Lessons from 2010 Garden

Here's what we've learned this year:

1. Marigolds deter aphids, other pests and even some good ones like ladybugs. They also bring in japanese beetles. Japanese beetles will destroy a garden especially the fruit trees and bushes.

2. Eggplants need to be support with tomato cages around their base. Circular ones will do just fine.

3. All pepper plants needs either a circular tomato cage or one that you can open and wind between plants. Pepper plants that are supported will produce more peppers. The plant can focus on production instead of standing up right. I had 2 plants that were on the fringe of the winding cage and the wind knocked them right over. Now they only have 5 peppers compared to the 20 the other ones have.

4. Beefsteak tomatoes are not worth the money. These tomatoes grow in two's. So 2 tomatoes will attach to the vine at the same place. As of 7/1 I have gotten NO tomatoes off the vine. For each pair of tomatoes it seemed like 1 of the 2 would go bad thus making them both go bad. Big Boys which is what I normally use produce single tomatoes. Also Beefsteak only seem to have 6 growing on the plant at once where as Big Boy has at least 12. End result- go back to Big Boy.

5. Growing from seeds. It seems that all veggies I grew from seeds needed to be thinned out except lettuce and spinach. Okra, sugar snap peas, carrots, cuccumbers, and radishes. If you don't thin them out there's no room for expansion. Carrots and radishes can't expand out they become thin as lead. Cuccumbers won't grow upward.

6. I cannot grow cauliflower. Each time the plant gets hit with worms. Yes I spray but covering up the cauliflower head allows worms to hide and dodge the spray. Next time double the broccoli and forget the cauliflower.

7. Rapsberry patches need to have walkways. We had over 80 plants growing in 1 place. The patch was soooo big the center plants had no opportunity to get sun thus did not produce raspberries. The raspberries grew on the plants on the outside of the patch only. Great to have lots of plants but without sun and breathing room plants on the inside are worthless. We'll cut a path through the center to give all plants a chance to produce. Who am I kidding last year we started with 2 plants and now have over 80. Go figure right?!?

8. Blueberry plants need food and water. Some growers say that they don't need to water their plants. Last year we lost 2 because we did not have a regular watering schedule. This year we fed the plants in the spring and have watered everyday. Our production has quadrupled from last year. Unbelievable the difference and that's with 2 less plants.

9. Blackberries need a watering schedule. Like blueberries growers have said that not much watering is needed. Not true. I've seen blackberries dry up on the vine from lack of water. Also - one plant I pruned and the other I didn't. We had read you don't need to prune the 1st year planted. Again not true for us. The plant I pruned produced twice as much as the one that didn't.

That's all for now. If I think of more I'll start a new post.

Pruning and Pests in your Garden

Hopefully your garden is starting to get "big" in size. It's time for you to check for pests and begin to prune the plants back.

Pests - It's during this time that baby squash bugs are hatched. How can you tell if you have baby squash bugs? Look for eggs. Eggs are usually found under leaves and at the base of stalks. If you see eggs then you have babies you'll just have to find them. Baby squash bugs only come out in the cool of the morning or the cool of the evening. They are never found in the heat of the day. When adult squash bugs are laying eggs they like to hide below the base of the plant on the ground or in the loose dirt around the roots. Usually the colony can't be seen unless you have an infestation. Great isn't it. Plants of choices are mainly zucchini and squash but they also like tomatoes. Below are pictures.

Pruning - As your plants get bigger the bottom leaves will start to hit the ground. It's not good to have leaves of your plants on the ground. Most plants do not do well when watered top down so it make sense that if the leaves are left on the wet ground it will affect the plant to. Most plants prefer water at their roots only. How to know when to prune a leaf. 1- if it's touching the ground prune it. Water can cause rot or disease. I usually cut back somewhere on the stalk if possible. 2- if the leaf is starting to change colors cut it. You should only leave healthy leaves on a plant. Anything less makes the plant susceptible to disease.

