every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Here I am again.  With so much that has happened.  While I doubt I have "readers" anymore...I am still documenting my life for me.  And for Layla.  And for those that do love me to look back on...

So here goes!

We've had a lot of good-bye's in the last few weeks.  Her first and only school from 3 months on....

That was a bitter sweet, SAD, good-bye.  I just knew I would cry through all of this.  But, I was stronger than I realized.  

Layla is just like her momma.  She puts up a strong front while saying good-bye to all her friends and teachers, but as soon as we got to a "safe place" - the tears began.  I was backing out of the parking lot, and she muttered, "I am probably really gonna miss this school."  And bring on the waterworks.  The snot.  She was a mess.  I felt so sad for her, but reassured her she would love her new school just as much!

But, I gave her a hug.  Told it was okay to miss them and we would come back and visit.  I handed her a tissue to wipe the tears and snot and told her to touch up her make-up.  lol!  And all was well in the world again.

Then it was off to meet the teacher....and even though Layla said, "I am scared!"  Why?  "Because I don't know how to study!"  #sheisariot

She loves her new teacher and handled her first day, first week of school like a champ!  Such a relief for this momma.  :)  

And even though she is making new friends, "but can't remember their names."  Apparently she is good at remembering who you are when you are not nice.  She told us on Wednesday, "Isaiah Buck called me a baby.  And I told him, 'I am NOT a baby!'"  #mygirl  

In other news....my warrior of a grandma is still hanging tough.  It's what we do.

Happy Labor Day to you all!

The {Pre-K} Graduate

Graduation is only a concept. In real life every day you graduate. Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life. If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.

~ Arie Pencovici

{Well looky here!  There you are, baby girl!  A Graduate.}

My dearest Layla baby,

Yesterday you embarked on the beginning of what I hope is an incredible educational journey.  We celebrated you yesterday!  All that you have accomplished and learned since beginning at this wonderful Day Care Learning Center more than four years ago.  It seems as if only yesterday I was leaving you as a tiny baby to return to work.  That was a very hard day for me. 

And look at you now, kiddo!?! 

Every caregiver/teacher you had throughout your duration at this school, loved you as if you were apart of their family.  And you were!  That place is like family to us and seeing all of that coming to a close is hard for momma.  But I know they have provided you with knowledge and early life lessons that will make Kindergarten a breeze for you.  For all the love and tenderness they gave to you when I couldn't...I am forever grateful. 

Mommy and daddy are so very proud of you.  We look forward to your future with great expectations!  We love you with all that we are. 

Love,
Momma

p.s. As distinguished as you were at your Graduation Ceremony....it tickled me to no end to have you end the day like this...

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.

~ Jean Houston

Quotography - Sunshine

My "baby" girl is graduating Pre-K today.  And this quote seemed quite fitting. 

 This is her this morning...proud and anxious!  And loving her "straight" hair. 

Update to follow.  Cap and gown, the whole nine yards!  Momma and Daddy are proud.

Mini Threads - Model + Matilda Jane

I am linking up with my gurl Lindsay again for another Mini Threads feature.  If you are a cool mom...or aunt...or grandmother...you catch the drift, you should link up!  But ONLY if you are cool like that!  *wink*

My good friend, Monica, asked to borrow Layla at lunch time yesterday because she just landed a Day Care gig...taking the Day Care/School pictures and she was creating a flyer to put up at the school to show how the pictures would be set, etc.  I am eager to use Layla for Monica's amazing talents because then I get a few fabulous pics.  Okay!!!!  Sign us up...

Here are some of the super cute and playful captures Monica grabbed! 

{love this one!!!!}

{I whip my hair back and forth...she is a Willow fan!!!}

And here is the shot Monica will use on the flyer for school pictures.  Nice and tame.

See the below post for some of the beauties I captured!  I adore this dress!!!!! 

What Layla is wearing:

Matilda Jane - Fruit Punch Dress

Target - Xhilaration Gwendolyn Western Boots

 

p.s. Matilda Jane - we would LOVE to be YOUR model!!!!  Heeeeyyyy!!!!

'Tis the Season!

{Layla's Christmas Program 2011}

Holy cow, ya'll!  I have not even started Christmas Shopping....how crazy {busy} am I?!?! Anyway - that starts on Saturday for me, and luckily, I don't have a lot of peeps to buy for....but maaaan!!!  That was dumb.  But, such is the Meli Faif Life!  It's just how I roll....

I hope you all have been well.  I miss the blogging world, and hope my presence is more frequent after the New Year.  On the up side...I have received my Christmas Cards and I am addressing them as we speak I type...so stop holding your breath!  ha....as if....

{via}

Have any of you noticed how the 'Tis the Season time gets a lil cray cray and not so carefree, nice!?!  This crazy lady in her Mercedes SUV sped around me and my boss in a very crowded parking lot at lunch today....only to stop at the front entrance to Home Goods to load 2 paintings she had obviously just purchased.  Seriously!?  If looks could kill....I would have committed murder.  Just sayin'!  So dangerous.  Not to mention idiotic.  

