Square Foot Garden Trimming

bryson helped me trim today. part of why i love this method of gardening (besides the fact that someone as gardening-challenged as myself can do it...seriously...i kill even fake plants) is that it is so kid-friendly. there are several things for the kiddos to do that actually help, instead of "helping" (read: keep them busy with silly tasks while you get work done). today we needed to trim the box #1 - the box with the "winter" veggies. the author says to only plant 2-3 seeds in each hole and when you trim to use scissors instead of pulling out the seedlings and disturbing the "good" sprout's roots. this perfectly combined bryson's obsession with scissors and his love of the garden/outside. he asks to plant all the time. its nice that he feels a part of it. he also LOVES watering. oh my goodness...that boy and the hose...he gets this crazed look on his face when he waters the garden...scary! speaking of watering - i decided to start hosing down the patio furniture thinking it might be time to start eating outside again soon and found a bunch of spiders and caught some of them and noticed an orange hourglass on their bellies...could there be such a thing as brown widows?? turns out...there are- and their venom is apparantly twice as potent as black widows...great! we will not be eating out until pest control comes ASAP!! bryson of course was obsessed and asked to blog about it. i am getting very excited about our little garden - we check it every day and bryson is learning a lot about how things grow...that and spiders...he can't get over the spiders!

Shop Update

i believe this is my first addition to the shop since my baby boy was born...i've been busy and i have had a great excuse...and milked it! no longer...(whip cracking)...spring is here and we may be entering a new craft show in may so i need to get going! i have been super busy sewing, but it has been for gifts...which i love doing....a little too much...i have a problem...but anyway back to the darling little smock here. i made a dress for charlotte...and then for elliette and still had fabric left over surprisingly so i was able to put together these two little smocks - i think i totalled it and i made 4 things from 3.5 yards of fabric...not too bad! its because i am a super anal thrifty cutter - i try not to waste any of it because fabric is not cheap! these little guys are fun to make - i made it with this pattern - super easy, in fact i made them both today while bodie slept and bryson did his own craft (cut up pieces of paper and got it EVERYWHERE and started gluing whatever scrap he could find to the table...fun times) but he was busy and not completely destroying anything so it was somewhat peaceful. i know it is horrible that i keep making him model and he was not too happy with me, especially since i made him go outside, but i needed to put it up in the shop and the thought of having to do a photo shoot was just not gunna happen for a while. we are getting excited about the show and expect more updates soon - tell your friends!

http://www.friendkidly.etsy.com/

bag-lady

bryan calls it my baglady look...i am having too much fun layering COMFY pieces - i call it the "chic sweats" look...i actually get my inspiration from the little girls at the park who dress themselves and dont pay attention to fashion rules...it makes me feel free! like my new haircut? its the first time i cut my hair in a year...and when i say i cut my hair i mean Becky...she is amazing!

Momsense

its good to know we aren't alone...

http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=d5dae50b0ce6c62959fe&sp=1

Fern-Atic

how can i NOT be? look at these beautiful ferns! it all started with the boston fern (in the picture above hanging on the right) i noticed these today while out in the garden and just amaze at how they can be neglected for so long and still be the most lovely shades of green - no wonder they have survived since ancient times...

i love them all - except of course asparagus fern...that plant is evil...

Square Foot Garden 2nd Box

My first box is already sprouting! can you see it...sorry - not the best picture, but i have little guys coming up already. i will need to trim this weekend...thin i mean...but he says to use scissors so i like to think of it as trimming instead.

we finally got around to plant the second box...i held off because they were "summer" veggies, but almost everyone assured me that it doesn't apply to so. california...sooo...i am taking their word for it and planted the following:

1 Watermelon (which takes up 2 squares)

8 Corns

2 Cucumbers

1 Zuchini (which takes up 4 squares)

9 Beans

4 Strawberries

3 Peppers

2 Tomatoes

These were all planted in the other 4x4 foot box. Bryson is waaay into planting...when he isnt trying to find placentas. he told someone today that we are growing a placenta tree. i'm not even going to correct him...i mean c'mon this is how i get my laughs these days!

