Buy Yahtzee NEW for $5.50!

I told Husband I didn't want to "just sit on the couch for another night."
He took me to Alco.
We looked at card games, we looked at puzzles, we looked at toddler toys.

I Love yahtzee.
They didn't have it.

They did have Yahtzee Replacement Cards for $2.99, though.

I popped them in the cart and wondered if we had any dice at home.

At the checkout the lady asked if we found everything okay, just like always.
I almost said "Yea" just like always, but then I said "No".
It worked! She found me a package of dice for $2.50 and we were set!

Use your own cup and pens and BAM- Yahtzee!

Valentines Day @ Our House '12 edition

So I did it.
I've planned enough ahead to be able to post BEFORE a holiday, ABOUT a holiday!
We cheated a little.
We had a Mixed Berry Smoothie with Drip Dropping Chocolate Topping a night early, that's how we do it here. Can't wait when there's something good to be had!

Here's what it looked like:

I know.
I went a little crazy with the hearts.
But...
IT'S VALENTINE'S DAY!
(virtually).

I dumped a bag of frozen mixed berries in my new food processor along with ice cubes, apple sauce, apple juice, & rice milk.

But first- I made this wonderful hot fudge to drip drop on the top!

Martha Stewart's Hot Fudge

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
pinch of salt
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 T butter
1 tsp vanilla

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa and salt. Add corn syrup and whipping cream. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla; stir until butter melts. Cool slightly before serving.

I subbed rice milk straight across for the whipping cream and used Earth Balance Soy-Free spread.

SO GOOD!

Who knew when I topped the smoothie with the hot fudge it would drip so beautifully?!

That's not the end. I have a little game up my sleeve.
Don't tell Boomba, it's a surprise.

We will be Heart Hunting tomorrow!
I covered a cocoa container with pink paper and cut out cookie cutter-traced hearts from colored paper too. I will tell Boomba he has to hunt for 10 hearts. I'll hide them like this:

So.... What's for dinner?

Toy Car Garage DIY

1 diaper box
1 cut
5 pieces of tape
_____________ +
Hours of fun with a Toy Car Garage and Ramp!

Here's my Photo-How-To:

I had visions of painting this into a wonderful spectacle.
Maybe I can live vicariously through you.

Sippy Cup Corral

Hate your Tupperware drawer/cabinet/etc?

Me too.

Do your kids delight in dumping your initially organized stack of plastic ware?

Me too.

Unite my fellow parents!

The night is OURS!!!!!!!

No more will we spend our evenings picking up and stacking plastic do-hickies.

We will RECLAIM our floor space and party if we want to!

Okay, maybe that's drastic, the kids are gunna dump the Tupperware, and they (we) are gunna spend some amount of time picking it up.

BUT

By simply using a loose basket, cleanup is quicker and easier.

Make sure to get a (durable) basket that will fit IN your cabinet, or somewhere reasonable that's also easily in reach of our babes- cuz, let's face it, it's a safe way for our kids to play and learn in the kitchen!

Send the children away with the basket and tell them to "Recover the bounty"!
*Warning* this does make it particularly easy to "dump" the contents, but I see that as one con in a whole stack of pros...

All you have to do is throw the cups and lids from the dishwasher into the basket and slide the basket in the cabinet! I have to admit my son has been known to take it upon himself to unload the things he knows belong in the green basket.

I will also admit to you that it is very easy to send Boomba to get a cup and lid himself. Ahhh he's such a big boy!

Hey- another play/learn experience. SCORE!

Air Freshener & Humidifier

It's fall.

Cinnamon.
Cozy.
Cloves.
Warm.
Cooking.

Simply keep water simmering on the stove and add to it: used up orange peel, cinnamon (ground and/or sticks), cloves, and maybe even some lime or lemon juice to add more citrus, to create a warm smell of Autumn in your haven of a home.

This is also a tried and true way to add moisture to the cool autumn air.

The trick is to make sure to keep the pot pretty full and always turn the stove off when not attending the pot.

Though it will not look this beautiful for days, it can be used for its other benefits for a looooooong time.

