I’m conflicted on which direction to take this post. My heart wants to go with The Cheese. My mind wants to go in a completely different direction.
Let’s start with The Cheese, shall we?
I love that picture.
I’ll cherish that picture and the memories that go with it for as long as I live. The memories of my children laughing as the waves crashed onto their backs, of Gabby holding me tightly as the water crashed onto the shore, of yelling at my son for walking on the sheet with his sand soaked feet and then laughing as he walked away because a)I’m a psycho mom b) he is a big, adorable dork…
Now, let’s go with what my mind is begging me to say.
“Dear Internet, I’d like you to meet My Arms. Don’t be scared to say hi, they may not be as friendly as Sunshine, and I realize they’re size might be a bit intimidating, but seriously? They’re harmless and just want someone to love them.”
See how I can ruin such a beautiful thing with my negative attitude?
But seriously? Did you see My Arms?!
Hey, at least I don’t have a Hairy Mole on my back. That would have totally ruined the picture.
How’s that for looking at “the bright side.”?
I’m glad I didn’t let My Issues keep me from going, because, the kids loved it and I had a good time.
Notice I didn’t say a “great time?” It’s difficult to go to the beach with a baby.
Difficult, but totally worth it once you get home, upload the photos and realize just how lucky you are to have such beautiful children who enjoy every minute of the life you helped give to them.
So so so so glad you went.
Oh and by the way my ass has it’s own zip code my dear not just it’s own name.
We women are too funny but our men and our babies love us more than we can wrap our minds around.
Ohmygosh your children are just so beautiful. I love Gabby’s sandy little feet!
Andrew is SO TAN!
What about your arms? Chica, you’re gorgeous! And your kids just go to show it!
Beach??! WOO-HOO!!! That’s the ONE thing I miss most about living in SoCal. (Texas lakes just aren’t the same and it’s too far to drive to the gulf.) You lucky ducky! I love the pics, especially the black and white one of Gabby’s sandy feet. Adorable. I’m really glad you went and put the issues aside for the day. Yay, YOU! WTG!
my thoughts when i saw the post/picture in chronological order (without reading the post):
– damn, that hair. i’m so jealous!
– dude, she’s looking great, how come i’ve only lost freakin’ 14lbs in about the same time (me=looser)
– she’s SO gonna bitch about her arms and totally ruin how beautiful the picture showing beautiful her with gabby is…
i’m proud of you for going and having a good time because i know how hard it was for you. you rock, Y ;o)
This is really a good one. You can visit my site at the link below.
Y, you have such a beautiful family. Oh and arms, I think your crazy. The last photo in B&W is my favorite. Very nice.
Ok: stop reading this NOW if a lecture is not what you want. But many many posts ago I once remember you saying to people, “Stop posting what you think I want to hear!” Fine. Here goes.
I must seriously be missing something here. Either that top picture didnt come out full-body or you are really in need of a serious sit-down, drag-out, get-it-out-all-on-the-table hashing out of this inferiority complex. NOBODY, but NOBODY in their right mind noticed anything but ocean and the backs of a mother and child. Truth be told? Your arms ARE NOT FAT. IN THAT PICTURE YOUR ARMS ARE NORMAL. NORMAL. You are taking what you think is a problem and I swear it is going to become a problem for your kids and their body image if you don’t get a major handle on this very very soon. I have seen more than one middle-schooler transform into a parent’s personality. Yvonne this sounds brutal I know but if you actually see a problem with your arms in that picture, that concerns me and it should concern you. And it’s not a concern for the arms, either. It really bothers me that somebody with as beautiful a personality as yours has developed this complex that is shadowing everything else.
I’ll shut up now. But I’m saddened that the fun of the day was taken away by this.
You are beautiful and your arms aren’t fat. You look GREAT! Beautiful pics of all of you. What a beautiful day.
I knew you’d go! Yea!!!
Fab pics! Quit with the fat thing!!!! YOu look great….did you see some of those other folks? Don’t you think that if you were as unattractive as you seem to think that you would have some really homely kids? And look at them…..BEAUTIFUL…LIKE YOU!
Totally agree about the baby-beach thing. We go every year, I pray it will be better….but it’s always a hassle…but sooo worth it in the end.
Have a great day.
I’m glad you all had fun at the beach! Gabby is quite unlike my 1 yr old who HATES the beach. We go and she screams bloody murder if sand dares touch her. She perches on my leg yelling go, go, go go mommy while my other 2 kids blissfully play..lol.
The pictures of you and your kids are beautiful – every one of them! I’m particularly fond of the b&w of your daughter’s sweet lil feets! It looks like you had the most awesome day at the beach. I’m totally jealous . I agree w/ everyone else, you must stop abusing your self. You’re awesome just the way you are!
ok, i know you said you didn’t want to put on a swimsuit, but i didn’t know that meant you were going to go NAKED.
naked or not, i dont know what you’re talking about with the arms, but i love that photo.
Y-
I am doing the same thing as you- from your photos I think we carry our extra weight similarly- I am down 30 lbs so far, and know exactly how you feel. I am on a freaking lake for the summer, (seriously, I love it here) BUT I am in a bathing suit every day. I have the regular suit I wear when I am with my kids playing and a heavily skirted- high neckline suit for when any one else might see me. If only my more coverage suit had sleeves!
So, I totally hear you. We all zone in on particular body parts, I just keep it all inside and pretend I am thin. Other people are all so wrapped up in their own thing they rarely notice mine.
