Backyard Adventures

I am so fed up with this crazy winter! I seriously am about to blow! If winter doesn't pack its bag and move on out I think I am going to explode. In my last attempt to persuade winter to leave, I got to working in the backyard. I am hoping that if I begin living and breathing under the premise that "If you build it they will come", that Spring will very soon be on her way to town.

So yesterday Baby DIVA and I went on a backyard adventure. I drank half a monster, you know the energy drink, and several hours later we had a full garden and a new patio. After all I completed yesterday, I am thinking a monster might be in order more often! Don't ask, cause I am gonna tell you all about it!

Now you have probably heard me rant on and on again before about how my pretty little Pink Haired family is on a pretty tight budget. We coupon shop, discount hunt, freecycle stalk, the works, all so I can be a SAHM to baby DIVA; very much worth all the effort! Anyway with this horrid winter and our tight budget we know for a fact that fruits and veggies are gonna tap into our fundage this year, and tap hard. This crazy weather has already began to wreck havoc on the nations food supply. So we are gonna grow our own. Not to mention we also just love fresh veggies, and I am thrilled to finally have a full garden of my very own! I feel so proud seeing those little green leaves sparkle in the sun. almost like giving birth again, well without all the pain. Well you know what come to think of it, the back pain of both are similar....anyway moving on.

Keeping our budget in mind, I devised a cheap, simple and easy to construct plan for our garden. You are probably gonna laugh, but seriously I spent less than 10 bucks on this garden! And just imagine the profit we are gonna have when all the fruits and vegetables mature, 10 bucks spent on a full summer of food! Yippee! It may or may not turn out to be a genius plan, but who cares. It is all about trying and learning and enjoying myself right?

Laying out the design

How did I do this budget conscious garden? I purchased 4 6ft fence slats and assembled them in a box like shape. Now I did not attach the slats with nail or screws, this could be done, but I preferred just using bricks on the corners of the box design, personal preference, I am weird. H4L says i have a little ghetto in me, I just call it Pink Haired white trash, but whatever. After I constructed my square I laid out some black weed cloth to cover the entire inside portion of the box, (already had this leftover from last year). Then I filled the box up with nutrient rich soil and compost from the compost bin I started last spring. Simple. Elegant. Cheap. And I do love playing in the fresh dirt. Feels so cool and I know there are no scary bugs in it yet!

The soil box

Once the soil was in place, Baby DIVA stepped up to help. She planted some various knick knacks she found throughout the yard, careful to only use her feet to bury, as she does not like to get her DIVA hands dirty. After she completed her"planting", I went to work on the planting of baby plants and she went off to terrorize our cat. We have quite the variety this year, some oldies but goodies, like tomatoes, and also some new items like strawberries. I do not know what will grow to perfection, hoping all of it, but as a novice gardener this budget friendly design not only lends a helping hand to my pocketbook, but it also does not allow my spirit to break if one of my little green pals does not perform as expected. Cheap equals a great learning tool also.

Baby DIVA toe planting

My Pink Haired White trash non nailed boards (bricks were free BTW)

So what is Pink Haired Momma growing in this budget friendly piece of earth? As far as baby plants go we have red and orange bell pepper, spinach 2 varieties, a salad green mix, broccoli, tomato, strawberries, lavender, rosemary, and sweet basil. Still in pots and hoping to get some sproutage are butternut squash, zucchini, cucumber, and cilantro. I am already plotting and planning all the yummy treats I can concoct in the kitchen with fresh veggies and herbs. I can not wait. In no time I might just be that crazy Pink haired lady out singing and chatting to her little green leaf friends. Commit me.

My fun cheap little garden

Oh and the garden is not all that went down! After Baby DIVA and I completed the fabulous little backyard garden a second adventure presented itself. Yep. I had an ADD moment when I needed to move a stone out of the way of the new garden. Figured if I moved one might as well move 100 or so. Sometimes I wonder about myself and my "ideas". But it worked out wonderful. All by myself, lifting each stone one by one, I built a patio. I am quite proud, but man I am sore and tired. But now H4L, Baby DIVA and myself have a pleasant area to sit at in the backyard while dining on the fabulous fruits of my labor, well in a few months at least!

Patio built by Pink Haired Momma!

