Little Wizards

I'm sure you all remember how Elijah and Lydia wanted nightcaps after Malachi got one.  Luckily, our fabric-hunting was successful, and now I have 3 little wizards playing on the back deck.

Busy Weekend

We had a busy, fun weekend here.  Believe it or not, I never took a single picture, not even of the adorable baby we got to play with!  She is such a happy baby, always smiling and laughing, and the kids were very interested in her. 

We had 8 extra people here Saturday night and 9 on Sunday night, but it all went really well.  Nathaniel made awesome pork steaks.  I made an Italian pasta salad, a beet slaw, and some salsa, all of which were eaten well.  Nathaniel's sister Natosha made an egg casserole for breakfast, and we also had toast and jam.  All in all, we ate well and had lots of good time to visit.  The canoe trip went well except that Eric lost his glasses in the river.  At home, Natosha, Polly, and baby Hailey provided entertainment for me and the kids. 

Nathaniel is supposed to be flying to California today for 2 hours worth of meetings and come home tomorrow, but the thunderstorms may have ruined that plan.  He called to say he may be flying home from his connecting flight if there's no way he could be in CA in time.  I think it's nuts that they would send him to CA for two hours' worth of meetings in the first place, but no one asks me.

I have been searching for knit fabrics, and I was happy to discover that we have a Hancock Fabrics relatively near where the kids have gymnastics, and I called and was told that they have a lot of knit right now.  So we are heading there before gymnastics this afternoon.  Wish me luck!

A Nightcap

No, not that kind of nightcap. 

A while back, Mamaw gave me some knit fabric.  I realized that Malachi is low on pajamas and decided to make him a pair out of this fabric, but it really wasn't quite enough for both the top and shorts.  I told Malachi what I was attempting, and he said he wanted a nightcap.
A what?

I don't even know where he heard of a nightcap, unless it was in The Night Before Christmas, and it's been a long time since Christmas.  Anyway, I recounted that I only had a little of this fabric, but maybe I could make him a nightcap later.  He said, "Just make me the shorts and a nightcap."  He was pretty determined that this fabric was perfect for his cap, so I did what he asked.

It actually looks quite a bit like a wizard's cap, which he loves.  He wore it all day today and plans to sleep in it tonight.  Now the other two want nightcaps, too. 

Strawberry picking

Yesterday we had a great time picking strawberries.  It was 90 degrees outside, so why not head to the farm?! 

After picking about 12 pounds of strawberries, we headed to the petting zoo.  The kids had a great time with that, and there was some shade there, so it was quite nice.

The baby goats fit through the fence and could come and go as they pleased.

All in all, we had a great time. 

Nathaniel and I did get a lot of flooring done in the living room on Saturday.  We hope to do a little more Wednesday night just to get the entryway completed before our guests arrive Saturday.  I LOVE the hardwood floors.  They make me smile.

SCHOOL'S OUT!!

In the garden

I have some beautiful pumpkins growing in the garden right now.  These are called "Cinderella pumpkins" because it supposedly is the type used in the Cinderella pumpkin-into-carriage bit.  They are looking great. 

We've had a couple of really deluge-type rains lately, and the brussel sprouts didn't make it.  Some of the broccoli is still hanging on.  I have 5 or 6 broccoli plants like this one:

This photo is really a close-up that is deceiving, because the broccoli is about 1/3 of the size of the pumpkin plants.

Nathaniel made it home from Florida yesterday and even was able to get home before the kids went to bed, so everyone was really happy.  Today is the boys' last day of school.  They were excited and ready for summer.  Of course, I did tell them that they are going to have to learn Spanish over the summer.  They were not quite as enthusiastic about that, but Lydia sure is.

I'm gearing up for a big weekend over Memorial Day.  It looks like 6 or 7 adults and 1 baby will be staying at my house.  We're going to have a cookout and really have fun.  Nathaniel and I love having cookouts, but we've not really had too many chances to do them, so this will be great.  Crowded, maybe, but great.  And most of those adults will be heading out on the canoe/kyak trip Sunday, so the house will just be moms and kids for a while. 

But first, this weekend.  We are going to work on the living room floors tomorrow.  And I'm working the nursery all Sunday morning, so during the second service Nathaniel's going to get some kickball time in with the boys.  Busy, busy, but all good.

Daisy Dress

Since I made the boys new shirts, I also made Lydia a new dress.  She loved showing it off for the camera.  I knew it would be a bit big, since the pattern was a 4T, but I figured it would fit good enough for 2 years.

Camping

Lydia in the caboose

Malachi in the caboose.  You can see Kim's foot, which is where we sat on the first part of the train ride.  Malachi and Elijah went down after a while, which is why you can see Malachi below in this picture.

