Finding Myself

Since this post I have been working very hard on being the mom I used to be and I am thrilled to share that things are improving. I am speaking kindly to Princess and we are playing together more. We are laughing more and having fun. I have to work hard to stay on this path. I am still not perfect, but I am not striving for perfection. I asked Princess how I was doing and she told me that I "get all check marks", that it's all good now. It still isn't easy and I must remember to fill my cup so that I can continue to be the best mom I can be. Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Hoot! Hoot!

Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes makes THE cutest little critters I have ever seen. She is a homeschool Momma with her own Etsy shop where she sells these cuties. I have been following her blog for some time now and what an awesome blog it is!! I have gotten so many ideas and learned so much from her. A while back she had a giveaway and Princess and I won!!

Check out our Hootenanny! Isn't she so cute?! She came in a fabric bag with a tag listing everything about her. Her favorite colors are pink & purple. She loves Star Wars, wants a set of drums to play music for her Hootenanny family, and loves to be a Princess. Go figure!! She is the perfect Hootenanny for our Princess! ;) Head on over to Lisa's blog and check out her Etsy shop, too! Thanks so much Lisa! Princess LOVES her little Hootenanny and has incorporated it into her imaginitive play.

Park Day

Every Wednesday, all summer long, you can find us at Cook Park in Tigard at the homeschool park day. It's a place for us unsocialized homeschoolers. ;)

We got there before the others, so Princess did some sand play on her own. Pay no attention to the ugly fence in the background. They are doing some park renovations.

On a hot sunny day, the kids found some shade and some privacy. Freckle grabbed my camera for these shots.

She then hid behind a tree and snapped some very rare photos of me, the Shady Lady.

We hang out, talk and knit. It's one of the few times we get almost uninterrupted knitting time. Fun times!

By the end of the day the kids were filthy. They must have had a good time. I know I did. =)

Swinging

Yesterday it happened. Princess has been trying since the beginning of the season. Inevitably, she would give up and ask us to push. We knew it would come, we just didn't know when. She is over the top with glee that she can finally swing all by herself.

Dog Play

Princess has a variety of little animal figures. On this particular day she tried to make a pile of dogs.

Then she gave up on the dog pile and decided on just two dogs.

She was finally satisfied with this.

I just had to giggle.

An Amazing Weekend & MY FIRST GARDEN EVER

It felt like an early summer this weekend. We hit 82 yesterday. It was my goal to be outside as much as possible and I have to say, I believe I accomplished my goal. Saturday morning we walked to the Beaverton Farmers Market. I love the location of our house! We can walk so many places!! We strolled around the market for a bit (not long enough for me....maybe next week) and then Princess wanted to head over to the fountain for some water play.

The Lizard King finished work early on Saturday, so we got a jump start on our garden. On Sunday he built a step onto the deck, extended the deck to have a place for the grill and added some fence for climbing plants. Yes, the man never stops. (He also washed his jeep, vacuumed out both vehicles and I forget what else.)

Did I mention that I have never gardened before? Ever! Here is my first ever garden:

Here we have rosemary, flowers, spinach, snap peas & strawberries.



Brussel sprouts and some red lettuce

Red lettuce, romaine & chard

Onions (Walla Walla), cucumbers, red bell peppers, yellow bell peppers& serranos

Tomatoes, pole beans, peas, zucchini, yellow squash, carrots

We even had time for a date, just LK and me! We went to a restaurant, ate outside and talked to each other without interruption. Wow! Thank you Freckle for bringing over Blue Eyed Boy and Toothless Fairy for a babysitting playdate. You so totally ROCK!

Wardrobe Wednesday

As you all know, it's important to dress for swing set construction. I'm sure you also know what a big help little ones are when building a swing set.