Today is the 16th anniversary of my grandmother's death.
She was old (ish) and had fought cancer, twice. The second time the cancer won.
It was rough. She was so strong. I'd like to think she'd be proud. Especially of Kaeley and Connor.
Because of Grandma, I spent my summers on a corn farm in Iowa. My mother picked up the love and ability to grow things, even working in a greenhouse when I was a kid. I, in turn, learned and love gardening from my mom. And now kaeley has a love of growing things, too.
My grandmother was also a crafter. She taught me how to crochet when I was 8. She taught me cross stitch and embroidery. She taught me to love hand made gifts because so much time and love goes into them.
Grandma grew up during the Great Depression. She got by on using every scrap of everything. Sewing, quilting, farming and canning. Hunting and freezing the leftovers. She taught this to us. The kids, grand kids and even the great grand kids.
Above all she instilled in us the importance of family.
So today, like all days, I hug my babies tight, and tonight we'll pull out the photo album and I'll show them Iowa, and the farm. And tell them about their great grandma. And where we came from.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Garden update
Very exciting around here.
The hurry up and wait that is gardening.
So we have more green onions.
Our basil and lavender have sprouted.
And we have bitty pumpkin plants!
The two new bean seeds I planted have hatched but not sprouted leaves yet. And so far nada on the lemons. I have one more shot with those. But I'm considering buying an almost tree from Home Depot, less time to fruit (5 years?!)
We have the planter, which we'll use for cucumbers, which will plant this weekend.
And our tomatoes multiplied. We have 12 plants, and space for one or two. Gotta figure something out.
The hurry up and wait that is gardening.
So we have more green onions.
Our basil and lavender have sprouted.
And we have bitty pumpkin plants!
The two new bean seeds I planted have hatched but not sprouted leaves yet. And so far nada on the lemons. I have one more shot with those. But I'm considering buying an almost tree from Home Depot, less time to fruit (5 years?!)
We have the planter, which we'll use for cucumbers, which will plant this weekend.
And our tomatoes multiplied. We have 12 plants, and space for one or two. Gotta figure something out.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Our little garden
Kae is very excited! Maybe too excited lol. We started planting our garden this week, we'll, last week, but most this weekend. (My car is dead, it had to wait until I could commandeer a vehicle to get more dirt)
We started Kentucky blue pole beans, of the 10 seeds we planted only 3 sprouted. We're going to have to plant some more /sigh
We have some green onions going, they're growing from kitchen scraps actually, and very happy!
We started tomatoes, the seeds are sprouted, we're waiting for them to get a little bigger before moving the sprouts to peat pots. Normally I'd start in the peat pita, but kae got the kit for Easter and didn't want to wait, all the seeds went in one pot. Hopefully we'll salvage 3 or 4 plants.
We have an oregano, I bought it already grown from Wally World. Along with our green pepper.
Kae transplanted her pentas from Girl Scouts to a larger flower only pot, which will eventually house out lavender.
We planted some Meyer lemon seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Also our basil seeds.
Mom is supposed to be building kae a gardening bed with legs, so a lot of the plants will be transferred there. Ross wants to build a concrete and 2x4 shelf system around the whole patio to container garden. I have no problem with it except my truck is dead to move all the blocks and wood we'll need.
We started Kentucky blue pole beans, of the 10 seeds we planted only 3 sprouted. We're going to have to plant some more /sigh
We have some green onions going, they're growing from kitchen scraps actually, and very happy!
We started tomatoes, the seeds are sprouted, we're waiting for them to get a little bigger before moving the sprouts to peat pots. Normally I'd start in the peat pita, but kae got the kit for Easter and didn't want to wait, all the seeds went in one pot. Hopefully we'll salvage 3 or 4 plants.
We have an oregano, I bought it already grown from Wally World. Along with our green pepper.
Kae transplanted her pentas from Girl Scouts to a larger flower only pot, which will eventually house out lavender.
We planted some Meyer lemon seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Also our basil seeds.
