maybe these...

i am hoping that this lenten sacrifice will pay off, so i can buy a new dress. now there's the spirit.

quote of the day

while watching scooby doo... " i am so much geniuser than shaggy."


also, i really want this. this person rocks.

Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Sunday Laundry Shirt Dress GIVEAWAY!!!!

Happy Birthday D!!!!!!!

how could you be 4 already? thank you for being such a joy to our family! we love you so much!
we love those humongous brown eyes and your great big smile. we love how observant you are and your funny little comments. we love how thoughtful you are and your good memory. you always remember where things are and are always on the ball when someone needs help. i remember the time your little sis was slipping off the monkey bars and you grabbed onto her with all your strength. you held on even when her little hands finally let go, you fell right down with her instead of letting go. i was there to catch you both, but still you took the fall for her. you are such a blessing to us and we love you with all our hearts!
these vidoes always make us smile, you funny girl!
happy 4th birthday!

tea party

my little D had a tea party to celebrate her 4th birthday. we had so much fun setting everything up, the girls loved picking out their dresses and of course D had the best cake ever. her auntie always makes her the cutest cakes. this year it was a giant D. everyone looked so cute in their hats and gloves. they were even drinking with their pinkies up!




pinkies up!

D was very proper, she would rather observe than to participate in childish games.....
it's not a party unless you have chinese lanterns. right?
a little nervous.....
S finally woke up from her nap, she almost missed the festivities!

finally a smile from the birthday girl!!!

custom aprons, perfect for a tea party!!!! go here to get your own! they are made from vintage hankies and shirts. can we say clever???? does my little sis look so cute in it or what?
i think big sissy had the most fun. she was totally into it! she had planned out her dress, hat and earrings. she even did her own fancy up do!
my personal favorite... sweet peas fresh cut from a garden! they smelled so good!!!!! i have to give a shout out to the florist of the party. thank you DAVE :) his mom gave us the sweet peas from her garden and Dave went around snipping bouganvilla to put in the vases. thank you. thank you.
vintage tea cups and white gloves. fancy schmancy.
the birthday girl under her birthday banner.

baby kitty and sunday best

i told the girls to put on a nice outfit for church. you know, to really think about what would look nice and be appropriate. this is what they came up with?

also, that poor cat. when will it's defense mechanism kick in? why does it let them do these things to it?

big news!

L was so excited coming home from school the other day. She got a big part in the play for her class. She was a little worried because she needed to "rememborize" the lines. Big sissy, S, was putting on the pressure, saying it was a big deal to be the "navigator".

i've finally had it.

ok. maybe if i post this here, i will be held accountable or at least feel guilty if i indulge.... i need to eat healthier!!! i don't like the word diet, but i seriously need some rules. my big girl, must be bloated, pms jeans are too tight!!! i have been eating whatever i want for a long time now. i kept setting dates or occasions as my last bad eating day, but then something else would come up. but now i have 2 big weddings coming up and i want to get myself a super cute dress from anthropologie. (everyone needs rewards, right?) this is going to be tough because i have several birthdays coming up, and i know there are going to be fabulous cakes, cupcakes, cookies, etc.. oh no. my mouth is starting to water. NO! i must be strong. so if you see me walking around with a bag of chocolates, a cheeseburger or a malt in my hand, please slap me, let me have 1 more bite, and then throw it away. i guess i'll start looking for dresses. that will keep me focused.

i would just like to say...

that this boy....

asked this girl....
to be his bride. she said yes. and i couldn't be happier!!!!!!!!!

chewylou models

so my super-duper talented friend alyssa designed this line of awesome inspirational positive message t-shirts, and asked me to photograph her shirts for a catalogue! now, how lucky am i that i can ask my super-duper beautiful sister, her hunky boyfriend, my brother's model girlfriend, and our neighbors cute dog to be my models!!! i think they look so beautiful that i just had to share :) if you like the shirts and you can't live without one go here

questions to delay bedtime...

my mom came over to watch the 3 girls so that we could take our big girl to her 1st communion and confirmation classes. (very exciting) anyway, my ma was telling me some of the questions famous D was asking while they were lying in bed trying to go to sleep...
1) Noni, do i have blood in me?
2) I don't want blood in me, why do i have blood in me?
3) i don't want hands, can i pull off my finger?
4) when is snow white's birthday?
5) why did S get to go with mommy and daddy?
6) i'm the only one with a comfy bed, why am i special?
7) i'm special cuz of my heart?

where do they come up with some of these things?

we were soooo close...

we didn't get the outcome we had hoped for, but here are some of my highlights of the game....

