We have veggies!!!

I know I said I had other topics to blog about- but when this has to come first!!! I went out to water my square foot garden this am and oh how glorious it is!!!


Here are my bigger tomatoes!

My square foot is bursting at the seams!!! We've harvested lettuce, onions and peppers already!! I'm hoping to get some basil next week and make pesto!!! (I'll try to post a recipe and pics at that time!!)

And I can't wait to pluck these babies off!! Beautiful juicy cherry tomatoes!!! Ripe for the picking!!!

I do love summer!!!

Garden day!!!

On tuesday we decided to put the garden in. We started the process and bought the supplies on monday and got to work during Max's nap time on tuesday afternoon. We planted wave petunias in the beds and put in our Square Foot Garden (SFG). We did this last year and had alot of luck with it!!!

Well, not everyone participated in garden day!!

After Max's nap- he "helped"

First we emptied our box onto a tarp and added in another bag of peat moss, cow manure, posey power, and vermculite (Mel's mix-this stuff is gold people!!!). I totally didn't even think to take pictures of this step. We raked the mixture together until it was thoroughly mixed with the previous contents of the box. We then put it back in the box and placed the grid on top. We had enough Mel's mix to fix up 5 round pots and 2 square pots. I laid out my plan.

My wave petunias need a shot of miracle grow. I hope I have as good of luck as I did last year with them!!!

We didn't get new mulch this year- we decided it wasn't in the budget and we could just work up the current mulch.

So in the SFG we have 2 Laroma tomatoes (for paste/sauce), 2 cherry tomatoes (Sweet baby girl and another type I can't remember), 2 squares of white onions, 2 squares of lettuce, 1 square of carrots, 2 squares of marigolds (to protect my tomatoes), and 5 peppers (Garden Salsa, Golden bell, Lady Bell and 2 Jupiters).

In 4 big pots we have tomatoes (3 celebrity and 1 Big boy).

In the other pot we have a Purple beauty pepper. I also have 2 window type boxes for herbs (basil and cilantro mainly).

Jake slept through the entire thing. We was positioned under the umbrella and was loving life!!

Max was digging being outside. He loves being outdoors!! I see alot of dirt in my future!!

I think we're really gonna enjoy our backyard this summer!!!

Storytime- 2nd attempt.

So I wanted to make a list of my favorite books, must read books, current reads, and future reads. Wow-not sure if that made sense-but here it goes.
(hyperlink overload, sorry-wanted to make it as easy as possible for anyone to find these books)
Recent Book Purchases:
Babywise and Babywise II by Gary Ezzo
Square foot gardening by Mel Bartholemew
and
Lean Mommy by Lisa Druxman

Current Books checked out from the library:
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
(I've never read a Francine Rivers book but they are well reviewed!!)
Several books on bread machine recipes (I borrowed my sister's bread maker and I'm all about baking bread now)

I've checked out a few books that I'm gonna have to come back to. I'm not ready for them yet and they're due back. However, I wanted to document them so I can remember them!!!
Before five in a row by Jane Claire Lambert
Kitchen Table Play & Learn by Tara Coply & Andrea Custer and
Mommy, Teach Me! by Barbara Curtis
You can see the theme of these books. I want to make sure I'm doing learning activities with Max as soon as possible. Not totally just learning projects-but fun playtime/learning things. I searched for the books while it was fresh in my mind, but I know I'll forget it all before I'm ready for them. I'll just check them out again later.

I love pretty much every book I've read from Steeple Hill Cafe. They're motto is "life, faith, and getting it right." I feel that way pretty much every day!!! I love reading about other young women who are learning a little more about God each and every day!!! Many of the authors are now writing stories about young moms....perfect!!!

Parenting books:
Happiest Baby on the Block (want to get Happiest Toddler on the Block next)
by Harvey Karp (check out the website here) (they have excellent videos on the subject too)

Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg (video is not as good here, but excellent concepts).

And of course, Babywise by Ezzo

My "greener living, crunchy experiment" books-
Green Babies, Sage Moms by Lynda Fassa
Gorgeously Green by Sophie Uliano
Both of these are from the library. They have some good info. I like Green Babies better. Won't be buying either of them though.

Whoa-that was alot. I have a ton of books from the library at any given moment...I always have some to go to. I usually don't have a ton of time to read-so many of the nonfiction ones get flipped through quickly.

Enjoy!!!

Update

I had a great first Mother's day!!! Jason and Max got me a shirt from So Cool Mom. I love the theory behind these products-Live Happy, Love Well!!! Kate wears them on John and Kate plus Eight!! (I love this family BTW!!!).

