Adventures of a Breastfeeding Mother: nature

Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Yellow Bodied

I walk through the woods with the girls and some friends, The Tadpole in a ring sling.

The sun dapples through the golden yellow leaves.

Sitting in his sling, he tips his head back to look up at the golden light, meets my eyes...and smiles.

I can't put him down. I won't.

These moments are too fleeting.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I have bad luck with plants. When we moved into our new home, I got several house plants as gifts. I've killed them all, except two: one that I have no idea what it is but it is hanging on by some miracle, and an aloe plant.

My sister bought me the aloe plant because she knew I am cursed with plants but that I like natural remedies. She told me it would be hard to kill, even for me. I love aloe plants, so I was very careful in taking care of it. It started to die, so I gave up.

I have such a brown thumb, that once I stopped taking the aloe plant, it got better!!

I'm so excited that this year I have a yard. And a beautiful garden that we "inherited" from the previous owners. Except I have no idea how to care for a garden. And I am terrified that I'm going to kill every beautiful plant out there.

I went through on Mother's Day and pulled the obvious weeds out (even I know what a dandelion is) but there are some things I'm not sure about. A few of the plants are blossoming beautifully and I'd like to know their names. A few look like they are dead and I want to replace them, but I don't know if they are really dead or if they are just late bloomers.

So, to start: here was some of the plants blooming in the front of our house. Does anyone out there know what these plants are?

My goal this year is to be able to take care of the existing garden. If all goes well, then next year I will plant a vegetable/herb garden.

If anyone wants to share their favorite gardening resource as well, that would be fabulous!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

(Late) Wordless Wednesday: Discovering Tree Climbing

Monday, July 14, 2008

Swings and Bats and Stories by Firelight...

This weekend the Knight and I took the girls to the park and then we went to a cookout at my Aunts. Then, Saturday night the Knight set up a tent in the backyard and we took the girls on their first "camping" trip.

The girls loved camping out in the tent. The delight and surprise on their faces was incredible. We told stories by firelight (and not by tv light) and just talked and laughed and tickled. With no electronic gadgets around to distract us, we were able to really connect with each other and enjoy each other's company.

The Mermaid loved the sound of the frogs and crickets. When we went to lay down in the tent, I positioned myself next to the Mermaid while the Knight lay down next to the Guppy. Usually, the Mermaid sleeps on her little mattress next to our bed and I spend the night nursing the Guppy back to sleep. But for some reason, the Guppy did not ask to nurse to sleep. Instead, she cuddled with the Knight and I smiled to hear them laughing and giggling and making silly faces at each other.

Meanwhile, it was so incredibly peaceful and delightful to be able to cuddle with my little girl. She isn't used to having someone to cuddle with anymore, and it was a delight for her as well. We listened to the frogs and screeched and then laughed when we saw a bat land on the tent, right above us. We whispered in the dark, talking about the sounds of nature that we were hearing, talking about what her toy dog likes to eat and how he hates to have the blankets over his head, and most importantly, just talking. It was just the two of us, without the Guppy clamoring for attention or for na nas.

I felt like I was rediscovering who the Mermaid was; rediscovering that she is her own little person with her own little personality. As I lay there with her and listened to her talk about the stars and moon, feelings of awe and love for her just hit me and it was so incredibly overwhelming. Here is this sweet, beautiful, smart little girl and she is my daughter. I carried her in me for nine months, and now I carry her in my heart and in my arms. She is my daughter, and I could not be prouder, or more blessed.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Nature Walk

The weather these past few days has been absolutely lovely. So, I jumped at the chance of getting the girls outdoors and letting the Mermaid learn a little about nature. We don't have any trails to walk on but our road is pretty slow and safe, so with the Mermaid at my side and the Guppy on my back, we took a little nature walk.