Orchids

The orchid has always been a special plant for my hubby and me. He bought me my first orchid plant the first Valentines we were dating (2005). He has surprised me with them randomly ever since throughout the years, and after the first two died (likely from over-watering and incorrect lighting), we decided to try and save them, as they are not too difficult to keep alive. We have three currently, now. The one he bought me back in March and these two, which are in our basement daylight window. We have decided the filtered basement light is an absolutely perfect growing condition. We water them once a week with ice cubes that have been premixed with a fertilizer solution, and then sit back and enjoy.

This one is in full bloom, with more blooms coming. It is over two years old.
And this one is also blooming, and sending out another shoot as they do in the wild. It is fun to watch them grow. We got this one last fall.

Kolbe's new ride

I have recently been in the market for a new carrier for Kolbe. The Baby Bjorn I had with Gemma is nice, but it is really starting to hurt my back because of the way the straps are (they cross in the back but they are only 2" wide and don't have any support around the waist). I know I wear Kolbe a lot more than I did her, and it's been taking its toll. The sling that I got was nice when he was tiny, but it is kind of awkward now. I'm looking forward to using it again when I can carry him on my hip. Anyways, a friend of mine has a mei tai carrier, and she let me try hers out. I really like it. Same idea as the bjorn carrier, just distributes the weight a little differently, which was exactly what I needed, and I am guessing it's more comfortable for Kolbe, too. The other nice thing about the mei tai is when he gets bigger I can also put him on my back...which I think will be really handy for things like walks, the zoo, cooking and the grocery store. Anyways here's a pic, and in the foreground you can see the pretty orchids Aaron brought me last night for no reason. What a guy!!!