some things we do

April 20, 2010: Labor

 August 25, 2010: Reap.

Watch the Thiessen's Dart race.

Dress Linus in ridiculous costumes.

Marvel at lightning storms.

Pray for pumpkins.

Wash dishes.

Luke Spielberg

This one's from today!

You've gotta walk a mile in his diaper.

Alright.  This one is sort of long and may get boring, but I don't know how to cut a video down and you've gotta hear him say, "Ow-o", and "Recy-ka-yang". 

Do not watch this if you get motion sickness

There's lots of running.  That was a phase.  Now there's lots of climbing and jumping off of things.  I have yet to capture that for your viewing pleasure because I'm not usually smiling and relaxed enough to go get the video camera when my child leaps off of things that are taller than he is. 

Phrase of the day:  "I want to play soccer like a baseball player!" - Luke

Week of Video

I realize it's been a very long time since I posted video and the reason  for that is that the batteries in my video camera died and I couldn't upload the videos.  This week I finally got around to re-charging them, and this works out perfectly.  Since I've got such a full week with Corn and Apple coming up, you get to watch a new-old video everyday!

The speech post

I can't remember exactly when this video was taken.  It was before we went to California in the Spring though, because Luke is still in cloth diapers.  Have I shown it to you before?  I can't remember.  Anyway, you get to see it again, because it is just so darn cute.  I love the way Luke has always spoken in complete sentences.  And how for a while there all of his sentences ended in "Maaaawmaaaaw".  His speech has changed a lot since this video was taken - he can enunciate much better, and his sentence structure is usually spot-on.  Usually if he says a word wrong and I correct him, he will correct it himself the very next time.  The only words we haven't perfected are:  hamburger (still hamma-ig-ater), balloon (bye-boon), and ice skating (still sounds a bit like ass-kicking). 

Lately he likes to ask me, "Did you buy this Mommy?"  about everything.  Which goes right along with his amazing ability to swipe a card and say, "On debit!"  (He takes cards out of Derek's wallet and swipes them in the chinks of the kitchen table...it's very cute, actually - especially when he's swiping a library card).  We knew having a kid would be expensive, we just figured we would be the ones doing the spending.

I light up your life

Two things that remind me of my Mom.  Ruffledy pink sweet peas (grown from your seeds, Mom!), and pulling fresh carrots out of the ground - Mom enjoyed pulling my carrots so much she didn't much care if the carrots were ripe!

I've made a few colorful additions to my favorite window in the house.  The big yellow one is on probation (do we like it?).  The square blue one is new.  And the one that looks like a bong is so weird that Derek doesn't like it - but it throws the BEST color across the room when the sun shines through it.

Can you believe it?  I've discovered this as yet untapped resource!!  Luke loves to help, and usually makes more of a mess doing it, but he's just such a cheerful worker that I've started giving him tasks.  Yesterday he vacuumed the living room.  It took him about half an hour - but I didn't have to do it!  I was SO proud.  So proud.

I gave Luke a sucker this afternoon for keeping his gitch (underwear) dry during his nap and told him that this was a special sucker because it was filled with bubble gum.  About half an hour later Luke ran over to me with blue lips, jumped in place and shouted, "I found the gum bubble!"

Later we sat on the steps of the deck drinking tea and watching Linus do "mad dog" (tearing around the yard in circles just for the hell of it), and Luke leaned over, sighed, and put his arm around me.  He snuggled a bit and said, "You yub me Mommy.  I yub you too.  You are so proud of me, and so is Grammy."  I think he's gotten the message.  Loud and clear.

of an evening

Harvest Festival weekend, and our own backyard

perhaps the most fascinating thing in the whole parade

My favorite.  Couldn't the whole parade have been bagpipers?

all the mothers in the crowd were holding their breath, but everyone else thought it was just plain awesome.

In our yard.

We spent a good deal of time at the rodeo this weekend, but of course I didn't remember my camera for those outings.  We were clapping and cheering for a bronc rider and I told Luke to shout, "Good job!"  He enthusiastically clapped his hands and when everyone in the crowd was just settling down Luke shouted, "Good job, horse!"


I did however, remember my camera for the parade, and some exciting discoveries in our very own backyard.  Luke was scared of holding the fuzzy caterpillar because he thought it looked "poke-y".  And I didn't dare show him the spiderweb because he would have spent the next half hour throwing things at it.  But what fun it is to work and explore in our own outdoor space.  We love our yard!  (and I love the fence!)

Better Late than Never

Boy, the word "TWO" really started to look like it was spelled wrong before I finished this one.  I can hardly believe it's been two years.  Two years ago I longed to hear his voice make words and tell me why he was crying (when he cried).  And now my ears are so full of his words that sometimes I have to ask him for a "talking break" so Mommy's ears can recover!  My ears are full of words like, "Feet Peas" (sweet peas), "Babing Suit" (bathing suit), "Yinus" (Linus), and "Cacamoday" (guacamole).  But what really makes my ears full are sentences like, "I will put my pants on and go to visit Grandpa in Canifoh-nuh." and, "I'm on a time-out because I disobeyed you Mommy; I'm sorry Mommy, I'll obey you." and, "I'm feeling grumpy because I was ready for dinner already." and, "I'm going peed on the toilet also!" and, "I like to run through the 'pinkler and shout 'hurray', okay mommy?  Hur-ray!".

