7 Weeks Down...1 1/2 Days To Go

This will be a short one...

I am SOOO EXCITED!!!  This Friday I will be picking Jerry up at the airport and we get to spend 2 days together...without kids!  It will be very nice to have him back!

Thank you to everyone for your kind words during Jerry's time in Alabama.

Tree Hunt

Last Thursday the boys and I ventured out to pick out our Christmas tree.  We went to a tree farm about 40 minutes from our home.  When we got there Nathan had begun to doze and expressed a strong desire to go home.  He changed his attitude and got into the fun after we wandered through the trees for a bit though.

                

It was sweet to watch them look at how big the trees were and try to find the one that would look good in our home.  When we lived in Montana we would pay a $5 fee and go cut down our own tree.  This is obviously a different experience (and much warmer), but fun none the less.



6 Weeks Down

The end of this adventure is in sight!  In 1 1/5 weeks I will have my husband in my arms once again!  Hooray!! 

Jerry flies back to California on the 10th.  I feel a little bad though because the boys won't see him until the 12th.  My dad and step mom are going to watch the boys for us so that we can have a couple days to ourselves.  Nathan thinks that I am going on a girls weekend.  I feel like this little white lie is alright because obviously if he knew that I was with his daddy he would be quite upset.  I've never been away from the boys for longer than 1 day, and they were with Jerry then.

We've been doing some Christmas decorating in our home the past couple days.  Every time Griffin sees a picture of Santa he says, "Ho, Ho, Ho."  Nathan is really enjoying listening to Christmas music and learning the words.  With every new song he asks what it is called and who sings it.  He definitely has his favorites; Rudolph, Frosty, Jingle Bells, and The Little Drummer Boy at this point.  I think that we may go get a tree this Friday.  I would like to have the house all put together for Jerry's return.  I'm just a little nervous about putting the stand on it by myself.  Hopefully mommy doesn't end up under the tree!  I'm also wondering if this year we will need to have the ornaments starting about 3 feet up.  Griffin is so curious and loves to move things and take things apart.  We will probably hang the homemade ornaments down low.  

5 Weeks Down

It's 5am and I am getting ready to finish up my last 1/2 day of child care subbing for my neighbor.  I know one thing for sure....I do not want to have my own day care!  My neighbor has called me a couple times and I've told her that I don't think she makes enough money for the job she does.  I am really looking forward to noon when all of the kids are picked up and the boys and I can head to my dad's house!  The subbing probably wouldn't have been as trying on me if I also hadn't been without Jerry for over a month.  It was pretty tiring to take care of all of the kids all day and then come home and still be mommy for a few more hours.

I get to see my wonderful husband in 16 days!  Before this separation the longest that I had done solo-parenting was 11 days.  I have to say that I am proud of myself for "holding down the fort".  I truly admire spouses who have to go months and months without their partner!  The mental part of it can be difficult.  I can tell when I need adult time because I talk more to strangers in stores, or try to keep people on the phone longer to get a fix.

It's time for me to finish getting ready.  Thank you for taking a moment to read about my life :-)

4 Weeks Down...

The good news is that Jerry has now been gone more days than we have days left to see him.  Our "Daddy Chain" has greatly shortened, and Nathan can now pretty much count the links without my help.  It was a little more difficult for him when there were 40 or 50+ days.  It is down to 22 days.

I am now just about over my yucky cold.  A couple days were pretty funky with my sinuses and cough.  Griffin is too cute; every time I sneeze, cough, or clear my throat he says, "Bless you, mama."  It sounds a little more like, "Bess you mama," but it is very sweet!  Sometimes I am in the other room and I hear him across the house saying it to me.  The funny thing is when Nathan sneezes and he still says, "Bless you mama."  I think we have him saying Nathan now instead (or sometimes "brother").  I thought that Nathan was in the clear from getting the cold, but yesterday he started coughing.  I am just realy hoping that it doesn't progress because he has had to be on a nebulizer a couple times with his coughing...no fun!

Starting tomorrow I am subbing at my neighbor's child care for 4 1/2 days.  She will be travelling to WA with her family for Thanksgiving, so I am filling in.  Her husband is also deploying to Iraq in December for 6 months, so I wanted to help out.  I will have 4 kiddos as well as my 2 little guys, so please send me happy thoughts!!  On that note I am heading to bed so that I am well rested for the adventure ahead of me.

