The Color Purple

I have a confession....I have a black thumb.

I even kills mums. Sometimes within a week of purchasing them.

However, I have managed to keep three hydrangea plants alive since I planted them 4 years ago. I love hydrangeas, every kind too. So much so, that I gave my Mom a hydrangea plant for Mother's Day 9 years ago. I thought it was a great gift idea and it is still alive and kicking today.

I am proud of my hydrangeas. They started off so small and now they are large and in charge. You can see them on the far wall in the picture below. One summer they bloomed pink, the next they rebelled and I got no blooms at all, last year they were pink and purple, and this year they've come in a deep purple.

The crazy looking bushes on the right are my azaleas. They were taking over the side walk and anyone that tried to walk in front of them. I think we lost Thomas a few times amongst the branches. Brett got at them with some hedge trimmers and now they look so sad. I told Brett to cut them way back and he actually did as he was told. Good thing azaleas are like hair. When they get a bad cut, they just grow right back. It might take some time, but they'll be long enough for a pony soon enough.

Another plant that's been going strong season after season is my pear tree. I think it's a Bartlett Pear, but I am not 100% sure. I do know it produces a ton of pears, which brings a lot of flies and mosquitoes to the yard. (Please reread that sentence to the tune of "My Milkshake brings all the boys to the yard.." it makes it that much better). Brett hates it when he has to mow the yard but spend 30 minutes before hand tossing all the fallen pears into the woods so he can get to the grass. He's threatened to cut it down every year, but never follows through. I love the pear tree.

I've been looking up recipes that include pears in the ingredients. I hate to see all that organic, home grown fruit go to waste year after year. Most of what I have found so far are dessert recipes and that just isn't going to fly in this household. I am sure there are more healthy recipes out there, I just haven't found them all yet.



Come September I'll have plenty of pears to go around.

Finally, Thomas has started a mini garden of his own. He came home with this school project last week and his seeds sprouted just the other day. They are cucumber plants and I am not too sure what to do with them once they get too big for his classroom-made wheelbarrow. These little boogers are growing fast, so I better figure it out soon.



Luckily, none of these plants are very high maintenance like the Mums I planted and managed to kill. These plants seem to take care of themselves very well. Those are my kind of plants.

Make new friends, but keep the old....

One is silver and the other's gold.

This little boy is golden. His name is Baker and he got to meet Thomas for the first time this weekend.

They already have so much in common and don't even know it.

For starters, both of their fathers are big Alabama fans and they are both forced to wear Alabama gear.

We met up with Brent, Lindsey, and Baker at Phil's for some lunch and then headed over to right field to watch a little bit of the Bama baseball game.

Apparently Thomas had a hair out of place so he located a comb to tame his do.

Thomas absolutely loved the freedom. He got to toss the ball around with his Daddy and run free.

Needless to say, he was pretty happy the entire day. He thoroughly enjoyed flirting with all the college girls. We almost had to beat one off with a stick.

He got himself stuck between a rock and a hard space, or two stacks of chairs.

He even had his first official taste of dirt.

Judging from this face, he might want to stick to his chicken nuggets or Cheez-its.

We enjoyed playing with you Baker! Hope to do it again very soon.

Sidewalk Chalk

I owe the creator of sidewalk chalk a huge THANK YOU. It has kept Thomas pretty entertained the past few evenings.

He must think it can also be used as a Q-Tip.

The only way his Grandmother will allow him to "write on himself".

I even attempted to draw a dog. I tried.

It's also Mother's Day weekend.

This little boy is the absolute love of my life. I thank God every day for trusting me with this precious little life. I am not quite sure how Brett and I got so lucky. The past 21 months have been the most challenging but the most rewarding in my life.

I worry and pray every day over him. Thankfully, I've had a wonderful teacher in my own Mother to show me how to be a great Mom. She is so wise and I welcome any advice she sends my way.

Thomas made me a Mother's Day card at school.

I will always welcome any handmade card for any occasion.

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and to all the others out there.

Hey Austin!

I got home yesterday from a wonderful weekend in the Lone Star State, Austin to be exact. Me and 8 other of my nearest and dearest went to visit April, who currently lives there. I didn't bring my camera with me on Friday night, but we enjoyed some bowling, karaoke, dancing, and cocktails. I even got up on stage and sang a few songs. Eeek, good thing my mic was off. Here is a recap of our interesting weekend in pictures starting Saturday morning.

We watched some people rallying down the street by our hotel not knowing where they were going. We happened to stumble upon them a little bit later as we visited the Capitol. We weren't real sure what was being protested at first but quickly realized what was the focus as we got closer. Legalizing pot. We watched from afar and got an eye full.

"Keeping Austin Weird"

Just to clarify, it's a skort and a man purse. I asked.

We then went to Zilker Park for a little R & R and some Frisbee throwing.

I want a tree just like this in my yard.

Next stop was to Hey Cupcake, which is in an Airstream.

It doesn't get much better than this right here.

Obviously I hated it. Every last crumb.

I also saw a horse with prettier toenails than mine.

Next stop, Bess, Sandra Bullock's restaurant.

Due to a little delay on the restaurants part we were treated to 2 appetizers. Thanks Sandy! I love you. No really, I love you.

Last stop of the day was the Tiniest Bar in Texas. The bar was tiny, the establishment was not.

Here's where the trip gets really interesting. Lindsey, Meg, Katherine, and myself left Austin around 2:20pm and we had a 45 minute layover in Houston. We were supposed to be back in Birmingham around 6pm. Wellllll, things didn't go exactly as planned thanks to Ole Mother Nature. She brought down her fury on Birmingham during every attempt our plane was making to land. Oh, she's one funny little character. 3 attempts and lots of turbulence later, we are in Jacksonville, Fl (we had already been there once to refuel) and were told that we were getting off the plane. It's about 10:30pm Bham time at this point and we hadn't eaten since noon. Grrrr.

The oh-so-kind Southwest employees had to get each of the 94 passengers new boarding passes for a new flight home at 5:50am. We were just excited that would make it home.

We were also told that there were no rental car places open and all the restaurants were closed. Our only option was to sleep at the airport. Yippee.

Attitudes quickly turned sour when we realized that the only thing to eat was a small cart of crappy vending machine crackers and some Dejablue water. Water should never come in a can.

Dinner.

I was really impressed how some of the passengers really rallied together and helped each other out. I even witnessed one couple offer to pay for a hotel room for a single Mom with her sweet 2 year old son. I boo-hoo'd when I saw this.

After a few more incidents in the airport we were finally able to board the plane and go home. I think I was asleep before the plane started to taxi to the runway. Last thing I remember was telling Lindsey she could lay her head on my shoulder. It might not have been a hotel room, but it's all I could offer.

This was my second time to "sleep" in an airport and hopefully the last. Overall it was a wonderful trip. I laughed so hard I cried, got to see a new city, got to see some friends that I only see a few times a year, and build all kinds of fun memories (even the flight home). Thank you April for having us.