I returned home to this purple explosion after a very long summer vacation/road trip/Family Reunion. I completely missed my front yard’s shiny happy display of Peonies. And I thought I might be sad forever. Until I realized what was waiting to outshine even the show-off Peonies.

Clematis are happy in semi shade. And I’ve always wanted to have some all to myself. Now I do.

UPDATE: At bottom of post….

I tried it.

I had been against it. But I gave it a chance. I see a bunch of you doing it. But I just couldn’t see how it would work with my midnight schedule?

Today.

I got up BEFORE the kids did. That part was made effortless by the fact that last night turned into a No Bears Are Out Tonight kind of night. (Yes, my 4 year old was still up at 10:45PM.) I think they were all sleeping by 11 though?

Anyhoo… Hubby had an early meeting, he kissed me goodbye. I rolled over and thought. Maybe today’s the day. The day I get up early and check all your blogs without anyone screaming “I want to watch Ben 10!” or “Chocolate Milk!” or “Mom, she’s doing it again, make her stop!”.

And you know what? You all were right. It’s better than reclining poolside at a secluded resort in the Mediterranean, sipping margaritas. (Although I have no idea what that would be like. The Mediterranean OR the margaritas.)

But you know what I mean, don’t you?

And because I enjoyed it that much?

I’m sharing.

Some pictures of my vegetable garden. A.K.A. Carissa’s Mediterranean in a box. My kids know how much I love my little garden babies. And to cheer up Arizona’s concrete jungle.

Lettuce, tomatoes (in the tires–I’m a little bit redneck…), cucumbers, and beans. But you can’t see the beans, they’re kinda tiny.

Not yet.
It wants to grow up to be a Purple Coneflower.
Couple more days first.

Perrenials.
I need flowers.
I require them for sanity.

All Right. Who knew the tires would be so popular…?

The tires make me happy. I admit my garden geekiness. They keep my little plants warmer (especially in the spring and fall nights-by retaining some heat of the day). They help to build up the soil. They help to prop up the plants. And they are so totally recycled. You don’t want to get me started on gardening…it would take me hours, and hours and hand cramping.

The kind where you feel like a Marine. “Get more done before 6AM, than most people do all day?”. It’s been more like one of those weeks.

A follow up doctor visit for the magical pooping boy (has diarrhea one day and then seems fine the next two…and this goes on for more than 2 weeks!) turns into the child needs X-rays for the leg ache he’s been complaining about for the past week. And of course the children’s medical center is on the other side of the valley… X-rays came back negative (does that mean he doesn’t have bones?). And Hallelujah, praise Culturelle! We have now had two full days of formed poop. Wow, it’s fun being a mom.

Then birthday preparations for same boy. He’s 4 now, and party is on Saturday. We support ‘Operation Authentic Birthday Party’. Which means a backyard party with sprinklers and cake.(not at the same time) And that’s it! The birthday invites say ‘no gifts please’, and I told the couple mommies gifts would be given to charity. I’m serious about this!

Also Brandon Mull gave an assembly yesterday in my kid’s school! 5th grader is a serious fan of the Fablehaven series but we weren’t given much notice and I haven’t been able to lay my hands on the third book yet! So that was the day I broke my Target-less life. Oh, and they didn’t have it. Wal-Mart did. I got it there on time, and was even able to take pictures (for the school’s yearbook–ahem). I spoke with his publicist (his sister) for half an hour and then spoke a little with Brandon. Okay I shook his hand, but still. He was unbelievably cool! He was genuine and spoke to every kid who waited in line to get a book signed. He asked them questions and wrote a note including the kid’s name! Oh, and he used to live in my town…(he recently moved).

Lastly, since I am officially taking 5th grade over again this year, I got to complete help 5th grader with my her science fair project. Took many hours and we’re both exhausted. Is anyone else sick of the project-palooza that is taking over the schools? I’ll give a whole rant on this one in a future post.

Wait, there’s more. I stayed up major late to finish The Glass Castle. Wow, great book.

So today, I’m off to attend and photograph the science fair, help SassyQueen (formerly known as my 7yrold–it’s taken me a while to nickname her) with her class’s massive outdoor garden project, entertain TK inbetween all of this, oh yeah, AND I am finally doing something about this. Wish me luck that it will work…

Look mom, we built a fort!
(We used EVERY blanket in the whole house).

For Arizona: Fifth Grader’s Science Fair Project.
“Which seed: sprouts/grows/tastes the best?”

How 4yrolds open yogurt.

Jump-Rope-A-Thon.
Jumping for American Heart Assoc.

What happens when it snows on May Day?
(And I forget to bring in the tomato plants overnight).
(The circled plant did NOT recover).

I just bought these two fabrics! I’m so bold after selling two more bags. I bought these online at JCarolineCreative.com. I hope the green goes with the pattern? I also bought the coveted Jessica Jones Fabric….It has taken me two months to get up the nerve…wish me luck!

I love sprouts. But….

The other day I bought a small container of sprouts. (I had a hard time finding one that wasn’t too produce-moldy smelly though). 7yrold saw me adding some to my salad and nearly had a fit. She dished up her own salad and insisted on some sprouts. I was seriously pleased to see one of my kids turn into a sprout lover. (I loved them as a kid, especially fresh when my mom grew them). Of my 3 kids she is the only one who has been a true veggie lover. The other two…fuggetaboutit! Aargh.

The only problem was that the sprouts from the store were slimy and brownish by about the third day, and we hadn’t finished them yet! I thought, sheesh I want to grow my own, see if they aren’t better and last longer than this!
When along came a post from a blog I’ve been sneaking into a lot lately….

The Crazy People Next Door
Written by my new best friend ‘Yes, My Name is Arizona’.

Maybe it’s the cool blog name….? Anyway, there it was– the exact information I needed literally on the day I was thinking it! Don’t you just love the internet?

A couple days later I found the website Arizona had suggested, (for a Back to Basics–Kitchen Garden, $10-12) and after ship/taxes it was $21 (and change) –I hate paying shipping(!) (included 4 tablespoons of seeds). I called around to the local health food stores and the only sprouters they had were $32… ah well, back to the internet.

Don’t laugh at a store called kitchenclocks.com, selling seed-sprouters.

Here’s pictures of my babies, I started them out right away. Now if you’ll pardon me, I have a sandwich to dream about…

Twenty-Four hours.