Fancy Nancy

A couple of weeks ago we went to a Fancy Nancy party at our local library. This lady was a hoot and was so entertaining. All the girls dressed up in their fanciest outfits and listened to stories, ate little cupcakes and enjoyed being "fancy".


As you can see, Alexa loves getting dressed up in all her jewels and fancy accessories.

She is so darn cute in all her bling.

Got some attitude going on here!

The other day Alexa says to me, "Mom, sometimes people tell me that I'm beautiful and I'm just not that interested in hearing that." Must be rough!

I told her that what matters most is her beautiful heart!

Our favorite friends came to visit!

Today we had a visit from our favorite friends Amy and Georgea http://joyofgeorgea.blogspot.com/. It is so cute to see the girls together. Georgea is an absolute sweetie pie. My mom is in town for the winter so she came over too. She has been following Amy's blog and was really excited to meet the "newest princess". Love you guys!

Editing help needed!

Me and my camera are friends again..we've been estranged for some time. With most things I enjoy I go through phases and only seem to concentrate on one thing at a time. Lately it's been sewing and exercise so photography has taken a back seat. This morning I took some really great photos of Alexa but when I was editing ( I just use Picnik, nothing fancy) I noticed that she had those darn tattoos on her arm. I hate those things! I had tried twice to scrub those darn things off and just forgot about them this morning when we ran outside to take a few shots before school.

Two questions: How do you get those darn things off her skin? and How do you edit it off the photos? I tried the "blemish" feature and "airbrush" feature and neither worked.

Any suggestions out there? A couple of the photos are Christmas card worthy but not with a dolphin tattoo and Barbie on her arm!! : (

That smile!

Your joy is contagious. You make us laugh every day with your grown up expressions and your silly jokes. That smile means the world to me!


I love how you find the wonder in everything. You feel things deeply and see the beauty in the smallest things. Your curiosity and energy keep me young!

Your independence amazes me sometimes but you still "need the mama". I will always be here for you and will do my best to let you walk uphill on your own. You are one amazing girl!

Cute little mommy

Here is Alexa the other night after her bath ironing on her new ironing board. Isn't that thing the cutest?! I bought it the other day at T*rget and had intended to keep it for Christmas but I couldn't resist. Alexa has been home with a cold for 3 days so it was the perfect time. She got out all her doll clothes and it kept her busy for some time.

Update: Her hair is wet in this photo but the haircut update is...just a trim. My friend cut it and really only took like an inch off but it really made a difference in how healthy it looks.

~Cheaper than therapy~

This morning on my hour walk I decided to take some photos with my phone. I figured maybe if I can multitask the time will go faster. Truly I love (well "love" might be a little strong) my solitary walks in the desert. It is my time to be one with nature, suck up tons of dust in my lungs and burn off some snacks from the night before. Today I faced 25 mile an hour winds pushing against me which increased the dust particles I actually breathed in and produced an additional 500 calories burned! I wish!


This is how I start out, down a nice hill, gorgeous views and peace and quiet. I am actually enjoying myself at this point, planning my day and doing some self-reflection.


About a mile into it I, round this corner and get a great view of the Tonto National Forest that we live next to. A this point I am scouting for bobcats and mountain lions and hoping no snakes slither in front of me as I take my eyes off the road. I'm working up a sweat now and feeling good!

After about 2.5 miles, here I am about to tackle this little hill. It is one that I actually like since the view is incredible and I know I am past the half way point. I am thinking about my blessings and how I am thankful that I am healthy and can make this walk without passing out.

And then....I get to the bottom of this beast. I hate this hill!!! It is at the near end of my walk and I have lost my sense of humor at this point. I am sweaty and want to go home and have some coffee!!! And then I think, "Hey, I'll check my emails!" I have to take my phone with me in case of "an emergency" Wow, what a great idea. It is really the only way I can get up this hill. If my mind is otherwise occupied I can't think about the fact that I am dizzy and about to drop. It works! Up I go.

I turn around and look back at what I just did and feel pretty good. I've tackled the beast and am almost back home. The rest is a breeze.

I love and hate my walks. I feel nauseous for about 3 hours after I get home ( not sure why) but feel an accomplishment and more energy for doing it. The Chief says I am releasing 40 years of toxins, and that is why I don't feel well. Nice. I guess my walks are a little like therapy. I have a quiet place to think, I can leave my worries in the dirt, I can overcome hills and appreciate the beauty all around me . Works for me!

" I did It!"

Alexa ran into our bedroom this morning with her shoes tied. She said, "Mom, I did it!" How exciting! I still remember the first time I learned how to tie. I was 7 and I learned on a Dressy Bessy doll. Alexa and I have been casually working on it but I was pretty surprised when she surprised me this morning. What a great way to start the day! She was really proud of herself!!

Is It Time?

