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| Greetings Friends,
So our summer dilemma has been ANTS!! They are every where. I've got a toddler who likes to make every thing sticky with her sticky hands. We all know toddlers eat messy and it takes just one smear of jelly from a PB&J sandwich to attract these little sugar ants. I went to chalking up the cracks. There is one crack or opening in a door that they keep slipping through. So I've been on the battle front to protect the toddler and crawling baby from these critters. While online I saw this! A friend posted a link to http://www.
It calls for
1 cup of water
2 cups of sugar
2 TBSP of Borax
boil it for 3 minutes. Click the link above to see the pictures for the recipe. Let it cool and place it in shallow dishes around. I made this this morning and placed mine around outside. In a matter of minutes the ants were there eating up a storm! See my little 22 second video of how they are attracted to this solution...
I hope it works! I'll update this blog when we find out! |
Day 2 AssignmentDid this again! I was proud of me for doing this. I'm having a hard time finding clothes to fit me in the post pregnancy days. I really need to get on the ball and drop the "baby weight". Looking at my old clothes that I used to wear isn't fun, but I just can't get rid of them yet. I actually hope I don't have to get rid of them, but instead I'll be wearing them well one day. Any how I got dressed in a simple skirt, t-shirt and leggings. I was comfortable but dressed. I didn't put anything but lip gloss on though.
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea, refer to your list of weekly goals, andmake a list of no more than 5-7 specific things you want to accomplish today.Yes did this. I actually added and changed a few things. I read the assignment wrong for the first day.
::Complete your morning routine {if you don’t have a morning routine, take some time to create one today! Read my How to Develop a Routine That Works–And Stick With It series for step-by-step help.}My morning routine needs to be a lot better. I would prefer my mornings start out quiet but they don't. I would love to start out with a bible devotion and spending quiet time with the Lord before the little ones get up but the running theme here has been I stay up late to enjoy quiet time and wake up when Fia starts kicking my ribs. I try to sleep in a little longer but it doesn't work well with the little ones. Afterwards it's the Helaina and Fia show of tug-o-war. Helaina needs breakfast, Fia wants to be held. Helaina wants to play with the blocks, Fia needs a change etc. In between this I am cleaning up the kitchen from the previous night. *sigh*
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and do a quick-clean of your kitchen: wash the dishes/load the dishwasher, clear off the countertops, and, if you have time, wipe down the countertops and the outside of the cupboards with wet rag or cleaning cloth.This is a part of my "morning routine". I did set the clock for it and got this done. I do think it took longer than 15 minutes but I'm blogging this after day 3 has passed to catch up.
::Clean out your refrigerator. There’s a step-by-step guide for cleaning out your refrigerator here.::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.
| Yes! This was one of the jobs I dreaded doing that I loved that I did lol! We have a full Refrigerator and full Freezer that needed cleaning. I had a time trying to figure out how to get the drawers out because it had been a while since I cleaned it before. It reminded me why we will never by another Electrolux product if we can avoid it. Every appliance we've had of this brand has had an issue. I forewarn to stay away from this brand! Any how after figuring out how to get all the shelves and drawers out the cleaning was on and done. I am thankful for my older kids who entertained the little ones so I could get that job done. Well I have pictures but those will have to wait, the kids are starting their day. My morning was a bit odd. Our little Fia Rue was up at late 3 to early 5 am last night. She was congested and had a temp of 100.3. I was up with her using the nose aspirator, gave her saline drops and a fever reducer. She was finally able to breath comfortably enough to eat and fall asleep. We snuggled up on her big donut until this morning. She woke briefly for her pacifier and a cuddle. I expecting Helaina to come down stairs. I read a bit of the bible and began to blog.  Helaina was down before I finished this blog. Helaina's loudly singing to Sesame Street songs, Fia has woke up sounding congested again and it's school time now. Life is calling. I must answer. |
