Hippity hoppity Easter's on it's way...

Does anything about tank photo look unusual to you??

Well how about this personal carrier? No you say, well I'd advise you to enlarge them and look again.

Last Saturday was Easter at our house. With the big move looming on Monday, and the Cav Easter egg hunt on Saturday, we decided to just move it up.

Matthew was ready to hunt those eggs.


Not your average hunt.


There was so many eggs that Matthew filled his basket and I had to dump some in a plastic bag so he could continue.

The boys thought about talking to the Easter Bunny and vetoed it.

And here is our storage unit. We packed alot in.

Roughing it

We are roughing it right now the non-camping way. We are eating strange food combos trying to eat up what we have.

Our living room looks like this because...

...our bedroom looks like this.

As well as the 2 spare rooms. For the last week we've kicked rump and got 95% of the house packed into storage. We have the 2 spare rooms completely cleaned and ready for inspection. Our bedroom and bathroom will be by the end of the day. Matthew's room will be completely cleaned out tomorrow and everything in the living room will be too so that the carpets can be cleaned Friday. By Monday morning, we'll be gone. Even though this hasn't been my favorite place to live, I feel a little sad. Monday Phil will start his new job and get to move into his new abode. We'll stay with him for a week or so and then Matthew and I will head back home.


But before you worry that it's been all work and no fun, don't, Matthew has been pushing us to take breaks for fun!

Hello....this thing on...?

Why am I always staring at the business end of this??? It's my 20th move!

Sorry it's been so long, I hope you all are still with me. Hello, hello? Anyway, I've not been posting due to a lack of post-able stuff, but because I have been waiting for several weeks for the final living arrangements to be decided. It's swung wildly from furnished 1 bedroom apartments to hotel rooms, to two bedrooms and back again. I won't even talk about all the time Phil wasted talking to a woman who claimed and everyone else claimed, was the only one to make the decision, only to have her announce she didn't cover our area and to call another lady. What!? Anyway, late this afternoon the decision was finalized. Phil has to live in a furnished 2 bedroom apartment with a roommate. Phil is soooo thrilled. Since that is the ruling, Matthew and I are moving home for the summer. We'll evaluate finances and decide what to do after that. We've decided to be conservative since the government is talking about not paying us for awhile and they still haven't found it necessary to pay us for the last move. Lovely stuff ladies and gentlemen. I'd wear black if I hadn't packed it.

New information

Sooo, the latest news is that we get a 1 bedroom apartment and it's FURNISHED. And we are responsible for the move 100%. So my BIG problem is (and remember I hoard like I lived during the depression, the you-never-know-when-you-might-need-it-and-once-it's-gone-I-find-a-use-for-it type hoarder)... What is most important to take and what do I pack for storage? Obviously, bathroom stuff, food, Matthew's bed and toys (at least some) and books, but what else is really important and needs to come? A few decoratives? Holiday decorations? My sewing machine and a small stash of crafts? Help! Give me your ideas!

Our big news

Now I know that you all will have lots of questions, and I don't have the answers, because Phil and I are batting them around the house right now. All I can tell you is that Phil got the position. He will be working with his division's soldiers that are hurt. He will help the soldiers and their families make sure they have what they need. The position will last a year. The whole time he will still be attached to the unit he is with now. This will require us moving to San Antonio. By April 15th. They will give us a 1 bedroom apartment. That is the extent of what I know. Stay tuned as our life changes even more...

House reveal

There she is, our new temporarily house. Plum tree in the front, peach in the back.

Living room from front entry.

Kitchen

And the dining room. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with a 2 car garage, for $25 more then the first house that was a 3 bedroom.

The back patio. This house doesn't have the dream soccer field backyard behind it, but it's ok. It's enough to kick a ball in. Matthew loves to ride his riding toys in the garage.

Our new neighbors. They love Matthew because he gives them peanut butter Capt. Crunch treats.

Last Friday we went to storytime, at the library on post. We won a Longhorns football that some guy took, so we got a sucker instead. At a trip to Target, Matthew convinced us he needed a Lightning McQueen bike helmet. (It came with a bike bell.)

Beyond our house is Fort Hood range. This means we have wandering neighbors. The 1st 3 days we were here, we were blessed with their presence.

Look at those horns. I love having no houses behind me. If I get homesick I just go lean on the fence and it feels like home.

Here is Matthew in the empty moving truck. He loved running up and down that 26 ft of moving joy.

Yesterday we tried to get back on routine. We took a walk with Missy and painted.

