Granola Catholic

Natural Sunburn Remedies

2012-06-01T19:20:00.000-05:00

Did you have too much fun in the sun this past weekend? Do you look like the proverbial lobster? Does your skin look like my youngest daughter’s back? The one who decided to forgo her rash guard while at the lake.?
When I was a kid we used to slather Noxzema on our sunburns. It did feel nice and cool but it it isn’t the best or most natural thing for your skin. So what do you do when your skin is a bit red?

Aloe Vera – I remember when I first discovered this wonderful salve. I was in the Bahamas on Spring Break some 25 years ago and had fallen asleep on the beach. Ouch! My roommate and I found the aloe Vera gel next to the sunscreen. It was deliciously cool on my fried back of the knees (the one spot I had forgotten to put sunblock on).
Lavender Oil – one of my favorite burn remedies. For a serious cooking burn I apply it neat directly to the skin, but for a more widespread burn I like to put it in a spritz bottle with some water and put in the fridge. When you get a little too much sun, simply spritz and enjoy the soothing nature of lavender.
Apple Cider Vinegar - This brings instant cooling relief to the afflicted skin. Spray on the skin or add to a bath
Cooling Bath - Add any of the following to your bath water, lavender, chamomile, apple cider vinegar, baking soda.
Water – not on your skin, but in your body, drink it up. when you get a sun burn you end up being dehydrated and it is important to rehydrate your skin.

Do you have a favorite Sunburn Remedy?

Create a Summer Bucket List

2012-05-31T19:16:00.000-05:00

Each summer my kids and I create a summer bucket list. This is our list of what we want to do. We realize that we won’t be able to do everything on our list ever year, but it gives a starting off point for planning our Friday Family Field Trips. I am always surprised at what my kids want to do each year. We dream big but keep in mind that we won’t be able to do everything on the list every year, but it gives us a plan. I am a planner have I mentioned that before?
On this year’s Summer Bucket List we have the following

Go to Lego World
Visit with Friends
Go to Woodward Park
Go to a minor league game in OKC
Learn French (Pi)
Get my front aerial (Peanut)
Read 100 books
Go to a big water park with a wave pool
Go to the Drive In Theater
Learn German (Peanut)
Try water skiing/wake boarding
Camp out
Make our Own Ice Cream
Save up $25 (Pumpkin)
Tie Dye
Try Glue Batik
Go Berry Picking
Go swimming at the Creek – Blue Hole (50 degree spring feed creek/stream – best on days that are above 100 degrees)

Do you make a summer bucket list with your kids? What is on your Bucket List?

The Problem with the Smell of Clean

2012-05-30T19:44:00.000-05:00

What does clean smell like? Ask most people and they will tell you it smells like lemons, or spring rain, fresh air, or clothes dried on the clothes line. but many of these so called “scents” are artificial fragrances Manufacturer’s of cleaning products know and understand this too. Why do you think they allude to these scents in their products and advertising? Many cleaning products have added fragrance. Many fragrances are made up of a complex cocktail of natural scents and synthetic chemicals, many of these are petrochemicals. Even many so called green cleaning products are not really all that green.
Why do manufactures add fragrance? Fragrance is a key component to cleaning products – as it is often what distinguishes one product from another, and what creates brand loyalty. Companies take great measures to ensure that the fragrance is experienced fully by the user. Our sense of smell is one of strongest and we associate memories with certain smells, Chemists, manufacturers and product companies know this. If something does not smell clean how will we know that it is clean? Once a upon a time ago my husband helped a friend with a cleaning business. They cleaned with vinegar but before leaving a place they would spray in the air a little bit of Pine Sol. . Yup it was just so that there was the ‘smell” of clean. They got more referrals and compliments when they sprayed the bathrooms for the smell. The clients thought if it smelled clean then it was truly clean.
The scents added to cleaners do not enhance the cleaning ability of most cleaners. Quite the contrary many fragrances can cause more harm than good. Among the chemicals that are used to produce fragrance are chemicals associated with hormone disruption and allergic reactions. Also in the ranks of undisclosed ingredients are chemicals with troubling hazardous properties or with a propensity to accumulate in human tissues. These include diethyl phthalate, a chemical found in 97 percent of Americans (Silva 2004) and linked to sperm damage in human epidemiological studies (Swan 2008)
Currently the United States does not require manufacturers to disclose the ingredients in fragrances, including the fragrances in cleaners, as this is considered proprietary information.
What can you do if you want to avoid chemical fragrances that can cause problems ranging from allergies to cancer?

Make your Own Cleaners – personally if it is not safe enough to put use on my body I will not use it in my house.
Check out EWG they will soon be coming out with a data base of Cleaners but for now they have a Hall of Shame List for Cleaners, check it out make sure none of yours are on here. Surprisingly some so called “green” cleaners are on here.
Use Alternatives for Chlorine in Cleaning

For More Reading.
Dirty Secrets - What's hiding in Your Cleaning Products
Physicians for Social Responsibility
EWG Cleaners Hall of Shame

Tell me do you have a favorite Cleaner you like to use? It is safe?

this post is linked up with Your Green Resource

Crock Pot BBQ Pork Tenderloin

2012-05-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

This is such a great way to enjoy some Fix and Forget it BBQ, I happened to have a pork tenderloin but you could very easily use beef. My lovely pork tenderloin came from my meat share from Natural Farms.
Ingredients

pork tenderloin
allspice
cumin
1-2 onions, sliced
molasses 1/4 cup
apple cider vinegar 1/2 cup
1 can of tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced

Directions

I prepared a dry rub for the pork made up of cumin (for a nice smokey flavor) and allspice. I feel that allspice is the perfect match for all pork.
Brown pork in a cast iron skillet
While the pork is browning begin to prepare the BBQ Sauce, it will cook in the crock pot right with the pork. To prepare BBQ Sauce combine in the crockpot
- 1 can of tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup of molasses
- 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
- generous shake of cumin
- genius shake of allspice
- 3 garlic cloves minced
While meat is browning add the sliced onions to skillet and begin to sauté them.
When meat is browned on all sides remove from cast iron pan and add to crock pot.
Continue to sauté the onions till translucent, add 2 tsp. of molasses to the pan and 1 tbsp. of cider vinegar to the onions.
Add the onions to the crock pot.
Cook for about 4-6 hours or until meet is fork tender.

I served it with German Potato Salad ,Marinated Chick Peas and Corn on the Cob. Alternatively you can use Carolina Style BBQ Sauce

Memorial Day–We Remember

2012-05-27T23:37:00.000-05:00

On Memorial Day we take time to remember, we remember those who fought for us but we also remember those who have gone before us. This year Memorial Day happens to fall on my Dad’s Birthday.
He was the first born in his family. His own Dad passed away when he was just 14. At the age of 16 my father dropped out of school to help support his mother, brother and two younger sisters. He was making a good wage in construction at the time thanks to a nice Hurricane over the summer.

He was a hard working man, a man who would become the 2nd hand man to several business owners, running their daily operations. Without the benefit of a college or even a high school degree. He later went on to build his own successful business and his dream home.

Even though he was busy building a house, working for other, and then building his own business he always made time for family. Whether it was his nieces and nephews or his own baby who needed him, he made time for Brownie Fly-ups, soccer games, dance recitals, and Boy Scout Trips. He never missed an important event. He was often there to help, whether drive the bus on a boys scout trip or lay sod for the High School Soccer field (even when none of his kids were playing for them.) As much as he loved his kids, it is possible he loved his grandchildren even more.

