2 Four Year Olds... 1 Camera

This is what happens when I ask these 2 to take a nice picture. They sure do crack themselves up.

FREE $10 Gift Card from Publix

In the ad this week, there was an advertised special for a $10 Publix Gift Card when you spend $50 or more in one visit, including $10 in the participating ConAgra Foods brands below:

Chef Boyardee (on sale 10/$10 this week)
Crunch 'n Munch
Hunt's Ketchup
Fiddle Faddle
Libby's Vienna Sausage
Golden's Mustard
Peter Pan PB
Hebrew National Hotdogs
Slim Jim
Marie Calender's Dinners (on sale 4/$10 this week)
Snack Pack
Reddi-Whip
Van Camps Beans

The promotion is good from 5/28/09 through 6/30/09. I'll be keeping an eye out for any of these products to go on a good sale between now and then.

Publix Weekly Deals and Coupons for 5/28-6/3

Publix will allow you to use 1 manufacturer AND 1 store coupon (this includes competitor store coupons) on every item you buy.

When an item is 3/$5 or such, you don't have to buy 3 to get the sale price.

Remember, you can use 2 coupons on BOGO items!!
Sunday Paper Insert Code:
SS - Smart Source
RP - Red Plum
GM - General Mills
P&G - Proctor & Gamble
KL - Kellogg's
V - Vlassis
UN - Unilever

If you want multiple coupons of bogo items for this week, be sure to order your coupons today from


Top Round London Broil ($2.27/pound)

Nabisco Chip Ahoy! Cookies (bogo @ $3.79/2)
Use $1/2 Target coupon from SS 4/19 AND
2 $.55/1 from ebay AND
2 $1 off wyb 1 Nabisco cookies and 1 milk from ebay
Makes them $.85 each and $2 off milk

Boneless Pork Loin Chops ($2.89/lb.)
Use $6 off pork wyb Kingsford Charcoal and 1 of the following: Ball Park, Hidden Valley, Glad, KC Masterpiece or Vlasic printable AND
$1/1 Glad product from Summer is Here flyer - the sandwich bags are $1.69) AND
$3 off any Kingsford Charcoal from Publix Summer is Here flyer.
Makes Pork Chops FREE and cheap charcoal and Glad bags!

Original Rangoon Crab Rangoon (bogo @ $7.99/2)
E-mail from here to receive $.75/1 coupons
Makes them $3.25 each

Vine-Ripened Tomatoes ($.97/lb.)

Kraft Mac & Cheese Dinner ($1.33/2)
Use b3g1 printable
Makes them $.33 each

Uncle Ben's Country Inn Rice (bogo @ $1.49/2)
Use $1/3 from RP 5/10 or buy from ebay or $1/2 printable
Makes them $1.85 each

Quaker Cereal (bogo @ $4.63/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable
Makes them $1.31 each

McCormick Black Pepper (bogo @ $3.59/2)
Use 2 $.75/1 from RP 4/5 or 5/10 or buy from ebay
Makes them $2.40 each

Capri Sun Drinks (b2g1 @ $6.82/3)
Use 3 $1/1 from SS 4/19
Makes them $1.27 each

Crystal Light Drink Mix (bogo @ $4.11/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable AND
FREE Crystal Light Skin Essentials wyb 2 Crystal Light Drink Mix printable
Makes them $1.05 each AND FREE Skin Essentials

La Famiglia DelGrosso Pasta Sauce (bogo @ $7.99/2)
Use 2 $1.50/1 printable
Makes them $2.50 each

Taco Bell Dinner Kit Originals Dinner! (bogo @ $2.69/2)
Use $1/1 printable (with 32801 zip code)
Makes them $.35 a box

Ken's Steakhouse Marinade (bogo @ $2.79/2)
Use 2 $1/1 SS 5/3
Makes them $.40 each

French's Mustard (bogo @ $1.49/2)
Use 2 $.30/1 from SS 1/18, 3/29, 5/10 or 2 $.50/1 from SS 5/10 or buy from ebay or printable
Makes them $.25 - $.45 each

8-Pack Coke Products (b3g1 @ $10.98/4)
Use $1/2 from ebay
Makes them $2.25 each

Emerald Deluxe Mixed Nuts (bogo @ $5.79/2)
Use $1.50/2 from SS 3/29 or buy $3/2 from ebay
Makes them $1.40 - $2.15 each

Nonni's Biscotti (bogo @ $2.99/2)
Use 2 $1/1 from SS 5/3 or $1/2 from SS 2/22 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.49 - $.99 each

Weight Watchers Ice Cream (2/$7)
Use $.55/2 from recent Weight Watcher Flyer in Publix or buy from ebay
Makes them $3.23 each

Yoplait Go-Gurt (bogo @ $3.09/2)
Use $.75/2 printable or from SS 4/19 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.22 each

Bird's Eye Frozen Veggies Steamfresh (50% OFF)
Use $1/2 from SS 4/19 or buy from ebay


More BOGO Deals w/ NO Coupons:
Gatorade Thirst Quencher 64 oz ($2.60/2)
Curly's Baked Beans w/ Pork ($3.99/2)
Diner's Choice Mashed Potatoes ($3.69/2)

Quaker Oatmeal To Go Breakfast Bars ($3.29/2)
Armour Vienna Sausage ($3.29/2)
Entenmann's Little Bites ($4.29/2)

Hershey's Candy Bars ($3.99/2)
Thomas English Muffins ($2.99/2)
Crystal Farms All Whites ($2.50/2)
Starkist Gourmet Tuna 4-pk ($7.39/2)

Winn-Dixie Deals and Coupons for 5/27-6/2

Not a very good week at Winn-Dixie. Here are the only deals I thought were worth mentioning.

