Saturday Update

We went to the mall today to get some things George needed for work. Ella had gone directly to the store with George while Emily stayed behind with me so we could pop in to a store and look at dresses for her. As we were walking to meet George and Ella we passed the Easter Bunny. Instantly Emily asked if she could have her picture taken with the Bunny, I said maybe. As soon as we walked in the store Ella yelled out "Mommy there is an Easter Bunny! Can we have our picture taken with it????" I said maybe. There were a few things to consider...their hair was a mess, I am not a fan of standing in line for the Easter Bunny (Santa yes but not the Bunny), it's outrageously expensive and most importantly they didn't match! ;) Ella was dressed for summer and Emily for winter. But...they were so excited and there wasn't actually a line when we went back so here it is......



Have I mentioned that I am DREADING the summer? Aside from the obvious reason (I am too ginormous for shorts or a swimsuit!), what on earth will I do to entertain the girls? After being in school all year I hardly think that Emily will be entertained by my little arts & crafts projects and as much as they love to paint, even that gets old after a few days. So aside from all the little things I have come up with to fill the day, I thought maybe we should have a garden. I am not sure why really as I do not really like to be outside, I despise bugs of any shape or size, I do not really like "funky" looking food, I am not a fan or dirt, oh yeah and I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO GROW ANYTHING!!!!! We also have very rocky, clay-like, generally inhospitable dirt to grow things in. No problem I thought, I'll just make compost and we'll have at it. Guess what? Compost takes a really long time to make! So I have decided to do quasi square foot gardening. We will use some sort window box to grow in, that way we can hang them from the deck, it gets the most sun. We are also going to try and hang our tomatoes instead of staking them. we are going to plant them in hanging baskets and let the vines "fall" like spider plants...we'll see. The girls as so excited by this idea. Ella was sure she'd be picked vegetables in a few days! Poor thing. I explained it all takes a long time and lots of work. Emily wanted to know why we couldn't just "dig a big hole outside" for the garden. I see she already thinks like me, that DOES seem easier! Anyway, after I explained this is a very time consuming, lots of waiting time activity and they were still excited about it we started it. The girls picked what to grow...beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, bib lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, and.....WATERMELON! My children are adventurous! I thought we'd just do tomatoes, maybe even 2 different kinds, but they were so excited about growing all these things. I figured if I could kill tomato plants, I could kill any vegetable, right?
Today we planted the seeds in the baby greenhouse. Once they sprout, we'll transfer them to window boxes...what on earth have I gotten myself in to?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
(This also started another summer project, we're starting a compost bin now so that maybe next year we can "just dig a big hole" for a garden). Here is out "garden" today...