Ryobi 40 V Cordless Mower Review

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I had the pleasure of reviewing a Ryobi 40 V Cordless Mower. This was my first experience with a battery operated lawn mower and I didn't know what to expect from it. I will be honest, I rarely mow grass. My husband usually takes care of that chore and when he can't due to time constraints I have a lawn guy that I call on. It is not that I don't enjoy the chore... well, no honestly I didn't enjoy the chore of mowing due to our previous mower which was hard to start, hard to push and very loud.

 When the Ryobi Mower arrived I was immediately impressed with the appearance. It looks very modern, and very bright!

My husband was ready to assemble the mower right away, I couldn't believe how lightweight it was.  I expected it to be much heavier than 40 pounds. The mower has such visual appeal I couldn't help but get a little excited about it.

As you can see the dog even got excited about the new mower

We both liked that it came with 2 batteries, we charged them up and prepared to mow the following day. My husband being the dear that he is told me he would handle the mowing as I am too pregnant to be doing that right now.

My son and I were curious so we headed outside to see the Ryobi mower in action. The first thing I noticed was that the mower started easily. My husband simply pushed the bar and pressed a button and it was ready to go! No pulling on a cord thingy for 10 minutes to get it started, this is a huge selling point for someone like me. Next I noticed the mower was quiet. My husband could hear me over the running lawn mower and we were able to talk without shouting while he mowed grass. I love a quiet operating lawn mower!

My little Roo had to pet the mower, he found it to be magical!

The next thing we liked was that it mulch bag attachment which makes the mow super clean. It takes about 90 minutes to fully charge the battery. The battery is easy to insert into the mower.

Now, I will be honest here. Our yard is not big by any means. It is a modest sized yard. The mower is ideal for really small yards. The battery life seems to run 20 minutes or so and that means to completely mow our yard we need to use both batteries, then charge them both again to do the front yard. This means to mow our yard it takes us at least 2 days. That isn't a huge deal to me, or to my husband. In the summer especially it is nice to take a break from the sweltering heat and rest when you are mowing. So it works well for our needs.

The mower has a 16" cutting width, it takes no oil or gas and it has a great deal of visual appeal. Several of our neighbors have stopped to admire our Ryobi 40 V Cordless and have commented on how quiet it is to operate and how they like that.


We liked the Ryobi mower. It operates with ease, it is quiet, it looks great, it folds up to be compact for easy storage which is always a bonus for us with limited space in our shed.

You can purchase the Ryobi 40 V Cordless Mower at Home Depot.
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Saturday #179

Saturday #179 was our last weekend as a family of 3. Despite the way the previous weekend went I was determined that this would be a great weekend for making good memories with my son.

We planned to get up early and head out to the Col. Crawford festival as is a family tradition. My husband woke Roo and I up as we were somehow still asleep at 7 a.m. Roo was resistant to waking up, but I asked him for a kiss, he complied. I asked him if he wanted to go bye bye and he nearly jumped out of bed, ready to go.

We somehow had breakfast and got ready in record time. We made it to the festival in time to get our yearly purchase of squirrel corn and we browsed the booths. We made purchases of gorgeous Indian Corn, pumpkins, rubber duckies, a wooden train for Roo, handmade candles and jewelry for my Mother in law.

It was a nice morning!

We stopped home for lunch, we got out our Halloween decorations and then hit the road again to take Roo to a kids activity with a corn bin for playing in, slides and a hay maze. He had loads of fun and got nothing short of filthy.  He mastered the maze within minutes and had a fantastic time.

We wrapped up the day running a few errands. We came home to have Roos favorite dinner, pizza and cheesy bread. After dinner I realized I needed to clean up the house. Roo and I went into the master  bedroom to straighten up and ended up looking at books together before he had his bath and went to bed.

I couldn't have asked for a better day with my son. We had a lot of fun, we made the most of our time and we made memories. On Saturday #180 our family will have grown, there will be 4 of us, things will have changed, but it will be a good change! I am excited to see how Roo reacts to having a little sister.

I hope you had a chance to enjoy your family over the weekend.

Welcome Baby!

My daughter Harper was born on Friday morning, shortly after 8 am. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30, I was a nervous wreck. I cried after I said goodbye to my son. It was so hard to drop him off with the sitter because he cried "Mommy!" and ran to me instead of going into the house. I got into the car and sobbed. I cried all the way to the hospital. I had cried most of the night before, and sure enough I cried once I got to my room. I was scared and anxious about the c section,  sad about being away from Roo. I was excited to meet Harper. I was a bundle of emotions.

It all started to happen fast. My doctor came in about an hour after they got me settled in and before I knew it they started prepping me. I tried to not let my anxiety levels get to me. I tried to just be me, to talk to the staff, to smile, to get thru the procedure. I took the spinal block like a pro.