3 Months Old

Bodie - you are 3 months old today!

You Weigh: 15 lbs 3 oz

You are 25 inches Long

You Like it When: Brother does rasberries on your stomach, when Daddy holds you out in front of him and makes silly faces, when Mommy gives you kisses

You Don’t Like it When: I try to pick out boogers from your nose, Brother pushes you too hard on your swing, When you get woken up and when you are sick :(

Your Favorite Things: you like the blanket I made you - you like to cover your face in it when you are tired and want to nap - it freaks mommy out, but you do it every time and love it! You still love to be swaddled, but you break out every time! you love the swing!

What You Can Do Now: you can roll over, you are engaging with us all more, you found your toes the other day, you splash when you are in the tub, you are getting better at grabbing, you are holding your head up all the time!~

How You Sleep: you have been sleeping great....then you got sick - you got your first fever 2 weeks ago...got better for a couple days...got a fever again...got better for a week and last night you had a fever again. you have been a trooper, but not the best sleeper...which is understandable, but please get better soon so mommy can sleep a little too, k? you have insisted in sleeping in my arms, which is nice because you are so cuddly, but you are also HEAVY! you make my arm fall asleep!

Eli Monster Diapers

aren't these cloth diapers adorable? i can just picture bodie when he starts crawling looking like a little racer... i love their fit and the sturdy velcro...they are an all-in-one, not a pocket and they don't hold quite as much as some of the others, but you can always add a liner - bodie is a supersoaker after all! i bought them at angie's store - the kids are alright - i dont think she sells them online
but her store is worth a looksie - she always has great handmade items from workin mamas - you gotta support handmade!

placenta tree...

very pretty and the placenta flower is so sweet...(to the tune of the peter paul and mary song) which has been playing over and over in my head....which i am seriously over it...thanks mom and dad for all that wonderful folk music you played over and over and over...anyway...the reason it was playing in my head is because we finally took the placenta out of the freezer to plant it today. we had been planning on re-potting our pomegranate tree and when we did i wanted to plant the placenta along with it - that poor tree has not had too much luck...there are so many things one can do with ones placenta by the way...you can eat it or dehydrate it and encapsulate it or use it to make art...umm...we planted it. i had wanted to plant bryson's too because it made me sad that the hospital just tosses something so special...but they said i couldn't have it and i didn't fight it. perhaps i should have. it has been in our freezer for 3 months. it was kinda sad taking it out because i liked freaking guests out - "where is the ice?" - "oh...its in the freezer next to the placenta" - "nevermind i like my drink room temperature"

bryson helped...he kept asking for more placenta...i tried explaining then promptly gave up. he spent the rest of the afternoon digging up the garden looking for placenta.

bryan was totally down with planting it...it was the cutting up of it that did it to him...and perhaps he spent too much time looking at it. he kept making this face...

he has a thing with blood...i came home not too long ago and bryan was on the couch not looking too good - i asked him what was wrong and he was feeling all naseous because there were placenta remnants in the sink...poor guy.

here is our bodie tree...it will grow up with him since it is still very much a baby too...

renewal

i am still basking in the beauty of today. it was truly near perfect. maybe it is the effect of spring blossoming and the season of lent and new beginnings, but i feel something renewing happening...or maybe i sniffed too much bleach cleaning today - also a possibility...we got out to the bike path this morning that runs along the ocean in long beach. becky and asher and ella jayne joined us and we ran for 4.2 miles...which i know because sara turned me on to this site. amazing. plus on our way out this iris greeted us - the one i took a picture of before about to bloom. the colors are just breathtaking. i mean if that doesnt motivate you to get out i dont know what will!

after our run we ate breakfast (sure it was 11:00 by then, but eggs=breakfast to me) after breakfast we headed home and got some cleaning done and bryan worked outside with bryson and i took bodie grocery shopping. i decided bodie is going to be my shopping buddy. i am going to start grooming him to enjoy shopping...can this be done i wonder? if so i will see to it that he at least can make it through one store without a fit. that to me would be an accomplishment.

