2020 Garden

This is more of a where we started post than anything. I can look back in a few years and see how much we've accomplished, hopefully! 

We moved from a zone 9 to a zone 6. That is a huge difference and I honestly feel like a completely new gardener. We also have very sandy soil. The soil is a dream to work and pull weeds but lacks nutrients our plants need. It also doesn't hold water and seeds float away.  It's not really soil - it's just dirt (well ... sand).

Our current garden consists of 7 raised beds along the fence in our backyard in town.  Our neighbors told us that they were filled with the dirt from our yard ... maybe that is why we have so many holes (kidding - kind of).  

We moved in the middle of summer and missed the window to plant a full garden. We did plant 2 zucchini plants mid July which gave us several zucchini before they met Jack Frost, several peas and green beans which didn't grow very tall but gave us a few peas and beans. Kale is still growing strong, and we have a broccoli and a brussel sprout plant that are slowly growing - not sure we'll get a harvest from either of those. Everything was planted from seed directly in the beds. 

I found bagged manure and compost on clearance at Walmart and got as much as I could fit in the basket (they were 25 cents)!  Then I convinced my hubby to go back and get another 10 bags.  We've added a bag of manure and 2 bags of compost to each bed. That was 2-3 inches on the top before we mixed it in.

We have mostly put the garden beds to bed for the winter by covering each bed with leaves we chopped up with the lawn mower. At our last house we did this with the garden boxes and it cut down so much on the weeds. Hopefully it will be the same here while also adding organic matter our soil desperately needs. 

There are 20 cloves of garlic planted in one bed, it is supposed to grow really well over the winter here.

That's it for our 2020 garden - not much but it's a start! 

Let there be storage!

We have a great garage - wider than the door on both sides which makes it perfect for built in storage. 

I didn't take before pictures, but all my teaching stuff was stacked in the corner - it was a mess! 

We moved the boxes, did a quick coat of paint and started building. 

The spot we build these shelves is between the 2 garages that are separated by a wall. The spot is just over 8 feet, so one 8 foot section fits just perfect here. 

It was a pretty quick build, probably could have gotten it done in a day even with 3 kids to take care of. But, we didn't go buy lumber until the afternoon. The most time consuming part was drilling pocket holes with the kreg jig for the support pieces.  It was a pain to get everything level, but that's a garage for you.  

We used this plan from Ana White.  Some small adjustments were to use 2x3s for the support pieces (they are cheaper) and we rotated the front boards to have less wasted space.  We added a shelf to the bottom and used a 2x6 for the center support.  We also made our unit a little taller to accommodate another shelf.   

All of my teaching stuff fits with lots of room to spare!  I didn't take a picture with all the boxes put away.  I'm taking a year off from teaching so no classroom to put all my stuff.  I have SO MANY books!  I feel like a picture would make is obvious that I have too much teaching stuff!

I even have room to put the kids clothes up on top that don't currently fit them.  

Eventually we will outfit our whole garage, but lumber prices are high and the budget is low.  

So much storage!!

Simple Ghost Garland

I found these super cute wood ghost "ornaments" at the dollar store and knew they would make a great wooden garland.

I love wood garlands but they are not cheap! This was only $3 - I bought 2 packs of ghosts and some jute to hang them on. 

My 3 year old and 6 year old love to paint but they are not great just yet.  I picked ghosts (there were witch hats, cats, and turkeys too) because they only need one color and could do a terrible job and it would still look good. In fact, I'll go as far as saying that the uneven paint adds some dimension. 

Super cute hanging in our window - but it is hard to see

I think it would look really cute with some black and orange chunky beads between each ghost ... maybe we'll add that next year. 

 

Shared Closet Makeover

We moved to a new state during a pandemic and we are so happy we did! 

The girls share a room and unfortunately our old closet system (Ikea dressers as built ins which I loved) wasn't going to work.  So, to the drawing board.

 

Pretty standard closet, but it is small - not a walk in and on the small side.  The bypass doors mean the dressers would not work because of the width (their old closet had no doors) and if we were to get smaller dressers there would be lots of wasted space.

Big sister side on the left and little sister is on the right.  

Please note these sisters are not this clean, I had just cleaned their closet.  

I decided to try a simple tower system and used this tutorial from Shanty to Chic with a slight modification.  The plans call for one tower at 42" but you can only get one tower from a sheet of plywood and there would be so much left over, so we decided to shorten the tower to 40" and get 2 towers from one sheet.  I also wanted to add a shelf, but I messed up and only added one extra shelf instead of 2 - oops!

