Just a few photos to catch up....
When I got THE CALL last Thursday morning, Madeline and I were just about to walk out the door to meet my parents. After I stopped crying and got myself together, I changed her into this.
She is saying "cheese." Can you tell? :) Also, I love the tea cup and saucer that she has in her hand. Life is a constant tea party at our house.
We went to the zoo for the first time last week. Here is Madeline in the parking lot all ready to go, sunglasses and all. She loves her shades.
She wasn't quite as excited about most of the animals as I thought she would be. She loved the petting zoo, though. Well, she did at first anyway. She had a great time until one of the goats head butted her and knocked her down. I hope we will not be dealing with a lifelong fear of goats.
Brushing the goat, just moments before the head butt.
She loved the part with the aquarium too. I think maybe it was because she could get so close to them, and they were swimming right at her head level. We stayed in here for a long time.
Giraffes
I am very, very, VERY excited about my two raised beds that Daniel built for me in our backyard. I found a book on Square Foot Gardening about a month ago and decided to give vegetable gardening a go again.
I've had a love/hate relationship with vegetable gardening for many years. I've done several big gardens in the past, and here is how it goes: I get super excited planning, buying, and planting. I work hard and enjoy checking it every afternoon to see what has changed. I have such fun during the spring and early summer harvest. Then it gets hot. Working in it suddenly isn't so fun anymore. Before I know it the weeds are totally out of control, the garden is unsightly, and I feel like a failure. August comes and it needs water everyday to survive the super hot, super dry Tennessee weather, but I just don't care anymore. By the end of the summer I promise myself that I will never have a vegetable garden again.
Then spring comes.... The weather is so pretty, everything is coming to life, and Lowe's is full of vegetable transplants. I begin to think.... maybe this year will be different. I really will stay on top of it this year. And so the cycle begins again.
But this year really will be different. REALLY. :) My two 4 x 4 raised beds are full of super good soil (I spent all of my Christmas money on it!). They will be weed free, and they will hold lots of moisture. Watering them just takes about 4 minutes since they are such a manageable size. Maybe I really can keep up with this.
This 16 square foot bed is jam-packed with healthy goodies. I felt like I was planting WAY too much in such a small place, but I followed the Square Foot Gardening instructions precisely. In my two beds I planted, corn (32), bush beans (45), tomatoes (2 each of 3 varieties), peppers (2 red and 4 green), carrots (16), onions (16), basil (2), thyme, oregano, and sage (1 each).
The soil is 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 compost. It is super nutritious and holds water like a sponge. I've been watering first thing every morning, and it seriously just takes me 4 minutes. I planted everything but the peppers from seed to save money, and so it is such fun to see the tiny leaves start to poke up. I see something new every morning!
I will keep you posted on my garden progress this summer. I hope that this is really going to be the year for me!
Two weeks ago, my sister and her daughter were in town for a week, and we got to have lots of girl time.
Madeline reading to Abigail
We went to the playground one day. Isn't Abigail photogenic? She definitely has her mama's eyes.
This is Abigail swinging for the first time. Abigail was born within days of Benjamin. I just LOVED getting to cuddle with her all week. It made me feel close to B!
Getting ready to go swimming in my mom's backyard. Notice the sunglasses again. :)
7 comments:
Fun stuff! I love that she's even having a tea party in the pool! Ha!
precious!!!
We created our own raised beds this weekends as well! It's our first go at gardening but with the mentoring of some good friends we hope to be successful!
Yay for you on the square foot gardening! I did it for the first time last year and it was easy to weed and water. The only problem I had was that I planted some things that don't grow well in Alabama (broccoli, spinach, etc.), and they didn't grow well :) I did it again this year, only with climate-friendly plants, and it is going great!
Hey, we've done the square foot gardening system too and LOVED it!!--it did not contain the same drain that previous gardens brought AND an incredible harvest! The kids tended their own number of squares and ate a ton of the veggies under their watch!
A bouquet of blessings--your life's fragrance "smells" so sweet!!--Just adore the funky/pretty sunglasses and the pretty little girl wearing them!
Praying for Benjamin and for Mommy's waiting heart!!
Love, Gillian
Oh, someday I want to do a square foot garden! For now we have a hand-me-down tiller, so we just keep digging up the backyard each spring 'cause it's free. :) I can't wait to see how bountiful your harvest is!
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