Eloise’s Monthly Photo

May 6, 2013 by Summer

Ellie you are all over the place these days. I can barely keep up with you! You are crawling like a pro and now want to pull yourself up on everything. We are trying to baby proof the house as best we can so that we are not constantly having to redirect you. We thought you were getting a tooth finally, but it has yet to show its toothy face. You are loving listening to all sorts of music on the record player these days and you have finally taken to baths. You took your first bubble bath tonight before bed! Nursing has turned into an olympic gymnast sport and you seem to be uninterested in solid food either these days. You are moving and exploring and you have no time for anything else. Including sleep and diaper changes. Watch out world! Ellie is moving!

Weekending!

May 6, 2013 by Summer

Doggie walks, yard sales, hot weather, cooler weather, nine month old photo shoot outtakes, driving by the fire damaged hillsides, visits with Gramma, Grandpa and Auntie Katie, listening to the Reading Rainbow theme song over and over, springing up areas of the house, a baby girl making it all the way up the stairs (yikes!) and getting a mirror for a special someone’s bedroom. These are all things that made up our weekend. How was yours?

*linking up with Amanda.

Portrait Project

May 4, 2013 by Summer

18/52

eloise: your mama has been very busy making you your very own room. You have always been near us, sleeping with us, in a carrier close to our hearts… but now you are crawling and pulling yourself to a standing position all over the house and all of a sudden, you are getting farther away from us then ever before, exploring the world around you. So now I’m wanting to create a safe space just for you. Somewhere you can play and crawl and climb and relax. A special place all about you. We’re still working on it but you seemed pretty happy with what we have done so far!

*joining jodi for the 52 project

This week I loved crumbbums, oanabefort and those spring time flowers, and expatriababy and that beautiful head of hair!

{this moment}

May 3, 2013 by Summer

“A single photo. No words. Capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.” -joining Soulemama. Happy Friday!

A Room To Get Crafty In

May 2, 2013 by Summer

Welcome to my new and improved craft room! It’s starting to really look crafty these days and not just like a “catch all, spare bedroom”. I’ve always wanted a room to organize and make into my own crafty space. An atilier, a studio, a room I could spend all day in sewing and crafting. Of course, with a little one in tow, crafts, specifically ones that you can not finish while nursing are off the table for now. But some day soon, I will be able to really get in there and start crafting. This past weekend, we moved a couple large pieces of furniture out of Ellie’s room and down here. I emptied the craft chest of cloth diapers and picture books and replaced them with my fabric supplies. I moved the other shelf into the closet and organized craft and office supplies in there and we moved my old desk into the room (Jeff found a beauty of a desk on craigslist a couple months back for his office, so this one is mine again). This desk serves as my sewing station and at the moment the diaper changing station as well. Cloth diapers are stored below in a wire basket that was gifted to us. (If you hadn’t guessed it, this is the changing baby room as well as Summer’s craft room).

The main wall of the room is hung with one of my favorite antique market finds- a very retro crazy quilt made from really rough and colorful materials. It’s nothing you’d want to cuddle with but I think it gives this room an awesome colorful vibe. I store my modest collection of records here too and these days you can find Ellie and I listening to some vintage Reading Rainbow or Gershwin albums. I have a long way to go with this little room to make it into a true craft room, but it’s getting there and I like what I have so far…

A Garden in May

May 1, 2013 by Summer

So it’s the first of the month (rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!) and I thought I would start it off with a peek at what’s happening (or not happening) in the garden. We are off to a slow start this year. A new space to grow things, a new climate and an almost nine month old baby are just the beginnings of what is slowing us down. Every day I want to get out there and plant or dig but there just is not enough time and Jeff has not had a chance to finish any more raised beds for us to plant in.

We have a little tray of chandler strawberries we bought as tiny seedlings from a lady at the farmers market. They seem to be doing well, except for a little white dog who enjoys munching on the berries and pulling the plants out of the box, dragging them all over the yard. These poor things have had to be replanted a few times before I finally got wise and stuck the whole thing on top of a chair. We shall see if I ever get to taste a strawberry.

This is another farmers market seedling that seems to be growing nicely in this box. It’s a black pear tomato and already has a little flower. Looking forward to homegrown tomatoes for lunch.

These are our tomatoes we grew from seed that are still waiting for a planter. I’m hoping they will survive in these larger yogurt containers for a wee bit longer while Jeff finishes their tomato planter up. I’d like to plant these all in the same box with basil beneath each of them.

We have some freshly planted parsley. Hoping to grow more of this too, but lost a whole bunch to I believe white fly? The bugs here in Ventura are killing me! All new issues we never had with our balcony garden in Orange County. I’m a novice when it comes to bugs.

We did get some beautiful heads of broccoli in our raised bed. Still combatting the aphids throughout the bed but I’m trying to cut broccoli heads away as soon as they look ready.

I’m not quite sure what’s happening with our Brussel sprouts. It seems as if some of them may be growing correctly while others seem stunted by either not enough sun or the growing aphid population. I ended up pulling one of them entirely but I think I will give this one a chance and keep spraying it with garlic spray to stave off the aphids. Anyone out there with tips? I’m all ears.

As well as broccoli heads, I have a ton of broccoli that suddenly flowered. I guess I didn’t get to it in time. We also have a few broccoli plants that are being munched on by snails once again. The bugs, the bugs!

Some snap peas that never get much taller than this. We get a couple every few months so I’m not quite sure what I’m doing wrong here either. Maybe I will try to put them in their own box all together?

So there you have it. Our May 2013 garden so far. Indeed a work in progress. We have so many plans but we seem to be moving at a snails pace. (Although the way the snails in our garden eat, we’d have a giant garden by now if we moved like they do). How is your garden growing?