The post in which I profess my love of Vinegar...

Here's how it happened. Traveler, my dear sweet goofy face making boy, will not let me put him down during the day. So, I wear him in a sling. And carry him on my hip. But my little stowaway makes cleaning the house a bit complicated.

My biggest concern was the fumes. Nearly every product I used caused these awful caustic fumes and I refused to use them with Trav (or the girls) around. And I wanted to buy Shaklee, but I am too stinking impatient to order something and wait to get it. So after a Twitter poll the other day my Twitter/Blog friend Mama Hall recommended Vinegar. Which immediately intrigued me. So I did some research and it turns out (though I may be the only person who didn't already know this) that Vinegar is a great cleaning product. And cheap.

The next thing I knew I was in the kitchen concocting cleaning solutions to use around the house. And after having used them for the last couple weeks I must say, they are AWESOME! And totally cute in their little mason jars and pretty spray bottles. Very charming. Maybe even a bit Little House on the Prairie.

So, I thought I'd share my recipes (I came up with these spending two days searching on the internet so I don't really have a source to credit. But, in the interest of full disclosure, just know they aren't my invention.) and you can use them or Google others or recommend some to me that you've used.

All Purpose Cleaner:

Spray Bottle
1 part Vinegar
1 part Water

This All-Purpose Cleaner is awesome. I used it to clean my counters and refrigerator one minute and then turned around and used it on Traveler's exersaucer the next. I didn't have to worry about any harmful residue or fumes. Later, I was able to spray it on the girls wet hair to help remove the chlorine residue from swimming before washing it. It's truly multipurpose!

Disinfectant:

Spray Bottle
1/2 C Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tea Tree Oil
1/4 C Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Seventh Generation Unscented detergent
10 drops Sweet Orange essential oil
fill remainder of bottle with water

Mix the ingredients together (don't forget Vinegar + Baking Soda makes fizzy foam so be careful when mixing!) and shake bottle well. Use anywhere you need to clean and disinfect. It works great at cleaning shower stalls and bathroom areas.

Abrasive Scrub:

Medium sized Mason Jar
1/4 Cup Baking Soda
Seventh Generation Unscented detergent

Put the Baking Soda in a bowl and add the detergent until the mixture has the consistency of cake frosting. Then put in a mason jar and seal. You can add a few drops of Olive Oil to keep the mixture moist. Use for cleaning the oven, bathtubs, or anywhere you need a scrub.

Swiffer Hack:

I added a mixture of 1/3 C Vinegar and 2/3 C Water (You can use 2/3 C Vinegar and 1/3 C Olive Oil for more of a polish) and a few drops of Sweet Orange essential oil to my Swiffer WetJet. Here's how.

Completely use up all of the Swiffer WetJet Cleaning solution. Make small hole in the top of the container. Using a very small funnel (or I use a turkey injector without the needle) add the solution to the bottle. Then apply a small piece of duct tape over the top to keep it sealed. That way you can keep the convenience of the WetJet but have a healthier & less expensive cleaning solution to use with it!

Thanks again to Mama Hall for opening my eyes to a new cleaning product! 

So there you have it! My new obsession. Got any recipes for cleaning products you've used in your house? Feel free to leave them or links to them in the comments!

My Mom Box

I have dreams of being one of those moms who is prepared for anything. The mom who carries in her diaper bag every item she needs for any situation in which her kids need her. Changes of clothes, diapers, wipes, food, drinks, medicine, emergency sewing kit, etc. You know the type. Heck, you may even be the type. If you've spent more than 2 minutes on this blog, though, you know I'm not that type. I just can't ever seem to get it together that way.

But, I'm trying.

One of the things I've decided to keep with me is a "Mom Box." My goal with this box is to have everything I need for every bump, bruise, teething pain, and episode of colic. And my goal is to do it as naturally as possible.

So, behold the box.


