a little blog love...

wow...it has been a full year today that i started this blog. who knew how much a blog could change one's life? when i first decided to tiptoe into blog land, i thought i would post a few pictures, write a few lines captioning them. that's it. easy.

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mostly at the beginning, my blog made me feel like i was creating something for myself, and most importantly for my children to look back on one day. i have never been really good about documenting in baby books, writing letters, and saving little keepsakes. basically, i felt guilty and extremely overwhelmed at trying to get it going. so i felt pride and satisfaction at having started what i like to now call my 'digital diary.' a diary that i will have bound and printed into a book. a keepsake to pass along to my children.

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i never imagined that this simple blog could make such positive changes in my life. changes that have made me better in so many ways. i see things in way now that i never did before. i notice the little things. i see the beauty in simple, often overlooked details ofeveryday life and everyday.

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in how i write my blog, i have chosen to share the things that make me happy, the things that make us a stronger family,me a better mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend, role-model,...

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at the end of each day or week, when i am deciding what to write, i think about what i want to remember-what i want my children to know about their mommy and daddy. i want them to know how much we adored and loved them. i want them to know about me. my likes, dislikes, what i hold important. i want them to see photographs of not only themselves, but their friends, family, and all the people in their lives that play an importan role because i truely believe that it 'takes a village.'

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i love that at the end of the day (or week) when i think about what i want to share with all my blogging buddies and regardless of what kind of day or week i have had...the good, bad, and ugly,

i almost always choose the good stuff because that is the stuff i want to remember.

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the stuff that makes me want to fall to my knees and thank god for giving me such a wonderful life with such wonderful and healthy kids. for giving me a husband that wants to spend time with his babies right after a long and tiring day in a stressful market-the kind of stressful that if i had to work in his line of work, would have me running home to a bottle of wine and my king size bed. the stuff that makes me thank my lucky stars for my family that is not near me, but who i still get to communicate with on the phone. the stuff that makes me grateful for true and genuine friends-friends that have become my family. the stuff that just plain makes me laugh, makes me happy, makes me want to be a better person, to set healthy

examples and feel empowered them.

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i love my little space in blog land. i treasure it. i love adding to it. i love learning and being inspired by so many others. i love that when i need to, i can share hurts or concerns without ever having to pick up the phone and have a small but important support system that is here...for me and my family when i need them most.

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today for me, was the perfect close to an out-of-sorts week. lots of good stuff today. good, good stuff. lots of laughter, a few happy tears, retail therapy, and lots and lots of dancing! yes, dancing... the out of breath, clumsy, booty-shakin' kind. the this-right-now-is makin'-all-things- better- kind of fun with. the healing kind!!!!!

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and tonight as i was rocking my both of my babies to sleep about an hour past their bedtime...i lightly rested my head on beckham's fluffy little soft pillows for cheeks while peyton brushed her tiny fingers up and down my arm. i sang them the song i made up for them years ago. just as i thought both of them had fallen asleep beckham popped his sweet little head up, startling me a bit, and said,

"i want to dance, mama! PLEEESE!"

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how did he know that his silly mama was a dancin' fool only this afternoon?!

so at ten o'clock at night...we danced. only for a minute, but it was fun and it made us all laugh.

i love giving them little gifts like that and then i like to think to myself that i am a pretty cool mom indeed.

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so at the end of the day...life is sweet and things are really, really good.

so with this little celebratory blog post coming to an end, i am off to finish watching the sex in the city movie. i realize that i need to find my box of extra soft kleenex, because this week has been a long and meaningful one, filled with ups and downs that have challenged my little tear ducts to turn into little overflowing baths of water... and i know my favorite part of the movie is coming up and i will quietly tear up while admiring the camera angles, the vivenne westwood wedding gown while listening to the violin and piano that will take turns tugging at my heartstrings...happens every time and i love it!

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xoxo

i can not wait to see what will be written on my blank canvas of the next year of this little ole blog.

happy anniversary to my

life is like a box of chocolates!!!!

more of the windy city on st. patty's day!

the plan was to start the pub crawl at noon. i didn't think we could start our day at noon and continue throughout the night and still have fun. aren't we to old for this? surely we need our rest for the next day when we return home to our families. i don't know, but okay...let's go.

let's paint our eyes green, adorn ourselves with inexpensive green stuff, and hit the cold streets of chicago...we did it and we did it well! one day we will have to stop and rest between bars...but not this year.

did you know that four states are visible from the Sears Tower Skydeck

(Indiana, Illinois, Michigan & Wisconsin)in chicago?

well, we didn't see any of the states from the tower bc we didn't go to the top of the sears tower...but we did meet a lot of fun people...and...truth be told, i love meeting new people. i genuinely love to meet people. love to hear what they are into, where they are from, what they do.

it's fun. i met a few students...yes, turns out we are older than we feel we are;0

i met two photographers, one was taking our picture for the chicago scene. i sat and picked his brain for awhile and he was a dear and helped me out with my camera in the dimly lit space we were in-people can be so nice!

here are some more pictures from our trip. i know there are plenty but i can't pick!!!!!

