Busy Traveling Girly and Son

-Got the windshield replaced today finally.

-Fridge cleared out and everything I overbought for the bean's visit into the freezer or cooked. Plenty of food for the housemate to nibble on while I am gone since she doesn't cook for herself. And if she decides to, there is lots in the pantry.

-Bags are mostly packed. Have to get up at 5 or so in the morning to get us all out of the house on time.

-Gifts remembered and packed along with cards. Man, I hope I am not over the weight limit. I never have before, but I didn't have enough room in my suitcases so I borrowed Aunty N's. I tested against Parker who weighs 25 pounds and they seemed less than double him. I hope we are ok! I can't afford the extra charge if we aren't but what do you do at that point?

And so we are off in the morning. I'll post a lot when we get back including the bean's visit. Just haven't had time yet! I'll be waving to everyone as we fly over on our way home. And Parker will too. He just learned to wave.

Father's Day

I helped Parker write in a card for his dad. He put it on the mailbox as well although he didn't want to let it go. The whole day made me sad, but I called K anyway. Twice since he didn't answer the first time and didn't call us back. But he finally called back while Parker was napping.

Garden Update

Busy weekend and my trip to Cali in TWO days, but here is an update on the garden. In pictures anyway.

Rainy Day at the Park

We headed to Allen Pond Park in Bowie for the Wednesday Walkers Mom Group. However, no one else showed up! We did a lap anyway and played for a bit. I love this shot of Parker. He was raiding the diaper bag. He got out his ball (which I made for him) and then his crackers, then the banana and tried to lift my water bottle, but it was too heavy. Isn't the park beautiful? There is an island with a gazebo that is a perfect spot for a picnic. I'll take more pictures of it with my camera. The cell ones came out very dark for some reason.

Heartbreaker

This boy is going to break some hearts, starting with mine.

Blue Crabs!

I've been asked by everyone since moving here if I've had blue crabs yet. I finally stopped alongside the road and got some along with a lesson in cracking them from a very nice lady. If you are ever in Southern Maryland in Brandywine on the 301 and see a sign for crabs, stop!

I have to say getting them out of the bag and into the pot was scary. I'm sure they couldn't really hurt, but I wasn't about to find out. I wish I'd taken a picture of them uncooked because they are such a pretty blue color, but see last sentence as to why. They were lovely and delicious except for Parker's tantrum. I only got to eat two! The rest are in the fridge waiting for me.

13 Months and Fifth Tooth!

Parker turned 13 months yesterday. He is celebrating that with the arrival of two teeth. Um, if I thought teething was bad, two at the same time is...VERY bad. One finally popped through so he is a tad less fussy. He got diaper rash and a fever this time.

We went to our Wednesday Walkers this morning a little early so he could play on the swings and in the playground. I caught him trying to walk on camera finally! Don't you love his outfit? Thanks for the shorts, Auntie N!. He wasn't sure about the slide. I thought he would love it, but I think it's going to take a few more times. We have to go during naptime so he is a little shellshocked by everything, but I think it's important for us both to get out. He also got his first girl kiss today! He bravely stood still for the first one, but then turned his head and cling to me when she tried it again. I love that she is grinning in this picture, but he looks dazed. It's pre-kiss, but that's about how the kissing went down.

From Ideal Bite- LA newsletter

"A single new 1/3-ounce, 18-karat gold ring creates about 20 tons of mine waste, so remember: recycled jewelry = eco-friendly."

Garden Shots

I'm so pleased that the garden is finally starting to grow I had to share more photos. Here we have one of the three tomatoes that sprouted from seed amongst some weeds, jalapenos growing furiously, tomatoes on the vine, newly caged and some squash I picked up on Saturday.

New Things

It seems like every day I notice Parker learning something new. Today, he figured out how to back his high chair up (He likes to push it around, but used to get stuck after rammed it into something.). It's such an exciting time! He is really trying to mimic now. Um, yeah, he managed to slurp off my mocha the other day while I had my hands full. I wonder where he learned to drink those Starbucks! And he is starting to examine things, put them together in his mind and then try with his hands. I wonder how long it will be before he can knit?