The contents are:

Triaminic Decongestant Spray (for runny noses)
Florastor (for diarrhea and stomach upset)
Band-aids (Because I need those for my kids daily)
Neosporin (see above)
Saline nose drops
Hyland's Bumps & Bruises Ointment

And then the homeopathic medicines from Hyland's:

Aconitum Napellus (colds & fevers)
Arnica Montana (bruising & muscle soreness)
Belladonna (fevers & inflammations)
Chamomilla (teething & irritability)
Ferrum Phosphoricum (fevers & inflammations)
Hepar Sulph. C. (cough & runny nose)

And let me say something about these Hyland's tablets if you're unfamiliar with them. (I swear this is not a sponsored post!) I have used the teething tablets with all my kids and they work miracles. Seriously.

So, I thought maybe their other remedies would work too. And they really, really do. Don't get me wrong. I haven't totally abandoned conventional medicine. But, if I can try a homeopathic remedy first I will. I just feel better about putting something a bit more natural in our bodies as a first choice.

These things are awesome. I've used them with all the kids for a variety of problems and I've had better success than with more traditional medicines in most cases. The Chamomilla soothes Trav better than Tylenol or Orajel ever has. The Aconite has relieved his colic & gas pains better than Mylicon has been able to. Plus, they can be used by grown-ups, too.

I am in love with this kit. And I love having just one little kit that gets me a step closer to being that mom who is prepared for everything and anything. Even if I do end up forgetting diapers & wipes nearly every time we leave the house.

So, what about you? What tricks do you have to help you stay prepared for the unexpected?

(Oh, and BTW, this Mom Box is in the $1.96 pencil box I bought at Wal-mart. Think it was worth all the trouble?)

It's like Green Acres without the sparkly Gabor sister

Did I mention we hatched a bunch of baby chicks last week? Oh, we did. And they are too cute. Though not cute enough for me to consider keeping them. But, cute nonetheless.

Last week we got home from a birthday party and Thomas went out to collect eggs and ta-da! 12 baby chicks were staring at him from the nesting box. We lost one to an unfortunate water bowl drowning incident but the rest are residing comfortably in their brooder our dining room. (No, I'm not kidding.)

Did you ever know someone who had chickens in their dining room? Well, you do now...

Spring Fever

The recent warm spell here in Georgia has brought out the Spring fever in our house. Couple that with the euphoria that comes from the massive boost in egg production from our chickens and we've caught the self-sustaining bug again. And that means it's time to get our garden started.

Despite our currently blissful weather pattern, this is Georgia we're talking about and we've been known to get a random snow in February and we can't quite risk getting the garden into the ground quite yet.

(image from www.burpee.com)

So, this weekend we picked up one of the Ultimate Growing Systems and a plant growing light bulb from Home Depot and we're getting our garden started in the basement so we can plant it outside once the weather becomes a bit more predictable.

We've got room in this kit to get 72 plants growing and since it magically self-waters the plants all we have to do is make sure they get the right amount of light and when our official spring season arrives we'll have our garden on the right track.

So far, here's a list of our 2009 garden plans. We'll be growing:

*Radishes
*Garlic
*Corn
*Onions
*Tomatoes
*Carrots
*Green Beans
*Zucchini
*Peas
*Banana Peppers
*Spinach
*Bell Peppers
*Lettuce
*Squash

To find out what other projects moms across the blogosphere are tackling this week, head over to 5 Minutes for Mom's Tackle it Tuesday!

Now that's what I'm talking about...

See that beautiful shining bowl of brown egg goodness above? That is why we decided to get chickens for our backyard. And, they taste even better than they look in the picture with their shimmering shiny halo of angelic eggliness. (I have no idea what eggliness is supposed to mean. I like the way it sounds. Just go with me on it.)

After months of our hens not laying eggs and mooching off us, Thomas went out to check the coop on New Year's Day and found 14 beautiful brown eggs waiting for him. We had 2 more by the end of the afternoon. They've been laying eggs regularly ever since! I am fully convinced it is a sign that 2009 is going to be a wonderful and prosperous year.

