Life (of it’s own) in the Garden

April 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It isn’t the prettiest of gardens in the world, but the blood, sweat and dirt we’ve put into it sure is taking a life of it’s own. For instance, my oldest paired with a softball to cause our beloved crackle-glass birdseed feeder to break, spilling forth birdseed all over the front flower bed. After a few days, this is what has resulted – a plush blanket of green velvet-esque sprouts that I can’t seem to find the will to dig up. I’m intrigued by what they may be. And even more intrigued by it’s delicious feel when I touch it.

weird beautiful growth in the garden A close up – it is so soft to touch. (But quite obviously drowning out my lantanas)

weird beautiful growth in garden
And my elephant ears, once just a single bulb(ed) plant, they are now literally taking over end to end in this area of our flower bed, as you see sprouts every which way now.

elephant ears
I absolutely love this moss-type growth in the garden, it’s so soft and playful looking, I haven’t dug it up, and don’t think I will. Isn’t it pretty?

more strange growth in the garden
Lastly, my husband’s roses. Are they not the most gorgeous thing ever? They have taken on a life of their own. You wouldn’t believe how small the plant originally was when we bought it our first summer here. Some plants do not thrive in our front flower bed, but these roses sure do love it, and in the two years we’ve lived here, they have quadrupled (maybe more) in size. Corralling them with bamboo doesn’t seem to keep them in place, either. They have a mind of their own, and, as you can see, have many more buds about to bloom.

gorgeous roses
And amazingly enough, it’s still early in the season. I can’t wait to see what happens. (And? This is only just some of the plants in our front yard. We have lots more, plus our backyard as well.)

Today, on this wonderful Earth Day, I’m going to smile in the sunshine while watering these plants in my gardens, and remain grateful for their way of surprising me while I enjoy eating lunch on a blanket with my kindergartner at school.

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Simple Shoes Simply Awesome

July 9, 2009 By Leave a Comment

There is no doubt my toddler is a girl. She dresses up with outfits, costumes, fake jewelry, hand bags, tiaras and purses galore. You’ll even find her stepping into my husband’s combat boots, too. Whatever she can get her hands on, it’s on her in some costume-like fashion.

I had no idea how addicted to shoes she was until we were given a pair to try, Simple® Shoes called the Doodle in pink. She slept in them she loves them so much.

Simple® Shoes is an eco-friendly company with a mission – to provide stylish yet sustainable shoes for adults and children using recyclable and sustainable materials. (Does anyone hear angels singing, or harps playing?) Their brand new toddler collection just launched and features eco-friendly washable suede, certified organic cotton lining and non-marking outer soles (among many other things). My favorite part is how passionate they are about using sustainable materials. And, they’re freakin’ adorable, it hurts to love them so much. Lookie!

Simple Shoes - Doodle in Pink{Swoon} Are they not the cutest darn things??

My daughter immediately snatched the box out of my hands and put them on lickity split, and showed me “Wook, mommy! Pitty shoes!”

Simple Shoes - Look Mom!And off she went. They never came off. Normally we ask our children to take off their shoes when they enter the house. No way Jose! She had to keep them on. My husband had to P-R-Y them off of her, in tears, screaming, to get her in the bath tub that night. (him, not her. I kid.. maybe…) Sorry hubs.

Smiley DoodleDid I mention she slept in them? Yes, after the bath and pajamas being put on, the shoes went on, too.

Next day she wakes and immediately goes to DEFCON 5 because one fell off in her sleep. Oh my goodness, she was a wreck until it was put back on. It took an extra cup of coffee that morning to wrangle her into clothes before affixing the shoes to her feet, permanent-like. Schwoo! But damn, she’s so fricken happy when they’re on. Like, scary-happy. Chuckie-kind-of-happy.

As soon as she got them on, off she went. Again. On today’s agenda – bike riding! Super-powered toddler with her mighty pink eco-friendly shoes, giggling maniacally in the driveway, peddling herself on her bike. That was her, alright.

Simple Shoes Bike RideI just have to show you how easy they are to put on, too. My daughter’s always been a pretty independent kid. These shoes help her maintain that. You can hear her admonishing me for helping her snag the tongue of the shoe out, she was determined to not let me touch her at all!

Want it?
Simple® Shoes new Toddler Collection officially launched today, and are available in 3 different “flavors”, if you will – The Noodle, The Doodle and the Poodle. (Don’t forget they sell men’s shoes, women’s shoes and other kid’s shoes, as well as eco-friendly bags, too!) Save 10% on your first order! Use discount code “simplemommy“. Offer expires 7/31!

Win It! - CLOSED
Up for grabs is a gift certificate for the toddler shoes of your choice! Woohoo!

