no guilt here

this is where i am going to sit this afternoon and enjoy a second cup of coffee       

i should be doing a million things like going to buy annual flowers for the containers, or test driving a few cars (because car shopping with little ones is impossible and my car is getting old and cranky), packing for a weekend trip……

but i have been home with a sick little one for 2 days, and even though she was sick she wanted to go to school…quite devastated that i made her stay in bed all day…and keep her healthy 3 year old brother away from her.

and its 90 degrees out

and the dishes are done, laundry done (well, lets just say there is more clean clothes in the house then dirty, yes lets say that.), the garden is watered and i have an idea for dinner.

and did i say its 90 degrees out.

and i have 15 minutes before caroline’s bus arrives.

cooper picked these flowers for me yesterday…the bottles were found buried in the yard when they dug it up during construction.

checking things off the list

 

patio….check.

washing the salt off the cars from the winter….check.

little did we know that caroline had a fever of almost 103 that day!

gardens weeded and mulched….check.

finding just the right thing to hang on our bare walls in the kitchen….check.

i found the painted hope chest at an estate sale for $50 and the picture holders are from pier1.

 

stone walkway from one porch to the other…check.

these stones came from the original fieldstone foundation of the house…we replaced the back side of the house with a concrete foundation for the new addition but kept these old stones to be re-used.

finally potty trained a VERY stubborn 3 year old….check!

hopefully he will never know that i posted this pic.

garden seeded….check!

gymnastics on Saturday morning for both kiddos……check and check!!!

i wonder what he is saying to her….

   

the end of construction

the picture below shows the house in the middle of construction…the blue tarp covering the original house after we took out the windows and ripped off the siding. the yard was a disaster…and during the middle of the summer it was not fun with 2 little ones who wanted to go out and play.
 
the picture below shows the old and the new…of course we decided to replace a few of the old windows on the left….Caroline’s room is the 2 windows on the second floor…it was a cave with out any natural light.


the doors and windows went in…October 2008…just in time as the days and nights got cold!


after a few construction set backs….the porch was put on almost 10 months and 2 summers later!!!  August 2009


porch done, siding finished and yard re-seeded!!

and finally..last weekend….patio done!

still here

still here…..just enjoying our spring!

Cooper has become my gardening buddy…always ready with his shovel…he loves to dig!

in the morning we put on our “gardening” crocs and head out to the yard to see how things are growing…..this is also a sneak peek at what the hubby has been working on…our new patio!

 

working on a few seedlings…they look ready to plant!

    

too nice of a day to be blogging……the garden is calling me…oh wait…thats the 3 year old boss.

a Mother’s Day tradition

every year on Mother’s day we head to one of my favorite spots….The Berkshire Botanical Garden.  On a good day we stay for hours, exploring the grounds, taking pictures, play hide and seek….but on Sunday we saw flurries on our way to church and knew it would be a quick visit this year.

thank goodness the sun was shining….and the flurries stopped.

the garden had a shed exhibit….wow! we had so much fun exploring!

we loved the birch tree ceiling!

one of my favorites by Sarah and Peter Thorne called “A True Blue Berkshire Studio. 

our favorite was “A Garden Blogger’s Retreat” by Michael Devine

so amazing! a perfect little retreat.

  

I thought Annie Selke’s “Swedish Reading Retreat” would of been my favorite.

so peaceful and calm….but i was hoping for more of her colorful fabrics from Pine Cone Hill to fill this garden retreat.

a bit of summer in May

last Saturday was a sneak peek of summer…80 degrees in May is unheard of!  we took full advantage of the gorgeous day and headed up to Nani and Grampa’s house on the lake.

our first boat trip…we brought along some friends

blue skies and sunshine….it doesn’t get any better then this!

and we also got to see this plane land on the lake….so cool! 

  

and time for a little afternoon chaos  paddle.

the girls getting to paddle on their own!

this, that and everything else! one week in one post!

 

the weather here has been beautiful….so we have been busy with lots of projects around the house….and enjoying the beautiful sunshine!

 

the annual spring time pictures by their trees….they each had a tree planted for them when they turned one…Eastern Redbuds in the front yard. They bloom these beautiful light purple/pink flowers in the spring and then heart shaped leaves.

of course caroline’s tree is bigger….and isn’t it a big sister’s job to let her little brother know this!

 

the spring flowers are glorious this year!!!  my two favorites are lilacs and lily of the valley….

my new obsession…..green smoothies

    

Kim over at What am I going to be when i grow up? got me hooked! I started out with her recipe…so yummy! I am amazed that no matter how much spinach i put in i can’t taste it! And i just made frozen pops for the kids!

mine has turned into this…..2 HUGE handfuls of spinach, frozen banana, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, 2 spoonfuls of yogurt, and a splash of juice..i use the V8 Splash or Ocean Spray fruit/veggi.

 

Cooper has given us a run for our money when it comes to potty training him…..but we have learned that a little bribery goes a long way in this department. A trip to the local ice cream shop was the winning bribe!!

and here is our latest project…a patio….more pictures to follow!