And Another Thing...

Whew! What a great weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity.  On Friday, we went to our orthodontist's annual ics skating party.  I didn't get any pictures of this, I was way too busy eating pizza, pigging out at the chocolate fountain and ice skating with the kiddos to photograph anything.  Suffice it to say, it rocked!

When we got home, we had to bathe the girls and get them into bed so we could all get up early for Olivia's First Communion!  But first, I put Olivia's hair up in rag curlers.  It was so much fun and she looked so cute!

So when I was done, I shooed her off to bed and finished getting the house ready.  Then we were up early and bustin' our butts to get out the door on time for Olivia's mass.

Ben and Braidon served this mass so I thought I'd include ths shot of them and our beautiful church. 

Olivia in the dress my mom made for her, the sweater I knit for her and my own First Communion viel re-made to be a little more modern.

Olivia with my dad, because my dad made his First Communion this spring too!   After 40 some odd years, he finally relented and became a Catholic.  Olivia actually made her first communion at the Easter vigil with my dad.  This is technically her second communion.

Olivia with Grandma and Grandpa.

Olivia with Grammy and Papaw.

Olivia with Mama and Daddy.

It was a great mass,  Olivia got to read the second reading and enjoyed spending the morning in the limelight for her special event.   It's not very often in our house that you get a whole day just for you!  After mass, we went home and started getting ready for the party, of which I have no pictures beacause I have apparently taken leave of my senses.  I don't know what's wrong with me, people...

On Sunday, we got up and a bee-yutiful morning!  Oliver's parents stayed the night, so Oliver made french toast for everyone to selebrate Mother's Day.  It's super yummy french toast, and uf you ever spend the night at our house, chances are, you'll wake up in the morning to find Oliver in the kitchen, frying up a batch.  Yes, he deep fries his french toast.  Yum-o!

Then we spent the morning outside chatting with Oliver's parents and generally enjoying the first really fabulous day we've had this spring.

Good times :o)

How does our garden grow...

We decided on the spur of the moment to plant some corn this year.  The kids are really anxious to see how it goes.

After Olivia and I read Jody's Beans over and over again, we put in our own bean tee-pee and I am ardently hoping that we don't somehow get a baby at the end of our story!

A lovely shot of our very full garden.  We didn't get very much last year due to the mild weather we had, so we're hoping that things heat up a bit more this year.

Rainbow chard is so pretty!  It's almost a shame that we're going to eat it.

I can't tell you how much I love walking outside just before we sit down to a meal and picking my greens right out of the garden.  There is definitely something wonderful about the burst of flavor and satisfying about the crunch of a very fresh salad.

This is my version of the upside down tomato planter.  I used this tutorial to make them and decided to paint them in ROY G BIV.  Some of you know how  much I adore arranging things in rainbow color order. 

I planted 3 strawberry plants last year and this year we are actually seeing a few berries!  I know I should make that little beetle go away, but he was so happy perched on the berry that I had to take a picture first!

These are the twenty strawberry plants that I planted this year, so we won't get any berries until at least next year.  I'm planning to purchase 40 more at the plant sale next year which will hopefully make our strawberry jam free in a few years!

What I'm Pondering...

I have a few things on my mind today and if you have any answers or solutions, I'd love to hear them!

- Why does the mom down the street think it's okay to ship her daughter off to my house to "play" uninvited and then suddenly remember that she has to run to to the store so, "Would it be okay if she just stays there?"  This is happening several times a week lately.  And what's more, she basically refuses to let my girls play at her house. 

- Exactly who is it that keeps peeing on the toilet seat and then not flushing?  All six of the other people that live in this house steadfastly deny it and I know it's not me.  Taking my cue from Sherlock Holmes, we must have a house elf lacking in bathroom manners.

- Why is it bad to have pizza every night?  In my entire life I have yet to figure this out.  It's the perfect food, has the capability to include all the food groups and then some, and tastes different each place you get it.  What's not to love?

- Why do the loud, rude people get all the attention and results?  Shouldn't we be listening to the people who are kind and compassionate and ignore those who refuse to act accordingly?

- What should I plant in my garden this year?  Should we dig a big pumpkin patch?  Do I abandon tomatoes entirely?  What about cold frames, yea or nay?

Have a great weekend everybody!

Wordless Wednesday: The Sisters

Beach Blanket to Go

This blanket is from Amanda Soule's new book Handmade Home. 

The backing is a towel that belonged to my Mother-in-Law as a teenager.  She gave it to me a while back and I think this is a great way to put it to use!  The top side is made from thrifted pillowcases and sheets.  It turned out that 8 pillow case size pieces was exactly the right size for the towel. 

It looks like this is the perfect place for a pile of girls to have fun outside!

A Snake in the Grass

(photos by Benny and Braidon)

What happens when there are Chicken Dots

The dishes (and laundry) must wait...

Fairy house construction is put on hold...

The wonderful outside must do without us for a while...

The sandbox gets lonely... 

When you have two other sisters who also have Chicken Dots, sometimes you have to take your own temperature...

Thanks to all of you who have sent us kind thoughts and prayers this week.  The girls are definitely on the mend and we will be back at full force soon!

PS Sorry about the picture quality, I didn't have time to mess with my camera to get better pics.  I'm seeing too many dots these days :o)

The not so little garden

Giant Pumpkin plant that is just not blooming.  We really hope that we get decent sized pumpkins to share with our friends.

Tiny pie pumpkins.  Oliver has really been encouraging these to grow because he loves my made-from-scratch pumpkin pies.  He's been pollinating them himself every time he walks by! 

The Brandywine tomatoes that I am not very hopeful about.  They are showing no signs of turning red and we're running out of warm weather fast.

This pretty little flower is a volunteer just outside the garden boxes.  I cannot for the life of me remember it's name(Kerry, help me out here!)

Our Little Garden

Our garden is really growing and we're seeing some of the "fruit" of our labors.  It has been such a fun and amazing experience to have this garden and we're not even close to being done yet!

Do you remember what it looked like just a few weeks ago?  The difference is astounding!

A little tiny cucumber.  So cute!

Benny and Braidon and Olivia have quite a few tomatoes growing for the 4-H contest.  Unfortunately, my Brandywine tomatoes are not growing yet and I am a little concerned.

Hello little pumpkin guy!  You will make a lovely pie in a few months.   By the way, if you are local to us, I think we're going to have a lot of pie pumpkins to give away.

We have a couple of little strawberries, but we expect a much bigger haul in the second year.  Frankly, I am surprised that we even got two this year.

We have quite a few green beans right now.  Not that they ever make it in to the dinner table,  the kids have developed a habit of walking by and pulling a green bean off to snack on.  I am not complaining about that one little bit!

Junior Handyman

Saragh help move dirt for a while on Saturday.  I think it must have been the new shirt that inspired her!