So we finally had a day without rain-so Grandpa and Great-grandma came up and helped us in our yard!!! We mulched, I planted Wave Petunias, and we finished our Square foot Garden!!

I've planted a sweet pepper, hot pepper, yellow pepper, green beans, lettuce, onions, carrots, cilantro, oregano, cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes and marigolds. I've mentioned before the Square Foot Gardening method-I'm so excited to see how we do. I would never have imagined planting that much stuff ever before-I'm so excited to see how we end up!!! I'm excited because we bought organic plants from neighbors and many of the other plants were in compost-able pots. I'm hoping we will save some money this summer on produce and I think we're helping out the environment by using green methods!!
Here are some more pictures around the house:

My Lilac Bush:
Another shot of the square:

My Wave Petunias:

(in the last shot you can see my lilies in the background!)

We used 31 bags of mulch-holy cow!!! Thank goodness Great Grandma was here to spend the day with Bubby Max b/c we just finished and we started early!!! (well, we did have breakfast, went to Lowe's twice, took 2 trips to get mulch and stopped for lunch).

This is the first time I've really taken an interest in my flower beds, the mulch and a garden!! I'm so excited!!!

the Market today

Well-Melissa and I did go to the North Market today and I had a great time and learned tons from her!! We first went to the coop and it was pretty much what I expected. She had warned me that it was quite crunchy:). She showed me several different kinds of grains that would be great alternatives to white rice-none of which I can remember right now. (Jason and I eat a lot of white rice and I'm hoping to convert to some sort of healthier side dish-maybe a whole grain). At the coop there was everything possible organic and wholesome. Even interesting books about Vegan eating (which I do not at all do-but it intrigues me in a bad accident kind of way). I did see a lady wearing her child (which is pretty much my limit in crunchy-ness). It was nice to see someone "babywearing" in a practical setting. I mean-I wear Max around the house-but I haven't tried it out in public much. I watched her to see if I could catch any tips or hints in how she was doing it.
Then at the Market Melissa showed me the places where she buys local eggs, milk and meats. I was impressed that in the downtown of a major city you can find local products. There was also many organic vegetables. This is where I'm confused and need to make a decision - which is more important to me - organic or local? I need to do more research but right now I'm leaning towards local. I like the idea of really knowing where my food is coming from. I have though learned about the Dirty Dozen and what actual foods I should look for in organic. It's all very confusing and tough and if anyone has any insight-please comment!! It seems like there is so much more to it-like what it takes for a farm to be "labeled" organic and how much it costs to get that label. At the same time-how can I give Max peaches when I see on my handy shopping guide (click that above link to find it) that peaches have some of the highest pesticide content!! I just want whats best for my family!!!
In the meantime-I'm in the market for a new stroller. I don't want to replace my current stroller-I want one in addition to it!! I want a jogging stroller (a cheap one) so when I walk daily (as I have been) my current stroller (this one only green) stays nicer!! It's funny that I want a new stroller right now-I'm trying to get fit-but in the morning I get to go to Bible study and the lesson for this week is about contentment and greed. Do I need a new stroller? Probably not. Am I rationalizing my desire for more? Maybe... Again-the balance of being a mother....ugh!!!

Reflections

I'm going to try to mix in what is going on now with a little backtracking talking about the pregnancy. There are so many things I wanted to remember about the pregnancy that I failed to write down. Luckily, with friends that are pregnant right now, a lot is coming back to me in the form of their questions and experiences!!!
So here I go-trying to track my pregnancy-remembering as much as I can!!!
Erin recently asked me about leg cramps-OH THE LEG CRAMPS!!
I can remember waking up at night thrashing in pain asking Jason for help. I tried everything to get rid of them. I ate bananas, drank OJ, and stretched before bed. Nothing. They just happened. All the time. I can remember getting to work one night not being able to walk because my calves hurt so bad!!! I tried to ice and heat them while at work (not the easiest thing to do).

Max is sitting in his swing right now while I'm typing. I keep forgetting to use it. He's almost too big for it. He usually whimpers when I put him in it-but whenever Jason puts him in-he is fine. Hmmmm.

Today I'm heading out for a day of fun with another Mom. She works as a Nurse where Jason and I work. She has twin 2 year olds!!! She's gotten me turned on to a little bit greener living. She's taking me to the local Market and is going to show me the ropes. She's also gotten me turned on to the books:
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
and
Square foot gardening by Mel Bartholemew

Yes-I'm dabbling in hippy-ness!!! Don't worry-just a little bit. It's amazing how being a parent changes you!!!
I hope to update with my finds today!!!