4 Sweet Sisters

As you can probably tell from previous post I'm not a very eloquent person or a good writer for that matter. Which leads me straight into today's topic..... Perfectionism. Oooo we really hate/love that word don't we! I do. I still get caught up in it's ugly web. Perfect dieting (weight control), perfect marriage, perfect homeschool children, perfect school program to name a few. Yikes, that's only a few. The thing I've (pretty) much learned over the past 16 years of marriage and motherhood is that my Dad isn't looking for perfection from me. He's already got that and more! He wants me to be good, maybe even superb in many areas of life and to come to him whether I'm good or bad at it. So this leads me to homemaking, child rearing, schooling, and husband loving. Way back when my first daughter was just a tiny babe I would purpose to sit down in the afternoons and read a couple of scriptures and write in my prayer journal ( not for long or I would ...

Take heart dear ones.... I just wanted to open a bit of discussion. Why do we do what we do? Many of us didn't chose to stay home and raise a family. A number of us thought we would have it all, including that big corner office in the city. Or we would be traveling all over this big, beautiful world! But for one reason or another we have been called to home life (at least most of us reading-i think). Some have come kicking and screaming, while others of us never wanted to leave and came running back! I'm one who never wanted to leave, but thought she had to... Does that make any sense? I graduated High School with a full scholarship to Junior College started but withdrew mid semester my first term. Why? I had no clue of what I wanted to do other than be a Mom and that seemed to be just a side job (not what you were "supposed" to dedicate yourself to). I started working at a bank and tried moving out on my own. I accepted Jesus as my Savior during this time and began ...

On Monday I shared that Cindy (Cinderella- a chicken) had lost an egg. We were bummed.... Come to find out that Fluffy ( a chicken) had been fighting her for the right to sit on the eggs! Yesterday, our friend Sandi brought by more fertile eggs and Cindy was again content. When I went to check on her later that morning, Fluffly was standing on top of her trying to get to the eggs. Now I know why ladies fights are often called hen fights! It really did remind of a woman being protective and warding off the enemy. (Okay, I think I'm getting to involved in our animals lives-good thing we don't have a dog!) So later in the day Superman and I thought it might be a good idea to move Cinderella out for a while and give her a little peace. (Anybody remembering needing that when you were expecting?) Later that evening he made her a cozy little house with her own personal run. I was VERY impressed! Just before dark we put her and her eggs in. We were feeling pretty pleased with ours...

This morning Cinderella hopped off her nest to get a quick bite to eat and take a dirt bath. So Farm girl took the opprotunity to check for new eggs; other than the 2 she's trying to hatch. Well she came running into the house, yelling that one of the the chickie eggs was missing. So I sent Urban girl out for a looksie. Maybe the egg had rolled off the nest when the chicken stood up? She found Cindy with the egg hanging from her chest feathers. Farm girl pulled it off and cleaned up. The egg was lost, but a small lesson was learned... julie

We've been using a surprisingly wonderful face wash for about 6 months. Guess What it is? Olive & Castor Oil! I was really surprised at how well it works and you can customize the formula to you own needs. For people with T-zone, dry or oily conditions. At www.theoilcleansingmethod.com/ they give all the details. I used an old facial cleanser bottle and tweaked the instructions to fit our needs. -15% Castor oil -85% olive oil -Shake and place in shower with wash cloth. - Gently rub 1 to 2 pumpfuls into face, neck, ears etc. (before you get in) -Use the warmth of shower to open pores. -Heat wash cloth with water, place on face for a minute or so. Then gently rub off excess oil, make up and dirt. Like I said, we've been using this for 6 months or so. In that time I've had only 1 blemish ( I'm a t-zone). My face is so much smoother and softer and this is all I do. No more 3 parts, no extra lotions! The above recipe has worked well for dry and t-zone. So we only h...

