Wordless Wednesday- collecting acorns!

Earth Hour

Hubby and I observed Earth Hour on Saturday March 27th, 2010.  When I heard about Earth Hour it was actually that day and I was on the computer and Hubby was playing his video games. Whenever we want time to ourselves that’s what we do. He plays video games and I have computer time. It’s not a great way to spend time together but sometimes you just need alone time.

Back to Earth Hour. I’m not sure if it changed the world but I am pretty sure it changed our marriage. I text Hubby to see if he wanted to observe Earth Hour with me and he said sure. He wasn’t too optimistic but we thought it would be fun. That was at 8:29 P.M, we started Earth Hour at 8:30.

We met in the kitchen and it was completely dark. We had no plans of what to do, just to spend time together without using power. So I scrounged up all the candles I could find. Hubby opened a beer and poured me a giant glass of wine. We don’t drink often so this was a nice indulgence. We decided to play cards but we don’t know any 2-player games. We then used Hubby’s phone (shh) to look up the rules for Gin. We started playing and actually ended up sitting there for 2 hours playing cards by candlelight. We just chatted and enjoyed each other.

The next night we took our usual posts at the TV and computer. A few minutes later Hubby text me to ask if I wanted to play cards again, so we did. It was so much fun. I think we might try to make card playing a weekly thing. It was nice to pretty much do “nothing”. It was so relaxing and we really enjoyed the company.

I hope Earth Hour made in impact but if not I know it made an impact on our marriage.

Yoreganics Review & Giveaway- Closed

I am a cloth diaper mama. With that comes some challenges that you may have to overcome. My diapers were stinky. I had tried everything and in my quest to find a solution I found Yoreganics Soap Nuts. Boy am I glad I did! Haven’t ever heard of Soap Nuts? Here is a little description from their site:
   
LAUNDRY BY MOTHER NATURE
SOAP NUTS fall from the Soapberry tree (Sapindus mukorossi) found in Northern India and Nepal. The outer shells of these dried fruit berries contain saponin, which creates soap when agitated in water. They effectively clean, soften and remove odors from your laundry!

Intrigued? I was too! The Soap Nuts are natural! Don’t most cloth diaper users want to be more eco friendly? Soaps Nuts are sustainable and biodegradable; they are also USDA certified organic so there aren’t any chemicals in them. You can read more about how to get the stink out on a review I did on Soap Nuts.
Soap Nuts are very economical running about .13 cents per load of laundry! The price is $12.99 for an 85-load bag.
 

I was sent the Trio Sampler to review; it includes a trial size Soap Nuts, a 2 oz Stain Remover and a 3 oz sample of Brightens & Whitens. I was also sent one of their Organic Lip Balms to try out. 


I am already a user of the Soap Nuts so I know I love those, but I was really excited to try the Lip Balm because I am an avid chapstick user. I use it multiple times a day and always know where a tube is. I am brand loyal so I wasn’t sure if I would like this new stuff. I put it on as soon as the package arrived. At first it has a minty smell and feeling that is really refreshing. It lasted for so long I don’t even think I reapplied it for a few hours. It has made my lips so much softer I don’t need to use it every hour like I used to. I was even out once and didn’t have any gum, I was talking to people and nervous that my breath was bad so I used a little Lip Balm and my lips were all minty again and I felt confident! If you are a chapstick user, I definitely recommend you give this a try!
 

As most of you know I have a toddler, with that toddler comes many messes. In all honesty I keep a stain remover on my bathroom counter at all times. That way at night when she has any spots on her clothes I can spray it, let it sit overnight and then rinse. I was really excited to get this purse size Stain Remover from Yoreganics. Many times I can’t get the stain out because we are out when it happens and by the time we get home it’s dried and too late. I kept waiting for the perfect chance to give the Stain Remover the real test. Finally one morning I was sorting out Nat’s laundry and I found a shirt with a stain on it. Dh had undressed her the night before for bed and never said a word. I gasped; we had lasagna the night before. There is NO way this is going to come out. I ran to the bathroom and sprayed the Stain Remover right on the stain. The bottle says to leave for a few minutes so I mentally told myself to go back after 5 min. Well I lost track of time and 5 min turned into 10. As soon as I remembered I went in the bathroom, scrubbed at the stain a little bit and rinsed it per directions. The stain came right out! An overnight lasagna stain and I assumed the shirt was ruined forever. Thanks to Yoreganics Stain Remover it was saved!
Spot Before

Spot After



Giveaway:
Kim from Yoreganics is giving away a Sampler Trio & Organic Lip Balm to one of my readers!

To enter:  Visit Yoreganics and pick one of their products you would like to try. Come back here and leave a comment.

