the hot place.

so i took an unintentional hiatus from documenting our lives this week. i have to say though, that we have been so busy making memories that i haven't had time to write. a good reason to be neglectful, but i do have some catching up to do and how i miss this space when i haven't been in a while.

i have to write simple disclaimer:

this post is full of fun stuff, most of which posted is sans kids.

1.

the post is deceiving, as i only post a very small portion of our life, so it looks like we are party animals, but that could be not further from reality. and

2.

the mama and daddy need to get away from time to time, so we rocked out arizona and i have stopped giving myself a guilt trip over the no-kids part (kinda;). now if the kids would let it go...

each year around this time, jeff is invited to a conference somewhere in michigan. it is a trip we have taken three times so far and i look forward to it, like i look forward to an iced grande coffee with half & half, a dash of cinnamon, and as much of the cocoa powder starbucks will allow me before they rush over and ask me to save some for the other good patrons, ha!

it's invigorating to travel somewhere new and unchartered for us. it was beautiful and it was free, so you know girlfriend was ALL OVER IT! i wish i could have taken everyone i know as that is the only way it could have been better.

this year, it was even more special because we went to tucson, arizona. a place i have never been before.

peyton and beckham said they wanted to go with us until i told them it was really hot there. immediately and without skipping a beat- the crocodile tears/give-mama-the-biggest-guilt-trip-ever-ended.

"oh, it's a hot place, mama?"

"yes, really hot."

"oh. we don't want to go there! beckham, we don't want to go there"

"okay." beckham said in a shaky-trying-to-be-strong voice. tears still sitting on his cheeks.

okay, with a heavy heart, we were clear for take-off!

i'm not much for traveling without the kids. i HATE it, but i have to say it was nice to read/sleep/daydream/whatever

i wanted without multiple bathroom breaks and two sugar highs 35,000 feet up in the air. it was like vacation.

both mornings i awoke early (thanks to the three hour time change) and i tried to take photos of arizona's landscape which

was breathtaking,but my camera charger broke, so i only had my little pocket camera for most of the trip.

if you would like to see some photos, clickhere.

simply put, when we walked into the resort, i felt a little guilty. i wanted my mom to be with me. i wanted

her see the mountains. i would love to save for a trip and go with her and my dad. they would love it!

i hung by the pool most of the time because it really was pretty hot.

we were surrounded by mountains and i was struck during this trip how lucky we were to be where we were.

together and with awesome friends we don't often get the chance to spend time with. we love them.

we love you!

it was fabulous and a wonderful way to recharge.

we stayed up late and woke up early. we were kid less which always makes me like i'm missing an arm, but it felt

okay after the first day.

country western night was amazingly fun even if i did about shoot the side of my face to oblivion. hey, i didn't know they put real fire

'somethings' in those guns.

needless to say, the gentleman running the 'Quick Draw,' looked at me like i had three heads

(please note: twenty people were watching this go down) and then said to me,

"what the hell are you doing? you are crazy. don't you know you can blow a hole in your face?" he was laughing.

in my embarrassment, i answered that my gun jammed and i wasn't able to shoot making it possible for my

husband to 'kill' me TWO times. not fair.

so we kept to safer activities afterwards like making smores, line dancing, and trying to catch a fake bull.

our glamour shot photo. ha!

it was a concentrated trip, but lovely and we feel so lucky we were invited to be there.

i have to say also, arizona is the perfect hair weather...no humidity.

i pretty much have to wring my hair out when i step outside here in florida.

the nights were cool and breezy and perfect.

gido and sito, thank you for watching our little loves and for sharpening their diving/jumping skills!

we're thinking about it...

we do it...

we are so proud!!!!

i am so proud of that little girl. i told her i couldn't dive. her response...