Pruning tomatoes - Tomatoes usually produce stems in a Y shape. 1 part goes up, a new growth comes out in the middle of the Y and the 2nd part of the Y is the leaf stem. So the Y turns into a W when the inner new growth comes up. I prune the leaf part of the stem or 2nd part of the Y in my example. Tomatoes need to breathe (air to flow through out the plant) and sun needs to hit the ground around the plant to fight off disease. Pruning the leaf stem does not reduce the fruit production and provides room for air and sun. If you prune off the new growth you can potentially lose tomato production.

Pruning squash and zucchini - I have a previous post regarding this that includes pictures but I'll recap here. Squash and zucchini grow out from 1 root. New growth comes from the front of the plant away from the root. Prune the old leaves at the root pushing the plant forward. Also prune leaves on ground and those that are turning colors. Pruning will make these plants produce until you are sick of them. Picture 1 - Squash bug eggs on a stem
Picture 2 - Squash bug eggs on bottom of a leaf
Picture 3 & 4 - Baby squash bug
Picture 5 - Colony of baby squash bugs. Infestation is beginning

Spinach and Strawberrys

Since it's strawberry season AND we are growing lettuce and spinach in our garden I thought I'd post a recipe but before I do a quick word on how to harvest your lettuce/spinach.

To harvest lettuce and spinach pick the leaves from the outside. As lettuce/spinach grows the new leaves come up from the middle pushing the older bigger leaves to the outside. Make sure to wash the lettuce then let it sit in water for 5 minutes-that kills any lurking bugs that like to hang out on the lettuce. A row of lettuce picked correctly usaully lasts me about 2-3 weeks of eating. Make sure to NOT cut the lettuce/spinach back to the ground, doing that cuts the new leaves making it longer before you get more leaves. To have lettuce all summer long try planting new rows every 2-3 weeks. As the summer gets hotter you'll need to plant lettuce under another plant to keep it cooler. I just planted some new rows under my tomato plants so they will give my lettuce/spinach shade.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad
1 lb spinach, washed, trimmed, torn into bite size pieces
2¼ C fresh strawberries, stemmed & sliced
⅔ C sliced pecans
2 T unsalted butter

For the salad melt butter in a small skillet and sauté pecans until lightly browned and toasted. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large bowl combine spinach and strawberries.

Dressing
2 T lightly toasted sesame seeds
1 T poppy seeds
½ C sugar
2 t minced red onion
¼ t paprika
¼ C cider vinegar
¼ C white vinegar
½ C vegetable oil

For the dressing, toast the sesame seeds by shaking them over medium heat in a dry skillet until lightly browned. In a “dressing” jar combine the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, vinegars, and oil. Shake well.

To serve, place 1½ C of spinach-strawberry salad on each plate and sprinkle with a T of pecans. Spoon the dressing over top and serve immediately.

Yield: 10 Servings
Nutritional Information
Calories: 210 Total Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 5mg Sodium: 109mg Total Carbs: 36g Protein: 5g

Sweet Potato Bread

Each fall our family looks forward to gleaning sweet potatoes from the local farmers' fields. Last October I was introduced to sweet potato bread and have been making it since. Sweet potatoes are easy to grow or glean but there's one step that must be done in both cases - You need to CURE the sweet potatoes. They do not come out of the ground sweet. Who knew right?

Now some of you might be asking what is gleaning a sweet potato field. The answer is.... picking leftover sweet potatoes out of farmer's fields. When sweet potatoes are ready farmers will till the land bringing the sweet potatoes to the surface. Dump trucks and workers then come and pick all the big sweet potatoes. To glean a field all you need to do is watch the field. After the dump trucks and workers are done with a field (thus don't return for 2-3 days) then it's safe to glean it. Local farmers don't mind people gleaning because they want the sweet potatoes out of the field they just want to pick their sweet potatoes first. If you glean don't go in before the farmers it will ruin it for the rest of us when they close down their field.

