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The carpet roses bloomed a week after the knock-outs. The blooms are smaller than the knock-outs and they are not as fragrant...but they are lovely nonetheless.

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Marley and Winston LOVE this ball. They wrestle for it just about every day. Marley won this afternoon. She napped with it. Every time someone would walk by her, her eyes would fly open. She was worried that Winston would try to snag it while she slept.

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We have a large spot in our back yard that has terrible drainage issues. We have been trying to get grass to grow there for the past 4 years. Today we tried something new...topsoil and sod. Please Lord, let this grass grow!!! (Am I the only person that thinks of jelly roll cakes when looking at this picture)?

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Mark helped Chloe build an airplane like the one that he made with Forrest when he was in elementary school. This was a required project for a large chunk of her science grade. She had to build "something" out of "found" items and trash. She remembered Forrest's plane (which he still has) and requested the same thing for her project. I have to say, it was a very clever design.

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Master Forrest is required to complete 40 hours of community service each year of high school. Tonight he volunteered at a local elementary school carnival. I love his descriptions, ha!

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The first rose buds opened up this afternoon. They make me happy, happy, happy!

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Cammie-loo-hoo has a new found fascination...caterpillars. She has spent hours searching high and low for them all over the yard.

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I planted perrenials around the pond...again. The daylillies from last year survived...but other than those three plants, I started from scratch. I *hope* that Marley's little digging habit has been broken...

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The yellow knock-out roses are beginning to bloom. When I planted them last year they produced very few buds. I am glad to see that they are thriving this year.

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I absolutely love the fish pond that Mark gave me for Mother's Day a few years ago. It is relatively low-maintenance throughout the year. Except for one day at the beginning of Spring.

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On that day, we catch all of the fis and place them in a small fish bowl. Then, we have to reverse the pump and completely drain the pond. Next, the rocks are shoveled out of the pond and into a wheelbarrow. After the pond is completely empty, Mark breaks out the power washer and cleans all of the built up funk off of the walls. The rocks have to be cleaned with the power washer too.

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When everything is clean...we put it all back together again.

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Tonight our church held a fund raiser for the youth department. "Talent Show Nightmare" was the event title. No one knew what the "nightmare" part meant.

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There were three judges that scored each performance. At the end of the night, there was a three-way tie. In order to decide the winner, a tie-breaker was announced. That's where the "nightmare" came in.

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Each of the top three was given an ipod with a randomly selected song programmed in. The contestant had to put the earbuds in and sing along with whatever was playing. The audience couldn't hear anything except for the person singing. It was hysterical!

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Two field trips in one week. Alllllmost more than I can handle. Today we trekked to the Discovery Center in Murphreesboro. These are the kids that I "watched" (a more accurate description would be: these are the kids that I chased, counted, chased, counted, lost, found, chased, counted, lost again, found and counted for 4 hours).

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They had so much fun and the museum is really cool. The matching class field-trip shirts were a HUGE help in keeping up with the kids. The museum isn't too terribly big and there were several schools there at the same time.

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The boy that Cammie has her arm around is Joshua. Joshua is a special needs child that is included in regular classrooms. He is the absolute sweetest little boy I have ever met. All of the kids in Cammie's class are super protective of him. I am so proud of the way Cammie treats him. She encouraged him to try new things, made sure he was included in all of the actvities and she held his hand and told him that he didn't have to be scared, that she would help him. Who knew my contrary little spitfire could be so sweet?

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The "after" shot of the de-swamping of the back yard. (Please ignore the strange bluish/green markings on the rock climbing wall...Sophie, Chloe and Cammie thought it would be a good idea to "decorate" it with sidewalk chalk).

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Today I chaperoned Chloe's class field trip to the Nashville Zoo. Even though we were only able to see 5 animals during our whirlwind tour, we had a good time hanging out together. Chloe rode the giraffe on the carousel (and I only had to coax her a tiny bit to get her to choose that seat over the tiger...yes, I coerced my kids to choose my favorite animal, I'm bad like that).

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In my defense, the giraffe exhibit happened to be her favorite too.