Rotisserie Chicken ($4.99)

Kellogg's Cereal (bogo @ $4.99/2 - includes Rice Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Bite-Size Frosted Mini-Wheats, Raisin Bran)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or $1.50/2 printable
Makes them $1.50 - $1.75 each

Kellogg's Pop-Tarts or Entenmann's Pound Cake (bogo @ $4.29/2)
Use $1/2 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay
Makes Pop-Tarts $1.65 each

Totino's Pizza Rolls or Superpretzel (bogo @ $2.99/2)
Use $.35/2 from ebay
Makes Totino's $1.32 each

Famous Amos Cookies (bogo @ $3.99/2)
Use $1 off Milk wyb 2 Famous Amos Cookies from ebay
Makes them $2.00 a box and $1 off milk

Kraft Salad Dressing ($1.77/bottle)
Use $1.50/1 from SS 5/10 or $1/1 printable
Makes them $.27 - $.77 a bottle

Kraft BBQ Sauce ($.88)
Use $.75/1 from SS 5/3 or $1/1 printable
Makes them FREE - $.13



More BOGO Deals w/ NO Coupons:

Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Bread ($3.69/2)
Hormel Canned Chicken ($3.59/2)
Simply Potatoes Mashed Potatoes ($2.99/2)

Relaxing at the Beach

So, our good friends invited us to stay with them at the beach this past weekend. They have family that owns a beach front condo.

Well, the invitation came on Thursday. It was near the end of a very, very rainy couple of weeks. The forecast for the weekend did not look much better, but how often can you stay at the beach for free? Plus, it was Memorial Day weekend, so the offer was until Monday.

So, off to the beach we went.

Wouldn't you know it... the weather turned out to be just perfect! We arrived Saturday afternoon and it didn't rain 1 time when we left. Sunday was my favorite. It was cloudy, so the temperature was perfect. I usually don't like the beach because I can't stand to be hot, sweaty or dirty! But, Sunday was beautiful.

Monday was great for the kids and the dads, but Jess and I decided to spend most of the day enjoying the view from the room. I read part of a book and just relaxed. The whole weekend turned out really nice.

I have to let my kids do THIS...

Before I can get THIS...

I remembered one of the things I love about my husband this weekend...
He'll stay all day in the hot sun with the kids and let them get filthy while I hide in the room :)

We watched a group of teens, I'm assuming in training, jump off the end of this dock and swim to shore. Very entertaining :)

It wouldn't be vacation without the girls making new friends.

They even exchanged numbers when we left :)

After a good bit of work, Morgan was able to get her kite up in the air.

The girls had a "Camp Rock" kiteAnd Jordan had a Spider-Man kiteWe even had all 3 (including Jess's) going at onceJordan was excited to head out with daddy

This is how he boogie-boardedHe decided he was not crazy about the water, but he wanted some for his bucket. So, he would go to the edge of the water and wait for it to come to him :)

Sydney had a hard time pushing against the waves, so daddy had to help pull her.

They finally got out there and were able to ride some waves back. Morgan spent most her time out in the water with her dad.

Avery collecting shells

Working together

Why I Love Rain Checks and Publix - You Won't Believe the Savings!

Did you know that Publix offers rain checks for items that are out stock? This includes anything on sale and you can get the sale price at another time. Well, often they do not have as much as I would like to buy for the sale items. So, I often get a rain check.

I have been holding on to about 6 of them for a while now. I keep waiting for a week where there is not a lot of things on sale that I want. Then I can just use my rain checks and create my own sale. Last week was the week.

So, I went into my store and decided to redeem 4 of my rainchecks that I had great coupons for. I knew that the savings were going to be good, but the total even surprised me. By the time I used my Whole Foods $10/40, the rainchecks and the coupons that went with those items, my total was ....

$6.23!! And the savings were close to $300! It was one of those times when I thought I must be doing something wrong. How could this be right? But, everything matched up and it was the manager ringing me up. So, thank you Publix for being my kind of grocery store!

"I Wanna Play Hulk and They Wanna Play House"!

This is the complaint I heard last weekend from my poor little guy. He is the youngest with 3 older sisters. He has 2 GIRL cousins that are 2 and 5 years old. Our close friends have a little GIRL his age and a 19 month boy. He does have 2 boy cousins but they are 2 years younger and 5 years older than him.

Usually, he'll just go along with what the girls decide to play. He'll throw his own twist to it, like if they are playing house, he'll be the pet lion. Or, if they are playing school, he'll be superman to save them from the disaster.

But, when there are 7 girls and he is the only boy in the house, his chances of playing what he wants are slim.

He came slumping down the stairs with a pouty face. I asked him what was wrong and he answered with the title of this post, "I wanna play Hulk and they wanna play house. I don't have anybody to play with." I tried to convince him a way that they could mix the 2 together, but he didn't buy it or think the girls would. I'm sure he was right.