In August of 2007 my Dad was diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer, he had a particularly aggressive form. Yet what what was still most important to him was spending time with his family.

Dad, Pop, we will miss you.and light a candle for you on this Memorial Day – Birthday.

7 Quick Takes–Summer Time

2012-05-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

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Did you know that priests and seminarians have to provide their own transportation? Rosario’s brother is a seminarian in need of a car, and like a good sister Rosario is doing what she can to help. Last year we helped out Marise who wanted to be a nun. (She needed to pay off her college debt before entering the noviate. Vocations are diminishing in part perhaps because young men and women must be debt free to enter. If you are so inclined to help out visit Rosario’s site here.
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Peanut went for fittings this week for cheer team. It still has not sunk in that I am the mother of a bona fide Cheerleader. Not just any cheerleader but a Oklahoma Cheerleader. This is serious business here in Oklahoma, right up with beauty pageants.l
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Speaking of Pageants, Peanut who likes to compete in every sport under the sun has decided that she wants to add the competitive sport of pageants to the list. And believe it or not Daddy has said yes. It is a local pageant put on by the Chamber of Commerce. Daddy even said yes to the dress. We found it on deep discount. it was more than I wanted to pay. My budget was for $20, but Deacon G convinced Peanut to pony up the difference. She is eager and motivated to do this pageant. Why do I do these things? Quite frankly we are hoping to get this out of her system. As little girls she and her sister liked to play dress up, we used to keep a bin of dress up clothes. When I asked her why she wanted to do a pageant, she gave a very appropriate response of she wanted to dress up and maybe win a crown. I am very comfortable with her doing the pageant because we have opted to go classic with her other other outfit and did not spend more than $5 on that one. She looks happy in the dress doesn’t she? Did you ever participate in any sort of pageant? I never did but I had friends who did.

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We have been enjoying a little down time here. Our summer started last Friday and we are taking it easy till June. By taking it easy I mean we have enjoyed trips to the library, chess club, vocal coaching, dance classes and committee meetings for Catholic Charities. I know not so much down town, but we have been enjoying sleeping in.
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I forgot how much teenagers love/need to sleep in. Something about their physiology changes and they all of the sudden need more sleep than babies, and their sleep cycles change so that they need their sleep in the morning not at night. Our teenager is happy to go to bed at 9pm and will sleep in to 9-10am (secretly I think she is staying up reading books). Our little Peanut will soon be 12 and she is going through a growth spurt, eating and sleeping all the time. We are quite happy that she is finally growing. She has always been our petite one. When she was in 4th grade she could still wear clothes she wore in kindergarten. Just this week we measured her and she is now 5’2”. I literally was worried because she was running smaller than me at that age. I know we moms worry about things needlessly.
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Pumpkin and I have been enjoying morning hikes picking blackberries along the way. We have wild blackberries growing along our fences here.. Somehow the black berries never seem to make it back to the house. We can hardly wait for the pears though.

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Growing up Memorial Day weekend was the kick off to summer. My grandparents lived next door to us and they had a pool which they would open on that weekend. No matter how cold it was we always took advantage of the pool. As kids we did not care, water was water to us. I could never understand why the grown ups did not swim with us. Now I understand completely. I will not go swimming unless it is over 90 degrees outside. (I know I have lived in Oklahoma too long.)
Not only did my grandparents open the pool we often did so with a big Memorial Day Party. You see my Dad’s birthday was May 28th. This always seems to fall on Memorial Day weekend. We would have the proverbial “cook out”. I think my favorite food was the marinated shaved steak, and my grandmother’s clam chowder, this was in Rhode Island after all.
Do you have a favorite Memorial Day Tradition or Favorite Memorial Day Food?

for more 7 Quick Takes check out Conversion Diary

Surviving Summer with Young Teens

2012-05-24T18:54:00.000-05:00

Last year I wrote about surviving summer with kids. I love summer and look forward to it every year. I love all the extra things we can do since we don’t have school. Now that the kids are getting older but that doesn’t mean that summer fun or learning is over. If your teens are not quite old enough to enjoy the benefits of having a “real’ job there is still a lot they can do. Young teens and pre-teens still like to have fun, and are not necessarily ready to stay home on their own all day with nothing to do. They also benefit from sticking to a schedule. You don’t want them to sleep the day away do you?
So what can you do with Young Teens this summer?

Free Movie Days at the Library or local Movie Theaters – kids this age still enjoy going to cartoons. Check to see if your local theaters have a free or low cost movie series in the summer.

The Neighborhood Pool or Community Pool- What kid does not enjoy going to the pool. By the time kids are 11 –14 they are probably not taking swim lessons anymore, but would enjoy going to the pool.. For us the pool has the added benefit of having life guards, something our lakes do not have here in Oklahoma.
Host a Get Together at Your House - Believe me you don’t need much to make this age group happy, some water and some fun, a pool is not necessary though it helps, but hey then you have to play life guard. A tarp some water balloons and some squirt guns are all you need. Through in some popsicles and everyone is happy.

Host a sleepover – My kids are always asking to have friends sleep over during the school year. No need to have a birthday party just ask each of the kids to bring a snack and a movie to share, or better yet have the sleep out in the back yard, your tent probably does not get enough use anyway.
Set up a small tent as a getaway for your young teen – This was one of my favorite retreats when I was a kid. My parents bought me a cheap pup tent and helped me to set it up in our back “woods” (still in view of the house) I would spend hours out in the tent. Whenever my mother sent us outside to play this is where you would find me when that summer I was 11.
Start a Business – many young teens can’t wait to earn money, they are the perfect age to start a lawn mowing business, dog walker, babysitter or a creative business.
Have a Photography Scavenger Hunt – do this as a group event or even share it on Facebook for friends who can not attend. For those teens who are old enough to be on Facebook.

Make Your Own Ice Cream – you can use the Ziploc baggie method or any variety of ice cream makers
Have A Tie Dye Party – recycle those stained t-shirts by tie dying them.
Job Shadow Someone - Find someone who has a career you would like to try on for a day. Ask them if you can shadow them for day.

Go to the Park or Playground – yes, even big kids like the playground. Try a new one for a change of pace. One of our favorites doesn’t even have “playground equipment’ instead it has rock formations. All of my kids 8-14 love to scamper all over it.
Go Explore the City Around You –Head Downtown or to other areas of your town or city you have not been to before.
Let them Stay Up All Night – No not every night but just once. perhaps on the Summer Solstice. They love the idea of staying up all night at this age. They will soon learn that it is not as glamorous as it sounds.
Volunteer – There are plenty of volunteer opportunities for even young kids. Our local food bank accepts families as volunteers.
Go Stargazing - Locate a local astronomy group and see if you can meet up with them. Some amateur astronomer clubs have amazing telescopes and they just might let you use them.

Go to a Water Park - Now that the kids are older I can actually enjoy going to a water park with the kids and they are old enough to enjoy it too.

Go to a Minor League Baseball Game – These can be quite economical. Our local team has $2 Tuesdays. Any home game on a Tuesday is only $2 with $2 concession stand items. A family (of 5) outing for under $20 including food? Better yet some minor league teams have free tickets for different groups on special nights, scouts, little league teams.