Home Made Finger Paints

Pinterest sure has got me hooked. I tuck little project ideas away for a lazy day and end up with this:

I originally got the recipe here. Notice you need to heat the ingredients on the stove top for about 10-15 minutes, constantly stirring the mixture. This recipe makes enough to fill 4 of those handy reusable Gerber baby food containers we all have laying in the cupboards.

After the solution coagulates, it looks like Vaseline. Weird, right?

After the concoction is ready to paint with (it's colored and cooled), it feels quite weird. It's smooth but leaves a texture and residue on your hands when it dries a bit. As long as you're not allergic to corn (and if you are, you can substitute corn scratch for cream of tarter and arrow root) it's safe and fun and cleans easily. Believe me, I know. I only put 3 drops of color in each container because I was afraid the coloring would stain if it was too concentrated, but it turns out that leaves the color quite pale. This definitively does the trick, but I'm open to trying a new recipe too.
Any suggestions?

Re-Purpose Oatmeal Canister into "Shelving"

Sharpies are not for 2 year olds.

Though I try to make this clear, the desire for the multi-perma-color- markers is too strong.

I still need them accessible.
What to do? What to do?

Ah Ha!

Forget the screw, use a push pin, I did.
If you covered the canister before mounting, it be even cooler.
You could leave the lid on if you'd like too.

Genius strikes again.

That's all.

Crayons in an Index Card Case

Does it need an explanation?

No.

Why am I continuing to write?

It's a blog.

Got it?

Index Card Holders=GREAT Crayon Corrals.

10 Mommy Points to me!

Quiet Marble Maze

I saw a fantastic idea on none other than Pinterest.com recently and had to try it for myself immediatley.

Here's what started it all.

I cut two strips of the blankets and sewed them together wrong sides together- leaving an opening to turn the strip right side out. Then I looped it to create a hangy-hoop.

I took two old receiving blankets, cut them to a handle-able size put the loopy hangy-hoop raw side out and sandwiched between the square. I stitched nearly around the square, wrong sides together. and then turned it right sides out.

I broke a dollar store Mighty Bean to get the ball bearing from inside and dropped it in the opening. (Please don't tell Boomba about the Mighty Bean...)

Now close'r up by top stitching around the whole thing- making sure to stitch the opening beautifully closed.

Now- pay attention to how much room you want to give the marble (ball bearing) and think about what kind of maze-pattern you'd like to forever stitch onto this toy.

I used a checker patterned receiving blanket so I easily was able to keep track of how much room I wanted to leave for the ball. I did straight lines across, leaving a random break in the stitching for the ball to go to the next level. At every start and stop make sure to secure the end by back stitching. Be conscious about the size of the opening too. Get creative! You could use shapes like an apple or anything. You also could pre-draw the stitch patten on before you go all free-hand on it.

See there ya are. In just a few minutes- a Quiet Marble Maze!

The marble is in there, don't let the patterned fabric fool ya. It's there.

Also, excuse my quick and quite skewed cell phone photography (lack of) skill displayed here.

Sometimes I forget I'm Blond

No. Really.
I've tried only a few times to dye my hair. As a child it was Red Kool-Aid. Then it became a frosted streak in my hair. Once I even tried highlights.
My hair would have none of it.

I was born with brown hair. It seemed as though my hair would always be brown.

No biggie. After a while I started thinking it was like a purity au natural "thing" to have my natural hair color. I have always wondered what I would look like blond!

One day curiosity got me. I walked over the the Dollar General and bought Nice N Easy Maximum blond and gave it another shot.

BEFORE

AFTER

Not too shabby. I did go right to Walmart recently and buy a brown to go back. But- I'm waiting... I think I like this.

No-Mess Magnetic Letter Tray

"No-Mess" is a bit liberal. I guess it should really be called "Likely not to end in magnetic letters under the fridge- Magnetic Letter Tray". If you recall Magnetic Letters are a common thread 'round here. If you'd like a visual aid in this recollection click Here and Here.

My friend came to me in the fury of a big move with a pile o' junk asking me to dispose of it since they were moving that morning. In this pile was an old small baking (jelly roll) pan. I looked it over and thought that there had to be a use for it after a good scrub.

Fast forward to current Magnetic Letter frustrations and voila!

