Sing-a-long

Ding dong - the deck is gone
Which old deck?
The rotten deck
Ding dong - the rotten deck is gone

Now I can look out my door
And I can see the deck no more
Ding dong - the rotten deck is gone!!!!!!!


Nope - no picture because I'm just too tired after demolishing a deck to take pictures!!!! Time for another song:

I am woman hear me roar..........

A day in the life....

A friend of mine did this on her blog, and I thought it looked like fun. Here's the idea - keep your camera with you all day and document your day! Here's my day:
7:00am - say hello to the hubby who is already hard at work

7:20am - the little ones are still sound asleep in my bed

take the older munchkins to school

8:10am - have a snuggle with the little ones (Louis refused to wake up!)


Then starts the fun part of the day! Laundry, dishes, make the bed, vacuum, clean the kitchen (at least Livi didn't have school today because it was good Friday), feed and water the compost:

Work on demolishing what's left of the deck:

Livi with her "sledge hammer:"

Fold and organize the clean diapers:

12:00 Have lunch with the family at one of our favorite restaurants - Thai Flavor (I forgot my camera - but luckily Trey had his iPhone!):

1:50 Drop off the recycling:

2:30 Pick up the older munchkins from school:


At this point I have lost track of the time! We worked on the never ending rock pile and got filthy requiring baths for EVERYONE!


Take the girls to Target and Safeway while Ray waters the lawn and then Trey gives the boys a bath!

It's allowance "payday!"

Time to send the darling husband off on a well-deserved guy's night out.

Dinner time - chili fries and Tofutti bars.


Best time of the day - snuggle time on the couch while watching Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Off to bed for everyone! Send the older kids to bed and snuggle down with a little Pooh with my little munchkin:


Here's the idea - your turn! If you decide to blog a day in your life - let me know because I want to be sure and see it!

Organizing the basement

I'm not quite sure why I had this urge to get the basement in order today, but I did! Having four children (soon to be five) can be pretty expensive! One of the ways that I save money is to keep tubs of clothes for the kids in the basement. I save the older kids' clothes (the ones that are still wearable!) after they grow out of them for the younger kids. Plus, I shop garage sales and thrift stores. Two years ago, I found a brand new pair of Stride Rite tennis shoes (purple no less!) for Olivia. They were $2, so I bought them and stuck them in the appropriate shoe bin in the basement. We just got them out today, and she put them in her closet! Usually, in May, we pull out next year's clothes bins and go through them. That way, I know what to shop for at garage sales over the summer. This May is going to be a little busy, so we did that last week. I used today to get the basement back in order, plus give it a good spring cleaning that was well overdue. Here's my storage area in my basement. I have all the kids' saved clothes, shoes, and jackets organized by size plus all of our holiday decorations and a tub each for Trey's and my keepsakes. It's a pretty good system that works out well.


There's also another issue I wanted to mention because it is close to my heart. I am super annoyed at all the companies that are using very sexual ads to market to children. Kids get to be kids for such a short time in their lives, I want advertisers to STOP marketing sexualized ads to children. Here is the ad and info if you are interested.
http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/pressreleases/spongebobburgerking.html

Warm fuzzies for today

I’d Rather

I’d rather be a mother
Than anyone on earth
Bringing up a child or two
Of unpretentious birth.
I’d rather nurse a rosy babe
With warm lips on my breast
Than wear a queen’s medallion
Above a heart less blest.
I’d rather tuck a little child
All safe and sound in bed –
Than twine a chain of diamonds
Above my foolish head.
I’d rather wash a smudgy face
With round, bright baby eyes –
Than paint the pageantry of fame,
Or walk among the wise.

By
Meredith Gray



“Miracles are instantaneous; they cannot be summoned, but they come of themselves, usually at unlikely moments and to those who least expect them…” Katherine A. Porter

Locavore?

Locavore is a pretty new term, and it is associated with a movement that is really taking off. It got started when two people decided to do a "100-mile diet" for a year. They made a commitment to ONLY eat food that had been grown within 100 miles of their location. It was an experiment, and they learned a lot from it. Many people have been making a commitment to eat "locally" since their story has gained a national audience. In our family, we have made a commitment to be more aware of where our food comes from and to make an effort to eat more locally. We live in a city (or a "freaking" city as this small town girl would say), and I think it is way too easy for people to lose the connection with the food they're eating. It comes out of a box or can - off a shelf - out of a bag or bin - out of a refrigerator. I grew up gardening and canning with my parents. I want my children get get a lot of that same appreciation that I grew up with.

We've had a small, relatively unsuccessful, garden for several years. Since it appears that we'll be in Denver at least for a while more, I am really trying to learn how to garden in this climate. I was very, very spoiled in Arkansas where you stick a seed in the ground and it grows. You actually have to work pretty hard at it here! The kids are very excited about our garden this year though, and have taken a very active part in it. I think that is really exciting. You can't really get more local than growing your own food!

On the 100 Mile website, they have a lot of interesting information. One is a list of ten things you can do. I swiped these ten things off their site. If you're interested in local eating, check out their site: The 100 Mile Diet.

1. Start small.
The people who did this experiment jumped in with both feet without a lot of forethought or planning. It was challenging for them. Considering I have a family to feed - I think we'll take it a step at a time! Our first step was to sign up with a local CSA. Starting in mid-June and going through mid-December, we'll get a box of veggies every week. For a good chunk of that time, we'll also get a fruit box. We may be getting our eggs through them as well - I haven't gotten that nailed down yet though.

