First Corn Harvest

We started harvesting the corn. We had corn on the cob last night. We have quite a few ears and I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do with them. Some Quinoa and black bean salad, some black bean salsa, some cowboy caviar. Basically a lot of salads. I guess that's what you do when you have a garden right?

Chad's joke at work is that we are growing corn to get a government corn subsidy next year.

Summer Here we Come!

I don't know what's more depressing, having your oldest kid start kindergarten, or having your kid finish kindergarten. In kindergarten they're still little, but first grade? I can't even pretend he isn't growing up anymore.
G-man had a lot of fun in school. He didn't learn much, but hopefully we'll remedy that at his new school next year. He'll be in an accelerated first grade classroom. Our city does the gifted program differently than what I'm used to. I'm trying it out, but a little skeptical about sequestering the smart kids together without much interaction with the normal student population. But then we're used to people who have had abnormal educational and social experiences. Chad was home schooled starting in first and I think he turned out just fine.
So far the first two days having G-man home have gone smoothly. I think it will take Kiwi a few days to get used to having him here and be willing to give him his space. We have lots of activities planned complete with library trips, Joy School, and Field trip Fridays. Today we went to the zoo. It was absolutely beautiful. Too bad this cool weather won't last.

Officially All Done

Graduation Commencement marked the official end of my MBA program. It has been a long two years. The commencement program was a little too long for the kids, but they endured well. It helped that there was a promise of treats at the end, as part of the reception afterward.

Things I have learned from my garden

I have to post some current pictures of the garden. This garden is my baby and now that Scooch is a year, it officially takes the coveted "favorite child" spot. My camera seems to only have eyes for my baby. Its been fascinating growing these things in my yard and I've discovered a few things along the way.
1. I love climbing plants. I love watching the pole beans climb up the trellis and I am totally amazed how they know how to do that. Unfortunately with the unusually hot weather its been dropping its blossoms and we aren't getting too many beans. As much as I love to watch the pole bean climb the trellis, I don't think they are a good fit for the hot AZ weather. I also love the beans fresh from the vine. So good!







2. This cabbage is huge! The plant is at least two feet across now. We were so afraid it was going to seed because the head was loose for a very long time. It finally hardened up and we're going to pick it this weekend. Now I have to find something to do with it...







3. Tomato plants get huge! We have a ton of green tomatoes and they're finally starting to turn red. We picked our first ones yesterday. I am not a huge fan of tomatoes, but these were good! I could eat them straight from the garden.







4. Onion blossoms are beautiful. I didn't know that onions blossom.










5. Corn is very fun to grow. It grows so fast and gets very tall. I planted it too close together so I've been "helping" with the pollination. Its been quite the lesson in reproduction at our house. Hopefully it works and our ears will be full. The first ones should be ready to pick in a week or so.












6. I also think the pea blossoms are beautiful. Unfortunately the peas do not like the hot weather and are about at an end. They are another climbing plant that I have enjoyed watching grow. We mostly ate the pods straight out of the garden.
The kids are really enjoying this experience. There is something so fulfilling about planting a seed and watching it grow into something that you can touch and feel and eat. I hope I don't get too burned out with keeping it up.

Greatest Mother's Day Present Ever

Chad did a good job this year for mother's day. I think there is no better gift to give to a mother than the gift of less work (hypothetically). Hopefully the "Ruby" lasts long enough for us to get the hang of setting up the room for her to work. It will be hard keeping the kids away since there is nothing more exciting to a kid than an object that moves on its own. I'm sure they will once they get tired of picking up before turning it on.

Last Class

I finally finished the last class of the MBA program. It has been a long two year's worth of class, some good, some bad, but it is great to be done with the classroom learning. One take-home final between me and that diploma!