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Family

First Day of School: 2016

August 21, 2016 1 Comment
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Wait, what?!  First day of school 2016 rings in a 3rd grader and a Kindergartner…say whaaaat?

Unbelievable how time flies in this universe.  I cry every time I hear Nichole Nordman’s song: Slow Down. She’s singing my soundtrack this year.

I had an extremely hard time accepting {A} was going into 3rd grade.

{www.fireflytales.net}

And then downright near fainted with the thought of {D} heading into Kindergarten.

{www.fireflytales.net}

And this peanut picking tomatoes in the garden about made my heart explode because harvesting the garden was {A}’s thing when he was little, too.  Now {C} will be our last little gardener.

{www.fireflytales.net}

BRING ME TISSUES, PLEASE!

And then to make me go through with TWO 1st days: one for the bigger kids on Tuesday, then another one for the littles to ease into school days on Thursday.  As if my heart could take much more!

Well, thank goodness for chalk pens because this momma could not cleanly get real chalk to work on this craft store chalk board through my tears.  And I guess, thank goodness for those two 1st days so I could reuse my chalk board for each kiddo (read: I’m frugal!).

first day of school chalk board sign {www.fireflytales.net}

first day of school DIY chalk board {www.fireflytales.net}

And they’re off to see the wizard and learn magical things and make new friends and I promised myself I would be as brave as they are!

~pw

 

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Written by: Phanneth
Family

1st Day of … 1st Grade!

August 19, 2014 1 Comment
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Well, my last post was about how time flies…and boy does it ever!

I just realized this week that baby C is the same age Aiden was when we moved to this neighborhood.  Before all the houses were even done being built on our street and I could still see the farm and pastures when I would look out the nursery window.  Now Aiden is 6.5 years old and starting {gulp!} 1st grade!

I got a little ambitious with his 1st day of school picture, but I think it turned out well!

Don’t look too closely or else you’ll see where I couldn’t quite figure out the lasso tool and how to smooth/curve the edges in Photoshop (hint: his elbow!).

My little ham was intent on giving me a buggy look because he said it was too bright out and he needed antennas since he had to close his eyes.  Couldn’t you just squeeze the cuteness on those cheeks?  It’s hard not to smile when I look at him in this photo.  My Aiden: always with the funny faces and infectious giggle!

Step by step:

  1. I had him stand next to a fun frame – the picture inside didn’t matter since I knew I was going to blow it out with black to fake a chalkboard.
  2. Open your picture in Photoshop and use the Lasso tool to free-form the selection you want to “fill” or blow out.
  3. Click “Edit” -> “fill” and choose black as the fill color.
  4. Use the Horizontal Type Tool to add text blocks where you can play with fun fonts to create a chalkboard effect.  I used a combination of HandyGeorge, KG Somebody that I Used to Know, and Bergamot Ornaments in white.

**Disclaimer: I am NOT a PS expert by any means and probably shouldn’t be giving step-by-step instructions.  BUT, I know that you can “undo” just about any action you apply, so play around until you get something that you like!

Here’s the pre-“chalk” picture:

Aiden's 1st Day Pre-Chalk

The cool thing is that frame is on an original piece of artwork by Joel’s Grandma Marty Wood.  She was a very talented artist and we’re lucky enough to have a few of her pieces in our “collection”.  I loved the frame and size for this project!

It took me quite a few tries with the lasso tool and the font spacing and selections, but I’m loving the end result.

And there you have it ~ my distraction from reality as Aiden starts 1st grade.  Just enough to keep my mind occupied so I don’t break out in tears at how fast he’s getting so big.

Staying strong ~

p

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Written by: Phanneth
Family Scrapbook

CKP Family Photo Session {2013}

October 29, 2013 4 Comments
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We were so fortunate to have the amazing, the lovely and the talented Corrie Kraft snap our family photos again this year.

Well, ok, you all know I’m totally addicted to her photography.  I love getting my boys dressed up in color-coordinating “Joel” shirts and I love watching them turn into little camera hams.  I love how she captures & helps create these memories for me, and, well, I just love her!

I’m so thrilled with how these turned out that I’m getting larger canvas prints made for the house to decorate a wall I thought I would never put frames on.

