Beneficial Bugs

I hope all of my readers are enjoying their summer.  One of my favorite parts of summer and one of the things I am crazy about is planting a garden.  I have kind of a love/hate relationship with this pastime.  I love to look at seed catalogs and dream of my own Garden of Eden.  Most of the time it just ends up being a Garden of Weedin' instead.

One of the things that we have discovered as we have tended our garden is the use of ladybugs to help with aphid infestations.  We were at the greenhouse and they were selling them in a bag.  I was fascinated the first time I saw this.  You just take this cute little bag of bugs home and follow the instructions.  I have done this a couple of times and each time I followed different directions.

 
The first time we read that you were supposed to put the bag in the refrigerator to help the bugs slow down a little and then at dusk place them under a bush or tree that you have sprayed with water to spread the aphids.  The instructions also recommended putting a plastic cover over this bush in order to keep the ladybugs in that specific area until daylight.  This last time that we bought and released the ladybugs we didn't do the refrigerating or the cover and I think it worked just as well.  The aphid population isn't gone but definitely diminished. 


I have always wondered why there were called ladybugs because obviously they are not all ladies and thanks to www.ladybuglady.com I found an answer.

There are different versions of how these beetles came to be known as ladybugs, but one of the most popular versions is that during the Middle Ages in Europe, the crops were being taken over by insects and dying. People were beginning to starve so the farmers decided to pray to the Virgin Mary to help them with their insect problem.

The farmers were a little bit upset when even more insects showed up, little red beetles with black spots on them, because they thought that these new insects were going to eat the crops, too. But the beetles that came actually ate the bugs that were eating the crops, and so the beetles became known as the “beetles of Our Lady”, eventually shortened to simply ladybug.

Here are some more fun facts:

• A Ladybug can lay up to 1000 eggs in its lifetime.
• Not all Ladybugs have spots.
• Ladybugs will clean themselves after a meal.
• Ladybugs come in many colors like pink, yellow, white, orange and black.
• Over 300 types of Ladybugs live in North America.
• Ladybugs make a chemical that smells and tastes bad so predators won’t eat them. 
• Ladybugs hibernate in large groups in cold weather.
• Many countries consider a ladybug to be a sign of good luck.
• Ladybugs are actually beetles, so sometimes are called LadyBeetles.
• The bright colors of Ladybugs warn birds that they don’t taste good.
• The spots on a Ladybug fade as they get older. 

The one important thing to remember when you invite these lovelies into the garden is not to spray the larva when you see them.  We could not figure out what these little bugs were the first time we saw them and almost sprayed them.  They definitely look nothing like their parents.  :)

So, the next time you feel the need to eradicate some pests in your garden try these little beneficial bugs and of course I have some cute magnets you can check out too!  Good luck!

Crazed Momma
Naquai

Launches and Flip Flops

Hello there..it's been awhile since I have posted.  I've been busily trying to get my Etsy store ready to launch and I can happily say that it has been accomplished.

Officially on July 11th, I posted eight products on my store.  It was a little bit of a let down since after I hit the list button fireworks didn't explode and people weren't immediately clamoring to buy my things, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.
 
In honor of this momentous occasion, I want to discuss footwear.  Odd..you say?  Let me explain. One of my magnet sets features those summertime essentials, flip flops.  I find it funny actually because I don't wear flip flops.  I don't like to have things between my toes.  I also have realized that there is a learning curve when it comes to wearing these things.  I bought three darling sets for my three year old and she can't keep the dang things on her feet.  She's constantly tripping over them and losing one in the process.  The up side to these shoes is that they are cheap.  I can buy them for all my girls for less than one pair of shoes at Payless.

Now, I don't like flip flops but I am a definite lover of the distant cousin of flip flops, Birkenstocks.  I had never even seen a pair until I met my husband and his mother and sisters and my brother in law all lived in theirs.  When I had my first baby I gained two foot sizes and width and the only thing that was remotely comfortable was my mother in law's "birks".  When I found out they came in many different shapes, sizes, and patterns I was hooked.  They are an investment, but they last forever if you take care of them.

