Planting

Every year I say I am going to make my garden a little smaller and little more manageable than the year before. 

And you can see how well I've stood by that statement in years past.  This year is no exception. Even though I am now on my 4th year of vegetable gardening, I still don't believe that everything I plant will actually grow.  So I overcompensate by just planting a lot of seeds.

And then they all come up.  And I wonder why I have an overabundancee of vegetables!

Because of the amount of rain we've gotten on the weekends in the last month, any bouts of dry weather are precious.  Aaron has been trying to get as much done as possible in the vineyard during those times.  Since my hands are a little fuller these days, I know both Aaron and I getting things done on a sunny day will be a challenge.

So I called in a little help.

Our friend, Staci, who lives nearby, came to help me plant the garden last weekend.  It was warm that day, but very windy. So I got my little man geared up to come help in the garden.

Remember last year when I told you about my buns of steel from doing all the squatting in the vineyard to de-sucker all the vines?

That was nothing. 

This year, I am doing the same thing with an extra 14+ lbs and counting hanging onto me. 

 

I held him with one arm while I dug holes with the other.  He was such a good sport! 

Staci moved a bit quicker than me in getting all the seeds planted.

Who am I kidding?  She basically did all of it for me while I ran back and forth from the garden to the house, and chased the dogs out of the garden where they were rambunctiously trampling over our tomato plants.  And she even helped me to plant a reasonable amount of zucchini this year.  Yet plenty enough so we can make our County Fair winning zucchini relish! 

Last weekend, we got zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, potatoes, peppers and tomatoes in the ground.  Aaron planted pumpkins, gourds, squash, and sweet corn in the field.

Staci was nice enough to came back this morning and we planted lettuce, peas, green beans, and carrots. 

So much for my small garden this year.

I plan on trying my hand at homemade baby food this year, so hopefully all these veggies will come in handy!

It has been storming on and off today, so we had about 30 minutes this morning to get the last seeds in the ground before the rain came.

I've never planted so fast!  I literally dumped some seeds in the ground and made a mad dash for the house, pushing the stroller up the hill, so it'll be interesting to see how this all comes up.

I can officially say the garden is planted.  Now I just have to maintain it!

And this week we have some more grapevines coming--Frontenac Blanc, Petite Amie, and some seedless table grapes.  We are not expanding nearly as much as we did the past two years, but adding a row or two of some of these new varieties. 

Vintage Baby

On May 7th last year, I was waiting in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport for my flight home and stumbled across a winery at my terminal. 

A winery...at the airport...

who would've thought?

It was just a little tasting room serving some Texas wine and appetizers, so I popped in to check it out. 

I was suspecting that I was pregnant, but had not yet confirmed.  I was waiting until I got home to find out for sure. To be on the safe side, I did not order a glass of wine.  Although I had tried a Texas Merlot before which was wonderful, so it was hard resisting the temptation at just the chance that I might be pregnant.

Instead, I bellied up to the bar and ordered up a little appetizer plate and chatted with the tasting room server.  I thought it was a pretty innovative idea that a vineyard opened up shop in the airport to sell their wine.  They figured they'd hit a pretty captive audience at the airport.  I mean, how many people pass through there every day looking to kill some time?

I finished up my cheese and crackers and still had some time before my flight, so I wandered through the gift shop, filled with the usual wine related gift items-humorous cocktail napkins, coasters, wine stoppers, cork wreaths, etc. But one section caught my eye- the baby apparel section.  I spotted the cutest little onesies.

They came in pink and blue and were imprinted with the following:

Vintage Baby

Aging Perfectly

Mom and Dad's Special Blend

Honestly, can you think of something more perfect for the baby of a couple of winemakers?

I looked at the price tag.  

$19.95...

For a onesie?!

Typical airport gift shop pricing.

I wasn't normally one to fork out twenty bucks for a silly little onesie, but this time I felt compelled to splurge.  And even though I knew there was a chance I was not pregnant, I knew I'd regret not buying it if I was.  It's not like I could find one of these at Target.

The next dilemma- should I buy the pink or the blue?

After a brief thought, I grabbed the blue.  If I was even pregnant and if it were to be a girl, I figured it would be easier to put a bow in her hair for a feminine touch than it would be to explain why I have my baby boy dressed in pink.

Although I like to think I had some amazing maternal instinct and just knew I was, indeed, pregnant and it was going to be a boy. 

Because the next morning, on May 8th, exactly one year ago today, I confirmed my "expecting" suspicions. 

Last year we celebrated Mother's Day by sharing this exciting news with my parents over brunch.

And this year...

We all celebrated with our almost 4 month old son!

 

Who charmed Grandma with his smiles (although he didn't perform for the camera)...

And impressed Grandpa with his strong legs!

By the 14th grandkid, you'd think they've seen it all.  But they are still enjoying all the little things right along with us! 

Then he chilled out in Dad's lap for a while.

It's the life.

It was such a beautiful day yesterday...

We took a stroll through the vineyard. 

Poor kid still doesn't know what to think of the sun. 

 I feel like a pretty lucky lady to spend Mother's Day weekend with my three children.  ;)

I even laid out a blanket and we hung out under the shade tree for a while and I watched my baby roll over for the first time!  First from tummy to back and then from back to tummy.

Yeah, he was on a slight incline on a hill.  So?

So what if he had just a little gravitational help?

It still counts.

Right?

I'm putting it in the baby book, okay! 

I joked with Aaron that all I wanted for Mother's Day was the gift of sleep since "someone" is still not a great nighttime sleeper.

But instead, he surprised me this morning with...

a new coffee machine!

A Keurig! 

He figured if he couldn't give me sleep, he might as well make sure I am well caffeinated.  Such a perfect gift for the sleep deprived new mother.

As noted in this picture, I am not far from my coffee mug these days.  Now I'll be able to make a quick cup in the morning before work without having to brew a whole pot!

It is amazing what can happen in a year. 

Now excuse me-- I have to get back to my vintage baby...

and my baby daddy.

Love these guys!