A picture is worth a thousand words..

Or in this case, two:

Whoopie Cushion



Yes, this is one of Lily's drawings from preschool. Hmmmmm........

"Proud" Mama~
Laurie

Happy Smells, Happy Memories

Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I'm one of those people that can hear a song, taste a food or smell a scent and I'm immediately taken back to a certain place or time. For example, play me some Beastie Boys and I'm taken back to 1987 driving my friend, Nicole and myself to school. I'm not sure if that cassette (Yes - cassette...at least I didn't say 8 track!) was stuck in my tape player, but I don't think any other music played in my car during that year. (Right, Nicole?!?!) Or, when I take a bite of a moist, homemade coconut cake, I am taken back to my grandmother's bright yellow kitchen, sitting around the table, listening to stories of the past!

So this morning when I walked out the front door, I was met with the smell that takes me to summer -- the beautiful scent of gardenias! (Yes, I ran back in and got my camera and proceeded to take pictures of these beautiful blooms while still in my jammies!) Ha!

This scent takes me back to Richardson, TX and the public pool. I don't know how many gardenia bushes were around that pool, but my memory says that this smell was abundant and marked the beginning of the fun, school-free season!

So, as I took Sam to the bus stop for his last Monday of 3rd grade, I breathed in this beautiful scent and began thinking of all of the fun days that lay ahead of us over the next few months!

Inhaling~
Laurie

One lucky gal!!!!

"The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom."
~Henry Ward Beecher

...and I am lucky to have had some of the best "teachers" in my life!!!

My mom!!!

My sister!

My mother-in-law!

And I hope that all of their teachings help me in raising these precious ones...

Happy Mother's Day!!

Learning from the pros~
Laurie

Some Easter love!

As I continue my catching up, I move on to Easter.

I love Easter and the weather that comes along with it! I love how each Spring morning, when I open the doors, it's like a rebirth -- the perfect feeling to go along with the Easter season. You open the door and the fresh smells, the cool breeze and the beautiful birds awaken your senses and put you in a mindset to jump start your day! Just awesome!!

We participated in our church's Egg Hunt, just as we have in the past. But this year was a bit different. We had torrential downpours the day before, so everything was SOGGY! So how do you handle that? Like this --
It may have taken a little of the challenge out of the hunt; but it was still fun!


And you can see that both Lily Clare and Sam were very successful hunters!

Easter morning brought a beautiful sunrise and temperatures to allow for a sleeveless dress! I love Easter being a little later in the year, because you don't have to cover your pretty dress with a sweater!!





My brother and parents came over for Easter afternoon and we enjoyed a true Southern feast! We started it off with some pimento cheese and cream cheese and pepper jelly and crackers appetizers.
Then enjoyed ribs, barbeque, potatoes and baked beans and finished it all off with some yummy petit fours!

It was so good, y'all!

And this was my Easter season craft:

Take some egg shells, dirt and grass seed; add some water and God's beautiful sunshine and voila!

More to come~
Laurie