Raising Cubs in a Campground

Yesterday marked 30 weeks of being pregnant. I celebrated with a medium french fry and my OB appointment. I also wandered Target for over an hour just because I could. It was SO cold and rainy but I wasn't going to stop me from getting out of the house. My blood pressure is normal, I've gained 4 pounds since my last appointment, my doc answered some questions I had about how newborn care is handled at the hospital, and we heard babe's heartbeat chugging along at 154 bpm. I go every two weeks now which will help make the time go faster - not that it needs to. I have plenty to keep me busy for the next 10 weeks. Six of those weeks I'll still be working and taking care of the kids/house/pets/garden. Tomorrow is the big.garage.sale.run where I stock up for the year on the clothes and other great deals. Julia and I found quite a few bargains today already, but tomorrow I'm on my own (thanks Grandma!) for the morning and early afternoon hours. Even though I know we...

I already had a stash of cloth wipes from when Julia was in diapers. The nice folks at Kissaluvs sent them to me as a thank you for a photo of Julia they used in a Mothering Magazine ad, but over the years they've taken a beating and I wanted some new ones. I turned to Google and read how to make my own cloth wipes from pieces of flannel. I found four receiving blankets at a garage sale for 50 cents a piece and cut up part of an old flannel sheet we had to make the patterned pieces stretch further. (One receiving blanket will only make four 8x8 wipes). The first version I made is the one on the left - I sewed a piece of flannel to the back of an existing terrycloth wipe. Then I zigzagged the edge to cut down on the fraying. The center wipe is two pieces of the same receiving blanket sewn wrong sides together, turned and then top stitched. The wipe on the right with the adorable animal print is the one I stretched further with an old cream flannel sheet. It was fun to u...

How's that for a mouthful of a title? I've written about this topic before and why it's important to condition straw bales before planting. For a refresher check out this post . (You'll also get a glimpse of what last year's garden layout was.) I'm using 15 new bales again this year, but I also left a couple of old bales in the formation for growing carrots and pumpkins. This is our new layout that takes into account a few things I learned from our first two years using this method: 1) I need more room between the rows so we put two bales at the top of the formation. 2) Extending one side gives vines some extra room and I can still get into the middle of the garden. 3) Using bales from the previous year for growing carrots will give them a 'softer' place to grow. Carrots don't like dense soil so it makes sense they wouldn't like the dense bales. Also, too much nitrogen reduces the number of female flowers on pumpkins. I'm going to try a ...

I'm sure we all agree that the big events of childhood - the firsts we all photograph and document are important, but Alphabitty Moments are about the ordinary moments that fill in the gaps. They are the little things that might go unnoticed if it weren't for the discipline of highlighting one of them each week.  It all started with a post I wrote here called The Little Things and has snowballed into a book I won the grand prize for in Blurb.com's Best Blurb Book contest. My little 64 page book filled with 26 words (one for each letter of the alphabet) is the first in a series I plan to make for my kids. I invited others to join me in recording their own children's Alphabitty Moments on Thursdays. So far we have cycled through the alphabet four times. I'd love to have you join us in this unique memory recording exercise.  If you need some inspiration you can always read through my other posts on the topic here . ***Note****  The Thursday carnival is on ho...

We have the greatest neighbors. They technically are our only neighbors seeing that we live in the country and the houses aren't close together. They are across the road from us and have lived on their farm since the 70's. J and J are so kind to us - sharing their surplus of garden goodies and letting the kids catch frogs in their pond. We fed their chickens for them last Fall and have plans to do it again this year when they are out traveling the country. It's a win-win. We don't go anywhere anyway so it's easy for us to walk over and feed, water, and collect eggs. They reap the benefits of having fresh eggs and meat, but don't have to be tied to home. Today we went over to meet the new 'crop' of chicks. There are 18 fuzz balls staying warm in the garage. Soon they will move to their nice digs in the chicken coop. I've never seen such a NICE chicken coop before! I had no problem doing chores in my CHURCH shoes last fall - it's THAT clean! We ...

Our family welcomed Josie into the family with open arms. But I think she looks pretty content in her daddy's arms don't you? Sharon and Jamey you are great parents! We are so happy for you!!!

