Roughing It.

Solar Dresses for Sunny Days

It's been awhile. Sorry about that. Life gets all whirl-windy and somethings just get pushed back.

I haven't sewn since before we moved. In December. Yep, it's been that long since I've pinned and cut and measured. I've missed it.

I decided this week will be my sewing week. I have a nearly eight year old that is getting too tall for her summer clothes and the budget is too broke for store bought goodies. I like them in knee-length or lower, little girls like to forget they're wearing dresses when it's playtime. I brought out all the fabric I've had boxed away since the holidays. Thanks to a free tutorial from Vegbee, Solar Dress, my girls are now the super proud owners of some light and airy summer dresses complete with pockets.

Please excuse the lack of iron. I can't find it.

When did she get so big??

I swear I didn't photoshop this. That fabric is just this bright.

It's a great dress for dancing.

And for jumping.

And playing.

Once I got down the instructions with Olivia's dress (the blue), it took me much less time to crank out the other two. It's a very simple pattern and free. Which makes sunny summer days totally cool.

I'll be back

The past week has been hectic to say the least, there is so much that needs to happen between now and our move on the 18th that blogging isn't a priority right now. The kids have been having a grand time with the empty boxes. They've made tunnels and towers.

Club houses and look out places.

Which has really done nothing except keep them busy. Making messes and not helping in the least.

Homeschooling is near impossible seeing as the house is a wreck and what's not a mess is being packed up or on it's way out to the trash or donation bin.

It's pretty much driving me batty.

But it's also funny. Especially since the boxes all came from either Dell or the liquor store and the kids can read now. Makes for interesting conversation when Alex says something like "So you're packing up the kitchen stuff in the Vodka box?" or when he asks specifically for the Samuel Adams box for his books.

So, between packing and addressing holiday cards, homeschooling and cooking up the last of the stuff in the freezer, my next few weeks are going to be a bit busy but don't worry (I'm pretending you are) I'll be back before the Holidays.

Unless I die in a freak packing box accident. Then I guess this is good-bye.

Free Play

One of Olivia's favorite things is to make elaborate LEGO playscapes.

Here we have a barbeque with squids, lightsabers (or light savers as she calls them) acting as bbq cooking devices,

a refrigerator, R2-D2, a man lifting weights and a man properly holding something at gunpoint on the back patio,

a front door in the middle of nowhere and windows sans walls, little LEGO heads on single blocks to make kids because LEGO people don't come in different sizes,

a patio table with umbrella, a lined sidewalk and shrubbery. Can't be without shrubbery.

One of my favorite things is to listen to her explain what all the little details are after she works for hours on her creations. And everything is detailed. Everything is placed with purpose Nothing is without cause in Livi's free play.

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl and her imagination?

Overload

I haven't been chatting lately because my brain is on super-automatic-overload which should be a setting on my washing machine. My hundred billion mile a minute brain hasn't been functioning well enough to give you a decent blog post. Heck, it probably still isn't at top notch but I wanted to let everyone know that yes, I am still alive. I haven't actually dipped past crazy. And I am probably likely on my way out of last weeks depressive slump. Thanks for all the encouraging words, they are truly appreciated.

So, while my brain has been super active, so has the rest of me and us.

I made pumpkin pie french toast (recipe may be forthcoming later this week).

I finished the girls halloween costumes (I might have a real tutorial for that later as well).

 I made a reversable halloween/harvest banner (instructions are already up here).

We celebrated Halloween by Trick or Treating with a friend.

Yesterday and today I've been feverously typing away for NaNoWriMo. Alex has joined me with a 1k word count he's 10% completed.

I've proceesed pumpkins and squash and dehydrated a zillion organic red delicious apples into chips. I'm going to try the dried apple sauce from the Little House Cookbook. I'll let you know how that comes out.

We're doing good. We're at least doing. We'll get to where we need to be, I just need to remember to enjoy where I am.

Building a Better Bonnet

I revised the bonnet pattern yesterday. I'm quite pleased though it needs a little tweaking.

According to the kids, the back needs to be "bouncier". Oh, those Prairie Girls and their bouncy backed bonnets.

The brim is near perfect but "the stringers are too big". Which translates from three year old to the ties are too long. Today that will be rectified.

It resembles a newsboy a bit. I blame the lack of bouncy back part and using too long a piece of elastic on the neck line. Perhaps even narrowing that back part considerably might be in order. It literally took me about twenty minutes to draw the pattern and construct the thing. And I didn't get mad or confused once.  I even made different sizes. 



