this much [2 month] Joelle & Jonah

a little early this month, but there was perfect lighting, time, and happy babies... i gotta get it when i can!

[this much] 2 months with the twins. 

my sweet Jonah, he's really not a grumpy bear... this boy is a smiley little talker when he's awake, he's so content and loves to look around and is mr. independent. but when the lights go out and it's nap time, he sure can fuss and boy is he addicted to his pacifier, just like his big brother! 

(this was really overexposed, but I loved it anyway!)

Joelle, my tiny little chunker. This girl is so small in every way, small head, ears, nose, legs, hands, feet; she's so little. But boy, oh boy, the fat rolls on this girl, they are soooo yummy! She is such a good little sleeper. When it's time to nap, a little pacifer and she's out, no fussing and a good little sleeper!

 However, if she's awake, she little miss needy. She wants to be held and needs to be able to see someone. Such a sweetie.

big brother's coming up soon....

linking up with styleberry blog for her [this much] project

THIRTEEN | p52 | 2012

Remember when...

I used to stare at you for hours and wonder what was going on in your little brain. 

What did you think of colors, noises, toys? Did water just baffle you at first? What did you think of food?

We used to narrate for you; talk like you might be thinking.

But now, now there's no question what you think or feel. 

Today I chased you around the house with my fancy camera while you repeated, "Me no like to cheese!"

I love the personality and opinions coming out of your mind.

 Attempting to hide behind the *filthy* door didn't work so well...

But finally, telling him I will show him the pictures afterwards gets me this precious smile. Ah, the life with a two year old....

Check out other Project 52s at:

styleberry BLOG | The Carter Family | Bugs & Boo-Boos | What We're Sayin' | Moments & Impressions | Our First Little Bundle Of Joy | Phreckle Face Blog | Aubrey My Love | Wicked Kate | Living for Love | Our Lil Story

And if anyone else wants to link up- let me know!

legs

these little baby legs are getting chunkier and chunkier!

Insta-Friday| Chubby babies

 

1. The photo wall in the playroom is finally finished! (Until we have another session, haha!)

2. Potato bags for the garden under construction... more information to come! 

 

 3. Who knew cut up sponges in bath time would be so much fun. Thank you again pinterest!

4. Hubby planned an *early* date night for my birthday in 2 weeks while we had babysitters here! Too bad the nasty 'stache had to join us! one.more.week. and that thing is history.

 

 5. Champagne and smoked salmon... happy birthday to me! And after 2.5 years here we finally tried the only nice restaurant, 10 North Main!

6. Even when he's being a big old stinker, I love this boy.

 

 7. Chubby elbow dimples. I want to nibble them.

8. That smile, the boy makes my heart melt. 

 

 9. Empty car + grocery run = BLISS. Ah, motherhood.

10. He's such an awesome Daddy.

 

 11. Grandma Pam is in town!!

12. Grandpa Greg and Jonah, our old men!

 

13. Giant canvases make me happy.

14. He's such a good big brother. 

 

 15. oh.my.chub. I can't stand the cuteness. She so little yet so round. It's awesome.

16. Double the cuteness. I love my little 2-pack!

DIY garden projects!

Time for Jace to hijack the blog again! This time its to share some cool tips on gardening DIY stuff we've prepped for the coming season. 

     First up is the seed starting trays I made from some the disposable trays that folks brought us food in when the baby's came. To make it I used two disposable cake pans, one of them deeper than the other, and the shallower one had a plastic dome. I also used some flannel that Chelsea had laying around from one of her projects. The idea is that the shallow tray sits nested in the deep tray which holds water, the flannel lays in the bottom of the thin tray and drapes down into the water drawing it up and watering the seedlings automatically so long as there is water in the lower tray. Its similar to a capillary mat system you might find at the home improvement store, but costs much less (like this one by Burpee). 

     The first step is to cut the bottom of the tray that will hold the dirt and seedlings to allow the flannel to hang down into the water. See the cuts on each end, and the two in the middle. Note: I only cut halfway to the middle on each side, so that there was a thin piece of metal (1/4 inch or so) to give the bottom more strength. You can see the thin , uncut piece where I'm pointing in the picture ->

 

     Next take strips of flannel cut and folded so that there are 4 layers the width of the pan, and with enough length so that the ends when fitted through the slits in the pan will touch or nearly tough the bottom of the deeper pan when put together. In order to get the fabric to fit in your holes on each end, slit the fabric in the middle just enough so the metal will fit up in the slit.

