How does your Garden Grow: HELP my tomatoes are taking over!

Inspired by this gardening series from Withafork.blogspot.com I've decided to provide my own little sneak peek into my adventures into veggie growing.


Remember my Egg Shell seedlings? That seems like such a long time ago but since then the combination of bright sunny days inter-spaced with heavy rain has resulted in the tomatoes totally taking over my little veggie patch.

It has even swallowed up a healthy brown onion plant which survives only because it's leaves are tall enough to grow above the tomato plants. All other seedlings (carrots and zucchini) planted in that garden bed were completely consumed.

At least we're have a bounty of Tomatoes!

I wonder if Ms Fork will swap me some eggplants. Since I can't seem to get those to grow no matter how hard I try.

What should I do with all of them? Any ideas?

Tuesday Tip: Save our knees

Today's tip comes from very extensive experience. Many many sleepless nights of experience. Forget saving our sleep.... that is an impossible dream... but at least we can save our knees.

Getting a baby to sleep is exercise. Serious exercise. It works out your arms, core, thighs and legs. Hours of bouncing and swaying and rocking it can be hard on the joints. Personally I found that my knees fared the worst (those are the days I feel way too old to be a mum). However put my in a situation where the baby is almost asleep and my legs are burning and shivering from the effort and I'd rather my legs fall off than stop bouncing.

I also have 2 little ones who don't seem to like rocking motions and prefer to be bounced up and down so the rocking chair we got doesn't do the trick of getting them to sleep.

But we can save our knees.... with an EXERCISE BALL! Yep. This handy little air filled ball is great for bouncing on and getting the little one off to dream land. And you can also get some incidental core exercise in at the same time without serious overexertion. Just remember to keep your back straight and and use the ball to do your bouncing for ya. Far less energy and probably better for your back and knees than the awful posture carrying a wriggling baby naturally puts you in.

Recipe: Apple, Bacon and Maple Muffins

In our house we love bacon. I think the kids get it especially strongly from their American Daddy.

One day while being stuck under 2 sleeping kids I had the inspiration for trying out Bacon and Apples together in a muffin. My testers really loved the result but a couple of days after, my husband comes up to me and says... you know those apple and bacon muffins you made.... would it still work if you added maple syrup into it. I just had to try it and after a few measurement trials I think the recipe below perfectly balances the salty sweet and crisp flavours that is Apple Bacon and Maple Muffins,

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Tuesday tip - take a rain check

Did you know, that if a supermarket is out of an advertised special, you can ask for a rain check? No? Neither did I, but you can! And this little tip is a gem!

Ask for rain checks on specials

If something you want is out of stock and an advertised special, you're entitled to a rain check. You can have up to four that you can use anytime within the next TWELVE months! Genius!

Quinoa reduced to $3 from $15 (example may be exaggerated) but none left on the shelf? No worries, just ask at the checkout / service desk and you will get your rain check - four of them if you ask actually. And you can then buy that item at the reduced price any time within the next 12 months by presenting your rain check.

Winner, winner, quinoa dinner!

Have you gotten any bargains lately?

Tuesday Tip: The no scrub method of removing mould stains

I don't know about you but I hate cleaning wet mess. Give me a messy library to sort through and I'm happy. However things like dishes, handwashing clothes and cleaning the shower and toilet are like yuck. So I'm always on the look out for short cuts to getting these unpleasant jobs done fast and with the least amount of physical contact (from me).

Since moving in to our current house I've had a huge problem with our shower. The previous shower leaked and left a yucky mould patch on the shower floor. I spent an eternity scrubbing all the mould off with alternate applications of vinegar, gumption, sweat and tears. I was pretty sure I got all the mould off but it left stains which looked like they had actually seeped into the plastic and grout itself. I consulted professional cleaners (who suggested bleach), holy men (who suggested exorcism) and soothsayers (who suggested burning various herbs). I tried the bleach and went back to scrubbing but to no avail. The stains would not budge.

Then I met Mr W, a professional cleaner whose services I was very fortunate to win in a fathers day photo contest. He suggested that instead of scrubbing with the bleach, I should lay sheets of paper towels on the shower floor and splash it with bleach and just leave it for a an hour or so. I was dubious given the amount of elbow grease I'd already put in that a simple leave and soak would work. So I tried it and OMG... it worked! And I didn't even have to scrub a thing!

Bleach Soaked Paper Towels. Corners have been left to show contrast. 

