How does your garden grow?

Have you started your veggie garden yet? We got ours in the ground last week when it was averaging 80 degrees everyday and then this week the nights are getting cold again. I am sitting here in my home with all the windows closed because it is 46 degrees at almost 9am. What happened Mother Nature?

This year we scaled back a little and planted 3 yellow squash, 3 zucchini, 3 eggplants, 2 red pepper plants, 2 jalapeno plants, and 5 tomato plants. I also have a patio tomato on our deck as well as 2 pots with peas that I am not sure will do anything but Piper brought them home from school.

We won't get quite enough produce to make it all summer without buying veggies but besides buying peppers we might be close on everything else. We eat a ton of peppers. I wish that I were more of a green thumb but it doesn't really come naturally for me and I tend to kill things. The veggie gardens that we have had in the past have ranged from very nicely weeded to full of morning glory after I am gone for 2 weeks in the summer. I am going to have the girls help me this year though as a sort of learning experience.


The day that I get to pick my first tomato will make all the work that goes into a vegetable garden so worth it!

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Wordful Wednesday - Egg Hunt

I wrote yesterday about the documentary Bully that will be released on April 13. If you haven't seen the trailer check out my post from yesterday. I think that it is very important to show this to our children to teach them how their actions have consequences. It will be a must see for sure!

This weekend was our annual egg hunt at the house. Daddy did the hiding. He is getting more tricky with where he hides them but still has to put some out in the open for our Ruby.

They hunted until they found them all. 72 in total I believe. I wanted overkill because I only allow them to hunt 10 eggs at the hunts outside the home.


She's thrilled with me taking her pic can't you tell?


Her best "Wow I found an egg!" pose


and finally "Is this close enough to a smile?" That Ruby :)

I have seen so many of those little black ants around that I was afraid to put candy in the eggs at our house so we just put change. As they were feeding their pigs they didn't seem to mind :)


It was a fun morning followed by a huge feast with friends. This week is spring break. I love having my Piperoni home with me all week. I heard myself say "I can't wait until summer!" And it's the truth!

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Bully

Thanks to The Bully Project for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website to join the movement and learn more.

I remember her well. She thought I wanted to be with her boyfriend. I didn't. For most of my senior year I tried my hardest to avoid her but she made it very hard. In her car she would follow me home which always freaked me out. She never touched me but she had me very afraid she would. I thought it was all over when I graduated until a chance encounter at a restaurant and she followed me to my apartment. I had enough and told her to just leave me alone. Maybe it wasn't worth her time anymore because she thankfully did but others aren't so lucky.

Now I am a strong 41 year old woman but back then I probably had self esteem and confidence issues. If there would have been more open communication with my parents maybe I wouldn't have walked around looking over my should for over a year. Who knows. What I do know is that I am now raising 3 little girls who I never want to go though what I did. I want them to be strong and comfortable enough to come to me if something does happen. To provide them with a home that makes them feel loved and safe. I can't protect them all the time though but I will do whatever I can for them and their classmates.




Just recently a 17 year old girl in our area took her life because of bullying. My heart just breaks when I think of what her family must be going through right now and how much they are hurting. Those hateful words exchanged that brought her to the point that she didn't think she could go on. Then I wonder about the girls that were bullying her. Where were their parents? How did it get that far? A few weeks ago some kids videotaped a bullying incident on their bus ride home. The district had a Zero Tolerance policy for bullying. It is one thing to say that but bullying still happens unfortunately. It's got to stop! My favorite line from the trailer below "If we all do it together we will change the world!" That would be a very nice world wouldn't it?

This year, over 13 million American kids will be bullied, making it the most common form of violence young people in the U.S. experience. Sad isn't it? The Bully Project highlights solutions that both address immediate needs and lead to systemic change. Bully is a character-driven documentary—at its heart are those with the most at stake and whose stories each represent a different facet of this bullying crisis. Bully will be in theaters on April 13, 2012 and I believe it is a must see for kids AND parents.




I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. Find showings in your area for The Bully Project and buy tickets here.

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Project 366 - Week 13

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This hat cracks me up. It is so loud and the girls love it!