Ebeantalk and The Spiral Spin Top

Ebeanstalk is a toy website dedicated to selecting the best toys by age and kids toys. The in-home feedback of bloggers and moms like me around the country help to make sure ebeanstalk continues to provide the best educational toys for your child. Check it out for yourself!

Just the other day, a package arrived for myself and Baby DIVA from Ebeanstalk. We always get excited when this happens, as we usually find something fabulous inside. And this time was no different. I opened the shipping package to reveal a fun and entertaining toy that I have actually been considering purchasing for Baby DIVA in recent weeks.

The Spiral Spin Top. I handed it on over to Baby DIVA and was greeted with a huge smile. She took a few minutes to look the toy over, smell eat, make sure it wasn't a giant cookie for her to snack on, licked it a few times, talked to it, and the nit happened. She discovered that by pushing the lever on the top, all the balls inside begin to dance around and make a really cool loud noise. She was hooked, and I reached for the Tylenol. It really is a fun toy. The balls are multi colored so on top of it being a cool and inviting toy to entertain my Baby DIVA's mind, it also provides a great way for us to have impromptu colors and counting lessons. How about that for coolness?

I would like to thank Ebeanstalk for yet again providing us with a really great and entertaining toy to review. I highly recommend both ebeanstalk and the Spiral Spin Top to all my readers with children who are 6 months and older and are looking for some good loud engaging fun!

As always the comments in this post are of my own opinion. I was not paid by any monetary means to write this review. I simply received an item from a sponsor and have given my honest opinion for other parents out there to read, learn, and grow from.

Unleash the Pink #4

Did you SPARKLE this week? How do you feel about it? Not so bad huh? Adding a little Sparkle to your day to day life can really empower you. It enables you to remember, even when the work piles high, the kitchen is a disaster, the kids wont stop crying, YOU still are a woman. You still have that sexy, fun loving chick inside you, despite everything going on around you. There is nothing wrong with scrubbing toilets while wearing hot pink lipstick and sparkly shadow on your eyes! You SPARKLE just because you are you!

So I wore sparkle on my eyes almost every day this week. And then if you looked really hard, you just might have found me pretending to be a Fun and flirty house wife with sparkle on my hair and DIVA style everywhere!!!

Unleash the Pink
Week 4:

A quote from Jessica Alba actually suits Unleash the Pink this week:

"My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything-even if you have no clue what you are doing."

I love this quote. I think it is absolutely honest and true. No matter what you are faced with you should approach the situation with confidence. You may not have confidence in the project you are undertaking, but you do have confidence in yourself. You can accomplish whatever life throws you, you just need to believe you can. And when you do not think you can, fake it. The confidence is there!

This week I PINKY DARE you to model your actions, personality and behavior after someone you look up to for an entire day. From sun up to sun down. I PINKY DARE you to take on the characteristic of this individual you find appealing implement them in your world and see what happens. Approach the day and all it throws at you with the confidence you have borrowed from your idol. It doesn't matter if this person is a family member, celebrity, cartoon, dead or alive. Just someone who you admire and who has the confidence you desire.

Frivolous PINKY DARE of the week: initiate an intimate moment with your significant other, something out of the ordinary for you, something new and exciting, something possibly your idol would do!

H-E-B GIVEAWAY

I sure hope you took the opportunity I mentioned last night and have entered the Contest to win Spurs tickets from H-E-B. That is such a fun contest!

I notice that I have some new followers lately, first of all WELCOME to Pink Haired Mommaland. Many of my readers are well aware that I love to cook and I LOVE to save money; so to my oldie but goodie followers and my newbie loves I am here to share some fun stuff with you. I am constantly on the prowl for new recipes and fabulous coupons to get great steals so I can cook, cook, cook and not break the bank. And when I find something good to cook up or to brag about getting at a good price, I come right here and share this fabulous news with you, My bloggy friends.

Enter HEB! HEB is one of my favorite grocery stores. I engage myself in a little competition every single week at HEB. I enter the store, coupons in hand and see just how many deals, steals, and savings I can score. I always walk out with gorgeous produce, delicious meats, discounts on canned goods, and leftover cash in my pocket. What could possibly be better than that?

Well how about a chance for you to walk in to HEB and receive some deals, steals, and savings of your own? HEB has given me the opportunity to provide ONE of my readers with a fabulous $20 Gift card to HEB. Man I tell you, with the great deals at HEB coupled with the fabulous food, a $20 gift card will hook your family up with food for well over a week! I think that is so awesome! And I am thrilled for the opportunity to give my readers such a wonderful gift!

