George's First Word

We have been casually teaching some basic sign language to George and today was the first day that he signed "more" with intent.  Here is a little video clip of him.  We still need to refine the actual sign, but I would say this was pretty meaningful.  Plus, he is so cute.  I am happy to see that he is smiling and eating (I couldn't believe how much he ate tonight!).  Yea for his appetite returning.

Sick, Sick George

George has not been feeling too well for the past week or so.  We took him in to see the doctor on Tuesday because he was vomiting and had "loose stools".  The doctor told us to give him little amounts of pedialyte frequently to see if he could keep that down.  He didn't vomit as much, but he was still loosing a lot of fluid in his diapers (not in the form of urine).  He just kept going downhill so on Thursday morning we took him back to the doctor.  At  this point he had practically no wet diapers and was still throwing up.  The doctor decided George was definitely dehydrated and told us to go over to the hospital and get George hooked up to an IV for rehydration.  He also ordered some blood work to be done to make sure there wasn't anything else going on.  So we went over to the hospital at about 12:00 noon as an outpatient to be rehydrated.  

They pumped him full of fluids and he had still not had a wet diaper by the evening on Thursday and he threw up some more.  So the doctor decided to keep in over night to monitor him and make sure he was plenty hydrated.  All the blood work came back fine.  He is definitely doing better now, but not 100%.  The doctor said that he will likely continue to vomit a little more (he is still getting over the virus), but hopefully now that he is hydrated it should be easier to keep his fluid levels stable.

All in all a little nerve wracking and scary - especially when it is your baby.  We are back home and hopefully things will look up from here on out.  We are hoping the bug is gone soon.  Maybe I should buy stock in Pedialyte!

(Not So) Great Parenting

Tonight as we were getting the boys ready for bed I was forced to see what a (not-so) great parent I have been the past few days.  Jim was asking Samuel to get his pajamas on and Samuel had other plans so he told Jim to "get out!" - I am pretty sure that it was the same tone that was used with Samuel earlier in the day.  Yesterday and today have been pretty rough here at the Moss home.  George has been sick and I have not slept much so my patience is basically non-existent.  As I heard Samuel talking to Jim this evening I felt horrible.  Poor Samuel has had to deal with a very grumpy, short tempered mother lately.  Thankfully tomorrow is a new day and I can choose to be a "happy mom".  

Thank goodness children are so forgiving.  When I talked with Samuel throughout the day and apologized for my behavior he was so quick to forgive me.  I think that is what the Savior means when he teaches that we should "become as a little child" (3 Nephi 11:38).  My son teaches me so much!

Made in China

Today while we were out running errands Samuel asked if we could drive by the waterslide park.  I figured we were already out and about so it was no big deal (he often likes to drive by and see the waterslides - even in winter).  As we were driving by we had the following conversation:

Samuel: Is that waterslide made in China?

Me: Um, well I don't know.  I guess it is possible. (I was surprised that he even knew that phrase "made in China").

Samuel: Logan (a cousin) said her toys are made in China.  My toys are made in China too.

Me: Well, some of your toys are made in China but not all of them.

Samuel: Why are they made in China?

Me: That's a good question - I guess because it's cheaper to make them there.

Samuel: Oh.

I just had to chuckle that we were even having this conversation. 

Already?

This morning when Samuel woke up he looked out the window and exclaimed, "It's Christmas, it's Christmas!"

It may be a long couple of months : )

Mini-Vacation

Last weekend our family took a little road trip to California (Redlands) via St. George and Las Vegas.  Jim's nephew Taylor was married in St. George on Friday and then had a reception in Vegas on Saturday.  Since we were so close, we decided to make a short little jaunt to Redlands to visit some friends.  

We stayed with our dear friend Stephanie and had a blast.  Even though the trip was short it was worth every minute of traveling.  

We had yummy food, stocked up at Trader Joe's, went to Oak Glenn and bought fresh apples (honey crisp - YUMMY!) and apple cider doughnuts (also delicious), and visited with friends.  Stephanie was the greatest hostess as always.  

Samuel had early morning one on one time with her (thank you Stephanie for being up with him so that we could sleep - that was wonderful).  Vacations always seem to come to an end way too fast, but I guess it is better to leave wanting more than to leave wishing you had left two days earlier (I doubt that would ever happen).  All in all a wonderful mini vacation.

