A day in the Garden

Ahhhh, the smells of spring... Ok, So maybe not spring yet, but for a beautiful 65* sun-shiny day... It FELT like spring. All my friends are talking about feet of snow as blizzards race across the eastern United States. I miss the snow.

Instead of snow, we took the day off of formal studies to start digging in out garden. I showed the girls how to break up the great grass clumps, keeping the dirt and worms but tossing the weeds. DD told me at one point: "You're the Best Mom Ever!! I'll gladly dig in our garden all week, if I can skip my studies!!" I don't think she realizes that she is still learning ;-)

Worms. yes, Big ones, fat ones, skinny ones, slimy ones, LOTS of grumpy earthworms were discovered in our chosen plot. My 7 year old and 3 year old decided that worms are EWW!! My 10 year old is fascinated by the worms, and grossed out by the bug larvae (grubs?) We talked about what happens to the worms when they get chopped by the shovel (2 for the price of 1!), and what good worm casings (poop) is for the soil.

The layout changed a bit, and if DH has his way, it might shift a bit more. I started digging in the area I don't plan on backing down about ;)

While we were out digging, Jacob came out to explore. He climbed chairs, splashed in puddles, explored the playhouse, and avoided the green pokey stuff as much as possible. He must have had fun, because he was covered in dirt. After a good long nap, he awoke to discover our Miss Gabby here. After some more time outside on the trampoline, Miss Gabby took the littles in for a good scrubbing.

Now our day is drawing to a close, and the children are helpfully cleaning up the kitchen and livingroom. As soon as the dishasher is done, I have 2 big girls that need showers. I have a supper to go put together... Pot Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, and fresh Challah. Many blessings to you and yours on this Sabbath.

The Garden Begins

I kept thinking I needed to go to the store and pick up garden stakes. This has kept me from plotting out the garden for over a month now, even though I have it all planned out on paper. Today's peeking sunshine motivated me further, and with a flash of inspiration, I realized I had the "perfect" thing!! Solar Lights!!

So here is the layout of the beds. I have a section marked out for access to all sides, which is also where there is a pile of rocks from around a tree we lost last winter.

The girls are out right now, removing all land mines from the garden beds, and then I'll start turning the soil and removing all current green things- which are no considered weeds. Hmmm, we were happy our grass as filling in at one point... LOL

Wednesday, Febuary 10

As I went about my morning routine this morning, it dawned on me. I am not as draggin' bottom tired as I am used to being. I do not have to "Revv myself up" or try to throw myself into a productive manic mode in the morning.

This isn't so profound by itself. The only time I have ever woken up alert and ... friendly? in the early mornings is when I am pregnant, and only being pregnant twice in 4 years pointed that out to me. I've also been diagnosed as bi-polar, with OCD tendancies and borderline personality disorder. Due to finantial difficulties, I have no health insurance, and have been holding my own (pretty well even). I've recently started seeing a Naturopath, in hopes of taking care of my health naturally.

I've been sick this week. the symptoms started up Saturday night. First it wrecked havoc on my sinuses, and now it's migrated to my lungs. I was up a lot last night due to constant coughing, even after a breathing treatment. I'm not stating this for pity, but rather giving you the whole picture. This is just a normal cold, and it will be gone in a day or 2 more :)

So this morning, when I realized that I had been awake, only consumed 1/2 a cup of coffee, and there I was- talking with DH and planning out my day... AND I had the energy to DO it! Oh my goodness, do you know what this could mean for my family????

I can't wait to see how I am feeling when I am recovered from this cold! If i am feeling human while sick and sleep deprived, I can't imagine.... ohhhhh the possibilities!!!

Naturopath Visit

I went to my Naturopath again yesterday, while my mom stayed here with the girls. I was able to barrow her van to get to my appointment, since DH was working. The baby came with me, and fell asleep on the ride there, and stayed asleep even after I put him down so that she could work with me easier.

The supplements that she ordered for me were in. I am taking 3 supplements, and we'll see how I am doing in 2 weeks. The first one is Adrenal (2 in the morning), it will help level out my thyroid and help bring up my energy levels to where they belong. The next one is Paraplex (2, 2 times a day), this one is to bring up my blood pressure. The last one is Cholacol (1 w/ every meal with fats or oils), this one with replenish the bile salts my body lacks (gallbladder removed) for digesting fats and oils. I am not to use the Unswitching unless I feel I need it, and I am to call her first.

The unswitching seems to have worked. I had one night where I took it, and woke up at 2 am in full Manic Swing. It took me about 12 hours to get a hold of myself, but since then, I have been doing better. The manic swing is now gone :) and I didn't crash hard either.

I DID pick up a cold. *ugh* So did my oldest. So far, everyone else is ok.

Improvements in school

My big girls have been working hard at doing their studies, both completely and daily! Here is Dd's 2nd grade writing assignment for yesterday:

Hehehe I only had to spell a few things for her!

DD has been improving in handwriting, here is her assigment in Spelling for yesterday:

I should also mention that DD got an 88% on last weeks Chapter 2 Math test, and Dd got an 80% on her last Math test too :D GOOD JOB Girls!