ReBoot

Damian and I are juicing again this week.  I am committed to breaking my sugar addiction!  And yes, it is an addiction.  So is fast food and any other processed food (really, they're not food at all).  I've put on a few pounds since moving back to Kansas and that is NOT okay.  With spring right around the corner, now is the time to reverse this trend.

My standard go to juice for any time of day is a combo of apples, carrots and a dark leafy green such as spinach or kale.  We use and Omega Juicer we purchased while Damian was in school.  Today I'm trying this celery detox recipe for lunch:

1 apple
half beet (I juice the greens as well)
3 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 handful of parsley

On a different, yet related topic, I am so excited to get busy in our garden.  We are starting from scratch this year.  I haven't planted anything yet due to the 12+ inches of snow we received.  Also, I don't have my soil freed from the crab grass.  Yes, I realize that will never completely happen, but I want to get as much out of there as possible.  Anyway, I plan to get some potatoes, radishes, and lettuce in soon.  Our tilled space is roughly 24x34 feet.

Daily Joy

No matter where I have lived, whether it be in the city or country, I have delighted in watching the wild birds.  Since moving to the country, the experience has been especially enjoyable.  Birdwatching out our west facing window, gazing upon the recently erected bird feeder, house and bath is a daily source of joy.

This picture is a Red-bellied woodpecker.  He has a bright red mohawk for a head and touch of red on his lower belly, hence his name.  Here is my list of birds spotted at our feeder and around the property:

1. Dark eyed junco
2. Red tail hawk
3. Robin
4. House finch
5. Sparrow
6.Gold finch
7. Cardinal
8. Starling
9. Downy woodpecker
10. Red bellied woodpecker
11.Turkey vulture
12Bluebird (at first I thought it was a Western Bluebird because I thought it was all blue, but after looking in my book, I'm not sure.)
13. Red winged blackbird
14. Mallards (in the lagoon)

I know they're not unusual or exotic, but they are all beautiful and so fun to watch.

It's been awhile, I know.  In light of the Valentine season, I give you this love song.

Look Out! Here We Come. Summer is Here.

We've had a busy week here as summer activities are underway. 

Clara attended Uncle Carl's Camp at Kauffman Museum.  It was archeology themed.  She, of course, loved it!  Clara has also begun orchestra lessons at the high school.  We also signed Clara up for a paper route beginning at the end of June.

Oliver had his first two T-ball games this week.  He is enjoying himself while learning some baseball fundamentals.

I began babysitting this week for a 4 year old boy and his 1 year old sister.  So far so good.

Public Library events have been attended.

Swimming has occurred.

A turtle rescued and released back to the wild.

We have been looking in on Catia's chickens while their family is on vacation.

Damian works at his clinic during the day and delivers pizza at night for Papa Johns.

Weed pulling and watering of the garden.  And a little harvesting, too.

Prairie Path Wool

After two unsuccessful craft shows this year and a rejection to another, I have been thinking a lot about my Etsy shop.  2010 was an amazing year, both online and at craft fairs.  2011 was far behind 2010 in sales.   I did close the shop during the summer months last year so we could move, but those are slim months anyway.  This year has been even less fruitful than last year, making me question pretty much everything about my shop and product.  I haven't made any big decisions yet, but I am doing much analyzing.  I reopened my vintage shop and am selling a few things from there.  In the meantime, I have made a monster for Oliver.  He saw monsters at the last craft fair and wanted one very much.  He drew a picture and I copied it as best I could.  His name is Flouride.

Crackers

We rescued this guy from the road over by Braums.  We kept him for a few days before returning him Sand Creek.  I named him Crackers because the back of his shell is cracked.  He was probably run over.  His back legs do not function very well so he has difficulty getting up on a surface to bask in the sun.  He seems to swim okay, though.  Hopefully he can survive back in his native habitat.  He was so thrilled when we released him.  He shook his hind end and swam his heart out!

Chickens and Garden

We have all been enjoying our chickens.  Besides the three chicks we purchased, we inherited two full grown bantams from Phil.  We are currently enjoying eggs from the bantams and look forward to when the chicks start laying.

Damian did an awesome job building the coop and run.
Many recycled materials were used so he had to be creative.
The only thing left to do is paint. 

Fluffy and Goldie

I had a $0 budget, so I got creative with branches for trellises.

Pumpkins I found growing in the compost pile.
Transplanted and thriving.
These garden pictures were taken a couple weeks ago
 so everything has quadrupled in size from what you see.

End of School Events

All three children had special end of school events this year.  Clara had a concert.  Oliver had kindergarten recognition.  And Isabel graduated from preschool.

Clara participated in a district-wide 4th grade choral concert.

Oliver had kindergarten recognition.

Oliver and Catia with their friend Tess.  They were all in the same class!

Isabel "graduated" from Community Playschool.  Here she is with her friend Violet.

Newest Members of the Family



"Henrietta"
Clara's chick.
She is a brown leghorn.

"Henrietta" and "Fluffy"
Ollie's chick.
Fluffy is a Silver Laced Wyandotte.

