Black Thumb Traditions

So, the garden is going in again this year. We have been told before that we should plant around Mother's Day, and somehow it snuck up on us. But Saturday was gorgeous, so we borrowed a tiller and readied our bit of earth. See that handsome man tilling back there?

The girls loved the dirt. They played and played in it, and I didn't care in the least.

After all, if we are going to build traditions around gardening, they may have to be at the beginning of the gardening part, because the end is not always so fruitful. The harem was actually quite useful picking out rocks and early bird weeds.

We found some garden friends along the way.

I admit that everyone gets really excited, but then later when the weeds are growing and it is really hot out there, no one feels like pulling a thing.(Except Tyler, he is actually quite faithful, and the only reason we have any harvest.)

We went and got some of our plants tonight. That was fun, except for the part where I put the car key in Daisy's pocket since I didn't have pockets of my own. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I should have taken into consideration that this is DAISY. The Daisy I found putting label stickers on the actual DVDs today, instead of the cases. The Daisy who now knows how to get into the second-aid kit so I find her with bandaids on daily. The Daisy I found with about three yards of floss wrapped around her fingers this morning cutting off circulation. Yep, that Daisy. You may all laugh at me. 

When we got to the car, I checked her pocket, and sadly, the key was absent. So I went back through the entire Garden Center retracing my steps to Greenhouse#8 and back, looking all over the ground, but no luck. Back to the car, and this time I brought the culprit herself. I asked Daisy where she might have put the key, no longer thinking that it fell out on its own. "In the dirt," was her reply. Not a good sign, when you are at a nursery. There are only a thousand plants to check. Okay, I exaggerate. Most of the plants she couldn't have reached, but there were still hundreds to inspect. I figured we had spent the most time in Greenhouse#8, so that is where I based my search. Daisy was very helpful walking up and down the rows, but she had no idea where she had put the key. I kept imagining some random shopper going home with his tomato plants to find a key planted with them. What would you think if you found a car key in your vegetables?

The good news is that right when I was about to give up, I spotted it. Just sitting there in some random flower pot. She hadn't even 'planted' it, it was just lying atop the dirt, like she said. I know that my speedy prayers were answered rapidly, and that this isn't the first Daisy that Heavenly Father has sent to a household. I couldn't even be mad at her, because it is not like she asked for the key...I was the stupid one who gave it to her. Plus, she was so cute helping me search. But I think this won't be one of the traditions we continue next year.

So wish us well in our gardening endeavors. It is a good thing all the kids like dirt. But why wouldn't they? Dirt, good. Mud, bad. 

Celebrate the Women

I adore all those lovely women out there who have such excellent mothering abilities, whether they are mothers or not. I personally think I am lacking in some of the basic nurturing skills, which is perhaps why I was sent so many children to work on. Practice, practice, practice. Obviously I haven't gotten it right yet. But I hopefully have a long time to work on it.

I hope you all had an excellent day full of love for your Mother, your children, and all those women who have inspired and directed you through life. And love for yourself, because you are unique and fabulous.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mother

Photo of the week:

I think this picture is the coolest ever. I envisioned it, but Tyler really worked his magic, or stood over my shoulder and made me learn a few tricks myself. It turned out so much better than I thought. I came up with the idea after Sis. Allen brought all these hats to primary and showed the kids all the different hats a mother wore. So I borrowed her hats and the rest, as they say, is history.

All you mothers out there. Which is your favorite hat to wear?

Clothes and Shoes

I have five girls. (In case you didn't know.) We have lots of girls' clothes around here. One grows out, the next grows in, and sometimes the clothes don't even have to be packed away waiting for the next little girl to fit into them. Granted, once a piece of clothing has gone through a few little bodies, it gets a little worn, but we have baby clothes that we bought with June that Pearl is wearing now. Impressive, I say.

The thing (or should I say person) that really keeps us in business is Grandma Cazier. Every time a birthday rolls around she takes the birthday girl out shopping. Said child gets new clothes, and not once have we ever had a problem with complaints about hand-me-downs. Sure, the girls get plenty, but since they get new stuff too, no one is put out.

Here's the catch though. Grandma only takes them out until they are 8. She has found that after that age, children tend to develop wants that don't take kindly to the pocketbook. I agree. Well, June is eight. (In case you didn't know.) That is fine, but for the first time, I am keenly aware that as her pants become high enough that she could wade through a flood without getting them wet that there won't be replacement pants around the corner.

What?! I have to buy clothes for my own children? Just kidding, I have obviously bought clothes for my children, but now I will have to be responsible and buy them things they actually need. Blat. Such is life, and I'm good with that too. So tonight when I ended up at this event called Just Between Friends, I made good use of the discounted prices. At first I was just browsing, knowing that I don't really need anything for my girls. And then I pictured June walking out the door this morning in some high-waters that could pass as Capris. (Sure, she had grabbed Robyn's pants, but some of her own were starting to show too much ankle, if you know what I mean.) So, I bought pants...for June. Look at me being all grown up and responsible. Oh, and one jean skirt. Which was her favorite.

