service with a smile

my little brother ryan showed up at my door at 8-ish am
[with the mower, the trimmer, and the blower]
& said he was there to mow the lawn.

bless his service oriented heart.
*just the kinda guy he is.

it was no small project either.
*grass to my knees in the backyard!

i am so grateful!
thanks ryan!
{i owe you lunch!}

some things just aren't meant to be

me & facebook recently broke up.
reason for the split: irreconcilable differences.

i don't plan on returning.
and i've had several sweet people ask why.

and to those kind friends i would say:
it's not you, it's me.

there were a lot of little reasons me & FB needed to separate.
mostly it was just a massive distraction from my priorities.
but also, my little sensitive soul had a hard time knowing every one's opinion & business about everything at all times {in third person}.
*it was too much for me.

there are certainly things about it {& people} i miss.
i have a lot of really witty friends & family members that provided highly entertaining statusi.
i really miss people from all the way across the world that i don't otherwise get to hangout with! {that's you jasna!}
i miss knowing where the party is at, and what my nearest & dearest are up to.
i am realizing the need to cultivate my real, one-on-one, in-the-flesh relationships.

but just like with any other breakup...
you have to say goodbye to the fantastic {as well as the not-as-fantastic} for the greater good.
rip off the bandaid & don't look back-style.

and facebook: since you've been gone [insert me belting kelly clarkson],
i haven't regretted my decision much.

i feel free!!!

what can i say?
we just weren't MFEO.

two things

the dog & the lawn are both in serious need of a haircut.

these are my main priorities for the week.

aka the next seven days are rather non-eventful,
and i am really excited about that fact.

what the hail?

it hailed today in mesa arizona.

*making a crazy end to a crazy week.

and right now: i'm feeling uncharacteristically melancholy,
so i'm going to go wash my face, brush my teeth, & hit the sack.

at 7:51 pm.

goodnight & god bless. :)

happy day

holly doing an awesome {highly entertaining} jig because elder ryan dixon has returned from his croatia/slovenia/serbia 2-year mission!



tender/candid moments at baggage claim.



pictures i managed to snap whilst balling my eyes out. [happy tears!]



we were all smiles {obvious} & chloe wore her fanciest snap-ons for the occasion. {also obvious}

WELCOME HOME BROTHER!
I LOVE YOU!

tidbits

-currently taking a ten minute break from work to blog.
-up to my ears in mickey ears {class on friday}.
-watched miss universe whilst treadmilling this morning.
-realized that when i floss, i without fail/subconsciously think of the movie turner & hooch.
-which means: every day, i think about tom hanks/turner & hooch. weird.
-need to remember to stock up on powerade for myron again @ frys. [on sale]
-anxiously awaiting 6-ish-o-clock when me & the girls will head to sky harbor {!}
-going crazy with livy's new climbing/destroying skills.
-feeling large {what's new?}
-randomly teared up on southern/greenfield today because i saw my girls in the rear view mirror & i love them so much
-sporting new clearance-sandals from target
-been asked, "how do you spell {fill in the blank}?" 348 times today. [like i know!]
-dreaming of saturday {family date night}
-wondering who's on jimmy this evening 'cause it's gonna be a LONG night.

T minus, like, 2 seconds

hey-remember how that middle picture will be taken down,
off the stake center wall....in like, a day?

yep, ryan/elder dixon comes home tomorrow night!

get the klennex ready, dudes.

can't wait!

i don't wanna grow up

i'm sitting here looking at my schedule for the week.
i have a lot going on & a whole lot to get done.

not gonna lie: kinda wishing i was 1 right now.
ya know: the good ol' days:

-when chilling in a onesie all day was socially acceptable.
-when your mom would prepare your meals & cut them into convenient bite-sized tiny pieces.
-when guilt-free 3-hour naps were encouraged, welcomed & praised.
-when you got tired of walking, all you had to do was scream & someone would carry you.
-when back fat was cute.
-when the day ended being kissed on the forehead & rocked to sleep whilst being serenaded by lullabies.

that was the life, dude.
sometimes i really wonder if i appreciated the awesome-ness of it while it lasted.
do you think i did?

i think livy does.
and watching her {and her sister} enjoy childhood makes me love where i'm at too.

i guess being 27 isn't so bad afterall.

testing, testing

i haven't accomplished as much i wanted to this week.

but!

me & chloe DID go through all our pens & tossed out the rejects.

