"Oh Jonah!"

The annual church play was this past Wednesday, and the kids (ages 5 to 11) treated us to a great rendition of the story of Jonah. 

Here is my angel.....

 

....and my fighting ninevite (doesn't he look fierce??)

A lot of lessons were taught my this hard working group of kids.  I have many days where I am both angel....and ninevite.  Some days I'm more of one than the other!  Aren't we all?  At least we have tomorrow and the promise of trying again each day, and knowing that we are all loved!

Have a great weekend!




**I also learned that I have so much to learn with this new camera! It was fun to be able to take pictures from the back of the room and get so close, but the quality leaves a lot to be desired.**

Building your toolbox, part 2

If you decide to build your tool box piece by piece, here is a list to get you started, and an idea of the projects you can use them for.  At the end of the post, I've included links from Amazon with pictures and prices: you will see that nothing is over $11.00, so this is something you can add to your household without going into debt!

As far as shopping and brands, I do most of my shopping at Sears and Lowe's, and have also picked things up and Target and Walmart.  Stanley and Craftsman and Black and Decker brands in my toolbox, and tools that I have used for years.

Here is your "build your toolbox" list:

Screwdrivers, both flat head and phillips;  great for tightening up loose doorknobs and many other random projects you will have with a new house. Hammer:  for hanging picture frames

Rubber mallet: This is a tool that is completely overlooked!  Any time you need to bang on something to get it to move (a stubborn bookshelf that won't go in), a rubber mallet will help without damaging wood or other materials

Metal Tape measure: Good for hanging pictures, getting measurements for bookcases or rugs or even, as I used many times, measuring pants legs for boys jeans.   My favorite is the mini one that hangs from my key chain, but a longer one for home use is ideal. 

Adjustable wrench: for tightening loose connections in the bathroom at toilets, sinks etc.

Flat nose pliers: Great for pulling out staples and small nails

Box Cutter: A razor-blade with a handle, great for opening boxes and easier than using a kitchen knife.  

On having "only" one child

Sometimes you have posts and thoughts in your head.  And then you read another blog that has said it, said it all, and has said it so much better than you ever could.  This was my experience this morning on reading Rants from Mommyland
. On having an "only" child. I've said for years I was in search of a word in place of the phrase "only child" as it signifies less than, wanting more, not enough. And my "only" child is none of those. He is all, everything, complete. Enjoy a great read!

Your first tool box: First in a series of "What tools should I own?"

I believe that everyone needs a tool box of their very own.  When someone is graduating from high school or college and heading to that first apartment is a great time to think of tools as a unique and useful gift!   The problem is: where do you start?  

My husband bought me my first actual tool box early on in our marriage.  See, this man knows.  He is not handy, and I am, and he just went with it and got me a tool box.  It was a basic plastic box with compartments and lots of trays and space.  The only problem was when it was full, it was heavy.  I can't lift it full. 

So for the start post of "where to begin", here are my suggestions: This is a set from Stanley that has the basic tools for the first time homeowner.  All are included in this hard case, and each tool has it's own spot in the case for easy organization.  This is a great deal at $39.95 and takes the guesswork out of picking out each tool separately! 

Of course you can pick and choose which tools to start with, and I'll go into that more later this week.  

This is on my wish list: a lighter, easier to carry tool "bag", also from Stanley.  For only $15.32, it's a great deal and a good place to start! 

And if you want to add a little whimsy to your gift or starter kit for yourself, you can always go pink:

Maybe starting out with pink tools won't be so intimidating, right?  

Coming up in this series:  Specific tools I use on a regular basis; where I buy my tools; what brand names I've had good experience with; how to store your growing collection; shopping on Craigslist, and tools I still am drooling over.  Then we have the whole outside tool collection to ponder after that!


** FULL DISCLOSURE: A Mom with Nails is an affiliate with Amazon.  If you follow the links provided and make a purched of a product mentioned in my post, I will receive a small commission based on the agreement between Amazon and this blog. 