it was a rather chilly day so immediately i had a craving for chili...chilly chili...hehe. i used her recipe thanks to rashelle for turning me on to it! you can find the recipe here. i immediately was turned on to it because i saw the ingredients called for liquid smoke and molasses - 2 things i had never put in chili before and now i always will. i am getting closer and closer to my perfect chili concoction i can tell..and this was a serious turning point. the flavors were very powerful in this, but not overwhelming. it called for a picante sauce and i just used what we had in our fridge and didnt check the label, but turns out it was VERY hot...so i wouldnt do that again, because i dont enjoy sweating while eating chili...but i loved the kick of the worstechire and the liquid smoke and the sweetness of the molasses and sugar. you can tell her father cared very much about the ingredients and took a long time getting it right since he called for 5 tablespoons of things...


while the chili was simmering i was inspired by her to make some butter. so super yummy. bryson and i tried to do it in the mason jar...he gave up after about 25 shakes, which i had suspected. so then i started doing it for him and he lost interest after about oh 3 seconds and ran to find a gun somewhere...so i cheated and put it all inthe food processor. we are saving the buttermilk for some biscuits...okay i am drooling...this probably wasn't the best thing for me to make...especially since i still have 20 lbs of baby weight to lose and trying to be good...i blame my mom. she is to blame. her and her dairy genes.

after that i decided that it was time to open the scottish ale i made...it still has 1.5 weeks to go, but i couldn't wait...and i was not let down - it could still carbonate, but this is seriously the best yet. max had let me know that my sugars weren't all eaten because my attenuation numbers were low and it was a little on the sweet side, but not such a bad thing after all. i also got to enjoy a movie with bryson laying on my legs and bodie by my side and even the cats joined in the love bubble..anyway the boys are both in bed and bryan is at a concert so i have the whole QUIET house to myself, which is very nice and very rare. i will use this time wisely and not peruse the internet (oops...too late) i do have a nice warm bath and a nice book waiting for me afterwards i will most likely pass out smiling because i was able to do so many things i love today with people i love and that is quite possibly the point of it all.

cheers!

bryson's prayer

i just tucked bryson in after daddy and started our prayer and he interrupted me and asked if he could pray...of course, i said and this was his prayer "Jesus...thank you for my leaf and my other leaf and my other leaf and my mirror and the door and the other mirror and my fan and the other fan and for my bed and daddy is cool and me is cool and mommy you're beautiful. Amen."

seriously the best prayer ever...especially that last bit...

spring

its starting to pop up...i know that southern california doesnt have much in the way of seasons and one who lives here and has grown up here needs to pay special attention to the "seasons" in order to categorize them. we happen to live in a wonderfully landscaped neighborhood and i always enjoy early morning runs in the springtime to appreciate the notions of spring that pop up around this time. our front yard has a host of new transplants that have surprised us over the past week by what is popping up. this red tulip in particular has brought me much joy this week. it greets me coming and going and although i have contemplated cutting him and bringing him inside, i can't bear to. he just seems so happy where he is. i also am excited about this iris about to bloom. its a small miracle how these flowers tend to pop out of the ground right when we need them!

because i feel for middle children...

bodie... when you are older i will always remember this - this rocking by the fire and holding your heavy sweet baby body until my arm falls asleep.

bodie owen...so sweet...he was ill last week and not at all himself and we are finally getting back to somewhat long stretches at night and his usual good nursing habits and good temper...i think all the moms are looking very much forward to spring at this point and no more running noses and illnesses! we weighed him today and he was 14lbs 14oz- which is great because he didn't eat for about a week and is still up almost a pound from a month ago! i had to post some pics because since he is usually in the moby he doesn't get many photo ops...kinda like another middle child i know who may or may not have newborn pictures because her father may or may not have had film in the camera...woe is the middle child...

watch out violet!

what is with my son and all these women? i am seriously in for it...we met up with rashelle and my god-daughter charlotte today at the arboretum - a beautiful day for a walk and a picnic! charlotte and bryson enjoyed frolicking off the path and picking the citrus...oops...and rolling down hills while rashelle and i enjoyed each other's company. i am so excited for baby delia to come and for charlotte to be a big sister!

i've included a picture of bryson in his sweet AIG soccer shirt...bryson dresses himself and picks his own clothes out...its one battle that i have given up. also - still not sure about the fingers and the posing...i think he thinks he should do something with them because holding them still is so awkward and it reminds me of prom and high school dance pictures where you never know what to do with the guy and how to stand because it is all so awkward...good times...