Main Entry
To enter this giveaway you MUST let me know how you will spend the HEB gift card should you win.

EXTRA ENTRIES
Extra Entry 1: Follow my blog (or tell me that you already do ) in a separate comment
Extra Entry 2: Follow me, Pink Haired Momma on Twitter and leave a comment letting me know
Extra Entry 3: Blog about this giveaway and then come back here and leave a comment with a link to your post telling me you did so in a separate comment
Extra Entry 4: Follow HEB on twitter and leave a comment letting me know
Extra Entry 5: Tweet about this giveaway and then come back here and leave a comment with a link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may tweet about this giveaway as many times as you would like and may add an extra comment once a day for extra tweets!
Extra Entry 6: Grab My Button and put it on your site (or tell me that you already have it ) in a separate comment
Extra Entry 7: Subscribe to Pink Haired Momma (or tell me that you are already a subscriber)
Extra Entry 8: Follow me on Facebook and leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.
Extra Entry 9: Share this giveaway on Facebook and then leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.


That is a total of 10 possible entries guys! Pretty fabulous! Happy entering!!

**This giveaway ends at midnight on Thursday March 4, 2010. The Winner will be chosen using Random.org. Winner will have 48 hours to contact me before another winner is chosen. Must be 18 years or older to enter. Giveaway is open to U.S. residents only.**

***The opinions in this post are that of my own. I was not compensated through monetary means of any sort to perform this giveaway.

Time out Thursday

Holy Toledo it has been a super dooper long time since Pink Haired Momma has had a mommy time out! I have been feeling so sad, reporting my failure to our fearless leader in the Time out Thursday quest, Theta Mom . But not any more. This week I get to shout from the roof tops that I Pink Haired Momma had a mommy time out!

Some of you might remember back a long while ago, when Thursdays would bring this wonderful post about how I spent 30 minutes during the last 7 days to myself. Yes that is right just 30 minutes. Theta Mom challenges us as women and mothers to always remember to take a break for ourselves. If we are not rested then we can not be held responsible for the insanity that may ensue. Hmmm maybe I shouldn't take a break, HA! Just kidding. So anyway, on the last Thursday of the month we head on over to Theta Moms and link up to share how we in fact remembered to take a mommy time out and keep our sanity in check. It is a wonderful way to connect to other moms and also get ideas on how to spend your next time out! If you have heard my stories before on my mommy time outs, then stick around cause your gonna hear another. And if you are new to this, go check out Theta Mom and join us in this quest to remember to have a mommy time out!

So check this out! This is the ULTIMATE time out! I had the privilege this week to be honored with the greatest gift ever...
A cleaning crew came in and cleaned my entire house for me! Oh my goodness, I can not tell you how marvelous it felt to have a clean house and not be exhausted from baby poop changes and cleaning bananas outta places not fruit should ever go. So with my sparkling clean floors and fresh scented kitchen, I utilized Baby DIVA's 2 hour, let me repeat 2 HOUR, nap time to just sit around, watch tv, play on the Internet and take a little cat nap. And I did not feel the least bit guilty. That right there was the Mommy time out I needed the most. Allowing myself to just relax and unwind without the worry of the house being dirty, or the laundry needing to get done. It was by far the best 2 hours I have had in a super long time! I feel like a Pink Haired Princess!!

H-E-B, dinner, a camera and SPURS tickets!!

Okay guys here is a totally fabulous and fun event you have to participate in, if you are in the the local area of, well Texas. You know how I am always sharing with you pictures of my kitchen experiments, commonly known as dinner for my family? Well now it is your turn! Grab that camera of yours and snap some pictures of what your having for dinner. Then jump on twitter and share that picture with H-E-B! AND you could win a 4-pack of tickets to the Spurs vs. Hornets game on Friday March 5th!! Pretty easy and fun huh? Okay go get to snapping those pics, and please upload quickly. This contest ends on 2-25-2010.

Here are the official details and the Official Rules:

What’s for dinner tonight?
Moroccan Chicken Dinner? Veggie Chili? Tweet us photos of your #HEBdinner using H-E-B products and you could win a 4-pack of Spurs tickets!

