Demise of the Traveling Garden

I'm sorry to report that my Traveling Garden didn't make the very last leg of the trip. Really is a pity, since they were doing so well until the very end. I mean they made the move from our house in Ludington to Will's parents house and then from Will's parent's house to Kansas City. But come the end of July, the heat completely zapped 'em and when I could have tried to save the project, I completely alienated it. Yup, I'm a plant murderer. I feel really terrible about it though! After the baby getting sick at the beginning and at the end of July, the commute to the library, and finally the move to Lawrence... my sad little garden was no more.

It was a nice idea at the time.... bringing a piece of our life in Ludington with us to Lawrence, but it looks like I'll be starting clean slate.

Which isn't so bad after all.

Because there's a garden center only a few blocks from our new house.

(!!!!!)

Summer Reading

It's an ordinary day when I show up at home with a tumbling pile of books after work. My choices inspired by favorite books of children I see day in and day out at the library, books suggested by my fellow coworkers (the know-all when it comes to great children's books), or books I happen to find on my own accord.

Our library, like many other libraries across the nation, participated in a summer reading program, an initiative that not only encourages children to read, but also helps keep their language skills sharp during the summer months. Just the other day I heard on the radio that kids lose almost half a year of learned school work over the summer and one of the best ways to inhibit this from happening is by reading. And while it is important for school-aged children to continue their reading, it's just as important for younger children to be introduced to books. In the final days of summer it's been inspiring (as a librarian and a parent) to see thousands and thousands of children and parents embrace this program.

So, in honor of summer's last hurrah, I've chosen a few books, favorites of LBD's and a couple favorites of my own, to highlight what we've been reading this summer:

After "mama" and "dada" came the word "dog". Mostly because we read RRRALPH over a hundred times in the course of a week in a half. She enjoyed this book that much.

I would have to say this is LBD's all time favorite book. Hands down. We've had to renew it twice already. She also enjoys the sister story by Emma Dodd,  I Don't Want a Posh Dog.

Dinosaur! Roarrrrrrr!!!

ABC's for night night time.

Bee and Bird. About a bird and a bee.

Okay, so this was my pick. I would go as far to say it was my favorite book we read together all summer. Can't go wrong with the Jane Goodall. If you have a chance to check it out, take a glance at the photograph on the last page. Pure beauty.

Fun little adventure.

Brought to you by the same author and illustrator as An Egg Is Quiet. This is their latest.

Another pick from me. Big fan of Peter Brown.

One of LBD's top picks that has also been renewed at least once.

Home is where the heart is.

Last but not least, another favorite of LBD's. Wonder why.....

Image Sources: RRRALPH, I Don't Want a Cool Cat, Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, Sleepy Little Alphabet, Bee and Bird, Me... Jane, Red Wagon, A Butterfly is Patient, The Curious Garden, Not A Box, Castles, Caves, and Honeycombs, Frankie Works the Night Shift

Yesterday's Headlines

...... and the day before that and the day before that. Here's what's been going on as of late.

Extra, extra, read all about it...

Monday of Mayhem: A Move, An Operation, and the Hottest Day of the Summer

The weekend before we moved to Lawrence from our temporary home in Kansas City, Will ended up having to take Lorelei to the  hospital. She had a fever and what looked like a nasty spider bite on her bum, so he took her in to get checked out. Better safe than sorry. Well, turns out she had cellulitus and was scheduled for surgery that following Monday. It's common for children to contract this type of infection this but if not taken care of can be quite sever. The worst part of it all was that she had to be put under and had an awful time coming out of the anesthetic. And it was the same day we had to move our belongings out of a storage unit and into our new house. Thankfully, LBD's operation was successful. Thankfully, I have a brother in town. Thankfully, a very nice and good brother. Thankfully, everything worked out. I stayed with the baby after the surgery was over and my husband and brother left to move everything out of storage and into our home. It was 108 degrees outside. The first of August. The Monday of Mayhem.

Death of a Warrior

A week after we moved into our house, I received word that my high school swim coach passed away. A mentor and an inspiration. A force. I owe a large part of who I am today is because of him. I wasn't the only one. Over 800 individuals attended his memorial service. Generations of athletes and students united and reunited. We mourned his passing with heavy hearts.

He was a true warrior and his legacy will live in us.

Mizu No Kukura

A Return to School. The Return of the Stay At Home Mom... Sorta

This week, Will started school and the dynamic of our household shifted once again. He has committed to a full-time class schedule and has already acquired a great deal of homework. I've never seen him happier. Early each morning LBD and I kiss him goodbye and then he's off to campus for the remainder of the day.  Now that my hours have lessened at the library with summer almost over, I've transformed back into being stay-at-home-mom. That is until I go to work in the evening and Will takes over baby duties. By the time I get home later that night, we eat a late meal, and tuck ourselves in bed at an hour I'm too embarrassed to mention.