Speaking of more idiotic things....my dreams!  They have been crazy stupid.  And vivid lately.  And draining.  I wake up spent.  Grrrreat....I am already lucky to get 4 hours a sleep at night.  Now I am waking up feeling like I've run a marathon.  That's a joke in and of itself!  But this ish ain't funny.  

I've dreampt of a fellow blogger, Justin Bieber, and me chewing up Kale and repeatedly spitting it in some girls face.  I mean, wow!?!  What gives? 

So I finished the Hunger Games trilogy of books....so fantastic.  I could go on and on....but instead I'll say, go read em!!!!!  They will not disappoint.  Now I am reading Dear John.  (yawn!)  But it seems fitting since we have officially ended our Iraq War.  (Thank the Lord!)  

Anyway....I'm out!  Don't forget the reason for the season, ya'll!  

{via}

In spite of the many benefits God has blessed us with, how many times do we complain about little difficulties and trials? We lose sight of the big picture and fail to appreciate the really important things. Just as we cannot benefit from a wrapped gift under a Christmas tree until we open it, so gratitude can be seen as our way of opening the gift of God's love intended by all the small and big positive events of our lives. 

~ Ronda De Sola Chervin 

Layla's Christmas Program...the long and straight of it!

Layla has her Christmas Program tonight.  Her class is singing "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" and she is really excited about it.  As are we!  She has been practicing and has.it.down!

Speaking of down....she asked "for hair like Emma's" last night....and I finally obliged.  But only after telling her again...that her hair is fabulous.  I just WISH I could have curls like hers....

So here is Layla....long and straight!

{It took me 1.5 hours, in case you were wondering.}

Stop growing up so fast baby girl.  And best wishes tonight.  I love you.

{her tree}

Our weekend in pictures....and some words!

We had a fabulous start to our weekend last week when my younger sister showed up in Houston with her fam!  We left work early and headed to the hotel to partake in a lil swimming...

All the while my brother in law was laughing at me and asking my sister, "what is she taking a picture of now?"  It was the moon, in case you are wondering.  Ha!  Hey - I fell in love.  And it went deep.  Photography, that is.

And for this lil munchkin, my niece, Addie Mae!  She is so stinking cute and fun.  Just a joy to be around!!!   But, we have a problem people.  She is a lil too much like her momma and daddy....as she reaches for a beer can any chance she gets!!!  Exhibit A.  BUSTED!!! 

She looks proud though.  Ha!  Sweetness.

{my baby sis and my baby girl}

Then Saturday Layla hooked up with an old pal....Richard turned 4 and we went to the splash park to help him celebrate!

Are they not the cutest thing evah!?!  This looks like it belongs on a magazine cover.  Dontcha think?!?

Check them out at his Outlaw party last year....

It may be the start of something good...but not if HE {below} has anything to say about it! 

"That's my Layla," as Rayan would say...

Truth be told, I would be fine with either of those boys.  They are sweet boys.  Good manners. 

Oh that's riiiight.....they are 4!  Don't have to worry about all that for a few.more.years!

And we ended the weekend with....

Layla WHIPPIN' HER HAIR!!!!  Thanks Willow.  Thanks a bunch!!! 

You are now the new idol for my babe.  Please don't let me down....or her. 

Hop up out the bed turn my swag on

Pay no attention to them haters

Because we whip em off

And we ain’t doin nothin wrong

So don’t tell me nothin

I’m just trying to have fun

So keep the party jumping

 

~ Whip My Hair by Willow Smith

 

{via}

Thank you for being a F.R.I.E.N.D.

I am taking part in the Paper Mama Photo Challenge again.  I am still stoked that I even got mentioned from last week's challenge, so I am not gonna give up now.  Even though I think my food photo rocked and I probably won't be able to snap another one quite like it!  But, alas, I TRY! 

This weeks challenge:

Friend

A person's a person, no matter how small.

~ Dr. Seuss

a Lady Bug Love Story

I realize that this blog really should be titled Layla's Life instead of Meli Faif Life...but bear with, m-kay?

Maybe one day I will get a lil more diverse and post more of me on here.  Maybe.  But don't hold your breath.  'Cause when you have this preciousness around you all the time...well, it kinda just takes over.

So Layla is the Lady Bug Queen.  She is.  Truly.

She finds a new lady bug almost everywhere we go.  It's darling.  Her and her 10 year old neighbor girlfriend made a lil lady bug house so house them in when they find them.  That's her 1st resident.

{excuse the attire.  she has her own fashion sense.}

I let Layla keep the lil lady bug overnight but I explained that it would be sad if we kept her forever.  She would miss her friends.  She would miss the grass.  And the sky....

So, this is Layla saying her final good-bye.  

I felt bad, but I asked her how would she feel if someone took her away from her friends and family and eveything she loved....and locked her in a room all by herself?  So, she understood why she had to let it go. 

