The Wheatgrass Project

I am stealing this pic from this Martha Stewart Living project:

I think this wheatgrass thing looks neat and I wanted to give it a go for spring.


I googled around for some directions and I liked the idea of presoaking the seeds mentioned here. I also found the idea to use this real grass for Easter baskets here! Sounds messy, but really cool. (I am not a fan of the one-time-use plastic grass that gets all over your house.)


We decided on small glasses instead of a big tray because...

1) They're clear so we can see the roots growing. (We are currently learning about plants and seeds.)

2) They will fit on a tray I have for the centerpiece with some room to put our dyed eggs and whatever else I think looks good.

They got planted yesterday and are supposed to be nice and plush in 1-2 weeks. Just in time for Easter! (I hope.)


Shout Out to Beth, owner of DiaperCuts - A fabric store specializing in cloth diaper fabrics and other notions. She's a long-time i-friend and was nice enough to send me some (a tons) of seeds for this projects out of the goodness of her heart.


ETA: 1 week was not enough time. The grass was sprouted, but wimpy so it didn't make Easter dinner.

My FIL *hearts* Mayo

My father-in-law is a funny guy. He can be super entertaining. He adores his grandkids, though he sometimes sneaks DS too many treats. He is a traditional Irish/Italian food-is-love kinda guy.
Among his many eccentricities, he is obsessed with condiments. Namely mayonnaise. I have seen him put mayo on steak, veggies, really just about anything savory. There is a squeeze bottle of mayo at every meal. While this is not exactly behavior I'd promote, it is funny. It's one of those quirks I'm sure his grandkids will be talking about long into the future.

So when I got an email about the MomSelect Hellmann's promo I had to enter. The grand prize includes a 6 month supply of mayo which (should I win) will be gifted to, you guessed it, my dear father in law. While we don't always see eye-to-eye, he is a good guy and a great Pop-Pop... and he loves him some mayonnaise.

I'm supposed to tell you about the Hellmann's Real Food Project...

Hellmann's has teamed up with celebrity chef Bobby Flay (who I know and love from the Food Network) to bring you recipes, videos and prizes. (Why HELLO there, Deluxe Artichoke Dip!) There are even coupons for my fellow couponizers. So check it out. :)


Disclosure: I was entered for a chance to win a Hellmann's® prize package in exchange for this post. No monetary exchange took place. All opinions expressed are my own.

Laundry

What a boring topic?

Well laundry seems to be the main chore I can't stay on top of. Washing is no problem, but the folding and putting away is my least favorite.

This was my old "system"

washer > dryer or hang on clothes line > back in laundry basket to get good and wrinkled > throw on my bed to fold > push all clean laundry back in basket before bed > back on the bed to actually get folded this time > DS1 comes in and jumps on the bed and unfolds the laundry > refold and repremand kiddo > put away if I'm folding or put on top of my dresser if DH is folding

Really efficient, right?

Yes, we use cloth diapers, napkins and (un)paper towels. But that only accounts for maybe 3 loads a week. Clothing seems to be the biggest problem.

A came to a few conclusions this week...

I hold on to things way longer than I should. Most stuff doesn't fit, is stained, has holes, etc.

My a** does not look hot in shorts. Why do I hold on to them? Skirts are cuter, more comfy and just as cool in the summer. (And there are capris or crop pants for non-skirt occasions.)

I love hand-me-downs for the boys, but should probably be more selective about what I keep.

I only really love a few items and those are the ones I wear over and over. I only wear all the excess stuff to avoid doing more laundry, which ironically makes more laundry.

With these mantra's in mind I did a full wardrobe purge and reorganized my closet and dresser.

"A place for everything and everything in it's place."

"If it's not blessing you, let it bless someone else."

I even put notecard labels inside my drawers so I could remember what goes where.

Lame? Yes. But effective. And now the hubs can put away my clothes too.

My biggest revelation is to fold as little as possible. I now hang up all my tops, t-shirts, skirts, dress pants and cardis. For example a T goes from the washer to a hanger to dry. Then right in the closet on the same hanger. That saves a lot of steps and also makes it easier to see what all I have to wear. I think I need to purge DS1 and Papa K's wardrobes next...

Anyone else have any laundry tips to share???

Land's End Giveaway

Promise I won't spam you a ton, but this is a good one. Land's End, who makes the best swim suits IMO, is doing a drawing and twitter party with Mom Select.

You can go to the Land's End site right now to enter to win: www.landsend.com/thehub
The grand prize is a vacation to the Bahamas and there will be 25 runner up prizes that include a gift card. Count me in! I need some new beach wear this year.

The info on the Twitter Party which will have other giveaways...
Lands' End Harbour Island Twitter
EventDate: Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. CST
Location: #landsend
Join the fun and follow:@LEprMichele, @LEprMolly, @LEprLibby, @VisitTheBahamas, @iexplore and @iexplore_Amanda

Disclaimer: This post is brought you by my affiliation with Mom Select and I am entering to win a prize by posting this. Any opinions expressed are my own. I honestly love Land's End swimwear! :)

Hello Out There

I am thinking I'd like to start the public blogging again. I miss the comments and interaction with other bloggers! I think I can be comfortable with this if I keep the separate, private blog for the personal stuff and the info/pictures of the kids. I'd like to keep this a place for me to talk about my current job... homemaking and child wrangling raising. If you are still out there, oh 10's of readers, please give me a hello comment! :)