All Hallows Eve Pictures.....Kandid Style.

We had the most enjoyable experience this evening of trying to get the girls pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids.....I say enjoyable because have you ever tried to get a four year old, a 7 month old, and an almost 3 month old to smile, sit still, not pose, not cry, etc. all at once? No? Didn't think so.....Well we did our best...here is the end product. Enjoy!

Best shot of the girls all together.....I'm not sure what Lil is looking at...

My lovely little Tator and Lillie Pie.

Cute little baby cousin Lyla. Oh and mommy and daddy's hands. Coming out of the grave stones....kinda spooky.

Oh to have a husband...

Last night during Paige's much loved shower time, we had a little mommy/daughter chat. I was washing her cute little head of hair, (which I cut again last night, this time a little better. Even though I promised myself to take her to the salon next time. Oh well.) when I decided to break the news that she needed to sleep in her bed tonight, and would Lillie. See Paige has had the fantastic (I say that with the utmost sarcasm) habit of sneaking in our bed most nights. I must add I am sleep-training Lillie to stay in her room too. And I CAN NOT go one more night with four extra sets of legs and arms kicking and punching me. Nick is a big enough bed-hog! But this is where our bath time got interesting.

She said, "So Lillie and me have to sleep in our beds tonight?"
"Yes Paige. You BOTH do."
"Well how come Nick gets to sleep in your bed?"
"Because we share our bed."
"Well, I wanna share a bed."
"You can once your married and have a husband."

DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO remember? Then, very surprisingly and totally unexpected, the TEARS started flowing.

"Well I wanna husband!!" She cried.

And I MEAN cried. I couldn't help but giggle, although I didn't want to hurt her feelings...but come on! How often does a four year old literally CRY cause she wants to find her husband! Hilarious.

"Well sweetheart your only four. You will have plenty of time to find a husband. You can't even get married until your at least 18."
"Well I want one now!" (Add the Willie Wonka Veronica Salt voice here.)
"Sorry kiddo. Not until your older."
"Well I will get married and have a husband when I'm 13."
"Doubt it. You most likely won't even be thinking about boys or marriage at 13."

She had BETTER not.....

Understanding.

Last night my lovely cousin Jena and baby Lyla came over to visit. Well really so I could help her make little Lyla's Holloween costume, but that is for a later date....As we were eating our yummy Hawaiian BBQ dinner, Paige decided to play 20 Questions.

Paige: "What is your dad's name?"
Jena: "Robert."
Paige: "Why is Robert his name?"
Jena: "Just because it is."
Paige: "What do you call him?"
Jena: "Dad."
Paige: "Where is your dad?"
Jena: "He is up in heaven."
Paige: "Why is he in heaven?"
Jena: "Well heaven is where people go when they die. They go live with God."
Paige: "Well, my dad is in Hawaii." Paige said this as if to make Jena feel better. Like well, if your dad is gone, feel better cause my dad is far away too. It was so sweet. You had to be there.

Disclaimer: All quotes are subject to change. As my memory may not be exactly correct, but the gist remains the same. : )

Ok Tiffany! Here you go!

4 things I love about my man-

1. He is a wonderful father to our girls.
2. He is a very hard worker.
3. He is quite the looker!
4. He knows me better than anyone else ever has or ever will, and he loves me all the same!


4 movies I could watch more than once- (Good thing it is not movies I DO watch more than once...it would be all kids movies!)

1. The Labrynth
2. Moulin Rouge
3. 40 Year Old Virgin
4. Scary Movie 2

4 T.V. shows I watch-

1. Dexter
2. House
3. I Love (Whoever the latest VH1 "celeb" is that is "finding love" at the moment.)
4. Heroes

4 places I have been-

1. New York
2. Colorado
3. California
4. Maryland

4 places I'd like to go-

1. Texas - To see my brother and his family.
2. Mexico - Cause I haven't ever been.
3. Canada - That is for you Nick. ; )
4. Europe - Cause dreaming is fun to do.

4 things I look forward to in the next year-

1. Buying myself a brand new car.
2. Watching my girls become little ladies.
3. Going on a weekend trip with Nick.
4. Making millions. ; )

Two great men.

I was planning on posting a little something for my dear friend Ed who left us this last February, next month for his birthday. But I must say something now. I'm afraid it cannot wait.

My buddy and I shared a love for he written word. We would text, call, e-mail, MySpace, etc. each other constantly with new and beautiful quotes we knew the other would appreciate. He was an amazing man. Knowing me, and my love for language, Ed did one of the truely most wonderful things anyone has ever done for me. He sat down one beautiful October day in 2006, and wrote to my absolute favorite author EVER Jonathan Carroll. Never saying a single word to me, the wonderful morning of October 10th 2006 I woke up to find this in my e-mail....

