Some recent favorites...

These dress-up skirts - a friend gave these to the girls months ago and they wear them every. single. day (sometimes at night, too...) - they're holding up REALLY well despite being washed many times, and they're easy for the twins to put on by themselves which is a HUGE plus!

I bought this tomato fertilizer two years ago and have definitely seen a big difference in our tomatoes since I started using it - the bag is still more than half full, so it lasts a while! I follow up the fertilizer application with this fish emulsion fertilizer (it smells VILE but seems to work really well on all our plants) and am probably going to need to buy a new bottle soon, but again it lasted for ages and is a nice organic way to provide more nutrients to your plants.

I've linked to this waffle recipe before, but I just want to reiterate how deliciously amazing yeasted waffles are! You make the batter the night before, so it takes almost no extra time in the morning. Waffle Wednesdays are the best!

And last, here's one of our current favorite books, which comes in a sturdy board book version and is fun to read! We've checked it out so many times from the library that it's probably time to buy our own copy!

Linking up with Jenna for Five Favorites, because I like her!

Buying through my affiliate links helps me be able to purchase really cool things like reusable straws and CDs that monks recorded!

June 2015 Garden Tour

This is the time where I compare the garden this year to the garden last year and two years ago

April - At the top we have pole beans & bush beans planted, as well as a random row of carrots. Directly under that are more pole beans, lettuce from last year that randomly started sprouting, and basil. Then under that is the bed of strawberries, and under that we have peas, eggplant, and carrots.

End of May - the beans aren't doing great, since the neighbors' trees ended up growing a lot over the past couple of years and cut off a lot of sunlight from the top two beds. But the peas are doing awesome, and we ended up getting a TON of volunteer tomato plants from when we spread our compost in the spring, so I thinned them out and let some of them do their thing.

We've been snacking on sugar snap peas, which is fun considering last year we only got a few off of our plants!

On a whim, I got some Ichiban eggplant seedlings from the nursery - then I left them outside to figure out where to plant them and the twins ripped them out of the pot and danced around the yard with them. I crossed my fingers and planted them and they ended up fine! We even have our first bud!

The strawberries are FINALLY proving their worth! We planted them a couple of years ago but haven't really gotten enough to justify the space they're taking up. Well FINALLY this year they're producing decently, despite ants, squirrels, and toddlers eating what they please.

The basil is sprouting, and I'm looking forward to a whole lot of pesto from what should be a good crop of lemon basil (it's the BEST - you MUST plant some!).

Before we had a chance to til this bed, some lettuce seedlings started coming up from what was a disappointing planting last year, so I let them do their thing and Mary Claire has been feasting on the leaves pretending to be a bunny. Whatever.

Then in this bed (shown in April) we planted a bunch of garlic in the fall (well okay, in December... but the ground doesn't really freeze here so we figured it'd be okay!), and almost none of it came up :( So I direct sowed some squash, zucchini, and cucumbers, and transplanted a volunteer squash seedling from the same bed as the volunteer tomatoes. We also planted a bunch of flower seeds that have started coming up.

Mary Claire yanked up one of the cucumber seedlings so we'll see if it makes it... And I found another random squash or pumpkin seedling by the compost pile, so I transplanted that one too. We'll see what shows up!

There are also a ton of carrots interspersed in this bed - the kids ADORE the purple carrots we planted the last two years, so I planted as many as possible because they never last us long!

And the squash plants have started forming buds!

In February I thought, "Hey, I should start some seeds!" and then I didn't because I didn't know where I could put them that would keep them away from the twins. Then in March I thought, "Hey, I should really figure out where I can start these seeds!" And Mary Claire proved that she still eats dirt and sand whenever possible, so I didn't. Then in April I thought, "Screw it, I'm just buying seedlings this year."

  

And I'm really glad I did!!! They started flowering in April, formed their first green tomatoes at the end of the month, and now there are literally HUNDREDS of cherry tomatoes ripening on the vines!

This was yesterday - some of the plants are taller than me at this point!

I've already harvested and dried the oregano once this season, but it's due again. I added some thyme in the back corner, and lavender and rosemary that have quickly been dwarfed by the monster oregano plant. There's a basil plant on the bottom left and I cut down most of the sage and dried it yesterday (on the right)

We'll see if I decide to net the tomatoes this year - the squirrels mostly stayed away from them a couple years ago when we had them close to the house, and it's mostly the twins I need to worry about these days...

But hopefully we'll have so many tomatoes that there are plenty for them to snack on!

The Mary garden had some glorious tulips that have since died...

And now we've got random wildflowers coming up, as well as morning glory, violets, and some mint that I couldn't fit in the herb garden area... Also lots of weeds. Hopefully in a month or two it'll be more colorful!

So there you have it! Our June garden - linking up with Cari for her Garden Tour Link-Up because even though most of YOU find these posts incredibly boring, I love being able to look back at them!

What I Wore Sunday: Green & Teal

I had Elizabeth, John Paul, and Cecilia with me today for Mass. John Paul kindly chose the 2nd pew from the front for us, which might as well have been the front since there was nobody in front of us...

Cecilia was SO happy to be able to see well! Elizabeth was MUCH quieter than the last time I took her to Mass, although she squirmed all over the place and kept trying to climb into the front pew. John Paul didn't say the priest's part *too* loudly during the consecration... And Cecilia didn't scream when John Paul took her place on the way back from Communion!

So, all in all? A fairly non-mortifying experience!

Here's what I wore, although I'm not sure how I feel about it looking at the pictures... Honestly, I think I just need to figure out the proper height for the camera, and then maybe I won't hate all the pictures so much!