Mommy's Day Out this weekend led me to the obvious retreat: Wal-Mart. Come to find out Wal-Mart now has a dollar section over by the party supply stuff! For $1.00 I scored alphabet stickers (amongst other things!) knowing I wanted to create a project that Boomba could learn the letters with. We've been using this baking pan for Magnetic Letter wrangling for a while now, but I added the stickers so Boomba would be able to see the alphabet in the correct order.

We stick all of the letters onto the pan and file it in his bookshelf when not in use.

My Review of BEER MAKING KITS

Originally submitted at UncommonGoods

After discovering a vintage fermenter in her father's basement, Erica Shea and Stephen Valand researched the art of home brewing and swiftly became self-taught pros. The pair quit their advertising jobs and left for a seven week beer-tasting tour of Europe to train their palates and test the possib...

BEER MAKING KITS

Inexspensive,Great Gift&Tastes GREAT too

By Kamawe96 from Western Nebraska on 9/19/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Inexspensive, Great Taste, Fun, Easy, Great gift

Best Uses: Hobby, Gifts

Describe Yourself: Value Oriented

Was a good experience from shipping to drinking and in between! This is an easy and fun brewing kit that makes only 1 gallon (instead of a hefty 5 gallons) and it tastes great too! The Choc Maple Porter is what I gave my husband for our Anniversary and he can't wait to make another batch! I've waited to write a review until we tried it and it's a very stout, dark beer- GOOD! Very Pleased!

I have read comments about the fact you do need to have your own Maple Syrup, Strainer, and Stock Pot- but that is because those items are typically already in the home. I didn't think it was a problem.

Siphoning Beer into Bottles

Tags: Made with Product

Bottles Drying

Tags: Made with Product

(legalese)

Witch Hazel- The Wonder Solution

A few weeks before my Groom's and my wedding, I broke my finger. Just my little pinky. But- it was broken. As I talked to my co-workers, one product that sounded a little crazy kept coming up. Witch Hazel. So I sent my Dad to the store. I had no idea what this stuff was going to look like. It sounded weird and a little too "earthy" to me.

Here's what he brought. It was only 3 or 4 dollars too!

So I soaked the padding on my splint and it alleviated the swelling.

Then came the clickty clacking. All of my friends were mentioning the ways you can use Witch Hazel, like it was common knowledge. This was all new to me! So there I went: Research!

Here are a couple of sites you may find interesting:
15 Wonderful Uses for Witch Hazel
WebMD's Article on Witch Hazel

Currently I'm broken phalanges-free, knock on wood. OUCH! Just kidding! I still have this huge bottle of Witch Hazel that as I type I'm realizing is over 4 years old. Anyway- I still use it. I use it as a toner for my skin at night, you know after I use my best and cheapest make-up remover. It's a great gentle way to get those pores clean. Remember it helps with inflammation too so those pores that are a little red- ZAPPED!

I have noticed there is a bit of an "earthy" (see it is earthy!) smell to it but it's pretty gentle and the positives out weigh the negatives.

Let's not forget that I was sent home with Witch Hazel Hemorrhoid Pads after delivering my sweet-worth-the-three-days-of-labor-and-over-six-hours-of-pushing-Boomba. Did you click on that first link? It taught you about the 15 uses of this wonder solution and another great use is to treat Hemorrhoids.

So there you have it. Witch Hazel- who knew?
No really, did you already know about all of this? Did I miss anything?

Best (& Cheapest) Make-Up Remover

I picked up an excellent little read at my local library.

This excellent book's author has an excellent blog and web site. Check it out!

It taught me many tricks and tid bits. I now know exactly how to make my own Ever Lasting Plant Food for those fresh flowers Husband surprises me with. I also am proficient at Thank You Card writing and much more! One tid bit I was so unfamiliar with I almost didn't try it out. Boy am I glad I did.

Vaseline as Make-Up Remover!

You smear it on (maybe before you jump in the shower) and then wipe it right off with a soft cloth you don't care about or a Kleenex. I was amazed at how well this worked. I was amazed at how fresh my skin looked. I don't know about you, but I used an oil based make-up remover prior to learning this secret and my eyes always felt foggy with the film of oil lingering on my eyes. This hydrates your skin and I've read there isn't much of a problem with clogged pores especially if you keep in near the eyes. Giv'er a shot. Enjoy.

