Adios, April

Sun, warmth, green, buds, flowers. Gray, cool, rain, rain, rain. Sprouts, blooms, blossoms, weeds, toads, bugs, birds! We're all awake now, warmed up and ready to go. Thanks for everything, April, you've been especially good to us this time around.

Are we really already ready to flip another calendar page? I suppose so. Though I must say- as we slide into the thick of Spring, we are in no hurry! It seems so rare around here that we don't just flip from cold to hot, but this year we're getting a taste of a Real Spring! So adios April and hola May... let's keep this momentum going!

It's Time...

Y'all! Do you see this? When did Henry get so long? I swear this "Bib Bed" has been the perfect size for him until, like, yesterday. When nap time rolled around, however, I realized his toes were hanging off the end of his bed... it seems like he outgrew it over night!

So today we find ourselves talking about a real Big Boy Bed. A true twin-sized bed, fit somewhere in his room, sooner rather than later.

We poked around online and are leaning toward something minimal, like a platform bed similar to this one. Maybe we'll start trolling for sales... maybe we'll sit down and figure out if we can build it ourselves.

There's no doubt, though: it's time for Hen to have a new bed!

Right Now

Right now, I'm glancing out the front windows every time I pass by to catch a glimpse of our newly refinished front sidewalk. Holy cow y'all, I didn't think we'd finish that project, let alone get it done in one weekend. But here we are.

As is our style, we wholly focused on laying pavers all weekend and completely neglected the usual upkeep indoors. Alas, that means today I'm glancing in appreciation at the herringbone pattern running from the front door down to the driveway while carrying laundry, running the vacuum, wiping powdered lime footprints off the hardwoods, and gathering up scattered mugs and cups and such.

I came across this little sketch while putting some things away in Audrey's room. At first glance it looks like a creepy scene from a Mayan temple with a monster and some kind of ritual sacrifice. However, it dawned on me that it's actually Daddy using the brick saw on the back of Gramps' truck (with the tailgate down) and the rest of us carrying pavers marked to be cut (hence the 'X' on half of each of them).

What a gem. I hope she doesn't mind if I swipe it!

Happy Monday!

Now back to the grindstone...

This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

On Wednesday

Some sweet, simple things are bringing me happiness and joy on this Wednesday afternoon...

-warm orange light in piercing beams breaking through the clouds long enough for the dappling of a favorite reading spot... and a reappearance of 'Where's Waldo?'

-a small pod of fuzzy forest tent caterpillars (which could eventually become a nuisance, but are not very high in numbers in our area... yet) which made kids and chickens alike very happy.

-our latest batch of fuchsia 'kraut and an ah-ha moment to clean both crock and weights for storage: dry 'em out in the oven! Duh!

-our Fur Boy, out of hiding, eating (a little), purring, and coming around! Thanks to the universe and the good vibes I'm sure!

We are expecting an evening under some pretty dark clouds tonight, but this time they'll be physically in the atmosphere and not a production of anxiety and doom. Though the real kind may bring us a few hours of lightning and a chance for hail, the peace that has come from the upswing of our pet will get us through it.

All is well!

Right Now

Right now there's a bit of a gray cloud hanging over our home- our Kitty Boy has apparently been exposed to something toxic or poisonous and is quite ill. He hasn't eaten since at least Wednesday last week, and though he seems to be growing more responsive when we check on him he doesn't seem to be returning to his normal behaviors.

I can't help but hover around him; it's too hard to just leave him alone and let him rest! I regret ever feeling annoyed at him for kneading my tummy and trying to curl up on my face. At this point nothing would make me happier.

So today our week kicks off with fresh, chilly air pouring in from open windows, chores and the usual waiting for attention, and all our focus on our black-and-white furry family member.

Send good juju his way, y'all.

Wishing all a happy Monday.

Weekending

Sun, humidity, cloud shadows, rain. Chocolate pancakes, bacon, lots of ice water. Mulch, mud, and multiple errands and trips to the Home Depot.

It's that kind of weekend over here, folks... but I'm not complaining!

Happy weekending!

This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Some Days...

Some days you just need to stop at the park and stay a while... and some days you do and end up getting the whole park to yourself. So you try everything, you take your time, and you just hang out. Because some days it's hard being four years old... especially when being four means you have to go and get four shots in your thighs first thing in the morning.

So you try hard to be tough and brave, you do awesome, and you get the whole park to yourself... and some days Mama even lets you decide when it's time to leave...

...and so- some days- you play hard until you almost fall asleep on the swings.

A Walk Through the Garden, April 14th

Ah, what amazingness a good rainy day brings to a garden! My little leafy babies were looking a little tired and thirsty... every-other-day seemed to come with promises of rain, but when the clouds built up and spilled over they always seemed to miss us... until today!

Such a nice crop of Bermuda grass in the paths, right?

After waiting a month and then some I gave up on my eggplant seeds and bought
starts at our local nursery- we're trying ichibans this year!