Oh yes, I am happy to report that Nathan's behavior has been improving lately.  We are now talking to Jerry with our webcams (not sure why we didn't do this sooner?) and he likes to interact with Jerry this way.  We've also sent a couple packages to Jerry, which Nathan likes to color pictures for.

3 Weeks Down

Jerry has now been in Alabama for 3 weeks.  He will be home with us one month from today; December 10th.  Now that stores are truly showing their "Christmasness" it is more difficult to have him far away.  We have always enjoyed this time of year as a couple, and as a family.  I think that Nathan is a little confused because we told him that Daddy would be home when we decorate for Christmas, but he is seeing decorations without daddy here.  Nathan's behavior has also been much more difficult lately.  He is testing me much more than usual.  Some mornings he actually tells me, "I am going to have bad behavior today."  I try to remain calm and firm, but wowsers, this kid can be good at his stubbornness!

I also have acquired a cold in the last couple days that is making breathing, sleeping, and patience a little more difficult.  I am not quite sure why colds are worse in the evening and morning, but I do not like it...one bit!!!  I seem to have shared this cold with Griffin, so he is even more clingy with me.  It really is endearing to hear him call me Mommeeee, and want me to hold him ever-so-close, but at 1am it is a little more.....frustrating.  I love my little guys so VERY MUCH though, and I know that I am truly blessed to call them "my" little pests.

2 Weeks Down

Today makes 2 weeks that Jerry has been in Alabama.  In some ways it feels like much longer, but in other ways it doesn't feel that long at all.  The last 2 weeks have been so busy, I really hope the next 5 go by just as fast!

My neighbor, who I help out with her daycare, has been battling some health issues recently.  So when she needs me, and I am available, I try to help out.  Sometimes it isn't planned when I need to help her, but I jump in and sub as needed.  Yesterday and today were 2 such moments.  The boys and I went over yesterday at about noon and stayed until 6 because she was very sick.  We also went today from 6:30am until 5pm.  There are moments when I feel crazy being "in charge" of my 2 boys, but next door I was caring for 7 kids!  I think the main goal that I have when I am there is to never let them see when I am doubting my position.  I want to always give the illusion that I have a plan.  There are of course difficult moments; such as when I have one child on the toilet calling for help, another child upset that he was hit by a bat, the hitter mad that the bat was taken away, and me trying to pry frozen hamburgers apart thus snapping my finger nail back and bleeding all over...  You know what though?  I am really happy that I can help out a friend/neighbor when she needs me.  I won't deny that I also look forward to a glass of wine in the evening after all of the chaos.

This weekend the boys and I will be getting away for a few days.  We are going to go to a friend's house in Orange County for a night and then onto my dad's for a couple days.  I look forward to being able to relax and enjoy some friend and family company!

neewollaH...

I cannot remember what movie this silly song was in, but I know that someone out there reading this will let me know....I just remember a girl in a boat at night and everyone was singing, "Neewollah...Neewollah"...come on Mom, I know you can tell me!

So, for those who don't know, Neewollah is Halloween (backwards)...

We definitely missed Jerry for Halloween this year!  I feel bad, but I didn't carve pumpkins with the boys.  It's not that we didn't have pumpkins, there are 4 on my porch.  It was just a very crazy weekend, and when I intended for us to carve them I ended up helping to take care of my sick neighbor.  Something tells me that the boys will forgive me though.

A month or so ago Nathan decided that he wanted to be Woody from Toy Story.  I wished a little that he could have been something where I could have put the costume together, but I went ahead and bought him the Woody costume...and he loved it! 

Griffin, although vocal, didn't have as much say in his costume.  I thought about what would be cute and fun to make, then I asked him, "Hey Grif, do you want to be a scarecrow?"  and he said "Yeah!"  So I went ahead and got out the hot glue gun with a little felt and some raffia and went to town.  I was even able to find a cute had and a crow to accentuate his look. 

Trick or treating was a lot of fun as well.  Some friends of ours, who we knew in Montana and recently moved here, came over and went with us.  Their 4yr old little boy was Buzz Lightyear, so the boys were a great duo.  It was very cute when they were running around to houses because they would say, "Hey Buzz, wait for me," or "Woody, come on, over here!"  Mommy also enjoyed the chocolate loot!

