The tree is up:

Night treats and time together:

And a special treat of mini golf and a Cardinal’s game with Grandma & Grandpa:

It’s that time of year again for me. Well, actually I’m a little later than previous years but it’s been hotter longer this year and I’ve been working on serious back yard changes. This morning I was able to plant my garden seeds. I’m tickled because I’m finally making my backyard my own and getting projects done that allow me to garden the way I want.

The biggest project is moving my garden planting area into a decorative border framing my yard along the walls. It has been ongoing since the first of the month when we ordered 10 cubic yards of dirt, which by the way is a big pile of dirt. Then we had to dig up the grass - manually, and redistribute the dirt from the pile to the walls - also manually.

Saturday and today marked getting the first plants and seeds into this newly prepared area:

I’m excited to take pictures in a month or so when all that’s planted has had time to sprout and grow!

Two other projects include completing my new garden spot from this spring into transplanted roses, ornamental peppers and my newly planted salsa garden.

And getting the planter boxes replanted with herb seeds and giving Cidnie her own strawberry garden box. These are the plants, she’s also growing more plants inside to add later.

It will be great fun to post “before” and “after” photos in a few more weeks as well as in coming months. I have to give it up to my kids and husband who I literally dragged into this project with me. They were real troopers helping me. I personally believe the seeds sown working will one day sprout into important and valuable traits and skills that far surpass the immediate nature of garden veggies and pretty flowers. Although I love those too!

She keeps growing without permission. I find myself looking back at what felt like yesterday, even though the calendar says different, and wondering if I’ve given her everything I wanted to. I can’t help but think about life before my Cidderbug and how grateful I was to finally get her in my arms. Now she’s squirming away into the uncharted waters of young womanhood. Does she know how much I love her? Does she know how sad I am when she’s sad? How my heart aches when she struggles with something challenging? How proud I am of her every accomplishment?

Sometimes the daily hum drum of life drowns out the important things. I relive all the moments and mistakes when the patience ran thin. My memory is longer than hers for most of these things - thank heaven for tender mercies. We are our own worst critique they say. Most of the time I find myself treating my measuring stick like a bank register except I only ever seem to record the deficits. But then you get those glimmers when your child does something that makes your heart so proud it feels it might burst, those moments when you know you did something right. Those are the times when the Lord steps in and writes in your deposit for you.

Parenting is a whirlwind. It’s a crash course of learning you never knew possible. The climbs are harder and steeper than you thought you had the energy or strength for, and the views are incredible beyond description. The time you have them in your clutches is far shorter than the time they’ll spend being independent, yet when they’re young it consumes you to the point you can’t imagine them growing beyond you. And then you turn around and there they are looking back at you.

Amazing what a few minutes of building a marble run with my son will buy. *wink* Thanks to helping him build this I got a whole hour of nap time! Yay for marble runs!

Incidentally, as an owner of two sets, I have advice to share for anyone considering them. The first set I bought was a wooden one with colorful blocks and sections of rectangular runs. It looked fantastic but it showed manufacturing thoughtlessness in the design and cut. The run grooves were all completely flat so the marble wouldn’t roll; they should have been cut on an angle creating a slight slope. Unfortunately the blocks were all cut to the same sizes with no wedge pieces so if you tried to manually create a slope it would be too high or too low and cause the drop holes not to align. In short, it looked great and wood lasts, but it never worked as a marble run.

I should like to note here that as a little girl I remember hours spent playing with my cousin’s marble run. It was nothing more than a single column with sloping zigzag style rows. Proof to me that often less is more.

I purchased this plastic marble run set from a company called Mindware. It’s been a great toy and has been used and abused without breaking. My only wish on this set is that it had a few more collection bases for multiple runs and few more pieces. For example, there’s a 3 run connector piece that allows three runs to come to one hole for collection, but I’ve found the more helpful one would have been one that took one hole and split it out into several runs, especially as the connector unit’s runs are so short. Additionally, there’s a fun piece that sends the marble into a slot maze but there’s only one entrance and exit. Again, it would be even more fun if that piece had at least 2 or 3 different exit points adding more variation to the run. But all in all, this toy gets a 5 star rating from me and earning me a nap is icing on the cake!

I still can’t believe I have a tween daughter. I swear it was only yesterday that she was buttering the Yorkie and squealing with delight at the top of her toddler lungs. But alas, the calendar and her physical traits say otherwise.

From the onset, my little girl was a social butterfly. She simply flourishes in social settings and absolutely loves interacting with other people. She’s been lamenting the fact that she is too young for a Facebook account for quite some time now. So when I received an e-mail invitation to help test a new online social networking site for tween girls I jumped right in. The site is called My Secret Circle.

One of the sponsors is my daughter’s all time favorite girl store, Justice for Girls. This was definitely a great start. The idea is that each girl has her own unique USB port key which allows them to create and share their own circle of information with chosen friends. The set they sent me was a dual pack with one key for my daughter and another to share with a friend or sibling.

What I like about this is the security aspect of my daughter having fun online with her friends. However the security comes with a price. The downside of the network requiring a USB key means there’s a high likelihood the device will get lost or broken.

