Yard

It's making me really sad that I don't have a camera.  I love getting to post the progress we have made.  It doubles the sense of accomplishment I feel when I can look back and see where we started.  Mostly because at this stage of things when you look around and not one thing is 100% finished it can get REALLY discouraging.   Plus,  I love getting pictures of Annie working in the yard and planting seeds.  We worked in the yard almost all day yesterday, tilling soil, laying down bricks and pavers, and seeding the finished plots.  My back might be killing me, but we now have 5 plots, planted and/or seeded.  I'm hoping the plants take off really well this year.  It always seems to take me a full growing season to mature and balance out the soil.  I don't use any chemical fertilizers and although I do supplement the soil with compost, peat and rock dust, it's a slow science for me.   I've always kept my expectations low for the first year.  I would love to look outside later this summer and see a full vegetable garden, but I'm not holding my breath.  The soil here is great, we have real dirt instead of clay.  Here's hoping...

Dance

 So guess whats coming up?  I am so excited about Annie's first dance recital.  When your kid gets her first recital costumes it makes all the driving and sitting around for an hour every class totally worth it. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to quit.  Every Monday Annie would say she didn't want to go, and every Monday I dragged her butt to class. After class she would talk nonstop about how much fun it was, and my hopes of actually quitting would be crushed.  I don't hold out high expectations for the actual recital.  It's a group of 4 year olds in cute costumes, what more do you need? 

As a warning, this might be my last photo update for a long time, my digital camera has finally died.  Just in time for my daughters first dance recital I might add.  Technology really sucks sometimes.

The Blog

So with the addition of Baby Elsie, Annie said we needed to make the blog Annie and Elsie's Garden.  It seemed a little long, so we compromised with Our Garden.  Let me know what you think of the new banner.  Changing the look of the blog is my new hobby when Texas is watching basketball.  Hopefully by the time Basketball season ends I'll have it looking better.

Being little

There is something so magical about getting into your mom's jewelry box.  I remember sneaking into my moms when I was little and being enthralled with every little thing.   Annie found her way into my jewelry box this morning, and spent over an hour trying on hair-combs, clips and necklaces.  She had the best time, pretending she was getting ready for the ball.   I want her to stay just like this forever. 

 And where was little Elsie this whole time?

Enjoying diaper free time on mommy's bad.

Univited guests, Easter dresses and Carrot tops

 This morning was a three ring circus of activity involving me, two little girls and the adorable matching dresses you see here.  Wrestling them in, brushing hair and getting out the door to church was a logistical nightmare.  Texas was off ironing his underwear or something equally as useless, while I was left to create the cuteness you see above. 

After a series's of brunches and get togethers we rush home to prepare for our own event.  Dinner, with both sets of patents, no pressure right?  While in a mad rush to get the cake in the oven, the meat on the grill and the table set, Texas hears something in the floor boards.  He's convinced somethings in there.  I tell him we don't have time to deal with it and to get back to work, but he doesn't.  After trying to figure what it could be, Annie informs us it's a bird.  We look at her like she's nuts, I go back to the kitchen and Texas goes back to trying to figure out the mystery.  Sure enough, it's a bird stuck in our air ducts under the floor.  What you see above is my home made air duct bird trap.  We spent 30 minutes trying to lure/scare the bird into the trap and finally gave up.  Annie however does not.  She's runs outside, yanks a carrot up from the ground and tosses the carrot tops into the duct.  Sure enough, 5 minutes later she has lured the bird out and it's flying around my dining room smashing into everything.  Texas shoes the bird out and all is well.  Sorry, but the bird moved to fast to get a picture. Lesson of the day?  Listen to Annie. She is obviously much smarter than her parents.

Day 111

Not only was our house COVERED in wall paper, layers and layers of wallpaper, but each room came with it's own 70's era ceiling fan.  We were rockin' the basket weave fan blades like no bodies business.
 By day 111 Texas was fed up with the ceiling fan/light fixtures and took them all down.  He reconfigured one for our living room and it doesn't look to bad.  The rest are boxed up for goodwill.  After taking everything down he pulls this box out from the basement, a set of six boob lights.  I know they are cheap and easy to install, but I really don't like boob lights, they look like boobs!  After an hour of arguing I realize he had me corned. He already took down the old lights, the sun was eventually going to set and I can't hang light fixtures.  My husband had outsmarted me, and I can't believe I fell for it.  It never occurred to me to ask what he planned on putting up after he took everything down.  Enjoy your victory Tex, it won't happen again.  As a peace offering he took the one down in the dining room and hung my chandelier.

 

 

Family time

 Do you enjoy privacy while bathing, being alone on the toilet or brushing your teeth in silence?  Be glad you aren't in this family.   We have a strange habit of all collecting in the bathroom at the same time.  This morning I realized how strange it was when Texas started fixing the toilet, while I was folding the laundry, Annie was bathing and Elsie was sleeping in the bouncy seat, All in the bathroom.
No our bathroom isn't that big and yes it's incredibly cramped in there, but no I wouldn't have it any other way.

 Not only is it fun to have everyone piled in there

 It's educational

and a tad sneaky.