Dear Jessica D,

Your friend Ed Westover wrote and said you were a fan of my books and that it would be great if I'd drop you a 'hey there' line out of the blue to tickle your day. So here I am on a sunny morning in Vienna doing just that. Tickle tickle.



keep moving, keep dreaming,

JC

Now, how is that for a true friend? Amazing. God I miss you Ed Word.

Now fast forward to October 16, 2008. Almost exactly two years to the day that I recieved that amazing e-mail. Jonathan Carroll came to Scottsdale to do a book signing for his new book A Ghost In Love. Now please keep in mind, he lives in Vienna, Austria. I have read his books (every single last one in fact, and own all as well!) for at least 8 years now. Not once has he made it over the Atlantic Ocean to do a single signing. Until last night. I will not bore you all with every single last detail. (Though I want to!) I will only say that it was one of the most amazing nights of my life. (Nerd Alert!!!) But most importantly, after all the nerves and stomach aches, he is truely a humble and wonderful person. I we chatted for what seemed like FOREVER and I finally got the nerve to tell him who I was. I started to say "I don't know if you remember me, but a while back my friend had written you, about me, and you...." This is where he stopped me. He knew! He remembered EVERYTHING. He told me all about Ed's letter to him, (in which Ed had told him I was a "very special girl" ), he remembered my letter to him about Ed's passing. EVERYTHING. He also told me a wonderful little story about death. Of course I can't remember the author....I was not in my right frame of mind. But as I was getting ready to walk away (I suppose others want face time too right?) He stopped me and asked if I was ok. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." "No." He said. "Are you REALLY ok?" He was genuinely worried about my well being and Ed's passing. "It's hard," I said. "But I'm doing ok..."

That is all we can really ask for right?


P.S.
Look for my post/slideshow for Ed next month. It'll be worth it. : )

Never Make Meatloaf.

Or while your not looking......

Simple finger painting can turn.....

Into body painting.

And no downstairs bathtub means.....



Shower by HOSE!!


Thanks Paige. You make my ♥ happy.

Ok. Ok. I GET it.

At work I have my own personal Google page. I have funny stuff, a how to for the day, the time, etc. My favorite little tab is the Daily Literary Quote for the day. Good stuff. Especially for a nerdy girl like me who LOVES to hear the great authors quotes. Well the other day I read one that for some reason totally stuck with me. I have been thinking about it everyday.


If you have only one smile in you, give it to the people you love. Don't be surly at home, then go out in the street and start grinning 'Good morning' at total strangers. ~Maya Angelou


Makes you think....makes you really try harder to be nicer to the ones you love. I know people say you treat those closest to you the worst. Only because you trust that they will love you no matter what. But that seems wrong. We should strive to show our family and our friends the love we have. Easier said than done sometimes. I guess it all comes down to how we feel about acceptance. We want everyone's acceptance. Total strangers, family, friends. But we give the best parts of us to the people who in the end just don't really matter in our lives. This really hit home with me today. I am part of an online group for moms. (Really supportive!) Today I got an e-mail....


F A M I L Y.

I ran into a stranger as he passed by, 'Oh excuse me please' was my reply. He said, 'Please excuse me too; ! I wasn't watching for you.' We were very polite, this stranger and I. We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told, How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal, My son stood beside me very still. When I turned, I nearly knocked him down. 'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown. He walked away, his little heart broken. I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed, God's still small voice came to me and said, 'While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use, but the family you love, you seem to abuse. Go and look on the kitchen floor, You'll find some flowers there by the door. ! Those are the flowers he brought for you. He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue. He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise, you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.
By this time, I felt very small, And now my tears began to fall. I quietly went and knelt by his bed; 'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said. 'Are these the flowers you picked for me?' He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree. ! I picked 'em because they're pretty like you. I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.' I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today; I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.' He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay. I love you anyway.' I said, 'Son, I love you too, and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'
FAMILY.
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?
So what is behind the story? Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU


So I am feeling like it's God, the universe, fate (whatever it is you believe) screaming "HEY! YOU! LISTEN!!!!"

So in short. Thank you friends for always being there. Thank you family for always loving me and my little family. Thank you everyone, you are all special to us in some way. We love you all! Please know that. We never show it or say it often enough. WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!

Earings, A New Tooth, and Sibling Rivalry.

Things have been so exciting lately! My baby is growing up so fast! She got her first tooth the other day...unfortunately she won't let me take any pictures of it, but soon! She also had her ears pierced! Not really my idear, but Daddy and Aunt Jena INSISTED.) She didn't mind too much, after the initial shock and ear peircing scream (no pun intended...well a little pun intended!

Last but certainly not least, perhaps even MOST IMPORTANTLY, she was busy learning how to scoot and almost crawl. First place she went you ask? To get her big sister! Let's wrestle!