Bed of Roses

Okay, so there aren't actually any roses in the flower beds I worked in over the weekend. Since the flower beds are by the pool, I wanted something a little more tropical.

Pretty much everything died in between these two trees from the hard frost we had several times this winter.

I actually can't remember everything that was there, but I do know there were several established plants.

My mother-in-law started with the big stuff and cleared most of that out of the way. Thanks Debbie! Then I went in and finished clearing the rest. One thing that wasn't kept at bay by the hard frost- weeds. I kind of have this love-hate relationship with weeds. I grew up weeding my parents' and aunt's flower beds and actually don't mind it too much. It gives me thinking time and lots of satisfaction when it's done. But by the time it's weed free, I really don't want to look at another weed for awhile.

The pavers in the back of the flower bed had to be reset. I got halfway through, saw an enormous snake (okay it was about three inches) and then D finished up the rest. Here comes the fun part- the plants!

Some of these are my favorite. Here's the hibiscus.
I love it for the colors, its growth, and it's pretty much hard to kill.

Then there's these - Lilly of the Nile or Agapanthus.
My aunt would have tons of these in her yard. It blooms a tall shoot of green and at the very top is a blue or sometimes white dainty round flower.

These brown sticks were once beautiful bushes of blue flowers called Plumbegos.
Now, they are about the only thing left from the freeze. I almost pulled them up, but could see just a little bit of green poking out from the bottom. To the left of the sticks, I planted a new Plumbego bush to give the older one some encouragement.

Then these nice little bedding plants add lots of color.
The pink one is a Petunia, although they comes in tons of different colors even a cute new variegated yellow color this year. The white flower on the left is a periwinkle. (Thanks for helping me remember the name Mom!) I haven't planted these very much but I do like the delicate little flowers. And the yellow one in the back is Lantana which are always nice as fillers. They do get big though. I second guessed myself about planting them so close to the pool, but my mother-in-law assures me we can just keep them cut back.

This flower bed is perhaps my favorite.
It was just grass before this weekend, so I weeded it, added dirt, mulch, Petunias and Agapanthus. Since the Agapanthus do grow larger and the Petunias won't come back after this year, I figured the bed could eventually just be filled with the green and blue flowers.

So that's the tour of the backyard flower bed. You either enjoyed or tuned out a long time go.

Sunny Days

I didn't need that umbrella after all. The past couple of days have been nothing but sunshine. We had a very full but fulfilling weekend. On Saturday, we did not end up going on our planned family outing to the reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto, but we had our own family day at home. From about 9:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the evening, we worked in the back yard. The one major flower bed was weeded, trimmed, pavers laid and full of flowers by the time we were done. I don't have pictures now, but those are to come.

After church yesterday, Gavin took a quick nap before we headed out to the third birthday party of these two cuties.

I realized that we need to take Gavin to the park more often. He loves the slide.And the tunnel

The swingAnd eating candy in Daddy's lap that he just collected from a pinata.

Oh wait, that doesn't always happen at a park.

Despite our allergies and sinuses going haywire from being outside this weekend, I think this face pretty much sums up how we were all feeling by the end of the day.

A Case of the Mundane

Update*** I do feel better now. We went and bought some plants that I plan on putting in the ground tomorrow. Working with the dirt always makes me feel better. I almost didn't post this blog, but hey, what's a blog without sharing the good and the bad.***

I don't feel right. It seems like there is a cloud hanging over my head and I think I've figured out what it is. I'm suffering from a case of the mundane.

Every day it seems like it's the same thing. Wake up, walk over toys, promise to put them up when I get home, go to work, come home, cook dinner, pick up half the toys, and go to bed.

I probably feel more like this tonight because I don't have exercise to kick those endorphins in gear. But even that is frustrating. I've really been dedicated to going to Boot Camp and trying to eat right, but those last ten pounds of baby weight just don't want to budge.

I'm trying to find the positive; trying to be in the Word; trying to get outside more so I don't feel cooped up; and trying to remind myself that this season of sacrifice will pay off one day.

I'm hoping to listen to last week's sermon on fear, but my CD player has decided to eat all of my CD's. Fear of the future is probably the darkest part of the cloud that is hanging around.

Tomorrow is a new day. We have a fun family outing planned and then we get to see some of our old friends on Sunday. Does anyone have an umbrella in case the cloud brings a downpour?

Matchy Matchy

Look who's been matching lately. One of these two times may have been on purpose, but don't tell them I told you.

I threw in this extra picture of the wee one in a hat, well, just because it was cute and it's my blog.

Garden Update

Things are starting to blossom. Just take a look at our tomato and strawberry plants.

I wish I could say the same for our carrot plants. I've been weeding flower beds for a long time, so I'm pretty sure I can tell the difference between a weed and a plant. But seriously, I'm pretty sure only weeds have popped up green in the row where carrots should be. What's up Doc?