"Goldie"
Izzy's chick.
She is a buff orpington.

The chicken's future home!
We are trying to use as many
recycled materials as possible.

Halloween

Izzy wanted make up on her face.

Ollie's pumpkin design had a scary face!

Clara made a nice prop for her costume: "Hogwarts, A History" textbook

Hermione, Spiderman, Belle

Ollie with his friend Gaven

All Day Kindergarten

After waking early Monday morning with great excitement for all day kindergarten, Oliver (and I) realized he needed to stay home due to a case of pink eye.  He was extremely bummed and tears were shed.

With the same enthusiasm upon waking this morning, Oliver headed off to school.  We saw a beautiful double rainbow as we turned the corner to Slate Creek on our bikes.

The first thing Ollie asked me after school today was if sticking up his middle finger was saying a bad word.  My initial thought was "Really?  REALLY???"  Those idiotic parents, poisoning my 5 year old on his first real day of school.  Not only that, but the little boy told Oliver that if he ever did it he would go to a bad place with smoke.  Can you imagine what else these parents tell their children?  Shame on them.

It has bothered Ollie the rest of the day.  He was (tired) crying before bed about how he had a bad day because this boy was bossing him and saying mean things.  Then all of a sudden he stopped, stood up straight and said "I need to draw a picture."  He went to the kitchen floor with a piece of paper and markers and this was the result.

from a sweet, sensative boy

Bath Time

Ever since we got Taddy back the kids have been begging to bathe her.

Oliver in his element!  Seriously, this kid has a spiritual connection to water.

The Story of Taddy

In the spring of 1999, while taking a class at Bethel, Damian brought home an abandoned puppy.  We placed an ad in the newspaper, but nobody claimed her.  We decided to keep this young puppy with floppy ears and name her Taddy. 

When Damian made the decision to go to chiropractic school in Texas, we knew we had to give her up.  She was not an apartment kind of dog.  Luckily, a friend was able to take and care for her.  We were unsure of Taddy's whereabouts after this friend moved out of state.

After I moved back to Kansas, while Damian was still in Texas, I randomly looked on the Caring Hands Humane Society's website.  To my great surprise, there was Taddy.  She had just been there a couple of days.  Of course I immediately contacted Damian.  And the rest is history.  We rescued her once so we figured we could do it again.

Izzy's First Day of Preschool

She was so excited!  She insisted on taking her backpack complete with a hair brush, pencil and piece of paper.  She had a great morning at Bethel College Mennonite Church.  Since Ollie's kindergarten is in the afternoon, we had him to ourselves for 2 whole hours.  That was fun and he enjoyed it.  We made a special trip to the Et Cetera Shop.

Wash Day

Free Admission to Sedgwick County Zoo

baby meerkats and giraffe feeding

Back to School Fashion Show

Thanks to the generosity of Grandma Verna, all three kids have new shoes and clothing for the next school year!  Here is a taste.

Graduation

It's a little hard to believe that Damian has graduated and will soon be a licensed doctor!  Our three years in North Texas, though at times seemed sluggish, did indeed go by rather quickly.

During Damian's graduation weekend, I was so busy hosting and feeding family and friends that I hardly took any pictures.  But I wanted to share the few that I do have.

Damian and I attended his class banquet at the Dallas World Aquarium.  It was fun to have a "date" without children.  We didn't stay out that late, though, as Damian had patients the next morning and the late night entertainment was not to our liking.

We had an "open house" for family and church friends.  We ate Indian food and had a great time.  In this picture are our nephews/cousins Isaac, Moses, Levi and Jesse, along with church friends Rohan, Levi, and Anika Springer.

The cousins are watching The Smurfs, the original cartoon, not the new movie.  They all had a great time swimming in our pool together.  Notice the goggles on Isaac's head.  We went multiple times a day.

Because of all our transitions this summer, I decided to take a break from the blog, etsy, etc.

Now the kids and myself have moved back to Newton.  Damian will join us soon after he wraps up his school requirements.  He is bringing the majority of our household.  Living without things like dressers for clothing or a comfortable chair to sit in has its challenges.

School has started in Kansas.  Clara began 4th grade and Oliver began kindergarten.  Clara soon discovered old and new friends.  It's yet to be determined if Isabel will go to pre-school.

Thanks to a generous father who has rentals, we have a place to live.  It is close enough to ride bikes to school and church and the grocery store.  A large backyard and clothesline are added bonuses.

Finally...School is Out!

Thursday was the last day of school for Clara and Oliver.  When others around us were getting out a week or even 2 weeks earlier, the Lewsiville ISD seems to continue unnecessarily long.


Ollie's teachers Ms. Vargas and  Mrs. Perez



We've signed up for 3 summer reading programs: public library, Half Price Books (our favorite shop!), and Barnes and Noble (Clara only).

We've been swimming nearly everyday for awhile already.

We crossed off another item on the list of places to see.  We went to the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher Sculpture Garden.  Izzy acted up quite a bit in the museum.  Oliver was somewhat interested and Clara was enthralled.

At the Nasher Sculpture Garden, downtown Dallas