It's Saturday morning. The birds start their songs around 4:30. I know this because I'm awake nursing my baby at this time, and they're out there chirping and squawking, waiting for the sun to rise. Lying awake, wedged between my husband and my baby, listening to the birds; this is one of the moments of motherhood that are so sweet. This is a moment I want to remember.
Johnny slept until 8:00 this morning. Truly a miracle because he has been waking up around 5:00 this past week. It's been a week of bad sleep all around. He's cutting 3 teeth right now, so that's probably part of it. He also wants to walk like nobody's business, so that could be a contributing factor as well. Maybe the early sunrise is making him wake up early. Maybe we need to get some heavier shades. But I love the early sunrise in the spring and summer and I hate the idea of manufacturing a winter-like darkness when we've finally left that behind us.
Anyway, Johnny slept til 8:00 and Alex and I rejoiced. The only problem was that I had set the timer on the coffee pot to 7:00. So the coffee was not as fresh as it could have been. Having a timer on the coffee pot is about as close as I will ever get to having a butler. It's good, but it's not the real thing.
This week has been beautiful! It rained all day almost nonstop on Monday. Tuesday the sun came out and -boom- everything was green and amazing. I feel like someone experiencing spring for the very first time. I think it's in part because of our never-ending soul-sucking winter, and in part because I spent most of last spring and summer inside, on the couch, with my newborn. My friend Jacqui over at Mexican Domestic Goddess, and I had had our babies on May 30 and June 1 last year. We agree that we kind of skipped summer last year. So this year I intend on being outside as much as possible.
We got the garden in last weekend. Lettuce, arugula, beets, cucumbers, summer squash, sugar snap peas, peppers, carrots, and 10 heirloom tomato plants. This is our fifth garden. I'm no master gardener yet, but I've learned a few things along the way.
1) Plant what you know you will eat. Bush beans are easy to grow and high yielding. We did them in our first two gardens for these reason, but we never ate them so they just went bad. Lesson learned.
2) Plant close together. The more veggies there are, the less room weeds have to take over.
3) Tomato plants don't need much water. If the leaves looked wilted in the afternoon, then they need some water.
4) Start a new row of arugula every few weeks and you'll have greens for the entire summer.
But there is one score I need a little help on. Rabbits. We have a fence around our veggie patch to keep them out, but I can't seem to keep them away from my flowers in the front. I've tried a peppermint oil based spray that work great last year but this year isn't doing much. I also sprinkled cayenne pepper everywhere, but that's not stopping them either. Any suggestions? We can't get a cat, I'm allergic.
Johnny slept until 8:00 this morning. Truly a miracle because he has been waking up around 5:00 this past week. It's been a week of bad sleep all around. He's cutting 3 teeth right now, so that's probably part of it. He also wants to walk like nobody's business, so that could be a contributing factor as well. Maybe the early sunrise is making him wake up early. Maybe we need to get some heavier shades. But I love the early sunrise in the spring and summer and I hate the idea of manufacturing a winter-like darkness when we've finally left that behind us.
Anyway, Johnny slept til 8:00 and Alex and I rejoiced. The only problem was that I had set the timer on the coffee pot to 7:00. So the coffee was not as fresh as it could have been. Having a timer on the coffee pot is about as close as I will ever get to having a butler. It's good, but it's not the real thing.
This week has been beautiful! It rained all day almost nonstop on Monday. Tuesday the sun came out and -boom- everything was green and amazing. I feel like someone experiencing spring for the very first time. I think it's in part because of our never-ending soul-sucking winter, and in part because I spent most of last spring and summer inside, on the couch, with my newborn. My friend Jacqui over at Mexican Domestic Goddess, and I had had our babies on May 30 and June 1 last year. We agree that we kind of skipped summer last year. So this year I intend on being outside as much as possible.
We got the garden in last weekend. Lettuce, arugula, beets, cucumbers, summer squash, sugar snap peas, peppers, carrots, and 10 heirloom tomato plants. This is our fifth garden. I'm no master gardener yet, but I've learned a few things along the way.
1) Plant what you know you will eat. Bush beans are easy to grow and high yielding. We did them in our first two gardens for these reason, but we never ate them so they just went bad. Lesson learned.
2) Plant close together. The more veggies there are, the less room weeds have to take over.
3) Tomato plants don't need much water. If the leaves looked wilted in the afternoon, then they need some water.
4) Start a new row of arugula every few weeks and you'll have greens for the entire summer.
But there is one score I need a little help on. Rabbits. We have a fence around our veggie patch to keep them out, but I can't seem to keep them away from my flowers in the front. I've tried a peppermint oil based spray that work great last year but this year isn't doing much. I also sprinkled cayenne pepper everywhere, but that's not stopping them either. Any suggestions? We can't get a cat, I'm allergic.