OK so finally the rain stopped long enough for us to get back in the garden!!!! I did have to replant the string beans and carrots, but the peas and radishes are thriving, the verdict is still out on the beets, but they like to be spread apart anyhow.
With Dad's help we got the garden tilled till the dirt was nice and fine. Then twin #1 planted the corn (only a little curve to the row)
We planted 4 rows of Butter and Sugar (bi-color) and 2 rows of Silver Queen. The bi-color will come on quicker, so by the 1st week in August I'll have sweet corn!!! (YUMMY!!!!)
I know we totally cheat using the bigger equipment, but hey, it sure does make my life easier to plant lots of corn that way. Plus it makes The Men happy to help in the garden!!
It rained this morning, well actually a down pour, but hoping that didn't wash the seeds away and will just help them to jump up quick.!!
We've had nothing but rainy, cold, damp weather for the most part this spring. The few days of sun we've had, haven't really been enough to till the garden and get it planted. The up side to that was the lettuce reseeded it's self. So I got out the rototiller (the one my PopPop used on his garden) and tilled up a row to move the lettuce to. Onions had restarted themselves, so I put those in the row too.
Last Thursday it was dry enough, Pop could disk the garden for me. It was too wet to plow, so I got the tiller out and tilled up enough for peas, radishes, stringbeans, beets and carrots. And then the dry weather was over. The lettuce is still fairing well. Some of the stringbeans came up, but I'm thinking I'll have to replant most the row. Not sure about the peas yet. I *think* they're coming up since it's a straight row of something growing there.
This is what my garden should look like by now
I should have radishes ready to harvest. I should have lots of tidy little rows of green. The corn part of the garden should be ready to be planted in the next week or so
But no, it's just a big muddy mess with some lettuce and a few string beans poking their little heads out. I can't even bring myself to take a picture of it right now.
So here's hoping that this rain decides it's had enough of dumping on my poor little garden and by this time next week I can plant the tomatoes, peppers and cucumber plants that are sitting in their planting pots just waiting to grow some yummy veggies for us to eat. In the mean time, I'll just be happy my livelihood doesn't depend on the weather conditions and pray for the farmers who do.
So ever since Baby Girl was 6 weeks old, we've had the tradition of going camping for Mother's Day. I know some women groan at the thought of camping, but keep in mind, I've got a trailer and my own potty, so we're really not roughing it too bad. Well this was by far one of the best camping trips we've ever had!!
I think because the men got to take their motorcycles on the trip it really helped. They were able to do some "big guy stuff" while I watched the little two on the playground (there's a huge wooden play structure were we go in Gettysburg). Plus they could take the bikes when we went to drive somewhere, so we weren't packed like sardines in the truck.
The other reason was because the twins had a huge surprise planned for me. I had know idea those two had decided to surprise me with a Kindle for my Mother's Day gift (and we'll call it my birthday gift too). Sitting around the campfire on Friday night Twin 2 told me I can't wait to give you your gift on Sunday, it's so cool, you'll love it. OK so I'm thinking, great, they actually thought of me, maybe it's some jewelry, something unique, my interest is peeked, but now I've got two days to try to guess to myself what it is.
Mother's Day I woke to the smell of pancakes and a call of Mom where's the spatula? Twin 1 was making breakfast, but lack of a spatula had me concerned for the fate of the pancakes. Lucky for me, the little two ate the first crispy pancakes (hey, it's my day, don't judge me for not eating those pancakes!!!) Poor twin one was so disgusted at his attempt he didn't even make breakfast for himself (his pancakes got broken in the flipping) But Hubby did step in and make some egg sandwiches for the men.
Ok on to gift time!!! Baby Girl made me two cards and I got bath salts in a little Chinese take out box (thank you awesome pre school teachers). Little Man gave me a bag of trail mix with the recipe, things like tiny marshmallows for all the squishy hugs, M&M's for times when it's just me and mom. (yeah I was choking back the tears reading that one). Meanwhile the twins are just standing there grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Finally they get to give me their gift. Twin 2 hands me a case of some kind???? Then Twin 1 hands me a Kindle box. I was speechless!! (something that almost never happens) I cried as I hugged them. They had all on their own decided to get me this gift with their own money they had worked for. I don't think I've ever had a gift given to me with so pride in the purchase of it.
So I love my Kindle. Twin 2 keeps asking me what all I've got it to do. So far I've got the wireless set up (with the help of a Verizon tech) downloaded books and check my facebook with it. I feel bad I haven't explored all of it yet, but I'm just excited to have a new "book" to read.
No there isn't really a beaver in our front yard, it's a groundhog, but don't try telling Baby Girl that, she's sure it's a beaver!!!!
I tell her don't worry, he's just eating, he's fine. He better not be eating my pretty flowers (the dandelions that are making our yard look like it's polka dotted) I tell her no, he's probably eating the clover. Oh no, he's not going to eat the 4 leaf ones is he? No Baby Girl, the ground hogs only eat the 3 leaf ones. They like to leave the 4 leaf ones for little people to find. That seemed to calm her ( at least for the moment)
Yes we have a groundhog in our front yard, actually he lives in the hedgerow along the front property line by the road. His name is Bob. The deal is as long as Bob (or maybe it's Roberta, we did have some little groundhogs last year roaming around) stays in the front, away from the house and my garden, he's allowed to co-exist on our little 2 acres. And yes, I let the dandelions grow wild in my yard (keeps the little 2 from picking the real flowers). And yes I might have lied to my child. But hey, maybe groundhogs really don't like to eat the 4 leaf clovers?
and well I spent some too, but I think I almost broke even. I've been shopping at this local, three times a year, consignment sale for the past few years now. I always seem to find some good deals, but I knew I was missing some good deals too because if you are a consignor you get first dibs on the sale. So this time I bit the bullet and decided to spend the $10 consignor fee and sell some of Little Man and Baby Girls clothes at the sale as well as buy stuff.
