I Can't Believe I'm Doing This!!!

So, just to show everyone what a good great sport I am, I have taken a photo of what's under MY kitchen sink. The Peaceful Housewife is running a giveaway that ends tonight. There is only one way to enter - take a photo of where you store your cleaning supplies and email it to her (jenny at thepeacefulhousewife dot com) for posting on her Facebook page. The prize is a package of assorted, eco-friendly cleaning products from The Peaceful Housewife's online store. There hasn't been a huge response and I think I know why - no one wants their nasty cupboard plastered all over Facebook. So, I'm showing you mine - I didn't clean it out, I didn't move stuff around to make it look orderly, I didn't even wipe the nasty layer of gunk on the shelf off. It will be the nastiest photo up there and everyone can look at it and say, "Well, I guess MY shelf isn't even close to that bad. I guess I don't feel so weird about entering now!" or something like that. My husband now thinks I'm crazy for taking multiple photos of this scary area of our kitchen. My oldest son is hoping that I don't tag him in the photo lest his friends see it and think he's completely un-cool. Little Guy just said, "Cheese!"

Now, before revealing my dirty laundry here, I want you all to know that, yes, I have some pretty bad stuff down there - Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex, Dawn... you get the picture. My husband refuses to let me take it to the hazardous waste day at the store. He is adamant about having spent good money on that junk and there's no reason to toss it. So, it sits there, taunting me, every time I reach down to pull out my big jug of vinegar. I cannot tell you how tempted I am to just pour a little, teeny, tiny bit of the pretty blue Mr. Clean stuff into the bucket of vinegar & water that I use to scrub my kitchen floor - I miss the smell of clean so much... I know I've gone on and on about it, but that's because I really miss it! But, then I look over at Little Guy, who's holding a Skoy cloth and ready to pour water all over the floor and I know I can't have him putting his hands into a bucket with that stuff in it. (((Sigh)))

So, here it is, my entry to The Peaceful Housewife's "Green Your Clean" giveaway:

Geez! You don't have to STARE, do you??? LOL

Well, now that you're done gasping, shaking your head, giggling, and clogging up your friends' and family's inboxes with the horrific scene that is under my kitchen sink, get out your camera. Tidy up a little under YOUR sink and take a picture. Email it to: Jenny at ThePeacefulHousewife dot com and maybe you'll get some really great stuff to clean with!

Curiosity {Wordless Wednesday - 4/6}

Sorry I'm so late with this. I've been pretty sick the last couple of days. Sure does explain why I need to start writing mt posts ahead of time and scheduling them!

I had to get on and make this post, though, because Natural Parents Network was kind enough to add my photo to their Wordless Wednesday this week based on the theme, "Poetry & Prose". Please go over and check out all of the great photos on their Wordless Wednesday post this week!

Some of you may remember this photo from a previous post, It's the Journey, Not the Destination, about the importance of enjoying the trip with your children and not always focusing on where you're going. I had to use it again here because it is such a great example of childhood curiosity and reminds us that we, too, can still be curious. Please take a moment to read the poem, "Curiosity" by Doreen Ellis, below.

Curiosity Children start along the path of learning and of growth -
Their minds like sponges drinking in right from the time of birth.
Thirst for knowledge built within however small they be;
With age some of us soon forget our curiosity.

Question here and question there; they know they must enquire -
’Tis “how?” and “why?” and “where?” and “when?” until the grownups tire.
This brings on discouragement for questions still arise;
They turn to others like themselves and peers may be unwise.

We answer questions when they’re asked unless we do not know;
Then seek the answer – concentrate – and let our interest show.
We tell the child we do not know – we, too, would like to be
Aware of how to look for things – together, we will see.

Children grow and grownups, too, will age like best of wine;
When curiosity lives on, our days with love, combine
To help them start along the path of learning and of growth -
The quest for life’s vicissitudes will quench their thirst for both.
—Doreen (Adams) Ellis

Meet Me on Monday {4/4}

Hi everyone! I can't wait to read all of your answers this week! Not much has been going on this past week. It got cold out, again, but I'm just glad we didn't get any of the snow that our neighbors on the other side of Lake Erie received!

If you have a few minutes, please take a minute to check out some of my posts from this past week. There's even a giveaway at the bottom!
If you have a few minutes, please check out some of my posts from this past week;

• I Was Featured!
• I Just LOVE Cherries!
• Soon-to-Be Sugar High {Wordless Wednesday}
• Random Acts of Kindness (This is one of my favorite posts so far - what do you do when you see a parent about to spank a child in public?)
• What's Under YOUR Sink? {Review & Link to a Great Giveaway}
• Constructive Critique - My Artsy-Fartsy Photos
• Do You Like These?

