My Garden

One of my passions is gardening.  It gives me absolute pleasure to work in the dirt and I'm over the moon if I find a big juicy worm or toad who find my garden to be a suitable home.

When we first moved to the country, we joined a Community Supported Agriculture group.  It was fabulous!  Every week we brought home a variety of seasonal fruit, vegetables and herbs from the local farm.  Belonging to a CSA really made us try new veggies and forced us to eat them more.  I found, however, that as our family grew it was hard for me to do something with the three beets in our box or even the four ears of corn.  After two years of belonging to the CSA, I decided to take that money and put it into a garden of our own.

Ever since I was a kid, I have dreamt of owning a garden.  Most little girls dream of becoming a princess, living in a castle and living happily ever after.  If I could live in my garden, I would be happy!  Our neighbors had a fabulous garden when I was little.  I remember the dad out there tilling and planting and watched as they harvested later in the summer.  Of course, there was always too much zucchini and far too many tomatoes and I felt so blessed when they shared with us.

Three summers ago I got to work...er, rather I got Steve to work.  We borrowed a tiller from our friends and he spent an eternity out there trying to dig up our rocks and clay into a palatable garden for our veggies and fruit.  The kids and I tried the best we could to get the grass and rocks out as he tilled.  It was a huge undertaking and I know he already dreaded doing it again the next year.

Our first year of gardening was a success.  We planted the requisite number of tomatoes and squash, along with some other veggies and fruit.  To be honest, our first summer wasn't a stellar success.  There were lots of weeds and grass, rocks and clay.  I loved getting out there but the twins were small and I couldn't pay much attention to the garden.

The next year was met with high enthusiasm.  I planted seeds in March and Steve tilled in May.  Tilling was easier than the previous year, due in part to added compost from our compost pile and hay laid the previous fall.  The kids were more enthusiastic about helping and it was a successful season.

However, this year has been the best by far!  Tilling took about ten minutes and we barely found any rocks at all.  It's only July and I only harvested my first tomato yesterday, but it's just a fabulous season due in part to Mother Nature's blessing us with a lot of rain in the spring and periodic rain throughout the summer.  I found an interesting article early this spring about ways to get your kids involved in the garden.  It laid out a plan which looked similar to my garden already so I decided to try it.  Basically it uses plants which catch kids eyes like pole beans on teepee trellises and plants named "PacMan Broccoli".  Interesting plants that catch their eye like kohlrabi (I know, what's that?), ferny asparagus and big sunflowers.

My tomatoes are falling over from the weight, my corn is far taller than me as opposed to the saying "knee high by the 4th of July", my strawberries are producing some gorgeous red berries I would love to make into a pie if only a certain little girl would stop going in there to eat them all!

In my beloved garden are blueberries, raspberries, three varieties of tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, jalapeno peppers, a cabbage (from a contest Trent is involved in), corn, watermelon, romaine lettuce, strawberries,

cantaloupe (look at those awesome orbs forming - yummy!),

potatoes which are so much fun to harvest (we've already harvested the new potatoes and look forward to the fall for the final big harvest), see that one poking from the ground?

pole beans given to me by fellow twin mom and gardening extraordinaire Jenn (who I love to get ideas from and talk "garden"),

aforementioned PacMan Broccoli, which, by the way, the name does not get the kids to want to eat it any more than before

the ferny asparagus which was an impulse buy from the gardening store, we have to wait three years for harvest but it's such an interesting little plant I look forward to watching it mature over the years,

and kohlrabi.

 So what is kohlrabi?  Apparently it is a turnip-like vegetable that grows above ground.  It was listed as something the kids would like to watch because of it's cool purple and green colors.  It has intrigued both kids and adults!  Harvesting was another issue...

PULL!!!

I said PULL!!!

Come on!  PULL!!!

After some help from Mom, we were finally able to get it out!

Lance's enthusiasm about the kohlrabi was quickly dissipated as soon as it was put on his plate.  We cooked the leaves that night and are saving the turnip-like veggie for another night.  The leaves were spiny and thick, and very hard to eat.  It's understandable why it's not a more popular vegetable!  

