My Big Sister

I think my sister might be famous. In Austin Tx anyway. Annie in Austin from the Transplantable Rose did a WONDERFUL tribute to May Dreams Gardens. Go check it out here.



Carol may be the Rock Star of Gardening, but to me she'll always be the big sister who used to call her crayons Junior.

Today's Lesson

Once upon a time......





So little.....

So... tell us Muncie...

NOW are you sorry about those times you bullied her and picked on her?

There's a lesson in all of this....

Always be nice, because you never know how the tables in life may turn. That little guy might grow up to be bigger than you, be your boss some day, or marry your daughter or your sister, or be your best friend.

You just never know.

Hostas

Aww...spring time. A time when I can justify NOT mowing the lawn because if I did, I would cut short the life of these beautiful violets. AND WHO, pray tell, could dream of doing that?

Violets come but once a year. Who am I to shorten their lifespan?

And, in the spring, who needs caffeine when you have such vivid colors right outside your door. One look at this and I'm awake!

Well, sort of. I won't lie to you, I still have to have my diet coke...I wouldn't want to get a caffeine headache. And besides, the life of a tulip is so short and then what will I have to open my eyes wide in the mornings?

Prince Charming and Miss Sophia planted these orange-tulips-that-should-have-been-pink-according-to-the-label. He laughed when he saw that they were in fact not pink, but vivid orange. I was crying, he was laughing.

But now I'm laughing, and he's crying. He is so, so laid back 99.99% of the time. Until it comes to ..........

"His" hostas....

When it comes to Prince Charming's hostas, he becomes a mother bear in full protective mode.

I informed him some friends were coming over and since it was a beautiful day, the kids would probably be outside.

Mother (I guess that's really FATHER) Bear went into immediate action to protect his most prized possessions......

Double fencing for double the protection.

The kids were great. They got the "hosta lecture", and although some of them I'm sure had not a clue what I was talking about, they were careful to avoid "those weird little things" sticking out of the ground that Mr.-------- has fenced off all over the yard.

You know who wasn't so great?

A zoo member.

We don't know which of the 3 dogs or 6 cats if the culprit. They are all guilty as far as Prince Charming is concerned.....

His beloved, giant hosta. Broken....maimed...injured...sad....devastated.....

Prince Charming is in mourning.

I think I know who the guilty party is....

I think they look like two BFF's who have been up to no good. What do you think?

Teeth

Last week, Seth lost a tooth. He named it Bob. He was happy with the four quarters the tooth fairy left him.

This week Sophie lost a tooth. It was a baby molar. It also came out with a cavity.

"Mom? How much would it cost to get a cavity filled at the dentist? "

"I don't know, maybe $100 or more. Why? "


"Well....don't' you think that you should at least pay me half of that for saving you all that money? "

HUH???

"Well, if I hadn't worked hard to make the tooth loose, and hadn't worked hard to pull it, then you would have had to pay the dentist to put a filling in it. Therefore I SAVED you money. I think you should share that savings with me. Don't you?"

Uh.....NO!

She comes from a line of lawyers, can you tell?

She settled for a 50 cent bonus.

Wait a minute....did I just PAY her for a cavity??

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day at the Zoo

Gardening Blogger's Bloom Day a Day Late...... Carol had to call and remind me to be sure and post for Gardening Blogger's Bloom Day. She knows I'm a chicken with my head cut off this week, so I appreciated the reminder. I had actually been anticipating with some eagerness this month's Bloom Day, because some of my favorites are in bloom.

This is may all time favorite... Brunera. False Forget-Me-Not.

This picture doesn't do justice, but I love the little blue flowers. They just seem so perfect. And they're so blue.

Your typical store bought flower. Shhh....we wont' remind it of it's origins. It's so happy here.

I like dandelions when they are in bloom. The yellow is so bright and sunny. And the greens are tasty too. They really aren't such a bad plant, are they? I think they get a bum rap.


Do you like our "PINK" tulips? That's what the package said, anyway.


The color is pretty, but it doesn't fit with the "pink and purple flowers only" theme in this part of the garden.



This is my idea of pink.



And purple.....

Love the little faces.


Let's see. Can you guess what is planted here? What Diamond is sitting on? Rolling in? Protecting? Destroying?


It used to be catnip that was starting to peak it's head through the dirt. I think it's pretty well demolished after Diamond got a hold of it.

Another beauty that I look forward to each spring. A Flowering Almond. This should be gorgeous in another few days.




Daffodils are still hanging on.

And with some eager anticipation, the best smelling plant in the world (or at least in my world!)


Happy Bloom Day everyone!

Black Hole of Convention Time

There is just something inherent in girls. They love to shop no matter how old they are. Here are 3 young beauties sharpening their Internet browsing skills....

I love to shop...sometimes. But this week I feel overwhelmed. I have some MAJOR shopping to do, and I feel as if I'm in a black hole of despair.


Why? Because it's Homeschool Convention Week.

Once upon a time it was so much fun and so easy. That was when I was a young, innocent, enthusiastic homeschool mom. I would walk in, flit from booth to booth, speaker to speaker, take it all in and buy way toooo much. No way we could realistically use everything I bought.


Don't get me wrong, I still am enthusiastic. I am just wiser, shall we say, to the pitfalls of convention. Now I go armed. Armed with lists and blinders. Blinders so I do not succumb to the latest, greatest, newest, most fabulous curriculum that is sure to make your child want to get up at the crack of dawn, eagerly dive into their school work, and only kicking and screaming be drawn away from their books.

Excuse me while I dwell in that fantasy for a few more minutes....

Ok. Back to reality...