Grif on his way to his first house.  I think his tongue is out in expectation of what is to come.

Paper Mache', Anyone?!

Wow, messy sums it up!  I thought, oh yeah, I can do this, paper mache' isn't so bad.  And while I really wasn't wrong, I was a little, tiny bit overzealous. 

My neighbor and I decided a while back that making pinatas with the kids for a Halloween party would be a fun craft.  I thought, hey, I've never actually done paper mache', but why not.  So I decided we should use those giant balloons with the rubber band attached and paper mache' that for the pinata.  I said I could go ahead and practice one at home so that we could know what we were getting into.  A couple days into Jerry being gone I thought that the boys and I should make a huge mess in our kitchen accentuated with a little yelling from mommy.  I don't know how I made it to the age of 31 without knowing that flour and water is all it really takes to make concrete.  There are still bits of this fun being found on the floor and counter in my kitchen.  We really did have fun though.  I made sure we were all in our "grubby" clothes and let the boys go for it.  

Take note of Griffin in the background holding a piece of the table Nathan is sitting at

After letting the project dry for a couple days, all of the day care kids ventured to our backyard today to finish making the pinata. (We decided that 1 would be plenty for all of them)  We smothered it with glue and let them have at it with orange tissue paper.  I think they all enjoyed themselves (for a couple minutes), but as with many crafts someone is left at the end to finish it up. 

Guess who got to finish it up?! ;-)



Our finished pumpkin



Um, yeah, no!!!

Pumpkin Picking Fun

My neighbor runs an in-home child care here on the base, and a couple months ago I became her "employee".  Basically I help out when I can if they are going on trips, preparing crafts, sub when she is sick, etc.  She is an amazing woman!  She is very organized and creative, and my boys love going to her home.

Last week, the day after Jerry left, we went to Avila Barn with the day care.  Avila Barn is a place to buy seasonal produce, "country" items, yummy baked goods, fudge, pick produce, pet animals- basically family fun.  Take 9 kids and it gets a little crazy...fun, but crazy. 

This time of year they offer tractor rides and pumpkin & apple picking.  It was a wild afternoon wrangling kiddos, but all-in-all it was fun.

Giving hugs in the hay

A parent gave us these for the kids, and my boys loved wearing them

This is the wagon we use when we go places with the kiddos...Griffin loves to just hang out in it.  Imagine me pulling it full of kids through a pumpkin field...no pictures of that moment.

1 Week Down

Jerry has been in Alabama now for 1 week.....and we definitely miss him!  It may sound a little odd, but I try not to think about him too much throughout the day because I don't want to dwell on missing him.  The day after he left the boys and I made a paper chain to count down the days until Daddy comes home.  Nathan said that he didn't want the chain to be as long as it was.  Nathan knows that Daddy will be coming home when the Christmas decorations are out, so he asks me occasionally if we can get them out now.  He also asked me the other day if I could ride them in the bike trailer to the airport to see if Daddy was there yet.  I really don't like to complain about him being gone because I have friends whose husbands go to foreign war zones for 6 or more months.  Jerry is in Alabama "battling" humidity and ...?  Nonetheless, we do miss him!  VERY MUCH!  Jerry is such an amazing help around the house with the boys, laundry, cleaning, mental support, etc, that it is definitely noticed when he's not here.  A few months ago Jerry and I started giving the other person one night "off" per week so that we could have time on our own to do whatever.  Nathan asked me the other evening if it was my night off....hmmm 

We are doing well though and counting down the days...

Last Minute....Adventure?!

So on Tuesday morning around 11am Jerry got a phone call informing him that he needed to activate his government travel card and buy a plane ticket to go to Alabama the next day....for 7 weeks for the Senior NCO Academy.  A couple months ago we thought that he was going to be doing this, but a couple weeks ago he was told that he would not be going at this time.  So needless to say this was a bit of a surprise!!  I really don't like to complain about situations like this because I have military friends whose husbands have to leave for months at a time to dangerous places.  So we are fortunate that Jerry is only across the country in Alabama.  I won't lie though.  I am bummed that he isn't going to be here for Halloween or Thanksgiving!  It is also difficult that Nathan and Griffin don't have a strong concept of time.  We are going to make a paper chain today to count down the days until Daddy comes home.  Nathan knows that Daddy won't be home until the Christmas decorations are out.  Jerry flies back home on December 10th.  So wish me luck, and say a little prayer, that I won't lose my cool (too much) while the boys and I are on this "adventure".

