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My Spring wreath came out of storage today. I love how it instantly brightens up the front of our house.

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Winston contorts his body into some rather odd positions while he naps. He is definitely a "sprawler".

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Today happened to be "Goldfish Sunday" in Sunday school. Each of the kids brought home a goldfish. Hannah and Sophie wanted to take their fishies back to their other house. Chloe and Cammie deposited theirs into the pond.

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In an effort to rid our backyard of the swamp-like earth beneath the playground...we have decided to install landscape liner and fill in the area with thick mulch. Hopefully this will help alleviate the stress we feel when contemplating the state of our grass deficient lawn as well as reduce the amount of doggie mud wrestling matches.

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Have I ever mentioned that I love my doggies? I hope so. Because there are times that I do not heart my doggies...times when my adorable children play with my shoes and then fail to put them back on the shelves...so that the doggies are able to get to them...and chew them to bits. Yes, those are the times that I do not heart the doggies.

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As I collect the carcass of shoes that I once loved, I am not feeling the doggie love. As I scroll through ebay scouring the adds for Steve Madden sandals in a size 8... a bit of the loves returns. When package after package of replacement shoes arrive on my door step, all is forgiven and once again, I am filled with affection...for the doggies and my new shoes.

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I love the toss pillows that were on the couch...but they felt very Fall-ish...new Spring-y pillows put a smile on my face.

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We feed Winston and Marley organic dog food. Is it odd that we don't eat organic food, we don't feed our kids organic food, but we do feed our doggies organic food? Anyhoo, at the doggie health food store there is a refrigerator. One day, I opened the fridge...assuming that it held doggie ice cream treats. Instead, I found grain fed cattle bones. Winston and Marley LOVE them. One bone will keep them busy for hours...and the bones are also the reason that our doggies have the cleanest canine teeth around.

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More yard work... more Monkey Grass trimming. I am so happy that Spring has finally arrived! Just when I thought that I couldn't bare another week of rain and clouds, warm weather and sunshine are here!

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Poor little Muffin has been sick for days.

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Nothing says Spring like freshly sprouting Monkey Grass. Seriously, I love cutting back last years growth and then watching as the new shoots emerge over the next few days.

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Hannah and Cammie found the ginormous box of Play-Doh that I had craftily hidden in the upper most corner of the closet...beneath extra linens and a box labled "hand-me-downs". One whiff from the first canister opened sent me spiraling back to childhood...when my mom would hide the Play-Doh because it was "messy", it "dried out too quickly", and "could become matted in the carpet". My Grandma would always let me play with Play-Doh at her house though. She would lay down wax paper and let me use her butter knives and cookie cutters.

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When I first realized what Hannah held in her hands, my first reflex was to make excuses as to why it wouldn't be a good idea to "drag it out". Once I remembered how I felt when I was given the laundry list of reasons why I couldn't play with the smelly goodness that is Play-Doh, I relented. Out came the wax paper and butter knives...and an hour later, before I could take a picture, they had dismantled their masterpieces and put away the canisters...without mixing the colors I might add.

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We loved the cherry tree in front of my office window...so last year we planted one right outside te family room windows as well. The fluffy blossoms make me happy!

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Isn't this little birdie cute? Unfortunately, he is a bit narcissistic.

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It is birdie mating season and this little guy sees himself in the window...and let me tell ya', he likes what he sees. He is earnestly trying to mate with the little hottie in the window... which is causing him to fly into the window. Over and over and over and over...again. I hear a rhythmic "thunk--thunk--thunk--thunk" ALL DAY LONG. I shoo him away and five minutes later...he's back again...thunk--thunk--thunk. He has to have a concussion by now. It is seriously freaking me out at this point.

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I was surprised to find that the thyme and one lonely pansy made it through the winter.

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Sophie...waiting in line to ride the Nascar (not my choice, anything but Nascar) go-karts. She and Forrest are always ride together.

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The hot tub got used afterall.

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We rent a cabin in Gatlinburg that has a hot tub, pool table, Foosball table, air hockey table,

Ms. Pacman and Galaga. What do the boys want to do? Wrestle.

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There's nothing like a Saturday afternoon nap on the couch.

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Not only are the Christmas totes still residing on the garage floor...now anything and everything that gets removed from the truck is being stacked on top of the totes. Pretty soon my truck won't fit...maybe then we will get around to putting everything away???

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As our plane descended into Nashville on Monday we were shocked to see that the Bradford Pears had bloomed in our absence. Of course, Tennessee weather is crazy...gigantic snow flakes falling on blooming pear trees...only in Nashville.

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I snapped this with my iPhone. I was on my way to charge the phone when Cammie called me to the foyer to "take a picture of a great handstand". Afterwards I grabbed my camera and tried to get her to do it again... of course she started acting silly, so this grainy image will have to do.

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Her mad acrobatic skillz amaze me!