Scenes from the yard

I love spring in Virginia: you just never know what you're in for as we are have record low temperatures right now compared to the 90's a few days ago.  But...it always has color and blooms and so much to do. 

My spring fun is coming right along.  My containers are starting to fill in and I love the waterfall effect of trailing plants.

My hydrangea is really thriving, and the blooms are amazing and literally larger than my hand.  I've been tracking the sun and shade areas of the yard for the past week, and hope to finally decide on a permanent home for it soon.  But for now, it's happy in its pot, and with the cold temperatures overnight, I'm glad to be able to pull it back on the porch if I need to!

 

My pot of portulaca is really colorful.  Succulents are all the "new rage" right now, but this plant has been around and in my garden for decades.  It tolerates sun, low moisture, and it really hardy.  As you can see it also provides so much color!  It will fill in and be pretty all summer.

 

Groundcovers are another area I'm really working on this year.  I'm trying some new plants from  Stepables and Jeepers Creepers that I bought locally.  Both of these vendors offer groundcovers that are able to tolerate different amounts of foot traffic (great for a yard that is also a baseball field). 

The variety available was overwhelming!  I picked a bunch that offered many different colors, blooms, textures and levels of foot traffic tolerated.  I need to get to clearing our slope to get these into the ground.  Last year I tried a few, but we ended up digging that area up to put in a path, and it didn't survive the moving.  I hope I have better luck this year....I'll keep you posted!

 

The rest of the garden is flourishing with the perfect combination of rain and sun we've had this week (and surviving the chilliness right now!).

 

It is supposed to be a great weekend, and three days outside calls my name! Happy Memorial Day everyone. Blessings and our gratitude to those in service to our country and the families of those that have given their lives for our freedom.  

My boy's lesson to his mom

We call him "the boy"....it's not an odd little blog thing that I named him, but it really is how we refer to him a lot of times; "Do you have the boy?"  "What is the boy doing?"  and so forth.  So, here is my lesson from the boy. 

Last night was baseball (SHOCK!).  This is his first year in a new league, and he's the youngest of the age level that goes from 9-12.  He's always been tall for his age, but seeing him next to some of these 12 year olds makes him look like a midget!  Those kids are huge!  It's been a huge learning curve for him but a great experience: he's come a long way.

Now to last night.  It was a very tight game: we were ahead, they creeped up, we fought back and so forth.  It came to the bottom of the 5th and the catcher got hit by a ball for the second time: he was out.  The 2nd catcher had already pitched his max, and that means you can't catch either that game (protecting young arms).  The 3rd catcher was pitching at the time and couldn't switch.  The next up was the youngest player on the team, who is about 1/2 the size of the guy up to bat.  He just shook his head "no" to the coach.  Next up was an experienced outfielder, but due to equipment issues he couldn't catch.  The coach was just standing there scratching his head.  I was keeping score, and just whispered quietly and anxiously...."carter has caught before" as I simultaneously wondered what the heck I was doing at the same time.  He has caught, a lot, but in younger leagues where the kids are his size and the pitches come in 1/2 as fast. 

Coach looked at him and said "Carter: suit up."  And without hesitation, he did.  The umpire gave him two,  two whole pitches to warm up.  It was all I could do to beg for more, but I contained myself and behaved.   Pitch #1 was a hit and an out, and we were out of the inning. 

Bottom of the sixth and he was back in.  The pitches were hard and the kids large, but he didn't seem to mind.  He caught some hard throws and missed some.  The game ended on a passed ball where the biggest and best player from the other team was able to steal third for the winning run.  They had lost.

But you know what he did?  He got in line, congratulated the other team with a smile on his face and head held high.  He got a lot of compliments from other players and coaches who knew him and knew he had stepped up and gutted through it. 

He lost the game, and I have never been prouder. 

Lessons?  Get in the game, gear up, do what you need to do, work hard, and when you've done the best you can do, smile and shake hands with your opponent. 

