A Quick Little Photo Shoot

Garden Glory

To say our garden has been successful would be a gross understatement. Our tomato plants are growing so big that we are going to have to get much bigger supports for them very soon. We have already had our radishes come and go, and they were great, but our zucchini plant has taken off. It is so enormous that it has snuffed out our carrots and parsnips and the beets are struggling to get some light past their 16 inch leaves. We pretty much eat Zucchini of some sort everyday, and our grocery bill has certainly been helped by us having fresh produce all the time. We are really excited that our green tomatoes are starting to ripen. The couple that we have had so far are so amazing, juicy and salty, oh they are so yummy and way better than what you can find in the store.


If you have ever thought about doing a garden, go for it. While it is a lot of work, the benefits far outweigh the detractors.


This giant zucchini was hiding from us. The kids thought it was so cool that it got so big. The cherry tomatoes never even make it inside. They are always split up among us and gobbled immediately.

Yup! That's My Mom Rocking Guitar Hero

We invited my parents over for dinner on Father's Day. Mom said after dinner she wanted to try to play Guitar Hero. She did so well, too! Joci had fun dancing along as we all took turns playing. However, as well as Mom did, I am the Guitar Hero in our house!

This is Me the Last Few Days

Ideas

Horrible Accident

There was a horrible accident on the construction site at my office building today. Looking out our windows we saw a man being tended to, CPR being administered to him, and then a helicopter came in to airlift him. There was a large truck on fire nearby and later we heard that he had been electrocuted while working on the truck.

So many things racing through my head…

He is somebody’s son, perhaps a father or husband, certainly a friend.

It was amazing to see everyone stop and hope and pray for his best outcome.

It was inspiring to see how quickly the emergency personnel reacted.

For him it was probably going to be a day like any other. He was just going to go to work and go home, etc, but he never made it that far.

It’s reminded a lot of us to be sure your loved ones all know how much you love them. You never know if that “I Love You” could be the last.

Of course, we are all hoping that he is ok and makes a speedy recovery. So sad.

UPDATE:
Just found out that this poor man died of his injuries.

As part of a landscaping project, a boom truck was being used to lift large boulders. One worker was driving the boom and another was on the ground assisting at the site of the boulders. The gentleman on the ground was holding a chain attached to the boulder and the boom inadvertently swayed into overhead electrical wires. The current electrocuted the man. CPR was administered immediately on site and he was airlifted to a local trauma center. Unfortunately, the man did not survive his injuries.

Life is Good!

I really, really love the Life Is Good products. Their sayings and drawings to accompany them are clever and cute and lots of fun. To buy some of their products you can go here. My only complaint with them is that they do not make plus size shirts. I hope they work on that.

Some of my favorites:

Potty Training Trenches

Let it be known for all those that have not yet potty-trained…
Girls are NOT easier to potty-train than boys.

Joci seemed to get into the spirit of potty-training this last Friday. It was great timing as we were running low on diapers. She’s only had a few accidents so far, and is doing pretty well, except for that ever elusive #2! She seems to be holding that little gem back and letting it go only while she’s sleeping, wearing a pull-up.

In the meantime, I think potty-training is taking up so much of her life that everything else is suffering. Certainly her behavior is worse-for-wear. Every little thing seems to result in a huge meltdown. You have to be prepared, now, for a BIG tantrum if you are going to tell her “no”, to anything. Is it really so traumatic that it should shift her personality so much?

I admit, I was never so happy to go to work and leave her at Lynda’s house as I was today. Maybe Lynda can work her magic on her today and replace her bad ‘tude with a good one.

Pictures of Joe

I'm working on a scrapbook page for Joci right now. It's all about when I can talk her into curling her hair...a rare occurance. I have a particular page that I have almost completed, too, that I did @ Scrapbook club a couple of months ago that is for Joe, but I had zero pictures that went with it. Well last weekend I took some amazing pictures of him that I plan on using. I thought I'd share them here...

This is my favorite:

Keep Calm and Carry On

My good friend Cara has this saying on her blog.

I've always liked it, but would feel funny 'stealing' it for myself.

I recently happened upon the meaning and thought how appropriate it is for us all right now. We are all weathering this economic situation the best we can. We are all stressed out to the gills. We all have lots of reasons to not remain calm. So this is a wonderful reminder that even at our wit's end, we can still carry on.

Happiness

Ear Bandits

A great big thank you to my friend Terri! Her youngest son is just a couple of weeks younger than Jocelyn and has had issues with his ears, too. She was telling me the other day about this band that she puts around her son’s head that holds in the ear plugs that he wears in the pool. I had to have them for Joci. Her earplugs constantly fall out and it is painful for her to get any water in her ears since she had her adenoidectomy and second set of tubes put in her ears. Jon and I found them in town at a swim school but they also have them online. Trust me, if your child wears ear plugs, then you’ll want one of these.

http://www.earbandit.com/moreaboutear-bandit.aspx

After the Party

My kids never, ever, fall asleep early. But, they were out cold after the team party this weekend. Joci actually fell asleep on the couch and Joe snuck into the bedroom and quietly went to sleep on his own. Too cute.

My Beautiful Children

I am very often caught off-guard by how beautiful my children are, both inside and out. I look at them and wonder where they got such good looks and where they keep all those hugs and kisses and love that they give away so freely. In my wildest dreams, I could not have imagined having such amazing children. I am blessed, truly blessed to be their Mother. Yes, we have our issues, and no, they aren't perfect, but I love them more than I ever knew it was possible.

Grandparents are Special Gifts!

Every child should have Grandparents that love them like this...