Garden Update

so to the left is a little example of how the square foot garden works...amazing...isnt it beautiful? so i only planted 14 of the squares so far and from those i will get:

64 Carrots (which is great because they can stay in the ground a while if you aren't ready to eat them right away so i basically will have my own carrot store in the backyard)

12 heads of Romaine Lettuce

8 heads of Butterhead Lettuce

9 heads of Spinach

32 Green Onions

2 Broccoli plants

the best part is that i still have 18 squares left to plant! what would have taken up my whole garden now only takes a percentage...i already love the idea! Here is a pic of the garden with the strings which help to plan out the squares. i recorded which are which on my computer...i probably need to also post it somewhere on the garden as well...maybe a fun craft idea with bryson..

Square Foot Garden

this is really so exciting. it is always nice when bryan's interests and mine come into play - it happened a couple weeks ago when he helped me sew puppet costumes for his video...more on that later...and this weekend it came into play with our new veggie garden. my cheapness and his love for gardening both had a happy marriage this weekend. it all started about a month ago when our pastor challenged our congregation on gardening - he had an idea to start a farmer's market with our church body and then opening it up to the community. the idea all stems from the book - The Square Foot Garden by Mel Bartholemew. seriously is more like gardening for dummies.

when we moved to our house we started a garden right away because it had been a dream of ours. we had a great first crop - we sowed rows of veggies according to the seed packets and for the most part it was fine - we had to tend it often, but it was fine. the second year we spent a day tilling up the soil (completely weed ridden at this point) and planted and our garden was a total bomb - from the bugs to the neighbor's hedge not trimmed...whatever - it was a bust. we spent so much time and effort into it and not really much to speak of. needless to say i was not about to do a garden again...until...i went out and got this book. it makes so much sense! i HATED thinning - it made me sad - really...this book totally against thinning. he says to only plant a couple seeds and then cut the offending sprout instead of pulling it and disturbing the other seedling. i HATED the rows and the fact that i would have 10 heads of lettuce at once and had to use them in 1 week...what? am i a bunny? he is against row planting - his whole idea is based on 1 sq foot and growing MORE in LESS space. brilliant. if you are at all interested in gardening you should get this book. the cool thing is that anyone can have a veggie garden because of the sq ft thing - you can get 1x1 planters and have it on your porch. we decided to go with two 4x4 foot boxes.

first we laid down an anti-weed fabric thing. for the boxes we used composite edging, but you can do it out of wood as well - we didnt have a skill saw and loew's apparantly doesnt cut 2x6 wood - you aren't supposed to use treated wood either and so instead of buying wood that could rot or buying wood and treating it partially ourselves we took the easy way out...plus i think it looks quite nice!

after we assembled the boxes we had to mix all the soil together. the author has a formula of equal parts peat moss, compost and vermiculite. we had to go to 3 different stores to find all we needed and we had to do all sorts of math because each type of soil comes in different size bags and it severely hurt my brain, but we came through and ended up with some pretty amazing soil i must say.

We then packed the boxes with the soil lightly watering it as we went. (Bryson helped but then needed to stop for a potty break - apparantly this is a potty break when men work in the garden) after the soil was in the ground we then used string to divide the boxes into 16 square foot squares and i planted all sorts of spring veggies - spinach, lettuce, onions, carrots, broccoli - hopefully we can plant more next weekend since we ran out of light (hence no string picture). i am so excited to see what happens - especially since the book goes on and on about this amazing soil and how you never have to worry about the pH and it will last you years and years...more pics to come - i hope to have some seedlings soon! anyway - to encourage all of you who are not gardening inclined - like myself - this makes gardening super easy and takes out the guess work and his book has these amazing pictures and graphs and charts that are total cheat sheets...if i can do it anyone can!