Go for a Hike – Hikes can be had anywhere, our favorites are around our property but growing up we used to go out for “hikes” in the adjacent woods. For older kids a longer hike can be enjoyed.
Learn a New Skill - older kids can still learn new things, like crocheting or knitting or sewing.
Work on a Scrapbook/Photo Album – This past year I turned over the scrap booking efforts to my children. Yes you read that right. I have given them their pictures and mementos to scrapbook themselves.

What are your ideas for surviving Summer with Young Teens? Add them in the comments below.

For more ideas on surviving summer with kids of all ages and a simple summer schedule check out this post.

Going Green Made Easy

2012-05-24T11:59:00.000-05:00

As Kermit the Frog said “It ain’t easy being green.”, but id does not have to be hard. There is so much that a green lifestyle encompasses sometimes it is hard to know where to start. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. Sometimes there is contradictory information out there. At times we feel guilty if we don’t do it all but just by making one small change we are part of the solution. Just by making small changes even one at time we can make a difference. So how do you get started? Really anywhere is okay. But if you need some ideas then read on.

Use cloth bags when you go shopping be sure to put them back in the car. One way to remember them when you go in the store is to put something like your coupons. shopping list or purse in the trunk with the bags.

Drive your car less – for someone like us who lives out in the country this means I sometimes wait to get something or do without for a little while. Most nights Deacon G drives through town on his way home from work and can pick up things for us. Driving less means coordinating errands and kids activities. We schedule everything on the same night. Scouts, Dance, Soccer Chess Club all happens on Tuesdays, hence our crazy Tuesdays.
Get Stainless Steel Water Bottles – These will be BPA free and you can refill them, they will quickly pay for themselves even if the Labrador eats the lids. (yup it has happened.)

Turn up the Air Conditioning and turn down the Heat. Set your AC above 72, we comfortably set ours at 78-80, depending on the outside temperature. In the winter set your heat to about 68 degrees or lower. Better yet get timer and set the HVAC system get the temperature to a comfortable range when you are at home. When you leave home you can turn it off or have it revert back to a less comfortable range.
Consider Composting – you don’t need to have acreage to do this. It can be done in a small yard, even at a town house. Not sure what to compost, then check out 36 Things You Can Compost.
Go Meatless Just Once a Week – Many people regularly go Meatless on Mondays (Meatless Mondays, anyone) and millions of Catholics go meatless on Fridays.
Take you Lunch from home – using a reusable bag and containers of course.

Hang up your clothes to dry. – if you don’t have a clothesline you can use a drying rack. Even if you only hang up your clothes in the warmer months you will reap many benefits, the least of which is a lower electric or gas bill.
Buy Local, Buy in Season – this cuts down on transportation costs as well as helps support local farmers at the same time. The Farmer’s Market is a great place to Shop Local, but even some regular grocery stores will feature local foods.
Recycle – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. – Start with the reduce, buy less, and buy things with less packaging. Reuse what you have, before you recycle it try to find a new use for it. Up cycle it first. T-shirts can be made into bags for shopping. Recycle is not just for the curbside you can find new uses for clothes and furniture too. Try out your local Free Cycle Group.

Plant native plants and grasses - this will reduce your need to water the yard or to use toxic chemicals.

Surviving Summer Vacation with Kids

2012-05-21T18:45:00.000-05:00

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this is an update from a post first published last year (2011)

Eek! How am I going to survive Summer vacation with my kids? It is hard to believe that summer vacation is upon us. In FACT it is HERE! My kids are home today. So what’s a mom to do?

Have plans. (and back up plans)

Don’t wait for things to happen. (I will be giving my kids a free week where nothing is going on). They have an extended day at school so they hardly get the down time. Now does that mean they will be watching TV next week? , not at all. But will they have no schedule? Not at all. it means they will have no activities or camps schedule for this time. It will be a time for them to relax and unwind from a year of learning.

Have a Schedule – but be flexible it is Summer after all

This is as important as having a plan. I find it gives me freedom knowing what I will be doing without waiting to see what will happen. Now depending on your activities your schedule can be more or less lose. I like to keep my kids on a basic daily schedule as well as a larger weekly one. A typical schedule for us would look something like this for us.

Daily Skeleton Schedule

9am Everyone must have breakfast by this time- the kitchen will close for maintenance(read cleaning)

morning chores

12 –1 lunch time

1pm book time

3pm snack, mom tea time

3:30 afternoon chore time

7pm dinner

9pm all kids to bed, yes all even the teenage ones (Mom needs time to be with Dad and to work)

Weekly Schedule would look something like this unless it is a camp week.

Monday – Arts and Crafts at home day

Tuesday – Swim day – home or out and about

Wednesday – is a Free day for the kids

Thursday – Library Day- They have free programs and a summer reading programming where the kids free vouchers for local attractions and restaurants

Friday – Family Field Trip Day

Saturday – Family time

Sunday – Church time

Plan Some fun activities

We like to plan some fun activities to do as a family and with our friends. I like to have a yearly Tie Dye party, We will plan an outing to the lake or creek with friends, or the drive in movie theater. Activities don’t have to cost a lot and it allows us to get together with friends and connect over the summer. It started out as just something that I did with my kids and grew to include about a dozen families.
Don’t let learning go out the window during summer breaks.
While we don’t usually do structure school during the summer we continue to learn. We do the summer reading program at the Library and my older children will be picking a summer project to work on this summer. Pi would like to study French this year. I will be starting Pumpkin (8) on chapter books this summer. We will be doing a summer book challenge. In years past I have gotten work books for the kids for the next grade up, I am not sure if I will do this with Pumpkin this year. You may be asking why if my children have been in school all year do we do summer learning? It is important for me that my children know that learning is a life long pursuit and does not stop once you leave school.
Try new things

A few summers ago the girls tried a triathlon for the first time. They absolutely loved it. This year they want to do a “Mud Run”. Last year we let Pumpkin do his first triathlon.

Visit with Friends

This should be self explanatory but so often we get busy in our lives and don’t leave time for socialization. Plan time with friends.. Pack a picnic dinner and attend a free concert. Go to the drive-in (if you still have one) with some other families. It is great fun for everyone. Hold a block party or a barb-b-que,

Get away as a Family

You don’t have to go far, and it doesn’t have to be a long trip. Perhaps a weekend away. Camping counts if you like to camp. The idea is to spend time together as a family. Just with the ones who live in your house. Sometimes we just go camping in our back 5 (acres). When the kids were little it was far enough away from the house that it was special. We “hiked” there and set up the tents, cooked outside. Last year we took a quick weekend away and stayed at a monastery(very cost effective and family friendly - think youth hostel)
Visit Far Flung Family

Summer is the perfect time to spend time with family who live further away. Take a road trip or if you are lucky find some cheap summer fares. Last year we sent our 13 year old on the “tour de family” . She visited all the cousins and grandma, each for about a week at a time.
Have a theme week
Pick a theme around something that is happening. In the past we have had Olympic weeks, and with the Olympics coming up this summer it would be a fun one to do again.
Set aside rest time
Everyone needs rest time. Remember it is called R & R – “Rest and Relaxation”. I try to build down time into our schedule on a daily and weekly basis. Even big kids need time to just kick back and relax. When the kids were little it was a daily break time now that they are older we keep one day a week as an at home day. I make it a point to take the last two weeks before school starts as a time to slow down all the activities and get ready for school.

