WORX GT 2.0 Trimmer & Edger As Seen on TV | Does it really work?

Do you ever get caught up in infomercials and think, "I NEED that!"? That happened to my husband when he saw the WORX GT 2.0 rechargeable grass trimmer and edger. When he found out that our neighbors both next door and behind us got one and highly recommended it, we went out and purchased one. I was so skeptical because of how light weight it was. How can this thing that even I can easily use do the job? 

It took under 10 minutes to complete the assembly and we let the battery charge overnight before testing it out. The trimmer is very quiet, very different from traditional gas powered ones. I couldn't believe how quickly my husband blew through our edges and how amazingly clean and beautiful it looked! He trimmed all along our garden beds, shrubs and fence line with ease.

He says that it is a powerful tool and is ridiculously easy to use. He found a new toy and I am not mad about this one at all! It cost us about $120 and is worth the investment. The best part? It is battery operated and you never have to mess with the gas can with that oil and fuel mixture. We are so pleased with our purchase and plan to buy the newest Worx power tool that came out called the Jaw Saw. If you need a new grass trimmer/egder, we highly recommend this one! You can order it online or do like we did and buy it at your local Lowe's store.

Get inspired with Miracle-Gro's The Gro Project

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
We are in prime gardening season and everyone seems to be getting into it. Miracle-Gro is doing The Gro Project to help you get some fun ideas to make your garden project easy and enjoyable. After all, who want what should be a fun time to feel like a chore? I just love the fun garden projects on the Facebook page. The "toyranium" is something that you can do with your little ones and they will feel a part of growing their very own plants. They can learn how plants are good for the environment and hopefully grow to enjoy gardening for life. Check out the short video below:

With the cost of food constantly rising, it is a smart move to grow your own fruit and veggies. This year, we did a lot of outdoor containers for our fruits and veggies and did an in-ground garden bed with our ornamentals.  We made sure to start with Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Potting Mix for our containers. It is made to keep the right amount of moisture so you prevent over and under-watering.

So far we have strawberries, pickling cucumbers, green beans, hot peppers, Meyer lemons and herbs. We started our planting about 4 weeks ago and it is astonishing how much they have already grown! We have baby green beans rapidly popping up as well as many blooms on our cucumbers and peppers. I really think that I will check out an indoor garden project that my son can help with. He really enjoyed planting the strawberry plant for his daddy as you can see!

The strawberry plant has gotten so big and we can't wait for it to bare actual fruit! 

Be sure to "like" Miracle-Gro on Facebook to join The Gro Project. If you want to share your own creations on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook, be sure to use the hashtag #MiracleGroProject

Wordless Wednesday

Planting strawberries for daddy.

On-the-Go with D.O. Field Day

**Contest Closed** 

Winner is Lala! Congratulations!!

Hey guys! You might recall a post I wrote a few weeks back introducing you to David Oliver. If you are not familiar with who he is, you can check out the post here.

I wanted to let you all know that Coke is teaming up with the U.S. Olympic Hurdler David Oliver, to bring a deserving school a field day to celebrate togetherness and physical activity. Parents and students will be brought together with fun events such as an egg toss to sack races—with David cheering you on every step of the way! How cool is that? Can you imagine how crazy all the kids, parents and school staff would go?! Take a peek at the short video clip here.

There is an amazing Sweepstakes promotion being featured on the My Coke Rewards site where you can enter your MCR points to gain entries for your school to get the fun Field Day with David Oliver.  Schools will receive 1 Sweepstakes entry for every 3 Points. The Points used to enter the School into the Sweepstakes will be donated to the School's account. Non-registered Schools that receive entries but fail to register for the program before the conclusion of the Promotion Period will not be eligible to win a prize in this Sweepstakes. To enter on behalf of a School, during the Promotion Period (ends 8/21) visitwww.mycokerewards.com/fieldday and follow the links and instructions to log in to your My Coke Rewards Account, if you already have one. If you are not yet a My Coke Rewards member, follow the onscreen directions to become one. Then, follow the links and instructions to enter the School of your choice into the David Oliver Sweepstakes. It is very easy to sign up and even easier to donate points. I had about 85 points in my account and donated them all to my kids' school. 

