Saturday, March 5, 2016

What have you been up to?










Hey, how are you?  I have been missing you like crazy.  I have not been here on this blog this week, seems like time just got away from me.

I have pruned bushes, pulled out dead things and replanted lots of pretty flowers.  I always work on the back of my house first as that is what I see all the time.   Spring is here all of the sudden in full force, it sort of took me by surprise.

I planted tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and lots of herbs in my garden boxes.  I hope to be a bit more successful with these than in past tries.

I decorated a bit for Easter, suddenly it is March and Easter is roaring at us at lightning speed.  

I made agave sweetened chocolate chip (corn and barley malt sweetened) muffins for Mr. 22.  I am sending him a, "I am stuck in Columbus writing a 40 page paper for spring break while all my friends are having fun," treat box.  I am filling it with fruit juice sweetened cookies from the health food store, muffins, dried apples and a few new t-shirts.  That ought to lift his spirits a bit.

Little Buddy is a star!  He has to wear a patch over his right eye an hour a day minimum to help it get nice and strong.  Today was the first day he wore his, "pirate" patch and he did great, lasting 2 1/2 hours and never tried to take it off even once!  It helped that I told him he could only play his iPad while wearing the patch, but he played with toys a bit too and also ate lunch with it on.  Go Little Buddy!

I am enjoying watching my Mother and Dad's little Christmas cactus continue to bloom, I think this is it's third round.  It is very happy to be taken care of.

I met my dear friend Holly for breakfast yesterday, she is such a special light in my life.  

I had a meeting with Little Buddy's teachers and therapists, I am thinking he might need to stay in pre-k one more year to cook a bit.  He isn't at the level his peers are in so many areas, but he is really crazy smart so that is a factor to think about.  If he had been born on time he would not be going into kindergarten this year, so that is something to think about.  The decision will be made in May, but it was good to get everyone's thoughts on the subject.

I also did a ton of work and paperwork this week, but who wants to see a crummy photo of that?  

The weather is beautiful, low 70's, low humidity and gorgeous soft breezes.  I deserve a rest, I bet you deserve one, too.  Do you want to sit and chat for a bit?  Come on over, the tea kettle is on.

36 comments:

A Whole Lotta Magic said...

Wow! I'm tired just reading about it all!

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Busy lady! Love Little Buddy's eye patch! The weather is so pretty but not time to plant here yet! I hope you have a good upcoming week.
hugs,
Linda

CJ said...

I'm on my way. It's gone a bit chilly here, so some glorious Florida sunshine will be just the ticket. Well done Little Buddy on wearing the patch so well and for so long. Hopefully he will get used to it and forget it's there. Lovely to see your plants, I'm hoping it will be time for a little gardening here as well soon. Enjoy the rest of the weekend Meredith. CJ xx

Karen said...

I'm going to enjoy your garden with you. It will be another two months before I can plant anything here. You had a busy and productive week!

Christina said...

You sure had a busy week Meredith. I hope you have a peaceful weekend to relax a little. I'd love to have a mum like you, sending me muffins and t-shirts and all to cheer me up :-) xx

Acorn to Oak said...

It sounds like you had a very busy, productive, and wonderful week! That's awesome! Enjoy that beautiful weather!

Teresa Kasner said...

Good job on all the gardening you've done! I'm sure enjoying our blooming things here. Good job on LB and his Pirate's Patch! You are so nice to put together a goodie box for your son. I was very bad about doing that for my son when he was at college in Tennessee... I wish I could have a do-over and send him things. Hoping you're having as relaxing a weekend as we are. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Anonymous said...

Soon we will have that chat!

So proud of little Buddy for keeping his patch on. Of course, it didn't hurt to tell him what a handsome PIRATE he made. Who doesn't want to BE a pirate??? LOL

It was gorgeous on this side of FLA today too. It was a great day to get out and hike. I put pictures up at: http://meanwhileinflorida.blogspot.com

Have a great SUNDAY!

Debby said...

You are getting a head start on your flowers.
Nothing wrong with waiting another year for starting school. The family I was a nanny for had all three of their children go to pre kindergarten and then again in school.
Glad you little pirate is good with his patch.
Hugs

Betsy said...

I would love, love, love to come visit with you Meredith. You have been so busy and I so enjoyed seeing all of your flowers and blooming beauties. We're just now starting to notice buds on the trees. A very early spring for our area but it was almost 60 degrees today, crazy for the first part of March. LB looks so cute with his pirate patch. Good for him wearing it the whole time and good for you keeping his needs in mind for kindergarten. So many parents seem to want to rush the little ones these days. He is just too cute. The box for your son sounds just perfect. I know it will cheer him up. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend Meredith.
Blessings always,
Betsy

20 North Ora said...

Your gardening all looks so great. We had a beautiful day today here in Oklahoma. Everything is blooming and budding out. Hope we don't have a last minute freeze. LB is doing so well. I know Claudia and Don will enjoy their visit so much. It will be good for you two to have some time together.