And, finally, a GIVEAWAY!!! I Love Spring, But Dread the Cleaning!




And now, on to the questions for this week!


1.  If you had to eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
     Really??? I really love food. I'm not sure I could choose only one thing to eat for the rest of my life! I once heard that, if you mix beans and rice, you can get nearly all of the nutrients you need. Not that beans & rice are all that appealing to me!

Eww... I mean... just... eww.

2.  Do you write your blog posts in advance or the day you post them?
    LOL! I write them about two seconds before I post them! Most of the time, they're filled with grammatical and spelling errors. When I get an idea, I just jump on it. If I let it sit too long, it gets stale. I take my camera with me everywhere. If the kids are doing something with me, I take a zillion photos. You never know - I may write a post about it!

I was going to use this for a "What to Do with Broken Crayons" post. But, thought too much about it, let it sit too long, now it's just not ap'peel'ing to me.

3.  Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
    Where I came from, we called it a "rescue squad". Only once when I was a little kid at the volunteer fire department's annual festival. I got to sit up front and push the button to turn on and off the lights! (Way back before "liability" and "seat belt laws" came into play!)

Believe it, or not, something very similar to this just happened recently around here. The officer tried to arrest the driver because he was speeding! The cop is suspended and has to go through a ton of psych tests before they'll consider giving him his gun back.

4.  What is your favorite candle scent?
    Man, you are giving us some tough ones this week, Java! I like to smell cinnamon and sandalwood together. Since it's really hard to find them mixed, I usually end up burning two candles at the same time. Oh, and I hate apple-cinnamon combination!

Remember this one? I must have watched Sixteen Candles a million times in the 80's. I LOVE Joan Cusak - did you know that she narrates on Peep and the Big, Wide World? (It's one of my favorite kiddie shows.)

5.  Coffee or tea?
  Coffee! Super-strong coffee with a spoon of sugar and a little half and half. Not milk, not fake creamer, no low-fat crap. And I love my expensive coffees with weird exotic names. They really stink, but they taste so great! Whenever I'm brewing a pot of "Mommy's Coffee", my husband will come into the kitchen, sniff around, and then go find the cat to toss him outside for spraying in the house! LOL Every time. Poor kitty.

Okie-Dokie... See you all next week, if not sooner!

WINNER of John Holt's - How Children Learn

I absolutely loved some of the answers you guys gave to my weird questions! Here are a few of my favorites:

• Jenny said, "If I could be any age for a week, I don't think I'd change my age. I'm emotionally and spiritually healthier than I've ever been and I'm just loving my life!"

• Domestic Diva said, "My favorite quote: All you need is love -- from The Beatles, of course."
• Cheri said, "If I could be any age again, I think I would want to be 39! At that age it seems you are finally 'all grown up' but not yet 'old.'"  (This was a good one for me since I'm coming up on 37. I was feeling old until I read this!)

And I feel that, since I aksed you to answer all of those silly questions, maybe I should give you my answers. Here they are:

1. If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose? I'd love to be in Good Eats. I LOVE Alton Brown! He has a way of explaining things so I completely understand them. And, hey, a man who can tell you how to make yogurt with a crock and a heating pad is pretty darn awesome in my book!
2. If you could be any age again for a week, what age would you choose and why? I really loved my 20's. I'd probably choose 24 - I still had a ton of energy, had just started to self-educate myself with books from the library, and was learning about organic foods and changing my and my family's diet. I also jumped right into art projects without thinking. Now, I think about them too much and rarely get going on one. :(
3. Were you a sneaky child or teen? (Share a good story if you want!) I was a terribly sneaky child! I remember when I first learned I could do something and my mom didn't necessarily know about it. It is my very first memory - ever. I must have been right around two years old and my mom was babysitting a 4 year old girl. My mom had put the gate up in the kitchen so we wouldn't get into the cookies she had just made. That little girl boosted mt into the kitchen and had me grab a cookies for each of us. I remember her saying, "Your mom won't even know!" I had my doubts, but she was right! From then on, my parents had Trouble on their hands!
4. Share your favorite quote! (Don't forget to say who said it!) My very favorite quote is from John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" : "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." How perfect is that?!
5.  What vegetable do you most resemble? I'm going to have to say corn (even though it's really a legume!) I've got really long hair that can be pretty annoying at times, you really have to work at peeling back the layers to get to the good stuff inside, and when you do get in there you'll find I'm kinda sweet.

