birdiebirdiebirdie

this is tia.


she is the mourning dove that has taken up permanent residency in megan & neal's back-porch fireplace thingy. (what's the technical term?)

i have been totally all about her being back there--she's usually sitting on her nest, and we can all be hanging out at the table right below her nest and she doesn't seem to mind. in fact, i think she rather enjoys surveying us from on high.


unfortunately, my extreme love for this bird has managed to bring me to one conclusion. (and one conclusion only.) i am OLD.


OLD PEOPLE do things like watch birds in nests outside people's houses and talk about them constantly and call their sister (allegedly.) to see what said birdie is doing. & then bring their cameras over to take thirty (allegedly.) photos.







i was THRILLED when megan called to inform me a few weeks ago that tia was "expecting". two tiny little eggs--

she then implied that tia gets around, since she was fairly certain that there had been a few baby birdies not too long before that.

megan also may or may not have also referred to her as the "michelle duggar of the dove world":





***TEN DAYS LATER***



BABIES!!!

rock on.

as a mother who likes to rock it out, i must say that i couldn't be any prouder of my first-born.



why, you inquire?


because of this photo taken from the stage by a member of runner runner at their concert last wednesday night:



and once more, with the lights on......:

teach them while they're young, i say.



when i read that secondhand serenade (you will recognize THIS song. & THIS ONE is my favorite.) was coming to town with several other bands, i encouraged kaitlyn and her posse to attend.

the fact that it was on a school night was promptly overlooked--how often do you get to see a pretty great band in your own backyard on the cheap?



but the band that the girls fell for, hard & HANDS-DOWN was runner runner--




loved this photo of the lead singer working his magic on the crowd:

i might have become a big fan when i heard katie's favorite song which was made even cooler by this TOTALLY RELEVANT music video:

(watch. really. you will enjoy.)

you can become a fan of theirs on facebook as well--

i must say: i'm a little in love.

thankful thursday

things i am thankful for this week:




**THIS sight that i beheld in all of it's glory yesterday.

i started to do this job myself, but she insisted on finishing it. herself.


isn't child labor a beautiful thing? especially when they look so dang cute while doing it.)

**this dirty-ron's tutorial for foreign menu items that i can't WAIT to try.


i'll be trying costa rica's gallo pinto next year.






**this totally awesome gwen stefani dreamcatcher



have i mentioned my (non) love for all things dreamcatcher? if i haven't, i SHOULD.




feast your eyes on this INVESTMENT IN YOUR HAPPINESS:








**this handsome dude.


who wears this t shirt. and makes it look so good.

turtleturtleturtle

(note to reader: this is a pet turtle. it is in no way/shape/form related to the infamous 'desert tortise'. no turtles have been harmed in the making of this post.)


BANNER DAY!

kaitlyn found this little feller--we found out that he's named jermaine, which naturally makes me love him more--on our porch the other night.


he had this note attached to him:

she then unscrambled the letters left with jermaine, and found out that this boy had asked her to her FIRST DANCE (!):

needless to say, the appearance of jermaine caused much excitement in this house--including, but not limited to: squealing, screaming, lots of "awwwwwhhhh, he's so cute!", and "mom, can we keep the turtle?"

the mother may or may not have commented that anybody named after michael jackson's brother would most certainly always have a home with them. allegedly.

kaitlyn couldn't be more thrilled--this andrew is a heck of a dude. (but her parents are even a bit happier.)

to see katie's oh-so-clever answer she gave to her date, click HERE--

(& we hope we don't break our arms patting ourselves on the back....)



**anything including this picture is a winner in our book:

three reasons--chandler

three reasons why i love you, my chandler/chandi/chanandlerbong:

1. you enjoy feline-themed merchandise almost as much as your mother. and your soft-spot for those two kitty-kats rivals your mother's as well. thank you for carrying on the love for catties tradition that was passed down to you from your great grandma montrue!

2. you can devour a book in a matter of hours--and i enjoy that you have developed such a passion for reading.

good thing mockingjay comes out today......i don't know if we could have handled your high level of anticipation for much longer. (smiley face!)