We do not have a table saw, nor do we have room (in the budget or the garage) for one, the Kreg Jig rip cut has been amazing so far!  We bought it from Lowes and a super friendly employee brought it right out to me! 

Added the face frame and painted white.  We removed the baseboards for a more built in look (and let's be real so the kids can't shove stuff in the gap and get it stuck).

Added a rod between the towers and their hanging space almost doubled!  

We've I've been folding shirts since we moved and the 3 year old likes to pull them all out while getting dressed and "Can't fold them." so that was getting old. Which now that I am typing it doesn't even make sense because she literally wears her swimsuit every. single. day.  

I love that they can reach the rods to look at what they want to wear and help put away their clothes!

Big sister on the left and little sister on the right!  Much better use of space!  I have a few more small changes but I'm calling it a makeover! 

We had the rod, brackets, paint, primer, finishing nails and a few random screws - so this makeover only cost $55 for a sheet of plywood (man, plywood is expensive!).  

Big sister is growing out of her clothes - I need to get her a few more things.  And ... yes, that is a batgirl costume in her closet ... she loves to dress up!  If you have a great place to get good quality costumes (they get lots of abuse) for a great price please let me know!  

 Little sister has 2 different sized clothes in here because she is growing ... going to take out the 3T right now!

What do you think?  Tips for keeping your kids organized?

Earth Day Everyday

Everyday is Earth Day for Farmers and Ranchers.

Our lives depend on the land. 

We care for it so that it may care for us in an abundant and healthy harvest. 

We care for it because, for many, the land has been in the family for generations and to keep it for generations more requires care.

Here are a few recent examples of ways we care:

All four kill deer eggs hatched thanks to a cautionary flag added to the road to keep vehicles from driving over the nest.

This is the second of three owl boxes we have set up to help provide homes for Barn Owls. One box is fully occupied and we hope to have residents in the newest ones soon. 

We work with our farm consultants to utilize crop protection materials in a way that keeps these beneficial lady bugs thriving. 

We add wildflowers for bee and butterfly feed to promote healthy populations in both. 

None of these items is thanks to grant funding. We just strive to take care of our environment every day. The health of the land is vital to the health of our farm and family.

Everyday is Earth Day for Farmers.

Geese!

I'm very lucky to have a friend who happens to run North America's favorite duck and goose hatchery. Metzer Farms is family owned and operated here in California. They have a huge selection of ducks and geese. I have a tendency to get my wonderful mom live animals for her Mother's day gifts so I decided this year to get her.... GEESE! 

Geese are ordered online - or by texting your friend Marc - and then arrive in the mail the next day thanks to our friends at the US Postal Service. So these little stud muffins arrived on Thursday. 

Hello world!

There were a hit from the moment I opened the box. They are packed with some hay bedding, a gel nutrition thing and a heating pad. They arrived healthy and active. 

My kiddo enjoying one gosling on the grass.

The kiddo found them pretty entertaining right away. The biggest surprise to me has been how incredibly friendly they are. You can set them down and pick them back up - not like most chicks.

Preschoolers enjoying the geese

Since they were healthy and so darn friendly we took them on a field trip to preschool. The kids were, of course, thrilled to see geese. They all got to pet them and many held them. 

Introduction to water and salad greens

These are Sebastopol Geese which will grow up to be pure white and have beautiful curly feathers. I've always wanted one and now I kinda get one, just at my Mom's (the hubs is not a fan of Geese).

On Saturday we decided to let them experience the water. It was a big hit. Note that goslings shouldn't have too much time in the water until they are bigger and the start producing the oil that protects their feathers and keeps them warm (so says the internet anyway).

Swimming geese

So Sunday we got out the kiddie pool and let them do some more swimming. They don't swim for long but sure have a blast doing it. 

Geese are not wildly different than chicks to raise. They eat the same food for the most part but seem to need some added greens. They don't need to be as hot as chicks. But they do need a deeper waterer so that they can get their whole bill in the waterer. And that waterer gets crazy messy. 

Another cool benefit of geese (and ducks) is that (I'm guessing since they don't have to be as warm) you can order them in just pairs and have them shipped. So if you just want a pair of one particular breed, you can order them. 

These beauties will be heading to my Mom's house on Tuesday so we are enjoying a few more days of fun with them. 

So if you are ever in the market for ducks or geese check out Metzer Farms. They have a ton of great videos about raising them too. There may even be some added *cough* health benefits to eating duck eggs. But you have to watch the videos to learn more. :)

Plane friendly food to save money on vacation with kiddos!