Of course, I had a favorite pair that I finally had to get rid of because my friends threatened to break into my house and steal them during the night while I was asleep because they were so tattered and awful looking.  My husband has also drawn the line at socks and birks during the winter months.  So, I limit myself to wearing these favs during the spring and summer months.

What is your favorite air conditioned footwear?  Are you a flip flop fanatic?  Are you graceful enough to handle the strap between your toes and walk at the same time?  I'm interested to know.  Also, be sure and stop by my store and take a look.  Thanks in advance for taking the time for reading and browsing.

Naquai
crazedmomma
 

How Clueless People Pick a Logo...

So as you may be able to see, I got myself a snazzy new logo for my blog and also my soon to be open Etsy store.  This has been a process, and I have had both fun and frustration in working it out.  I knew that I wanted something unique and eye catching.  I also know for a fact that I have absolutely NO artistic ability.  I started by going to one of my girls' friends that has lots of artistic ability.  She drew me an awesome picture which I used to base the final design on.

I then went shopping for a graphic artist who could turn my dream into reality.  Let me tell you that there are some very talented people out there.  I actually turned to Etsy to find this awesome lady.  She has made this daunting endeavor almost painless and economical to boot.  If you are in need of any graphic art needs shoot me a message or email and I will give you her name and answer any questions you may have.  In honor of this new logo I thought I would tell you four things you may not know about me but can probably tell from my logo.

1.  I love color and especially tie dye.  My family has made them for many years and I always get excited when I think about the next tie dye adventure.  (My husband always runs the other way when I mention those two words and get that look in my eye.)

2.  I have freckles.  I'm not a red head but you wouldn't know that if you looked at my arms and face if I'm out in the sun long enough.  I'm of Irish and American Indian descent and obviously the fair skinned and freckles side wins in that department.

3.  I have an I.D. bracelet that I wear on my left wrist and only take off when it is absolutely necessary.  It is a gift given to me by my husband that we call my "poker" bracelet which is another blog post in itself.  :)

4.  I'm crazy and I'm a momma of four beautiful girls.  I've already discussed the crazy part in a previous blog and being a momma is something I would never trade.

I'm very excited to share my logo with you and look forward to also sharing my Etsy store.  Have a wonderful 4th of July!

Crazed Momma

Life is a Thrill a Minute...

....when you are on a roller coaster.

I have usually written about things that I am crazy or passionate about because of the nature of my blog.  This post is about something that I am NOT crazy about.  Namely, roller coasters or thrill rides.  The reason this has been on my mind of course is because it's summer people and it's a time for carnivals and of course rides that you wouldn't normally put your children on or in but for some strange reason we place the little darlings in their respective seat and buckle them in and tell them to have fun!  You can imagine that they are thinking, "What in the world?  This woman won't even let me cross the street."

My thrill ride experiences have been few and far between mostly because my parents have always been very protective of me and they aren't big thrill ride people either.  I can also get motion sickness in a car so why would I pay to intentionally feel like barfing?

  One of my memories is having the carnival come to town when I was in High School and having to be there because I was in the band and we ran a concession stand.  There was a ride called the Zipper which I wouldn't have ridden if you had a gun to my head, but there was this boy. You know how stupid you can be when a boy is involved.  I wanted to be with him and so of course I climbed into one of the cages of death and allowed myself to be hurled at the ground over and over to show that I was cool and that I liked him.  That experience didn't go too bad.  I screamed the whole time and the adrenaline rush was such that I didn't hurl.  I felt so good about it that I agreed to go on the Octopus.  It was a  ride which spun round and round while you spun round and round in a cart.  I barely made it off that ride without tossing my enchiladas all over him.  Ah...youth.

When my husband and I were first married, we went to Dallas for our honeymoon.  My friend took us to Six Flags over Texas.  I was thrilled to be a "grownup"  and on my own and was obviously feeling full of myself because when we got in line for the log flume and the line split to go to the Texas Giant, I agreed that it was something that I needed to experience.  I figured I needed to get this over with so that I could always tell my children that Mommy had ridden the #1 wooden roller coaster in the world (in 1999) with an impressive drop of 79 degrees from 147 feet.  Now, remember I hate roller coasters AND am terrified of heights.  We ride this thing and at that time I was actually skinny and kept slipping under the bar that was supposed to keep us in.  My husband tells me that the picture they snapped of us "enjoying" the ride consisted of him smiling big and me looking close to death.  After riding it, I cried all night long.