Take Advantage of free and low cost events in the community
One of my favorites. On bad weather days we are sure to take advantage of the free movies or $1 movies that are at local theaters. We absolutely love to attend the free summer concert series around town. I can’t think of a better way to expose your kids to a variety of music styles for next to nothing
Consider Day and Residential Camps for the Kids

Many communities have low cost day camps at community centers and churches. My kids love being able to go these camps. Social creatures that they are. They love the classes and silly songs that come along with camp. As they have gotten older they enjoy going away to residential camps. These camps don’t have to cost a lot of money and often they do have scholarships or camperships as they are called. I know of one young lady who has gone to horse back riding camp each year by simply selling girl scout cookies.
Consider Hosting an Exchange Student or Camp Counselors.

Growing up my family hosted French Students almost every summer from the time I was 14. It was a great experience for our family. Last summer we hosted 1/2 of the teaching team from Totus Tuus at our home. These college students spend their summer teaching the Catholic Faith to children in a fun faith filled curriculum. I have had friends sponsor soccer coaches from England who teach at summer soccer camps. Nothing makes summer go by faster than increasing your family for a short period.

Summer always seems like a long span of time for us, until we start doing all sorts of things. Just be careful it is very easy for your summer to get overbooked and not be the relaxation you were looking for. What are your plans for surviving summer vacation with the kids this year?

Technorati Tags: surviving summer with kids,frugal summer activiites,summer plan,kids and summer

Less is More Challenge the Bathroom and Laundry Room

2012-05-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

These are rooms that are often neglected. Perhaps for some of us we have multiple bathrooms, and a separate laundry room . When is the last time you tackled these rooms? It is time to streamline the bathroom. When was the last time you got rid of the clutter in there?

Check your towels are they all still in good shape? It might be time to turn some of them into cleaning rags.
When is the last time you went through the medicine cabinet? Now is a good time to make sure there are no expired medications in here. (now would be a good time to restock any needed medications)
Clean out those shampoos and bath products, how many do you need? Even if you have natural products it is real easy to accumulate more than you can use, even if you make your own.
Do you have any mystery items in the bathrooms? I recently found a leg brace that I used 3 years ago when I tore a ligament in my knee. I don’t think I need that but my dear husband thought we should hold on to it n case anyone else in the house needed it.

How about the laundry room. How many laundry baskets do you have? Some days it seems like I need another one then other days I am tripping over them.
How about the laundry detergent, do you make your own. streamline it and make it in bulk.
Clean out under the sink and get rid of the extra cleaning products. If you haven’t already make the switch to more natural cleaners, better yet go with white vinegar or try making your own.

How is your Less is More Challenge Going? What is the strangest thing you have cleared out?

Summer Sunscreen Safety

2012-05-18T19:17:00.001-05:00

I learned a valuable lesson the other day. It does not matter what you do for sun protection if you don’t use it, a sunburn can happen on a coolish (60 degree) morning if the sun is shining before 10:30am. You see, we are a family of fair skinned people here, despite the fact that my husband and children are Cherokee. They all have plenty of freckles. I guess the Irish genes can out on top. one. As a kids my husband and I ran free in the summer without a care and I know that I had burns so bad that my entire back would peel.
Are Sunscreens Safe?
The jury is still out on this one. the FDA pushed back the compliancy requirement for a news set of guidelines (33 years in the making) meant to urge manufacturers to more clearly label their products and toss out misleading terms like "sweat proof" and "sunblock." But even the now-delayed FDA guidelines, says EWG, fall short in some important ways.
Believe it or not sunscreen users are actually more likely to get burned." The common thought behind this is , that sunscreen gives the wearer a false sense of security. How is that? People who wear sunscreen are at a higher risk for getting burned because they are more likely to spend a longer period of time in the sun. Additionally most people do not wear sunscreen properly, you should be apply about 2 oz. every 90 minutes. If that is the case a day at the beach or lake or ball park would mean a tube of sunscreen per family member for the day.
The latest report by EWG shows that only 25% of all sunscreens are considered safe. That means that the vast majority of sunscreens (75% of them) contain ingredients that are harmful.
Ingredients to Avoid in Sunscreen
EWG lists several ingredients to be wary of and avoid.

The Environmental Working Group and other toxicology experts believe that oxybenzone is linked to hormone disruption and potentially to cell damage that may lead to skin cancer
retinyl palminate. -Government-funded studies have found that this particular type of vitamin A may increase risk of skin cancer when used on sun-exposed skin. However, these reports have been in mice and evidence has been inconclusive for humans. says this ingredient does not make sunscreen more effective, and until definitive research is available, consumers should avoid sunscreen products containing retinyl palminate.But the EWG researchers found the initial findings of an FDA study of vitamin A's photocarcinogenic properties, meaning the possibility that it results in cancerous tumors when used on skin exposed to sunlight.

What to do?

Read the labels, and avoid oxybenzone and Vitamin A (or retinyl palminate).
Use Mineral Sun blocks sparingly
Cover up – Do you remember Slip. Slap, Slop? Slip on long sleeved clothing, slop on sunscreen and slap a hat. Hats are de rigueur for us whether gardening, at the beach, soccer fields or on a hike. We keep some in the car and some by the door. When we go off to swim at the lake or pool we are often seen wearing long sleeves or at least short sleeved cover ups. Yes I have been known to wear a hat in the pool or lake and sunglasses too.
Avoid the peak hours 10-4 or stay in the shade if you can.
Don’t be fooled by cloudy days, I got my worst sunburn while biking around Block Island as a teen on a cloudy day. I was as pink as my shorts that day.
Check out the EWG list of safe sunscreens before you go out.

How do you deal with summer sun and fun?

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EWG only deemed 9 percent of lip balms, 7 percent of makeups, and 9 percent of moisturizers fit for consumers. The culprits? The overuse of oxybenzone, which has been linked to hormone disruption (though the FDA doesn't have a problem with it), and a form of Vitamin A called retinyl palmitate, which has been linked with skin tumor growth
http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/05/kids-sunscreen-avoid-environmental-working-group-guide
http://www.mommypotamus.com/how-to-make-non-toxic-homemade-sunscreen/

7 Quick Takes

2012-05-18T09:59:00.000-05:00

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My girls are picking out names for their children, Can’t say as I blame them, I had Pi’s name (her real one) picked out looong before I met my husband. She is name after my grandmother, well actually the nickname my great grandfather gave her. Her given name was Mary, but her father had a pet name that she was called till the day she died by family members. I can remember being somewhere around 6th grade and thinking I will name my first daughter that, and so I did. Now my daughter’s are making lists of names they want. So far we have a

Etienne for a girl even though it means Stephen in French Pi has decided to name a girl this. Stephen is believe it or not a family name that has gone three generations on my side and the name my husband was given as a Benedictine Oblate. (the girls are fighting over this name.)
Solange – this name sound exotic but it simply means “sun angel”
Antigone – seriously, she likes the name but did not know the story behind it.
Lourdes – after Our Lady of Lourdes
Adara -
Ruby
Ryan – for a girl
Etienniana – the feminine form of Etienne
Logan

Did you pick out names for your children when you were younger? Did you keep those names when you eventually had children.