| Hello Everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I've been ok. Yeah just ok. I can't complain without feeling a little guilty but I can't say I'm exactly peachy either. Ever feel like a huge life change is over due? I'm talking about a full life makeover from inside and out. I want my location, spiritual life, appearance, attitude, personality and habits to change. I want more self motivation etc etc. I want I want I want. See that focus right now is inward. I think the solution to that focus is to look outward. Focusing too much on me sort of gets me depressed, so to help out with that I will try and divert my thinking and thoughts on others. How can I help others? I haven't found that out yet mainly because those words and thought just came to me. :) So while I was looking at blogs one day I saw this wonderful blog on 4 Weeks To A More Organized Home. I thought, I could do with a better organized home! So I had a look. Here was the first assignment: Day 1 Assignment ::Find 7 items to get rid of today. Throw them out, stick them in a donate or garage sale box, give them to a friend who can use them, or list them on Craigslist or eBay.Ok So I did get dressed. I tell you what, I am a PJ wearing momma! Now I don't walk around in anything I'd be ashamed of checking the mail box in. I don't do the fuzzy slippers and such but just the general comfy yoga type pants and t-shirt. I think it's time for an upgrade. No I'm not going to walk around in pumps and be full on decked out but something other than the yoga pants and t-shirt might be nice. I can do the make up too. I don't wear a lot of it and I have a little fun putting it on. I'm also reading the book she suggests too. Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and make a list of 5-10 goals for this week. I did. I think I accomplished 1 or 2 off that list. My problem is, I sort of lost the list. lol. Maybe I should blog the list instead. I know it's around here some where and I will find it. But it did say just make the list, not do something on it too. lol! No I actually tried to accomplish it. When I find it I will find a permanent spot for it. Complete your morning routine. That is usually done... daily. Set the timer for 15 minutes and quickly pick up the main living areas of your home. That would be the living room, kitchen, and dining room. That might take more than 15, but hey I did it and felt good about cleaning. This sounds rather Fly Lady-ish. I got her emails about 12 or so years ago. I remember my teens were toddlers then. It was overwhelming for me then but one thing I took away was the 15 minute cleaning and then a 5 minute break idea. Loved it! In fact I used to do this online with some friends in Samoa, Colorado, Texas, etc. We would all be in a chat and go off to clean and come back to chat for 5 minutes telling what we did. Since then my friend in Samoa moved to Australia, our kids grew up, our lives changed, as so did our schedules. So thank you Fly Lady for the nugget of good memory idea for me and my friends. Clean out your purse and/or diaper bag. Yes! I did both! I even through my diaper bag in the wash! I am still using the diaper bag I made too! It's holding up! Find 7 items to get rid of today.... Uh errr... well see what had happened was... I didn't accomplish this one. I am determined too! I even made a list of what I was going to get rid of. So I shall do this task as procrastinators say... tomorrow. lol but... all jokes aside it will get done. I like this assignment! I will take it at my own pace though. I missed today and probably yesterday already lol! Life gets busy. With a house of 5 kiddos you can bet on unpredictability. It's not an excuse to not set goals but rather a reason not to take things such as this too serious. It's something I want to do but if I don't get to it for things other than my own laziness, I'm good. :) |
| Hello Everyone! I hope your soon to be over winter season has been great. The first day of Spring is March 20th! Yay! We've had a rather mild winter but I am looking forward to warm weather. So I've been up to the regular ol things. Our baby Fia is now 5 months old. She's a little delight! I find myself checking daily for teeth. No teeth yet! I love it because without teeth I can still have my "baby." I honestly think I might cry when she gets her first tooth/teeth. She's the happiest baby I've seen. Loving it! She will be 6 months on the 7th. She's trying to sit by herself now too. Our little one is trying her best to keep up with her 2 year old sister. Every time Helaina comes around Fia starts smiling and laughing. She's also got this one little curl on her head. It's so cute! This is one of the photo collages I did with picstitch and Instagram. This is after bath time. 
Speaking of Fia's older sister, Helaina is on the go! This was today at church. Goodness she's got energy!
She is very active little girl. There are times I wonder if I am too old for all this! Eh maybe not!
Helaina has taken to her older sister's guitar. She's rather dramatic. Have a look at her playing if you can stand it. The ending is "rock star."
Here older sisters are becoming active at church. I am so proud of them. Angela has joined the choir! Yay!! I'm so glad she is using her voice for the Lord. Ashley has decided to dance in the hiphop part of the Easter Trilogy. I'm so proud of them. Our son Adrian is growing by leaps and bounds. I had to rush out Wednesday to get him new jeans because he has out grown the ones he has. We are now shopping in the adult section for him. He's all leg now and we think he is going to be tall. We shall see!
