The Inadvertent Farmer

KinderGARDENs the end Part 2

There have been some odd goings on around our KinderGARDENs...very odd indeed.

We have sent out secret agents to investigate...

 

It seems like our secret agent girl has found hidden around the chard and under the cabbage a sneaky late season strawberry!

The case was soon closed due to the evidence somehow being misplaced...errrr, eaten!

Every last one!

 

In other unsolved cases we have peppers being eaten by slugs...the criminal or criminals have yet to be apprehended.  Such an evil thing to do to a pepper!

Mr Blue Man Scarecrow needs a little visit from the fashion police...doesn't he know that country folk just don't wear their pants down like that?

And lastly are these cute little babies...

My little watermelon cuties...they very little hope of every ripening.

You see the rains are back.

Which also means all my garden photos will once again be soggy!

Make sure you put up a post this week that is a good overview of you KinderGARDEN this season

Then come back the first Thursday in August to see the winners...

Scratch that....

We are ALL winners!

 

 

 

 

 

Another Use for Homegrown Tomatoes!

You can eat fresh from the garden tomatoes out of hand, cook with them, dry them, freeze them, can them. 

You can put them in salads, on pizza, you can make sauce, salsa, and ketchup from them...

But if you are really, really creative you can....

 

Learn to...

 

Balance a tomato...

 

On your face!

I love it when kids get creative in the garden!

So what is your favorite way to us garden fresh tomatoes?

 

 

Homemade Fruit Popcicle Recipe

Published last year but just as delicious!

How to make Homemade Popsicles your Kids will LOVE!

Welcome to our little Tuesday get together here at the farm.

Its called Summer's Simple Things.

This is the day we share the simple things we have been doing for fun this summer.  Those things that require no batteries, remote controls, or electrical outlets. 

Just good old fashioned summer fun!

Today is one of my kids' favorite simple things of summer...

Yummy homemade popsicles...or fruit pops as we call them.  I made 40 of them at a time for the breast cancer fundraiser last week.  As the weather turned a little chilly not many were eaten.  The brownies and peanut butter cookies on the other hand were devoured!

That means my kids have had the difficult task of eating them for me....ahhh poor babies!

I need the freezer room for freezer jam so I have been pushing fruitpops for breakfast lunch and dinner...yep that's the kind of mom I am.

Now you can either make these in plastic popsicle forms or as I did in paper cups.  Even I don't have 40 forms on hand!

My first flavor (and my favorite) is Orange Mango Strawberry Banana.  Start with a small bottle of organic orange mango juice.  Put it in the blender with a peeled, cored mango.

Add strawberries...

And finally a banana.

Whir it up.  You can leave little chunks or make it perfectly smooth...which is what I did.

Pour it into little paper cups. Since I made these for a grownup party I used 5oz cups.  For kids you might want to go with a smaller cup.

Put them on a cookie sheet.

Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

Insert a craft/popsicle stick into the mixture. (if you have really tough plastic you will have to make a tiny slit first to start it, trust me this helps tremendously!)

Pop them in the freezer till solid.  

Peel off the cup to eat.  If it is hard to peel let it sit for a few minutes to soften or if you are in a really big hurry run it under warm water.

Sweet Girl and I liked the Mangosicles!

Baby Boy preferred the Blueberry Pops.

Apple juice, blueberries, banana, and a touch of vanilla

Ya, its a tough job but somebody's got to eat all those leftover frozen treats!

 

Lucky Little Country Girl

When I was a kid we moved across the state from Western to Eastern Washington.

My folks looked and looked at houses to buy in our new town.

One day my folks toured a house in town.  It was a lovely home in a nice suburban neighborhood, my sister loved it...

I cried and told them that if they bought that house I would tape a picture of a farm on my window and never leave.

For my parents' mellow oldest child to pitch such a fit over a house in town was completely out of character.

They proceeded to buy a house in the country...much to my sister's annoyance!

