This is our second year having a vegetable garden, and I made some adjustments to last year’s plan.

Last year I didn’t exactly have a plan, but what I did have was way too much going on.

My handy husband made two raised garden beds on the side of our house.  I wish I would have actually taken photos of the building process.  From now on, when he’s building anything around the house, I promise to take pictures and share plans!

Last year I planted WAY TOO MUCH!  The long list included tomatoes, cucumber, zuchinni, squash, peas, carrots, several herbs, cantaloupe  strawberries, chives, garlic, green pepper, jalapeno, and corn.  Plus I added some marigolds to either side of each bed {that got HUGE}!

See…way too much going on there!  I could hardly get in there to pick veggies! And we soon realized that there were only certain ones we were actually eating.

This year, I made a lot of adjustments and only planted what I knew we’d eat.

Bed number one has two kinds of tomatoes {along the back} and two vertical rows, one of green pepper and the other zuchinni.

Bed number two has two more types of tomatoes {that still need tomato cages}, squash, and a row of green beans {planted as seeds} along the front of the bed.  I need to put up some netting for the beans to attach and vine along soon.

I’m so glad I was finally able to get it all planted, now come on veggies, do your ‘thang and start growing!  I’m ready to stop buying produce at the grocery store for awhile!

Do you plant a garden each year?  Any tips or secrets to share for successful veggie growth?

I’ll be linking up at these parties!

The post {Garden, Year Two} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

There are a few more spots open from late May- early July, and I’d love to have some of YOU guest post on my blog.  If you’re interested, please fill out the following application, and I’ll get back to you very soon {probably within a week or so}.

Looking forward to hearing from all of you!!

{And THANK YOU so much for understanding that a new mom needs a break every now and then!}

The post {Call for Guest Bloggers & Keep Calm & Link Up #41} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

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For Jackson’s grandmother that lives nearby and loves to garden, we opted for creating a

Mosaic Tile Stepping Stone

To make your own, you’ll need:

cement mix

stone mold

painters stick for mixing

bucket

wooden skewer for writing

mosaic tiles

{most craft stores sell complete kits as well, if you’d rather go for that option}

I worked on this project outside as I didn’t want to risk getting cement mixture or dust all over my kitchen!

STEP 1

Follow the directions that go along with the particular cement mixture you purchased.  Mine called for three cups of water.  I emptied both the contents of the cement bag and the water into a cheap bucket from the dollar store and stirred until mixed thoroughly with the paint stick.

STEP 2

Once the mixture was mixed well, I poured it into the mold and smoothed it out with the paint stick.  You can also grab opposite ends of the mold and shake lightly, back and forth, to get it to lay flat.

STEP 3

Immediately after getting the mixture as flat as possible in your mold, you’ll want to start placing the mosaic tiles in your desired pattern.

Working with cement and a 22 month old is not an easy task, therefore there are no real pictures of him working on this project.  I can assure you, he did a lot of the work after this point, I just had to make sure to supervise him very closely.

STEP 4

After about 20 minutes {which was about the time it took for us to place all the tiles onto the stone}, the cement was set enough to add some writing.  I wanted to put both of Jackson’s hand prints in the stone, but after getting just one little hand in there {and a major meltdown}, I decided that one was good enough for me.  He seriously loves to play and get dirty, but for some reason his hands in the cement did not fly!  I also added his name and the year, so Grandma would always remember when he made it for her.

I want one for our garden now too!  Maybe I can convince him to put his little hand in some cement for me just one more time!

I’ll be linking up at these parties!

The post {Mosaic Tile Stepping Stone} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

CRAFT LIGHTNING WEEK!

I noticed last year when planting my garden that my herbs just didn’t seem to do too well outside.  Most of them got overtaken by some pretty crazy zuchinni {that stuff seriously grows like a weed} or they died because I think it was just a bit too hot for them.

This year, I decided on a few favorite herbs, bought myself a cute planter, and decided that they would be mostly indoor herbs.  I put them outside when the sun is shining to give them some natural light, otherwise, they stay in my kitchen.  Once they start really growing {I planted them as seeds}, I won’t have to leave the kitchen while cooking to add some fresh herbs to my meals.