So that's what's going on with the kiddos, now my project was to make a diaper bag right? Remember the pink one in the previous blog? I decided to scrap it. I wasn't comfortable with it. I wanted to start over. So I did. I wanted to follow a pattern or tutorial this time. I chose modabakeshop.com Baby on the Go Diaper Bag. Mine doesn't look exactly the same but here it is.  It's not as cute but hey it worked! I got the fabric from Joann Fabrics. It was a no brainer for me to have to have our diaper bag dedicated to the Lord since we firmly believe children are a blessing from the Lord. My next sewing project will probably be simple dresses. One of the biggest changes our family has implemented was a experiment to see if we could do without a microwave. It was something that had been on my mind for while. One day while cleaning up the kitchen, I got tired of how much space it took up on the counter top. So I discussed it with my husband and we agreed to try it. Well it's been at least 2 weeks or more and it's still gone! I am excited to go without the microwave. We've had great discussion about how the microwave may or may not effect the nutrition in food and water. My take on it, better to be safe than sorry! So far we've been doing just fine without it. It takes a little more time to do things but we don't mind it. Food tastes better and the skeptic in me feels like it will be healthier. So that's all for now! Oh! I just blogged on my photo blog check it out please! http://tscullenphotography.blogspot.com/ ...can't believe it's 4:40 am! |
| Well Hello All! I hope this winter season has been a great one. For me it's been rather mild. I am ready for weather I don't need a jacket for though. Then again I'm always ready for that! I've got a few projects going at the moment.
Today I finished off some homemade diaper inserts. We use gdiapers and we love them. We were using the disposable/flushable liners which are great, but we are having to buy them all the time. So the cost effective advantage isn't there. We bought the Flip inserts but they have this ammonia odor that is just ugly! So I haven't used them much since we bought. After dealing with the smell all we could, we went back to using the disposable/flushable inserts. Recently I saw a tutorial on http://seekatesew.blogspot.com that I found fairly easy to use. I don't have a serger so I did a zig zag stitch around the edges. I made them with soft fleece and a plain cotton cute fabric. Got it all on sale at Hancock Fabrics. Thank you to Kate for the tutorial! Hers look so much better. It was an easy project and a money saver!
 I'm in the middle of making our own diaper bag.  
She's such a snuggle bug too. Every morning she wakes up with a smile. I hope she never loses that joy. I'm happy that all is well and she still hasn't got any teeth coming through! It keeps me in denial that she's growing up lol! She does like to try and talk which is too cute!
Along with spiritual growth we've been doing the 100 days of Real food challenge for physical health. It's not bad! I am surprised at how easy it is to do. We've enjoyed the food and plan to stay on this path. I do wish our Whole Foods store wasn't so busy. I have to figure out when the best time to go shopping there. Today I've decided besides the Tofu Chocolate Pie, I like the Strawberry Parfait! We make them in these little cups. Yes we do recycle them! I think after we are finished we will invest in some better clear cups we'll keep. So we use some granola we found at Target by Archer Farms it's French Vanilla Almond Crunch. (lol wait does this count as "real food" since I'm not making it??) , Maybe I will looking to trying to make it. Not sure yet but anyway we use that Granola, strawberries, drizzle it with honey, and then Vanilla Yogurt. I repeat until the cup is full. Yummy!
 Just closing with this, I made these little shoes for Helaina. She rarely wore them. I am so happy baby Fia can! I plan on making a few more shoes for her but using a different pattern. They are so easy to make! I haven't found a pattern I've settled on yet. I've just done a google image search on "Make baby shoes" and saw all the cute shoes! Oh brain overload! Ok on that note, I'm out. Enjoy your day!  |
There are many alternatives to petroleum based products. Try using products such as olive oil, almond oil, coconut oil or jojoba oil. They work better for precious baby skin too! The benefits are far greater than the byproducts of crude oil!An alternative to petroleum jelly could be to make your own! A Non Petroleum Jelly can be made by using Bayberry Wax, Soy Wax or Candelilla Wax and your favorite oil. Just use 1 ounce of wax and 1/2 cup of your oil of choice. Melt both wax and oil on very low heat in a saucepan or a boiler. Stir the wax and oil together. Pour the wax and oil mixture it into a jar and watch it cool into a solid. You may add essential oils to give it beneficial properties and a great scent!
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