Don't laugh (okay you can if you want to). But this little megaphone really works for me! Superman and I have joked about getting one for a long time. We've picked them up at sales and put them back down. You see we live in a 2 story home and I feel like I'm always yelling down the stairs for someone. Then if a door is closed we're tap dancing on the floors to get the chickadees attention. (So now you know my dirty little secret.) . I hate yelling and I really don't want it in my life. So sure enough we were at a tool store's side walk sale and found this for $5.99. I've used it quite a bit and I think it will come in handy when it's my turn to run Park / P.E. Day. I wish I had it this fall. (I used a whistle which was a big help.) So now I can just call a Chickadees and not feel like I'm always yelling. That REALLY works for me! Check out a ton of other useful tips at http://www.wearethatfamily.com/ - It's Works For Me Wednesday! julie

I'm sure there are many culinary delights that could be made with the use of vinegar and eggs. Alone or together...but I have chosen to go another route. What you may ask? My hair wash! Yup, you read right. I finally did it last night. I had been reading over at www.inashoe.com/ about her trials with going w/o the shampoo and conditioner. She has been using baking soda and apple cider vinegar for a rinse, but found that her hair would still get a bit greasy after a couple of days. So a reader suggested eggs. Well we've been using organic shampoo and conditioner for quite awhile and it does get pricey! When we first switched. I cut way back on washing my hair. I've found over the year I only need to wash it twice a week, but I would still condition every day. So this helped to keep cost down a bit.( A hairstylist friend told me that we really don't need to wash it every day and that it strips our hair.) So what I would do is rinse my hair with warm water give my scal...

Frugal Friday has moved to http://www.lifeasmom.com/ (i wish i new how to put the big button up-anyone?) I don't feel super frugal today, but I have been looking for more ways to cut expenses and save. -I think we're going to get rid of the cell phone! I rarely use it and have kept it for emergencies. Before for you think we've totally lost it we do plan on carrying a prepaid. We have one laying around and it will cut our cell expenses from $400 a year to less than $200. That's a nice little savings. -We're also changing our insurance carrier. The savings should be apx $60 a month. We would never have done this if our current carrier hadn't been leaving our state. -Buy fresh in bulk and can it. Look at the fresh "penaponyas"! See yesterday post www.4sweetsisters.blogspot.com/2009/03/jalapenos.html I love to create and reuse and I think that's what's helped me never to feel "poor" when we're hunkering down and paying down! Have a g...

Lunch: Fresh whole bread, Just picked vine ripened tomatoes(yum,yum,yum), Almost fresh mozzarella & herbs. Delicious:) What's cooking? Jalapenos or Penaponyas as the Little Chef likes to call them. Goal: Be able to pull out peppers at a moments notice and stuff with cheese to broil. Washed,Sliced in half, Seeded (that's were the heats at- so keep a couple in if you like it hot), Place on parchment paper. Here they have baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Placed on cool pan to be frozen. Apx 2 hours. Then bag and pop in freezer to pull out. When you pull them out, pop them in to bake for 5 to 7 minutes at 400 degrees. Take out, stuff as desired. Broil until bubbly. Yum!!! You can also wash and freezer them whole to put in meals or for fresh salsa. I'm going to roast a couple with then put in freezer for later use. What else? 14 pints of Salsa! The tomatoes are toooo good! I'll can them tonight or tomorrow. Last, but not least... Dehydrating apples. We had abou...

Well It's been quite awhile. I hate how I plan to do 2 to 3 blogs and then life happens. These past couple of weeks have been filled with illness, funerals, weddings, end of the year testing and pulled muscles! But today life feels a bit more "normal". I did some baking, creating, and of course school! Here's my "creative endeavor for this week. we needed a little Spring in the house. Blown out eggs from our chickens. It was pretty gross! I haven't done this since I was a kid. 2 bird cages. They were both white and painted with I don't know what! Here's the small cage finished in a spring g reen with antique gold. The chicken has been around for a long while. The eggs are fresh blown. And here's the one for our coffee table. It turned out a bit brighter than I wanted. I roughed it up a bit, but from the picture it could use a bit more.(Maybe next year) I had these plus 3 loaves of bread going in the oven while I worked on finishing the above ...