seedlings

I have a feeling that Spring will be here early this year.  We have had very little snow this Winter (I didn't mind because I couldn't ski in it anyways) and it seems to be warming up nicely.  Our growing season is fairly short here- mid May through early October. Starting seeds indoors is the best way to get a jump on our garden.

(See last year's garden in all its glory.)

Planning our garden always involves effort on my part to remain realistic, I am rarely successful. When Spring finally rolls around, I tend to have big BIG ideas for growing food.  With a new babe to tend soon, I'm just not sure how much time I can devote to tending a garden at the same time. I am aiming to keep it small. At the same time, I love the thought of eating our own home grown food all winter long. So, I am trying to grow only what we can pickle, preserve, freeze or can.

The benefit of planting year after year is that you learn stuff. Here is what I've learned about starting seeds inside.

*Dirt matters.  I once thought it made sense to start my seeds in actual dirt from the garden.  That way they wouldn't be shocked when I moved them outside.  Wrong.  It is just too heavy for those little seeds to sprout.  Seed starting potting mix is best. It is very light and fluffy. (I actually pour water into the bag of mix to moisten the soil before filling up my pots- otherwise you'll inhale it.)

*Pots matter.  I've tried those little pellets for starting seeds and my plants outgrew them too quickly.  I've tried making newspaper rolls for pots- they rotted and deteriorated before it wast time to move them outdoors. I've tried yogurt and sour cream containers, but they don't drain well. My seedlings grow for 3 1/2 months indoors before going outside to their garden boxes.  I need pots that hold their shape and allow enough room for growth.  I have had the best success with store-bought pots that were a minimum of 3-5" in diameter (bigger for tomatoes).

*Watering matters. I have found the best way to water these delicate little seeds is from the bottom.  Watering from the top tends to wash the seeds out.  I buy those black trays to set my pots in (I've used a cookie sheet in a pinch) and just keep a an inch or so of water in the bottom of the tray.  Once the seedlings are up and looking sturdy, I water from the top as usual.

*Temperature matters: In years past I have just used some wooded shelves or a baker"s rack to house all my plants while they grow.  They sit near my southern facing sliding glass door.  This year, I splurged on a little indoor greenhouse of sorts.  Wow! What a difference.  Already my seeds are up and looking great.  Must be that warmer temperature that they are basking in.

*Time matters: After nursing these little plants for 3 or more months, it is a great tragedy to send them outside too early. I've learned this the hard way.  One year I lost all my cucumbers because I wasn't patient enough to wait another week. It pays to take an extra week or so and harden them off outside before planting them in the ground.  I usually send mine outside on the deck during the day (and bring them in at night) for a week. Depending on how they look, the next week they are outside full time- then the following week they go in the ground.  It is a gradual process.

Hooray for dirt under our fingernails, earthy smells inside, and tiny little emerging plants.

33 wks

(Yikes! Check out the difference between this month and last! I'm running out of room!)

For the last 6 years I have been teaching natural childbirth classes
and the last 3 working for two midwives as their assistant. I have
love, love, LOVED being a part of the births of over 100 babies.

Friday was my last day on call for the Birth Center.  Zero days in the foreseeable future that I will be on call again. A breastfeeding mommy cannot simply leave her little babe for an undetermined amount of time while she assists at a birth.  So, I don't know when/if I'll get back to it.  To say that I'll miss being involved at the birth center is a huge understatement. It feels weird to think that I could simply turn off my phone and not be needed.

Because I have attended so many births and worked closely alongside the midwives, you would think that my confidence level approaching my own birth would be high.  Strangely, I've been struggling with the opposite. Most people can "forget" the intensity of what birth was like for
them...I've witnessed it on a regular basis for the last few years.  I've seen a lot of different labors. Some labors are crazy fast, some are crazy long.  I've seen simple straight forward births, and births with all kinds of twists and turns. I've cried at both happy endings and very sad endings. It is easy to take all those experiences on as my own.  So much of me is invested in each birth I help with.

As much as I'll miss getting my hands on all those brand new babies, it is time for me to step back.  I am anxious to spend the next 6-7 weeks settling in to what I know to be true for ME. All three of my births were wonderful. My labor with Emma was 18 hours. Hannah's was 9 hrs. Laurel's 4 hrs. (notice how the time gets cut in half each time...) I am completely blessed with great health and low risk pregnancies. I am so thankful that I was able to give birth 3 times without interventions (inductions, iv's, electronic fetal monitoring, epidurals or other pain meds.) I'm praising God that I've never had stitches, never been overdue, never needed 1 drop of pitocin. 

My worry is unwarranted.  Everything in my past supports the hope that this birth will also be completely safe and very, very sweet.

Here's to living in those thoughts for the next little while.

The learning continues

Our goal for this school year was to remain focused enough to be finished with most of our course work by the time the baby arrives.  The girls have been so diligent. We have worked through Thanksgiving, Christmas, and will continue through our studies during Spring Break.  It has taken some real discipline ...but we keep reminding each other that a Summer Break that begins in April is worth the extra effort!!

As we go along, I find myself growing in confidence as a teacher.  I am less reliant upon our workbooks, textbooks and curriculum in general.  Instead, I am finding that the best progress and learning seems to take place without much help from me at all.  I am amazed at their ability to learn things for themselves.  Given living books (history, literature) and brief lessons (math, spelling, grammar) their minds are growing day by day.

All that said, we do have structure.  I cannot live without some of it.  We generally get up, eat breakfast, do chores and begin school around 9am. Each week I provide the girls with an assignment sheet (just a little chart that I created in excel) that shows them what their daily assignments are. It helps all of us to keep track of where we are in our lessons and to stay on task. Plus, the girls love checking things off their lists! I sort of float between all three girls during the morning work.  A math lesson with one, then onto a grammar lesson with another.  This has taken some practice. The girls have had to work at not interrupting each other and keeping busy when I am working with someone else. Lunch is usually around 11:30 and then we wrap up with history and literature (done as a group). On a well-flowing day we finish between 1 and 2pm.

We have been spending more time outdoors. The fresh air is fabulous. It
is wonderful to put the books away and spend some good
quality time enjoying and appreciating the beauty around us. We've even
been taking a picnic once a week or so.  I generally bring along the sketch
books and watercolors and send them off in search of something to
observe and sketch. We've been playing little nature games like:  "Find
a leaf that you think is interesting. While I hide my eyes, you bring
it here and set it on this bench.  Then, when everyone has their leaf,
you will take turns describing your leaf to me with the most detail
possible.  I will then look at the leaves carefully and try to guess
which one belongs to each of you."  Most times they don't even realize
that they are practicing narration! 

I am still happy doing what we are doing. The girls are happy to continue at home too. We all gloat a little when the school bus passes by in the morning (we are still in our pajamas eating a warm breakfast) and in the afternoon (when we have the park entirely to ourselves). There are definitely days
that are more difficult than others.  I am learning not to stress if we
miss a lesson or if we need a week of review.  The scope of learning is
so much bigger than our little block of "school time" each day. By my estimation, the girls are at least one full grade ahead where they are "supposed" to be.  So far, what whatever we are doing is working and we are having fun too.

 

Almost done. Six more weeks.