Gardening

We planted our first garden yesterday!! Let's see...we planted lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, sugar snap peas, carrots, a MILLION ONIONS, pumpkins, potatoes, and green onions... I think that's it? Still need to plant butternut squash, asparagus, and sweet potatoes as well!! We are looking forward to freezing a bunch of veggies and making some delicious salsa, tomato soup, and pasta sauce later this summer. I'll tell you...planting a garden is harder than it looks. :) My sister and I have decided that gardening is the reason our mom always stayed so thin when we were growing up--its a serious workout! Here are some pictures of the hard working bunch (remember, I was the photographer, so although these folks are the only ones pictured here they didn't do ALL the work! haha) ... enjoy!


Dale & Max tilling the ground.


Max hammering stakes into the ground.


Torie--ready to garden with her Dora gardening gloves!


First row done ...


Torie keeping Ava entertained.


Ava was a TROOPER all day--perfectly content playing in that pack-n-play!


Hard-working couple.


Okay, so she traded in the gardening gloves for a princess dress.


Putting the older boys to work ... they were thrilled :)



Getting advice from the expert-- Mom. :)

The Simple Things in Life

In the evenings, after Ava goes down for the night, Eric and I find the most serenity in sitting on our front patio...we like listening to the fountain splashing in the water garden and watching our fish Bobby & Chloe (who survived the winter, woohoo!!) swim around. It's our time to relax and unwind from our busy days and do some catching up with one another. We light some citronella candles and bring Portia out with us. The concrete is always nice & warm from the sun shining on it all afternoon. Sometimes there is a nice breeze that picks up the scent of the water mint plant and wafts it in our direction. We can usually hear kids laughing and playing in the distance until the sun completely sets and they go in for the night. There isn't much traffic... just a couple people out walking their dogs. Lately, we've been frequented with a visitor during our evening patio rendezvous. A noisy little critter--we call him Tommy. Tommy is a toad who has found his way to our water garden and has decided to stick around...at least until after mating season is over. He sits out there on the rocks faithfully every night ... making his mating call ... waiting on his own rendezvous with a lady toad. It's pretty entertaining--he hops in the water occasionally and swims a lap or two--then hops back onto his favorite rock and starts doing his throaty call again. We love it ... we sit outside almost every night ... it's entertaining to watch these lil critters. I guess we are delighted by the simple things in life. o:)

Fun in the Sun!

A few days ago Eric's mom came to our house to visit and hang out for awhile. Pam, Ava, & I went shopping and found the cutest baby swimming pool...complete with a shade canopy! We couldn't leave Babies R Us without it! I only filled it up with about an inch of water to begin with--just to give Ava something to splash around in. Well then she bent over so far to get her hands in the water that it looked very uncomfortable so I decided to stick her Bumbo seat in the pool and fill it so she could kick her feet and get her hands in the water too. SHE LOVED IT! Enjoy these pictures...it was a blast just watching her splash around and look cute. :)

Happy 7 months Ava!

Gosh, it's been over a week since I last posted--I suppose that shows how busy things are getting around here!! Being outdoors in this lovely weather lately has trumped blogging...but, as a result I have lots to share!

Happy 7 months to our lil peanut first of all! Her little personality is shining brightly these days! This child is all over the place--rolling and scooting that is, no crawling yet! :) She scoots backwards and sideways and shimmys forward to get where she wants to go. Pretty darn cute!! She doesn't quite sit up yet for very long periods at a time. She will sit for a couple minutes-with me close by to break her wobbly fall. She's gettin' there!

Hmm...what else is new with our munchkin. Oh, she is obsessed with tags!! Never met a baby so crazy about the simplest things! As I've said before, she hates binky's but will suck on the tag on her blanket forever. Very funny. When we lay her down for a nap we rock her & she sucks on the tag of her blanket and it puts her right to sleep. Who woulda thought? :)

It's fun to watch the excitment in her eyes when she discovers something new. She scooted off her blanket onto the hardwood floor the other day while she was playing in the living room and discovered that the floor makes a loud noise when she slaps it--so she slapped it over & over & over--then looked up at us and smiled. Ha! She is too cute!!

No teeth yet, either. She loves to eat though (as if you couldn't tell ;)!! She is on a pretty regular schedule...she eats cereal & bananas in the morning, pears at lunch, and usually peas or squash & cereal at dinner. So far so good on food--she eats just about everything! She's a little funny sometimes about green beans but I pureed them a little thicker so I think its the texture that confuses her. I made some peaches today so I'll introduce those next week. And maybe some prunes soon too--her bowels would benefit. :) Still takes her bottle every 3 hrs as well--growing girl!

