Spring where are you !?

Like most people in vermont or other states that go below zero , I'm sick of winter . I suppose if I was a person who went skiing I may feel different , I don't . I want to be outside in the fresh air in bare feet with dirty hands from playing in the garden . The other day I was scrolling through some of my favorite garden loving blogs and I actually felt a claustrophobic feeling realizing I couldn't be outside for more than 5 minutes without getting frostbite . So I took a trip to the closest farm store and bought myself some seeds and potting soil . I scrolled through my own garden photos and tried to psych myself up . Very soon it will be spring , pretty soon I won't have to chase children through the house making sure they have their hats, mittens , snow pants , scarves , coats , boots . 

  I can make it ! I will survive !! For now ill plant some seeds , busy myself with teaching myself to crochet ( my new project ) and maybe paint a few pictures .

Garden photos

Vacation

This week we went on vacation. We stayed in beautiful house on the lake . We swam , we fished and made s'mores by the fire . The weather here has been very rainy so we soaked up as much sun as possible when we could and then watched movies during rain storms. I loved the time with kids and seeing them get up and jump in the lake at 8:30 in the morning was fun . Being away from our home , work and everyday life made me reflect  about things . The things I love about my life and the things I'd like to change . The one thing about life that you can rely on is nothing stays the same . And even though some days are rough  so thankful to have this time with my family.

Some photos to share

End of the school year

it's the end of the school year here. It's so hard to believe that another year has passed , my children are growing so fast . my mother always told me that time seems to pass much faster after the kids are in school , she was so right .

    Justin , our oldest is going into third grade. I vividly remember third grade. Who my friends were, who my crushes were on . I feel myself excited to watch him grow and so sad at the same time. I'm very aware that these days of my life are the best. Even when u feel I'm pulling my hair out with frustration , I wouldn't change a thing. 

Spring!!!

It's been a while since I've blogged . life has been busy as usual  with children , work, and life in general . unfortunately I was sick for most of the winter with liver and kidney issues. I feel much better now and after being stuck inside I was very eager for spring !!
this year I decided to try start seeds under a grow light system . I checked out the web and various blogs I followed determined to find a DIY version after seeing these systems can cost up to $500.00 . my husband built me a very simple system using shop lights . the difference in my seedlings was huge versus just starting them in a sunny window like I had always done .
    as the ground thawed I started to think about getting truck loads of soil and manure like I had in the past . I wanted to expand my gardens and figured I was going to have to spend about $400.00 . I started talking to friends and was lucky enough to have a friend who had horses. She delivered a huge truck load of composted manure for me for free. I don't know anyone who gets as excited about free horse poop than me lol.
     my daughter lily and my son jayden ages 8 & 4 are my biggest outdoor helpers , we shoveled and trucked wheelbarrows  full of manure to our new garden areas . we've had a lot of rain so far this season but my gardens are still doing great ! I'm going to make it point to post updates this summer on the progress.

Shining star

Recently I found a little project for my husband , I like to keep him on his toes :) I got this fun easy idea over at this blog , here's a link http://www.littlebitfunky.com/2012/11/20-minute-crafter-make-giant-star-for.html
such a cute idea , I love how simple and cheap it was to make !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creativity

 After gardening season ended , I found myself sad and missing a hobby to keep me busy , something to help me unwind after kids were all in bed . So after not painting for about 10 years , I started again . And with most things that I start with passion , I sometimes painted three paintings a night . Here are a few :)

Home sweet home , even for fairies

Recently we spent a beautiful summer day at a local camp ground visiting with family and enjoying nature .
 They were having a fun class on Fairy houses , I decided to video tape some of ours. Click the link below to check it out .