Being an artist, I was sooooo excited that he painted for an unheard of 40 minutes!

Monday we went to JAG so they could help us get our deposit back from the other house's property management company. That's soooo nerve racking for me, but it's the principle of it. Our property management company got word on Monday that our house smelled like cigarettes and by this morning installed odor blocker in the vents. They are doing great so far.

Today Phil finally got to his unit around noon. In his platoon is a guy he served with for many years at Ft. Riley. Hopefully that makes him feel a little more at home. The word on the street sounds like he'll be in the last unit in Iraq. (Poetic justice since he was in the first unit into Iraq.) He might be leaving in May. We'll just have to wait and see. Matthew and I are ok with it. We figured this day would come. We're military!

Oh sweet beautiful thing

After 2 days of waiting we have the INTERNET!!!

Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. We have been here for 10 days. We signed on a house the day before we had to leave, so Matthew and I were able to come with Phil. The house is fine, except that it was heavily smoked in before us. UCK! We are finding that TX is challenging our faith and sanity. Maybe the prayers shouldn't stop yet! Phil signed in for 1 day and then the army went on a 4 day weekend. Nice, but we want to find out what will be happening in our lives. After all we'd had him for 35 days straight, we could have given him up for 2 more to learn our fates. Maybe tomorrow we'll learn something.

I have lots of photos, well some at least. Check back and hopefully I'll have some up. Cheers!

The Bat

He's standing with the pumpkins they decorated at story time today. You can't see much because Mallory got in on the action. :) He'll have 4 days of Halloween this year, lucky guy.


In other news, yesterday evening we discovered that our property management company has been banned from renting to the military by government action, because of unfair practices. Yikes! On top of that, they have an F rating by the Better Business Bureau. I guess we really picked the wrong house. So we are scrambling to get on with a different company and a different house. Wish us luck and maybe say lots of prayers.

We are back from our scouting mission

On the way to TX, we stopped and visited a garden we've watched grow all summer.

In the process we made new friends. We also stopped and saw old friends.


After 3 grueling days of spinning wheels, searching lists, and driving all over neighborhoods again and again, we finally believe we've found a house.


It has an enormous backyard. This is just one section. But it has several snags. All of the houses down there did, due to the fact they are all managed by property management agencies. We have to find homes for some of our pets we've had over 10 years. And the agency that holds the house we want may decide not to rent to military anymore. We'll find out in the upcoming week if we'll get the house. Until then, we'll go back to the non-stop packing process we've been doing.

It's offical

We are a one household family again! It's the first time in 2 years and 5 months. Now the challenge will be to pare down our stuff as we have doubles of alot of items...

Our news on the last day of summer

You know how I know it's basically fall? I see the fuzzy caterpillars on the move again. Goldenrod and sunflowers are in their prime. The sedum has turned a beautiful shade of pink. The grasses have started turning golds and bronzes, while the occasional maple is starting it's spectacular show. The air is cooler in the morning. And most of all, I feel slightly melancholy. I always do this time of year. I guess it's because fall is ushering in the close of the growing season, bringing with it all the new things that go with new school years. I suppose it's heightened this year because we are moving November 1st to Fort Hood, TX. It will be the first time, since Phil and I have been married, that my family isn't close by. It will be the first move, that we won't have any family closer then 500 miles away. It could have been worse, but it could have been better. I'm sure once we are all settled in there will be many positives we can think of, but for now there is only 4 I can think of. 1. we'll be a real family again, all under the same roof 2. we'll be within 5 hours of the beach (BP made have ruined this option) 3. winter will be warmer 4. I can grow some more exotic plants.

It shall be an interesting journey. Keep us in your thoughts, prayers, and hearts as we go on this new journey.

The scoop and Matthew and I

With all the packing and then moving, gardening and latest a holiday, we have neglected to talk about how we are and what else we've been up to. I mentioned awhile back that I had my Vit D levels drawn again. A few days later a nurse called and told me I needed to come in so the dr could talk to me. I went last Tuesday. My levels had gone up from a 27 to a 30, which is the very lowest number on the scale. They want me to shoot for 40's or 50's so they have upped my doseage. I think that I feel less tired and I thought how I felt before was pretty good. No one knows why I have such low levels. I wonder if I'll have to take Vit. D for life. I go back in July to have the levels drawn again and they'll check my thyroid. 2 days later I went to the eye doctor. My stigmatism in one eye has gotten slightly worse, which means that if I want really clear vision I have to wear a weighted contact. Way to make you feel old and defective. On top of that she thinks my tear ducts are so itchy because I have eye allergies. I had red bumps all over I guess. So I have a allergy drop to put in every night now. On top of that, I have slight dry eye, which means a second drop for life. When did I get so old?