Mystery, Murder and Mayhem

For my dear friend Alisha's big birthday (let's just say it ends in an 0), we celebrated on a Murder Mystery Dinner cruise. None of those attending had been before and we all had a blast. For the sake of argument, this event did not occur tonight but rather recently. Tonight, I lunged and jogged and did tricep dips until I was a puddle of sweat. (Nice visual, eh?) I'm pretty sure my arms and legs will be thanking me tomorrow. Anyways, back to the event at hand.

Even Alisha's mom, Ms. Betty was caught throwing beads to the people on the Kemah Boardwalk when she wasn't taking pictures.
Several dinner guests were chosen to be participants including the birthday girl. Meet Ms. Terra Fied and Alisha's sister the pirate. I'm still trying to figure out how she tied into the play.And I may or may not have had a minor role that required me to use some of the Zumba moves I've been learning with a feather boa.I highly recommend taking a group or just going on a date. Happy Birthday Alisha!

Brother's Birthday

Happy Birthday Casey! My little brother turned another year older. And yes, that is a match stick in a pie. You do what you have to do in a pinch. I'm sure the candles were packed somewhere.

We enjoyed celebrating and seeing your new house this weekend. I think you and Gavin enjoyed yourselves despite making your big sister terrified.

Cookin' Up A Lazy Sunday

We all woke up feeling less than spectacular. It didn't take long to decide it was going to be a p.j. day. Since we've cut back on our sugar intake in the last couple of months, I haven't baked very much and missed it greatly. I found a recipe that uses apple sauce in place of sugar and with the help of my mini chef, we got to work making chocolate chip cookies.A mega box of wipes was a make-shift stool for Gavin to help me mix the cookies. He even insisted on trying to help turn the bowl.But a closer look was the tool to ensure everything turned out just right.A good chef must taste the results of his hard work.Later while the tired mini apprentice took a nap, D and I started dinner using a recipe from the same Cooking Light cookbook the chocolate chip cookies came from. We rarely eat red meat, but the recipe for Center Cut Tenderloin with Chilean Chipolte Sauce looked delicious. Here take a look.Let me just tell you, the picture doesn't do it justice. It was delicious and that much better since we enjoyed it outside in beautiful weather. After Gavin woke up, I found myself finishing the cooking with one hand and holding a cow puppet with the other all while wearing a cowboy hat. Let's just say that was a first. And no, there are no pictures.

By the end of the day, we had all upgraded from p.j.s and were feeling a little closer to spectacular.

Random Moments of Joy

Gavin playing peekaboo with the sun while riding in the car

My husband who went to the grocery store for us when I was sick with the weirdest non-eventful stomach virus

Air conditioning working again

Teaching Gavin to slide

Watching his joy while playing with the water hose

Our tiny green strawberry growing in the garden

Feeling loved by my students when they were sad they were leaving me in only 39 school days

Seeing my long-distance friends this weekend

Sitting outside in the perfect temperature

Easter Post Part 2

I completely underestimated what I had going on this week when I thought I would get this post out five days ago. Wishful thinking I guess.

So this is Easter Sunday with the Moores. The three of us went to the middle church service with high hopes of making it home in time for Gavin to take a pre-Easter dinner nap. Again, wishful thinking. No nap was to be had at that time.

We left a trail of eggs to Gavin's Easter basket. He seemed quite thrilled will all of the soft balls.

Then we had a nice Bible study after a delicious lunch thanks to Me Me and Granddaddy.

It's amazing that Gavin looks so much different from last year since it seems like it was just his first Easter. Same smile though.

Cousin Ayden was a pro by now, so we let him find all of the eggs that were hidden really well.

Gavin and Cousin Logan each had one year of egg hunting under their belt, so they took to the field of eggs.

At one point, both were tired of hunting. Logan resorted to eating what he found in the shell.

While Gavin thought it was more fun to talk to Nannie and play in the railing.

He may have also snuck a snack or two.

This goose laid an egg.

And that is the end of my Easter tale.

Easter Weekend Part 1

We had a fun-filled Easter weekend complete with family and beautiful weather. On Saturday, we went to my parents house so Gavin could look for eggs in their yard. I guess all of that indoor practice paid off because he seemed to know exactly what to do. If his basket got too full, he would lay it down, go get eggs and bring them back. At one point, I helped him carry his basket, which was technically a bucket. We then went to my aunt and uncle's house to be with the rest of the family. Gavin had a little more competition in the egg hunt, but you wouldn't know it. Audrie and Finn were so sweet to Gavin and would even point out eggs for him to find.

Since Gavin rarely eats candy, he was taking advantage of his candy-filled eggs.

He seemed happy about this at the time, but neither he nor I were very happy later on when those candy coated chocolate pieces suddenly reappeared.

I think Finn is rather pleased with his loot.

I love this picture of D and Gavin. And yes, they were sharing more treats that led to the later reoccurring chocolate and gummy mixture.

My uncle had a fun activity for everyone to join in on. He created a clover lined maze complete with dead ends. The first person to get to the middle won the "golden" egg. I still think my cousin Christopher staked out the path the day before, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this time.

Hopefully tomorrow, I can post pictures of Easter Sunday with the Moores.