She babbles up a storm all day long!! I hear da-da in there--but I'm sure she doesn't relate the word with her daddy yet. She babbles to herself in the morning before I go in to get her like she's having a conversation with someone--I just lay there in bed and listen to her...its too cute!

I love how portable she is!! I can take her anywhere and she loves watching everything around her--which keeps her occupied while I get my shopping done and errands ran. She likes to sit in the shopping cart and play with the little toys on her shopping cart cover--but what she REALLY likes to do is chew on the price tags of clothes!

Time for a new car seat for Miss Ava!! I've been doing my homework on these things since I hope to only have to buy one more that will last into her toddler years--these puppies are not cheap!! I think I have it narrowed down to 2. I would love to hear suggestions and/or comments on what others have tried and loved or hated. I have a 4 door car so it has to be somewhat compact, or at least easy to fit in and adjust in my car. Ava is right around 19 1/2 lbs so her infant seat is too itty bitty nowadays! I'm sad but also excitied that she is growing, growing, growing!!

Her hair is getting so thick and long! I can put bows in her hair! YAY!! I hated those headbands because they always left a big dent in her scalp but these bows I got are fantastic!! She leaves them alone, unless she sees the bow in my hand first--then she tries to grab my hand and the bow and stick it in her mouth--of course--everything goes in her mouth :)

She's been sleeping wonderfully at night! We increased her bedtime bottle to 7 ounces and she sleeps like a charm. She usually wakes up around 5:30 or 6--which is entirely too early for momma to get up on her day off :)--so I give her an ounce or two bottle and she falls right back into dreamland until about 7:30 or 8. She takes about 3 naps a day...about 2 to 3 hours apart. Her bedtime is 7:30-7:45pm on my days off and about 8:15-8:30pm on the days I work since I don't get home until 8:00 usually. Moving her bedtime back just a little has helped her sleep better at night as well. One would be amazed at how much better a baby sleeps when she is kept on schedule!

She wears size 12 month clothes and size 4 cruisers--she is rather long for her age!! Ok, and a little chubby--she's got no failure to thrive that's for sure! :)

Well, I think that covers it for this month!! :-)



Lil Stinker ...



Mommy & Ava



"Here's what I look like after mommy takes my bow out of my hair--now I REALLY look like daddy!"



Check out those thighs!! WOW! Man, are they kissable :)



Daddy & Ava



There she goes-- discovering again!! "Daddy, what are those things over your eyes? Let me check them out!!"



Enjoying the awesome weather!



Okay--TURD BIRD! She took her diaper half off after one of her naps--I went in her room and said, "what in the world is this, missy?" and she was literally cracking up laughing. I was in stitches as well...what an ornery booger :)


Rocking away on her new butterfly rocker! She loves it ... the little antennae's on its head are squeakers so she pounds them with her hands and gets all excited! Daddy & Ava named her Maggie :)

My 1st Mother's Day!!

What an absolutely f a n t a s t i c day I had!!! I started the day off by sleeping in! =) Eric got up with Ava when she woke up around 7:45. Of course my eyes always shoot open around this time anyway because typically my morning call is lying in her crib squealing and babbling until I finally roll myself out of bed and go see her bright smiling face. So, wide awake at this point I decided to stay put, relax some more, and twiddle with my new mother's day gift ... a Blackberry ... complete with a sassy pink cover thingamajig! Daddy scored big points for this one!! :) As I laid there, the smell of scrumptious hot cinnamon rolls fresh outta the oven teased my nostrils and tempted my taste buds ... "OOOhh, he's making cinnamon rolls--YUMM-O!!" I jumped out of bed, threw on my robe, and took my chicken-headed hair downstairs to be greeted by my smiley face baby--the littlest girl in the world who makes my heart so happy--and my doting & appreciative husband. These two are it ... they complete my life ... they are my favorite people in the world. I am so blessed to have one happy and loving little family. I slowly savored my breakfast of cinnamon rolls and hazelnut coffee before hopping in the shower. Next on my "Mommy Indulgences" list for the day was an hour and a half massage. Maaann that was just what the doctor ordered! Except for the fact that I had to keep requesting "more pressure please", these muscles are beyond tense my friend, you need to MASSAGE them! Anyway, my last stop was at the fabric store so I could get more fabric to finally finish Ava's baby blanket ... now that she's almost 7 months old. ;) I called Eric to let him know I was making one more stop and would be home. He said, "oh take your time hun, stop at Barnes & Noble for awhile if you want, or go to the greenhouse like you've been wanting to do ... this is your day, just relax" -- and this is why I love him. Of all these things that I could've done with my day, all I really wanted to do was come home and relax with my baby and husband and just do nothing but enjoy one another's company all day--so this is exactly what I did!! I love being a mommy....and I love knowing that I'm appreciated!! Mother's Day is my new favorite day of the year ;)


Flowers & card from daddy ...