I wanted to make sure to have some cute plant markers, so I knew which was which and came up with this little idea.

Wine Cork Garden Markers

To make some for your herbs or your outdoor garden, you’ll need the following supplies:

wine corks

wooden skewers

black sharpie

polyurethane sealer {if using outdoors}

Now, all you have to do is write out each herb, veggie, or fruit onto individual wine corks.  Poke the pointy end of the skewer into the bottom of the cork and place the skewer in the correct planter.

Now, that’s what I call a Craft Lightning project!

If you’re using these outside, make sure to apply a coat of polyurethane sealer to keep the marker from fading away.

I’ll be linking up at these fabulous parties!

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 I recently headed out to my local Sears to do some shopping.  No, not for new appliances {but man, they’ve got a great selection, don’t they?!}, I went shopping for some ocean inspired accessories.  You see, I’m so ready for summer it’s not funny!  With summer comes many days lounging at the pool with my little ones.  Well, probably not so much lounging as it will be trying to keep up with them at the pool, but a mom’s gotta look good while she’s playing in the shallow end, right?

Since my bikini days seems to be outnumbered {hello, maternity bathing suit}, I knew to give myself that “ocean” feel, I’d focus on some fun accessories in shades of blue and turquoise instead.  I’ve always been more of an accessories kinda gal anyway.

I’ve been in desperate need of a new pair of sunglasses for about 7 years now.  Yep, same old pair for 7 years folks.  I was thrilled to find a fun selection at Sears and they were all on sale!  The style I went for looks pretty classic on the outside, but if you look inside the frames you see a fun shade of turquoise.  I just loved that pop of color and the shape of the lens looked great on me.

Here’s a peek inside the frames of the sunglasses and the rest of my purchase from Sears that day.

I’m loving everything that I got and can’t wait to wear it all to the pool this summer!  I may have already started wearing everything actually…dreamin’ of summer over here people!

Having a short afternoon to myself to shop was so much fun.  If you’d like to, you can view my entire shopping experience by clicking here.  The day I went was pretty low key at the mall.  I’m guessing that’s how it is most Wednesdays around 5:30 though.  I was able to shop in peace, and the one time I needed some help finding a shoe size, the sales associate was super nice and helpful.  Upon checking out, I even earned some points on my Shop Your Way Rewards program.  I simply had to give the cashier my phone number and she found my information easily.  {I had signed up for the program via the iPhone app before heading to Sears.}

I seriously cannot wait to hit the pool this summer, and my pool time urge has just been increased a whole lot more at the thought of getting to wear these fun, new, ocean inspired accessories!

What are you looking forward to most this summer?

The post {Ocean Inspired Accessories with Sears} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

I hope all of you moms out there are enjoying a fantastic and well deserved Mother’s Day.  Being a mom is hands down the best “job” I’ve ever had, and I’ve only been at it for about two years now!

Each year, my favorite way to spend Mother’s Day is just being with my family.  We usually get together with my husband’s side of the family on Saturday {since they live nearby} and then Sunday is spent just the three of us {soon to be four of us}.  It’s a day to unplug and just enjoy the entire reason that I’m celebrated, because of my children.

Now, I’m sure you know all too well that everyday being a mom isn’t all sunshine and lollipops.  There are rough days too, you know what I’m talking about.

The days that the second you clean up a mess a new one has formed.

The days that your little one is sick and you feel like there is nothing you can do to make it better.

The days when your toddler decides he doesn’t need to wear his diaper and squats behind the couch on your newly cleaned rugs to leave his mark. {I’ll spare you a picture of that one}.

But then there are the wonderful moments full of hugs & kisses, picked dandelions or “fowers” as my son calls then, and witnessing your little one learn and grow.

Those good moments far outweigh the moments and sometimes days that are tough.  Those are the days that always give me the reassurance that I’m doing more than “okay” as a mom.  Some might call me “supermom”.

So today, if you haven’t had a chance to recognize a mom in your life, I encourage you to give a Johnson’s Baby Cares card to her by clicking here.  For every card sent, shared, or liked, Johnson’s Baby will donate $1.00 to Save the Children, up to $150,000 to benefit early childhood education.  You can share this card {and honestly as many as you’d like} with any mom.  Maybe it’s a mom that you know is having a hard time, perhaps she’s trying to juggle work and family life, or maybe she’s just starting out on this whole mom adventure and could use a little encouragement.  Whatever the reason, let her know that you care and you’re thinking about her while helping out this awesome cause!

