Grow your own veggies!!

Three summers ago I thought it would be fun to try gardening. I never imagined how that garden would grow or the blessing my family would receive from it. I am in NO WAY a master gardener and learn new things all the time, but I have been amazed at the ease of growing our own food and how much we have benefitted. We started out with a very simple raised bed. I started with easy things like tomatoes and peppers. It took me a couple years to figure out which plants were the best for us based mainly on what my family actually ate and what was fairly easy to care for. If you plant five tomato plants, you have to find something to do with all those tomatoes and I learned that the hard way!

I also cater my garden to my children. It is fun for my preschooler to pick cherry tomatoes and snacking peppers, so I plant those. I have said this on the blog before, but I strongly believe that when kids are involved in what they eat, they are much more willing to try new and different things.

I have been through trials with my garden- yellow plants from not enough nitrogen, white butterflies eating my broccoli, mint wrapping itself around every other plant, etc., but I love learning how to fix the problems and really enjoy growing our own food. Our library has been a great resource for issues when they arise as well as my in-laws who have been gardening for many years. Having a garden cuts my grocery bill by about a third every summer. We chose to eat what we have available and it is good for our finances and our bodies!

One of my projects for the first time this summer was growing carrots. As I only have three raised beds right now, I always seem to want to grow more than what I have space for. So, I thought I would try growing carrots in a container. I used an old crate that was in the basement and filled it with Miracle-Gro® Moisture Control® Potting Mix. I chose this soil because I am very prone to being forgetful about watering. I like this crate because it has the holes for drainage already made for me. You could use this method for any kind of  vegetable that doesn't need much space.

I planted the seeds according to the package directions (one inch down and two inches apart).

Within six weeks, I had carrots!

 

Don't be afraid to try gardening, even if you only have a few feet of space. You will be amazed what you can provide for your family very inexpensively and with little room or effort.

 



How I am a Stay at Home Mom: Cheap Summer Fun

I see moms and kids all the time talking about being bored in the summer and I cannot understand why. We have a very small entertainment budget and are still able to go on weekly summer adventures. Here are some ideas for keeping your summer fun:

1. Utilize local resources. We live in a small East Tennessee town and there are tons of things available, even to us! A neighboring town has a park called the Splash Pad that is free to attend. My boys are happier to spend the day there than at any expensive park.

 

We also have a local pool that only costs $3 per adult and kids are free with a paying adult.

 

Local parks and rec websites are great ways to find out what is available in your area.

The library is also a great way to find fun, and generally free, activities. Our library has a summer reading program that my boys love, offering a special guest one day a week and an awesome closing program with fun and games.

They also recently hosted a Touch-a-Truck event with all kinds of trucks for the kids to check out.









Our library also sponsored a Kiddie Car Show which my preschooler loved! He also won the "Best Super Hero Car" award, so that was pretty much the highlight of his life.

 

On Wednesdays, our area offers a local farmer's market. It is a fun way to get some healthy snacks and check out some homemade and home-grown items.

 

2. Create your own fun! On a rainy day, I decided to pirate-theme the day. My preschooler had so much fun and it cost me no money and very minimal effort. You can read more about it here.

We also use our water hose to create lots of fun. We bought a very inexpensive Slip N Slide, though any piece of plastic would be fine (think $2 plastic painting cover). These kiddos would literally spend hours every day playing on this piece of wet plastic. They also add dish soap for extra slippery fun.






For one of the girls' birthdays, we did an at home spa day. They loved soaking their feet in the tub and painting each others' nails and I used stuff we already had at home.




3. Be responsible when you do plan costly adventures. Look for Groupons or similar deals. My husband and I recently purchased a local coupon deal for a dinner theatre for the two of us for $25. It was something fun and different to do and we could not have purchased dinner and a show for that price otherwise. I also got a Groupon for Yo Gabba Gabba Live! We would not have been able to afford this show regularly, but the Groupon cut the price to less than half, so it made it affordable.

Also, if you are planning a trip to an amusement park or similar place, check out their calendar before you go. We took a trip to Tweetsie Railroad while they were hosting "A Day Out With Thomas." For the price of admission, we also got extra Thomas events and a ride on Thomas the train.

Our local race track hosted an event that was both rally cross and monster trucks, so for $20, we got four hours of nonstop car action. It was a fun way to take the boys to the race without spending $100 per ticket.

4. Explore nature! We are blessed to be surrounded by some amazing nature where we live. My preschooler went fishing for the first time this summer. We are lucky enough to have friends who own a house boat, but you can find a fishing spot anywhere! Laws vary in different states, but in Tennessee, fishing is free until age 15. This was a great way to spend a day and only cost a can of corn.

 

 

Camping is another fun and inexpensive way to spend a summer day. Since we have a nine month old, we decided to venture into the backyard and do a little camping at home. The boys made a fire and smore's and it was a memorable and inexpensive adventure.

 

I have posted before about gardening, but it is a great way to learn about the food we eat and spend time outside together. The girls love to pick the peaches from the tree in the backyard and then be creative with ways to cook them.

 

 

 

5. Look for local businesses hosting events. Chick-fil-a always has awesome events for families. You can find a calendar of events on their website. This summer we attended their Mother-Son Date Knight and for the price of dinner at Chick-fil-a, we got to do family activities and pictures tableside and the boys got to joust in their free inflatable. They also hosted a Super Hero event, where kids got free kids meals for dressing like a Super Hero. Earth Fare and several other local restaurants have weekly kids events, so checking them out can be an inexpensive way to feed those hungry babies after a long day.

 

I hope my ideas help you create new adventures for your family this summer!