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Our Garden and The Gro Project

6/28/2013

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you plant a garden this year?  I am excited to share that we planted a lovely vegetable garden and a second small garden with pumpkins and watermelons.  It has been a fun project and the boys have loved watching the plants sprout and observing their growth.  We are all looking forward to harvesting later in the summer and enjoying the fruits of our labor.  

We started our garden early in the Spring by planting our seeds in empty 1 gallon milk jugs.  We cut the top off the milk jugs, planted the seeds inside, watered them and then taped the top back on the milk jugs.  

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We made at least a dozen of these milk jug greenhouses each with different types of seeds in them.  We set them outside in a sunny location and waited for the seeds to sprout and grow.  I wrote the date and plant name on each milk jug.  

 photo 8e4ee520-cc7c-4212-ac84-5f3dec5ab7a0_zpsc4d6f9d9.jpg  In a couple of months, we had plants ready to go into the garden.  We had 8 successful milk jug greenhouses.  These plants were beautiful and it was rewarding to plant large plants instead of just seeds in the garden.  We were excited knowing that our harvest would come a little earlier than if we had just planted seeds in the garden.  Our most successful plants in the milk jug greenhouses were cabbage, cucumbers, and summer squash.  We had some nice tomatoes too, but should start the tomatoes in the winter next year to get a more desirable size by summer.  

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We tilled our garden space and prepared the soil.  My husband added peat and sand to the soil then we started planting.  We spaced our seeds and plants properly to ensure the best growth.  We labeled our plants, watered, and fed them with Miracle-Gro.  

 photo IMG_4893_zps7809287b.jpg If you haven't started a garden yet, it's not too late.  Check out The Gro Project for some really cool ideas like a toyarium or a ukulele garden.  There is even a Gro Project Video.

 

You can "follow" the Miracle-Gro Pinterest page to see many fun garden projects.  

 

Visit Sponsor's Site

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My Baby Turned Two Today!

6/25/2013

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My baby turned two today.  I can't believe he's two already.  He's brought so much joy into our lives.  We love you little guy.
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Homemade Sidewalk Paint

6/25/2013

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I saw this really easy recipe for homemade sidewalk paint at One Perfect Day and decided to make this for the boys.  Use equal parts water and cornstarch then color with food coloring.  
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Make sure not to leave your cornstarch unattended (even with the top screwed on tight) with a two year old in the house.  On the bright side, I needed to mop the floor anyway.  
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The boys loved painting the sidewalk.  They painted for a long time.  
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They even painted themselves.  The homemade sidewalk paint cleaned up easily so it was no problem getting the boys or their clothes clean again.  My little cornstarch culprit wore the evidence on his shirt.  
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We will be painting our sidewalks again soon since the boys had such a fun time of it.  
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Dr. Octopus (Otto Octavius) Pinata

6/24/2013

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Last summer my husband made this amazing Dr. Octopus pinata for our son's Spiderman birthday party.  He used balloons and homemade paper mache.  He used long thin balloons to make the tentacals and then covered them in paper mache.  He used round balloons for the head and body and did the same.  Once he had all of the parts, he connected them and painted and decorated the pinata to look like Dr. Octopus.    
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This pinata was the hit of the party.  
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Dr. Octopus was a very strong pinata.  It took a while to break him, but our little Spiderman fans prevailed and reaped the rewards of their hard work.  
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A very happy birthday boy with his Dr. Octopus pinata.  
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Easy Homemade Fruit Fly Trap

6/20/2013

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fruit fly trap
We had been having a little fruit fly problem this summer and then I saw this easy homemade fruit fly trap at My Blessed Life.  It worked wonderfully.  It was so easy too.  All you need is a piece of printer paper, a jar, apple cider vinegar, and dish soap.  

Simply put 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar in the jar, squirt in some dish soap, and then roll a piece of paper into a cone shape and set it in the jar.   
Since the fruit flies have made their appearance again, I will be making another homemade fruit fly trap. It always works! Make this quick and easy homemade fruit fly trap with things you already have on hand.
See all those fruit flies in the bottom of the jar.  They were swarming around our kitchen the day before.  