...and after a few hours and few bright green lemonades...

and the next day heather and i had a few hours to fill before our flight...

we had ice cream in the city, took lots of pictures, shopped, caught-up, and then...i melt down when my camera broke...yes, broke as in would no longer take a picture right in the middle of snapping a picture of tiffany & co.

tears, near hyperventilation, and one frantic phone call later to kelle ...(she calmly told me to turn off my camera, take out the battery,...and when that didn't work-she made me feel like it was okay to cry the blues-thank you!) we made our way around.

it was a lovely afternoon .

everywhere we went we saw little girls and their mommy's walking around with their new babies and dolls from american girl. it was sweet to see the little ones caring and loving on their new little ones. they looked so proud carrying them around. i loved seeing them and so, i HAD to make a trip into the store...

my peyton is not into dolls right now...but i'll hold out hope that one day she

will want one of these dolls...they are adorable!

i could not stop walking over to this church...breathtaking...

insert girl in puffy white wedding dress...!!!!

about lost my mind when we ran into the drake...hello...My Best Friend's Wedding is all i could think of. julia roberts has walked through those doors. i am the girl who would pee her pants if she actually saw a celebrity in person on the streets of chicago. i am sooo that girl!

okay, i didn't get to meet oprah, jenn aniston, or vince, but it was still one of the best times i have ever had.

whew...chicago post..OUT!

chicago

oh my...chicago is a grand place to be!

chicago was beautiful, fun, new, exciting, and full of brand new experiences that i will never forget.

a little background info first...

my girls, and since i am blessed to have many of those, i'm talking about the ones that i grew up with michigan.

i am talking about the girls that i have known since three years of age or at the latest, 6th grade. the girls i have shared most of my 'firsts' with. first time on the playground together sharing secrets on top of the monkey bars, first slumber party, first kisses, first boyfriends, first drink, first heartbreak, first days of school, first party, graduation, first time being away from home and missing it so much it hurt. phone calls, then email became our way of sharing new experiences from afar.

now we share things that adults share because now, even though we don't act like it, we are grown-ups. meaning we share new kinds of firsts like finding the 'one,' or, "I'M HAVING A BABY!!!"

so instead of calling each other to borrow clothes, or to coordinate our schedules to make it to the next house party in the D7, (or i can go waaaayyyyy back..."hey, can you come to school early and rat my hair in the bathroom???? my dad took my Rave away again." damn-hated when he did that. don't think he like the waterfall bangs that stood 6 inches off our heads) now we call, email, text, or facebook one another questions like, "how often should she poop?" "the little guys been crying for two hours straight...did i break something. what can i do?"

"does your husband watch espn as much as mine?"

we are a tight knit group, determined to never lose touch, making sure to have an annual christmas dinner each year. in addition to that, we decided a few years ago that we would have an annual girl's trip. why not? most men have one, and now we do too. this is only our second trip, but with most of us having a baby every other year...we make it work somehow. so even though a few girls couldn't make it this year...we had a ball.

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it all started with a ride on the L (train) from o'hare airport to downtown. i was alone because my friends and sister took the amtrac train into chicago from michigan, so I traveled alone learning to find trains, hail cabs, and try to NOT look like a tourist. a tad hard since i had luggage, a huge camera snapping away at all times, with a deer caught in headlights facial expression. i smiled warmly at everyone...even at the guy i thought was staring at me through his darkened sunglasses while plotting his move to a. mug me or, b. kill me then rob me, or c. hurt me, kill me, rob me. so smiling warmly was my only defense against all evil. never know. could help.

the city was buzzing with excitement and fast walkers...i pretended i was in NYC walking fast along side all the other important people going to important places...

