Organic Gardening

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Whitney Farms for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Using organic soil to grow vegetables and flowers has been in my mind lately. Probably because I was inspired by a friend who does organic gardening in their own backyard. They make their own organic plant food through making their own compost using peels of fruits and vegetables, leaves, coffee grounds, and more. I was amazed how the materials they used for composting turned into natural fertilizer in a form of soil. She even told me that the tomatoes that grew in their pots were not planted by them, but just grew naturally from the compost soil. Those tomatoes are beauties. Quite inspiring for me indeed. However, composting takes effort. With another addition to the family coming, I am not sure if I have the time to do it. At the same time, organic gardening is something that I really want to try specially with vegetables and herbs. Eating produce that were grown in organic fertilizer is so much better than the conventional fertilizer, health-wise and for the environment. How I wish composting is that easy. Thankfully, I have another option that will make my gardening dream come true: Whitney Farms®

I didn't know that organic plant food is available in the market. Knowing that natural fertilizer from Whitney Farms is just within reach makes me happy and excited to start gardening when the busyness of my motherhood life settles down after the little one arrives. I would love to share and enjoy planting blooms and produce in our backyard with my daughters and teach them about organic planting. I am also glad that this brand's organic plant food has no manure odor, something I don't have to worry with my little ones not wanting to get near or touch the soil. I look forward to using this product.

If you want to feed your plants organic plant food, you can get a savings of $3.00 Whitney Farms coupon. Three bucks for your pocket to keep is such a great deal!

"To:" Not #2; It's ABC

I got my daughter new Preschool Prep Series educational DVDs that arrived yesterday. I was excited to let her watch it, so this morning, we turned it on. She's watched Meet the Letters, Meet the Numbers, and Meet the Shapes. Because she already knows letters (except the lower case), basic numbers, and shapes, the videos were a little bit easy and boring for her. I thought that the "Meet the Sight Words" series would be the right videos for her to watch and learn new things. So, I turned on series 1. While she was watching it, I heard her say "It's not number two! It's ABC!" When I looked at the TV screen, the video was showing and kept repeating the word "to." I cracked into a big laughter. It's funny to think how at her age right now she doesn't understand the concept of many words and their meaning, and yet, she knows a lot of symbols, and what they sound and look like. And she reacts to things the way she understands them. Well, she was right of her reaction this morning—"to" is not #2,iI's ABC. :)

Hand Dish Washing No More

I decided not to wash dishes with my hands anymore. Well, only for a time being. I still prefer to wash dishes with my hands. I feel like the dishes are cleaner when it's my hands doing it. Primary reason for taking a break with hand washing is problem with standing up for several minutes. I just couldn't last that long anymore. My lower back gets achy whenever I stand for several minutes in one place while hands are busy doing something. Baby weight is getting heavier. It usually takes me 20-30 minutes to finish washing dishes. So right now, I rinse dirty dishes and pile them until our sink overflows (dirty dishes, yes...not water) :) . I only wash plastic containers, pots and pans, and knives with my hands. It wouldn't take that long and there's not a lot of them. Time for my hands and feet to rest. My back needs it.

Evie Moves to Her Own Bed

My daughter slept in her own bed last night. The Tinker Bell bed and bedding that her Dada ordered online arrived yesterday. She was trying to be a good helper while her Dada put it together. When it was done, she was excited to lay on it. We were hoping that when it's time for her to go to bed, she will stay.

We put it beside our bed. I still don't want her to be out of my sight while she's sleeping at night, that's why her bed stays in our room. Surprisingly, she told me she wanted to sleep on the Tinker Bell bed. I didn't expect it, but I was happy. After I read her two books, we prayed and she was ready for nite-nite. Every now and then, I checked if she's already asleep. A couple hours later, her Dada found out that she was on our bed, dreaming. A little bit amusing. She didn't even bother us to let us know that she wanted to move in the big bed.