Oil Cloth: Re-purposed- again!

This post is a follow up to a previous entry.
If you'd like to get caught up, give 'er a click!

Even after making a sewing machine cover and a table runner I had so much Oil Cloth left over and a craft idea eating me away. What to do? Do it!
I was bound and determined to make a letter organizer like this one.

My sewing machine crapped out on me about 1/10th of the way through this project but that didn't stop this girl! I staple gunned and hot glued where the sewing machine had left me high and dry and got this beauty.

What can you up-cycle and re-purpose oil cloth into?

Oil Cloth: Re-purposed

I'm very actively working on my kitchen.
I've picked out the pallet of Teal and Yellow, Red as an accent and white base to showcase my prized white dishes.

I stepped into WalMart a few months ago and love-at-first-sighted a huge Better Homes and Garden's Oil Cloth Table cloth. It was perfect! Teal with a white outlined floral! It was perfect! A mere 5 dollar bill and it was mine.

Got it home and it slid all over the table. Boomba would enjoy spending meal times kicking at it until the whole table top was aloof. Into the closet it went. I switched it out for a homey runner that a friend had quilted as wedding gift. I loved the size of this runner but it became dirty very quickly.
*CLICK*
The Idea Bulb sounded.
In one time it took boomba to nap he awoke to a re-purposed Oil Cloth table runner and while I was at it, a sewing machine cover too! He didn't care. But I did. Do.

1 Nap Well Spent.

Wool Dryer Balls: How To & Review

I learned of Wool Dryer Balls about 4 minutes before I decided I was making them. It all stemmed from trying to find a way to soften my son’s cloth diapers. I was looking for the as seen on tv rubber jobbies and I quickly read about using tennis balls. Momentarily after the tennis ball incident I clicked on a lovely page that I cannot find at the moment that described Wool Dryer Balls and why in the world anyone would use them. Here’s my impromptu run down on why and how:

Dryer Balls Rock because:

-They beat your clothes up, but in a nice way, softening them (nearly as well as the chemicals in fabric softening sheets do).
-As they bounce around the dryer they heat up and disperse the heat while separating clothes thus lessening dryer time.
-Speaking of bouncing- they really are not that loud. In fact they are a nice little tumble in the background.
-They are Hug-A-Treeable, as green as it gets.
-The natural oils found in the wool act as a natural (safe) softener for clothes
-Cloth diaper safe (let’s mention point number 2 again: Lessens dryer time!)
-Cute (Yea I’m grasping here- but I get a certain joy out of seeing them sit perfectly in my basket reminding me they are ready to tumble when I am). Honestly.
-Easy to make
-Inexpensive

What are these things anyway?

Wool Dryer Balls are balls made of wound wool yarn that have been felted. By using 6-8 balls in your dryer they eliminate the need for any softener (liquid or sheets) plus give you the other benefits listed above. I used Lion’s Brand Fisherman’s Wool. It was about $10-15 for a skein at Hobby Lobby. I really should have displayed some patience and waited for a 50% coupon to come in the mail. I’ve noticed you can also find this yarn online- that might be worth doing the price comparison on. I also bought a very very small crotchet hook for about $1. You will also need an old nylon and I’ve read that an old light weight sock will work too.

Supplies:

1 Skein of 100% natural wool (no polyester here, folks).
1 crotchet hook
1 old nylon/pantyhose (cut the leg of one to use)

Do it:

Take the yarn and pull it from the skein so you have plenty of yarn to work with (you’ll be doing this repeatedly). Between your pointer finger and thumb wrap a few rounds of 1 inch long ovals. Now you have something to wrap around to create a ball! Begin wrapping the yarn around the long skinny oval loop you made and continue rotating the wool ball as you go so it’s evenly wrapped. Wrap until the ball is about 5 inches in diameter. Cut the yarn leaving a few inches. Take your crotchet hook and pull the end through the other end of the ball to secure the tail. Repeat until you have 6-8 balls. One 8oz. skein made 6 dryer balls plus I have extra that may or may not be able to make a 7th. After all of the balls are complete and secured, put them into the leg of a nylon one at a time and I just tied the nylon off after each one was inserted- like a sausage link. Throw this wool ball caterpillar into a regular load of wash and toss it into the dryer with the same load. Wash as normal. I did this twice to felt the balls twice. Felting sort of seals the surface of the ball. I’ve read that it can be suggested to take the balls and wrap them again and basically repeat this process. I did not and I like my dryer balls like they are. Oh and plan on noticing a little shrinkage after they are felted.

