Backyard Gardening; Lessons Learned In Nature a Step Back in Time

by Jenny Irvine // June 18, 2012 // No Comments

The girls have been learning about gardening, organic farming, and nutrition! All from our little ‘back yard berry farm’. There is nothing quite like picking your own strawberries or raspberries and eating them the next morning for breakfast. I love seeing how excited the girls get to share their back yard gardens with friends. One of the greatest joys in teaching our children is ‘watching’ them teach others!

We are also enjoying our weekends away on the boat. Rain or shine……

All 3 children took part in this years ‘Island Beautification’ clean up. There were 20-30 mph winds but we were there and even my tiny tot put in a good effort.

Pumpkin got to ride the tractor with Daddy ….I love that my little girl still talks about “Mommy, when we move to our farm …”. A long time dream of mine (that I obviously instilled in our children)…..a dream that will likely stay that way for at least awhile.

{Making the dreams for Tomorrow Today’s Reality….see, you never know what life has in store for you. Do you have a dream? Where do you want to be? Never say never, little did I know back in 2012 we would move to our 10 acre homestead just three short years later.}

Looks like our little backyard “farm” will have to do…life is after all what you make of it! In the mean time we will always jump on board with any “farm” type opportunities in our house.

We are also taking advantage of any/all outside ‘nature science’ opportunities. Visits to the park have allowed us to capture God’s creations big and small in action; toads, ducks, duck eggs, pesky bugs, fish flies, pollinating bees, rabbits, and we have had some great science lessons on birds as well (thanks, Daddy for hanging all of our bird feeders)!

Happy Fathers Day!

by Jenny Irvine // June 17, 2012 // No Comments

Thanks for always being there for me when I need you most. We are a perfect pair! Where I fall short you certainly pick up the pieces!! Our life is crazy with so many little ones but some how we make it work. I love you more than words can say… “Happy Fathers Day” to my loving and wonderful husband!! You are a great Dad, a wonderful role model, hard worker, and MUCH deserving of this special day!! Thanks for all you do for us everyday….xoxox

K. Bear giving Daddy a little ‘cuddle’ ….she looks sad but she is really just soaking up her Daddy time! Daddy then fixed her finger which had a sliver in it. What a little trooper …K.Bear never even flinched thanks to Daddy’s gentle touch.

Our little fish …Pumpkin is most likely to be seen in a pool, at the beach, on a boat, or soaking in the tub! The girl can’t seem to get enough of the water!

Did someone say “Watermelon”? Just as Pumpkin is rarely photographed outside of the water….Mr. Smiles and K.Bear are typically eating!! I fear our grocery bill when they are teenagers. Mr. Smiles just had a well visit weighing in at a whopping 27 lbs he is in the 25-50% for height and weight. The tiny princess K.Bear (22 months older) weighs 29lbs!! I foresee the little man passing her up in the near future. Time will tell….

A fathers day weekend full of work and play! We hope our Daddy enjoyed his special day!!

Why Gluten Free?

by Jenny Irvine // April 30, 2012 // 1 Comment

We are going on 1 month of gluten free living and I couldn’t be happier with the results! I never talked much about the struggles we would encounter in our day with little Miss K.Bear. Not because I was trying to “hide” anything but simply put it was our “normal”. K.Bear has always been our spunky, ‘spirited’, strong willed, and just ‘more’ everything child. She is super bright, cute, funny, and a “little mommy” at heart. K.Bear has never “really” slept through the night (yes, she will be 4 in August) that means very little sleep for Mommy! She always seemed to “fly off the handle” at the blink of an eye and I truly couldn’t do anything right at times! She nearly potty trained herself at just over a year old…normal? She has been my tiny little ball of ‘spunk’ for years!

None the less, I am her mother and God blessed us with this beautiful baby girl….we trudge along…what is a mother to do? Things were getting worse by the day and I was quickly reaching a breaking point. “Night waking” and “night tantrums” 2-3 times a week at 1:00/2:00 in the morning for nearly a year has been the norm. I would literally get up at that time out of “routine” and pray she would sleep through “it” tonight. Taking her to the van (yes, in the cold) to “shock” her out of “it” (while, this was certainly not a cure it did help a little). Exhausting, draining, emotional, and confusing…I was riding a K.Bear roller coaster!!

The bottom fell out; it was Saturday night (tantrum…hit 1:00AM lasting 30-45 minutes…in a freezing van) back to bed for some sleep…normal?!?

Sunday…a tired, exhausted child is never fun to deal with….the day seemed to be going “as usual” a cranky moment here, some play, and some more whining… nothing really out of the ordinary for a Sunday afternoon. K.bear requested a snack before dinner (animal crackers) so I proceeded to give her some while I prepped dinner. The initial requested immediately turned into I want more (mind you she hadn’t even eaten one yet!) …rolling on the floor because I only have her 2 more in the bowl (it is dinner time after all)…and I quickly watched my child “lose it”…for 2 1/2 hours!! She never recovered….

and there began our gluten free journey!

I share our story with you in hopes of helping others in a similar situation. This is just a ‘glimpse’ of the puzzle I began to piece together…and look forward to sharing so much more with you in the near future!