Pretty Ready for Spring

Oh my goodness!  Well you great readers keep me on my toes and are asking a LOT of questions.  

First off:  My kids ages are 12, 10, 8, 6, 3, and 1.  Yes, I'm in a delirious state of exhaustion all of the time but also in a wonderful state of bliss and satisfaction.  Motherhood has been all that I dreamed of and even more of what I didn't dream of.  If you want to know more about me read here.

Second:  CHORES!!!  You all want a sure fire way to get those kiddos to work!  So, here's the deal:

I spoke to Mr. Techy Husband and he thinks we can get our "family plan"up and viewable-- no not that kind of family plan... we gave that up years ago.  The chore chart plan should be showable this week and I'll do a post about how this ship runs and even how it bails itself out when it takes on too much water. I'll have more ideas on chore charts and how to get those little punkins to work and be responsible.

Whew... so how many of you are excited for Spring?  Well here in Arizona it's spring.  It was spring weeks ago.  I have birds that are singing and nesting well past 3:30 in the morning (I think all of those birds are getting ready to head North again so take heart those of you in cold country).  So for my blogging buddy Melissa at the Inspired Room, and all of my other friends who are freezing their little touchies off...Here is my post of Spring! Don't hate me for living here folks. Sure it's 85 during the day now but in July, I promise, no one visits the 115 degree heat... I'll be begging for a trip to Michigan or Massachusetts!

Garden Photos BHG.com

My devoted husband, planted the garden and trimmed citrus trees this weekend (with 5 kids working with him).  I was taking part in a 12 hour Council leadership training meeting for Boy Scouts of America... my bum still hurts from sitting and were it not for the pregnant lady sitting next to me and feeding me chocolate, I don't think I would have made it through!

Gardening... I'd love to say that I grow exotic bulbs and prize winning berries but alas, I'm a mother of six and there's only one reason I keep a garden... FOOD!  Well, food and the fact that I do enjoy working with my kiddos... but let's keep it real.  There is something very satisfying about being in the 4:30 dinner rut and wondering what you're going to fix, then walking outside and realizing you have a salad and squash at your fingertips!  Ladies, if you haven't tried a vegetable garden, I promise, when you forget the smell of sweat and manure, it's a wonderfully satisfying thing.  Something about being in the sunshine and working with your hands lifts your spirits and draws you closer to your family and Gods creations.

We've been doing tomatoes for several years.  Did you know you can do a lot of things with those plants.  Here are a few ideas:

If you pinch the side growth of the plant, you can train it to grow tall. VERY TALL.  A simple zip tie or string can secure it to the shape of your choice and walla!  A beautiful garden feature... with edible fruit!  Ya'll knew tomatoes were fruits right- not veggies.

Tomatoes can be grown in the ground, in containers, and even in hanging baskets.  I love the idea of using crates lined with gardening fabric (to keep the dirt from spilling out) and planting a variety of plants for a yummy showy garden.

More tomatoes.

May I just take a moment to plug gardening for kids:  THEY LOVE IT!  My kids worked with hubby this weekend and feel such pride in our garden... AND they eat the food that comes out of it because they planted it, watered it, and prayed for it to grow.  Nothing like raising farmers to teach responsibility.

What do you grow in your garden?

Don't forget to join me tomorrow for Toile Tuesday!  Come enjoy the series each Tuesday through March and link up on the 24th with your TOILE post!