Busy....reality or just an excuse?

So to all of my loyal followers (I think I had around 5) I genuinely apologize for the major gap in my blogging!!!!  I would like to tell you that I have been extremely busy, which I have, but aren't we all!?!  For a while I felt that I should only blog about things that I had pictures of...the fact is though that I don't carry a camera with me at all times...shame, shame!  I realize though that if you are taking time out of your busy day to read about the crazy life that exists in my orbit, I don't always need pictures to prove what is going on around here.

I am going to try much harder to keep our family blog up to date, with or without pictures.  Feel free to hassle me if I neglect this duty!

"Waterfall"

One thing that we enjoyed doing in Montana was getting out into nature.  We've done a few midsized hikes (4-5 miles) with the kids (including a 4 mile one when I was 5 days overdue with Griffin), but tend to keep them a little shorter.  This last Sunday we did a 1/2 mile hike to a local "waterfall" about 30 minutes from our house.  I have waterfall in parentheses because it was more like a trickle this time of year.  Even though the waterfall wasn't that grand we still enjoyed being outside in the trees and on the trail.  

On the way up to the waterfall

  

Staying Out of the Gutter

Over the past month or so Nathan has been asking to go bowling.  So this last Saturday we decided to go.  Because we decided to go on a Saturday evening the bowling alley was having their "Thunder Alley" event where they have black lights, disco balls, and louder music.  We weren't sure how the boys would react, but they loved it.  Both of them really got into it.  They have a ramp for younger kids to use, as well as the bumpers so they are always sure to at least get a few pins down.  Sometimes I'm not sure about the bumpers though...it seems like a right of passage to get a certain amount of gutter balls before you learn how to really bowl.  I suppose for a one and three year old though bumpers are fair.  (They also helped mom to break 100!)  Jerry didn't bowl because he recently tore a muscle in his shoulder.  It was really cute to see the boys cheering for one another.  Each time Griffin would push the ball down the ramp he would wait for it to hit the pins and then run back to wait for the ball to return.  We only had him try to run down the lane one time, and thankfully nobody slipped when retrieving him!  We are enjoying the variety of things we can do with the boys as they get older.

Pink, pink, and more pink

Recently I had the pleasure of creating another cake.  This time one of my friends asked me to make a Princess Castle cake for her daughter's 3rd birthday.  It is funny how this hobby of mine can also cause me so much stress.  I have learned that I still have a lot to learn!  Although I was mostly satisfied with the results of this cake, I have decided that I need to take a few steps back in my cake creations and learn more about technique.  That way I can hopefully avoid so much stress in the future when creating new cakes.  I am happy to report though that the cake was a hit with the birthday girl.

My little helper

4th of July Weekend

To start off the 4th of July weekend (early) we headed to San Diego to help my brother and his family move there.  My brother is now an Air Force recruiter in that area.  Of course we couldn't go to San Diego without taking advantage of some local attractions.  We had lunch on Coronado with my brother's family and also toured the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier.  The tight quarters made me thankful to live on land!  That night my 3 boys and I headed to a Padres baseball game; the first major league game for our little guys.  What made that event even better for Jerry was that they were playing his favorite team- the Astros.  We didn't stay for the finish though because the game went into overtime.  We are happy to report that the Astros won 6-3 in the 10th!  (Even though I am an Angels fan)      

Me and my big brother

On Coronado

Nathan "enjoying" The Midway

The next day we headed to Sea World.  I will admit that this day was a little more stressful than enjoyable.  This day was the end of a very long week for the boys, so needless to say they were tired and nerves were a little shot.  We had a few rough 3 year old moments, but we were also able to have some fun and enjoyed a couple shows. 

After Sea World we went to my dad's house for a couple days.  This may have been the best part of the whole weekend because we were able to slow down and relax.  The boys played in the water, ate apricots off the same tree that I ate them off of at their age, and enjoyed time with their Papa and Nonna.  It was nice to have some down time to unwind!

All in all our July got off to a busy start with some fun as well...

