A matter of perspective...

Dear Loyal and Dedicated KinderGARDENers,

Please forgive me for my extended abscence in blog land. I wish I had some fabulous excuse to explain my lengthy leave, but really...it's just life, I guess (A tonsilectomy, two trips to the beach, a little camping, and a brand new Kindergartener).

I have missed you all and thought about you (and your beautiful gardens and veggie eating children and furry little farm creatures) quite often over the past month. Do you hear the green-eyed monster rearing it's ugly head? I am more than a little embarassed to admit that my garden is really sufferring (thanks to aforementioned "life" and the fact that we really did overstuff our tiny little farmstead). It's bulging at the seams and it has completely overwhelmed us.

I shamefully admit that I spent one night crying to my husband about the ridiculous amount of nearly rotten tomatoes that remained on the kitchen counter even after I had made two batches of salsa. Yes. I cried over tomatoes. And I begged my husband to take care of them for me, because I couldn't stand to throw them out. The next morning the tomatoes were gone and we haven't spoken of it since. Note to self: Nine tomato plants is about five too many.

As the Beefsteak tomato plant towers above my head, the sweet potatoe vines make the turn and travel around the side of the house, and the green been plants are starting to resemble swiss cheese (thanks to those darn beetles), I find myself avoiding what just months before was such a tidy, calm, growing, peaceful space. Needless to say, I have much to learn about this gardening adventure.

My plan was to update you on our sunflowers (because they were planted far from my overgrown mess farmstead), but the pictures just looked a little pathetic. See?

But then I zoomed in and took a closer look and I saw this

Not so pathetic. Actually, I am surprised by how beautiful this picture is and how happy it makes me feel. I pray that my girls realize the miracle that occured, somewhere between planting those dry, dirty seeds and now.

And I realized that even in the midst of the weeds and the beetles, the rotten tomatoes, and the wandering potatoe vines, my family has gained much from this KinderGARDEN adventure. I look forward to sharing that with all of you next week!

Sincerely,
Holly

For all my non-KinderGARDEN readers, go here to see some amazing gardens and meet the fabulous families who care for them!

Kindergarten...a Recap!

We interupt this Summer Send-Off Series to bring you a brief recap of:

Kate's First Day of Kindergarten (said loudly, like a car commercial)...

Thankfully, I did most of my crying in the days prior to the start of the school year. And let me tell you, I cried me a river (and then some). There were a few tears the morning of the big day, but I hid in the office briefly until they passed, and my sweet girl was none the wiser.

Mostly, she was excited. Because it's KINDERGARTEN (said loudly, like a car commercial)...

We had to do some last minute shopping in the morning (Kate goes to afternoon Kindergarten), so we made a quick trip to Staples in search of the ever elusive Ticonderoga fat, primary pencils that were on her school supply list. Yes...I was still searching for them mere hours before the start of her first day. And yes...I found them! Yay, me (and thanks, Sheila, for the suggestion)!

There was also a little discussion about whether or not she should put a sock or a mitten in her pencil box (as the school supply list said that she could use either one as a white board eraser). She wanted a brand new mitten (which, just so happens to be very difficult to find in August). I gave her a cool sock. She cried and told me that everyone would laugh at her if she put a sock on her hand. So we picked out an old mitten, shoved it in the box and she was happy!

She had a new dress, thanks to Grammy (who took her on her first back to school shopping extravaganza the week before). On said extravaganza, Kate picked out three dresses, a necklace, a bracelet, and her first book bag.



She got dressed quickly, proudly posed for pictures, and was thrilled to jump in the car and head on her way to KINDERGARTEN (loudly, like a car commercial, remember?).



We got there and I could tell she was a little nervous. We found her cubby (which was unmarked without her name tag on it...a little snafu to the start of the day, which she seemed to handle well). She sat down with an apprehensive look on her face (even though she was seated directly across from her friend Colin...the first boy she ever kissed. And hopefully the last until she's 20 something).

I took some more pictures, told her it would be a great day and I couldn't wait to hear all about it, and I calmly walked out the door...leaving my baby girl in the hands of a woman I had barely met. But I didn't cry. I talked with some other parents for awhile and then I headed home to bake the much loved and highly anticipated after school snack...blueberry muffins. I had a little helper. She was great (and very sad that she couldn't go to Kindergarten). Poor Ellie said that it isn't fun to hang out with just me, even though we played Pretty, Pretty Princess and baked muffins. It kind of hurt my feelings.