I am constantly amazed at how much my daughter wants to interact and be a grown up. I think this product has the ability to help fill a specific niche for those girls too young to be teens and doing teen things, but wanting so much to feel as big as one.

This is more closely aligned to the nature versus nurture argument than I’ve realized previously. I’ve made comparisons in the past to life and gardening. There is a great deal of wisdom to be found in these types of comparisons. Today I’m reflecting on the values and impact of past and present actions.

Specifically, I’m thinking on the role of parenting. I’m seeing first hand how so many things I’ve done with my kids are traced back to planting the right seeds. Constant attention and cultivation down the road bear priceless impact, but what was planted in the beginning is absolutely critical. You simply can’t make a tomato plant bear a different kind of fruit.

I’ve always heard how important and formidable the early years of life are. I’ve always known it was true, but I’m only now starting to realize the depth of this truth. As a parent, the number of days you shake your head and wonder if ANYTHING you are trying to teach is making it anywhere are far more frequent than the rays of light when you can see successful penetration. Your kids are like precious little geodes. They are developing the most beautiful and intricate crystals of their character on the inside, but you will most likely be exposed most often to a tough and ugly outer shell as the parent.

Today I’m thinking on how much influence you really do have on those forming crystals inside. It is just like gardening. The best crop comes from early preparation of the soil and care in planting. Cultivation of the growing plants can overcome a lot of problems, but it can’t make up for what was or wasn’t planted. The upside is that it’s never too late to plant. The growth and ability for full potential of what is planted may diminish with time, but the ability to plant new seeds isn’t lost with age.

Some of the most important seeds I’ve been observing in the past several months include:

• Importance of a strong and good work ethic
• Kindness and compassion
• Personal responsibility
• Honesty
• Desire and determination to excel
• Cleanliness
• Respect

There are plenty more seeds that are worthy of mentioning. I think there are core seeds that branch out into other areas, perhaps even become the foundation of several smaller seeds. Equally true is the reality that just planting isn’t enough. Great seeds can be planted and never grow if they receive no care or cultivation. I’ve also been pleasantly surprised in my life to witness seeds that were planted yet remained dormant, suddenly spring to life with great success when the right care was given. Yes, I believe there is a great deal of comparisons to be made between gardening and life. I’m grateful for the seeds I’m witnessing growing with strength in my own children. I hope I’m planting enough of the right ones and cultivating them adequately for full potential to be reached. The harvest is truly the proving point of your greatest satisfaction of disappointment. I pray I fall on the side of satisfaction.

How do you buy some quiet time? You simply set up an art project!

I find this headline today not only interesting but fairly accurate:

Today’s tykes: Secure kids or rudest in history?
Parents’ focus on self esteem may neglect compassion for others
by Susan Gregory Thomas.

The article cites a few examples of rude, over protective parental reactions and how it may be impacting their children. There are shared concerns by many of this disruptive and inconsiderate behavior that seems to be on the rise.

“It may be that today’s parents are so fixated on their children’s emotional well-being that they’re teaching them that the well-being of others is comparatively unimportant”, says Dr. Philippa Gordon

I find this very interesting as well as accurate. I also agree with the author and those interviewed that no one will want to hire these inconsiderate children when they grow up. We could be raising an entire generation of bad, stinky apples; those who are too ripe for their own good. I hope I can teach my kiddos to stay green and growing all their lives. No one likes an arrogant know-it-all.

I’ve shared posts in the past about the lack of decorum today, the concerns for youth who aren’t learning basic communication and social skills. While I may not declare this article’s title an epidemic I’d certainly have to agree that rudeness is on the rise.

I’m not sure what I did for entertainment before my kids. I didn’t think there would be a drama bug that could rival his sister, but Taylor continues to give her a run for her money. Neither of my kids can just tell you something, they have to show you through extreme facial expressions, reenactments and voice inflections. Singing is a regular pass-time at my house for both. Cidnie starts every day with a strong voice, which typically insights some displeased comments and requests to stop from her brother. This pattern is repeated after school in reverse. While they both have their preferences for types and styles, they also both know each others well. Case in point, Taylor fell asleep in the early evening on Wednesday this week (the afternoon swim wore him out), when he woke in that groggy state on the couch he immediately started singing along with the words to the High School Musical 3 song playing on the TV at the time. We all busted up.

Now, Blake is a big culprit for helping feed the words and sayings that his kids might say incorrectly. He’s also recently been educating Taylor on the finer points of movies he missed out in the early 80’s like Flash Gordon paying special interest to the music. Stellar times for mom. Well, when Iron Man came out in movie theaters, the theme song became a regular at my house for a while. Its influence carried over into Halloween as Tay dressed up like him. However, when Taylor was learning the song he always added an “r” in the do-do phrases. Blake was happy to help feed this, so now when we all sing it we throw in a hick “rrrrr” so it comes out dur,dur,dur,dur….instead of do,do,do,do…

Last week Taylor came home with this:

There’s no question who it is or what song, complete with hick “r” is represented.