See how my garden grows!

The garden is taking off, finally. I realized after talking to my neighbor that I was not watering enough, so now that I am getting more water into the soil, it is really growing well.




Most of the 'plants' we planted died, but all of the seeds did great and we have planted more things this week...soy beans, lettuce, spinach, and carrots.




The first crop of beets look ready to pull, as well as the carrots, and...wait for it...I saw a bean this morning!! Yes, it is only 1/2" long, but it portends good things to come!!





This is one of our squash plants that is growing in a separate box...I love the texture of the leaves!



So far, I am happy with my Square Foot Garden..,I've pulled a total of ten weeds so far, much better than the battle my Dad just told me that he fight in his standard garden. Once you get the SFG set up, it is a matter of watering and planting new squares as you harvest the old...next garden project...start a worm box!

I am stealing the words below from my sister (Sister Wives power activate - form of...blogger!) because, well, it's good, and why reinvent the wheel?!? I am adding photos though...enjoy!!

"My sister and I long ago decided that the ancient practice of extended family living close together was something we really wished had never died out. When Leah was about 18 months old the two of us came out for a visit. My sister was still working her design job and Steve was away all day at work/school so Leah and I would hang out, taking walks to the park and just enjoying the change of scenery. I also did some light housekeeping which earned me the title "Tri's Housewife." We later coined the term "Sister Wives" when we both had multiple children and collectively tackled house keeping and childcare during our visits. We frequently declared, "Sister Wives' Power... Activate!" Do you remember the Wonder Twins? I still think we should get matching silver rings.

The last several days have been great. We tag team on the childcare and the housework. She does the cooking...I am her sous chef. She had 3 extra kids over for a sleepover...I helped her keep them fed and busy with crafts. It is a great thing to be able to share this with her!



So, today started out pretty uneventful. Church...lunch...nothing out of the ordinary. We had a drive to the mountains planned so we started the prep for that after lunch. Kids piled into the van, fleece jackets were stacked in the cargo area, and all sorts of snack foods rode up front for easy retrieval. We headed out for Mt. Evans so we could say we drove to the top of a 14er but didn't make it far before the transmission on the van started acting up. For whatever reason it wouldn't shift into the upper gears when we hit the interstate. Mt. Evans quickly got tabled and a trip to a museum in nearby Evergreen was our back up. What a cool place! We toured the houses of the Hiwan Homestead for a couple hours. This fall we will start out studying the 1900's so the museum was the perfect location to go. We got to tour the main house as well as several other buildings on the homestead. I couldn't have picked a more timely trip.



As we were winding down at the museum Eric started to look puny. We headed over to Beau Jo's for for some amazing pizza and things seemed to be going pretty well. The kids and Tri took on a 5 pound pizza and amazed our server by finishing every last bite. I had a yummy GF pizza all to myself and even enjoyed cheese for the first time in a year. They had a dairy free variety and it actually melted and everything!




After pigging out on a dessert pizza the kids were sufficiently stuffed and we headed home. Feeling spontaneous, we stopped off on the side of the road to wade in a river for a bit.



The kids had a great time throwing rocks, splashing around, and getting soaked. We piled the sodden crew back into the vehicle and headed for home, praying for an uneventful drive. Amazingly the transmission shifted perfectly and we thought we were in for a smooth ride. That is until Austin started to complain of an upset tummy. By the time we made it home Tri had quite a mess to clean up in the backseat, Leah was complaining of a severe sore throat, and Tri's other two were also complaining of upset tummies.

At present we have 2 vomiting, 2 feverish, and one totally unaffected (Theo) at least for now. We also found that Steve had been running a fever all day as well so the next few days should be interesting to say the least. Oy!

I needed to run out for some Chloraseptic so Tri decided to join me. We figured we might as well medicate ourselves so we came home armed with chocolate and ice cream Dibs. Now, common sense would say, "Go to bed...the kids will be up on and off all night." But, no...common sense was pitched out the window. Once we made sure everyone was comfy we settled in for a movie and junk food. Now we wait. Will they wake us up in the middle of the night? Only time will tell!

Sister Wives' Power, Activate! Form of a nursing team!"

Monday morning update: All children seem to be well...the one who did not get sick at all still seems to be healthy and now that morning chores are done, they have all evaporated to go off and play...I love my family!!!

Hi, my name is Trina...

...and I am an addict - a Facebook addict that is!

You know you are a Facebook Addict when:

10) Your kid says something funny, and your first thought is how to word it for a status update.

