Landscaping: Drainage/Erosion Fix

Our house has many, many areas that need work. We knew this going in, but over the last few years we have come to find out that the longer it goes the more issues we find, and with that also comes increasing age of the house...and more issues to address. Such is one of the pains of home ownership.

This particular area has been an issue since we moved in, but I put it off because I wasn't sure exactly what direction I wanted to go. In putting it off it has also become more of a problem over time so I decided to let it side track me from other projects and begin to take care of it. More work still needs to be done, but its a start and already making a difference at least from an erosion standpoint.

Our house has a brick wall across the front with a small patch of ground that doesn't grow anything because of the deep shade. There is also has a drip-line area that is constantly washing away dirt from the front of the house and around the corner where it is eroading away and will eventually cause issues with the wall and the foundation. The kids also cause issues because it is a great place for digging and getting muddy, so I really need to remove that temptation also.

For a quick fix, we began piling stones, concrete, and bricks inorder to build up and reduce the washout and that has slowed things down, but it isn't very attractive. It is however on the side of the house and not very visible so for now is stays exactly where it is because it is useful and it is working until I can put something better in place.

In the area at the corner and across the front, I dug a slight trench and filled it with pea gravel. Then I placed some large stones on top starting with the area around the downspout and working my way out and around to give it a good base for the water to hit and run off. Then I filled in with medium pebbles and larger pebbles so that the spaces between the rocks were better filled in and the pea gravel was completely covered.

It is only got partially complete with the rocks and gravel that I had on hand, but it looks a whole lot better than the bare ground and mud. When the weather is dry it will look like a dry stream, when it is wet it will serve as a French drain and hopefully divert water without continuing to erode the dirt.

Soon I will begin filling in areas with native plants that are also perennials so that it is easy to keep up with. So far I have put in a couple of Rosemary and Lavender plants. Next week I will dig up a few ferns and probably some mosses from the front woods. Like so many other things here it is another work in progress.

Review: Kupp

The kupp’ was created by Kate Oliver, the founder of  Katesplace. She came up with the kupp as a tool to help her young boys learn accountability and responsibility. Each of her children their very own glass in a different color and put them in charge of their cup and all of the responsibilities that came with it, including setting the table, washing, and putting it away. She quickly discovered that she had a cleaner kitchen and her family consumed less plastic. As a result, the Kupp’ was born...it is a six-ounce glass with a colorful silicone sleeve designed just for kids.

The Facts

• The kupp’ is a six-ounce glass outfitted with a colorful silicone sleeve. It’s designed for kids ages 3-10.
• The firm grip and silicon sleeve helps to protect the glass from damage while providing a safe, toxic free vessel to drink from.
• The kupp’ comes in four vibrant colors that represent the environment: blue for water, green for earth, orange for the sun, and red for warmth.
• The kupp’ is the perfect serving size for children, and allows them to become more conscious of waste and consumption.
• The kupp’ is made in the USA using imported glass, and all materials are sourced from environmentally friendly manufacturers that adhere to EU and US regulations.
• All glass is recyclable, certified lead and cadmium free, and is made from a pure soda-lime formula. It is also dishwasher safe!
• The grip-friendly silicon sleeve is BPA/BPS free and made with medical and food grade silicon to prevent damage. The sleeve does not have to be removed when washing, which makes cleaning your Kupp’ very simple.
• The adorable kupp’ is designed to resemble a smile so kids are naturally attracted to it!
• The retail price of the kupp’ is $16.99 each.

The Review

We were given the opportunity to test out kupp Brand cups Through Moms Meet. These are really cute little glass cups with a silicone wrapper on the outside. Upon opening the shipping box, there was a whole bunch of excitement and squeals...the kids loved them, and could not wait to try them out!
They each chose out the color that they wanted, we sat down and I explained that these were their cups, they were to take responsibility for them, use them, keep them clean, and make sure that they were put either in a safe area on the kitchen counter or put away when not in use. I have to say at first glance these made me a little nervous to hand over to my children.  I understand the concept and the idea of responsibility and independent growth, but to hand over glass to my wild bunch was a little daunting to me. I hovered for a day or two especially with my four year old, but even she has really been very good at making sure that her cup is put away safely.

It has been just over a week, and I am happy and proud to say that we have not lost one cup so far. Even though they are glass, they have held up to my children...I am almost sure that at least two have fallen on the floor and not broken. The children have been extra careful to make sure that they are not left around where the toddler can reach it.

It really has helped with many of the concepts that Kate has created these cups for. The kids are not wasting water bottles meant for car trips and outings, we have eliminated the use of disposable cups, they have taken responsibility for their own cup and have taken very good care of it because they love them. Instead of constantly asking me to get them something to drink they have taken the initive to find their own cup and get their own water and sometimes milk or juice. These little glasses are a great tool to begin fostering some responsibility and independence in your little one.

We have really enjoyed trying these kupp cups out and highly recommend them if you are ready for your little ones to begin to grow into big kids. They are so much easier to clean than all the sippy cups with the lids, stoppers, straws, and other parts that seem to never get completely cleaned...and the kids can clean these up themselves, which is an even bigger bonus.


