TOMATOES TOMATOES TOMATOES

I have so many of these things its not even funny. I am pretty sure my friends are no longer answering their doors and hiding from me when I come walking down the street. Okay maybe not but you get the picture. So now that my friend and family have eaten their weight and more in tomatoes its time to start canning them. I love canning and all but the work is not so much fun, so I was so excited when I found the pin that suggested dicing tomatoes and caning them. I had to try it! 

Here is the pin that gave me the idea but I put my own spin on it.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/526147168940317792/

Something that was brought to my attention by my aunt is that maybe not every one knows exactly how full to fill your jars so here is a little blog of canning 101. In the blog it states that you want to leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch of head space but I like to leave a little more just to make sure that nothing touches the top of the lids as it will not seal .

http://www.eatingrules.com/2012/10/canning-basics/

Now for the little difference that I did to the diced tomatoes was I added basil and fresh garlic. You can add what ever you want to yours to make perfect for your family.

I hope everyone enjoyed this little bit of canning information. Now go get to caning all your extra tomatoes!

Teething Necklace

The other day a friend of mine came over and handed me some fabric (Seahawks print, she knows me well) and said we are making teething necklaces. Now I am all up for a little DIY action but I hide that I really had no interest in making one of these. Then once I started with making it I realized it was a cool concept and when I put it on and my baby LOVED it I was all for it.

Now I know once she reads this Ill get a text or call :) saying something along the lines of whatttttt do you mean you didn't want to make these there so cool! Ill also have to agree with her.

On to what these things are that I am talking about. They are necklaces you wear while you are wearing your baby to allow them to play with or chew on. They have a wooden balls inside the fabric that helps with teething and you can make it any way you want. Here is mine:

Isn't it beautiful!?!










I didn't follow any tutorial but I found one pretty close to what we did do on Pinterest. I also used two sizes of beads 3/4 inch and 1 inch. For mine I did a little design to give it a little something more. Not that the Seahawks need anything more! So go make one for your little one to gnaw and enjoy something new around your neck that cost less then 5.00 to make and roughly 10 minutes.

Below is the tutorial I found on Pinterest for you to look at:
http://mommabare.com/?p=788

Hope you enjoyed this and share with your friends. Thank you Larissa for handing me the product to make these. My miss loves it!

My Big Boy

Yesterday was my son's last day of kindergarten! We survived a full year of school!!! Now I can say that this is a big feat I am so proud of. When my son went into school he could say the alphabet, could count to 20 of course skipping 16 (no clue why) could spell, not write, his name, mom and dad. The teacher said he was ahead of the game. Proud mommy moment! We found out on his first parent teacher conference that his teacher believed he was slightly color blinded when it came to blues and greens. The teacher also told us that he was a very caring, loving little boy, that he stood up stood up for the little guys and that he had a best friend that he couldn't do anything with out!

His best friend at the pumpkin patch




As the year came to an end I am so happy to hear him  read to his daddy instead of his daddy reading to him during his bed time book. He can now count to an endless amount, write most words, and sound out everything! He has also been a student of the month twice! To top off being proud of our little guy he only missed 3 days through out the entire year.

Now for the realization of the fact that I have a 1st grader on my hands. That I have successfully gotten my child through the first year to the rest of his school life. That us as parents have started a new chapter that is not stopping no matter how many times I look at him and see my little chubby baby boy. The little boy that I once prayed would just fall asleep and stop screaming. I miss those moments now. I miss the first time he said mama and the first time he said dada. I look at that little boy and can't believe that it's been almost 6 years since I gave birth to my first child.

Today I have a 1st grader and a 6 month old little girl. Today I have a little guy in his first summer break and a little girl learning to sit up, roll over and say mama. Today I have a husband who's been an amazing father, husband and friend to my self and the children. Today I open my eyes to what I have been blessed with and see that we as parents have survived our first year of school!

Mommy Stop

This is going to be just a short, sweet,  reminder to stop and cherish the little moments with your kid as I was asked to do today.

I was running to and from my aunts house getting laundry done, cleaning up the house and cleaning the car. You know the normal in and outs of being a mommy. While my son was watching tv and running around the house playing like he always does with my little miss sitting in the car seat watching all of this playing on her own. Then out of no where while I was helping my aunt clean her house, my son stops running, turns around, grabs my waist, and says "Mommy hold me" Yes my crazy almost 6 year old son stopped and wanted my undivided attention.

  I don't take the time very often to just cuddle him since my little miss got here and today I did. He took that moment to remind me he's just as important and just as in need of my attention as she is. I have forgotten that along the way of my new adventure in life. Today I was reminded that I need to stop and take the time out to really care for my children, not just tend to their basic needs. I need to hug and hold that hug a little longer. Give a few more kisses and a few more open ears.

Take this time to stop what you are doing and give your little ones a little more attention. Hug them a little tighter and let them pull away before you. Instead of placing them in front of a tv, sit down and play a game with them. Take your little one in our arms and tell them that you love them and don't forget to really pay attention.

In closing, I hope that the actions my child took today will help you reach out to your little one the way I was asked to as well.

The Other Half

No this is not a post on bashing your better half. This is about love, trust, honesty, and openness. Over the last 12 years that I have been with my husband. We have met a lot of couples that at the end of the day are not true to one another. I see the one side without the other around and then a whole new side when they are together. It saddens me to witness that some couples live different life's outside of their relationship. That they can not be the true person they show the world but choose to hid or change who they are for the one they want to spend the rest of their life's with. 

