Outside fun

This afternoon, Mark had some baseboard projects he really wanted to work on, but they're things which require Nora to be elsewhere.  So Nora and I braved the heat index of 110 and put on swim suits for some backyard sprinkler fun.  We ended up playing out there for an hour and a half, which let Mark make serious headway on his projects.  Nora had so much fun!  We played in the sprinkler, played on the slide, did the sandbox, picked a few veggies, and took a bunch of pictures.  Enjoy!

Sprinkler:  First she was shy of it, then we caught water in the bucket, then we started drinking from the sprinkler and running through it.

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Garden:  Nora "helped" me pick some cucumbers (and then she hid some of them in the grass).  Also, here's a picture of my biggest watermelon.  And then here's my Roma tomato plant.  I got it for free in early July, when it was "too late" to plant them, so I figured I had nothing to lose by trying them.  I found a couple little green tomatoes on there today, so it looks like it'll pay off, if even just a little bit.  :) 

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Berry patch:  I had just about given up on the berry patch, because we planted so late and the rabbits were so bad.  They ate the blackberry bush almost all the way down, but it looks like it'll pull through after all!  And the strawberries finally came up, and they're going crazy!  You can see the tiny green berries in the close-up.

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General playing:  Just some fun pictures of Nora.  Trying to eat a rock (I took this while simultaneously saying "NO!" and grabbing her arm), picking flowers to give me, and just looking super adorable. 

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Today's activities

Nora was SO cranky all day today.  She cried most of the day for no apparent reason, and I couldn't make it better for most of the day.  Also I had a monster headache all day.  Still, I pushed through and accomplished some things:

Laundry.  Not exciting or special, but necessary.  And on days like this, challenging.

Pickles.  I made my first ever batch of dill pickles.  I'm planning to try a couple different recipes this summer with my abundant cucumber crops, and I'll test them on friends and family who like pickles, to find out the best recipe.  The recipe I used today came from Uncle Dan.  Attempting to can peaches is on the docket for tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Swept the floor.  Again, nothing exciting or special, but necessary and a challenge with a whiny toddler who won't nap.

When Nora woke up (even crankier) after only 45 minutes of an early afternoon nap, I finally gave up my previous efforts to help her cope.  Yes, that's right folks.  I turned to my trusty friends, Sesame Street on DVR and graham crackers.  She sat in my lap watching TV and eating graham crackers for over an hour.  By the time Daddy got home at 4:15, she was happy and incredibly hyper.  She was running around, laughing like a maniac and being very very silly.

Went for a family bike ride.  Mark and I agreed that we all needed to get out of the house after supper, so we loaded Nora in her Burley and took off on a bike ride!  We stopped to visit friends on our way home.  It was much needed exercise and it was so good to get out of the house.

When we got home, Mark gave Nora a bath and I poked around the garden.  I picked 13 more cucumbers, a yellow squash, a zucchini, and 9 cherry tomatoes.  I'm still trying to figure out a good way to prop up my massive cherry tomato plants.  I thought the cage I planted them in would be sufficient, but it's definitely not doing the trick.

Sewed another set of pages for the Quiet Time Book.  The machine is running very smoothly since its tune-up and the switch to better thread.  Today I sewed the "Hang up my clothes" and "Pick my fruit" pages.  When the paint (the lettering) dries, I'll sew these pages to the other 2 that I finished.  Yay for progress!  Then I'll have to choose my next 2 pages to work on....oh, the possibilities!  I'm having fun with my project!  Too bad I don't have more time to work on it, but I have so many different projects going right now.  It's hard to keep them all going.

Whew.  When I see it all written down, I'm pleased with today's work.  Especially with the extenuating circumstances working against me.  And now it's time for bed and a much-needed night of sleep!

Rainy Monday

Stuck inside today, so we've been improvising to find amusing activities.  Now that Nora is down for her afternoon nap, I get to share them with you!

Here's one Nora came up with this morning between pajamas and getting dressed:

(She figured out how to put this shoe on all by herself.  Correct foot and everything!  We are both ever so proud.  She ran around the house making a funny clop-thud sound with one rubber clog and one bare foot.)

And here's Mama's contribution:

(We put music on the computer, with the iTunes Visualizer in full-screen mode.  We snuggled on the couch watching pretty lights and listening to music for over 20 minutes!)

We ended up deciding to brave the wetness in our mud shoes and pick veggies in the muddy garden.  Here's what we found:

(If the counting seems too strenuous, I don't blame you.  That's 16 cucumbers, a yellow squash, a regular sized zucchini, and a zucchini the size of my forearm.  I know, I know.  You're not supposed to let them get that big because they taste better small.  But it was hiding under a couple of huge leaves and I just didn't see it before.  So I guess I have some zucchini bread to bake!  And don't even get me started on just how much I have no idea what to do with 16 cucumbers in a family that doesn't like pickles.  In my head, I keep singing to the tune of Partridge in a Pear Tree, "16 cucumbers, 1 yellow squash, and a zucchini the size of my aaaaarrrrrmmmmm."  Also, I get this prickly itchy rash on my hands and arms for a couple hours after every time I reach into the cucumber patch.  Ick.)

Anyone who wants cucumbers is WELCOME to them!  They're yummy and oh so fresh!  Come and get 'em!