Extras:
Publically follow my blog via GFC. (1 entry)
Follow me @Kaylynbuckner on Twitter. (1 entry)
Follow @Yoreganics on Twitter. (1 entry)
Refer someone and have them mention your name. ( 5 entries)
Tweet about this contest, include @Kaylynbuckner, @Yoreganics and link back to this site or use this:" @Kaylynbuckner is giving away a Laundry Trio Sampler including Soap Nuts from @Yoreganics!  http://bit.ly/az6i2K #clothdiapers #giveaway #eco " (2x per day)

Become a fan of Yoreganics on Facebook. (2 entries)
Blog about this giveaway (3 entries)
Make a purchase from Yoreganics, come back and let me know what you purchased. (10 entries)
Watch Yoreganics Youtube Video and either favorite it or leave a comment. (2 entries)

This giveaway will close at 9 PM Est on April 10th, 2010. One reader will be selected using random.org. They will have 48 hours to reply to an email sent to them before another winner is chosen at random.

*This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was given about the product.*

Winner!!!

The winner of My First Giveaway is Madison by following me on twitter! Comment #8
 
Result: 8 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

You have 24 hours to respond after I contact you! 

Life

Times have been hard lately. Well, not THAT hard but harder for me. I know there are people out there that have it much worse. In the heat of the moment though, I don’t always think of that. I try to remind myself that I don’t have it THAT bad. Natalie was sick with a cold for 2 weeks and from that cold she got a double ear infection. ¾ of the way through her cold I got the same cold. We were both sick and whiny and miserable. Then because of the ear infections she started not sleeping. If you have ever had a baby with an ear infection, you know exactly what I mean. They are miserable but there isn’t a whole lot you can do to help them. It’s a very helpless feeling and one of the worst ones that comes with being a parent. I will admit there were many days in the last 2 weeks that I wished I was somewhere else, I wished someone could come take my child so I could just lay on the couch, I wished that Hubby could take the day off so that I could relax and get well. Those wishes didn’t come true. Instead, Natalie and I endured the 2 weeks together, we fought through it and now we are so much better! After it all she has become very whiny and clingy to me though. I leave the house and she is fine with daddy but the minute I come home she is whining at my feet. I think it’s just a phase, I am crossing my fingers it’s just a phase. In lieu of all that I wanted to share a few things I remind myself to be grateful for when bedtime seems so far away.

I have an amazing Hubby and father for Natalie. I’m not a single mother, even though it feels like it some days. He still comes home at the end of the day and tells me he loves me no matter what kind of day he has had.

My daughter is healthy (for the most part) and living and loving. She’s amazing. She makes me smile so many times a day and we laugh out loud like we have our own inside jokes but she can’t talk.

I get to stay home all day long doing the things I love. It’s not always easy but it’s where I WANT to be.

We don’t have to worry about money or bills being paid. We have a house to live in and never have to worry where our next meal will come from.

My Hubby spoils me. He really does, I don’t like admitting it but he is wonderful to me.

I have great family and friends that are always there to support me even if I’m upset over something small.

These are just a few things I like to remind myself when it seems like our bad day will never end. I tell myself tomorrow is a new day and I’m the only one who can wipe the slate clean and try to make tomorrow better than today!!

Wordless Wednesday- Hair

Tasty Tuesday

Hubby’s Grandparents came home from Florida last week! What does this have to do with Tasty Tuesday? I’m glad you asked! Grandma is one of those grandmas’s that makes everything taste so good. No matter what she has made us in the past I have loved it! She has that touch. She always finds the good recipes and seasons it just right. Ever since Hubby and I got married almost 3 years ago I have been soaking up every single recipe she will give me. I didn’t have this with my grandma and I want things like this to pass on to my kids. We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for dinner last week and I wanted to share the recipe that she made. I made it last night again and it turned out great!

No Fuss Chicken

2/3 cup flour

1 tsp Rubbed Sage

1 tsp Dried Basil

1 tsp Seasoned Salt

1 broiler chicken (2 to 3 pounds, cut up) we both used legs & thighs just fine

¼ cup butter

2 cups chicken broth

1.In a shallow bowl, combine flour, sage, basil and seasoned salt; coat chicken.

Reserve remaining flour mixture.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter; brown chicken on all sides. Transfer to a slow cooker.

3. Add ¼ cup flour mixture to skillet; discard rest. Stir until smooth.

4. When mixture begins to bubble, stir in chicken broth and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over chicken.

5. Cover and cook on high for 2 to 2 ¼ hours or low for 6-8 hours.

Serve with mashed potatoes and veggie.

(At the end when the chicken was done cooking I had to remove the gravy and bring to a boil on the stove and add a little flour to thicken and use as gravy).

Enjoy!!

Do you have any of your grandmother’s recipes to share? Thanks!