Father's Day

I could go on and on about what a fabulous Daddy my two sons have, but.....okay I will for a little bit.  Jerry ALWAYS puts his boys (and me) first!  He is an amazing father who is hands on and takes on every task.  When he gets home from work each day, the first thing that he does is hug Nathan and Griffin and typically ends up on the floor wrestling with them.  He reads to them, feeds them, bathes them, brushes their teeth, helps with potty necessities, plays with them, teaches them, cuddles them, rocks them, kisses their boo-boos, and loves them in uncomprehendingly!  Even though there are moments where they can try his nerves, he always ends up asking himself how he can improve and be a better dad.  One other gift that Jerry gives to his boys, is his love for me.  Jerry shows his sons that the love he and I share is important and sets the groundwork for the family we have.  As you can tell if you are reading this, I love my husband, and I love the Father that I have watched him become!  I chose right!

For Father's day the boys "helped" me make Jerry breakfast.  We then drove to Santa Barbara where we rode the carousel, walked on the pier and had lunch, went on a small boat ride where we saw dolphins, and ended the afternoon at Borders (one of Nathan's favorite places).  We had a nice day as a family!!

Yum Yum!

These days Griffin has quite the mind, and attitude, of his own.  He is becoming more and more curious, and he usually wants to do everything that his brother is doing...wash his hands at the sink, color, read, climb, swing, go on slides, play in the sand (eat the sand) etc.  He also likes to exert his independence when he eats, which he likes to do quite often!  One of his favorite things to eat, and wear, is yogurt.  Griffin will not allow us to feed him though, and it becomes an interesting activity to bare witness to.  The only way that he will learn better spoon control though is to practice.  So I move him to the tile floor, put on the bib, and let him have at it!

When I'm a Mom I'll Never...

I think that many moms out there would agree that before they were moms they were the "best" mom.  We would look at other moms, or parents, and witness their faults as they "gave in" to their children, and think..oh, when I'm a mom, I will never do that!  I won't use bribery, yell, let my child get so filthy, etc. And then...and then, we give birth, and we realize that this whole mothering thing is quite difficult.  We knew that it would be "hard", but did we really truly know that it would be freakin' crazy hard!!! Sometimes when I see pregnant women out and about I want to pull them aside and warn them, give them insider information.  But who am I kidding?!  They are so blissfully excited and cute.  Why would I want to pop that bubble?  And please don't get me wrong, there is reason to be blissfully excited (and scared out of your mind), but the journey that these soon to be mothers are about to embark on can only be experienced for ones self.  I have joked with other moms that we are all part of a club...we are in "the know".  And then when you add another baby to the mix and become a mom of more than one child, you join another club.  Sadly, but for good reason, this new club looks slightly down on the members of the previous club.  You start to think that you had it "easy" when you only had one child to chase, worry about, feed, bathe, read to, teach....love.  I will admit that I have had these thoughts.  But I know my limits and I want to remain a member of this club.  I have told my friends who are mothers of more than two that they are saints, a special breed, members of a club that I do not wish to join.  Instead I will look to them with admiration and awe. 

I had many friends with children before I myself became a mother.  I tried to limit the amount of things I told myself I would or would not do as a mother.  Mainly because I did not want to eat my own words.  Of course there are some "big" ones that I will try to stick to...I will not eat or sell my young (although at times tempting), I will do arts & crafts with my children every day (who are we kidding), I will feed my children healthy and nutritious food (come on, just eat the broccoli and salmon).  I have found, and continue to learn, that I must "pick my battles".  And really, they don't have to be "battles".  I have learned, that my job as a stay-at-home mommy, is to learn my children.  Each day I learn more about their personalities, quirks, likes, dislikes, moods.  When I step back and take a deep breath (or 4), I see that they are teaching me how to "mother" them.  And what an honor it truly is!   

 I will never let my child eat something gooey and sticky in their carseat (mm mmm, peanut butter!)

