Garden Party & New Spaces To Plant

With Miss Mia constantly digging up the backyard, we’ve decided not to plant a vegetable garden this year. I’ll miss tending to the veggies, but it is for the best. Instead of planting the backyard, we are moving the pretty flowers to the front yard.

One very chilly and rainy Saturday, we headed off to a local hardware store that was having their yearly Garden Party. Agnes and I were so excited to go, the boys not so much…

Agnes and I headed to the greenhouse, and the guys headed indoors to look for a few items.

We wandered through the greenhouse a few times, and Agnes said we needed a cart.

Since this was our first time planting on the west side of the house. I asked a super-friendly lady for some advice on what grows best. She had some great advice, and introduced me to a new flower too.

We filled our cart, and went off to find the guys.

Since it was so cold, we brought all of the new plants indoors and decorated the foyer.

I have to say, I loved having all of the flowers in the house. The foyer smelled just like a florists shop.

The bright flowers cheered up a chilly day too.

The next day the weather warmed up, so we headed to the front yard to do some work. James got out the weed-eater to work on the bulb plants that were done for the season, and I set in on weeding around the flag pole. The kids helped a bit too. They picked up sticks, and had fun running around the yard.

We decided to start a new flowerbed around the tree on the side of the yard. James and the kiddos found stones in the backyard to make the new flowerbed. The chore kept the big kids busy.

The new flowerbed has lots of shade. I planted several shade loving daisies.

I hope they do well in their new home.

We still have a few more spots to plant in the front yard. I love the new spaces to garden though. I think another trip out to the nurseries is in order. Well as soon as the rain stops.

 

Earth Day Trip to the Nursery

On Earth Day Agnes and I headed out to visit one of our favorite places, Redbud Nurseries.

Visiting Redbud has become a tradition of ours. We wander around the greenhouses, and get ideas for our garden.

Agnes has become a big fan of the greenhouse. She was wandering through the flowers, and said “Mommy this is my very favorite place.”

I have to agree with her. It is one of my favorite places too.

I could wander through the greenhouses all day.

We took lots of photos, and jotted down some ideas too. Then came the tough part, picking out a few flowers to bring home with us.

Agnes prefers flowers that are pink. I am partial to succulents, deep red flowers, and orange daisies too.

We finally made up our minds, and we found lots of great plants to kick-off Spring planting.

It was a fun way to celebrate Earth Day!

April’s Favorite Photos

The month of April flew by way too fast. It was a funny month though, the weather was cold, and we had one heck of a hail storm. We took the kiddos bowling, and added a few new plants to the house.  I have a few of my favorite photos from the month to share.

Mr. Thade

Mr. Dylan

Miss Agnes

Crazy-hair day at the kiddos schools. Agnes had to have crazy hair too.

Taking the kiddos bowling.

A few new tiny succulents.

Oh hail!

My favorite spot in the house.

The kitty has been hiding out from me lately… But here are a few of little Miss Mia.

She has been in our family for a year now, and she has changed a lot.

We’ll see what May brings our way. Hopefully some better weather.

 

April’s Tasty Treats

I seemed to be in the kitchen non-stop through April, but I didn’t get too many pictures. I’ll have to do better in the month of May.

We have been on a homemade ice cream kick lately. Thade wanted to make a triple chocolate batch, and I was happy to make up a new recipe.

Our triple chocolate ice cream started off with a chocolate base, and we added in some mini chocolate chips.

I also made a batch of homemade hot fudge sauce. We added in a ripple of the hot fudge to finish off the triple chocolate ice cream.

It was crazy tasty!

The homemade hot fudge sauce was tasty on vanilla ice cream too.

I’ve been making ahead a few meals to have for fast lunches for the boys. I made up a big batch of Turkey and Cheese Rolls. These are easy to pack into lunch-boxes.

For breakfast for dinner night I made a KS favorite, Sausage Rolls. They were delicious.

I’ve also been rotating in new quick snacks for the kids. They liked the batch of Toffee Bars.

We made lots of chocolate chip cookies too.

Agnes and I needed a tasty treat. I topped off the last of the homemade vanilla ice cream with Bananas in a butter & brown sugar sauce. I loved it.

I made a quick batch of Irish Soda Bread for Sunday dinner.

I liked it best with Strawberry Jam.

At the end of the month I made up a batch of homemade Strawberry ice cream.

It has been my favorite that we’ve made so far.

May has been busy already. I’ve been back in the kitchen baking, and menu planning for Summer. I’ve been having a time keeping the pantry stocked, the boys are eating everything in sight. Time to get back to it.

 

May’s Monthly Dinner Menu

April flew by way too fast. May already looks like it is going to do the same. The kids only have sixteen days of school left, and then it is time for Summer. I’ll be cooking even more with the boys home all of the time. This month I’m taking a little help on Friday evenings. I’m taking a little break and planning for some take-out meals. So here we go, it’s May’s Monthly Dinner Menu.

  • 5/1/13: Chicken Chow Mien, Rice, and Chow Mien Noodles
  • 5/2/13: Popcorn Chicken, Fries, and Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
  • 5/3/13: Take-out!
  • 5/4/13: BBQ Pork Sandwiches, and Potato Chips
  • 5/5/13: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Cheese Dip, Homemade Salsa, and Re-fried Beans
  • 5/6/13: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Cheese Dip, and Homemade Salsa
  • 5/7/13:Panko Chicken Sandwiches, Potato Chips, Chocolate Cake with Homemade Chocolate Ice Cream
  • 5/8/13: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, and Homemade Breadsticks
  • 5/9/13: Pulled Pork Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Cheese Dip, Homemade Salsa, Cheese Dip, and Re-fried Beans
  • 5/10/13: Take-out!
  • 5/11/13: Pancakes, Apple Slices, and Bacon
  • 5/12/13: Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Homemade Rolls, and Pig-pickin’ Cake
  • 5/13/13: BBQ Pork Sandwiches and Potato Chips
  • 5/14/13: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 5/15/13: Chicken Chow Mien, Rice, Chow Mien Noodles, Banana Cake, and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
  • 5/16/13: Chicken Burritos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, Cheese Dip, and Re-fried Beans
  • 5/17/13: Take-out!
  • 5/18/13: Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Pasta Salad, Homemade Rolls, Peach Pie, Cherry Pie, Dutch Apple Pie, and Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
  • 5/19/13: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 5/20/12: Chicken Chow Mien, Rice, and Chow Mien Noodles
  • 5/21/13: Chicken Noodles, Mashed Potatoes, and Homemade Rolls
  • 5/22/13: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, and Homemade Breadsticks
  • 5/23/13: Beef Soft Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, Cheese Dip, and Re-fried Beans
  • 5/24/13: Take-out!
  • 5/25/13: Belgian Waffles, Strawberries, and Bacon
  • 5/26/13: Pot Roast with Potatoes, Homemade Rolls, and Pumpkin Pie
  • 5/27/13: Hamburgers and Chips
  • 5/28/13: Pulled Pork Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, Cheese Dip, and Re-fried Beans
  • 5/29/13: Pizza Rolls, Pasta Salad, and Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
  • 5/30/13: Tacos, Tortilla Chips, Homemade Salsa, and Cheese Dip
  • 5/31/13: Take-out!

Time to make some lists and get to it. I think I had better make some cookies today too.