I looked at her as she tried it on and I said, "Cute A-line skirt." June replied, "Alien skirt?" Hah.

Grandma took out Pearl and Robyn recently, and got Pearl a whole bunch of shoes, which is good because I had become lazy and was putting her in the easy pink boots all the time. Ivory lived in them. Daisy, not so much because she was born during a different season. But when Pearl was a winter baby too, you better believe that the easy-wear pink boots came back with a vengeance.  So much, that I didn't even have a back-up pair for Pearl. Now, we have a wide selection. I mean, check out these cute jelly shoes.

Adorable eh? Why is everything so cute when it comes in miniature? I put her in some cute pink Keds tennis shoes today, but we quickly found out that it took all of four steps for her right shoe to come off. Every. Time. Oh well, you can't win them all.

Really Pearl doesn't care what she wears. She's not picky yet. But she will get there. They all do. Perhaps she will prefer alien skirts...

Slightly Tired...No...Make that Really Tired

I have found myself behind again, but when it is one woman against the world (and by world, I mean five girls) I am not surprised that I can't do it all. And really, it all keeps happening anyway, I just haven't been taking pictures and blogging about it.

Like yesterday when we all curled up on the patio to soak up the warmth from the bricks. That was a sweet simple moment. But I was too busy keeping my cheek to the bricks and away from the ants to worry about the camera.

Or recently when June dressed up like an Indian, or should I say dressed down like an Indian. I am not sure where she gets the idea that Indians (sorry, Native Americans) wore loin cloths that only covered the front. (Sorry Deanne for the many sitings of June's underwear the other evening.) She later dressed all the kids as Indians and I forgot to take pictures, but I am very impressed at all the feathers she has been saving from who knows where.

Then of course there is this last weekend when our ward hosted a talent night and I participated in a skit that left me covered in chocolate pudding. Sorry, my better half was at super cross or I would have some pictures of that. Although, if Chelsea is to be trusted, there may be a video on the internet soon, which would make up for no pictures. So, don't lose hope yet, all those of you who want to see me slathered in moisturizer, mascara, and chocolate pudding...all at the same time.

This evening we went to see some old friends. (I mean, they are the same age as us, but we haven't seen them in a while. Although I am feeling old tonight, so maybe that isn't a bad description.) They had us over for FHE, and our only job was to bring dessert. I made caramel pecan rolls. Yum. However, apparently if you double the caramel and put them in a shallow bar pan, what you get is a smoking oven. Which is even more embarrassing when it isn't your own oven, or your own house that fills up with smoke. Needless to say, our friends, the Mason's, were very forgiving, and fortunately have a self-cleaning oven. But did I think to bring the camera? NO! Even foggy pictures would have been better than none.

But, I don't want to leave you with no pictures, so here are some lovely side-walk chalk drawings that did not survive the snow we had last week. But they will live forever here.

The Star:

Rosalinda:

Another Art From Nature: (Such clever titles, these.)

Osga: (pronounced oh'-suh-guh)

Blue Bell:

Rainbow Dash:

and Dinda: (Gotta love grey on grey.)

What I love most about the way my kids do chalk is that they get the color into every crack. When I draw on the sidewalk, it isn't so vivid, because I don't take the time to get the color saturated. The best part of these drawings is that they kept the kids busy for over an hour on Sunday while Tyler and I napped.

Now that is a good memory!!!

Trees

I love trees. Maybe it is because I grew up in Washington, or maybe it is because they have such simple/complex beauty. Oddly, I like park trees more than a forest, mainly because you don't have to look down all the time to watch your step. Or give me a good orchard. Although, since I just came from one, I know you still need to watch your step. Anyway, I digress. Behold, the trees.

Photos of the week:

They are working on expanding the road near my house, and the city just chopped down a bunch of trees. It was really hard to watch. My view as I come out of our neighborhood went from this:

 
To this:

Maybe when they are all finished, they will plant some more.

One Year Older, and Wiser Too...

Robyn was my tiny baby. Although she was full-term, because she was growth-restricted, she weighed in at only 5 lbs. 15 oz. I remember setting up my camera and taking a couple of pictures because I wanted to remember how small this little bundle came.

Seven years later and I can't believe how much she has grown, and I'm not just talking about physically. I love that Robyn is distinctly different from her sisters. She has a deep love of animals and nature. (Just today she was telling me that we should walk to the store to save the planet. I told her that I would continue to carpool kids to pre-school and count that as my part in world conservation.) Robyn has great ideas and she listens. She remembers things: Like she has been asking for two years to have breakfast in bed. I still don't really get the idea of breakfast in bed, but nevertheless, she got it today.

I picked her up from school and brought her balloons. She said that was one of her favorite parts of the day. See how happy she is?

Oh, did I mention that she is a joker?

I was much more organized coming into this birthday, so she got a homemade cake. Voila!

I think it turned out cute. And we didn't even burn it down when we added candles. (June was dully concerned.)

In the evening just the two of us went out to a bookstore and we read books together until we got tired. It was a perfect ending to her birthday.(p.s. My favorite was Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator, it was surprisingly humorous.)

Happy Birthday my sweet Robyn.