 

I walked out my own grown up home in the country yesterday to find this...

 

My own sweet country girl carrying on a converation with a pygmy goat and a baby llama!

 

 

Pretty sure she, just like I did, would pitch a fit if I tried to move her to town!

 

 

I don't think fluffly the goat would like it much either!

Ahhhh goat heaven...a girl who will pet you endlessly while weaving tall tales about goats kings and princesses!

 

 

 

Boys and Their Toys

I have learned over the years that boys never outgrow certain toys.

My husband will never outgrow these...

Baby Boy is headed for the same fate.

He loves things that go fast that have lots of chrome.

He picked out many favorites at last weekend's car show...they were always the ones with the exposed engines that had everything dripping in shiny chrome!

 

But being a typical 4 year old...

 

He is still partial to lamp posts!

 

So do you have a grown-up boy that has never outgrown his toys?

 

 

KinderGARDENS week 9 Kids Behind the Camera

I've updated the KinderGARDENS page, just click on the button on the sidebar.

I've also started a new blogroll page I am almost done, check back later today to make sure you are included...if not let me know. Editing note:  The blogroll button is now up...see the muddy hand in the right hand column?  Just click and make sure you're there!

*****

So this week we are sharing the photos our kiddos took this week (or directed up to take) in the garden.

I sent 8 year old Sweet Girl out to the garden this morning between rain showers with my camera.  I stayed in the house with Baby Boy talking about who would win a fight between a T-Rex and a Locomotive...my bets on the train!

When she came back in she handed me the camera and said

Be careful...there are a lot of pictures.

200+ pictures later I'm still looking through them all!  But I have come to the conclusion...

My girl likes flowers!

I was surprised how clear the Cosmo shots were considering she rarely holds still!

 

I see she picked a little snack while out there.

 

Goodness that scarecrow looks big from a kid's perspective!

 

Mama Llama in the tomato patch...well almost!

 

Raised beds...ughhh I need to do some clean up around the garden!

 

This post brought to you by Sweet Girl...Garden Princess!

 

 

Pirates! We've Got Them...

As promised...

The story behind the dandelion pirate!

Like many good stories this begins with a little boy and his stick...

 

A stick in a boy's hand is destined to be a sword!

ON GUARD!!!

 

I am Captain Hook!

You mean Captain Dandelion?

Huh?  Mama I am Captain Hook not Captain Dandewion, he isn't very tough!

Ohhhh...sorry.

I challenge you to a duel!  Do you want to play pirates mama?

Hmmm, not really.

Who will play pirates with me?

Maybe your sister?

Sweet Girls agrees to play but there are some pleasantries that must be attended to before the duel can begin.  First they must hug, then bow to each other.  The boy pretty much thinks this is all dumb but will endure in order to have a duelling partner!

You must use proper form.

  I will make you walk the plank!

The double sword trick... 

I will defeat you and feed you to the fishes!

Mama...I think he takes this a little too seriously.

Honey, you should always take boys with their sticks very seriously.

Hubby chuckling in the background..."you have no idea!"

Me...rolling my eyes.

 

 

 

 

MIA at Cannon Beach

We've been gone most of the week...missing among the sun and the sand and the surf.

The kids are gonna cry when we have to come home...

I might sniffle a little too!

There is just something about the mighty Pacific Ocean that washes all your cares away!

Monday, Forgiveness, and Swimming Lessons

Its Monday, its raining and I'm slightly grouchy.

When I was praying this morning I was asking God to forgive the long list of things I always ask forgiveness for...

• Being impatient with the kids.
• Not being thankful.
• Being a slob.
• Annoyance with my spouse.

I know that God promises to forgive me if I ask but darn...I just want my faults gone, not just covered and forgiven, although I am thankful that they are both covered and forgiven...cause they just don't seem to be going away.

Anyway,

We have been neck deep in...