"you are a darwish and darwish's don't say can't. besides, it's really easy mommy. ill teach you!'

love this kid. i really don't know where she gets that from, but it cracks me up.

flashbacks of my junior year in high school invaded my brain at that moment...

the whole class staring at me, in my white, yes...white and very see through bathing suit.

i walked around with my hands covering all the places

one needs to cover in this situation.

anyway, our p.e. teacher, mrs. dick. yes, that is her name and rumor has it that her husband's name was...harry.

seriously, i'm not making this up. moving on...

mrs.dick asked that the whole class of girls, my friends and classmates, sit at the pools edge,

surrounding me. (let's all stare at the pathetic one who can not yet dive. not to be mistaken with one who can,

it's the girl in the see-through white bathing suit!) okay, she didn't mention the suit, but i am pretty sure she

was laughing to herself. quiet laughing tinged with amusement and revenge for all the times we tried to ask

her what her husband's name was.

yes, this was revenge.

okay, maybe not, but it was pretty traumatic.

so, as the whole class sat there, staring at me for what seemed like the entire hour, my butt was

perched in the air and i was bent over like the kid who dresses as gumby at halloween and gets

stuck walking up someone porch stairs. yes, i was all bent down toward the water, toes

placed carefully at the deck's edge, basically super glued to the white cement edging.

i looked at everyones feet, while listening to the kind chatter of the lucky 'divers' that

had already made their final dive for the year.

i willed myself to stop being so afraid of the damn water. i prayed too.

dive, dive, you can do it. if the water shoots into your nose and into your brain causing

some weird teenage death during swim class...well, atleast mrs. dick will get into big trouble.

i can surely take one for the team.

words of encouragement were flying around like skeeters during a summer bbq and i felt like an ass.

well, that was partly because of the way i looked...my butt was up in the air for

an hour. i looked like this...

except i was in a see through bathing suit;)

finally, as the bell rang to end the class, i dove/dive bombed into the water. i am pretty sure i fell into the

water face forward after the bell caused my tired bum to become startled and it lost all will power to

stay in the air any longer.

it didn't matter. i did it...finally! claps and screams and hugs were next!

i passed the final and i never had to see mrs. dick again. but i've heard she is still teaching.

i'm just happy my peyton is able to dive and her mama has better sense then to purchase her a see through suit.

the matrix.

and lastly, photos from girl's night out last weekend! it was so much fun to hang with the beautiful girls i am lucky to call friends.

i love 'em all. there are a bunch here, but we took so many it was hard to choose.

i just have to say...

girl's nights rock my world. it is tough at first to get in that 'going out' mode.

i pretty much wanted to rent a movie and have a slumber party instead, but once madonna started belting

out her tunes and the flat iron was steaming hot, it was hard not to get into the moment.

so with katie's new smoky eyes palette from sephora, LOVE it! we were kicked out of the house by the dads,

and told to be safe and have fun!

we were and we did...

good girlfriends, music, and a point and shoot camera. recipe for a fab evening out.

i meant to say goofy friends.

cheers!

muah, muah. i've missed you.

lots of love.

i tried to post the video, not working yet;( i'll post it when it loads.

today we went to neverland...

atleast, this is what is what my little guy thought.

"that is a peter pan hat, mama! can i have it?! am i peter pan? where are the pirates. are they nice pirates?" just a few of the questions.

...and peyton spoke of the fairies she may get to see in the enchanted forest. fairies are her new obsession. she wants fairy dust sprinkled over her head in hopes that she may float high into the sky 'just like in the movie!' it's really sweet that their wants still include what bedtime tales are made of. magic and pirate ships. pixie dust and sword fights.

i told her that when i was five, a very long time ago;0, i wanted to be a mermaid. it was my greatest wish. they were the things that the intrigued me the most. the beautiful creatures with long, flowing hair and a stunning iridescent tail! i couldn't get enough information on them. it doesn't seem like it was that long ago... i watched splash over and over again longing to be daryl hannah. memories.

kelle, created a beautiful experience for our sweet little ones this past weekend in honor of lainey's third birthday...her pink fairy princess party was divine and brought a few mamas to tears.

we were welcomed with tutus hanging from twine and peter pan hats dangling close by. the kids knew they were in for a treat and the excitement on their little faces was emotional at first.

