What's Blooming and "Gourd" to See Ya!

Cheesy title, I know, but I just couldn't resist.

It's amazing what you see when you haven't been outdoors in a while - this week my yellow chrysanthemums decided to join the mum party...

And a malva zebrina decided to pop up. This one's probably been there for a bit, since it's starting to die off (I know, it's been a few weeks since I've been able to walk over unstable ground!). This must have reseeded from the original malva that I planted when we first moved in - in 2011. There weren't any last year, so I'm not sure how this one survived. But hooray!

The catnip has also exploded into bloom. Is this its second bloom this year? I seem to remember it in bloom when I planted it, but I'm not complaining.

We also are harvesting Doug's gourds from his pumpkin/ornamental garden behind the shop. I don't know where he finds these seeds, but the results are pretty spectacular, if you're into gourds (and I am)...

The kids call that last one "the octopus". Seriously cute little things, aren't they? If you live in the area, you're welcome to come get some...we have buckets of them.

Have a good week!

My Little Pixie

Sad to say, I like long hair for little girls. It's a stereotype, yes; but I love it. So does Doug.

Even sadder to say: my boys love scissors. And they also love bugging their little sister. I think they were going for a mullet, but it didn't really turn out that way.

Needless to say, we went to the salon immediately. This is beyond my rudimentary hair-cutting skills.They had to go with a pixie, since there wasn't much hair to work with in some places.

The first thing Jack said: "Sophia, you look like a BOY!"

She replied angrily, "NO BOY!" That's my girl.

No boys. Especially no boys with scissors.

The Game Plan for Weekend 2 of Hunting Season

Yes, I'm still cleaning out this weekend, but there's more!

The living room downstairs has become almost uninhabitable since Doug started framing and insulating down there. Now, I am excited at his progress. However, his tools have been sitting in that room for four months - and he keeps getting frustrated that the kids are getting into them. In addition, there's only one chair in front of the TV.

Guess how often the kids are down there. Not very much is right - who wants to sit on the floor if you're the second person watching a show? So they've been inhabiting my room.

Not cool.

Time to turn that partially-finished room into a play area again. So, I moved the one remaining couch over to the TV area (after moving all the insulation into a cubby under the stairs).

Now up to four people can comfortably watch at the same time. Woot.

Then Collin moved all the junk off the pool/air hockey table. And the kids remembered that they like playing pool and air hockey. Woot. This is the area that still needs some TLC (ignoring the fact that this room still does not have walls).

Lastly, I moved the jungle gym inside. I have to move some outside climbing equipment inside for the winter each year. Otherwise, I'd go crazy with all the kids' energy. Truly mental. Yes, I hear you saying I'm already there. Understand that!

Now we've got a playroom. And guess where the kids have been all afternoon?

That's right: playing downstairs. And me? In my room. Aaahhhh.