Our Garden

I am very proud of our garden this year. We are doing Square Foot Gardens, again. Our first attempt was last year and we had a great harvest of tomatoes, but the other stuff didn't do so well. So, this year we have planted earlier, and I did a whole box devoted to strawberries - yummy! :) Today, I picked the first ripe strawberry and we all shared it by taking small bites. It was super yummy - WAY better than what you get at the store. Here are some pics.

This was the first ripe strawberry, a few days before harvest.



You see tomatoes in the back, then some onions going out of control. You can't see them, but in the back are some green bean plants. There are also marigolds, okra, and carrots. The front row is 3 squares of potatoes and the built-up box is for long carrots that wouldn't work with only 6in of soil.



Here, more tomatoes and onions going crazy. We have a different variety of carrots and also some green bell pepper plants. There is a square of okra and some peas - we can't seem to get peas to grow well, though. We also have some cucumber plants, in the back.



Here are more tomatoes (we like tomatoes), carrots, onions, chili and bell peppers, beets, peas, and the big one is a pumpkin - its leaves are huge.

I didn't know the leaves got that big. They are even bigger now, since taking the picture.

We also have a watermelon growing in a bucket. We didn't know what it was, but it didn't look like a weed, so Mike put it in a bucket for future identification. Now we need to figure out what to do with it since it will definitely outgrow the bucket.

We've had fun with the garden and are looking forward to the harvest. Mike introduced me to beet-greens. The texture was slimy, just as bad as spinach. If you put enough salt and butter, though, it is possible to force them down your throat chased with a large glass of water - I'm not a fan, could you tell?

The kids enjoy helping us water and admire, and haven't picked anything - yet.

Never Suppress a Generous Thought

It was Camilla Kimball who offered that sage advice: never suppress a generous thought. I try to remember that whenever I want to be helpful, but feel awkward offering. I have tried to teach my kids to be kind and thoughtful of others.

Andrew's best friend, Marcus, went on vacation for 3 wks at the beginning of the summer - they were a long 3 wks for Andrew. At one point, Andrew colored a "pretty picture for my best friend, Marcus" and wanted to give it to him. I told him that we could mail it and that it would be waiting for Marcus at his house when he returned. Andrew liked that idea. A few weeks later, we were talking about all he had learned in preschool and he said he wanted to "draw a pretty picture for my teacher, Miss Rebecca." It just so happened that I had an errand to run in that area, so we hand-delivered the picture. She wasn't there, so Andrew wrote her name on it and we discussed how excited she would be to come to work and get it. He has now made multiple pictures for various people in his life and he loves putting the stamp on the envelope and putting it out in the mail. We always discuss how excited the recipient will be and how they will feel so special to get a pretty picture in the mail.

So, the other day we were out working in the garden and Andrew and Rachael were entertaining themselves. I turned around and saw all the tennis balls were carefully placed throughout the yard. They seemed too precisely placed for it to be an accident, so I asked Andrew what they were.
He informed me that he was the mailman and he was busy delivering special packages to every house. He then pulled out his check-list and went through it to make sure that no one had been forgotten (it's a scrap of wood - sorry, the picture isn't very good) .What a sweet, caring boy!

So, Who's Winning?

Rachael is a very smart, and very strong-willed little girl. Once she gets an idea in her head, that is the end of the discussion nothing will distract her. The past few days have really demonstrated this for me.

If some dishes fall on the floor, she is determined to "help clean up" by putting them away. If I take them away because they are dirty, a tantrum ensues. Once she has decided she wants something, be it candy or a certain toy, that is the end of the story. No distraction technique or offering a choice of alternatives will satisfy her - either she gets exactly what she wants or she will throw a tantrum. Bed time is the worst. She loves the routine of reading stories, singing songs and saying prayers. But, when it's time to actually go to bed, it's a tantrum.

So, who's winning the proverbial parent/child struggle? It depends on how you keep score. Her initial response to me is, "no thanks, mommy", the tantrum comes after I have exerted my authority. But, hey, at least I've taught her to be polite in her disobedience, that has to count for something... right?

The Power of Prayer

Many years ago I read an article in the Ensign that has stuck with me. I would like to share it with anyone reading this.

A relatively young lady moved into a new ward with her husband and young child. She was quickly given her Visiting Teaching assignments. One of the ladies she was responsible for was an elderly woman. She went to her first appointment with some trepidation, not knowing what she could possibly teach this lady who had so much life experience under her belt. They quickly became friends and she was amazed at how active and busy this woman was always serving those around her. A couple years passed and suddenly this elderly woman had a stroke. She survived but it left her completely paralyzed. The young Visiting Teacher had no idea what to say to her, but she went to visit with a desire to do something helpful. She prepared herself to find the woman quite unhappy and depressed because she had previously been so active.

She showed up and the elderly woman was all smiles and just as happy as normal. The young VT was quite confused and finally had to ask how she could possibly be so happy. The wise woman responded, "Oh, I was always so busy with another batch of cookies to make or something, but now I have time to really help people. I can pray for them, and I know the Lord hears my prayers."