This mom listened.

Thanks boy.



** My heart is so heavy reading the news out of Oklahoma.  My prayers are with those families suffering loss of loved ones, especially the littlest of those.**

Blinded

Blinded by the cost, that is.  We moved into this house almost nine years ago, and every window had blinds on it....cheap single-cell blinds.  They are really horrible, but they provided privacy and some light filtering, so they stayed.  I finally updated the family room blinds to woods slats, but that took me forever to make a choice between white and brown.  I finally decided on brown, and while I love the look, I hate the dust! 

Then I moved onto the other windows in the house.  I've shopped and shopped, and was always just blinded by the cost of good quality shades.  I would measure and price, and then just get stuck with all the choices and the price per window: it was overwhelming.

Recently I realized it's time to man up and cover these windows!  Next to go were the dining room shades.  We don't really use that room very often (except as a Lego construction site), and since there are only two skinny windows in there, I was willing to use it as a guinea pig to try out some blinds. 

I settled on a double-cell honeycomb shade from Blinds.com in the end and chose their store brand shade seen here.  I also upgraded to the cordless option.  They only took 8 days to arrive, were easy to install, and I've been very happy with them!   I didn't take pictures as it really wouldn't show the difference, but in person, it looks so much better.  And the cordless option: priceless.  Installation was easy: I was able to use a hole left by the old shades and just drill in the new brackets, snap in and they were up and in use in a matter of minutes.

Today I ordered rooms #2 and #3.  For Carter's room, I chose the same blind, but he picked his own color: chocolate brown.  OK: not what I would have picked, but I wanted him to have a choice (it is his room) and it was a neutral.  If it goes the way of his other choices, I'll probably wish I had picked this for the other rooms!  And because his cheap slat-type blinds have taken a beating, it will really show a huge difference from inside and out!

 For our spare room/office, I went with a "sand" color (a little darker that off-white).  These two rooms are both on the front of the house and very visible, but the backs will all be the same white, so from the street it will look seamless. 

I googled for some additional coupons, and had luck with one from this site: DealLocker.  I had to try a few as they are product specific, but finally found one that gave me $20 off my order in addition to the sale Blinds.com was offering. 

I've used Blinds.com and American Blinds many times before (old house) with great luck.  Measure, measure and re-measure your inside measurements, but no far (knock on wood!) I've never had an issue.  Blinds.com also offers a free video on how to measure for their products which is really helpful. 

Eight days from now (ok, maybe nine with install)  I'll have two more rooms with new blinds!  After that, it's only 2 bedrooms and the living room to go. 

Sometimes house projects that need to get done aren't the most fun, but it feels good to cross them off the list.

Make a two-tied planter

This is a loser-winner type of post!  First, the loser: the planter I shared yesterday...boy was the scale off!  I have no eye for scale!  Once I got it planted and in place, I realized that it was really too small for that spot. 

 I dug in the garage for this old plastic planter, and checked out the scale of it to the smaller one, and thought it would work better.  It was a little beat up, but a little spray paint fixed it up and it will look fine. 

I've been admiring larger tiered planters, and had an idea to join these two together, so I did just that.   I collected some scraps of wood (where it helps to be a hoarder!) and went to work

 I took a few pieces of 1x2's and attached a piece of 1inch pine on top;  the pine is cut to the exact shape of the bottom of the ceramic planter.  When the planter sits on it, the lip of the planter fits over it and keeps it in place.

 I dug out a little of the dirt, and stuck the wood form down in there until it fit snug in the soil.

 

 The I plopped the one planter on top of the other, and had a two tiered planter.

I'm happy with how it looks!  I want to find a few trailing plants for the top and bottom to add with the vinca and coleus.  I can't wait to see how it looks as it fills in!

I did use regular lumber, not treated, so this is not a long-term solution.  This was a five-minute fix for a quick pot, and since I like the way it turned out, I will replace it will pressure treated lumber in the near future.  I'll see how long the regular wood holds out with soil and water!

