Stuff

I'm still around and still love my little blog but can't seem to find the time to post as much as I'd like.  I can say how busy I am but I've read several articles about how "Everyone is so busy" blah, blah, blah, pretty much to stop saying how busy you are, because everyone is!  Do you agree?  Should we talk about how busy we are or should we keep it to ourselves??

Anyway, here are some random thoughts and stuff.... (I said "stuff" like Brittany Murphy character Tai in Clueless.  HAHAHA  I crack myself up!)

Baby Bee was a complete pleasure to care for today.  Absolutely the happiest baby on the plant.  All she did today was smile and laugh at everything.  Everything!

Still no fence around my garden, lets just say I don't want to talk about it, or how all the plants I grew from seeds are about dead.  

Keeping up with my goal to read 75 books this year.  I've read  36 so far. The last book I read almost made me puke. Literally.  I don't recommend it.  Currently I am reading this, it's OK.

Digging this new to me blog

During the thousands of inches of rain we had this past weekend, I was able to catch up on all three of the kids school scrapbooks.  YAY scrapbooking, boo because we couldn't get outside and get that fence built!

Recently on Pinterest, I saw this.  It's not the first time I've read or heard how it takes a certain amount of days to stop a habit, create a new habit, etc.  I'm going to give it a try to get back into doing a yoga routine each day.  For years I did yoga at least five days a week and then I just stopped.  I don't really know why I stopped.  Has anyone tried this?  Did it work?

For the love of Pete!  It's raining again!  

Another Birthday Celebration

May is a busy month for birthdays in our family, my sisters, The Husbands, and A's.  Hope I'm not forgetting anyone!?!

We celebrated daddy's birthday last week.  This husband of mine never wants anything, so finding a gift I know he'll love is almost impossible.  He's a simple man with a few hobbies.  Model railroading (which I would never know what to get him for that) and beer brewing.  I can always buy him a beer brewing kit or some sort of equipment he needs, but I've done that so many times before.

When you're not sure, that's when you turn to Pinterest (which is probably the most awesome thing to ever hit the Internet) and there I found some inspiration to make this:

I know he loved it.  A gift worth so much more than beer supplies, don't you think? He brought it to work to hang in his office.  

Happy Birthday sweet and wonderfully good husband of mine. 

Birthday Bubble Burst

On Monday A had her 10th birthday.  I set up the dining room table with gifts, flowers, cards, a huge balloon, and a cake.  I was happy!  I knew she would be too.

Each year I try to make their birthdays special.  It's not about the presents or the flowers or if the cake is homemade or from a box.  It's about showing them how much they mean to us, sharing a meal, singing happy birthday, enjoying a delicious treat.  The gifts are special and tradition but not whats most important.

A was very happy with everything we did and everything she received.  

It was a nice afternoon and night.

Then the next morning my bubble was burst and her birthday glow gone.

A has an itouch and in the morning she and her friends text each other, sometime they face time.  Most mornings I don't mind and it's kind of cute the things they share.  However, Tuesday morning I knew something was wrong.  I waited till we were alone and I asked what was going on, she burst into tears.  One of her classmates, and a good friend, happened to have her birthday on Tuesday and she received an iphone.  A was so upset.  She told me this friend will brag about it all day and that when this child brags it bothers her.  I said I know that can feel annoying to you, is there a chance you feel jealous?  Do you feel your gifts are not as good as an iphone?  She insisted that it was the fact that this other child was going to brag all day and she would have to hear it.  I gave her some advice.  What more can I do? 

I hate that my child feels this way.  I hate that there is a sense of competition.  I hate that I am that parent who wont buy my child a phone at 10 years old.  I am by no means a perfect parent, but I cant help but sometimes wonder what parents are thinking?  What is their thought process?  Is it, I feel it's safer that my child has a phone, is it, every other kid has a phone?  What is it?  I know for myself that when I question something I was so sure about before, it is often because I say to myself "But I see all the other children are doing it too, have it too." etc. (the reason A has an itouch. Not something I thought was necessary but saw all her classmates had some sort of phone or itouch)  

I also do not want to be so judgmental about other parents but I still wonder and sometime not in such a positive way.   I know I am judged by parents because my kids go to bed early, because I have asked parents to please not let my child play certain video games, because I have questioned families who I know have guns and weapons in their house how they are kept safe from the children.  Yes I have done that!  These are my kids, my responsibility, the loves of my life.  I will ask you if you have guns in your house.  I will get to know you before my kids go to your house.  OK, so I'm getting off the point of this post.  That's a post for another day.  Sorry about that.