"Mommy, we read Liddle House on the Querry now?" Emmy asks. "I have my bommet on."

This is why I sew.

There's been a discrepancy here

In our quest for All Things Prairie, the girls have requested sunbonnets. Bonnets? Sure, why not. I can make a bonnet. Because of my laziness busy-ness, I decided not to try and recreate the wheel by making my own pattern and just go out and buy one. I ditched the bow on the back and the extra neck protector piece the pattern calls for. I looked at the way Olivia's bonnet we purchased from Cracker Country at the fair earlier this year. I prefer her hand folds to McCall's required gathering. The pattern is sized for girls ages 7-10 years. Olivia is 7, her bonnet fits her so I thought that would be what I'd get; a bonnet fit for a little girl. What I got was completely different...

That's me under the monstrosity, if you can't tell.

Really, McCalls? This is sized for a child? There has been a huge discrepancy in pattern sizing which is one reason I just ditched fifty uncut patterns at the thirft store. It's frustrating for a fairly experienced sewer, I can't imagine what a novice must encounter. This hat is huge. Really, it's sizes too large for my larger than average sized head. I know I have a big head because hats. never. fit. The fact I found one good hat doesn't give way to illusions that my head is in any way, shape or form an average hat-wearing sized head.

The instructions alone are confusing and convoluted. There is even a step sewing a piece they never told me to cut out. Why sew the ties together and then curse every inch of the tubing by pulling it right side out? Why not just make them large enough to make a bias and save so many perfectly sane women from frustrated and foul tempers? Why not include finished dimensions on the friggin pattern so we can decide for ourselves what would make a ridiculous sized bonnet for our kids with normal sized heads? By my calculations, I'd have to buy the bonnet pattern for sizes 6-12 months to get a hat the right size for my five year old. Now, I'm stuck with a gigantic bonnet, wasted yards of fabric, two disappointed children and the new task of just making the stupid pattern myself which I should have done in the first place.

McCall's should be ashamed of themselves. Deluding sewers by falsely sizing patterns fit for giants. Deluding little girls intent on imagining themselves as Laura or Mary by creating ununiform patterns that won't ever, ever fit their heads. Even if they do end up with fairly large ones.

Rejection

All night my mind was turbulent with thoughts. Feelings errupted as I let my conciousness work through the happenings of the evening and my responses to them. I lost much sleep.

We did a two hour test run with a new sitter while I dropped off my car at the transmission place and grabbed some groceries.

We got home to her almost reduced to tears and a firm "no" that she couldn't handle watching the kids again. My first response was disappointment. I was upset that my kids upset her, though she assured me it wasn't because they were bad. Just loud, boisterours and oh, so numerous. I apologized profusely and hope that our adult relationship wasn't harmed by it.

Then I went inside and scolded the kids about not being able to follow her rules of sitting quietly while she did story time. And for being loud. And for interrupting. And for not sitting still. I unleashed my disappointment and anger and sent them to bed. I reduced them to tears.

I thought about these two reactions most of the night. I am not happy with my parenting. At first, I was angry that I lost a potential babysitter when my school work is coming down to a tight wire of completion. I was bitter and resentful that someone didn't instantly like my kids and want to get paid to spend time with them. I was angry that someone else couldn't do my job. Then, I turned my anger towards the kids. Why couldn't they just behave for two measley hours? I stood in the shower absently washing my hair disappointed and angry at the situation but not exactly sure where the blame lay.

It wasn't until about two a.m. when I brought Max into our bed for the remainder of the night that things clicked together. I lay in the darkness snuggling baby and realized that there is no one to blame. My anger had no place or position in the situation at all. Then, I got angry at myself.

I was angry that I felt the need to apologize for my kids, just for being themselves. Read this again: I was sorry my kids acted the way I strive to raise them. What is wrong with me? I want them to be inquisitive. I want them to ask questions. I want them to follow what interests them when the interest strikes. They are energetic and alive. They are busy, the little ones climb, Alex literally can not sit still. It takes work to keep them out of the trouble their exploring nature gets into when it's confiened to the house.

When a new person comes to our home they are like a bug under a microscope. My kids want to know why, how, what, and who they are. They want to share every facet themselves with this new facinating person. They instantly give their love to whomever mommy or daddy has designated a worthy person for them to meet. They don't expect love in return, they give it freely without strings or manipulations. They thrive on touch, expression and honesty.

Why, dear God, would I apologize for that?