After collecting sweet potatoes either by gleaning or growing you need to cure them. They do not come out of the ground sweet. To cure them you need a cool dark place (I used a 5 gal bucket last year). Alternate layers of newspapers and sweet potatoes ending with newspaper on top. Wait 7-10 days. This past year I just stuck my bucket out on the porch, out of the elements and kept it there until I needed potatoes. Worked just fine. You can also freeze sweet potatoes that have been cooked and mashed. Now that you have sweet potatoes it's time to make bread.

Sweet Potato Bread
3 C sugar
4 eggs
1 C vegetable
3 ½ C flour
2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
½ t salt
1 t nutmeg
⅔ C water
2 C sweet potato – cooked, mashed

Combine sugar, eggs and vegetable oil in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add the 2 bowls together. Add ⅓ C water and 1 C sweet potato to the flour mixture and stir. Add remaining water and sweet potato to flour mixture and stir. If desired add 1 C nuts here. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 350˚ for 1 hour. Bread is done when toothpick comes out clean.

Yield: 24 Servings (12 per loaf)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 272 Total Fat: 10.2g Cholesterol: 35mg Sodium: 172mg Total Carbs: 43g Protein: 3.3g

Lessons from Venus and Mars

Did you ever stop to think that men are from Mars and women are from Venus starts before marriage? I didn't. Not sure why but I just didn't. Today was proof that my theory is waaaay off base. Earlier both kids ended up in trouble and had to apologize to each other for what they did. Afterwards Judah decided to go to his man cave for a "private moment". Rebekah decided she wanted to go in after him and fix things. Judah told her to get out and leave him alone he needed some "time alone". Her response was to curl up on the couch, bury her head under the pillow and start crying b/c Judah was shutting her out when all she wanted to do was be with him. After I got done laughing I left them alone for a few minutes.

Later I talked with Rebekah about what was wrong. She was crying b/c Judah was taking to long in his "private moment" and she wanted to talk and play. I then went to Judah who was ready to come out of his cave. I explained how hurt Rebekah was b/c he'd stayed to long in his private time. His respons was "I know mom I could hear her crying through the wall. I found a card she wrote me saying we are best friends forever." Me: "Yes son, that's right she is your sister and will be the best friend you have outside of your wife. Maybe you should be easy on her when she's hurting so much. She only wants to be with you b/c she loves you." I convince him to come back out only to see Rebekah's response. Judah comes out and she turns AWAY from him refusing to speak when he speaks. Rebekah is not willing to let it go until she tells Judah how she was feeling. Man I thought only WOMEN did that not my 4yr old girl. She seriously has it out with him complete with explaining what he did and how it made her feel. After he acknowledged her feelings she immediately (and I mean immediately) brightened up and said "Okay let's play". Below is a card that Judah made for her to "make her feel better, mommy" and a picture showing him reading a book to her. All is well for Mars and Venus. Hopefully their future spouses will thank me for teaching them how to make ammends and how to work their Mars and Venus problems out. LOL





Letter says "I love you Rebekah you are my best friend. You will be my sister forever. I love you. The best person in the hole world."


Isn't that so sweet?

Planting schedule for 2010 Garden

So many have asked what my planting schedule will be. Below is what I'm planting and when. Hudson's Hardware in Clayton puts out an annual planting schedule for free. I've used that as a guide and just gage the weather from there.

Box 1
2/1 Carrots (seeds) = Matures 4/16

2/1 Spinach (seeds or plants) = Matures 3/17

2/15 Lettuce (plants) = Matures 4/1

Summer crop in this box is/are

5/1 Okra (plants) = Matures 6/19 grows through mid Oct

May add cucumbers or more bell peppers here

Box 2 (box on the LEFT)

2/1 Spinach (seeds or plants) = Mature 3/17

2/1 Sugar Snap Peas (seeds) = Matures 4/6 grows through June

2/15 Lettuce (plants) = Matures 4/1

Summer crop in this box is/are

5/1 Red/Yellow/Green Bell Peppers (plants) = Matures 7/14 grows through November.

