Hey everyone, grab your mom's flip flops and come see the garden.

Things are getting bigger in the garden.  They are even bigger than these shots, but I can't seem to update fast enough.  The tomatoes are halfway up their cages and some have baby tomatoes on them. Mason has harvested many red, ripe strawberries and has been generous to share one or two with me.

The herb garden is thriving with dill, lemon balm, chamomile, lavender, sage, oregano, echinachea, rosemary, and thyme.

We've made vegetable dip with our dill, flavored water with the lemon balm, and shared bouquets of lavender with friends.  We've also harvested and enjoyed several artichokes from this booming plant.  The first night we made them Mason said, "I don't want to try them.  Maybe when I am bigger."  The last time we made them he said, "I am brave and I will try them."  After a bite he said, "Hmmm, not bad. (a quote from his Charlie and Lola book)"  Then he proceeded to enjoy several more buttery bites.

Our pumpkins from last year were rototilled into the soil up on the hill and have regenerated into this raging pumpkin patch.  Mason likes to visit the baby pumpkin and give it a little pat. Hopefully we will have several more in time for his pumpkin patch birthday party in October. 

Snap peas, snow peas, and swiss chard have been harvested and enjoyed from the side garden and sunflowers have popped up from rouge seeds from last year's plants.  I prefer cooked chard, but Mason likes to grab a leaf and eat it like a lollipop as he strolls around the yard.

I made a flower fairy with our hollyhocks.

We harvested and enjoyed several carrots.  Mason practiced his photography here and actually got a shot with my head in it.  (Usually he gets everyone's mid-section.) 

 

Next time  you're are in our neighborhood stop by and see things in person.  We'll have plenty more tasty treats to share.

Let's go check the blueberries...

Mason has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the day when the blueberries are no longer green and he can pick them.  We went through a week of picking and trying a green berry each day until he finally decided (with a little persuasion from Mommy who told him we couldn't play outside if he was going to continue to pick the green ones) to wait patiently for this magical day to arrive.  Early this week we ventured out first thing in the morning to inspect the plants.
Mason searched high and low and found this...

Tah Dah! BLUEBERRY! 

And not just one, but a 2 and a half year old sized handful of them.

Nap Time!

I don't have a photo of my nap today so you will just have to use your imagination as you read on, but here is a special highlight from the week: 

Josh and Mason at Daddy's Teacher of the Year Hoopla this week...

So I am mere hours from the beginning of week 39 in this pregnancy and am wondering just how long this little girl will decide to rummage around in my belly like a scene from a science fiction movie.  Mason leaned in and said to her before bed tonight, "Hey baby you want to come out and get some hugs!"  She responded by giving me a swift kick in the ribs, which was followed by a big "pat" from Mason as he ran off to the other side of the room in his overtired, mischievous state.  Ah, siblings.

After all the hype of being put on bed rest, medication and an overnight stay in the hospital your brain begins to keep telling you, "Be careful she's not ready yet, don't overdue it or she will just pop out."  After countless appointments and excited nurses and doctors, "You made it to 34 weeks, 36 weeks, etc. no more medicine, she'll be here anytime now..."  I decided it was time to get things in order around the house.  I was in the clear, no need to overly worry about doing something other than lay around.  We unearthed the baby gear from the garage, cleaned it, did endless loads of laundry to wash all the clothes that friends generously gave us, set up her crib, made Mason's baby book, packed a hospital bag, fielded many a question and phone call about current baby status, ventured to the park with Mason by myself, rode slides in the heat with him, spent some days with Mason playing and visiting local hot spots, went on a shopping spree to take advantage of a sale to buy clothes that I can hopefully wear this summer after I am no longer pregnant and the one pair of maternity shorts I own are laid to rest in peace, boycotted purchasing any more maternity clothes even though the temperature has risen and most days are too hot for the maternity clothes I do own, did some gardening, wrangled Mason at the Teacher of the Year Award Celebration as it was finally Josh's turn to be in the spotlight and missed all the fabulous things being said about him because Mason was wild with boredom from sitting through a not so kid friendly event and running across the back of the room to hide in the corner and then squealing as he ran the other way...still this girl decides to hang out.  