I was angry at myself for being disappointed in my kids and dumping my emotions on their fragile hearts. They were being their authentic selves and because someone rejected that I was angry at them. Yes, they're loud. There are five of them in a very tiny space. I don't really discourage their volume unless I'm on the phone or someone is napping. They have big emotions inside little bodies and very strong vocal cords. They express themselves true. If the mood strikes them to sing, they sing. They pour their every feeling into belting out the songs in their hearts. If it happens to be story time, well, perhaps it could benefit from an improv sonnet. If they want to dance, if their bodies thrum with unheard rhythm, then their legs carry them hither and tither and they want to share it with you. It's not their fault that their recital falls on your imposed quiet time.

There is a reason we are in the family we are. We are meant to be together. Always. When a new person comes in with their own expectations and requirements for what is acceptable and those things don't align with our family principles THAT'S OKAY. It is NOT rejection. It's nature's way of ensuring the people that are in my and my children's lives, are the right people for the job. It is no one's fault, no ones, when we find incompatable people. It's why we usually don't marry the first person we meet. It's why we change jobs, cities, cars. I've heard when people adopt that they just know this child was meant to be theirs. It doesn't mean there was anything wrong with the people that are left behind, they're just not right for us. 

I want to assure my readers I did not send my kids to bed crying. We spent a good hour talking quietly and gently about how we all feel and what happened and why. I apologized to them both in words and touch. We snuggled and healed the damage my overreacting caused. Today, we're going to work together again. I am going to strive to include my kids in decisions we make. Perhaps, a sitter isn't the solution. I have some time to figure it out. See if we want to try someone else or work to make my school time possible at home. 

They're my kids, my family. I'm not ashamed, disappointed or embarassed to be their mom. And I love everything single little thing about them. Even that they can take down an adult.  

Handmade Holidays - Lacing Cards

I'm taking full advantage of my new ink jet printer for our holiday gifts this year. My newest project is making lacing cards for Emmy, my three year old (who will be three and a half by the holidays).

This is an under ten dollar project granted you have access to a color printer.

Materials-

chip board (I got mine free from the scrapbook store, they said they get it with the paper and usually just throw it out)
regular printing/copying paper
color printer
mod podge and brush
scissors
hole punch
shoe laces or lacing cords (I got a package of 12 lacing cords from Michaels for $2.00 with a 50% off coupon)
Images (Mine came from www.the-lilypad.com by Kate Hadfield but you can use free ones)

Instructions-

I used Publisher to make four images on one sheet, they measure approx 3x4" but you can make them as large as you'd like.

Print them on standard white copy/printer paper.

Cut out the images. I left a small white border around mine but you don't have to.

Spread mod podge along the back and then glue it down on the chip board.

Paint more mod podge on the front extending over the image onto the chip board.

Let it dry completely before cuting out the images. I left a border of chip board around the image to keep the seal on the image to the chip board.

Using the hole punch, make holes around the entire image approximately 1/4"-1/3" apart.

Tie a knot on one end of your lace and start lacing!

Weights

I've declared a state of marshal law in my house this morning. I am overrun by many small children that have the lovely habit of not picking up after themselves. And, when I try and enlist their assistance in cleaning up their mess I'm met with a deluge of complaints, whines, flat out refusals and ignoring. I'm frustrated and nearing a full-on burned-out emergency. The weight of everything that needs to be done is pressing down on me.

Hubby's car is officially dead. It's a huge, gigantic, enormous adjustment to now be a one car family. Indefinately. Saving up nearly four grand to fix it is going to take some time. I'm trying to take it in stride, figure out a week at a time but next week the kids have camp and its not figured out yet. He was supposed to drive them in and me pick them up which is going to be hard to do with one car if I also have to go pick him up from work. Or he'll have to get off early every day. Or we'll have to scrape the money together to rent a car for the week. Or...I'm getting a migrane just thinking about it.

I did just submit my very last assignment for my last class of my first semester in college. Yeah for that! I was sitting on it for weeks trying to get "the right time" to work on it. I realized that isn't going to happen. So, I fudged together a five paragraph essay which consisted of a lot of "according to"s and "so and so writes" but it's done and all I have to do is pass. Now, my final exam is looming and I'm freaking out because when we moved I kinda got rid of a couple of my books. I found out the exam is open book. Which is hard to do when you don't have them. ::Sigh::

The rabbits have settled in and are doing great. I put Conner's new cage together and the girls distracted me so the door now sports a 1" gap. Those little clippy things are a PITA to get on, never mind getting them off. Hopefully, sometime in the near future I'll have a white rust-free rabbit again.

