My Darling Days

#gardenlife: Our Little Gardener

We were about 3 weeks behind planting our garden this year because it basically rained every day in May and every day for the first half of June. Talk about depressing...

Our garden area was under water for a long time, and I was beginning to wonder if summer was ever going to come, and if we'd even be able to have a garden this year.

And then one day, the storm clouds parted and God gave us sun! Along with hot, sticky humidity... there's the Wisconsin summer we longed for! So we quickly got to planting.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we have growth!

We just picked our first round of sugar snap peas, along with a few zucchini & cucumbers.

New this year, we hired an a "garden assistant". And by hired, I mean we feed, clothe, and provide shelter, and in turn, he waters our garden.

Meet Our Little Gardener:

Overall, he does a pretty darn good job.

Occasionally we catch him watering his own hands, or even drinking the water. But after a gentle reminder that he's here to water the plants, he quickly returns to the task at hand.

I think we'll keep him :)

Other garden posts you may like:
Our First Garden and an update.
Round #2 and an update.
Round #4 -- baby Ellis!

Baby's Nursery

We're on the cusp of switching Ellis from his crib to a "big boy bed", and so I figured it was time I shared his nursery, before it goes in another direction.

We started with white walls (thank you to my dad for that fresh coat of paint!), wood tones, grays & a pop of color here and there. We didn't know the gender of our babe, so we kept it fairly neutral in the beginning. But kinda a bold neutral... if that makes any sense at all (I wanted vivid color, not pastels).

The room kind of took shape more and more as Ellis grew; we added things here & there along the way, and it kind of inadvertently became a "Travel/Explore" theme.

The room certainly isn't "magazine-worthy" but one of my most favorite elements about the room, are all the handmade pieces, and all the meaningful, gifted pieces as well.

Ready to take a look at his nursery? I suppose I can no longer really call it his "nursery," since there is no nursing going on in there any more.

So, his bedroom... at age 2:

And that pretty much sums it up! lol It's a small room...

Now, for the details -- I'll link to anything that I can (these are not affiliate links -- I'm just sharing so that if you're interested in the item, you can see the source.)

- Changing table is a 35 year old hand-me-down, used first by my sister & I, made by my Grandpa Annoye

- Triangle shelves on the wall were made by Zac

- Rocker & ottoman were gifted by my parents, from Walmart

- Throw Pillow: Target

- Diaper Genie: Target, gifted from my baby shower

- Humidifier: Target

- Small stool: thrifted

- ELLIS word frame was a gift from Uncle Buck & Aunt Vicki, and I added the scrap book paper in

- Dream Big artwork is a printable from here that I just put in a Hobby Lobby frame

- Blue round chalk board: Target Dollar Spot

- Heart banner: shop_celebratelife

- Artwork on the hanger was made by Ellis. Vintage hanger is from The Vintage Garden

- The cloud & raining hearts mobile was made by me, with the help of my niece Elena

- "Explore Imagine Dream" sign: gifted by our friends, Dustin & Bethany

- Growth Ruler: made by me at Board & Brush

- "Now I lay you down to sleep" wood sign was made by Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie

- Crib metal: gifted by Auntie Jacki & Uncle Lance

- Cross #1: gifted by Grandma Char & Papa Randy

- Rosary: gifted by Great Grandma Bero

- "Baby cross" (as Ellis calls it): gifted by Auntie Becky & Uncle Brad

- Ellis was lucky to receive a bunch of hand-crocheted blankets at my baby shower, made by our sweet family & friends (and I cherish them dearly!)

- Shelves: (again) made by Zac

- Yarn wrapped "E": made by me

- "Ellis James" blocks: Target dollar spot

- Cross: gifted from Uncle Buck & Aunt Vicki

- Deer horn: found by Zac in the woods

- Wooden blocks: gifted by Grandma Sue & Paper Poogie, from Little Sapling Toys (we love their stuff!)

- Lamb: mine when I was a baby

- Ducks & Trucks sign: gifted from Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie, from Hobby Lobby

- Birthday Sign: gifted by Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie

- World Map: gifted by Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie, from Odd Nerd Vintage

- Postive affirmations sign: made by me.

- Bookcase: made by Zac

- Piggy Bank: gifted by Auntie Becky & Uncle Brad, from Messy Closet Crafts

- Metal marquee "E": gifted by Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie, from Target

- Books: almost all of them were gifts from my baby shower, from family & friends

- Little Bear: gifted by Aunt Jane

- Puppy pillow play mat: gifted by Grandma Char & Papa Randy, from Walmart (Mary Meyer Bestever Baby Mat)

- Crib: gifted by Grandma Char & Papa Randy (from Toys R Us, which is no longer in business)

- Rug: Target

- Toy crate: Homegoods

- Scout the Deer: gifted from Grandma Sue & Papa Poogie, from Cuddle+Kind

- Little Puppy (as Ellis calls him): gifted from Grandma Char & Papa Randy

- Penny, Ellis's beloved giraffe: gifted by Dustin & Bethany

And finally, I can't finish the post without a pic of our sweet babe:

Thoughts on social media, real life, and babies with asthma.

Well hello there!

It's been a hot minute since I've written a blogpost. I could blame it on the fact that we were without the internet for 3 months (#rurallivingproblems), but the honest truth is that the last 6 months have been HARD.

However, I bet I had you fooled! Because if you glanced at my Instagram feed, you'd see happy images:

katie_mydarlingdays on Instagram

But lemme tell you what. There's a whole going on behind those cute little squares.

My feed doesn't show our un-mopped floors.

