No photos

I dont have any photos. So if you cant read, x out for now and come back later. If you can but only come for pictures, refer back to my first.

Today we worked. Hard and a lot. Matter of fact, yesterday we worked. A lot. And hard. We pulled weeds that I allowed to get far too large. They are in an area that I cant get into to brush hog or mow, and they are in an area that I need. I did have something planted there that failed, and we are taking it back now. Also I weeded my garden perimeter which isnt fun.

I have 5 major areas that need landscaping. Maybe 6, I guess 6. Areas that once had ground cloth and landscaping stone laid, and now the cloth is no good. The weeds come through at a rapid rate. We (a friend is helping the children and me) are pulling the weeds, then pulling out whatever is in each bed (one isnt rocks, it is a funny sprawling used to be ever green something), laying down heavy duty ground cloth and cypress wood chips. They break down, and can be composted. They are natural, and dont have to be dug out like rocks.

It is a lot of work, but we need to get it done. The quote I have from the local landscaper is not manageable and I didnt think it would be. It is a job we must do, and I dont enjoy it. I think that I will be very proud once its done, more so than I would be from paying off a landscaping loan.

We also did school, sewed and cleaned house. Well, Nathalie cleaned house. The bugs are out in force now, so while she planted nearly all of the garden with me she now doesnt love to be out there. I wont kill her love for green things so instead she cleans the whole house. Truly. The whole house.

My kids are wonderful, they work hard and I am grateful for them. Now I am going to go play games with them. Bye.

Stormy sky

We had storm clouds rolling in, I am not used to the little canon I have and I dont take great photos. The camera isnt any good if the subject isnt perfectly still, no, lets say its not good in my hands. My mama could take fabulous pictures with a broken camera. I did still like the pictures in which the subject was moving, because it looks like they sort of separated.

The hair pictures are proof that I can do hair. For years, my daughter went around with a nappy head or daddy did her hair. The few times I did she cried, and my husband tried to say to "be more careful" but honestly had she thought I was him she wouldnt have cried. She just preferred him so what can I say. I avoided her hair and just let it go if he was gone. When she was 6, we told her take care of it or we cut it off. Its now grown out again see??? She has let me brush it 2 after-baths in a row and tonight I took the opportunity to braid it. Its braided along her natural side part as I had no comb to part down the middle.

She is wearing her daddy's "I need my garage time" t-shirt to sleep in.

My girl

My poor girl is the youngest and smallest swimmer each time she is in a swim class. This makes me so proud of her! Yet, it can be difficult for someone who hates losing, and hates failing. We dont think she is failing, we think she is amazing. However, I dont hand out free compliments for nothing. If I say, "That was a lovely dive baby, it was perfect," then why would she keep trying to improve?

"Mama, watch me dive okay and tell me if its good. Give me a number." We do a scale thing in our family, 1-10. I think we have registered a zero or two also...

"Okay baby go ahead." She sort of dives, but more or less lands once again like a cat on knees and hands. She comes up and hopefully stares at me from the side with her goggles so tight her eyeballs bulge. "Honey that wasnt very good. I would give it a 5 for effort but a 1 for performance."

"Oh. Why???"

"Because you flopped again." She gets out and comes to me drippy wet to wrap her arms around my middle. She has tried and tried today. "You will get it baby. I will help you some more."

"I am the smallest. Will I be better when I am not the smallest?"

"You are already better. You are amazing, just need more fine tuning and as you grow yes you will be even better." She tries again and this time, its at least an 8. Myself, the lifeguards and several watching/waiting children jump, yell and clap for her. I think it was worth being honest to see the happiness in her face when she finally got it. She will continue to struggle and work on it, but will put such effort into it.

Garden and worms

My Nikon is still broken. My husband told me how to fix it, and I know it will work. And a few minutes ago I thought, I could fix my camera, or blog using the pictures on the other camera. You can see what I chose. However, the other camera isnt quite as good (I am SO grateful to have it all the same...) and so some of these pictures are not great. I am learning photoshop (thanks mama) but am not very skilled yet so basically, be glad I am here hanging with you guys!

This is poetic no? I am excited and pleased and happy with my garden! And grateful for my wonderful husband each time I pull weeds, water, and pick food. He helped us set up a beautiful garden before he left that is largely weed free, easy to care for and has such good soil our plants are thriving. Thank you baby... We have been eating lettuce for weeks now but yesterday we had our first tomato! It was so juicy and sweet, I think I MIGHT have drank the juice off of the cutting board. We have a lot of purple lettuce too and this is the first year that I have grown lettuce from seed.

