"Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

"How does your garden grow?"

Well, ours doesn't have silver bells or cockle shells but it does have a tomato plant. The kids and I planted our first garden today. It's just a small 'teaching' garden. I don't have the room or the gumption for a full scale garden but I did want the kids to be able to see the whole process from seed to veggie. We'll see if anything actually grows.

We planted carrots, radishes, lettuce, spinach, peas , and one tomato plant. We used the'seed tape' method of planting for the smallest seeds. You wet a strip of toilet paper, place the seeds in the center, then fold the top and bottom halves over the seeds and spray again. This way you can simply lay the strip into the dirt. It was fun and did make quick work of the planting.

Surprisingly, the kids didn't want to help with any of the digging but Noah is more than willing to do the watering and hopefully I can get him to do the weeding too...

tagged again

Jess got me this time...thanks

1. what was i doing ten years ago??

yep--junior year, Geneva College. I think it was my favorite year: I was engaged and had the funnest roommates and hallmates. Good Times!

2. 5 things on my "to-do" list...

1. laundry

2. making my menu and grocery list

3. grocery shopping

4. knit

5. read

3. snacks i enjoy

1. popcorn

2. chips and salsa

3. goldfish

4. fruit

5. I just discovered that I like Oreos and milk but only b/c I found an organic version: Back to Nature--they are delish!

4. five things i'd do if i were a billionaire...

1. pay off the school loans

2. buy a new car

3. buy a new house--not too big but definitely bigger than what we have and definitely not a corner lot and preferrably with a nice fenced in mid-size yard .

4. pay off my parent's mortgage

5. meet whatever needs that the Lord lays on our hearts

5. five bad habits

1. forgetting the clothes in the washing machine

2. spending way too much time reading when there are other things to be done

3. riding my clutch

4. PROCRASTINATING

5. yelling at my kids

6. places i've lived.

1. hays, ks

2. willow grove, pa (philly area)
3. beaver falls, pa

4. pittsburgh, pa
5. manchester, ct

7. five jobs i've had...

1. cashier at staples

2. physical therapy aide

3. hospital secretary

4. receptionist

5. wife and mum

8. who's next????

1. whoever

2. would

3. like

4. to

5. be

Toad Egg Update

This picture is a little blurry but, if you compare the original picture of the eggs, you'll see the difference. We first noticed this yesterday. They are now elongated with a differentiated head and tail and they move around too as you can see in the video.

As far as I can tell, these eggs are from the Eastern American Toad but they could also be from the Fowler's Toad. They are similar enough that they can inter-breed.

Nature Center

We have started our own little nature center. It includes two sets of potted herbs, a caterpiller in its coccoon and a jar of toad eggs. On the first Saturday of every month, Home Depot holds kid clinics in which kids get to 'build' their own little project and April's was an herb planter. Both kids were able to make one so we have two sets of chives, sweet basil, and parsely. Two is probably better since I have doubts that all of them will take off. We do have several sprouts already so things are looking good.

Then a few weeks ago, Noah found a 'Woolly Bear' caterpillar and so we brought it home and put it in a jar. It seemed to still want to hibernate and we were starting to worry that it just wasn't faring well. So, Noah decided to let it go but when he went to put it outside, he noticed that Fuzzy (his very creative name) didn't look the same anymore. He had already changed into a coccoon! Now we are just waiting to see if the Tiger Moth will emerge.

Fuzzy

And then this past week we headed to a park with some friends and were able to watch the toads mating and catch some as well (which we let go immediately). The pond was chock full of these toads and their eggs so we extracted a string and will wait to see if any tadpoles emerge.

the funnies

Noah, while doing his copy and spelling work, said, "Mommy, from now on, when I am done doing my spelling, I am going to say, 'May I please be ex-spelled?'"

"I a monkey!"

And Who Are You?

Take the Quiz here!

Ok, I have to admit that this is who I wanted to be as she is my favorite Austen character but am incredulous...

And...We're back!

Contrary to what some of you may choose to believe, I was not guilted into posting again. There are a couple of reasons that made this post possible. First of all, it is spring! We had a most beautiful day here in New England. It was warm (70) and sunny and after what seems like endless weeks of gray, rainy days it was spectacular. Apparently April showers do bring May flowers (not that we are quite there yet) and I have hyacinth blooming in my front planting area that used to be taken up by big, ugly, overgrown, and dying bushes (yes, it is possible to have an overgrown and dying bush even though that sounds like an oxymoron). We removed them in the fall and I planted a few bulbs. There are also crocuses and tulips and daffodils coming up and Noah noticed red buds on one of the maples in the back yard. This is all very exciting to me and I feel such a sense of renewal.

We had the added fortune of being able to enjoy this splendid weather with friends who we ran into at the library and tagged along with them to the park--our first trip to the park so far this year. A good time was had by all.

It being the perfect day that it was (and knowing that more cool/rainy days are expected), we wanted to spend as much time outside as possible so, when the kids asked for a picnic lunch, I was happy to oblige. PB&J and apples on a blanket on the lawn--nothing fancy but it's what works for us.

This brings me to the second reason I am posting today: I have a working camera! I actually have the picnic documented in clear, crisp, bright and colorful photos! Just wait, I'll show you some. First I have to thank my most incredible and generous friend, Michelle, for the camera. She recently upgraded to a camera that fit her aspiring-photographer needs better and offered to give me her 'old' one if I wanted it since mine was on the fritz. How could I pass on such an offer? This camera is way better than my other one and has many more features that I actually have to spend time learning how to use it in order to get the best pictures. I am so excited about it and so grateful that she thought of me and my camera-less plight.

So, without further ado, here are a few pictures from our picnic today:









It wasn't a very eventful picnic so I decided to get in some practice with the portrait mode of the camera. Always the willing participants, my kids decided not to look in my direction unless they had on silly faces.

I plan on taking some pictures of those flowers soon as proof that my thumb is at least not black. I also hope to have more videos too since this camera has better video quality and comes with a program that hopefully will allow me to edit them. So, if you are happy to be seeing pictures of these cute kiddos again, you know who to thank.