Lots of Hard Work

I decided to skip the housework and go straight to the garden. It is almost the end of May and we didn't have a thing planted yet! Boo decided she wanted to help me so we worked together. It was nice to have her help & her company. Along the way she shared with me what she had learned about earthworms this past year and what she is presently learning about Native Americans. I was amazed at all she has remembered. Yay, homeschooling! The boys were napping & Sweet Pea was working on her TLP so Boo & I had one-on-one time. Later when Bugs woke up S.Pea came outside with him.

These are the tomato, pepper & cucumber plants we bought last night. There are 3 or 4 kinds of tomatoes, 2 kinds of peppers and one kind of cucumbers.

Bugs & Sweet Pea come out later and pick flowers.

Boo plants beans.


Boo helps Mama weed the spot where we will plant.

Much to Boo's delight she found a worm! Actually we found a bunch of them. Good news!







Boo collects rocks to outline the places Mama has planted.

I kept working & Boo surprised me with a cold glass of water. How nice!






A view of our work. This includes the work I did later in the afternoon too.






Another view of the completed work.

We got a lot done but there is still a lot to go. I spent a total of over 4 hours in the garden today and I am beat. I am EXTREMELY happy with all we accomplished today. Tomorrow is another day and I hope to get more planted then!

Busy Bee

Sorry to have been away for a few days. I have been a busy little bee. Over the weekend we went up to Nana's, from there to visit friends, and then drove home. Monday was spent on the run again & we didn't get home until evening. There was A LOT of driving and though I love our van I'm glad to be on my own two feet again. Lol!

I will post pictures and more details later today if time allows. Today I am off to catch up on some chores at home. I'm hoping I can get in the garden and start planting too! Dare to dream!

Library Woes

My oldest has recently lost 2 library books & one sound recording. PLUS she has almost $9 in fines on her library card. I want her to take responsibility for this as she is old enough but the problem is she doesn't have any $ to do so. I'm working this out. In the meantime I am setting some new rules for library card use. She has had her card taken away for a time and then will slowly be allowed to start checking out materials again. We'll start with 1 or 2 items and then if she shows responsibility for them she can borrow more the next time around. If she loses a book or racks up fines she will not be able to use her card until those are paid for. Sound reasonable? A friend of mine helped me with this idea as she shared her library rules for her children. I'm hoping that this will create less "hand-holding" from me and more self-motivation on her part.

Beauty in Our Own Backyard

We all went outside this afternoon. The children had fun playing. After I hung up a couple loads of laundry and planted my new annuals I received for Mother's Day I decided to look around the yard. There is a lot of beauty there when I take a moment to really look. Reminds me of that song Toby Keith sings, "My List". I believe that's the title. Here are a few pics from our afternoon outdoors.

Bug-a-boo thought it was fun running in and out of the wet clothes & towels.

The girls are harvesting rocks. A little "game" mommy thought up.

The children & Dave painted these for me for Christmas. For Mother's Day I received annuals to plant inside. I love them!

Future soccer player?



Our apple tree in bloom.




If the lawn had been mowed I wouldn't have been able to enjoy these violets today.

A lone tulip.

Lilies of the Valley

A few more tulips. I love their color!

Tinkerbelle wishes she could play outside too.

Blah

Today is a low-key day. I'm kind of dragging & bored with the same-old. Plus it's been raining and cloudy most of the day. This weather spells N-A-P. Hee, hee.

We have a Tornado Watch until 6p.m. tonight. This is unusual for us and I'm keeping a close eye on the weather reports. No wind yet so that's a good sign, I think.

Tonight my shows are on and I'm looking forward to those. Yep, I'm pitiful. Lol!

Our Garden

We worked hard in the garden tonight. Dave & I decided that we wanted to expand our vegetable garden this year. With our budget being tight & prices rising on just about everything it seems like a smart move. Plus there is something so rewarding about growing your own vegetables. We are behind schedule in planting the cool weather veggies. Today Dave borrowed the little tiller thing from my Dad and we got to right to work after he arrived home. The rain tried to stop us but we didn't give up! God was good and stopped the showers long enough for us to get the job done. It was hard work but was very satisfying!

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In this photo you can see part of where the garden is being extended. See the curve to the right of Dave? We are also lengthening it (in the space towards the camera - not dug up yet) and will make another curve along the new length as well.

(Above photo)

Expanding the Garden

Dave is using the small tiller as the big one is in the shop (both Dad's)

This is great! Better than digging that's for certain!

(Above photo)

Mama vs. Machine

Dave asked me if I wanted to try it out. I figured "Why not"? Boy that thing is powerful!

(Above Photo)

Sweet Pea and Daddy working hard.

(Above Photo)

Digging up all the pungent flowers & weeds.

(Above photo)

Go Daddy!

A Wonderful Mother's Day

We decided to go to Forest Park for Mother's Day. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed out for a day of laid back fun.

This is Bug-a-Boo feeding Daddy some of his sandwich.

Someone was playing music nearby and the children couldn't resist the beat.

They even found a stage to dance on! Lol!

Mama & 2 of her chicks

Eeek! Wild girls!



Oh no! There they are again! And another wild child has joined the group!




E-boy squares off with an Iguana.

Daddy found his long, lost brother! Baaaaaaa!

This was extremely funny b/c several times the Mr. Goat was up on his hind legs and as tall as Daddy. They were even in height! I tried to get a photo of them head to head but Mr. Goat kept ducking down each time. My belly hurt from laughing so hard! Daddy was so proud to pose with his newly found brother! He even forgave Brother Goat for biting him. Ouch!

Look Mommy, I did it! E-boy gathered his courage and fed the baby goat. This was big b/c the pig had snapped at him when he tried to feed it and nearly bit his finger so E-boy was not too eager to try again. Boy, was he proud when he successfully fed the little goat.

Bugs just loves the goats!

Are YOU my Mother?

These goats were the funniest characters!

Boo makes a new friend.

Sweet-pea on the train ride.

Bugs couldn't get enough of the train. He would not sit in anyone's lap. He declared himself a big boy and insisted on sitting as such.

The conductor offered to take our picture so here we are! Wasn't that sweet of him?

Annual photo by the train.

The day is done. What a great day!

Even the drive home is gorgeous. Spring is here!

Declaration of the Day

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT! It's fun!

Getting Started

Hi! I'm new to this so please be patient with me as I figure this whole blog thing out. I'm excited to be able to share with friends & family what is going on in our little corner of the world.

If you have any helpful tips I'd appreciate hearing from you. Thanks!

Hopefully more to come very soon!