Then, I tried to convince him that Joshua was a boy and he could play with him. Keep in mind that Joshua is only 19 months. He looks straight at me and says, "Nooooooo.... He keeps knocking my towers down!". Well, what is a boy to do.

I do feel sorry for him. But, I know God gave him the friends and family he needs to grow to be who God is calling him to be. I'm sure he won't figure that out for a while. In the mean time, I may need to learn how to sword fight, play baseball and fight "bad guys".

Morgan's Photo Shoot

Well, Morgan decided to put on her very own photo shoot the other day. From the pictures, I guess the theme was cowboy/girl. I thought these actually came out very cute, so I had to share. All photos were taken by my children with their own poses in mind. I just sat back and smiled :)

Garden Journal - Week 4 - First Squash and Attack of the Caterpillars

Here is the update for this week. It has been amazing to watch how much the plants have grown in the last 2 weeks. Today, I actually picked our first squash and cooked it up and ate it. It was DELICIOUS!! They grew from 12" to 22"!! (They're HUGE!)There are several others that should be ready to be picked tomorrow or the next day. I guess my squash were properly pollinated :) I did find 2 of the squash plants with aphids all over them. I sprayed them with soap water and they seem to be doing a little better. I think I need to spray again though because I sprayed the same day the rain started.

On another note, we have been attacked by caterpillars. A couple weeks ago, I noticed about 3-4 small ones on our green bean plant. No biggie, we had the kids pick them off and we were good to go. I haven't really seen anymore since then.

Well, I don't know if the 5 days of straight rain brought them or what... but we picked off 30-40 of those little buggers today off the tomato plants. These were almost solely on the 4 big plants on the end. The smaller ones only had 1 plant with 2 on it. Why did they move 2 beds down?. We followed the advice I have read on several gardening sites and crushed up those caterpillars (sorry Jackie) and put the remains around the plant to deter others from coming. I don't know if this will really work, but we are going to get some organic Bt also to make sure they don't come back.
The tomatoes have grown from:
17" to 23"
20" to 25"
36 to 49"
24" to 33"

As far as the green peppers go, we are now down to only 1 plant out of the 9! I'm not sure why they did so poorly, but they sure did struggle. The one remaining still looks fine, but I'm not holding my breath. The one left grew from 12" to 25".The Green Beans still look pretty good, but I still don't see any beginning of beans. The maturity is 48 days, so I guess I have a couple more weeks before I really see anything significant.
They grew from 11" to 12"
The cantaloupe look great! They have lots of vines going all over the place! The cantaloupe and squash were the 2 plants that didn't seem to mind all this rain at all! In fact, they thrived off of it. I am starting to see small flowers and I am hoping that I will be able to distinguish the male from the female blooms soon.

They grew from 7" to 9" tall, but have spread to almost fill the entire bed and parts of the plant are hanging over. I think we are going to have a lot of cantaloupe.

To follow the whole gardening adventure, click here.

Publix Weekly Deals and Coupons for 5/21-5/27

Publix will allow you to use 1 manufacturer AND 1 store coupon (this includes competitor store coupons) on every item you buy.

When an item is 3/$5 or such, you don't have to buy 3 to get the sale price.

Remember, you can use 2 coupons on BOGO items!!
Sunday Paper Insert Code:
SS - Smart Source
RP - Red Plum
GM - General Mills
P&G - Proctor & Gamble
KL - Kellogg's
V - Vlassis
UN - Unilever

If you want multiple coupons of bogo items for this week, be sure to order your coupons today from


Pork Spare Ribs ($1.99/pound)
Use $6 off pork wyb Kingsford Charcoal and 1 of the following: Ball Park, Hidden Valley, Glad, KC Masterpiece or Vlasic printable AND
$1/1 Glad product from Summer is Here flyer - the sandwich bags are $1.69) AND
$3 off any Kingsford Charcoal from Publix Summer is Here flyer.
Makes Ribs FREE and cheap charcoal and Glad bags!

Sweet Corn (12/$3)

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes ($1.99)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $.99/box

Pepsi 8-packs (bogo @ $2.99/2)
Use B2G1 Dr. Pepper coupon from Publix Adv. buy (if Dr. Pepper is included in sale)
Makes them $1 an 8 pack

Lay's Potato Chips (bogo @ $3.99/2)
Use $2/Sara Lee Buns wyb 2 Lay's chips from recent peelies or ebay AND
$2 off any diet soda wyb Sara Lee Hearty & Delicious or 45 Calorie from recent peelies or ebay AND
2 $1 off produce wyb 1 bag of Lay's chips found at recent or from ebay
Makes 2 bags of chips, 1 pack of buns, 1 2-liter of soda and $1 of produce $3.99!!

Ribeye Steaks ($6.95/lb.)
Use $2/10 Food Lion printable or $1/5 Food Lion printable

Pork Chops ($1.99/lb.)
Use $6 off pork wyb Kingsford Charcoal and 1 of the following: Ball Park, Hidden Valley, Glad, KC Masterpiece or Vlasic printable AND
$1/1 Glad product from Summer is Here flyer - the sandwich bags are $1.69) AND
$3 off any Kingsford Charcoal from Publix Summer is Here flyer.
Makes Pork Chops FREE and cheap charcoal and Glad bags!