'cause let's get real: what is more annoying than trying to use a pen that doesn't work?

answer: nothing.

a gift for my china girl

after reading this post
about chloe being OBSESSED with china...

my dear, sweet {and beautiful} friend CICELY
purchased chloe this adorable oriental dress.

it arrived in the mail today
and chlo' was instantly IN LOVE!

her reaction:

"oh my gosh mommy! it has china words on it!"
"ooooo...i love it!"
"i can wear it when i visit the pandas & make origami!"
"it is so fancy, i can do my dance moobs {moves} in china!"

*dr. cobb, you can sleep well knowing that you made a little curly-headed girl very, very happy today.
thank you {so} much for your thoughtful gift!

*we'll go get some chopsticks for her hair asap! :)

breather

today is one-na those:

turn up the music
wear no make up
stay in my sweats
clean the house top-to-bottom
clear my head
organize my ideas/thoughts
get my duckies in a row
type-of-days.

*and keeping THIS message in mind as i do so.

{love it.}

quality time

we don't get much time with our hardworking daddy these days.
he's super busy & works all kinds of crazy hours for us.
*he certainly takes one for the team. [day in & day out]

but, this afternoon he was home with us!

-we made fajitas for lunch.
-snuggled during a new-arrival netflixed pinkie pie movie.
-played and napped with cousin 'vaeh.
-and chlo' & her dad played a rousing 4-year-old-friendly game of risk.
*which was incredibly entertaining to listen to, btw.

libs was looking especially adorable for her daddy today as well...



myron is by far livy's {favorite}.
come to think of it, he's chloe's favorite too!

...and [most definitely] mine too.

we love you my.

chloe news

-she had a "come-over" with her little friend today.
they played risk for 45 minutes {true story} and then dressed up & went around to every door in the house & pretended they were trick-or-treating.

-yesterday she told a random bearded man at the post office, "missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me."
it was hilarious.

-she informed me that her two best/imaginary friends, plemets & kelsey, are now BACK from their 8 week missions in hawaii, but unfortunately they now both have broken legs & arms.
[bummer.]

-she insisted on eating all her meals & snacks today on a giant platter shaped like a fish.
it made me happy.

-i asked her what she did on her first day of preschool.
her response: "i drew a picture of me with a sad face standing all alone in the rain."
[haha?]

-she wants a unicorn pillowpet so badly.
she is currently earning one by refraining from sneaking into my bed during the night.
{i heart bribery.}

-everyday, without fail, she asks me if she can have an otterpop for breakfast.
*i say no.

-she was sad that granny had to pull out her zinnias because they were "decaying."

-she goes around telling everyone that abinadi got fired.

-i found this little video of her the other day & realized how quickly she is growing up.
{waa.}

4 simple goals

elsie flannigan, from one of my fave craft inspo blogs {a beautiful mess}
is hosting the cutest little challenge/party.

and since i'm a total fan of goal setting, reward achieving, self helping, life enriching type-stuff...i've joined in the fun.

i thought i'd share here, what i've been working on.
my 4 simple goals.