And it is entirely possible that it is pure coincidence that all this has started as McLovin the rooster has just begun to crow, but I'm gonna give him just a little bit of credit for finally getting these ladies in order. Egg production should go up even more in the Spring and I can't wait to get a chance to hatch a few baby chicks when the weather gets warmer.

'Cause that's just what I need, of course. 2 preschoolers, a newborn, a puppy, 8 hens, a rooster and a half dozen needy baby chicks!

Sssshhhh...Don't tell our neighbors

We just got 4 new hens and a beautiful red rooster. I think chickens may very well be addictive.

Gone, Baby, Gone

Okay, I swear the Loving family is not as granola and green as we might sound. Not that there is anything wrong with being granola or green, but I just don't want to sound like I think I'm doing anything huge for the environment when, in fact, I don't deserve that much credit.

Anyways, that said, we made the decision to ditch my favorite kitchen appliance this weekend. It's taken me a few months to finally do it and I'm a little scared to see whether we can make it without it. But, folks, we did it. We axed the microwave.

To be honest, it always kind of creeped me out. My relationship with the microwave was always love/hate. I love the convenience. I hate the idea that I am doing some horrible damage to my family's health by microwaving every thing they eat.

And, in the end, it was some ridiculously funky smell inside that finally pushed me over the edge. I suspect I microwaved one too many bowls of spaghetti-o's and that's what accounts for the smell. Though, with my kids, there could be a million reasons for a mysterious smell to appear in my microwave.

Either way, it's gone. Well, gone to the basement (just in case I change my mind). And other than a meat thawing conundrum we had this weekend, we haven't missed it all that much.

Did you know you can heat spaghetti-o's on the stove? Amazing!

So, how about you guys? Anyone get rid of a modern household convenience that they discovered they didn't need so much after all?

A Farmer I Am Not

Seriously, what was I thinking with these chickens? Would anyone care to enlighten me?

'Cause these stinkin' birds are driving me out of my ever-loving mind.

We've had a problem with the birds lately. They do not want to stay put in the coop/pen. At first we thought there was a predator of some sort getting in and munching on our fine feathered ladies. But, after today I'm not so sure.

It started when Kai declared forlornly that there were only 3 chickens in the pen this morning. (Yesterday there were 4.) I went out and surveyed the scene of the crime and determined that there was no wandering fowl in the yard so something mysterious must have happened again. Because I had about a million things going on and didn't feel like playing "Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Vanishing Red Hen" I decided to leave it to Thomas to deal with.

But, the chicken had other plans. 'Cause yesterday when I got home I heard a distinctive "squawk, squawk bagawk" in the carport. And, lo' and behold, when I looked into the side yard I did see our most recent escapee. And, it was at that moment that I knew it was going to be a bad day. Because, people, have you ever actually tried to catch a chicken? No? Yeah, well, it is not as easy as it sounds.

See, you think to yourself, "These are chickens. They are small and not so smart. And, really, how fast could they be, right?" But, friends, you would be underestimating the speed of such a small bird. Because these chicks can freaking run like the wind.

And that is how I ended up spending my afternoon running through the yard chasing a chicken while simultaneously yelling at begging my children to "getbackinthehousethisveryminute."

There was a moment after the full on belly flop to the ground in an attempt to catch the bird but before climbing into my neighbor's hedge to chase the hen back onto our own property that I realized just how ridiculous I looked. And, then I did the most un-farmerly thing possible.

I reached into my back pocket to get my Blackberry and Googled "how to catch a chicken." Oh yes, I did.

But, alas, the always helpful WikiHow failed me mightily and I was unable to catch that incredibly fast and wiley hen. It had great advice for how to catch a chicken, but that was assuming you actually got to catch up with the chicken.

Later, my husband did come home and save the day by chasing her out of our neighbor's yard and into her rightful home (while clad in his suit pants and dress shirt of course). And it made me wonder if our neighbors just sit around and watch us humiliate ourselves in the yard all day. They probably don't even need cable.