Curly's Chicken or Pork (bogo @ $5.69/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable
Makes them $1.85 each

Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs (bogo @ $4.09/2)
Use $1/2 from SS 5/10 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.54 each

New England Coffee (bogo @ $5.79/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 printable
Makes them $2.40 each

Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dip (bogo @ $2.10/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 from SS 5/17 or printable or $1/2 or $.75/1 from ebay
Makes them $.30-.55 each

Kraft American Cheese Singles (bogo @ $2.69/2)
Use $1/2 printable or here
Makes them $.85 each

Edy's Ice Cream (bogo @ $4.99/2)
Use 2 $2/1 printable Food Lion coupons
Makes them $.49 each

FREE Publix Milk wyb 3 Kellogg's Cereal (with Coupon from paper - Kellogg's on sale for $1.99 - includes Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Apple Jacks, Smacks, Rice Krispies)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $.99 a box and FREE Milk

Popsicle Ice Pops (bogo @ $3.99/2)
Use 2 $1/1 from Family Is It's Own Reward Publix Mag
Makes them $.99 a box

Contessa Shrimp (bogo @ $6.79/2)
Use $1.50/2 printable
Makes them $2.65 each

Freschetta Pizza (bogo @ $7.19/2)
Use 2 $1/1 from SS 3/1 or buy from ebay
Makes them $2.60 each

Farm Rich Cheese Sticks (bogo @ $7.69/2)
Use 2 $.75/1 printable
Makes them $3.10 each

Cole's Garlic Bread (bogo @ $2.79/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 printable
Makes them $.90 each

Aunt Jemima Syrup (bogo @ $3.89/2)
Use 2 $1/2 from RP 5/3 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.45 each

Aunt Jemima Breakfast Entrees (bogo @ $1.79/2)
Use $1/2 from RP 5/3 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.40 each

Kraft Mayo (bogo @ $4.81/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable or here from SS 4/26 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.40 each

Kraft or Seven Seas Salad Dressing (bogo @ $3.07/2)
Use 2 $1.50/1 from SS 5/10 or $1/1 printable or buy from ebay or here AND
$1/2 Target printable
Makes them FREE - $.03 each (plus overage!!)

Kraft BBQ Sauce (bogo @ $1.75/2)
Use 2 $.75/1 from SS 5/3 or buy from ebay or $1/1 printable or here
Makes them $.95 each

A.1. Steak Sauce (bogo @ $4.29/2)
Use 2 $2/1 from SS 5/10 or buy from ebay or $1/1 printable
Makes them $.15 - $1.15 each

Mt. Olive Pickles (bogo @ $2.79/2)
Use 2 $.55/1 or $.75/1 from ebay
Makes them $.65 - .85 each

Kellogg's Pop-Tarts (bogo @ $2.45/2)
Use $1/2 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.72 each

Mueller's Noodles (bogo @ $1.29/2)
Use $.55/2 from SS 3/1 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.42 each

Ragu Pasta Sauce (bogo @ $2.63/2)
Use $.75/1 from Family Is It's Own Reward booklet or $1/2 printable or buy from ebay or $.60/2 from RP 5/17 or 2 $.30/1 from UN 4/5
Makes them $.56 - $1.01 a jar

Betty Crocker Supreme Brownie Mix (bogo @ $2.63/2)
Use $.50/2 from SS 5/10 or printable or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.06 a box

Kellogg's Cereal ($2.99/box - includes Special K, Raisin Bran Extra, Crunchy Blends Granola)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $1.99 a box

Nabisco Baked Snack Crackers (bogo @ $3.59/2)
Use bogo from SS 5/17 or $1/1 from ebay
Makes them FREE - $.80 a box

Orville Popcorn (bogo @ $5.07/2)
Use 2 $.40/1 or $.50/1 from SS 4/19 and 5/17 or buy from ebay
Makes them $2.03 - $2.13 a box

Dixie Plates (bogo @ $3.03/2)
Use 2 $1/1 from Publix Summer Savings booklet (you have to buy Dixie napkins too) or $.35/1 from RP 3/15 or $.50/1 from RP 5/10
Makes them $.51 - $1.16 each


More BOGO Deals w/ NO Coupons:
Deli Iced or Green Tea ($2.39/2)
Arnold Select Rolls ($3.19/2)
Kraft Cheez Whiz Dip ($3.89/2)

Stouffer's French Bread Pizza ($3.19/2)
Bagels, 4 ct ($1.65/2)
Quaker Instant Grits ($2.87/2)

Lender's Bagels ($2.15/2)
Bush's Baked Beans ($2.37/2)
Green Giant Canned Veggies ($1.33/2)

Near East Rice Pilaf or Couscous ($2.19/2)
M&M Chocolate Candies ($4.79/2)
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers ($2.19/2)

Winn-Dixie Deals and Coupons for 5/20-5/26

Sweet Corn (10/$2)

Breyer's Ice Cream (bogo @ $5.99/2)
Use $1.50/1 from Magazine found at Publix (manufacturer coupon) or buy $1/1 or $.75/1 or $/2 from ebay
Makes them $1.50 - $2.50 each

Kraft Cheese (bogo @ $3.69/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable or here
Makes them $.85 each