Glad you made it to the beach- keep up the good work.
Girl, vickie is right. I see that picture and I’m not thinking “Hello, arms!”
But…
I do the same things with photos of myself. I’ll immediately see my super-wide face, and in doing so, I miss the “big” picture (no pun intended). I zero in on what I see as my flaws and don’t take it all in for what it is.
That first picture is so fun. And really, I don’t think anyone here looks at it and thinks “Damn, that woman needs to lose weight” and yes, there are pictures I’ve seen of other people where that’s my first thought.
With that picture, I thought “how peaceful! and you can tell they are mom and daughter from the way they’re together, their hair, etc.” And I was jealous of your day at the beach because I miss the water so much.
Your arms sweetie aren’t any bigger than most of the free world. I was checking out some celebrity arms in Us Weekly and thought “you know, I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to have arms like that.”
Keep smiling…you really are a beautiful woman 🙂
The black and white photo of Gabby’s teeny sandy feet made me tear up. Truly.
I dunno I was still trying to peek around to see the boobage!
You’re so lucky. There is nothing even resembling a beach here in Dallas. NOTHING! Oh of course you can go to the pool, but it’s no beach and those pictures are beautiful.
Life is short. Play on the beach naked! Focus on fun, not on something you can’t immediately do much about.
You look fine. I love that shot of you and Gabby. Glad you went!
And the cheese! The cheese stands alone! And the cheese is more important than you know. Soon the cheese will be all grown up and have cheese of its own. And you will look back on this time. Will it be rememberance of the good times you had, or regret for worry about things you had no (immediate) control over?
Remember the cheese. Cheesy memories are the best!
And you are beautiful!
-H
What med said. Life is short. Have fun when you can. Great pictures. I need to take my son to the beach and show him a really big puddle! He like to jump into puddles.
Y, you are lovely. And the cheese is precious.
Me too, first thing I noticed was the way your hair fell against your back and cute litle Gabs and the view.
It’s is easy for little skinny people to climb into a swimsuit and hit the water. The strong people are the ones who do it regardless of their flaws real or perceived. I was so excited when I saw that picture, your are a strong women Y and don’t you forget it.
Aww babes! I’m so happy that you were able to go to the beach and have a great time! You 4 are beautiful!
Awww, beautiful pics! I am so glad you went to the beach! And Damn Girl, how tan is Andrew??? Loving the Gabby sandy feet.
What cute babies you make! I love, love love the shot of the toes. I’m a sucker for baby feet, and that girl has some gorgeous ones! I’m glad you went. I’m glad you had a good time! I am so jealous that I didn’t get to go!
I so do not see your arms in that photo, not even a little bit. Not even when I concentrate and really look. I see a beautiful mama and her gorgeous daughter enjoying the ocean together.
If you wanna get together sometime and compare arms, though…Mine are like twice the size of yours or something. LOL
I LOVe the photos! It makes me want to don a bathing suit (yes, my giant pregnant butt in a bathing suit, now there would be some cause for emotional trauma on the part of the viewer) and go to the beach!
the black and white photo is BEAUTIFUL.
I didn’t even notice your arms. not even after you mentioned them.
You know Yvonne, after the birth of my son three years ago I came to accept that my body will never be like a runway models. Heck it will never as slim as my best friend’s bod or even YOURS! So I bit the bullet, bought a swimsuit that fit and I felt comfortable in and said “Fuck’em!” if they don’t like what they see then they can look away.
That’s still my attitude today and will be tomorrow when we go to a friends house for a summer party and I’ll be squeezing my incredibley huge 8 1/2 month pregnant body into my swim suit.
“Fuck’em all!’
I’m so glad you were able to enjoy the beach with your beautiful family. It’s hard not to let our insecurities get in the way. *hugs*
P.S. Always remember that there are others out there that envy what you have! I would be thrilled to have arms as slim as yours!
You know we are our own worst enemies, right? 🙂 Your arms look good.
Have you thought of signing Gabby up for modeling? Imagine how cute she’d look modeling for the Gap or something.
Great pics. Looks like ya’ll had a great day at the beach! I’m with the rest of ’em…your arms are not fat!!
babe, nobody noticed your arms. We were looking at you and your baby girl. For god’s sake, you really don’t need to criticize yourself so much. But now i feel hypocritical. yesterday, my whole family went and played in the ocean and had a good time, but i dat on the beach in my shorts and tshirt and CRIED. That’s right, i cried on my vacation because i felt FAT!! So, honestly i know how you feel, but you don’t have to feel like that. It’s not the image in the frame, it’s the feeling. And you weren’t thinking about your arms when you took that picture. You were thinking about how much you loved your kids and your life and the ocean. Just remember that feeling, and to hell with the arms. I could send you worse pictures.
You have such a beautiful family.
You look wonderful! I love the black and white photo. In all honesy the first pic of you and Gabby looks fantastic!!!!! I am so glad you went to the beach and you but on a swiiming suit. You should be very proud of yourself.
Your kids don’t care what you look like. All the care is that you went and had a great time! You have a beautiful family!
your kids are gorgeous!!
Oh, I do this all the time – I totally miss the beauty of a family photo, obsessing only about my own appearance. And in twenty years I know I’ll be saying, “Oh, what a beautiful family we ALL were!”
I love that picture, too. All of them, actually.