Yogurt Head

You expect a two-year old to be covered in yogurt when left unsupervised with his bowl of yogurt. 
 You don't expect the dog to come smiling up to you with yogurt dripping down his head. 

But that's what happens.

week in review

The sweet peas in the back yard are appreciating the tomato cages Mom and I gave them to climb.

The Russian giants are really GIANT.

At the sprinkler park with cousins.

I took some pictures

I actually took some pictures today to post on the blog.  But I've been dragging my feet around here because the weekend was really really full and busy and I feel a little sorry for myself for not getting a "weekend".  But I promise there's pictures on my camera, and pictures on the way....tomorrow?  I hope.

The reason I've been absent

http://atreetocallhome.blogspot.com

Agricultural Archive for Grandma Judy

This is by no means exhaustive, but it's a start.

In my vegetable garden:

• roma, yellow plum, heirloom tomatoes
• cucumber
• dill
• basil
• carrots
• onions
• green bell peppers
• beans
• peas
• german chamomile
• zinnias
• pumpkin
• rhubarb
• chives
• strawberries
• raspberries
• mint
• sage
• sorrel
• garlic

In my flower garden:

• johnny jump-ups
• shasta daisy
• yellow daisy
• clematis
• prairie joy and raspberry parfait roses
• pinky winky, annabelle, and quickfire hydrangeas
• hosta
• voodoo and autumn joy sedum
• delphinium
• russian and purple sage
• 3 different ornamental grasses
• bee balm
• lavender
• veronica
• yarrow
• teddy bear and russian giant sunflowers
• oriental and shirley poppies
• sweet peas
• blue bells
• hens and chicks
• several bushes that I can't remember the names of
• dogwood
• mock orange
• white, yellow, orange and red lilies
• day lilies
• purple irises
• edelweiss
• alyssum
• coreopsis
• grape hyacinth
• allium
• midnight pansies
• larkspur
• nanking cherry
• a groundcover with tiny white flowers
• a groundcover with purple flowers and variegated leaves
• a succulent groundcover with yellow flowers
• lily of the valley
• peonies
• lupine
• forsythia
• amur maple
• crab apple
• hawthorn
• a cutleaf birch is on its way (by Fall, hopefully it'll be in)
• honeysuckle vine
• virginia creeper vine
• baptista ground cover (?)
• and several varieties of lawn grass :)

summer sun, some super sprinkles

All the grandkids.

Sorry I didn't get any photos of the actual food we ate.  It was really good!  I made a potato salad with locally grown potatoes, local eggs, and peas and spices from my own garden. This afternoon after I lay Luke down for his nap I went outside to plant a new honeysuckle vine and a virginia creeper behind the vegetable garden - I want them to cover the fence and intermingle.  I got carried away and ended up turning the compost, moving three delphiniums, watering a wilty hydrangea and weeding a bunch.  All of a sudden I looked up and there was a great black cloud overhead.  Just as I looked down again a raindrop wiggled in and hit the inside of my glasses.  Linus and I cleaned up our shovel and his dog toys and just as we ran in the back door there was a deluge. Wow.  I love summer.

bbq

I will upload some photos of our bbq dinner and post them tomorrow.  Today, know that I am thinking of the blog and trying to get back into the rhythm of posting daily...with a few little hiccups.  I've just spent the last hour on the phone with obnoxious internet service providers trying to sort out my business name change....oy.  You understand, I'm sure.  So I am going to go read my book until Luke wakes up from his nap - try to snatch a few minutes for The Half-Blood Prince.  Yes, I am reading it ... again.  Check out atreetocallhome.blogspot.com
There's new photos there!

an island of happiness

Today is a holiday in Canada, so Derek is home and we are all enjoying being together as a family.  We've had a hectic week leading up to this restful weekend, and so are doubly thankful for our rest. Derek has been doing odd jobs around the house (see the red caboose?  you know your daddy loves you when...), we mowed the lawn, picked sweet peas, and have been reading our books. 

I just can't believe it's August!  It makes me sad to know that Summer is so far gone.  But the garden is producing beautifully and my joy in our yard and garden is truly overflowing.  We are eating delicious peaches and plums from the states, peas and beans and onions, dill and basil from our own garden, tomatoes are well on their way, the pumpkin vine (only one of the three I planted survived) seems to be growing a foot a day - I swear if I could video tape it you would see what I mean, the baby potatoes are coming in at the farmer's market and tonight we're BBQing hamburgers and having a potato salad made from all fresh ingredients, and a summery watermelon.  I was in ecstasies over these wonderful summery goodies when I went outside to photograph my garden, got carried away and forgot that I left my sourdough bread to rise on the deck...and the dog got it.  

It had risen quite well before Linus stuck his nose in it.  I am not a patient person, and sourdough has required a lot of patience for me - and I thought this batch I had finally got everything right!  bah.  Don't you just sometimes want to drop-kick a dog who eats strawberries and raspberries off the bush, digs up and eats carrots, tears around your rhubarb chasing the cat, and then goes and eats your bread dough.....?!  Most of the time I can laugh at our vegetarian dog, but he better not discover tomatoes.  I am on tenterhooks waiting to see red(roma)...or yellow(plum)...or purple(heirloom)!