:).

this was one of my favorites. so beautiful.

the lines and height of the buildings surrounding you is incredible.

after a full day of shopping.

i loved seeing all the artistic people on the street.

chicago lit up at night.

this picture so does not do this church justice...it was stunning!

i think it was a church ;0

after a few pictures, coctails, and dinner...it was off back to the wyndham to rest up for the st. patty's day celebration the next day.

this post will be continued ...

we are so proud of our sweet girl...

as promised...more delightfulness!!!

find myself finding more and more to be delighted about lately.

a new morning routine that beckham and i just kind of fell into. we cuddle in my bed where he puts his little feet under my legs to warm them up. morning milk warmed to perfection for the little guy while he rubs my face. i talk to him, but mostly he just listens quietly.

then, he watches morning cartoons or sits at his table and makes a picture while i make my cup of coffee. i read my emails, and play catch up with blogs that i enjoy and we wait for peyton to wake up. maybe i'll recieve an early morning phone call from my sister or a friend, and in between, i throw in a load of laundry or empty the dishwasher. i hear the hum of the appliances and it makes me feel that i have started the day off productively.

a lazy twenty to thirty minutes that i have come to crave and enjoy so much.

i am learning to be a little more organized too, and i feel the need to write it down because if i do i may stick with it:) getting the kids dressed fairly quickly after breakfast has helped so much. i know that the earlier i start the earlier we can get our day started. i'm not the mom who needs to be on the go, go, go everyday, but when we have planned activites...it helps!

we have been doing so many things with the kids and the kids are just...

so enjoyable to be around. getting bigger and talking more and more...i love spending time with them individually and together so much. more on that later.

i will be posting dinner ideas and recipes on here every once in a while because, one- i love to find new dinner ideas when i think i can't think of one on my own and, two- typing them here is an easy way to share them with people who often ask me for the recipes anyway, and most importantly-this is a digital diary for my kids and one day they will want mom's sauce recipe and here it will be.

bolognese sauce

EVOO

2 large onions

4-5 garlic cloves (maybe more, we love garlic)

2 celery stalks-rough chop

3 carrots-rough chop

1 pound Italian sausage

1 pound ground beef chuck

3 large cans of petite diced tomatoes-

obviously, jarred tomatoes made homemade are best, but i haven't tackled that yet even though my mom says its easy.

3 large cans of pureed tomatoes

1/2 cup italian parsley (fresh)-chopped

a bunch of basil (fresh)-chopped

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons of sugar or to taste to cut the acidity of the toms.

a chunk or a bunch of romano cheese-good cheese is key.

saute' onion and garlic until soft, add carrots and celery and cook for 5 more minutes. increase the heat and add the meat, cook until no pink. add toms, basil, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper.

very important...let cook for no less than an hour.

add the sugar and cheese.

i will cook my sauce for two-three hours.

enjoy!

more to be happy about...

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a clean kitchen and these little beauties on my table. i guess i like flowers...a lot:)

peyton is growing up so fast and we are so proud of her. she put this outfit together by herself. i love that she is finding her own sense of style with confidence and sense of pride.

...funky!!!

(she was actually posing for these pictures.)

then there is little beckham who just adores his big sister. constantly looking to her for approval, for laughs, and fashion sense...ha ha, okay, not so much! he just wants a 'football' shirt on over everything.

he cracks us up.

delightful.

finally, the veil of sickness has lifted from the darwish household...finally!!!!

after having dealt with the flu a few times, colds, and a healthy dose of pink eye-we are catching up, and like anyone that has had to hunker down for awhile, we are feeling free as birds to just get up and go again.

with our health i am feeling the need to get ready for spring.

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i love this time of year where new things are growing. all seems a little brighter, lighter, new, and young. we have been appreciating each beautiful day, loving the sun and the wind. soon, the heat will be overbearing so i love soaking in all of this perfect weather.

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spring dresses hang plentifully at our favorite stores. new shoes line the shelves and i justify buying a few new things for the kids. especially shoes. yes, both of my little ones love shoes. i will be posting pictures of peyton's modeling show later, but for now, here are other things that delight me.

the two books i am picking up everyday are these little gems. kelle suggested i grab one...and i love that i listened because we are having lots of fun playing around with it. sometimes i think that my brain is turning to mush because i don't write as much as i used to since not being in school or teaching, so this blog helps me practice and gives me a platform to talk things other than baby poop, napping scheldules, and sore nipples...not that those aren't lovely subjects to talk about too, but you get the picture!

sometimes i open my thesaurus and ask jeff to give me a word to look up...not sure why we end up laughing loud every single time we play this little word game. it reminds me of how much i love words and their meanings and it teaches me to use them more often.

truly a treasure.

this feast of fresh fruit and cheese for dinner...easy and delicious and my kids love it.

dinner in ten minutes...delightful.

these two making a 'tent' out of two unbrellas and playing so sweetly together makes us pretty happy. their interactions with one another are becoming more and more entertaining. hearing them talk to each other, laugh with each other, is one of my favorite things to hear.

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a short post, with so much more to share, but sleep is sounding pretty delighful right about now:)

hot pink flowers, new sparkly shoes, and what appears to be a future fashion model (or stylist).

g'night

xoxo