Garden Planting (and eating)

Apparently a very popular place to go on Saturday mornings with young kids is the Garden Center at Lowes. We went yesterday morning to pick up a few things for our house repairs and a few tomato plants and there were tons of families there. We are trying container gardening this summer because we're not sure if we're going to be moving or not. Ashley set up a nice place for us in the corner of the yard and we drug out the umbrella and outside rug to keep Levi happy. 

We soon learned, however, that what makes Levi really happy is eating dirt. This was enhanced with Miracle Grow so if he ends up as tall as my brother (6'8") we'll know genes and Scott's dirt played a role. 

Dirt face little boy. Not so happy that we made him stop smearing dirt all over his face. Notice his bug sticker on his arm...perfect for gardening! Thanks, Mallory, for the birthday party favor!

Our humble garden. Front row, eggplant, random seeds, and basil (big YUM!) and the back, Patio Tomato and Roma Tomato. 

After a day of being outside, we let Levi try out his wading pool. 

And he loved it once he got in!

Memorial Day Zoo Trip

Granna and Papa Charles came down to visit Levi (and us) for Memorial Day weekend. We went to the Riverbanks Zoo's Botanical Gardens early this morning (before the rain and Levi's nap). As always, it was beautiful. Here's the happy group walking across the bridge into the garden.
I loved this shade garden, especially with the new flowers.
Levi having a snack, as is the norm for stroller time!
And two Mr. Cools!

11 month old Levi

Friday Levi turned 11 months old. The day's photo shoot was overshadowed by a trip to the doctor where we found out earlier he had an ear infection (poor guy, last month he had a sore throat virus).

Notice how wet his t-shirt is (yes, a 2009 UNC championship shirt). This isn't from him drooling (though he does that a lot). It's his first dose of his antibiotic. He spit it all out. Everywhere. I've figured out to put it in his bottle with a little bit of formula. Oh and the new toy to his right...$10 at the local kids consignment store. I felt like I had hit the jackpot when I found it! It's awesome with activities on all four sides and the top AND it's very sturdy.
I got the schoolbus (which Levi has placed on top of his ball tower) for $4 at the same store. I saw this toy at Target for $17.
Afternoon snack of peaches and crackers.
It's his left ear that is infected but he's been sticking his fingers in both ears, which was the main sign that he needed to go to the doctor.
Another favorite activity: looking out the window in the guest bedroom. I keep some toys in there for him to play with. He was reaching so hard to get the sign down!
By dinnertime, he was exhausted. He even fell asleep in his highchair, which he has NEVER done. Poor little guy. He's on the mend now, thank goodness.

Strawberry Pie deliciousness!

One of Ashley's favorite desserts, and mine, too, is strawberry pie. Mama gave me the recipe a few years ago. It's a version of the classic Shoney's pie, only I've reduced the sugar.


Recipe:
1 pie crust (I use the Publix version of Pillsbury--the one you have to roll out and press into the pie plate)--pricked, cooked and cool.
Enough ripe strawberries to fill the crust (wash and cut off tops before you start next step).Place berries in pie crust, tops down.

3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of corn starch
1/2 tsp of vanilla
Bring this to a boil and lower heat and cook until clear. Stir
constantly to prevent clumps.

Add 1 3 oz package of strawberry jello. Stir.

Pour over berries in pie crust. Cool until solid and then ENJOY!

Mother's Day Weekend

For Mother's Day weekend we drove up to my parents on Thursday night. It's always better to do the drive once Levi goes to sleep because it really cuts down on the number of stops we have to make. AND we get an extra day for doing things, like going to Ashe County!

We went to West Jefferson to the Cheese Factory. Yum! The first pictures are in the cheese store.

The actual factory. Here the cheese is being stirred...curds and whey (I think).
Notice the big bag I'm holding? That's $70 worth of cheese! We bought all sorts from Garden Vegetable to Farmer's Cheese to baked cheese to provolone.
Afterward we went to Smoky Mountain BBQ. Levi enjoyed his first rib bone. I wasn't wild about this at first but he really liked it. Good idea, Mama and Papa!
Papa Charles and Levi.
We drove to the top of the state park. Beautiful view!
Then we drove over to Glendale Springs to see the Church of the Frescoes. Papa and Levi posed for a picture.
Our family!
My parents. They love each other so much. I'm really lucky to have them.
And...letting Levi play in the road!
Posing outside of the church.

The little church.
And the frescoes. If you haven't seen this, make the trip. It was painted in 1989 and is beautiful.
Leaving to come back to SC.

The yard was looking great. I love being home in Ferguson in the spring.
Levi peering in through the window at Sagebrush (we went to eat together before we left).
Grandma and Levi. Look at that grin on Levi!
When we got back on Sunday, we went to Carey's to celebrate Mother's Day with our SC family...in true Harman style with a pool party!

Home Renovations, Part # Who Knows!?!

In an attempt to get our house ready to sell (we're going to be building a house in Gilbert eventually), we're trying to finish a few projects that we never did 2 years ago when we did our big overhaul on this house.

Project #1: Retile our bathtub. The genius owner before us PAINTED over the tile to make it look better. Peeling painted tile is GROSS, however! Never do this! Thankfully Ashley is fairly experienced laying (floor) tile and decided to redo it.
He and Levi listened to some iPod music to break up the project.
Old tile GONE!
Cement board ready for NEW TILE!
My talented husband and his tile laying abilities!
And Presto! We have a CLEAN, newly tiled shower! Makes me want to stay in this house longer just to enjoy it.
Look how it just glistens!
Project #2: Stairs...unfinished low-grade wood. This was my project because I've done 90% of the painting in the house :o) First I sanded the wood.
This is where the real problem was...plywood for the bottom stairs. YUCK!
Stairs primed and ready to go!
Yay for green Frog tape. The blue painter's tape is OK but this stuff was really great! And essential when you're working with chocolate brown and white!
And ta-da! Don't the stairs look better?
Again, another project I wish we had done 2 years ago. Makes the foyer look so much better as you enter the house. And a side note, I've decided to not paint the orange dining room. If it really seems to be a problem with selling the house, then I'll paint it butter yellow...but for now, we're keeping the orange (plus, it's Levi's favorite color!).