Wool Dryer Ball Real-Life Review:

Bottom line- LOVE THEM!

But seriously. The only complaint I can muster up is that after several uses there is a bit of piling on the balls. These lint bunnies can be sweater shaved off or just yanked off. Otherwise I am astounded at the dryer time that is cut by using these. I must say that the softness of the clothes is not *as* soft as when I used dryer sheets, but I hate crunchy clothes and these are pretty soft! The noise level of the balls tumbling around is not too bad. There is a bit more static cling without dryer sheets too. I used to have an apartment sized washer and dryer in my kitchen-right between my kitchen and living room and it really didn’t add much noise. A gentle tumble is all I noticed. I’ve been line drying my cloth diapers recently but when i was drying them I think the ball worked great.

What are your thoughts on dryer balls? Do you have any questions?

Who Needs Can Openers Anyway?

Yesterday was my last day of work. That makes today my first day of being a Stay at Home Mom (SaHM). I stayed at home with Boomba until he was about 9 months old. Now he’s 19 months old and the school year is over and we’re a’moving to Nebraska! I thought long and hard of what my first day of staying at home would bring. Would we sleep all day and do nothing -because we can? Would we have 3 play dates in one day-because we can? We had a nice morning and decided on the fly to go to the library and see what we could find.

I’ve also been thinking long and hard about what my husband’s first dinner would be from his Stay at Home Wife. Steaks? Glazed Ham? I’m sure he didn’t care as long as he didn’t have to make it! He’s been such a trooper cooking every night of the last 10 months! I dug through my recipes and decided a Spicy Chili Cornbread Casserole was a nice choice.

The meat was browning

The seasonings were dancing and creating the perfect blend.

Problem: Canned Tomatoes and Chickpeas.

No, I’m not an anti-canned food nut. Of course I prefer fresh foods, but this was a different matter. I had packed the one and only family can opener in my dear husband’s lunch today. You know, so he could break into that nutritious CANNED meal I packed for him. See a pattern?

As I looked around the kitchen and searched for sharp objects, I paused and looked over at my sink. There they were! The glorious tin snips my dad gave me when I moved out for college. How lucky it is that we dug those snips out of my truck’s tool box just about a week ago!



Sweet Resourceful Success.

We will eat well tonight.

How I Became a Cloth Diapering Momma, and What I Learned Along the Way.

“I am in no way a professional. Many’a mom has come before me and they are more knowledgeable than I. But, everyone has a story, and this is mine.”

I remember riding in my sister-in-law’s car and hearing about how her sister was committed to cloth diapering (until she tried it). My response, a loud, resounding “EWWWWWW!” “Ewwwww” is the same response I received from a close friend when they discovered I had was standing in the unknown territory of Cloth Diaper Land.

Why in the world did my mind change? Was it a strike of sudden consciousness to hug trees? No. I recycle, mostly because it saves me money on buying trash bags. I also figure if I have to pay monthly for those recycle bins whether I use them or not, so I’d better make it worth my money! Did you get it yet? It’s right there.

I am a Class A Tightwad.

That’s all there is to it. I get “free” diapers at my husband’s grad school’s co-op. The sad thing is we don’t receive enough diapers to keep us in supply. I bought my first package of disposable diapers and one by one threw them away. Two hours of use and -BAM- trash. “This can’t go on!” I thought to myself.

Like most decisions in life it isn’t just one thing that changes a mind, it’s a compilation of circumstances. So in addition to my money pinching desires there was a “situation” that got me thinking. My son’s circumcision started bleeding a little too much. After a frantic-first-time-mom-call to the pediatrician I had my Mom Up assignment. “Wait. You mean I’m supposed to put a washcloth INSIDE his diaper?!” All I could think was “What happens when he poos?!”. Turns out Drs orders did the trick. The washcloth kept pressure on the circumcision and the bleeding eased up. But there were still dirty wash cloths. I guess it’s true, you do a lot of things you never expect you can when you’re put in the situation. Washing out the wash cloths was not a big deal at all, when it came down to it!

