i'm outta here.

oh, this feels like it has been a long time coming. with excitement and a tad of sadness...i am moving on from Life is Like a Box of Chocolates blog and starting a new one.

i feel like it is time as i have been talking about it for over a year-more like hanging over my head and on my permament to do list right above steaming the bathroom baseboards and right below meticulously organize closet with pictures and cute color-coded labels.

yeah, prob not gonna happen.

i have not only switched my title, but my new blog has a new url. please click this link to visit my new little space on the net. be sure to leave a comment on the new blog to be entered into my first ever blog giveaway.

welcome!

xoxo

heidi

If You're Anything Like Me...

and not that you want to be, but if you were...you MAY go the grocery store 'cause you promised your husband a fabulous meal when you returned home because the last time you cooked a real meal with all the food groups, people rode dinosaurs to work.

you MAY take two whole hours to purchase ten items at which point your husband may call you or leave you a frightening text that says, "are you dead, it's been a long time for some milk and carrots?"

( i was perusing the easter isle...with all those pastel colors...i couldn't pull myself away)!

when i finally arrived home, i set out to make a kick butt steak meal! however, if you were me you may realize that you forgot the kids' favorite part...corn on the cob!

okay, broccoli with cheese will make them happy.

okay, you forgot the cheese and cheese on the broccoli is like no buttercream frosting on the perfect cupcake. it just doesn't work around here.

plan B: what kid doesn't love a grilled hot dog...'cause that's the way we roll around here...we grill 'em or we don't eat 'em! just sayin.'

...okay, mommy forgot to buy more dogs. two won't do it. damn.

plan C: who doesn't like eggs, fried hot dogs and the french fries that were cooking in the oven to be served with the grilled hot dogs extra onions?!

mind you, this was i could think to put together after 'grocery' shopping for two hours!

and the cherry on the cake...

yes people, those are the last two hot dogs, fried to a crisp. i had to take them outside so the fire alarms wouldn't catch on to the fact that...mommy's a moron!

i still served it up. yes, i did. and for a bonus...we used old paper plates from my christmas brunch. beckham noticed and called me out.

so, i wasn't planning on posting tonight, but i wanted to award myself with the biggest loser award and tell my family...

it'll happen again and again, but i love you for smiling and eating the 'food' anyway!

xoxo

a big boy and a BIG change!

okay, i am alive over here! i promised myself at least two posts a week...last week. i have failed, but for good reason...i am saying goodbye to Life is Like a Box of Chocolates. yes, sad, but true. i think i have outgrown it. my very first blog. i began this blog in an effort to leave something for my children to read about their lives growing up and something to read about what their mama was like back then. i have never been good with baby books and such so this worked for me.

that first step into the blogsphere (i think i made that up) was a scary one. vulnerable and just plain weird.
will people read it? do i even want people to read it? what if people laugh at my grammar errors? what if people laugh at the stupid stuff i write? maybe i should keep it private?

case in point...my first post is here.

i guess i learned about myself that i simply didn't mind much what others thought about my blog. i mean, actually i cared lots, but not enough to stop writing in it. i would defend it and all of its crazy fluffiness to my family who, at times, thought i was a crazy person that had taken over the body, mind and soul of their daughter and sister.

however, anyone who blogs i am sure can understand all of the blessings and healing it can bring upon one's life.

"Find the good. It's all around you. Find it. Showcase it. And you'll start believing it." Jesse Owens.

i really believe that when you look for the bad...you WILL find and see the bad. more importantly however, i know that when you look for the good and beautiful, you WILL find the good and beautiful.

life. it can be ugly and we can choose to only see the ugliness. OR we can make the choice to see the beautiful. it is a choice. a choice that we all have to make each day. do i see the beautiful in everyday? yes, i do. and this is what i choose to write about even though i know lots of ugly too.

i live the ugly stuff too, however, most of the time, i am sure i don't want to write to about it. not because i am ashamed or trying to portray myself in the best light. i write about the good because at the end of the post...i feel good. better. positive and empowered. if you don't believe me...try it!

now, my family doesn't laugh at me, they ask me to get posting! also, the friendships i have made through this blog i truly treasure.

i'll stop the tangent now.

what i was trying to say is that, i have created a new space to write about our life. i have been working on it for a few days, because anyone that really knows me or follows this blog, knows that it takes me a long time to make decisions about EVERYTHING.

i enlisted the help of a few friends to help me come up with a new name that they thought worked well with what i was all about. i think it came down to being real, creativity, life and art. each of the four girls, including my sister, came up with so many good ideas that i wish i could start 5 more blogs just to use the titles. so, after many lists and phone calls back and forth...my dear, sweet and super talented friend jenn (i would link her, but i haven't persuaded her to begin a blog yet) came up with...

well, i will wait a few more days to unveil the new name that i LOVE and ADORE!

here is a hint though...

in even BIGGER news,

my baby is riding a big boy bike.