Anyway, with some advice for A she came home happy and said that the other child didn't brag as much as she thought but, and I quote, "She did have to say it as loud as she could that she got a phone for her birthday during morning meeting." and if you could have seen her face you'd know how she felt about that. 

This is why my bubble burst.  I was riding high on my daughters happiness and then she was feeling what I can only think was inferiority and jealousy.  It's painful to see her that way.

I sometimes feel I am alone in a world of trying for simplicity in a community of too much, too soon.......

One Special Little Lady

Turns 10 today!

Some surprises for when she gets home!!

A Day in the Life of Baby Bee

After breakfast, I practice my rolling over from back to front and front to back.  I really want to get to that owl!  I want to put it in my mouth.

Later, after my Auntie Shelley took me for a long walk outside in the fresh air and sunshine, I played in my exersaucer.  I love to eat the birdie!  I bat, bat, bat at her and then I put her in my mouth.  She' my favorite. I know how to move my body from anywhere in the exersaucer so I can get to the birdie.

Later after a nice nap, I play on the floor.  I'm strong and can sit for a long time all by myself, but the big people still put all these blankets around me.  I guess they're afraid I might fall over and bang my cute little head.  I don't mind the blankets because sometime I like to move down to my tummy and it's nice and soft all around me.  Cozy!

I'm seven months old now and can do lots of new things.  Soon I will be able to crawl, I can pull my knees up and my arms are strong!

I'm sure once I crawl I'll be back here to show you.  Auntie Shelley is always taking pictures of me.  I don't mind at all because I'm happy and like when people talk to me and spend time with me and love me!

Garden Work, Plans, and Time

I realized today as I was walking Baby Bee along the trail on this beautiful Spring day, that not only have I not blogged, but I also never gave an update to the end of Spring Break!  I guess it's because we didn't do anything exciting to share other than spend time at home with each other and lots and lots of yard work.  I'm beginning to think we may have made too many plans for the outside this year.  The excitement is beginning to feel a little overwhelming.  

The ideas were brewing all Fall and Winter.  The Husband and I getting more and more excited about each.  Some are his "babies" and some are mine.

I wanted chickens and bees and more garden beds (as  you know) and a compost bin made from pallets (half built).  The husband wanted to grow hops and build a trellis for them to grow on. 

Hop Plants

He wanted to mulch again where I was OK not doing it unless we hired someone to spread it out.  The space we mulch is too HUGE for one person to mulch on their own, but he insisted on doing it.  It's labor intensive and takes days.  

(and this is only a small part of it!) 

It looks great but I think it's time for us to begin planting some low growers and spreaders to fill in some of the space and I think it will look nice too. The both of us don't know where to start and it's on the back burner for this year when we have chickens to tend to, a fence to build around the garden beds, bees to check on every few weeks, and a hop trellis which is going to be huge and made from many pieces one would build a chain link fence with (hops get heavy and need the support).  Whew, I'm exhausted just writing about it.

With only weekends to get most of this done, we're a little behind and my beautiful plants I grew from seeds (Which I planted too early.  Another lesson learned) are not doing well.  Every time I look at them I'm close to tears.  

We're trying to do one huge thing a weekend.  This weekend (Sunday hopefully) we'll start building the fence around the beds. 

(and obviously we might want to start working on the lawn, eek embarrassing)

However, it is Orthodox Easter so there is a little bit of guilt about that.  Thankfully our plans to see family is at dinner time.  So we have after church and before dinner.  Don't know how much we'll get done but I'm thankful for a start.  Those poor plants need to get outdoors!  If there weren't so many I would carry them all outside each day and bring them in at night.  I also thought of building a cold frame but when I started talking about going to the store to get this that and the other things to build it, The Husband immediately said "I'll start building the fence this weekend".  Hmm, I'm thinking he doesn't want me to spend any more money?????  

Those chicks of ours are no longer cute little fuzz balls, but gangly not so cute tweens.  The coop is in but we have to move the swing set 

before they can deliver it here.  Yet another "job" that must be done.  Ugh...  Not sure when we'll get to that. Maybe next weekend so we can move these girls outside.

I'm helping in every way that I can but so much of the work needs muscles and I am a weakling.  This has nothing to do with my laziness this is purely the fact that I have no strength in my upper body.  None.   

I have faith it will all get done.  Eventually....  I just hope it's before my plants die and the chickens end up living in the house!!