Monday, May 23, 2011

Say it isn't so

Four words:
PROJECTILE VOMITINGEvery day.

If he didn't act so perfectly normal and happy, I might seriously wonder if there was something wrong.  Neither of my other boys ever had this problem and I now consider my past-self lucky. 

I've learned to dodge the vomit by leaning forward or to the side when I know it's coming.  When I don't realize it is on it's way . . . we are get totally covered in yellow fermenting milk curds.  You know the smell.

As my older boys say these days, "Oh yeah!"

Who me?

Friday, May 20, 2011

It's GO time

Meh meh meh
Blah blah blah

That's how I've been feeling the last couple of days.  I haven't really been able to put my finger on it exactly, until I realized, OH YEAH, it's because Blaine has been outside working every night until dark.  Yeah, yeah.  That's right.  Until dark.  Every day this week.

It's getting old for me and I know it is tiring for him too.  (And especially hard on both of us with the babe.  Me, needing a break, and him, missing him.)  I have to keep remembering that this is seasonal, and it will end.  It will.  But it might be another month. 

It is raining today, so I'm hoping he won't duke it out with the forces of nature and insist on planting the tomatoes tonight.  I'm pretty sure he won't.  And Lord knows we all need a break.

It is temporary.  Just temporary. 

I have to remember that.

I'm also in the middle of a massive Friends of the Library fundraising glut, where four events are converging in the space of three weeks.  (June is apparently GO! Month.)  Since I am the main organizer, that means I am doing things like recruiting all the volunteers and trying to figure out how many gallons of cole slaw are needed to feed 100 people.  (Five gallons, can you believe it??)

The cole slaw is what is needling me the most, actually.  I can't wait to have that conundrum behind me.

While I'm at it, I might as well insert some outright bragging --

Our Friends of the Library group has been in existence for 2.5 years now.  We have bought 4 different bookshelves for the library, spent somewhere around $600-700 in new books for the collection, and still have $4,000 in the bank. 

Yow.  We rule.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Crikes

Holy smokes, our Little Jamie is only months old, not 5 months old like I (literally) thought at the beginning of the month.  (Did anyone catch that?)  Is this proof that he is my third child or what??  I can hardly keep track.

I suppose it doesn't help that he is 20 lbs (!!!)  and starting to sit up.  I was wondering why the other boys' baby calendars at 4 months didn't say anything about sitting up.  Geez louise.

Baby in Red

20 lbs, I know.  Insane.  What a lunk.  At this age, Diego was 19 lbs and Truen was 14 lbs.  It's like two fat sausages encasing a strip of bacon.  Yow, they are (were) big.

In other news, why do babies smell so wonderful?  I could take in all his scents forever, right down to the sour neck, which I've had so much trouble keeping tame this time around, and has earned him the nickname "Stinky".  I swear this kid will never know his real name.

Fat Stinky and his wittle giwaffe

Monday, May 09, 2011

Spring garden notes

We have had an extremely chilly spring this year.  Comparing this year to last, we are almost one month behind.  Yowza.  That's a big difference.  We were actually eating out of the garden at this time last year.  Aside from a chives, scallions, and a bit of lettuce, even a radish is a far-out dream at this point in time.

I've decided to do a pictorial tour of our garden this spring, to give people an idea of what it looks like at the beginning.  It ain't pretty.  In fact, viewing it from a distance is downright disheartening.  It looks like nothing -- scallions poke up from the dirt like little pine needles and fully planted beds look like nothing more than dirt patches scattered with a couple of measly leaves.

But come late June, it will be gloriously beautiful.

Blaine planted seeds in flats in January and February.  With heat mats and a little bit of sunlight and/or artificial lighting, they get a good start for summer.  He starts pretty much everything inside by seed, with the exception of winter/summer squash, melons, and cucumbers.

WAITING
"Hardening off" in flats behind the house:
cabbage, broccoli, onions, scallions
Hardening off = acclimating them to outdoor temps & sun

Only the cool-growing stuff could be planted at first
(this was taken a little over a week ago)
On the left: little tiny celery
On the right: sticks in ground, ready for peas
Far-back: potatoes
Waiting inside until warmth descends upon us:
Tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, eggplant

PLANTING
The bulk done 5/7 and 5/8
 Opening up the asparagus bed --
The strawberry bed is on the other side of the garden entrance
The East Garden in background
and beyond that is the commodity crop fields.

 The East Garden: south side
Garlic (coming up under straw & leaves)
Beds of lettuce, scallions, onions, green beans
The boys' mini-gardens are the beds on the far-right --
Truen can't wait to plant his "wallermelons"

 The East Garden: north side
It may be hard to see, but this is entirely planted.
Foreground: celery, peas
Middle: broccoli, cabbage, chinese cabbages
Background: potatoes

The East Garden: midsection
kale, chard, spinach, mustard, lettuce
The grass paths are proof of last summer's insanity.
We over-extended ourselves and just couldn't keep up.
It was ugly.

At this point in time, the East Garden is almost completely planted.  The only things left are the heat-loving plants -- peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant,  and one melon variety.  We planted, and I kid you not, 200 cabbages on Sunday.  That is a whole lotta sauerkraut!  I'm excited about it.

The West Garden, which is a little smaller than the East, will have all of our heat-loving vining plants -- winter/summer squash, melons, cucumbers, gourds, etc., and a couple of rows of sweet corn.

We are feeling much more under control this year.  I am actually able to participate for several hours each day on the weekend, with the baby's long afternoon nap.  I feel good (unlike last year with pregnancy) and the older boys are big enough to entertain themselves in the garden while we work.  Other than that, I do small tasks like water plants, gopher tools, seeds, and seedlings, bring out water and snacks, that kind of thing. 

Being able to talk and laugh while we plant has been fun.  It makes the tedious nature of the task (particularly those pine needle-like scallions!) much more pleasant.

I am so very glad we both have an interest in gardening -- I've thought many times of the impossibility if it were just one or the other.  It would be just too much. 

What a good team. ♥

Thursday, May 05, 2011

Holy smokes

I've been saying holy smokes! in my head a lot recently.

Examples are as follows:
  • Holy smokes!  You're 5 months old already?!
  • Holy smokes, no wonder why you can almost sit up.
  • Holy smokes!  Diego should be in the 6-8 year old Story Hour at the library this summer because he's going to be 6 in July?!  Where has time gone?
  • Holy smokes, when was the last time I took a shower?
  • Holy smokes!  I haven't posted on my blog in over a week!
  • Holy smokes!  I have outstanding emails I need to respond to that are almost as old.
  • Holy smokes, it is cold outside.
  • Holy smokes, I'm so thankful for another sunny day . . . finally.
  • Holy smokes, when is this kid going to nap?
  • Holy smokes!  Why do I have to get up at 6:00 AM again??  Oh, you -- peed the bed, didn't go back to sleep after nursing, or desperately need a snack.
  • Holy smokes, is Quiet Time already over??
And so on and so forth. 

(I should also add that things have finally normalized around here and I feel mush, mush better.  Oops, I mean much, much better.)

Pictures of the little tykes

 Easter egg hunting at G&G S.'s house
(Does this look like a Minnesota spring or what?)

 Nuzzling with his little giraffe toy
and almost too big for his 6-9 month sleeper
(I love that lower lip)

A towel-ed head
He's finally talking about getting his hair-cut
(Just in time for spring)