That’s how much I love these!!

Here’s the fam (+ 1 little ham):

Drew’s face is priceless.  I wouldn’t have this picture any other way ~ his goof ball, larger than life, open-mouth laugh takes up his whole face!

My almost 6 year old:

Yeah, that’s swagger.  He doesn’t even know he has it.

School pictures won’t even come close to these!

LOVE this smile!

My boys:

They bring out the best in me…

Oh, you noticed the belly, did ya?

Yep, about 5ish/6 weeks to go.  Unless you factor in that Aiden was 4 weeks early…then I only have 2 weeks to go…

…Yikes.

Someone pinch me.

Or help me name baby boy #3…because Joel and I can’t agree on a name yet.

Oh my Joel, my love:

Just shy of 10 years together and it still seems like just yesterday.  What an amazing life I’ve been given.

Thank you, Corrie ~ for preserving this moment in time for my family!  And for capturing the silly, sweet innocence, joy, love and laughter of my sweet little pookies, my handsome husband and my bulging baby belly!

For those of you on the fence about getting professional family photos, get on the bandwagon!  I promise you won’t regret it.  I’m so glad I didn’t skip this year.  Which almost happened since I am so largely pregnant!  I LOVE that we’ve documented this time in our lives.

…now to just find a name for our new little one…T-minus 5 or 6 weeks and counting…

With love,

~p

{these totally awesome images were compressed to optimize web load time ~ they are SO, so amazing in full digital/pixel, trust me!}

 

 

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Written by: Phanneth
Family Scrapbook

Summer Lovin’ {2013}

July 10, 2013 8 Comments
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Oh, HI!

Hello, there!  It’s me again.  Been quite awhile, huh?  Sorry for the unexpected sabbatical.  Lots of things going on with summer in full swing and two very active little kiddos.

Let me catch you up as best I can:

To kick things off, probably on maybe the 2nd day of spring that was warm enough to wear flip-flops, I did.

And injured my toe.

Scrapped a whole bunch of skin right off that sucker.  Why?  How?

Well, silly story, actually: I was pushing a grocery cart after checking out and the baggage clerk had put a large jar of salsa (yep, glass jar) in the front of the carriage without putting the toddler seat flap up.  And wouldn’t ya know it, that large jar of salsa wanted to be free so badly that it slipped right through the slot where a toddler’s leg would go and CRASH, SMASHED right onto my foot on the pavement.  Yep.  Bye-bye skin.

Did I mention that I was training for the Bolder Boulder at the time?  Oh yeah.  Put a halt to that pretty quickly since I couldn’t get a shoe, not even a sock, over this monstrosity for a few months.

I still did the BB.  With my super awesome siblings and Magic Man (aka Joel) by my side.

Had a horrible finish time since I ended up speed walking most of it on a blazing-ly hot day.  I’m not going to lie, even living here, the altitude and the heat got to me.  And I thought I was going to pass out on the hill into the stadium, but I didn’t!

And I FINISHED it!

We took the boys to a Rockies baseball game (2nd for Aiden, 1st for Drew) and fed them cotton candy, hot dogs and peanuts.

The whole 9 yards.

It was kid’s day and they scored these super dorky free hats.  They love them!

The boys, including Joel, went on a huge trampoline at Aunt Marg’s house for cousin Josh’s graduation’s party.

Flying high!

And hanging low!

Joel took them fishing for Father’s Day and they all got “skunked” out except for Drew.

“Skunked” – slang for not catching any fish.  Not to be confused with actually being sprayed by a skunk.  Which is what I thought they meant and freaked out for 2.5 seconds.

Then, the boys went to the O’Brien family reunion in Alcova without me.  Low-light of my summer.  I’m pretty sure this is the first, in almost 10 years, that I’ve missed the annual reunion and I was so heartbroken saying goodbye to them heading down the driveway.

Work-shmerk!  Being a responsible working mom is hard.  Sometimes, unfortunately, you miss the ‘mom’ part and get stuck in the ‘working’ world.

Well, they forgot I wasn’t there, which is a good thing ~ they did all kinds of fun things, I heard.

Jumped off the back of Aunt Sharon’s boat!

Stayed up to 1 am night fishing and roasting marshmallows for s’mores at the campfire!

