Make a Mini Garden

Good Wednesday morning!

Just a little randomness to start off the day...

Kind of a slow week at the Faulkner household... which is very, very good! School-wise, the last nine weeks of school is kind of ebb and flow. There might be a day with four tests and two projects due and three days with no homework. You never, ever know. We just take it one day at a time and yesterday was good.

The cold weather has got to go. I'm even a cold weather proponent, but once it has gotten warm, that's it. The weather needs to make up it's mind. The back and forth is driving me crazy.

Tuesday's my favorite day in the kitchen because it is our "declared" pizza night. With guitar lessons for Josh and dance for Roxie and Mikie working late because everyone's going in different directions, pizza it is! I have all the ingredients to make the Caramel Soaked French Toast tonight. We'll have it Thursday morning, and I'll give the Faulkner verdict. If it's as good as it sounds, I'm going to use it for a "holiday breakfast." Like Easter morning, Christmas morning (replacing muffins), Memorial Day. (It's probably going to be too good to just use for big holidays)...

I am about to BUST to talk about 24, but patience is a virtue, and I WILL wait until the TV Review on Friday. But to those of you out there who watch it... CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU SAW?

There are lots and lots of "W" words out there, but today I'm going to ponder the word "Why." ("Ponder" is right up there with "thought-provoking" and "uber." I've still got to look that one up.)

1. WHY am I automatically drawn to the clothes in the petite section of a store? The styles, the colors, the choices are always so much more appealing. (I guess it's the "grass is always greener" theory at work.)

2. If two of my kids come through the door after school and have had a good day, WHY do I assume (KNOW) the third one will be walking through shortly having had the WORST day of their lives? (Two out of three ain't bad, but three out of three would be amazing once in a while.)

3. WHY are girls so much harder to raise emotionally and mentally than boys?

4. And WHY are boys so much easier in those departments, but cause so much more structural and foundational damage? (I'm talking doors hanging off the hinges here!)

5. WHY am I always surprised when I see someone I haven't seen in years, and they look 47 years-old... and they are 47 years-old?

6. On the flip-side, WHY do I think I DON'T look 47 years-old? I have a mirror. It's kind of obvious... even to me.

7. If five people wear one pair of pants and one shirt each day (10 items of clothing, plus five pairs of socks and underwear), and take five showers each day (five towels and five wash rags), WHY am I still doing four loads of laundry every day? (I do more laundry than the Duggars and they have 18 kids!)

8. WHY don't they make special parking areas close to mall entrances for big gold vans? (I really, really need to talk to some legislators about this one. I mean, I can't just whip that thing in anywhere. Well, I can. But it usually causes some damage to another vehicle.)

9. WHY am I more comfortable standing in front of 20 five year-olds singing, than in a living room with five women my own age?

10. WHY have I been afraid of teenage boys for most of my adult life? They are just five and six year-old boys in long, gangly bodies. (The teenage years have turned out to be one of my favorite stages of development... so far. I'm not finished yet!)

11. I know WHY I'm afraid of teenage girls. It's the mental thing. I can't match wits with a group of them, and they know it. They sense fear or weakness and they come at you five or six strong to get what they want. Terrifying.

12. WHY can't azaleas and tulips be more hearty? By the time they've hit their spectacular peak, they leave. Sometimes they only last two weeks. It's very sad.

13. WHY, as a grown woman, do I still enjoy children's books more than most adult books? Shouldn't I have moved on by now?

14. WHY do I still love Pooh and all things Disney? (Think, think, think. There must be a rational explanation.)

15. WHY can one little movie called JAWS remove all the enjoyment of swimming in the ocean for the rest of your life? (I still swim, but I always make sure there's a big guy about 15 feet farther out than I am. I know that's mean, but we're talking survival here.)

16. WHY don't you appreciate your 20 year-old body until you're in your 40s... and by then it is long gone?

17. WHY do birds suddenly appear... just kidding!

Tomorrow we're working with a word beginning with the letter "B." (WHY do I feel like an episode of Sesame Street?)

Make a Mini Garden

I have always wanted to do this, but as of this date, I have not. But this might be the year. Roxie and I might make a mini garden. I have a friend who plants a small pumpkin patch every year, so when I have my Pumpkin Party, her daughter brings her very own pumpkin she grew her very own self. I love that... and I would love to have a pumpkin patch.

The particulars for this mini garden are found in the April 2009 issue of Family Fun Magazine on page 35.

These people were very smart, and they turned an old sandbox outgrown by their children into a mini vegetable garden. They painted the wooden frame and planted peppers, tomatoes, etc.

We had one of the Fisher Price turtle sandboxes. Using that, I would drill plenty of holes in the bottom for the water to run out, and use it for the planter. You can also use a plastic wading pool.

If you're a complete beginner (like me), the people at Lowe's or a local landscaping company would be able to help you with information regarding the kind of soil, fertilizer, seeds, etc. you would need to begin.

This has inspired me. I think we'll start small and plant a few tomato plants this year. And next year... PUMPKINS!

Have a magnificent Wednesday. Josh and I will be tackling LOST tonight. (Please, please, please be a Sawyer/Hurley episode.) Tomorrow's date is a must-do, so come back by to check it out.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.