And the Difference! The bottom half is nice and white while the top corners still need a treatment. 

Caution: I used gloves for all parts of this process because bleach on hands is yuck and possibly dangerous. Also make sure the area is well ventilated. I did this all on a nice windy day when the kids were out of the house.

Tuesday tip - Making a dent in clutter

If your house is anything like mine, things just migrate constantly. Before children, everything had a home and I knew exactly where to find everything. These days, it's anyone's guess. My kids like to look at things and move them around, and my mind isn't what it used to be prior to pregnancies either! Heck, just the other day, I spent more time than I'd like to admit looking for my glasses (they were on my head).

Anyway, todays tip is all about chipping away at the endless clutter.

Never leave a room empty handed

Sure, sounds simple, but think about it. If I'm doing something in the kitchen and find something that doesn't belong, I pick it up and move to to wear it should be. I'm constantly running after the toddler so I'm in and out of rooms all day. It's surprising what turns up when I look for the out of place items too!

How do you deal with clutter?

Product Review: The New Dyson Cool - Not just a pretty face

Ever since Dyson first came out with their first generation of Blade-less fans, I've wanted one. Even without knowing anything about the features and performance, I coveted it because of its gorgeous design, sleek lines and futuristic contours. However at that time we were just starting a family and practicality seemed to dictate that shouldn't spend big money on a luxury item no matter how sexy it looked when you could get something which did the same thing for much less money.

If only I could go back in time and tell myself how wrong I was. I could have been enjoying this gorgeous machine in my life much sooner. And it turns out it's fantastically practical as well for parents with small kids as well. 

As you probably already guessed, we have one of these little beauties thanks to the good people at Dyson and Kidsbusiness (for bringing us together). Here are some details of the model we've been testing and the Testers. 

The Product

Product: Dyson Cool AM06 (Black and Nickle) 

Description: Dyson's fan (Desk Fan size) draws in surrounding air - amplifying it to create a jet of powerful smooth airflow with no blades.  

Whats New: More powerful airflow. 75% quieter and uses 40% less energy. 

The Testers

3 year old Little Man - Rambunctious, Loud, Always keen to figure things out for himself. 

7 month old Little Missy - Needs to touch (and chew) on everything. Has an attraction to anything moving. Loves to pull things on top of herself (Toys, Mats, Chairs, the dog....). Mum's blood pressure has been high since she started crawling. 

Assembly

I feel sorry for the poor guy who had to write the instruction manual for this machine because it was so unnecessary that he or she must feel like it was a complete waste of time. The unit came in 3 parts. The top the base and the remote control. handy stickers indicated where the top and the base fitted and slid into place. The Little Man practically setting it up by himself while proudly pointing to the sticker and saying "Number 1 Mummy, it's the number 1" There are only 2 steps to assembly. 

What they thought

The Good

The Little Man immediately claimed that the fan was his and wanted to know why it wasn't in his room. So far we've been quite particular about the fan in his room. The previous fan was a solid (and heavy) metal desk fan with very tight fan guard since we know that our Little Man tends to like to stick his fingers into everything. 

No such worry with the Dyson Cool and his little fingers are safe. Also since it's so lightweight, I don't worry about it being pulled over the kids so it doesn't have to be a solid heavy base. The Little Miss tried several times to tug it over her while it was on the ground while it was on and didn't seem to be fussed when it fell on her. That is not to say it's completely safe to be put around kids. Since Dyson haven't figured out how to make their unit electrically wireless, the electric wires are still within reach and have the exact same hazards that all plugs do.

Mum and Dad's favorite function is the remote control when not in use it magnetically attaches to the top of the unit so it doesn't get loss. The remote has controls Power, Oscillation and Sleep timer.

The controls are very easy to use and very intuitive that the last few days when it was hot I'd often find Little man would quietly disappear into his room to turn on the fan and sit in front of it by himself (if only he'd learn to switch it off before leaving the room)

The Bad

Dyson products sit firmly in the "I want" part of my brain and for one reason only cannot shift into the "I need" section. This reason is the price. I'm not saying that the Dyson Cool AM06 is not worth it's $450 price tag but with that money you could get a decent portable air-conditioner. It's not going to look as sexy, operate as quiet or make you the envy of all your friends like the Dyson Cool will but it'll do the job just as well.

Conclusion

The Dyson Cool only goes to show that you don't have to give up sexy looking appliances with small kids in the house because practical can also look pretty darn hot cool.