Planters nuts (bogo @ $4.79/2)
Use $1/1 printable
Makes them $1.40 each

GM Cereal (2/$5 - includes Cheerios, Total Cinnamon Crunch, Golden Grahams, Cinnamon Toast Crunch)
Use $1/2 printable $1/3 from SS 4/5 or 5/3 or $3/3 from ebay AND
$1.50/bananas wyb 2 GM cereal from ebay
Makes them $2.00 - $2.17 a box AND FREE Bananas

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes ($1.99/box)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $.99 a box

Breakstone Sour Cream (10/$10)

Lay's Potato Chips (bogo @ $4.79/2)
Use $2/Sara Lee Buns wyb 2 Lay's chips from recent peelies or ebay
AND
Sara Lee Buns (bogo @ $2.89/2)
Use $2 off any diet soda wyb Sara Lee Hearty & Delicious or 45 Calorie from recent peelies or ebay
Makes 2 bags of chips, 2 packs of buns and 1 2-liter of soda $3.68!!

Kellogg's Special K Cereal (bogo @ $3.99/2)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $1.00 each

Kraft Mayo (bogo @ $4.99/2)
Use $1/1 printable or from SS 4/26 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.50 each

Kool-Aid (bogo - price not listed)
Use $1/1 printable
Makes good deal

Country Time Drink Mix (bogo @ $4.99/2)
Use $1/1 from recent peelies or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.50 each

Nabisco Snack Crackers (bogo @ $3.79/2)
Use bogo from SS 5/17 or $1/1 from ebay
Makes them FREE - $.90 a box

Duncan Hines Brownie Mix (bogo @ $2.49/2)
Use $1/3 from ebay
Makes them $.93 a box

More BOGO Deals w/ NO Coupons:

Arnold Bread ($3.69/2)
Yoo-Hoo 12 pack ($6.29/2)
Mt. Olive Pickles ($3.29/2)
Green Giant Canned Veggies ($1.39/2)

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

I'm sure we are in the middle of some sort of drought right now and this will sound completely selfish. But, we have not seen the sun in 3 days here! It has been raining almost non-stop. Now, you may be thinking that I just would like to get outside and play. Nope, I'm just obsessed about that dang garden. I just have this bad feeling that by the end of this rainy week, we are going to drown all our little plants.

I already went out yesterday and had to tie up several of the plants and throw one away completely. The squash and cantaloupe don't seem to be affected at all yet. I am nervous about the tomatoes though. I only time will tell.

Praying for a little sun tomorrow :)

Hand Pollination for Squash and Cantaloupe (and appartantly many other fruits)

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when we planted squash and cantaloupe. Who knew there could be so many things to consider when growing a garden. So, from what I hear, I can be in serious trouble with these 2 fruits if I don't have enough bees around.

They are supposed to come in the early morning (shortly after sunrise), so maybe I'm just not seeing them. You know I'm not awake that early. But, I really have not ever been aware of bees around our house. We have plenty of wasps and love bugs, but I rarely see a bee. So, I had to try some hand pollenation. I found this site that gives a great step-by-step and in a humerous way. Maybe I am just in a haze of gardening, but see if you find this as funny as I did...

Hand Pollination:
Jokes about hand pollination abound, both in the internet and in the field. Does anyone object to helping their plant to have sex? Okay, with that said, on to the learning....
By pollinating your pumpkin by hand, you assure a number of things. First, you use pollen from a male pumpkin from a plant you select(versus Mother Nature- -random?). This eliminates breeding a giant pumpkin with a nearby Zucchini Squash. Second, it significantly increases the likelihood of successful pollination of the female flower, although nothing is an ironclad guarantee. Third, it will increase the likelihood of pollinating all segments of the female flower.

Step by step:
1. Time pollination for the day that a female flower opens it's bud. With a little experience, you can usually tell the night before when it is ready to open.
2. Pollinate the plants in the early morning. The female flowers will close later in the day.
3. Select a male flower. Pull off the petals to expose the stamen which contains the pollen.
4. To make sure the pollen is mature. Touch the stamen with your finger and see if tiny yellow specks(the pollen) come off on your hand.
5. Using the stamen itself (some growers opt to transfer it to a soft paint brush). Gently rub the pollen onto the inside stigma of the female flower. Make sure to come in contact with all segments of the stigma. I leave the stamen inside the female flower. It is not necessary.
6. Hand pollination is now complete! Was it good for you?(Ooops. Sorry, but I could not resist!).

Keeping Out Skunks and Raccoons

Around here we tend to see those criminal little raccoons sneaking around at night (it might have something to do with the crazy neighbor who fed them when she lived here). Anyway, I have been looking at ways to keep these vandals out of my garden once the cantaloupe start to grow. We have planted pineapple in the past and have lost every single one to a raccoon. This is very frustrating when a pineapple takes 2 YEARS to produce 1 pineapple!! So, I am thinking ahead and ready to keep them out. I also don't want to pay a fortune for an electric fence. But, I found a site called ghorganics and it has a great list of how to keep those (and other critters) out of your garden. Here is the list for raccoons.

Raccoons and Skunks

NOTE: Skunks have been known to go after sweet corn just like raccoons! To add to that not much will stop raccoons.

Raccoons usually have litters of between two to seven babies. They travel what we call "runs" and will use the same runs generation after generation for decades. They can easily scale high wooden fences. They are nocturnal and do their scavenging at night.