This is what it should look like when it's all done! Next just fill the seedling tray with a seed starting soil or other sterilized medium, put in your seeds per the directions on your seed packet for indoor starting. Once your seeds are in wet the soil with a light mist from a spray bottle to avoid moving your seeds and then fill the lower tray with water. Take care to not put so much water in that the bottom of the top tray is in the water. Place the plastic dome over your seedlings to protect to hold in heat and moisture until they sprout. As soon as you have the first green poke through the soil remove the dome to help prevent mold and fungus. 

     Here are my onions, you can see a line dividing the red onions on the left and the white on the right. I used cardboard (you can see it in the very first picture) to divide the two, but it ended up molding very early on, so I would do the same thing in the future, but use either some plastic, or paperboard like from a milk carton that wouldn't decay, and I'd sterilize it with some vinegar first. You could conceivably use many dividers to make lots of individual sections for plants like tomatoes (still to early for me to start from seed yet here in ND) and that's what I'd do if I hadn't already picked up the Burpee version of this at a garage sale last summer for 50 cents. 

     You'll also notice in the picture above that there is mold in my tray, I haven't figured out how to get rid of it other then to try and put it outside and get some UV rays on it, but it hasn't been very warm lately. I have used a 1/10 mix of hydrogen peroxide to water mix in the past, but didn't have much luck, so I haven't tried it yet. Any suggestions? So far it doesn't seem to be hurting any of the plants, and hasn't stopped some of the slower seeds from germinating. 

     When its warm enough to put these onions in the ground outside I'll just have to pull out the flannel and run it through the wash, and it should be good for next year. While I think that this is more durable than the super thin plastic found in the commercial versions of these kits, next time I make this it will probably be out of a small clear plastic "Rubbermaid" type bin. I imagine a set up like that could last years. 

    Last thing I'll leave you with this time is the "mad science experiment."  Really its just celery ends and sweet potatoes in mason jars with a small aquarium pump feeding an air stone in each jar. I tried to do a sweet potato without the aeration and it grew, but it took forever, and the roots ended up rooting in the water. Having learned a little about hydroponics I applied some of the principles of deep water culture (DWC) and now the sweet potatoes are going nuts, and the celery is doing well too. Now that I'm thinking about it I'm wondering if I should run a line into the seedling tray to fight the slime that's forming in there (eww...)

More posts on other garden innovations later.

-Jace

TWELVE | p52 | 2012

Remember when...

Laundry day was once a week.

Instead of four loads a day.

Sweet babies. So much laundry.

Someday I will miss it, but right now

I'm the laundry queen.

Check out other Project 52s at:

styleberry BLOG | The Carter Family | Bugs & Boo-Boos | What We're Sayin' | Moments & Impressions | Our First Little Bundle Of Joy | Phreckle Face Blog | Aubrey My Love | Wicked Kate | Living for Love | Our Lil Story

And if anyone else wants to link up- let me know!

Insta-Friday | Spring

Spring has hit Minot!! At least for a little while, until we get another blizzard :) Two and a half weeks ago we had a big blizzard with a foot of snow and temps around -10*... tonight, it was a sunny 69* and just gorgeous, we will take it!

 

 1. Awesome friends who randomly drop off coffee drinks are WONDERFUL.

2. Joelle's new baby doll from Bit of Whimsy!

 

 3. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player when Daddy is on alert...

4. Bought the baby girl, but used her patterns to make a boy doll too a couple of months ago. Needed to be sleeping, but I need to do something creative more... so J.W. finally got a face...

 

5. The start of a little project....

6. My mom sent 20 freezer meals in the mail... she ROCKS.

 

 7. Another awesome friend dropped off a DELICIOUS smore's pie... a-mazing friends up here in the 'frozen tundra'!

8. He's seriously cute... little old man.

 

 9. My daughter... how crazy is that??

10. Playing on their playmat... Jonah enjoys it, Joelle does NOT... she'd rather just be held...

 11. Our entry closet/game closet needed a makeover, badly...

12. We hit the 70s this weekend and spent a large amount of time outside! It was gorgeous!!

 

 13. Bought a used trampoline off a friend last fall and finally put it up now that the snow is gone... Jarvis LOVES it almost as much as his daddy does...

14. Her hair does that on it's own... I love it.

 

 15. I will be grateful for this day. I love my family.

16. Toy swap days are the best... it's like brand new toys he hasn't seen for weeks!

 

 17. Wool dryer balls have cut my drying time in half, which is a HUGE deal when you do 3-6 loads a DAY.

18. Hubby has planted the onion seeds and jerry-rigged an awesome seed/watering system... more info on that soon!

 

 19. A little water table play while Daddy preps the gardens...
20. The time of year has come... I have officially lost my husband to the garden... at least I get lots of yummy veggies and fruits out of it!

21. The 'after' of the closet... done completely with stuff we had laying around the house... not totally as cute or organized as I wanted, but free and useable will do....