I moved her to her new bed. She woke up. Told her she has to go back to sleep. She did, but only for a few minutes. She woke up again and jumped onto our bed. Took her back to her bed again. She whimpered. She wanted me to hold her and she wanted to sleep in our bed. Told her that she's got a new bed, she's a big girl, and should stay in her bed. She woke up twice. Whimpered. But later, fell back to sleep all through the night.

I missed holding her while we're sleeping. I missed her in my side. A little separation anxiety for me. But I know I have to let go few things with her specially with the new one coming. I'm just glad she stays with us in our bedroom. It would be emotionally difficult for me if she doesn't.

She woke up in a good mood this morning, asking for hot milk. As of this writing, she's napping in her bed. She expressed her desire to sleep in the "big bed" so I had to talk to her about why she has to sleep in her bed. Thankfully, my daughter accepted and understood my reasons. She didn't give me a difficult time.

She is turning into a big girl. I am starting to miss my little girl.

Signing Up for Free Baby Infant Formula

I have finally signed up to receive free infant/baby formula from various leading brands like Similac, Enfamil, and Good Start. I also signed up for Parent's Choice which is exclusively distributed by Walmart, and Simply Right (formerly known as Member's Mark infant formula) sold by Sam's Club. If I get one regular can of free samples from these brands, I'd be able to try which one works best for our little girl. That will save us bucks during the trial and error stage.

Breastfeeding is still my priority. I am hoping that my failure last time to breastfeed my eldest will be successful with the second one. But it is always best to have a Plan B, just in case. I do not want to stress myself too much and feel guilty like what happened before and spent a lot of times crying after giving birth because I failed to breastfeed my daughter.

If you're an expecting Mom and want to receive free baby formula and coupons, here are the links where you can avail this opportunity:

Similac Infant Formula

Enfamil Infant Formula
Gerber Good Start Infant Formula
Parent's Choice Infant Formula
Simply Right Infant Formula

Energy Wearing Off

I'm getting exhausted so quickly for few days now. The unending kicks are wearing me off at the end of the day. A nap is needed. Moreover, I noticed that the weight in my belly is getting heavier. Whenever I do something that requires standing up for several minutes, my lower back hip starts to feel achy. Belly band is definitely a must at this stage of my pregnancy. I've been wearing it around the house but not a lot. But right now, I need it more often. It really helps me carry the weight. It's actually the band I got from the hospital when Evie was born. The hospital gave me two belly bands to support my tummy's weight after C-section. I can say that in that period of time and the ever growing heaviness of my pregnant belly now, that thing is quite effective. It supports my back pretty well.

Her weight was 3.9 lbs in my most recent ultrasound last week (April 3). Her weight probably doubles in my next ultrasound at 36 weeks. Something that I have to prepare. More weight, quicker exhaustion. I am glad though that my feet are not as swollen. Yesterday and today, they both look and feel normal. My hydration must have helped. I wonder though why sometimes my left foot gets more swollen that the right foot. What's the explanation?

Her birth is getting nearer and nearer—in fifty six days. Isn't that amazing? :)

New Baby Bath Tub for the Little One

I just ordered a new bath tub for the little one at Kmart.com today! We need one for her when she comes. I like that this bath tub has a built-in shower that can be used to rinse her instead of just scooping the water by hand. The primary reason why I chose this bath tub is because of the shower. It's got a sling for a newborn which can be detached when the baby gets bigger, older, and can already sit by herself. I still have to check everything when I already have the physical item and see if this is baby bath tub provides what we need for our newborn. I saw another one that also has a shower in it which looks better than this one. Unfortunately, it's out of stock. Hopefully the one that I just ordered works perfect for us. The price was $29.99 + tax, but I only paid $0.64! Yup! I used the $15 free gift card that Sears sent me, the 10% online discount of the item's price, and the points I accumulated in my Shop Your Way Rewards membership. What a saving! Can't wait to pick it up in our local Kmart store and see if it's the right one for us. If we decide to keep it, I'll definitely write a review of this product. :)