When Spring came and we started working outdoors more, Hubby and I became frustrated with having to crawl over garden boots and rain boots every time we went out the back door. And the boys could never find their boots and then sometimes, they'd find them filled with rain water in the middle of the yard. So, Hubby made this awesome boot rack that hangs on the wall right outside our back door. It is under the patio so nothing gets wet. It has been such a help!!
Supplies Needed:
- one 8' x 1" x 4" piece of wood (length depending on what you need, of course)
- 7 – 4" long bolts
- 3 long outdoor masonry screws
- drill
- screwdriver
Steps:
- Drill 7 holes in board, spaced out evenly
- Screw in long bolts so they are flush with the wood on backside
- Measure and drill holes in bricks and piece of wood, so that they line up.
- Set the middle screw to mount board to wall and then screw in outer screws until the board is secure
- Hang rainboots, garden boots, coats, etc and enjoy having everything in one place, off of the ground!
There wasn't a way to hang my garden boots, so Hubby drilled a hole in them and now they easily fit over one screw. As you can see, we also hang the Captain's rain coat on the boot rack so he can easily find it when he goes outside to play in the rain.
The wood can be painted to match your outdoor space, or coated with water seal to make it last longer, too. You could make the board as short or as long as you need it, or make multiple racks for big families or to hang lots of stuff and be nice and organized!
This liquid prenatal vitamins post was written by me on behalf of Liquid Health. All opinions are mine.
Taking vitamins is my least favorite thing to do, especially when pregnant and gaggy already. I've tried a lot of different prenatal vitamins and sad to say, but the best ones are really the huge pills that you have to swallow with a huge gulp of water. Until now! Liquid Health has made it easy on moms with morning sickness with their liquid prenatal vitamins.
Continue reading Liquid Prenatal Vitamins Are Easier to Stomach
This eco-friendly apparel post is brought to you by Mother Tongues. All opinions are mine.
Finding high quality apparel that is stylish is hard. Finding high quality apparel that is stylish, eco-friendly, and is made and sold fairly is next to impossible. Mother Tongues is a company committed to values such as fair trade, cultural sensitivity, ecological sustainability, and economic justice. Michelle Hamman, the founder of Mother Tongues, is passionate about making sure her apparel is high quality and made with 100% organic cotton, as well as being Fair Trade Certified.
Mother Tongues has great aprons, scarves, tote bags, and shirts, like this one:
"Sisu" is a Finnish word meaning "the courage to be." It is the determination to get things done against impossible odds. The dancing woman on the Sisu shirt has a fabulous meaning, too. From the Mother Tongues website:
The Dancing Woman Labyrinth was created by Lisa Gidlow Moriarty (www.DancingWomanLabyrinth.com) in response to her mother’s death to cancer and her own cancer survival. The Dancing Woman knows grief, she bears the tears and celebrates the days of joy and survival. She is a symbol of women’s strength and compassion. Her uplifted arms reach out in a supportive embrace; her wild hair suggests freedom as well as the unexpected ways hair may grow back after chemotherapy. The entrances under her arms are reminiscent of a friend’s support and protection. She dances with wild abandon in release of pain.
What a moving and encouraging story! The font and graphics on the shirt are beautiful:
When I first opened the package, the feeling of the shirt was soft and luxurious. I have always heard that organic cotton is softer, and it has always been true, in my experiences. It really is a vast difference from non-organic cotton. Mother Tongues also prints with water based, environmentally friendly inks that will not crack over time like traditional screenprinting.
For every sale, Mother Tongues makes a donation to a specific organization. For every Sisu shirt or tote bag sold, Mother Tongues donates $1 to the American Cancer Society.
Take a look around Mother Tongues and see all of the wonderful, inspiring, culturally diverse options they have. I know you will be impressed like I was!
It's not often that a company comes along that has high quality all across the board, donates to charity, celebrates diversity, has eco-friendly and fair trade practices, and uses organic materials. Mother Tongues is doing just that at reasonable prices. Check them out today! Follow Mother Tongues on Facebook and Twitter.
Mother Tongues is giving one Life With Captain Fussybuckets reader a $30 gift code to purchase your own apron, scarf, t-shirt, or tote bag with the mantra of your choice!
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The recent rains and warm sunlight have made our first garden of the Spring take off! Squash, zucchini, jalapenos, and tomoatoes…coming soon!