Guess what? My Coke Rewards would like to fly out one very lucky Momfiles reader and a guest to go attend the field day event at the winning school {valued at approximately $2000}! This means you get to experience the field day with David and the kids, and do an in-person interview! Are you all excited? I know I am! 

To enter (Mandatory) answer the question in the Rafflecopter widget. Once you do that, you can unlock additional entry methods. a Rafflecopter giveaway



This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on August 12, 2012. Please follow all rules or your entries will be disqualified. Be sure to leave an email address in the event you win, I need a way to contact you. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or prize will be awarded to an alternate winner. Momfiles in not responsible for any lost or stolen prizes. Good luck!

Disclosure: I am receiving compensation for promoting this Sweepstakes. All opinions are always 100% mine. 

I have lemons! (okay just a lemon)

I am so thrilled that my dwarf Meyer lemon tree has a lemon on it! I was really sad that after all the blooms that it started with, all of them fell off except one. Thankfully there are some new blooms that started growing this week so I will keep my fingers crossed that we will get a couple more lemons before it's all said and done.

With all the rain we have been getting in the past few weeks, our flower garden has been doing very well. Just about everything has bloomed! The fuchsia lily (calla lily?) took 3 years to finally bloom. The orange lilies really did well this year for the first time since we planted them a couple years ago. We also have some Zinnias that are steady blooming bright pink and orange flowers. Our Lantanas always do well and if I can get my hands on the "fruit cocktail" colored one on clearance, I will buy one. 

We got some more flowers from my hubby's uncle that we need to get into the ground for next year. Almost all of our flowers in the garden came from second hand plants. You can't beat that! Maybe we should call it our bootleg garden :) At least we are helping out the honeybee population, right?

What is growing in your garden?

Meyer Lemon tree update one year later

I just had to share the latest update on my dwarf Meyer lemon tree that I planted last year. Thankfully it is thriving!! I was so afraid since over the winter months most of the leaves fell off and it looked kind of pathetic. I waited until the temperatures stayed above 55 degrees before taking it back outside. I added some more premium potting soil on top and fertilized it. After a few weeks and several rain showers later, I have a full bush that stands about 2 feet tall and it has actual blooms on it!

Do you see the little pink blooms? The tree is loaded with them! I will keep my fingers crossed that we will get some actual lemons this year. I am so excited and will be sure to post another update in a couple months. Hmm, I might have a little green hidden under my purple thumb after all!

I have been thinking about possibly planting a dwarf key lime tree. I guess I better see what happens with this one first and them go from there :)

My latest Pinterest find

I love Pinterest. I can sit on the computer all day and Pin all sorts of things. A lot of times I Pin "wish list" items. On occasion I find things that I actually make or try. My favorite one recently was this recycled watering can. I was just nagging... informing my husband last week that I really needed a watering can for all of my plants I have on my deck and inside the house. I was thrilled to find this DIY idea that took no thought and cost nothing!

There are my office houseplants. Now watering them is so much easier.

I took a milk jug and rinsed it out thoroughly. I pierced holes in the cap with a corn holder. Since they have 2 sharp points, it made the process fast and easy. The result is a FREE watering can that may not be pretty but is environmentally friendly and does the trick. I have one in a half gallon size for my indoor plants and one in a gallon size for the outdoor plants.

What things have you found on Pinterest lately that you have tried or plan to try?

Celebrate Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary {Giveaway}

**Contest Closed**
Winner is #137 RILEKAT~ Congratulations!

Can you believe summer is winding down? It is often difficult finding ways to keep the kids entertained before back-to-school hits, especially with the outrageous heat we all have been dealing with. Coca-Cola wants to help make sure you enjoy every moment with Coca-Cola’s 125 Years of Summer Fun initiative.