. 

Outdoor Pots: Adding drainage holes to a ceramic pot

I found this beautiful white ceramic pot at HomeGoods last week, but once I got it home, I realized that it didn't have any drainage holes in it. That is a big "no-no" for outdoor pots! I can't believe I didn't check in the store, but I was so excited with it I didn't think to check.  My next issue is a pet-peeve/personal one: I HATE to return things.  I'd rather donate it or share it or make it work, and in this case, I decided to do some research to make it work.

I though about drilling holes in the pot, but wondered what would happen if I tried to drill into ceramic.  Would it shatter? Crack?  

I did some research and found there is a special drill bit for drilling in this situation: It's a glass/ceramic drill bit.  I picked up mine from Lowe's, and it's a Kobalt brand bit.  It looks really different from any other bits I've used, so I was curious how it would work.

I also read a tip that to keep the bit from slipping on the ceramic when you first start to drill, place painter's tape on the spot and then start slowly. 

I did just that, and soon had my first hole in my pot!  It was very quick, even though I tried to drill very lightly and not put too much pressure into the bit.  But once I got going, I found that I could really push through and had no issues with cracking or breaking.

This size is the largest bit I could get, and one hole is not enough drainage for this size pot, so I added four more to get the job done.

And done it is!  I have a new pot by the front door and filled with shade annuals, coleus and some pink vinca.   Since the pot is not really meant for outdoors use, having it under the porch and out of the elements (rain, wind and baseballs) seemed to be a good idea. 

I'm loving the way my little container garden is growing!

Mother's Day: My love/like relationship with it

 

It's easy to see why I love Mother's Day, right?  We laughed so hard trying to get a decent picture of me; he takes a good one each time, but I either squint or don't laugh (seriously, you can see the outtakes at the end...).  He had me giggling. 

 

So what about the like (hate is a stronger word) relationship I have with Mother's Day?   I'll try to explain.

 

One day, years ago, I was doing some retail therapy in the local mall, and ended up with (shock!) a pair of shoes.  It was all going no nicely with a good salesman until he rang up the purchase, and put the shoes and box in the bag.  Then he said "Well, have a nice Mother's Day!" 

 

Let me tell you: He almost got those shoes, box, bag and all upside his head.  He was lucky that day that I kept my hormones in check.   See, to wish a "Happy Mother's Day" to a random person on the street is like asking a slightly overweight person when they're due.  It doesn't turn out well. 

 

Around the time he wish me a "Happy" mother's day, I was many years into our struggle with infertility.  We had been through failed months of treatments, drugs, injections, pain and rejection and disappointment.  The pain of a weekend full of homage to the goal of motherhood was one I was just avoiding at all costs, or so I thought.

 

So these days, I hesitate to wish someone a HMD randomly.  What is they are like me, and in a world of pain and hurt of failed attempts?  What is they have recently experience yet another miscarriage?  What if  their mom is deceased?  What if they have lost a child? 

 

So I wish them a nice afternoon like I do every day.  I wonder what their story is.  I pray for any pain they may have experience related to Mother's day.  I wonder if they have had to keep a good face on at church, at lunch with friends with children, only to sob quietly in the bathroom.  I pray for all the moms and women desperately wanting to be moms.

 

I wish you a lovely day full of peace and beautiful spring weather (like we had!). 

 

And if you need a laugh, I will, against my better judgement, share our outtakes.  You can see, honestly, who is the photogenic person in the family!

eyes are open...freaky

 

oops....lost the boy

 

the smile and the wink...ugh

 

 

 more like reality!

Fresh Market fresh fried chicken: it's what's for dinner

First of all, this is not a sponsored post; Fresh Market does not know me (I wish: Hello Fresh Market!); and I have never actually tried their fried chicken.  This isn't really a post about chicken or grocery stores really.  It's about being a mom.

