Birthdays, Buddies, and Blooms, Oh My.

Hello, hello! Remember me? Sorry for the silence. It's Mikey's fault. You see, one birthday in the midst of growing season I can manage, and since Kristen arrived almost perfectly on time (April 2), I can't blame her for my blogging absence. But Mikey? Well, that little stinker's original due date was May 18. Guess who decided to show up a month early? He's such a troublemaker. (Truly. Bed rest and everything with that boy. Good thing he turned out to be so sweet and funny, or I might really hold a grudge!) 

So, during the craziest growing and gardening time, we have two birthdays to celebrate. Kristen opted for a girlfriend sleepover, creating tie-dye shirts and hanging out by a bonfire.

Mikey wanted the action of Frankie's Fun Park with friends. Laser tag, go karts, and lots of noise... 

 

 

The drummer boys...Mikey opened the present from big brother, Tyler: "Look! I got shelves!" It's actually a cajon, a wooden, bongo-like instrument. Between the djembe and the caj on, they had quite a jam session.

Have I mentioned that I love birthdays? The former PR girl/event planner in me loves a good party.

Peter thinks I'm a bit obsessive.

Just because we have to celebrate on the actual date, then celebrate with friends, and of course have a family party on the weekend, does that really make me obsessive?

I hate it when he's right.

Poor Mikey, he was sick on his birthday. Toast and jello aren't very festive. He rallied, though, and enjoyed the weekend with friends and family.
 

Chloe didn't know what to think about my great-nephew, Max. 

Hanging out with Max just makes me happy.

Actually, our kids have spent a lot of time at home, sick, over the past few months, which is another reason I'm behind on my writing. Poor kiddos, it's been a rough time, but I think we've finally gotten them over the worst of it. (Crossing fingers and toes.)

(Note to self: Never tell a friend that your kids rarely have stomach issues. I can assure you, Murphy will be listening, and you'll suddenly find that your kids are champion thrower-uppers. Lesson learned. Blegh.)

On the rare occasions that the kids went to school, we had some gardening fun. I helped Mikey's class plant a pollinator garden...
 

 

...but more on that in my next post. All I can say is...teachers should be our highest paid professionals. Those kids wore me out! 

Then, I planted salad bowls with Mikey's Scout troop. 

The boys were great, but more on that to come, too.

When we weren't throwing birthday parties or gardening with kids, we coached (Peter) and cheered (me) at soccer games...

 Goal! (Mikey is #3)

...celebrated the Grand Opening of Kristen's trainer's new stables...

...chased chickens...

...and tried to find a little time to enjoy the spring blooms.

 Bleeding Heart, one of my favorites.

 Columbine, another favorite.

Tulips are almost done. Sniff.

Loropetalum continues a magnificent show.

Emerging Autumn ferns...

First azalea blossom.

 Bellflowers

Irises are replacing tulips blooms.

 Dutch iris...I wish I had planted hundreds of them. Truly one of my favorite spring flowers.

Lilac. 'Miss Kim' isn't as showy as the variety my mother grew in the north, 

but the fragrance is just as sweet.

Strawberry season is just around the corner...

...and our blueberry bushes are full of blooms.

Bees love Pieris Japonica.

I didn't plant anything in this container--the violets are a happy accident!

Hostas and Solomon's Seal are waking up.

No matter how many lilies of the valley we plant, we only have a few appear...

but I love them.

I wish our forest was covered in trillium. I adore them.

So, that's what's been happening here. Birthdays are behind us, and now it's time to get serious garden work accomplished. 

Weeds, beware--I'm coming! 

What are your gardening plans this week?

My plans are to clean up the kitchen garden beds and the potager and plant warm weather crops. 

But I promise--I'll be back soon. Hope you'll join me!

Happy gardening!

XO ~

Julie

My Girl and Her Peeps.

My baby girl turned 11.

Eleven!

How is that possible? Honestly, a minute ago she looked like this:

And in a blink of an eye, she became this long-legged, chicken-and-horse-obsessed tweenish creature.

She slays me. One minute, she's still my little peanut, hiding snakes in her tree house and dressing up chickens. The next moment, she's sneaking lip gloss into her bag for school picture day.

(Just wait until Peter sees the bikini she picked out for vacation—I fear Kristen may be locked in her room until she's forty. And I nixed one that she really, really wanted!)

To celebrate the big 11, we kicked off the weekend (which is also the beginning of the kids' spring break) with a sleepover/birthday party.

The theme?

Why, chickens, of course!

I thought about whether there should be a theme. These are, after all, tricky years. One day, a themed birthday might be fine—or, if the hormones are running rampant, it might cause utter and complete humiliation.