The kids are driving me up the wall, over the fence and down the street. I am so tired of finding garbage just thrown wherever they happen to be. Half eaten food under the couch. Toys left out, strewn to all corners of the house. I'm tired of spills not cleaned up, the baby painting himself in someone's yogurt or applesauce they got out of the fridge behind my back and abandoned miscellaneous-baby-high places. Sticky door knobs, unidentifyable smears on the TV, windows and walls, broken crayons smashed into floors. My house is never really clean because I just move from emergency clean-up to emergency clean-up. I never get to enjoy anything being tidy for any length of time. I vaccuum three times a day. Minimum. With a shop-vac.

I'm done.

So, this morning we had a "talk" which means I yelled and hopefully, a bit got into their heads. No TV. No PC. No fun. No games. Nothing until the house is put back in order and they keep it that way. During the clean up they're going to loose toys if they start in with the complaining, refusal to help or start wandering off when I'm not paying attention. Perhaps, the idea of loosing things they want will help keep them on the straight and narrow.

Once they start up the bad habits again we go back to a day like today where it's spent cleaning, tidying and organizing. I'm not a slave and I'm not raising kids that are selfish and ungrateful. I won't pawn off my lazy son to some woman that will pick up where I left off. He's eight, I know there's a long way to go but eighteen isn't a goal, it's just a number. He won't magically start being responsible just because he's "grown up".

I heard once the best quote I've ever heard in my life though I can't site the source "My job as a mother is to work myself out of a job." And by God, I'm going to work hard to be unemployed.

Contest and a real Birthday

Just a quick note to everyone that entered the contest. Today, after Yoga, I'll write everyone's names out on slips of paper and throw them in a hat...or a bowl. I will then deploy a most scientific method of picking names out aided by various kids. If you win one drawing you're out for the rest of the prizes. Just FYI. I'll post the winners on here probably tomorrow and notify them via email.

Today, is in fact, an actual birthday in our house. Olivia, my first born daughter and second born kid, is now seven. Holy wow. I mean, I knew it was coming but...geeze.

We had her party last night. I barbequed some dogs and burgers and a huge pile of veggies. Earlier, I had made cupcakes which I let her pick from a mix. Remind me to never do that again. They were gross. They tasted like dry cherry candycanes and too sweet frosting with no flavor other than copious amounts of white sterilized sugar. I had to make it up to the Confectionary Gods and make some of my famous chocolate ones from scratch. With almond frosting. mmmm. I hope it earned me some forgiveness.

We ate and goofed off for the camera. The present pile was meager but if you don't make a big deal over it, kids don't notice. I still have her birthday quilt to finish which I haven't presented to her yet. I tried to choose things that were meaningful, worthy and inexpensive.

I bought her a long pesant dress and matching doll dress from A Lady out of Carolina after swearing profusely at the high prices looking over the American Girl doll store I found her on Etsy and fell in love. Not only are her dresses well made (with serged edges and good quality cotton), she makes them all herself, in America (which AG can't say). I only wish I could have gotten everything else like that.

I picked up a wooden nursery and birthday playset from Play Wonder* at Target. Olivia wanted this badly and it fits perfectly in the wooden doll house Cordelia got for her birthday at the begining of the year. They're simple, sturdy and not too expensive. Then she got the Toy Story 3 Leapster game. I <3 LeapFrog.

I manned the camera, which you can tell by my absentness from the photos...again. I would have gotten more photos of the toys but they snatched them up and scurried away with their prizes before I could. The day was simple and meaningful, two things that I strive to bring to our home. I feel so much has gotten away from these two values. Our souls feast on lasting gifts and memories and the whole face wide smiles of a very happy now-seven year old.

*Play Wonder is made in China. I know, I know. I try my best.

Armed with a Steno Pad

I realize that in many places school is wrapping up for the summer break season. Many kids are already out, while others have just a few short days left, if that. One thing that is very, very different in our homeschool is that we don't take a summer break.

Gasp! NO summer break? Are you mad, woman??

Probably, but that will have to be covered in a different post. My reason is very simple; they just don't need one. There really isn't any very good reason to take a months long break over the summer. The break was initially instituted so that additional hands would be available to help on family farms. We don't have one. Not yet anyway.

Homeschooling means a flexibility in our schedule that isn't attainable with institutionalized learning. We take breaks whenever we feel like it. Last year we took off almost a month in October when Rob came home from Iraq. Then we went to Disney for a week in the begining of December. We'll be taking another two weeks this October to drive up to New Hampshire and visit my family. Those kinds of things would be hard to do if we didn't school in the summertime.

