Garden Babies...

We have little garden babies all over our backyard.  So many cute little things, that one day will be so rewarding.  Like a proud mother I present to you my baby pictures....

~Anna the apple tree...  Her little apples are looking more apple-y every day.  The little hint of blush is so charming, don't you think?

~Teeny Tiny baby cucumbers...  These little guys are supposed to be growing up a trellis, but I keep putting off actually buying the trellis.... maybe they will just hang?

~Very productive Zucchinis... This is my first successful year with zucchini.  Last year the squash bugs ate them, this year we are!  Take that pests!

~Sauer Family Raspberries....  The Sauer family was very kind to give us a few roots to plant in March.  Now we have three little starts that I have biiiig hopes for.  Oh please let them be as good as they are at the Sauer's house.

~Grapes...  We have three grape vines, three different kinds.  Unfortunately I have no idea what kind these are...  Until the fruit ripens, and possibly not even then, its just a guess...  One of the fun side effects of gardening with children!  The first might be pearl something, and the 2nd might be thompson, or flame?

~Citrus!  I am so very excited for these little guys.  They have a long way to go, sadly I have no clue how long.  This is our first year with citrus fruit, and so much is a guess.  The first picture is Myer Lemon, the second is Navel Orange.  Aren't the adorable?

~Tomatoes.... we have 9 different tomato plants in our gardens this year.  Several more if you count all the little tomato plants that have sprouted up like weeds everywhere my babies dropped one last year!  I am not sure which variety this one is.

There you are.  My baby book.  My sweet little darlings.  I hope I get to eat them.

My child's garden....

It started in March...
We put in a garden for our children, with all plants chosen by our children.
A place of their very own.
A mixture of edible, and colorful.
perfect.

March...
Full of ideas, hopes and dreams.
The seeds are planted, the transplants are settled. 

April ...
April brought us our first Strawberries, and our first radishes.
Sweet and Spicy

May...
Not half way through the month, and we are getting our first zucchinis.
our seconded set of radishes are just coming up.

And just for fun.... Lets look at the difference 7 days can make...

May 3rd....

May 10th...

you gotta love Sunflowers!

As the heavy heat of Arizona presses around us,
we've created a cool, green, shaded oasis for play.
Like most things in our lives, I am so looking forward to seeing how this grows.

Gratitude Mondays....

What I love today.....

~32 weeks with 8ish to go...  (from now on I am starting a count down from 10 weeks.  I need to be in the mindset that this could go till 42 weeks.  I don't want to get closer to the end and lose steam.  So from here on out its....)

~10ish to go!

~Saturday waffles with berries and cream.  I think I will love this till the end of time, and I hope I get to eat them that long!

~Sunflowers that are taller than you'd think!  (more on that later...)

~flower garden planning....

~Strawberry blackberry jam, my new favorite breakfast treat...

~Homemade mother's day brunches....

~afternoon naps...

~A little girl who designed a paper flower garden bouquet for me....

~A sweet boy that ends up snuggled next to me, no matter where he starts the night out...

~A partner who can make a beautiful brunch, then finish the evening with a fabulous coconut shrimp with piña colada dipping sauce, mango rice, and plantain dinner.  All from scratch.  Oh, I am ever so grateful for the way he cooks!

~late night salt water baths  (my addiction)


Here's to all of us starting the week, rested or not, here we go!

Friday's Nature Table

Last month I was inspired to use our egg dyes to dye wool also.  The turmeric was just too pretty to not use again.

We decided to try to use the beats also, even though I have read mostly negative things...

Our results left us with beautiful yellow, and a peachy pink that will work for certain projects that wont need to be washed.  Now we had our wool, and I couldn't think of what to do with it.  I know lots of things we could do with it... I just didn't know what I wanted to do....

Finally May came with a simple answer...  flowers for my May Table!  This was the perfect project for a worn out, too pregnant mama.  Everyone could get involved, easy, and instant gratification.  Have I mentioned before how much I love instant gratification when working with children?  I do.

We dug into my roving stash, wrapped strips of wool around branches, and the results were better than I could have imagined.  I really need to thank The Magic Onions for the inspiration here and here!

Here's to a simple craft that is fun to make, and then use!
As always, special thank you to The Magic Onions for bringing us together each and every Friday.

Zoo stories....

A few weeks ago my dear partner Matt took my babies to the Tucson zoo while I had a lovely lunch with my mother.  I was going through the pictures recently and there was something about them.  The sequence of events tells a story.  A story about life at the zoo, and a story about my husband.  Let me share it with you, as I think it goes...

