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.

Cades Cove Camping

November 20, 2017November 20, 2017 Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Had the awesome opportunity of going camping with my husband’s family this year. It’s an annual tradition on their part but this was my first time attending. It certainly was an experience, I don’t think I’ve been camping since I was about 5 or 6 years old.

But I enjoyed it. Huge family gathering in the mountains, no cell service, no internet, if you needed to make a phone call you had to drive down to the ranger station to use their phone. It was a completely tech free vacation… except for my camera.

To be honest, I was a little worried about sleeping in a tent. Mainly I was worried about falling off the inflatable mattress! But I was glad we weren’t sleeping on the ground, it was freezing at night. One thing I was not expecting, were the pretty frequent visits from Black Bears. They generally skirted the edges of the camp ground but always managed to slip away before I had a chance to capture them on camera, only picture I got below is pretty blurry but managed to see this bear cub as well.

Of course seeing a couple of bears right outside your tent door so to speak (it was really probably 200 feet away) made it even harder to sleep at night.

But anyways. Other than the wildlife and cold, the trip was over all very fun, I can’t wait to go again next year. We had fun in the streams, checked out the nearby historic sites, and just overall had fun. I also caught up on some reading. I will admit, this was a much needed, reprieve from the harsh realities of life. Didn’t have to talk to anyone on the phone or have customers yelling at me for trivial things. I wish I could do this once a month.

Photography · Travel

California Dreaming

November 8, 2017November 8, 2017 Deby Ciui (Chewy)Leave a comment

Hello Everyone.

Wow, it feels like an eternity since I last posted anything. It’s my fault I know but life’s been ‘interesting’ to say the least.

Finally have a chance to tell you about our long over due vacation.

It felt amazing to be on a plane again, didn’t realized how much I missed them, although I we did run into some technical difficulties in Nashville when our plane was de-commissioned due to maintenance issues. But hey at least they found it before we took off so that’s all good.

The other thing I enjoyed this trip was all the coffee. We tried a new coffee shop every day (coffee addict at heart). Everywhere we went the coffee was great. Delicious!

And then off too the main subject of our trip. The sun, the beach, the palm trees, and the awesome adventure of whale watching. All of it was absolutely fantastic, and the whale watching was an amazing experience. I can’t wait to do it again!