Down and Dirty

What better way to cool off on a hot summer day than splashing in the mud?

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Baby Bibs (as affectionately named by her eldest brother) finally got over her puking long enough for us to celebrate her birthday. It turned out to be a fun party. We broke a pinate, had cake and ice cream, and then she unwrapped her presents. By the time all was said and done, she was tuckered out, and took a little rest with Daddy. Thanks to everyone who came!

Snippets

Time seems to be going by so fast these days. I've been so busy living that I don't have time to stop and write about all the living I've been doing, but I figure that's not such a bad thing.

Here are some snippets of what's been going on lately:



My oldest played tee-ball this year. He absolutely loved it! It was fun to watch him get so excited about every game. I'm pretty sure he will be playing again next year, and possibly every year after that. This was my first taste of being a "soccer mom", only it was baseball instead of soccer. Two games a week kept us busy, but it was fun.

My baby went through a fetish with tipping over the garbage can and digging through it in search of food. Luckily, she's now learned to ask for food when she's hungry instead of rummaging for it. She now signs "more" when she's hungry. I'm trying to teach her "eat" and "please", but so far she only signs "more". She'll occasionally sign "milk" when she's thirsty. I'm sure she'll learn more signs soon.
She turned one year old a week and a half ago. We were going to have a big party, but she woke up in the morning covered in puke and poop (happy birthday). Her older brother was sick, too. This had been going on with them off and on for six weeks. I finally took them to the doctor, and after some testing, it was found that their bacteria count was low. We remedied with lots of yogurt and acidophilus supplement. They've been well since then. We had to cancel the party, but we're throwing it this Wednesday instead.

A few weeks ago we had a wonderful rainstorm. I had been having a stressful day, so I went for a walk in the rain. I ended up sitting down next to the irrigation ditch and watching the raindrops fall into the flowing water. It was refreshing, both physically and spiritually. When the rain stopped, there was a huge rainbow over our house. This photo doesn't do it justice.

I have five colors of tulips in my flowerbed. The purple and white ones come up first, which I posted pictures of earlier. These pale yellow and pink ones came up later. They are now done blooming, and I planted some petunias in their place. I also have irises, but I don't think they will bloom this year. The leaves make a nice backdrop for my petunias though.


We started working on finishing the basement, which first required taking out a doorway and wall. It was a fun mess. Our original floorplan had a huge family room and a bonus room along with a laundry and bathroom. We decided it would be a better use of space to make two bedrooms out of the family room and turn the bonus room into a family room. We're just working on a little bit at a time, piece by piece. We have the framing all done now, and my husband is working on the electrical now.


I don't have many photos, but I've been working on my garden. I planted corn, green beans, carrots, beets, spinach, onions, peas, pumpkins, watermelon, zuchini, crook neck squash, and tomatoes. Some of them are doing well, others not so good. I'm a novice at this, so I'll be happy with whatever I get as far as harvest goes. We have eaten some spinach, and it tasted pretty good.

We've also been working on getting our front yard ready for sod. We had curbing poured for flower beds and hope to get sod late this week or early next. I'll try to get some photos soon.

I guess that's all for now. I need to get some sleep to keep up with all that's been going on.