Falling (in) Leaves

Yesterday the boys and I were a little (okay A LOT) stir crazy at home.  I was tired/grumpy/moody/frustrated/etc.  I am not a very good nurse (especially when I am tired) and I was having a difficult time keeping Samuel off of or near Jim.  So I finally decided we just needed to go for a walk.  I didn't know where we were going, but we needed to go somewhere.  I started walking and thought that the park would be a good place to go - the weather was perfect, the boys were fed and I figured George would probably fall asleep on the walk.  I think we all really enjoyed the walk.  
On our way home Samuel found these piles of leaves and couldn't help himself.  Initially he just walked through them and kicked them a bit.  Soon that wasn't enough so he decided to just jump right in. He slithered through the leaves like a snake and loved every minute of it.  Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, so I resorted to using my not so good camera on my cell phone.  By the time we returned home we were all feeling a little less irritable and moody.  It is amazing what some fresh air can do!

Dungeons and Dragons/Dinos

I locked Jim in the dungeon (house) for the past few days so that he could get some much needed R&R.  Meanwhile I did get a couple of pictures of the boys in their halloween costumes.  Samuel had a different dino costume (Big thanks to Randalynn) for the day and another one for his night time activities of trick or treating.  
George's dragon costume was awesome!  My sister Elizabeth made it a few years ago for her son and it just happened to fit George perfectly.  He looked so cute in it, but it wasn't really stroller friendly and I didn't have the energy to carry him around for trick or treating, so he just got to hang out in the stroller - and he didn't seem to mind a bit.   In fact he really loved it.  It made me realize that I haven't taken him on enough walks outside in the nice weather.  Too bad that the rain is coming now (although I really like the rain).   

Samuel had a blast trick or treating with his friends Charlie and Mallory.  It was so cute to see them run up to the doors and run back to the wagon and stroller.  The weather was great and it was nice to see so many people out in the neighborhood.  I enjoyed the walk around the neighborhood as well.  I am glad that Samuel has some good friends around to play with.

One Less Organ to Worry About

Today was the day.  Jim had a gallbladderectomy (I don't think that is a real word).  He is home now and will hopefully be doing better tomorrow once the anesthesia has worn off.  This was his first surgery ever and he was pretty "out of it" earlier today.  Hopefully once he is recovered he will feel much better.

He is such a good man.  While in the hospital he was talking to the nurse and saying how he really needed to be better by Sunday because he has meetings that he needs to be too, etc.  I told him before the surgery that I didn't think he would be going to church on Sunday, but he insisted that he needed to.  I think the nurse may have talked some sense in to him.  I figure if he can lay low and rest he will be better off in the long run.

So, I am on duty tonight as his nurse.  Hopefully the boys sleep good tonight.  It should be fun tomorrow trying to keep Samuel off of Jim.  His favorite thing to do it Hop on Pop!  That would not be so good if he did that right now.

Just Finished

Yesterday my mom gave me some material that she got from a friend.  I fell in love with it when I first saw it - a little retro pattern and color.  I decided that it would make the perfect bag.  I know that I have already posted about the bags that I have been making, but I couldn't resist posting this one as well.  I thought it turned out way cute and I plan on keeping this one for myself.  So fun.

The Things He Says

Jim had just changed out of his work clothes and put on some jeans and a nice warm sweater.  This particular sweater may have shrunk a little in the wash so it was a tiny bit snug around Jim's middle.  Samuel came up to him and while patting his stomach said:  "I like your tummy dad.  It's really big!"

Jack-O-Lantern

I know it is a little early to be carving pumpkins, but Samuel has been looking forward to making our home grown pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns.  I told him earlier today that we would do that for Family Home Evening, so that is what we did.

It was fun, but Samuel did not like putting his hands into the pumpkin to pull out the insides. We washed the pumpkin seeds and then roasted them in the oven.  What a yummy little snack.

Tagged

I haven't ever been tagged before, but I guess this is what I am supposed to do.  This tag is from Jessica.

1.Where is your cell phone? Unknown

2. Where is your significant other? couch

3. Your hair color? Brown 

4. Your mother? Humanitarian

5. Your father? Trains

6. Your favorite thing? family

7. Your dream last night? Elizabeth 

8. Your dream/goal? debt-free

9. The room you're in? library/office

10. Your hobby? reading

11. Your fear? economy

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here

13. Where were you last night? Good Earth

14. What you're not? pregnant

15. One of your wish-list items? Clean house

16. Where you grew up? Orem

17. The last thing you did? Read

18. What are you wearing? clothes

19. Your TV? old

20. Your pet? fish

21. Your computer? Mac

22. Your mood? relaxed

23. Missing someone? Stephanie

24. Your car? pilot

25. Something you're not wearing? shoes

26. Favorite store? Trader Joes

27. Your summer? gone

28. Love someone? Yes

29. Your favorite color? Orange/Yellow

30. When is the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? ??

I tag Elizabeth, Susan, Andrea, Megan and Katie

Sweet Indulgence

YUM!  Need I say more?