Happy Mother’s Day!  You’re doing GREAT!

The post {Happy Mother’s Day from Johnson’s Baby} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

I feel like I’ve been singing the “rain, rain, go away” song a lot lately to my son.  It has seriously rained the past three weekends in a row here in Georgia, and a lot of times that gloomy, rainy weather has leaked into our weeks as well.  What’a  girl gotta do for some sunshine around here?!

The only good part about the rain and the cooler weather has been that it’s put me in the mood for a nice cup of hot coffee.  So, I decided to get my little family out of the house, and we headed to Walmart to grab a box of the NEW Maxwell House single serve cups for Keurig.

You can view our entire shopping experience here.

Once we paddled our way home, I quickly opened the package and noticed how convenient it was for easy storage and accessibility.  The packaging is ideal for storage in a kitchen drawer near your coffee maker or even the pantry.

I quickly made a couple of cups of Maxwell House French Roast for the hubby and I.  The single-serve cups were super easy to use and definitely still captured the delicious traditional roast that we all expect from an honest cup of coffee like Maxwell House.

These cups were definitely good to the last drop!

There’s nothing better than enjoying a delicious cup of coffee on a cold, wet day in my opinion.

The post {Maxwell House Single Serve Cups} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

While at SNAP! conference a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with a few representatives of FamilyShare.com, a new-to-me website that strives to provide individuals with tools needed to strengthen families and family values.  Their entire premise was such a refreshing concept to me, that I knew I wanted to check them out as soon as I had some time to sit down and take a peek around their site.

Well, as luck would have it, we’ve had quite a few rainy weekends since my return from SNAP! {yes, I’m being a bit sarcastic when I say luck}, so I had the time to sit down and do some good old-fashioned internet reading.

source

One topic that is on my mind on a daily basis is wondering if my 22 month old is eating enough.  He can be so stinkin’ picky some days and others it’s like he’ll eat anything I put in front of him.

I found this article, “Is My Toddler Eating Enough?” to really make me feel a whole lot better about his eating habits.  One thing that it really made me stop to think about was the portions that I put in front of him.  Yes, he’s a growing boy, but he definitely shouldn’t be eating the same portions of food that my husband and I eat at meals.  Stopping to take a look at how much you’re putting in front of your little ones should be a daily practice!  Don’t give them too much!!

source

A second article that caught my eye was written by fellow blogger, Heidi Ferguson and titled “Yeah, I made that! 3 Ways Crafting Builds Self-Esteem”.  This was a fun read for me, since I’d definitely call myself a crafter now.  I’ve always had a crafting side to me, but I feel that since starting my blog, I’ve put more time and effort into the projects I create.  I don’t ever let myself sit down to make something “just because”.  I like for the projects I create to have a purpose and function, something I’d actually use in my own home or give as a gift.  And, yes, it does make me feel pretty good about myself after completing a project and loving the end results.  That doesn’t mean that things always turn out how I’d like them to, but most of the time, my crafting is a definite self-esteem booster.

One of my recent, most favorite crafting projects, my Mason Jar Sewing Kits.

In addition to all the fabulous articles that Family Share offers it’s readers they also have some other super cool features on their site including:

groups

Q & A page

and their newest edition, Show Love, where you can show love to that special someone in your life {imagine the ultimate E-Card just in time for Mother’s Day}

I highly recommend that you make FamilyShare.com part of your daily internet reading, even if it’s just to check out an article a day!  It’s well worth your time and really makes you stop to think about things.

Enjoy!

{Featured image above the post was taken at my son’s baptism this past December and shows our family of three-soon to be four, plus Buddy the bear!}

I was compensated by FamilyShare.com to write this review, as always, all opinions are 100% my own!

The post {FamilyShare.com Review} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.

Without further adieu – last week’s most viewed link was….

Craft Room Reveal by Now At Home Mom

Congrats Ingrid!

Now let’s party!!

The post {Keep Calm & Link Up #40} appeared first on Wait Til Your Father Gets Home.