Oh, how pretty.  They have peacocks.  I love peacocks.

Oh, how cool!  This guy is putting on a show!  I hope he turns around so I can see his plumage! 

 Oh, he's turning!  Wait for it......

Wait for it......

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

That's the end of the story.  No more peacock pictures.  A lot of turtle humping though.  (he even took one from his cell phone and text it to me)

Happy Thursday Everyone!

Ready or not

We have a new family member on the way.   In just two short months (or excruciatingly Looong, depending on the view) our two babies will be three.  Our family of four will be five.  (Our three bedroom house, well, that will still be a three bedroom house.)  These two little people so full of love, life and color will become older siblings.  Our balance is going to shift.  Change is on the horizon.  Will we be ready?  Will we adapt with grace?  (will we ever think of names!?!)  The doula has been hired, the midwife knows the plan.  My closets are all getting redone.  I am as set as I am going to be...   Now how to ensure that my two most precious little people are too?

A formal introduction...

Dear Tooth Fairy,
I made this card for you.  I'd like to give this to you, so when I lose a tooth you will know what my art looks like.  I am five years old.  I'd like to show you that I put some of my love in the heart, that's why I didn't sew it all the way.  I have a present for you too.
Love, 
Ava

I wrote this introductory letter for Ava on the back of a white piece of card stock.  Word for word.  My only editorial was to let her know I was running out of space.  I often wonder where her inspiration comes from.  Please excuse the poor quality of the photo, I had to sneak the card out in the middle of the night.  The details are difficult to see in this light. She has cut a heart out of shear white embroidered fabric, then attached the heart to white card stock with purple floss. I can't wait to see what Ava's gift to the tooth fairy might be....

Here's to believing in magic!

Gratitude Mondays...

What I love today.....

~31 weeks, 9ish to go...  (wow in the single digits now!)

~Transition from cool weather crops to warm weather crops in the garden...

~The fact that I have my "May" table put up, and its only May 3rd!!  (the last few months I've been off by a few weeks)

~Jam season has begun!

~A partner who is happy to spend the day weeding the front yard, and making delicious jam!  (13 jars so far)

~Ava's letter to the tooth fairy... an early introduction

~Cyrus's ability to flow from frustrated, or angry to joyful and happy...  You gotta love those water signs, especially if you are an earth sign...

~Making the move to maple syrup... so yummy.  Seriously, what took us so long?

~Apples turning red...

~Getting closets organized!!!

Here's to another week!  May it be as fruitful and organized as my weekend was!

Friday's Nature Table...

Sometimes a simple act of taking a photo can reveal a new world.
My children love "the front yard"
I prefer the back.

There is magic in the front yard.  My babies know this.
And sometimes, when I am lucky, I too can see the magic.
I can see a glimpse of this hidden world from their perspective when I look through the camera.

There are hidden holes for spiders, or gnomes...

Magical fairy flowers, with special names...

This one is called a "Cowtock" flower.  

No one knows how Ava came up with the name, as it was before she could really communicate with us.  Its just always been "Cowtock".

She spent a year taking care of Cowtocks.  Picking them, washing them, making special beds on her pillow...

There is room to drive the "fire truck" 

(Cyrus has named his red bike.. also decorated it with a basket, and a bird house..)

trees to 'climb'....

And "golden balls" for making wishes.

Thank you to The Magic Onions for bringing us together to find the magic in our natural worlds around us!

To see what they could see...

Earlier this week I let my babies run free with my camera.  Very little instruction.  No cautions.  No directions.  Just to see what they could see.  They each have a different technique but their subject matters had a common thread.  Daily things in their surroundings, and things they like to look at.

Cyrus's approach is very direct.  He walked around snapping hundreds of photos of things he loves.  Mostly extreme close up, most with out the benefit of light, or clarity.

His sister...

His baseball bat... 

His father, napping on the couch...

His mama's pregnant belly... 

His football in the library basket...

and himself!

Ava's view showed a little more experience.  Have I let her do this before?  (honestly can't remember) 

'

Her bedroom... 

The "yellow room" (play room)

A passing blimp... 

Her garden....

Anna's finest apple...

And herself!

I had so much fun hearing their squeals of delight with each photo taken.  I loved looking through the pages and pages of photos.  I learned that my house is very very very messy.  Overall a great experience.  (except for the messy part)  I look forward to doing this again with one of my better cameras, when they are older...  (Looks like I may have passed through my reckless stage)