What a great lesson! If you know the Fogelquists, please pray for them. Their son Monte is really having a difficult time with all his health challenges and they need guidance and peace. My first instinct would be to make them a meal. However, they are many states away now. But, I can pray for them, and I, too, know the Lord hears my prayers.

The Ambitions Sour Cream

I assume Rachael is a typical child who needs equal amounts of play time and eating time at the dinner table. We do not allow toys at the table so she has to be creative. Since Rachael has never been inhibited by the intended uses of something, this has never been a problem.

Tonight we had tacos for dinner, including sour cream. Here is a list of all the uses Rachael found for this humble, unassuming condiment.
1. make it the main (and only) course
2. a bathtub for her tomatoes
3. a bed for the tomato seeds to sleep in
4. daubed on a spoon to use as a weapon against mom (poison-tipped spear?)
5. slime to fling from her spoon and hands
6. mud to squeeze through her fingers
7. make-up to smear on her face
8. while she was at it, might as well make it a whole face mask
9. paint to rub all over her arms
10. medicine to put on her owies

All this occurred in less than 15 mins. And I might add, much of these came from Rachael's own lips when we asked, "Rachael, what are you doing? Can't you just eat?"
And finally,
11. make-up, paint, mud, or anything else to smear on mommy as she tried to get Rachael clean.

Who knew sour cream could be so versatile?

Just Try It

Andrew is about the pickiest, most finicky eater ever. By the time he was 2, he had us trained to cheer and congratulate him for eating even a cookie or some ice cream. A little progress has been made since then, mainly due to friends and peer pressure.

We got a book from the library about a kid who refused to eat his vegetables - even try them. It's called, "Just Try It". We had read it a few times and discussed how trying new things is good and you often find new foods that you like, when one night for dinner I made something that Andrew refused to try (no surprise). So, I asked him what he was willing to eat. He said, "you tell me". This is when I get to start naming things off in hopes of him saying yes to something. The difficulty is that if you name too many things that he doesn't want to eat, he gets upset and then the whole idea of eating is out the window.

Anyway, I mentioned a waffle (frozen) and he said yes. I asked if he wanted jam and he said grape, then he said he wanted ketchup. "What? You want ketchup instead of grape jam?" I asked.
"No," he said. "I want grape jam and ketchup on the side."
"Ooh." I said, trying to sound enthusiastic and hoping I, at least, didn't sound too disgusted.
So, I served it to him. I cut the waffle and poured some ketchup on the side of the plate, expecting that I was just wasting a bunch of ketchup.

Nope, Andrew dipped every bite of his grape jam waffle into the ketchup and ate the entire thing. To top it off, he wanted another one the next day, but this time with strawberry jam. I asked him if it tasted good and he said, "Just try it, mommy. It's good, you'll like it." Thankfully, I used the allergy-diet for Lizzie as my excuse to get out of trying it. But, I did get to eat my own words - they sure were tasty!

The newborn 5 stage grief cycle

The 5 stage grief cycle describes the emotions that people feel when a loved one has died. Well, I am here to say that it applies to the beginning of life as well as the end.

1. Denial
When a baby is born, he sleeps most of the time and is just a joy to hold. The parents wonder, "why do people say this is hard? Others must not have prepared like we did." They are in sweet denial of the reality to come.

2. Anger
At some point, usually 2wks for me, the little bundle of joy begins to realize he is no longer in the womb and doesn't want to sleep anymore. This precious newborn begins to cry for no obvious reason and all the parents' preparations go out the window. They begin to feel angry at the parenting books with their fool-proof solutions. They begin feeling angry at those around them for breathing too loudly and waking the baby. They finally settle on being angry at the unseen alien who came and replaced their perfect darling with a crying, screaming child.

3. Bargaining
Eventually, the parents become putty in this innocent child's hands. They forget all their pre-determined rules like "getting on a schedule", "no children in our bed", or "my child won't use a pacifier". Instead, the parents break down and start begging and promising anything if the child would just calm down long enough for mom to get a shower.

4. Depression
By now, the baby is around 2 1/2mo old. The parents are too exhausted to be angry and their creativity for bargaining has been completely tapped out. They fall into a funk and realize that they will never be perfect parents and begin to question their own sanity and why they ever thought that having a child was preferable over having a dog. They feel even more depressed as they realize that their own parents aren't so incomprehensible anymore.

5. Acceptance
After our poor parents have been depressed, they are humbled enough to accept reality. No, they will never get enough sleep again. They begin to understand why their own parents did certain bizarre things and they accept that the real ruler of the house is this tiny infant that they so eagerly anticipated.

Our pure and innocent child's sovereignty has now been established and his parents' unconditional submission is assured. His 3 months of hard work has paid off for himself and for the good of all future siblings. He can now relax and get on a schedule, knowing full well that his parents are in the palm of his hand.