How does your garden grow?

My Mother's Day gift (well, besides the Dennis DeYoung concert) this year was a day of gardening. I thought it was too early to start, but Dan argued all the seed packets say "plant after May 10" and it would be the perfect activity for us on Mother's Day after church and brunch (my two Mother's Day requirements). So that's what we did!

Dan tilled the spot I chose at the edge of our back lot and put up a fence. On our way back from brunch we picked up my plants and seeds and then we got to work. I wish I was able to work in the dirt and take pictures because the boys were so adorable with their little shovels and tools. Of course, it wasn't as cute when Simon would pull plants right out of the ground as soon as I put them in, but we had a really good time together!

And I got a lovely garden out of it. I have no idea what I'm doing (as evidenced by the ridiculous number of broccoli plants I put in) and who knows how it will all turn out, but it was fun to plant and we are enjoying watching things pop through the ground and grow. This year will be our learning experience. Next year we will know more and hope to add berry bushes around the grounds also.

We planted: tomatoes, sweet peppers, green peppers, green beans, wax beans, two kinds of sweet onions, two kinds of podded peas, cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, lettuce mix, carrots, corn, broccoli, broccoli, broccoli, broccoli, and did I mention broccoli?

My garden

Two weeks in, I took the camera with me to check the progress. I was surprised at what was coming up. I think I expected a complete FAIL in the back of my mind - a Peter Rabbit ravaged lot or birds all fat and happy from digging up and eating my seeds. Instead I found sprouts and plants that were bigger and healthier than when I put them in. Despite two killing frosts and one freeze (and a stubborn husband who ignored the news forecasts and my pleas to find something to cover my garden with) it survived!

Lettuce

Beans

Broccoli (with yet more broccoli in the background)

Peas
My Uncle Howard, gardener extraordinairre who wins a blue ribbon for his peppers every year at the Westmoreland County Fair, says my peas are putting his to shame. So yay!

Corn

Amazing to think this will be "knee high in July"

Our little gardening crew

Boys and boobs

Jesse's 3rd birthday is a week from tomorrow. I wish I could make time stand still.

Jesse is nursing. The boys loves to nurse and nursing meets his needs and I'm happy to continue so we're not considering weaning at this point. Sometimes I ask Jesse how long he will nurse though. Just to satisfy my own curiosity.

Usually when I ask he tells me "Forever!" and then as I go up the chain of boys/men he knows he says he will nurse when he's that old... Landon (4), Joseph (6), Brandon (10), Chris (13), Daddy... he says yes to all of them.

Last night I asked if he liked to nurse and he told me YES! Then I asked how long and he told me, "For a while." That was different so I went up the line. "Will you nurse when you are as old as Landon?" "Yes! Yes, Mama!" "What about when you're as old as Joseph?" He thought about this for a little bit and then answered, "No. I think I'll stop nursing before then."

That's different. And I'm ok with it. I guess he's set his weaning date (for now) sometime between 4 and 6. Works for me!

Good morning! Let's eat!

Simon suddenly woke up the other morning and decided to eat. Well, he really didn't decide to eat until dinnertime, but when he did, he packed it away! For a while we've been offering all kinds of foods. Sure we waited until he was almost 9 months, knowing breastmilk is best for him and he doesn't really need any other nutrition. But we didn't expect him to decide that breastmilk was all he really wanted. He had gnawed on a graham cracker or two, but that was as far as his interest in solids went.

The other evening though was a different story. I put some steamed broccoli in front of him and you would have thought he met his soulmate! He couldn't get it in fast enough. Blueberries were a hit also. More graham crackers... then we stopped. The fear of the unknown diaper to be got the best of me and he sure was a mess anyway. He's been doing really well getting his sippy of water to his mouth also.

Like we did with Jesse, we went with the Baby Led Weaning method of introducing solids this time around. No purees, no spoons, no Mama Led Feeding. It's all up to Simon to decide if he wants to eat and how much he wants to get into his mouth. He's in charge and it's going really well.

I'm back, Baby!

Ok. So maybe "back" isn't the term for it. But it's been a while since I've written here. And here I am.