It’s easy to enter!
Just tweet @HEB your dinner photos from February 10-25. Show off your cooking tips and be sure to include the #HEBdinner tag. Each day we’ll randomly select two winners to receive 4-packs of tickets to the Spurs vs. Hornets home game on Friday, March 5.
www.heb.com/twitter

Wordless Wednesday

Average Joe Driver

My H4L has the worst luck out on the open roads and with vehicles. He is constantly having almost catastrophes and pint size drama, which he then shares with me in great detail as my heart just about pounds out of chest, only to find out he and our cars are just fine. Random weird happenings just surround his every move in any vehicle. Makes you wanna never ride shot gun with this man huh? Well these weird events just keep a coming, So much so he has started a blog to document his encounters with the vehicular kind. This lovely new blog details his accounts with current, and past adventures while driving. Please stop by and welcome him to the blogging world as well as jump on board, fasten your seat belt and get ready to hear his tales of vehicular drama!

Introducing H4L as the Average Joe Driver!

The Little Guy

After a long hard day of being a mom, you find yourself wiped out yet again. You have been going strong since 6am talking and teaching and cooking and cleaning and answering to the every whim of the call "MOM". Your feet are exhausted. Your head aches. Your mind is a blur. All you want to do is fall into bed, close your eyes and drift off to the land that birth control remembered. Then you remember that last load of laundry that needs to go into the dryer, no you can not just leave it there over night because this is actually the 4th time you have washed this same load this week because of "just leaving it there". So you stumble off to put that last load in the dyer, you hear your pillow calling as you hurriedly complete your task.

And then you find it...

This little guy

The little guy that reminds you of why all the aches and pains and exhaustion are worth it. The little thing that makes your heart flutter and allows you to melt away into the love of being a mom. The little thing, that even for just a moment, allows you to forget that your pillow is beckoning you to come quick.

This little guy. A single memento of parenthood, hiding in the laundry, washed 4 or 5 times because you are lazy and tired and exhausted. A tiny reminder that no matter how exhausted you become, finding a little guy hiding in your laundry will ALWAYS bring out a smile and a compassionate feeling of love for your child and the art of being a mom , exhaustion and all. This little guy is the root of exhaustion, the root of your happiness, the root of this little person that brings so much exhaustive joy to your life.

DADDY MAIL Day 1

Baby DIVA seemed quite enthralled with her DADDY MAIL. We awoke bright and early as usual, just moments after daddy left for work. I staggered with Baby DIVA, who is bouncy, tooth grinning and babbly, to the kitchen and grabbed myself come caffeine as we went to check the "DADDY MAIL" box. Baby DIVA was incredibly excited to find a little something inside the box.

She carefully shredded, I mean opened her little letter and looked inside.

Then she took off in a full sprint to "hide" her treasures in her toy car's top secret hiding spot.

Not too bad for her first letter. Daddy was a fabulous participant and wrote a short novel to Baby DIVA inside her little letter. After a short Pink Haired momma vs. Baby DIVA battle, I won her treasure out of her hiding spot and read her Daddy's sweet words and wishes of love and happiness for the day. Then I showed her the picture of her and daddy that was in the letter. She took it happily, then ate it.

Nice.

Daddy Mail

H4L has been working a lot of overtime lately. I have to admit I am not so sad, although I do miss him being home, but the extra money is quite lovely! Baby DIVA however, is a bit sad. Most days daddy is already gone to work by the time she awakens from her sleeping beauty spell. And Baby DIVA is tucked in, lullaby sang, teeth brushed, butt bathed and snoozed well before daddy returns from work, if I am lucky. So this leaves her missing daddy terribly. So much so that she rips out momma's heart on the weekend when daddy is home, by ONLY wanting daddy. So sad. For her and for me! Well I hate to see her missing her pops, so I came up with a plan.

I would like to introduce you to the DADDY MAIL.

Daddy mail is a unique invention of mine that will connect Baby DIVA and Daddy every morning. You see I am just so brilliant ( you may laugh now), I took a simple box and turned it into the "magic DADDY MAIL box" with some simple construction paper and markers. Nothing Fancy. Just a special DADDY MAIL box for Baby DIVA. I then took some very pretty note cards and inside each one a placed a picture of Baby DIVA and daddy. Every morning, before Daddy leaves for work, he can write a special message inside the note card, along with the special picture that momma placed inside. Daddy can "mail" his letter to Baby DIVA as he leaves for work, and then when she wakes up she can "check" her mail from daddy. We, myself and Baby DIVA, can then look at the picture of her and daddy, talk about daddy, I can read her Daddy's message and she can babble "dadadadadada" at me for a while.

