Two weeks into no dryer month.

I got a bit excited and started the last few days of June on my bet with the hubs. I bet that I could dry EVERYTHING on our new clothesline he built me. Two weeks in and I haven't turned on my dryer yet.... And you know what? I'm really enjoying it!

Some things I've noticed....

If I fold the clothes as I take them off the line they don't sit in heaping piles waiting to be folded for days on end.

It's actually quite relaxing as long as baby J isn't hanging on my leg screaming for my attention (he's been cutting teeth and extremely attached to mommy lately). 

It's somewhat fulfilling knowing I'm harnessing the suns power to do my work. (Did that sound a bit hippie to you too?).

I can't wait to see July's energy bill to see if this is making a difference at all!

Only downfalls....

Towels get a bit "crispy" but they don't stay that way long.

Japanese beetles are terrible here right now and they seem to really enjoy hanging out on my laundry. Brought a few into the house the first week before I started shaking everything out and double checking for stowaways. 

When it's super humid it will take ALL day and your stuff may still be damp when it's time to bring it in... 

There is no way I will let the hubby win this one!:) 

Want to take on the challenge with me? You can start out small say just a week or two! Let me know if you do!

July goals

Summer is here and although the weather today (rainy and 60 degrees) may not show it I'm getting very excited for the next few months! I have two new goals to try out for this month. Number one is meal planning, with it being our busiest month of the year for blueberries I figure a little less stress could make a big difference. I've tried to meal plan numerous times but always set myself up for failure, trying to stick to a strict regimen just doesn't work for our family. Instead I'm going to actually plan 4 meals each week and it won't matte which night we end up eating it as long as I have the ingredients in the house to make it we are good. I figure we will probably eat at my parents or a cookout somewhere one night each week, have leftovers another and do something easy like order pizza or make pancakes the 7th meal. I do enjoy freezer cooking but I'm bad at using what's in my freezer to its full advantage so if I Plan it out hopefully I will use them more!
Second goal for the month is to not turn on my dryer all month !! Sounds crazy to a lot of you I know! I've always dried the cloth diapers on the line in the summer, but now that my hubby built me a real clothesline I'm loving being able to fit an entire load on the line! I'm excited to take this one more step towards being green. The benefits are many, cheaper electric bills, clothes will last longer, natural fresh scent instead of nasty dryer sheets, who doesn'tove watching clothes blow in the wind I think it's sort of peaceful;) hubby said there's. I way I could do it so you better believe I'm gonna try my hardest to prove him wrong!:)

Playing Catchup

Wow! It's been over a year since my last post! I keep telling myself to get back to blogging but it just never happens! ALOT has changed since my last post in Aug 2011.  We have added another future berry farmer into the family he is now 3months old! Time sure flies the second time around doesn't it? We also put on an addition including a new kitchen, and master suite.... hmmm maybe thats where all my time went the last year and a half?
Anywho... i'm one of those weirdos who dreams about new gadgets like label makers and laminators.... I always figured a laminator would cost big bucks but what do you know it was only $20 at Meijers. So I picked one up using my Christmas money ;)

Since N just turned 3 I have been trying to do more "home schooling" activites rather than just playtime. He seems to pick up on things quickly. He has known all his letters for about a year now and the sounds they make so we are working on reading now! Hard to believe, but the kid just keeps growing up even though I ask him all the time to stay little forever. I feel he could have a good handle on the gig by preschool.  He absolutely LOVES angry birds so I figure what better learning activities than angry birds theme?  I found some adorable free printables  : here and used my new laminator so they dont become full of juice, boogers, crumbs you name it :)

It doesn't get much better than this!

As I am finishing up with that mountain of dishes from tonite I can't help but thinking "It doesn't get much better than this!" You may be thinking I have gone crazy so let me explain.
I am washing the dishes as my hubby and lil man are laughing and playing in the living room, bellies full of a yummy dinner and desert.
I am thankful for: 1. A loving husband. 2. A beautiful son. 3. The home we live in.
4. The food I can put on the table. 5. The ability to wash those dishes!
It has been a long summer of not seeing my hubby more than an hour or so a day. Especially hard for lil man since he doesn't understand why daddy is working so much!
It's so nice to start getting into a "normal people" routine again! The lil man is a new person when he has daddy around more often and it just melts my heart!

Well enough of the mush here is what I accomplished tonite!


Speaking of mush..... I steamed and puree'd (sp???) 4 1/2 cup serving of carrots. One of which I used in the cookies we had for dessert! I use carrot puree quite often in things such as pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, homemade mac n cheese, cookies you name it.

Also blanched some corn on the cob so that we can enjoy it in the dead of winter.

Here is dinner: Lemon Glaze chicken and wild rice. I also prepared two more meals of the lemon glaze chicken for the freezer. It was yummy (luckily considering we are going to eat it two more times :)

Don't forget dessert (no this is not a normal thing in this household I was very ambitious tonite!)

Peanut butter raisin cookies with hidden carrot puree, just don't tell my hubby.

I had planned on throwing some of these in the freezer to enjoy later but I'm thinking they will not make it that long.

I can't believe it myself but my kitchen is actually cleaner than it was when I began this afternoon. Thanks to my "Flying Lessons" From www.flylady.net

Go check out her site it is very encourgaing! I am only about a week into it but I am loving it so far. Not that I am following to a tee but at least I am trying.

Busy Boxes!

We have implemented our "busy boxes" for a week now and I am loving them.

If you haven't seen something like this before you will want to make some for your little ones!

Granted my guy is only 18months and I feel the boxes would be much more effective with older children especially preschool age but whats the harm?

We started out with 5 boxes and labled them one for each of the weekdays using my cricut expression machine.

Then you will put special toys, books or activities into each box. I typically wait until late afternoon when i'm trying to get supper ready to pull out the box for the day. Like I said I think for an older child you could get them to keep "busy" for quite a bit longer than an 18mo. old, but he still really enjoys them. In fact he might just enjoy taking the things out and putting them back into the boxes more right now but oh well!

Examples of what you can include in your boxes: Puzzles, books, crayons and coloring books, play dough, favorite toys, a special video, games, one of our fave boxes contains clothespins and cups! Think outside the box! These will keep my guy busy for at least 15 minutes most of the time longer though. Feel free to comment below with a link to your version of "busy boxes".