Have fun!

Judy

Blondie's Journal said...

You always have so much going on and you never hesitate to describe the good, bad and ugly, Mere. My way of thinking! Spring for you sounds heavenly, I do love my 4 seasons but I've never known anything else. I have had many vacations all over Florida and that moist air always does wonders for me. I say moist because it's definitely not like the humidity we have here...very suppressing. I love that you do container planting. I never thought to do zucchini. I need to try that this year. We don't plant anything here until May or else we have to run out all the time when we get cold weather forecasts, covering everything with plastic. I'd rather be patient! Or lazy! ;-D

I did the little gift baskets for my youngest when she was in college. I did a little more junk food though. I know...bad mom but I knew she ate right and I wanted her to have something sweet or salty to grab when she was stuck in her dorm room and needed something comforting. You're very smart. She's just two years older than your guy.

You have a great strategy with Little Buddy and the eye patch---not using his iPad until his 'time' is up. I think that teaches kids that there will be a reward if they work hard to accomplish a goal. I did a lot of that when my four were young. Come home and clean your room and then get a few cookies. Take a few bites of new foods at dinner and if you really don't like it you can have fruit. Do a few chores and we'll go to the park. Is that bribery? I think they turned out fine and maybe learned that pushing themselves would result in something rewarding.

I want to thank you again for your last comment. I know you 'read' my posts and your supportiveness has been so great.

I hope you have a wonderful and fulfilling week.

Jane

mamasmercantile said...

You have been busy with your garden and plants. We still haven't made a start on ours but tomorrow is another day. Such sweetheart that Little Buddy managed to keep his patch on for so long, he is certainly doing well. Hope all goes well for your elder son sounds like a great parcel. Take care.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

I'm glad to hear you had time too meet with a friend. Sounds like you accomplished a lot. Yay Z Man for keeping on the patch. Hope you use this Sunday as a day of rest. Hugs, Tammy

Janet said...

It's still too cold over here for me to venture into the garden yet, but I'm feeling inspired seeing what you have done.
Well done to Little Buddy with his eye patch.
I hope you're having a relaxing weekend after all your hard work this week.
Janet x

Amy at love made my home said...

Nothing like as much as you! You have been a busy bee, but a happy sounding one too. Your garden and plants are going to be great this year!! I am telling them they are all going to grow well for you!! Glad that Buddy is doing well with his pirate practice, it is hard work, but I know he will do well at it!! xx

Stins said...

Hello buzy lizzie ;-), no wonder your days are flying by!!
I hope you can enjoy to be outside in the lovely spring weather, to get some energy from the sun... Take care, lots of love from Mirjam.

Jo said...

You've had a busy week, especially with all the planting you've been doing. Having given our allotment up at the end of last season, I'm feeling a bit sad hearing how everyone is starting seeds off. Still, we'll be growing a few things in the garden this year. Well done to Little Buddy, hopefully that eye will get nice and strong in no time at all.

busybusybeejay said...

I wish I could get out in my garden.It is rally cold here in NorthWales at the moment.We even had some snow last night and it going to be minus 5 tonight!!Roll on Spring.Little Buddy is such a good boy wearing that patch.Bless him.x

Gracie Saylor said...

Yesterday Tim, Elisabeth and I went to a local nursery in between rain showers and bought a few more plants, then came home and got most of them planted. My geraniums I am wintering inside are so huge I am tempted to put them outside, but Teresa says Dayle waits till about May 15th before putting there's out and I know it is probably wiser to wait. It was in the 40's when I went to church this morning, so I guess winter has not quite given up yet. The nursery lady said she laughed when a customer asked if she had tomato plants. It is hard not to get Spring Fever when the seasons start to change :) I will try to content myself with admiring what you have planted. Yea for LB and his pirate patch tolerance! Your care package should help give your son some fuel to crank out FORTY PAGES! Mercy! [ One of our sons was advanced a grade and the other son was held back. In retrospect I think the holding back was more successful than the advancing, and I am glad you are getting good counsel for LB.] Hoping you and yours have a happy week, Meredith xxxxx

Willow said...

I'm sipping my tea while I read this. Yay, Little Buddy! Good job on keeping that patch on.
I saw that Christmas cactus and thought, "Christmas at Easter".
I also love seeing your garden. I've planted more seeds this week--kale, spinach and lettuce. The carrots are 1-2 inches high now!

Joyful said...

I'm glad you took a bit of a blogging break and just "lived" a bit. soon it will be gardening time here but I am not prepared. Hopefully I can get some things organized this month (compost etc.) but the month is flying by and next month is going to be busy as well. Such is life. We just live the best we can. Glad to see everyone is well in your family. Hugs. xx

Sum of their Stories said...

