Vacationing without my small child

Well we've made it safe and sound to Hawaii, and it is really quite beautiful here! We're staying on Maui, near Lahaina & right by the beach. I've got to admit right now that I've had, and still have, mixed feelings about this trip. You see, we've left Little M at home with Grammy. For five whole nights. My husband and I have each left her for about that long before, but at different times, so that one of us was always with her, sometimes with Grammy with us to help out a bit.

Since I'm going on about leaving my small child behind instead of going into details about our vacation, let's continue to chat about it, shall we? Little M is almost 2.5. She loves her Grammy, and is quite comfortable staying at Grammy's house, although up until this trip she'd never done it overnight alone. They've got all sorts of fun things planned, in fact, her days might even be busier than ours here in Hawaii! They went to the Pacific Science Center yesterday, have a dress-up play date with one of her second cousins today, might go to the zoo later this week, and will visit great grandma & grandpa too.

These are all things I wish we were doing with her, and I also wish she was here with us. Everytime we see another young family, we think of her, and miss her dearly. And while we both admitted (me before we left & my husband around the 24 h away mark) that we should have brought her, at the same time, she's having a blast there, and we are getting to do things here that we simply wouldn't be able to do with her here.

Together, we've gone in the hot tub both nights we've been here, we've gone snorkeling once, gone out to eat several times, flipped through maps and bird guides often, slept in both morning (although due to the 3 hour time change I'm finding myself away local time before 6 - but since that is almost 9 back home, that qualifies as sleeping way in to me!). If we had Little M along with us, we would be able to do these things, but not as a couple or to the same extent. Generally we've been able to be more selfish than I can remember being in a long time, because we don't have all the additional duties that comes with being responsible for a small child, 3 dogs, 13 chickens, a large garden, a steady job each, etc.

It's been wonderful to connect with my husband and dream for our future. To remember that we valued each other & intended to be together for the long haul even before we had Little M in common. To think about where and when our next vacation might be, with Little M along for sure. To start talking more seriously about when we will start trying for another child. To decide on the most logical order for our next few projects around the house & property. And even though it's been hard yearning for Little M as much as I have, I know that if we hadn't planned this trip as a childless trip we wouldn't have come to Hawaii. And I'm loving vacationing here!

Pictures to come when we get home, as apparently I forgot the camera download cord on the table at home (oops!).

What about you - ever left your (small) child(s) with the grandparents? Ever got to where you were vacationing and wished said grandparents could fedex your small child to you? Ever realized that vacationing alone really was pretty sweet even with missing your small child? :) And if you don't have a small child, even if you are yearning for one, please, enjoy your childless vacations! :)

When Plan C works out

The other night we were having friends over for supper. Before they arrived I did a bit of tidying and cleaning, you know, the stuff that needs to get done anyway but you put it off until you realize you've got guests coming so you rush around finishing chores. As I finished tidying, and my husband finished making supper, I realized that I wasn't exactly sure what time they were supposed to arrive. As the latest time I had expected them to show up came and went, and no vehicles pulled down our driveway, we called and realized that they had gotten their wires crossed on what day of the week it was; after the long weekend, they were running a day off!

My husband called me up from the garden where I was doing a bit of weeding before they arrived, and we just ate supper on our own. Having a surprise open night, we tried to figure out what our Plan B was, so called a neighbor friend who had invited us over earlier to see her new baby piglets. We had declined earlier since we had dinner plans, but now thought, hey, lets go down and see them! Unfortunately we couldn't get ahold of her, so we had to move on to figure out a Plan C.

Ahah, a hike! I looked around, and realized that there was a nearby hilltop that I'd been looking at lately that seemed a good distance from the house and looked like interesting habitat, not to mention would likely have a great view. We packed a few things, and off we went! It took about an hour to hike there, with several stops and detours, but only a half hour back. We saw minimal wildlife, but the views were just amazing. Enjoy, cause we sure did!

Weekend Happenings

 With my husband off this past weekend, we had so much time to fill! We got through a lot of our to-do list, and survived the addition of some extra items too...

Garden hoed & raked (around the volunteer pea plants), corn planted - about a quarter of the garden is in corn this year, twice as much as last year.

 Beans planted, 2 rows each of 2 types of dry beans, and 4 rows of a couple types of green beans.

 Beautiful little butterfly getting nutrients from the soil around the potatoes.

No strawberries yet, but soon! Corn on the left, potatoes, carrots, onions, and cucumbers past the strawberries. Then the raspberries, then the lower half of the garden.

Planting the squash & cucumber seeds, after pre-sprouting them inside.

 Beans in, squash area prepped, squash seeds in, tomato & pepper area prepped, tomatoes & peppers hardening off on the porch.

 Hardening off - peppers, tomatoes, and an assortment of herbs.

 Swallowtails down in the lower field, 5 or 6 of them!

It wouldn't be summer around here without some irrigation issues, this geyser was short-lived, but exciting while it lasted! Luckily the irrigation guy was able to reduce flow in the main line enough so my husband could get the irrigation head back on our outlet, so the down-pipe users could get their water pressure back!

I hope your weekend was as productive and fun-filled as ours!

Planting Squash

I start my squash seeds a bit differently from some gardeners. Instead of starting seeds weeks early, growing a little plant up, hardening it off, and then planting it out after last frost, I start my seeds a mere couple days before planting them out. I simply sprout my seeds by placing them in damp paper towels in a container for a couple days. When they've gotten about an inch of root growing out of the seed, then I plant them out.

This way I plant seeds that I know have germinated, which is always useful with saved seeds, or several year old seeds, both of which seem to be situations I put myself in often. This way I can pick the best looking sprouts, and plant the number I want. I've had really good luck doing this with Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, Zucchini, and Melons.