School started today. Little Bird started Kindergarten. Yes, I cried. I cried the night before as I read her a book about going to Kindergarten, I cried as I tucked her in and told her how happy she makes me, I cried as I got her dressed in the morning and I cried as I watched my baby get on that bus and magically turn into a little big girl. It was heartbreaking!
My mom said to me yesterday that I should treasure these moments because before I know it she will graduate and go off to college. I have time I thought to myself.....
Hours old sweet little baby Grace
No, I don't have time. I remember five years ago adoring this brand new little life and thinking to myself five years is such a long time from now. We have time....We witnessed first smiles, giggles and teeth. We watched as she crawled then walked then ran. We were amazed as she cooed then babbled then spoke. We have time I thought.....We were blown away as she recognized letters, numbers, colors and animals. As she wrote her name over and over with great precision, as if she knew how to do it from day one. As she read short stories to us from memory. We are absolutely stunned by how fast five years went. And now she is off to start a new adventure called school, without her Mama there to help her. It's one of the many things I will have to let her go and do, by herself. It's hard for me to let her grow up, I think it is a hard thing for any Mama to do.
Little Bird's first day of Kindergarten!
Time just goes so fast that before I know it five years turns into ten, fifteen, twenty....Then she will be all grown up, starting new adventures and leaving my "nest" to test the waters on her own. I have time.....No, I really don't. But I promise to treasure her achievements as they happen and make sure she knows that her Mama is there for her, no matter what.
She couldn't wait to get on the bus! She is dragging me!
I know that someday, a long time from now, my children will come to appreciate what I am going through. I will be there to remind them to treasure the moments because they do not last forever. And they will think "We have time".....Silly girls.
So I hope that Peanut, Little Bird and Little Bug have a great first day of school/preschool and I hope they always remember......I love you a bushel and a peck, a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck, a hug around the neck and a barrel and a heap, a barrel and a heap and I am talking in my sleep about yooooou, yes about you, my hearts a leaping, having trouble sleeping, cause I love you a bushel and a peck, you bet your pretty neck I do!
P.S. This is the best song ever! I have sung it to my sweet little girls for a long time!
Hope all the kids enjoy their first day of school and the parents remember to slow down and treasure every little moment!
This weeks Kindergarden assignment is to show our gardens from our children's perspective. This was a ton of fun for my girls because they LOVE to steal my camera and take pictures of themselves! If they weren't so stinkin' cute they may get in trouble for it! If someone stole my laptop they seriously would wonder why I have pictures of blurry little girls body parts......
Is it just me or does it seem like nothing is growing like it should? My peppers and eggplants look way too small. The corn looks on the smallish size too. And really my beets and carrots just are not growing at all. I was thinking next spring I will make seed tapes for the beets, carrots and radishes so I won't have to worry about overcrowding!
The tomato and squash plants, on the other hand, have taken off like crazy!! I tied the tomato plants to stakes last week and they were about half the size of the stakes. This week they are almost as tall as the stakes! I love tomatoes and I cannot wait to pick the first big juicy red globe of goodness!
We also found a little surprise! I am not sure what it is but we have been filling in this spot in the yard with some leaves, dirt and various other types of fill all spring and the Hubs seems to think we threw our pumpkins off the deck into this spot last year. I dunno know but I guess we will find out sometime in the fall! It would be nice to not have to buy all those pumpkins this year!!
Our roadside lillies finally bloomed.....I love these bright orange flowers! I transplated this one this spring after it had sprouted leaves and it bloomed.
The girls loved taking pictures of the strawberries. We still have a few ripening in the beds.
Our lettuce is looking good.....
We had a lot of fun doing this, I think I was more excited than the girls were! Every week when we walk out there it amazes me how much things have grown and how much closer we are to having fresh, untouched, organic food! I cannot wait to have the first ear of corn or ripe tomato! I can practically taste it now!
Hope everyone else had a great week of gardening! I know we did! Have a safe and happy 4th!
Anne Park said "Sometimes the best moments happen on the unplanned, and the greatest regrets happen on not reaching what is planned." No truer words have been spoken. Since we started slowing down and focus more on us as a whole, I have noticed more and more of these little unexpected moments. Sometimes they are bursts of giggles as the girls play in the other room. Or when we water the garden and it turns into an inpromptu water fight. Don't get me wrong we will continue to have some structure in our evenings but to me these little moments when nothing was planned seem to be the best memories I have.
The girls and I visited a dairy farm. I planned on going there to get fresh milk, I didn't expect it to be a moment....I picked the girls up from school. We had to run out to get milk and we were going to a farm to get it, not the store. The whole ride there little bird and little bug kept excitedly asking if we were at the milk factory yet. I had to explained over and over that this was not a milk factory it was a dairy farm and milk factories do get their milk from dairy farms, just not this one in particular. When we pulled up little birds first reaction was "Ewwww this smells bad!" If you have never had this experience before there is a pungent odor that come from a dairy farm but sweetie this is what a dairy farm smells like. I agree with little bird it doesn't smell pleasant but I have smelled far worse! We met Cyndi who owns the farm along with her husband Frank. Such a nice family! We were invited to go and meet/pet the cows. When the girls saw the little calves their little eyes lit right up! "Those babies are so cute" they said in harmony! And there were the cows, Holsteins to be exact. These beautiful ladies were happy to let the girls pet them! They tickled the girls little tiny hands with their huge tongues. The girls bursted into laughter! They watched as the cows happily chewed their cud asking them if they liked their bubble gum! We said goodbye to the cows and went back into the store room and purchased 2 gallons of fresh milk (in half gallon glass jars, no plastic!) to take home. The girls chatted almost the whole ride home about the cows and their adventure at the farm. They asked it we could get a cow. "No, not this year" I retorted, in all reality we will never get a cow, I don't have anywhere to put a cow. I will be happy going to the little farm in the next town over. At our house everyday is a learning day and that day little bird and little bug went to the dairy farm but they got so much more than a tour. They got to know and touch their food, they had a personal experience with it. It's nice to know where our food comes from and the family who provides it to us.
When I got home we got busy with dinner, watering the gardens, bedtime, and our nightly book that I forgot all about the events of the day. In the quiet of the evening as I looked back on the days events I realized this was one of those moments. Something had unexpectedly become a great memory for us.
