Little mechanics

Tonight the kids helped Matt check the voltage on the battery from the Volkswagon square-back.

Kid phrases

This evening as I was making dinner, I set the plates out on the table. Ellie climbed up in her seat and started singing "food... food... foood" Then she said "Come here daddy, food." 4-word sentence! She is copying everything I say these days and it is fun to hear her put things together.

Later we saw a big black spider in the house. Matt killed it and put it in the toilet. Of course the kids had to watch the whole thing and stare at it as it was flushed. Levi comments "Good bye spider, enjoy your new home."

In other news, my (not so) brilliant idea to fill my buckets half full of horse manure is slowing over-fertilizing my plants, they are starting to turn yellow as their roots hit the second half of the bucket. So I know what I'll be doing tomorrow... right after I score some good deals with coupons :)

The strawberries seem to be coming on strong.

Coupon posts have moved

I have moved my coupon-related blog posts here

Please feel free to check out my progress as I learn!

Easter weekend

Matt drilled out some holes in more buckets for my portable garden. Ellie thought the drill was too loud!

Yesterday the kids got some Easter baskets from the Fleischers. Levi was thrilled to find a little Lego kit in his, and Ellie quickly adopted the singing hopping bunny. Lots of candy, chocolates and even cotton candy to last us a month!

Afterwards we went to my moms to dye the eggs. We had to get 2 dozen ready for the egg hunt on Sunday. The kids had fun for the first couple but quickly got bored and ran off to play. My mom made vegeburgers for lunch and potato salad and all kinds of good picnic-type food which we ate on her back patio.

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My mom had us over for brunch today and she made a really good fruit salad and pancakes, which the kids devoured. She also had some Easter baskets for the kids

In the afternoon we had a fantastic time at the Easter Egg Hunt & Party hosted by Jenee Franklin and Nicole Scruggs. I took the kids since Matt was out, and therefore I didn't take the camera.

The egg hunt was lots of fun with all kinds of candy and prizes. Levi helped Ellie at first and it was comical because he would pick one up and say "here Ellie!" and she would say "No, Ellie do it," and take it from him, drop it to the ground and then pick it up herself.

There was even an adult egg hunt with chocolates and money!! Levi helped me find a couple eggs and then showed me how to cross the plank across the stream. Egg-and-spoon race and egg toss were other games we played that resulted in lots of fun and laughter.

Dinner was haystacks (with homemade beans and mexican cheese that really made it good). The kids played and played and just really enjoyed all the time outdoors.

Wish I had some photos to post, but even without them it will be a memorable Easter.

Growing garden

The kids had a great time out on the farm again today. Amazing what some fresh air and sunshine can do for one's outlook. The kids helped Cindy pick grass for the horses.

I was planning on riding today but later decided against it. We did get Sinwaan's paddock cleared out after another two hours of raking it.

My bean plants have outgrown their first home. I got some buckets from Home Depot, drilled some holes in the bottom, filled them half-way with old horse manure courtesy of Sinwaan and then filled them the rest of the way with an organic potting soil for vegetable plants.

I put three plants to a bucket, with exception of the squash plant. I only transplanted about 13-14 plants today. It is really too cold to put them in the actual garden yet, and I am not sure I will have one this year since the house is for sale. I want to be able to keep my garden if it sells! I wrapped them in plastic and they have been doing well so far.

I am hoping to have lots of fresh produce this year for my growing family!! I got my seeds through Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds and I can't wait to see how they all produce. Perhaps I will have some stuff to submit to the fair this fall also :)

Ellie bits

Ellie said her first 4-word sentence this week. "Mamma, Ellie do it." She just wants to do everything for herself now and gets upset if I try to help her with clothing. She also loves to read and will keep herself busy sitting and looking at books.

She started Kidnastics last week and was tentative in the first class (Tuesday). Matt reports that the second class (Thursday) she knew what was expected and she did fantastic and had a great time!

We are trying to think of something we can sign Levi up for that he would enjoy. He did not enjoy Kidnastics last time he took the class. He doesn't want to take swimming classes again. He is a little young for the soccer camp. So we are open to other ideas.

Barn time

Today we decided to go and clean up Sinwaan's paddock. As you can imagine, he had made a lot of work for us. It was easier this time though because Doug had his mower and trailer ready to go.

The kids had a lot of fun out at the property. We took their own shovels so they could feel like they were helping without taking over the tools we adults needed. Levi did a great job shoveling it up into the trailer. Ellie tried very hard but most of it fell back on the ground. Levi even told me "This is great! I love to do this!" Wow! First time I have ever seen him work really hard!

The kids also wandered around and said hello to the Miniature Horse, cats, chickens and just ran to their hearts content on all the acreage. We will have to do this more often now that the weather is good. It was mid-50s today and sunny. Perfect for being outside!

Repainting the house

Well Aaron & Cruz have been working on scraping paint off our house and it is coming along. Matt removed the windows to do some repair to them as well. Enjoy the 'before' photos.

Kidnastics

We signed Ellie up for Kidnastics since she is about the right age for that now. We didn't sign Levi up for it since the last time he was not enjoying it and not listening to his teacher, etc. I went along to take some photos and watch the first class but we will probably try to figure something else out so I don't have to take off so much work.

Headstands

Bouncing on the trampoline

Fanning the colors and running underneath.

Dirt and Bugs

Today was an unexpected warm 70-degree day. The kind that just inspires you to BE OUTSIDE! Once I was off work I came home and brought the kids outside with me to do some yard work. I noticed lately that I have dandelions trying to take over my berry patch. I have some raspberry bushes and strawberries along the edge of the yard and I don't really want them mixing with those types.

Of course digging in the dirt is quite irresistible for little boys. Once Levi saw me grab his little wheelbarrow and the trowel he wasted no time in venturing over to see what I was up to. "Hey momma, that's my trowel. What are you doing?" I explained to him that I needed to pull up the weeds. He watched for a little while and soon we unearthed a worm. He enjoyed watching it wiggle and tried to pick it up but was a little hesitant. Then we found a potato bug. He loves to hold those. Then we discovered a millipede. I showed him how they also curl up when threatened and then when it relaxed and started walking around on my hand we could see its little antennas. We counted about 10 worms in all. When I showed Ellie the worm she kept her distance. I asked her if she wanted to see it. She shrugged and then said "scared." She was not really interested in playing in the dirt or with the bugs.

It was so wonderful to be outside in the fresh air, dreaming of gardening. I have plans to put in a couple of raised beds in the back yard so I can start all those new heirloom seeds this year.

The kids have been miserably sick the past couple of days, and I have been fighting the germs as well so today was a nice change for us all and I feel better for it.