Swimming lessons!  Five days a week...help me!

Hahahaha...she hates water on her face, which if funny cause its hard to swim without getting your face wet!

He doesn't like to swim as much as he likes to jump in...adrenaline junky in training!

I cooked up the last 'sweet meat' squash from last year.  I made it into bread, what was left that is after Sweet Girl finished snacking!

We went on a May Day garden tour...

In a perfect world I would have a garden full of tulips...but since you can't eat a tulip it is not high on my list of 'must plant' plants.

In heaven I'm going to plant lots and LOTS of tulips!

And Bleeding Hearts!

And even a Fern or two!

Someday I will grow things that slugs won't eat and I will never lose patience with my family...frankly I look forward to that day.

Pretty sure my family does too!

But in the meantime I'll just keep trying...

And asking for forgiveness.

*****

Don't forget KinderGARDENS starts this week!

Come join us, bring your kiddos and old clothes cause we're gonna get dirty!

 

 

 

Sunflower Ninja Warriors

We finally pulled up the sunflower stalks from the kids maze, we're making room for the new tomato patch.

Of course my boy being a boy decided to use the stalks to challenge his sister to a sword fight...

 

Let the battle for world domination begin! 

 

 

Sweet Girl spent a lot of time smiling

 

 

 And ducking!

 

In the world of small boys being a Ninja Warrior is important business!

 


 

In our male dominated home I have seen sword fights with pencils,sticks, rulers, light sabers, swords, broom handles, and even straws....but this is a first!

Hmmmm I may have to plant more sunflowers to keep the Ninjas happy!

Who knew these lovely flowers were so versatile?

Random Thoughts and Court Proceedings

Dear Mother Nature...this sucks!  Sorry that is not very lady like but it is raining BUCKETS around here and I'm never ever going to be able to plant anything without it rotting...sob.

My youngest 3 year old son has officially gone from sweet angel baby to typical loud, ornery, destructive little boy. I was hoping that at least 1 out of 4 of my boys would not go through this.  Hide the china and batten down the hatches...here come the tornado!

My daughter had just turned 8.  How did this happen?  I am cancelling all future birthdays, that's it...she's done growing up.

#3 son is visiting for spring break...I wonder if I beg enough if I can keep him from leaving me and going back to school?

Scratch that...he has school loans and I would hate to get stuck with them due to him not finishing school and being unemployable.

*****

I attended the first hearing on my CASA case yesterday.  The court was full of over 30 cases of parents accused of...starving their kids, abusing them by throwing them across rooms,  breaking bones of their babies, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment...

Truly if I didn't believe that we can all make a difference I would lock myself on my farm and never ever leave.

We all know that bad things happen in this world, but I for one have never been smacked across the face with just how bad and how often bad happens before yesterday.  We live in a small community...how can there be well over 30 cases just in one day of children mistreated in such horrible ways?

As I watched the state's attorneys and the social workers read of the details of case after case I sat wondering how they can do this for a living...each work day being confronted with such horrors.  How does ones heart handle such things?

Then I watched the defense attorneys defending the parents and wonder what kind of burdens they are left with on their hearts.  Can they separate what is clearly their jobs and what as a human being they would like to see happen to their clients?  Another job I cannot fathom having.

So as for my little guy, he is still in a foster home, one that if full of people that have fallen in completely in love with him.  His casts have been taken off, the pins removed from his arms and he is a happy, healthy 10 month old.

And I will go to the ends of the earth to make sure he stays that way.

****

Come back tomorrow and I'll let you in on a little secret about a new series I'm doing and where I'm doing it at!

Sunroom Lego Battles

My sunroom has cream colored loveseat and nubby oatmeal colored carpet.  It is floor to ceiling windows that even on the cloudiest day is filled with light.

It is the one room I love to snuggle up in and read or pray. 

My bright, lovely, feminine retreat has lately been taken over by scene like this...

Sponsored by my almost 4 year old son.