But there are things we need to do now that correlate to the public school calendar. Homeschool fairs will be starting up next month, school supply sales will start then, too. In order to reap the benefits of sales and demonstrations I have to start my school year planning now, six months before our new school year starts.

Armed with a Steno pad, the Rainbow Resource online catalog and the heaps of school books in the homeschool room, I've started making the list of materials we will be using or need to buy. This year I'm homeschooling four kids. Alex is 3/4th grade, Olivia and Cordelia are in First and Amelia is Pre-k/Kindy. It might sound confusing -and sometimes it is- having one kid in multiple grade levels for different subjects but that is one of the reasons we chose to homeschool. It's also why organization is so crucial.

Each child has a list of subjects under their name tabs in the Steno book. Under each subject will be written the book(s) that we will be using. I have a plastic tote that I'm housing the books we'll utilize, sorting them out of the general boxes of material. There is a tab for things we own and another for things we need to buy with item numbers and prices. Yet another tab holds the website logins we have and the last will be a schedule of who does what on which days.

The book is small enough for me to carry easily and add to when I'm out shopping or at the conventions I plan to attend. Having the prices listed will tell me if I'm finding a good deal. I'm sure things will flex and change throughout next year, we like to take a Montessori/Unschooling approach with some things, letting the kids dictate what we'll be learning. But the book will help me see gaps in learning and give me a structure on which to build their education.

For those of you that are starting your breaks, have fun! For my homeschooling friends, I'd love to hear what you have planned for the upcoming year, and have fun too!

Four days and counting

Monday started off normal enough. The kids getting up far too early, heading downstairs to get breakfast of cereal and to let the dog out. They went downstairs ridiculously more awake than they should be and then alarm set in; the TV wouldn't turn on.

What's that? How could it be?

My TV devoted kids were at a loss. I tried to turn it on and still that familiar click and hum of power was absent. "Must be broken." I said after fumbling with the controls and checking to see if it was in fact still plugged in (which it was). I was ready to be met with high shreiking protests and tantrums but they merely shrugged it off and went on their way.

I did what I normally do when I don't want to stir the pot; I did nothing. I ignored their lack of response instead of jumping up and down dancing, surpressing expressing on the outside what my insides were doing.

I have a love/hate with Television. There are shows that have merit and educational DVD's that we own that are worthwhile, but overall I despise the innane, mind-numbing programming that my kids seem to be obsessed with. We have TV rules for what they can watch but sometimes the limits are what get me so aggrivated. I have four kids that all have opinions and favorites, they're also TV gluttons.

Which is really my fault. I know it. I own it. Over the course of years that included bedrest, new babies and single parenting, TV provided entertainment I couldn't. I just can't seem to make a working relationship with that damned box. It seems to be either all or nothing when it comes to the tube.

Tuesday was the same; TV free. I still couldn't figure out what was wrong with the set. Wednesday followed suit. Rob figured out what was wrong with the remote and he watched TV last night after the kids went to bed. "Just could you please, maybe, break it again when you're done?" I pleaded.

Today marks four days of the kids being completely TV free. It's amazing. But now I'm scared to turn it back on, now that I know how. I'm worried that one show, even if it's a thirty minute DVD is going to open the floodgates once again and have it's hooks back in my kids.

So, maybe we do a TV detox? A week or two completely free and then introduce a show here and there? Maybe longer? I'd love to hear other's experiences shutting down the tube and how (and if) you reintroduced it.

Night Terrors

It's between 12 and 3 am. You're in full fledged dream mode or in so deep your mind is encased in oblivion. Suddenly, your body is jerked awake by the soul-piercing screams from one of your kids. You rush to console, ease, comfort but are met with thrashing limbs and still more screaming. Speaking worsens, touching heightens. Nothing you do is helping.

Your child is having a night terror.

We discovered these when Alex was about 10 months old. They're scary and can be harmful when your on the recieving end of one of these nocturnal disorders. From what I gather, the child isn't daytime affected, nor has a poor relationship with sleep because of them. Alex's night terrors were intense bouts of thrashing, screaming and fighting. All on his side.

The scariest part is that the child can look awake; eyes open, talking, even eating all in the throws of the worst tantrum you could imagine. The hardest part was when he screamed for me, his cries sounding desperate and afraid, only to then punch or head butt me when I tried to soothe him. He didn't know who I was. His eyes were open but he was still asleep.