To celebrate Coca-Cola’s 125th anniversary, they’ve created a summer-long program, available through My Coke Rewards. It’s designed to create summer fun for families by offering a variety of rewards through an interactive summer treasure map. By entering codes, found on 15 different Coca-Cola brands on My Coke Rewards, you gain points that can later be spent on prizes including: sweepstakes, instant win prizes, supporting a good cause, donating to your child’s school and much more!

You can register to become a My Coke Rewards member by logging on here and follow the prompts for new member registration. I am wondering why on earth I am only now registering! It took me all of maybe 2 minutes.

To help get you and your family through the last stretch of Summer, Coca-Cola is providing a Summer fun prize pack ($50 value) for one lucky Momfiles reader.
The prize pack includes: a Coca-Cola tote, sunglasses, a sports bottle, a sunblock kit, an LED lamp (for nights when you’re just not ready to go inside), a football, a frisbee and a reversible ball.










Mandatory entry: Sign up for My Coke Rewards and tell us what your favorite Coca-Cola beverage is.

For extra entries you can do any of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each entry to count.

~ "like" My Coke Rewards , Coca-Cola and Momfiles on Facebook
~ Share this giveaway on FB and leave a link to your post
~ Follow My Coke Rewards , Coca-Cola and Momfiles on Twitter
~ Tweet this giveaway (once daily) and leave a link to your Tweet:

Want to spend a day at the park but missing the essentials? @Cocacola has the answer! Enter http://tinyurl.com/3vfhg5m @momfiles #CokeSummer

This giveaway is open to US & Canada Residents only and will end on August 24, 2011 at 9:00 pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random and contacted via email. Please leave your email address in your comment if you do not have a Blogger Profile. Good luck!

Disclosure: The prize was provided by The Coca-Cola Company but The Coca-Cola Company is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of The Coca-Cola Company

Lemon tree update and a bargain

Remember my post about planting a Dwarf Meyer lemon tree in a pot? Well check out how big it has gotten in the past 7 weeks!

Before:

After 7 weeks:

Of course I will not see any lemons until maybe next year if I am lucky, but I am thrilled with the fact that it is actually growing! I was worried since I paid so little for it but so far so good.

Here is my bargain of the week- Every year I buy a Mandevilla so that I can have flowers blooming throughout the summer. Normally I would have purchased it by the first of May. This year I decided I did not want to pay $20 for a plant. I am glad I did not get it at that time. Last night Dwayne and I were doing some work in the front yard and we had to make a quick run to our local home improvement store for a couple items. We both noticed that there was an abundance of plants on clearance. The garden center lady informed us that all clearance plants were an additional 50% for that day only. I found my plant that was originally $22.48 marked down to $11 and with the extra 50% off it ended up being $5.50! I was so happy! It is really big and all that was wrong with it was one little branch was broken. I pulled that sucker off and voila, new pretty pink mandevilla :-)

William's playground

Lately William has really been into going to the playground. Since it has been so hot out, it makes it harder to take him on a daily basis. The rare time of day that it is cooler is when the sports teams are playing so parking is scarce and the playground becomes way too crowded. We decided to get him his own swing set or as he prefers to call it "William's playground". We went with a smaller one since he is the only little one and also he still has the majority of the yard to run and play ball.

The good thing is we never have to leave home and we put it by a tree where we can get some decent shade for most of the day. I am also glad we can take potty breaks and get a cold drink when we need it. William is loving his new toy and it's a great way for him to get some of that boy-energy out. It really wears him out with all of that physical play so he sleeps very well at night (score!)

Dwayne and I put the swing set together and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course there was that 30 minutes that was wasted trying to get the ladder rungs assembled. No matter how many times we tried, we just could not get the screws and nuts to connect. I then find a little bag of 4 screws so I decided to open them up. Good move~ turns out that the paper enclosed stated that the directions were not revised with the fact that you needed to use those specific screws and NOT the ones we struggled with for so long. You know Dwayne was rolling his eyes at me and will be talking about me for a long time to come since I was in charge of the instructions.