3. you have the cutest little smattering of freckles across your nose. and an "angel-kiss" (translation: birth mark) on your neck that i'm afraid no boy will be able to resist.

**but they BETTER--or else they will have your father to answer to. (translation: SCARY)

LUNCHBOX

for some reason this year, mia didn't compute that going to kindergarten meant eating lunch at home.

she also obviously was painfully unaware of her mean mother's strict "eat school lunch" policy. which was passed down to her from her mother (we also had the "old school" option to come home, since school was 2 blocks away.) and faithfully followed as well as strictly-adhered to in this home.

but that didn't stop her from needing, nay REQUIRING a lunch box.


so, when i found this cutest retro box at old navy, i gave in:






it brought such sheer joy, that i knew we'd hit the jackpot.





the other jackpot i hit? finding my OWN LUNCHBOX:







if you know my husband, than you know that this couldn't have been more custom-made for me.


i love it.

facebook for cats

{note to reader: generally i've tried not to post our last name on the internet. but now that i've gone ahead and done this--allegedly--please do not cut us up into tiny little pieces and stuff us into the drywall. thank you.}




opportunity of a lifetime: BE FRIENDS WITH OUR FELINES ON FACEBOOK.



i had NO IDEA that dave & martin were internet-savvy. OR that they could type with their tiny little cattie-paws.

but, as i suspected, my kitties are of above-average i.q. and are highly intelligent. nothing, and i mean NOTHING will get in the way of their social-ladder-climbing agenda.

they are currently accepting any and all facebook friend requests--don't delay! this exclusive offer/opportunity will not last forever. do it in the next 60 minutes and become a PREFERRED FRIEND.



dave's interests:

marty's profile:

marty's interests:

have a WONDERFUL weekend~

bittersweet.

the day that i've dreaded as well as looked forward to arrived yesterday. my baby went to kindergarten.



she couldn't have been more pleased with her wardrobe choices for the big day--dress with silver sparkles, (yep, she's her mother's daughter) ruffled "floofy" skirt, and bejeweled shoes.

were you aware that choosing just the right first day of school outfit could be such an intricate and involved process? fyi: it IS.






as well as choosing the right backpack:





the most highly anticipated part of the whole day was the arrival of the school bus.

she waited it out (in the 1 BAJILLION degree heat) with her buddy, issac:






finally, that glorious moment arrived. and it was even better than anticipated:






i feel that with each child i had, i was so impatient for them to get to the next milestone, make the next step, grow up just a bit. but with this one, i've wished for eternal youth--yet why hasn't it happened?


so, my tiny baby mia--your mother accepts her fate. she wants you to spread your wings and fly!

(and she loves you more than you'll ever know.)

thankful thursday

things i am thankful for this week:



**this sweet little gift that my kindergarten girl brought home from school yesterday. (first time all day long that i watered-up, and couldn't seem to stop the tears from flowing--i guess i'm not as hardcore as i thought.)


now i'm gonna have to obtain a copy of the kissing hand:

"Chester Raccoon doesn't want to go to school--he wants to stay home with his mother. She assures him that he'll love school--with its promise of new friends, new toys, and new books. Even better, she has a special secret that's been in the family for years--the Kissing Hand. This secret, she tells him, will make school seem as cozy as home. She takes her son's hand, spreads his tiny fingers into a fan and kisses his palm--smack dab in the middle: "Chester felt his mother's kiss rush from his hand, up his arm, and into his heart." Whenever he feels lonely at school, all he has to do is press his hand to his cheek to feel the warmth of his mother's kiss. Chester is so pleased with his Kissing Hand that he--in a genuinely touching moment--gives his mom a Kissing Hand, too, to comfort her when he is away."



does anybody suspect that an author would pen a book like this just to torture parents? (a good torture, but torture nonetheless....:)

**the chance we had to have "brother" hang at our house for a while and light up our lives.


as well as make a few quick phone calls:

**& the opportunity to pull this puzzle out for him to do, then realizing that it's superstar in the right hand corner is totally our MARTIN:

ohhhhh, MARTY.




speaking of puzzles..... AND cole-- THIS was him when barreling feet first through all of the millions (okay, hundreds) of puzzle pieces he dumped on the floor.

he is absolutely and completely a wild man:




(hims is so crazy.)

**this license plate we saw coming home from las vegas which made us slow down & back it up so that we could capture the essence.

three reasons--abbey

three reasons why i love you, my sweet abbey "abigail" abbers--


1. you are the very definition of "lovey"--being born on february 14th, i should have known what a gift i had in you. so many hugs, kisses, loves, squeezes, nuzzles & snuggles-- i am one very lucky mother.

2. you are my very best bed-maker. (shhhhh. don't tell your sisters.)

i am also incredibly proud of how clean you keep your room and how patient you are with your younger sister when the two of you clean it together! (not an easy task.)

3. i love that you have a wicked little sense of humor.

our conversation two nights ago:

abbey: "mom, i need to tell you two blond jokes. they will make you laugh."

mom: (somewhat distracted) "mmmmmmmmmkay."

abbey: " how do you drown a blond? YOU PUT A MIRROR AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL!"

mom: (smiling) "hey--that's not too shabby."

abbey: "okay, so how ELSE do you drown a blond? YOU PUT A SCRATCH-AND-SNIFF STICKER ON TOP OF THE MIRROR!!!!"

mom: "that's my girl."



you will always be my valentine baby. i love you so much.



and i support you in becoming mrs. zac efron. make me proud.

THIS IS HOW WE DO IT BABY

{l to r: jentix, tiburon, vanessa, mindi}

first and foremost, a big THANK YOU is offered to montell jordan and his timeless voice for providing the THEME SONG to this trip.

THIS is what it looks like when you stick your body out the top of the sunroof on the las vegas strip and have your photo taken:

(objects appear larger than actual size.)

THIS is what a BLOGGER'S PHOTO-OP FANTASY looks like:

THIS is the founder/creator of the "20 dollar & under rule" that you happened to run into again while trying to scalp tickets:

(he got in. we didn't.)

THIS is the birthday banner that you swiped from your daughter & took turns wearing so the group could reap any extra benefits that a birthday-girl would receive.

the power of what it brought was a sight to behold:

& THIS is the song that the birthday girl busted some sweet freaking moves to.

allegedly.



THIS is the prince look-alike who soothed your sadness at no gaga tix while putting on one helluva SHOW.

THIS was jerone. who happened to be your favorite part of the show. which got you in trouble with pseudo- morris day. but it was WELL WORTH it:

THIS was the best 10 bucks you spent all weekend long:

THIS is the face you make when the young sweet thang (him likes boys, btw) you saw dancing afterwards convinces you to join him on the podium. and then plants a kiss on your cheek:

(fyi? you find out that he dances in THIS show.)

& THIS is what he can do when egged on by four middle-aged women:

**note to reader--i in in no way, shape, or form endorse stripper poles. just bendy boy-toy dancers.

THIS is what it looks like when you are a latino princess from san diego who's parents just dropped a cool 50K for your Quinceañera in las vegas--

as well as her date from the mexi-version of the jersey shore:

THIS is what your stretch-humvee and your extended party will look like while celebrating said quinceañera:

& THIS hairstyle makes you look like the heat miser

THIS is the tiny little bottle of ketchup you fell in love with while dining at your new FAVORITE LAS VEGAS EATERY:

which is decorated like THIS:

{love.}

speaking of eating, THIS is yet another photo adding to the evidence that you did it. a LOT:

(detox is a biznatch, btw.)

THIS is the shemale winner of the lady gaga look-alike contest. (which should have been called the "lady GUY GUY contest." thanks stevekemp.)

and, finally-- if you play your vegas cards right, THIS is what you will be driving home at the end of the night:

**for more vital vegas info (it will change your life) read tiburon's informative things i learned in las vegas
& things that most definitely--may or may not have--allegedly happened in vegas
as well as vanessa's 10 things i learned in vegas .

they will let you in on the secret of why the las vegas d.j.'s are always so concerned with "where they party people at?"

and why even a very, very bad fake nevada drivers license is better than no nevada drivers license at all. allegedly.