Learning Together

Given that I have never tried my hand at gardening before, this year is a learning experience for me and the kids.   Today, the girls and I planted some seeds to transfer to the greenhouse later.  I also planted the green onions I rooted.  I am going to try rooting garlic too.

I don't know how successful I will be, but it is a fun experiment.   The girls are having fun learning with me.

And the results are . . .

So I have all the crafting supplies organized and sorted.  It looks great but I think I may want to add to it over time.

 Here is what I have done:

The girls were thrilled with it!  They loved the pink, as I expected LOL.

And here are the kids books.  I am so glad that they will contained instead of being in teetering piles.

Easter Ideas for the Kids

Here are some Easter Craft ideas I had to do with the kids.

1.  Easter Basket out of a paper plate

2.  Rice Krispies Hidden Surprise Easter Egg Treats

3.  Toilet Paper Roll Bunnies and Chicks

4.  Paper Plate Easter Bonnet

5. Paper Plate Bunny Mask

Easter Table ideas

As anyone who follows me knows, I love to do fun things for the holidays.  Here are some ideas I have found so far for my Easter table:

1.  Bunny Cake

2. Carrot Napkins

3. Easter Basket in a Jar

4.  Easter Peeps Centerpiece

5.  Easter Egg Vase

Crash!

Well, Little Prince climbed out of his crib the other night.  The loud crash sound and subsequent screeching scared the heck out of me, and he cried LOUDLY but luckily he wasn't hurt at all.  But it does mean that it is time to transition him to another method of sleeping.  I was nervous about a bed because he rocks HARD at night and he has very little idea of edges and keeping away from them.  So I really felt like he would rock himself right off the edge of his bed every night.  I could see many bumps and bruises in my future.  I thought of putting a mattress on the floor, but I didn't want it to seem like I just threw a mattress on the floor like some poor college student who couldn't afford an actual bed.  But then I thought of the Montessori idea of little kids having mattresses on the floor so that things are all at their level.  If I did his room up nice, it could work for him and it would keep him safe.

Here are some rooms I am looking at for inspiration:

I decided to keep the chair in their because he likes it, but I put the edge of it by his mattress so that if he falls off it he will simply fall onto his mattress only a few inches down.  I left the decorations we had up high, but I am going to put some down low for him too.  Here is my start (It isn't finished, but it was a quick fix for now)

We tried him in his new room and he LOVED playing in there.  It does take him a LONG time to go to sleep and after "naptime" we took him downstairs for supper and within seconds he was like this:

Silly boy played so much he tired himself out.  I am just happy he adjusted so well to his room.  I really expected him to kick up a fuss.  When we changed around the living room he did.  I think the fact that I left as much the same as I could may have helped him adjust.  I think he liked having freedom to run around his bedroom helped too.  I could hear  him running around a lot, but every time I peeked at him, he was sitting on his bed with his monkey pillow in his lap, rocking hard. 

USES FOR HYDROGEN PEROXIDE:

