thanks mom...

i spent mother's day at home with jackson and monkey. (jaden was out birthday shopping with her papaw)

we worked on the yard, played a little, had lunch, and relaxed.
it was very nice.

i didn't get to see my mom...my sister kidnapped her and took her shopping for the day.

so mom, i hope you're reading this. (i know you secretly stalk my blog, even if you don't leave comments.)

thank you.
for teaching me right from wrong.
the easy way and the hard way. who can learn if everything's too easy?
thank you for showing me the value of education, hard work, and family.
whether directly, or indirectly, you've shaped me into the person i am today.
without you, i wouldn't be a teacher, a wife, or a mother.
simply put, i wouldn't be me.

happy mother's day.

flashback...

i was looking back through our easter pictures (sorry i didn't post any of those), and i found these of tweedle dee and tweedle dum...

(notice this was back when monkey had long pretty hair...long enough for pigtails. back before she tried to bring back the mullet by cutting her own hair.)

my girls...

just a few lovely shots of my girlies from a recent trip to the park...

i love this last one of monkey...kind of reminds me of alice in wonderland.



(oh, and this was shortly before she decided to channel johnny depp in edward scissorhands and give herself a new do)

this is what she did to her hair

timber...

so, we've had this half-dead tree for nearly as long as we've lived here.
a few weeks ago, we had a pretty strong storm that finally brought half of it down.
luckily, it narrowly missed hitting the corner of our house and the power and cable lines.

the other day, jackson decided to saw the trunk into pieces (more because he wanted to have a bonfire than he was really motivated to move the debris).

and, after taking a bajillion pictures of him using a chainsaw (not sure why i find that photo-worthy or why it makes me giggle), i decided to carve our initials into the trunk...8th-grade style.

then i decided it was too cute to throw in the bonfire.
so i convinced jackson to keep it as one large log and use as a bench on our patio.

not bad for something that's been dead for almost 7 years.

look what i caught...

a couple gold-fish-bowl-heads

i filled my house...

with lilacs.

we've lived here for almost 7 years.

and we've had lilacs for almost 7 years.

i am absolutely infatuated with their scent.

so i finally decided it was time to cut gobs of them and bring them inside.

i was sad and shocked to discover how quickly they wilt. they lasted less than 3 days.

but my house smelled just like spring for those 3 glorious days!

can you spot the monkey?

the only one NOT using the ballet bar correctly?

yeah...that one's mine.
photographic proof that her nickname is appropriate.

right now

this one:

* loves to dress up (i can't get the child to wear jeans or a plain top for more than 5 minutes)
* is still attached to "pink"
* has quite the temper (like head-spinning, green-puke spitting kind of temper)
* is smart beyond her 4 years
* loves to draw, write, cut, color, and do just about anything artsy
* really does give some fantastic hugs and snuggles (you know, when she's not possessed)

and this one:

* is a total tech geek...ipods, laptops, dsi's...you name it and she's on it. ALL. DAY. LONG.
* loves music
* enjoys the fact that she's old enough to earn an allowance (although she's not thrilled about what she has to do to earn it)
* is undeniably a daddy's girl
* would rather be outside than in
* has the best smile and will do anything to help you (even if she doesn't get an allowance for it)