Wordless Wednesday-Aye Aye Pirate!

List Your Blessings

I drove by a church today and they had a message on their electronic message board-yes, they had an electronic message board out front.  Anyways, the message board gave out an assignment for the week-the assignment was to make a list of your blessings.  So here you go...

• I am blessed to be married to a wonderful man who I can't wait to spend each day with
• I am blessed with a son who is healthy, loving and joyful
• I am blessed to have supportive and involved parents
• I am blessed to have amazing in-laws
• I am blessed to work with great co-workers and work at a great company
• I am blessed with great friends
• I am blessed to have three awesome dogs who remind me to take time and enjoy life
• I am blessed with nieces and nephews
• I am blessed with a roof over my head and food in my cupboards
• I am blessed to live in a free country

I am blessed to have so much and I hope that I can be a blessing on someone else's list.

Saying Goodbye to a Very Special Woman

Great Grandma Sophie & E on the day of his baptism

There was a special home coming in heaven this week, for a very special woman.  Joe's Grandma Sophie passed away on Thursday, June 21st.  She passed away on her husbands' birthday-what a special birthday gift for him.

Our family went to visit Sophie for the last time in June.  We spent time outside, watching E run up and down a hill chasing a ball, wishing that we could bottle up his preschool energy.  E played trash can basketball with Grandma Sophie-they had a great time.  E also "taught" Grandma Sophie how to play High Ho-Cherry-O, I think that they each won a game.

What a BEAUTIFUL summer day it was and what WONDERFUL memories we made!

Grandma Sophie- I am honored that I was able to call you Grandma and that E was able to make special memories with you.  You are a very special woman who I always loved to visit with.  You touched many people in many positive ways and you will be greatly missed.  Rest in peace-until we meet again.  



Sophie with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren



Wordless Wednesday-My Little Chef

My Little Gardener

E loves to play outside and help in the garden. 

 He loves to help water the plants,

or bugs. 

He is in heaven when he gets a hold of the hose.

E planted these seeds at daycare with his spanish class and we had no idea what they were going to grow  into.  It looks like they are Zinneas.

Garden Update



Our garden is EXPLODING and it is very exciting.  Here is just one of many cucumbers that is growing.  I am hoping that we will have more cucumbers than we know what to do with this year, last year I only got two.

 Cucumbers are on the far end, growing up the trellis, sunflowers are growing tall in the middle, lettuce is in the middle, garden beans are next and then onions.

 We are already planning the garden for next year, and I want to plant more lettuce.  This has been the best thing out of the garden so far.  It is so awesome to go out into the garden and pick fresh lettuce for sandwiches or burgers.  I have also harvested about 15 beans from this plot.

This is 1 VERY large tomato plant!  There are actually two tomato plants here of the same variety.  I bought the large one from a local farmer and the smaller one from the Farmer's Market.  Next year, we won't be using precious garden space for tomatoes, they will go in pots.

This plot also holds 10 stalks of corn, green peppers, garden beans and peas.

 Our corn was "knee high" by the fourth of July!  I am hoping that we get some corn but I am not expecting it to turn out.  I have been learning about how corn pollinates and I was told that each kernel of corn comes from 1 drop of pollen onto the tassels, so that is a LOT of pollen.

 Here is a small bunch of tomatoes that are growing on the large plant.  I was thinking about letting them get a little bigger and making Fried Green Tomatoes.

The first tomato of the season.  Funny thing is, I don't eat fresh tomatoes.  Joe ate this one on a cheeseburger, the night that I picked it.  He said that it was very good.  I will be turning the other tomatoes into sauce and soup.

Roasting Marshmallows

Somewhere E got the idea that he wanted to have a campfire, set up a tent and roast marshmallows.  We weren't really in the mood to set up the tent in the backyard, but we were all about roasting marshmallows and making S'mores!

We all had a great night at the backyard campfire!  What's your favorite summer time memory?

Look What the Mailman Brought Us

A SAND TABLE!!!!

The OT in me was thinking that we needed a sandbox of some kind at our house.  Joe of course said that he could "make one."  I have heard that before and about 5% of the time it actually happens.  I didn't really want a sand BOX though, because that means that E would sit in it and bring sand into the house, we already have enough stuff tracked into the house by three dogs that we didn't need E to bring sand in too.  I also didn't want the rabbits that call our yard home leaving their droppings in it.  After going to a birthday party and playing in a sand table, I thought that a table was the PERFECT compromise.  I was on a mission to get one at our house quickly.

I did some searching online and found this Step 2 Sand Table at Amazon.  I made the mistake of telling E that the mailman would be bringing his sand table.  For the next 4 days, every time he saw a mail carrier truck or a delivery truck of any kind, he asked if his sand table was on it.  Luckily, Amazon shipped the sand table VERY quickly.

The mailman made his delivery and I had the table set up in minutes.  I just needed to snap the four legs into place and dump in the sand (sold separately). It even came with shovels and a bucket.

E has already had hours of fun and so has Joe.

Our society has become overly obsessed with antibacterial soap, killing germs, screen time and kids aren't learning how to get messy and explore their environment.  I can't tell you how many kids come to OT because they can't get messy and they become distressed if they do.  Not knowing how to get messy or tolerating getting messy, can affect all areas of a child's life, from eating new foods, using a glue stick and wearing a variety of clothes.  Those are a few reasons why I needed to get E a sand table and you should get your child one too!

What's your favorite messy play activity from your childhood?

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!

I send out a large heartfelt THANK YOU, to all the brave men and women who defend our freedom and fight for our independence including local law enforcement and military here and abroad so that we can continue to celebrate the birth of our country.

This is the first year in over three years that Joe has been home for the 4th of July, so we made the most of it.  E got to go in the little pool at Grandma's, down the slip n' slide, had a BBQ, went to see Cars 2 and shot off some fireworks at home.

E showing off some of his fireworks

Factor watching from inside-he's not a big fan of big booms.

E checking out the 'worms'. Don't worry, it wasn't going to go boom in his face!

A 'Tank'

Sparklers!

We decided to not go to a large fireworks display because it was going to be too late for E on a Monday night.  Who am I kidding- I HATE the post-firework traffic along with getting eaten by mosquitoes while waiting for the big show.

I had a great weekend with both of my boys.  It is rare that everyone is home together, especially on a holiday, so I am very thankful for the time we got to spend together.