One of my favorite things...

Not only are japanese tulip trees one of my favorite things, but also big beautiful hydrangeas. We seem to have inherited a gorgeous hydrangea bush in the front of the house. When things started leafing out I immediately recognized it in our flower bed by the front door after my daily trip to the mailbox. I RAN inside and shared the news with mason. He didn't quite share my enthusiasm.

From 2010-05-29 (by Eye-Fi)

It's a huge bush spanning half the length of our front porch.

From 2010-05-29 (by Eye-Fi)

It has beautiful purple blooms - even though they look pinkish here.

From 2010-05-29 (by Eye-Fi)

I know that the acidity of the soil plays a big part if the blooms are pink or blue - acidic makes one color, basic makes another - but what does it mean if you are right in the middle with purple? Blue has always been my favorite color bloom but beggars can't be choosers.

From 2010-05-21 (by Eye-Fi)

They make beautiful impromptu centerpieces for dinner guests. Just another surprise that the new house has brought with it.

Project #1

As with any new home, we are working to make this great space our own. And that doesn't happen effortlessly. I finally finished my first little project. I took down the ugly vertical blinds and put up my new curtains. It is a small step in the right direction.

Potty Training 101 - PASS

News from the potty training front, and I dare not speak the words because they will probably come back to bite me, but Miles has passed Potty-Training 101. We made a concentrated effort this week to work on this. Our original intention was to do both of them but I couldn't handle the mess and intensity of doing two children at once (even with the best help) and decided to focus on Miles and save Grant for another day. Even with that small hiccup in our plans, I am pleased with the outcome.

This go around I used a step by step method laid out in the Potty Boot Camp. Who knows if this stuck because it's the third or fourth attempt at potty training or if it's because we used a new method, but I'm not going to focus on what could have been or should have been. Maybe it's because he is just now ready. Who knows. I'm changing half the number of diapers a day and I'm liking it.

Also in Hazelwood House blog site news, I have decided to make my posts much shorter. There are so many things I want to journal on here, but because of the time I like to spend on them, extended posts are impossible to get to, especially when I am still trying to work on What's for Dinner? blog. So maybe you can check in here more frequently since it shouldn't take you as long to read our entries.

Easter 2010

Please humor me while I try to catch us up to MAY!

Where in the world has the year gone? It's a day away from May. My grandmother was right. The older you get the faster the time flies.

Grant at our church sponsored McArthur Park Egg Hunt. I helped planning it and it was our first acting event as the Children's Ministry Team. I would say it was a success and a much bigger outreach tool than we planned. We had more visitors than church members. It was a fun problem to deal with.

Our Easter Garb. (My one of two dresses I buy a year.)

Egg hunt with the cousins at Mamaw and Papaw's house. This may be a start of a tradition.

Family pic of 4 generations. It took a little magic to get everyone to cooperate.