Planning and Planting for Fall

Our summer garden is nearly tapped out. We've had an amazing bounty of tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, & peppers. But, our harvesting is slowing down and it's about time for us to put our Winter Garden in the ground. We started the seedlings several weeks ago and they're off to a great start.

We're pretty lucky that Georgia weather allows us to grow things well into fall/winter. Our winter garden includes: lettuce, radishes, green beans, peas, carrots, cucumbers, squash, onions, and, of course, pumpkins. The girls are so excited to grow their own Halloween pumpkins and I can't wait to see how big they get!

One of the things I've got to learn is how to can if we're going to keep growing our own food, 'cause our tomato crop was out of control and we ended up with tomatoes everywhere!

Though I can't can (yet) we did learn about freezing tomatoes (and other veggies). It's an easy and fast way to preserve tomatoes for later use in sauces and soups. These tips work for freezing a variety of veggies, though you'll probably forgo the whole skinning and squeezing seeds out for most.

1. Boil a pot of water and drop your firm red tomatoes in (they can't be too soft) for a 2-3 minutes.

2. Transfer them quickly to an ice bath and peel off the skin.

3. Cut them in halves or quarters and squeeze out excess water and seeds. (Don't worry about getting all the seeds. Just try and get as much done as possible.)

4. Place them in ziplock bag and squeeze out excess air.

5. Stick them in the freezer for quick and easy sauce!

Thomas had read something about sucking the air out of the bag through a straw to make sure you don't get freezer burn and gave it a try when freezing our first batch. He wants me to let you know that you should NEVER do that unless you feel like passing out from hyperventilating disgusting tomato air. Instead, you might opt for one of those Reynold's Handi-Vac systems from the grocery. They're cheap, easy to use and get rid of any air in the bag that could cause problems in your freezing.

So, we've now got a whole freezer of good veggies for winter and a winter garden ready to plant! Our eggs should be coming along soon or else we'll be eating some really lazy chickens (totally kidding - can you see me killing and plucking pet chickens? Not that hardcore yet!)

I'll be sure and post more when our winter garden gets productive!

Coop! There it is!

Not much has been happening on the chicken project since I last posted. They've been growing, but that's about it.

But, a couple weeks ago our good friend David (who, incidentally, has a totally awesome wife who reads this blog and should really start blogging, too. **Hint, Hint**) came over to build our chicken coop with Thomas so we could get the now grown chickens out of our basement.

And, TA-DA! Here it is. Isn't it nice? The whole project took about 6 hours and $130 to complete. Which isn't bad when you compare that to the cost of the ones on My Pet Chicken. The coop is built around a chicken nesting box my mom found for us for only $30. The back is on hinges and comes off so we can collect the eggs from the back of the coop.

The chickens love it and I can't wait until I get to go out and collect eggs from the backyard!

Here's another pic of our little agricultural project. We've got the garden and the chickens and, well, I suppose that's it for now. Until I convince Tal to let me get a goat! (preeeetttty pleassseee, honey?)

Not that size matters...

Check out my zucchini. Can you believe this? And I'm proud to say this zucchini was grown in my very own backyard. I'm gonna make some fierce zucchini bread with this. Lots of it.

Anyone want some?

One Car Wonder: Day One

Okay, so today was the first work day we spent with one car. It's a big change since Tal and I have always had our own cars. But, I'm thinking it's a good change. And here's why:

1. Thomas got to go with me to drop the girls off at preschool. They LOVED that the whole family took them to school.

2. I got my lazy-in-the-morning behind out of bed and dressed EARLY to take Thomas to Marta and it made my day super productive.

3. Thomas was able to get to work on time with a minimal amount of frustration and sweat (from the 1/2 mile walk to Coca-Cola).