To win-

  • Head on over to Simple® Shoes website, and tell me, what is your favorite part about their new toddler line? (for 1 entry)
  • Follow Simple® Shoes on Twitter.
  • Subscribe and/or follow my blog, and/or follow me on Twitter. I’m CrazyAdventures (1 entry for each, and if you already do for any of them already, it counts!**)
  • Share this post via blog, email, Facebook, Stumble, Kirtsy, Digg this post! (1 entry each ‘share’)
  • Tweet this post on Twitter! Be sure to link me to your tweet! (1 entry per tweet – unlimited entries available!)

**It ‘pays’ to stay connected to me and my blog, as it earns you automatic entries into all of my contests! (Plus, you’ll want to hang out with me – I like to bake, I’ll bake you something and we’ll chat over coffee, how’s that sound?) {giggle}

Winner will be chosen using Random.org. Contest ends Monday, July 13th, at 10pm CST

Edit 10:04 pm *Winner announced shortly*

Edit 10:08pm Winner is #6 who is

amylemmon 4 days ago

I tweeted about this!

Amy from Six Flower Mom! Woohoo, congrats Amy!!!!!

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Shaklee Basic H2 Review

May 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Today we’re celebrating MomDot’s big birthday celebration for Trisha, and I wanted to showcase a few of my favorite organic and all-natural product choices, and give some away, too. I hope you don’t mind at all, or anything :)

(NOTE: There are 3 total giveaways here, be sure to visit all 3!)

I have to confess to you something. I lurve me some Shaklee. So much so I used to sell it (don’t anymore). That is how much I love it. I still order when I need something, my children take their vitamins religiously, as do I.

But my favorite product of theirs, hands down, is their Basic H2. I bought this bottle January 2007. Did you read that? I *bought* the product for this review two years ago. This is not a review of something given to me. This is a bottle of Shaklee Basic H2 that I’ve been using since January 2007. Wanna know what?

I’m still using the same bottle.

This is the size of the bottle if you order the 16 oz. This is what mine looked like when I first purchased it, or a month or so after getting it. (I took this for my own record).

This is next to my toaster oven. Not a small bottle by any means! It’s super concentrated, too, which means only a couple drops per 16 oz bottle of water for windows, and a few more drops for your countertops and general cleaning needs.

With this, a little goes a long way.

Do you know I use this instead of carpet cleaning solution? It gets our carpets SO clean, and soft, and no chemicals for baby dude to be crawling all over. No smell, either.

Do you know I also use this to wash our cars? It gets all kinds-of foamy for the kids, and works great at getting the dirt off.

This thing is hands down, an all-in-one cleaner, and proves to you why it’s one of my favorites.

Do you want me to freak you out a little bit? It’s what, May 2nd 2009 now, yes? That’s 28 months since I purchased that bottle, right? I use this diluted everday, for my kitchen mostly, my bathrooms once or twice a week, the carpets once a month or more, the car every week. Each time I need more, I take this concentrated bottle out, fill up the spray bottle, drop a few (or more) drops in for whatever I need, and I’m good.

Want to see what it looks like now, 28 months later?

That is how much I’ve used in 28 months. {ahem}

That’s it. Want to talk about saving money, going green, better for the environment. There’s one way to go right there. How much does your store-bought cleaner cost you? What about a cleaner for the bathroom, a cleaner for the kitchen, the window cleaner, the car wash stuff, the carpet cleaning stuff, etc. Add all of that up, and you’re looking at major savings!

Is it really any surprise that Shaklee’s Basic H2 get’s my “Crazy Family of 8″ Seal of Approval?

Win It! – CLOSED

One winner will receive a 16oz bottle of Shaklee’s Basic H2!

To enter, comment here and tell me what cleaners you’re currently using at the moment, and approximately how much it costs you to get them when you need them (the cost per bottle/box, etc. All combined). I think it might amaze you when you put it down here in the comments, and that number is staring back at you, and begin calculating in your head how much you might save in a year, let alone however long it’ll take you to get to the bottom of the bottle (28 months and still going strong!)

For extra entries (each entry is 1 entry, and each must be commented separately):

**It ‘pays’ to stay connected to me and my blog, as it earns you automatic entries into all of my contests! (Plus, my kids are cute. And funny, and you might like me if you get to know me a little) {giggle}

Winner will be chosen using Random.org. Contest ends Sunday, May 31st, at 10pm CST

*Edit* Winner is #9
Blogger Heather said…

I couldn’t even begin to hink how much everything would cost. I use toilet bowl cleaner, rubbing alcohol, cleanser, tile cleaner, carpet cleaner, dish soap, etc. etc.

May 2, 2009 10:55 AM

Congrats Heather from But I Don’t Want To Be A Cowboy!

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