Moments From the Minivan: Tumbling Camp

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Back story: My 6 yr old is in a stage where he is afraid of so many things.  I’ve never met a kid so cautious.  Once we took him to T-ball, at his request.  He panicked, threw himself down on the ball field {in front of God and everyone}, screamed and cried that he wanted a *new* family and he hated us for making him join a team sport, because if we really knew him we would know he can’t play sports! Later he admitted he just wanted the team t-shirt, but didn’t actually want to play.
SO THIS IS HUGE!  I took my big kids to tumbling camp for the first time tonight.. I knew my girl would love it, but I was sure I was just making a donation towards the cause for my boy, because he wouldn’t probably participate anyway. My boy gets in the van afterwards, full of smiles and says “Mom! I WANT to go there for 10 days!” 10 days is a big deal to a six year old.
My heart is so happy.  My daughter says this is a dream come true to finally get to tumble and my boy has found something he isn’t afraid of!
This day ROCKS! Thank you Jesus!

Practical Laundry Tips

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Sign this to the tune of Let it go:
The laundry piles high on the
couch tonight
Not a maid to be seen.
My living room is consumed
Yes, it’s all for me.
Disclaimer: This is only two loads of laundry, usually there is FAR more.
As a homemaker I feel it’s my responsibility to be sure that there are clean clothes available for everyone in the house.
Now I am an odd duck who finds joy in doing laundry. I mean everything except putting it away, but I have little people who love to help with that. 🙂
Step 1-
Gather all the laundry into one spot.
Step 2-
Wash & dry all the loads you have for the day.
Step 3-
As a load comes out of the dryer I pull out shirts and hang them up right away, the rest get thrown on the couch.  If any shirts ended up missing out on the hang up step in the laundry room, they get flattened out nicely over the arm of the couch.
Step 4-
Wait for all the clean laundry to collect on the couch throughout the day. It’s not worth folding and leaving it there to be unfolded by the short people in the house.  It’s also not worth making several little trips to put away one sock or a towel when I know there will be many more to go with it.
Step 5-
Once all the CLEAN laundry is on the couch I separate into piles like this:
The Fashionista, The Drummer, Momma, bathroom washcloths/towels, kitchen napkins/towels, Hubby’s socks.
I fold bath towels, kitchen towels, my hubby’s undershirts & underwear.  I only fold those because they fit better into the drawer this way.  And I occasionally will fold The Baby’s clothes as I go.
That’s it, The rest are left as messy piles.
The big kids are responsible for putting their own clothes away in their rooms, & in the right places. They know that mom won’t iron their clothes if they put them away in a sloppy manner. So they are really good about taking care of them. 🙂
We all pitch in to put all the other piles away.  This method of folding, sorting and putting away goes really quick!
Tips:
* Pretty much always hang up shirts as they come out of the dryer.  No ironing!
*Teach kids to put their own clothes away, make it simple.  This does not need to be fun, and they don’t need a reward. It should just be one of their responsibilities. We start this expectation at about 2-3 years of age.
*Buy all matching socks for each person.
Then you aren’t stuck trying to figure out which sock belongs to which person and where the other mate is for it. If each person has 20 of the same socks then they just get thrown in a sock drawer and pulled out two at a time, no more matching up!  Can you tell mismatched socks were a time consuming joy sucker of mine? 😉
Separated piles
The Big Kids’ piles get thrown behind the couch.. Looks like someone changed too much and someone else hardly at all.

What is your method or what are your practical laundry tips? 
You can post in the comments or if you blog, make a post about it and put it in the comments so I can link it up here. 