25 random things

this was going around on facebook so i thought it could double as a blog post.......

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.



1. I was born on Friday the 13th.

2. I knew I was going to marry Paul the moment I saw him. ( does anyone remember me saying that??) I was 12.

3. Every Christmas, after all presents are opened, I still look outside for a pony.

4. I love to travel and show my kids the world. We have taken them all over the U.S., Mexico, Italy, Germany, Austria and Ireland.

5. I love to play games. I am ridiculously good at pictionary. Undefeated. Challenge?? My FAV thing to do is play games with my family. We don't play pictionary tho, no fun for anyone else. Also, I want to beat the Jenga record someday. Quip it. Need I say more?

6. I love antiques, old things, old stories, old pictures. I could look at pictures for hours. I love taking pictures too. I am obsessed. Anyone who has been to my house knows I have issues with pictures. I even have them taped to the wall next to the computer.

7. Someone at our wedding toasted us and said we would have 5 girls someday. We have 4 so far.

8. I graduated from ASU in 3.5 years

9. I close my eyes when I bite into things.

10. I love to sew. I love to make my girls matching outfits. I love to find patterns from the 50's and recreate the dresses. Sad thing is, I'm not very good at it. I don't let that stop me.

11. I want to memorize the whole Thriller dance before I die.

12. I know pretty much all the words to any Paul Simon song. He's not my favorite, I do like him, but I just know all the words for some reason.

13. I could probably win a chocolate chip cookie eating contest. It would be scary.

14. I love to add rubber bands to my rubber band ball. It makes me so happy to see it grow. (I am really scaring myself here)

15. I am a closet Christian music fan. I love it. The words make me so happy (and drown out the sounds of screaming kids in the car). I don't like the DJ's tho. I turn it down when they start talking.

16. I ran a half marathon to say goodbye to my 20's. And I am not a runner! I do want to be really good at tennis tho. Long way to go for that one.

17. I have never broken a bone or been in a hot air balloon.

18. I have a good memory. I almost always remember faces and places and can put them together quickly. I usually end up looking like a stalker when this happens.

19. I ripped my earring out of my ear when I was 7 and never had it sewn back together. Just had it pierced again right above the rip.

20. I was a lifeguard during college. Made 3 rescues.

21. I am very thankful for my family and feel very blessed to have such a great husband. I can't begin to list the thoughtful things he does for me and our girls. Can you tell he's out of town? It makes me miss him. Thanks for putting dinner in the crock pot so I didn't have to make dinner pDubs!

22. All of my girls have a flower name.

23. I love to watch movies. We watch a movie almost every night, sometimes 2. I like to stay up very late. I cannot go to sleep without the TV on or if Paul is already asleep.

24. I am sad to say, I LOVE blogs and shopping. I love to read blogs until my eyes start burning. I love to shop until my feet start burning. I love the thrill of finding a really good deal.

25. We don't have a microwave.

silly d

d came up to me in this outfit and asked if i could do a photo shoot. how could i pass this up...


i think she was really moved by our trip to the zoo. i could fill a whole album with just pictures of her outfit changes.

fun with gram and gramp

3rd grade, she knows it all

S was having some special time with noni, grandma and grandpa. they were riding in the car and pulled up to a red light. my grandpa was reading the bumper stickers on the car in front of them... quite loud and over and over. he read one several times that said..

"religion is nothing more than a cult, but with more people"

my grandma and grandpa began to ponder aloud what they thought that meant. my mom started to panic a little, thinking that she didn't want S to be spouting that out at a later date and also that it is probably not something to be discussed with an 8 yr. old.

 so, my grandma finally turns to S and asks...

" S, do you know what a cult is?"

S looks at her and says..

"of course I know what a cult is."

they were all ears now, waiting for her response.

" a cult is a baby horse and i know that because i'm in the 3rd grade." almost annoyed at such a baby question.

they were all relieved and changed the subject to something more juvenile.