Why hid who you are from the one person you shouldn't be hiding from? Your other half should know you better then any one else. They should know all the little jokes you have with your friends and then more. There shouldn't be anything that you can do with your friends that you can 't do with your other half. If there is either A. you shouldn't be doing it and you should be respecting your others half  wishes or B. find the other half to you that wouldn't care if your doing it and/or even better are doing it right along with you.

Find the one that you want to run around the world with screaming at the top of your lungs that you love each other. Find the one that you lay down with at the end of the night and recap your day. Down to the side jokes your BFF told you. Find the one that tells you about the "guy talk" at work. Find the one that if your buddy said hey remember last week when.... that you wouldn't go running over to cover their mouths or want to sleep on the couch. Find that one that you just can't wait to tell everything to. 

I wanted to write this post tonight because recently I went somewhere with my husband and he told me a little about some "guy code" that he has at work. We even played this "code" together and I just laughed. It wasn't till he said the code in front of me and some of the guys he works with that it hit me. I am a rear person that has the inside to my husbands true life. I, me, I get to know it all. Now knowing that I knew "the code" made one guy blush, another walked away, and the other stood there and said the code about something else. Then we laughed. I asked my husband if any of the others shared this code with their other halves and he said NO. No one else other then us (his work buddies) knows what that means. I kinda felt honored at that point.

Its been things like this that made me realize I feel sorry for those that feel that they have to hid who they are. I feel sorry for the couple that at the end of the night they truly don't know each other. So I dare you to be truly open with your other half. I dare you to share all the little codes in  your life with your partner. I dare you to be you-er then you with your other half. Enjoy your life and the life you choose with your other half. Treat your other half like your best friend and if you can't then find the one that you can be.

Proper car seat safty

Yes I know I am at it again. Car seat safety is so importunate! Make sure you are installing them the right way and do not assume you are doing it right. Just because a car seat says that it fits a certain child it could possibly put your child in harms way. Have some one who is certified check out your car seat and never have the mind set it could never happen to my child. This is why I am so on top of car seat safety and will have my 6 year old still in a 5 point harness. He is not ready for a seat belt due to how much he moves around and he does not understand the importance of staying put. I also do not allow him to buckle his own seat as it is impossible for him to get it tight enough across the chest at that angel. I will allow him to do it all and then I tighten everything and make sure its all in the right spot. I will also keep my baby in her rear facing seat until she outgrows that then will have her rear facing until at least 3. My kids deserve to be as safe as they can and so do yours.
Please take a moment to read the link below and really look at how you have your child in their car seat.

http://www.8newsnow.com/story/20596976/breaking-news-metro-3-year-old-not-in-proper-car-seat

Here is another link to some great information on car seat safety.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/06/18/improperly-installed-car-seats-put-children-at-risk/

Here is a link that the parent believed the car seat was installed correctly.

https://ksl.com/?sid=27912884&nid=148

I know that I could flood your reading libary with these and you could easily look them up on your own but these are just a few reminders on why I am so dead set on making sure each child is in the right seat. So please take the time to read the manual, find someone who truly knows what they are doing and keep your child in the right seat for as long as you can.

Pinterest Recap

I have tried a lot of little things on Pinterest through out the last year. I am a big person on forgetting to take a long the way photos and am truly trying to get better at it. Here are a few that I can remember and what I though of them.

1. Bathroom cleaner
                  http://www.23imaginaryfriends.blogspot.com/2013/08/how-to-clean-your-runners-shower.html?m=1
I was a little blah on trying this as I had tried some many different ways to clean my shower and nothing was helping. I decided why not all it say is to cover the shower in this goop and let it sit then wash off. Holly smokes!!!!!! I have not had my shower walls/floor this clean since we moved into our home 6 years ago. I now do this once a month and leave it over night and the first person in the shower gives it a fast scrub and bam done.

2. Oil pulling
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/429249408206050522/
Well this I just had to try and had no hope that it I would benefit from it in any. This I dragged my husband into with me. We decided to do 20 minutes each night before bed. The first night noticed nothing til morning. I didn't have that normal build up feel and my husband said my breath didn't smell as bad. How bad was my breath in the morning? To me this was a plus side of the pulling. We continued it for a few more days and continued to notice improvement to our teeth and gums. My husband has always had bad gums and has had to use special toothpaste. He noticed that there way not as much swelling and that his teeth also felt very clean in the morning and that he didn't have the headache he normally woke with. I would have to say that this was a good try and we do it from time to time but not on a regular bases like I would like to.

3. Boiling eggs
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/526147168935942445/
Who loves to peel boiled eggs? I know I can't stand it and anything to make it easier is on my to do list. Unfortunately this was not one of them. I did find out through a friend that putting baking soda in the pot while it was heating with the eggs does help. I have done this every time and it works like a charm. Did you try baking them? Did it work for you?

4. Lactation cookies (no they are not made with breast milk)
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/526147168938145606/
For all the breast feeding moms out there, these work like a charm! Really everything in them helps boost your milk supply and they taste amazing. I make a batch and do smaller portions and freeze some of them. I love how they taste and have even added things like crasenbarries, dark chocolate instead of milk, varies nut, upped the flax seed, and yeast. When ever I am feeling like my LO (Little One) is nursing non stop and that maybe my milk has dipped I wipe up a batch of these.

I hope you have enjoyed a recap of just a few things I have tried though Pinterest and hope you find the information helpful. Until next time!