[Clever kid-related blog title here]

Hey friends. Just wanted to post a little about what the kids have been doing lately....

1. They have their very own box garden :o)The kids wanted to be in my garden all the time, so I made them their own and they love it!

I got a wooden pallet (the kind used for fork lifts) from the side of a dumpster (yes, me and the dumpsters, I know) and I pryed two boards off the top and nailed them to the sides and ta-da! A garden box! (with really good drainage, too)
Matthew planted corn and cantaloupe in his side and Megan planted watermelon and cinnamon basil. Matthews just came up and hopefully Megan's won't be too far behind! fun, fun!

2. They now have dish duty :o)
I probably waited a little longer to teach them this than I should've, but my kids are now dish-doing dudes! yay! they love it! 3. They had fun painting today :o)
This has got to be the most AWESOME-est Bakugan-holder ever! Matthew does a really good job painting- he loves to make sure every little spot is covered.

If you don't know what Bakugan is, it's the latest and greatest toy to get for boys right now. It's kind of a spin off of Pokemon but when you play, you roll the bakugan balls over cards and if they pop open (see below) on the same card as the opponent, you battle. Don't ask me more than that, that's all I know. The card has a metal plate in it and the balls have a magnet in a little spot in the bottom where if that spot touches the metal plate, it pops open to form a creature of some sort. They're fun to open.

Megan's teacher asked her to make a replica of her crocodile, Pippa, for her new preschool (Sunshine Sharing Preschool) and told her she'd pay her for it. Awesome-

She hasn't painted the white eyes or teeth yet, so they are still blue, but you get the idea. We'll post a pic when it's done. Megan is starting out young with her crafting business. ha ha. She said that she wants to make a catalog to "sell home-made toys, and blankets, and cushy pillows" And Matthew's job is to mail the catalogs and toys all over the world. She cracks me up.
Speaking of crafts and painting, I did another bow holder- this time for Megan. She saw me do the ones for her friends and wanted one so badly, so here it is. It doesn't even hold all of her bows... how sad. Oh well, it's cute anyway.

Unintentionally Green and loving it!

Ok, so I was (ok, am) the type of person who scoffs at tree huggers and this whole green movement, so how how did I get to this place where I am vermicomposting with worms under my sink, using organic materials to fertilize (kelp), enriching my soil with Vermiculite and composted horse manure, and reusing playdoh containers for my window sill herbs??

Here's how: I've been going to an organic gardening class for a month now given by a woman in my community named Beverly. She is a walking gardening encyclopedia. She can tell you which plants will help your skin, blood pressure, teeth, sinuses, what will make your hair silky smooth, and even plants that will replace the "little blue pill" (these ones grow as weeds in my backyard). I already wanted help getting these dumb plants to thrive in the Arizona heat, but she has taught me way more than I expected! If you're in the area, she teaches a hands-on class every other Saturday morning at 6am. The next one is this Saturday the 6th and she charges 5 bucks a lesson. You can ask her whatever you want and she always has super helpful handouts including when to plant different types of veggies in this area, and good organic recipes for potting soil. If you're interested you can email me and I'll tell you where to go. These little 1 week old beauties are a tribute to her teaching skills. (they came up after 3 days because of all the rain- it also tranplanted seeds to the other side of the pots. Oh well) Thanks Beverly!

Mixed Salad Greens (and flowers)



Sugar Peas



Pie Pumpkins, Canteloupe



Chatantais, Zucchini (I can't remember what those tiny plants are that I put in the middle/left- I guess it'll be a surprise!)



And here is the next place to plant as soon as I get my composted equine manure to help the soil!!! (yes, these are the fences!!!! they are a little dirty after the crazy rain and wind- I haven't cleaned the splatters off yet. If you're wondering what that table thingy is in this picture, go to this post)

Trash to Treasure....

Ok, so the other day I was on my way home and saw some miniature picket fences propped up against the dumpster. Of course I had to throw them in the car and take them home. I have outlined the place I want to put them, now all I have to do is nail the posts straight , sand them, have my kids paint them white, and nail some stakes to the back so I can pound them into the ground. After that's all done, I have to dig out at least 6 inches deep by however big this area is and replace the packed dirt with good, nourishing, airy soil. And then plant. Obviously it's going to take a while, but I have to get it done before I need to plant which will be the beginning of October. So here are the beginning pictures:

I'll post the after pictures when I'm done.

One neighbor, when she saw these at my house, said "Oh my gosh you DID NOT! I saw them by the dumpster and then they were gone. I'd wondered who took them. I should've known it was you!" Another neighbor said that when he drove by the dumpster he thought, "Someone could take those and fix them up nice. I bet Stephanie could find something to do with them." Well, I have. :o) Is it sad that people see junk by the road and think of me? LOL

Lemonade Stand

Well, the title speaks for itself, but I'll explain anyway. We have been meaning to make a lemonade stand for a year now, but two days ago we finally rolled the large deserted wooden cable(?) spool over to our house and sanded, painted and decorated it. Megan and Matthew officially opened their lemonade stand today! They made $5.00 in 90 minutes. It was quite fun and Megan was so excited when her first customer (a maintenance man) drove up on his golf cart and bought a 25 cent cup of lemonade for a dollar!

March is here!

I was cutting Matthew's hair this morning because it was looking pretty shabby. during the haircut (outside) Matthew saw a helicopter and said "AIRPLANE!" I said, "that's a helicopter, Matthew." So Matthew said his version of "Helicopter!" to which Megan replied, "Mom! That's Matthew's first hel word!" It was funny.
When you compare the before and after pictures, Matthew looks way better with longer hair, but I swear in real life, it looks good shorter.... and yes, I did eventually get around to wiping that nose..bleh.

After the haircut Megan decided Our newly blooming flowers needed one of those garden picks with the picture of the plant full in bloom, so she drew a picture and put it in the flowerpot.

Aaron found out back from the interview he had- he's been placed on the alternate list for next sememster... so here's to hoping that those accepted decide NOT to go there and they'll get down to Aaron's name! LOL He'll be sending more information to the dental school in Las Vegas (which they requested just after Aaron's interview) and also applying for podiatry school. He's just wants to get going with whatever he's going to be doing.

I've noticed after going through a few pictures recently that unless I ask Megan to stand straight, she'll do a pose every time. She calls it her fashion:

A couple weeks ago I gave in to Megan's begging for a pink bike and instead of buying a pink bike, I just repainted her bike pink. cheap, but effective. She loves it. When we were on a walk down the street we saw that someone had put out in their carport a few chairs and bikes with a huge FREE sign on them. One of the bikes was an old timey blue Schwinn so I took it home, cleaned it up, and used the rest of the pink spray paint on it. I have a new bike! I still need to get a fuzzy black seat cover for it because the original seat doesn't match, no matter how cool I think it is.