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A picture turned up of me this week on Facebook. Yup they are out there, you never know when someone else will dig up a picture of you. I can’t remember the year and I don’t recognize the picture. But I do know that the purplish jean “suit” that I was wearing was one of my favorite school outfits. But what blew me away was the gold tights. Seriously the ‘70’s had some serious styles going on.

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Peanut is our self declared athlete. Now don’t get me wrong all of my kids have done sports but this child chomps at the bit to compete. We have to put limits on her participation. We have limited all of our kids to one activity outside school and one team per season at school. Now our Peanut has been watching the commercials for the upcoming Olympics. She is trying to figure out what sport(s) she can do that would get her to the Olympics. For now she has settled on Track and Field. We will be sure to let you know if she makes it.
She is making great strides in Track too. The first picture is from a road race we did last August. The second pic is from track and field with a coach at school. She was so determined to run track that she ran 7th grade track as a 6th grader going to practice with the coach after school. Can I say thank you to her coach enough?

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Peanut is our self proclaimed athlete, she thrives on the competition, and would be involved in 3 or 4 sports if (a) we let her (b) we had the time (c) we had the money. We actually have to tell this child NO we won’t let you do dance, gymnastics, track, cheerleading and soccer all at the same time. I know we are horrible parents. How is she supposed to get to the Olympics? or get a college scholarship if we don’t push her in sports? I have news for you. Less than 2% of all High School athletes end up getting sports scholarships at NCAA school. Additionally kids who over train in sports and especially those that specialize in a sport early on end up with injuries. Worse yet the injuries are happening to children at younger and younger ages. It is not uncommon to see kids as young as 10 and 11 with sports injuries needing surgery.
Our solution has been to have our children involved in no more than one physical activity per season per child. We prefer sports that have a break too, after we need family time and kids need time to play. Limiting activities has helped us as a family, to spend less, have more free time and be able to enjoy spontaneous things. It is hard to enjoy an evening outside as a family if you have practices/lessons every night of the week.
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School is out for Summer! Yup there it is. We will be taking a couple of weeks to regroup and enjoy doing next to nothing before our busy part of summer begins. I am praying that it will be a relax full time for all of us. I am so proud of my kiddos. They all brought up their grades from last semester, but what is most surprising in my little boy who I had such great concerns for as a toddler pulled a 99 in math this semester and got an award for the highest math grade. His teacher even started giving him 3rd grade math after Christmas. I did not think it was possible to bring up a 98! The girls did wonderful too, winning awards in various subjects too. I am proud of all my kids.
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My daughters will be entering High School (Pi) and Junior High (Peanut). I gave them talk about when they are allowed to date.

As you can see by the photos above this is of great concern to their father. He would be happy to send them to a convent or at least an all girl Catholic School. To their credit my girls not interested in dating. Pi who is 14 won’t date till she finds a boy who is mature enough. Peanut (11) still thinks boys have cooties. (mom is quite happy). Funny enough when I asked my youngest daughter at what age she could date, the 8 year old boy said 14. I reminded him that the older sister was already 14. So he upped the dating age to 16 then 18. I love that he is looking out for his sisters, even though he is younger.
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Speaking of the son 8 years old he is a romantic really he is. I can’t believe it. I am not sure how he came by it. I mean my husband is very sweet but he is a very practical man. My son on the other hand is a Knight in Shining Amour ready to protect the virtue of his sisters.

for more 7 quick takes head on over to Conversion Diary.

The Mom Competition–Are you in it?

2012-05-16T19:50:00.001-05:00

It did not start with the recent Time Life Cover nor will end there. Mom’s are competing all the time. “My child is brighter, prettier, better athlete, talked earlier, read earlier, walked earlier.” These mom’s have children of all ages. It starts from the time the baby is born. “Junior slept through the night at 3 weeks old’. “Little Eustace is feeding her self at 6 months old.” “Abbie is 6 and can prepare her own breakfast". “Buford, just got into Harvard'”.
It doesn’t seem to matte what the topic is, whenever moms get together competition happens. Even if you think you are not competing you are still counted as in the race.
I admit that when my girls were toddlers I was involved in some mom groups and I would compare my girls to the other babies all the time. I wanted to know how they measured up. Even when I wasn’t making such observations out loud I was making them in my head. “Oh my, little Alyssa is potty trained at 18 months, I better get started on Pi.” Never mind the fact that Pi was ahead on some other developmental milestones, I wanted her to surge ahead on everything. I will admit it I am a little competitive. All right, more than a little, but not at everything. When Pi was a baby she surged ahead on all milestones, by 9 months old she was walking, and talking in 3 word sentences. She was not even a toddler, I believe she skipped those years and just went from baby to being a little person. (She has always been more mature than her peers). The fact that I had a child who who milestones ahead of time (except for sleeping and eating) did not help me stay out of the Mom competition. I got sucked into it.
But a great thing happens when you have more than one child, you learn that each child develops on its on schedule. They reach milestones at different times and they develop different talents. I have witnessed that my kids have each developed their own

Why do Moms Compete?

Fear and pride drive them at the same time, as well as a good dose of familial narcissism. We are proud of our kids so we brag, we are afraid someone else’s kids are better than ours, For goodness sake “Ryan was potty trained at 9 months”. We are filled with self doubt that we are not good enough moms if our kids do not do it all.
Our culture sets up a troubling dynamic between women – mothers or not. Comparing ourselves to one another is a mainstay embedded in the fabric of our lives. Being a mother seems to cause insecurities to rise up for women as they deal simultaneously with joyous, daunting, rewarding, and vulnerable journey that is parenthood. Women are often taken aback by the sheer amount of time and energy being a parent requires, leaving little room for pre-motherhood activities. (Dr. Zucker is from the authors of the new book, Good Enough is the New Perfect.)
Parenting expert Wendy Mogel, author of “The Blessings of a Skinned Knee,” says part of what’s fueling the mom judge-a-thon is what psychologists call “displacement.” The world is a scary place, and we can’t control things like the economy free-falling. But we can control our choices as a parent – so we attach way too much significance to them.
Being a mom is job that does not pay so we measure our accomplishments via our children's’ accomplishments. How our children are doing is a measure of who we are. When our children reach a milestone or do well we relish in that achievement and add that to our crown.

Decide Not to Compete
Make the decision not to compete with other mom. Take yourself out the game. Once I decided not to compete my life became easier. My kids did not have to be the best at anything/everything. I just wanted them to be happy. So when Peanut decided to quit gymnastics to pursue dance I was happy to assist her in that. I am all for kids trying lots of different things to find what makes them happy. My goal is to raise happy well adjusted kids, if my kids want to compete in something then it is up to them.
I am happy when my kids succeeded in what they choose to do, but I do not get my sense of well being from my kids and their successes. When my kids fail I help them to succeeded. we work together but it is not a reflection on me.
Compare not Compete
Comparison can be good however, it will alert you to the child that is running behind and may lead you to early testing that can help. Pumpkin had delayed speech, though our family doctor was not worried, after all he had two older sisters and was a boy and all of his motor skills were on target. We had some early testing for him and it turned out he was significantly delayed in speech.
I refuse to compete but have noticed other moms making the comparisons to me, I am different I am trying to be like most moms at our little school. I went to college, but stay home. We live simply but yet our kids are involved in lots of free activities. I go and do with my kids. So what do I do when moms make a mention of their kid, trying to get a bite out of me? I don’t bite back. I let other moms mention my kids, it is not that I don’t promote my kids, I am their biggest advocate when they need it. But rather I let my kids be who they are.
In the end when we compete as moms we devalue our children and their accomplishments and milestones become mere checkmarks and trophies for us. Do we really want all those trophies or to enjoy the experience. .