• Wash vegetables and fruits with hydrogen peroxide to remove dirt and pesticides. Add 1/4 cup of H2O2 to a sink of cold water. After washing, rinse thoroughly with cool water.
• In the dishwasher, add 2 oz. to your regular detergent for a sanitizing boost. Also, beef up your regular dish soap by adding roughly 2 ounces of 3% H2O2 to the bottle.
• Use hydrogen peroxide as a mouthwash to freshen breath. It kills the bacteria that causes halitosis. Use a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water.
• Use baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to make a paste for brushing teeth. Helps with early stages of gingivitis as it kills bacteria. Mixed with salt and baking soda, hydrogen peroxide works as a whitening toothpaste.
• Soak your toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide between uses to keep it clean and prevent the transfer of germs. This is particularly helpful when you or someone in your family has a cold or the flu.
• Clean your cutting board and countertop. Let everything bubble for a few minutes, then scrub and rinse clean. (I’ve been using it for this a LOT lately!)
• Wipe out your refrigerator and dishwasher. Because it’s non-toxic, it’s great for cleaning places that store food and dishes.
• Clean your sponges. Soak them for 10 minutes in a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and warm water in a shallow dish. Rinse the sponges thoroughly afterward.
• Remove baked-on crud from pots and pans. Combine hydrogen peroxide with enough baking soda to make a paste, then rub onto the dirty pan and let it sit for a while. Come back later with a scrubby sponge and some warm water, and the baked-on stains will lift right off.
• Whiten bathtub grout. First dry the tub thoroughly, then spray it liberally with hydrogen peroxide. Let it sit — it may bubble slightly — for a little while, then come back and scrub the grout with an old toothbrush. You may have to repeat the process a few times.
• Clean the toilet bowl. Pour half a cup of hydrogen peroxide into the toilet bowl, let stand for 20 minutes, then scrub clean.
• Remove stains from clothing, curtains, and tablecloths. Hydrogen peroxide can be used as a pre-treater for stains — just soak the stain for a little while in 3% hydrogen peroxide before tossing into the laundry. You can also add a cup of peroxide to a regular load of whites to boost brightness. It’s a green alternative to bleach, and works just as well.
• Brighten dingy floors. Combine half a cup of hydrogen peroxide with one gallon of hot water, then go to town on your flooring. Because it’s so mild, it’s safe for any floor type, and there’s no need to rinse.
• Clean kids’ toys and play areas. Hydrogen peroxide is a safe cleaner to use around kids, or anyone with respiratory problems, because it’s not a lung irritant. Spray toys, toy boxes, doorknobs, and anything else your kids touch on a regular basis.
• Help out your plants. To ward off fungus, add a little hydrogen peroxide to your spray bottle the next time you’re spritzing plants.
• Add natural highlights to your hair. Dilute the hydrogen peroxide so the solution is 50% peroxide and 50% water. Spray the solution on wet hair to create subtle, natural highlights.
• According to alternative therapy practitioners, adding half a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to a warm bath can help detoxify the body. Some are skeptical of this claim, but a bath is always a nice way to relax and the addition of hydrogen peroxide will leave you – and the tub – squeaky clean!
• Spray a solution of 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide on leftover salad, drain, cover and refrigerate. This will prevent wilting and better preserve your salad.
• Sanitize your kids’ lunch boxes/bags.
• Dab hydrogen peroxide on pimples or acne to help clear skin.
• Hydrogen peroxide helps to sprout seeds for new plantings. Use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution once a day and spritz the seed every time you re-moisten. You can also use a mixture of 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 32 parts water to improve your plants’ root system.
• Remove yellowing from lace curtains or tablecloths. Fill a sink with cold water and a 2 cups of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Soak for at least an hour, rinse in cold water and air dry.
• Use it to remove ear wax. Use a solution of 3% with olive or almond oil. Add a couple drops of oil first then H2O2. After a few minutes, tilt head to remove solution and wax.
• Helps with foot fungus. Spray a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry. Or try soaking your feet in a peroxide solution to help soften calluses and corns, and disinfect minor cuts.
• Spray down the shower with hydrogen peroxide to kill bacteria and viruses.
• Use 1 pint of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water to clean humidifiers and steamers.
• Wash shower curtains with hydrogen peroxide to remove mildew and soap scum. Place curtains in machine with a bath towel and your regular detergent. Add 1 cup full strength 3% hydrogen peroxide to the rinse cycle.
• Use for towels that have become musty smelling. 1/2 cup Peroxide and 1/2 cup vinegar let stand for 15 minutes wash as normal. Gets rid of the smell.
• Use hydrogen peroxide to control fungi present in aquariums. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt your fish. Use sparingly for this purpose.
• De-skunking solution. Combine 1 quart 3% H2O2, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 teaspoon Dawn dish detergent, 2 quarts warm water.

Dryer Sheets

I love finding uses for things I would have previously thrown away.  Like using bones and vegetable peelings to make broth.  I recently read about uses for dryer sheets.  I am definitely going to start saving my dryer sheets now.  Here are some of the things I have read about (most seem to involve odor removal and static removal!

