Upgrades

We are in the midst of finalizing the contracts to enlarge half of our deck and screen it in, replace the other half, move the stairs to the other side of the deck, expand the flagstone patio and install a garden shed. We're also putting skylights in the living room and kitchen. I am pretty sure painting the kitchen will follow. :)

I am very excited! I just wish we could get people to show up when they say they will.

Ride, Ride, Ride

Will has been attempting to try his pedal bike for about two weeks now. He wheels it to the sidewalk and then freaks out and refuses to get on. Very calmly I suggest he take it back to the garage and get his scooter or his balance bike and he does.

Three days ago Steve offered to put Sophie's old princess training wheels on Will's pedal bike. He pedaled like mad up and down the sidewalk. Then yesterday he declared he was ready for Steve to take them off. He was whiney at first, but he's riding like a champ now. Actually requesting "challenging" obstacle courses!!

Is there anything this kid can't do?

Keeping secrets

So at the 5 year check up our pediatrician asks the child, "what do you do if someone tells you not to tell? To keep it a secret?" Both Sophie and Will answered this the same way, "Don't tell!" ugh! I am a delinquent parent! He's writing this down! Probably on the same page with Sophie's answer to the 4 year old question, "what's a stranger?" CPS will be knocking on my door any minute!

Luckily, William is the kind of person you hate to watch a movie with. If he's seen it before there will be spoilers left and right. The kid wants you to be surprised, but the knowledge is just bubbling up out of him. It MUST be shared.

Steve took the kids shopping for my birthday gifts on a Saturday morning. They were out for several hours, they may have even gone to a park somewhere. When they got home the first thing Will said was, "Mommy! Guess what -" That's when Sophie clamped her hand over his mouth from behind. "Don't tell, Will! It's a surprise." He tried to play it off by insisting he was just going to tell me about the park. I reassured him that he shouldn't tell me about the surprise, I wanted to wait until my birthday.

Some variation of this scenario happened again several times over the course of the afternoon.

Before dinner we were getting ready to go for a walk around the block. Will, Ruby and I were standing on the sidewalk waiting for Sophie when Will said, "Mommy, today when were out looking for your waffle iron, we saw a HAWK!! It was so cool!"

It's a party

Will has been invited to his first ever sleepover party and he can't stop talking about it.

"Friday is Alex's party. Is tomorrow Friday? The party is going to last all day, do I have to go school? Can we wrap his present now? I guess I'll just take my big fuzzy blanket. We get to eat pancakes and watch a movie!"

Will is pretty timid. He watched the movie "Up" from behind the couch. The party plan is pizza and a movie followed by (I imagine) some playing and then bed. What he's most excited about is having pancakes for breakfast.

It's early, I think, he's 5. His friend, the birthday boy, is turning six. But as he's our neighbor, a short walk down the block, I feel okay with this attempt.

But I'm still anticipating a post-bedtime call.

Spring Prep

I started planning this spring's garden last fall, thinking about which veggies to plant, when to plant them and how much to plant. We ate a ton of salad last fall, the kids even started eating it, seeing as how it was "their" lettuce. It was really nice to just go and cut what we needed each night, so I think we'll several varieties again.

I also want to plant stuff I know the kids will eat: broccoli, strawberries and cucumbers are a sure bet. And we'll try other veggies that they've been luke warm to so far: beans and peas maybe potatoes (yes, my kids don't like potatoes.) Maybe having ownership will spur them toward love.

We are also going to do a novelty veggie, also the kids' pick: purple and yellow carrots.

Then I am going to do some flowers (we need bees to come around) and we'll try pumpkins again and do so old standbys: cherry tomatoes, basil, oregano. My lavender and rosemary both did great through the winter and will continue to thrive.

Last week we turned the soil over in the existing bed, it was, as promised by the crazy square foot garden guy, loose and light and wonderful. I will take the top grid off this week and add some more compost to freshen it up.

Today I started oiling the wood to make a second raised bed. I think I will make one section extra deep for the carrots and potatoes, right now it's 6". I'll assemble the box this week while the weather is nice and then gather what I need to make the soil. I need to harvest compost from the worm bin and then I am going to hit up my friend's chickens for a bucket of poo. The rest I have in the garage.

I will also do some containers with the same soil mix, we'll plant pumpkins in some, so we can keeps the vines in a manageable place, along side the house. And I am thinking of doing pole beans in a pot, climbing the trellis that is next to our front porch. I am just not sure how I'll keep the deer away from them.

I would really like to figure a way to some veggies and herbs around our mailbox for passersby to pick and use, but I am not sure how to make it visually appealing for my neighbors.

Information, Please.

I need to get a job with the CIA. I need training in interrogation techniques, Sophie won't tell me a thing about school.