Right after I snapped this, she flew away.  And Layla mourned.

But, only until the next day.  When she brought another lady bug home from school.  And begged and pleaded so she could bring her home with us.  That means an hour commute with a fragile lady bug in her hands.  Um, no.  So, I stopped at Wendy's and asked for an empty bag.  To put the lady bug safely in. 

This one she named after herself, Layla J. 

I gave my Layla a one night warning again.  But, when we went to clean up in the bath that night, Layla left the bag open, and Layla J. flew out.  Layla was devestated.  I explained that Layla J. was still in the house, we would find her.  Layla was moping around the house and saying, "I will never ever find her!!!!!"  When she looks down at her feet....and hello!  There was Layla J. 

The love story began.

We went to sleep that night, as did Layla J.  I am assuming.  We wake up in the morning only to realize Layla, my Layla, left the bag opened again.  Where is the Layla Bug house?  Good question. 

So, the sob story began.  Again.  I told her not to worry, we would find her after we got home from school and work. 

We didn't. 

But, Layla would bring "things" home for her.  Like a lady bug bed.  It just so happens to look like a piece of a roof shingle.  And she kept it, waiting to find Layla J. 

Guess who we ran across two nights ago? 

Yep, you guessed it...Layla J!  Still hanging out around our house.  This is like 3 weeks later, ya'll!!! 

I knew we had to rescue her.  She was in the same place for 24 hours...critical condition.  I got her off the ceiling and Layla talked with her.  She was so happy.  We gave her some water and some grass.  And then I told Layla we had to get her back outside...

As soon as Layla J. realized those were blue skies above her...she was OFF!  Happy trails Layla J.

It just wouldn't be school pictures without it...

Layla has school pictures today.

So of course, last night she fell flat on her face.  Naturally. 

You see everytime school pictures roll around, Layla always, always, ALWAYS has a bruise or a cut on her face.  It is what it is.  I was impressed that she didn't have one, as of yesterday afternoon.

Well, she took care of that promptly after arriving at a lil impromptu pizza party for one of my friends last night.  Splashing her feet in the water, and then skipping out happily proved to be a bad move.  Layla's face, meet the pavement.  Hello!

She busted her lip.  Luckily, the teeth were still intact.  Scraped her nose and a lil part of her forehead.  It could have been much worse. 

This is what she looked like this morning before I dropped her off. 

Not too shabby.  Now let's see what the pictures look like. 

Me, on the other hand.  I am no better.  I have a crick in my neck. 

{via}

Can't look left.  Can't look right.  Can't look up.  Can't look down.  Niiiiice.  Massage appointment at 3:30.  I wish my 1st massage could have been a more relaxing experience...buy HEY!  I'll take it anyway. 

And here's to a crick-free tomorrow.  *fingers crossed*

Layla's 1st dental visit

Don't judge.  Layla is 3.5 years old and I just took her to her 1st dental exam.  Don't judge.  {feels guilty}

That was her before the appointment, excited and ready to go! 

She even got bribed a new baby doll, with teeth, to accompany "the big girl who acts right at the dentist."

She looks perplexed in the photo...that's because she is.  She said, "But, I want the white one." 

Made me sad. 

But, she welcomed "Reagan" into our family anyway...

I think I have mentioned before on my lil ole blog that color is a hot topic between Layla and her 3 year old friends.  I think it even started a year ago...crazy, I know!  I was hoping all of this started at elementary school...not the PRE-pre-school!!!!!!   

Layla came home and said, "I'm white, not brown, right, mommy?!"  And I explained to her that she is both.  But, that is not what is important.  Yada, yada, yada....she has even been told she has "clown hair!"  {mommy's heart was damn near crushed by that}

Well, "color" is obviously still a topic at school.  A very diverse school, I might add. 

I have a ton of thoughts regarding all that, but, um, okay....moving on....

As you can see, she was a little apprehensive sitting in the waiting room, but all in all, she was good. 

But, all hell broke loose once she hit that chair!  Specifically when the dental assistant went to take x-rays of her teeth.  This is all I got before the consoling went into full effect!

And it got worse.  First, they couldn't get the x-rays because she was crying so hard.  Then, once the dentist came in, she went as straight as a board.  She would NOT lay down on the dental chair again.  So, guess what came next?  Picture this...

ME. sitting on the dental chair.  Sideways. 

Layla straddling me.  With both her legs wrap around my body.

She then leaned back on my thighs, with her head resting in the dentists lap. 

Yeah. 

And then her teeth were "cleaned." 

With a tooth brush.  Because the mechanical device, they thought, would be too much.  Right.

But, good news is....NO CAVATIES!!!!  That's a great thing and made this mommy feel better about not taking her sooner. 

This was Layla in the car.  With her balloon.  And Reagan.

After she finished spitting out and gagging over the flouride treatment.  Yes, my friends.  My drama baby actually GAGGED while we were checking out!  Seriously!?! 

I text her dad and it read...."She has ur dental anxieties!"

Lord help us all.