We had Fresh Market friend chicken for dinner, salad from the salad bar, and watermelon cut up and containerized for me.  I did make the potato salad.  I walked in, shopped for 10 minutes, walked out and had dinner "made".  

We grew up in the country in the eastern part of Virginia, right along the Chesapeake Bay.  The nearest cities (ie places where you could actually shop) were at least 45 minutes away.  We usually ended up in Richmond, which was 1.5 hours away.  Until a hospital was built there in the late 70's, babies were born in local doctors' offices; serious medical cases were rushed by ambulance to the Richmond hospitals (1.5 hours by car, 45 minutes by ambulance I hear if needed).  We were....rural.

Dinner came from the garden: tomatoes, corn, potatoes, green beans, peas and more; fresh fish and crabs from the dock.  Cakes were made from scratch, as well as anything else we ate in the house in my memory.  Box mixes? Don't think so.  Fresh rolls were made each Sunday morning in the house next to us where two sisters lived; I have NO idea how early they awoke before church to get them going.   Things were made fresh each day, and dinners were eaten around the table at 5:00 sharp, and you knew to be there on time, whether you were .  There was no running around for practices and busy schedules in our house.

The same neighbors that made the rolls (a widow and her sister) also made everything from scratch, sadly without the first recipe.  Their fried chicken was awesome.  Their greens? Well, I avoided the house on greens-cooking days.  You knew....you could smell it a mile away.

But back to the chicken.  I have tried many times, but fried chicken just doesn't work for me.  Which takes us back to Fresh Market: I know, you thought I'd never get to the point, right?  Driving by yesterday, the sign just lured me in: Fresh Fried Chicken: baked fresh every day.  Oh yeah, I was sold.

So did I feel guilty feeding my family this way? Nope, it was a good meal, we sat at the table and had good family time. 

I've been hearing a lot lately about "Pinterest Stress" for moms.  You log in and see all the amazing meals, crafts, homemade gifts and tags, freshly canned jams and so on, and it all looks: perfect. 

But let's face it: It's not.  No one is.  As moms, let's take a little break from the online un-reality and the expectations it places on us. 

Are your children fed, healthy and laughing?  Great.  Good job mom.

Celebrate what you do right.  Let go of the other. 

Happy Mother's Day all.  You're doing a great job.

My newest acquisition: A shiny new lawnmower!

Oh yeah....this girl knows how to shop! Aren't you jealous?

To prove that I don't sit home eating bon-bons all day long, I wanted to share my newest purchase. And no, my husband is not a horrible person that won't cut the grass. I offered. He works long days, and the grass is working long days and getting to be a hayfield. We live on a steep lot, and I casually said that if he bought me a self-propelled mower, I would cut the grass. Then yesterday our 15 year old push mower died: it was a sign.

So I did a bit of research and shopipng, excitedly awaited my new friend and it came on Monday.....and it's rained every since  ! I know: it's weird, but I am excited. I like to cut grass: it looks so nice freshly cut. And like with most household chores and handyMAN types of things, I just don't like to wait for someone else to do it.

I settled on this mower for a few reasons. Because of the steep slope of our yard, self-propelled was a must.  I didn't realize that mowers, like cars, come with front wheel drive or rear.  After a quick search on Google, I found out that rear wheel drive gives a lot more traction, especially on hills, so that was a given.  Rear wheel drive is a bit more expensive, but so worth it.  And for the brand, it was in the price range I wanted, and I've had good luck in the past with the Sears/Craftsman brand for tools, so I had a good gut feeling about it.

So....the rain is great for my new containers of flowers, which are thriving.  The grass and weeds are also thriving, so I'm waiting for a quick break to get busy with my new gift!

**Update: The Monsoon rains subsided, and I got to use it for the first time last night.  Boy: the power of the rear wheel drive is strong! It really pulled up the hills, and I didn't have to do a thing.  But going downhills I'm going to have to work on: it pulled me a little too fast. I think I'm going to have to work on a new pattern on the lawn: down smaller hills, and only up the larger ones.  Cutting our yard is still quite a workout,  but yes, so much easier than the old push mower!**

Contain it: Tips for Container Gardening

This year I'm trying something fairly new for me with my annuals: Containers.  The idea isn't new, it's just a new twist for my garden.  I usually have one container on the porch, but this year I decided to enlarge the container garden.