Matthew has been settling in well to our new house. He says, "I'm having an owie" when he has a wound. He loves being able to walk to stores and parks so easily. While on a walk across the river, we saw some people fishing. Now he really wants to go fishing. It's music to my ears. I hope we get to go soon. Yesterday Matthew and I went to the library and signed up for the summer reading program. We brought several books home that we've enjoyed alot. Right now he is watching the "blue" Toy Story, while he waits to go help MaMaw arrange her stuff in her new classroom. I guess that's about all. I'll leave you a picture of what we got to do Monday with Poppa.

Very late kinderGARDEN Thursday-week 6

It's been a long week folks. We've been moving since last Sunday with only a day respite. Matthew is fried, I'm exhausted, and our garden has been on it's own for over a week. Probably 2 if anyone is counting. This is what the new house looked like Friday and still in a different arrangement.

Some of our plants at the new house on Friday. They didn't all arrive till Sunday night. I wanted to blog last week, but all I did was pack and move, pack and move, pack and move...

Every night I'd be so tired I'd just fall into bed and get up and do it again. (Phil was only able to help me move the furniture on Sunday so after that it was up to me and Matthew, so really just me.) After 6 solid days of it, I was so tired Friday night I started snapping at my sweet mom and son. After all, my parents were good enough to come to the new house every time so I could unload without the son playing in the street. Thursday I made 4 trips and went to work! So, I redeemed myself by buying the boy and Mamaw some chillers. All was forgiven. That's the power of fruit and icecream. Especially the icecream.

I guess this was Friday morning. We'd moved too much to stay at our house Thursday, but there was too much confusion at the new house to stay there, so we bunked with the Grandparents. What a ham.

And here he is on his new bed. He's liked his new room and bed so much that he has actually slept the whole night in his bed both nights we've stayed here. (Friday night we drove to Phil's. Got in at 10:15 pm and left around 1 pm on Sunday to go to 2 parties and move more.)

Back to gardening, the whole reason for the post. All pots of plants are here and accounted for. Some are on the front porch and some are behind the house. The lettuce got sortof leggy and may die. The cilantro sprouts may not be cilantro sprouts. Don't ask me how, I just don't remember planting that much. Most of the tomato plants are starting to grow bigger. The alpine strawberries and peppers I don't think are doing much. The beans look awesome. My coworkers beans have sprouted! I think that may be the biggest triumph this week. Well, now that I have internet again (missed it Saturday-this morning) I will be back more regularly and definitely on Thursday to do that newest kinderGARDEN post. Today's the last day of work for the school year! Gardening here I come!!! That is after I sort the house out...

Pictures say it all

The journey has begun.

One of the wonderful birds that visit our yard every year. Have wonderful week everyone!

Gardening update

What we've been up to this week.

Matthew watering the salsa garden.

One of my favorite irises.

I hate when the pictures load wrong. Half our salsa garden covered with chicken wire...

to prevent the pregnant cat from digging. She attacked one tomato pot last weekend.

Tuesday (pj at school) we got some more seeds in, so Matthew and I planted them. We have all the seeds planted, except for the Alpine Strawberry, which hasn't arrived yet.

We cleaned some of the back porch and found my watering can.

Since Matthew shattered my water pitcher, I bought him his very own watering pitcher. He is so excited about it. It lives on the back porch in his wheelbarrow.

Watering the salsa garden.

There just wasn't enough salsa garden to water so we went on to my irises, daylilies, and poppy sprouts.


Today is kinderGARDEN update day. I've been patiently waiting and saving up pictures all week to post about what Matthew and I've been doing in the garden this week. If you'd like to read week 4, (which I called week 4 last week-I have to go change that) go here. The Inadvertent Farmer has guest writer, Susan Morrison, that shares some interesting stuff. In her article, she shares that as a society we are spending less and less time outside. Some think it's the internet, some think it's people are scared of bugs and dirty, but that if you want to raise children that love the outdoors, NOW is the time to get them out there. Thankfully we don't have a problem with bugs (as long as the house isn't infested) or dirt, so Matthew gets lots of outside time.
In the article she talks about another landscape designers philosophy is that where you lived as a kid influences you as an adult. I agree with that statement. Phil grew up in a big city where grass was highly prized. You raked your lawn of leaves and had tidy compact plants. I grew up in the country where grass was grass, you had alot of it and that meant several hours on a mower, we never raked leaves, we let them do what nature intended and plants were wild, even the ones we put there. I love plants that go crazy and Phil hates it. He is so proud of the grass he wants to have it redone and all the dandelions evicted. I just smile and think good luck with that buddy, you're in the country now! And I always knew I want a big yard for Matthew. I've been so thankful for it and am a little heartbroken that we are leaving it. Hopefully, this is temporary. Either way, I'll find a way for him to get a piece of dirt and outdoor time.

