Moms-Only Trip

November 1, 2022November 1, 2022 Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Take time off. The world will not fall apart without you.
Malebo Sephodi

This past weekend was our planned girls(moms)-only trip with 2 out of my 3 sisters and my sister in law. It was a trip we had begun planning back in April of this year, a trip that my mom wanted to take back when she was alive but we now fulfilled in memory of her. This trip was the first time that I had ever left my girls alone with Josh for the night. That’s 4 years of me not having a break from them, despite knowing that it was needed. To be honest I was reluctant to even consider taking this trip, I felt guilty and nervous even though I knew my husband is perfectly capable of taking care of them, I mean they are just as much his kids as they are mine. But I was struggling with this sense of guilt, I felt excited for going on a vacation and guilty for being excited.

To be perfectly honest the trip was fantastic. I got to bond with my sisters, two of which live out of state and I essentially only get to see on special occasions. I learned things I never knew before and I recharged on a physical, emotional, and spiritual level. It was a vacation filled with walks on the beach, prayer, girl-talk and chick flicks. It was only one of the first times I feel I actually came back from a vacation relaxed and recharged instead of more exhausted than when I left.

One of the things that really stuck with me was my sister who said that she took similar trips like this or even just a day or few hours away from her kids when they were younger for the specific reason of letting her recharge.

I take these trips to become a better mother.

It wasn’t until I came home that I realized the accuracy of that statement. Toddlers are tough, they’re tough to raise and tough to handle and when your patience is already running on threads that are barely holding on, it is very easy to forget that they are in fact toddlers. It is easy to catch yourself beginning to expect a 4 year old to have the understanding of someone two or three times their age instead of taking the time to explain something and teach them what they are trying to learn. This vacation has been a big eye-opening reminder of that and I hope that I can continue going forward with that reminder to become a better mother and teach for my girls. I am relaxed and recharged and ready to go.

Leaving Key West

July 28, 2016 Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Honestly, we have been back home since Saturday. But I’ve been putting off writing this entry because, well it makes me a little sad. It was so blissful and peaceful while we were there. Not a care. No stress. No work. Just me and my husband. It’s still me and my husband but we are back at work. Back to reality. But like many things, there is a silver lining to being back. A sort of ‘look at the bright side’ moment. Now that we are married and together. It seems as if the day-to-day stress we used to have isn’t so bad. Because now we go home to each other. We also get more sleep since we go to sleep together/earlier because we aren’t talking to each other on the phone into the wee hours of the night, ha ha.

But there are other benefits to us finally being home and together. Now we get to plan future adventures together. It’s quite exciting.

So in a last adieu to Key West(one day we might go back) here are a few pictures we snapped on the road home. We stopped by a couple of parks on the way home and sometimes just pulled over.

Photography · Travel

Key West… Day 4

July 22, 2016July 22, 2016 Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

I’m sad to say, today was our last full day on the island. :( We had a lot of fun here, despite Josh having his cold. And I’m sure we will return to spend more time here and actually see the sights haha. We stopped by the Southernmost point but the lines were so long we didn’t grab a picture. It’s truly a beautiful place, worth the drive and time. It was a choice we will never regret making and was perfect. We didn’t stop by many of the different sights you can take in while here but we did go to the butterfly observatory today. I always enjoy these types of places and I have to admit this was one of the best ones I have ever been too. We took a lot of selfies this time around mainly to get some pictures of the both of us. Many of these pictures are with the GoPro because I do not have a wide angle lens that will capture our surrounding area as well. But I’m not disappointed with the results.

DCIM100GOPRO

Oh yeah. Since it is our last full day here we decided to be dorks and wear.

Matching…

Hubby & Wifey T-shirts!

We are a goofy couple and we own up to it. And as you can see the back have our #CiuiEverAfter hashtag (pictures on Instagram from Wedding and beyond)

For the rest of the day it was a mixture of things. Walking around. Lounging by the pool (for Josh) or swimming in the pool (for me). I can honestly say I’m going to miss this place. But alas we must return to real life soon and this chapter must end so that the real adventure can begin. I’ll keep you posted world.