How about you have you ever competed as a Mom? Do you wish to opt out of the competition? It is never too late.

Wordless Wednesday -Plane Fun

2012-05-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

My son recently won a toy plane at school. He has found countless ways to play with it, outside the ordinary.

Last week he asked if he could put more staples in the stapler, I just thought he was being helpful, not making a runway for his plane.

Seriously, I am not sure where he got the idea to turn the plane into a rocket and build all the scaffolding. I love that he is using blocks with Legos

Are your kids creative in their play?

Less is More in the Living Room

2012-05-14T18:50:00.000-05:00

This week we are working in the Living room. In our home the living room is where everyone gathers. Seriously, I don’t know why my kids have bedrooms. They spend most of their time in the living room. This is where the homework is done and where they would bring their toys to play. When the kids were younger they had a playroom, but it was more like a room sized toy closet because they would bring the toys to the living room. I can only presume that because our house is an open plan home they just wanted to be in the center of it all.
In order for a living room to be the center of you home it needs to be livable. I love that my kids play in here, read in here and do homework here. Yes we do have movie nights here too.
For many of us the living room/family room becomes the collecting spot for all those things family. Time for 20 % less, the math is easy people. Count and release 20% of these things to let someone else enjoy them.

Toys – if you store toys in the living room, it is time to go through them. Do the kids use them anymore? Are they broken, pieces missing?
Board Games – we book shelves of these. But it seems we don’t get to play them much, life gets busy.
Puzzles
Pillows – do you have throw pillows? Are they decorative?
Throw Blankets – it can be 90 degrees outside but when my kids come in from swimming they like to snuggle under a blanket.
Craft Supplies - I realize you may have another rom for crafting but, if so take a look at it. Go through those supplies now. Perhaps you had plans to make something but never did. It is okay.
Open the Closets - Does your entryway or living room, or formal living room in your house. Open on the closets there. Time to clean them out. Do you need to keep the stuff in there?

How is your Less is More Challenge Going? We are about halfway through the month but anytime is good time to jump in.

How I Fell into Attachment Parenting.

2012-05-13T18:52:00.000-05:00

Recently Time Magazine featured some Attachment Parenting Bloggers in their Front page article on Attachment Parenting. Attachment parenting is a concept set forth by Dr. Bob Sears. It is not an all or nothing proposition. It often goes hand in hand with some of the Natural Parenting Concepts. I found myself falling into both of these categories but they seemed to be a natural fit for me.
When you think of attachment parenting you do tend to conjure up images of breastfeeding toddlers, family beds and baby wearing? Attachment Parenting is so much more than what we see on the cover of Time Magazine. I stumbled on Dr. Sears while I was pregnant, and to our family it felt right. As the first ones in our our families to have children we had not seen anyone else parent in a while either. I had never heard of Attachment Parenting before I read The Baby Book by Dr. Sears while pregnant with Pi. I loved that it was written by a mom and a nurse and a pediatrician. I valued their insight and qualifications. Before reading The Baby Book I had heard of some of the concepts common to Attachment Parenting, “the family bed” , “baby wearing” and certainly breastfeeding. I made plans to breastfeed for a year because that was the recommended amount of time 14 years ago. I did not commit to attachment parenting. I sort of fell into it. It felt right. The family bed was not a conscious decision, Her actual bedroom was on a whole different floor from our our room and that seemed too far away at night time for such a little person. We roomed in with Pi at first, with her in the basinet. Pi did not gain weight well, nor was she an efficient nurser. She seemed to nurse better at night, so we had frequent night feedings, Having had a c-section it was easier to bring her bed with me and nurse. It was not so easy lifting her back up into the bassinet. (I had had five weeks of bed rest before I had PI). Enter the Family Bed.
When Pi was a baby people asked me how long was going to breastfed her. I was planning on a year. After all you bottle feed a child for a year. Makes sense, right? Pi was not an easy child to nurse, she needed frequent nursings, my nipples were inverted and she would take her time nursing. I started attending some La Leche League meetings to meet some other moms. Fourteen years later, I am still in touch with some of those same moms today. Pi and I took our nursing relationship day by day first 6 months came and went, then 9 months, then a year. All of the sudden I was nursing a 1 year old. She was still nursing about 4 times a day at this age, and not really a big eater. She did not start solids till about 8 months old. Enter Extended Breast Feeding.
Pi was a bit of a “high needs baby”. She did not like to be put down, and preferred to be carried, not in a stroller or in a baby carrier either. Grocery shopping was near impossible for her. She had to be carried at some point in order to be happy. We already had a Kelty Baby Back Pack, a gift from my mother. She had used one with my brothers when I was a kid. Pi, however was too small for a backpack at 3 weeks old, so my husband decided we needed a sling. Enter Baby Wearing.
Quite often we we think of Attachment Parenting, the images above are what come to mind. However when one reads the API (Attachment Parenting International) website we learn that these are not tenants of attachment parenting.

Happy Mother’s Day

2012-05-12T23:25:00.000-05:00

What is a Mother/?

A mother is a soft place to land, a meal a bed, a shoulder to cry on

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A mother is where we are from, our history and heritage.
A mother is someone who lets you go to go out into the world, but is there for you to come home to.

A mother is your biggest fan, your oldest friend.

She never asks for anything in return. A mother is your cheerleader, counselor and teacher.

Our mother’s shape who we are. Our children change who we are.

7 Quick Takes–End of School

2012-05-10T21:19:00.001-05:00

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It is the end of school year here. I can hardly believe it. We only have 4 days. This has been a very busy month for us with First Communion, Madonna House Tea and Fashion Show, Musicals and Field Trips. We will soon have a couple of weeks off before we dive head first into our summer.

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My dear husband has been in Ireland this past week. working, praying and meeting with the Monks at Silverstream Priory. While he he has been gone we have been just as busy as ever here. Hardly time to miss him, which I suppose is a good thing.

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We had May Crowning this week at Church and my boy was honored to be carrying the crown, with one of his “best and oldest” friends.His words.

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Pi and Peanut were in the School Musical this week. Two Performances! Pi had a featured role and sang a solo. She had the Poison Ivy Blues, playing Kate from Krazy Kamp. Pi is the one in light pink here, with bandages on her head.
Sorry for the quality of the video. It is from my phone, but My girl can sand and a mama’s gotta brag a little, right? The female back up that you can here is her little sister Peanut.

Pi as Kate in Krazy Camp

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Field trips how much fun are those? Sometimes I think the parents have more fun than the kids. I know for me they can be a blast. It is a day off from school after all.
This week we went to the Renaissance Faire and the Science Museum. I was lucky enough to go on both of them.
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Do you go on field trips with your kids? I sure wouldn’t miss them, and will make a point of going as long as my kids still want me to go.
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I am as excited about summer break as the kids are. I can’t wait for some fresh starts on things, I plan on taking some time for gardening, getting caught up on some of my personal projects, getting back to an exercise routine and embarking on a juice fast. Yup a juice fast. We are also going to try having the whole family go gluten free. I already am, two of the kids do better without gluten and so does dh. We are already gluten “light” here so it will not be a hard switch for the family. Are you making plans for summer?

