Well, would you lookie there!

Holy crap!  We have broccoli!!!!  We planted these broccoli seeds Sunday and this is what they have done by Wednesday.  I am just blown away by how much they have grown.  We also planted 80-some tomato plants...no dropped jaws please...our family does NOTHING in moderation!  So, we are going to have broccoli and tomatoes coming out of our ears!  Send any recipes!  Something tells me we might need them.

My kids couldn't be more excited about our garden.  Ethan is definitely the green thumb child.  He is watching over them like a Momma hen!  I caught him taking pictures of them tonight.  He said he was going to take a picture everyday to show how big they are getting.  Too bad he hates broccoli...oh AND tomatoes!

Double Digits!

Growing up, Mom used to tell me "time sure flies".  I have to admit, I thought she was full of it.  It seemed like time just dragged by...not sure what I was waiting for, but in the case that I was waiting...nothing happened quickly.  Fast forward to my life today and it pains me to say this, but Mom was right!  My head is hung in shame!  Alright, alright...I said it...she was right.  Time sure flies.

My oldest child turned 10 years old today.  Seems just like yesterday we brought her home from the hospital.  We were scared to death!  We knew nothing about having a baby and I do question the nursing staff for allowing us to leave.  Totally kidding, but that was a scary first few days.  I don't think we laid her down for more than 5 minutes!  If she made a noise, we jumped to pick her up.  Could that be why she didn't sleep well?

She was perfect!!  Emma Grace came into this world with a head full of black hair (could explain my NEVER ENDING heartburn), with a birth mark on her side that looks like a set of lips kissed her and did I mention she was 2 weeks late?  I thought she would never make her debut!  By all rights, she should have come into this world addicted to chocolate milk and knowing all the words to Mr. Roboto by Styxx.  Not sure why I loved that song so much while I was pregnant, but I did!

Emma wasn't sure if she wanted me to come to school and share cupcakes with her class.  This makes me kinda sad, because I have always been very involved with my kids birthdays and loved celebrating with their classrooms.  Her brother has checked out a book with cupcake ideas from the school library (ok, ok...my kids are addicted to The Next Great Baker on TLC) and she went through it to see if she liked one.  She chose a sunflower design and we set out to make them.  She really liked the finished product and I have to admit, I did to!!  **Insert a pat on the back**



The finished product

I had the cutest lunch date!  She never quit smiling!!

Happy, happy 10th birthday sweet girl!  May you always have a smile on your face and know that you are loved by so many!!

City slickers are going country!

I was raised in the country on a working farm. We had every animal imaginable and always had a garden. I can remember working endless hours (it seemed like it then, but I'm sure we didn't work ourselves to death!) in the garden. Mom & Dad would leave for work during the summer, leaving me and my 2 sisters at home. We had a list of chores to do before they would get home. We always put it off until the last minute and then we probably did work like crazy. We had to go to the farm, feed & water the animals, pick rocks in the gardens (which usually ended in us throwing them at one another!), water the garden, weed the garden and pick anything ready. It was hell then, but looking back now...it was an awesome childhood. Mom always canned our veggies and I love watching her get everything done and hearing the center of the lid pop when they were done. Mom always got this smile on her face. I think she was proud of herself!!

This past summer, we talked about wanting to learn to can. So, we bought books and researched online what you would need. My kids LOVE golden delicious apples. So we went to our farmers market and got 2 bushels. I ended up making and canning about 12 quarts. And, I had the same smile on my face that Mom had all those years ago! I am not much of a cook, but I really felt like I had done something impressive by making and canning that applesauce. We eventually moved on to tomatoes. Mom and I canned about 30 quarts of tomatoes. And, let me tell you, those canned tomatoes have made the BEST vegetable soup this winter. Adam and I got a wild hair and made salsa one Sunday afternoon! YUMMY!!

Our families have decided to have a garden this summer...well, actually 2 gardens. This weekend we borrowed our brother-in-law's tiller to get the backyard ready. Adam has never had a garden, so I'm sure he is thinking "What am I getting in to?". But, overall, he is just as excited as I am. The kids thought playing in the dirt was awesome! They were introduced to grub worms!! An old container had to be fetched to save the worms and grubs for our fish, Oscar.

Adam first pass...I was holding my breath!


This became dinner for Oscar! Hopefully, we will get more food out of the garden than he did!!




Adam let the kids help out with the pushing. The tiller is self propelled, but they thought they were really pushing it up the hill!



Jack even got excited about our newest endeavor. His paws were as muddy as the boys!

Here are my lil' city slickers looking for treasures. I heard lots of "oh, I found a worm", "look Mommy, a new rock for you" ( I have containers of rocks the boys have brought home for me!), "Happy Birthday to Oscar, another grub"! I can't wait until something starts growing in this patch.

Adam even got out to re-till it the next day. The tiller broke a bolt before he could go to my Mom & Sister's house to get their backyard ready.

Next step, horse manure! Bet my boys & girl won't think that is too cool! I'm so excited about getting started and seeing how much we can get to grow and can or freeze to use through the winter months. Lots of work, but I am up for it!