where's gabe?

:: day 117 ::

fresh picked

nothing compares to fresh picked green beans.  gabe's pool allows for just enough time to comb through the green bean plants and pluck all of the biggest ones to make room for more.  today's harvest produced enough for two meals, and there will be another meal's worth by the weekend.  i think that i would eat green beans every night for the rest of the summer if my plants would produce that many.  i just really love them.

soon, we will also have an abundance of tomatoes from our six plants, so long as the caterpillars that keep cropping up do not ruin all of my plans.  i guess that i should make the garden a more bird-inviting place in the very near future.  

so excited to see our little gardens producing!!

:: day 116 ::

again!

just a quick blurb about how i was looking at a few websites i regularly visit, and i realized that i was on shutter sisters again!!  it was actually a entry from a few days ago, i just didnt realize!  

its been such a long time, you probably forgot...

a really long time ago, i shared how we were doing a lot of concrete hauling in order to revamp our backyard.  our particular challenge has been that with two large, rowdy dogs, it is impossible for us to keep grass alive.  our solution was to do something totally ungrass-related. 

we started out by creating small but sturdy fence that would give the dogs the majority of the yard while allowing us a portion that was dog-free.  on our side, we built six vegetable gardens out of recycled concrete (one of our main goals was to do as much as we could with recycled materials) and a patio out of discarded concrete blocks.  we decided that instead of grass, we would use pinestraw in this portion of the yard.  one day, i would love to fill the largest space with a rectangle of grass for us to lay in, but we are not in a hurry to get this done.  

we planted an enormous amount of vegetables (squash, three types of tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, eggplant, lettuce, watermelon, cucumbers, and various hot peppers), but realized that we would not be able to fill all of the gardens ourselves this year.  so, we invited our friends the gordons to have one garden and our friend judith to have another.  it is so nice to have them over every other week or so tending to their gardens and visiting.  

here are the before and after shots that i have of the yard.

:: before ::

:: after ::

as you can see, we got gabe a little pool today and set it up in the backyard.  he was thrilled to play in it, and i was actually able to get a second round of green beans planted while he played.  i have a feeling that this purchase will result in greater garden productivity on my part.   (thanks danielle for the inspiration!)  after i let him out of the pool, he got his hands on a mini squash, and he gnawed on it until i finally took the stump that was left away from him.  he was not happy to see it go.  i am so proud of my little vegeterian!

:: day 114 ::

tonight, gabe was suffering yet another fever.  that means no church for him... again.  it has been a month since he was well enough to go to church.  goodness.  but, when i put him to bed he seemed to be feeling much better.  hopefully this will be the end of our sick streak.

keeping very busy

monday was the only day this week that i was at home. this is good news on the work front, as it means that i am finally working more (yay!) but bad news on the blog front because i have not had an opportuity to balance the new routine yet, thus the silence here. but i am back.

on wednesday, i joined allison and dana (and all of their children) at cross park for an earth day picnic. it was the PERFECT picnic day, and they were wonderful company! it was so nice to have a little time to hang out with other moms. sometimes i think that i forget just how isolating motherhood can be, especially after over a week of sicknesses. i am so thankful to have these two amazing ladies as friends.

i spent most of our time trying to keep gabe from jumping in the lake, so i only really have the portrait from that day to show for it (although, it does really illustrate the day perfectly, as it is one of him running away from me). crazy kid... he definitely keeps me on my toes.

also, please note that in more than one of the following pictures gabe is sticking out his tongue. it helps him concentrate. i love him!

:: day 108 ::

:: day 109 ::

:: day 110 ::

:: day 111 ::

:: day 112 ::

also, i am excited that my etsy shop will be doing a giveaway tomorrow (friday) on the frugal coupon living blog. click on the link below to check it out!!

today i love...

:: this post on the many ways to use vinegar. i recently started cleaning primarily with vinegar, and i really love that it is a natural way to clean my home. no nasty chemicals for the little man to breathe in.

:: strawberry season. it seems that all the recipes that i am intrigued by right now feature this fruit. here for example. also, can't wait to put away some more strawberry lime jam!

:: this yarn sent to me by my mom! it is unbelieveably soft.

:: this infant kicking bag. i have had it in my head for a while now, and i just cant seem to forget its cozy preciousness. i will probably have to knit one together for one of the many, many pregnant friends i have right now. if you are one of those pregnant friends and you want a kicking bag for your baby shower, let me know... someone is getting one...

:: the beach weather that is slowly making its way into our lives. it makes working in the gardens a pleasure (which we all know will not be the case very soon, with the return of the HEAT and those awful grasshoppers!)