Reflections from my 10 yr class reunion

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Thoughts the day before my class reunion:
I’m not going!  But just in case I do, in the next 24hrs:
Drink water
Avoid carbs
Whiten teeth
Shave legs
Thoughts just hours before the reunion:
Crap, I ate carbs!
Could I buy one of those girdle things?
I really wasn’t cute in high school, so I’m sure no one is expecting much from me.
Thoughts minutes before waking in the door:
Suck in the tummy.
Smile. Be Happy.  Do not show fear.
What if no one remembers me?
I walked by a classmate outside who completely ignored me, but in the ugly-obvious way.  Like I saw you, made eye contact, and now I’m going to pretend like I don’t know you so you don’t bother me… I wanted to leave right then.  I begged…My husband wouldn’t let me.  Who invited him anyway? 😉 jk, I’m so glad he coaches me in awkward social situations.
Thoughts post reunion:
To the guys that were jerks in high school, and made no attempt to talk to me tonight, despite me smiling your way or actually saying hi; I hope you are sweet to your wives, instill confidence in your daughters and someday soften your hearts to the whole world.
There were a few people who went out of their way to say hi to me.  I was surprised and genuinely grateful for their kindness.
My “group” from high school was there.  They cracked me up all night.  I’m thankful for their friendship, even after not seeing each other hardly at all for the last 10 yrs.
I’m glad I skipped the $60 girdle, because the people I would’ve worn it to impress didn’t talk to me anyway.
It’s the end of the night, my head is resting on my pillow as I finish up this post.  I’m glad I went because I won’t have to wonder what it would’ve been like,  or be filled with regret for staying home.  But honestly, real true honesty here.. It was just okay. Good night world.

Dyson DC28 Hose Replacement

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For over a year now {maybe two, I have lost track} I have been duct taping, and re-duct taping the hose on my Dyson dc28.
Dyson’s are great vacuums, the problem was I tried to stretch the hose
all the way down the basement stairs while someone stood at the top
holding in the vacuum in place for me.  It tore a little and a little tape
fixed it fine… but I kept doing it.
Yeah…  I know..
After several layers of tape, and feeling frustrated every time I used
it I decided it was time for a new hose.
I picked this new one up on Amazon for about $20. It’s a generic but works perfect!  Installing it was a breeze!  Just disconnect the original hose the way you would put another attachment on. Then at the base of the hose is a little tab you pull out and force the hose up & off.
Reverse that to add the new hose.
Voila!
What repairs have you been putting off? More importantly, what are you going to do about it?
 

Oil Pulling, For The Pretty Girl

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Oil Pulling is crazy popular in the blogger world, but my real life friends don’t seem to have a clue what I’m talking about.  There are literally hundreds, (maybe thousands?) of posts on it all around the internet.  You can do a search if you want more details.  I’ll give you the basics from my perspective. 😉

First “The Why?”:
 Because you really shouldn’t care about HOW, if you don’t know why, right? 
  • The biggest reason for me– It can make your teeth whiter!
  • Strengthens your teeth
  • Tackles bad breath by killing bacteria
  • Improves overall oral health.
There are even more benefits besides what it can do for your oral health (like detoxing and that sort of
thing).  I started doing it for cosmetic reasons.  I drink truck loads of coffee and tea, and that takes a toll on the color of my enamel.  It’s also said to maybe help with liver issues, which I have my fair share of, and kidney issues.
  • Another big bonus- 20 minutes of quiet time! I can think so much clearer when I keep my mouth shut for
    awhile!  (yeah, I just admitted that, didn’t I? Don’t tell Mr. Awesome.  I’ve convinced him I work better when I’m talking and singing non-stop).
HOW:
  • Put 1-2 TBSP of organic coconut oil in your mouth and swish it for 20 minutes.  Timing is key here if you want the health benefits.  If you’re just going for the cosmetic effects, I bet 10 minutes would do ya just fine.
  •  SPIT IT OUT.  For the love of all things pretty and clean, DO NOT SWALLOW that load!  What started out as an innocent TBSP of coconut oil is now loaded up with nasty stuff that you don’t want going back into your body.  Yes, this is your resident germaphobe talking, but for real- It’s so bad for you- just spit it out, okay?  Thanks!
Alright now that I’ve got you thinking about it, go out and do some research. Then give it a try and let me know what you think!
I WISH I had a before and after picture to show you, but I promise the results are beautiful!
Also, I’m not a doctor, this is not medical advice.