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These two were so happy to be reunited this afternoon! Winston stayed home with the kids, while Marley stayed at Doggie Daycare. We love Doggie Daycare, and usually the doggies love it too. However, this is the first time that they have been separated. Winston laid around the house like he was in mourning while we were away.

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Marley leaped into the truck when I picked her up (and if you are familiar with Saint Bernards, you know that they do not "leap"). As soon as I let her out of the truck she ran in the door and after a few sniffs, they curled up together for a nap.

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My view. For approximately 18 hours of travel time. Next time, I think we need to splurge on business class upgrades...for me it would be a luxury...for my husband, a necessity. For one of our flights he spent 9 and a half hours with his knees crammed into the back of the seat in front of him. Airplane seating is not made for tall people.

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We conquered our last two "musts" today. First, we took the U-bahn to the outskirts of Vienna where the Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) is located. Beethoven, Johann Strauss, Brahms and Schubert are buried in Zentralfriedhof. Mozart has a memorial there as well...his actual grave was lost. Composers who have taken on a fairy tale type image were made real as I stood at the foot of their graves. It was a very surreal experience.

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Public transportation is one of my most favorite things. When I say "public transportation" I am not referring to Nashville's pathetic excuse for mass transit that we call MTA. I love real public transportation. Taxis and cabs, subways (in New York), the L (in Chicago), and now, the U-Bahn and the streetcars in Vienna.

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We took the U out to the Schonbrunn Palace. After touring the palace, we had pastries (again) at a small cafe on the grounds. Followed by dinner in the former stables and a symphony concert in the Orangerie.

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I adored the tile work at the U station.

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After visiting the Kunst museum where I viewed paintings by artists that I have only read about in books, we explored the Naschmarkt. Wandering through the local markets of a new city is one of my favorite things.. I savor the assault on my senses. The flowers and produce bursting with color. The smells of the different spices. The sound of many languages being spoken. It makes me feel alive.
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Sarah and I found a small eatery and had a lunch consisting of frankfurters and pommes frittes (the best french fries I have ever eaten). We also stocked up on pastries to nibble on throughout the afternoon.

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St. Peterskirche is the first cathedral that Sarah and I visited. The church was completed in 1733. The interior is absolutely stunning! The ceiling is 162 feet high! The many friezes and sculpted details were breathtaking. I couldn't take many pictures because Sarah almost got us kicked out. Evidently we stumbled in during the middle of an evening mass. During mass flash photography is not allowed. Sarah forgot to turn her flash off...add to this the fact that she snapped her picture just as the organ came to a halt and well, I think we wore out our welcome fairly quick. Flash + Clicking of camera = sharp look from usher and a loud "sssshhhh" admonishment. We said a quick hail Mary and boogied on out.

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Cick here to read more about the church.

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On our way to the hotel we passed through older sections of the city. I was surprised by all of the graffiti. Now, I have to admit, I like graffiti...not the gang sort of graffiti, but the artistic graffiti. I love checking it out in different cities to see how it varies. My favourite graffiti is usually found on train cars. When I am stopped at a railroad crossing I watch each car that passes...like a moving art gallery.

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While I loved some of the graffiti in Vienna (like the sample pictured), I was disheartened to see graffiti on the walls of buildings that were hundreds of years old. Gorgeous architecture marred by vandalism. Because to me, graffiti belongs on rail road cars, backs of abandoned buildings, and warehouses...not on historic buildings, in my mind that is where the invisible line between art and vandalism is crossed.

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I'm trying to tie up all of the loose ends before our trip...one of those loose ends happens to be turning in our cookie money. This year we sold considerably less cookies than last year. Last year Chloe (read: I) sold somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 boxes. This year, Chloe and Cammie combined (read: I) sold less than 100. It was a much easier cookie year around these here parts.

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Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! I am so happy that his birthday is celebrated in school. We have the entire collection (yes, while pregnant with Forrest my OCD became hyper focused on amassing his library).

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My love for Dr. Seuss was born in my pediatrician's waiting room. I had my umpteenth case of strep throat and while I wondered which animal clip on Dr. Nemec would have attached to his stethoscope (because he had a menagerie and each visit brought a new discovery...my favorite being his Paddington Bear) I found a copy of "In A People House". I must have read it 5 times in the waiting area. I carried it back to the room with me and read it again as I awaited my turn to have my tonsils swabbed, and anticipated my most favorite part... the smiley face he drew on the tongue depressor. Now, 25 years later, it is still my favorite book of ALL time.

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In 2001 Dr. Nemec died and it broke my heart. I also cried when Dr. Seuss died. Forrest chose "Who was Dr. Seuss" as an elective this year.

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15. I am so not ready for this. He however, is. This year he had a low-key birthday. Lunch at Fulin's, and then home to eat his Mountain Dew cake (which tasted fantastic), and gifts... exercise equipment (he's going for that "thin-but-buff" bod) and a new video game...then unbeknown to me, Mark slipped him a letter and a $100 dollar bill.