Snow Day Crafting

Lincoln was slammed with 6 inches of snow in less than 12 hours, bringing us another snow day home from school. We've already had a few snow days, but the difference this time was the temperature: it has been bitterly cold. I'm not sure if the temperature will cooperate enough for the kids to get the sleds out before the snow all melts next week. Temperatures are supposed to be in the upper 40s by Monday. Oh, Nebraska weather.

I took advantage of the snow day by finally starting some craft projects I'd been eyeballing on Pinterest. The girls and I headed downstairs to my bedroom, cranked up the space heater and the Netflix, spread out all our craft supplies, and got to work on our respective projects. My first project was a yarn wreath. What I love about this project: it was reasonably inexpensive, really easy, and would make a great gift. However, it took about 3 hours to complete despite it's seeming simplicity.

What you need: a Styrofoam wreath, tacky glue or hot glue gun, batting, yarn, and some embellishments. That's it. One trip to Hobby Lobby and about $15 (depending on your embellishments), and you've got a cute wreath. Here's the tutorial I used. I made mine with a red, white, and blue theme:

The second project of the day was a handful of felt fortune cookies. This was also a really easy project that turned out really cute. Felt is 25 cents a sheet, and I made six cookies from one sheet.  The other materials maybe cost $5 but will make lots more cookies.   I followed this tutorial, and I will definitely be making more of these little cuties.  I even cut some printer paper and wrote fortunes for my cookies.   

A day blanketed in beautiful snow gave me just the push I needed to make some great crafts. Maybe the next time y'all are stuck at home one of these projects will brighten your snow day.

I'll Be Damned!

Most people who know me know I have a Pinterest problem. I love it so much! It's a recipe book, a yoga lesson plan gold mine, a crafting eutopia, and so much more. Basically, it's crack for a housewife. I try many new crafts, recipes, and cleaning solutions I find in Pinterest. Pinterest has been pivotal in helping me on my quest to use less chemicals on my skin.

Yesterday, I made homemade body soap. It's one of the easier body soap recipes: 1 cup liquid Castile soap, 1/4 cup distilled water (or filtered water, boiled and cooled), and 2 Tablespoons olive or almond or jojoba oil. That's it. It's pretty thin, so I put it in a soap pump instead of a container with a flip-top lid. My next soap endeavor is another liquid body soap made from grated bar soap. Apparently, one can make a gallon of body soap for the cost of 8oz of bar soap (using my favorite Ayurvedic bar soap, this would cost only $3.00 for a gallon of body soap!!). Keep an eye out for that.

I also tried a recipe for tub/tile cleaner, and I'll be damned if it wasn't the BEST thing I've ever used to clean my tub and shower. It really, really worked! You should've seen the look on my face as I wiped away the soap scum...it was like a kid at Christmas. Take 1/2 cup vinegar and heat it for about 60 seconds in the microwave. Pour into a spray bottle with 1/2 cup blue Dawn dish soap. I don't buy Dawn because it doesn't fit the ingredient list for my chemically-reduced lifestyle, so I used the natural dish soap I use. Mix gently, and spray all over the tub and shower. Leave the mixture sit for at least 1 hour, and then just wipe and rinse. No scrubbing necessary. Guess what? It worked, even with my natural dish soap! Seriously, I scrubbed the shower the night before with bleach (I know, chemical!) and a scrub brush, and this mixture got the shower and tub even cleaner!! I may just have to buy some actual Dawn and see if it works even better.

Last but not least, I have a Pinterest solution for a sensitive situation: a smelly bathroom after someone goes #2. Before you or someone else sits down on the toilet, drop 3 or 4 drops of eucalyptus oil into the toilet water. Proceed as usual. Guess what? No stink. For reals.

So, here's to more Pinterest adventures to come! I'll be sure to share.

Brody's First Concert

My mouthy boy puts his mouth to good work as a member of the school choir. He really loves to sing, and I am really impressed that he joined the choir. Most of the boys he hangs out with see choir and band as things that nerds do, but Brody pursues his passion anyway. One of Brody's best friends told me that the reason he isn't in orchestra is because he doesn't want to, "damage my reputation." They're 4th graders. I guess the peer labels start early.