For more 7 Quick Takes Check out 7 Quick Takes at Betty Beguiles

Wordless Wednesday–Irish Monastery

2012-05-08T19:09:00.000-05:00

My husband has been in Ireland since Friday. He is over there visiting Fr. Kirby and helping him get the Silverstream Priory renovated. This is a big project that the little monastery is undertaking and it will take several years. But the trip is not all pray and work (Benedictine joke here – Ora et Labora). Dh has been taking some afternoon trips to sightsee. He has a very special travel companion with him. See if you can spot who went along on the trip. One more note, yes that is my husband above he is wearing a cassock with a scapular. He is a Deacon and a Benedictine Oblate. No he does not dress this his regular job.

Did you spot the cat in some of the pictures? My daughters’ packed it in their Dad’s suitcase and he decided to make a game of “find the kitty”
If you would like to help the monks at Sivestream Priory you can do so here, it doesn’t take much to make a difference.

Finding Meaningful Gifts for Mother’s Day

2012-05-07T19:00:00.000-05:00

it is a question that comes up every year. What to get Mom for Mother’s Day? I am asked this question by my husband and I ask this question of my mom, Not really, my mom is easy, she likes plants for the garden, no flowers for her unless they go in the ground.
But most years my response to the Mother’s Day gift is question is “ I don’t Know”. Perhaps that it because I am not a Receiving Gifts Love Language Personality. However I know that as a mom one thoughtful gift means more to me than 10 “as seen on TV gifts” I also like to give gifts with meaning behind them too. Some years it is more difficult than others to find that right gift. I am a huge fan of
How do you decide what is the right gift to give mom? You need to know what mom likes. Using the 5 Love Languages, figure out if mom is a Quality Time, Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation Receiving Gifts or Physical Touch person. (You can take the quizzes here if you want) Most people have a primary Love Language and a secondary. In my case I am an Quality Time and Acts of Service . Last year for Mother’s Day dh cleaned the kitchen, so much more important than making me breakfast and then after church we went to a nearby botanical garden where I got to take hundreds of photos of the kids. My choice of gift. We also stopped by and visited Fr. Kirby for tea and a family blessing. This all worked for me because I am someone who likes to receive Acts of Service (cleaning the kitchen) and Quality Time(spending the afternoon with the family, when he was asked last minute to do a First Communion Mass).
How to pick out a Mother’s Day Gift that is Meaningful
If the mom is an Acts of Service Love Language Person then a gift like a coupon book would be a good choice, but then again so would doing the laundry or planting a garden or making her breakfast or cleaning the house, these things can be done on Mother’s Day or at a later date. An Acts of Service Love Language person would also appreciate a gift made in their name to one of their causes. They are someone who is apt to do Acts of Service for others and appreciate that sort of gesture. Donate to their charities if you are not sure if they would appreciate a gift.
If mom is a Quality Time Love Language Person than make sure to make time for her, take her out for something special lunch, mass, a theater performance, a baseball game. It doesn’t matter, what matters is that it is something she wants to do and you spend time doing it with her. If you can’t be there in person make a phone call at least or plan a special day for a later time and date.
If Mom is an Words of Affirmation Love Language Person than a book or a journal filled with photos would be a good choice, or how about a mug with an inscription on it.
If Mom is Receiving Gifts Love Language Person than perhaps a special gift like something monogrammed, or personalized would be a good choice, perhaps something handmade? Try to get a gift that is something she is involved in.
If Mom is a Physical Touch Love Language Person this she will probably enjoy gift certificates for things like massages, or manicures or pedicures, but a hug works well. Physical Touch people thrive on, nay require a touch from someone, just a hand to hold.

How about you. Moms what sort of Love Language personality are you? Let your family know what your Love Languages are so they can figure out what to get for Mother’s Day. Don’t leave them wondering what to get you if you are not a Receiving Gifts personality.

Less is More in the Kitchen

2012-05-06T19:03:00.000-05:00

This week we are continuing our Less is More Challenge and moving into the Kitchen, last week you should have done the Master Bedroom, but don’t worry you can jump in anywhere or anytime. The idea is to free ourselves from having more belongings than we need or can use. How does it happen that we end up with too much? Sometimes we inherit things, sometimes it is a good deal, a bargain we find it at thrift store or yard sale. Sometimes we are gifted the item. Perhaps the vase was given to you by a friend, or a wedding gift or it belonged to your grandmother The reasons we hold on to things are many too.
This challenge is not for the faint of heart. It is for those ready to take decluttering to the next step. How can we do this in the Kitchen?
Lets start with the cupboards.

Coffee Cups and Mugs – how many do you have? How many do you really use? Now is a good time to get rid of those souvenir cups, or those promotional cups you get from work. Really if you are like most people you have one or two favorite mugs for at home and a favorite travel mug or two. Perhaps you leave a mug at work. Two mugs per person would be enough (one can be in the wash and one being used). Count your mugs and say good bye to 20%.
Glasses – do you have mismatched glasses? Are you using them all? Are you still using “gasp:” plastic cups? Did you know that the plastic gets scratched over time and will leach out BPA? If you are getting rid of plastic, check to see if they are recyclable.
Plates – do you have more everyday plates than you can use? Do you feel like you are always doing dishes? Perhaps it is time to cull your plates. Are some of them left over from college? Are they cracked or chipped. It is okay to let go of them.
Silverware – (usually I am missing things here, like all of my spoons- I will find them next year in the garden)
Bowls – get rid of chipped and cracked ones
Pots and Pans – Go through those cupboards and pull them all out. Do you have extra lids that don’t match any pots/pans? Say good bye. Do you have Teflon or non stick pans that are scratched? If so it is time to get rid of them.
Kitchen Gadgets – do you need them all? Are you using them all?
Kitchen Towels – Are some of your towels beyond beyond? It might be time to let them go
Tupperware – get rid of the ones with unmatched lids/bottoms
Pantry – It is time to go through the cupboards of food or your pantry if you have one. Check for expired food, rotate the food stock. Go through the food and see if there is anything you bought that seemed like a good idea at the time or that you had a coupon for at the time. Sometimes we buy food that we never end up using, perhaps your dietary needs have changed. Now is the time to cook it up or donate.
Under the Sink – Clean out that area, get rid of cleaners that you no longer use. Better yet get rid of most of them and replace them with some homemade cleaners.
Refrigerator – clean it out, completely just take one shelf at a time, do you have food in there you have never finished using? How about anything that got lost, or looks like a science experiment gone bad? Look at the condiments, how many mustards do you have?
Junk Drawer(s) - Yes, apparently some people out there have more than one junk drawer, empty it out and take a look at what is there. Do you have things from ten years ago? Batteries that may or not work? Receipts that should have been used when filing taxes 2 years ago. Perhaps it is time to get rid of the junk drawer all together.

Thoughts on Miss Me Jeans and Modesty

2012-05-05T22:10:00.002-05:00

This Spring the temperature has been running above normal, about 10 degrees, hovering in the 90's and with the warm temperatures I have been seeing hems rise. This is nothing like in my mother’s day where ladies wore skirts, though in the late 60’s and early 70’s mini skirts did get quite short.
Since I work in a high school I have the privileged of seeing teens in all their glory. Our school is a small one but it is public and uniforms are not required. l. We are a country school in the Buckle of the Bible Belt. But it is the heart of Country here, and the girl see the Country stars and want to dress like them. A hot item these days are Miss Me Jeans. They run around $100 and the shorts run about $85. Yes $85 for a material that barely covers the bottom, and they like to pair these shorts with boots, a tank top and a button down shirt, reminiscent of Daisy Duke.