Skunks are also nocturnal or nighttime marauders and can claim up to 10 acres in their territory! Skunks habitually use old borrows left from other creatures or like to make a home in hollows underneath buildings and porches. They will, on occasion, dig their own burrows.

1. Plant anything with prickly foliage to deter them such as squash plants, oriental poppies, globe thistle, pumpkins, Kentucky Wonder pole beans etc. Raccoons have incredibly sensitive toes. Glad to know they won't be after our squash.

2. To keep them from corn plants: put 2-3 drops of Tabasco sauce near the tip of the ear at least one week before picking.

3. To trap raccoons: use baits like sardines, marshmallows, or honey soaked bread.

4. Surround the area with a horizontal border that coons and skunks don't like to walk over-crumpled up black plastic, newspaper, or aluminum foil. Hold these in place with some rocks, landscape pins, or soil. I think I may try this one.

5. Use mesh fencing or chicken wire as a horizontal barrier. Raise these slightly above the ground with some bricks to make it even more of a hassle to cross. We've talked about doing this too.

6. Spread naphthalene flakes or balls around, raccoons hate the taste of this in their paws and they are said to also aid in repelling skunks. No idea what this is, but I am going to look into it.

7. Put paper bags over ears of corn and fasten shut with a rubberband.

8. When the ears are getting close to harvest time tape them to the stalks with masking tape!

9. Use any kind of old netting: fish netting, tennis net, whatever as a barrier. Stake loosely to hold in place.

10. Use rose bush trimmings as a barrier, or anything with stickers.

11. Plant cucumbers with your corn. Both raccoons and skunks hate cucumbers for some reason. Interesting. Unfortunately I didn't plant these.

12. Sprinkle a barrier of lime around the perimeter to be protected. Definitely going to do this!

13. To keep raccoons from getting the fruit in your trees: wrap a barrier of aluminum or sheet metal 2 feet in height around the trunk of the tree. Be sure not to make it tight you want to let your tree trunk breathe.

14. Soak old corn cobs in vinegar. Place them around the plant to be protected. Supposedly once they chew on these they will not come back. We found that last season this worked on both skunks and raccoons for about 2 months. Apparently after that they got wise and were up to their old tricks.

15. Skunk Spray: Make a spray out of 1 quart of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon dish soap. Spray this around areas where you would like skunks to steer clear of such as garbage cans. Don't get this on foliage.

16. Sprinkle flour around suspected nesting or sleeping areas.

Girl Scouts

We are joining Girl Scouts this year. For some reason, I have not really looked into this possibility before now. My niece joined a troop this last school year and has really enjoyed it. The big selling point for me is the low cost for the year. The actual dues are only $12/year. You do have purchase the vest/sash, but other than that, you really don't HAVE to spend anything else.

Well, my biggest hold back in doing this is the fact that I have 3 girls that are in 3 different levels of Girl Scouts. I have no interest in running around 3 different night of the week to accomodate them all in their own troop. So, I started to ask around and look into multi-level troops. I didn't know there was such a thing, but there is. I talked to the troop leader of Annalise's troop and we are going to try to and be sister troops and meet at the same place, same time.

Oh, wait, did I mention that I am going to be co-leading this group with Jessica? Yep, just added one more thing to my plate. So, Jess and I will be leading the combined Brownie and Junior troop and we will meet the same time as the already existing Daisy troop.

I am a little nervous and overwhelmed at this possibility. But, I also know that as the leader, we can make things as easy or hard as we want. I didn't realize how much flexibility there is in girl scouts. So, I'm thinking that atleast this first year, we are going to take things pretty easy.

If you or anyone you know are interested in joining this troop (grades 2-5), just shoot me an e-mail.

Becoming a Doula

Well, I am finally pursuing a passion of mine. Since Cory is still out of work and my kids are getting older, it seems like the right time.

After having a couple of my own children, I started to realize my passion concerning pregnancy, labor, delivery and breast-feeding. I started asking around my friends to see if any of them would allow me to be present during the birth of their child. Lucky for me, I have friends that said yes.

Then, the baby boom started in my church and I started having the opportunity more than I expected. The more I attended/assisted labor and delivery, the more passionate I became. For several years I have known that I wanted to become a doula one day. I just needed to wait for the right time.

For those of you who may be wondering, "What the heck is a doula?". I'll just give you a brief description straight from the CAPPA (Childbirth and Postpartum Professional Association web site)

The following is a general description of what you might expect from a CAPPA certified labor doula. Typically, doulas meet with the parents in the second or third trimester of the pregnancy to get acquainted and to learn about prior birth experiences and the history of this pregnancy. She may help you develop a birth plan, teach relaxation, visualization, and breathing skills useful for labor. Most importantly, the doula will provide comfort, support, and information about birth options.

A doula can help the woman to determine prelabor from true labor and early labor from active labor. At a point determined by the woman in labor, the doula will come to her and assist her by:

• Helping her to rest and relax
• Providing support for the woman's partner
• Encouraging nutrition and fluids in early labor
• Assisting her in using a variety of helpful positions and comfort measures
• Constantly focus on the comfort of both the woman and her partner
• Helping the environment to be one in which the woman feels secure and confident
• Providing her with information on birth options

A doula works cooperatively with the health care team. In the event of a complication, a doula can be a great help in understanding what is happening and what options the family may have. The doula may also help with the initial breastfeeding and in preserving the privacy of the new family during the first hour after birth.

