Our Garden: the 2011 Edition

We decided to go smaller with our garden this year. Tired of melon vines that entangle everything in their paths and pull down all of our other plants, we decided to let my parents handle the melons this year. We are garden sharing with them. We are doing squash and zuchini and they are doing the melons. We both planted tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. We can't chance not having enough tomatoes.

The kids were eager to help this year. Around here we wear interesting clothes to garden in. Like pajamas and crocs.

Or maybe a Superman pajama top and skull and crossbone shorts. Backwards.

Our garden is looking a little puny right now. We are fighting the urge to plant more plants. This happens every year. Every year we get scared and plant more plants and every year we are overflowing in vegetables. So, we are telling ourselves our puny little plants will recover and be fine. We are resisting the urge to plant more plants. Can you tell I'm convincing myself?

More of Us, Unedited

May the force be with you...

The force is strong with this one.

Chloe loves going for walks in the wagon. Evan will go to amuse her, but he's not so into it anymore.

What a good daddy he will be someday... you know, way way in the future when I'm old and gray.

Hollywood, here I come!

Working in the garden... our garden is huge this year, but we've not had time to correctly care for it and therefore we haven't gotten as much harvest as we usually do. What a shame.

Evan got to hold Oliver all by himself for the first time over Memorial Day weekend (yes, I'm behind). Mom looks a little nervous, LOL.

Ok, I have a few more folders that I really want to edit before I share them, but then I think I will almost be caught up!

Now the kids are clamoring to go outside before it rains so I better run.

Guess what? Chloe drank a 1/4 of a cup of milk this morning in three different settings, but that's progress, right?

Pure Boy

Empty out those pockets, Son

The ones you filled with dreams

This morning they were empty

Now they're bursting at the seams

What have you found to save today?

What magic can you share?

Tell Mommy what you dreamed about

The what and when and where

What treasures have you gathered, Son?

Collected on your way

To all those special places

You travel in a day

Did you catch a speedy rocket

To a distant shiny star

And pocket rocks when leaving

To keep as your memoirs

Did you hike into the mountains

And chance to meet a bear

Then use your trusty water gun

To give that bear a scare

Did you hop a railroad car in town

Then travel far away

And bring that pretty flower back

To give to me today

Empty out your pockets, Son

They're bursting at the seams

And speak of your adventures, dear

Tell Mommy of your dreams.

--Brenda Darlene Kijowski

Friday, I took Evan to my mom's house so that I could go to register him for pre-k. When we got in the house he said, "There's something here in my pocket." And reached in and pulled out a roly poly bug! We told him to take it outside. Well, I was trying to get it to roll into a ball for him and I dropped it and it fell between the deck slats. Evan was heartbroken! He bawled and cried over his little bug that he lost.

Then a few minutes later, he spotted a really BIG bug on the deck. I'm not sure what kind it was, but it had pinchers if that tells you anything. I think it was already dead. Evan played around with it for a few minutes. He started to pick it up, but the legs "grabbed him" so he left it there.

Well, we were standing there talking and all of a sudden Evan comes over and just stomps that big bug! Well, it was one of those bugs that makes a big... "crunch.... splat!" sound and there were bug guts all over the deck. Yes, it was a really big bug.

We all, said "Ohhh! Evan! Gross!" and then started laughing. I looked over and he was covering his ears, LOL. I don't think he realized what it would do. It kind of shocked him. But then he started laughing too. So, funny that one minute he's crying over a lost bug and the next minute he's stomping one!

He's such a boy.....

In the past two weeks he's brought home a frog and then a caterpillar. I've had so much fun watching him play with these things. I don't think it was quite so fun for the frog and the caterpillar.


I think the frog got away safely. We put him in our flowerbed when we went in for the night and the next morning he was gone.

But, I'm afraid the caterpillar met a different fate. He was a very resilient little fellow. He was dropped and picked up a million times last night. He was lost in the couch several times. He was placed on the light bulb of a lamp.