So many beets!

Sunflowers!

Looks like I have some powdery mildew in my little zucchinis already. I think I may just
pull up the infected plant since it seems to be mostly contained to the one in the middle.

My grape vine, full of leaves!

How funny that it only takes a long winter to make me forget about the struggles of the last growing season... when I walk out in the garden all I see is potential. It won't be long before my photos include more troubles, like squash bugs (I've already killed a handful creeping here and there), aphids, and whatever else... but for now, wouldjya look at all that green? Love.

Right Now

Right now, I'm loving a weekend that saw...

...a duo-dino party with Pappy.

...a crowd that was just right, and a party that lasted just long enough.

...white chocolate dino fossils, edible rocks, and no chocolate frosting on any of the furniture!

...surprise sparkler candles and every waking moment with this hat.

...French toast for breakfast, windows open, and an overnight visit from Aunt KK.

...lots of hugs and windblown wild hair.

...a little brute landscaping, some trees uprooted and burned, and two new rose bushes in the front!

...lots of good helping.

Right now it's cool, rainy, and quiet. I'm embarrassed to admit how wiped out I am after the yard work we did yesterday (and maybe the party had a little to do with it, too), and I plan on spending this afternoon flipping through some fresh library books and having a second cup of coffee... and maybe making fried chicken for dinner.

Yep, that should catch me back up to things.

Wishing all a happy Monday!

This Moment

Playing along with Amanda today... in her words: 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Makin' It Happen

"So what are you going to do with yourself when both kids are in school?"

It's a question I'm asked a lot (and one I ask myself, too) lately... and I always draw a blank.

I only have one more year to figure out what the answer is... one more year before Henry goes to Kindergarten and I'm left with the majority of my day to myself.

I've had quite a plethora of helpful suggestions from people offering what they would do in my place:

"You should sell real estate."
"Why don't you go back into the (social work) field?"
"You could offer to watch other peoples' kids."
"I'd just sleep in and play video games all day."

Well, thanks friends, but if I'm being honest my heart is starting to speak up, and what it's asking for is none of the above.

Remember when I wrote about the daydreams I was having right after moving to our new place? Well, with the realization of our garden and chicken coop, I was not pacified but rather I found myself feeling further fueled.

With every consideration of another bureaucratic nine-to-fiver and the juggling game I'd have to play to maintain school schedules and home, a voice deep down started nagging- I don't want to be part of the mainstream. I don't want a traditional job. I don't want to have to leave my home to find a way to contribute to my family's well being...

Y'all, I want a productive, marketable hobby farm.

Yeah.

And during the car ride down to be with our families this past Easter weekend, I finally worked up the guts to say it out loud.

You know what the hubs said?

"That's a great idea."

I don't know what I expected to hear, but his immediate support surprised me. Really, it shocked me. I felt the tingle of possibility charge all the way down to my toes, and in that instant I knew we could actually make it happen.

I still feel giddy even now, thinking about where to go from here. My five year plan is looking almost tangible... and my sights are set on my next step: bees! So the first weekend in May you'll find me headed to a crash course in beekeeping (I used this site to find the organization and class), and after that who knows? Maybe bees this year?

Maybe!

Maybe both kids in school and some time alone at home won't be so bad after all... and maybe I really do have something valuable to contribute to our family without having to look to the mainstream!

Scratch that... I know I do... and I can't wait to make it happen.

Four!

Henny-Benny Sweetboy turned four yesterday. We hung balloons, we went to the grocery store and he picked out all his favorite things for lunch (mac'n'cheese, corn dogs, mandarin oranges) and decided on a dinner menu (mac'n'cheese, corn-on-the-cob, green peas, cookies and ice cream). We made dino cookies (and frosted them), played with Pappy, drew with sidewalk chalk, rode scooters, opened presents and stayed up past bed time.

While tucking him in at the end of the day, he said, "Mama, I wish it could be my birthday every day... but a birthday like today. I had so much fun. I wuv you Mama."

Happy birthday, Bubba. We wuv you sooooooo much.

Right Now

Right now I'm loving a weekend that saw...

...a kickoff with the burning of our most recent brush pile, a final goodbye to our petrified Christmas tree, and a few drinks by it's smoldering side with an old friend.
...an early Easter lunch with family, some hip threads on the Littles, and a(nother) new radiator installed in my car.
...a rainy night and a true Easter morning with everything feeling clean, renewed, and green.
...66 eggs hidden around the house and ready for the excited squeals, shuffles, and scurries of the hunt.
...a Sunday afternoon nap!
...homemade pizzas and long sleeves.
...early baths for the kiddos- with glow wands- and early bedtimes for us all.

Ending the weekend and beginning the week with cool gray light and electric green buds swelling from every dull corner of our world, and feeling so very full to bursting myself.

Wishing all a bit of the fullness of this Spring beauty as the week begins- Happy Monday!