Played with cousins and swam at the “beach” until they were so hungry they couldn’t get the spaghetti down fast enough (I love spaghetti faces ~ thanks, Aunt Marg for this pic!).

As if that wasn’t enough, the boys then immediately went to Grandma Camp, with cousin Callie, out at Joel’s folks’ property.

And, again, swam their hearts out! (Thanks, Kristina for this awesome pic!)

On Independence Day we were back out at Joel’s folks’ and swam some more!

Every little boy needs a shark towel.

Can’t you just eat up those little cheeks and squishy lips!?  I love this face!

And this face.

Not mine, Aiden’s!

He’s 5.5 years old going on 12.  Too cool for school with the James Dean smirk of a smile.  Outrageously irresistible!  He got a marriage proposal this week, btw.  Twice, from the same sweet little gal.  He’s going to be an unintentional heart breaker for sure.

And then there’s my Drew.  We had a date-weekend since he was too little to go camping/fishing with Joel & Aiden last weekend.  We went to breakfast, the movies, out to see Nana & Papa, and played at the playground until he told me he was tired.

He’s going to an intentional heart breaker.  He knows he’s charming!

Combing his hair, shinning his shoes, working a grin ~ even sharing his popcorn with me!

Flexing those muscles and courageousness across the playground.

Flashing that flashy smile that goes all the way up to those deep brown eyes.

Boy am I going to be in trouble with these two.

…well, make that 3.

If you read this far down…SURPRISE!  After a miscarriage earlier this year, we’re PREGNANT and expecting baby # 3 in early Dec.

So, busy will get busier and snuggles around here will get snugglier.  We’ll find out in 2 weeks if we’re having a boy or a girl.  Updates to follow!

So, my friends, I will say once again: don’t blink.  Life happens fast.  Slow down when you can.

Watch your babies watch bugs, swim their arms off and dig through the dirt.  Let them run through the sprinklers, eat drippy popsicles and ride their tricycles “to infinity and beyond”.  Let their Aunties and Uncles spoil them and let Nana/Grandma & Papa/Grandpa break the rules when they keep them for overnights.

They’re only babies for so long.  And you only get this lifetime to make those memories with ’em.

So hop, skip and jump to it!

~pw

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Written by: Phanneth
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Instagram post 2272265904946805462_9478705541 Before settling in to work from home today, I loaded up my diffuser with this trio and stepped out of my comfort zone and participated in a virtual yoga flow.  Oh how my soul needed it! 💗
⠀⠀
💧Frank (2) to increase my spiritual awareness, deepen my meditation, improve my attitude, uplift my spirit and keep me grounded. ⠀⠀
💧Peppermint (2) to stimulate my mind and help me focus ⠀⠀
💧Tangerine (3) to promote happiness and calming and combat irritability ⠀⠀ Biggest takeaway from my flow was consciously make an effort to SMILE every day 😀 ⠀⠀ I know these times are scary and there is so much unknown but we also have community and love and light. I hope you find time today to find something to smile about. ⠀⠀ STAY IN and spread joy to those in your social distancing circles as best you can. ❤️
Instagram post 2263483285362807049_9478705541 Does anyone need me to order Thieves Cleaner (ultra concentrated), Thieves Spray, or small Thieves Hand Sanitizers for them? 🙋🏻‍♀️
⠀⠀
I’m putting in my monthly rewards order and an happy to hook you up 😘
⠀⠀
I’m a firm believer that effective cleaning products shouldn’t include toxic warnings or fake fragrance, especially when I’m using them around my kiddos, on things they touch and surfaces they eat from or am gifting to pregnant mom-to-be’s or sending to use in the kids’ classrooms 🌿
⠀⠀
Google “Thieves Chicken Test” or “Cleaning Products Lung Function” to see why we switched. There are plenty of articles supporting the power of plant based cleaners and many against VOCs; none penned by me but plenty to be eye opening 🤢😳
⠀⠀
My wholesale discount with Young Living is like my Prime membership for good-for-you cleaning products, bath, hair, makeup, AND oils. When everyone started going crazy stockpiling sketch-for-you cleaning products, I logged in ONLINE and put in my order for all kinds of Thieves things and got my package in 2 days. Just sayin 🤓
Instagram post 2188615754102258949_9478705541 Yay!! YL’s Black Friday sale has been extended through today! 😱