Elijah in the caboose

This is the train we rode.  The first caboose you see is the one we rode in.  We sat looking out of those top windows from our awesome seats!

We took a little trip this weekend, and went camping.  We met my in-laws and had a great time!  Metamora is a cute little historic town.  We rode the local train and also the canal boat.  Here are the kids on the boat:

That is the boat in the background.

We also petted the horses that pulled the boat down the canal and walked around the shops.  Then, when everyone was done with the town, we headed to the camp site.  The kids had a blast playing in the creek behind our campsite.

Nathaniel caught a crawdad to show the kids.

There were horses next door that we looked at.

The campground was a great choice for us.  My inlaws stayed in a nearby hotel, and we met them there the next morning to swim in their pool, so it worked out well all the way around.  It was a busy weekend, and we all are pretty tired now. 

When we came home, I sewed the buttons on Elijah's shirt, and it is now finished:

Happy Mother's Day, especially to my incredible mom! 

Around the yard

We have several things growing around here now.  Check out the chicks:

They are fun to watch.  The five of them keep close together, usually away from the rest of the flock.  (Unless there's food being handed out!) 
Also, we have lots of seeds sprouting.  On the front porch, I have 5 pots.  These three have red carrots, marigolds, and rainbow carrots:

In the ground, some of the pumpkin and cucumber seeds have already sprouted.  Most of the tomato seedlings are looking good, but a few did wash away.  The broccoli is doing ok, I think, but the brussel sprouts didn't make it.  I think I'll just try more of them in the fall.  They like cooler weather, and this spring has been hot. 

We are going camping tomorrow, so I hope the weather is like today.  It's just gorgeous today.  As soon as Lydia gets up, we'll be outside!

Buttonholes

Malachi picked out the fabric for his new shirt, and I finally got around to making it.  It was the first time I had used the automatic buttonhole feature on my new machine.  Check it out:

Now, to those of you who don't sew, it may not look like much, but to me, it is nearly miraculous.  MY MACHINE MAKES BUTTONHOLES!  And I didn't have to do much of anything to make wonderfully perfect buttonholes that are exactly the right size.  I can't wait to use it again.  It took what was a major task and turned it into a 10-minute easy project.  Yay!  Now I need to make Elijah another shirt.  (He claims he picked out the fabric two years ago.  It was about 6 months ago, still a long time, but certainly not years!)

In other news, Lydia ate the first red strawberry from our patch.  Only one was ready, and there is no picture, since she ate it.

Happy Tuesday everyone!

How was your weekend?

We were quite busy this weekend.  These pictures represent about 7 boxes of flooring that Nathaniel and I laid in the living room and dining room (which I use as a library).  We ended up putting in 8 boxes, and he started cutting the trim.  Most of the work was done on Saturday, as I worked the nursery this morning and we went to Spanish church to tutor in the afternoon.

I also put the rest of the seedlings in the garden.  All in all, it was a very productive weekend, but now I hear Lydia crying and I have to go put her to bed.  Again.

Planting

Today I spent a lot of time planting.  I got a later start on my seedlings this year, since I had some failures and then the trip to Rome (!) in March.  So I'm just now putting some seeds in the ground and transplanting the few seedlings I did grow.  Today in the big garden I planted seeds for butternut squash, cucumbers, at least 3 types of pumpkin, and corn.  I also (with Lydia's help) transplanted the broccoli seedlings.  Tomorrow I hope to transplant the brussel sprouts and plant a few more pumpkin seeds as well as some cantaloupe in the big garden. 

In the small garden, I need to finish transplanting the tomatoes.  We already put in 2 1/2 rows, but there are more.  Also, I need to start some peppers from seed (I have 2 plants in the ground but want more) and I need to find a place for purple carrots.  We have atomic red carrots, yellow carrots, and rainbow blend carrots in pots on the front porch beside the marigolds, calendula, and arrugula.  But Lydia and Malachi really want to plant the purple carrots asap, so I need to find or buy a pot for those, too.  I put all the carrots in pots in either the playroom or the front porch because last year the squirrels dug up all the carrots in the back.  I've never seen a squirrel on the front porch, so I'm hoping it's a good spot.

Another Room done!

Well, they did get the boys' room done this weekend!

 It looks bigger and so much nicer.  The boys even impressed me by voluntarily going through some of their stuff and getting rid of things they no longer want, so it was a really productive makeover!

I also finished mulching the strawberries, but I'm going to have to cover them with netting, because something is eating my strawberries before they even turn red!  I've got several green ones, but they are disappearing.  Sigh.