-lester

as i was walking into the gym at 5:45am yesterday morning, i heard a faint squeeky whisper, calling my name through the chilly morning air.
"what?" i said out loud, startled with the sound of my own voice cutting through the darkness.
i looked over my left shoulder and saw the object of beckoning.
it was an old abandoned piano sitting on the curb covered in fall debris.
i walked over to it, pulled out the bench, and opened the cover.
it whispered to me again.
"oh alright. this is kinda weird but i'll play you".
all shivering subsided as i allowed my fingers to explore the ancient and cracked keys of this worn down gentlemen.
maybe it was the moment of timeless solitude.
or maybe it was the dreamlike trance i was still in at that time of day.
or maybe it really was the soul spilling from this old crooner-
or who knows, maybe it was all of these things squeezing my heart until i knew, i had to have him.
$30 later and an uncalled for amount of disgust and speculation from the husband, he's sitting in my living room. john the piano man came over today and told me he would find me a "good" piano for the same amount of money it would cost to fix up this 1930's Lester. he also told me that the only reason i like it so much is because i found it, like a lost kitten.
i told him i loved him because he's perfectly flawed.
he tuned the keys that were still intact and told me he'd call me when he'd found a suitable replacement.
i told he had his work cut out for him.
"it needs to have a soul like lester. i don't want anything unless it feels like lester".

in the mean time, i plan on playing this dirty of sonofagun and maybe painting it blue.
and taking it on some cool photo shoots like this. who's on board?!:
here's some morning shots of the boys for grandma and grandpa:


you think he looks bad? you should see the other guy/empty diaper box.

-stylists are the new black

good luck in new york city phil.
even though you called the yeah yeah yeah's a garage band and hated my ideas for hair and make up, i think you're one talented and amazing person.
can't wait to sleep on your couch and borrow all your accessories in the near future.
near meaning- when it's not so freaking cold.

photo by arizona lewis photography

photo by- erick lazo 360 photography

photo by- erick lazo 360 photography

photo by arizona lewis photography

-steph and julia

niece and friend came to town.
niece and friend know more about mothering than aunt.
niece and friend fed aunt taco bell and 140 oz of diet coke before the owl city concert.
niece and friend left the next morning before watching aunt try not to poop her skirt on the stand during the primary program.
niece and friend will be back. soon please.

niece took this picture of aunt.
niece not only knows more about mothering but lighting in the desert too. apparently:

-yep

this is what it looks like to live out your dreams...........

...........when your dreams look like this through the lense:

i just got home.
took a bath.
ate some tillapia.
and cried when i started uploading pictures.
i have to give credit to SO many people and will do so on my photoblog asap.
but for now- i'm going to lay down on my pillow and sleep a very very happy sleep.
(and yes, seeing my baby brother in liquid leggings is a dream of mine. lol)
breathe.

-vroom vroooom

i suck at a lot of things.
-cleaning
-cooking rice
-listening to people talk about their dreams from the night before
-being quiet

however- i really don't suck when it comes to overloading myself with things to do.
monday is my first high fashion shoot. we've got models, a sweet location, assistants and even a meat and cheese platter.
it's freaking me out a bit.
wanna know what makes me feel less stressed about my upcoming portfolio dreamcicle?
maybe the MILLION things i have going on between now and then:
-out of town guests
-a trip to the city of owl
-an "industry" party
-a newborn photo shoot
-the primary program
-moving a little brother
-oh yes, and the proper care and feeding of 2 very cranky/borderline sick babies

if, come monday evening, i'm laying face down in my closet whispering the lyrics of wilson phillips and begging to crawl back into my mother's womb- just stick the bendy end of the straw attached to a diet coke into my mouth and tell me i'm living my dream.
and then pry the nikon out of my hand and set it on fire.
she's taken over my life.
curses.
bring it on.

here's a preview of the shoot:
(now picture a model- with hair and makeup done by dolce and a fierce designer dress)
((is this really happening?!))

-and i can kick and stretch

i once had this dream that i went out to dinner with girlfriends while my husband was scuba diving in mexico and i forgot to wear pants. i felt like i was bare bummed all night.
and then i realized halfway through my eel roll on friday that it wasn't a dream.
it was happening.
and i had 2 options:
1. spend the evening walking backwards , giving no one the option of looking without me knowing.
or
2. spend the evening clenching/flexing and make a commitment to myself that if i "own it" this night, i would definitely increase the morning mountain runs from 2 to 8 times a week to avoid questionable jiggle in the future.

i chose the latter option. because liquid leggings made me feel like catwoman and porky pig's love child.
magical.

and because i have some pride (but just for today only) i will not post the spandex festival that happened post sushi in the american apparel across the street.
i would like to shake the man's hand that found a way to sell gold onesies and cut off sweat shirts for men in a ridiculously overpriced manner. damn genius.
thera's such a model. and didn't even get a little bit embarrassed when i started doing back bends in my tie-dyed leotard.
ok.
i give in.
self pride is way too over rated..........................

-did that all really happen?

so- here's to being spontaneous and inviting myself to "the cabin". (thumb down- tongue out).
our 3 day planned trip was cut immediately to a 23 hour stint when we realized within the first 15 minutes of pulling up to the retreat in the pines:
1. there were 4 traveling cat cages on the porch
2. grandma didn't want us to use water, electricity or outside voices
3. garbage was to be sprinkled around the forest for the visiting javelina
&
4. our boys still threw tantrums, had diarrhea and were not going to leave the break-neck steep staircase alone.

and despite the night of sleeping with a toddler and his egg-beater like legs and mouths full of cat hair, tuesday into wednesday did have some grrrrreat moments. (here's another list. it's so much fun to count and read simultaneously).

1. my boys learned how to play like a hubbard. they were in the dirt, eating rocks and learning all about helmets and throttles. colton was explaining the smell of exhaust to brooks. brooks seemed too interested.
what have we started.




2. it was fall. the leaves were changing colors in prescott. it was worth the 48 hours of hardcore preparation to give my children 15 minutes of autumn foliage viewing pleasure. i think.

3. i could go anywhere with priscilla. and after this trip, i know we would have fun. especially if she wore her lesbian shoes and pulled a trailer full of motor cross splendor and ate only diet pepsi for dinner. she's the best boyfriend i've ever had.
4. brooks can rock a pair of skinny jeans.
oh. my. gooooooodness.
i love a tight diapered butt.

for another variation of this story, click here

-learning curve

so- what do you do when your ideal orchard is chopped up and flooded into a bog?
you wipe the stress sweat from your upper lip, put diapers on your muddy galoshes before putting them in the truck and give yourself a MAJOR talking to:
"keep it together! keep it together!! do not cry heather. find a new location- NOW!"

clarity.
a double row of orange trees in a church parking lot that was begging for a shoot full of blue eyes.
never mind the thin film of silky mud or red ants the size of freaking hamsters.
we worked it out.
and now- i'll be on the floor of my closet in the fetal position doing self affirmations and thinking happy thoughts:
"unicorns, chubby chipmunks, pink clouds, peanut butter m&m's, andy sandberg, scarves"............

for more pictures of the baldwins click here

-3OH!3

3! 3! 3!

come on over.
bring your wild children.
i will fuel the fire with hot dogs, cupcakes and goody bags full of crack.
may the halls of our home be filled with the sounds of screaming wild monkeys and whining tipsy toddlers.
i love a good party.

and now we've discovered that 3 is the age where babies refuse to smile for the camera:

not even when they're forced and smooched:

randoms: (so sorry if you were left out! i was more focused on the tubed meat than the camera).

we love you brooksy.
we love your new vocabulary ("awesome!" and "come' er a seck").
we love your booty shaking.
we love your shaggy hair that you now shake out of your eyes.
we love your baby voice with ade.
we love your shy embarrassed face.
we love the way you dominate our bed during the night.
we love your fat big toes and dirty hands.
we love the little boy you are.

-last one, i swear!

i just got it from the photo shoot that happened backstage in a meat locker.
i literally had to push a model out of the way so that we could have one professional shot together.
enough already. i know.

-domo arigato!

thanks michelle for the award.
you were this cute little blond soccer player in high school.
now you think you're living my dream life with all this asian traveling.
what the?
the graphic is cute and all but can't my real award be a week of sleeping on your couch?
i'm not joking. (said dead pan and with a really creepy look on my face).

i would like to forward this award to one blog:
wildebabies
reason being- they're bringing another little life to this planet
and they're ridiculously good looking people.
thus- 2 reasons their blog is lovely.

speaking of lovely- i just posted some pictures of my cute grandparents here.

-from brooks and a new member of the coven

this is my foot:
this is my brother:
these are my brother's feet in flops:
these are my feet in flops (mind the blurring. don't want the dirty car to make you barf):
this is the view from my carseat:
this is me- extremely close up:

the end.

moving on. have i mentioned kymberlee yet?
she's the girl my brother likes.
we're soo glad he likes girls.
oh yes- and she's amazing.
the end.