Basically, it was an awesome weekend.  We hit the farmer's market on Saturday and decided to pick up a flank steak as a treat for Mother's Day.  SO GLAD WE DID because it was seriously the most delicious flank steak I've ever eaten in my life.  

Then Andrew and the big kids went to the garden center to find a Mary statue and a few other things to set up our Mary garden.  They got it all put together in the afternoon (thanks to some leftover border pieces that we had discarded from another bed) and planted a bunch of seeds - I'm really looking forward to seeing everything in bloom!

Mary Claire and Elizabeth just keep running over and saying, "Hi, Mawwy!!!" over and over again.  

Then after Mass this morning (which went pretty well, even if Cecilia DID get upset after Communion because she wants to be "just wike Bwessed Imewda" and she didn't get to receive communion and die immediately afterwards) (yes, seriously, this is her current "thing"), we went home and made a crown for Mary out of random flowers around the yard, and did a quickie May Crowning, which the kids LOVED.

Random aside: You'll NEVER guess who we saw at Mass.  Seriously, NEVER.  It was Laura Pearl!  I was so sad I couldn't visit with her longer, but John Paul had run off to put money in the poor box and then go see the Mary statue outside and I wasn't exactly sure where he would end up so I had to dash...  But Laura, let me know if you'll be at our parish again!  We'll have to say more than a quick "hello" :)

Another random aside:  On the way to the Mary statue outside church, Cecilia was accosted by a random lady who didn't speak English who was just SO entranced by her adorableness that she just started hugging and kissing her and picking her up and kissing her some more and cooing over her.  Cecilia took it all in stride, but it was SO funny to me...  Thank goodness she's not afraid of strangers anymore, because she totally made this woman's day!

An attempt at a picture while staring into the sun...

And a somewhat decent picture?  Yes, Cecilia's wearing winter boots.  And you can't see it, but her dress has flowers all over it which makes it her "St. Ewizabeth of Hungawy" dress.  Yeah, I used to think John Paul was obsessed with the saints.  Now I'm pretty sure it's just all of our kids...

It's so sweet, they've been finding flowers all day and putting them in Mary's hands and at her feet.  Love it!

We took a walk to the neighborhood frozen yogurt place and then hit the playground, and then came home and grilled our tasty steak while the kids soaked themselves in the water table.  

Pretty much a perfect weekend :)  How was YOURS?

7 Quick Takes: Really Boring Garden Progress!

In which there is lots of brown, and not enough green...

--1--

Cari's garden post reminded me that I've been meaning to do one as well, just because I LOVE looking back and seeing how far we've come in a short time!  So here's where we are right now...

We made a teepee out of bamboo poles and I set the kids to work starting some snap pea seeds in a dollar store seedling container.  A week went by and there was no sign of sprouting...  Then I happened to notice a cluster of purposeful-looking plants in the bed that we had reserved for tomatoes - apparently they decided to plant every single pea in the same spot and had been dutifully watering them!

So I transplanted them and they're actually doing pretty well, despite being in a SERIOUSLY weed-ridden bed.  It's BAD.  But it's so much work to get rid of all those weeds...

And speaking of weeds, those of the flowering variety are ALL over the yard, so I don't feel bad about letting the kids pick as many as they want!

Yes, she found a random roller and insisted on putting it in her hair...

--2--

We planted the pole beans and bush beans last weekend in another weed-ridden bed, and they've just started coming up!

I pull up the stupid violets as often as I can, but the roots are DEEP and they keep coming back...

And SOMETHING has already started eating the pole beans.  Grr.

--3--

I was pretty sure I had read that oregano is an annual plant.  But apparently not, since ours has come back with a VENGEANCE!  Seriously, leaves as big as my thumb.  And the sage is back too, which makes me happy!  The rosemary died over the winter, but I picked up a new plant at the farmer's market this past weekend so once I get the basil planted we'll have pretty much the only herbs I use.

Apparently I'm allergic to getting the camera in focus these days...  Anyway, I'm trying my hand at splitting the sage so I have more plants, so I've buried the middle of a couple branches to see if they'll take root.  Fascinating, I know!

--4--

We also planted summer squash and zucchini last weekend, and I think every plant has sprouted and is looking good so far!

In that same bed we have a bunch of random marigolds that we started from a dollar store seed packet - the germination rate is ridiculously high, and I've already thinned them twice!

--5--

The strawberries are trying to decide how they're doing...  We bought a few different everbearing varieties last summer after the season was pretty much done.  Then we pinched off all the flowers until July or August (because you're supposed to do that to encourage greater production in later years), and it seems to have worked for some of the plants - you can see the two in the front are CRAZY, but there are some teeny tiny ones too...  So we'll see how those do!  Still need to find some straw mulch somewhere...

