It is already the first of August. I cannot believe this! In just a few weeks, I will be heading back to teaching. As much as I hate to leave my kids each day, I am looking forward to getting back to work. I went on maternity leave in April, and never went back after the birth of my son. So, it's been five months since I've had to be at work. I'm excited to be getting back into the classroom.
My children have grown so much this summer. Dominic is almost four months, and he is just a joy to have around. My Nina is preparing for kindergarten, which is nearly impossible for my husband and me to believe. She has entered the "I love Hanna Montana" phase of life that many five year-old girls have entered. Angela is two and a half, and she is a very energetic and active child who speaks her mind at all times. I'm told that I will really appreciate these qualities when she is older and doesn't allow other people to push her around.
We're in the process of making a few home improvements. We're getting new windows, which are much needed. The current windows are original to the house, and they are in terrible shape. We're also attempting to de-clutter the basement and upstairs office. My goal is to have this done by the start of fall, but that is certainly not set in stone. I'd like my husband to have his office space again. As it is now, the room is being used for storage.
My container garden is still lovely. I hope to do another one next year. However, I think I will do more re-potting next year than I did this year. I plan to do a little more research for next year's garden and really put more thought into the project. This year, is was really a whim, and there wasn't much time for planning. It was already July and many of the good plants were picked over. I bought most of them at Lowe's and Wal-Mart. Next year, I want to visit some local farmers' markets and greenhouses for plants. I have many containers and pots, so I don't think I will need to purchase many more of those. My daughters painted a couple of the terra cotta pots, and I certainly want to hold on to those. It was a fun project for me, and I'm still very pleased with the results. I want to keep a journal about which plants worked well and which ones didn't.
I have been working hard on my current knitting projects. I'm knitting away on a poncho that I started over a year ago. It's from Knitted Gifts, and it is a simple pattern that knits up quickly. The pattern calls for Blue Sky Alpaca yarn, and it literally feels like melted butter to touch! I can't wait to finish it and (hopefully) wear it this fall, once the weather cools off a bit. Other projects include a beautiful slate-grey wrap (also Blue Sky) and a Debbie Bliss cardigan. (Not to mention the zillion pairs of socks that I've started and stopped or finished one sock and never got to complete its mate). Knitting became a great hobby for me once I accepted the fact that it's not possible for me to actually complete any project in a timely manner, and that it will get done when it gets done.
I've actually been able to do a little reading this summer as well. I completed Friday Night Knitters' Club about a week ago. Depressing ending. Now, I have two novels by Jane Green (who I love) and I'm also working on Lord of the Flies, The Awakening and Animal Farm.
It is nearly bedtime for the little ones, which means nearly knitting time for me! I hope to post again before another month passes, but you can never tell.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
My garden
My container garden is finished, and I am pleased with the results. This garden provides me with a spot to read, have coffee or tea, chit-chat with my family, spend quiet moments with my 10 week-old son, and just to have something pretty to look at. I ended up using a combination of sun-loving and shade-loving plants since the location of our front porch/patio provides both. I think the garden is lovely, and I am very much looking forward to spending a lot of time out there. Hopefully I can continue this each spring/summer from now on. 
Monday, June 30, 2008
Blogging....again.
Well, after a hiatus of sorts from the world of blogging, I have returned. Now that child #3 is two months old, things are settling down a bit around here. (Do things ever really settle down?)
My goal is to actually blog once a week. That's it....just once a week. Hopefully, I can do it. So much goes on around here; there are always things to write about. It's just a matter of finding ten minutes to sit and actually get it all down and click "save".
Right now, we are dealing with a few projects around the house. I decided (a little late though it is) to put in a container garden on the front porch/patio. So far, it looks lovely. I will post some photos just as soon as I can.
I used a book that I had purchased a few years ago as my inspiration. Containers for Patios has some wonderful ideas for layout of the garden, as well as techniques for re-potting plants. Since I know very little about which plants like sun and which like shade, this book has helped me tremendously. Bruce and I bought quite an assortment of plants, along with some unique pots in which to transfer a few of them. We also decided to visit our local antique mall, in hopes of finding something to use for display. We found a couple of old step ladders that are really beautiful, as well as an old oak bookcase that we used for shelving. So far, I am pleased with the garden, but I have much more in mind! I am excited about this project, mainly because we were unalbe to do much planting this year with the birth of Dominic. It's difficult to manage putting in a garden or sidewalk border plants when you have a 5 year-old and a 2 year-old running around, and a 10 week-old baby to care for. So, this gives me a fairly easy garden to maintain, and I didn't really need to cultivate any seeds or actually plant anything!
We are contemplating putting in new windows for our home. The current windows are original to the house; and while they are a lovely rod-iron, they aren't very energy efficient. So, that will have to be the next project. We've been getting estimates for the job, and hopefully will be able to get it started soon. In addition to the window situation, we've had to deal with a little mishap with carpeting! We had carpet installed in Februrary, and the seam has come up twice since then. We went with berber carpet, which I will never do again! With little ones and pets, it's not the ideal carpet to have in a family room, which is where we spend most of our time. So, the carpet will be replaced tomorrow. This time, we did not go with a berber. Hopefully, this will be the last time we will need to install carpet for a few years in that room. Eventually, we want to pull up the carpet and refinish the floors. We have beautiful hardwood floors in this home. But, we want to wait on that until the kids are a little older.