During the hot Summer months, we love to grill outside as much as we can. But, if you're like me, I was having to work equally hard inside to cook the side items for hamburgers, steak, etc. That's when I started getting smart and preparing everything to cook on the grill! And with our garden (hopefully) producing lots of zucchini and squash this summer, we will be having grilled veggies a lot! You can grill just about anything and it saves the inside of the house from getting hot from the oven and stove.
Ingredients:
- two squash or zucchini per family of four
- butter
- salt
- foil
Directions:
Chop your squash and zucchini about 1/4" thick.
Place the sliced veggies on a piece of foil in one layer. This is one squash below:
Dot every other squash with butter, pour melted butter over the top, or place a few pats of butter on top of the squash. Not scientific, but it will all melt and coat the squash throughout the grilling process.
Then, salt the squash. (I love to use Real Salt because it's better for you and tastes better, too.) You can also add other spices, such as garlic, oregano, pepper, whatever you are feeling or what complements your meal.
Finally, put another sheet of foil on top and crease the edges up so as to create a pocket so the veggies will steam and cook thoroughly:
Then, place on a hot grill (high heat) and cook for about 5-10 minutes then flip the entire foil packet and cook another 5-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve!
You can grill just about anything, just experiment with taste preference and cooking time. Try grilling okra, corn, onions, peppers, tomatoes, just about anything, including pineapple and bananas, too!
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This post brought to you by Cooper Tires. All opinions are 100% mine.
Buying new tires is something that no one truly wants to do, but it is better to do it before your tires get in too bad of shape. It sure doesn't hurt to buy tires when there is a great deal going on, too! Through June 30, shoppers are eligible to receive up to an $80 Visa prepaid card when purchasing a new set of qualifying Cooper tires. The tires must be purchased through participating dealers in the United States, Canada, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico.
The Cooper Tire Spring Savings Event includes these eligible products:
- CS4 Touring
- Discoverer CTS
- Cooper Zeon RS3-S and RS3-A
- Discoverer H/T
- Discoverer HTP (available at select U.S. retailers only)
- Discoverer LSX and LSX Plus (available at select U.S. retailers only)
With the Spring storms and rain hitting us hard in Texas, I can't think of a better time to update our tires for the safety of our family and our car. Tires with a good tread are important for all driving conditions and your tires may be more worn than you realize. Head over to a local Cooper Tired retailer so they can examine your tires and recommend a great replacement and save during the Cooper Tires Spring Savings Event!
This post brought to you by Sears. All opinions are 100% mine.
Sears, the store we all know and love, is doing a great job keeping up with the times! I just perused Sears.com and was amazed with all of the options, styles, brands, designers, and choices available. I prefer to shop online because I usually have two kids (and sometimes a husband) shopping with me, and I just don't have the time to search for exactly what I want. Sears is making it easy on moms like me by having many more options available online than in store AND their guarantee to have your item ready in 5 minutes or less. If they don't, you get a $5 in-store coupon.
With Father's Day approaching, I wanted to see what Sears.com had to offer for Dad. They, of course, have every power tool Dad could ever want, but what about stylish clothes? Hubby is excited about the release of "Man of Steel," the new Superman movie, so I checked out Sears' collection of Superman shirts and came up with many great choices:
And, Sears is always on top of the latest styles, too. Check out just a few of the sandals for summer:
Check out the newest arrivals and featured marketplace offers at Sears.com to find something great! Tweet your findings to your friends and family using #MoreatSears!
This natural skin care post was written by me on behalf of Citrus Clear. I received products to review and am giving my honest opinion. All opinions are mine.
The skin on my face has given me the most trouble over the years. It's very sensitive, but I'm still prone to breaking out. I like to use gentle products on my face that are still effective enough to clean and prevent against zits. Citrus Clear is a line of natural skin care products that actually work, and for that I'm glad.
I have bought many moisturizers over the years and I'm so pleased that the pink grapefruit sensitive moisturizer from Citrus Clear works. It's gentle, not greasy, and it lasts all day, which for my sensitive, dry skin, is huge! The moisturizer contains soothing botanicals, citrus ingredients, and powerful vitamins, as well as many organic ingredients.
It also has a magic erasing power. You see, I always wake up with "sleep wrinkles" by one of my eyebrows. They're so embarassing and take forever to go away, so it looks like I just woke up almost any time of the day. But….the Citrus Clear moisturizer erases these wrinkles within 30 minutes! It's amazing and I'm so happy I found this miracle eraser, even though that's not what they advertise it for!