The third factor that made me into a Cloth Diapering Momma is a dear friend who was excited to tell me that her cloth diaper order would be coming in the mail “any day now!”. This is when I scoffed- SCOFFED- and rolled my eyes asking “Why would you do that?!” between “ewwws!” and “blechs!”. I never knew anyone who cloth diapered. I really didn’t know people did that anymore. Well any -normal- person anyway. So I clicked my way through google and educated myself on this new, usual world. Then, before I knew it, I put a bid in on ebay for my first Kawaii diaper covers! I was going to try this out!

In addition to the Kawaii diaper covers I purchased a Kawaii pocket diaper, a Bummis Swimmi diaper, a Bum Genius 3.0 AIO, a Bum Genius Flip insert, and I was given a TON of old prefolds by a VERY generous lady.

What I’ve Learned about Covers & Prefolds/ Flats, AIO, and Pocket Dipes

Covers & Prefolds (and Flats too)

As mentioned above, I have 6 Kawaii diaper covers. They are made of PUL which is a waterproof material that feels more like fabric, less like plastic- very nice! The covers are also OS (One Size) too. This means there are a series of snaps that allow the rise of the cover to be adjustable in size! Covers are also sold in specific sizes, I didn’t go this route because I didn’t want to buy a full stock of covers in each size- the OS covers will be able to be used for much longer! I was the covers with regular laundry (on cold) and hang them to dry.The cool thing about using diaper covers is if they are just peed in you can rinse them off really quickly and hang dry them and reuse them without having to wash them every time. I’m getting along pretty well with only 6 covers. It would be nice to have more, but certainly doable.

The prefolds I have are diaper service quality. This is important because they are nice and thick and absorbent. Gerber brand prefolds are thin and light weight. I think they work best as burp rags, not as diapers because of their lack in absorbency. Flats are big pieces of fabric that need to be folded into a diaper to use. I once saw a youtube video about how to use those little flannel receiving blankets and fold them into the “origami” style to use them as a flat. They were not very absorbent at all, but I do like the idea of using a flat. I spent a lot of time on youtube watching demos, learning how to fold diapers in different ways. I would recommend this activity if you are interested in using flats, or even prefolds. The great thing about flats is there is very little dry time! they come unfolded to wash and dry so more surface area is being dried at a time.

All in Ones (AIO)

All in Ones or “AIO” are a disposable diaper in style, only made of fabric. They are portable, compact, and some are even One Size (OS) like mentioned above. They are so handy and *CUTE*. The bummer is they dry much more slowly than the prefolds and the flats. Because all of those lovely absorbent layers are sewn together in one handy package, all of those layers make a thick, slow drying diaper. AIO are not always OS and so you would need to buy a whole stock of them in each size. -not my style! But I can most certainly see why moms and dads choose this route!

Pocket Diapers

Pocket Diapers are the best of the two worlds- they are compact and easy to use like a disposable, and they come apart to wash and dry like covers and prefolds do. This means there is a bit more prep work to stuff the removable absorbent “insert” in place after drying, but I have to say these are my favorites! The drag is you can’t reuse the covers because it gets dirty during every use. But a special bonus is you can choose to use more than one insert to create a custom level of absorbency in your diaper.

_________________________________________________________________________

I had a really hard time at first. I wanted to see everything, feel it. Youtube videos were my bread and butter. And my tactile drive is what ultimately pushed me to buy some overs on ebay. I needed to work with the diaper to really see how they worked and washed. I would recommend tons of research if you’re thinking about this. Get in touch with women (even if it’s online) who are CD Moms. They would LOVE to talk to you about it I’m sure of it. If you can find a retailer to talk to, that’d be great too. Look at an online company that is based in your area and see if the manager would be interested in meeting in person with you.

I could go on and on about Cloth Diapers (CD) and the art of CDing, so I’ll sign off and give you time to wrap your head around this idea.