The Monsters Have a New Home Outside

The monster pumpkins and watermelons have found a new home out back. We have way too many planted in this space, but we will just have to weed some out as they grow bigger and bigger. I love watching these plants grow. It makes me happy! Every time I look at them, I remember the day that my boys and I planted them together. It was such a fun time. If you want to read more about these plants, click HERE for my first post, and HERE for the 2nd post.

Be blessed my friends!

Growing Monsters

Did you think the title of this post was about my kids? Well, not entirely! Today we started the process of growing giant watermelons and giant pumpkins. This was such an appropriate activity for each of my older boys because I've always called my oldest son my pumpkin and my middle son my melon. These were their nicknames when they were in my womb. So you can figure out from that which one is working on the pumpkins and which one is working on the melons.

My mother-in-law had bought us these neat kits about 2 years ago and they have sat up on a shelf since then. I'm trying to make a point to have more fun with my boys, so I finally got the kits out today. This is what they look like:

Here's how easy it was to get the kit started:

1. Put each of the 3 soil pellets in a big bowl and pour warm water on top. As the pellets expand you loosen the soil and stir. Add more water if needed.

Not sure what this face was all about. Clearly he was having fun!

2. Divide the soil in half. Use the 1st half to fill each of the pots halfway.

Stinky Face (AKA Melon) doesn't like to get his hands dirty so he used the spoons that came with the kit.

3. Open the packets of giant seeds and place 2 seeds in each pot. (We had some extra and decided to put a few more in.)

This is my oldest son's seeds. He only had 5 seeds, so he decided to see what would happen if he put a few watermelon seeds in with his pumpkin seeds. We shall see!

4. Cover the seeds with the remaining soil. We had more than enough soil, so we didn't use it all.

He doesn't mind getting his hands dirty!

Finished product...for now!

5. Place the pots in a sunny location and water them to keep the soil moist.

6. Once the plants have grown, transfer them to larger pots or directly into your outdoor garden.

Here's my one, slight delema with this project. We live in a subdivision that is highly controlled by the "HOA police". We aren't allowed to have gardens. Stinks, I know! I guess I will have to transfer these to some ginormous flower pot because they can grow to be 100 pounds or more. Yikes! I will keep you updated on the progress so check back soon to see how they are growing.

Be blessed my friends!

Silk Almondmilk Protein+Fiber Review

Our family got to try a free half gallon of Silk Almondmilk Protein+Fiber from Kroger because I am a BzzAgent. We first tried it out with the baby because he has been battling constipation issues and we thought it might have been related to dairy products. Almondmilk has 5 grams of fiber per serving, so we really hoped it would help his belly. Although he really seemed to like how it tasted, it didn't seem to have any effect on his digestive system. 

Next, I thought I'd try it out on our 5 year old son. He's a really picky child so I added chocolate powder to his Almondmilk. Check out this video for his reaction:

I think that if I wanted to make this a daily part of his routine, he would easily get use to it. Although his reaction seems bad, I know him well enough to know that this is something he could adjust to.

Next I asked my husband if he'd be brave enough to do an on-the-spot review. He graciously did this for me and here is his reaction:

I'll be honest, at first, I was just too afraid to try it. The texture seemed thick to me. I normally drink 1% milk, so it was a big change. I tried a drink when no one else was looking. To my surprise it really wasn't bad! It was a little thicker than I'm used to, but it had a slightly sweet taste that made it okay for me. If I had issues with dairy products, this drink would be my next preference. The price is comparable to other non-dairy types of milk and you can almost always find a good sale or a coupon; or even better, both!

I didn't think about it until all of the Almondmilk was gone, but I think it would've been a great addition to smoothies. I've also read other reviews where people used it for baking. What a great idea! 

Here are some awesome benefits from Silk Almondmilk Protein+Fiber:

• Packs 5g of protein, 5g of fiber and 100 calories or less per serving
• Provides 50% more calcium than dairy milk*
• May help keep you feeling full (increasing protein and fiber in your diet can help promote satiety!)
• Enjoy Silk^® Protein+Fiber Almondmilk anywhere you’d use your favorite milk — over cereal, in smoothies or straight up in a glass

*45% DV calcium versus 30% DV in dairy milk. USDA National Nutrient Database for Std. Ref, Release 26. Data consistent with typical 2% dairy milk.

If you have tried Almondmilk, let me know what you think about it! Do you just drink it as 

you would dairy milk? Or do you use it for smoothies, milkshakes, and baking?

Be blessed my friends!

GROSS HALLOWEEN TREAT

This is the dessert we made to take to our neighbor's Halloween party. It's called Tasty Turds! ha ha It looks really gross, but it was a very tasty snack. The kids and I had a blast making it. You just make Rice Krispy Treats and then pour in melted chocolate and mix it all together. Then, shape each piece into a "turd". To top off the grossness factor, cut off then yellow ends of candy corn and place them wherever you want. I couldn't stop laughing while we were making these and just looking at the picture makes me laugh all over again.

BURGER DOGS

I really wanted a cheeseburger for dinner, but we didn't have any hamburger buns and I really dislike burgers on plain bread, so we got a little creative. This is a picture of our "burger dogs". My husband seasoned the ground beef and rolled it up into the shape of a hot dog and then cooked it. They shriveled up so much that we actually had to put two "dogs" in each bun. then he cut one of my ginormous pickles into long slices and added that in with the other toppings that we had. It turned out great! Although it tasted really good, I still prefer the ground beef on hamburger buns, so this time when I went grocery shopping, I made sure to pick some up. 

Be blessed my friends!