Springing up in our garden...

I was concerned about our grape vines.  I completely forgot to prune them.  By the time I got around to it, I was worried I had waited too long.  I was wrong.  They are so happy!  I am so happy!

(can you see the tiny little spider there?)

Two of our plants are already full of these adorable little grapes!  That's very exciting news around here.

The vines are so pretty to watch grow.  It seems that overnight you can witness the changes.  Leaves and vine stretching out further and further.

In our Sunflower House we have the chance to watch the sprouts begin right before our eyes.  Its one of the benefits of having children plant the seeds.  Not all of them make it underground....

(the fact that this sunflower is wearing her seed like a hat is so highly amusing to my boy)

I love the look of the sunflower seed not quite discarded from the sprout.  What a great visual opportunity for my children to observe the growth stages from seed to plant.

The Radishes are proving to be as entertaining as always.  This little vegetable is a must for all young gardeners.  Its so easy to grow, and its sooo fast too.

There is just so much to love about growing a garden.  The anticipation can be so sweet... especially when waiting for rewards like this....

A day of rest....

Silence.

Its been a busy busy few days.
I'll talk about them another day.
Today,
rest.

Gratitude Mondays....

What I love today.....

~26 weeks, 14ish to go!!!

~A garden that's producing!

~A friend who gave us blackberries to plant!  We even had enough to share with My mother, Matt's sister, and my dear friend.  What an awesome gift.  Thank you Sauer Family, and a huge congratulations on your big news!!

~A little girl who decided to get her hair cut.  For the first time.  She's 5 and half, and brave, and beautiful!

~Happy sounds of a child's birthday party!

~A little boy who loved his birthday party.  The people, the gifts, the food, the painting.  He had so much fun!

~ I love that I wake up Sunday mornings to Matt doing yoga in the living room.   You have no idea what a departure it is from the 19 year old boy that I fell in love with.  I love that I still love him.

~I am so grateful to all of our friends and family that has made this a memorable week.  Orange party, Play dates, and Birthday party.  A big week, and a very special one at that.

Thank you to all of you!

Friday's Nature Table....

We started a project for our babies last weekend.  A garden spot of their very own.  They each chose the plants, and placement of their liking.  Matt installed the bed and the watering system.  The moment we broke ground magic began, and every day it grows. 

Come with me on a tour of our newest gardening adventure....

Start by heading past Anna, the apple tree....

Notice her fine apple blossoms...

maybe this is our year for apples?  Maybe...

To your right we have our garden bed.  Heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, and strawberry transplants mixed with petunias, marigolds, and one other (can't think of the name) are surrounded by radish seeds that just started to sprout Thursday!  Behind the garden we have a few pots of a cucumber that when they grow is expected to climb a trellis.  The trellises are still to come...

The lavender is one of Ava's favorite things....

The marigolds will hopefully offer us some bug protection as well as add lovely color.  They remind me of my grandmother....

This little gardener prefers to work with out pants today...

there is always plenty of dirt to move from one place to another...


As you move past our garden we arrive at our much anticipated Sunflower house... 

We have the ring set, the seeds planted, and watered.  Now we wait.  As the summer progresses this space will be surrounded by a wall of sunflowers.  We are all  very excited!!

And for today, and everyday we have a sacred space for my babies to sit and enjoy the feel of the earth.  Hand, toes, and body and soul in the dirt.
Perfect.

Here's to all of us finding a sacred place to dig in the dirt and grow something beautiful!

Thank you to the Magic Onions for bringing us together each and every Friday!

Orange Party

Last night we had our Orange Party for Cyrus.  He no longer nurses, and he only wears a diaper to bed at night.  These are big deals.  Momentous landmarks of a growing child, moving from toddler to preschooler.  We had a similar party for Ava when she was ready.  (Ava chose purple for her theme.)  Both grandmothers came to our house to celebrate and enjoy dinner.

On the menu...

 

  appetizers... 
~whole wheat goldfish crackers
~'healthier' cheetos
~orange soda
     dinner
~orange roughy fish tacos with
    ~orange bell peppers,
    ~fresh made mango salsa
    ~ fresh pico de gallo
~vegetarian re-fried beans and sour cream
~large salad with a roasted red pepper salad dressing
     dessert
~carrot cake cup cakes!

(notice that my mother stayed on theme and added orange hair.  love it.)

We had a truly great time!  The grandma's were loved, my babies laughed and played, Cyrus was celebrated.

Cyrus recieved a few gifts to commemorate his Orange Party.  He enjoyed opening a few orange theme gifts, and was absolutely surprised to find an orange gold fish swimming as our center piece for dinner!   He has wanted a pet to love and care for ever since the day we brought Fiona home for Ava.  I figured that a party to celebrate his big achievements was an appropriate time to start him on the path of loving a pet of his own.   (side note, I know that three is by no way old enough to really care for a fish.  I don't mind being the guardian for this little guy) Cyrus fell instantly in love.  He spent the dinner chatting with his fish in fish voice (something very high pitched) and let us know how the fish was responding.  The fish loves Cyrus very much, and is very happy. This fish is neither a boy, nor a girl, and its name is Gold Fish.   So there you have it.

 The pace of his journey is set by his own needs.  I couldn't be more please to be his mother.   Our evening was simple, small scale, joyous and just right.  Congratulations Cyrus, you keep growing, and we keep loving you.

For Cyrus....