Still, knowing our girlie and her ongoing chicken obsession, I decided to risk it. After all, I spent the week stalking our local feed and seed store, calling for hourly updates on the arrival of Kristen's new chick. It seemed appropriate to center the birthday celebration around the chicks.

First, we were told the chicks would arrive on Wednesday. Kristen was thrilled—she awaited the arrival of her new Barred Plymouth Rock pullet with as much anticipation as any expectant mother.

(I promised to pick her up from school so she could select her new baby, then return her to school afterwards. Her sweet teacher even allowed her to take a test a day early so that she could leave school to meet her new peep.)

And much like a mother-to-be who is sent home from the hospital with false labor, Kristen arrived home from school extremely frustrated and disappointed.

The chicks were a no-show.

Thursday, same plan...

Nothing. No chicks.

Finally, Friday...the chicks arrived! Of course, their arrival also coincided with Michael's class Easter party, and I had volunteered to help hide more than 350 eggs.

Daddy saved the day.

While I hid eggs and served high-fructose corn syrup-laden treats to 6-year-olds, Peter and Kristen raced to the store to meet her new baby:

Introducing Saltine!

(We plan to add two more chicks—Golden Campines—which will hopefully arrive this week.)

While Kristen settled Saltine into her new home, I finished preparations for the Peep Party.

Peep Cupcakes (How did we ever survive without Pinterest?)

Peep shirts for the girls to decorate.

Treat bags featuring candy eggs, chicken note cards, and other chicken-related silliness.

It was enough—but not too much. Being a mom, it's in my nature to micromanage parties. BUT—now that my girlie is older, the last thing 11-year-olds want is a mom lurking over their shoulders too much.

We're lucky, because Kristen's friends are really sweet, nice girls. And—I was amazed at their creativity. Their artwork on the shirts was adorable!

As much as the girls are growing up, they were excited to have a nature scavenger hunt the next morning. (Honestly, I had planned to blow it off, but they asked to do it.) One of the girls even asked if I'd print out a copy of the items so that she could take her sisters on a scavenger hunt when she went home.

I love when kids are excited about nature!

The friend party and the family party are done, we're midway through Spring Break week, and guess what I'm doing?

I'm once again, stalking the feed and seed store, waiting for word...

...that the peeps have landed.

Stay tuned...

XO ~

Julie

Birthday Tree.

My girl is double digits. 

Ten years ago, on April Fool's Day, I went into labor while Peter, Tyler, and I were browsing in a now defunct pet store. Actually, my water broke in the pet store. I know that was more information than you care to know about me, but it explains a lot.

Like how our girlie, who is so incredibly animal-obsessed, tried to enter this world surrounded by furry friends. I swear, her animal love began in utero.

And it continues to grow each year.

(Did I mention we're soon adding chickens to our suburban micro-farm? But that's a story for another day.)

Not only is Kristen animal-obsessed, she's an avid tree climber. I'm the tree-hugger, she's the climber.

Once, when she was three, she climbed the Japanese Maple in front of our office. 


"Mommy! Come look! Isn't it beautiful?"


My pigtailed princess was nose-to-nose with a black rat snake.

Did you know that black rat snakes are excellent climbers? 

Did you know that, while black rat snakes are completely harmless and are wonderful at controlling pesky voles, they can cause a near-fatal panic attack when viewed by an on-the-ground mother who watches in horror as her three-year-old tries to play with said snake?

These are things you should know.

But this isn't a story about snakes, or snake-induced hyperventilation.

This is a story about a tree.

A birthday tree.

Kristen's tree.

Once upon a time, we planted a tree to celebrate Kristen.

It's an ornamental cherry tree. Today, I'd probably choose something more politically correct--perhaps a cherry tree that actually bears fruit or an ancient heirloom apple tree. But back then, I simply wanted a tree that would bloom on Kristen's birthday.

A pretty tree. 

A picture-perfect tree.

A tree that would co-star in annual birthday photos, charting the growth of both girl and her tree.

So, in an act of sheer indulgence and sentimentality, I thought I'd share with you Kristen and her tree, in the hopes that you, too, will plant a tree for your favorite babe. (Fall is the best time to plant trees, but if you are careful to water well and don't wait too late--you can also plant in the spring. The Arbor Day Foundation provides excellent videos on planting and caring for trees.)

1st Birthday

2 years

3 years

5 years

6 years

7 years
(Wow...Kristen's tree on non-organic, chemical-laden fertilizer?)

8 years
(OK, I know it's not a tree...but I thought you should know that I'm serious about the snake-thing.)

10 years

I'm shocked when I look at my long-legged girl--it seems like two weeks ago that she was an itty bitty thing, shaking the stick-trunk of her tree. 

I hope that she'll always find joy in her birthday tree.

Happy Birthday, my double digit sweet-pea!

XO, Mommy