kidding around

look at those kids…they were married 13 years ago tonight!

we’ve accomplished a lot Nathan, but most importantly, we still love each other’s company!

here’s to many more years.

is a day that removes you from obligations, laundry, and yardwork…and forces you to forget about the time and to enjoy your family.

We spent Father’s Day on Lake Michigan (in Evanston to be exact) enjoying the sand, COLD water and watching my brother-in-law wind surf.

An absolute perfect day away with only an hour drive. Can’t wait to do it again.

I think the hot and humid weather of last week really gave our garden a boost. Look at our beautiful lettuces and arugula! All started from me throwing seeds in a semi-straight line about a month ago…maybe less.

Our strawberries are just bursting and it’s so much fun watching them transform over night. This bowl smells divine- I just want to take it in and remember this in February.

A few more freckles are cropping up on my Simon’s face! Once the weather warms, he adds a few freckles every day and Ellie just gets really tan without even trying…poor Penny gets tired earlier in the evening (I found her conked out on her bedroom floor without her bedtime stories).

Here’s my helper- I’m so happy he was with me to share in the delights of the season. A memory I will keep.

I love when the weather is warm and our living space spills out to the back yard. We were fortunate when we moved into our house that the previous owners had planted many perennials, mainly hostas and ferns. Anyway, I thought I would show some of the work we have been doing outside the Shackelford house.

This nice little shade garden once had a pond. We weren’t too jazzed about the standing water and at the time a toddler toddling around and the potential mess/drowning hazard. So we finally, after 3 years of weeds got our act together and bought soil and some plants for this lush area. I also added some broccoli plants, because “hey, I have no more room in my garden plots!”.

Here’s the other side of the shade garden. We buried our sweet Beatrice here almost 2 years ago. I never knew I was such a “dog person”, but the past 2 years when I plant flowers around her grave I sob…I’m sure glad we have her near. I know, go ahead, you can think I am a loon.

I was happy to discover this pretty little lady in my garden today. That red just glows!

I absolutely LOVE rhubarb.I cleared out a bunch of weeds and made a nice little place for these tasty treats to grow and bring me future pies. Too bad I have to wait until next year.

Okay, so have you heard of growing potatoes in tires? All you do is cover the sprouting potato with soil as it grows and when it’s ready to harvest you remove the tires. Cool, huh? I need to still start this project, but it’s on the top along with 5 other “must dos”.

This corner is a dangerous space. We basically just make smores and lounge about eating. I love it! We planted some ferns in the corner from my parents yard and I hope to just cover the ground with paint rocks from the kids…you know, ladybugs, frogs, magic beans…

This part of the yard is still in development, but it is/will be my happiest spot! I have lots of vegetables growing and along the side of this garden will be my clothesline. We still need to dig holes, pour concrete and install the posts, but just imagine clean sheets on the line. I’m going to TRY to only use my dryer once a week. It can be done, but with midwest humidity I may be tempted to use the dryer one extra time…

Oh, the vegetables I planted are: peppers, red peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, peas, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. Not bad for a space that has seen many “ideas”…sunflower field, pumpkin patch, weed field (I don’t mean pot either!)

Our deck is a great place to hang out. I love having a pool. It came with the house and it has been such a great thing for our family. No days at the community pool, I can do what I want while the kids splash around…perfect.

Hi, pup. My dog Ollie was nipping my ankles as I was shooting this post. I had to show off this naughty boy.

Check out the hops! It’s crazy and so beautiful! I’m not sure if Nathan has used it for beer making, but it’s so cool.

So there you go, my back yard. I love it and now you know where I am most of my time in the summer. I don’t think the sewing machine has hummed in the past 3 weeks. Now, if only I could make my own sewing room in my yard!
Here’s a sneek peak of my next post…my side garden.

Since carving out a corner of our backyard for a firepit/lounging “restful place”, our family has made smores at least 4 times in the past 3 weeks…I think I need to be focusing on relaxing under the big trees and not letting each of the kids make me a smore! Did I tell you that they are especially great with dark chocolate?