Cyrus has an obsession with flags.  All flags.  I don't know how this started, but its with us all day, every day.

This is for you darling Flag Man.

A flag video, a checkered flag from the beach, a United States flag from old town Charleston, your collection of flags in your garden, and "The Man in his Flag jacket".  Some of your favorite things.

I love you!

Spring in my blog....

Welcome to Spring!  We have a few more weeks of kind weather here, then we head straight to HOT.  I thought that today, in honor of Spring, I would make a few changes to my blog.  Time for new pictures, and poetry.  I also decided it was time for a blogroll overhaul.  I took away a few, and added many.   I am excited to see how these blogs inspire and work in my life.

I updated my library thing, even though we have so few books this cycle.  With all of the traveling I thought we should keep things simple.  I am looking forward to our next trip, and searching for wonderful Spring inspired stories.  Any suggestions?

A few weeks ago I added the tabs up top.  They are there as a way for me to keep track of a few lists I am working on.  My BIIIG list, and  books read in 2010 can be found there.  Terribly interesting to the general population?  Nope.  Convenient for me?  Yep!

Spring is sure to be an interesting season for my family.  I'll finish up my second and (almost?) all of my third trimester before Spring officially leaves us for Summer.  Lots of parties in the coming weeks.  This is a big week for my little man.  Tomorrow we are celebrating his "Orange Party".  A party to honor his no longer nursing.  He stopped a few weeks ago, but I wanted to make sure he was done done before we had a party.   Saturday we will officially celebrate his third birthday.  Holy Cow.  My baby is three.   Does that shock and awe ever wane?  I can't imagine a time that I am not completely impressed, and slightly shocked at how fast my babies grow.  They just keep growing.

Look at tomorrows post for a tribute to one of my little man's favorite things in life.

Happy Spring to all of us!

What I am Loving today...


~25 weeks, and 15ish to go!!  I can't hardly believe how fast this is going!

~I am so grateful to be home.  Lots of traveling, visiting two coasts in one week.  I am looking forward to finding our rhythm again.

~Purple Moon Cheddar cheese.  Oh My Goodness.

~My growing garden!!  I can't wait to tell you all about that later!

~"The Man is much more now"  This is how Cyrus announces that he's older to anyone who cares to listen.  Yes, Cyrus turned three, and we are all very pleased about it!

~Ava, as always is very busy making things.  Gifts for friends and family is her passion.  Her generous heart is so inspiring.

~I love that Matt canceled our planned dinner at the last moment, and rushed to the store so I could eat what I really wanted.  Cheese, crackers, avocado, and fruit salad.  Mmmmm. 
Thank you Matt!

Here's to Spring, and finding my blogging feet again!

Away we go....

We are all packed and ready now.  We leave tomorrow morning to fly across country for celebration, and exploration.  My baby sister turns 30!  We are very excited to be getting together.  I've never had the chance to visit South Carolina before, I hear its beautiful!  I'll be back here in about two weeks. 

Have a great Mid March everyone!!!!

Friday's Nature Table....

Friend or Foe

As a new gardener I know that there are pests whose very existence is considered a personal affront to my green lovely babies... but come on now.  This guy is so cute!  Yes, yes he is eating my already distressed lemon tree.  And yes you can see the damage all around him.  But this is Arizona.  I hardly ever see cute fun bugs anymore.  I was out in the garden mid morning  camera in hand, trying to capture the new growth on film when I caught him.  He was staring right at me.  I took a few pictures then ran to get my babies from nap time.

First they just watched him from a distance.  But soon each one of my children had their own idea of just what the grasshopper needed.

Ava was sure that gentle coaxing was the way to get him out of the tree.  Then she ran off to find some big leaves to entice the little fella to follow her.

Cyrus really just wanted to poke it.  Then laugh.  And laugh.  "he touched me mama!"  I stepped in and bravely (read: squealing on the inside like a little hen.  I used to play with bugs all the time when I was little. It turns out that skill is gone.  Once I had him in my hand and he squirmed ever so slightly I Panicked.  I completely dropped him like he was going to eat me.  I handle human poop {diapers, potty chairs }on a daily basis with out batting an eyelash.  Here this one inch grass hopper has me acting like a 1950s cliche)  where was I?  Oh yes, I bravely moved him down to the mint.  A much better place for him.  In all of my bravado I lost him, so my babies set out to find him.

Ava ran off again to get a bigger better leaf, and Cyrus looked under rocks.  "check every hiding place!" Ava yelled.

We did find him again....

Back on the SAME leaf.  This little guy has a Napoleon complex.  He's the chihuahua of bugs.  And he's right, he may be tougher than me.  But don't shhhh lets not let that get out.

Thank you to The Magic Onions for bringing us together every Friday to celebrate nature!

How to make Mud Babies....

The other morning as I was going about my day I heard loud giggling.  The kind of giggle that makes a novice mother smile, and a seasoned mother stop what she is doing and head toward the sounds.  My babies were found out in our backyard enjoying the results of spring rain.  Mud.  Like any reasonably responsible mother would, I grabbed my camera and quietly took pictures making sure not to interrupt their game.

After they were all through with fun we had more fun (at least I did) hosing them off.  Was it absolutely necessary that I post 14 pictures?  Yes, yes I think so.  I have several more on file, but I think these 14 illustrate my point just fine.

Making Mud Babies.  A simple example of 'don't sweat the small stuff'.