Hey little man, who is this guy?

He is Doctor No-Legs...he is evil.  He is a baaaad guy

As I sit on the floor next to my sweet angel baby he proceeds to weave the following tale...

Dr. No-Legs catches people and chops off their heads

Then he stacks them into...what are those thing called?  You know those Indian things...those poles.

You mean totem poles?  You are telling my that he makes totem poles out of heads?

Yeah totem poles!

This is the good guy, he is a hero, he is from the space patrol.

How do you know he works for space control?

Mama, look at his jacket, you see those letters? Those say 'space patrol'...my big brother told me.

What is in his hand?

A gun...a BIG gun

He isn't gonna shoot anyone with it is he?

Only bad guys.

His friends are getting the bad guy with him.  That's what good guy do mama, they get bad guys!

What are they gonna do with him after they capture him?

They're going to leave him.

Won't the bad guy get away and go do bad stuff again?

Oh mama just wait and see!

Look!  He's gonna get eaten by an alligator AND a shark!  Isn't that cool?

Ummmm...I guess.

I like it when the bad guy get eaten by stuff.

You do?

Yep...or when they get runned over by big trucks.  Or when they get smashed by dinosaurs!

And what are the good guys doing while the bad guy is getting eaten, do they feel bad for the bad guy cause he's getting eaten?

No mama...they are singing!

Really?  What are they singing?

They are singing Jingle Bells.

Why Jingle Bells?

They like to.

OK.

******

This is where the difference can so starkly be seen between boys and girls. My sweet daughter would have had the good guys talk the bad guy to death as they tried to change him.  Not the boy...

He just throws him to the alligator AND the shark! 

No mercy...no prisoners!

All Boy!

 

 

 

 

 

Gardening with Children...are you ready...am I?

So here is a recap of my winter...

• Mom diagnosed with cancer

• Mom starts chemo

• Remodel apartment over garage

• Mom moves in with us

• Mom continues chemo

• Father-in-law diagnosed with cancer

• I start CASA training

• We rent mom's house after interviewing 10,000 people

• I finish CASA and am sworn in

• Mom has surgery

• I get my first case (abused 9 month old...sigh)

• Father-in-law has surgery

Oh and I almost forgot

• My firstborn got married...in my house!

All the while homeschooling, mothering, cleaning, cooking, teaching a church class, being a wife and camel caretaker.

I seriously considered shutting down this blog and burying my head in one of my raised beds...seriously I did.

But then there was these on my hard drive...

And I remember that over 40 of you joined me last year for KinderGARDENS...and I just could not bear the thought of not visiting all of you again in your gardens and seeing your kiddos get their hands dirty!

And I have plans...BIG plans and I want to share them with you too!

So if you all are ready, I think we should start talking a little about KinderGARDENS for this year.  Please feel free to shout out any ideas you guys have to make this year's contest even better.

So for now let's put on our thinking caps and meet back here next week same time...same place and get ready to get dirty!

*****

And for last year's winners...

I still have several gift cards waiting here on my desk.

Please email me at:

[email protected]

and give my your address so I can get them sent to you just in time for spring gardening!

 

Icky Nose Picker or Sleeping Angel?

Anyone who has children that have outgrown naps at a very early age will understand how sweet it is when the above little ones conks out in the middle of the afternoon...like a little sleeping angel

 
Unfortunately you will also understand most little kids' unsavory habit of picking his/her nose as they have yet to understand the social ramifications of such things...ick!

When you combine the two you get this...

Nice...sigh.

And yes I will keep these as blackmail for some future date yet to be determined.

Green Super Food Smoothie and my New Flash!

What do you get when you combine a green super food smoothie, a three year old, and your new flash?

Without flash...Mr. Messy Face

With flash pointed up...still Mr. Messy Face

I've never had an external flash before and will have to do some playing around with it.

*****

And if you are interested here is my recipe for my  Green Super Food Smoothie.