Box 3

Summer crop only

4/10 Tomatoes (plants) = Matures 6/24 grows through November

2 plants of cherry

2 plants of grape/roma

2 plants of big boy

***Note - tomatoes cannot grow in the same place twice. You'll need to rotate every 3rd year. Also tomatoes in manure need 8ft stakes.

Front Flowerbed

4/15 Squash (plants) = Matures 6/15 grows through August

4/15 Squash (plants) = Matures 6/15 grows through August

Fall crop will be

7/1 Cauliflower (plants) = Matures 8/24

7/15 Broccoli (plants) = Matures 9/23

Side Flowerbed

2/15 Broccoli (plants) = Matures 4/26

3/1 Cauliflower (plants) = Matures 4/26

Summer crops are

5/1 Jalapenos (plants) = Matures 7/14 grows November

5/1 Eggplant (plants) = Matures 7/19

We are planning to build 1 or 2 4x4 boxes which will hold the following:

4/20 Cucumbers (plants) = Matures 6/14 grows through at least July

4/20 Pickling Cucumbers (plants) = Matures 6/14 grows through at least July

*** Cucumbers require a tall trellis to grow on.

How to start a box garden in Johnston Co

I've had several questions on how we got started in our gardening and what steps to take. I'll try to answer all the questions so ask away.

Why a raised bed? According to local farmers Jo Co soil is NOT the best quality for producing high quality crops. So we were told to build a raised bed and truck in our soil.

How do you make a raised bed? The dimensions for the bed are 8 long X 4 wide. We bought our wood at Lowes which costs about $50 per box (you'll use less wood if you are not on a slope). You need to be able to move around all sides of the bed and reach into the center of it. Making it too WIDE means you can't prune in the center, which is really important.
In designing the garden we staked out the bigger picture of the whole garden then each year we add 1 or 2 boxes to increase it in size. In constructing the box use wood and rope to make the box square. Then put the posts in the ground first. We add 1 post at a time and regularly check it with the wood to make sure it never loses it's shape. Hint: buying a post level really helps this process.

How deep/tall is the bed? I don't like to bend over too much so we made our beds a little taller in height than most people. Our land slopes so Paul had to take that into consideration as well. In most of our beds 1 side is a lot taller than the other. That's fine with me, the height is perfect for me to sit on a bucket and prune. The only down side is you'll pay more in dirt to fill it up. Still it's worked out great. You need to determine how much/little you want to bend over and then start with that as the tallest piece of wood.

Where do you get the dirt and how much is it? We ONLY use full compost or turkey manure. Paul has a truck which we take to Triangle Landscape Supply and fill it up for about $25 which is 1/2 ton load. It takes 2 1/2 truck loads for a boxe b/c we are on a slope and I prefer taller beds. That may not be the case for your yard.

We are planning to add 1 to 2 more boxes this month and I'll try to remember to take pictures for the blog. The new boxes will be 4X4 to connect the 2 previous rows together. Box 1 will be connected to Box 2 and 3. BTW if you are looking for a spring crop then you need to start making boxes in February as planting for crops starts February 1.

How to Make Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

Since having children I've become aware of how "toxic" our cleaners can be for them. Especially when my youngest liked to lick the area that I was cleaning. Another mom gave me this idea to make my own cleaner that not only would clean my house but wasn't toxic for the licking child. I have to admit I was skeptical that it would actually clean. I can say that not only was I wrong but this is the BEST cleaner I've ever used. Even my windows shine and no streaks.