Shirt: Uniqlo (old, similar in green or coral, similar in a million other colors!)

Dress: eShakti (but I would NOT recommend it - the buttons keep coming off and they never responded when I contacted them about it!) (similar, similar

Shoes: DSW (old, similar)

Petticoat: Amazon (only $16 right now!)

The twins were chasing each other around this tree in our yard earlier and I couldn't NOT snap a picture of the adorable sneakiness!

And Mary Claire has apparently watched me take too many pictures of myself, since she decided SHE needed to pose for her own photo shoot. Those chubby legs! 

Linking up with Fine Linen & Purple for What I Wore Sunday!

Painted Nails, Backwards Babies, and MORE Parenting Advice {7QT}

--1--

I may have hit a blogging groove!

Well, okay, probably not... But I'm blogging for the fourth time this week!  So if you only check in via Kelly's link-up, here's what you've missed:

When Blogging Worlds Collide - That time I hung out with some Catholic blogging superstars in my back yard

Spring Style Thoughts - In which I take a bunch of dressing room selfies at Old Navy

What They Said, Volume 17 - Because my kids are the only ones on the internet who say funny things?

What I Wore Pentecost Sunday

My Number One Parenting Tip - this one ended up getting a TON of views, so clearly I should blog more about parenting because I'm a total expert! #sarcasm

And I linked up with Blessed is She for a writing prompt On Finding Joy

--2--

Whew. That's a lot. Sorry.

--3--

I'll just photo dump a bit to make up for it:

I asked John Paul to play with Peter while I got the twins to bed, and returned to see him reading to the baby and trying to teach him how to crawl.

It was adorable. And he still only goes backwards, but he can pivot too so he's all over the place!

But mostly under the couch, and seeking out various tasty bits of lint from the floor.

--4--

Andrew took John Paul out on Monday morning, so I gave the girls the FASTEST mani-pedis ever.

Some of the polish is still on their fingers and toes, and it's adorable and they love it!

I just love their chubby little fingers :)

 --5--

I came upstairs after getting Peter to bed and found everyone crowded around Andrew on the couch while he drew various things. I think my favorite part is the fact that the twins were very seriously reading John Paul's chess book.

We got it for 50 cents at the library used book sale and he is OBSESSED. Too bad we don't have a chess set...

--6--

Gratuitous baby pictures:

Grilled chicken & homemade pita as dinner options and he chose... The bowl.  Actually, once he dropped the bowl on the floor he LOVED the chicken and the pita and stayed in the high chair for like, 30 minutes just sucking on them!

Overalls. Cutest.

--7--

Have you listened to Amy & Michelle's new podcast, Little House Mothering? I'm so excited! And waiting for them to interview me on my homemaking expertise, like how to keep a toddler from pulling all the seedlings out of the garden (spray her with the hose) and how to keep twins from taking off their underwear to "wash" it in the water table (never let them go outside/never let them wear clothes).

Parenting. Nailed it.

Linking up with Kelly for 7 Quick Takes! Happy Weekend!

On Finding Joy

I was beat on Sunday. Not enough food in the house to make dinner, not enough energy to cook anyway, too many evening commitments in a row for my husband (which take a SERIOUS toll on my mental health)...  We packed everybody up, stopped at a pizza place on the way, and decided to have a picnic at a local park.



Pro tip #1: Don't eat right by a pond if you don't want your kids venturing too close the entire meal, giving you approximately 47 heart attacks thinking they might fall in.

Pro Tip #2: Don't let the 2.5yo follow the big kids on the rocks in the pond to look at that snakeskin, because she's going to step in the mud up to her ankle and get it all over you, too.

Pro Tip #3: Bring more water. A lot more water.

Anyway, we finished our very stressful picnic and walk around the ponds, and headed to the garden section of the park to see what was in bloom. There was an awesome gazebo that the kids zoomed straight for, immediately beginning a game of chasing each other up the ramp, down the steps, around the gazebo, giggling all the while. Two little boys from another family joined in, shrieking with glee as they all joined in one endless game that is the favorite of toddlers everywhere: running aimlessly in circles.

Meanwhile, their parents' faces showed a different emotion...

"Don't run so fast!"

"HOLD ON TO THE RAILING when you go down the steps!"

"Wait your turn! Don't push!"

"Shh! Not so loud!"

The stress on their faces was almost overwhelming. Couldn't they see what joy their little boys took in this impromptu game of giggling, shrieking, aimless pleasure? Maybe somebody would get hurt, but really... Bruises fade. Scraped knees are a badge of childhood. Tears dry up in no time.

I wanted to say something - I've been there. I was just there 10 minutes before, yelling at my kids to stay farther away from the pond, to walk on the path, not to step on that rock, not to throw things in the water...

Sometimes you need to let go of the rules, let go of expectations of cookie cutter behavior in public, and just let them be wild and unbridled and joyful. Sometimes you need to find joy in their joy and not worry about what the passersby might be thinking about your bustling brood of uncaged monkeys.

I tried to exchange that universal parenting look with those parents, but was only met with exasperated sighs and more admonishments directed towards their children (and perhaps geared towards mine as well, but I was perfectly happy to let them run to their hearts' content). I wish I could have told them what I need to keep telling myself: To find joy in the joy of others and not to worry!

Of course, my words of wisdom might have lost their effect as our 4-year-old took a tumble down the stairs and reopened a scab on her knee, forcing an immediate exit from the park with blood streaming down her leg... But until that moment? The joy was tangible.

Linking up with Blessed is She for this week's prompt, as I let the kids make a huge mess of sidewalk chalk in the back yard because hey, joy!