4. Thomas is guaranteed to get more exercise this way and he's pretty excited about that.

5. We'll save over $100 this week in gas we'd ordinarily be putting in the Xterra for one week's worth of commuting. That's the best part of all!

I'm sure it isn't going to be easy all the time, but this first day was alot less traumatic than I thought it was going to be. And, I'm excited to see what other hidden benefits we find from being a one-car wonder...

A greener solution (and not just in the way you might think)

Okay, so as we evaluated our automobile options we just couldn't find one we fell in love with. And, we just didn't feel like making a fast decision on a car we only felt lukewarm about.

So, we're proposing a trial for the next few weeks. Our plan is to try the one car family life for a couple weeks and see how it works out. People do it. Alot. And now, we're gonna give it a shot.

Thankfully, Thomas can take MARTA to work without too much inconvenience. And, since I stay home with the girls, it's not gonna kill me to drive him to the train station in the mornings. In fact, there's a bus just down the road that he can take to the station if he's so inclined. And, since he got an iPod Touch for Father's Day, I'm betting he might be a bit more inclined to do so.

I've also promised that we could get him a new kick-a** Alienware computer (for increased productivity at work, of course) if he decides this is something he can live with long-term. It's definitely much cheaper than a car.

For now, I'm excited about being a bit greener, both environmentally and in the bank. I mean, without a car payment, car insurance, and the huge gas bills from Thomas' commute we'll be saving the earth and our hard-earned cash. It sounds like a win-win to me.

And, I'll be blogging about the highs and lows of the one car life for the next couple weeks for those of you who might be interested how this works out. We'll see if the green life is indeed for me...

Soapnuts

We try to buy organic as much as possible and one thing we've never been able to find is a natural organic laundry detergent that is cheap and effective. I happened to be blog hopping the other day and came across this site that featured an interesting sounding product. Soapnuts are dried fruits from the Sapindus Mukorossi tree in India, Indonesia, and Nepal. They are naturally and organically grown and function as a natural detergent.

In fact, you can boil the "nuts" (which are actually dried fruits) down and use the Soapnut Soak to make kitchen, bathroom & window cleaner, jewelry cleaner, shampoo, pest repellent, and produce wash! You can actually add essential oils to the soak or laundry bag to give them a nice custom scent that is still gentle and non-abrasive.

I just got my SoapNuts in the mail from Laundry Tree and I am so excited about them! After coming across their site I checked around and found that they had the best prices I could find. I am going to be trying them out tonight and I'll post a follow-up to let you know how they work. From what I hear, though, they are going to be great!

Anyone else ever try these?

Green Acres is THE place to be...

Okay, so I'm a far cry from Eva Gabor but I do feel a bit like I've stepped into the Green Acres life. It's just this organic eco-friendly self-sustained living is so stinkin' addictive!

This weekend we planted our garden. Soon we'll have tomatoes, green and yellow peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, radishes, onions, lettuce, and a variety of tasty herbs. If all goes well, we may even have corn one day.


Then we did the craziest thing ever. We added some sweet little chickies to the family. After much searching, we finally found some Rhode Island Reds.



Turns out these popular egg laying fiends are sold out for at least the next two months at nearly every hatchery in the country. But, we found an awesome local man who has dozens available. He's selling them out nearly as soon as they hatch, but he has a pretty steady supply. If you're in the area and interested in his info drop me an email and I'll get you the hook-up.

We ended up buying 5 from him just to get us started and we'll see how it goes. We are also planning on adding a couple Silkie Bantams to our coop once we get it up and going. They lay small eggs, but they are sweet chickens and really pretty, too.

Since Rhode Island Reds can lay as many as one a day we could conceivably have around 25-30 eggs a week from these hens. We've already have a few people tell us they want to buy our eggs when our hens start laying so I think I'll let the girls have this as their first little "business." They can sell the eggs and keep the proceeds in exchange for their egg collecting services. I love the idea of them learning about chores and reaping the benefits of making a time investment in something. I don't think it's ever too early to teach that.