kids were everywhere and it was so great seeing them all dressed up searching the woods for fairies, finding fairy feathers, creating their own dream dust...

happy birthday, lainey love muffin! we love you lots.

other things that made me divinely happy this week:

dig's peach butter, sent in a colorful parcel and packed with love from montana.

it is sooooooo good and such a treat that the nakey beck man took off with it and i had to chase after him to get my hands on it again...

no, you can't have it mommy! it's mine!

i found it here in the shoe organizer turned craft organizer.

i baked come biscuits and layered the homemade peach butter over salted butter, and a little bit of heaven-on-earth

was enjoyed at home in my kitchen around 9am on tuesday morning (and maybe a few more after that one too!)

yeah, dig's butter killed my diet, but it was worth it;)

thank you, nici! xoxo

jiffy pop!

i have this weird fear that i am the only mom in america that will purchase a faulty bag

of jiffy pop. in my paranoia, i am afraid that the foil will blow up in someone's face, so i am sure to

put a chair far enough away for the kids to enjoy watching it pop, but not actually be anywhere near

it.

yes, it scares me a bit, but i will never stop watching their faces as the foil balloons up and the popping and sizzling becomes frantic!

my girl and her camera!

she's into self-portraits now. oh, it's the cutest thing.

watching our kids play and laugh while the mamas relax!

happy birthday, sweet guy, jack!

rediculously easy recipes that i think are healthy (maybe not though, i don't really know what i am

talking about:)

heather's chicken lettuce wraps

you'll need:

i rotisseri chicken, cooked, shredded.

a bottle of asian dressing or marinade

green onions

optional additions:

carrots, water chesnuts, cabbage

bib lettuce

first, soften the onions. i only had red on hand, but green work great as well. add the chicken and asian marinade to taste. sautee for a

minute or longer (i like mine really well, almost crunchy).

spoon chicken into lettuce, roll up and enjoy!

this is quick, easy, inexpensive, and open to many possibilites. last week, we had friends over and i ran out of bib or romaine lettuce, so

i used large spinach leaves instead. they were too small to roll up, so i just placed a spoonful of chicken on top of each leaf

and we ate them like little bite-size hors d'oeuvres. it worked well! try it. it's really good.

i am constantly trying to simplify things in the kitchen and in life for that matter, so these recipes may not

be 'special' in that blow-your-socks-off way, but they will make your next impromptu dinner date easier,

providing you have a leftover chicken just sitting in your fridge waiting for such an occasion. let's be honest...

that doesn't happen in my house for the most part.

i am that chick that will keep a perfectly clean house for a week-okay, maybe less- and never have one person in the house during that time.

it's a bummer too, because this random drop-in visitor would be impressed by my domestic skills.

i would be lookin' all cute, the kids would be clean and sweet as can be,

and i would have a pot of sauce on the stove and strawberry muffins in the oven.

nope. not many see this rare, but wonderful side of this household.

most often, this is how it goes down in the d-wish house...

BAM. in an instant, my house can look like a tornado hit it. inevitably, at this point i can count on a long lost cousin from

somewhere over the rainbow to show up on my doorstep with a basket of chicken

and fresh apples. of course, you can count on the fact that i'll look like death

on a saltine cracker, my kids will resemble monkeys from the detroit zoo

-the special kind that swing from lights, climb walls and make horribly loud sounds all at once.

the sausage, i mean, hot dogs are burning on the stove and the mac and cheese is a

bowl full of mush.

i hope you know what i am talking about. yeah, i can rock it out both ways. but trying to

get better with the more organized way for sure!

i wouldn't trade it for a minute though. not one minute. well, maybe a minute! ha.

***

okay, a beautiful girl and a fashion photo shoot...

jade, you are stunning!

xoxo

lots of love. thank you for the beautiful comments and inspiring words.

heidi.

if you are noticing some format issues or extra words/paragraphs. i'm not sure what is going on. i hope

to have it fixed very soon. i think blogger and safari have a love/hate relationship;)