:: day 107 ::

just like his mother

gabe may look exactly like a mini steve, but there are some things about him that are undeniably me.

example: this video was supposed to be one of gabe twirling (yes, he twirls... often. don't know where he learned it, but it is precious, and i will eventually get a video to share) but when i pulled out the camera, mordy went nuts (as he usually does... long story). mordy was standing behind me carrying on, and gabe, seeing this very inappropriate behavior, proceeds to fuss at mordy. ask my mother... this is definitely a trait of mine. i have possessed the talent of fussing at people/ animals/ anything at all since... well forever. steve could also attest to that. apparently gabe is also gifted with the fuss. go figure.

:: day 105 ::

:: day 106 ::

back on our feet

wow. it has been an indescribable few days here at the sivyer house.

sunday morning, we all felt great. gabe got an easter basket with a few goodies in it (not too many because, really, he will not remember it) my goal was actually to do easter as simply as possible, so i sewed up a stuffed bunny (which he now sleeps with), and a pair of pajama pants to match. add a few plastic eggs with some random goodies inside and you have a no-spend easter. i was really happy with the way the pants and bunny turned out, and will probably make them an easter tradition (although, perhaps a different animal each year... we will see)

:: day 102 ::

by sunday afternoon, i could tell that we were in for a rough time. we had hoped that the little bit of sickness that gabe experienced late friday night was all we were in for, but by late sunday night, we were all dreadfully sick. i mean really sick. really, more sick than i can ever remember being. ever. steve will confirm that at one point i used the phrase "pull the plug" in reference to the care that i was to recieve if i did not stop puking. we are finally on the mend, though, and slowly, oh so slowly, starting to feel like ourselves again.

dont worry, due to a little bit of OCD on my part, i still managed to take gabe's pictures each day (although it is safe to say, they are not my favorites). here are days 103 and 104.

and finally, something pretty neat happened today. i was on a website that i visit a couple of times a week. it is a forum of sorts for women photographers. i mostly go there to oogle the incredible work of the talented women who submit their pictures, but every now and again, i will submit some of my favorite shots as well. today, i visited their site only to find out that one of my photos was featured!

it is a picture that i took right after steve and i got married. one of my all time favorites, actually. i used my flip flops as a tripod, set the camera on a timer, and ran as fast as i could to get into the picture. what i nice surprise to have my picture chosen today.

good friday, lazy saturday

yesterday, i returned to the hospital to see quell and marcel. allison graciously offered to watch gabe for me so i didn't have to take him. we were in the hospital most of the day, waiting on test results and the like. in the end, it looks like marcel has an infantile seizure disorder that has caused developmental delays. most likely the seizures will stop by the time he is 4, but they will probably be replaced by some form of epilepsy. my prayer is that quell will step up and decide to be the mother that this boy's special needs call for.

we got back just in time for me to meet allison (and gabe) downtown for coquina's good friday service in the plaza. it was a great time, with a large turnout.

:: day 100 ::

gabe had a stomach bug of sorts that had us up most of the night, so we spent a majority of the day laying around. i never even got gabe dressed today; he just played in his diaper. he seems to be feeling much better today, and no more puking, so we are hoping for the best.

:: day 101 ::

a long day...

yesterday, gabe and i headed to the fort to play in the grass. one of my young life girls and her sister and cousin joined us. it was a really nice afternoon to be outside.

:: day 98 ::

today, i took another one of my girls and her son, marcel, to the children's ER at shands in jacksonville. yesterday, marcel displayed some symptoms that caused me to be very concerned (which apparently have been occuring for a little while, but because quell has no transportation of her own, she has been unable to seek out help). it was a long day at the hospital with few answers, but he was admitted to stay overnight and will have a lot of tests run tomorrow (which is exactly what i was hoping would happen). tomorrow i will head back to the hospital and hopefully there will be more information available about what is going on. i am hoping that there will be opportunity for me to have some much needed conversation with quell. it is certainly a situation that needs a lot of prayer, both for my relationship with quell and for marcel's overall health.

all day, gabe was such a trooper. he played happily in all the waiting rooms and then fell deeply asleep in the car on the way home.

:: day 99 ::

general silly-ness

lately gabe has moments everyday when he is overcome with silly giggling. as far as i can tell, it comes out of nowhere. it doesn't seem to be triggered by anything except maybe a need to get a good laugh. yesterday, after he finished his breakfast, he had one of those moments.

on days when we are home a lot, i usually play music. i almost always catch gabe dancing on those days. the boy loves to dance.

:: day 96 ::

:: day 97 ::

home at last

we flew home from maryland late thursday night. it was storming so bad that we almost had to fly into orlando instead, but the pilot landed us safely in jacksonville and we made it home just shy of midnight. friday we spent recovering from an exhausting but incredible time. saturday, we travelled to melbourne for the wedding of a good friend and old roommate, deanna. gabe had a blast wearing his suit, dancing, and flirting with everyone in sight. it has been a crazy week and a half, but we had such a great time and now are so glad to be home and settling back in.

gabe and his uncle jared.

:: day 91 ::

:: day 92 ::

:: day 93 ::

:: day 94 ::

:: day 95 ::