...Checking In

Sorry, I've been absent lately...we've been adjusting to new schedules, celebrating birthday boys and daddies, enjoying the sun, being lazy, and getting ready for a long trip to see family. I've had lots of post ideas floating around in my head, but it's been hard to sit down and formulate actual words. The call of the sun and fresh air, the garden; not to mention the usual housewifely duties and the fact that there are four energetic, hungry children running around...well, only three can actually run...anyway, you get it! Blogging hasn't been on the top of my list.

And now the kids and I are about to head out on a month long visit to see my family back home. We are so excited. We've really missed them since we moved last August. There will be lots of cousin fun, swimming in the lake, boat rides, marshmallow roasting, mud pie making, grama hugs, long chats with my mom and sister, laying on the beach in the sun while your cold-from-swimming-too-long skin gets all tingly and warm...falling asleep to cricket song and lapping waves...

So, I won't be posting much for a while longer. I'm hoping to be able to devote some more time to this blog when I get back. We'll see.

I hope you are enjoying your summer!

June Joys

... dapples of sunlight on dimples...




...shady hats...

...strawberry rhubarb pie...

...baby quail...

...and don't forget...

school's out

cherries

roses

peonies

farmer's markets

days at the beach

lazy afternoons

picnics

cricket song

sleeping with open windows

~ah, so many things to love about June...

Then, we also have Father's Day and my son's second birthday...

Lots going on around here. Parties to plan, gardening to attempt, children to feed and occupy...I'm currently trying to map out a summer schedule and activities that will accommodate four children with a wide range of ages, interests, personalities, and capabilities; as well as a mommy who would really like everyone to be happy and sweet and peaceful all the time...I know, I'm dreaming here, but June is such a dreamy month, don't you think?

Come on, tell me what you love about June...I really want to know!

Help!

Something has been noshing on my baby broccoli and lettuce! I've also noticed that some marigold petals and a few nasturtium leaves have been nibbled.

What could be wrecking havoc in my little garden?

It's completely fenced in--so it can't be rabbits.

There are lots of birds in and out...quail, doves and others, but birds don't eat plants, do they?

Could it be some kind of bug? I've seen little black ants and those "roly-polies" as my kids call them. (I don't know what they really are called, but they roll up into a ball when touched.)

Oh, and so far, it's just one brick raised bed that's been affected. My herbs, tomatoes, and other marigolds are in different beds and are fine.

Any gardeners out there? Can you help? What should I do?

Garden Notebook

I've been away from here for too long. Enjoying spring...day trips to the mountains and the lake (Tahoe), working in my little courtyard garden, sitting in the shade of my peach tree with the scent of lilacs drifting on the breeze. As well as all the daily rhythm of laundry, cooking, cleaning, dishes, diapers, and child rearing--all more sweet and peaceful with the spring sunshine and breezes flowing through the house.

(Oh, and celebrating...my daughter turned eleven. Eleven! How can I have an eleven year old? When she first came into my life, she was scrawny, sweet and six. She was missing her four top teeth and looked like a kitten when she smiled, which was often. Due to a speech disability, I couldn't understand a word she said...she pantomimed fluently for the first three months until, finally, through the grace of God, I understood most of what she was saying. Now, she is tall, almost as tall as me (which isn't saying much, actually), beautiful, and full of life as

Anyway, I'm stopping in to record some notes for my Garden Notebook. I will try to keep up on this through the summer.

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Garden Notebook

May 22, 2009

Back courtyard garden

Planted last week:

~marigolds

~impatiens

~Spanish lavender

Planted this week:

~Broccoli, butter crunch lettuce, and nasturtium seeds

Herb garden:

Four inch pots planted May 20: basil, thyme, dill, chocolate mint, and chives

Peach tree-lots of fuzzy green globes, getting bigger by the day!

Oh, I forgot to photograph my tomatoes. One Big Stripy heirloom and four Sweet 100's.

To do:

~seeds to plant: peas, swiss chard

~buy and plant: bell peppers, onions, potatoes, garlic, and green beans

~buy ladybugs for roses (covered in aphids!)