Cowboy Samuel

The other day Samuel was playing with some puppets and found a horse puppet.  He immediately started riding the puppet horse as if it were a real horse.  It was so funny to watch I just had to video tape him.

 

So Sweet

This morning right after Jim left for work I heard Samuel downstairs crying.  I came down and he was lying on the floor in front of the door that goes out to the garage sobbing with big alligator tears.  I asked him what was wrong and in his most sincere, sad voice said:  "I forgot to say I love you to Dad".  What a sweet boy!  I hurried and called Jim on the cell phone and let Samuel tell him.  What would we do without cell phones?

George

George has been so fun lately.  He is smiling and giggling more than ever.  The past few days have not been as pleasant because he is teething and he is just miserable.  I find that I have to give more love and hugs during this time, which isn't always easy and sometimes when he is so fussy it is hard to remember.  I sure love him.

Samuel's Prayer

Last week Samuel, George, and I went shopping with Grandma Moss.  We had a great time.  Grandma even let Samuel choose a toy that he wanted for Christmas.  He chose a little set of two star wars figurines.  When we got the checkout we had this conversation:

Me:  Christmas is a little while away still.

Samuel:  How long?

Me:  Well, Christmas is usually after it has snowed for a long, long time.

Samuel: Okay. And then I can open my star wars toys?

Me:  Yes, but it will be a little while.

Fast forward now to that same evening at prayer time.

Samuel: Bless mommy and daddy and George.  Bless that it will snow a long long time so can open my star wars toys.

This line has been included in almost every single prayer since that day last week.  It may be a LONG time until Christmas is here!

Bring a Friend

Last Friday Samuel had the opportunity to go to a gymnastics class with his friend Mallory. It was "bring a friend day" at the Little Gym. Samuel talked about going to it the entire week before it actually happened. He had a blast and Mallory was so good about helping him stay in line and follow the rules.

Here Samuel and Mallory are crawling along the parallel bars (they both loved this part).

There were a few times when Samuel was much too intrigued by the other equipment when he was supposed to be on the rainbow mat. Needless to say the teachers learned and used his name a lot in that hour that he was there.

Katie (Mallory's mom) and I joked that this would be the last "bring a friend day" they would ever have because it was just too much for the teachers to have Samuel there (not listening so well).. It was fun to see him enjoying himself and it was also hard at times to see that my own child is sometimes off in his own world. Not that I didn't already know this. He is just a free spirit - or something.

Straight from the farmers

I decided that this year would be the year that I canned/bottled tomatoes, peaches, pears, whatever.  Since my tomato plants aren't as plentiful as I had hoped, I went to a place called Finch Family Farm in Provo and bought 2 boxes of beautiful tomatoes.  After I had paid for them, put them in my car and drove away I thought to myself - Man, that felt so good to give my money directly to the farmer who grew those tomatoes.  It felt so right!  Maybe that sounds odd, but I love the idea of buying locally grown food whenever possible.  There was no middle man and I am helping to support what little farming is left here.  It just felt right.  The same could be said about the peaches that I purchased last week at Allred's Orchards in Provo.  

Although I have terrible memories of bottling fruits and vegetables as a child, I found this time around to be quite relaxing and fulfilling.  I'm not sure if it is just the process of accomplishing such a task or what, but I quite enjoyed bottling the pears, peaches, tomatoes, beans, and jams.   I think I will do this again next year.

11 Years

My how time flies!  We celebrated our 11 year anniversary last Friday (Sept. 5th).  It is hard to believe that it has really been 11 years already.  Jim brought me three dozen roses at lunch and then we went to Chef's Table for some delicious salmon.  It was a great night out.  I sure love my man!  He is so good to me.  

My Little Guy is Growing Up!

I just realized that George is 6 months today.  I love his great big smile.  Although he is a pretty serious baby he has the most wonderful laugh!  I can't help but giggle myself whenever I hear him laughing.  I am so lucky to be his momma.  

Swimming Lessons

Samuel had his first swimming lesson ever last night.  I think he had a good time.  I also think it will be good for him to be around other adults.  He really likes to do what he wants to do - doesn't always take direction from others very well.  We'll have to work on that.  He is in a class with five girls and just had a perma-grin on his face the entire thirty minutes.

