Garden 2011: part 2

My last post was about the warm weather gift we'd been given. One month later we're being given a different kind of weather gift. This is more a gift to my children and all children who get to stay home and play in the snow due to school being cancelled. Ah, the joys of living in a place where snow is a novelty and everything shuts down for two inches and then it melts in two days. Love.

My raised beds are built and ready to go after a weed excavation extravaganza, but I'm just glad I didn't follow through on my inkling to plant peas and parsley last week. My favorite thing about these new garden beds is that I can see them through my kitchen window.

Thankfully, the only thing that has been planted are these four little broccoli plants and two cabbage plants and they are growing well in the blaring south sun of said window. In fact, the growth of these little guys is giving me high hopes for future plants in the beds, as my garden plots in previous houses have not had this kind of southern sun exposure, and this has so far even been filtered through the window.

Garden 2011: part 1

The past few days we have been given a little weather gift here in Springfield. Three straight days of 50+ degree, sunny days and more in the forecast. I have been staring out the window at my overgrown, leaf-strewn yard for three months feeling depressed that I would never again have the energy to rake or trim or plan a space for a garden. But fortunately, the gardening bug bit me thanks to this weather gift, and I have been inspired in all sorts of ways.

The best news is that I figured out a place in the new yard I think will be sunny enough to put raised beds for growing my vegetables. Originally I thought it was going to take some major excavation and taking out trees to do this, but I think this spot which is right outside the kitchen window should work. It probably won't be sunny or hot enough for tomatoes, so I'll have to figure out something else for those if I actually want them to yield any fruit. But since I have a goal to plant peas in February like I did last year, there is still much work to be done, as you can see by these pictures:

So far I have excavated the weeds out of the bottom layer, and moved over these raised bed frames that were left behind from the previous owners. Next up is to do the same thing with the second layer, build two more raised beds, fill them with all sorts of good soil and additives, lay down pea gravel all around the outsides (thanks for the tip, Shannan!) and install drip irrigation.

With more sunny weather in store, I'm hoping to have a good update next Tuesday to share.

Linking up:

Thoughts on becoming a MOB

***MOB=mother of boys. I just learned this acronym, and quite like it.

Most of you probably already read the news on Facebook, that come June, the Fullers will officially be that family, you know the one that when out in public all together, strangers feel the need to comment, "wow--four boys? are you going to try for one more, just to see if you can get a girl?" No. The answer to that is no. We are done, we will be a family of all boys, I will be a MOB and lead the mob of boys and I will enjoy it.

Just so you know, there is only a 1/16 chance of having your children be all the same sex, born four in a row like this. That figures out to be about 6ish percent. We seem to be on a lucky streak of beating the odds--we're heading to Vegas.

No, but honestly, I am feeling lucky and actually thrilled. I did have that moment, a similar disappointed moment to this one, and I took some time to mourn the buying of dolls, baby strollers, the sewing of cute dresses and meeting of a son-in-law. But the moment was less disappointing than I expected it to be. And the joy and excitement I've felt since that moment passed is actually quite amazing to me. This is a special baby boy--the child that completes our family, the child that almost wasn't, the child that helped effect amazing, big changes in our life so we could welcome him with peace of mind.

I am more thrilled than ever to know that being past the awful sickie , now I can just experience those fun milestones--the kicks that make your stomach look like aliens have invaded, thinking of a name (well, actually only medium fun), and those last weeks when you just can't wait to see the little babe in person and hold him in your arms.

Halfway there!

Coming back to life

Now that I have passed the blessed 17-week milestone in this pregnancy, I am trying to catch up on life in general. I finally just unloaded my camera with pictures from Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. On that note, maybe I'll share a few.

This is a boy who is happy to play with any ball, even a dirty old one left behind by the previous owners discovered under a mess of ivy.

We did have some costumes this year for Halloween--none of them made by me, but cute nonetheless.

This year our family of 5 traveled to the Oregon coast for Thanksgiving and ate our meal at a funny little restaurant in Reedsport surrounded by old people. It was the only restaurant open for miles around, so we were lucky to even find it, but it was some really delicious turkey.

And finally, my three boys in their Sunday Christmas outfits provided by Grandma.

An inspiring performance

I recently watched a re-broadcast of the 2008 Christmas concert by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. During the concert, the story was told of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
"The great American poet [who] is revered for his classic literary works. His poem “Christmas Bells” has become one of our most well-known and beloved Christmas carols, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” What is less known, though, is the story behind the poem.

Reeling from the tragic death of his wife and the war wounds of his son, Longfellow penned the words to “Christmas Bells” during one of the darkest times in American history. And while the words of the poem reflect his obvious despair and grief, it is the triumphant message of “peace on earth, good will to men” for which this song — and Longfellow's personal story — is remembered." (quoted from here)

If you're so inclined, you might take a minute to watch this performance. It is so well narrated by Ed Herrman, and this story of the Longfellow family has been on my mind since I watched. The performance left me with the feeling that Christmas is truly a time for healing and finding peace, and that message is like balm to my soul right now.

**Here is the link to original clip on youtube, as I can see that the full screen isn't showing up on the blog.

Thankful

Thank you so much for all your nice comments and for all your excitement. In the middle of vomiting or wishing I could vomit, it is difficult to feel excitement but of course this is a very happy and joyous event and I couldn't be more grateful that my body is able to house and provide a body for one of Heavenly Father's choice spirits.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving was like a turning point for me. All of a sudden I had an inkling of a desire to cook dinner (nothing fancy) and we even sat at the dinner table as a family for the first time in weeks. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but the past few days I have been less exhausted and more able to deal with the nausea.

I have amazing friends and family who have offered so many prayers, and some dear, dear friends who brought over freezer meals for us to eat the next few weeks. I am sitting here feeling overwhelmed with gratitude for the love and support that so many people have shown to me and our family and that is the first true miracle of Christmas. I am so thankful.

The first post of November

First of all, go and read this list. Except for #11, I pretty much could have written every single one of these. But since she wrote it so well first, I second everything she says, and I'll add a few more of my own:

1) Watching the food network, food commercials, and looking at food in magazines makes me immediately sick to my stomach

2) My super smeller pregnant nose can smell a poop the minute it enters the diaper even on the opposite side of a big room. Then I start crying thinking about how I have to change it. P.S. Super smeller nose is a CURSE.

3) For weeks and weeks I have to abandon, with no guilt, my usual green practices of recycling, composting and cloth diapering simply because the smell of each makes me dry heave.

4) All I ever want to do all day long is lay on the couch and watch tv or lay in my bed and sleep. Because anyone who has experienced this kind of nausea knows that sleeping or tuning out real life is the only real escape.

5) Whenever I feel that dreaded hunger pain in my stomach I start to panic because I know that 95% of the food in my house is inedible and disgusting.

6) Whenever my children say they're hungry or a mealtime is approaching, the panic increases ten-fold because the thought of standing in the stinky kitchen preparing food often overwhelms me to tears. In short,

I. HATE. MEALTIMES.

And that, my friends, is the most mysterious and crazy thing about these pregnancy hormones that invade and hijack every single system of my body. Because in my non-pregnant life,

I. LOVE. MEALTIMES.

and I actually look forward to them.

So bizarre.

We are excited and overwhelmed to welcome the fourth and final Fuller child into our family. And we will be even more excited if this dreaded nausea ever goes away.