And there are teeny tiny little fruits making their appearance already!  Think we can keep them away from the squirrels?

--6--

The lettuce is growing slooooowly, and I started some more this past weekend.  We had a mishap with John Paul falling into the bed after using the side as a balance beam, so noooot a lot of the seedlings survived!

And I have onions from seed growing in the same bed - I don't anticipate that they'll get very large, but have you ever had grilled spring onions?  DELICIOUS!

Right next to those I have cucumber seedlings that we picked up at the farmer's market last weekend...

And carrots!  Probably time to sow some more...  A stupid squirrel started digging and disrupted a row or two :(

--7--

Tomatoes!  Some are still alive, since the squirrels seem to have given up on ripping the leaves off...

And the peppers are alive but not thriving - it was really too cold to transplant them, but they were NOT doing well indoors so I kind of had to!  Luckily I have a whole tray inside of seedlings that will be ready to transplant at the end of the month, so we should have tomatoes coming out our ears if those do well :)

I get such a kick out of this - some of our garlic started sprouting and the kids were pestering me, so I sent them out with a bunch of cloves and told them to plant them.  And they did, and they started growing immediately!  I'll be interested to see what actually comes of it...  But the cloves would have been composted otherwise!

Cecilia's working hard at identifying what qualifies as a weed, and is hard at work weeding for me.  Heck, the kids and I are pretty much at the same level of weed identification skills!

And John Paul helped me plant sunflower and zinnia seeds in the front yard last weekend, so we'll see if they actually sprout...  

The goal for this weekend is to get a Mary statue and maybe start a Mary garden!  What better way to celebrate Mothers' Day?

Check out more interesting Quick Takes at Jen's!

And go read her book, Something Other Than God, while you're at it!

Outside Time! {PHFR}

Have I mentioned how much I absolutely adore spring?  And the fact that we have a big, beautiful yard and an awesome swing set.  And the fact that the people who owned the house before us allowed wildflowers to grow freely in the grass, and planted tons of random flowers in beds all around the yard so that there's ALWAYS something in bloom.

It's like heaven for Cecilia (although there's no moonbounce, so not quite heaven I suppose...)

These must be the teeny tiniest wildflowers ever - what I see as weeds, she sees as precious and beautiful, and she will carry them around for HOURS until she's ready to put them in a vase or a bowl.

She and John Paul spend hours out there picking flowers, "planting" various "seeds," finding the most creative way possible to play on the swing set ("chain to chain" is their current favorite game, in which they attempt to cross from the 4th swing to the 1st without touching the ground, only using the chains for balance)...

They picked flowers from an azalea bush and very carefully planted them all around the dogwood tree, making sure to water them when they were done.

Our bud vases overflow.  

Every day that they come inside with dirt under their fingernails and mud on their clothes, I consider it a day well-spent.  And I adore watching them play out there - their relationship is fascinating to watch develop, and it's amazing how little they bicker when they're outside together, exploring all that the yard has to offer.  

I'm going to ruin this photo by telling you that I said, "John Paul, if you want to be in a picture, why don't you put your arm around Cecilia?"
"*Sigh* I suppose I could."

Is there anything better, do you think, than watching a 3-year-old collecting sticks to carry to the stick pile (her own idea), only to hear her proclaim, "WOOK!  I'm St. Bernadette!!!"

Or watching a 4-year-old collect azalea blossoms in his shirt and spill them out to you saying, "It's a miracle!  Roses in December!!!" (Juan Diego, anyone?)

Or watching them excitedly collecting the most precious flower they can find every Sunday morning to bring to the statue of Mary before Mass?

Or watching the 3-year-old shimmy up the mantle to give Mary the beautiful flower she found outside?

We are so blessed - so very blessed!  I do hope that all of you have the opportunity to let your kids roam free outdoors as much as possible.  I know it's not easy (or even remotely possible) in every situation, but I wouldn't trade the simple experience of siblings in a big backyard for much of anything :)

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter - because we've got pretty, happy, funny, and real in here!

Photo Dump! Babies Eating Watermelon, and Why I Don't Even Try Anymore...

I *think* spring weather is finally here to stay!  It wasn't even *that* warm this weekend, but we got out the water table and the kids had a blast (Mary Claire may have had a bit too much of a blast - every time I looked over, she was entirely in the thing, shoes and all)!

I had taken John Paul to the grocery store, just the two of us, and he REALLY wanted to get watermelon.  So we did, because it costs pretty much nothing...  And I was expecting the babies to LOVE it, because John Paul and Cecilia always have!

Elizabeth?  Not so much.  She's kind of hilarious - she has VERY strong opinions about everything these days, but will give a very polite "No." and shake her head about things if you ask her once.  Well, watermelon got several polite "no" responses from her.  I can't help but think that she might have enjoyed it better if she had tried the other end?  But we suggested, and she said "no" again...