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After gymnastics, Mark met us at Chic Fil A for dinner. We didn't realize that Monday nights are family night. Not only are the kids meal cheap, but they have a strolling balloon artist too. He created Cammie a boingy flower hat (ummm...I made up the name for the hat...obviously...) and he crafted a 6 foot tall twisty hat with a flower on top for Chloe.

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Mark and I decided to take the scenic route home. We were rewarded with a double rainbow! This is the first rainbow that I can remember ever seeing.

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I think my favorite thing to do at the farm is sit on the porch swing, sip coffee and watch the humming birds come in to feed. It is so unbelievably peaceful.

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Cheri and John invited Mark and I to hang out with them at their farm for the weekend. Although we didn't take the kids...we did take the doggies.

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There are a few natural springs on their land. One bubbles up into a shallow mud pit. Of course Winston and Marley decided to wallow in it. They were F.I.L.T.H.Y.

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Mark sprayed them off with a hose the best that he could. The mud was tarry and clung to their coats. We finally gave up on getting them clean and decided that we would take them to the groomer when we got back.

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We were absolutely astonished that after an hour of lying in the sun, the mud dried and flaked off. We couldn't even tell they had been dirty.

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Progress is definately being made. I have taken several hanging bags of clothes up to the attic and this stack of totes has been organized and labled. Just a few loose ends and I will be FINISHED!

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And here we have closet numero dos. And I have no one to blame for this mess except for myself. Last fall in a fit of exasperation I shoved a bunch (a whole bunch) of clothes into Hannah and Sophie's closet. Now, I am dealing with the consequences. Not fun.

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Sigh. The seasonal clothing switcheroo is one of my all-time least favorite chores. Add to that the fact that I have a few girlies that enjoy changing clothes several times a day...and then pile their discarded items into heaping mounds...and well...I am one grumpy girl when I finally MAKE myself tackle it.

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Mother Hubbard's cupboard is bare. She has been procrastinating a mass grocery run. She did however, take advantage of the near empty shelves and straightened everything up and tossed some things too.

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Confession time... I forgot to take a picture today. Sooooo...this lovely Easter Egg shot will have to do. What did I forget to take a picture of? The chocolate bunnies that the big Bunny left, brunch at the club, the kids hiding and re-hiding their eggs all over the house and a very long nap.

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The girls' favorite part of hanging out at the farm? Riding the 4-wheelers and mules all over the property.

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We decided to have Easter at Cheri and John's farm on Saturday instad of Sunday this year. Mark and I drove up with the kids on Friday. Even though it was a bit chilly out, the girls had so much fun playing on the tree swing!

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Another sign of Spring? Fresh pedicures!

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Cammie took this picture of her shoes while we were waiting on Forrest to get out of Frisbee practice.

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Oh how I love my Chloe-bug.

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On Saturday, Mark and Forrest attended a work day at the church. The girls and I decided to kill some time by yardsaling for a bit. I have no idea what I am going to use these trophy shaped urns for...but they were to good of a deal to pass up.

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Mmmmm....our first pineapple of the season. Mark is the designated pineapple slicer in our house. He has perfected the art of the perfectly cut pineapple.

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When I bought it, I worried that it was a bit early in the season for "good" pineapple. Instead, we were treated to a perfectly sweet and fantastically juicy specimen.

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Finally!!! After three and a half months, we tackled the Christmas totes/work bench mess. I am so happy that I can open my truck doors without banging them against things! (In case you forgot what it looked like back in January...)

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One sure sign that Spring has sprung...sidewalk chalk. This years version is a start/finish line. The kids (ours and several from the neighborhood) spent the afternoon racing one another up and down the street. Betcha' can't guess who won the most races...

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I am so glad that Forrest is such a voracious reader. While pregnant with him I read Dr. Seuss and Walt Disney books to my tummy. I continued to read to him until he turned 4. One month after his 4th birthday he asked if he could read the book to me. I expected him to paraphrase ad base his "story" on the pictures alone. Instead, he read the book...word for word. He has been passionate about reading ever since.

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I planted this Alabama Honeysuckle at the base of our mailbox last year. The hot pink and orange blossoms smell delicious. I wonder if the bright blooms cheer our mailman or if he is bothered by the branches that keep our little red flag from raising?

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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.