The tangerine tingle face scrub also works quite well at cleaning my skin without leaving it in pain, like so many other scrubs and cleaners do. It removes dead skin cells and stimulates fresh, new skin cells. The scent of tangerines is amazing, too, and really wakes me up in the shower!
To learn more and purchase these and other Citrus Clear products, visit the website. They have many products for all skin types that are made with quality, natural ingredients.
Follow @CitrusClear on Twitter and Facebook, too!
Oh, age four. What a fun age! The Captain is four and a half now and his imagination is running wild every single day. It actually started long before age four, but he is more imaginative now than ever before. Every morning he wakes up and goes directly to his room (because he sleeps on our floor half the night, remember…yes, still….) and picks out a "costume." He finally realized that we can't go out and buy a costume for everything he wants, nor can I sew a costume every time he wants one. He's learned to make do with what he has, and I must say, I have been impressed with some of the stuff he comes up with!
Who wants to be a Superhero Knight Firefighter?
Or what about "Space Boy?" I don't remember what exactly prompted this costume, but he wanted an astronaut costume and I gave him a few boxes and scissors and told him that he would have to work on that one himself. I did offer some cutting help, but the rest is all his idea. Pretty good because it satisfied him and he was proud of his costume!
Then there was the time he learned about Moses and the Ten Commandments. The couch was his mountain, he made the Ten Commandments out of cardboard and paper, and then strapped a Slinky around his waist to climb the mountain. ha! I'm pretty sure Moses didn't have the security of a harness around his waist, but this Moses did.
He read about Hawkman, the superhero, in a book and had to become him. Those are his hawk wings, of course!
I'm sure you can tell that this is a police officer, protecting our backyard from bad guys. He's got his police badge, wallet, walkie talkie, and gun. Yes, that stick is a gun, all under a belt that's incredibly too tight.
This is the latest character. The Captain saw an episode of "The Wild Kratts" on PBS yesterday, for the first time. It's a show about two adult brothers who rescue animals and teach about science and the world around us. Half of us is a cartoon, and the Captain loves this show! Here he is in his Wild Kratts costume… which he wore outside… in the heat of Texas… but he didn't care because he was a WILD KRATT!
This kid certainly makes every day an adventure for all of us. And lucky for him, his little brother D is more than willing to accompany him in all of his adventures!
This Pretty Muddy post was written by me on behalf of Old Navy. All opinions are mine.
Old Navy is bringing the popular Pretty Muddy Women's Run to Dallas! The Run will be at Skyline Ranch on June 1st of this year. (address: 1801 E Wheatland Rd. Dallas, TX 75241) So what is the Pretty Muddy? It is a fun 5k adventurous obstacle course mud run for JUST women! Spend time outdoors with your friends, get dirty, and have fun in this muddy adventure.
After the race, participants will be treated to a fashion show by Old Navy, showcasing the lastest in activewear fashion trends. Old Navy's active wear line offers an assortment of styles and colors at the affordable price Old Navy is known for.
 Old Navy GoDry Running Top in Carbon  Old Navy printed compression capris in Black Jack 2 The Old Navy Compression Collection features items such as solid color leggings and color block capris, sports bras, tank tops, shorts, and jackets. The Compression Collection offers performance fit for added support and a slimmer silhouette. Great news for those of us that are self concious while we work out, or even for hiding certain areas and still being stylish. The collection is designed with the highest level of technology, made with cotton, spandex, and GoDry fabric, which allows moisture to be quickly wicked away, leaving you dry and comfortable. The clothes also offer flat lock seams and tag-free labels to prevent chafing and make sure that your workout is all you're thinking about! Old Navy Active Pants also feature the fuss-free storage of keys, iPods, or other workout essentials.
Don't forget to use code "BLOGON" to save $10 off of your Pretty Muddy registration in DALLAS!!
Will you be participating in the Pretty Muddy in Dallas or another city this year? Have you participated in the past? I'd love to hear about your experience!
Photos courtesy of Pretty Muddy & Old Navy.
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Welcome! We are a family of four, living in DFW, Texas....Daddy, Mommy, Captain Fussybuckets, who is 4, and Baby Brother D, who is 2! We love to blog about our life and the stuff we love. Thanks for stopping by!
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