4 Sweet Sisters

Do Monday's get you down? Getting back into the work week whether at home or away can be daunting, especially after a time change. I needed some Powergize to get me going today! Last spring I took the plunge and started purchasing inexpensive indoor plants. I wanted fresh, live green things in our home. I had no clue of what I was doing but I started with two, $1.99 flowering succulents. I then asked all my Face Book friends if they knew the names of my new friends. I watered them weekly and eventually the flowers fell off  and reflowered once. I thought they were on deaths door but I am happy to report a year later they are still alive! I am utterly amazed because somehow I find indoor plants to be harder to take care of than a newborn. Mondays are laundry and watering day around our home. I find that scheduling this activity for when I know I will be home for a large portion of the day means there is more of a chance I will water all the green things! Currently I have 2...

So you love Essential Oils and you are using them on all the things; now, what do you do with all the cute little amber bottles? With the Young Living bottles you can an easily peel off the labels and refill with  your own personal blends, pop a spray top on for a spray blend, use as bud vase for a single flower or fill with Thieves Cleaner and gift to a friend who has never heard of the power of Thieves!  When my bottles are almost empty and I cannot get a drop out (even with the reducer cap off), I like to place a bunch up in the bottom of a big jar of Epsom salts. I let them sit for a week or so but there are times when I'll start using the salts right away. I just refill the salts on the top while the bottom of the container marinates. The fragrance is heavenly. You could get really fancy and save all your "fall" scents together, all your citrus scents etc. I am not that organized... I wish I was at times. *One thing I've learned is that it may not be a ...

Tomorrow I leave on a trip with a bunch of crazy fun young adults (in training )! We're headed for Tennessee right after service. It should be a fun, crazy trip of river rafting, tubing and just being in the mountains. I'm thrilled to be going with Urban Girl! My relationship with her is changing. From one of Mom/daughter to Mom/friend and young woman/daughter. I'm glad for these time where I get a chance to slowly ease into our new stage and see her as more than my little girl. I don't mean to say that I don't already get daily glimpses, but this is a blessing. I will say it's strange to be going and leaving so much of my family behind. They have exciting plans while we are gone and I know Superman can handle just about anything. I mean we don't call him Superman for nothing! But still, I'm the Mommy and I'm used to being in charge of my home. School Girl and I planned fun meals for while we are gone. So I know it's under control. So all thi...

Well it's going to be a blistering 91 degrees this afternoon and I'm not feeling "fallish". Yesterday I promised the chickadees we would decorate, make a fall dessert, and have cider. Yes, I even -preplanned by buying cider. (Didn't have time to make my own-hehehe.) We've been on a downhill slide all morning. Since I'm the co-captain in charge, I need to save this sinking ship. (don't ask) First we'll make Pumpkin Spice Cookies. Then head out to garden at 4-H. Home for baked chicken, veggies, salad and biscuits. Then our yummy cookies ( you know they'll be good) and cider. Clean up the kitchen, let the chickens out and do a bit of decorating! These are pumpkin cookie. Sorry for the blurriness (one of the girls took a quick pic for me-not that it matters). They were good ,but not at all like a cookie. The tasted like muffun tops and we were wanting cookies. We use 2 apples, 2 cups of cider, and lots of ice to make our cider slushes. The chickade...

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

Thank you to all my birthday well wishers. I REALLY don't feel my age and since 40 is the new 20....I'm only 19! I had a wonderful weekend starting with my crafty girlfriends on friday night. On Saturday we took the older chickadees to Winter Jam. Hawk Nelson and Toby Mac. We also continued work on my B-day room (which I'm still hoping to post pics of this week). We had a slumber party and roasted weenies and marshmallows in the fire place. The little chicks found this to be great fun!Next weekend we are celebrating with my parents.So my diet has been having some trouble... I was hoping to keep the weight loss big, but who knew what one piece of cake could do. I had 2 cakes made for me so far... They were delicious! With Superman taking the last 2 Mondays off my schedule has been out of whack. Today is usually my baking day, but I also had to throw in laundry. So this is what I accomplished: 2 Great Loaves and 1 little chef The start of a Italian Baked Sandwhich ...

Good morning! It's a wonderful crisp day.....but unfortunately we are in for a hot Christmas. I mean the kind were the girls are wondering if they can go swimming. Ugh... Oh well, I keep trying to remind myself it doesn't matter what the weather is like. What are we celebrating? The weather...I think not! I started a Christmas present for the Little Chef a couple of weeks back and didn't like were it was going. The fabrics were all wrong for what I was making. I was in a conundrum ...what to do? I wanted this project to be whimsical and fun. But I had no moola for it. I prayed as I was walking through my daily activities. Guess What? The Lord directed me to this old duvet cover I had! Yippee ! I just love it when He takes my best offering and goes way beyond whatever I could have come up with! A fun Puppet Theater! I can't wait to try it. I hope she'll let me play and not j...

Well with school being out for us this week I'm getting a little more time on the blog. I do need to get back to crafting ASAP! I'm so glad I'm not in charge of Thanksgiving dinner this year. One of the chicks went and helped Grammy chop and dice all the veggies. They also had a potato peeling contest with Mike. But the real reason I'm here..... I wanted to show off some of the Weenie/Marshmallow Roast pics. Two of our daughters birthdays fall during the heavy Christmas season and many years get gypped on a friend party. So we moved their b-days up a month and a party happens! Not every year. I shoot for every other. Anyways, on to the pics! Before the party night the chickadees and I came up with a fun games list. Candy Corn Relay, Popcorn Relay, Blindfold Doughnut Contest, 3 Legged Marshmallow Race, Apple Relay, and Bobbing for Marshmallows! (yes i realize they all involve food- that's what made it extra fun!) Before the children arrived we made up huge event...

Hey it's Works for Me Wednesday @ Rocks in My Dryer (check my side bar)! Helloooo . How is everyone this fine morning? I wanted to share a "new family secret" we made. It's calendula cream. It's good for what ails ya! Okay, not everything but certainly a lot of things... Any sort of bite or sting, heat or diaper rash, burns, and a great moisturizer! One of our chick's decided to plant it in her garden last fall. We harvest the leaves and flowers from the plant, then stew them down for a couple of days in organic coconut oil. Add a little beeswax and a pretty can. Wallah ! A wonderful cream for itchy skin. We keep ours in the fridge to preserve the life of the product. It usually last between 8 months and a year. It feels great going on. I've even used it in place of deodorant for a couple of days due to very dry skin. (I've tried all the " odorent " but they all tend to make me itchy after awhile- even the homemade baking soda kind) Sorr...