I blend this all this organic goodness with Pomegranite Juice in my trusty Vita-Mix.

• Large handful baby spinach leaves

• 3 or 4 Kale leaves

• 1 apple cored and quartered but with skin

• 1/2 frozen banana

• 1 handful each frozen blueberries, raspberries, strawberries

• 1  heaping Tbsp raw cocoa powder

(optional powders, super nutritious)

Acai

Spirulina

Chlorella

Noni

Red Maca

Goji Berry

*****

My kids like the smoothie unless I add all the powders, then it gets a little weird for them.  I pour theirs first and then usually add the extras for mama!

Are smoothies part of your routine?  How about juicing?  If so what are your faves?

 

 

Cotton Candy Sledding

We have so been enjoying the snow!  I don't think anyone one of us has enjoyed it more than Sweet Girl.

I told her that she looked like a big scoop of cotton candy sledding down the hill!

Ready...get set

GO!

It cracked me up when I downloaded these photos and saw that she had her eyes completely squeezed shut the whole time she slid down the hill.

I asked here what that was all about...

"Well I can't stear so I might as well close my eyes."

Ok then...

 

We spent over 4 hours outside yesterday sledding...including from 8 to 9 pm sledding in the dark with daddy. 

We don't get it often but when we get it we enjoy every last drop of snow!

*****

I also wanted to thank each and every one of you for the kind words of celebration and support yesterday.

You guys pretty much ROCK!

 

Bath Boy melting his Mama's Heart

I take lots and lots of photos of my kids...many of them just roll their eyes when they see me remove that lense cap.

But my littlest is still game to mama's photo obsession...even after bathtime.

And once in a while a series of shots utterly and completely melts my heart!

And as much as I love this in color...

 

I love it even more in black and white.

And just when you are about to have cute overload...

Now that is my real boy!

What is a Mother to Think?

I have no idea if there is some hidden meaning behind this...

It is cold, we have just had a week of record breaking snow. 

Yet I looked out the kitchen window yesterday to see my sweet girl, my only daughter, my precious female offspring doing...?

I opened the back door to hear this little ditty being sung...

"Its spring, its spring, the sun is out...so you must go and you better not pout."

She was dancing around the remains of a snowman.  With each verse she would take a stick and whack at the poor melting man of snow.

She did all of this dressed in one of her grandma's nightgowns, a sunhat, and barefeet...in November, on a sunny but cold almost winter's day!

So what is a mother to think of all of this?

Have I failed her as her homeschool teacher for she obviously does not know her seasons...honey it is fall, almost winter not spring.

Have I failed her as a mother as she obviously does not know how to dress appropriately for the weather...sweetie it is cold out there, you might want a coat, and mittens, and maybe some pants.

Have I failed her as a human being for she obviously has no respect for minorities such as people made of snow...darling it is not nice to whack others on the head just because you think they are seasonably out of place.

Or could it just be...

Yes it obviously is...

That this little apple has not fallen far from her family tree.

A strange slightly twisted, obviously crazy family tree.

 

Snow Ducks and Roses.

OK...I'm gonna make this short and sweet.

We have SNOW!  We never have snow before January and even then its not guaranteed...

So the kids and I are headed back outside, we had to come in for lunch and to put wood on the fire and now we're headed back out to sled and play.

Here are some pics from earlier today...

Some of us like this weather...

Much better than others...

QUACK!

*****

If you are interested in learning how to make and use leaf mold head on over to Not Dabbling in Normal to see my post on this amazing soil amendment!

Leaves, leaves everywhere there's Leaves!

We are blessed with abundent moisture in Western Washington.

Therefore we are blessed with many, many trees.

Which means we are blessed with leaves...

Everywhere!

 

Which under certain circumstances.

Is a very good thing!

Remember how fun this is?

No?

Well then go jump in a big pile of leaves with your little ones...or big ones.

