A Garden of His Own

We've given Burl an area in the garden all to himself. This is his little space, where he chooses what to grow and is in charge of tending it. I help him of course, because everything's always better when we're together. We carefully planted his favorite foods: sugar snap peas, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkins and strawberries. And every time he finds a worm in the yard I hear him yell, "Oh, Mama!", as he carries it to his garden.



It's his learning garden. I certainly don't expect this little area to produce a great yield. In fact, I've already seen him ride his tricycle through it a dozen times or so. But he has fun watching it, watering it, and pulling the plants up out of it :). My little botanist, how I love watching him grow.

A few links
The Sierra Club
Kids Gardening
The Learning Garden

Toes, Mama.

The other night, Burl woke up saying, "Toes, Mama. Toes." I reached over and felt the blanket had slipped off his cold toes. I pulled him closer to me, and he snuggled his legs under the blankets against me and drifted back to sleep.

Some say we're spoiling him, and creating a monster who will expect to be doted on his whole life. We feel we're providing a loving, trusting environment for him, full of security, comfort, and compassion which will continue to help him grow healthy, both physically and emotionally.

Seed Sharing

What do you do when you have extra seeds? I usually freeze them, and save them for later use. My saved collection has grown so large over the years, I decided to share some this year. I gave some away to my friends, traded some with my neighbors, and donated some. Here are a few links about gifting and donating your extra seeds:
Garden Seed Swap
Decorating Seed Packets for Gifts
Learn2Grow
Urban Garden Casual

Super Burl

My friend Georgia is awesome. We first met at La Leche League right after our babes were born. Since then, we've become good friends while watching our boys grow. Her boy Henry and Burl are good friends, and I can't express how happy I am Burl has such an amazing friend like Henry to grow up with.

For his birthday, Georgia made Burl a superhero cape. Burl's in love. Not just because of the awesome "B" on it, but especially because of the kitties on it. He's obsessed. With kitties and now his superhero kitty cape.

She used this free tutorial. I think every two year old needs a superhero cape. Thank you Georgia, for making one for my sweet, kitty-loving boy.

Today's Lunch

Rosemary Lentil Barley Soup

Sautee in olive oil:
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic
Add:
equal parts diced celery and carrots
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 can tomato paste
salt and pepper
fresh rosemary
cooked lentils and barley
and a little honey

Home Tour

My home is being featured on CafeMom. It's quite an honor to be included with so many talented women and mothers.

For April

Let's celebrate Spring!

With each order from my shop in the month of April, I'll be including a 1 ounce sample of hand cream in my Spring blend (while supplies last). The cream is a simple, 6-ingredient herbal recipe I make from scratch, and scent it with only pure essential oils. What better way to celebrate Spring than by giving away samples?

I hope you enjoy!

Freeganism

It's a fascinating way of life, and incredibly inspiring.

I've been embarking my way towards more of a freegan lifestyle. From sheepskins, to boots, wool clothing and yarn, seashells, and down comforters- so many animal products are being wasted, tossed as garbage and filling our landfills. It's upsetting to think of animals having their lives taken from them, just to have their products end up as trash. On the other hand, it's rewarding to rescue these items, appreciate them, respect the lives that provided them, and give the items new life and purpose in our homes. Search the thrift stores, search freecycle, search craigslist, I have found so many items that would have otherwise been discarded and added to our landfills.

Freeganism truly is a fascinating concept.