Lily's fairy house video

Neat and Tidy

I've never been a neat and tidy person . Sometimes I feel like I crave chaos , it feels comfortable in an uncomfortable way .
  I dream of being one of those moms with a large family whos' super organized having everything labeled and put away right where it belongs . So , I'll go crazy and clean the laundry room for four hours only to have it all piled on top of the dryer two weeks later . I've gone through stages when my house was kept really clean but I found I didn't have time to play with the kids , and do the other things I enjoy . By the time I was done cleaning from floor to ceiling feeling anxious the entire time , I was exhausted .
  Lately I have been scouring other gardeners blogs , I'm especially interested in seeing photos about the process in which their  garden grows .Its so interesting to me to see others artistic talents .It helps me to look at things a different way . Are you a " neat and tidy" gardener, does everything have a place , Is it well planned out ahead of time  ? Or are you more like me , I'm a spur of the moment gardener . I see something in a greenhouse , store , or online and decide I have to have to have it , Get home find an empty place in my garden , plop it in and hope it flourishes. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't .

   I don't always have a ton of extra cash for gardening and I suppose I could be planning things out better , But the impatience in me wins out most of the time .Maybe someday when I'm retired and my kids have grown and moved out  ( insert crying jag here ) my house may be clean , It may be well planned out , But I'm kind of hoping I'll be one of those quirky , artsy grandmas . Slightly unorganized but fun .

Old Macdonald had a farm

Usually once a week in the summer we go on a little " day cation" as we like to call it as a family , either to pick strawberries or a picnic by the lake . Basically just spend the day together enjoying the outside .
 This past week we decided to go to Shelburne farms . Check it out at  http://www.shelburnefarms.org/
   Its a great family place they have a variety of farm animals , its hands on so the kids can milk a cow, collect eggs from some very friendly chickens , groom sheep, see baby pigs,etc.

 
   My kids especially loved being able to hold and pet the chickens and milk the cow .

The farm is huge , The scenery is really beautiful . My two youngest boys are really into tractors so we took a tractor ride and the kids sang " Old MacDonald had a farm " on the way .

The whole family really enjoyed themselves !

Stepping stones

When I was around the age of nine my parents bought a ranch style house with a great yard for us kids.We created some wonderful memories in that house . The previous owners must have also made some great memories ,On moving day I watched the dad chiselle away at a block of concrete in the sidewalk that led to our new  basement , His daughter had left her footprints in the cement when it was still wet and he couldnt bear to leave them behind . This memory has stuck with me , Recently I was scanning through gardening blogs and pinterest searching for fun inexpensive  projects to do , I came across the idea of making stepping stones out of poured concrete , pressing a large leaf in it before it dries to make an imprint . So I decided to do this same idea but with my childrens handprints .I figured I would put some vegetable oil on thier hands and press thier hands into the cement , making some adorable stepping stones for my garden .

         I had my husband stop at the local hardware store and purchase a container of anchoring cement , It cost me $12.99. I love doing projects but im very impatient and never read directions , Im usually too excited and jump in head first , Sometimes it works out ok and sometimes it doesnt .With a little "help" from the kids , I mixed the cement according to the dirctions , the first batch was way too hard and crumbly  the second was just right , pouring out easily and making a nice round shape when I poured it out onto a piece of plastic . It was really messy but I think they turned out really nice ! Im now waiting for them to dry I'll post more photos after I get them in the garden!

Lily gives us a look at how our veggie garden has grown . Its doing great!!

                                         

T

Today we enjoyed the beautiful weather and went strawberry picking at a local farm , There were some sweet animals there including a cow that Lily fell in love with . The cow kept rubbing up against her and Lily fed her grass and called her " My sweet baby girl" When we were leaving Lily asked me if when we get a bigger house with more land if i promise we can get a cow as sweet as this one . I have to admit I do daydream about owning a small farm , living off of the land and enjoying the simple things . we'll see.....

Life has been very busy this week with work , playing with kids , visiting with family and gardening .  
     The gardens are really looking nice this year and even though they are very full I can't help bringing home new plants every week . I get butterflies in my stomach choosing which plants to bring home . This week it was Mona lisa lilies , lavender , mini roses , and foxglove .
     We have eaten fresh lettuce , green beans and cucumbers from the garden and we are anxiously awaiting the peppers, tomatoes, and cabbage that are growing so well . It feels so rewarding and exciting to be feeding the family healthy food we grew ourselves!

 Next projects are building a sandbox for the kids and a wattle fence for the gardens . I had never heard of wattle fencing but I often get inspired looking at photos on pinterest and that's where I discovered it .I can't wait , I love summer !!!