Everything is finally in!! Now we just need some RAIN!
Sunflowers on the north side, carrots & beets, spinach & lettuce, and some peas that I hope survive this heat wave!
Nature is so colorful!
I’m drooling already. Nothing like fresh, sun-warmed cukes…
Dreams of caprese, chili, tomato pie & lots of fresh salsa…
This little beauty attracted a hummingbird to our backyard a few nights ago!
Happy planting & have a safe & restful Memorial Day!
As a new mom (the first time around) I devoured countless parenting books (memoirs, novels, how-to’s, articles, etc) because 1) I love to read, and 2) there is something so magical about connecting with people through written words – I couldn’t wait to connect with other parents in the joy of having our first child! Of course I’m drawn to stories of mother/daughter relationships (factual & fictional) but I also love the occasional “professional” opinion. I’m the type of person who “researches” something to death before I attempt it myself (i.e. gardening, lesson planning, child-birth). The night I went into labor with my first I was up at 2a.m. rocking in my rocking chair reading The Bradley Way for last minute tips. 
I heard about the book How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm (by: Mei-Ling Hopgood) from an awesome blog I discovered a few months ago – Science of Mom – written by a former research-scientist-turned-stay-at-home-mom. Her posts are always very interesting and include extensive research & references (very impressive as the mom of a toddler). After reading her review I happened to go to the library and there it was on the “new release” shelf! 
I have been working on this little project for (seriously) almost 2 years now! I started crocheting these little treats when I was pregnant with my first daughter and now she is about to have her 2nd birthday. THIS WEEKEND. It is amazing how quickly time flies.
I loved my play kitchen when I was a kid and I still have a soft spot for play food (its just so cute!) so I wanted my kiddos to have the same experience. I’ve been stalling actually giving her these little treats because I wanted her to be old enough to identify them (pb&j, pita, apple & pear are some of her favorites!) and not just use them as chew toys. Most of the patterns came from this book which I highly recommend – all the patterns were easy to follow and almost everything turned out exactly how it looked in the book (not always the case with patterns!). I also got the pattern for the cupcakes here.
This weekend we enjoyed a 4-day STAYcation…and it was glorious. The house was clean, the baby was with grandparents (for some of the time), and we filled the weekend with good books, quiet evenings, movies, pizza, and beautiful together-ness. We’ve also enjoyed some of the most incredible weather of the season this week, so watch out – there are a lot of things I’m LOVING!
I love house plants. I love how they keep the house bright and welcoming, even in the dead of winter. I dream of having a sun room one day that I can just FILL with tropical plants and flowers. Sadly, when we bought our house I didn’t really consider space for house plants and I didn’t notice that we have very few sunny spots. Our south facing windows are under our front porch and everywhere else is either too gloomy or too cold (in the winter, anyway).
Over the past few years I’ve made do with a jade plant, hoya, two philodendron (I don’t think you can kill them), and the occasional vase of cut flowers from the grocery store. However, this year we got infested with gnats! I’ve never had this problem before…and I’m not even sure what they were (little black flies that resembled fruit flies) but they took over ALL my house plants. It was pretty depressing & I ended up moving everything down to the basement and decided that whatever could survive would be moved outside once it warmed up. Most everything made it except my jade…but I did a couple cuttings so hopefully I can re-grow the babies.
Pregnancy hormones do crazy things to your mind & stomach. With my first pregnancy (I was eating mostly vegetarian at the time) I had ridiculous cravings for, not only Five Guys burgers, but Tony Packo’s chili dogs! Straight up. Chili & beefy hotdog. In both of my first trimesters I lived on a steady diet of carrot sticks & pretzels, or pickles & ginger ale – but as soon as my appetite returned around 18 weeks, watch out! This time around it has been particularly hard to resist: chocolate chip frappuccinos, large bowls of cinnamon toast crunch, chipotle guacamole, and (oddly enough) plain cucumber slices! Thankfully, no beef…yet. The other obvious cravings are chocolate & peanut butter…so I’m sharing a recipe that I happily discovered this week (from Cooking Light people, so feel good about it!) Peanut butter & bananas are quite possibly the perfect combo & my pregnant tummy can attest to its deliciousness. I’m about to enjoy a slice right now with a tall glass of milk. Ahhhh…comfort food!
This blog has been such a fun undertaking the last 6 months and I’m so glad I finally “got off the bench” and went for it! What started as an outlet for writing has become a place I come to process, share ideas & recipes, gain incredible insight into motherhood, and meet some amazing new people! I have recently reached some wordpress “milestones” (50th post, 20th follower) – big accomplishments for this little blogger – and I was recently nominated for Versatile Blogger Award by a fellow blogger & friend! First, there are some rules:
First of all, thank you to my friend Joy at One Joyous Heart for nominating me & sharing her heart for God and her daughters with the blogging world.
I have to admit, that I am not a part of the blog-o-sphere enough yet to have 15 nominations (just discovered subscriptions, y’all!), but the nominations that I have are ones that I read (and love) regularly. Some blog often, some just every so often, but they all have wonderful things to say & share:
1. Nina Badzin’s Blog: creative writer & mom – humorous & insightful!
2. Becoming Jolie: my first e-friend (and really my inspiration for finally taking the blog “plunge”)…someday we WILL hang out in person, Jolie! – she is so cute & witty, check out her blog today!
3. Science of Mom: looking at motherhood from a scientific perspective – always interesting!
4. The Soulsby Farm: small farm with great info & ideas
5. Seed to Salad: a fellow home-gardener (with a focus on healthy eating!)
6. Sarcastic Cooking: sweet, funny, short stories & yummy recipes (I have a long list of emails in my inbox waiting to be tried & taste-tested!)
7. LadyLee in Process: another mom who tells sweet stories & takes lovely pictures
8. Mamacita Spins the Globe: another mom blog (found on Pinterest) with incredible ideas for teaching your kids geography – so creative & fun!