I was so pleased this week. By being a part of the kinderGARDENS contest, I've managed to influence a couple coworkers to try a little gardening this summer! Last fall they had both told me that they didn't like to garden and weren't good at it. This spring I started updating them on our progress with the salsa garden. They both thought it was neat, but what really caught their interest was our purple green beans. I heard stuff like, "No, really, you really found purple green beans?" "Who is messing with the genetic codes?" "So they are just dyed purple right?" This week we got the purple green beans in and Matthew planted them. The next day I went in and announced it. The one is a mother of very involved 4-Her's. She wanted to know where I found them. How I planned to plant them. I told her and said I would be happy to bring a few for her to plant. I got, "well, I'm not much of a gardener..." I said, "So put them in the ground somewhere and give them some water." "Well, I could do that...maybe we could raise a K-State garden, all purple veggies. What purple stuff is there?" So I blew her mind! By time she left and my other co-worker came in we wanted to know if the second co-worker wanted to join our club, the Purple Green Bean Club! After hearing what I'd been telling the other, she was rather interested too. Yesterday I took the beans to the first co-worker and showed her the Seed Savers Exchange's catalog. She announced she already had a pot or 2 picked out for the beans!!! When the second coworker came in she also looked at the catalog. By time we were going home she said, "Well, my husband is the planter, maybe we could take a few beans too...it'd be neat after all." Yes, two converts! I couldn't be more delighted (even if they aren't children!) They were both really interested in all the weird colors of tomatoes out there. There is so much the average person doesn't know about heirloom seeds. I'm so happy to share my love!

Week 2 of kinder GARDENS: Reveal garden plans

Are they coming up? Oh, I see them! (Looking at flower sprouts from the middle of March.)


This is a post that will reveal several things that many of you do not know are in the works.

1. I entered Matthew and I into a contest called kinder Gardens. We entered because I love Kim's, aka The Inadvertent Farmer, blog and I think it's a wonderful contest. I do not expect Matthew and I to win any of the cool prizes at the end of the summer, but it sure will be fun trying. As everyone knows I love to garden. I am trying to cultivate a love for gardening in Matthew. After all, when I die someone has to take care of all my plants!!! I think Matthew is starting to get it. He has been helping me pull weeds and tells the dogs to get off Mommy's plants or he says, "Mom, Scampie/Missy is on your plants." Or, "Mom, look." and is pointing to the offending pet. Atta boy Matthew!

2. We have planned our gardening plans around our family plans. So I'm here to announce that Matthew and I are moving from our little slice of country heaven (and all my flowers) to a house in town at the end of next month. Yes, I said it, in town. Somewhere I hoped to never be again, unless I was living in my beloved Phoenix. (At least there are flowers already there.) We had a opportunity to rent out our house, so with Phil still living in KC, we decided to go ahead and rent it out.

3. I don't think there is a 3 in this reveal (unless it's I finally learned how to hyperlink) so we'll move into our kinder GARDEN plans. Week 1 was to talk to your kids and come up with what you'd like to grow and make the plan. I sat Matthew down and we looked through one of our seed catalogs. I pointed out several veggies and asked if he would want to grow them. Every time I'd get, "Yes, but I not eat them. I no like them." Are you kidding me? We are considering growing veggies for the heck of it and not eating them??? I think not. The only plants he actually wanted to eat, or didn't specify as a no, was purple beans, nipple fruit (which isn't edible), and butternut squash. Matthew likes salsa and his dad loves making the family fresh salsa. I thought it would be fun to grow a salsa garden, with a couple other fun things like purple beans and nipple fruits. Matthew agrees this is fine and has since approved romaine lettuce. The list is something like this: tomatoes, cilantro, onions, peppers, romaine lettuce, nipple fruit, purple beans, and maybe an eggplant. Since we will be moving to town after we need to be planting our seeds and I don't want to tear up the lawn of the house in town, we'll be planting our garden in large pots. Probably 10 or less. Urban gardening here we come for better or worse!