My final foray into these confidence killers was at Disneyland.  They had just created California Screamin and it looked like a pretty cool roller coaster.  I didn't want my second oldest to be frightened of these things just because of me and so agreed to ride it with her.  We finally get up to the cars and climb in.  We make the first hill no problem and then after we climb up to the second hill the roller coaster stops DEAD.  I'm thinking it's part of the ride and then figure out that no, we are stuck at the top of this thing.  I'm trying really hard to keep my composure and not show my daughter how scared I am, but it's not working too well.  Finally, someone climbs the stairs up to where we are and promptly clips himself to a bar and informs us that we need to climb down.  WHAT?  Where's my clippy thingy dude?  We did eventually make it down the stairs and to the ground and I can honestly say that it was the last time I've felt the desire or need to ride one of these babies.

One of the great things about all this is that my shy daughter loves these rides and my outgoing daughter is reluctant to go on them.  You just never know.

Do you love the thrill of the ride or are you a scaredy cat like me?

The Texas Giant

Crazed Momma

A Strange Confession

So, I have a strange confession to make. I love to mow the lawn.  Maybe it's not so strange, but to those of you who are thinking I'm crazy, I will explain.

I grew up in West Texas where it is HOT and unless you have the money to pay for a sprinkling system, your lawn consists of lots of dirt, some weeds, some wildflowers and a little grass.  So mowing isn't really something I did growing up.  You can mow the weeds and it looks okay, but there's no walking around barefoot because the stickers will get you and they hurt!

When my husband and I were dating he sent me a postcard from Palm Springs with lovely green golf courses on the front. I remember telling him that if we were married I would mow the lawn. Of course, a lovely green lawn that I could walk across with my lovely painted toenails.  He thought it was a funny comment, but ultimately he has held me to it.  It may not be the prettiest lawn but it's mine and most of the time, I don't mind.

I don't know what it is about mowing that gives me such satisfaction...

Is it giving the grass a haircut and having it look okay even though I'm a novice?
Is it the fact that I can make something look so organized and put together with just a little effort?
Is it the fact that I can't hear anything that my children are yelling at me while I happily roll along?

As I have thought about it...okay so I dwell on weird things...I have decided that it's because I pretend that the grass is my problems or concerns and I have power over them by mowing them down.  It's all symbolic I guess. I also find that I can think and ideas flow while I'm making patterns around the front yard.  I find this is true with most yard work.

I have always been intrigued with the way people mow their lawns.  I usually go in a circle and sometimes back and forth.  It has to do with the shape of the yard more than anything else.  I have seen those lawns where someone has mowed it in a diagonal pattern. I wonder if I am missing something.  Am I not giving my grass every advantage by now mowing it in this way?  Who knows...

There are a few things that detract from my lawn gnomeness.  I usually am working with a lawnmower that has to be prepped, coddled, and eventually prayed over just to get it to start.  Another thing is my physical shape.  I'm not talking about my shape per say- which is a lovely apple with two toothpicks sticking out shape- but rather my lack of stamina.  I used to be able to mow both the front and back yard and weed whack all in one day.  I even mowed while I was very pregnant, which got me some strange looks and some eyebrows raised at my hubby.  Now, I have to pace myself. I am hoping to remedy this situation as time goes by.

So tell me, how do you mow your lawn?  Do you have strapping young men who mow at your request?  Do you have a hubby who suffers with his burden of cutting the grass or do you get out there and do it yourself?    Do tell!
 
Just in case you were wondering, I also love to rototill and am extremely deadly with a weed whacker so if you see me out in my yard, WATCH OUT!!  :) 


Naquai

Memories of You

So I know this post is after Memorial Day but it has been on my mind as I'm sure it has been for the rest of the country.  My husband and I were discussing who and why we celebrate Memorial Day.  I know that my posts so far have been humorous  and so I hope you will forgive the seriousness of this one. 

I know it is for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice by giving their lives for the freedoms that I take for granted every day.  For those people I am so grateful.  I had many relatives, including two grandfathers, who served willingly and ably during the wars that have come and gone.  This is something that can never be repaid.  Hopefully by teaching my children of the importance of remembering these unselfish men and women I am giving something back.

