On My Mind: The Garden

 Rhonda over at Down to Earth hosts an "On My Mind" Friday link up that I like to participate in (when my mind is clear! Haha). Today on my mind: Our Garden.

 

 

 (Along the back by the trellis are the cucumber, garden beans and Moon flowers. The large containers are the tomatoes and the small terra cotta are the peppers, there are a few pepper plants in the ground too! The front little plant is a transplant tree of some sort! Haha- I guess we may have an orchard too.Our make shift fence to try and keep the dogs out-scraps from my mom's new fence and throw away landscape bricks from the neighbor.)

Last year we had this big wild and free garden over at my mom's house (wild and free because we were really only able to get over there about once a month!) but we found it was just too much for us and this year she had her own plans for her yard! So we did a small one in the corner of our yard here (small since we tend to have a lot of food go to waste and the neighbor downstairs has to big labs that like to "use"  the whole yard and small makes it easier to fence off).

We planted vegetables we knew we always use and just a few plants of each. Cucumbers, garden beans, peppers (my O eats these like apples!) and 2 different types of tomatoes- Grape (love to just pop them straight into our mouths off the vine!) and beefsteak, both organic and bought from our local co-op. We also planted some Moon flowers for a bit of color and privacy from the house next door. It was a late planting season here (didn't get anything in till the last days of May- it was too cold and wet this Spring.) and not much happened for a while but in the last week BOOM! out everything came. The viners started to vine and the tomatoes got blossoms (well on the Grapes). We realized we need stake the tomatoes soon- very soon, like yesterday. And our peppers (which we planted in containers) needed to transplanted to the ground. But it looks like we may have a good crop this year! (I'll get a photo up later in the year to show it in its fully beauty!)

Oh I have to give thanks to my DH! He had the children "help" him remove all the landscape rocks that were in this corner of the yard an then turned all the dirt- for my Mother's Day gift. (He did it mostly himself ;D)

Wordless Wednesday: Randomness of Home

My 1st Product Review~ Mop

Warning! This has got to be my cheesiest sounding post EVER!

I've never done a product review before- really I have a hard time telling people what I think they should use and why but this mop has been one of the best things I've been given in a long time! So I wanted to pass the word!

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there that has had this issue- I'll buy a mop and after the sponge head has completely deteriorated, go to the store to buy a replace but they no longer carry that brand or replacement heads. And then I have to buy a whole new mop. Over and over this happens- to the point where I start to buy a few sponge heads at a time just so I can have them on hand. So then I get frustrated and try the swiffer system but hear how bad the liquid is on animals feet and the cost for the spray and the pads quickly start to add up- not to mention they don't do as good as a job as a traditional mop and bucket. I've been dealing with this cycle for many years- and I'm tired...tired of all the waste- money, plastic, and time.

I put my frustration out on my FB page, and my mom suggested what she uses, and then went ahead and bought me one! (Gotta love the moms!) She got me this....Libman's Freedom Spray Mop. Much like a swiffer but with many added bonuses! First off you get to use your preferred cleaner! Which you just put in their little bottle that attaches. Second, it uses a pump handle so no batteries to make it spray! (I loved this as we go thru way too many batteries here in the first place!) And third, the pads are washable- NO throw-aways! 3 winning reasons to use right off the bat!

But how well does it clean? Well for me it cleaned just as well as my traditional sponge mop and bucket- and honestly I hadn't really mopped my floors in a good month (since J was born- not a priority during my babymoon! LOL). And with 7 kids and it being winter they were quite dirty (the floors! Not my kids- that happens in the summer). The pad was black after! So I threw it in the wash and out it came clean! (Luckily my mom bought me two pads- one to use and one to wash.)

I have a new love for my mop! So my summary- if you want something that's money saving, less waste (Think Green!) and does its job well, buy Libman's Freedom Spray Mop. Thank you Mom for mine! :D


Disclaimer: I was not paid by Libman or any company for this product review. My view and opinion is my own.