Slowing Down, Seeing More

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It started early last week.  I told God I felt like I was drowning in my tasks and I couldn’t take anymore.  Life wasn’t enjoyable in that moment.  My calendar was full and my to-do list was far too long.  I told him things needed to slow down.  I was in pain, too busy, and needed a break.  Then I followed it up with, but please don’t let anyone get sick, I’ve got too much work to do!
The next day… My little girl got a fever!  I was furious.  I really have no time for this, I told God.  It turned into being a bigger illness than I thought and I was forced to slow down.
Through this I felt guilty for not being able to keep up.  I was falling behind and missing out on fun from having a sore back (roller skating incident that landed me on my tailbone). now I couldn’t just keep going because my baby needed me.
After a few days the weight was lifted and God opened my eyes to what he wanted me to see.

I’ve put pleasing everyone else first.  Everyone except my little family.

This past week I’ve actually had time to enjoy life, even though it first seemed like a curse, and definitely has been tough taking care of a sick kiddo.

I’ve seen more.  I’ve taken more in than I usually do.  My kids are happier having mommy here to play with them, vs just being here and working on my projects in the background of their playing.  My husband feels more validated when I can actually take a few minutes to look at him while we talk, rather than carrying on a conversation from another room while I get things done.

Everything is just better when you are forced to slow down.

It’s my goal to realize sooner when I’m taking on too much.  To say no, without guilt {I’ll learn}.  Just because I can do something, doesn’t mean I have to {I’ve always felt the opposite, but I’m learning differently}.  With too many obligations I can’t do any of them very well & that’s not good for anyone.
Here are some pictures of this last week:

 

Homemade Peanut Butter

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We stopped in for a visit with my dad (AKA Grandpa) over the weekend.  He sent us home with two baggies of peanuts.  One for the kids, one for their daddy.
Well the kids and daddy put theirs together and here is what they made!
By the way, I am loving my $30 food processor from Amazon. Thank you to everyone who chimed in over on my facebook when I asked about them!  I didn’t want anything too big & fancy yet, as I am admittedly a bit of a kitchen utensils/supplies hog and am running out of room for all this stuff!
Also, I wasn’t really sure how much I was going to actually use it!
In the past we have made our peanut butter with a mortar and pestle. That method works REALLY great and is surprisingly, therapeutically fun!  These days however, I just have no time for that.
Simple steps:
1. Dump Peanut Butter, Oil & Honey into the food processor.
2. Turn it on and run it until you get to your desired creamy texture.  I didn’t measure at all, I’m sorry.  Just go with your gut.  It’s best to start with a little oil and add in more if needed.
3. ENJOY!
I stored the leftover in a mason jar in the fridge & put some into
these little plastic containers for my husband to snack on at work.

In The Kitchen: Homemade Hummus

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Twice last week I ate meals with friends who brought hummus to share.  Mmm-mm-mmm.  Good food & good friends.  MY Fav.  I had made hummus a few years ago, then I kind of forgot about it.

It isn’t too expensive to buy, but I enjoy making things myself.  When I’m able.  But more honestly, when I feel like it! 🙂
Here’s the ingredients I used based on the back of the package, and several other blog posts with recipes that I sorted through:
  • One 15-ounce can chickpeas or garbanzo beans (I learned that these are basically the same thing, so find either one and you’re good to go)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 C. tahini (I found this at Fareway, it was $6.99, I am almost certain it has got to be cheaper somewhere else. This was the first time that I had actually seen it, so I bought it. It was next to the peanut butter . This makes sense because all it is is ground sesame seeds.  You could probably actually make your own if you had a good food processor and a whole bunch of sesame seeds, I had neither… hence the $7 I forked over)
  • Garlic, I imagine whatever you have on hand will probably work. fresh or powder would be best.
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • A dash of salt, or not.  I can’t really remember if I put this in.
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, or a full teaspoon if you got busy talking with your kiddos and didn’t pay any attention to your recipe while you were scoopin’ until after the second scoop.  Not that I would do that or anything… (But if you do, it still turns out just fine!)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons water
  • A dash of paprika for pretty

I tried crushing it all up in my mortar and pestle, but that got old real quick, so I transferred it all to the blender and blended a little at a time while stirring until it was smooth.  I really need to get a food processer, but since I don’t have one yet, this worked just fine.  I did all this with my sweet kitchen helper, my oldest daughter.  She’s 11, and like me, she LOVES all things cooking, baking, and homemaking.

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