"i riding a big boy bike with (as he concentrates on getting his index and middle finger to stay up) only...two wheels, mama. no training wheels!"

he has been riding on one for a couple of weeks now and i have never posted any pictures, so here are a few of our baby conquering the sidewalk with just 'two wheels, mama!'

we are so proud of this little one. he is smart, athletic, sweet, caring, kind, and loving. he loves his mama and his mama loves him right back.

peyton squeals in delight as beckham rides his bike down the drive. "i taught beckham how to ride his bike with no training wheels!"

she is so proud of her baby brother.

i'm off to nurse this head cold...damn head colds.

xoxoxo

lemonade stands, strawberry scones, & friends...

in trying to better 'our story,' i am trying to get the kids involved in things that help make them realize how blessed and lucky they are to live where they do, eat when and what they want, and most importantly--are loved as they are.

there are nights, long after the kids are bathed,tucked, and storied up...that i sit and wonder for them, what their future may hold for them. i, every once in a while, wonder what they may do to feel fulfilled and to make them a contributing part of society. at the end of my daydream or thoughts about the 'future' peyton and beckham...i only ever hope for them a happy and content life.

sometimes, i feel like i am noah, and i am with god's direction, building an ark (peyton and beckham). an ark that must withstand the waters and weather...both calm and thunderous. there will be lightning and rainbows. i guess we're all in the same 'boat' of life.

am i building these 'arks' with the correct foundation. will they be strong, confident, and know where they are going?

i pray every single night that i/we are doing a good job with these little ones that need to learn so much us. we are their example in life and in love. it is such a huge and the most important job. i just hope that we are doing the best for them in the short time we have them in our immediate grasp.

but, hey...we make mistakes. all. the. time. i'm pretty sure i am doing a great job of how to say, "i'm sorry," too if you know what i mean!!!

with this said...we are trying to help put with the relief efforts in haiti, so we decided, along with kelle, to have one during her community garage sale. we planned the lemonade stand and bake sale with the enthusiasm of planning a birthday party...'cause that's the way we roll. we kinda forgot about the garage sale part...

first off...homemade scones from this blog friend where you will also find the recipe for them! thank you, april! they are yummy! maybe not as easy as you made it. more than a few times i wanted to look you up in the yellow pages and ask for help. yup, i would have called that late:)

i guess are one in the morning, taking pictures every step of the way meant more sense to me than actually finding stuff to sell at the sale, but hey, it was fun...

what i ended up with were more like strawberry scone cookies rather than scones, but they were still really good!

truth be told, beckham was the rock star at this sale, cause he was all about serving people. while kelle and i were to busy ignoring potential customers by taking pictures, and our girls were to busy playing...our little beckham stepped up his game and served with a smile...and for the record, i have never seen someone so diligent in making sure each glass of bee-filled lemonade had the perfect amount of ice inside.

my daughter, on the other hand, spotted some of her things that were included in the sale that she was not very happy about...among the treasures...her first trike from 4 years ago, that dirty little bag attached to it and anything else she could find went into the bag or into my car for safekeeping. she rode around for HOURS looking for her property and made me promise that if i found anymore of her things that i would let her know about it. pinky promise.

on beckham's break...

kelle and i were to busy doing this...

to sell this...

we had such a great time...it was the perfect way to spend a beautiful saturday is some of florida's finest weather...

(kelle made all the aprons and signs!)

we bought some stuff too...

i highly recommend a garage sale...it is as beckham would say, "super fun, mama!"

in other, we-can't-stop-having-fun blogger moments...

my friend, jenn who is an amazing writer and good friend had us over for bellini's and to meet new friends!

the bellin's were fab although i don't have a recipe...the company was better!

i kinda feel like i've walked into anthropology (ah hem, my 'favoritest' store ever ever ever) when i walk into jenn's house. clean, refreshing, simplistic design... basically, things i aspire for my house to be!

(side note: to my hubby... i want this dress for easter. okay, kinda expensive for a plain black easter dress. correction: i want to be able to look phenom in this dress by easter:)

then home...to this sky...

so, in an effort to help form these little souls into the amazing, young person they will need to be when they leave the nest...we do stuff. along the way they are sure to pick up something from it all!

xoxoxoxo

oh yeah...i can't forget...

ever thine, ever mine, ever yours.