4th of July in our Small Town

I've done the big July 4th celebrations.  When I was a kid, my family would go down to DC to listen to The Beach Boys and stay for the fireworks at the Washington Monument.  I don't remember much about it, other than the nasty bathrooms, awful heat and humidity, and my father getting pissed when a stranger tried to stand on our cooler to get a better view of the concert.  Let's just attribute that grumpiness to the heat and humidity.

As I got older and lived near the city, Steve and I made our annual trek out to the Mall to watch the fireworks.  In fact, my favorite memory of the 4th of July is one year we got tickets to a radio-sponsored event that filled a parking lot with sand and misters, drinks and activities, and some of our favorite local bands.  As the evening drew near, a little tipsy and very sweaty, we went closer to the Mall and watched the fireworks.  Good times.

I guess the turning point came when Steve and I rode the Metro into DC and got off the train.  As we exited the station and saw the crowds, we both kinds looked at each other and turned around to come home.  Let's just attribute it to the heat and humidity.

Now that we have children and live further from the city, this is what our 4th of July looks like:

Steve with the kids waiting for the parade.

The beginning of the parade, photo courtesy of Kyle's magnificent photography.

Our town's parade is typical of any small town.  Lots of fire trucks and local scouts, teams, and businesses sponsoring floats.  And this year TONS of politicians.  It was a very long parade.  I think the highlight for the kids is the goodies thrown out by the people on the floats.  This year the kids brought home water, necklaces, frisbees, boatloads of candy, and even water balloons!

We are fortunate to have friends who live on Main Street and are always wonderful about inviting us to watch the parade from their yard.  Thank you to the Backmans for your wonderful hospitality and the fabulous barbecue following the parade.  This was a 4th of July not to be forgotten!

Our family on the stairs of the Backman's home.  Lovely!

The evening ended with another barbecue at our neighbors and a fantastic fireworks display a short walk away.  I think we saw five or six firework displays from neighboring towns just from our vantage point.  It was awesome!

One day we will take the kids to the Mall for the fireworks, but until then we will enjoy this small town's  4th of July festivities and enjoy every minute!

Hope your 4th of July was as much fun as ours!

Dog Days

It's summer time!  My favorite time of year!  School's out, pool's open!  We can sleep in and stay up late.  Vacations, stay-cations, campfires and s-mores, cold drinks, fireworks, ice cream and barbecues.

The most perfect time of year.  Almost.  If we were to rid ourselves of the bugs and humidity.  There's nothing like a big ole welting mosquito bite to make a momma REALLY grumpy, but here are some pictures that make it all worth it!

Picnics...

Pools and ice cream...

 Popsicles...

 Friends...

 Outdoor movies...

And this has just been the first week.  So glad to look forward to many more weeks of this!

Journal Writing

This is the fourth summer I've had my children write in a journal.  Their journals can be based on anything they want to write, but in the past it has usually just ended up to be about their day.

To keep Kyle interested in writing, and to keep up his typing skills, I've set him up with his own blog.  You can read it here.  He should post every other day, one day to write, the other day to type.  I'm sure he would love some feedback as well.

I gave the boys some story starters if they weren't interested in writing about their daily events and Lance is writing a hilarious story called, "The Law Against Smiling AKA the Annoying Frog."  I'll try to type it up on my blog when he's finished.  He also wants to bind it and send it to his teacher!

Yay for writing!!!!

Dear 16 Year-Old Me

My cousin just recently posted a video titled "Dear 16 Year-Old Me."  Although the video was amazing, an educational video about melanoma which you can see here, I expected it to be about something different.  With the posting of the video and a couple of other happenings throughout the day, I got to thinking about what I would tell myself at 16.

And would I listen?
--------------------------------------------------------
Dear 16 year-old me,

I'm not the wisest, the wealthiest, the prettiest, or the most perfect person on the planet, but there are some things I know for sure.

You're going to be okay.  Life is full of bumps and bruises, but it's the way you handle those little hiccups which determines how you wind up in the end.  Positive thinking, silver linings, and a lot of patience can get you through.  A bad thing doesn't always have to have a reason, but I bet you could find something good come out of it.

