getting my gardening on

i am so excited about the garden this year. i have goals, new things i have never tried. doing all this new gardening is a lot harder with a little Greek girl in my belly. i have been expanding the garden, and i have learned using a shovel while 20+ weeks is a lot harder than i thought it would be. sneaky me, i got my wonderful neighbor to dig up half of my new garden plot for me:) i owe him some eggs and beer. now the new plot is dug up, i have been sitting in the dirt, shooing chickens away while i weed it out. i love my chickens, but when they stick their head in my weeding looking for grubs it drives me crazy! i have one more plot to dig up and weed so i can plant my corn. never done corn before, and i can't wait to pluck one off the stalk and just eat it. we are going to plant our corn in circles. since we are planting such a small amount we have to have optimum pollination. corn has male and female parts and need wind to pollinate and make kernels. i will be planting the corn on the north so to capture the most north wind. it will be fun to run through with the kids. i also have to build some planters for my asparagus. i am afraid to plant my crowns in the ground and them lose them or something. i feel like i have these fragile plants that i have to baby so i get my asparagus each year. they will be getting special attention mostly because they take too long to grow! but once they are ready in a couple years i will have fresh asparagus in my back yard and a beautiful plant to look at.

since my peas have sprung i need to build a trellis. this is the type i will be building, or rather constructing. i need stakes, nails, and twine. easy as pie. once i get my cucumbers in i will have to make something for them too. for my tomatoes and bell peppers i use some homemade wire cages i have been using for years. i have so much i need to get in the ground! it is so hard for me to bend over because of my belly, so i am always sitting in the dirt. it still hurts my back. but not as bad. it is great having neighbors that help as well. we all plant some of the same things but some different as well. i know behind me they will have basil, jalapenos, and banana peppers in abundance if i ever need them. i can go get chicken wire and and a fresh berry or cherry tomato if i need to at another. they get fresh eggs whenever they need them and a visit from a dog or chicken at their back door when the gate is left open.
i have my berries in, raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. i love having a green, thriving backyard. our little urban farm makes me so proud.

Happy Easter

remember running around looking for eggs? this is the first year i have ever hid eggs.
i know, i know...juni is almost 7 years old, and i have never hid eggs myself? well, someone has always done it for me. i was quite excited to do this traditional deed. i went to the local health food store to buy "healthy" jelly beans, gummi bears, gummi worms, and chocolates. goodness knows if they are going to stuff their faces with sugar, let it be real sugar. HA!
i hid them at my aunt and uncle's house after church. i cannot believe it was a hard to task, but it was. then we shuffled the kids out with my Greek, his brother, and my dad trailing along to take pictures of the girls. i had to point out what i thought were obvious brightly colored eggs in obvious spots. oops:)

well, 20 weeks is here, and my belly is bulging, even more so after i indulged in the Easter spread my aunt layed out. my little Greek baby is moving around like a synchronized swimmer now. he/she better be cooporative this wednesday when we peek at 'em. my Greek has been inviting everyone to the ultrasound. i am afraid there will be 50 or so people there at the doctor's office waiting to find out the sex with us. he is so excited, as am i. if i have a little girl i am prepared in a way. a little boy is so different and frightning to me. so many people say boys are easier than girls, who am i to know? 2 little girls have been my life for almost 8 years.

my beautiful, healthy, oh so smart, and wickedly manipulative little girls!
maybe a boy would be a nice breathe of fresh air....

Front Porch

i usually sit on the old swing, but i'm plugged in. before there was the wicker swing, which my grandparents got on one of their wedding anniversary's, there was an old wooden one. i have a picture of my momma pregnant with me sitting next to my grandma on it. wish i had a scanner:)
my whole family loves front porches. i guess we're front porch people. this front porch to be exact. my daddy grew up in this house. and my grandparents lived here till they couldn't anymore. now we live here. my kids are growing up in the house their papa grew up in. same sidewalk i learned to ride a bike on, my kids are riding theirs. i remember my bedo with a water hose in her hand, sitting in a lawn chair, squirting us kids in the front yard with just our undies on. yard darts were brought out when there were enough of the grown ups to play, and there was always a lawn chair if we ran out of sitting room on the porch.

snack time. yogurt and a banana. i want a hot fudge sunday with rocky road ice cream.
and mr. wink, my guard dog. we're just waiting for the girls to get home from school. when they get home, i won't even see them, they'll run to the neighbors back yard to go play with their friends. maybe i can lure them in with promises of making pretzels or cinnamon rolls. hmmmm?