The Winter concert at the elementary school featured the choir, orchestra, and band. Brody performed in the orchestra first as one of only two violas. He did an AWESOME job!! They played songs with both plucking and bowing (?). The orchestra teacher chose really good songs for the kids, and this group performed much better than the orchestras I heard when Dade was in elementary school.

The choir sang a collection of "Nebraska" songs because the choir director/music teacher is the announcer for the UNL Cornhusker marching band Go Big Red!

Of course, the audience gets a little antsy, so we have to keep ourselves occupied.

A Few of My Favorite Things

From time to time I post little items that I've come to love.  And while I'm thinking of it, it's been awhile since I've posted a recipe.  I need to change that.

Anyway, back to my favorite things. I saw an idea on Pinterest (where else?) for a good behavior incentive jar. Every time I catch the kids being good I put their name in the jar, and at the end of the month the person whose name I draw gets $10. I'm excited to see how it goes.

My most favorite thing this week is this new iPad dock my man installed in the kitchen. It charges the iPad while I watch Netflix or listen to Pandora while I'm cooking. The dock mounted underneath the cabinet, and it also has a radio. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and I utilize the iPad as a recipe book, radio, and television. It was only a matter of time before I spilled something on it, but thankfully I won't have to worry about it anymore. YAY!!

Kitten Update

The kittens have grown by leaps and bounds.  They can't fit under the furniture anymore, although sometimes they think they can.  They still do so much cute stuff, but they also do a lot of naughty stuff, too.  Kittens will be kittens.

Even though the kittens have gotten very big and heavy, Evelyn still finds a way to carry them around:

And Sheldon thinks he's still small enough to fit in a little box:

And Penny? Well, you can see how big Penny has gotten.

One thing's for sure: the kittens always bring us smiles.

Happy Birthday, Brody!

My littlest boy turned 10 years old on the 14th.  It's not hard to believe that the baby who cried more than any baby in history grew up to be the little boy who talks more than any boy in history.  We do, indeed, call him Mouth.  His mouth works independently of his brain.  In fact, just the other day he said as he was playing, "I should've worn a condom!" You can imagine the conversation we had after that.  Bottom line: he didn't know what a condom was, and now he does.

For his birthday, we got him something he's been wanting for awhile: a bee bee gun with a scope and some targets.  The boy was quite pleased with his gift:

He had a sleepover with three of his friends, and they spent the entire evening playing war games.  Just look at all the casualties of war strewn in my hallway:

The boys really enjoyed the ninja cupcakes:

And they really enjoyed each other:

Give Me That Smile!

The smile is back! My smile, the one I thought I lost in September. The smile that took a little hiatus during Colby's unemployment. It's still here, and it's as beautiful as ever!

Colby starts his first full day at his new job tomorrow. I could go on about how difficult and stressful the last three and a half months have been. However, I've come through a rough patch with a clear and optimistic point of view. Tomorrow is the first day of a new life for us, a life that will continue to be blessed. We will continue our life in our little house with our pets and our garden and our fabulous neighbors and friends. We can make plans for our future. We can start picking out what we'll plant in our summer garden and how we'll fit chickens into our little yard. Chickens!?! As my friend Sassafras Mama says, "That's happy."

We celebrated Colby's new job with a trip to one of our favorite restaurants, Brix & Stone Gastropub. How I missed going out with our friends!! We've got our happy back, and hopefully it's here to stay.

Daisy Love

Soren really enjoys meeting with her Girl Scout troop. The girls get along really well, and they are such a well-behaved little gaggle of girls. I know I've blogged about it a bunch, but I love leading the girls' troops. It can be really stressful, but when I have Girl Scout parents tell me how much their daughters look forward to our meetings I understand how valuable the time I spend planning Scout activities is to the kids.

For their winter community service project, the girls gathered winter coats, hats, and mittens to be donated at Arnold Elementary and our neighborhood community center.  Here are some of the girls with the director of the Community Learning Center at Arnold Elementary School. She was very impressed with my friendly, helpful little Daisies. But, really, who wouldn't be? They're great!