Disclosure: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet Blogger. I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my Blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Moms Meet, May Media Group LLC, or the manufacturer.

New Family Craft

We are working our way into a new craft that we are hoping to eventually turn into a business that each of the children will have a part in. Even though we already have the soap business, the kids are not really able to participate, because of the possibility of danger dealing with the lye during the process of making soap.

They do have an opportunity to help in some of the other aspects, but being that it can be the tedious, boring parts that really don't lend to a true sense of accomplishment, we are venturing into some other things that they can do and call their own.
Matt and the boys always enjoy getting the opportunity to play with leather tooling during some of their Cub/Boy Scout activities, so recently we began working with leather. We are still working out many, many details, but so far it has been fun for most of the kids that are old enough to participate.

Matt began making a unique line of cup holders to "Dress Up Your Solo Cup" in order to give people the option to give their cup a unique look that will help it to stand out among the sea of cups that are at social events, but also give them structure, support, and a better grip.

The holders can be customized countless different ways with names, logos, and designs. He is also working on some bottle koozies, and possibly can koozies in the future. The design potential is endless and only limited to the imagination. Business logos, names, symbols like Fraternity/Sorority letters, we are looking forward to the custom possibilities with these it could be really fun to see what potential customers can dream up.

Our oldest, Nathan, has begun making bracelets, rings, and eventually wants to make larger pieces like armor...for now I've encouraged him to stick with the smaller more practical things that actually have real-world application at this point, well that and I would rather him build skills on smaller pieces before tackling something like a set of armor.

In doing some of these recent projects Nathan will be earning his leather working badge in Boy Scouts as he gains more crafts skills to call his own. We love the opportunity to encourage these types of skills in the kids so that they may eventually enjoy a craft/skill that is quickly becoming a lost art. So far he has gotten several commissions  for a few types of bracelets already. He has a good eye at design and is very good at tooling designs onto the leather. 

Nathan(14)...Practice work

The younger boys were really eager to get to design and stamp their own stuff. For a while they were grabbing scrap pieces that Matt and Nathan had left over on the ends and pieces. Noah began to actually create some nice/cute creative designs so I cut out some round pieces for them to make their own little creations.

Noah(9)

Noah(9)...His own design

Jacob(7)... His own design

Noah(9)...his own design.

The kids and Matt were having way too much fun, so I had to try too and began making some barrettes...

Once you get started making things it is really difficult not to want to make more and different things. So in the future I will be trying to make things like bookmarks, small wallets/coin purses, notebook covers, little charms, and possibly random art pieces for people to incorporate into their own arts and crafts projects and jewelry.

 We have already begun to look at other practical applications and suggestions and requests that were asked about like belts, arm guards, guitar straps, dog collars, handbags, and a couple of other things...well, you know all in good time and all when the income for future projects has been generated.

Landscaping: Broken Vessel

When we moved here there were several terra cotta pots that were left behind. One in particular was very large and I was very happy to see it still in the front yard after closing because it was big enough to put a tree in. It is also very heavy empty, much less when filled with dirt.
Over the last few years I have planted it with a few things, but it has been difficult to keep anything living in it. Eventually my rambunctious children have ended up breaking a large part out of the front of it and for a while it sat near the front door. I hated to throw it away even with the big chunk broken out of it. There has to be some way to re-purpose it.

Recently I saw a picture of what could be done and I was so excited. I created my own version and will be adding to it over time as pots become available. But for now this is what I've come up with this...It is difficult to see from the photo, but it is a layered planting. I would have liked to see more layers, but didn't want to actually break usable pots...even though the thought crossed my mind.
So my thoughts are that it will be-like so many other things here-an ever changing, growing project. The thought of a fairy village with houses is a really fun idea. Or plants gradually cascading from one pot into another would also be eye catching. It sounds like I will need to start finding broken vessels...anyone have extra old terra cotta lying around that they don't want anymore?

How do you re-purpose your old pots?

Making Old New Again

When we moved into this house(Almost 3 years ago!) There were some metal frame park benches left out in the yard. 
It was one of my "treasures" that I found here. 



I was determined to redo these benches and make them ours. We figured that they would be cute for the kids and would make nice places to sit when we were outside. 


It took a while, but we recently got around to doing it and I really like how they turned out. It adds some color to our right now bare yard in need of lots of TLC... 


We began by measuring and cutting out all the wooden pieces that would be needed for each bench.Nathan was very helpful and cut each piece with a hand saw. As he was doing that I began working on the frames using red and blue enamel spray paint. The kids got involved and helped to paint the wooden parts that were going into the seat and back supports. 



Most of the boards were parts of an old fence that we picked up on the road side and have been slowly been using for various projects around the house. Of course whenever projects are started there is always a rain delay...after a week of waiting for the rain to let up we continued to paint. Each of the boys did a portion of the painting, and we also had some help and entertainment from E. 


 After all was painted and dried we put the boards in place to test them out and see how the benches fit together...looks like it worked out pretty well.
 

Well...here is the final result...our new outdoor seating!