9) You walk in the door from, well just about anywhere, and the first thing you do after you say hi, is go check FB

8) You spend hours scrolling through other people's pages to see if you missed anything.

7) You keep checking back to see if anyone has posted a new update, even at 2 am.

6) You justify all the time you spend on FB.

5) It rains, or you see a cloud shaped like a dragon, or the grass grows 1/16th of an inch, and you have to write a status update.

4) You would rather be on FB than playing with your kids. (ouch that one hurts)

3) You post a status update in the morning, and spend the rest of the day looking to see if anyone has commented.

2) Your house is a mess and your to-do list keeps growing, and growing, and growing...

1) You know you are a FB addict when you spend more time with your face to the computer screen than in living real life with real people.

So, yes, I am an addict, but a recovering one. I stopped FB'ing three weeks ago aside from a post to clear up the "Birthday Dilemma" and a post to let our CWAC ladies know about the next sewing bee.

At first it was hard, and it really bothers me that it was hard. I thought about FB all the time and wondered what I was missing. Guess what? Anything you miss, your friends will tell you when you call them or meet them at the park or for MNO!! A radical idea, I know, but true nonetheless!!

And this from a girl who was a teen and young adult before computers and cell phones even existed!! I should know better!!

So, here I go forward...talking to my hubby, blogging my little blog, playing with my kids and calling my friends on the phone. Ah, it's nice to breath the fresh air!



BTW, I need to borrow a bike for my niece to ride while she's here...anyone have one I can borrow? She's ten. :D

Ta Da!!

It's been a long time coming, but Sweet Girl's room is finally done!!

I looked in there recently, and realized that it looked kind-of-like a yard sale gone all wrong...a too small round table that was great when she was five, not so great at eight...a small "church table" that is just plain ugly...old white shutters that I love and she tolerates...no window coverings...BRIGHT paint on the wall...my old chiff-robe from the days when I ate dirt (and brought home cute little round "rocks" that our neighborly rabbits left for us...it was just a mess!!

Knowing that my sister and niece are going to be here in less than two weeks lit a fire under my tail. And thanks to some awesome deals on Craigslist, some cheap pre-made drapery panels and sheets from good ol' Target...her room is finally done!

It really felt like an episode from Design on a Dime: We reused the bunk beds, the white shelves, and the square paper lamp. On Craigslist, I found a six piece bedroom set (two desks, two chairs, a dresser and a bookcase) for $57 - yes $57 for all of it! I found a pair of drapery panels for $17, two sets of sheets for $13 each, and a picture frame for $8.



The drapery panels were too long, so I cut them to the correct length and hemmed them, then used the excess fabric to cover the two chair cushions. The sheets were purchased in two separate patterns, so we split them up - solid turquoise fitted with circle pattern flat and vice-versa - this gives the bunk beds interest and ties all the colors together.

The picture frame is bamboo, and uses two pieces of glass to sandwich an original piece of art done by my friend Kris Gideon. The glass lets the wall paint show through, and oila! A perfect color match for a "mat" for the amazing horse painting that Kris painted for Sweet Girl.



Sweet Girl had also been collecting posters from a horse magazine, and though I was skeptical at first, they make a pretty interesting border along the wall over the new furniture.



So, let's add that up...the grand total spent to finish a room that is big-girl-to-die-for: $95!!



I must say, I told Sweet Girl tonight, as we watched fireworks flash green, gold and red in front the the foothills ..."I wish I had had a room like this when I was growing up!". She couldn't agree more.

A peek into the day of an (almost) five-year-old

Sleeping in…blueberry pancakes…playing war with Bubba…unloading the dishwasher…swimming in the pool…sunshine…blue skies…diving rings…face underwater…playing in the pea gravel…nachos with cheese…a nap in the playroom…clouds rolling in…rain…thunder…lightening…driving with Mommy…a rainbow in the sky…God’s promise to us…bag pipes and dancing…Amazing Grace…fried chicken and biscuits…millet & limas…five candles…yummy ice cream cake…chocolate ice cream…nuts…a new bike…toys to build with…a baseball bat and glove…an orange camping chair…a new bike…trios…special gifts from Bubba & YaYa…playing with the new toys…driving in the rain…questions…questions… watching fireworks…running in the rain…church parking lot… fireworks…fireworks…everywhere we look more fireworks…red…blue…purple…flowers…poppers…screamers…
God’s fireworks flashing in the sky…at the park…cozy with my family…five years old!

July 4th, 2010
A few days early, but what a day!