Interview with Olive

I did this interview with Olive a couple months ago. I had forgotten to share it and it's just too cute not to share.

As far as the zoo story, she is talking about our trip to zoo lights in December. I must have done the video right after that. She was bummed that all the animals were asleep because it was night time.

Pictures and Stories from April and May.

I was uploading my phone pictures onto the computer tonight and I thought I'd share my favorites and the stories behind them.





This day was just Rosie and I running around town, doing errands. It's also the day that I discovered that she isn't very fond of the backseat if Olive isn't back there. We had to do all sorts of obnoxious errands (Social Security Office - yuck), but it wasn't so bad with this cute face helping me out.







While Nathan, Olive's older cousin was playing baseball, I took Abby and Olive to the park right near the fields. These two just get along so well. Abby is so sweet to Olive and it's so cute to see them interact with each other. On the way back to the fields, Abby was saying that she just couldn't run anymore. Then Olive would come up to her, real close, and say, "Yeah! You can do it!" and then Abby would get a smile on her face, hope up and say, "Yeah, ok! I can do it!" It was pretty funny to watch.















I'm kind of obsessed with taking pictures of Rosie while she is asleep.



I am also obsessed with Rosie's baby toes.



Olive has started doing this thing where she picks a flower, hands it to me and says, "Happy Birthday Mommy!"



Olive's favorite treat - Salmonberries. These things are sour. But, she likes to tell us, "Yeah, I like sour!" and she gobbles them up.



Sometimes you just need to start your day off fancy with a tea party. Olive calls her tea pot her "tea party." She loves to pour water into the little glasses and drink with her pinky up.







Olive had her second haircut. We go to a place that is just for kids and it's really awesome. It's more expensive and kind of far away, but I'll do what I have to do for the peace of mind that it'll be a pleasant experience. The kids get to choose a car (who's wheels spin when they push down the pedal) and a show to watch. They also do their hair all cute afterwards and top it off with "princess sparkles." And if that isn't enough, Olive gets a sucker and a sticker. Sometimes you just gotta go all out.



This is my little miss sassy pants. The other night she told Rusty, "Don't like at me EVER! ... EVER! EVER! EVER!" It's so hard not to laugh when she does things like that because her sassiness is pretty adorable, but I know I've got to nip that kind of stuff in the bud.  Age three is starting to look pretty ... interesting.





Every morning, we check the chickens and make sure they are doing good. Olive just loves them all to pieces.



The picture of Olive asleep in carrier after our hike - instant classic.



A picture of both of the girls smiling AND looking at the camera?! And a hug that wasn't even staged? Little did I know that a nasty cold was lurking around the corner for both of them. And don't even talk to me about the 'car carts.' Big plastic cars with shopping carts attached. The worst and best invention. They keep my kids happy but they are a beast to steer.



I put Olive in her room and rock Rosie to sleep every day. It's the best and most relaxing part of my day, especially when Olive plays happily in her room while I do it.





Playing at the park with little friends. It was Rosie's first time on the swings and she seriously almost fell asleep. Apparently, it was very relaxing.





Olive dumped all of her clothes of her drawers, put then did me a solid and stacked them all nice and neat. How thoughtful of her.





A typical breakfast - Eggs and blueberries for Olive and oatmeal and pureed blueberries for Rosie.





My mom and Olive planted little stockings full of dirt and grass seed. Olive calls them her 'puppets.' She gave them a hair trim - they grow like crazy.



Olive and Betsy - her little best friend. They older they get, the more they love each other.



Olive loves it when I paint her nails. The trick is keeping her still enough so they can dry. This was the finished product on one of our manicure days.



Olive took this picture! I couldn't even believe it, it turned out too cute.



This sums up the reason why I wanted a piano in our house. I love to see them playing on it and it made me smile to see Rosie on her tippy toes, just barely tall enough to reach.

 I've got more, but the baby is crying and this is running long. So, to be continued ...

Saturday is Garden Day.

Saturdays are my favorite day to garden. On week days, I have to garden while juggling two little ones. It's not that hard, but it's nice to just get outside and focus one hundred percent on what I'm doing.

Finding this much joy in gardening is new to me. I might even be a bit obsessed about it. This week, while Rosie was sick and needed a lot of nursing and rocking, I would sit and read about gardening on my phone. The internet is pretty darn cool that way, answering any of my little questions that I might have.

This week there was some garden drama amongst the plants. First, there was something eating my kale. My beautiful, beautiful kale. I sprayed them with neem oil, thinking it was some little insect. Then, one day, I wandered out to the garden to find two GIANT slugs eating my poor  little kale plant. Now, it's Megan vs. Slugs. Apparently, they are a pretty viscous garden pest during the rainy, cool days  in the Pacific Northwest. I set out a plate with beer in it -- a trap of sorts, and it worked. I will win, one slug at a time. (When I find them, I kill them. Sorry, no pity here. Now, Rusty, he takes them and chucks them into the woods. He said he will not be apart of the Slug Massacre. Fair enough.)

Just when I thought that I had controlled all the critters, the chickens got out and trampled my poor garden one morning. You'd think they'd be in search of the yummy greens that I'm growing - wrong. They love the dirt. Whenever I am digging in the dirt, or adding more into the bed from bags, they go crazy. They know I'm uncovering all sorts of chicken delicacies, like worms and bugs.  So, my plants weren't eaten, but some were smashed.

Funny enough, Olive is convinced a monster stomped in my garden. "A BIG mon-ter!" And when I was a bit down, Rusty gave me a pep talk (right before I discovered the slugs), telling me that we can always buy more plants at the store. Now, Olive gives me that pep talk. She goes, "Mama, we buy more at the store, Mama. It ok!"

Here is the group shot:



And each bed individually:



I admitted defeat and pulled up my basil. I jumped the gun. Apparently, they do great when the temps don't drop below 60 degrees and so they were pretty stressed. I will try again once it gets warm.



All the tomatoes are in and the peppers are inside waiting for warmer nights. I planted some Golden Chard from seed and also some bush beans.



The strawberries are looking pretty great. We even ate one last week! Well, Olive ate it. Many, many more green ones await us.



My poor smashed and half eaten lettuce. The Kale is looking pretty awesome though, especially because it was struggling at first.

And Olive's garden:





Rusty and Olive even planted me some Mother's Day flowers:



And some close-ups:



Fennel, which Olive tasted this week and declared as good.



The little bear that Olive chose out for her garden. We tell her it's her garden's little protector.



Sage, so soft and velvety.



A better look at the chicken and slug carnage.



Neat sage leaves.



Pennyroyal, which looked so dead three weeks ago, is going crazy right now. I found out it's part of the mint family and so it totally makes sense. It's a medicinal herb -- Anyone is welcome to some, too, as I have tons of it.



English Daisy, which is one cool plant. Little buds keep coming up from the bottom foliage, which is perfect for Olive because she likes to pick the big ones. It's supposed to keep blooming until July.



The kale guys are loving this cool, damp weather.



My romaine, which are doing great, too, in this weather.



Bare soil ... pure possibility. These will soon be mint and Calendula flowers.

Like I said, a bit obsessed and a bit in love with growing things. This week has been pretty easy, considering that Mother Nature has taken over the watering. That unbelievable summer weather has passed and we are now experiencing the stereotypical Pacific Northwest spring. No matter, I know that eventually the sun will come out (or at least I keep telling myself that) and this little garden of mine is going to love it.