Jordan

Joyful, cheerful, and full of zest
Ordinary can not confine her or keep her from
Reaching for the heavens she is a
Daughter of God
Any obstacle can not stop her achieving
New and better things in this life

She scrubs floors better than I do!

Jordan this past Saturday, ready to leave for her last summer at Camp Dry Gulch

Tackle it Tuesday - The Kids' Room

I have only one item on my to do list for today. Ok, two, since it is important to make sure the kids get fed today. But today I will tackle cleaning out my girls' room.

My oldest is at camp, and will be returning tomorrow. So today is the day to give the room a much belated spring cleaning. We live in a smaller home, and all three girls share the same room. Three girls with all the Barbies, little ponies, accessories, shoes, and clothes means lots of things in one room. I try to stay on top of keeping it some what ordered. And Jordan is learning how to take care of her things.

But it does not take much, like one toy being put in the wrong box, to start a domino chain reaction that leads to total chayos in their room.

So it's time to put everything back in it's place, or find it a new home.

Today the curtain will be taken down and washed. The closet will be emptied, wiped out and re organized, The items that have been shoved under the bunk bed will be dug out and tossed. (If it's been under there, it's been there a while and we haven't missed it.) Stuffed animals will be washed, and most will find a new home. Pencil drawings on the walls will be erased. Clothes will be sorted, rehung, or stored. (I would really love to find where I can purchase clothing rack dividers to help the girls properly put their clothes in their place.) The dresser drawers will be emptied, clothes refolded or hung, and the drawers wiped out.

Yes this will be done today. Nothing can destract me. I am determined to start this and finish it today. Even if I am finishing at 11:59pm it will still be done today.

I would also like to move the bunk beds and the toddler bed so the bunk bed is no longer blocking the window. But we'll see.

I have some before pics. But don't want to get destracted by loading them on the computer to upload them here. I'll post them later.

What is a project that you've been meaning to take on? Is it a big project? Have you been procrastinating because it just seems overwhelming? How many little projects can you break it into? Pick something small that you can do, and do it. Then find something else small to do within the big project, and do it. Keep chipping away at the small things, checking off that to do list, and pretty soon you'll have made noticeable progress on that big mountain!

The Garden 06/28/2010

Hubby put up the trellises for the tomato plants this evening.
We planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and sweet potato plants. Planted bean seeds and marigold seeds.

The Garden 062210

Pics of updates for the garden.

If watching the progression of us digging in dirt sounds boring to you, there's some links for more great reading to the right.

I wouldn't be offended at all if you clicked one.

No, really I wouldn't.

Monday morning the girls and I spent several hours pulling weeds from the garden space.


This is what it looked like Monday. That's my daughter in the left space earning her camp spending money. Please ignore the naked baby doll lying in the grass.

No I didn't make my daughter clear the one on the right all by herself. I have been known to be a little mean to my kids. But not that mean.

My other two got involved and "helped" too. Helping as in digging in the section already stripped and making mud pies.


This is my little mud pie beauty.

I wasn't going to allow all those little muddy hands and feet inside on my floor. Not that it really would of made a difference if muddy feel walked on my floor, I haven't mopped in two weeks. But it's the principle you know.

So I got smart for once and brought out a basin for them to wash up in first before walking inside.


Rub a dub dub, three girlies in a tub.

Last night we finished double digging that section and added peat moss and compost. I still need to add vermiculite, but could not find any yesterday.


Hubby is handling the shovel. I did do half of this, but I think hubby was afraid I would hurt myself with the shovel, so he took over. He's double digging and Jordan is earning her camp spending money breaking up the clods and picking out roots.


Adding in the peat moss and compost.


Two littles keeping themselves cool with water play and creating a toybox explosion in our yard.


Double digging the end of the first section.



Second section finished as of Tuesday evening, and partially sectioned off. Jordan still earning camp spending money. She looks so thrilled to be out here. :)

Blessings

Tackle it Tuesday - My to do list.