But today, I don't start working until the afternoon. Will is home for the weekend. The house is unpacked. The baby naps. Shadows from the trees in our front yard move across the window pane of our bedroom. It might be the first time I've had time to be still. Resting for a moment.

We Heart Lawrence

We love where we live. Our new home. The college. The community. The lifestyle.

We think we might (hopefully) stay awhile.

newspaper image source

One Year

LBD had her first birthday this weekend. Our baby is no longer a baby.

I awoke that morning thinking... I will never forget the way, I fell in love on that day.

Used this recipe as inspiration.

And it was perfect.

And she loved it.

Along with the cake there were presents. Oh, were there presents.

And Family. And Friends.

The sun was shining, the heat lingering.... just like that day one year ago.

A Happy Birthday.

When I didn't think my heart could grow anymore. It did.

We love you, baby girl.

More than anything.

Hot Hot Heat

The temperature has been rising. Kansas in July. But since last Thursday we haven't so much felt the heat outside as we have inside. Arriving home from work on Thursday evening, I walked through the door to find a drowsy and warm little girl. The next day LBD grew warmer. And by Friday evening when she reach 103.1 degrees we took her to the hospital as advised by her doctor.  She was given a strict regime of fever reducers and antibiotics. Five hours after returning home from the hospital her fever spiked to 105.8. Her body was a furnace. When we returned to the hospital the nurse on staff advised us to wait it out and if the fever does not subside to bring her back. Luckily we did not have to go back as her fever came down to 102 and stayed within that range until it eventually dropped.

During that time, we spent the majority of our time sleeping, eating, comforting and waiting in the cool confines of the basement. Staying clear from the stuffy heat in the upstairs bedrooms. Using the extra furniture downstairs and an old set of kids foam floor tiles, we built a nook where we remained until the fever broke. The days were long and blurred together.

This picture is from last Saturday. LBD and her daddy watching The Muppet Show on DVD. She rarely watches TV or movies, but I think she found it an entertaining distraction from the monotony of her confine.

By the morning of the Fourth of July, the fever broke. We moved out of the basement. And enjoyed the holiday as much as we could.

She's (almost) back to her normal self again. Running, laughing, playing. Just in time for her next celebration.

Her first birthday is Friday.

Buds and Blooms

The traveling garden grows!

Fresh summer air and evening storms inspired a few petals to peak through and vegetable buds to sprout. My assistant helps me water them in the late afternoon when I return home from work. Her little thumb is already turning green.

Summer Shuffle

It's been awhile. A lot longer than I thought it would take before I would blog again. It was a priority that got lost in the shuffle, but I am here. Here making a regular appearance once again.

We've finally settled into a somewhat normal, although temporary, routine for the summer. I started my new job working as a librarian two days after the move. It was easier than I thought to make the transition from being a stay-at-home mom to going back to work. Just because I thought it was easier, doesn't mean it wasn't hard. Because it was. Especially in the beginning.

But we've adjusted. And in the meanwhile I've grown to love my job.

This picture above was taken the morning of my first day of going off to work. I felt like a kid on my first day at school.

We are living at my friend's parent's house for the next couple of months. Their house is about about an hour commute from work. Audiobooks occupy the drive. It's been a great way to sneak in some summer reading among all the hustle and bustle. Actually, now that I think about it, everyone has been reading quite fervently this summer. I suppose it's hard not to be inspired when surrounded by books day in and day out.

After the day is done, there is no feeling in the world like the feeling of seeing LBD toddling over to me when I walk into the door. Arms stretched out. Falling into me with a laugh. There is nothing like being home again. Even if it's a temporary home. Eternally thankful for the kindness and hospitality of having a place to live in transit, in anticipation of the weeks to come where we are able to start planting roots, making a home of our own in August.



For the time being, everyone has settled in quite nicely...

Even the traveling garden has made a place of it's own on the back deck.

This picture was from a couple weeks ago. You should see them now.

Although, we did have a cucumber plant casualty. Only a few remain.

LBD's baby pool also lives on the back deck. She is in it almost everyday.

Baby girl loves the water. Just like momma.

She's also been growing up lately. The changes have been very distinct since we moved to Kansas. I blink and she is an inch taller.  She's walking and "talking" and climbing and playing and laughing. Always laughing. Just the other day my mother commented on the fact that she's a kid now, a baby no more.

She'll always be my baby.

What else, what else?

We started using cloth diapers. A change we wish we made earlier in the game.

And Will is no longer a vegetarian. Guess he couldn't resist the aroma of BBQ that seems to linger around town...

Oh, and I had a birthday. On June 10th.

28 years old. Hard to believe another year has gone by.

Other than that, each day flies by. Most mornings we rise at dawn. The days are warm, ephemeral, and then dark with night once again.