After the car accident in October, I was in a fog of sorts. The pain in my neck and shoulder made it very hard to concentrate on anything - at home and at work. I was irritable, short-tempered, tired, pretty miserable. Around the 8 week mark after the accident I started to be able to use my right arm to open doors and hold the baby without wincing. It was a bit of a turning point. From there the headaches started to be less persistent and slightly less crushing. My shoulder and neck started to improve. Dr. Matijasic cleared me to go back to the gym, only lower body at first. It was hard to get back into the groove. It's amazing how fast what little conditioning I had achieved was lost. For the most part I was stretching and walking/running the treadmill and nothing else.

Last night I decided to attempt Zumba again. I've missed it so much! It was hard. Probably harder than the first time I ever tried Zumba. I couldn't do most of the arm routines without pain. That's not good. But I did well with the lower body songs and had a lot of fun! Some of the songs are new and Julie has mixed up the routine a bit since I was there last the Thursday before the accident, but when the familiar songs came on I got right back into the sambas and cumbias I know so well.

I made a new friend too! New Year's Resolution #4 in action - Put Myself Out There More. I ran into Zoe at the water fountain when we both ran out of water at the same time during class. We talked about the previous song, a little Russian-inspired mix, that was hard hard hard!!! After class we talked for a while. She has a hell of a handshake. I liked her immediately. When she asked if I was a college student, I liked her even more!

It's a start... back to Zumba, back to blogging, trying to get back to life as it was before. I still cannot wear Simon which breaks my heart. He was 7 months old when I stopped wearing him - prime time for babywearing fun and convenience! It's a shame. I wonder - if I am able to wear him again - if he will not want to be worn since we've been out of it for so long. I hate to think that my babywearing days are over forever and I can't even remember what we did the last time he was snuggled up tight against me in the ring sling. I'm trying to hope for the best.

I still have pain. When I attempt things that were taken for granted before to get back into the swing of things like Dr. Matijasic recommends (like Zumba), I have more pain. I guess I am not ready for some things yet.

Oh so sparkly!

Update to I can finally clean green!

When I got home from work yesterday the neighbors were over with news of Bob's passing. Since the kids were being entertained I took a few minutes to give the bathroom a quick cleaning. I have always enjoyed cleaning with vinegar since it reminds me of my Nanny Fulton, but going beyond vinegar and water was very enjoyable! Using the baking soda and Dr. Bronner's in the toilet and sink smelled divine as did my disinfectant spray (toilet) and APC spray (sink). It was a satisfying feeling to know the bathroom was as clean as it would be using Lysol toilet bowl cleaner and Scrubbing Bubbles but it was A) chemical free and B) a lot less expensive. Dan had already used the new laundry soap with good results and we knew the dishwasher detergent worked well. I am pleased all around. I should have done this years ago!

Now, what to do with all these chemical cleaners I have lying around?

I can finally clean green

I've had the ingredients for my cleaners lying around the house for a while, but with our crazy schedule I hadn't gotten around to making them. Since we had no plans yesterday and Jesse was next door playing with Bubba, I put Simon down for a nap and got busy!

First I took care of our laundry. Laundry soap of Borax, A&H washing soda and grated soap (I used some Fels Naptha and Ivory though I think I'll just stick with all Ivory next time - it grated much nicer). I must give a shout out to my awesome seester here. She bought me a really swell food processor 8 years ago when I moved out on my own and until this weekend I never once used it. I figured it out this weekend and I can see me using it much more often in the future! To think I've been mixing my meatloaves by hand! Anyway, next was fabric softener. I chose lemongrass as my essential oil for this. I hope Dan likes it!

Dishwasher detergent - Borax, A&H baking soda, sea salt and citric acid (hard to find and pricey so I used unsweetened lemonade Kool-Aid). Vinegar in the rinse assistant resivoir.

Disinfectant - Dr. Bronner's (peppermint - delish!), water, tea tree oil.

All purpose cleaner - water, vinegar, sweet orange oil. Smells awesome!

Water and vinegar for cleaning glass and washing fruits and veggies (this was standard before my interest in green cleaning).

For the bathroom I'll just shake some baking soda, squirt some Dr. B's, spray with disinfectant (toilet) or APC (sink, shower) and scrub/wash. Easy peasy!

Immediately after I finished making my cleaners as I was cleaning Borax off the kitchen floor, Jesse got a hold of a bottle of APC and took off into the living room to spray Simon. He must have thought he was dirty. Dan went after him. He wanted to know what would possess him to squirt his brother. Eh, at least I know Simon was ok. It's not like he sprayed him with Scrubbing Bubbles, Febreze, Clorox Anywhere or any of that other crap I am so happy to be rid of in my house!