Busy Day to Start off the Long Weekend

So to start off our long weekend we had a very busy day!  Early in the week our neighbors invited us to join them up the coast riding their ATV.  A little less then an hour from here is a place that is a sort of "Mecca" to ATV owners.  The dunes at Pismo beach are quite the attraction...and on the first day of Memorial Day weekend that is not said lightly!  I am not quite sure how to explain it for anyone who has not experienced this before.  You drive your vehicle, preferably 4WD, onto the beach and find a spot amongst all of the other hundreds of people there to have fun.  The last time I was on an ATV was probably when I still had baby teeth, so my first ride was not solo.  Each of us took a ride or two while the kids played in the sand.  It was quite amazing to visit this city of sorts.  There were trucks driving up and down the beach offering all sorts of services- firewood for sell, snacks, water for your motor home, waste water removal from your motor home (yuck), towing service for when you get stuck, parts, etc...  We ended up packing it up a little sooner than expected because the wind and the cold got to be too much.  It was a fun morning with our neighbors, but I have to admit that I felt a little guilty for contributing to the destruction of this part of nature.

After the sand dunes we headed up the coast a bit to a place called Avila Valley Barn.  This is where we picked our pumpkins at Halloween and got our Christmas tree.  They offer a couple stores to buy produce, sweets, and ice cream.  They also have an array of farm animals to feed.  Nathan kept telling me that they smelled bad...which was true.  You can also take a hayride to pick whatever is in season....today it was peaches and apricots.  I have to admit that the allure of a field of peach and apricot trees inspires me to bake, bake, bake...and maybe can a little.  The trick is to keep that inspiration once you've hauled your 20 pounds of peaches home.  Okay, I didn't really get that much.  It was fun to wander through the fields and pick fresh fruit.  I had to limit the intake on the way home though, which is fun to explain to a 3 year old.  After being in the hot fields we splurged on a bit of ice cream.  Being at the picnic tables and watching my little guys get messy with chocolate ice cream was a great ending to a fun day!  It is in these moments that I ask the universe to please let me remember this...this yummy, messy, sticky goodness that is the love I have for these beings that I helped to create.

Dinner on the Beach

A few days ago I decided to do something a little different for dinner.  We changed up our dinning location and added a little sand to the mix....literally!  Here on base there are a couple beaches.  To many people they are mainly known for the wind, which is quite often present, but it is still the beach...the beautiful, peaceful, awesome ocean.  I packed us a simple dinner, threw some sand toys and towels in the car, picked up Jerry after work, and we headed to Wall Beach.  The evening was not elaborate by any means, but my boys had fun playing and getting covered in sand.  We ate our dinner, a little crunchy from the boys spreading sand everywhere, and then played some more.  I have to say that it is these simple moments that I love sharing with my 3 boys.

His First Shiner

Last Monday Nathan was unfortunately visited by a stomach bug (which he also had the previous Tuesday).  So the day was spent at home taking it easy, for Nathan at least, with towels and trash cans at the ready.  During this "calm" Griffin, our daredevil, got his first black eye.  He stepped onto a small block, slipped, and smacked his eye into the very corner of our coffee table.  As he fell down I was so scared to pick him up in fear that there would be blood everywhere.  Thankfully the skin was not split open!  He did have a bit of a dent though, and by the end of the day he had a black eye.  It seems that with a semi-new walker I have new bruises and scrapes to explain when daddy gets home at the end of each day.  The bumps and bruises that our babies get as they grow are a sort of "right of passage", but it is still so difficult to watch them get banged up....and explain the bruises to the sweet old ladies at the grocery store!

Chatter Bug

He is talking away!  Our "little" Griffin is becoming quite the talker.  As least his proud parents think so!

Griffin's talking has been a change for us from Nathan at the same age.  Nathan had very few words by the time he was 15-16 months old.  Griffin isn't quite 14 months old and probably has around 15-20 words that he will say...and when in the right mood he will try almost all words we ask of him.  The funny thing is though....he still rarely says "mama", he usually calls me baba.  Some of his words include- dada, up, cup, duck, quack, baby (VERY clear), dog, that, cat, bath, diaper, pickle, thank you, and some animal sounds.  He tries to day brother and Nathan, but only mommy understands those ones at this point.  This evening I taught him to say "me".  I ask him, "Griffin, whose the baby?"  and he says (with a huge grin) "ME!".  It still baffles me how much they are learning and growing constantly!

Garden of.....death?!

In our quest to have a beautiful and bountiful garden I am beginning to fear that we are going to destroy more than create...