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Kangaroo Island Photo Classifying App Review

6/15/2013

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Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this post, however, I did receive this product for review.  All opinions are honest and are my own.  
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The boys love playing on the iPad, but we don't want them to have too much screen time so we limit their iPad access to a couple of times a week.  They have to take turns and I usually tell them that they have to play educational games first.  I noticed that when my five year old was playing the Kangaroo Island games, he kept playing them.  He didn't switch to the less educational games after the allotted time.  He was having fun and learning at the same time.  

There are six games in the Kangaroo Island Photo Classifying App, giving children options when playing.  My boys love being able to make choices and switch to different games.  My three and five year olds both said their favorite game is the painting game otherwise known as Koala Canvas.  In the game they help Cole the Koala identify the correct items in a category while painting a picture.  

In the Kangaroo Island Photo Classifying App, children learn to name and classify 336 items in 15 different categories:
  • Animals
  • Bathroom
  • Clothing
  • Colors
  • Foods
  • Furniture
  • Instruments
  • Kitchen
  • Lowercase Letters
  • Uppercase Letters
  • Numbers 1-20
  • Shapes
  • Tools
  • Toys
  • Transportation
The boys are learning so much while playing these games.  They asked me questions about lowercase and uppercase letters while playing and started to recognize the differences on their own.  You can see my five year old playing one of the classifying games in the video below.  Notice how the game corrects him by making him try again when he puts something in the wrong category.  
The boys have really enjoyed playing these games and will for a long time.  This app is designed for Pre-K and up and is for Apple iPad only.  You can learn more about the Kangaroo Island Photo Classifying App at Super Duper Publications.


Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this post, however, I did receive this product for review.  All opinions are honest and are my own.  
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Our Silkworm Adventure

6/13/2013

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My son's preschool class had been learning about silkworms this Spring and he was allowed to take some home on the last day of school.  He was so excited.  

He has spent a lot of time observing his silkworms and predicting what will happen next.  He checks on them several times a day and reports any new developments.  It has been a neat experience for all of us to watch the silkworms change into moths and to learn about the life cycle of these unique creatures.  

My 5 year old has been very responsible in taking care of his "pets".  Twice a day he feeds his silkworms Mulberry leaves that he picks from a tree in our yard, and then after checking on them makes sure his silk worms are in a secure location.  They have to be kept out of reach of our two year old and 3 year old.  If you have a toddler you know why…  they really do get into everything.  
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Two of our silk worms already transformed into moths and fell in love.  The next thing you know we have over 100 silk worm eggs.  They haven't hatched yet, but we are waiting to see if they do.  I'll let you know if our silk worm adventure continues into another generation. 
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I'll go with Gorgeous and Charming

6/8/2013

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You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty and irresistible for the rest of your life – Coco Chanel

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Today I turned 37 and I like what Coco Chanel has to say about age.   I'll go with gorgeous and charming and maybe a little forgetful.  I forgot to buy candles so we improvised with a candle my son made in preschool.  He didn't understand why I  helped him blow out the candle.  He wanted to do it all by himself.  

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Pop Bottle Vases

6/7/2013

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I love simple, pretty things like these pop bottle vases with fresh cut flowers.  We gave a pop bottle vase with fresh flowers to each of my older sons' preschool teachers this Spring.  Frugal and Repurposed gifts from the home are the best and you can never go wrong with fresh flowers.  
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Pretty enough for a wedding too.  My parents 1974 wedding featured daisies in coke bottles.  
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My husband's grandmother planted these bulbs years ago and they still come up year after year.  I wish they lasted longer.  They are always so beautiful.
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  • The Home Economist
  • About
  • Recipes
    • What's for Dinner?
    • Slow Cooker Simplicity
    • Simple Food
    • Desserts and Decadence
    • Baking Bread
  • Homesteading
  • Contact
    • Ask a Home Ec Teacher
  • Cake Designs
  • Simply Homemade
  • My Favorite Blogs
  • Work with me
  • Learning and Play
  • House Love
  • Shop
  • Blogging Tips
  • I Was Featured
  • Family
  • Giveaway Linky List