Grow With Us

Oh look at our garden grow! If I wasn't a total dork before I am now! I'm in love with our little garden. In fact I'm mighty obsessed with it. I love to check on the plants every day to see how things are coming along. And Hulk loves to check on them too. This morning we did a happy dance because our cantalope sprouted and we have two little baby tomatoes. All of our watering and his hugs must be working. Because our garden is growing!!!

 

Melba left me a comment about all the things they have planted and it reminded me that I need to plant some strawberries. So that is our mission for this week. We still have some extra pots that we found at garage sales so I'm thinking we will fill them with strawberries. I don't know how I forgot them to start with. So thank you Melba for the yummy reminder!

 

Is anyone else gardening? If so what have you planted? Am I missing anything fun?

Truth About Toys

A blog reader recently emailed me and asked me what kind of toys The Hulk plays with. They were wanting to know if I let him have plastic toys or wooden toys. Do his toys play music, etc. Oh what a question. I hate to give my answer but I'll be honest and tell you the whole truth.

When The Hulk was first born I tried to limit his contact with plastic. That dreaded BPA was not going to touch my baby! So I made his toys (cloth blocks and balls), bought him wooden toys, organic toys, etc. Then I got tired and he got a mind of his own. Guess what he loves plastic balls! Seriously loves them! And guess what else I let him have them. In large quantities. He also loves the little people toys, and his little people airplane and dump truck play music that he enjoys dancing and clapping too.

He has lots of toys that play music, say the ABC's, count, etc. But most of those toys have an on and off switch. So I leave them turned off for the most part and let him use his imagination. When I do turn them on is when we play together. We will clap with the music and sing along. I am not against electronic toys but I think they need to be used in moderation. I also think that there should be more quiet toys than noisy toys. Imagination and creativity can get lost in the "noise".

One thing I have been trying to do more of lately is what I call "real toys". Basically these are real objects around your house that kids turn into toys anyways. I try to at least for an hour or so on the weekends pull out those "real toys" and let The Hulk play with them. Not only is this great for his imagination but it's also a "green" way to reuse some items that maybe would have been thrown out. I hate waste!

For example last Saturday I let The Hulk sit inside a big Rubbermaid box (with the lid off). I put all kinds of "real toys" in the box and he played for more than an hour and had a blast. What things went in the box....

A couple disposable plastic cups
Balled up aluminum foil
A few sheets of wax paper
Wooden Spoon
Empty Cool Whip container
A water bottle with pennies in it that was tightly sealed
A few pieces of scrap tulle
A few pieces of scrap felt

He loves all of these items. There are all different textures and sizes of toys. He likes the sounds he can make with the different items. And he loves to hide things under cups and bowls and find them.

So that's the truth about The Hulk' toys....

Clickin Mama

Washington Day One

My first day in Washington was pretty awesome. I really just loved taking in the city. As soon as I dropped my bags at the hotel I was off to explore. Day one was my first experience with the Metro. It went much better than I anticipated. So quick, cheap and easy to use. I was very impressed!

My first stop was the national mall. I really loved just wondering around there. So many different things going on in one area. There was a band playing jazz music that I listened to for awhile. People flying huge kites. A carousel that I of course took a ride on.

Once I got done there I went to the Smithsonian American History Museum! If you ever take your kids to D.C. this is the museum for them. Lots of cool entertainment exhibits. The original Kermit the frog and Oscar the grouch were a couple of my favs. They also had a very cool exhibit all about the history of the Star Spangled Banner.

By the time I got done there it was 4:00 and I was starving! I hadn't eaten since 5:00 A.M. when I had a bagel before I got on the plane. So since it seems you can buy a hot dog on every corner in D.C. that seemed like the best plan. So I got a hot dog and some water and found me a bench on the mall to eat and people watch. My great plan shockingly went down the gutter. I dropped my bottle of water so I sat my hot dog down on the bench to pick the water up. All of a sudden I hear a horrible squawking sound. Three pigeons were fighting over my $3.50 hot dog! It was gone in a blink of an eye. Pricey bird food in D.C.

After the pigeons stole my food I wandered on to the Smithsonian castle. BEAUTIFUL! If I lived in D.C. I think the gardens at the castle would be a wonderful place for a wedding. They were just very peaceful and meticulously landscaped. Very impressive. I spent a good hour there in the gardens just enjoying myself.

I decided that I probably ought to head back to my hotel. As I was walking back to the metro station I saw a man that had his penis sticking out of his pants. I hope he knows how crazy the pigeons are in D.C. I don't think I'd want to risk it! I also saw lots of community or "victory" gardens during my stroll that day. In fact they are all over the city. Pretty neat in my opinion.

So here are a few pics from day one!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Clickin Mama

Victory Gardens

I had never heard of Victory Gardens until recently. Actually my step mom Cricket mentioned them while we were in Texas. I knew they were popular during WW II but didn't know much else. Then when I was at school today I saw a flyer up that is for a workshop on creating a victory garden. So now my curiousity got the best of me and I had to do some googling.

It seems that while Victory Gardens were a hit in the past they are making a big come back. Revive The Victory Garden is a pretty informative site all about the history of the victory garden. It also provides a lot of information about how to create a Victory Garden and the benefits of it.

Basically the point of a victory garden is to produce the fruit, vegetables, and herbs that you and your neighbors consume. By doing this you reduce the cost of produce. You also reduce the environmental damage caused by hauling produce. There are other benefits like knowing how your food was produced and connecting with your neighbors, etc. But overall the victory garden is just another cool way to go green.

So I'm thinking I may have to try it out. The Hulk will be walking by the time summer comes around so we will be outside a lot anyway. We might as well grown our own food right.... Maybe we could get a couple of our neighbors to play along....