Here’s to the first day of summer vacation for us!

Recently, I’ve heard Ellie and Simon’s coversations listing all the projects they want to do over the summer. Of course one of them will have to remind the other that “we’ve got all summer, we don’t need to do it all today!” How nice to have a break and the excitement of summer days!

Today was our last day of school and I did not let the kids get in the car without our traditional school photo. Maybe some of you remember this post way back in August…can you believe how time flies?!

Ellie is now in 5th grade…her last year before middle school! She still is an avid reader (just finished the Hobbit) and is planning many sleepovers with friends.

Simon will be my 2nd grader and is quite a talented artist. His simple line drawings amaze Nathan and me. We are anxious to see what is in his future! He’s excited to go on more bike rides…do you know that he effortlessly goes on 15 mile bike rides?!

Peppy is still my Preschooler- thank goodness. We are still one another’s “bests” (a phrase she likes to use with me!). She is beginning to write her name and loves to be read to many times during the day.

I love these clowns and hope to spend some great times with them this summer. I’m not to sure what I will be doing in this corner of the blog world, but I do intend for my days to be a lot less focused and just let it unfold. You can be sure I will still post, but if you tire looking at my kids or garden than I may disappoint!

Happy Weekend!

Last night, we had our official “spring thunderstorm”. Complete with a scary sky, thunder, lightning, high winds and a rainbow popping up in the eastern sky!

Our house is also seeing some cute rainbow shorts I made Ellie. Here’s the low down: I spent about $1.50 for the fabric… they are not too short…they are cute…and they didn’t cost $20…I love it!

Our house has also discovered a graffiti artist. Penny came forward to confess such offenses. She is well aware that houses are not paper and that writing “No Ellie or Simon” in her language is not cool for family relations.

You can be sure I have more shorts cut out for this girl! I’m so happy that she accepts my homemade endeavors!

By the way, school will be out very soon. Any book recommendations for kid crafts, projects, gardening? I’m getting ready to plan my summer activities and knew I could ask a few of you for some help!

Yep, Nathan and I were able to celebrate his birthday this past Saturday. We took the train in to Chicago and ate at Frontera. And were lucky enough to get tickets to the Edward Hopper/Winslow Homer show at the Art Institute.

So we started off our celebration with margaritas, Mexican beer and ceviche…perfect. And then our brunch was so tasty that I forgot to photograph it, but I can assure you it was great! The dessert was lovely too…honey/mango flan. I was so sad that our meal ended so soon. The temptation to just sit and eat was very strong. I suppose the wait staff would have stopped being so nice.

We strolled around the city and paid homage to the Apple store and even saw the Ellen show being shot on Michigan Ave. The Hopper show was even more than I anticipated. We decided to use the audio tour and moved ourselves slowly around the packed galleries. Seeing art in person really does not compare with books- the paintings were stunning…almost glowing. I love Hopper, so I felt slightly guilty as I whisked through the Homer show. Obviously it was impressive, but you know…

So that’s it…something crazy is going on with my comments and I have not had any responses for the past 3 posts. Unfortunately I have no clue what to do and my “support staff” is busy with their own lives and it’s not a huge big deal for me anyway. If you want to shoot me an e-mail, here you go! carolshack(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Hurrah! Comments are now working and we are back to business!

Quandary: a state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation.

The above definition is definitely the feeling I have had over the past month or so…we are seriously considering homeschooling for our children. This is nothing new to our family. My husband, along with his 6 siblings were homeschooled and we homeschooled Ellie for one year (kindergarten, yes, I know not entirely a challenge). I have made pros and cons lists…visited a co-op, chatted with homeschoolers, fantasized, idealized, researched and I am still stumped.

What’s wrong with me? And yes, my kids are pretty much on board with it. And no, there is not a dramatic reason why we have started thinking about it.

I feel consumed and paralyzed and guilty…

Okay, I’m glad I got this off my mind and shared with you all. That’s it!

happy birthday nathan!

life is good because your in it…

now enjoy your strawberry/rhubarb pie, sorry I am working!