Today... We raked Leaves (Monday)

David had the day off today and I had no appointments to do with/for the midwife, so we raked leaves today. Lots of fun. The children really enjoyed playing in them more than putting them in the compost pile. David also was smart and threw in "if you help rake a lot of leaves, I'll give you a dollar". That was plenty of motivation for them!!! LOL
The boys thought Victoria would like to play in the pile too, but I think they got a little carried away and almost completely buried her... so I had to explain to them that she probably didn't want to get buried; she probably just liked to play in them :) She was VERY damp from playing in all those cold wet leaves, so I brought her in and gave her a warm bath immediately.

Blue Rose Dress for Victoria

This is the first dress I have ever made. I have done a variety of crafting, crocheting being my favorite, but this is the first time making a dress. I am so proud of it! It has a soft yellow matterial covered in small blue roses, then I lined the ENTIRE thing with light blue material. I figured it was winter time and I'm tired of layering Victoria in so many under clothes. I'd rather just have a few thicker dresses, and only need to put a shirt , tights and bloomers on underneath, rather than 3 shirts, etc.
I've never done a button hole in my life either, there are five going down the front of this. They look so nice! I discovered what 3 more buttons on my sewing machine are for: button holes... LOL.
Then I put a long tie on either side for a pretty bow on the back. The pattern didn't have this but I felt like the dress was way too big and needed to be adjustable, because I also made it floor length on her, so she'll have lots of room to grow! It also asked for a collar in the pattern but I didn't know if I liked it or not so I left it off. I love it!!

What have you been up to? What project have you finished lately, or are close to finishing? I'd love to hear... That was my fun for the month... now back to school and cleaning

Holiday Cleaning time!!!!

I like to always TRY and stay ahead in everything in life. Cleaning is one of those areas. Seeing as Thanksgiving is in two weeks and we are having two big dinners over here at my house: my family and David's family, I decided the smart thing to do would be get all the cleaning done now, before those days. That will be one HUGE less thing to have to do the day before the dinners...


So I will be trying to do one large deep cleaning chore each day for the next week. Today was washing the outside of ALL my kitchen cabinets.


I just used good ol Murphys wood oil soap, the boys helped and we washed and washed till all the splatters came off those dirty cabinets. Waited for that to dry then sprayed with pledge and rubbed that in as the protecting layer. It sure shines now!!! And my whole kitchen smells nice!!!Hard work pays off. The cabinets look GREAT!!!!! Thank you wonderful sons for helping me!!!!

Stripping cloth diapers

Today I stripped all of my cloth diapers. I have never done this before. The most I have done was washing them several times in hot water in the washer machine with no soap. But this IS THE REAL way to do it. I didn't even know about this till yesterday.

I noticed that Victoria was starting to get a diaper rash the past few days, just barely. And my babies NEVER get diaper rashes, I believe I am very aware of what they eat and we avoid all "hot poops" at all cost. :)
So I got online to read about residue build up on cloth diapers and diaper rashes and I learned that even if I use a 1/4 of the recommended amount of store bought soaps I can still be having build up. Most store bought laundry soap leaves residue. And I also learned that if I am not using enough/ the proper amount of store bought soaps my diapers could possibly not be getting all the way clean, which was also true. Her diapers were also giving off a strong ammonia smell, but when I'd change her there wasn't much wetness??? Which was also a sign of soap build up.
ANNNNND.... her diapers were begining to leak only at the legs. So I had all of the symptoms of soap build up on my cloth diapers.... thus the decision to "strip" them.

* leaking at legs
* strong ammonia smell
* diaper rash, unexplained
* using regular store bought laundry soap

1. So I took all of my "happy heinyz" pocket diapers, unstuffed them, and all my extra prefolds, put them in a basket next to the stove.
2. Put BIG pot of water on the stove to boil, turned off heat, removed from hot burner.
3. Put only the amount of diapers in the pot which could be submerged completely in hot water.
4. Stirred and soaked for at least 20 - 30 mins.
5. Dumped the entire pot of hot water and diapers in my front loader washer.
6. Proceeded to wash the load in HOT water, NO SOAP, on my heaviest/ hottest setting with extra rinse.
7. Tossed them in the dryer.

They came out perfect!!! First time they smelled COMPLETELY CLEAN!!! Last night my sweet husband bought me all my "soaps and paper products" for the month since he had just got paid. So I was prepared to change soap brands when we went there. I bought one small box of powders "SUN" brand soap which was stated on that internet site as one of the least buildup-able, residue-leaving soaps. However since I have a font loader I was also told that I can't ever buy those kinds of cheap soaps again. I'm going to try it. I'll keep you posted, let ya know here in the next few days how clean my diapers smell and if she continues to get a rash or if it clears up completely... we'll see.

Kefir

I'll get back to this post. I just wanted to save this picture till tomorrow for my post on comparing store bought milk to fresh raw organic grass fed yellow sweet yummy good milk!!! :)

Sloppy Joes

We made sloppy Joes last night. I have to admit, we are a Manwich family. I have tried making this a few different way and nothing tastes as good as Manwich. I just wanted to share the few ideas that I have to really make this a nicer dinner.


1. I wash and slice potatoes into strips, toss in olive oil, seasoning salt and salt. Broil till brown.
aprx 10mins, stir, 10 more mins.
2. I brown the g.beef and add the can of manwich, plus a little extra ketchup if it seems a little "thick". To this I add some canned/frozen veggies: corn or peas are great.
3. While potatoes are baking, I lay out the buns on a cooking sheet. Pile on the sloppy joe mixture onto the bottom bun.
4. Add lots of yummy shredded cheese to both sides of the bun, top half and on sloppy joe mixture.
5. Put cooked potatoes on bottom rack.
6. Broil the bun tray till cheese is melted ~ apx 3 min, watch closely!

Serve hot! This is a yummy treat for us.... enjoy!

30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge #22

Day Twenty-two:
"Let your speech always be with grace..." Col. 4:6a

Focus today on how you represent your husband in your home, your church, and your community. In this challenge to encourage, ask: "If all my family and friends knew about my husband came from a filter of what I've said about him, what would they think of my husband?" Do you need to change the filter?

Do you talk positively about your husband to others... or do you complain and criticize? Your speech should reflect 1 Cor. 13 love. Your words should be kind, and should never "rejoice in iniquity" (v. 6). Refrain from listing your husband's faults to others. Satan likes to trick us in this area - be wary of sharing barbed "prayer requests."

Remember, "Love will cover a multitude of sins" (1 Pet. 4:8b). Present your husband before others today in a strong, positive manner. Slip in a "good word" for your spouse. Resist the urge to correct or belittle him in front of others. Some of what you say may come back to him - and you want your words to be sweet, building him up and never tearing him down.

Don't forget: you are always criticizing - or encouraging - before an audience. God hears your conversations when you are alone with your husband in your own home. May your speech be always seasoned with grace.

While you are considering how your speech can reflect the grace of the Lord in your husband's life, don't forget that your words can also encourage others. When you share what God is doing in your life through this "30-Day Encouragement Challenge", others will be blessed. Perhaps other wives will be moved to take up this challenge.