I ended up with split lips, bites and bruises from his full body assault. Fear that I was doing something wrong as a mother. Fear that they'd never end. They lasted over a year and occoured anywhere from 2 to 5 times a week, each lasting as long as 20-40 minutes. Eventually, they subsided and stopped all together. But they can last a lifetime.

Two nights ago, Max woke up in a night terror daze. He had another last night. There is no real explaination for why night terrors occour, though there are a lot of speculations and theories. They are heriditary,which is interesting since Rob had them and now only our boys have experienced them. The other part that is hard to determine is what actually happens through one since our boys aren't old enough to tell us what they think or feel. They go about their days, after getting back to sleep, without any recollection of having it.

After one occours, Max has been taking residence up in our bed. Which is how we finally were able to get Alex's to stop at two and a half. We brought him back to co-sleep full time. Having the close human contact right when it's needed reduced the strength and duration and after a few weeks stopped them all together. Then we slowly moved him out of our bed and back into his without a bout since.

So, a new chapter has started in our lives though it's one we've read before. Bedtime will have us on edge, wondering if tonight will be night terror filled again. We'll just take each as it comes and hope to get through them painlessly and quickly. With added hope that Max will grow out of them, too.

Homestead Realities

I love reading homesteading blogs. I love perusing journeys of those that live without TV and off grid.
Who shun shopping and grow all their own food, including the milk, meat and eggs. I love hearing about people that pack it all up and head out to a slice of Earth and make it happen. Who spend their free time shitting in holes while they build their tiny houses from scratch with the materials of the land or all the stuff they've stalked on Freecycle. I love it, I really, really do. But there is one key difference between these idylic scenarios and my life.

They. Have. No. Kids.

Not a one. Zip, zero. Nil. Or, if they do, they're at least or close to teenagers. A second or third set of hands that can actually lend a hand to build. People that are, virtually, adults. That can occupy themselves and have sense to stay away from dangerous stuff.

I don't have that. I have kids, toddlers, babies. Piles and piles of children at the ready to stick their hands in wet cement or dump buckets of screws on the ground. The complete opposite of helpful when it comes to home building.

Don't get me wrong. I love my kids, I love their ages and their tripping ways. I wouldn't have it any other way. But it's the lack of information, support or guidance from anyone else that's done it this way with kids that has me frustrated. Even the articles I read regarding this subject don't have this view point. I can't just pack it all up one day and say "Hey, we'll live off the land and if we can't find food, oh well!"* People will take my kids away and I really, really don't want that.

We have to have clean, fresh water. We have to have a climate controlled place for the kids to retreat to in the 100 degree weather. We have to have a steady supply of nutritious food, clean clothes, adequate restroom facilities and beds. Each of these, and a plethora of others, has to be hashed out, created or purchased before the next step -or even the first- can commence.

So, we'll be taking this in little baby steps, something we're well familiar with. Figuring out all the minute details that will help make our homestead a reality. I just would have liked to see someone else do it this way first.

*I'm not saying that people that do this are being nonchallant and haven't planned out what they'll do for food, shelter and the like. Just that we can't have quite the same freedoms as others.

Garden News

The summer garden is in full swing. While I've had some set backs; the dog eating some plants, a couple stink bugs eating the 'matos, a few plants getting burnt in the sun, sprouts not sprouting, things are going fairly well in my little seventy square feet of city dirt.

When I dug up the ground that was covered with creeping grass and a multitude of weeds and laid down my simple garden frames, I knew I was in for some weeding since I didn't use anything to kill off the unwanted growth. So far it hasn't been too bad. Some stray grasses and weeds poke through here and there, some worse than others but a quick pull and they're gone. If I stay on top of it, it's really not a problem.

But somewhere during the earth turning and seed planting, I got an unexpected surprise. A shoot came up near the snap peas and lemon grass, a place I didn't plant anything and I didn't know what it was. It didn't look like a weed.

I have very limited plant knowledge but this didn't seem to be something I wanted to yank out just yet. It wasn't close enough to harm the other plants by choking them out so I let it be. I could always pull it later. Plus I had a fair idea of what it could be.

It grew. It vined. It got little flowers on it. And yesterday I found this.

And this.

These are the kind of funny things that happen when you garden with kids and don't crouch over them, watching like a hawk that they do everything exactly as you tell them. Seeds get planted that you don't know about and you get plesant surprises in the form of baby watermellons. Watermellon being one of Emmy's favorite food groups, I'm really hoping these babies thrive and she gets to savor the labors of her works. Even if they weren't what was intended.