How to get your five year old to beg you to vacum or I new my house was odd.. but this really proves it!

Okay.. so my family is odd.. we get weird looks when tell people we don't have a favorite tv show (I love big bang Theory but have bought 2 seasons on disc.. yea I know they are on the 4rth or 5th). We found TV was running our lives and went.. NO MORE..

We don't use a microwave AT ALL..
And all the other odd stuff.. but his new thing.. really made me laugh and feel odd... but then it made sence.

We don't own a regular vacum cleaner anymore... What? I know shocked right! We kept blowing them up.. well we didn't the kids did.. add that to converting the house to all wood type floring who needs a vacum... except we still have two bedrooms and 1  stairway that still has carpeting..  enter the SHOP VAC.. yes a shop vac.

Instead of a regular vacum cleaner that cost upwards of $200 or one that breaks after 3 months use.. we have a $50 shopvac.. It's light weight, rolls easly and has the longest hose ever seen.. what's more.. it picks up wet and dry spill and even glass with the greatest of ease..

But the biggest plus with the shop vac.... My 5 year old son BEGS to use it. It's considered a manly vacuum, a power tool that a 5 year old can use...  what does this mean to me... not having to vacuum the stairs anymore :)    Yea! for the Shop Vac!

Tomatoes have blown up!

I wish I would have had the forethought to take pictures of all the tomatoes littering our kitchen... or the ones still on the vines outside almost ripe... My question is why does it seem they blow up on the worst and hottest days of the summer?

I've decided next year to plant a set of plants every few days instead of all at once... I'm wondering if I plant one of each type of tomato and pepper and then 4 days later do it again if I could in turn make waves of produce instead of a huge wave that I can't climb out of?

I've lost about a basketful of Tomatoes this year either to bugs or to harvesting them and being unable to use them.. there were a few times we didn't have jars and just couldn't afford them or I was extremely busy...

At least I was able to talk Corey into trying to compost again... The last time we tried it wasn't very organized and lets just say it's now a very well producing weed pile :(

Between this and the worm bin I hope we can compost and not waste as much as we had been.

Yesterday I taught my nine year old daughter how to wield a knife like a pro.. at first I had her going slow but she picked up the pace and we were able to finely chop up 2 1/2 gallons of chopped tomato..

I had hoped to process salsa today but with an asthma attack last night saw the need to take Colton in today for a check up. With the Dr. being over an hour away we wasted much of the day.
So tomorrow after a visit with my mom and grandparents I hope to process a few batches...

So with another 30 tomatoes staring at me in my kitchen I'm ready to call a truce with the Tomato Craze and spend time with the kids instead... if one rots over night it will go in the compost.. I shouldn't get upset that I missed just one.... time for kid time!

Will continue next week posting on frugal wedding's and ideas that we used... also more on this years harvest and savings.. we also have the Can recycle bin, and my hopes of a big outdoor worm bin... (I'm sure my husband is driving down the road cringing right now.. knowing that I'm on my favorite blogs getting ideas... "it's only a few cinder blocks and a big hole and a pvc pipe honey and we've been offered 100 cinder blocks for free if we can go to town...."  at least now he won't fall asleep while working night shift :)  See being frugal has it's advantages.. and having an ox for a husband makes it even better!

See simple blessings are every where :)

Ideas

Before I go on to the rest of the wedding I want to put a little bug in your ear.

If your a couple who has been together for a while you may very well have all the dishes in the world you need... and other such things that people give at weddings..

Instead why not ask family with gifting parts of your wedding?

A friend of ours suggested it one day. She asked us what do you really need for your wedding?
My answer at that time was the cake.  I had tried making one myself which turned out great but with everything else I was doing I was worried about time. She and her other half took care of our cake as a wedding presant.

My grandparents helped with the photography and the dinner.

And my praents paid for the DJ

There were other bits of help along the way...

But with all this help we made the cost as low as possiable on everything and as more post go up you'll see how!