Well, even though it is still a lovely 100 degrees here in the desert, I guess it is Fall...is it? I have started to slowly add some Fall elements to our home. If I do it all at once, by the end of October I am ready to chuck it all in the garbage..it gives me nightmares to have all that "stuff" in the house. Even though our leaves don't change, the colors of the desert I guess lend themselves to the colors we think of when Autumn approaches. Certainly the colors of my house do, especially with the Satillo tile we have throughout. I have struggled with this "sort" of house since I moved out here from the Midwest. If I could choose any style home it would probably be a cottage style with beadboard walls and white slipcovered furniture. Out here it is all about the "Southwest vibe". I just cannot go there in my mind, so have tried to find some sort of happy medium with my style. I like all sorts of things and try to shy away from anything "mass produced". I have several paintings in the house that my mom has done, including the two on the background walls. I love to decorate and spend many nights trying to fall asleep wondering what else I can accomplish in the house. Does anyone else do this? What I really want to accomplish is a home that when one enters they feel comfortable and instantly at home. I also love looking at other people's spaces. I am addicted to decorating blogs now and could spend hours getting inspired. Enjoy your Fall decorating ( and your leaves changing!: )

The Hair

Okay, let's talk about the hair. I need some ideas. This is what Alexa's hair looks like in the morning uncombed. It is knotty and unruly. Her hair has always had quite a bit of wave to it but now it is like the under layer has wave and the layer of hair on top is straight. Everyday I put it in a pony tail or braids which we both like and she doesn't mind me doing it. Alexa is four and a half years old and has had one hair cut. I am not kidding, her hair grows soooo slow.

On Thursday a friend of mine who is a hair stylist is going to cut it. My problem is I don't know what to do!! She likes it long and crazy and in her face. I love it all pulled back off her face. I do not want to do bangs because we will never keep up with them. Any ideas??? Also, if anyone has any advice on how to get her hair shiny I would really appreciate it. We have really hard water and it is impossible for it to look shiny and I have tried every product out there. Help!!

Not My Idea of Fun

This is what "some people" think is fun to do on a Saturday afternoon. A neighbor of ours found a Mojave Rattlesnake and brought it over so The Chief could skin it. Here's the kicker...it is the most deadly venomous snake in North America! No anti-venom is available...instant death!! Yes, good times.

The Chief's B-day!

Happy Birthday Honey! You are Alexa's and my hero.
We appreciate all you do for our family. You are Alexa's everything, her daddy can do no wrong!

Thanks for being a great husband. You juggle many roles, wear many hats but will always be my BFF. You make our lives complete, challenging at times ; ) and never boring! Love ya!

Homework

Now that Alexa is a reader she gets to bring home her Reading Folder every other night from school to practice her sight words and her reading words. She loves to read but getting her to sit down and do her homework can sometimes be a challenge. I said to the Chief "If this is any indication of what homework time will be like for the next 12 years we are in big trouble." She is excited though and is doing a great job! One of her favorite things to read is the newspaper section which tells the weather report. She will read it while she is eating breakfast and tell me the weather forcast for the week. : )

Back to School

Alexa was so excited to go back to school this morning. We are so happy that she loves school!


I just love her smile!

We always take photos in the front of our house on the first day. We were running sort of late so we didn't have time to set up the tripod and get all three of us.

The look!

Alexa with one of her teachers, Ms. Renee.

Straight to it! She couldn't get rid of us fast enough. Here she is with one of her friends and they got right to work. : )

~Happy days ahead!~

As much as I love summer, I am so glad that school is about to start. This has undoubtedly been the worst summer and I will happily bid it farewell. Don't get me wrong, there have been some fun times but it was not the stress free, lounge by the pool sort of few months. Alexa will be starting the school year on Monday and will be going 5 days a week this year. She is really excited to get back to her routine and see her friends and teachers. At the very end of the last school year she learned to read so I cannot wait to see her progress this year. I think this year will be different for her in so many ways. She is comfortable there now and more confident. I think we will really see her blossom this year. I will treasure her last year of preschool before "real" school starts. I am going to miss her tremendously as we are pretty much attached at the hip but I am not going to lie....I am ready for some "me" time. I have had only about 20 hours of that this summer and I have a ton of projects, goals, and changes that I want to tackle. I am ready to get back to walking my mountain hills every morning, delve into some sewing, complete some house projects, read some books, and maybe sell some more stuff on Eb*y. I know that I am not the only mom feeling this way, I envision mom's everywhere getting in the car after drop off or bus pick up and giving a little giggle of joy or even a "yahoo!" So, let's all take some time for ourselves so we can be the best for our families and kids. I think we deserve it!!! : )

~Just what we needed~

This week we had a much needed visit from my folks. Because I had to cancel our trip out to Chicago and they weren't going to wait another 3 months to see Alexa they made the trip out. The timing was perfect as the stress of everything going on with Georgie was about to whoop my behind. We have had quite a past two weeks with her. She finally went into remission from the Lymphoma and we were so excited only to rush two days later to the Opthamalogist to find out we needed to have her right eye removed, immediately or she would have to be put down. Needless to say it was intensely stressful day and few days to follow. So, when my folks said they were coming out it was a blessing. They actually have a house in our neighborhood so Alexa is able to stay at their house and we go back and forth with ease. It was a much needed break for me to have a few hours to myself and continue giving Georgie the attention she needed.

We had lots of fun too. On Wednesday it was my mom's birthday and we celebrated buy going out to lunch then coming back to our house for cake. Alexa also enjoyed hours of playing with her Papa and as usual she had endless and boundless energy which both my folks keep up with just fine, although I think they slept pretty well at night! We also enjoyed the pool and went out for barbecue. It was a really nice visit for everyone and should get us all through to October when they come out for the whole winter. Thanks Mom and Dad for making the trip, all three of us really appreciate you both and love you!!