My baby is 5

Yikes, my baby is 5? I'm not even sure how this is true. He had a nice, long, extended birthday this week. A special birthday outing with my parents to Howell's pumpkin patch, a picnic and cupcake shabang at our house with his preschool buddies, and a sushi date with Mike and I on his actual birthday. He's my special little man, and I love him to bits.

It's a proud parenting moment for me when a child of mine requests sushi for his birthday lunch.

It's perhaps an even prouder moment when he eats it with abandon

I think the staff at Haiku was excited to have a 5-yr-old celebrate his birthday with them. They brought him a dessert with candles (and we've been back since then, and they remember him and always bring him free dessert!)

After lunch, Mike went back to work while Gavin and I crossed the street into Drake's campus and strolled through the grounds, finding bulldog statues, the painted street, and the sun dial where Mike and I were married twelve and a half years ago. 

The spot where his parents were married over a decade ago. 

Happy 5th Birthday to my little Gav Man.

And we have lift off!

Exactly 2 weeks after our little monarch chrysalis came to our house and got put in a mason jar for childlike viewing pleasure, we noticed that it had changed dramatically:

And then about an hour later, we noticed this:

So we transferred the little beauty outside and placed her/him here. The next morning she/he was gone, so I consider this a metamorphic success!

Monarch tales

On a trip around the pond the other day, we noticed some swamp milkweed plants growing out of the rocks around the drainage pipes to our pond. Upon further inspection, Gavin, Mike & I discovered dozens of monarch caterpillars eating the leaves. It was so cool to see. Gavin and I went back yesterday to check on them, and some were hanging upside down, ready for chrysalis formation. Today Mike and Gavin did another check and discovered a crhysalis. They brought it home so we can watch the progress in a mason jar, and release it after it emerges. Nothing like a little home science to peak all of our interest in nature!

I didn't actually get a photo of Gavin with a monarch caterpillar, for whatever reason. But I did take this one of him with a fuzzy yellow one. 

Monarch chrysalis

Friends

I've been thinking so very much lately about how grateful and lucky I am to have so many valued friendships. In all of our lives, there are things we wish we could do better, or had more time for.  Achieving life balance is this never-ending journey that is always a struggle. I sometimes step back and take stock of where I'm at, and make mental lists of what areas of my life need more attention, and which areas I can currently rock. It changes ALL the time, of course. But one area of my life that has felt solid for quite some time, and which I'm eternally blessed with, is a community of very good women friends who I know I can turn to at any time. I have a lot of different circles of friends that fill so many different needs, from the distant past, to the nearer past, to the present. I am thankful every day for the many amazing women that inspire me, support me, and make me laugh. 

Some of my oldest friendships remain the strongest, 25ish years later. Bridget and Kelly at Centro during a recent weekend visit. 

I'm so grateful for the many new friendships I've come to enjoy over the past couple years. My "new" book club friends, Emily, Erin, and Susan. 

Hard to keep up

Despite the awful blight that's killing off all my tomato plants, many tomatoes have ripened and are coming in now. I'm having a harder time this year with keeping up on the canning, although I know I should shake a leg since I won't have as fruitful of a harvest once the blight completely kills off every vine. For now I'm enjoying the colors on the counter, and the pondering over what to can before they rot away.

Prairie days

I've been keeping up with my volunteer hours per the Master Conservationist course, and my newest favorite activity is collecting native prairie flower seeds. I can do it per my own schedule, and Gavin can come along. I spent a (hot) morning this past week in a little patch of prairie at Chichaqua collecting four types of seed. It's peaceful when this is the view for 2+ hours....

Garden woes

My garden has taken on a sadder tone this summer than my joyful garden of last year. After I fought off the fungus that practically killed off all my non-tomato plants, I now have insects of all types devouring leaves, fruit, veggies.... ripened and unripened. There is caterpillar poop on everything, and I can't seem to pick ripe produce fast enough to get to it before the bugs. Japanese beetles are destroying my strawberries.

I chatted with the farmer that runs our organic CSA and he gave me some ideas of organic insecticides. I tried one and have all my fingers and toes crossed. In the meantime, I'm happy to see that finally I'm getting some ripe tomatoes. I may not have hope left in the peppers/eggplant/brussels sprouts, but the tomatoes are what I want the most.

I planted a rainbow of tomatoes this year, and all but one are new to my gardening journey. I did 8 (instead of 10) tomato plants this year, and now have at least one ripen fruit from seven out of eight (only the giant Brandywine has not yet ripened). I love all the colors!

White Tamesol, Paul Robeson, Arkansas Traveler, Green Zebra, Nebraska Wedding, Illinois Beauty, & Cream Sausage

1st day of school

Benji and Jack went back to school today. Hard to believe it's not even the true middle of August yet, and the State Fair is in full swing, yet they are back in school!

Benj was a tad nervous about his first day of 1st grade and all day school, but he got on the bus like a champ and had a great day. Jack seems to have slid into 2nd grade with no issues. They both have buddies in their classes, and Benji has the same 1st grade teacher Jack had last year (whom we adore). I'm looking forward to great things this year!

Gavin spent the day with Mike and I, since Mike has Wednesdays off. He chose to go to the zoo, after we went to breakfast. He seemed to TREMENDOUSLY enjoy being an only child. 

Jack's 8th Birthday

How was it 8 years ago when my little guy made me a mother, Mike a father, and started our parenting journey? The first few weeks of his life, spent in the NICU, were trying but fortifying as we learned to roll with the punches and be the best parents we could be. It's amazing how much he has grown, and how far he has come, in eight years. We love this guy and the person he's growing up to be!

Bricks 4 Kids Lego Party with 7 Buddies {& 1 buddy brother}!

Austin & Alec are a Lego team

Caleb & Jack working on a dinosaur  model

Jaxson & Matthew finish their dinosaur first

Okay, this is a little hard. Need some help, dad!

A little Weird Al

Mike recently introduced the boys to Weird Al, and they took an immediate liking.