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I know it isn't much; budget restraints are keeping me from going hog-wild at the garden center. But little by little, it's becoming my sweet little potager. Wasn't I blessed to inherit this little space already outfitted with brick raised beds, a peach tree, and two rose bushes? It gets a good amount of sun throughout the day, but gets nice and shady around five. It is all fenced in, so I can easily keep an eye on the little ones while I work. I've also been going out at nap time to sit under the peach tree to read. So peaceful!

Doves

In my visions of my dream house there have always been doves, living in a dovecote, in a courtyard. You see, in a book I once read the family had a dovecote. For some reason, this resonated with me. This was peacefulness and serenity right in your own back yard. Later, I came across more imaginary homes with doves in the courtyard.

Well, sometimes dreams do come true. I don't actually have a dovecote, but I do have doves. Wild mourning doves. A pair of them are nesting somewhere around our property. As it happens they like to hang out in our courtyard! I've even seen two younger doves; offspring, I suppose. And I hear their cooing all the time. I love it. Especially when I am waking up in the morning, sunlight filtering through my blinds...so peaceful. I love how God can surprise us with wonderful little blessings like that!

Someday, maybe I'll even have a dovecote, (like the one above!), for our doves.

I just realized that this post would work for Chatting at the Sky's Tuesdays Unwrapped! Head on over there for more simple gifts!

Menu Planning

Menu planning saves my sanity. It makes grocery shopping easier, faster and more economical. I am not normally a very organized person, but in certain areas of life, I need to be.

This is one. When feeding a family of six three meals a day, it takes a bit of planning. Over the last few months, I've made it easier and less time consuming by compiling a list of meals we like and a chart to plan each week's dinners.

I decided on these categories: Soup/Stew, Mexican, Pasta/Italian, Casserole/Roast, Asian, Take-Out @ Home, and Quick & Easy. I made myself a chart with different meals under each category. I try to plan one meal from each category for each week, but I don't assign a specific day for each--I like to be flexible so I can decide what to make on a daily basis. Some people like to decide what they are having each day, and sometimes I do that, but most of the time I wait to see how the day is going or what I feel like.



When deciding what to make for the week, I look through the grocery store ads to see what's on sale. I haven't ever been good at using coupons, but I try to find good deals. Also, if I know I'll have leftovers, I try to plan one of the meals around them. For example, this week chuck roast was on sale, so I'm planning on making roast beef in the crock pot one day, and then I'll shred the left over beef for quesadillas on another day.



So, here is our dinner menu for this week:

Asian~Beef Sate with peanut dipping sauce, rice and peas

Soup/Stew~Corn/Potato chowder with popovers

Mexican~Shredded beef quesadillas with corn casserole

Pasta~Fish sticks (the only fish my kids will eat, besides canned tuna) with pasta and sauteed zucchini and mushrooms

Casserole/Roast~Roast Beef with carrots, potatoes, and gravy

Take-Out @ Home~Sausage and Egg muffins, fruit

Quick & Easy~Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches

Lately, my husband has to work on Friday and Saturday nights, so I usually plan our Take-Out and Quick & Easy for those nights with just the kids. Sometimes we'll just have leftovers or breakfast on those nights, too.

I don't actually plan out each breakfast and lunch, but I try to make sure I have general idea of what we can eat. For example, this week I am making pumpkin or applesauce muffins to have on hand for breakfast, along with fruit, yogurt, or smoothies. For lunches there will be possible leftovers from dinner, tuna fish sandwiches, pasta with butter and cheese, baked potatoes, and of course peanut butter and jelly. My kids also like flour tortillas with cheese or jelly or even a scrambled egg burrito. So we just make what sounds good that day.

Do you plan out your dinners for the week? What works for you?

Feeling the Sun

It's shaping up to be a warm weekend and even warmer week ahead! Hooray!

Here are some sunny fun plans for the next few days:

Make Ice necklaces with the kids...what a fun idea!

Garden, garden, garden...till, plant, weed...I feel so behind in this area, now is the time to catch up.

Make kites, blow bubbles, go on a hike...have a picnic or BBQ.

Maybe a little tree climbin'...

And I can't forget to just spend some time sitting, with my eyes closed, feeling the sun on my face.

Have a great weekend!