We thought you’d never ask!

You impressed the heck out of us with your great response to our request for questions on instagram stories! 5 questions will be answered a week, so if you don’t see your question this time, you will soon. As new bloggers, we are eager for you to get to know us better, so let’s begin!

Q: How did you meet?

Before we get into that, enjoy a walk through the years.

PW: We have known each other since we were 16 and 17, that makes twenty years. You can read about how we met here, in the very first blog post ever!

JM: Good Old, Martin High School. I cannot remember the exact time or place but Paige was a year younger than me and dated a guy in my grade. She started coming around more and more on the weekends and was just the sweetest (almost shy back then) girl. It was an instant and easy friendship from the very beginning. We went from high school to college to basically being by each others sides at every single major life event. She is just the coolest, no drama, always has your back friend. I just love me some Paige.

Q: How do you handle co-parenting? Have you always had a good relationship with your ex-husband and his wife? Were you friends with her before or did you become friends?

PW: Since this question is all Jeni, I will just say that I am blown away by the way they all work together to make everything as smooth as possible. They are all such awesome parents and are committed to making sure their kids are as comfortable and well adjusted as possible and able to just be kids. My hat is off to y’all!

JM: I don’t think there are short answers to these questions and they are ones we got A LOT of. First, it’s all God. It may sound cliche but it’s true. I wish I could give us more credit but really that is where the credit lies. God has restored brokenness and hurt and our children now have four parents that love them and would do absolutely anything to make sure they have the healthiest upbringing possible. Was it always easy? No. Is it perfect? No. We are humans and we make mistakes and divorce is hard and messy. My biggest piece of advice is to put your children and their needs first. Let go of any anger, resentment, etc. and start looking at your relationship with your ex as a new one that is solely about your children and not about either of you. We are 6 years into this gig and while it hasn’t always been picture perfect I am really, really proud of all of us and how we have handled ourselves. Was I friends with the kids’ step-mom before? No, gosh that would’ve been hard. And weird. We didn’t meet until they started dating. Of course this relationship took time to develop and there were definite insecurities that arose but at the end of the day she loves my kids which makes it easy for me to be friends with her.

Q:What were your jobs pre-blog and pre-kids?

PW: My first job right out of college was working at my dad’s construction business doing all sorts of bottom of the totem pole things. I wanted to learn the business and see if I had any interest in it and about 80 days later I quit and enrolled in the Early Childhood Post baccalaureate program at SMU. That’s how much I loved the construction gig. After a year of no money (we didn’t have basic cable, no “entertainment” budget, just hard financial times on one small income) I was hired to teach first grade in Grand Prairie. I fell in love with those kids and really enjoyed the actual teaching, but it was causing me to have debilitating anxiety. This is what started my whole going to doctors, trying anti anxiety meds and figuring out how to get my mental state healthy, but more on that in another post later. I taught there a second year, found out I was pregnant with my first daughter and decided to be a stay at home mom for what I figured was forever. I thought that was my end game and my number 1 goal and key to happiness and fulfillment. After a few years of SAHM life and another daughter added into the mix, I was itching to do something, just not a typical 9-5 job. In desperate need of an outlet, a hobby, a something, I (and I kid you not) started training for a body building competition, was taking surveys online to earn like .25, was writing on my family blog almost daily, was studying the Bible like crazy, trying to pretend I liked crafts, and then finally, by the grace of God, I was led to one of the biggest blessings in my life – photography. That first Nikon and crappy little 35mm lens took me into a world that I didn’t even know I was made for. I found such peace in photography and realized I had an overwhelming desire to learn everything I could. Not only about the technical aspect of photography, the language of light, the gear, the editing programs, etc, I was so intrigued and motivated, almost obsessively, to learn the business side. My gears were constantly turning, how to improve my photography and how to potentially take this passionate hobby of mine into something more. If I wasn’t taking photos, I was dreaming up the next shoot. I will never forget September 1, 2010 going into the courthouse to get my DBA and Paige Walker Photography was officially open for business. I could write a million more words on the 8 years I have been in business, the people I have had the absolute pleasure of photographing and becoming friends with, the challenges OH THE CHALLENGES, the accolades, the astronomical growth, mentoring others in both photography and business, training an employee who is now part of the family, creating pieces of art for families that they will treasure for a lifetime. It does not get better than this job. The amount of work I have put in and sacrifices I have made to be one of the best in the business have been tough. I am slowly learning the art of delegating and letting go and the delicate juggling act of work and life balance. Thanks be to God for guiding me right where I needed to be and allowing me to have this enormous blessing of a business. It’s almost unreal for me to sit back and see what has been built. Feel free to check out my work at www.paigewalkerphotography.com and to see a tour of the photography studio here.

JM: I taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. God bless the teachers, that is some hard work.

Q: What is your fitness routine?

PW: I don’t have a routine necessarily. The only thing I like to do is pilates with Kadee, Paula Abdul’s former trainer that I mentioned on instagram stories the other day. She trains us on the reformer and the chair. I was having intense lower back and SI joint problems. So bad that I was sent to the ER in a bawling, cussing mess and assumed I would be rushed into emergency surgery for some awful injury. Nope, turns out it was just a severe back spasm. I started going to Kadee because of her knowledge of the body and how to strengthen and align areas to help heal injuries. It wasn’t long until my hips and pelvis were strengthened and aligned and my lower back pain went away. I try and go once a week, but that is even hard for me to commit to with my shooting schedule. I also have some cheesy app that I do here and there, also once a week max. It’s called “home workout”

JM: Ummmm. I don’t have one. Most recently I tried out barre and I liked it ok. I just don’t love working out, never have. It’s a goal of mine to start something so I can be healthy. I just may hate every minute of it.

Q: What do your husbands and friends think about your blog and instagram and sharing so much of your lives?

PW: The blog and instagram are a direct look at what our husbands and friends already see on the regular. Sometimes they don’t mention our instagram and blog at all and sometimes they say something sweet or encouraging to us about it. I think they all mostly don’t think much of it because it is 100% what they already know and hopefully love about us, but just on display now for more to see. My husband is a lot more private than I am, so I have to make sure if he is going to participate in a story or blog post, that he is ok with that first. No sneak attacks and sticking him on there against his will. I also think if you don’t want to share your life, you shouldn’t start a lifestyle blog so thank goodness Jeni and I both love connecting with people and are open as can be! We get DMs almost daily telling us how real we are and we are hoping that is how we come across.

JM: Everyone has been super supportive and encouraging. We are both open books in real life so I don’t think the fact that we are open and honest here is a shock to anyone that knows us.

There were two other questions that will eventually be an entire post, but here is a little bit for now:

Q: Can you talk about intermittent fasting?

PW: Yes! My husband is going to let me take his measurements and take notes on how he feels and what he thinks of intermittent fasting starting this week. I reached my goal weight, feel awesome and it’s the easiest and most successful “diet” I have ever tried.

JM: I find it intriguing but I just don’t think I can go that long without eating. The science behind it really is fascinating though. I’ll stick to my celery juice for now.

Q: Tips for a Neiman’s look on a WalMart budget?

PW & JM: Absolutely! We will dig into this soon and break down our fashion philosophies on what to splurge on and how to look high end even if you didn’t pay top dollar!

Sharing our lives has been challenging and so fun and we are honestly just glad anyone cares enough to follow along! If you have any questions you would like added to this series, contact us at hello@styleduplicated.com or send a DM on instagram!