Another Kitchen Gadget?

Just when you think you may have enough kitchen gadgets, another one comes along! My friend Sheri introduced me to this fabulous gadget. It is called the swivel sweeper and I love it! Thanks Sheri. The thing that is really great about this is that you can put your child to work - yes slave labor! Samuel absolutely loves using the "noisy vacuum" on the kitchen floor. The best part of it is that I don't mind him using it. Unlike other similar gadgets, it doesn't just push dirt around it actually sucks it up. It is battery operated and there is a little trap door that drops when you push two buttons to empty the dirt that gets picked up. You can get these at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Well worth it! I highly recommend it.

Fun with Friends!

Last week our friends Sheri, Jayden, and Jasmyn came and stayed with us and we had a lot of fun. Jayden is about three months older than Samuel and they basically spent the first 6-9 months of their lives being with each other on an almost daily basis.  So it shouldn't surprise me that when Jayden arrived they began playing as if they had just seen each other the previous day.  They didn't miss a beat.  It was awesome.  Does that mean that there were no arguments or quarreling?  No, but they are three years old!  We went up to Gateway and the kids played in the fountains.  It also happened to be Brazilian days, so we went ahead and joined in the festivities - dancing, etc.  They were handing out free shirts and the kids were really excited.


Then we planned to go to Thanksgiving Point Farm Country. We were talking about the pony rides and then Samuel kept talking about the ponies, pony tails, pony hair (???) and then he decided he wanted a "pony hair". So Sheri helped him out with this:


We did make it to Farm Country and we had a great time riding ponies, feeding the ducks, geese, goats, sheep and whatever else snuck in for a snack.



It was so nice to spend time with Sheri and the girls again! We miss having them around more. I guess it is our turn to visit them now!

Read All About It!

If you didn't already read your Daily Herald paper today, you may not know that Jim was featured on the front page.  If you have a minute, take a look at the article.  Evidently Jim is the first speech language pathologist in Intermountain Health Care history to do teletherapy (speech therapy via teleconferencing) and have it approved/covered by insurance.  I am so proud of him.

How I have been spending my time

This past weekend our family made a little trip to Bear Lake where we had the Moss Family Reunion.  The weather was perfect, company great, and pretty good food.  I however was not feeling the best (I guess that is what I get for playing racquetball two nights in a row - having not played for ten years prior to that), so I didn't get a ton of pictures.  But here is one of the boys taking a rest on the beach of Bear Lake.

For dinner the first night, we ate at a pizza place in Garden City. But this was no ordinary pizza place. They cater to large groups. They have the "Old Ephraim" pizza that seriously served all twenty something of us that were there. This is a picture of the pizza pan empty - it is 28"!
I think that it was by far the largest pizza I have ever seen. It was pretty tasty too. A big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Moss for the fun dinner.

I have also been in a "project" mode lately.  I figure I don't get in the mood to do projects too often, so when I get the project bug, I usually try to do some sort of project.  Lately I have been making bags.  I guess you can call me the bag lady right now.  I have really enjoyed using cloth bags instead of plastic or paper when I go to the store (any kind of store).  At first it felt kind of weird to say "Oh, I already have a bag here", but I got use to it pretty quick - and it is much better for the environment.  I guess my friend "Sheri the tree hugger" is rubbing off on me (in a good way).  So, I heard about this website that sells different kinds of bags and I thought about buying one, but I was too cheap to pay for shipping, etc.  So I thought - hey I can probably sew one of those myself.  I went to the fabric store, bought a .99 pattern and then modified it to be like I wanted it.  I also found some inexpensive, cute fabric and I just keep on sewing.  It has been so much fun.  Here are a couple of samples:


As I was experimenting with different patterns, I decided to use some fabric left over from when I made my living room curtains. I made it after Samuel had gone to bed and it was sitting on the couch in my bedroom when Samuel woke up the next morning. He ran over to my side of the bed and with a very concerned tone in his voice said "Oh no mom. Someone cut the curtains!" It took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. Once I figured it out, I assured him that no one had cut the curtains and that is was a bag that I had made out of extra fabric. I have a hard time looking at that bag now without thinking of curtains - even though I love the material!