Then it became apparent it didn't fully take with me. I could move my legs and I could feel. I could feel the c section, I could feel my legs, my feet, my womb being cut open.  I screamed and cried and they put me to sleep. I had some crazy dreams and woke up worried about my daughter. Before I was able to speak or understand, literally as soon as my eyes opened I was asking if she was okay. I had no idea what anyone was saying or where I was, but I kept asking. Finally they wheeled me around and I saw my husband with Harper, I had double vision and was not really coherent, but I managed to sit up and give him the ok sign. He gave it back and held her up so I could see her.

When I was able to speak and understand responses I continued to ask anyone and everyone that came my way about Harper, they all assured me she was doing great. She was healthy, she was gorgeous. They couldn't believe that I was able to move, speak and ask about getting out of bed literally moments after having a c section.

My husband brought Harper into the room as soon as he could. I got to hold her and see just how pretty she was.

I am a very lucky lady to have 2 cute kids! Harper is a great addition to our family.

After asking for 8 hours about getting up they allowed me to take a walk. I have been walking ever since!

I was told I would be here until around noon on Monday but today is Sunday, it is 8:10 in the 

morning and Harper and I will be going home today. The doctor is going to remove my dressing and pain medicine ball and then they should begin discharging us. I can't wait to go home and take my daughter with me.

I miss my house, my pets, my husband and most of all my son. It has been hard to be away from him!

Harper is a great baby. She sleeps well, eats well, snuggles like a pro and is nothing short of amazing. I can't wait to get her home to join our family.

Thank you to everyone that sent emails of well wishing, prayers and hope. It means so much to me!

Perfect Baked Potatoes

Baked Potatoes are a simple side dish that just about everyone can make.  I have perfected the process of baking a potato and turning it from simple and average to something special that takes only about 1 minute longer to prepare than your everyday version.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Scrub your potatoes and pat them dry with a towel, then stab them 5 or 6 times with a knife.

Prepare a mixture of sea salt, fresh ground pepper (to taste- if you like a lot of salt and pepper then use to your hearts content, if just a touch will do it for you then a few simple twists of the grinder will be perfect) and  3 tablespoons of parmesan cheese on a plate.

Then rub them with cooking oil or olive oil (use what you have on hand).

Roll a potato in the salt, pepper and parmesan cheese and wrap in foil. Repeat until you have used all of the potatoes you planned to bake.

Photo Credit: Sara Lehman.

Place them on a cookie sheet and allow to bake for 50 to 75 minutes, depending upon the size of the potato. To test them, when you think they are done stab them with a fork. If the potatoes meet no resistance they are ready to serve.

My family loves Baked Potatoes this way, the skin is a little crispier, the seasoning on the exterior adds a little zing to the potato and they look great! I have been complimented many times over my Baked Potatoes and have been told they are better than something you get in a restaurant!

I love to serve these because it is an inexpensive yet healthy option to compliment most any meal, or you can turn these into the main course if you add a little cheese, green onion, sour cream and bacon to the potatoes as toppings.

We will be falling back on this tried and true option for meals many times in the weeks as we adjust to having a new baby. I hope you try it and like it too!



Find more great potato recipes here:

Unique Potato Salad Recipes
Nashville Hot Fried Chicken Potatoes

Saturday #173

Saturday #173 was our final summer Saturday for this year. We got up early and hit the road. We drove up to Port Clinton with the idea of a day at the beach. On the way there Rolfie told us he was hungry (because he wouldn't eat his breakfast at home) so we stopped off and fed him, he loved that we ate outside beside Lake Erie. We went to the spot we had in mind for swimming next only to find  the bacteria levels were unsafe.

We drove on to Catawba Island but we were unsure about the water quality and no one else was at that beach, rather than risk it we continued on in search of a place to swim. We dropped off at the Perch Festival and asked the locals where to go, they pointed us to East Harbor State Park. We found it with no issues.

Rolfie loves the water. He had a great time swimming with us. The beach was perfect for taking children to as the water was clear and not too deep. We spent a few hours there, everyone had fun! I loved seeing my brave little boy jumping and laughing in the small waves.

Rolfie was exhausted when we left, he took a short nap in the car and we stopped by at a Friendly's for dinner. The day in the sun and water helped him work up quite an appetite. He ate all of his cheeseburger and fries, then he ate half of his Daddy's fries, he still had room and ate an entire ice cream sundae. He left full and happy.

We headed home to start preparing for a visit from my mother in law the next day. Rolf dropped off to sleep later than usual, but quite happy. He dreamed of swimming that night, he was laughing and kicking in his sleep.

Now that the weekend has come and gone, I realize that next summer all of our adventures will be different, we will no longer be a little family of 3, we will have a baby along for the fun. A part of me is happy and excited about the change but there is a part of me that feels sad at the last chapters of this story. I have been so content with my son that I am not ready for all of that to change when I am honest with myself.

I have to say that while we really didn't do anything extraordinary other than drive to the Lake, it was the perfect end to our summer. The memories of my son splashing in the waves will hold me over until next summer when we create new summer memories together.

I hope you were able to enjoy your family over the weekend.