Streptocarpus

I bought the most interesting flower at a local nursery last week. It is called streptocarpus and is just gorgeous! He leaves are velvety like an African violet, and the stem that the flower grows from is brown and woody looking. It has almost doubled in size in just a week since I put them in hanging planters. I love finding new, beautiful, easy to take care of flowers. I can't wait until the planter is full and overflowing.

Back in the saddle again :)

Well, I'm back, for now at least. I've decided that I'm going to take the less is more approach, regarding blog posts.  Just a few pics and a simple explanation and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to keep up :). Since we are fully into gardening season, I figured it start with a short tour of the Green garden. 

Sweet peas are blooming.

Green beans have sprouted. 

Tomato plants are a whopping 10 inches tall! 

Okra is coming up like crazy! We LOVE okra!

Squash, cucumbers and zucchini are all growing, as well as the rocks. I think they grow better than anything else! 

Cabbage is gorgeous! 

The corn is coming up nicely. We should have a bumper crop if it does well. 

And my zinnias and celosia are growing strong! 

I just love watching the garden grow, and love even more when we can enjoy the bounty of our harvest! Looking forward to doing lots of canning this year. 

My sweet boy <3

Ok, I know I'm breaking my #1 rule I made for myself this year, and posting the same picture I posted on Facebook, but I can't resist! Jackson is so hilarious and cute. He has decided that he wants a long hair-do. He is looking quite shaggy while we go through the 'grow out' process. Now, he has gotten this wild idea that he should slick it all back, with copious amounts of gel and hairspray... For school! LOL Oddly enough, when I went to google pictures to use as an example, the only ones that came up were good looking, very popular celebrity men! :P Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kellan Lutz. Anyway, I guess my boy had the right idea. Either way, it makes me smile, and I'm fairly certain it makes some of the staff at school smile... Or maybe chuckle, too!

New Years Resolution # 3,498....Blog more regularly! :)

I am disappointed in myself for letting my blog go...So, I have made yet ANOTHER resolution. After all, it is the first month in a new year, which means, everything I decide to change...or start, becomes a 'New Years Resolution' !! LOL

My #1 blog goal is to blog different thing, stories, events and pictures that I put on Facebook, because, honestly,  no one is going to read the same things twice.

A quick family update.  Kids are doing amazingly well in school. First Semester ended with a collective 18 A's and 2 B's.  Im so very proud of them! Preston is learning his letters and we are working on writing his name. He has P and R down pat!

Maggie is playing traveling basketball as well as taking dance and doing very well with both. Katelyn is gearing up for volleyball again this year.  Kevin got the kids a small 4-wheeler last year and they are really loving zipping around the yard on it.

I am working part time at a daycare with a friend from High School and really enjoying it. Preston goes with me, which I think will be a good transition for Pre-K next year. I am also getting ready to take my CDL and Bus Driver test. I hope to start driving when needed next year, once Preston is in Pre-K.

I have started thinking about the garden already,and hope to plant some bulbs before spring hits.  Pictures and more interesting blog posts to come!!! Happy Monday!  

Catching up...

SO, we are 3 days from August, which means we are only 21 days from the first day of the new school year! I am most definitely ready for the kids to go back.  They are bored and bickering! It has been WAY too hot to do anything besides play at the pool! As a result, my little white kids are showing their Native American roots! LOL  

The garden is growing! I am picking cucumbers, tomatoes and okra daily now! My pepper plants got off to a rough start, and I haven't got to pick ONE yet! Maggie is dying for some stuffed peppers, hopefully soon!  

I am working on some cute things for a few new second cousins of mine!  I really love to sew, but it sure is hard to concentrate when the kids are running around screaming! 

The chickens are growing well, and are finally in their 'mostly-finished' coop.  I think they are really enjoying it! Our rooster Matt has found his voice and it is the funniest thing! We should start seeing eggs sometime in September! We were very upset to come home last month and find that 4 of our 7 chicks had been killed by a stray dog :(  I have plans to replace them...( plus a few more LOL) soon.  I wasn't really eager to have new chicks so soon, but I think its the best way to go to avoid disease and to make sure they are as tame as possible! 

The kids went to VBS a few weeks ago and had a blast!  I even managed to get a picture of them on the final night....TOGETHER! This is a rarity these days! LOL 

Hopefully I can put up a more organized and interesting blog post this weekend! I have lots of things to say/write, but my brain seems to be failing me at the moment! 

Mary, Mary, quite contrary....

I am feeling like I am living up to my last name this year! LOL At least so far, my thumb has proven to be at least a little bit green! :)  I tell Kevin that once we are eating our harvest, THEN I will consider the garden a success.  Because it is what I have worked on and obsessed over this last week, I figured I would share a few pictures, showing how everything is growing! I am a proud garden mama! :)

We had a rough start with several things.  The critters seemed to just LOVE my young tender plants and ate several tomato, pepper, cucumber and zucchini plants.  All of which had to be replanted.  With that said, I believe things are doing well now, and thank the Lord, we are getting rain as I type this.  I can finally take a break from numerous trips from the hydrant to the garden!

The strawberries have been a thorn in my side.  It seems like overnight, the grass and weeds TOOK OVER!!!  We have 100 plants and it has taken me a total of about 4 hours to get 28 of them weeded! Such a big job! I really hope the payout next year is worth it! :)

A few pictures...yes, there is TONS of grass in the garden.  We need to run the tiller through there soon!

Kind of hard to tell, but 6 rows of corn...

Cute little corn growing all in a row...

LOTS of potatoes!  IF these all produce the estimated amount, we are looking at well over 100 pounds of potatoes to harvest! 

Cucumber plants...I actually have 2 cucumbers on right now! They are about the size of a lima bean! :)

Okra...This needs to be thinned out, but some critter has been feasting on it, so I decided
that I had better leave it all there until it is a bit bigger!

My cabbage...I mainly planted this for the chickens to enjoy ( I know, Im nuts LOL), but Im
sure we will eat at least one ourselves!

Some tomato plants...not a great picture.  I just painstakingly raked our WHOLE yard and
used the dead grass clippings along with newspaper to keep the weeds down!

Our lone tomato at the moment! Not sure it will even fully develop.  Kevin
picked up some tomato plants really cheap and this one already had a tiny
tomato on it when I planted it.  Im anxious to see if it ripens! :)

Green beans!  Lots and lots of green beans! :)

A row of peppers. Bell, jalapeno, long red cayenne, banana and chocolate habaneros!
Kevin got a good deal on the hot peppers also, not sure what we
are going to do with them yet! LOL

We also have cantaloupe, carrots, and asparagus that I didn't post pictures of.  Hope you enjoyed the walk through my not so little garden! :)

Whats happening?

In our house right now...


Kevin is still snoozin!  Having a rare sleep in day, totally deserved! 


Katelyn is hunkered down in her room, no doubt chatting with 5 friends on facebook or watching Brady Bunch on youtube. 


Maggie is listening to showtunes on youtube...current music is from Mama Mia :)


Jackson is brushing up on his ninja skills watching Power Rangers Samurai. 


Preston is playing with the MOST annoying toy ever made, an electronic fork lift. Making everyone else in the room mad because it is SO loud! LOL


And I am sitting on my tush, finishing my coffee, thinking of ALL the things I want to get done today...Things that in reality, will take me days or even weeks to complete! LOL 


On a total side note, I am SO excited to meet up with a childhood best friend on Monday!  We haven't actually SEEN each other for probably well over 13 years! I cant wait! :)