Mary Claire was willing to take a bite, I think?  Mostly she was interested in getting as messy as possible.  The bib was her idea.  Clearly it worked wonders.

She is hilarious.  The babies are really into "Is Your Mama a Llama" these days, and if I ask Elizabeth the question she'll give me a very emphatic, nose-wrinkling "NOOOOOOOO!"  Adorable.

I think he probably ate more than half of it (we only got a quarter, I NEVER remember to use up the rest of it if we get a whole watermelon...).

Also, nice style, eh?

I was trying to get Mary Claire, but Cecilia was convinced she was my focus.

So she started posing...

And I had to try to get a picture!  

I did get *some* water table action - Mary Claire wanted to go for full immersion, John Paul and Cecilia wanted to fill the bucket and make the spinny thing spin, and Elizabeth?

She just stood there calmly with the same cup, scooping and pouring, scooping and pouring, a look of determination on her face the entire time.

...

And I was determined to get a WIWS this weekend, since my sister keeps complaining every time I don't...  So we dashed in the house and handed the camera to Andrew, who forgot that you can turn the camera on its side to get a full body-shot?

But it didn't matter anyway, since we kept being divebombed by sobbing babies who wanted to nurse, and me in a DISTINCTLY non-nursing-friendly dress...

And this is why I never get pictures anymore...

This:

Too sad to stand up.

Devastating.

7 Quick Takes: Because My Sister Will Have My Head if I Don't

You know what I'd rather be doing than writing these?  Finishing up Jennifer Fulwiler's book.  Really really really.



Something Other Than God

She's running a bunch of HUGE giveaways to celebrate the release, so you should go buy a copy!  I preordered mine and got it yesterday and love it!  And guess what?  I was hoping to be able to use Amazon Affiliate credit to purchase my copy, and right before my birthday I got an email with almost exactly the book price in Amazon credit, thanks to a couple months' worth of Amazon Affiliate credit.  Thank you all SO much for shopping through my page!!!  The link above is an affiliate link too, so if you want to buy aaaanything and click through that link, I get a tiny percentage and it really adds up sometimes!

Anyway, the book.  It's awesome.  And I stayed up WAY later than I meant to last night just to read "one more chapter" approximately 10 times...  And I want to read more now!

But my sister emailed me with a little passive-aggressive "excited to read your quick takes!" so, well, I have to...  But they're going to be QUICK, because the babies are napping and I need to shower!

--1--

Elizabeth brought "Beauty and the Beast" to me, and opened to the first page:

"Mawwy!  Jee-us!"

Um no kid, not every stained glass picture is Catholic...  But in her world, I suppose they all are!

--2--

This should have bought me more time than it did:

Water pouring is a perennial favorite, but then John Paul found an old hidden toy that had run out of batteries, so now that's what's buying me blogging time...

Nobody does bedhead like this kid.

--3--

And speaking of this kid?

One. Hot. Mess.  

All writing implements have been banned from their bedroom, because John Paul has shown that he thinks it's appropriate to draw on walls, furniture, whatever he wants.  Cecilia's dresser still says "Massachusetts" on it from his last escapade.  

Apparently though, he found a rogue crayon that had made its way into their bedroom, and drew this as "a warning to Cecilia."

Just to give you an idea of scale...  That's prooooobably a 3-foot mural, and there's more on the wall behind the bottom bunk.

So I'm gonna link it up with Blythe, because you better believe this is one hot mess.

--4--

His punishment?  No book in bed, and he doesn't get to nap in his room today (guest room instead, which he hates because it means he doesn't get to play with Cecilia instead of sleeping).

And the punishment was FAR worse for us, because he decided to come downstairs to our bedroom at midnight because...  I can't even remember, he needed something?  Maybe a book...  Andrew took care of that one.

And then at 3 am he came down AGAIN, because he needed to go to the bathroom.  

Mind you, he had to PASS a bathroom in order to get to our room.  And he has used the bathroom by himself in the middle of the night MANY times.

So I took him back upstairs, but he didn't want to sleep in his bed because "That wouldn't make me feel better!"

So I left him on the couch for a minute because Cecilia needed to use the potty.  And then he was ready to go back to bed, where he snuggled up to his giant Elmo doll (who has actually been helping keep him in his bed most nights, thank goodness) with his face rubbed up against the book he had gotten.

Cecilia giggled, "We can't use milk to write!!!"

And they both went back to sleep.  Lovely.

--5--

Losing steam...

This week's blog posts:

20+ Household Tasks for the Under-Five Crowd

What They Said: Volume 10

--6--

Sometimes I don't write Quick Takes because I waste all my time reading everyone else's Quick Takes...

--7--

Go check out more at Conversion Diary!