 AND THE WINNER IS #7!!!

Kelly from Becoming Crunchy

Kelly said...

My favorite quote is: "But if I knew everything, there would be no wonder, because what I believe in is far more than what I know." - Madeleine L'Engle

March 24, 2011 10:00 AM

 Congrats, Kelly! Please let me know how you like the book.

Lower Your Alexa Hop {4/4}

Hello, once again! Thanks for hopping by! I'd love to return the favor, so please leave me a comment below so I can visit you, too. I'll bring my Alexa toolbar along with me! Also, if you follow or like me in any way, let me know because I'd like to do the same for you.

If you have a few minutes, please check out some of my posts from this past week;

• I Was Featured!
• I Just LOVE Cherries!
• Soon-to-Be Sugar High {Wordless Wednesday}
• Random Acts of Kindness (This is one of my favorite posts so far - what do you do when you see a parent about to spank a child in public?)
• What's Under YOUR Sink? {Review & Link to a Great Giveaway}
• Constructive Critique - My Artsy-Fartsy Photos
• Do You Like These?

And, finally, a GIVEAWAY!!! I Love Spring, But Dread the Cleaning!

 If you aren't part of this hop, please head over to Real Mom Reviews and link up! My Alexa score has gone from 1,100,000 to 690,000 in just the two weeks that I have participated. Just remember to follow the rules, as posted on the Real Mom Reviews blog:

This hop works a bit differently than most!

IMPORTANT Please make sure you have the ALEXA TOOLBAR installed.

Why do you need the Alexa Toolbar? "Alexa computes traffic rankings by analyzing the Web usage of millions of Alexa Toolbar users and data obtained from other, diverse traffic data sources." Now in English... When someone with the Alexa Toolbar visits your site, it helps lower your Alexa! More info on that here and here


In the Linky Please leave a link to a post you would like people to hop to and leave a comment!
Then hop to the other blogs on the linky and leave a comment on their post!


Do NOT just link to your blog, link to a POST people can leave a comment on, so you know people actually are hopping




<center><a href="http://www.realmomreviews.net/search/label/Lower%20Alexa"><img border="0" src="http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa250/skyecaitlin88/Alexa.png" /></a></center>

PLEASE grab the "Lower Alexa" button and link it to a post about this hop. Because this is a new hop, it will really help get the word out!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

I Love Spring, But Dread the Cleaning! {GIVEAWAY!}

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Well, here we are. Right on the cusp of Spring-Cleaning Season. It's still in the 30's and 40's here, but as soon as temperatures get into the upper 50's, I have no choice but to throw open the windows and start scrubbing. No, I'm not at all excited about this. I have a hard enough time getting the regular day-to-day cleaning done. With a disabled, bi-polar husband, I really can't plan ahead for him to watch Little Guy. This means that I can either wait until nap time and the middle of the night to ever-so-quietly clean, or I can have a "helper."

My oldest is pretty goof for both cleaning and babysitting. Unfortunately, that teen attitude has struck him recently, so I can only count on about forty-five minutes of either before he's through. A relatively simple job such as sweeping our wooden steps  will start out fine, but you can visibly see when he got tired of the task and started to slip up - half the stairway will look beautiful, while the other half is still full of dust and dirt. And, while plating with his little brother, he's figured out a great way to get out of it when he's had enough. He'll start teasing Little Guy a little at a time until he's hit full-blown tantrum and I have to come calm him down. My oldest quietly slips out of the room... ARGH!

Now, Don't get me wrong - I love having a helper when it comes to simple tasks (you can read about it HERE.) He gets such a great sense of pride out of a job well done. But, it can end up causing gigantic messes that will take me three times as long to clean up when the job is a big one that requires some bit of concentration.I guess I am going to have to do some careful planning this year if I want to get anything done. That includes finding jobs that are easy for him to do while I can work on a more complicated project next to him, making sure each task lasts no longer than his attention span, and using cleaning products that are 100% safe for him to touch and even ingest (he still likes tasting most things he comes into contact with - yuck!)