Silly? maybe. Corny? maybe. Effective? I sure hope so! I think it is a great way for the two of them to stay in touch while he works all these extra hours. I am really hoping it helps her not miss him so much throughout the week. We will see how this week goes! Time will tell if DADDY MAIL is a hit!!

Color Yard

I am so tired of winter. I am bored with all the Gray skies and cold temperatures. I am so tired of being cooped up inside. Baby DIVA is going stir crazy too. Doesn't mother nature understand that toddlers need to RUN outside and breathe in the fresh air? Tissue paper gardens and fake construction paper suns just ain't cutting it anymore!!!

We finally had a day of sunshine this last week. And on top of Mr. Sun coming out to visit, mother nature also gave us temps in the upper 60's. Baby DIVA and I awoke and dressed and sat at the back door waiting for the sun to warm the back yard just enough that we could venture out into the wonderful world of our backyard. Armed with cans of spray paint, I was determined to add "color" into our world, just in case Mr. Sun decided to return to his winter vacation home.

We simply sprayed a few plain clay pots with all different colors of spray paint. Nothing fancy. Just simple color added to whatever we had laying around the house. Baby DIVA really enjoys pinwheels, so until spring has made itself known, these are all that will live in our pots. It adds a bit of whimsical color to the yard. Not to mention is was just utterly fabulous to be outside soaking up the sun all day!

The pretty colorful corner of our yard that is begging Spring to please come soon!!

It must be near...

I think Winter must be packing its bags. I found this hiding in my backyard yesterday!!

It is quite small, hiding amongst the dead debris left by frequent freezes us Texans are not quite used to; but it is in fact green vegetation and is showing signs of growth!! Yippee!!

Unleash the Pink #3

So how are you doing? Are you working with your collage board and making small changes in the vice areas of your life? I sure hope so. Now that we have laid the ground work to unleashing the pink in all of us, we can get to the fun, wild and wacky unleashing!!!

This last week I brought to the forefront my need to reintroduce exercise into my daily life. No, I am not a marathon runner one week later, but I did plan and execute an idea that allows movement to enter my world. Every morning Baby DIVA and I have a "Morning Shake-up". I turn on an 80's CD and we dance around. Obviously this is a new event in our morning routine, and is was met with a little resistance. However, both Baby DIVA and myself quickly found this to be loads of fun and look forward to it each morning.

Unleash the Pink
Week 3:


I I stated above, now that we have covered all the important aspects of our self, we can finally get to the heart of Unleashing the Pink: The hidden dare devil, Sexy, Fun-loving chick inside of us! This week I PINKY DARE you to Sparkle this week. Pull out your make up bag and find that fun glittery eyeshadow, body glitter or lipstick you have stashed away. Quit waiting for that "special" time to wear it. NOW is that special time. Roll on the body glitter and then head to work knowing that your a Sexy, fun chick underneath your suit, glittering in the sunshine. Paint your eyelids with glimmer and batt shamelessly at the teenage sacker at the market. You will make his day as well as make yourself smile. Have a quiet dinner at home with your husband and come to dinner wearing that Spicy Red glitter lipstick you have had tucked away for vacation.

If you are ready, you may also either purchase of make your own Glittering Tiara. Wear your tiara out to run errands. People may stop and look at you, and that is wonderful. Let them take notice of this fearless, Sexy, Fun loving, SPARKLING woman!

Open up a little. Do not be afraid to be bold in your every day life. You do not have to wait for a special party or event to bring out the fun and wild chick inside of you. Allow her to be a part of your everyday happenings. Imagine the possibilities!

Baby DIVA has no problem displaying her SPARKLE!!

Wordless Wednesday

I look at these pictures sometimes and wonder what it would be like if...

There were two of them...

If I awoke each day to Baby DIVA #1 and #2...

And then I find myself frightened...

But quickly I return to reality when I realize just 1 wild and crazy Baby DIVA is more than enough!

Happy Wednesday!!