Week of Spring:: Gardens & Chickens

I have taken it upon myself to encourage Spring to come along a little quicker by reminding it what Spring looks like through pictures this week. If you would like to join in welcoming Springyou can on your blog too! The more the merrier.

Okay Spring, this week is devoted to you.

We love you Spring--come quickly!

**** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** This past week I decided that I would stop dreaming about the garden the kids and I will be putting in this Spring and start doing something about it. Last fall I raked all of the leaves over onto the garden area to decompose..hoping it would help the soil.

The girls (chickens) did their share also in scratching and pooping. I know, I know...chicken poop but who am I to turn up my nose at free help, right? Bandit was being the boss in the above photo...she just couldn't believe I knew what I was doing but I knew her ulterior motive; she was sneaking worms. hmph..

I almost gave away the girls recently so I wouldn't have to deal with their escapes from the yard. I just can't give up these eggs though. You can see the difference and taste it. I had to share the difference with you. The dark orange ones are the girls eggs. They are so thick and yummy and good for you.If you have a chance look around locally for some fresh eggs....sooo good.

xo,
Lori

13

We now have another teen person in this family.

ZACKA mug Zack got etched for me for Christmas a couple of years ago with him on it

The party started on Thursday, March 26th (his birthday) and will continue through Sunday. How great for him right?

He got breakfast in bed (mega breakfast burrito and sweet coffee),
no chores allll day,
a trip to a local mom and pop burger joint (we all got ice cream but he got a bacon burger).

personalized rock from Aliss

Today-Friday he gets two buddies to spend the night and will have a build your own sub buffet.

Tomorrow-Saturday friends will come for cake and ice cream to our house.

origami present with money made by Sophie

Sunday-his dad is having a birthday party for him with all of his relatives.

He sure lucked out!

I am liking some of this boy getting older stuff though--some pf this protective of mom attitude I think I can handle, yep it feels good.

He still hunts frogs, wrestles in the livingroom, leaves socks all over the house and knows how to cook a mean fried egg sandwich....and then share.

I think I'll keep him.

XO,
Lori

Can you smell the smoke?...

Seriously... I think something has blown in my brain... college finals...phew!

I had my last final today and did pretty well. Oh, how I have missed my friends here. I cannot believe it has been almost three weeks since I have come to say hi...but, alas it has.

I now have almost two whole weeks off of college. Next week is Spring break for the kids too...all of the public schools will be out so what is the sense of trying to do school here if the neighborhood kids are continually knocking in the door. Right?

I think we will take a trip to the beach rainy or not...pack up some lunch and lots of old bread for the seagulls. We love to hold up a piece of bread straight up in the air, arms extended and have the gulls swoop down and take it right out of our hands.

I think we will pick up some kites too. Sorry if this is making you sad Mom (this is what we do when my mom comes for a visit).

We have had quite the weather here...hail, rain, sideways hail, sideways rain...

Pity me and say hi in the comments so I know all of my friends haven't disappeared during my absence...

XO,
Lori

seven

In our family we have the tradition of the birthday person getting breakfast in bed and everybody else in the family piles on their bed with their gifts for them while singing very loudly the Happy Birthday song.
Sophie turned *7* yesterday...oh my, it is different when the youngest one keeps getting older isnt it? It couldn't have been seven whole years since I held her for the first time.
Aliss made her two pouches and inside was another piece of felt with an S embroidered on it with a special rock sewn on. Sophie loved it and I thought it was very creative. I haven't seen a rock sewn onto fabric before and I think she attached it nicely so it wont be going anywhere.


I got Sophie a pink leotard and slippers for Christmas and Tessa thought she needed another outfit (we all know ballerinas like to have extensive wardrobes too) so she got her a black leotard and black slippers.
Sigh...
Somebody make time stand still for at least one week...I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xo

technology

Doesn't this drawing of Sophie look like someone sat there and did a sketching of her like the people at the street fairs?
Tessa had one of her many online friends (over at Etsy I think) tell her about a website, fotoflexer that you can upload your photos to and do some amazing things.
Amazing things...

Tessa took one of the photos that turned into a drawing, printed it out and watercolored it...

xo

p-a-r-t-y

This past week Hannah wanted to make a pie..not just any pie mind you; her FIRST pie.
She figured that if she wanted me to say yes then she needs to make it bigger than just her making a pie because she came to me with these grand party plans. Games, dancing and dessert...see how she worked it?
a little pin the tail on the donkey...poor donkey... a little dancin and little people dancin on my feet to the tango with dips and all...


she informed she that she has this precise layering technique for the bananas...hey, i thought this was her FIRST pie. :o) She already has a banana layering technique?BTW...she did make the cream filling from scratch...the best way!mmmmm...here, here to parties!

xo

flowers

I love wearing this tweed skirt...mostly because it feels handmade. The brown has flecks of other colors in it so it matches a lot of shirts. I wore it last week with my unsnagged coral/orange colored sweater and it felt so cheerful.
I like how the flowers are made with the same tweed but the fabric goes different directions to add more interest.
Last night I started cutting out some of the smaller pieces (2x3 inch) of colored leather that I saved from the furniture showrooms dumpster...cutting, cutting into individual leather flower petals. I am going to see how a brooch made from different colored leather petals would look with a large button center.
As soon as it is finished I will show it. :o)

I wanted to thank Randi and Cyndy for your kindness in my last post. I wasn't sure if I should share such deep feelings of inadequacy here when most blogs only talk about the upside of things. Thank you for reaching out in friendship...I feel encouraged.

xo

This past weekend has been quite the party...kleenex, chicken soup, popsicles, cough drops, and no brain cells...at all...and the party continues.

while in the midst of sick children this past couple of weeks i have been just plugging along; trying to keep people fed, keep up with course work at college, make sure school work at home is being done to the best of a sick child's ability (no math...too hard when you can't think) and tending to the ever present pile of laundry. I swear it mutates at night.

At college we talk about self care. To each person this has a different meaning. To me it mostly means some quiet time without taking care of children...that sounds horrible doesn't it, but this mama gets so overtaken with responsibility that pretty soon it feels as if I cant breathe and then what kind of a mama will I be?

I came across this anonymously penned quote today and instantly felt the tears come.

LIFE ISN'T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS.
IT'S LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN

I so want to dance in the rain of whatever storm is in my life at any given moment...not in a rosy-colored glasses sort of way, but in a I can handle this and not get so focused on it that I don't notice the daily celebrations. So far I have been doing this in a survival mode since the divorce but I want to do it in a victorious sort of way now. For my children to see their mother overcoming not just managing...I feel it coming. For some who know me they say it's already here, if that's the case; Lord help me to see.

I think part of the answer is in community. I am working on it. It tends to be a slow process for me for different reasons...some of it is just the sheer lack of time to develop relationships. Even the friends that I have known for years hardly hear from me right now. My children need to know that their is community around them too...I am blessed to be in a good church and to have extended family that calls them.
Another reason that it is a slow process for me is that I tend to think I have nothing to offer anyone. Slowly I am learning from others that I do have something to offer...we all do. In the least we all can offer is a listening ear. For me I guess others like to see a mom not giving up her post of Motherhood while the world charges her to go out and do many other things...that encourages them from my life. I haven't thought of it that way but am starting to and starting to celebrate my family and who we are too. Seeing past the brokenness of divorce into the strength of who we are now.

LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN...