Grandparents weekend

My parents came into town this weekend. It was so much fun! They arrived Friday evening and stayed until Monday after lunch. Saturday, we went to Black water State Park. It was such a beautiful day and couldn't resist enjoying the warm weather. We packed up some sandwiches, fruits, veggies, and chips and headed on our way. The dogs rode along with us. The hike through the park wasn't too long or too sunny. The dogs were worn out and passed out as soon we as got in the cars. Maddie finally passed out like 20 minutes before we got home and slept for a while after we got home. That evening, we went ahead and celebrated my birthday early. We went to Outback. YUM! It has been so long since I have been there. It was a good dinner, beside Madison being cranky and not wanting to eat any food. Thankfully, the waitress we had was really nice and knew what it was like to have kids. She brought Maddie some cherries and oranges. Maddie took some of dad's cherry tomatoes, so we asked the waitress for some more. At least my daughter eats healthy. LOL  Later that night, we tried the cupcakes that we got from Oh Snap! Cupcakes. It was really good. They have a lot of choices and specialized cupcakes, as well.

Sunday, we all kind of did our own thing throughout the day. Dad took Maddie to the park and played for two hours of going down the slide. Mom and I went to Joanns to get fabric for the quilt that I want to make for  Maddie and Jeff did homework. After that, we had some Delicious dinner and played Smarty Pants.

Before my parents left on Monday, Jeff and I went to Lowe's to pick up the soil and such for our garden.  It was a lot easier to get everything that we needed without any distractions. While Maddie was sleeping, Jeff and I got out there and put it together. I can't wait to see if they actually turn out. As we were loading up the truck, a very nice man started a conversation with us and told us some great ways to rid of the bugs that were safe and non toxic. So, if anyone is wanting some good gardening tips... here are some. :)

1. To avoid bugs from eating your lettuce, place baking powder on it and on the soil. The bugs will eat the baking powder and explode. It should only take a few times and then you shouldn't see any more bugs trying to take your precious lettuce.

2. There is a small bug that literally suffocate any stemmed plants, such as tomato and pepper. They will wrap itself at the bottom of the stem while the plants are small and squeeze it until the plant is dead. This is the bug's defense against predators. He said to either put tooth picks around the plants while they are small or some foil. The gentleman said that once the plants are full grown that there is no need to take any precautions. 

3. If any one is growing a garden in Florida, then you know that there is a ridiculous amount of sand and not dirt. The area around here takes a lot of tilling, but can have a garden year round.

4. The last thing he mentioned to us is that rabbit maneuer is the best thing to place into the soil. Chicken maneuer is the second best.

I know I learned a lot from him. He was very helpful. He also told us a few things that are good to know for living in Pensacola. I was glad to know that there are still a few good people out there that want to help others.

Today, I don't know what got in to me, but I woke up in a GREAT mood. Maddie and I made some breakfast and then got ready and went for a 2 1/2 mile walk with her in the stroller. Then we walked over to the park and slid down the slide a few times. I think she was worn out by this point because she was done after four times of sliding down the slide. I ended up having to carry her home. I laid her down and accomplished quite a few things around the house. I made her lunch and then we went on another walk, but this time with a friend and her little boy.  Maddie and I did a few more things around the house and she went down for another nap. I guess I kept wearing her out. Overall, today was a pretty good day.  A VERY productive day at that.

Maddie is starting to go potty on the big girl potty. For three days straight, she has gone on the big girl potty in the mornings and sometimes once in the afternoon. Hopefully this continues and goes smoothly. We all made a pretty big deal about it and it seems to be like 'Great mom, I went. Can I go play now?' to her. She doesn't seem to be too excited about it.

This weekend was a lot of fun. It is always nice to spend time with family. Maddie was absolutely loving her time with Gamma and Papa.

I have some pictures that I'll post, but they aren't uploaded just yet. Once I get them uploaded, I'll edit the blog. Until next time, have fun and be safe.