1 gallon water.........../...........8C water
4C vinegar................/...........2C vinegar
1C lemon juice........./............1/2C lemon juice

For a smaller batch I use 1C vinegar and 1/2C lemon juice (love the smell so I use more). I pour 6oz into 2 different spray bottles. Fill with water.

Freezing Tomatoes

Freezing tomatoes are the EASIEST way to perserve your veggies for sauces all winter long. I'm not interested in spending all day/night canning so I found this way and have been doing it ever since.

Get out the following items:
A pot for boiling,
a strainer (mine fits inside the pot of boiling water),
a HUGE bowl w/ ice water in it. I set the ice water up 1st to get the water nice and cold.

Then do the following steps:
- Wash all tomatoes and slice a small X in the bottom (important step do not forget).
- Start the big pot of boiling water.
- Put a few of the tomatoes inside the strainer to wait for the water to boil. About 2 layers but not any higher.
- Once the water is boiling put the strainer inside the pot. Start your timer from the moment the tomatoes hit the water. It may take a few minutes for the water to start boiling again but blanche the tomatoes anywhere from 1-3 min. The time depends on how mushy or strong you want your tomatoes to be once blanched. I like mine a little bit harder so I blanch for around 2 minutes.
- When blanching time ends pour your tomatoes into the bowl of ice. This stops the cooking time and seals the tomato for freezing.
- Once the tomato cools off in ice (around 2 minutes) you can handle it and peel the skin off.
- I quarter the tomato or half it depending on size for freezing.
- Freeze tomatoes in a gallon freezer bag with 4C-6C of tomatoes in ea bag (w/ juice). Lay them flat to freeze so you can stack more in the freezer.
Note: Cherry tomatoes do not have to be blanched. To freeze wash and blend in the blender. Pour into freezable gallon bags by either 4C or 6C.

Click here for more pictures on Flickr

Baked Zucchini Chips - 5 star recipe

Ingredients
2 Medium Zucchini
2 Eggs
2 T Water
1 C Italian Breadcrumbs
2 T Grated Parmesan Cheese (we like cheese so I threw in extra)
1/8 t Cajun Seasoning (to taste)

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
-Cut zucchini into thin slices
-Mix egg with water in a small bowl and set aside.
-Combine breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and Cajun Seasoning on a plate.
-Dip zucchini into egg mixture then dredge through breadcrumb mixture and place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
-Bake each side approx. 5-10 minutes or until brown and crispy.

Sorry about the white stuff that "floated" into the picture.

Zucchini Bread

Here's the zucchini bread recipe I use with my zukes. Hope you enjoy.

Wet ingredients
3 eggs
2C sugar
3t vanilla
1C cooking oil
2C zucchini shredded/grated


Dry ingredients
3C flour
1t salt
1t baking soda
3t cinnamon
1C nuts (optional)


Mix wet ingredients in 1 bowl. Mix dry ingredients in another bowl. Add the bowls together (I put dry into wet - makes it easier to stir). Pour into 2 greased bread/loaf pans.


Bake 350 for 50-60 minutes


Below is a picture of my zucchini from the freezer. I shred it and freeze it in 2C or 5C bags for future recipes.
2nd picture is the finished product.

Pruning Squash and Zucchini

Someone asked me about pruning squash and zucchini. This may not be correct BUT here's what I learned from someone else and tried it and had MAJOR success. As squash and zucchini ripens you need to pick it thus allowing the plant to create more. BUT if the plant becomes overgrown and too crowded then it stops producing veggies. Over crowding does not allow for air and sun to hit down at the roots where the veggies grow. Pruning allows air to circulate and sunlight to hit the roots. If you prune too much the plant is exposed. Below are some pictures after I've pruned. I'll try to explain w/ the pictures how it works.

Pictures 1 and 2 are a view of the plants showing the new growth on the LT and roots on RT. After a section produces veggies I cut back all the leaves pushing the plant energy towards new growth. Leave a few leaves around new growth to provide the shade it needs.

Pictures 3 and 4 continue on the same line. Showing the old places that produced veggies and how the new growth keeps going. Picture 4 with my hand in it shows where the root decided to produce 2 new growth sections. Zucchini plants will develop multiple new growth sections at the same time. Currently I have 1 plant that has started 5 new growth sections. Again prune off leaves that do not have veggies growing underneath.

Pictures 5-7 show new growth sections; roots are behind the new growth. Picture 5 shows a close up of new growth w/ baby zucchinis (3) and new flowers and leaves growing. Picture 6 shows new growth from previous week with a full grown zucchini. As part of pruning if you see smaller leaves that when grown will stunt the growth of a zucchini go ahead and prune it. You can see in this picture that I pruned a few things around this zucchini to let it grow. Picture 7 shows new growth of squash. New growth for both plants grows upward until it reaches a certain size then lays back down on the ground.

This may seem like a lot of information or even a lot of hard work but it's not really. We ended up doubling the amount of produce we got this year. We had neighbors who's plants started producing the same week as ours and we are still going where theirs has ended.

Squash Muffins

I keep forgetting to post updates on our garden. Below are pictures our our first squash and what we did with them. Yummy. This is our kids favorite way to eat squash and I have to admit it tastes good to.
Picture 1 is cut up squash.
Picture 2 is cooked squash.
Picture 3 is muffin mixture and
Picture 4 is the finished product.
Here's the recipe:
1lb squash, cut into slices (approx 2-3)
1/2 C butter melted
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 C sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Boil 1 in water; add squash. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and mash. Stir in butter and egg.
In a bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir in squash mixture til moistened.
Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 375 for 20-25 min til toothpick is clean. Yield: 1 dozen

Judah's tree house

My husband and I believe in letting the kids have a say in how they want their room decorated because after all it's their room and they have to live in it - like it or not. When it came time for Judah to choose a new big boy room (entering K) he chose a jungle theme equipped with a tree house and a loft bed. It took some doing, but it's complete EXCEPT for the greenery at the top of the tree. Below is a list of things we did to his room.














Scrape the popcorn ceiling and put a flat ceiling in.














Tear up the carpet in a corner where the tree will go.
Build new floor to ceiling shelf unit to represent 1 side of the tree.
For the tree we used an existing bookshelf on 1 side and built shelves on the other. Shelves went from floor to ceiling and now hold all toys. The inside of the tree is big enough for the kids to sleep in.



Install hardwood floor inside the tree.
Install a double switch outlet and 1 plug outlet inside the tree. Installed a wall lamp for light.











Create a door for the tree with a hole in it.














Create a loft for the double bed.














Paint inside of tree 2 shades of brown. The dark brown representing inside of tree. The light brown represents the veins of the tree.
Hung outdoor lighted fireflies inside the top of the tree.
Paint loft.
Get new comforter, sheets, and curtain.
Paint room to match decor. Green on wall, ceiling is Carolina blue with white clouds.
Put plywood around outside of tree to make it round. Secure it so it won't pop out.
Plaster the tree to represent bark.
Prime and paint tree. This was a long process as I had to use 3 coats of paint to represent bark and its edging. The finished effect looks like real bark.



We hope you enjoy a few of our pictures but feel free to check out all pictures and videos at Flickr.com. :)

Cleared our Woods

As most of you (all handful that check this) know LAST winter we spent 4 months clearing a small, small, small portion of our land by hand which you can read about here. This year we saved our pennies and hired a sweet gentleman to do it for us. What a difference. Check it out below. If you are on facebook go to Angela's video section and see for yourself how the trees were taken out.

Now for the after pictures.

To see even more pictures click here.

2008 Year at a Glance starting with kitchen remodel

We were REALLY blessed in 2008 to accomplish so much in our lives, in our walk with Christ, in our finances and in our home. There's really no way to tell you all that we did but I can show you some of the house transformations. For those that do not know me well be warned. I do not understand that painting a room means chosing just 1 color and sticking to it. Most of my rooms have 2-6 colors in them with some sort of design just for the heck of it.