So thankful for a company that takes product quality (we own our own farms!), and its members’ non-toxic health and wellness seriously! 🧡

These are wholesale member prices so let me know if you want to jump on my order TODAY to try a few out OR use the link in my profile to jump in and get your membership. 🙋🏻‍♀️ You can add these specials to your cart, along with your membership enrollment, when you check out and will get the wholesale membership pricing for these PLUS a membership kit. Membership kits start at $35 (1 oil and a few samples + your membership discount, no diffuser). PM me for deets on the other options 💜😘💜
Instagram post 2136542016121041567_9478705541 🍂 Let me know if you want an invite to this Facebook event / class. It’s all online so you don’t “go” anywhere! ⠀⠀
🎃 We’re sharing which essential oil combos can make your home smell like all the fall, all the pumpkin spice, and all the cinnamon apples WITHOUT all the toxins you’d get from a “fragranced” candle. BONUS: mood + wellness support, focus, calming or happy dancing could be side effects of diffusing these natural plant juices around your family. 🧡
⠀⠀
🙅🏻‍♀️ My boys all have allergies so we had to break the candle habit and I’m so grateful we did. Huge difference! ⠀⠀
🤩 *plus* one lucky person will win this super cute oil shelf just for sharing the invite with a friend + interacting with the posts. EASY!
⠀⠀
🍎 here’s a sneak at one of the diffuser blends / recipes we’re sharing. .
.
.
#PSLminusthetoxins #pumpkinspice #applepie #fallintooils #diffusercombos #winterwellness #falldiffuserblends
Instagram post 2112527759708737321_9478705541 We are getting out of our comfort zones! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
💫 We made it to the starting line of The Denver Color Run!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Wish us luck and pray we make it to the finish line!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🏃🏻🏃🏻‍♀️ 💜❤️🧡💛💚💙 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Pre-run warm up with all the Valor, all the Ningxia, all the Super B and all the mineral sunscreen. How do you pre-run prep??
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#thecolorrun #thecolorrunlovetour #wildchild #babytiger #mykidrunsfasterthanme
Instagram post 2060224138392770421_9478705541 Real girls wear sweats, Valor and Tranquil on windy sailboats across the Aegean Sea. 💜
.
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@nike @express @youngliving @yocolorado .
.

#valormademedoit #onceinalifetime #vacation #realgirls #nike #express #youngliving #santorinigreece #vacationstyle #aegeansea #mybigfatgreekvacation
Instagram post 2043276215343012223_9478705541 These poor flowers got the short-end of the stick yesterday. The lucky ones went home with some incredible baseball moms. The rest got shoved into a bag, into a wagon, sat on by a 5 year old and smooshed by baseball gear in 75 degree heat. 🤦🏻‍♀️
.
They’re fighters though.
.
💧 Add 1 drop of Purification to your water to make flowers last longer. 🌹 They not only perked back up but are starting to bloom when I thought for sure they were goners. 😍
.
.
.
#flowersformomma #bloomsfordays #makeflowerslast #flowersmakemesmile #sunshineandflowers #lifehack #tipoftheday #baseballmoms
Instagram post 2017785085102112881_9478705541 Baseball season is back at our house! ⚾️ Love this super cute + super comfy shirt I got from my girl @archersarrowsbychele ❤️ ( she makes all my EO labels too y’all )