No matter where you go or who you're with, if you have compassion and integrity you will get far.

Everyone deserves love.  Unconditional, fall-to-your-knees love.  If the love you have doesn't fit into both of those two categories, run like the wind!  Seriously.  True love will come to you, don't settle.  

Don't settle for friends either.  There are billions of people in this world, someone who hurts you doesn't deserve to be in your life.

A sincere "sorry" takes a lot of practice.  Practice it.

Death is scary.  Grief will sink you to the ground, holding you hostage for a long time.  You may not think you can live without another person, but in time you will become comforted by your memories.  Allow yourself to mourn, but realize you must also live.

Have a passion, something that makes you *very* happy.  If you can't find one, keep looking!

Take risks, live your life to the fullest, accept challenges, and do you best.  Be gutsy.

Judging others is not a charming attribute.  Stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

Love,
39 1/2 year-old me

All Comes Together

It's the first Monday of summer break and we already have one at camp and two others asleep at 9:00.  It's raining so I'll let that pass.

Our chore charts are hung up on the fridge and journal pages are waiting for some thoughtful insights or creative stories from the boys.  I have high hopes!

Last week I was so full of anxiety, mainly worried over my graduating elementary boy.  Although I knew he was ready, I wondered if I was.  Another step closer to growing up, oh my!

But it's interesting how things all come together for me sometimes, or how my mind sifts through the good and the bad.

On the morning of the last day of school, Kyle won the Eagle Award at his school.  It's the only award of it's kind at the school, reserved for a student who stands out as a good citizen (and I'll just add good-looking and smarter than everyone else because this is my blog and I can make up stuff like that).  Our pride soared for Kyle and the wonderful comments from his teachers and our friends about Kyle and our parenting made it an even more special award.

And it got me to thinking about Kyle.  And how he's ready.  And how he's going to be just fine.  And how he's a great kid.  And we are fortunate to have him in our lives.

Because really, the one thing you want to do as a kid is grow up.  And really, the one thing you want as a parent is for your kid to be a good citizen.  Why should I worry about middle school when we both have what we want?

So as the fifth graders made their final walk through the halls of the school, high-fiving the younger students lining the halls, many of the moms were teary-eyed.  I thought I would be a blubbering fool, but I wasn't.  I was ready for this and so was Kyle.  It was all good.

Of course on the drive home, reflecting on the morning's award, Steve said, "If only he would keep his room clean."

I guess we can't have everything we want.

Summer and the End of an Era

Tomorrow is the last day of school and I'm distracted by the flow of emotions I'm experiencing.  My oldest, Kyle, is moving on to middle school and I'm about to have a heart attack coming to the reality of my little baby boy going into middle school and becoming one of those tweenagers (sic) I've lumped together in the "punk" category.  How can it be the little baby we were so overjoyed to have, who I sang "Puff the Magic Dragon" to until the wee hours of the night, who put the word "sha" after every words (Mommy-sha, Daddy-sha, bubble-sah, you get the drift) is bigger enough to sit me on his lap?

The end of the school year also brings such a sense of joy in my world.  My family is a bunch of sleeper-inners, so summer means no more dragging my boys out of bed and dealing with intense grumpiness (mine more so than theirs).  Pools, sunshine and friends.  Vacations and beaches.  Happy!

Summer is also the time when I need to be more diligent than ever to fine a way to find structure and discipline.  Chore charts and journals are just about finished to keep the kids more involved and less off the TV.  We'll see how it works.

In the meantime, tomorrow is the last day of school with an awards ceremony for the older grades and then the final walk down the halls for the 5th graders.  I will be a basket case and have asked my husband to take the day off to keep me standing.  It's not that I don't think Kyle will rock middle school, in fact quite the opposite.  Kyle is a fantastic kid with lots of friends and a great confidence I wish I had in middle school.  He makes me proud and I love him to bits.  Moving on to middle school is just a reminder to me of how fast children grow.  Time is flying and I need more reminders to take time to enjoy the moment.

The summer will kick off with a pizza party and outdoor movie with neighbors tomorrow night.  Can't wait!