I promise.

You won't be sorry!

Northwest Attire BLECK!

So are you ready?

Do you have your boots out and your slickers at hand?

I hear its gonna be a loooong wet winter.

Bleck!

DOUBLE BLECK!!!

 

First Frost, First Wedding, Jealous Camel

I was not prepared for this...

Is a gardener ever really prepared for it?

The first hard killing frost of fall!

The tomato vines are blackened and dead.

The peppers thankfully are covered so although a little sad they are not gone.

The kale seems to love it.

The sunflowers hate it, as do the pumpkin vines and my pretty little nasturtiums!

But somehow the weeds keep going strong...

What's with that???

*****

On a completely separate note my oldest son has finally decided to marry his girlfriend of almost 6 years.

They are getting married on New Year's Eve (yes the one just a couple of months away!)

In my house.

Oh my...if you have any great, classy, inexpensive decorating ideas please let me know!

*****

I haven't broken the news to Gizmo yet...the big guy adores my oldest son.

He's gonna be mighty jealous! 

Don't worry buddy, you're not losing a friend, you're just gaining another family member who will feed you apples.

What?

No!

You cannot be the ring bearer.

They Never Stop...

No matter how old our kids get...

No matter how big they are...

They never stop...

Giving their mama...

A heart...

Attack!

The end.

 

 

Reflections of the Beach

We went to the beach this weekend...Longbeach Washington to be exact.  They have a trail there called the Discovery Trail that is for bikes and pedistrians that runs right along the mighty Pacific Ocean.  I will get to more of the tomorrow.  For today I'm just doing a little 'reflecting' on the weekend!

Come back tomorrow for a bike trip, a little rock climing and some beach combing!

Mending Fences...Praying for Patience!

(Note this was first published at almost this last time last year...considering this weekend I had to spend 3 hours fixing the fence I thought it would be a perfect re-post since spending 3 hourse fixing the fence left me so far behind that I didn't have time to post anything new this morning...darn camel!)

*****

You know you're a farmer when the expression "I have some fences to mend" has nothing whatsoever to do with apologies, grovelling, or admitting to being an arse...

  

No when you live on a farm mending fences means...well your fence is broke and before everyone escapes you better go fix it.

  

It also means in my case that the #&%! camel has broken it...again!

  

 

This is what an electric fence insulator looks like when it battles a 1500 pound camel...yep busted clean in half!

  

It is a battle it will never win, even with 2000 volts on its side, Gizmo always wins!

  

 

But at least I had good help along...

 

  

 

 

Another way to tell you live on a farm is when you ask your two year old to hand you the long fence insulators...and he knows exactly which ones those are.

 

  

 

Sweet Girl is not so much into mending fences...she much rather stand in the middle of the field and direct traffic!

 

 

"HALT...this is a goat crossing, you are a camel, you must halt!"

  

 

Baby Boy went and played with his sister for a while but ran back needing a hug...

 

 

 

As we were sitting together in the grass and singing 'Bob the Builder' Sophie our young female llama came up to let us know we were off key!

 

She is such a lovely girl!

 

Her parents were two strays I took in not knowing anything about them...turned out they were male and female...

 

In fact they liked each other so much that we have had three baby llamas produced from them so far!

 

Anyway we got the fence fixed and it was time to go in and get dinner on...

 

This was the response I got...

 

 

"NO mama...me no want to go in.  Me no like go in house.  NO!"

  

"Mama make me sad"

  

 

So what did we do?

 

Well we stayed outside of course...

 

Until the llamas...and camel...and goat came home!

 

 

 

Then had a very late dinner and went to bed...

 

As I was drifting off I sent up this prayer...

 

"Dear God, I know Gizmo is one of your creatures and I certainly wouldn't want to break one of your commandments by killing him...so could you just keep him from breaking the fence for at least a couple of days?  I would surely appreciate your help on this, thanks...amen."