greed.

i have been greedy lately.

absolutely.

i have been wanting and wishing for so many things. not in the way ada really wants the snow white barbie doll with the tweeting bird sitting on her finger, it much greater than that. it is greed.

yearning for a new home, not an old rental house. (oh, and by the way, i found the perfect one! just ask me about it!)

yearning for reza to be home more.

yearning for a great job opportunity to fall in place.

wishing bedtimes would come sooner and sooner

wishing whining would silence.

wishing i was a more patient (and younger and cooler and everything in the likes - if you really want to know the truth.)

i have no reason for posting this aside from the hope, that by sharing, i will stop being so greedy and envious and want-ie all the time. maybe someone will repremand me, slap my hand, and tell me to stop (hello mom!). i have so many things to be thankful for, i don't need anymore. right?

70ish

ada and her bestie, evian, indulging in a little popsicle action.

sharing popsicles!

elias' first popsicle all by himself.

so excited!

highlights as of lately:

-the weather. this is the only reason i agreed to move to northwest louisiana. it has been almost 70 degrees the past few days! woohoo! park time. play time. picnics. in january. AMAZING!

-reading storybooks to ada's class. she was so proud i was there. she sat next to me in the front of room and turned the pages (while adding her know-it-all asides!) oh, how i love this little girl and her quirky wisdom!

-making whoopie pies! oh yes we did! and ate them all too. they promise to make you feel happy! delicious!

-watching elias' wild streak rise to new levels. climbing up and RUNNING down slides, tromping through marshes and mud, climbing on everything (with a skinned up nose and bruised forehead to prove it all!)

-scores of great gap clearance finds. who can turn down cute t-shirts at $1.97 a piece!

-elias' new found adoration for his sister. love and kisses all day long. he just can't get enough even though he follows her around ALL DAY LONG seeking her affection. she truly has been a trooper although she discovered a long time ago that it just takes one swift kick in the noggin to get him to stop.

my husband.

ada and i were looking at old pictures and stumbled upon this. most of you will remember the story of "the day both of my children did NOT fall out of the hammock." you may be wondering why a nearly 3 year old and a 6 month old were ALONE in a hammock together. ask my wonderful, loving husband. it was mothers day and i was out shopping.

cabin fever.

on the magic carpet. yes, i pull it as if i were a mule all over the house. anyone have the name of a good masseuse?
choo choo!

easy bake oven treats. they actually taste quite disgusting. but ada loves them as much as i did when i was a little one.

craziness.

this is how i attempt to exercise. i read books to ada while i ride. the things a woman will do to get in shape...

elias' new ride.
wild man.

guilty.

when we found out we were moving to shreveport last november, all i could think of was the year-round warm balmy weather. not too extreme, but no snow or real freezing temperatures. when we got here in mid-summer it was scorching. 105 degrees. every day. with an even higher heat index. people told me it was not normal. finally it started to cool off, and the rain came. it rains here. a lot. the streets swell with water until it hits the top of the curb. people told me that this amount of rain was not normal either. finally winter has arrived. i saw winter here as my reward for moving. no need for the 70o-fill down north face parka. wrong. when people started telling me how abnormally cold it was, i cringed. maybe this is the new normal. i, however, will never know.

the past week the temperatures didn't climb much about 30. lows were in the teens. brrrr. our old, breezy, uninsulated house is cold. shivering cold. i think we all have had cabin fever. finally today it was nice enough to play outside. we were all so excited we spent the entire day in the front yard. thawing.

enjoy the pictures of the past week! i take so many pictures, mostly early in the morning and late at night (hence all the pictures in pjs). it is so fun to look back at all we have done. last night we were watching old videos with the kids. an hour flew by and we were all still totally engaged. that is the biggest thing we have learned in the past three and a half years. time flies.

2010. the beginning.

baba jon was almost as good at clapping as elias.

grandma protecting the kiddos from uncle kareem.

a scary game of chase.

loving rapunzel.

exhausted.

carousel.

entourage.

a mama and her baby.

afternoon pilates.

it must run in the family.

elias was very entertained by baba jon.

grandma, baba jon and uncle kreamy came to celebrate the new year with us. it was so nice to have company. we didn't do much (aside from a little discount store shopping per baba jon's request) but we all had a good time. come again soon!

the boy.

happy.

he takes hand clapping very seriously.

always a mess.

loves airplanes.

too cute.

loves to dress up. check out the red mary janes.

cowboy lias.

tutus make you dance better. the mommies on the bus go shh shh shh. he's mastered the shhhing.