I suppose it started with all of the perfectly fine grass that I dug up for our garden's plot.  In this process there were also some wonderful worms who I unfortunately severed with the shovel.  Then after our garden was in the slugs arrived.  There is also a small army of baby snails in slow movement across our back patio.  We have also had birds and squirrels arrive to the party, which I am not trying to kill- just detour.  Yesterday when I was in the garden I noticed a suspiciously fresh pile of dirt...this time something was digging up into the garden.  When Jerry got home he stuck a garden hose into the hole (another hole was in the middle of our yard) and the culprit came out wet and muddy.  I am not sure if it was a gopher or a mole.  He scurried away out of our yard.  I fear that today he'll be back with friends?!

I don't want to kill things that are just doing what they know how to do so that we can have a garden.  However, I do want to have this garden.  Can peace be found between nature and the Phillips family?! 

Birthday & Mother's Day Weekend

This last weekend was a bit of a whirlwind for us.  On Saturday I turned another year older (really just a day older at that point, but that sounds a little silly).  We took a day trip up the coast and drove up the 1 to the small coastal town of Cambria.  It is a beautiful "artsy" town with cute shops, restaurants, and places we'd love to go back and visit sans-kiddos.  We had lunch there and then headed up the coast a bit more to Hearst Castle.  When Jerry and I were dating we tried to go to Hearst Castle (6 years ago), but we arrived too late and the gates were closed.  I remember seeing the castle at the top of the hill wishing we could see inside.  This go around we didn't plan a tour because we thought the kids couldn't go.  We were wrong though and we were able to do a tour.  Unfortunately when we got to the top of the hill after the 5 mile bus ride with about 50 other people, we realized that Griffin was in much need of a diaper change, but our diaper bag was back in the car.  The guides quickly took us to a restroom in the castle for families, which is usually stocked with such necessities.  They only had size 1 diapers though, which Griffin grew out of when he was about a month old.  I was trying to mentally figure out how to create a diaper for him from what was available, but a father there with young children graciously saved us!!  We were returned to our tour a much happier and less smelly family.

   The castle was built in the 20's and 30's, but most of the decor was purchased from England post WWI...very Gothic and dark.  The boys did pretty well considering this tour must have been very boring for them both.  

After the Castle adventure we wanted to go up the coast a little more.  We were going to go to a nearby lighthouse, but the winds that afternoon were a little too strong.   So instead we headed back to Cambria for a wonderful dinner. 

 At La Purisma Mission

On Mother's Day my boys (all 3) let me sleep late...which is always difficult for me because I am used to getting up early.  However, I forced myself back to bed and enjoyed some extra shut-eye!  They all surprised me with some nice treats and gifts.  In the afternoon we went to La Purisma Mission State Park which is less then 10 minutes from our house.  The boys and I went there in January when Jerry was in Texas, but it was nice to go back as a family.  The park is great for history, picnics, and hiking. (I sound a little like I am selling it, but if you can go, I do recommend it!) 

We all had a nice dinner together to finish off a nice weekend as a family.

New Visitor

So the past 2 days have brought along a new "visitor" to our garden.  A squirrel!!!  We are getting a little nervous that by the time all of our deterrents are up for various intruders, we won't have a garden left to enjoy.  I sprinkled a little cayenne last night, but I didn't have a lot.  We'll see if the little bugger prefers spicy veggies.

Hello?

Just a quick little check to see if we are being read about...  I am enjoying writing about us when I have a chance, but am interested to know if you are reading?  So, please give me a little comment just so I know my thoughts aren't going out into the web world unloved :-)

It's Growing!

Our garden has now been planted for a few weeks and we are seeing progress in most areas, a few losses elsewhere. We have been able to pick 2 strawberries so far, there is a cucumber growing, and there are buds on the tomatillo, and a few of the tomato plants, as well as pea shoots. This weekend I planted some bell pepper starters, lettuce, kale, and spinach seeds, and potted some herbs. I also added some flowers for a little more color. Jerry is putting in a drip system so that our watering is better regulated. Nathan loves to turn the water on and off as a "helper". We just need to teach him when to do this. He is also learning that we only pick the red strawberries.
We are having nighttime visitors in the garden resulting in nibbled leaves. Last night Jerry went out with a flashlight and saw 3 slugs feasting on our eggplant. So we are trying eggshells to get rid of them right now. If they are there tonight they will get a nice salt treat. A few of the leaves on our strawberry plants and our cucumber look a little burned, so we need to figure that out. If anyone knows what we should try, please let us know!