1. Fabric softener sheets are designed to help eliminate static cling, wipe your television and computer screen with a used sheet to keep dust from resettling.
2. A sheet can be used to dissolve soap scum from shower doors, and the tile walls. Clean the surfaces with a sheet.
3. Collecting pet hairs. Rubbing the area with a sheet will magnetically attract all the loose hairs.
4. Wiping up sawdust, on the shop workbench, from drilling or sandpapering is easy. A used sheet will collect sawdust like a tack cloth.
5. Use old dryer sheets to easily wipe up talcum powder, flour, and other messes of this type.
6. Used sheets usually have enough fragrance in them to freshen up other areas in your home. Stuff them in tennis shoes, place them in closets, in laundry hampers and in pieces of luggage -- anywhere your house needs a little "refreshment."
7. Did you purchase some old, musty books at a garage sale or thrift shop? Make them smell good again! Simply place the books in a sealed plastic bag with a used dryer sheet. Allow the bag to sit undisturbed for a day or two, then remove the contents. The musty smell will be gone!
8. Place a used dryer sheet in the bag of your vacuum. Sweep your house, and, once you're done, the air will smell as fresh as your clothes do.
9. These wonders of the 70's are also said to repel mosquitoes as well as other annoying, flying insects. Don't rub it on you. Instead, stick a used sheet in your belt loop.
10. You can use dryer sheets to clean and polish the chrome on your vehicles.
11. Is the interior of your car or truck smelling a little stale? Forget the pine tree on a string! Place a few used dryer sheets under the seats of your vehicle instead!
12. Is your hair dry and full of static electricity? Gently wipe a used dryer sheet over your head to get rid of it.
13. Dryer sheets make great dusting cloths for your wooden furniture.
14. Help keep dust and other contaminants out of your house. Simply place a used sheet inside every furnace/AC register in your house. Make sure it covers the openings and replace once they are dirty.
15. Keep your window blinds clean longer by wiping them periodically with used dryer sheets. The anti-static properties of the product will actually help to repel dust and dirt.
16. Are your scissors not cutting as smooth as they should? Wipe the blades clean with a used dryer sheet to remedy this problem.
17. Dryer sheets can be used on the chrome in your bathroom as well as your car!
18. Dryer sheets repel bugs and small animals. Tuck one in your picnic basket, or near mouse droppings and you won’t have problems with small animals again. And if you got a problem with mice at home, find where they are entering your house and stuff the hole shut with a used sheet. Mice won't chew through the smelly material.
19. Before you put clothes in the attic or in storage, put a dryer sheet in the box and it will prevent them having a musty smell when you retrieve them.
20. If your pots and pans have burned food stuck on them, place a dryer sheet in the bottom before you fill them with water and leave overnight. The burned food will come off easily in the morning.
21. Put a dryer sheet in your camping stuff before you store it.
22. If your iron gets dirty, clean it on a low setting with a dryer sheet.
23. Dryer sheets will reduce static cling on clothes. Rub a dryer sheet over your clothes and it will remove pet hair too.
24. Remove bugs from the front of your car with a simple wipe from a dryer sheet.
25. Roll up a dryer sheet in your toilet paper roll. Each time you spin, it releases a little freshness into your bathroom.

OR . . . you could replace your dryer sheets entirely. 

1. Instead of using a dryer sheet, ball up one or more sheets of aluminum foil and toss them into the dryer. It removes the static electricity from your clothes. One can last up to a year or more under regular use. Be certain to remove any edges or areas that can snag before use and you have a perfect dryer sheet replacement.
2. Another substitute is to pour some liquid fabric softener on a wash cloth or towel and put that in the dryer with the clothes to be dried. 
3. Or instead, squeeze a few drops of hair conditioner onto a clean washcloth, throw it in the dryer with your clothes and run the machine as usual. The conditioner will soften your clothes just like a dryer sheet would. An additional boon: The cloth can be reused up to three times.
4. Toss a (or two or three if you like) tennis ball in the dryer when you're drying your clothes. It prevents static cling and also helps to keep things soft and fluffy!

Dreams of Country Living

When I dream of country living, I dream of getting back to basics. I dream of open spaces, of spending time outside, of using my hands to make and do things for my family, and of teaching my kids to use their hands too. 

I have goals and lists of things I want to do and learn. 

I want learn to grow a garden, it doesn't have to be big, but I want to grow some of our food.  I grew a few herbs in pots this summer and it was wonderful.

I want my kids to spend time outside.  I want it to be a part of every day, just a part of what we do.  I want exploring the outdoor world to be a regular part of our life and of their childhood.

I have already started making our own bread.  And adding the no-knead bread, the damper bread and the soda bread to the regular bread has made it quick and easy to do that.

I really, really want to learn how to make homemade soap.  I would love to be able to make some different kinds, even to make some for gifts.

I want to increase the size of my stored food.  I want to fill my freezer, and to learn to use my water bath canner to start canning food for future use.  I recently bought one, but I haven't learned how to use it yet.  I also want to start drying and dehydrating foods to preserve them.

I would LOVE to get a few chickens and rabbits.  I would like to start eating our own fresh eggs.  But I know that may not be possible. 

I want to use my dryer less and hang dry my clothes.  I did this all summer last year and I do love the smell of line-dried clothes.  (although, I need to find a way to make them dry softer.)

I want to sew more.  I would love to make cloth diapers for Little Prince.  I would love to make curtains and things for our home and maybe even branch out to dresses for the girls.

I want to get to know the local farmers.  I would love to buy things from them directly.  I would love for the kids to know where food comes from.  I would love them to see real farms and real farm animals.

I joined in on a Barn Hop this week.

Getting Started Early (Christmas in January? Really?)

I got started on my mission to create enough decorations to have only hand-made decorations on the tree next year.  Here is the first one I did.  I thought some pom-poms would be cute hanging from the tree instead of the shiny ball ones I usually put up.  I think they are turning out kind of cute! 

On a side-note, Princess Belle was excited to see them and loved it when told her my plans.  I even told her I would make her and the other kids some to play with as well as some bean bags to play with!