I'm much smarter now when I go to convention. Before convention I spend hours on the Internet figuring out what I need to purchase, what not to purchase. I spend hours talking to friends about what they use and recommend (or not). Then I spend hours going through what I already have. I always find surprises - previous purchases that were forgotten or worse yet, duplicates. I always find duplicates. I hate duplicates.

So, why am I in the black hole? On top of convention prep, for some reason I decided this week was the week to paint the boys' room. And somehow I have to find time to go to work to pay for all of that curriculum. And for some reason, this is the week that Grandma's car broke down. And for some reason, this is the week it has decided to get REALLY cold again. And for some reason, this is the week Victoria has decided the greatest delicacy known to dogdom is cat pooh-pooh. Oh yes. Not only that, but she feels the need to drag it around the house (lovely vision, isn't it?)

OK. I'm digressing.

Now, back to sorting books........

But really. How much curriculum does one need?

I think I need a Muncie hug, if you'll excuse me.

Random ramblings

Why hello there, stranger!

It's been forever and a day or two since I posted, but when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there is actually green substance growing in the garden, I find it hard to sit still long enough to post anything. (Maybe a case of Spring ADHD?)

I've been productive though..

The first planting of the year....

The daffodils are in full bloom. Aren't they beautiful? I think Carol would call this one "Egg Yolks On Snow" (or something like that). She's very creative with her daffodil names.

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Notice how there isn't anything green peeking through the dirt?

Well, that's just sick and wrong because 3 weeks ago (or there abouts..before we travelled to paradise) we planted cold crops in this bed. Lettuce, turnips, radishes, and a tiny bit of spinach.

NONE of it has taken. So....

Is it because

A. I have a brown thumb (mainly because my sister Carol stole all the green thumb genes before I was born)

B. There was too much rain right after we planted so everything rotted.

C. The seeds were bad.

or

D. It's too soon. (But I really don't think that is the case here. They really should be showing SOME signs of life).

Tomorrow we replant if the rain holds off or unless I hear screams echoing through cyberspace telling me not to replant yet (I trust you garden bloggers immensely. I'm depending on you to help me be a successful gardener in spite of my brown thumb).

On a brighter note, Prince Charming bought some new "stuff" for the gazebo.

I don't think Sam has left this spot since.

As you can see, he is now taking his meals outside as well. He only comes in to get a new book upon occasion. Well, and to sleep of course. It does get nippy at night.
He just finished The Door Within series, and is now reading Penrod by Booth Tarkington.

Seth lost his other front tooth finally.

For those of you who have read my blog for awhile, you might remember that Seth feels the need to name his teeth after he loses them.

Meet Bob.

He had another tooth he named Bob as well. But he has an uncle named Bob whom he really likes, so maybe that's why he is focused on that name. Bob watched Victoria while we were travelling, that may be a reason he won the honor of having another tooth named after him. I wonder if Bob thinks it was worth it?

Speaking of puppies......

Here are four tired puppies.

Shhh........We don't want to wake them. They look so comfy.

In our house it's against the law to take a nap without a dog to cuddle.

Well, hugs to you all.

I've missed you this week, but when the wild spring calls, it's against the laws of nature to disobey, don't you think?

Good-bye Darkness

Please Mommy?

(Why do so many things start out that way?)

Please?

Can we release Darkness today?

It's pretty and sunny and warm!

Um...wait a minute. Twist my arm.

Are you sure you're not trying to get out of the big responsibility of pet ownership, Seth?

No Mommy!

Tell me why you want to let him go, Seth.

Darkness has been a good pet. Remember? I saved him from the rabbit cage and I've loved him and taken care of him all this time, but I think he'd be happier in the outdoors.

Don't you, Mommy?

Yeah.


He'll probably be bird food soon, but we won't mention that. Who am I to argue? I can't believe the beetle lasted this long...he was supposed to be turtle food when he was just a meal worm. He never even should have lived to become a beetle. When I told Seth on January 11th, that he could keep that bug, I never dreamed it would live two weeks, let alone 3 months!

OK Seth. Let's do it! Go for it, kid!




Here Beetle, beetle, beetle.......

Come here Darkness!

There's a good boy!


I think he'll be happy in the compost pile, don't you mom?

He can snuggle down in the leaves and get nice and warm, and there are all these food scraps for him to eat if he gets hungry.


Good-bye Darkness!



Mom? Why are you doing that funny dance?

Invasion of the Gardening Geeks!

PLEASE? PRETTY PLEASE?

Please with sugar and ice cream and everything else on top?

Look, we have them all ready to go. Muncie even has her shirt on. You don't want to disappoint them, do you?

Fine. They can go. Just get up and quit begging - it's embarrassing.

Hum.....I wonder if I've been had. They look a little smug, don't you think?

Ding-dong. There's that doorbell I covet (Uhhh..I mean admire). I wonder if she'd ever notice if it went missing?

Hi Carol! Are you ready for Austin's Garden Blogger's Spring Fling 2008?

Yep! Looks like a gardening geek to me!

Uh....just ONE bag? What about a bag to bring home souvenirs? Cuttings? Stuff?

Pretty green bag. I like it.

But seriously...just one? I would need "just one" for my make-up.

Here we are safe and sound at the airport!

Bye Aunt Carol! Have fun in Austin. Bring me back a Chihuahua!

Hey...don't' post anything without my approval!

I wouldn't dream of it, sister, wouldn't dream of it! Hey, stay clear of those storms I hear you're flying over - OK?

And, if you decide not to come home, can I have your doorbell? And that quilt? And your books?

Have a great time in Austin all you garden bloggers!

Someone please post a picture of everyone!

Worldess Wednesday on Thursday

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday