project 52 week 20 | mother.

getting the royal treatment on Mother's Day.

judging by the comments and groans from my kids-- "wow, mom!  you're like, reeeeeally heavy!  UGHHH!"-- it has been determined that either one, my kids are weaklings, or two, I need to lay off the donuts.

I'm almost 100% positive it's the latter.  did someone say dooooooonuts?! 

hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

this week I'm linking up to Marcy!  have a great weekend!    

-jessica

PS. yes, I know.  two kids are missing.  Sawyer was in Phoenix for the weekend and Finley refused to cooperate.  there's always a smart one in the bunch. 

project 52 week 18 | quiet place.

Bright Angel Campground, Grand Canyon, Arizona.  noise pollution: 0%

no motorized vehicles, no sprawling shopping centers, no restaurants, no bawling babies, no electronic devices, no buzz signaling the end of the wash/dry cycle, no ding you've got mail! or dong proclaiming yet another salesman at the door.  just the sound of the occasional breeze as it whispers through the vegetation and the rushing of the Colorado River as it flows by.

there may have been some occasional raucous laughter echoing off the canyon walls, too, as the six of us hee-hawed all weekend long.  but that's the kind of noise I like to hear.  ahhh.  sweet music to my ears.  if only I could park my rear end in that patch of sand and stay there forever, life would be great.

I suppose I would eventually miss the kids, though.  and the shopping.  and the out-to-eating.  and the sound of the UPS man pulling in the driveway.  and... and... and...

well, you best check out what Keilah has up her sleeve this week before I get myself into any more trouble!

have a great weekend!

-jessica

look who's free years-old!

well, ahem.  technically Scarlett turned three a week ago already, but who's keeping track?

I'm not.  are you?

yeah, I thought so.  I figured you had better things to do than keep track of my lackadaisical posting habits lately.  I mean, seriously.  if it wasn't for the weekly photography project I'm participating in, I probably wouldn't be blogging at all.

actually, that sounds kinda nice.  to not have this whole blogging thing constantly looming in the back of my mind, nagging at me like I nag at Gary to do chores around the house.  "Jessica, you really should write something to let people know what's up!"  or "Jessica, you really should get those pictures edited and posted from your Grand Canyon trip, it has been a month already, you know."  it's almost like I'm back in school and it's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and all my friends are heading to the park for a BBQ.  but darn it!  there's a quiz on Monday and I haven't even started studying for it.  what to do?  what to do?  in a moment of weakness, I decide to go out with my friends-- because a person deserves a break every now and then, right?-- but the whole time I'm feeling guilty that I should be studying and I couldn't truly relax and enjoy myself anyway.  oh, how I hated that feeling of homework always in the back of my mind.  there was nothing worse!

although, I wasn't responsible for ten kids back then.  hmmm.  maybe it wasn't so bad after all?

I don't know.  maybe the time has come for me to retire from blogging.  close up Room For Nine's doors and call it a day.  or do I just keep posting when I can, even if it's only once a week and just quit losing sleep over it?

so, now I'm assigning you guys homework.  what do you think I should do?  answers are due on Monday by 9 a.m. sharp, or else! 

so, anyway.  Scarlett is now, according to her, "free years-old."  free at last!

cuteness overload!

when I asked Scarlett what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday, she told me, "I want a butt cake!"  I was like, you want a what?  and then she ran to the cupboard and pulled out the bundt cake pan.  "this kind, mommy!"  butt, bundt, close enough, right?  LOL!  she's too much!  apparently, she's learned something from the zillions of questions she asks me while I'm baking.  we just have to work on the pronunciation a bit more.  hehe.

-jessica