As hobbies go, other than the container garden, I haven't been doing much. I think I may have done ten rows in my current knitting project over the past two weeks! I haven't touched my scrapbooking at all, but I was able to get about 200 photos developed. So, when I have the time work on the scrapbooks, at least the photos are ready to go.
It's been a busy summer for our family! Between vacation Bible school, Kindermusik, swimming lessons, soccer, T-Ball, horse camp and riding lessons, there's not much time for anything else. Nina just finished a week at horse camp, which she really loved. From 9:00 until 1:00 each day, the kids had to groom, feed and water the horses, as well as clean the stables. They also did quite a lot of riding. It was s very good experience for her, and I think she has a whole new appreciation for the caring of horses. She realizes now that there's more to it than just getting up on the saddle and going for a ride. Paige, her trainer, is wonderful and has a fabulous thing going for the kids at Squaw Run Stables.
Poor Angela is only two, so there aren't any programs offered for her at this point. She does have her Kindermusik classes, though. I 100% believe in Kindermusik and think those classes do wonders for children! My girls have been going since they were just a few months old, and Dominic will have his very first class tonight. It's actually a family class, and we're all looking forward to it.
That's been our summer thus far. We've had a few day trips here and there - the Pittsburgh Zoo, Living Treasures Animal Park, Kennywood Park - and we have more planned for the rest of the summer. We are heading to Cedar Point in a couple of weeks, and we would like to get a weekend in at Put in Bay at some point. So, hopefully there will be many interesting postings and photos over the next two months. Until then, stay safe, healthy and happy! God Bless!
My goal is to actually blog once a week. That's it....just once a week. Hopefully, I can do it. So much goes on around here; there are always things to write about. It's just a matter of finding ten minutes to sit and actually get it all down and click "save".
Right now, we are dealing with a few projects around the house. I decided (a little late though it is) to put in a container garden on the front porch/patio. So far, it looks lovely. I will post some photos just as soon as I can.
I used a book that I had purchased a few years ago as my inspiration. Containers for Patios has some wonderful ideas for layout of the garden, as well as techniques for re-potting plants. Since I know very little about which plants like sun and which like shade, this book has helped me tremendously. Bruce and I bought quite an assortment of plants, along with some unique pots in which to transfer a few of them. We also decided to visit our local antique mall, in hopes of finding something to use for display. We found a couple of old step ladders that are really beautiful, as well as an old oak bookcase that we used for shelving. So far, I am pleased with the garden, but I have much more in mind! I am excited about this project, mainly because we were unalbe to do much planting this year with the birth of Dominic. It's difficult to manage putting in a garden or sidewalk border plants when you have a 5 year-old and a 2 year-old running around, and a 10 week-old baby to care for. So, this gives me a fairly easy garden to maintain, and I didn't really need to cultivate any seeds or actually plant anything!We are contemplating putting in new windows for our home. The current windows are original to the house; and while they are a lovely rod-iron, they aren't very energy efficient. So, that will have to be the next project. We've been getting estimates for the job, and hopefully will be able to get it started soon. In addition to the window situation, we've had to deal with a little mishap with carpeting! We had carpet installed in Februrary, and the seam has come up twice since then. We went with berber carpet, which I will never do again! With little ones and pets, it's not the ideal carpet to have in a family room, which is where we spend most of our time. So, the carpet will be replaced tomorrow. This time, we did not go with a berber. Hopefully, this will be the last time we will need to install carpet for a few years in that room. Eventually, we want to pull up the carpet and refinish the floors. We have beautiful hardwood floors in this home. But, we want to wait on that until the kids are a little older.
As hobbies go, other than the container garden, I haven't been doing much. I think I may have done ten rows in my current knitting project over the past two weeks! I haven't touched my scrapbooking at all, but I was able to get about 200 photos developed. So, when I have the time work on the scrapbooks, at least the photos are ready to go.
It's been a busy summer for our family! Between vacation Bible school, Kindermusik, swimming lessons, soccer, T-Ball, horse camp and riding lessons, there's not much time for anything else. Nina just finished a week at horse camp, which she really loved. From 9:00 until 1:00 each day, the kids had to groom, feed and water the horses, as well as clean the stables. They also did quite a lot of riding. It was s very good experience for her, and I think she has a whole new appreciation for the caring of horses. She realizes now that there's more to it than just getting up on the saddle and going for a ride. Paige, her trainer, is wonderful and has a fabulous thing going for the kids at Squaw Run Stables.
Poor Angela is only two, so there aren't any programs offered for her at this point. She does have her Kindermusik classes, though. I 100% believe in Kindermusik and think those classes do wonders for children! My girls have been going since they were just a few months old, and Dominic will have his very first class tonight. It's actually a family class, and we're all looking forward to it.
That's been our summer thus far. We've had a few day trips here and there - the Pittsburgh Zoo, Living Treasures Animal Park, Kennywood Park - and we have more planned for the rest of the summer. We are heading to Cedar Point in a couple of weeks, and we would like to get a weekend in at Put in Bay at some point. So, hopefully there will be many interesting postings and photos over the next two months. Until then, stay safe, healthy and happy! God Bless!
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