Look what I can do

This morning I was getting George dressed for the day and Samuel was in the room playing around on his bed.  I turned my back to get something and Samuel said, "Hey mom, look at this!"  I turned around expecting to see that he had made a creation with his pillows and blankets, or had stacked the little stuffed animals up in a tall tower, or was showing me a picture in one of his cool books.  Nope.  I turned around to see that he had stuck his middle finger and pointer finger up into his nostrils as far as they would go.  Gross!  That was not what I was expecting.  He seems to have just figured out that his fingers are just the right size to fit in his nostrils.  I am not sure which is worse - him picking his nose or him carrying around a booger-infested hankie.  Hopefully it is just a phase.

Has it really been 5 months already?

George is five months today.

I decided to give him some rice cereal.  He wasn't quite sure what to think - it may take some getting use to.  

I also thought it would be fun to compare pictures of Samuel when he was five months old with George's pictures.  Similar, yet different.

Karma

Samuel is such a great helper!  He usually (with mild prodding) will get the changing pad, diaper, and wipes for me when I need to change George's diaper.  Today when I asked him to help me with this, he replied:

"Mom, do you see I'm doing something right now?"

I vaguely remember saying something similar to him last week.  I guess what goes around comes around.

"Happy Hour"

Some people call it "happy hour", but at the Moss home it isn't so much a happy hour.  I don't know about everyone else, but when 4:30-ish rolls around it seems that all H*$# breaks loose.  I think there is an internal clock in Samuel that tells him it is 4:30 PM.  I am trying to get some dinner cooked, George is usually not happy at this time - so he may or may not be screaming (especially if he is on "tummy time"), and Samuel decides it is a good time to practice his nursery rhyme/humming skills.  For a few weeks now he has chosen "Mary had a little lamb" as the nursery rhyme of choice.  He begins humming this rhyme "hmm mmm hmm mm m m mm m m mm m m mmmmm", etc.  He doesn't hum it only once - he hums it over and over and over - getting faster and louder each time through.  Now picture this:  as "Mary" is being hummed over and over, faster and faster, louder and louder, Samuel is running back and forth back and forth back and forth in the living room/kitchen area.  I feel myself getting very very anxious and am about ready to burst like this:

and then in walks Jim. "How was your day sweetie?" He asks.  Sometimes I have already exploded before he gets home.  Yesterday, however, it was very near explosion time when he entered our home and he got to see for himself our little Samuel in action.  It truly is amazing (in not such a happy way) to watch this transpire.  If I can ever get it on video it will be great to laugh at later.  However, I don't see myself stopping mid-explosion to get a camera.  Although maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea - it might diffuse the situation.  Oh well.  Bring it on 4:30!  

Zucchini Anyone?

Today I made some yummy zucchini chocolate chip cookies and thought I would share the recipe with anyone who may have abundant zucchini right now.  This recipe is from a book by Barbara Kingsolver titled "The Animal, Vegetable Miracle" - an excellent book with many practical recipes too.  Here is the link to the cookie recipe.  Enjoy!  Also - zucchini is really good in smoothies too.

Amy Harrison Photography

I recently had the boys' pictures taken by a friend (Amy) from my younger days.  I thought she did an awesome job - especially considering Samuel had a major melt down just prior to going to get pictures taken.  He didn't want to wear the shorts that HE picked out earlier that day - I thought girls were the ones that had these kinds of issues not boys!  You can check out her website here and see what you think.  These were some of my favorite pictures that she took.  FYI - this "smile" of Samuel's was something new that day - why he had to try it out then - I don't know.  Oh well.

The Little Things

This is a sample of the things Samuel said in his prayers tonight:  Bless George that he can feel better (so sweet - George had his 4 month immunizations today), bless my teeth that they won't break (not sure where this came from - maybe because I just set up a dentist appointment for myself and Samuel for a cleaning?), bless that we can go to Stephanie's house and sleep on a bed on the floor sometime (I MENTIONED in passing that we may go to Stephanie's house in October - she lives in CA), bless daddy to do a good job at work and church meetings, and bless mommy and daddy (I need all the blessings I can get!).  He just cracks me up sometimes - it is hard to keep a straight face during the prayer.  I love to hear him pray.  

There are few things I enjoy more than hearing a baby laugh!  Samuel gets George to laugh more than anyone else.  It is so cute.  Here is a clip of Samuel playing peek-a-boo with George.  

This past week was a milestone for George - he rolled over for the first time.  Three times in one day.  But he has yet to do it again.  Is he really growing that fast?  It goes by so fast sometimes.

I have decided it is the little things in life that really make me happy.

Friends (& TJ's)

Yesterday our friends, the Adling Family, came and stayed overnight. They were passing through Utah on their way to Montana for a family reunion. It was so much fun to see them again.