Later in the day the girls went to a tea party for their friend Rylyn's birthday. They came home all dolled up. Red lipstick too :)

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I must be crazy! Seriously! I dug out the triple stroller last week to take the girls for a walk. I about died!

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The girls have been playing all the free games that their daddy downloaded to my phone. Time for some deleting though because they have my phone now more than I do!

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Some friends that were hanging out in our garden when my husband went out to pull the weeds. Glad he found them and not me. I deal with snakes and dead animals when he is gone but it is nice to have him around to have to take care of them instead of me :)

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The ducks still come up in our yard for bread. They aren't even afraid of our dogs most of the time. Pica squeezed through the gate to get down there to eat some bread. She is the same size as those ducks!

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Piper made this during her Easter party at school on Thursday. We put him in the sun on Friday and hopefully he will turn into the chia caterpillar he is supposed to be :)

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We did the egg hunt at Rocky Mount again this year. They have bounce houses and big blown up slides. Plenty of eggs for everyone to hunt and face painting. Who doesn't love face painting? Ruby lol :)


The girls love hotdogs and for whatever reason I haven't had any in my house for a really long time. The church that hosts the egg hunt had hotdogs and cheese puffs for everyone to eat. It has turned into a tradition that we go every year now.

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Project 366 - Week 12

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Big day at the zoo! Ruby's birthday party. It was so much fun. Kids were still wound up afterwards :) Check out that look on Ruby's face!

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Just my boring lunch lol :) It is funny now my girls take pictures of their food as well. Leftover chicken salad from Rubarb's party and a salad. Hit the spot! Girls had the exact same thing. I love that I don't have to be a short order cook with my daytime girlies.

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Birthday breakfast with my girls :) How I love Panera! Another breakfast this week and it's not even my birthday month anymore. I am a lucky girl :)


This was supper. Ask me what I want oysters are usually my answer. Now if I can just remember 1/2 price night day is on Monday's not Tuesday's.

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Piper ran in the Boosterthon at school to raise money for our PTO. She hooked up 1/2 way with her Kindergarten bestie. They are in different classes now unfortunately. Piper ran 35 laps and only walked 1. I was so proud of her!

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There actually were matches for these but our girls love to be "mix-matched". They crack me up. When this was taken it was like 83 degrees. Socks really? "We're cold." Um...OK.


Birthday gift from my girlfriend. Love the Vintage Pearl! Love Leslie ♥


V also had her art show at preschool. Dress up pretty and show mama & daddy what you have been creating. It is such a fun day for them. We have been having a bit of a struggle with V this week. Lots of crying and not wanting to be/stay at preschool. This same thing happened last year around this time. I don't know exactly what is going on with her but I do know with this CRAZY pollen she is having major seasonal allergies. Along with the rest of the zoo. Maybe that is it. It breaks my heart to see her so sad :(

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I was doing a review and decided to take a shot at replicating Ruby's first birthday photos but she wouldn't look at me. In fact she was almost in tears. I took 3 shots because I needed one to write up a post and sent her on her way. Poor Ruby - such a tough life.

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Hello bandwagon! Ok truth be told I am not a trendy book reader but this one peaked my interest so I actually PAID to download this to my kindle. Still shaking head but hope it is worth it. Have you read?

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Ruby's Elmo Party

Our Ruby turned 3 on Friday. 3! She still loves Elmo. It's kind of funny because none of my other girls really cared for the character but she loves him! Loves him! So when she told me she wanted Elmo cupcakes for her party I headed to Pinterest to find some inspiration.

Elmo is normally more boyish but I wanted bright colors so I started with the invites. I made simple ones in Photoshop and I think that they turned out nice. I want a cricut. I don't have the money for a cricut. It is on my forever growing wishlist.