I am actually very excited to start this process. I will update as things progress.

Happy Mother's Day - A Couple Days Late :)

I just have to take a moment to brag on my husband. Mother's Day has turned into a tradition of being spoiled rotten. Sunday's are usually a little stressful in our home trying to get out the door in time for church. So, on Mother's Day, Cory takes over and gets all the kids ready by himself. This year, he had them all in the car waiting for me.

Then, after church, we head to my parents where all the guys cook dinner while they instruct us to sit on the couch and relax. When it is time to eat, the moms get to go through the line first (without helping to make any kid's plates). They have a special table for just the moms with flowers on it. Then, the dads make plates for all the kids and sit with them to help feed whoever needs it. After lunch, we are not allowed to help clean up. They all work together and get the place spotless.

It was a great and relaxing day! Thanks baby!!

Publix Weekly Deals and Coupons 5/14-5/20

Publix will allow you to use 1 manufacturer AND 1 store coupon (this includes competitor store coupons) on every item you buy.

When an item is 3/$5 or such, you don't have to buy 3 to get the sale price.

Remember, you can use 2 coupons on BOGO items!!
Sunday Paper Insert Code:
SS - Smart Source
RP - Red Plum
GM - General Mills
P&G - Proctor & Gamble
KL - Kellogg's
V - Vlassis
UN - Unilever

If you want multiple coupons of bogo items for this week, be sure to order your coupons today from


Publix Milk ($2.89/gallon)

Publix Butter ($1.99/4 pack)

Publix Eggs ($.99/dozen)

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes ($1.99)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $.99/box

Ocean Spray Juice ($3.99/2 or $1.99/1)
Use $1/1 from ebay or $1/1 printable or $.55/1 from RP 4/19
Makes them $.99 - $1.44 each

Maxwell House Coffee ($1.99)
Use $1/2 printable or here AND
$1/2 Target printable
Makes them $.49 each

Top Round London Broil ($2.29/lb. - save $2.60/lb.)
Use $2/10 Food Lion printable or $1/5 Food Lion printable
Great Deal for this cut of meat!!

Watermelon ($.49/lb.)

Pompeian EV Olive Oil (bogo @ $6.99/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable
Makes them $2.50 each

Ken's Steakhouse Dressing (bogo @ $3.19/2)
Use $1/2 from SS 5/3
Makes them $1.10 each

Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ (bogo @ $2.29/2)
Use $1/2 from SS 5/10 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.65 a bottle

Lawry's Marinade (bogo @ $2.85/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.92 each

Lipton Tea Bags (bogo @ $3.95/2)
Use $1/2 from RP 3/15 or $1/1 or $.50/1 from ebay or $1/1 from new Unilever booklet in-store
Makes them $.82 - $1.32 each

Kellogg's Mini-Wheats (bogo @ $3.89/2)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $.94 a box

Kellogg's Cereal (bogo @ $3.99/2 - includes Smart Start, Raisin Bran, Raisin Bran Crunch, Corn Flakes)
Use 2 $.55/1 or $1/1 printable or $1/2 from ebay
Makes them $.99 a box

Lawry's Garlic Salt (bogo @ $3.69/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 from RP 4/5
Makes them $1.35 each

McCormick Grill Mates Seasoning (bogo @ $1.99/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 from RP 4/19 or 5/3 or $.75/1 from RP 4/5 or $1/1 from in-store mag or from RP 3/15 or buy from ebay
Makes them FREE - $.49 each

Nabisco Ritz Crackers (bogo @ $3.79/2)
Use $1/1Target printable AND
$1/1 printable or buy from ebay
Makes them FREE plus overage!!

Keebler Sandies (bogo @ $3.99/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable
Makes them $1 each

Shed's Spread (bogo @ $1.89/2)
Use 2 $.55/1 printable or 2 $.45/1 from UN 4/5
Makes them $.40 - $.50 each

Tombstone Pizza (bogo @ $5.79/2)
Use $1/2 printable
Makes them $2.40 each

Breyer Ice Cream (bogo @ $4.99/2)
Use 2 $.75/1 from UN 4/5 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.75 each

Yoplait YoPlus 4 pk (bogo @ $2.50/2)
Use 2 $.50/1 from SS 3/29 or buy from ebay
Makes them $.75 each

Kozy Shack Pudding (bogo @ $2.89/2)
Use $1/2 from ebay or 2$.50/1 printable
Makes them $.95 each

Kraft Shredded Cheese or Crumbles (2/$4)
Use $1/2 printable AND
$1/2 Target printable
Makes them $1 a bag

Lysol Wipes (bogo @ $4.99/2)
Use 2 $1/1 from SS 4/26 or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.50 each
$3 rebate form wyb 3 here

Lysol Neutra-Air Spray (bogo @ $3.59/2)
Use 2 $1.50/1 from SS 5/3 or BOGO coupons from ebay
Makes them FREE - $.30 each
$3 rebate form wyb 3 here

Windex Cleaner Refill (bogo @ $5.19/2)
Use $1/1 from SS 5/10
Makes them $1.60 each

Fresh Tomatoes ($.99/lb.)


