As the summer gardening comes to an end, and I harvest all of the potatoes, I find myself eager to plant more for this fall and winter. So much so that I purchased a greenhouse tunnel to try out this fall and winter! Yes, I will be attempting to garden year round starting now. So, fingers crossed on that; I will update accordingly. Anyway, back to the potatoes. If you haven't grown potatoes, I've said it before, and I'll say it again... they are SO easy, and you should definitely give them a try. They require so little, and the harvest is tremendous! I planted seed potatoes in about 75% of one garden bed, and I was able to cook us six or seven meals with them, make a big batch of vegetable soup to freeze and make a small batch of cheesy potato soup (recipe coming soon) to freeze for later this year. Knowing that I have homemade soups made with my potatoes (and tomatoes) ready to go in my freezer is very comforting with the fall just around the corner. I know that some nights are going to be running late in the near future with soccer practices in the evenings (and tennis a little later this year). It will be nice to let the soup thaw and cook while I'm out with the boys and to come home to dinner being ready for us.
Homemade Laundry Detergent
I find this blend to do just fine with cleaning our clothes. I actually prefer the powder over the liquid now. However, I would like to experiment a little more and see if there is a better way to add more of a scent to our clothes. Obviously, I'm trying to stay away from unnatural fragrances; so we will see how that goes. I will update on here if I find anything new. For now, this is what we are using:
1/2 cup Epsom salt
1 1/2 cup baking soda
1 1/2 cup washing soda
1/4 cup sea salt
10-25 drops essential oils
My oldest son, Bennett, was able to participate in a summer camp this year for the first time. He had an absolute blast. His brothers, however, didn't know what to do without him, and I tried my hardest to entertain them with all the fun things. We packed a snackle box lunch and went to the park, we played in the yard, we went to eat ice cream in town, and we even drove to a splash pad only to find out that it was broken that day... It's okay though. We had fun for three days straight, and every afternoon when we picked up Bennett, we also picked up their cousin who was at camp with him. So we just had a big, fun time at home with every body. Boys may be messy and gross most of the time, but I have to say, they are pretty fun to have around the house.
Our boys really enjoy the outdoors, which is why it's so nice to be able to take them to the mountains on occasion. We went to Ellijay for the 4th of July, and the boys had a blast (like always) swimming, riding around, finding the deer, digging in the dirt and fishing with their dad. I'm thankful for the memories we are able to create with our small space in the mountains.
When we are at home, I try my best to make each day a little exciting. Some times that is as simple as having breakfast for dinner (my go to is protein pancakes). That always excites the kids. Other days, when I actually have some time on my hands, we adventure into our woods, and the boys make a video of their own. If it's a rainy day or simply too hot to play outside, I try to set aside time for them to get messy indoors with either a little freestyle arts and crafts or a make your own pizza station for dinner. I usually set up by taping down wax paper for arts and crafts or tin foil for pizza making. The easiest part is being able to take the tin foil with the pizza on it and stick it straight in the oven when ready. So simple and hardly no clean up!
I know that this isn't everyone's cup of tea. but I hope this gives you a few ideas to get a little messy with your kids. Yes, it can get sweaty, and there can be a BIG mess to have to clean some times, but what I find to be true almost all of the time is it's worth it.
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