down they go!

S has been under the weather all week. I took him to the doc yesterday when spots appeared on his belly & then spread all over thinking it might be more than just teething & fighting something off. But that's exactly what it was- he's fighting a virus :(  Rather than spread our lovely germs to the whole church, we stayed home today and tinkered- one of my favorite things to do! :) 

This was the garden a few weeks ago:

 Sunflowers are a new favorite to grow- everyday you can see them change & they're always so cheery :)

 The sunflower's heads were getting so heavy I was afraid they were going to fall on my tomatoes (the roots are surprisingly pretty shallow) so DH C pulled them for me today:

 He said they are the biggest seeds he's ever seen:

 J liked the smallest head:

 While Z liked the biggest:

Me? I'm just excited to dry them, roast them, & then taste them :)

Aren't these little girls cute? We've now had them for a week! On Saturday's to-do list? Make them their own run so they can stretch their legs & get some sunshine :)

I'll be honest, it wasn't what I had in mind. Their roost/box wasn't either. But! They were made entirely from materials we already had so that's pretty amazing :) 'The ladies' love it, too!

baby chicks!

Because we'll be gone for two weeks in July to Montana (woohoo!), I told C we either need to get the new chicks today (which was last Sat) or not at all this year. He thought for a minute & then got to work on the new coop :)

 The new coop opens on top but also has an opening facing the older chickens' run. They just can't be merged because Lucy & Ethel are so darn mean :(

S loves chickens! He was so excited to find 4 little ones in our kitchen he would not let them be! [he was growling at them at this point :)]

 4 Ameracauna Ladies :)

rain day!

Back in January it was predicted no more rain until at least April- yuck! But! The weather man just can't predict God, now can he?? =] We've had rain the last 2 weekends & we also had it yesterday morning- just enough to enjoy & wet the land :) I finally made it WM the other day & managed to remember to get some plastic protectors to which I made the boys some new "fun" letter thingys (sorry, brain isn't grabbing the right word!). Anyway, the point is, the boys love them & practice writing their letters at the same time =] Soooo they practiced:

and then we played! =]
I can't help it! I'm addicted to dirt... It was lightly drizzling, a beautiful peaceful morning, S was sleeping, & the strawberry plants were just staring at me, begging to be planted. So, I obliged them & do you see what I see?? The makings of strawberry rhubarb pie:
I also see sunflowers stretching up, beets popping out of the ground, spinach & lettuce begging to be salad, carrots- well, the carrots are just showing me theirs greens still =], & some kind of squash I didn't label but will eventually figure out what it is =] Mmmmm
I love fun rain days! =]

Aaaaaahhh! Springtime =]

my backyardigans

Our newest show we are enjoying is The Backyardigans- they are super cute & very imaginative. My favorite part, though, is when the boys reenact it. The show I see coming back the most? Oddly enough it's the mailman one; here's a pic of my mailman backyardigans:

The next common one is "cowboying"- galloping around the house with my broom & mop lassoing objects. Yeah, that one isn't very easy to catch on film nor is it my favorite =]

And with the subject, it reminds me of my backyard which is slowly getting there- I sadly joke that it'll finally be 'perfect' by the time we are ready to move :}

This is right after we moved the swingset & chickens & built the first garden section:

With the second lower level garden bed:

And this one was taken yesterday, after the rain, with the boys thoroughly enjoying the abundance of mud =]

un poco no

Somehow adding another little guy into our lives pushed blogging away for a bit- so it's update time =]

We shall start with dropping my mom off at the airport- we were blessed to have her for 2 1/2 weeks & then it was time to wave goodbye from the fence as she boarded her plane. Z has been talking everyday since about Montana...

The other day we brought C his lunch & met him at "the enchanted forest"...it was an old oak reserve... the boys had great fun running the trails through the ancient trees =]
So far the boys have been great help & seem to enjoy having the new guy around...I can only hope this will continue.
Finger painting turned into hand painting... & belly...
And our first pumpkin! mmmm pie =]
S is already 3 weeks! Time is flying!

Today we took the boys to their first HD workshop =]


It was great fun on a beautiful day =]

Are you wondering how I was able to post this sanely? Well, after we did HD, we jumped in the van & booked it down to Santa Barbara to buy work supplies for C, then came back home to load & unload & then C took the boys to a birthday party on the beach followed by some pier fishing. Doesn't that sound like fun? And quiet on my end? =]

pieces of progress

Yay! I love progress! This was the boys yesterday~ they were so excited to find out the sink was working =]

J has been absolutely miserable to live with for what seems forever, everyday was a struggle. And then one day he woke up his sweet old self~ I'd say that's the most wonderful thing imaginable =]
My garden! Might be unconventional, but so far the veggies are looking great! If you'll remember, the gophers were (& still are) attacking my yard with a vengeance so I planted the spaghetti squash & (ahem!) a few other plants... I can't remember for sure but I'm thinking maybe pumpkin & a cantaloupe. Yeah, I may have a few things to learn about gardening =]

This lil guy I rescued from the gopher mound & planted in a pot & then the bugs were destroying it so I've been spraying (soap & water) semi-regularly & praying over it & it's finally paying off~ I can't wait to saute it up! =]

10 on Tuesday: found the camera! =]

1) Not a very good picture. But! It will serve a purpose... Here you go, Mom: 30 weeks =]

2) We lit a few fireworks on July 3rd with friends; I love the kiddos reactions =]
3) We are in another transition: 1/2 way into bumping beds (as Z calls them)
Z sleeps on the bottom, J sleeps on the toddler bed & we slide the spare mattress out each night so I sleep well knowing there won't be a thunk in the middle of the night =]
4) The boys traded in their hard-earned money for new studly glasses =]
5) The pesky gophers moved into our yard bringing fear that my cute little plants would be eaten. It might be ghetto, but the boys' holey pool got nominated to save them =]
6) A new fence (with 2 gates) has been added to the back of our yard bringing security to ourselves & our belongings =]
7) A little more slipping has been going on =]
8) J is working on growing & is back to taking a nap most afternoons leaving Z & I with a little one-on-one time =] I've been trying to do special projects with him to keep it special & one of the projects was making laundry detergent. I am trying it out this week & will give you the thumbs up or thumbs down later =]
9) We went for a hike! C came home from work early on Sat & threw us into the van for a little outdoors time. It was beautiful =]

10) C & I often joke (somewhat sadly & frustratingly) that we haven't completed a project on this house yet. Well, I am happy to report that yesterday we did! The living room is now complete do to this:
We no longer have a light bulb dangling without a cover =]