These are my volunteer squash, the plants just came by without asking, stopped, picked a spot and settled. I kindly mulched, watered, weeded, spoke with and thanked them. Oh and then I picked the squash from their vines and thanked them again! I dont have a photo of my onions but we have those too and they are great steamed together with soy sauce, eaten on brown rice.

This fellow is nasty no? I found a picture of a horn worm a few days ago online and this is identical. I am not the authority so it may not actually be, sorry about the quality of the photos. It was discovered by D, a visiting child, and he wasnt at all squeamish! His sister, brother and T and N all marveled at the creature and touched him, some were nervous the he could bite (I have heard that horn worms can) but he was so fascinating.

He wasnt on her foot at all, he was on a stick that D was holding. As soon as D offered him the stick, the worm climbed on. He had such interesting sticky feet, sort of fat little tendrils for legs/feet. He moved pretty quickly and was easily distracted by movement, happy to move to a different stick/piece of leaf. I hope that this creature and his friends are NOT eating my garden because SOMETHING has been snacking on it!

Swimming lessons

The kids are taking swimming lessons again at our local pool. This is our 3rd year to take lessons, there are 2 sessions offered and most people do only 1. We do both, because they graduate (if able) 2 levels this way. They graduated level 5 last yr (of 6 available before lifeguard training) but they havent swam all winter. So I asked the teacher to put them back in level 5, though its combined with 6. Neither is a good enough swimmer yet to have passed 6. They have the skill but their technique needs refining.

Tad is just jumping here, they can enter the water any way they like before lesson starts. There is one child in their level, and one in level 6 and they all work together.

Nathalie doesnt mind going off of the diving board but her diving skills are the area that she suffers the most in. She is getting extra help during the day for this, when we swim for fun.

A shallow dive, she has to learn to go just under the surface. Her problem? She keeps landing like a cat! On all fours, her knees and hands hit followed by her face, stomach and chest. 5 parents, 3 lifeguards and 4 other children were working together today to help her figure this out (she wont pass without it) and the level 6 boy happened upon a solution as a last measure. He put his hand by her ankles holding up a number of fingers and told her tell me what the number is by looking at it just before you dive. Keeping her chin down is the answer, and in an attempt to see the number she was able to accomplish the dive! We were proud of child I for the idea and N for being able to accomplish the task.

Tad is pretty good at the dive, sometimes he still goes in too far. He is a strong diver, but he also needs to work on form. Last year Frank taught them the shallow dive, or learned it with them. That is possibly why N struggles with it this year, he isnt here to help her remember how. He held onto her thighs and flipped her legs up in time, thus preventing the belly flop but I am not strong enough to flip up her weight.


His legs stay nice and straight, they want them together but it doesnt have to be perfect. A lot of people bend their knees (me) and thus "belly flop" their lower legs.

"I have to do what with my arms?" Tad of the teacher.
"You have to turn them in a circle and then..."It was here that she must have sneezed because he lost her.

"Oh help. I must have a breath. Why cant I reach the bottom as easy as everyone else does?"
"Because you are the littlest." Another swimmer.

That is true, she is always the youngest in her class and Tad generally is on the younger side as well. This year they have a swimmer in their age group (same age as T), but in years past they havent. They are very strong swimmers and dont seem to have fears. Caution yes, fear no. I am so proud of how hard they work in lessons. I think it is a wonderful skill to have.

Breakfast

I was making breakfast this morning, with my loving son. Pancakes and bacon. This punk can put away some food! But, he is also a good and willing cook. This was our conversation.

"I love you baby."
"I love you too mama. Can I have a cup of coffee now?"
"Sure. Hey baby, lets go see a lawyer and make a pact and have him sign it with us that says you wont ever leave me. Ever."
"Mama I dont think thats a good idea. Plus I am too young that will later not hold up in court."
"You are gonna leave me? Why dont you just live next door?"
"Because I will need to go find a wife, and I want to see the pyramids. I will come home right after that. When I have seen all of Africa also."
"Thats gonna take awhile. We will have land, you can just live right there. And there will be some girl there, you know some nice girls now."
"What if things dont work out and I dont marry anyone that I know, and dont want to marry anyone close by. Its unlikely she would be like-minded anyway. I want a woman who wants lots of kids, cooks well and will homeschool. A lot of other things."
"You are really gonna leave me baby?"
"Mama can you pass me the bacon? Yes I am gonna leave you. These pancakes are good. Can I have maple syrup in my coffee?"
"No."

Storm

I watched a storm roll in, I started in the front yard where it was pretty and sunny and then walked to the back. these photos were taken in a short period of time, and you can see how gray it is out back. Then came thunder, lightening, rain and hail. It was a lovely display.