Of course we also celebrate and give thanks for those who are currently serving and I also like to think about and be grateful for those families who have given up their husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, etc. who are somewhere halfway across the world endeavoring to protect those they love so dearly.  What a sacrifice this must be.  I think of a sweet friend in Idaho who is currently raising her four boys by herself because her husband is deployed.  I also think of several women in my ward who are keeping things together at home while their husbands are away.  I am amazed at their strength.

I know we also remember those who have passed on and gone before us.  Recently, I lost a dear neighbor who has been very kind to our family over the eight years we have lived here.  She taught me wonderful things and was always aware of birthdays and ready to give hugs and loves to the girls.  She taught me how to make canned apple pie filling.  Both her and her husband loved to garden and work in the yard and many times would pass their knowledge on to me.  I still find myself looking to see if she is out puttering in her yard.  I know she has been very lonely and sad ever since her companion passed away and so I hope this Memorial Day she is happy and celebrating with her sweetheart.  I miss her.

Lastly, I think of my parents, in-laws, and grandparents of which I am still lucky to have three of them alive.  These people who have lived their lives the best they know how and  who helped to make me the person that I am.  I hope I can continue to pass on those lessons and wisdom that they shared with my children and grandchildren.

pic by digitalart

Thank you all for the memories of you that I treasure.

 

Queen of Clean

Happy Monday people!  I don't want you to get the wrong impression by the title of this post.  I am most certainly not the Queen of Clean.  It's not even a title I would want.  I also don't judge others if their house isn't spic and span so don't feel picked on by reading this post.

One time someone asked one of my girls what my favorite thing to do was and she said, "She likes to clean."  WRONG!   However, I do like a clean house, car, room, body, etc.  I find inner peace when things are picked up and the dishes are done and the laundry folded.  I could achieve nirvana if everything in my house was organized and alphabetized A to Z.  Of course, real life happens and this is not the case.

I come by this possible moniker through a great line of women.  My Granny was a housekeeper for years.  Not only could she make her house the epitome of Home Sweet Home, she could make her clients' homes this way as well.  When my mother was a stay at home mom, she always endeavored to have everything neat and tidy.

My journey from Princess of Picked Up to Queen of Clean has taken many twists and turns.  I have gone in phases actually.  When I was first married with two little girls I did a pretty good job.  I cleaned the bathroom often.  I swept and mopped.  The laundry was actually folded and put away.  I was on top of the pile so to speak.  Eventually I found myself living in the same house for eight years (which makes it almost impossible to find the desire to "organize") and the mother of four girls, each of which are in different stages of growing and learning.  One day I woke up and decided that I was tired of doing the dishes and the laundry and walking around behind everyone with a trash can.  Luckily, my oldest inherited the possible Queen gene and made up the difference for me.  Both of my older girls have been assigned their own chores for years and it has kept the dirt and garbage at bay so we could at least walk through the house.  I also have to give props to my husband for doing his part in keeping the laundry going.
 
Lately, my journey has taken me back around to wanting to do more than just survive.  I've been perusing a book my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas.  There are many helpful tips, tricks, and shortcuts to taking care of everything in the home.  One of my biggest reasons for hating to clean the bathroom on a regular basis is because the chemicals make me ill.  This book gave a formula for cleaning that involves baking soda and vinegar.  I'm sure many of you already know about this little trick but if not, it works pretty well.  I'm also not afraid to take a bath for a week after cleaning the tub for fear of sucking up caustic chemicals through my skin.   I tried this trick out a couple of Saturdays ago and I thought my oldest was going to fall over when she saw Mom actually "cleaning."  Here's hoping the desire to clean stays around for awhile.  :)

Naquai

These tips comes from Best Ever Home Secrets by Joan and Lydia Wilen

*Sprinkle baking soda around the tub and then wet a washcloth with distilled white vinegar and scrub, then rinse.

*If you have a ring, add 1/2 cup of baking soda to the running water.  This should help get rid of the ring and also softens and conditions skin too.  

Of course you spend all that time cleaning and return to the bathroom and find this!  Precious!