Makenna had a birthday today, so we celebrated last night with a yummy chocolate cake - because we know how much Makenna LOVES chocolate! Samuel helped me make the cake yesterday and he was soooo excited to sing happy birthday! He doesn't care whose birthday it is, he just loves birthday cakes and singing the song.



Paul and LIsa, being the good friends that they are, surprised us with a bag FULL of delicious Trader Joe's snacks/treats. They even remembered some of our favorite things that we used to buy when we lived within a reasonable distance to a TJ (unlike now - Las Vegas is the closest : ( )



If you love good food and would like to see a Trader Joe's near you (anywhere in Utah would be fine with me!), check out the Trader Joe's website and put in a location request. You will not regret it! Thanks again Adlings for a great time. It was so nice to chat with you guys! We love ya!

My Church-Going Guys

Jim came home from meetings this morning to help me get the boys ready for church - it was a nice surprise. I had to take a picture of my boys in their "church clothes" (as Samuel calls them).

Squash Bugs Revisited

Well, I did end up catching about ten squash bugs, but I haven't blended them up yet. I have been finding less and less every day, so I have decided not to blend at this moment. My plants seem to be doing better - we even had two small yellow squash for dinner tonight! I am hopeful that we have the bugs under control (I am sure they are not completely gone, but more manageable now). I was talking with a wise friend of mine about the squash bug situation and she made a statement that has really stuck with me. The day that I first found the squash bugs was not a good day for me. I have been trying to learn how to make whole wheat bread and have not been super successful yet, and then I found those squash bugs. I told Jim I just wanted to give up on gardening, give up on trying to make bread, give up on trying to have a clean house, and basically just give up on everything (a little irrational and exaggerated - don't you think?). Anyway, my friend said something to the effect of isn't it funny how we are going along and then we come to this little block in the road or this little trial and we just want to give up! We just want things to work out perfectly all the time without any trouble. That really made me stop and think about things. It made me think about all of my blessings that I do have and the things that I can do. I am constantly reminded of how Satan preys on our weaknesses and sneaks in to make us feel even worse about ourselves when we are already feeling down. I am so grateful that my friend helped me to see things the way they really are. By the way, I didn't give up on gardening, I tried to make bread again (fairly successfully the last time) so I haven't given up on that, but I am still thinking of giving up on having a clean house - I guess I better work on that.

Just Another Sunday

Several months ago I decided that I needed to make Sunday an extra special day for Samuel (and George) since Jim is gone most of the day doing his Bishop duties. I came up with the idea of a "Sunday Box". I found a good sized box and let Samuel pick out some wrapping paper to cover the box and lid with. He chose some bright, sparkly colors and helped me wrap the outside and inside of the box. I talked it up A LOT before we actually used it. Inside the box are various coloring books, Bible matching cards (people from the Bible, etc), lacing cards, markers - washable of course, puzzles, toy cars (from Grandpa Brookes), shapes, play foam and a few other things. The plan is to get something new in there every few months so that it doesn't get old. But the idea of the Sunday box is that Samuel only plays with the stuff in it on Sundays after church and after "quiet time". I cannot tell you how much this has helped me keep my sanity on Sundays! Samuel looks forward to playing with his "Sunday Box" every Sunday.

Squash Bugs!

My mind has been consumed by squash bugs! I was watering my garden the other day and I found this bug on my butternut squash plant. I thought "Gross! That bug should not be on my plant!" I have heard horror stories about this super bug - which evidently is very annoying and quite difficult to get rid of. Not to mention that it kills your plant fairly quickly. I wasn't sure what a squash bug looked like so I did a google images search for squash bug. Sure enough that is the little critter that I found on my plant. My squash bugs have been busy too! There are several batches of eggs on the underneath part of the leaves.



Adult squash bug - yuck!



Squash bug eggs on the underneath part of the leaves



This is how it destroys the squash and plant - this squash was looking really good before the bugs began attacking!


I was told by a master gardener that the only way to get rid of the squash bugs (organically) is 1) pick them off the plant one by one and kill them or 2) collect several and blend them up in a blender and then put the mixture in a spray bottle and spray all over the plant - evidently the bugs don't like the smell of their own dead. SO, this week my task will be to blend some squash bugs and spray my plants. I really hope this works because I will be so sad if I lose my squash plants! I will keep you posted with my squash bug situation. By the way, I just went out and took these pictures and I smushed the adult bug and it had blue guts - this will be really interesting.