We borrowed a cupcake stand from a friend and I spray painted it hot pink and glued some ribbon on the edges for a very bright girlie feel. It was the leaning cupcake tower but would you expect anything else at our house? Piper had fallen over it and almost busted it a few days earlier. Left feet run in our family :)



Ruby wanted Elmo cupcakes so Elmo cupcakes were what she got. I have made these before but used icing for the mouth instead of Oreos. I had Oreos and used them this time around. Of course I ate the middles. They were double stuffed after all :)


For the food I did rainbow fruit kabobs, goldfish, pb&j "Dorothy" sandwiches for the kiddos, chicken salad sandwiches for the adults, cheese & crackers, and finally Frito salad. I thought it looked very nice. My girlfriend had the pom poms from her daughter's party a few weeks back and since I was planning on making them asked her if I could have hers when she was done. Less work equals happy Jessie. The banner came from Target and matched perfectly to our theme!


When she first walked in and saw everything decorated she said "Wow". It is then that all the hard work is just worth it. We sang. She blew out her candles perfectly one at a time :)


Then they ate! I warned guests that to have their kiddos wear play clothes because red cupcakes were being served.


Saturday at 3am our area got nailed with a really, really bad hail storm. Not us though, we didn't get any and were only maybe 1-2 miles away. Our home got some earlier in the day but not much. Check out the eastern side of town. This photo was taken by Triple Cross Ranch. That is all hail! WOW!


Then there is the rain to talk about. Forecast was for rain all day. I was stressed. 9 kids in our little house. What were we to do? Didn't have to worry, it ended up cool and sunny in the afternoon. Yay! So we fished. Baby girl was tired can you tell? She was a good sport though.


Guess who was the only one to catch a fish?


Our resident fishing expert Piper. Now that I feel more comfortable with Ruby by the lake I will take them down there more this summer. They loved it! What else is there to do on a cold March day in NC?


What? Yep, almost the whole party of kids jumped in to swim. Not the adults though, we aren't crazy that water is still cold! Marley even got some more water time. We finally let her swim again on Friday. It was a long winter for her :)


It was tiring, a lot of work, but once everyone got here I think it was one of my most favorite parties yet. Little in size but big in fun!

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Project 366 - Week 11

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Whenever our Piperoni sees a dandelion that she could blow she picks it. The other day she was coming down our driveway from the bus and picked 3 dandelions. I was thinking to myself what a sweet girl she wants to share them with her sisters. Ha, fat chance! She blew them before she got in the house and then hid the evidence.

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Spring + New Belgium = Yum! I love sitting outside on our deck at night. Some nights, like this one, our neighbor across the cove hangs outside on his deck playing his guitar. Classic rock. Brings me back to my teens/early 20's again. It's nice :)


Our girls are his groupies. He's only like 15 :)

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I debated posting this one because they are posing but I asked them to "Strike a Pose" and this is what I got. Swim suits, beach wear, and tights. These girls know how to put together fancy dancing outfits :)

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Wednesday was a tough day for me and I thought that I would be homebound on Thursday and Friday so the girls and I headed out to get some things for Ruby's party. When I walked into TJ Maxx and saw this "walking" skirt I knew I had to have it! How stinking cute is this? My girls think it is the fanciest thing I own. They might just be right. Sad.

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Did you know that a 6 pack of Bud or Miller cans is $5.99? Since I don't drink it I couldn't justify spending that kind of money. Thus, Diet Coke butt chickens. I don't drink Diet Coke either but it has a better chance of getting used in our house than Bud or Miller. Matt says I have turned into a beer snob lol :) Perhaps.

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Happy Birthday Ruby!!! Dinner was at Red Robin *eyeroll* My children have been picking Red Robin as their birthday meal of choice since Piper was 3. Now we go for everyone's birthday :) Do you sense my excitement? Or Matt's?

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I got my hair done! I love getting my hair done :) It makes me feel 10 pounds lighter. How I wish that were actually true! A cut and color were due and I am glad I took the time.


Then Martha asked if Matt and I wanted to go out for supper and she would watch the girls! I have a zillion things to do for Ruby's party but a few hours at a grown up restaurant - ok! I had halibut. I love halibut. Especially Dressler's halibut. If I don't go out again until next year I will be satisfied just because of dinner on Saturday night. Plus I got to wear my new (to me) shoes that I got at Goodwill a few weeks back.

And then I looked around and all the girls were wearing wedges lol :)

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