It’s officially Spring! Winter was not our friend this year, so we were more than happy to say goodbye to the colder (and sicker) days, and say hello to a new season. Although the changing of the seasons may not be as distinct as they were growing up on the east coast, and we don’t have to sit back and wait for the snow to melt, we still welcome the gradual changes with open arms.
Nana flew in to town last week, and has been here helping me with the boys while Greg has been gone for business. They have been having so much fun with her…riding bikes, playing ball in the back yard, going for walks and just enjoying time together. My grandparents were such a huge part of my childhood, and it’s crazy to sit back and watch my own children doing things I remember doing when I was their age.
My Grandma Mary and Grandpa Pete loved gardening. I remember my Grandpa outside watering their garden, while my sister and I would help our Grandma pick vegetables. We would love collecting cucumbers because our Grandma would slice them up and pickle them in mason jars for us. We were so impatient we would only let them soak a few hours and open up a jar and eat them all that same day (drinking her homemade pickling juice too of course).
When Nana suggested earlier in the week that we plant some flowers, herbs and vegetables in our backyard it sounded like the perfect way to kick off the Spring, and I knew the boys would love helping her. We don’t have that much space in our yard, so we had to get a little creative on what kind of items we could plant and where we could put them. We ended up getting a large terracotta strawberry pot to plant herbs in. We planted basil, cilantro, spearmint, parsley and topped off the pot with three strawberry plants. We also bought a tomato plant that we need to still find a spot for, and Id love to find space for a citrus or avocado tree too. This house has a built-in sprinkler system and great sunlight throughout the day, so I’m thinking our new plants stand a chance despite my lack of a green thumb.
The boys loved helping their Nana…Nathan enjoyed digging with his shovel, putting in the plants and using “his” new watering can. Shane liked getting his hands messy and eating the dirt as you can see from the first photo. It said it’s organic soil, that means it’s good for him right?
Daddy comes home today and we can’t wait to show him our little project from yesterday. He’s going to love the homemade salsa we can make from our tomatoes and cilantro, and you know where that mint is going….mojitos! It sounds like Summer is right around the corner, but for now we love the way our Spring has started! Happy weekend everyone!
Can we please get a moment of silence in honor of….a moment of silence. A rare, fleeting, millisecond of the day that you can finally hear yourself think for the first time. When you can sit down, close your eyes and take your first deep breath and let your brain catch up with your body and your body catch up with your brain.
I don’t know if it’s the time change, teething, nap schedule changes, or just this age in general, but right now I’m finding myself in the middle of a battle. Where the worlds of the 3.5 year old and the 15 month old clash head on and I just spend my entire day deflecting, protecting and reacting to their every move. By the time Greg gets home I am at a complete loss of words, energy and patience. He usually takes one look at us and the condition of our house, rolls up his sleeves and jumps right in. He has my back and I know I am so fortunate to have a husband that lets me tap out as soon as he walks in the door. For this, I am grateful.
Today was no exception to the chaos. I thought it would be a nice treat for me and the boys to eat lunch together in the warm Spring sunshine. What this looked like in my head, and how it actually came together are two completely different scenarios. Shane was clawing at my leg, begging and crying for me to cut his food up faster. Nathan was barking orders…”No, MOM I don’t want the skin on my apples. I don’t want WATER I need JUICE. This is NOT Juice! Stop making Shane’s food, I need MY food!” I’m not sure how 3 plates, 3 drinks, 1 highchair and 2 overtired kids made it out the sliding door but we finally got there. And once we did….there it was…that moment I described above. The birds were chirping, the boys were quietly eating, I got to actually chew my food sitting down, and all was right in the world again. I’m not sure when the simplest of things became so complicated, but I do know that I find these simple things to be what it’s all about.
Please don’t let these pictures fool you though. I got about five bites in before Nathan jumped up from his picnic table, knocked over his food and shouted out to the whole neighborhood that he “needed to go poop!!” Thanks kids it was fun while all 2 minutes of it lasted.
If there is anything you will come to learn about me it’s that I am wreath obsessed. I have them hanging all over our house, and I will change up our front door with each passing holiday and season. While I could go crazy and transition my Valentine’s Day wreath into a St. Patty’s Day one and then an Easter wreath…I’ve decided to keep things simple and make one I can have up for all of Spring. See how easy I made that for you? And in the spirit of saving time and money I will go ahead and say this is one of the simplest ones I have made in both effort and supplies needed. It also just so happened to turn out to be one of my favorites too!
All the supplies I used were from Michael’s. You will need:
1 large twine wreath (I believe this is a 16″)- $5
1 bag of Spanish moss- $4
1 large roll of burlap- $6
1 wooden birdhouse- $1
1 branch of Easter eggs- $1 (you can use whatever kind of egg you like. I just picked these for their size and because they were the least expensive)
1 birds nest- $2
1 small bottle off white acrylic paint- $.50
Of course I used some coupons, and took 50% off that burlap roll. I ended up spending less than $15 for everything. You will also need a hot glue gun, glue sticks, scissors and a paint brush.
I started with painting the bird house and 3 of the eggs in the off-white paint. You can get creative here with color or you can go the more simple route like I did. I also cut off the rope from the bird house and painted over where it was originally connected.
Then I made a huge mess and started glue gunning on the moss. I would add a pretty good amount of glue and add moss in about 6″ sections. 1 bag will stretch nicely across this size wreath. Use the whole bag and shape it when you are finished, filling in some patches you may have missed.
I then used my glue gun to attach the eggs inside the birds nest, and then attached both the nest and birdhouse to the wreath with the glue. You could also use wire to attach these items, that way you can take them off if you would like and add other items with the changing of holidays.
Then take your burlap roll and cut a really long piece that you can trim after you are done according to the length you want to hang it. I cut about a 9′ piece. String the burlap through the wreath and pull it right to the center so the wreath is dangling from the middle point of your burlap ribbon. Hold the burlap on both ends and tie a knot about 12″ up from the top of the wreath. This is where you make a bow and pull the loops out as big as you would like them. Fluff them out a little and shape them to the size you would like. Let the additional burlap hang down and trim the ends so they are even. Then cut again at an angle to give it a more finished look.
Hang on your door with a wreath hanger from the point of the bow’s knot. This will make sure it is securely attached to your door and at a strong point on the wreath. Stand back and enjoy your beautiful new wreath that took about $15 worth of materials and about 15 minutes of your time! Happy crafting and bring on that Spring weather!