Our park, otherwise known as BearCountry, has been our home since May of 2008. In our backyard you will find 200+ acres of ponds, woods, playgrounds, trails, a lake, a boardwalk, and a whole bunch of campsites.  Our home sits at the entrance of the park so we are set apart from the actual campground, but we are close enough to not miss any of the action.  Six months out of the year we help run the campground. It is a seven day a week job so by the end of the season we are ready for some quiet time. The length of that break depends on when the snow flies because we rent cross country skis and snowshoes in the winter months. When we aren't renting skis or snowshoes we spend the winter hibernating in our 80 year old farm house waiting for the first signs of Spring. Click here to read all the entries I've written about our busy (but blessed!) life in the park.

We have a winner folks - LambAround will receive the beautiful Azure Coast dress from Shabby Apple. Congrats! The winner has been notified and has 48 hours to reply to my email otherwise I will pick a new winner. Watch for more fun giveaways in the weeks and months to come as part of my unveiling of my BRAND NEW BLOG. Yes, after two years of looking at my outdated (yet still undeniably adorable!) header, I am having my site revamped. It will be even easier to navigate, is fun, fresh, and I'm excited to highlight some products I love! Stay tuned!

I wondered the same thing in 2009 when saw a Straw Bale Gardening class in my local community education booklet!  I knew nothing about growing veggies or preparing the soil so figured I had nothing to lose and everything to gain!  Boy was I right!  The instructor walked us through the whole process from beginning to end and by the end of the three hour session I had the motivation and knowledge to start my own straw bale garden. In 2009 I started with 11 bales:  In 2010 I increased my garden to 15 bales:  In 2011 I am trying a mix of old bales and new bales for a total bale count of 17.5. I've shared many posts about what I've learned that can be read here .  I would love to answer any questions you might have about gardening in straw and invite you to join me in this successful and EASY gardening method!  If I can do it, anyone can!

Julia comes home with artwork in her backpack most days. It's always fun to see what she's created at school. It usually involves a sun and lately the outline of the drawing has been trimmed with scissors. She certainly isn't lacking in the fine motor skills department! Today's artwork is making it on the blog today because of how it made my jaw drop when I saw it hanging on the wall. She asked for tape the second she walked in the door. OK, fine. I gave her the roll and she went about posting her drawing on the wall where all the other artwork is displayed. When I got the all clear to come see I couldn't believe my eyes! She drew from memory an almost exact replica of an art project that Sam brought home a month ago. See? Seriously? How does she remember this stuff? It reinforces my idea of filling her Easter basket with art supplies that's for sure! Plus, I have already commissioned her to fill four frames with her art for BabyBear's room. I can'...

Spring is in the air and that means it's time to start thinking about changing over our closets from Winter to Spring. I don't know about you, but that also means it's time to look for a few new pieces to bring new life to what I wear year after year. Today I can make that job a little more fun for you because Shabby Apple is sponsoring a giveaway on my blog! Yeah!!!! I had so much fun looking through their collection of women's dresses and don't even get me started on their adorable line of little girl's dresses ! It's a whole new ballgame for me now that I'm going to have TWO girls to dress. In the end I decided to pick this beauty called Azure Coast to giveaway to one lucky reader because us mom's are always buying things for our kids before ourselves. I just might have to pick up one for myself in time to wear for BabyBear's baptism this summer. It's perfect for nursing moms! Want to win one for yourself? See below , but if you d...

I did in fact take quite a few photographs this weekend, but won't be posting any of them tonight. They are on my phone and on my CF card which requires way more effort that I'm willing to make right now. Sorry, but I'm BEAT! I walked and was on my feet more this weekend than I have in a month of Sundays. Ouch! Before I crash I wanted to jot down some snapshots of our weekend. It was a special weekend, yet ordinary at the same time. Let me explain... *Saturday - Julia's half birthday. We celebrated with half a cake and 4 1/2 candles, but we did it on Friday night because PapaBear and I had rescheduled our date day for Saturday. I was bummed to miss out on celebrating with Julia, but she didn't seem to mind. Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house was celebrating for her! PapaBear and I enjoyed a few hours wandering IKEA and the Mall of America and then we went home so I could get ready for my girl's night out with fellow bloggers . Fun times!!!! I talked...