Mom is supposed to be building kae a gardening bed with legs, so a lot of the plants will be transferred there. Ross wants to build a concrete and 2x4 shelf system around the whole patio to container garden. I have no problem with it except my truck is dead to move all the blocks and wood we'll need.
Spring break
Instead if posting every day of spring break I figured I'd save up all the thingz and do one long post. Very picture heavy.
When I was in school I looked forward to spring break, now, not so much. Before Connor was born it wasn't so bad, but toting a newly walking toddler to places kae thinks are fun is HARD.
Monday - library trip, morning story time and checked out science stuff. Made a trip to the dollar store for supplies. Kaeley learned about acids and bases, played with vinegar and baking soda, used her microscope for hours, and watched a billion episodes of Bill Nye The Science Guy!
Monday night grandma came and got kaeley for a slumber party with her cousins. Didn't see her again until Tuesday night! (Hurray)
Wednesday - more science experiments, more microscope. Lunch out at chick fil a (they have an indoor play place!) then mommy ran away for knitting group.
Thursday - trekked up to Stuart to spend the day with Auntie Gail and the kidlettes, which was (as always) exhausting!
Friday - (today) went to the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter. It was kind of a Pita to find! And then there was no parking. But we had fun. Kae got to see the animals, foxes, birds, a panther, bears(!), and a bald eagle. Connor got to be outside which always makes him happy.
After nap time I pulled out a project from my keep the brats busy board. An ice block full of toys with little hammers to liberate them. It was hot enough to be fun. They beat on the thing for about 40 minutes before kae noticed the hammers were breaking to toys (Dinos and lizards from dollar tree). We ended up dumping the block in the water table to finish. Next time squirt guns and spray bottles.
We still have - flying a kite (2 for $1 @ dollar tree), the park, and either a nature hike at JD state park or a trip to the zoo. We had to hold off on the big trip until the weekend so Daddy could come.
When I was in school I looked forward to spring break, now, not so much. Before Connor was born it wasn't so bad, but toting a newly walking toddler to places kae thinks are fun is HARD.
Monday - library trip, morning story time and checked out science stuff. Made a trip to the dollar store for supplies. Kaeley learned about acids and bases, played with vinegar and baking soda, used her microscope for hours, and watched a billion episodes of Bill Nye The Science Guy!
Monday night grandma came and got kaeley for a slumber party with her cousins. Didn't see her again until Tuesday night! (Hurray)
Wednesday - more science experiments, more microscope. Lunch out at chick fil a (they have an indoor play place!) then mommy ran away for knitting group.
Thursday - trekked up to Stuart to spend the day with Auntie Gail and the kidlettes, which was (as always) exhausting!
Friday - (today) went to the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter. It was kind of a Pita to find! And then there was no parking. But we had fun. Kae got to see the animals, foxes, birds, a panther, bears(!), and a bald eagle. Connor got to be outside which always makes him happy.
After nap time I pulled out a project from my keep the brats busy board. An ice block full of toys with little hammers to liberate them. It was hot enough to be fun. They beat on the thing for about 40 minutes before kae noticed the hammers were breaking to toys (Dinos and lizards from dollar tree). We ended up dumping the block in the water table to finish. Next time squirt guns and spray bottles.
We still have - flying a kite (2 for $1 @ dollar tree), the park, and either a nature hike at JD state park or a trip to the zoo. We had to hold off on the big trip until the weekend so Daddy could come.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
5k Training
So I'm finally getting back to my lose weight/get in shape resolution.
So what it's been 4 months!?!
Lots got in my way, but mostly myself, and my excuses.
I made up my mind that I'm going to be in shape to participate in the Run For Your Lives! Zombie 5k next year (not enough time to train this year, I'd get eaten).
So I downloaded the Zombies, Run! 5k training app. Omg it's so fun. The story so far is great, the characters are motivating. And it syncs with the music I have on my phone. Plus I can see all my stats on their web page (miles, calories, times).