More BOGO Deals w/ NO Coupons:
Publix Potato Salad ($2.89/2)
Salemville Amish Cheese Crumbles ($4.59/2)
Zatarain's Rice ($1.49/2)

Mott's Apple Juice ($2.95/2)
Gatorade (b2g1 @ $5/3)
12 pack Pepsi products (b4g1 @ $12/5)

Doritos ($3.99/2)
Keebler Club Crackers ($3.99/2)
Twizzler Candy ($1.99/2)

Winn-Dixie Deals and Coupons for 5/13-5/19

Hellmann's Mayo (bogo @ $4.99/2)
Use $1/1 from Publix Concierge Mag. or buy from ebay
Makes them $1.50 each

Orville Popcorn (bogo @ $4.79/2)
Use $1/1 from recent spitters or buy from ebay or 2 $.40/1 from SS 4/19
Makes them $1.40 - $2 a box

Nature's Own Bread (bogo @ $3.59/2)
Use 2 $.75/1 from ebay
Makes them $1.04 a loaf

Oscar Mayer Hotdogs (bogo @ $3.69/2)
Use $1/2 from SS 5/10 or $1/2 or $1/1 from ebay
Makes them $.85 - $1.35 each

FREE Winn-Dixie Milk wyb 4 GM Cereal (Cereal on sale for 4/$10 are Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Fruity Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese's Puffs)
Use $1/2 printable or $.75/1 printable $.75/1 here or $.75/1 here or $1/3 from SS 4/5 or 5/3 or $3/3 from ebay AND
$1.50/bananas wyb 2 GM cereal from ebay
Makes them $1.50 - $2.17 a box AND FREE Milk and Bananas

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes ($1.99/box)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $.99 a box

Kraft Salad Dressing ($1.77/bottle)
Use $1/2 printable or $1.50/1 from SS 5/10 or buy from ebay or $1/1 printable
Makes them $.27 - $1.27

Crystal Light Drink Mix (bogo @ $3.59/2)
Use $2/2 or $1/1 printable
Makes them $.80 each

Kraft Mac and Cheese (bogo @ $2.99/2)
Use $1.50/2 or b3g1 Free printable
Makes them $.75 a box

Planters Peanuts (bogo @ $3.79/2)
Use 2 $1/1 printable
Makes them $.90 each

Entenmann's Donuts (bogo @ $4.29/2)
Use $2/2 from ebay
Makes them $1.15 a box

Kellogg's Cereal (bogo @ $4.99/2 - includes Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, Corn Pops, Frosted Flakes)
Use $1/1 from RP 4/5 or buy from ebay or print here
Makes them $1.50 a box

More BOGO Deals w/ NO Coupons:
Edy's ($5.89/2)
Dole Salad ($2.99/2)
Green Giant Canned Veggies ($1.39/2)
Doritos ($4.79/2)

Getting Rid of Bugs on Plants - The Natural Way

So, I have seen on numerous sites an easy and effective way to keep away those aphids and other bugs that you don't want on your plants without harming the plant or any of the bugs you do want.

All you have to do is mix dish soap and water (or use your leftover dish water) and spray all over the plant.

We have 1 green bean plant that seems to be covered with these and I am going to put this method to the test.

Garden Journal - Week 3 - How to Care for Your Squash Plant

Everything seems to growing well. We measured all out plants again and here are the results:

Tomatoes (there are several more flowers still blooming, but no buds yet. Jessica pinched off the suckers last week.):
Celebrity - 17" (up from 11" last week)
Beef Steak 1 - 20" (up from 18" last week)
Beef Steak 2 - 36" (up from 34" last week)
Beef Steak 3 - 24" (up from 19" last week)
Beef Steak 4 - 24" (up from 19" last week)
Green Beans (front 2 rows) - 11" (up from 6" last week). I decided to thin these a little. There were 3 plants that looked like they were struggling a little. So, I pulled those to allow the other 15 to thrive more.Bell Peppers (back row) - 12" (up from 8" last week). We did lose all but 2 out of the 9 of these. The 2 left still look good. I'm a little bummed, but good learning experience.

Cantaloupe - 7" (down from 8 1/2" last week - they still look great so I am not sure if last week was recorded correctly)Squash - 12" (up from 7 1/2" last week).I started researching more about how squash grows and here is what I found out:
Both of the above pictures show male and female blooms on squash (these are not from my garden - we are not that close yet). We do seem to have the beginnings of both the male and female. I don't think it will be long before we start to see some flower blooms.

The only way that squash will produce fruit is if bees transfer the pollen from the male flower to the female flower.

Male squash bees look like they’re sleeping in the open squash blossoms (and in the mid mornings when the flowers close they are), but they are actually waiting for the female bee to visit the flower so they can mate. If you want to know if you have squash bees in your garden, and don’t want to get up before dawn to see them, try pinching some of the closed squash flowers after mid morning. If you get a buzz from the flower that means a male squash bee is resting in the blossom, and then you’ll know that females are in your garden doing their job pollinating your squash. (from Urban Bee Gardens)

If your squash are not lacking the pollination transfer from bees, you can try to do it yourself. There is a great step-by-step here.

I found some great answers to questions about growing squash plants here.

We have noticed one of the squash plants appears to have tiny black ants crawling around the base of the plant. From what I have read, these are harmless. If I start to see any deterioration to the plant, I should try to get rid of them. So far, no harm.