It's pretty simple you just fill out your registration on line, pay your $10 fee and start entering the clothes you want to sell. They do provide guidance on what prices to sell your clothes at. $1-$2 for basics from say Walmart, Target, $2-$3 for JCPenny, the higher end dept stores $3-$5 for gymbo, Janie and Jack, that type of place. If you're going to be a consignor, try to follow those guidelines, remember people are looking for deals, so if you're priced too high, you're stuff is going to sit on the rack. Once you've entered everything you want to sell into your computer (this really isn't that hard, I'm not very computer literate, but managed to make out just fine) then you can print out your tickets, use card stock, this way your tickets won't tear off and land on the floor.
Some sales have their last day as a 1/2 price day, so you'll need to decide if you're going to do 1/2 price (I'd suggest doing that, you've already done all that work, at least try to re-coop some money for your efforts. Also you'll need to decide if you want to have the items not sold donated or if you'll be back to pick them up once the sale is over.
The sale I did I got 60% of the sale price. If you volunteer you get another 10%. Also if you volunteer (at least at this sale) you get the 1st chance to shop. So it really does pay to take a 3 hour shift. Also for us SAHMs it's a great excuse to get out and talk with other mommies.
In the end I made about $35. I spent about $33 between the pre-sale and the 1/2 price sale. So not too shabby. Yes, you could say after you factor in the $10 to register it cost me money, but... I didn't really spend a lot of money on the clothes I sold (most were from the last consignment sale) and I was able to get first dibs on the sale so I got some great deals that may have been gone before I got there had I not been able to shop the pre-sales. All in all it was a good experience and I'll most likely do it again in the fall.
So if you're interested google consignment sales in your area and see what pops up. You might just find a new way to make a few dollars on out grown clothes.
Ok fingers crossed I'm pretty sure I've got the right combination for my pasta sauce. I made lasagna the other night and it was the best one I've ever made (the men folk were all in agreement!!) Now I'm not Italian, so it's not some fabulous sauce like you'd get if you were in some fancy restaurant, but it's good and pretty simple to make (which are the two requirements for me making something)
I start with store brand tomatoes, (I tried the name brands, but I really like these the best) 1 can each of Giant brand 14.5 oz Diced tomatoes, Italian diced tomatoes (has basil, garlic and oregano) diced tomatoes with garlic and onion. Then a 12 oz can of tomato paste. I put this all in my nonstick pot and mash w/ the potato masher (a plastic one so you won't damage the pan). I use McCormick's Italian seasonings, not really sure how much, I just gently shake it over the pot so there's a light coating on top of the sauce. I then let is simmer for a couple hours, stirring maybe every 1/2 hour 45 minutes. I would think you could also do this in the crock pot if you don't want to "babysit" the sauce. And that's about it (see told you it was easy). I taste it with some bread about half way through. I might add a little more seasoning to it if I think it needs it.
This makes enough for a pound of pasta or a 9x13 lasagna. Both of which are just enough for our family with maybe a leftover bowl for Hubby to take to work for lunch one day (if one of the twins don't eat it for a snack)
So there it is, my "I'm not Italian, but I'm going to make my own sauce and have it taste better then out of a jar" Oh and the good part is, it's cheaper then a jar of sauce for us because it takes a jar and a half to cover the pasta properly. So it tastes better and it's cheaper, what more could I want out of a sauce : )
I'm not sure if it's just moms or women in general, but why are we so hard on ourselves? Most of the woman I know are moms, so I'll just talk about the moms right now.
I know women who have a kind encouraging word for all of their friends. They find a bright spot in a person's day, some little positive thing to tell a friend who's having a bad day, or just some way to try to cheer up a friend. They have no trouble telling you all the great things about their friends/family/etc, but when it comes to themselves, they only see the negative. Why is it we can find the good in everyone but ourselves? Why is it we don't want to believe our friends who have kind words for us. We feel like we must say thank you, but we don't really believe the truth our friends see about us?
Is it the magazines that show us pictures of the "perfect woman"? Because we all know most of those pictures are photo shopped. Is it the movies where the women have it all? (I don't really watch anything that isn't drawn and has a musical sound track to it, so I'm no expert on the new movies) Is it because we see the "stars" out with their babies and they've dropped the baby weight so quickly? We know those woman have the money to hire a personal trainer and a nanny to watch the kids while they work out. So why do we make the comparisons?
I don't know the answers? I wish I did. But I do know I have some fabulous moms for friends. They make craft projects with their kids. Some take them out to the playground everyday, weather permitting. Some have moved Heaven and Earth to get their child the special help they need to deal with a child's special needs. (and believe me that is no small feat!!!) Some of my mommy friends homeschool (those lucky kids have the best teachers ever). Some make home made meals every day, others married men who know how to cook a home made meal (go you!!!). Others are great just because they tell/show their children how loved they are every day.
These are just a few examples of what makes them great moms, but if you were to ask them what's so great about themselves, they'd hem and haw, they'd be able to tell you 10 things they wish they were better at right off the top of their head. But they'd look at all the accomplishments I've just listed and say Well that's just what moms do.
So to all my mommy friends, know that you are awesome!!! Know that you are doing great things for your kids, just by being there for them and enjoying their everyday antics. And please write down a list of all the great things you do and post it somewhere you'll see it everyday. Shoot put it in your undies drawer on the top so no one but you sees it. And know that you are fabulous women.
