sweet

celebrate we will
for life is short
but sweet for certain.

-dave matthews

lunchtime thoughts

i'm currently under the influence of heavy doses of dayquill,
so if this post is extra random: tis why.

i'm sick.

yesterday, me, my fever, the comfiest pillow in the house, a roll of tp [the classiest form of kleenex], the trusty remote, and one of deb's famous flannel blankets chilled on the couch all day.

i'm lucky 'cause my kids are professional putter-ers & self-entertain well.
there were toys everywhere, coloring fests, and pillow/blanket forts streamed all over the house.

at one point livy emptied an entire bag of sunflower seeds all over the floor and none of us cared.
it was awesome.

myron checked in occasionally with us girls, while he was out working hard @ both his jobs.
and i think he wore dirty/semi-not-clean pants to work, without a word.
*love him for it.

after the tv-trifecta of sickdom {dr. phil, the dr's & oprah}
chloe said to me, and i quote:

"mom, a covenant is a two-way promise.
can you like, promise to get off the couch &
i promise to watch my show instead?"

{true story}
i died laughing.

***

in a few days,
when i'm all better,
summer officially begins over here.

*bring on the sunshine.

preschool grad

on saturday, chloe & her adorable fruit loop tassel were honored
at the cutest graduation ceremony ever.

chloe's had a great first year
and we can't wait for round two!

my heartfelt thanks goes to her amazing & creative teacher
[understatement of the century] who loved and taught
my girl all kinds of fabulous things.

like this:

happy graduation to my favorite pre-k-er!

right now

chloe talks in an english accent kind of a lot.

livy has officially realized walking is easier/awesome.

chloe is in a celery-loving stage.

livy pretends she's in the strongest man competition and randomly carries the heaviest stuff everywhere.

chloe calls hand sanitizer "hand appetizer."

livy is in the busy-into-everything-omg-can't-keep-up-stage.

chloe lives for "come overs"/playdays.

livy's kind of a vampire/biter.

chloe loves grocery shopping & is my check-off-the-list-er.

livy wears a size 5 diaper.

***

chloe & livy are both my favorite.

7

7 years ago today, i married this guy.

best decision i've ever made.

happy anniversary, myron.

sweet & juicy

we've been downing lots of tasty watermelon lately.
my girls can't get enough.

ps: cute bibs from here.

oh, to be 4

one thing i try to do as a mom,
is just let my kids be kids.

and sometimes that means
really big, creative, messes
filled with imagination.

huge, wonderful, crayon and pony filled messes
that take like a hour+ to clean up.

it's the happiest disaster ever.

walker texas ranger

livy walks. and i have consequently fallen in love with her all over again.

personal progress goal

{kickin' chicken & veggies, pot roast & fresh fruit, whole wheat creamy chicken pesto & spinach salad}

i have {never} been a consistent dinner-maker for my family.

but, i've been working on it lately.
[like, old-school personal progress style.]

i made a calendar of cheap, easy familiar meals...
and i've been following the list for the past couple weeks.

i'd share my 30-day plan here,
but i'm still tweaking & changing it as the days go by.

i really want it to better cater to my low-carb diet
& use recipes that i can make smaller...[too many leftovers!]

all these years, [it'll be seven next week!]
i thought cooking for my family made my life more stressful-
buying, making, and cleaning up meals just overwhelmed me.

and, even though i'd still admit,
it is a challenge to find recipes that work
for everyone's taste buds...

cooking at home is making my life easier, simpler, healthier

& i feel better about myself for doing it.

win/win/win.

let's keep this up!

the day i became a mother

words just can't express
how grateful i am to be called mom.

today, i got to relive the same feeling
i had the day i became a mother.

which is, an intense testament that heavenly father
knows me & loves me.

motherhood has taught me so much already.
it is a privilege that i try not to take for granted.
it is a challenge and a joy.

happy mother's day to all the women in my life,
who nurture and build,
love and strengthen,
and better the world in their own way!
i love you.

blooming

the other afternoon,
as i was unloading groceries from the car in the driveway...
livy crawled out onto the porch and made herself comfortable.

it's as if that cement step was made just for her.
*she sat there for nearly five minutes.

i quickly grabbed my camera
'cause i just wanted to bottle up that moment
and save it for all time.

both livy,
and my 17 surviving zinnias
are growing at a crazy-fast pace.

liv is taking steps, sometimes a dozen at a time.
there's been cheers and lots of excitement.

we also shout for joy
each time a new shade of pink pops up in the zinnia bed.

....lots of blooming going on, and it makes me really happy.

happy cinco de mayo!

ps: thank you holly's facebook
page for this entertaining picture.

first born

sometimes i laugh
because i really, really love being a mom...
but i don't know what the heck i'm doing.

chloe's my little guinea pig.

may the force be with her.

baby daddy

my children are twins with their father.

and here's proof.

photo #1. myron = olivia
photo #2. myron = chloe