A Little Something Steve Picked Up For The Girls....

Steve and I have been cruising craigslist for quite some time now for a playset for the girls.  In one of my late night internet surfing sessions,  (I've become a craigslist and Ebay junkie) I discovered that people are giving these things away for free as long as you remove them yourself.  They are posted quite frequently but are gone almost as quickly as they are put up.  We kept seeing them but by the time we called, they were already spoken for.  We finally lucked out though!  Thanks to Steve and Grandpa D we now have a kickin' place for the girls to play right in our own back yard! I would have loved something like this when I was a kid...I'm so excited for them to have something like this and I can't wait to make little curtains for the windows!  I can already see little battery operated twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling of the house and maybe a couple of bean bag chairs...Oh, the possibilities!!!!!

School Days Are Here....

 

We started the year off a special breakfast of Delaney's choosing so we had Belgian waffles with blueberry compote...Yum!!!!

Well summer is officially coming to a close and Delaney has started full-day Kindergarten. I can't believe how quickly the time has passed.  She's now in her second week of school and we all seem to be adjusting well. I have to admit though that I think it's been the roughest on me!  I am definitely not a morning person and getting up at 6:30 every morning has not been easy.  I am fortunate enough though to have a wonderful husband who wakes me up every morning with a smile and a hot cup of coffee!  Somehow waking up this way is less painful than waking to a beeping alarm.  I spend the next half hour sipping my coffee and finish the waking process (yes, it's a process for me).  Just before seven, I can hear the pitter patter of little feet followed immediately by Donna's joyous screeching at prospect of the new day before her.  Here's a couple pictures from Delaney's 1st day of school...

 

We Have Eggs!!!!!

Well I went out to the coop like I do every morning and look what I found!  Three little eggs!  They're small but for their first attempt, I think the girls did great!  And of course we just had to crack 'em open right away and eat them...They were delicious!  The second picture has a store bought white egg in there just for a size comparison.  As the girls start layting more, the eggs should start getting bigger.  It's silly, but I feel like a proud mama!

Garden Update!

The garden is really coming along!  Delaney loves to come out and water the plants for me everyday while Donna is napping.  One sprinkler can at a time, she happily goes back and forth from  the garden to hose to fill her can and back to the garden again to water each plant.  I think she'll really be disappointed when and if we install our drip irrigation system.  When she's done watering, she digs holes in the small, currently unused portion and makes "worm cakes" for the chickens to eat!  She's such a stitch!!!!

Sand, Sprinklers, & Watermelon...A Perfect Night

There wasn't much to say here...So I let the pictures speak for themselves!

I was looking for something really special for Delaney to give to her teachers and bus drivers this year.  They are a terrific group of women and take exceptional care of the kids.  I honestly can't say enough about Delaney's early education teacher.  She has grown so much and I believe she quite literally blossomed this year.  She is talking so much more and finally starting have conversations!  How do you put a price tag on that?...I know these women all get paid, but I also know they are sorely underpaid.  I wanted to give them something to really show how much we appreciate all that they have done for Delaney.  But like almost all young families out there, financial resources are tight and I couldn't afford to spend ton of money...So, this is what I came up with.  I went to my local farm stand and got 5 small New Guinea Impatient pots for $3.50 each. I then rummaged through my scrapbooking supplies and was able to dress them up with stuff I had laying around the house.  I made the baskets out of cardstock and secured the handle with little eyelets.  I used pinking shears for the note and bent some copper wire with needle nose pliers to make little photo holders to put into the plant.  Delaney and I then wrote a "Thank You" message  in sidewalk chalk on our driveway and snapped a picture to insert into one of the little photo holders.  The best part about all this is that I was able to give 5 people gifts for less than $20!  Mission Accomplished!

Delaney had her last day of school today and it was bittersweet. I can't help but look forward to the summer but in the back of my mind, I'm already dreading Fall. Summer is going to go by so fast and Delaney will be in full day kindergarten. I find myself already missing the casual half days of pre-school...of mornings filled with pancakes, french toast and lazy giggles while getting ready for school. While I realize it's not exactly higher education and my baby's not really leaving the nest, I still can't imagine a full day without her.