In the end, our boy is happy and so are we! :)

Keep your family's skin safe from the sun

The temperatures have been turned up in many states across the US recently. I literally feel my skin baking from the shortest amount of sun exposure. This is a great reminder about how important it is to protect my skin against the harmful rays of the sun. I recently tested out JĀSÖN™ Natural Sunblock in the Family formula with SPF 45. I am always leery of what any sunblock will feel like and even smell like. The scent was really light with a hint of citrus. The feeling was very smooth and light and it absorbed quickly. It did not have that typical heavy feeling of most sunblocks.

JĀSÖN™ Natural Sunblock is made with natural antioxidants from extracts of Açaí, Grape Seed and Green Tea to protect skin from sunburn and reduce harmful free radical damage. It's great for the whole family. I really could use this when I am working out in the yard!
Since it is sweat-proof and water-resistant, it will be a pool side must have for my family. I might need to wear some when I am driving the mom taxi since I sit in the sun waiting for the kids to get out of school and practice. You don't realize how much you are exposed doing general, everyday tasks.

I also tried out the JĀSÖN™ Natural Lip Balm SPF 25. I was surprised to see a lip balm with such a big SPF. I am used to only 10-15. This lip balm was really smooth and creamy with a hint of mint. This again will be good for when we are working out in the yard.

JĀSÖN™ Natural sun protection products can be purchased here as well as some natural foods retailers. You can search for a retail location here.

Disclosure: I received products samples to review and all opinions are 100% mine as always.

Dear Life: Please give me lemons

I finally received my baby Meyer Lemon tree I ordered several weeks back. I was surprised that it actually have leaves on it instead of only being a stick. William helped me plant it and we are hoping for the best. We potted it since citrus can't survive the winter and at that time we will bring it indoors. The tree is only supposed grow to about 4-5 feet at maturity and we should not expect any lemons until the second year. This was all Dwayne's idea (a good one too) and we look forward to seeing what happens! Hopefully my purple thumb won't show itself ;)

Question: Have you ever planted fruit trees in a pot before? If so, was it a success?

Swimsuit season is coming

It's getting to be that time of year for some of us depending on what part of the country you live in...Swimsuit season. I have not worn a swimsuit in over 3 years. I promised myself that this year I will get one that is flattering to my rounder body. I looked at a few from Target and so far I like the first 2. I have to go with something that covers my tummy because I don't think anyone wants to see my stretchmarks aka 'the rays of the sun'.

I also actually liked this swim dress. It doesn't look like an old lady one. It would be great to cover my buns but I really think I might go with one of the 2 first ones.

Are you ready for swimsuit season?

And why??

Please tell me that someone else out there has a husband that likes to dress like a fool while working out in the yard... Dwayne bought this plaid shirt from a thrift store for $1. He loves this shirt. He's proud to wear it. He says he is doing good for our earth by reusing an article of clothing. Okay, I will give him the shirt.
Now this stack of pants is where I take real issue. Why does one man (a very busy one at that) need to have a minimum of 7 pairs of yard pants? You would think our yard looked like we live in the White House with how many pants and shirts he has that are supposed to be dedicated to yard work. Oh my husband...

Weekend Wrap-up

The weekend was very full and really fun. We went to Sumter on Saturday to celebrate a family member's 80th birthday (Dwayne's side- great uncle). They had a really big turn out and it was nice seeing all of the extended family for a few hours. Since the location was somewhat in the country, William had tons of fun playing in the dirt. Anyone who knows how 500% girlie girl I am knows I had to bite my lip and turn my head. I bathed the boy when we got home and saw actual dirt in the tub. He had a BLAST! Some of the teenage cousins came back to our house that evening and end up spending the night. The girls had so much fun and they were up until 3:30 that morning! Luckily they kept the noise levels to a minimum so the rest of us could sleep.

The pollen count in our area has been off the charts!! I truly never thought I would want rain on Spring break but we need it so badly. All you see outside is clouds of pollen flowing through the air. I have really been affected this year more than the previous ones. I guess because it is so much warmer and drier. Please rain, please. The girls are home this week so we plan to do some random things locally and then we have a little weekend getaway planned.

So how was your weekend??