The kiddo and I just returned from a wonderful trip! I had a conference to attend that was conveniently located just a block from Disneyland. This happened to be a VERY kid friendly conference so he got to join me. We then added a day to our trip and spent two days enjoying the magic of Disney.

Anyone who is traveling on a budget knows that food can be a huge expense. Eating out can eat into your budget and may leave you with limited choices . And when traveling with a growing 4 year old, you need to have lots of snacks on hand. A hungry kid is usually a grumpy kid. We take much of our own food when we are on road trips (I need to do a post about traveling with my crockpot) but air travel can be a bit more challenging. 

When traveling by air, you have limited refrigeration options and are limited in the sizes of liquids and gels that you can carry. I generally do not check bags when flying but if flying with my kiddo I've found it to be a necessity. It is less to deal with in the security line and it allows me to pack some liquids/gels in the checked bags. 

I'm very pleased to have spent a whopping $15 on food in the parks over the two days (on foods I was really wanting to try) thanks to bringing food with us. We only spent another $11 in hotel food. That $26 in food over 4 days was due to some serious planning and hauling food with us. I should also note that the event we attended had lots of appetizer type foods which helped too.

Here is a quick list of what we traveled with to give you some ideas. 

Carry on that needs some refrigeration:

• Cheese - frozen so it keeps longer
• Gogurts - frozen 
• Uncrustables sandwiches (or homemade) - I pack just enough for day 1 and 2. They get dried out if they are defrosted much longer than a day. 
• Lunchables packages (or homemade) - I like to take home made ones with salami for something the adults can enjoy. Just know that with lunchmeat you need to be sure it is kept cool.

Carry on needing no refrigeration:

• Crackers - I like the small tubes
• Crackers with cheese or peanut butter filling
• Peanut butter (the little to go packages) - we add these to crackers and oatmeal
• Tuna salad kits - just don't open this on the plane, please.
• Goldfish crackers
• Almonds for Mom
• Cheerios or other cereal boxes - I have a tough time finding the boxes in non-sugary options so we just take a container of Cheerios. 
• Oatmeal packages - I always keep these in my carry on. You can use the hot water from the coffee maker to make this in your room. 
• Mac and cheese packages - I prefer the kind in a bowl so you don't have to worry about dishes
• Hot chocolate mix - end of day treat you can make with a coffee makes to reward food kiddos
• Snack sized treats - I found Disney themed rice krispies so those were a daily treat
• Chips 
• Fruit snacks - also found Disney themed ones. These should really be called sugar snacks, so don't think these are a substitute for fruit. 
• Fresh fruit - pack this carefully. We have had luck with bananas and apples. Berries don't handle the transport well. You also may be limited with fresh fruit if you are traveling out of the state.
• Protein bars for Mom
• Microwaveable popcorn - a great late night snack to enjoy while watching fireworks from your room
• Utensils! You do not want to forget these! We didn't need plates or bowls on this trip which saved some space. 

Checked:

• Apple sauce squeeze packets
• Mixed fruit squeeze packets
• Mandarin orange cups
• Green beans - now can be found in individuals cups! Corn is an option too.
• Microwaveable pasta/ravioli - the kind that are microwaved in their own package
• Juice boxes - for a traveling kiddo these can be a great treat to keep them hydrated

So what kind of meals did we make with this?

• We had oatmeal each morning with peanut butter added. We make it in the disposable hotel cups so the kiddo can eat it to go if needed. 
• I'm not sure that we ever had a sit down lunch in the 4 days we were gone. We did uncrustables for day 1 and 2 and then just snacks the other days. Especially while in the park, I gave him snacks while we waited in lines and while waiting for shows/parades. We did enjoy an amazing corn dog in Disneyland and a meat stick too. We did not buy any food at all while in CA Adventure (mostly because it was raining). Not having a sit down lunch also frees up time in the park to go other things. 
• For dinner we had macaroni and green beans one night, ravioli and green beans another and got a personal pizza at the hotel for the third night. 

Macaroni and raviolis do require a microwave. So they may not work for you if your hotel won't have one. Even if the hotel does not advertise a microwave, you can often request one.  

This isn't the most healthy food ever, but is probably close to as healthy (or better) as most fast food options you would find. I push the fruits and veggies first and the other snacks later. 

Have you ever had luck hauling food with you on a plane? I would love to hear what you took or your suggestions on what else I can take!