Declutter Bug! #1 (Playroom)

I've been inspired to declutter! I thought I may be done with the nesting stuff, since little J is here but No! I'm more into keeping things simple and getting rid of the excess stuff. My inspiration- my friend Shine's blog and a link she posted recently. We have alot of people in this house and for us a lot of people= a lot of stuff! So I have to work to keep things manageable around here on a regular basis otherwise it adds up fast and overwhelms me even faster.


The first place I started was the playroom. Since babe was born it hasn't felt clean or organized- partly due to it being the last place I usually clean (being is feels like the least important to me) and partly due to the fact I've been paying the 6 yr old (in gum balls) to pick it up each night. It only took me about an hour to declutter and rearrange/organize and I only got rid of 1/2 a garbage bag of things to donate and 1/2 a bag to the garbage (I'd done some decluttering while still pregnant- so the job was done only a month, maybe two ago). But moving the space around helped it to feel like it all fit better too!

Here's my before and after pics!

(before)

(after)

I hope to get some of those cloth cube storage bins to put all the toys in and make it look a bit more put together, but those will have to wait a little bit. For now I use what I have on hand.

Next on my list is our kitchen! I'd hoped to get to it today but realized I've got a busy day ahead, and no spare time to do it in, so it'll have to wait till tomorrow. But I'll post before and after pics when it's all finished! I want to try and do a room a day (when our schedule permits) and blog about it each time, so if you're interested in following along and decluttering your stuff too, feel free to link up! Let me know how you're doing and I'll add you to up coming declutter blogs!

This is how I kept the toddler busy while I decluttered... let him play with things I had planned on getting rid of. One last play and he never noticed they went missing!

The Kitchen Towel

About a month back the husband and I were shopping at our favorite thrift store and I saw this kitchen towel. I was drawn to it- had to have it. And at a $1.25 felt no guilt about buying it. I grabbed it and threw it in the cart. I had no reasonable explanation as to why I needed it so bad other than maybe pregnancy hormones but it was oh so cute and called to me!


I got home and took it out of the bag, to bring it into the kitchen where it belonged. On the way I got an overwhelming urge to smell it. I buried my head and took a big whiff!


"Oh my god!" Tears sprang to my eyes. My eldest daughter was standing right there and saw my unusually reaction- "What?! Let me smell!" I gently hand it to her and she sniffs. "It's G-ma!" she exclaims! "I know!" says me.


Now my eldest son was just outside the room and hears our exclamations and comes in- unaware of what we're actually talking about but curious why we're standing there smelling this kitchen towel. He says "Let me smell" and without telling him what we smell I hand it over. "I know that smell. What is it? Wait I know but I can't figure it out." Eldest- "It's G-ma!" T- "Yes! That's it!" So here the three of us are standing around in the kitchen smelling this thrift store towel. Each with our own memories coming back and me with tears in my eyes.


See G-ma is my grandmother and she passed about 9 years back. My oldest 2 were lucky enough to create memories of her, the youngers missed out. My grandmother, as most grandmothers do, held a very special place in my heart and some days I miss her terribly.


And this holiday season she seemed to be around, in spirit, even more than others. My Aunt, Mother, Cousins and I (each separately) felt the need to try creating some of her recipes for Christmas cookies and candies. And just in general felt her presence all around.


I wish she had been able to meet my 3 youngest sons and create memories with my middle daughters. They all would have loved her as I did. I have so many memories and triggers for old memories (Hi-C orange in a can, Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks, Snuggle Fabric softener- the scent of her place, her and the thrift store kitchen towel).


So in the end the kitchen towel did not get put in the kitchen- I wrapped in a plastic bag and placed on the table next to my bed- for when I needed her near. I recently shared the kitchen towel and it's scent with my mom but she didn't get the same reaction as I did or the children, funny how somethings work for some and not others.


Will I ever use the towel? I don't know but it's my favorite at the moment.

A Dream Home

I don't know if its the nesting, or longing, or just fantasizing- but this morning I got an urge to Google houses. I typed in a myriad of different types- blue houses, unique, tin roof houses, cabins, etc. I loved what they came up with! It really is amazing to see some of these homes.

Someday I will have one. And it will be unique and home and all ours!