I think that, as long as I keep my sense of humor about me and remember that any cleaning job can be stopped at any point and left until I can return, everything will work out OK. It's the cleaning supplies that have me concerned. While I have managed to make the switch to safer and more environmentally-friendly supplies, some are still not safe for Little Guy to be working with. Borax, for instance, is a great cleaner for grimy messes. But it has a caustic effect on skin and is poisonous if swallowed. I can do the whole vinegar, baking soda, and water thing. But, that leaves me without that great smell of clean.

So, I think I may turn to Jenny of The Peaceful Housewife for my cleaning supplies this year.You can read my review of her products in my previous post, What's Under YOUR Sink? Her ingredients are safe and she adds some great scents to her products. Additionally, the cost of her products will end up being less than if I made my own!

And, guess what, she's offered one of my readers a $10 gift certificate to her store. Now, let me tell you something - $10 can get you about THREE of her products, so this is a great deal! And, you have another chance to win a nice product package from her, too, if you enter her Green Your Clean Giveaway. So, what do you think? Want to try out a few products from The Peaceful Housewife???

WIN!!!

One $10 Gift Certificate to The Peaceful Housewife's online store. This is a great deal since the majority of the items cost $2-$3. You could get FIVE things for free!!


Mandatory Entry:
Go to The Peaceful Housewife's store and have a look around. Comment with one product and scent that you would like to try most. **Leave you email address in your comment so I can contact you if you win.

Extra Entries:
For each extra entry, leave a separate comment. (If it says +2, leave two comments, etc.)

• +2 entries- Follow The Peaceful Housewife on GFC
• +2 entries - Like The Peaceful Housewife on Facebook
• +2 entries - Follow The Peaceful Housewife on Twitter (leave your Twitter name in comment)
• +2 entries - Subscribe AND CONFIRM to The Peaceful Housewife's emails (upper left sidebar)
• +5 entries - Enter The Peaceful Housewife's "Green Your Clean" giveaway(ends 4/8)
• +5 entries - Make a purchase from The Peaceful Housewife. Just let me know you did so and the First name, Last initial you used to order.
• +1 entries - Follow me on GFC - right sidebar
• +1 entries - Like me on Facebook - or right sidebar
• +1 entries - Follow me on Twitter
• +2 entries - Subscribe (& confirm) to my emails - right sidebar under, Networked Blogs

This giveaway will end on April 15, 2011, at 11:59 PM EDT. Winner will be notified by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Winner will be chosen by the Random.org widget I have embedded at the bottom of this page. GOOD LUCK!
**I have not been compensated for this post in any way.

Do you like these?

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So, here's the deal. I've entered into TWO Facebook photo contests. I don't know why - I guess it was just a whim. I hate when people ask for votes in order to get entries into a giveaway. Or when they say something like, "I'll vote for you if you vote for me." So. I'm going to give it to you straight - IF you happen to like the photos below, AND you feel like "liking" the sponsor's Facebook page, then please go vote for me.



We Read Barefoot is offering a $25 Gift Certificate to their children's bookstore to the photo with the most likes. The mission was to post a photo of your child(ren) reading. I entered this because, when I saw what they wanted photos of, I got really excited. I had JUST, a couple of hours before, taken a couple of really great pictures of my kids reading together. They were so enthralled with what they were doing that they didn't even notice me standing there with the camera. Little Guy was pointing at each word as my oldest read it. I can't believe that he's figured out that each group of letters on the page represents a single word already!

Click on the photo to be taken to the We Read Barefoot album.

 If you like this, please "like" it with your personal page. They will not count fan page likes. Thanks!




Next is this UPrinting.com Facebook thing. I don't know how I got sucked into this one, but I had a really cute photo that went with the theme. Now, here's the thing - I don't even know exactly what the prize is! I am fairly sure that it has to do with winning the chance to review and giveaway their products, like banners, magnets, etc. I don't know! Anyway, there are a ton of great photos that follow the theme for the "Happy Smiles Photo Contest." Mine is of Little Guy about two minutes after I woke up. You see, Daddy got up with him that morning and let me sleep in. In order to get little guy to do what he wanted, my dear husband bribed him with a powdered donut - for breakfast! Unfortunately for him, I woke up before he could clean the happy camper up. When little guy saw me, he said, "Don't tell Mommy I eat donut! Heeheehee!"  (The closed eyes are always present when he know the flash is coming. I can't wait until he outgrows it!)

Please click the photo to be taken to the UPrinting.com "Happy Smiles Photo Contest."

*** EDIT - HOLY COW!!! I just found out what the prize for the UPrinting contest is: a 4GB Flip HD Camcorder. Oh, please like my photo! ;)

Thank You!