Calicum

A friend of mine and I were talking about calories, diet and making sure you get enough nutrients from your food. I noticed right away when she showed me what she eats that there was no dairy. I love cheese, but I cannot drink milk. I don't like the taste of it. My friend uses this- www.fitday.com but her diet is still lacking in calicum. I stumbled across this today and thought I would share it. The milk and dairy industry does an excellent job of convincing us that we need to drink milk with every meal. I just don't agree. That article quotes a lot of different sources/data and then ends with a couple charts of foods that provide calicum. Go beans!

Name that Animal Update

I should have just asked my dad. He knew exactly what it was- a groundhog! I'd guessed that might be what it was, but got confused by the tail. He said they lose their hair in the summer. So that's what it is. Only Carmy's hopes for being friends with it have been crushed. It's vicious and not friendly at all, according to my dad. It still makes me giggle when I see it run off with its chubby belly waddling. I left it some veggie scraps today and I think I will just do that from now on. It's one less thing to stick down the drain and if it eats them, we are both happy. I can pretend I have a pet groundhog and it can add to its bellyline.

ps- My dad is so smart! Love you, Daddy!

Save Our Planet

Something I find so important to pass along to Parker are ways to save our planet. I fully plan on dragging him along to clean up the shores/waterways here. The Chesapeake Bay has numerous dead zones and has been in serious danger for years. I can't wait to pick up trash with him once he is older (I'd need a baby sitter now) and I'm doing my part to help protect it from further damage. International Coastal Cleanup day is Septemer 19th. Check out this link to find out more on what you can do every day to reduce your carbon footprint.

I recycle, take short showers and choose the cold setting when doing laundry. I try to fill Parker's bath as low as possible and give him a bath every other day. I reuse the water from his wading pool to water the garden. And we are growing quite a bit in the garden. That's definitely something I want him to learn to love. My mom gardened and had to have given me the love for it. I find it so relaxing to weed and tend to plants. The things I grow taste a million times better than what is found in the stores and I know they are full of the love that I put into them. I support the local farmer's market as well. Try going to one this weekend. It's really fun to just walk through and find gorgeous produce that begs you to eat it. I also make most of our food from scratch. It's much healthier than convience foods. I get to control, for the most part, what goes into the end product and I choose organic when I can. I'm on a budget and as much as it pains me, I have to feed us on a limited amount, so organic is not always what we can afford. I have found that here in the Eastern Seaboard, Giant Grocery Stores has a great house line of inexpensive organic foods. I'm very impressed with how reasonable their prices are.

 I also prefer to make gifts rather than buy them. It's so important to support those who are taking the time to create one-of-a-kind items. Check out etsy.com I'll be selling there soon once I get through making some gifts for my family.

Here are some other links- 

http://www.coolmom.org/assets/docs/coolMom_10Things.pdf

And a website about a book by my favorite author, Barbara Kingsolver,  that just made me love her more.

Also another book link- http://www.michaelpollan.com/omnivore.php

Enjoy and treat our planet right! If we all just do one thing to save the planet, what a difference that will make.

Update on the Garden

Things are not growing so well out here. At least not the flowers or the spinach.  Or the this and that. BUT these are growing well. Cilantro gone crazy and about to bloom alongside wild chives, corn shoots (I counted 21 so far), tomatoes (We have 8 plants with three heirloom started from seed), and a jalepeno pepper which I wouldn't have expected to do well here at all!

Please help me out and identify this animal!  http://www.flickr.com/photos/30854945@N08/3588944127/

The Blanket Monster!

In honor of the many many blankets my son has.

Shoes

For someone who doesn't like her feet, I sure love my shoes! Or maybe that's why. I just know these are possibly the cutest sandels on the cutest boy ever! How could you not want to just die from the cuteness? His vans come in as a tie though. I just don't have good pictures of him wearing them.  Vans post to follow!

Some Gifts

I'm fairly certain my parents don't read this...If they do, they now know what their presents look like! I've had very little time to knit lately, but with the visit home less than a month away, I had to devote some time to making presents. There is nothing like sitting outside on a hot muggy morning with a jumble of yarn on your lap. Need I say more? Oh, if anyone is interested in the pattern for my dad's scarf, I posted it on my rav. It's simple, but manly. I like it!

Parker's Torn Jeans

We had to retire these. His knees were getting scraped through the holes. Aren't they so cute though? I love that I found him acid wash jeans.