Much thanks (and love) to Deirdre and Shelley for inspiration and awesome recipes.

Whirlwind weekend!

Whew! It wasn't fun getting up for work this morning, but I think I'll appreciate some peace and quiet at my desk today. This weekend kicked my butt!

Friday morning I hosted my first mom's group event. Seven moms and fifteen kids descended upon the firehall for a tour. The kids climbed all over the engines and rolls of hose, tried on fireman pants and boots, met Mr. Timmy and Mr. Eric (who were more than awesome, by the way) and then ate Subway sandwiches and cookies and ran around the back meeting room screaming and giggling. It was a blast! I met a bunch of new moms and everyone seemed to have a great time. I know Jesse was very proud to show off "his" firehall.

After trying to get the boys down for a nap for more than 2 hours, it was time to meet my parents for dinner. Despite being wound up and unnapped, both boys did great at Bob Evans. I had to take Jesse out once to talk to him about the difference between inside voices and outside voices. Otherwise, they were angels. Jesse's third two year molar popped through on Thursday too, so it's even more impressive how well behaved he's been.

Then off to the Pirates game. The first MLB game for either boy. What a fun time! Dan didn't come so it was me and the boys, my mom and dad, Jen, John, Johnny, Joseph (my older sister and her family), Ashley, Lee, Landon, Anna Lisa (my younger sister, her boyfriend and kids), and John's friend Chet and his girlfriend. We went to Guest Services to get Jesse a bracelet with his name and my phone number and his seat location. I told him it was his special bracelet for going to his first game and he wore it most of the weekend. He loved the game! He really liked the pierogie races even though our pick, Chester, didn't win. Simon enjoyed watching all the people and hearing the crowd. He nursed through a few innings and rode along in the mei tai.



We took the kids to the playground in the park and Jesse loved playing baseball with his cousins and climbing on the cool playground equipment. He was fired up! After that I was beat and needed to go. We got to the car just in time to catch a few of the fireworks (it was Skyblast which is a concert and fireworks after the game) and then saw more from the parkway. Both boys stayed awake the whole way home and Jesse screamed bloody murder in the shower with Dan. I can't blame him - it was after 10:30 at night - but a few neighbors asked what was wrong the next day.

Saturday I went with Beth to shop gyms. We've decided to join Club Julian. I'm excited! I really hope we have the determination to stick with it. I feel so much better when I am physical.

Then Dan and I and the boys were off to a luau in Monroeville for my mom's group, MoMo. It was at a lovely park with a great playground and baseball and soccer fields for Jesse to run. Simon and I played in the shade on a blanket, Jesse made a little girlfriend, and we ate wonderful food. The picnic was big so it was hard to talk to any one person for too long, but it was nice to see moms I've connected with before.

Sunday after visiting next door with the Lukeharts I made all my cleaners while Simon napped and Jesse played next door. Laundry soap, fabric softener, dishwasher detergent, disinfectant, all purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, fruit and veggie wash... I am done making cleaners for a while. It's nice to be done with all of that!

Later we took the kids to Eat 'N Park where they did great again. Jesse impresses me so often! Simon sat in a highchair with his kozypal cover to help hold him up. He is sitting up more and more these days! He got a little restless but then Jesse played a kind of peek a boo game with him. Jesse was looking across the table at Simon squealing, "What are you up to over there???" and Simon would peek from behind his toy suctioned to the table in front of him and giggle and screech. They were too cute together. They ended up with their chins on the table going back and forth, smiling, giggling, entertaining each other. Brothers! Awesome!

Off to play putt putt for the first time as a family. That was fun. I can't even tell you who enjoyed it most - Dan and I laughed at Jesse so much, Simon tried eating all the plants he came in contact with, Jesse loved his red golf ball and putter. We got ice cream at Dairy Queen afterwards and then came home to collapse into bed.

Wow! We have done so much this summer! It's been fun.

Granola

How much granola can one person eat? It's my new love. I've always loved granola bars and things like that, but now I have entered the world of real granola. It's been about two months and I don't think I've gone a day without honey vanilla organic granola on Stonyfield yogurt or Kashi Cocoa Beach straight up or rolled oats and almonds and raisins mixed in with my strawberries.

I've always been more on the crunchy side, but now friends who joke and call me "so granola" actually have a point!