I also downloaded the Charity Miles app, this app is free, and works with companies that want to be affiliated with charity donations. So for example, today I walked 1.57 miles for Feed America, each mile is 2 meals, so I provided 3 meals that X company will pay for. I get to do charity work by training, for charity work...
And the apps stack, I can start charity miles and open zombies and do the story, listen to music, and both accumulate while I go.
This does use data on my phone to run the GPS, but I never use all of my plan each month anyway.
And Connor is training too!
Next run/walk I'll pay more attention, since its Autism Awareness month I wanted to walk for Autism Speaks, but I just clicked and went. So we fed the hungry :)
So what it's been 4 months!?!
Lots got in my way, but mostly myself, and my excuses.
I made up my mind that I'm going to be in shape to participate in the Run For Your Lives! Zombie 5k next year (not enough time to train this year, I'd get eaten).
So I downloaded the Zombies, Run! 5k training app. Omg it's so fun. The story so far is great, the characters are motivating. And it syncs with the music I have on my phone. Plus I can see all my stats on their web page (miles, calories, times).
I also downloaded the Charity Miles app, this app is free, and works with companies that want to be affiliated with charity donations. So for example, today I walked 1.57 miles for Feed America, each mile is 2 meals, so I provided 3 meals that X company will pay for. I get to do charity work by training, for charity work...
And the apps stack, I can start charity miles and open zombies and do the story, listen to music, and both accumulate while I go.
This does use data on my phone to run the GPS, but I never use all of my plan each month anyway.
And Connor is training too!
Next run/walk I'll pay more attention, since its Autism Awareness month I wanted to walk for Autism Speaks, but I just clicked and went. So we fed the hungry :)
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
March Book List
1-16 Lover Mine - JR Ward (3/5) free/library re-read
2-17 Little Girls Are Mean - Michelle Anthony (3/6) Free/Library
3-18 Lover Unleashed - JR Ward (3/15) free/library re-read
4-19 The Half-life of Facts - Samuel Arbesman (3/15) audiobook free/overdrive
5-20 World War Z - Max Brooks (3/18) free/library
6-21 Interview with the Vampire Claudia’s Story - Anne Rice (3/19) free/christmas gift
7-22 The Walking Dead Volume 1 - Robert Kirkman (3/29) free/library
The Walking Dead was probably my favorite read this month, I loved seeing the differences between the Comic and the show, it makes me appreciate the writing in the show more lol.
I have a tie for last place, Claudia's Story and The Half-Life of facts. Half life was boring as crud. i had to force myself to listen to it. Claudia's Story was Interview With the Vampire...as a graphic novel. there wasn't really any new insight to Claudia. Honestly, I've been waiting for years for Claudia's Diary, that Jesse found in the wall at their New Orleans home in Queen of the Damned. So anything else would have just been a big disappointment, but I gave it a shot /sigh.
2-17 Little Girls Are Mean - Michelle Anthony (3/6) Free/Library
3-18 Lover Unleashed - JR Ward (3/15) free/library re-read
4-19 The Half-life of Facts - Samuel Arbesman (3/15) audiobook free/overdrive
5-20 World War Z - Max Brooks (3/18) free/library
6-21 Interview with the Vampire Claudia’s Story - Anne Rice (3/19) free/christmas gift
7-22 The Walking Dead Volume 1 - Robert Kirkman (3/29) free/library
The Walking Dead was probably my favorite read this month, I loved seeing the differences between the Comic and the show, it makes me appreciate the writing in the show more lol.
I have a tie for last place, Claudia's Story and The Half-Life of facts. Half life was boring as crud. i had to force myself to listen to it. Claudia's Story was Interview With the Vampire...as a graphic novel. there wasn't really any new insight to Claudia. Honestly, I've been waiting for years for Claudia's Diary, that Jesse found in the wall at their New Orleans home in Queen of the Damned. So anything else would have just been a big disappointment, but I gave it a shot /sigh.
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