SLEEP

I feel as though our family lacks in the sleeping department! My husband has had issues falling asleep and staying asleep for as long as I've known him. We've tried lots and lots of "remedies" but nothing 100% works.
Things we've tried:

• Natural sleep aids


• Over the counter sleep aids - Tylenol PM, Excedrin PM, Motrin PM, CounterActPM (this one helping the most out of the above).


• TV on/ TV off


• Reading before bed


• Drink concoctions - the most recent being honey and vinegar, yuck!

But to get to the bottom line non of the above really help. So recently he went to the Dr. and has a prescribed med. to take. It's been a week now and no amazing results to report back.

Next in our family with sleeping issues is our oldest Daughter (4). She's always had sleeping problems. When she was 2 she had a "special bed" on the floor of our room that she would come in and sleep on at nights. Sleep walking was another issue we dealt with with that thankfully didn't stick around too long! The most recent issue is the fact that she is having a hard time falling asleep. This has started within the last month. My fear is that she'll have sleeping issues like her Daddy does. This week we've been trying a cd that plays for about 30 min. I think it's been helping to get her mind to drift off. Here's some things that I've heard are important.

• Routine throughout the day


• Make sure to wake your child at the same time each morning


• Go to bed at the same time each night


• Cut out refined sugars


• Physical activity throughout the day


• Bed time yoga

I really want to make steps now in our life to better her sleeping habit rather than her having to struggle with it like her Daddy has.

Sunday's Garden

I haven't had a garden for a couple of years and I'm THRILLED to have one this year. We had this house built in Oct of 09 so I'm starting from scratch. This year I've tried raised beds in hopes that it will cut down on weeding. This bed contains Peppers (left), Lettuce, Carrots, Onions and Potatoes. My onions we're up first, then lettuce, potatoes. My carrots are just peaking through now and peppers we're bought in town.

This bed I just planted this last week. From left I have two circles of Zuccini, Culiflower, and Green Beans. Nothing is up yet, but we're watering daily :).

In the tall box I have a couple of Strawberry plants. From advice I've gotten they say to plant Stawberrys in a container. From past experience I always kill Strawberrys. In the small planter I have a couple of plants that my grandmother gave to me (on left). I'm not sure what there called but they have purple blooms and are bulb plants. Then a Hen and Chick (that came out of my Great Grandmother's yard). And in the back I planted some cilantro, I love fresh Cilantro!

I have my Tomatoes planted in this rectangular box. Three tomatoe plants and marigolds in between. FYI Marigolds help keep bugs off of your tomatoe plants.

And here are my little gardeners! They love playing in the dirt. Here there making mud pies.

I'm unsure if I'm going to plant grass around my beds or try something else? I've thought about mulch but you can't walk across it bare foot and I find we're always bare foot. Maybe pavers or I've even thought about that recycled rubber that is the size of pea gravel. Still not sure.

So here's a peace of my garden - It's such a good feeling to get outside and put my hands in the dirt. Now to keep it watered!

My Birthday

I'm such a lucky Momma to have these three sing me happy Birthday when I woke up and then eat chocolate cake for breakfast! Doesn't get any better than that.

Tip of the Day

Clean your Microwave!

Get it done in a minuet, simply put 1/2 cup water in a microwave safe dish. Put it in your microwave on high for 1 minuet. The steam helps all of the "goo" stuck in your microwave come up. I then spray a little multi-purpose cleaner and wipe off. That simple!

~ Our Field Trip ~

My Daughter M had an all day field trip on Tuesday! It was a lot of fun but long.

It started out at the police station, where the kids learned about the 911 center, crimes, police men, and the police car. I think that was the highlight!

Then off to the park for lunch and some much needed free/play time. Before we headed home we went to the Children's Museum! I was blown away. We've never been before and I honestly thought "what could be in a children's museum?" but it was so neat! The layout of the museum was great - and it was so relaxing to let the kids go without worry of them breaking something :) Even little sister L got to go. She was thrilled! Price wise it was well worth the $4.00/person.

"Working Calves"

I grew up on a ranch as a child and I'm so excited that my kids are able to do the same. There's such a sense of pride in saying "we're on the Ranch"! As I'm sure there are different tasks that need to be done when growing up in the city there are the same for ranch life.

This weekend we worked calves. You may be asking yourself what that means. Well when baby calves are 2 - 3 months old they need to have vaccination shots as well as they all get a brand. This ensures that once they are out to pasture the rancher can keep better track of his calves with the wide open spaces.

It's a lot of work but also a lot of fun!! As a family we all come together to either help or get to watch. There are always a lot of laughs, good food, bruises and great memories.