Ava's mother's day gift--with a little help from her babysitter ;)



Ava's finger painting masterpiece! Love it ...





Ava baby's blanket that I finally got to finish!! It's so soft and snuggly--and rather big!



Ava of course likes the little bobbly fringe :) Pretty proud of my first finished blanket!!

Nurses Call the Shots

So, I feel like I've settled into a routine with my family...things are going well, a bit more relaxed as we continue to adjust our lives to accommodate our newest addition. I feel good about where my life stands and is heading on the home front. A part of my life that I feel a growing desire to expand in is my career. I want to focus on who I am as a nurse. Nursing has been a huge part of my adult life. I studied the art and science of nursing for four long tedious years in college ... I could not wait to get my foot in the door at THE Ohio State University Medical Center and experience the research and modern advances in medicine and surgery that happen around that place everyday. I looked forward to making a difference in someone's life everyday that I got out of bed and went to work...not just to make a difference, but to be an influence in a stranger's life...a positive influence. A stranger who is counting on me to be on my toes and take care of the life in my hands that happened to be theirs. I couldn't wait to love my career.

Well, here I am--I've been a nurse at the OSU Medical Center for 2 years now. I go to work, do my job, and come home-- stressed-out, run-down, mind-racing, and on-edge. It is a tough job... mentally, emotionally, & physically. My mind does not leave "nurse-mode" once my body enters my home... in fact I typically have dreams about what valuable information I may have forgotten to pass on to the next nurse during shift change or perhaps forgot to chart... a very uncomfortable feeling. It feels like nurses are tied on a lasso, flung around in the air a couple times, and let go--dizzy and discombobulated--and then expected to provide each of our patients with professional, timely, appropriate, thoughtful, and sincere care... all while trying to fix and convey our apologies for miscommunication or complete LACK of communication between physicians and ancillary departments... and don't forget the phone in your pocket is ringing off the hook because the patient in 5B is throwing up, 74B needs pain meds, and your patient is back from xray and the transporter is getting really angry that you haven't come to the room yet, or you have an admission on the way. WHEW!

After all this, I know nursing is the field for me. I want to re-focus my mind now on how to be that special influence in a stranger's life. People are the most vulnerable when they are in the hospital... the last thing they need is a crappy nurse :). Our problems aren't solved by complaining (although it does feel good to vent sometimes!) or with a poor attitude. Sometimes it helps to remind yourself that yes, this job is tough...and it takes a tough person to do the job, but you came into this profession for a reason! For the past year or so I have had other issues on my mind--marriage, baby-making, and being a new mom...but now I'm feeling better than ever about putting my mind and heart into nursing and becoming the most rockin' nurse I can be!!!! Hallelujah to all you Nurses out there ... Happy Nurses Week!!!

BTW, I posted some nursing links on my sidebar...check them out!! I love the nursing blog Code Blog--there are links to other nursing blogs on that site as well. Enjoy :)

New savings website. . .

I just added a new website to my sidebar called "It's Hip 2 Save!" Gooood website, check it out when you have time--I like it a lot! Thanks Sarah! =o)

Jackpot

I hit the jackpot with organic coupons! I found a site that listed a ton of organic websites that have printable coupons--I listed them on my blog under Organic Coupons Sites. I just briefly looked over each of them but haven't tried printing from these sites yet...I'm sure they work just fine since most of them are manufacturer websites.

My couponing has fallen by the wayside since our transition to mostly organic or at least all natural eating. I'm pretty excited about these coupon sites I found though. Every penny counts!

I'm also growing a garden this summer with my sister at our mom's house. I'm really looking forward to this!! My mom always has a huge amount of veggies from her garden every year--plenty to freeze & can. She makes the best tomato soup I've ever tasted! We're always asking her for more throughout the year--looks like I'll get my own stockpile now. ;) I'm also looking forward to learning the art of canning and freezing--yes, I think it is an art--and a fabulous way to eat fresh, naturally grown, pesticide-free vegetables all year 'round. I hope our garden produces enough to donate a good amount to our local food banks as well--I'm sure we'll have plenty! I am so attracted to the idea of using our earth in its purest form to feed and nourish our bodies. Man I sound like a hippie, but its so true ;) Better look out, I might buy a cow next and learn how to make my own yogurt from her milk...and I'll make cheese...and sour cream...and ice cream...and coffee creamer.... Ha! There we go, a cow in my backyard in suburban Dublin-and we thought Portia had big....nevermind, off topic! :) Stay tuned for updates on my first garden--let's hope I have a green thumb!