I've got another long list

- Fold ALL the Laundry
- Do ALL the dishes
- Run to Lowes for soil amendments and nails
- Nail 2x4s together to form frame to keep soil from spilling all over yard
- Dig amendments into soil
- Plant some cukes
- Start double digging 3rd plot
- Finish clearing out living room
- Finish re arranging books on new bookshelves
- Make grocery list
- Mop the floor
- Make meal plan and grocery list
- Print out online coupons
- Submit Grocery Order
- Balance Check book
- Assemble Nature Walk Backpacks (didn't get done last week)
- Declutter girls room (that didn't get done last week either)

- And make sure my kids eat today. (That's kind of an important one.)

I'm out of coffee. Can some one please bring me some? I'm still tired from working in the "garden" all day yesterday. Notice I put make grocery list twice on here?

Prayers for my sanity till I can work an emergency trip into the convenience store for some coffee would be appreciated.

Reviving the garden..

Did I mention I have a garden? Well, if you can count weeds as a produce, I have a garden. Oh, I do have some strawberry plants, but they ain't producing anything yet.

Early in the year I was determined somewhat determined interested in having a garden. Like I am every year.

I love the thought of fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and other good for my family produce, lovingly planted and raised and then expertly prepared cooked if I felt like cooking. I look through seed catalogs every new year and fall prey to the tempting pictures of red, ripe, juicy tomatoes, or mouthwatering watermelon, or cool and crisp cucumbers.

So this year we started on our little garden. As soon as it was warm enough to go outside w/o freezing and we could dig in the soil, we were out there digging in. The kids and I plotted out a spot, got some lumber to make a small frame, and with the hand tools we had dug up the weeds and broke up the sod.

My wonderful hubby even helped out by stripping the sod off a second plot for me. He worked his big muscles he developed working out (he needed an extra workout that day anyway, right?)

We got peat moss and compost, mixed it into the first plot, and planted strawberries.

Then I allowed my ADD to kick in. I got distracted by homeschooling, errands, church activities, and life. So we lost full interest in the garden, and was pushed to the back of my mind/priority list.

It wasn't like the patch was out of site. It was in plain site of the kids swing set. I saw it every day. I just kept pushing off weeding or tending to the garden.

Yes I still have bouts of laziness.

Fortunately we had an abundance of rain so the little patch never went thirsty due to my neglect.

Weeds flourished in the unfinished plot. Mint took over the strawberry patch. The unattended berry plants thrived, had a party, and made lots of little babies by runners.

It was looking like a jungle.

Did I mention I do this every year?

This past week I sat down, had a conference with myself, and we both decided that I'm going to finish what I started for once. I'm going to finish this growing season with a strong garden. And I'm not going to ignore the weeds anymore.

So Saturday I spent several hours outside enjoying a nice cool breeze in the already hot Oklahoma summer digging up the mint and the weeds in the strawberry patch. Then I took shelter in the shade and replanted the mint along the side of the house. I hope it really takes root there and choked out weeds that try to grow.

I came back after the sun had set and it cooled off a bit to thin out the runners and transplant them to where I just dug the mint from.

After several hours work. This is what it looks like now.



My hope is that the transplants will take root, and make more nice strong berry plants. But if not, they needed to be thinned out anyway. And now all the runners have been cut, I expect my original plants to start making berries. Yum!

I'm not showing you the second plot. I'm so ashamed. If there was a Plant and Garden Protective Services I would definitely be reported in if you saw this pic. But all weeds are to be evicted this week. I'm taking advantage of live in slave labor hiring my daughter for some cheap labor. I need a weed free garden and she needs spending money for summer camp. So it's a win win situation in my book!

I don't know why I'm sharing about my weedy garden. I promise I do have more interesting things going on in my life. But maybe I know deep down there is some one else like me out there. Who has a neglected garden too, and is too ashamed to admit it. We could form a sister hood. And we can tell each other we need to be ashamed no longer.

God still loves us, weedy gardens and all. And it's not to late to take the garden back!! We can do it one weed at a time. So to all the sisterhood, pick up your trowels and weeders, go on the offensive, and attack with all your might.

Till we get distracted again.

Our God is Greater - Chris Tomlin