Let's face it: I'm not getting and younger.  The knees and ankles know it, and I'm dealing with it!  Having my favorite annuals right at the front door is not only beautiful, but convenient and easy on the legs. I love the burst of color you get from annuals, but I'm done right now with weeding huge sections of the garden on my knees.  I want to continue to add to my perennial beds and let them fill in.  But the annuals?   I decided to keep my annuals all in one place: right beside my front door. 

Enter the containers. 

 

The container in front I've had for years.  The green one was inside holding odds and ends of shoes and baseballs.  The planter behind those is the one the geraniums came in; tucking it behind the nicer ceramic ones camouflages it until I can replace it.

 

 

I want to seek out new sources of planters and find some creative alternative to expensive pots.  I also want to take a shot at making one; once the garage is back together and reorganized, that's something that's on my list!

 

In the meantime, here are a few tips I've learned about gardening in containers:

• Plants in containers need to be fertilized.  If you notice your flowers waning, it's a reminder to add your fertilizer: you will be shocked at the difference it makes!
• Make sure your pots have drainage holes in them.  Plants will not do well if they are in flooded soil. 
• Prepare for things to grow: I like my pots to look good today, but I'm prepared that they will outgrow these spots long before the growing season is over.
• Height!  Keep it varied; I have a favorite decorative grass I love to add height and texture, but haven't been able to find it yet this year.
• Stay away from clay pots: they suck the water from the soil and make it really hard to keep things moist.
• Use potting soil, not top soil!  It may seem like the same thing, but it's not.  Top soil will compact and become more like concrete, and it's not a good condition for growing flowers.  Potting soil is lighter and better for the plants. 

I can't wait to see how my container gardens grow this year!

 

Planting tips: Sun versus Shade

So have you decided on perennials or annuals, or a mix of both? 

The next big thing to keep in mind is what amount of sun your garden gets.  Plants fall into sun lovers, shade lovers, and the ever elusive "somewhere in between".  This is a part of planting though that you just have to get right. 

First you have to figure out how much sun your planting spaces get.   My front yard is west facing, and it gets a lot of sun, and it gets it intensely. In the back of the house is totally shaded from the house and the trees.


sun loving annuals: Petunia

But what about those "in-between" areas?  How do you know what is "sunny" and what is really "shady"?    When we moved into this house 9 years ago, I really didn't know yet what certain parts of my yard were: shady or sunny.  One day, I literally took out a notepad and kept a tally though the day: 10am: shade; 2pm: sun; 4pm: shade.  Total up the hours of sun and shade, and you have a really good starting point. 


heuchera: part shade

Plants that call for "full sun" on the tags really need 6 hours or more of full sun to thrive.  "Partial sun" mean it needs full light for a few hours (usually 3-6), but avoid the intensity of the afternoon heat.  "Partial shade" means it can thrive in the shade, but will do well with a few hours of direct light.  Plants marked "Shade" really do well with minimal light, and most really do best if direct light (especially in the heat) is avoided. 


stella d'oro daylilies:sun!
 

There are many choices of plants in each of these areas.  Many colorful annuals thrive in full sun, with the exception of a few such as impatiens (which provide great color in the shade!).  Perennials are all over the place; some, such as hostas and columbine, do really well in a shady, protected area. 

Garden centers will have plants sorted by sun requirements; you won't see shade needed plants out in the heat of the day--these will usually be under a canopy or other type of protection from the intensity of the full sun.  Sun lovers will be out enjoying the beautiful weather.  And as always, read the tags!  Tags are really helpful with sorting this all out!

There are great options for each part of your garden, whether sunny or sheltered under a tree or in a protected nook of your garden. 
.