It doesn't show how much laundry we have (seriously, how do 3 people make so much laundry?!)

It doesn't show our wet basement floor.

It doesn't show the horrendous weeds in our yard because I won't let Zac use RoundUp anymore. (Anyone know of a non-toxic weed killer that works?)

It doesn't show the emptied Tylenol & Ibuprofen bottles that we've been using in rotation far too frequently these last 6 months because we are trying to manage unexplained toddler fevers.

It doesn't show the nebulizer, which has become permanent decor, sitting on our dusty end tables for the bronchodilator & corticoseteriod medications that Ellis requires daily because #ASTHMASUCKS.

It doesn't show trying to navigate through one sickness after another after another after another this WHOLE winter. (Remember this post? It only got worse.)

It doesn't show our messy counters -- the EOBs, the medical bills, the well-water testing kit I had to have that's been sitting in the same spot for 4 months unopened, or the super-glue that spilled & left a permanent smear that's impossible to get off.

It doesn't show all the crap because when I look back & scroll through my feed, I don't want to see those things. But those things are REAL life.

We've all got 'em. Things that suck. Things that we're dealing with that nobody knows about. Things that we wish would just go away.

*******

Zac and I have a little joke about "Instagram People"; whenever I refer to someone from social media, Zac will ask: "Are you talking about a real person? Or a person on Instagram?"

And here's the thing. I love Instagram. It's really the only social media platform that I use consistently. I can go days without checking Facebook or Snapchat. I don't have a Twitter account. I just discovered Reddit like, 4 months ago... but I'm addicted to Instagram.

For me, it's a source of inspiration, a community, and a place where I can mindlessly scroll & not think at the end of a long, hard day.

But I'll be the first to admit that even my Instagram squares aren't 100% my REAL life. They are a snip-it of pretty pictures & moments sprinkled through real, hard life. And truly, not everything needs to be posted to social media. Some things are better left tucked away in our personal lives.

All that to say, just remember that everyone has real, hard life. Even if it doesn't look like it according to their Facebook or Instagram feed.

I'm curious to know -- what do you love about social media? What do you not like about it? Why do you use it?

P.S. I don't mean to sound like a complainer or a Debbie Downer. I have a million blessings in my life that I never intend to take for granted, and we have many good days, too. It's just this winter/spring -- it was hard. And if yours was hard too -- for whatever the reason -- know that you're not alone! Most people don't talk about their bad days, they only share the good.

Oh, and mommas -- if you have a baby with asthma, PLEASE please reach out to me.
This momma needs a support group because her anxiety is through the roof!

Travel: Paris, France

I'm finalllllly getting around to posting about the last stop on our #EverardEuroTrip2015.... That's right. Our trip from nearly FOUR years ago. Because I FINALLY got through all 5,000 photos I took. And, this is my online journal, so it wouldn't be complete without my final post!

Anyways, if you've been following along, it's been over one year since my last post about our trip, but you can click here to see where we've been if you need to catch up!

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After our quick stroll through in St. Paul de Vence, we left Nice via the high-speed TGV Train to PARIS!

Before we left for Europe, Paris was the city I was most excited to see... for sentimental reasons. Did I ever tell you about the Eiffel Tower keychain that Zac brought for me the summer of 2004 while he was in Paris?

Oh wait, I kind of did... here. but the longer version of the story, is that we had just started hanging out earlier that summer - like, not even dating - and he left for a Euro Trip with his friends. Turns out, he had bought a calling card (ha! back when you needed to buy calling cards), and called me every.single.day while he was in Europe. I mean, I hardly knew the kid, but after he got back, he gifted me with two boxes of Belgian chocolates (which I still have, unopened!) and an Eiffel Tower key chain. I thought it was so sweet that he had thought of me the whole time he was there, and even brought me back a few goodies. Fast forward 15 years and now we're married with a toodler... ahhh. I digress.
But not really, because that's the story about why Paris is so special to me, especially the Eiffel Tower.

HOWEVER, I gotta say -- I was a bit disappointed in Paris overall. Maybe I put it on a pedestal? Maybe my expectations were too high? Or really though, I think that the problem was that we didn't get to spend enough time there. Our group tour through Italy & France was amazing, but the one draw back to it was that you couldn't spend more time in a certain place if you wanted to.

Anyways, Paris.

Our first stop off the train was the Eiffel Tower... and it was breathtaking and beautiful and majestic and alllll the adjectives. And, it was also filled with 50 million other tourists, as well as a re-occurring loud speaker announcement telling you to be aware of pick-pockets, and to hang on securely to your belongings... (a total buzz kill).

We packed in like sardines, and took the elevator up for a bird's-eye view of Paris...

Next, we toured the Notre-Dame Cathedral and marveled at the Gothic architecture... these pictures now priceless, after the devastating fire that took place earlier this week.

Next, we walked over to the Pont de l'Archeveche, one the the narrowest bridges in Paris, covered in "Love locks"... (since our time in Paris, the locks have been removed... you can read about it here.)

After that, we hopped on the bus and took a quick stroll along the Champs-Elysees, stopping at the Arc de Triomphe for a quick photo.

After a quaint dinner, where we tried local specialties like escargots, soupe a l'oignon, & boeuf bourguignon, we were treated to a drive through the "City of Light", and it was magical!

We watched the Effiel Tower glow and sparkle in the night time sky. A moment I will never forget!

The next morning we opted to visit the Eiffel Tower again, and strolled the streets of Paris for a bit.

Later that afternoon, we took a short trip to tour the Palace of Versailles -- an incredibly beautiful palace filled with amazing paintings from floor to ceiling.