She is a mystery.  I am done predicting her arrival or thinking it is right around the corner as they tell me I am already 4-5 cm dialated and they hope I live close to the hospital.  I am done thinking contractions have started when it seems to be that she is just taking advantage of the space she has created for herself and stretching out to full capacity for a bit to just fall asleep and let me realize that she was merely being an uncomfortable space hog and not really preparing to come out and meet us.  

I mean why wouldn't she want to meet us?  This is the question that brings me out of my rant and to the point of my original post idea.  Why wouldn't she want to come and meet her big brother who decided that while he was boycotting nap time and I was trying to take advantage of such a joyous occasion he would bring me his new duck umbrella because it is raining in the house and I wouldn't want to get all wet.  He opened it and set it over me on the bed.  In my exhausted state I didn't even care until he decided that it needed "fixing".  He is obsessed with being quite the "handy man" and proceeded to climb all over me to get to all sides of the umbrella to "fix" it complete with a running commentary of all his "fixing".  When this was complete he found his "flute" (recorder) and "sang" me a song on it with a glorious ear splitting sound.  Needless to say nap time was not in the cards for any of us today.  

Happy Mother's Day

You never know what an evening at home will be like, especially when Grandmas are around. We want to wish you a Happy Mother's Day. Thank you for making our lives magical and filled with laughter. Isn't that what it's all about? (it's not that Hokey Pokey.)

We love you Grandma and Grammy!

Jen, Josh, and Mason

Simple Pleasures

So the photos just don't fullly express the joys of ladybugs.  

I hope this does the trick.

Hello Ladies!

I love my boys. They are so good to me and find great ways to make we smile.  Yesterday after a trip to the music store they came home to surprise me with daffodils.  They are too cute.  

Lately, as you have seen on early posts, they have been bonding by spending quality time out in the garden. When they aren't in the garden they can be found in one of Mason's favorite spots: Green Acres Nursery or Whole Foods. 

Today Mason helped me clean up the baby's car seat and said he was happy that she would get to ride in the car next to him when she comes home.  On the way to Whole Foods this evening as we approached the nursery he told us, "That's where my baby sister will be sitting. She will learn how to look out her window and see the nursery and Whole Foods." You know the important things in life.  

He then launched into an elaborate story of the following.  He and Josh had gone to the nursery to buy some supplies and Mason picked out some ladybugs for the garden.  He was so proud to show them to me and was dying to put them in the garden. 1,500 little ladybugs.  He had to wait until the sun was going down and then the adventure began.

First he had to document the experience by taking pictures of his ladybugs with his camera.  

Once they were out they were everywhere.  They were on his cheek, his head, his arm it was too cute.  He retold the story with some embellishments as all excellent story tellers will do.

Notice one hanging out by his eye below.

"Hi ladybug, I will be your friend."

Tomatoes, Peppers, and Marigolds...Oh My!

Hi everyone,
It's time to plant some flowers. Take a look at these marigolds. I think they are beautiful. Let's go get planting. Come on, I'll show you the way to the garden.

Grandma and I will help unload these flowers and get ready to help Daddy. We watered the soil, so it is ready to become a great home for these new plants.

First you dig a hole, then take out a flower and tickle its roots so it is ready to find its new home.  Then put it in the hole and fill in the hole with dirt. Be sure to do it gently.

See those big green plants Daddy planted?  Those are tomatoes.  I like to call them May-toes.  I love to pick them and make salsa. They are not ready yet.  We will have to wait. Daddy and I will put in our sign to let people know what we planted.  We painted it last summer and put it in this frame.  We can reuse it.

Push it in all the way.  Whew!  That should do it. Maybe it is time to take a rest. Let's get Mommy and show her all our hard work. She can't help us, yet.  She has to rest with the baby sister.

She was so proud of us.  She thought it all looked great.  She can't wait to see how big our garden gets. Here's what it looks like so far.

  

I think it's time for a cold treat. We've earned it!