1. make mornings fun!
i dread them and my first instinct is to be really super-duper cranky in the morn...but...i hafta be up anyway {because the munchkins prefer waking up around 7} so why not be in a good mood? i really feel like the tone is set for the day from the first few minutes...so i'm {really} making an effort to be nicer, more patient & an enjoyable mommy to be around in the am hours. we've created a little structure with chloe's chart & i'm tryin' to sneak in a little spice with fun little activities & yummy breakfast surprises for the girls.
2. do my hour of power daily!
[hour of power] is a tony robbins term. and yes, i love him. as in: i'm obsessed. he's one of my heroes. the goal is to spend one hour/day enriching my spirit. this time is spent reading my scrips, praying, creating, meditating, exercising, listening to chill music, thinking & planning. it's my me-time that helps me stay focused and keep perspective. i usually do this at night after the girls are in bed & before myron gets home from work. like 9-10pm. i sooo look forward to it.
3. paint my toes & fingers a fun new color every week!
for no other reason than freshly painted nails make me happy & put me in a good mood! makes me feel pretty & feminine. cheap, easy, & doable.
4. experiment with new recipes!
this should be easy since i've only recently become a mom who cooks and i know how to make like, er, 5 things! i still really struggle with the daily grind of preparing meals for my little fam. it's like once you get one meal cleaned up, it's time to prepare the next! i hafta stay really chill & flexible about things so i don't get overwhelmed. but! i feel really good about life when i follow through with meal plans & i am head over heals {in love} with sitting down with my little family at the table for a formal-yet-casual family dinner. it is one of my simplest joys. so fulfilling to me.

the challenge lasts until the end of the year. i'll check in every so oft & blog about my progress. if i'm successful with follow through, i'm rewarding myself with a cute new outfit that i wouldn't otherwise buy for myself. [hope that's okay honey!]

*anyone want to join in the fun? totally do!

joy in a white onesie

liv is the source of so many of my smiles.

i love:
*her foreign olivia-language.
*her chub that is disappearing by the day.
*her grin full of crazy toddler teeth.
*her wobbly run.
*her serious dancing skills.
*her obsession with water and bath time.
*her bright, beautiful eyes full of wonder & awesomeness.
*her cheerful laugh that fills our home with all kinds of happy.

and yes. i even love her crazy-destructive messes, and her occasional whining, and her obsession with stripping at the most inconvenient of times. i love her not-awesome behavior at church & when she spills her dad's QT on the carpet. i even love that she's completely destroyed her crib by wood-chucking the entire railing.

i love all of those things.
because they remind me that she's mine for keeps.
what a gift.

saturday mornings are random

basically they are the best.
because we do whatever we feel like.....fly where the wind takes us-style.
{oh wait, i forgot: we do that everyday}

*so far this morn we have....

had a tea party for breakfast {oj, grapes, cantalope, cheese, cheerios & yogurt.}



folded the last load of weekend laundry {my friday night while myron was working was really exciting, can you tell??}



feng shui-ed the living room....{i diagonalled the love seat away from the window a little bit, thus trapping livy out of the tempting dvd towers. [i think it's cute.] but if it's really just tacky...don't tell me, because i'm keeping it this way until livy is 15.



went swimming {or in liv's case: skinny dipping} on the porch



missed on our hardworking daddy & then watched this hilarious video 4 times because it reminds us of him.

there's a first time for everything

well: miracles never cease.

if you can believe it: i fought all natural tendencies to be polly procrastination this month &
i've actually completed my layouts for my new upcoming class.
in september. [i know: whoa.]

photo frenzy is basically my old class {scrap it simple} with a new little twist!
we'll still be doing three simple&sweet layouts...
{plus} double spreads for them using bazzill slip-in page protectors.

here's some peeks of what they look like-ish:








i promise to bring a chocolate treat & a smile!

please join me if you feel so inclined! it'll be a stressfree, enjoyable, kick-back yet productive, ribbon-filled evening! leave with 3 finished, ready-to-slap-your-pictures-on layouts!

tuesday september 7th 2010
6-8pm

call scrapbooks etc. to sign up!
#480-854-2303

{i'd love to see ya!}

pb&j

one of my {more specific} goals in life is to get my children to like pb&j.

'cause hello, easiest lunch ever.

i for one [hate] pb&j, so it's more of a do as i say, not as i do sorta thing....

turns out, all we had to do is replace the j for h [honey] & bust out the cookie cutters.

teddy shaped pb&h's all around!

this pleases me.

first day back

we had a special biscuits & gravy/fresh fruit breakfast {& coloring party}
honoring chlo' & her first day back @ preschool.

it's been a really happy, memory-filled morning.
*gosh i love her.