Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden. Show all posts

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Visiting the Barries

One of the kids' (and our) favorite places to visit is Dr. and Mrs. Barrie's garden.  We have been there several times and I am always disappointed to have not taken any photos because it is simply gorgeous.  I was glad that Michael snapped at least a few on his phone this past time we visited.
 
We never take any toys with us, there is always tons for the kids to do.  Not to mention, there is a fully stocked outdoor toy cabinet as well as an amazing toy attic (if we allow Luke in there, we won't see him again).
 


We love walking through the garden and sampling fruit and veggies.  Luke loves the raspberry bushes, and Mia will try just about anything from the garden that Dr. Barrie offers her.
 
Another favorite stop:  the chickens

 
The Barries are such wonderful hosts and we always go home with our arms full of fresh eggs, fruit, and vegetables.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorial Day Weekend 2012 ... and potty training

It was a "big" weekend ... yet, we didn't go anywhere. It was the weekend I have had set aside on our calendars for months now as the 3-day window to potty train Mia.  A friend had recently sent me a copy of The 3-Day Potty Training Method.  I knew I needed to try something different this time around (after the potty training that went on and on and on with Luke), and after reading her potty training "manual," I decided to give it a try.
So, we got started right after breakfast on Saturday.  I explained that the diapers were going away so that the other babies can use them, and that she needed to wear panties going forward.  Mia, not surprisingly, had several accidents on Saturday, but we just continued to follow the instructions (which, by the way, include wearing panties with a shirt and no pants - hence you can see that she had no pants on in any of the photographs from this weekend).

By evening on Saturday, we were happy to accept my parents' offer to have dinner at their house.  Although the plan suggests not going ANYwhere, I figured that going so close and still having easy access to the potty would be fine.  Interestingly, Mia seemed to really "get it" while we were there and had NO accidents that evening!  She even initiated going to the potty and was successful several times (and there were several ... okay, probably 10-12 ... times when we went to the potty but nothing came out!).

Coloring at Day & Paw's with her panties on
Sunday was not quite as lucky.  I don't think she went in the potty even once :(  ... and I have no photos from that day because, frankly, all you would see would be me in my dirty pajamas cleaning up accidents and running loads of laundry.

Monday we executed on a project in the yard that we've been talking about for quite a long time now:  planting a garden.  It's a small plot, but a great amount of space for us to start with.  Michael worked the previous days to clear the plot and frame the bed.  I figured it was a good idea to have Mia outside.












We planted tomatoes, peppers, summer squash, strawberries, various herbs, and still have a space designated for some arugula.  So excited to start growing some of our own fruits and vegetables.

On the potty-training front, Mia did very well on Monday.  We had a couple of accidents, but also many successes.  She is very proud of herself and seems to want very much to make it in time to the potty - so much so that she has many false alarms where we are all running to the bathroom only to have her tell us after sitting down for 2 seconds, "all done."  Oh well, better to be safe than sorry!



In other exciting news:  Trader Joe's peonies are in!  Which makes Mommy ridiculously happy!