New flower bed and more flowers added!

We put in a new flower bed yesterday. Hubby brought home a bunch of really awesome new plants.

My hubby, doing all the hard work for me… Thanks babe.

This is called a Persian Shield… very awesome. Should be about 4 foot tall by next spring and an extremely hardy plant that can stand below freezing temperatures of –30 degrees!

Hibiscus shrub that we haven’t decided to put in the ground yet. the hubby was told it would die and not come back the following year but he may have been misinformed, as I’ve seen a few in this area that were in fact in the ground and quite large. Hoping if any of you southerners (Louisiana, Texas, Ark, Miss) may be able to tell me about your experiences growing Hibiscus scrubs.

Heirloom cherry tomatoes.

The gate looks really good, but I think we need a fence..

Yep…. that’s in my front yard!! A gate….. just a gate….. with no fence…yep.

Fresh picked produce…. with toddler teeth marks

This morning my son and I went to pick our first tomato of the year along with a few banana peppers, a couple of bell peppers, and a handful of strawberries. I displayed all of it in a large bamboo bowl as I was very proud, only to pass by a few minutes later and notice it all spread across the kitchen table. As I picked up the pieces I noticed each and every one had a few little nibble marks.

Oh Jaxon had taken a few pieces with him in the living room and was enjoying his little feast. All the strawberries and a banana pepper. *Sigh* At least he had a healthy snack and he likes banana peppers. That’s a plus.

Preparation for midnight bottle feedings

No one ever gave me a heads up on how chaotic a midnight feeding could be if you weren’t properly prepared. Oh I remember those first couple of nights searching desperately for the right nipple and trying to measure out formula with my eyes so heavy I could barely keep them open. After Jaxon’s second night home, I knew that I was going to need some organization and preparation for midnight feedings, as there were going to be many many more to come.
My best advice is to have everything measured and prepared. Munchkin makes this great little formula dispensers, that holds three different feeding per container. You simply fill it up with the desired amount of powdered formula and when you get ready to use, you just turn the top to the section you want to use, open the top, and add to the bottle. I also labeled the two different dispensers I had, as one had enough powder for a 5 ounce bottle and one had powder for a six ounce bottle.
Make sure you keep plenty of extra bottles with the desired amount of water already added so that everything is ready to go. Have nipples and caps all matched up and assembled especially if you are using Dr. Browns bottles with 50 different pieces. Oh how frustrating that is trying to assemble a Dr. Browns bottle at 1:30 a.m.   Yes I have been there.

Thank you my 101 followers

It means alot to me that you all take time to stop by my blog and read what I have to say. I appricate the comments and all the new friends I have made in these few short months blogging. My goal for the next few weeks will be to connect with you all more and focus on catching up with your blogs and my reading.
Hope you all have a wonderful evening.

RecycleBank

I just found this website and just love it! It gives tons of tips on ways to go green and rewards for going green. Sign up and take the dove poll to see how much you know about going green and get points.

The dog whisperer

Ha ha… yeah. This is what my mom and dad called me as a child. I have always had a way with animals and I , more than anything, wanted to grow up to be a veterinarian. I did the whole 4-H thing in middle school and high school, and won lots of ribbons (2 blue).

Growing up in the country we had every possible domestic animal that you can find on a farm. We raised hogs, potbelly pigs, had 2 calves, a horse, cats, dogs, fish, quail, rabbits, and pigeons and then I had so very exotic pets too. I had a pet squirrel for 13 years, hermit crabs, bearded dragons, water dragon, cockatiels, cockatoos, parakeets, frogs, tad poles, turtles, snakes, iguanas. (We have had them ALL). My favorite pet out of all of these was a rat terrier, named Odie Ray. I got him right before my 13th birthday and that dog went every where with me. I had him house broke in 3 days and he knew a vast array of tricks. Sitting, rolling over and talking were some of the first tricks I taught him but as the months went on, it just amazed me how smart he was and how many tricks he could learn.

Well, when I moved out of my parents house at 18, I moved into an apartment and Odie Ray couldn’t go with me. Mainly because my mom and dad were also very attached to him. So, I went on about my life and Odie lived with my parents. I missed him so much. When I went to visit my parents Odie would be so happy to see me, which it hurt my heart because I couldn’t take him with me.

Last weekend I got a call from my mom. Odie had died. He would have be 12 years old this August 14th. I had only been out to my moms house once in the last 8 months and when I saw him (about 5 months ago) I could tell he had lost some weight and was very gray. He had gotten so old. He had arthritis in his back legs and began having trouble seeing.

I’m not even going to explain how he died as I will probably start bawling. It was his time as he was having A LOT of health problems. Oh how I miss him and am so mad at myself for not going to see him recently. It amazes me that animals can really become a part of the family and how much they can be missed when they are gone.

I got a Blue Heeler puppy  about 7 months ago right after my second son was born. He is kind of wandered up to our house and was so sweet that I just had to keep him. He is a great dog and so good with my kids but he will never take the place of Odie Ray.

Last night after my hubby got home, he took Jaxon for a ride on the tractor and of course Blue had to go for his evening run through the field and chase the horses. After about a 30 minute run my husband was heading back through the field and Blue (not at all paying attention to what he was doing) run underneath the tractor. He was hit by the front tire and my hubby immediately shut down the tractor as the bush hog on the back was still turning and because of syntrifical force it doesn’t stop turning until the tractor stops completely. He was almost ran over by the bush hog. It would have killed him. Kasey carried him in to me and I looked him over (checking for broken bones) thank goodness there are none. I stayed up with him most the night making sure he didn’t start having seizures, or peeing blood or having trouble breathing.

We went early this morning to the vet to have them look him over and he is fine. I am so thankful he’s ok. I don’t know what I would do if I lost to dogs this week.