And then Steve arrived with first-day of school balloons (which, by the way, are not dorky...all the cool kids get balloons on the first day of school! Right? Tell me I'm right!). I stood by the window for 20 minutes watching for the bus and then we made the long trek (all 40 feet or so) to the bus stop, camera and balloons in hand.


As the bus approached, I snapped a few pictures for posterity and waited anxiously for my girl to get off the bus when the doors opened.

Except...she wasn't on the bus. It's the first day of school and my girl was not on the bus. I thought I might need to be resucitated right there. But instead, I ran up the bus steps and said, "Where is she????" Thankfully, our fabulous bus driver made a few calls and we found her within a minute or two. My girl was still at the school, because her teacher thought she was a car rider. There were a few tears when we picked her up, but only because she really, really wanted to ride the big bus (I think she had been looking forward to that part of Kindergarten most of all!
The day was filled with so many emotions. I was so proud of Kate. She was excited and nervous and she was so brave. My girl is growing up...and I'm just praying that she knows how much we love her, how special she truly is!


Day #2: Getting off the bus...finally! Woo Hoo!

Summer Send-Off: Thrill Rides

Ladies and gentleman, it's time to say farewell to a much loved, small town America tradition...The Carnival. You know, those totally safe and perfectly clean rides that are set up in 30 minutes and run by men who smell like Jack Daniels and cigarette smoke?

Ah, yes...and what an innocent, sweet, summer tradition it is (as you cover your kids' ears in hopes that they won't hear the multi-pierced teenagers swearing like a bunch of drunken sailors). My friends, carnivals are small town at its finest. And honestly, I love ours.

Love. It.

Except for the five minutes when Ellie was sucking on the hand bar of the ferris wheel (It's okay, though, because I'm sure it was cleaned with lysol wipes by the tattoo covered, dog collar wearing ride operator just moments before she sat down).

So here's a quick farewell to our beloved carnival and all the colorful sights and sounds (and people) that go along with it.

Summer Send-Off: Farewell to Sprinkles

My girls love sprinkles. Me? Not so much. Melty ice cream with dripping sprinkles is not among my top five summer pleasures. But the girls think it is hilarious to get sprinkles up their noses, down their shirts, and in their socks. Seriously, though...how could you not love a little shot of sprinkles up your nose?

Excuses...and Summer Send-Off #1

I wasn't abducted by aliens.
I wasn't on a deserted island shooting Survivor Season #58.
I wasn't hanging out with a man named Bubba in an 8x8 jail cell.

And I most definitely was not outside a certain Kindergarten classroom, hiding behind a prickly bush with binoculars around my neck making sure my girl was okay (but only because Steve said I would be arrested and locked in an 8x8 jail cell with Bubba).

What I have been doing is holding a cranky three-year-old who had her tonsils removed, crying over a garden that is producing way more than I can keep up with, wearing a winter coat and gloves while driving at high speeds on a boat, editing pictures from last months photo shoots, nagging a certain little girl to do her homework, driving to swimming and dance classes, and finding ways to avoid the gym.

I thought I had writers block, but I just realized that I had too much to write about and I didn't know where to start.

And so, without further ado...I have made an executive blogging decision. It's time for....

Drumroll please...

My much anticipated and well loved Summer Send-Off Series (aka: Holly's way of posting all those summer pictures that she was too lazy busy to post during the summer).

So, are you with me (or are you wishing I was filming Survivor right now? Just so you know, Steve says I would be the first one voted off because my head spins in circles, I grow claws and fangs, and I hurt things when I get hungry...or something like that).

Summer Send-Off #1 Farewell to Ocean Waves and Sand Between Your Toes...





























And just so I don't ever forget, my favorite things about the beach this year were:
*Watching the girls fly a kite and run around the beach until the sun set
*Swimming in the ocean with Kate...she loved "riding the waves."
*Spending the day at Assateague on a private little bay-side beach where we saw a sting ray, crabs, clams, and jelly fish (but the girls still swam in there, without fear)!
*Eating popcicles on the porch of our beach house with my parents after a long day on the beach
*An impromptu steamed shrimp lunch in our beach house...my favorite meal of the whole trip!
*Curling up in bed at night with a good book while my girls slept on either side of me (we had a room with three twin beds in a row). I finished two books in one week.
*Riding bikes on the boardwalk with just Steve while the girls stayed home with Grammy and Pappy
*Coming home from that bike ride to see my dad, pulling Ellie on her bike down the boardwalk using his belt!

What a great week!