Looks like you've had some good weather to get out in the garden. We had a snow blizzard here on Friday night (all gone by Sat am though!) so I chose indoor activities for this weekend.

kathy b said...

Hooray for Lil Buddy. Braces, therapies and now an eye patch and he just takes it all! unreal. We should all be so flexible. Its freezing here. NO signs of green. Im so happy to see your post pictures. Walked 2.5 miles today freezing my buns off. Fifty? That is what they say it is, but with the wind chill it feels like 30. ugh. chicago..ugh March!

linda said...

You sound so busy Meredith, I would love to come and have a cuppa tea with you I'll bring the cake :) Well done little Buddy on wearing his pirate patch he's doing so well, Spring is nowhere in sight here yet it's still very cold we even had snow today. I hope next weeks a good one for you. xxx

HollyM said...

You're right, Easter is near! And I've still got snowmen out. Of course are still buried in snow. I did buy a few seed packs, though and I'm thinking about my garden.
Little buddy really is growing up. You may be right about Kindergarden.

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

You are busy indeed. I love all your plants. Daffodils are blooming and tulip greens are showing so their bloom is soon. just was busy this afternoon looking thru old photos of nearly 11 years ago when I visited a friend in Iowa when I was in Nebraska visiting a friend as well. My Iowan friend died last week so I want to go through the photos to remember the day. Photocopied a few to send with sympathy card for her husband. We grew up in Oregon and then years passed and we moved to various places, I moved back. Miss her but know she's ok now. Chilly day here with some rain but had a good walk in afternoon and dinner with hb and a short walk back home. Have a blessed week!

Kris said...

Isn't Spring so fresh and exciting! Your yard looks great, and the garden boxes look promising for a good yield!
Yea for Little Buddy...he is such a star!!! I miss you Mere!
xo kris

Babajeza said...

Ah well, spring's not here yet. But that quite usual. Nontheless the sun is out today. I think there is no need to send children to school too early. Just let them have the time they need. Hugs, Regula

Unknown said...

Your garden looks great (also, we've just had a snowy weekend here), and I love that Xmas cactus, it's so cute! Not to mention LB, he sounds incredibly smart, must be fun to be around him! xx

Jennifer Hays said...

I would love to come. We can talk about our crazy babies, therapy ones and otherwise, and everything else. I think we could talk for days. I'm so glad to hear Little Buddy is doing well with his eyepatch. My sister needed one as a child but it was a chaotic and inconsistent household we were raised in, and nobody really made sure she wore it. Her eyes never got better, sadly. I am sure he will do great and his eyes will be very strong soon. I am sure you will also make the best choice for him with school; I can understand your feeling torn about it. I felt lucky to have the decision taken out of my hands because both of mine were born in September, but the cut-off date is September 1. My daughter only misses by 5 days, my son by 22. But they were both born about a month early and have always been a little young for their ages, I guess you could say, and I liked having them home with me a little longer, plus they got another year of pre-k instead of "real" school, which I thought was good for them too. I'm sure you'll make the right decision. You're a good mom and you know what you're doing. He will do great. I hope you're having a good week so far, Meredith. Take care and enjoy.

Clare said...

Wow you have been busy, must be nice to get out in the garden still way to cold here, I have some plants to go in but it's just too cold, well done little buddy with the eye patch
Clare xx

Between Me and You said...

Such a brave boy wearing his patch without complaining. I used to hate wearing mine when I was 5 (in another life!). It's very,very cold here so not much point in trying to plant anything just yet although it's simply luxurious to see some colour creeping into the garden,finally. Good week to ya, Mer.xxx

Amber said...

Oh gosh, how lovely it would feel to get my hands into the dirt! Due time for us here in PA. Your patio is really gorgeous! Also, I don't think that there is anything wrong with keeping your little one in preschool another year. Even if he is very smart, it can still be hard if he's not as socially mature as his peers. I don't know if that's the case or not, but kids are rushed so much these days. It's really rather annoying to me. They're pushed, pushed, pushed to grow up and learn things earlier, and then they're burnt out and hate school (and learning) by the time they hit junior high. I think it's really sad.

Unknown said...

Low 70's and its spring with you sounds wonderful temperatures. Its spring here to buts its freezing cold but we are having some nice sunshine days with it :-) I cant wait for a bit of warmth to come from it though. Bless little Buddy he's doing great bet he would love a pirate hat to go with his patch maybe :-) Your garden is looking lovely, dee

Vera said...

Yikes - what a busy week! I need a nap after reading your post - ha=ha. Cute picture of little Buddy. He makes a great pirate. Hope you get some time to relax and enjoy Claudia & Don's visit!!