My kiddo threw +80 pitches yesterday and really brought the heat. He went 3 innings, only allowing 5 runs off 4 hits and struck out 5. He also hit a triple that might have been an in-park home run except he spent 2 seconds too long watching his ball sail to the fences. 😁 .
.
.
#baseballmom #baseballlife #baseballshirt #weekendsareforbaseball #pitchesbecrazy
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Instagram post 2272265904946805462_9478705541 Before settling in to work from home today, I loaded up my diffuser with this trio and stepped out of my comfort zone and participated in a virtual yoga flow.  Oh how my soul needed it! 💗
⠀⠀
💧Frank (2) to increase my spiritual awareness, deepen my meditation, improve my attitude, uplift my spirit and keep me grounded. ⠀⠀
💧Peppermint (2) to stimulate my mind and help me focus ⠀⠀
💧Tangerine (3) to promote happiness and calming and combat irritability ⠀⠀ Biggest takeaway from my flow was consciously make an effort to SMILE every day 😀 ⠀⠀ I know these times are scary and there is so much unknown but we also have community and love and light. I hope you find time today to find something to smile about. ⠀⠀ STAY IN and spread joy to those in your social distancing circles as best you can. ❤️
Instagram post 2263483285362807049_9478705541 Does anyone need me to order Thieves Cleaner (ultra concentrated), Thieves Spray, or small Thieves Hand Sanitizers for them? 🙋🏻‍♀️
⠀⠀
I’m putting in my monthly rewards order and an happy to hook you up 😘
⠀⠀
I’m a firm believer that effective cleaning products shouldn’t include toxic warnings or fake fragrance, especially when I’m using them around my kiddos, on things they touch and surfaces they eat from or am gifting to pregnant mom-to-be’s or sending to use in the kids’ classrooms 🌿
⠀⠀
Google “Thieves Chicken Test” or “Cleaning Products Lung Function” to see why we switched. There are plenty of articles supporting the power of plant based cleaners and many against VOCs; none penned by me but plenty to be eye opening 🤢😳
⠀⠀
My wholesale discount with Young Living is like my Prime membership for good-for-you cleaning products, bath, hair, makeup, AND oils. When everyone started going crazy stockpiling sketch-for-you cleaning products, I logged in ONLINE and put in my order for all kinds of Thieves things and got my package in 2 days. Just sayin 🤓
Instagram post 2188615754102258949_9478705541 Yay!! YL’s Black Friday sale has been extended through today! 😱

So thankful for a company that takes product quality (we own our own farms!), and its members’ non-toxic health and wellness seriously! 🧡

These are wholesale member prices so let me know if you want to jump on my order TODAY to try a few out OR use the link in my profile to jump in and get your membership. 🙋🏻‍♀️ You can add these specials to your cart, along with your membership enrollment, when you check out and will get the wholesale membership pricing for these PLUS a membership kit. Membership kits start at $35 (1 oil and a few samples + your membership discount, no diffuser). PM me for deets on the other options 💜😘💜
Instagram post 2136542016121041567_9478705541 🍂 Let me know if you want an invite to this Facebook event / class. It’s all online so you don’t “go” anywhere! ⠀⠀
🎃 We’re sharing which essential oil combos can make your home smell like all the fall, all the pumpkin spice, and all the cinnamon apples WITHOUT all the toxins you’d get from a “fragranced” candle. BONUS: mood + wellness support, focus, calming or happy dancing could be side effects of diffusing these natural plant juices around your family. 🧡
⠀⠀
🙅🏻‍♀️ My boys all have allergies so we had to break the candle habit and I’m so grateful we did. Huge difference! ⠀⠀
🤩 *plus* one lucky person will win this super cute oil shelf just for sharing the invite with a friend + interacting with the posts. EASY!
⠀⠀
🍎 here’s a sneak at one of the diffuser blends / recipes we’re sharing. .
.
.
#PSLminusthetoxins #pumpkinspice #applepie #fallintooils #diffusercombos #winterwellness #falldiffuserblends
Instagram post 2112527759708737321_9478705541 We are getting out of our comfort zones! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
💫 We made it to the starting line of The Denver Color Run!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Wish us luck and pray we make it to the finish line!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🏃🏻🏃🏻‍♀️ 💜❤️🧡💛💚💙 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Pre-run warm up with all the Valor, all the Ningxia, all the Super B and all the mineral sunscreen. How do you pre-run prep??
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#thecolorrun #thecolorrunlovetour #wildchild #babytiger #mykidrunsfasterthanme
Instagram post 2060224138392770421_9478705541 Real girls wear sweats, Valor and Tranquil on windy sailboats across the Aegean Sea. 💜
.
.

@nike @express @youngliving @yocolorado .
.

#valormademedoit #onceinalifetime #vacation #realgirls #nike #express #youngliving #santorinigreece #vacationstyle #aegeansea #mybigfatgreekvacation
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