WINNER of the $5 iCards Select Quick Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered this Quick Giveaway.

Out of a whopping 18 entries (LOL) the winner was #17 - Musings By Michele

Musings By Michele said... 

Would love to win thanks brosius at tds dot net

April 2, 2011 8:56 PM

I'm emailing her shortly and she'll have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Constructive Critique - My Artsy-Fartsy Photos {4/2}

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This is my first week of joining I'm Lucy's new meme entitled "Constructive Critique." This is a weekly chance for artists of all types - crafters, writers, photographers, etc. to link up their artistic posts and have you, the readers, give real opinions.

I think that this is a great opportunity to take something that I've been working on and set it out for some actual criticism. I'd like you to really look at my stuff and honestly tell me what you think. If there is a particular point that just isn't right, or if the colors are of, what I could have done better, etc. It is very important to me that you are up front - I want to be better at what I love doing. So, here's my first round: Artsy-Fartsy Photography! These are photos that I've taken in the last year that I really like but feel just aren't all they could be.

If you'd like to join in, please link up at I'm Lucy. Don't be afraid - We're all here to help each other out!

Thanks so much for looking. I hope you'll help me out some by giving me your opinions. Don't forget to link up if you've got anything that you'd like a real opinion on!

What's Under YOUR Sink? {Review and Link to a Great Giveaway}

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If you had looked under my kitchen sink a couple of years ago, you would have found a lot of the typical household cleaners - Windex, Mr. Clean, Pledge, Bleach, and all those other name-brand cleaners we see in the store, on TV, and in magazines. But, on my road to a greener life for myself and my family, I learned of the great harm these can do to my family and the environment. If you consider that the increase in diseases, such as cancer, began soon after we began using chemicals in everything from food to pesticides to cleaning products, the link is hard to ignore. So, I slowly made the switch.

I got on my computer and Googled "homemade cleaning supplies recipes" and found that there were tons of different ways to go about making my own stuff. I ended up buying a couple of gallons of vinegar, the gigantic box of baking soda, some borax, washing soda, and some Ivory soap. They worked OK for me - my house was clean enough. But I knew there was something missing. I missed the shiny look of a freshly cleaned kitchen floor, streak-free windows, and the smell of a clean house.

OK, this isn't MY mess, but it looked something like this. I used an image from blog.familyvalue.com.

I hated making laundry soap, too. Grating a bar of soap, mixing it with borax and washing soda doesn't sound that complicated, but I could never get the soap grated fine enough. So, I made liquid detergent - an arduous project that included stirring gallons of boiling water into the mixture and and stirring and stirring... FOREVER! Then, I had to pour it into jugs that we plucked out of the trash at a laundromat (should have seen the puzzled faces!) The stuff was clumpy and messy. My clothes, while clean, never had that great smell of "clean", either.

I looked around on the Web for someone, anyone who made cleaning products that were safe and didn't cost an arm an a leg. I found a few laundry soap makers, but they didn't have any scented soaps and their prices were crazy. I gave up and kept making my own stuff. But now, I have a new place to get my cleaning supplies from!

The Peaceful Housewife has just opened her online store! She offers five categories of products: Cleaning Sprays, Scouring Powder, Hand Soap, Room & Linen Spray, and Laundry Detergent. And her prices are completely affordable - even to me! Her products are all made with, "gentle, natural, plant-based cleaners that are free from propellants, enzymes, optical brighteners and trade-secret 'fragrances'." She makes her products from ingredients such as: plant-based surfactent, sodium borate, sodium carbonate,acetic acid, citric acid, and essential oils. You can choose among many different scents for nearly all of her products, including some of my favorites: Lavender Vanilla, Japanese Cherry Blossom, Orange, Birthday Cake, Peppermint, baby Bee Buttermilk, and a whole lot more.

And, right now, The Peaceful Housewife is giving away a package of various cleaners from her online store in her "Green Your Clean" Giveaway!!! So, if you want to try out these great cleaners for yourself, go ahead and try to win a variety of her cleaning sprays, hand soaps, laundry detergent, and MORE! The giveaway ends on April 8th, so head over there right away before the opportunity is gone.

And, while you're there, check out the Natural Parenting Blog Party that she will be hosting April 15 - 30! I'm very excited to meet new bloggers who write and share ideas on the subject of natural parenting.

** I have not been compensated in any way for this review. I just think this is a really great new online store and want to share it with my readers. These are the lowest prices I've seen for products like these and would love if you'd go check them out!