, in fact, that I blew my reputation as the sleep nazi and agreed to let the big monkeys stay up to watch despite a 9:21 pm tip off time.  We popped popcorn, loaded up on sugary treats, and enjoyed a comfortable 20 point lead and time all together.

Except this monkey, who lasted until about 9:22 pm.

Hey, have I ever mentioned that we are good luck for sports teams?  The Raven's won the Superbowl when we lived in B'more, the Patriots won the Superbowl twice (or maybe 3 times?) and the Red Sox won the World Series when we lived in Boston.  And now UNC has won the NCAA tournament.  Not a bad track record, eh? 

Noah Eats his Eyeballs

Noah Eats His Eyeballs from Rebecca Mudrick on Vimeo.

A Milestone

For 7 of the last 8 years, Dr. Dan has worked "overnight call" at the hospital as part of his medical training.  What is overnight call you ask?  Well, it means he goes to work early in the morning and works all day, all night and then the next day (usually between 30 - 38 continuous hours) before he comes home exhausted to a house full of monkeys and an attention-starved wife.  He then (hopefully) sleeps that night before returning to work again the next day and the pattern is repeated every 2nd, 3rd or 4th night depending on the rotation. 

On Sunday morning Dr. Dan left for Duke to work his very last overnight call shift of his 12 years of medical training.  For the remaining 2 years and 3 months of his fellowship he'll either take call from home or not have call at all while he does cardiology research.  As you can imagine, this is a huge milestone for our family - we've been jumping up and down and doing cartwheels for the last week.  My neighbors must think we're all nuts!  Truth be told, we probably are all a bit nutty after years of this grueling schedule.  In fact, we're probably certifiably insane for having signed up to do it in the first place!

Congrats Dr. Dan.  I'm so proud of you.  If I've played the role of Wonder Woman, you've been Extra-Super Superman.  Here's to hoping for many sleep-filled nights in your future.

xoxo

Where is Your Heart?

This week has been equal parts wonderful and difficult.  We started out the week surrounded by family and friends for Owen's baby blessing (a tradition in the Mormon Church) and it was so great to celebrate this baby boy who is growing and thriving and who we love so much.  It was also wonderful to be with family.  Isn't it fun to bask in the attention of Grandma's and Grandpa's?  My monkeys relish in it, and so do I.  We were sad to see everyone leave after only a few days together.

The rest of the week has been unexpectedly humbling.  I needed to withdraw and think and just be.  Nurture myself and my family.  Love and be loved in return.  In the process I made peace with myself and with being enough simply as I am.  I think I can move forward now - albeit, a little slower and with more reserve then before.

It's no secret that I love Kristin Armstrong's blog - I've linked to her several times before.  This morning I read her most recent post titled, "Good Intentions" and it was the perfect way to start my day, especially after this week.  You really should read the whole post, but I love this paragraph in particular, where she talks about the last 10 minutes of her weekly yoga class:

"But for those ten minutes my mind goes on hiatus and I transcend myself.  When Leigh's voice beckons me back to consciousness by asking me to slowly wiggle my fingers and toes, I resent the disturbance but I comply.   I curl up on my side and stay there too long, before I slowly join the rest of class in a cross-legged, hands pressed together 'namaste' position.  I breathe and try to bottle the pocket of zen in my mind for later.   She often asks us to check back in with our intention we set at the beginning of class.  I like that part, it means something to me.  I have begun to incorporate this into other areas of my life.  I try to set an intention before I run, workout, write, meet up with a friend, make a speech, eat a meal, discipline my children, state my opinion, say yes or no to a request.  The more I set intentions, the more I realize how many opportunities I have to do so in the span of a week, a day, or even an hour.  I realize how often in the past I have not checked in with my intention, or even made one to begin with  How easy is it to waste time, get off track, or miss the moment when I forget where my heart is?"

Where is your heart?  What are your intentions?  How do you stay focused when life throws you a curve ball?  Oh, and anyone want to come babysit baby monkey so I can go to weekly yoga?  ;)

xoxo,

R.

p.s.  I love this shot of my Mom having an air hockey tournament with Michael. 

W

is for wet:

And one for Emma:

JUST KIDDING! 

I couldn't resist after Emma's comment.  It's just a really bad composite (note the tile doesn't match up by the back wall).  Please don't send child protective services after me.  ;)

p.s.  thanks to Amy for suggesting water for W as it inspired these shots.

“But for her there was neither peace nor rest”

I have been thinking about this post on the Segullah blog, wondering what my red shoes are and if it is possible to find balance. 

There are so many things in this life to be interested in, so many good things to pursue and learn about, so many ways to be involved and make a difference.  I have a feeling that whatever I let go of in my life for the sake of balance will soon be replaced by something else.  My red shoes will just be replaced with a blue dress that I'll love equally or even more. 

Maybe it's time to make peace with the hectic pace of life.  Or to re-define how I see life as "balanced".  Gary Saul Morson says, "Whatever wholeness we achieve requires enormous work, which is the effort of life; and that work is never complete."  I wonder what Mr. Morson has to say about balance while going about this enormous work ...

We have family in town this weekend for a special Sunday event.  I'm very much looking forward basking in both the warm Spring weather and the love of cherished family members.  I'll be back with more images next week.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xoxo,

Rebecca