Welcome to Real Simple Mama’s butterfly garden! This pollinator garden was started in spring 2020 (because what else can you do during a pandemic shut down other than dig in the dirt?!) and is now flourishing here in the Texas heat. Read on for a few quick tips and the list of residents in this certified pollinator garden.
Continue readingTag: tour
RSM has one of the new chicken coop kits by Aivituvin! Check out the assembled Air27 model, suitable for 1-2 chickens, and see how it measures up. Make sure you look at all our photos and the video tour too!
Continue readingSpring has sprung! And after the Insane Winter Storm of February 2021, I welcome spring this year more than ever. I love my backyard chickens, and I love plants and gardening. As I work to create perfect harmony in my chicken run, I’ve found some hardy perennials and trees that go beautifully with my little flock. Here’s my spring 2021 list of the plants in my chicken run.
Continue readingWell, there you go. You’re here because you’re looking to cool down your chicken coop, right? Especially at night when everyone is roosting with their feathery body heat? Or maybe when they’re laying eggs for your family in a sweltering box? Have no fear, we’ve done the work and put together how to do a solar fan build for your chicken coop… and why you should, too.
Continue readingI have a diagnosis of osteoarthritis, severe endometriosis, TMJ, and Myofascial Pain Syndrome. So, yeah, I know pain. I’ve been battling these conditions for years, and I now have an arsenal of things that really make my daily life a lot easier. But I don’t want you to feel like you have to spend a ton of money so you’re not suffering! So here is my list of cheap things to help chronic pain at home. They give me relief and help me live the life I want to live, and my hope is that they will help you too.
Continue readingWe made a backyard pond! It’s been a great project for our little nature-loving family, especially during the shelter-in-place period. It’s an affordable and fun way to add some interest to your yard, and to attract more wildlife. But how do you get started? Check out my review and project build here, including a video tour!
Continue readingWe have upgraded to a new chicken coop for Jurasschic Park 2.0! While we deliberated for a few months on whether to build one ourselves from scratch, hire/pay someone to do it, or get another coop kit, we found the Omaha Chicken Coop by Rugged Ranch online. I thought it was cute and well-designed but we weren’t crazy about the price.
Imagine our surprise when we find a local antique shop selling one, still in its box, for almost half the price!
So now we bring the review to you here at Real Simple Mama. We’re paying customers and want to share all the stats, loves, and hates with the Omaha Chicken Coop Kit from Rugged Ranch.
Continue readingIf you are moving, and you have a family, it seems like the task is 1000 times more challenging. You’re supposed to pack while taking care of little ones, you have to tour homes and apartments while keeping your kids on a routine. There’s so much thrown at you! We recently moved with two young children, and I took notes of every strategy and tip I could think of so that I could pass on my ideas to my readers. Here are all of my suggestions for how to survive moving with kids. And hey, I have a free downloadable PDF to help you with getting it all done!
Continue readingSchool is starting and we are doing our first “Playroom Tour!” Check out what we actually have in our playroom – these are the toys which have passed our safety and quality tests, and have passed the kids’ own tests as well. There are photos and a video tour, as well as item names and descriptions. Come see what’s in our playroom! Continue reading
Cloth diapers are amazing. They’re versatile, adorable, comfortable, and economical. But they’re intimidating as hell to new or potential parents, partly because there are so many kinds. While a disposable is pretty basic – what you see is what you get – cloth diapers are a vast industry of options. Here I’ll break down the three main kinds of cloth diapers: the good, the bad, all of my experiences, plus photos! Bonus in summer 2018: look for the complete video tour at the end! Continue reading