Kitchen before had just plain light brown or whatever it's called.

Afterwards there are 2 shades of green. The darker green is on top of the cabinets and the lighter green is underneath. To marry the 2 colors I put a series of stripes on the wall beside the sink. Accent color is red, of course, and various shades of green. In the pictures below you can see where the dark green stops in the dining room. The brown from the living room carries over into the dining room to meet the green. Originally I had red dining room furniture but hated it against the brown and green so I repainted it white again (well actually it was white then red and then white again). More rooms/projects to come on other posts.

Tooth be Gone!!!

For those you just having a good laugh at our crazy household my son pulled his tooth out last night. I was ignoring the fact that it was loose and coming out b/c after all going to school for the first time is enough on a mom. But no in a fashion that as Paul says "He's yours" Judah worked and worked at that tooth until he had it dangling out of his mouth. Then he comes in "Mom my tooth is out but it's stuck." Not believing that he would pull it so fast I look and yep it's out and dangling by a bloody strand. Great, first school and now a tooth what's next. Oh yeah he's gotten rid of the training wheels and learning to ride without. There should be some kind of warning that when your child goes to school they super speed their growing/learning process. How am I doing? Shell shocked. Last night I kept walking around saying "I can't believe he's lost a tooth." The tears I did not share last week I'm sure will be shed this coming week or the next [Rebekah starts preschool on Sept 2nd]. Click here for some pictures and a video.

More 1st for week

I was okay with 1st day of school but to have your 1st loose tooth and 1st permanent tooth at the same time is not cool with the mother. About 1 week ago Judah showed us a loose tooth but it was barely moving so we thought we had time. But oh no this morning what do my wondering eyes appear. A tooth barely hanging on and another one right behind it already poking through. Enough with torturing mommy. I do NOT want to see my baby grow up this fast. I tried to take a picture but can't so I have a video instead that Paul will have to upload.

First Day of School, Mother doesn’t meltdown but Daughter does

Today is Judah’s first day of school. Paul and I feel so blessed that we had these past 5 years at home with the kids. I’ve spent these years pouring out, teaching, shaping and molding our son. This past week he passed all Kindergarten assessments to which his teacher said “Mom, you’ve done a great job!” It’s so nice to hear that all of our hard work has paid off.

Now for those that really want to know…Did I cry? I did a pretty good job of containing myself. Rebekah on the other hand did not. Below are the records for the day.

Records

Time I got up this morning = 5:30am

# of times I’ve seen that time of the morning = ZERO

Time the kids got up this morning = 6:00am

# of times Paul tried to make me cry = too many to count

# of times Paul mocked me for wanting to cry = 45 minutes straight

# of times me wanting to cry in that 45 minutes = too many to count he kept trying to make me cry

# of times I prayed for safety at school = 1 really big long one

# of times I thanked God for allowing me these past 5 years at home with the kids = at least 5 on the way to school

# of pictures I took = 63 including videos

# of minutes I stayed at school = 25

# of things I kept remembering to tell his teacher so I wouldn’t have to leave = too many to count

# of times Judah wanted to leave with us = ZERO

# of times he cared we were leaving = ZERO

# of times I wanted to grab Judah and take him home with me = 1 but Rebekah’s meltdown [see below] began so I was carrying and running away with the younger child.

# of times I swallowed back tears and couldn’t speak from wanting to cry = at least 20

# of times Rebekah looked over at Judah’s empty car seat = at least 12

Finally

# of times tears actually left the eyes and ran down the cheeks = ZERO

# of meltdowns = 1 Rebekah not mommy. Rebekah wanted to stay with Judah and had to be carried out of school crying. That is probably THE only reason I did not cry.

You can click here for some more pictures of this momentous occasion.