2. There are no rules.
Considering that Colorado is pretty limited because of it's climate, we're not actually trying to limit it to a 100 mile radius. Actually, our fruit is coming from the western side of the state. I'm okay with that. One of the questions they ask is, "Ask some deeper questions, too. If you eat meat, where does the feed for the animals come from? If you’re vegetarian, would you be prepared to eat animal products if no beans or tofu are raised where you live?" Well, that question is easy. No. I know a lot of people seem to be moving toward the belief that if beef is "humanely" raised then it's okay to eat and okay for the environment. First, I can't really label the unnecessary slaughter of anything "humane." I will say that it is certainly "less cruel." So, from an animal rights standpoint, it's a step in the right direction. As for the environment though, it's a mixed bag. Conventional production includes feeding cows an artificial diet of grains, whereas "grass fed beef" is just that - meat from cows who have been allowed to graze. There also tend to be no added hormones and other chemicals in the cow products. A side that people tend to forget though is that in some ways "grass fed beef" is actually MORE energy intensive. The cows live longer, take more resources, and emit more greenhouse gases. I know that it's commonplace for global warming opponents to make fun of "cow farts," but 18% (yes - nearly one fifth) of greenhouse gases come from livestock. That is an outrageous number. Transportation of food only accounts for 11% of the foods' carbon footprint. I think that it would be irresponsible for a person to start consuming a product that would actually increase their carbon footprint in the name of "local eating."

3. Surf the internet.
I've been doing this a lot. So far, I've found that Colorado kills a lot of animals. I'm sure that as summer gets going though, I'll find other resources!

4. Find your farmers’ market.
This is a great tip for people who don't live here. The farmers' markets here - suck. Truly. You're just as likely to find produce from Washington or California as you are from local farms. I am going to make an effort to try and find a good farmers' market this year though. In all of the Denver metro area, there has got to be one. Right? This is the area that makes me really pine for Arkansas though. Man, the farmers' markets there are amazing!

5. Find your farmers.
I am really looking forward to this one this summer. We already plan to spend quite a bit of time at Berry Patch Farms. I grew up eating home canned and frozen foods. It's fabulous, and I want my children to experience that, too. Now, it's been quite a few years since I've canned anything, so this year will be quite the learning experience I'm sure. That's okay though. The kiddos are already looking forward to bringing home produce from Berry Patch Farms and preserving it at home.

6. Start a garden — even a tiny one.
Check. We're trying hard. There is nothing better to eat on the planet than a fresh out of the garden tomato or strawberry. Yum. I have big hopes for our garden this summer!

7. Plan a winter garden.
This one may be a little harder here in Denver, but I'm looking into it. At the very least, we're trying to grow some edible plants inside.

8. Buy in bulk and preserve.
Oh, well - I touched on this a bit. We are planning to do our own preserving. Having a family of soon to be 7, we already buy in bulk!

9. Join the movement.
Everyone and every change makes a difference. I don't think this means that everyone has to eat only local food. As I touched on earlier, sometimes local choices aren't as healthy for your body or the environment as things that come from farther away. I do think that being more aware of where our food comes from and trying to make responsible choices is something that everyone can do. We're trying to be more conscience of where our food comes from rather than just grabbing something off the shelf without paying attention. Hopefully, our efforts will make at least some difference!

Greening up the inside!

One thing we've decided to do to "green" up our house is to get houseplants! The kiddos were really excited about growing things inside. I had a good discussion with a friend yesterday about which plants to grow and decided that I wanted a Jasmine plant. We all went down to Tagawa Gardens in south Aurora to look for our plants. I also wanted to get an aloe vera plant for the house. We came home with an aloe vera plant, a beautiful Jasmine plant, and a rosemary plant that we're going to plant outside (after the snow). We also bought some honey from a local farm while we were there, a pot for our aloe plant, and a decorative glass waterer.

We repotted the aloe and jasmine plants. We potted the aloe in a black ceramic pot that we got a Tagawa's. You'll notice that the plant did not make it home unscathed. Louis threw the big bottle of honey, it landed on the plant, and broke off one of the leaves. *sigh* He is a "one toddler tornado."

We got the jasmine to hang in our front bay window. We bought a smaller plant, but it is going to grow, so we repotted it in a larger container that we already had. It had contained some flowers that we had outside last summer. When we took it down we found this bird's nest in it!


I tried to pitch the nest into the compost pile, but the kids won't let me! Eventually, I'd like to get a pretty hanging pot for the jasmine plant, but I wasn't willing to spend the money right now. Yea, yea, I know - I'm cheap! LOL. This is how it looks now.

Both plants are living in our front bay window. I hope to get a few more including another hanging plant eventually. This is what we have for now though, and we love it!

A lot of people don't realize it, but indoor air quality can be THREE times more polluted than outdoor air quality. I'm hoping that having plants in our house can help clean up the air in our house. At the very least - it adds some beauty and greenery! My mom always had beautiful house plants when I was growing up. I used to have some beautiful office plants, but I've never really had any in my house. I think we're going to enjoy these!

B.I.G. belly! Whoa.

Okay - I'm 34 weeks 2 days today, and I swear I don't know how I can get much bigger. I haven't gained much weight, but my belly is huge!!!


Hey Mom! Here's the kidlets with their cards that they love!