"...Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our exisitance can we achieve our purpose to live together-

Be calm- love me-today-yesterday-what tearful longings for you-you-you my life-my all-farewell. Oh continue to love me-never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved. Ever thine, ever mine, ever yours."

-beethoven

***

what is it about valentine's day that entices me to do things like look for then purchase love letters of great men. it may have something to do with the fact that before i sat down to write this post, i just had to find the perfect background noise.

i am always in search of the perfect background music or movie and my ol' faithful choice is you've got mail 'cause it makes me think of newly sharpened pencils and how good they smell, twinkle lights, and my favorite season-fall. it's a happy movie and it lifts the spirit!

not to get off track, but today i chose as my background hullabaloo... sex and the city the movie. it kinda feels like a valentine sorta-ish good movie to watch... minus the jilted bride and infidelity.

there is such an exquisite poetry to this movie that i simply can not explain. the music makes you want to cry and was perfectly paired with the sequence of events, filming and angles...divine.

not to mention...the story. the story is really, really good! all of the women in the story want something; love, stability, a baby, her old self back. they all overcome their struggles in the most beautifully acted out way. to me that's a good story.

no, this is not a movie review. i'm off topic again!

with this holiday comes sugar cookies, hearts, and tiny will you be mine? valentines- stickered up with the scrawl of a little five year old girl in black sharpie...she's perfecting her name and i love how proud she is of it...

and then a super secret 'love day' photo shoot for daddy. i kinda forgot to look at camera settings, for the ENTIRE shoot. hate it when that happens, but we had so much fun doing the 'secret' for daddy that is doesn't really matter how sharp the pictures are...'cause they were taken with lots of love' and we know how much he likes new pictures of his babies for his walls at work! these are for you, daddy!

daddy, we love you very much! thank you for working so hard for us.

xoxo

***

i feel like i have some catching up to do with photo sessions that need to be posted and since i don't have my photography blog set up yet, i will post them here, but warning...it's lots and lots of pictures! i pretty much have a decision making problem. going out to eat is tough...i can never decided what i want and then when i do decide...i end up eating what my husband ordered because i'm not all that into what i ordered. i think it has something to do with the idea that going out to dinner is such a special experience...to be waited on, served whatever we want just by speaking the words, and then picked-up after.

honestly, if you really think about it...it's pretty awesome. in my quest to squeeze every bit of the fun and experience out an evening out...i usually order something...weird or something i wouldn't normally prepare myself. however; when it comes, i am reminded why i probably don't make it for myself or family at home.

Lesson: keep trying new things...you never know when you will hit the food ordering jackpot. it is so much sweeter when it happens 'cause, in my case, it happens only a few times a year. tangent...love how i said food and jackpot in same sentence. i love food!

here are a few shots of julie and her new twin boys...they are deliciously beautiful...

blessed blessed blessed.

next one up is kelle and nella cordelia. first shoot after nella arrived and i love how it turned out...

in every session from now on, i have decided to do an over the top enhancement to at least one photo.

it is really fun to mess around with different techniques and it helps me learn and navigate my programs.

and my favorite...

love that nella bean!

***
and the next was a five year old shoot for handsome brandon! his mama wanted me to bring my little one along

to make the shoot a little more fun and despite the FREEZING cold weather...we had a great time!

way enhanced:

and the birthday boy...

and then his super sweet and beautiful sister, chloe started dancing, so i had to get some shots of that and of

her loving on her big bro...

then, those crazy kids wanted ice cream in the freezing cold weather, but it made for some cute photos!

i guess the only other thing to talk about it how much i love my own little valentine's. they are amazing and

keep me on my toes and truly teach me more about life than anything or anyone ever could.

i think it's important to teach our young boys how to be little gentlemen. i know beckham is young, this time in

his life is so formidable and necessary. with that said,daddy took him to buy some tulips for peyton and i the day before valentine's day.

when beckham returned from his 'secret' trip with daddy, he said, "we got you flowers, mama. for you and peyton, but shhhhh...you can't see them!"

he makes me laugh.

peyton is growing up so quickly.it's the hour glass is filling with sand and it refuses to slow down.

she just gets bigger and more independent as each day goes by. my little baby girl who is so much like me...i'm in trouble!

yes, valentine's day, although hugely commercial and a reason to spend money on chocolate hearts and mini

hannah montana greetings, makes me think of all that i love in this world and those who love me back. trying

more than ever to tell those that are dearest to me how much they mean.

feeling blessed for so much, but especially for my husband and these two little souls!!!

happy love day!


oh and if this damn blog post has any errors...i'm over tinkering with any technology that doesn't do what i want it to do:)

xoxo