I kept hearing, "Mom is it ok if my caterpiwar is on the couch?" "Mom, is it ok if my caterpiwar is on the wamp?" "Mom! I can't find my caterpiwar!"

Several times the caterpillar got very still and I thought for sure he was a goner, but then he'd amaze me and begin crawling again.

But, sadly, when Evan went up to his room to get his bug box with his caterpillar this morning and took little caterpillar out, he was pretty still.... and.... a little..... stiff, as well.

Evan thinks he's just really tired and still sleeping... but I think he's entered into eternal sleep. May he rest in peace.

I love my little boy so much. He's rough and tumble and sensitive as all get out all at the same time. Sometimes it is hard for his daddy because he will be fighting one minute and crying and whining the next. It seems like he's in a difficult stage right now... he's getting so big and he acts so mature and he's so independent one minute... and then he's still a baby the next. He still needs his mommy and love and hugs and kisses. And that is just fine with me.

The other night, when we were saying our prayers he said, "Thank you God, for giving me my mommy." If only he knew how I thank God every single day for him.

And last night he just came over to me out of the blue and planted a big, loud kiss on my cheek and said,

"There's a big, juicy kiss just for you!"

He picks me flowers all the time in the yard and when I put them in my hair he tells me I look like a queen.

He is the sweetest big brother. He loves his sister so much. He will just walk over to her out of the blue and give her kisses and the other day, I walked up to him carrying her and he said,

"Aww, Chloe is so beautiful."

Chloe is a little rough on him right now, but he takes the hair pulling and poking and scratching and pinching in stride, most of the time. He was being sweet to her one day and she was pulling his hair, and I said,

"Evan, you are such a sweet big brother."and he said, "Yeah, for a mean sister."

Evan is a lot like me in a lot of ways. He's a little timid, not a risk-taker. He is cautious. He thinks about his actions. He can be a worrier. And he wants to please people. But he is also stubborn (not that that is like me), fiercely independent, and he needs a reason why things happen or why rules are the way they are.

Evan has an amazing vocabulary. He shocks us with the things he says. And he is so imaginative. He tells great stories and loves to read books. He likes to fix things and build things, and put things together.

It is so amazing to see him growing into this little person. To see his unique personality develop. To see his strengths and his weaknesses. To see how he handles new situations, to watch him deal with disappointment, to see him succeed. It's just amazing.

He is perfect in my eyes. I love him more than life itself. He brings me joy every day. There is nothing in the world like a little boy. He doesn't care if I'm fat or skinny or if I have make-up on or not. My hair can be greasy and pulled back in a pony tail and he looks at me and sees a queen. And when he looks at me I feel like one, too.

He is one amazing kid, but most of all, he's just Evan.
Riding his gator with his sunglasses on crooked, Evan.

Riding through the sprinklers, when we told him it was too cool to get wet, Evan.

Sweet, Evan

Happy, Evan

Silly, Evan

Goofy, Evan

My Evan

Just my Evan. And I love you.

Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him. Psalm 127:3

Mary, Mary...

... Quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With Brother's love

And Daddy's care

And a little balancing down the row.

Matthew and Evan put out our garden this weekend. I love having a garden, but I'm afraid I'm a little like the friends of the Little Red Hen. I like to eat the results, but I'm not as much into the labor!

This year "we" put out:

Tomatoes

Okra

Peppers

Squash

Zucchini

Cucumber

Strawberries

and

Watermelon

YUM! YUM!

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Not all of Chloe's pictures were "contrary".... This was a little photo shoot I did with her. I wanted to get some pictures of her in this dress with the matching doll, because it used to be mine! These were my first ever pictures shooting totally in manual mode (I did the garden ones in manual as well). I was really happy with how they turned out. These have been edited, but the SOOC color and such was better. I think with a little practice, I'll really like the control I can get with Manual. Ok, maybe with a lot of practice.. one thing I learned.. every time you zoom you have readjust the shutter speed or aperture to get the exposure right. I had quite a few way over or way underexposed pictures because of that. So much to pay attention to.