Day Dreaming

I was bit by the garden bug as soon as we bought our house.  Then I was bit by the canning/freezing/preserving bug.  Then I was bit by I want to share and sell all this.  So many people want to eat the fresh and local produce but don't have the time or space to grow it.  Why I can't I do it for them?  Then I wanted to start sharing my canning ideas.  Why can't I sell produce canning boxes.  I put all the fresh produce they need to go home and can it up?  Why can't I have canning classes and teach?

When I first started it was so scary and I tracked down a lady at the hardware store and she set me up and told me how to can.  I don't come from a home of gardeners or canners.  I had to teach myself.  (My mom is an amazing gardener... but she specializes in flowers not produce.)  My Aunts are produce gardeners so I picked their brains a ton on helping me with starting seeds to planting hows & whens!!  So thankful for their knowledge and willingness to teach little 'ol me!

I think it would be so fun to set up a produce stand!  My in-laws have the perfect location right off a busy highway.  But I live an hour away.  I also think it would be so fun to be part of a farmers market.  My husband does not.  Loading trailers and trucks on an early Saturday mornings sounds like zero fun to him.  Oh I have pinned so many great produce cart ideas!!

I am back to thinking how I can do this and from home and not have to leave.  It isn't easy at this stage in my world to get out of the house.  So... produce boxes is my main thought now.  Selling just produce and then selling canning kits.

I have started my seeds.  I have started seeds before... but never the important ones like peppers and tomatoes.  I have just stuck to flower, herbs, lettuce, and the direct sew seeds.  So far (knock on wood) all is growing and looking amazing... for it being like 20 degrees outside, zero sunshine and snowing every. single. morning!!

I have:
13 Sweet Peppers
5 Jalapenos
12 Pepperoncinis
13 Orange Tomatoes
13 Super Sauce Tomatoes
38 San Marzano Tomatoes
5 Cherry Tomatoes
22 Celery
22 Lettuce
18 Parsley
18 Cilantro
18 Dill
18 Basil
48 Zinnia (Flower)
24 Cleome (Flower)

I also jumped right into needing a logo to go with this dream.  I started scratching out logos and taping them to the side of my fridge.  If anything I want personalized canning labels for my own jars so it won't be wasted.  I hand out my canned items a lot so it will be fun to have a good label on it.

My next step?  Planting all these seedlings in the big garden and putting a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making them grow and giving me an abundance of fruit.  Enough for ourselves and extra to sell!!

Oh and praying for it to stop SNOWING and the sun to come out and warm the ground!!!

Here is to day dreaming and seeing where it takes me!!

The Vitamin Story

I had to run into the vitamin store today. My vitamins store is inside the mall so I have to bring all the kids with me.  I knew what I needed but there was someone else in front of me so I just wondered around waiting my turn. 

Meanwhile Melanie is grabbing bottle after bottle.  She grabbed one.  Dropped it.  It broke.  Glass bottle.  It is a tiny store so everyone heard and knew it was me, that crazy lady who just fed her kids donuts and brought their wiggly bodies into a tiny vitamin store with glass bottles!!

Since when did they start packaging vitamins in glass bottles?!

So the guy comes and takes the broken bottle and I go to the counter to checkout.  He is scanning my other items and I ask him if he needs me to pay for the broken bottle or heck, maybe it is a vitamin I need.

He says, "Well unless your husband is having troubles in the bedroom..." 

Ah.  Um.  Oh.  No.  Nope.  He's good.

He says, "Don't worry about it."

My goodness.  My children get me into some weird situations!

The kids and I are reading a book right now and it was talking about that in every family there is a "naughty one" and a "good one".  So Max says, "who's the naughty one in our family?"  To which both Max and Mallory say, "MELANIE!"

Week 11

All Three.

The only posed part of this picture is Mallory's pretending to take a giant bite.

Otherwise they all sat here together to eat apples.

Right now they are all at a stage of eating.  Eating non-stop.

This particular morning I was feeling very over whelmed.  Which lead me to just take pictures of what was overwhelming me.  

Melanie

She wants to be held.  A lot. She follows me around like this.  She was fresh from

the tub and so I put her in her underpants since we had a day at home and I thought

I would watch her and stay on top of it.  Well I got distracted and found myself 

doing laundry downstairs and when I came up she was sitting on my bed

trying to hack into the kindle to watch Doc McStuffin.  

Too late.  She peed.  On my bed.

Maxwell

Then I looked into Melanie's room where the big kids were playing and it looked like this.  Blood pressure is rising at a rapid rate.  Why?  Why do they have to destroy every room in my house?  Not only destroy but rearrange things.  Garbage on top of the dresser?  Eh!  

Mallory.

She is my creative child.  I am constantly chasing around art projects and (deep breath) throwing them away!!!  I would drown in paper if I kept everything. Right now she is saving her money to buy a pack of printer paper.  So she can have paper whenever she wants.  I am scared if she is successful in this because... the paper... every where!!  The other day (no lie) she was in the recycle bin digging out cardboard and cutting them up and doing Lawrd  knows what with it!!  I love a creative soul... don't get me wrong.  It is just the constant trail of creativity I find that leads me to another creative trail that leads me to another creative trail...  

This pile was just done in one afternoon.  I gathered it all into a pile, though, to get a picture.  Then scooped it right into the garbage careful to turn it all upside down so she doesn't see any of it peeking out when she looks in the garbage for cardboard.

So I have been taking lots of cleansing breaths and trying not to freak out over small things

. . For example: checking out Christmas books in March and then having to read them 7 times!!  Nooo!!!  Make it stop!!