Just in case you don’t remember her, here she is in two different versions. Notice how the times have changed? Jessica Simpson is more blatantly out there so to speak.
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Now I love in a part of the country where it is HOT more than it is NOT. I understand young people thinking that less clothing keeps you cooler. In fact it does not. . But who thought about the boots? Boots with shorty shorts?
As far as I am concerned there is never a reason to wear shorts that short in public. Both of my daughters dance and swim and have dance shorts and bathing suit bottoms that are longer than these without looking like this.

Now that interesting thing about Miss Me Jeans is that they do have Bermuda length shorts. So why have shorts that require special underwear to wear? (ordinary underwear would show)
Our school does have a dress code as do many, here is an excerpt of it.

Andy dress style that is provocative, disruptive disruptive, distracting or extreme is considered un acceptable. Skirts, dresses, shorts etc. must be no shorter than 4” above the middle of the knee.

I am pretty sure that these shorts violate all of the above elements of this dress code.

Typically we take that to mean that shorts and skirts length should be no shorter than the finger tips of the person wearing the garment, but either way these jean shorts miss the mark.
Now I am all one for understanding that kids want to wear what is “in style”. In my day I am sure that my mother got me some of the most have clothes, not all but some. However what is wrong with girls wearing this style, also by Miss Me?

Now interestingly enough the Miss Me Jeans retail from $65- $100 plus, and someone is buying for young teens and even younger girls. Yes you read that right, young girls. I thought it was bad enough to 14, 15 and 16 year old girls wearing the short shorts but to think that girls sizes 7-14 might be wearing them and that parents would buy them. I am not sure if this is true, but I was once told me that they were called ‘Miss Me’ because that was the impression you wanted to make when you were walking away, that people would miss you.

What are your thoughts on young girls dressing this way, and at school? Would you even let your daughter wear the longer versions, bermuda's and pants? Share your thoughts below.

7 Quick Takes

2012-05-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

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Well what can I say, but my husband has left. He has gone on a mission trip/retreat to Ireland. Father Kirby called and said, “come over here, we want you to help.” So off Dh has gone to the fledging monastery for ten days to help with renovations.

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Dh will be gone for 10 days. 10 long days, this is a busy time of the year here for us, Field trips, Musical rehearsals, Dance performance photos, field day. But it will all be slowing down soon. After May 17th we will be done with School. Yes done with school. We will have 2 weeks of do nothing time., or at least do less time. No school and only dance class once a week. I will be flying solo until dh comes back. No one to stop at the store for me on the way home, there is no store on my way home from school. This happens when you live in the country.
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The monks at Silverstream Priory are working on a 5 year plan to renovate and purchase the facility. The have a monumental task ahead of them. If you feel called to help them you can do so over on the side bar here. They are trying to raise more than $4 million dollars, so no donation is too small or large.
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Speaking of field trips today I went with Pi on a filed trip to the Renaissance Fair. Lots of fun was had by all.

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It has been hot here. We are running 10 degrees above normal. We will be going back to normal here soon. But for now we are trying to stay cool.

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We are doing a challenge here on the blog. Less is More –Blessed Mother Theresa says it best “The more you have, the more you are occupied. The less you have, the more free you are.” In order to be more free we are working on freeing up 20% of our belongs in the entire house. This week our focus was on the Master Bedroom, but you can start anywhere. Next week we will be focusing on the Kitchen so get ready.
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Has never before been so excited for a May Crowing. This Sunday our little parish will do its May Crowing, and my Pumpkin will get to carry the crown. The best part is he is excited because one of his oldest and dearest friends will get to place the crown on Mary’s head. He is thrilled to do this with friend he has known for 5 of his 8 years.

for more 7 Quick Takes head over to Conversion Diary

Pretty Happy Funny Real Bragging Time

2012-05-03T21:17:00.000-05:00

{Pretty}

My 7 I mean 8 year old son and went to the Municipal Garden, where we both took pictures. I have to admit he is a pretty good photographer. In fact I can’t be sure who took which photo anymore.

Speaking of Pretty, My oldest (Pi) was honored at our Yearly Academic Banquet at school. It is hard to think of her as a 14 year old girl in this picture. She looks much to old and not at all 14. Even the school counselor commented on how pretty she is. Lucky for us the boys have not discovered her yet. As far as her father is concerned that can wait about 10 years.

{Happy}

A couple of weeks ago Pumpkin made his 2nd First Communion, you can read about that here. He wanted to go through the ceremony with his friends. He looks pretty happy here, and I am sure it was because he got to celebrate with friends and Dad was the Deacon(the one making bunny ears)

{Funny}

So my teen took my phone – really she did and what did she do? Yup started posting all over Facebook for me. But hey at least she is sweet about it.

This is what happens when your teenager takes your phone. ^o^ LOL
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{Real}

My sweet little boy took this picture of himself, the same day we went to the Municipal Gardens and took pictures of the flowers. BTW it was his idea to to go to the gardens. He absolutely loves it there. and in his mind it was better than going to the Museum for the Opera Performance I dropped off the teenager for. I love giving my kids the “old” digital camera and letting them take pictures, they have a blast and you never know what you will end up with. I am willing to bet that my kids have taken half of the photos on this blog.
Do you ever let your kids take the pictures?

I am sharing this at Like Mother Like Daughter

Feeding My Family

2012-05-02T19:25:00.000-05:00

I like to keep feeing my family simple, I prefer to use the Stocked Pantry Method. I have tried the menu planning method but for me it ended up costing me more, and involved more time.
I confess that when I go shopping I have a bizarre habit. I like to peek in the baskets of the customers around me at the check out line. It gives me a peek into their lives. Think about it when you go to the grocery store what you put in your cart tells people a lot about who you are and what your values are. Believe me it does. Many years ago I was a cashier and I played the same game and would check out what people put in their carts then.
Food Prices are going up, they have gone up %, chances they are that they will continue to go up.
I like to feed my family good nutritious food. As a family, we do not adhere to any one cooking style, such as Weston Price, Gluten free, Vegan, Paleo, though I do incorporate elements of each into a meals. We eat Real Food here. I define real food as food that is mininally processed and as as close to nature as God intended it to be. What that means for us is that typically I do NOT buy prepackaged or processed food. When we eat dinner or pack our lunches for school we do so with real food that was prepared at home.

We eat gluten light (not free ) I am gluten free but the kids are not – so anything I prepare for the family will be gluten free but we do have regular bread in the house for the kids. I don’t bother buying special gluten free foods for myself, no gluten free bread, rolls etc. I just prefer to do without. The exception is a gluten free pasta that I get so I can eat spaghetti with the family once a month.
We do not drink a lot of milk, a gallon generally lasts us a week, the biggest consumer of milk is my dh. I am dairy free but the kids and husband do eat cheese. I buy a minimally processed preferable local cheese but when they are not available I will buy the big blocks of Kerry Gold or Cabot’s Vermont.
One pound of meat is enough to feed our family of 5 for at least one meal, usually with leftovers.

I confess I do buy packaged food from time to time, but we aim for the 80/20 rule. Eat 80% of our meals at home from unprocessed/unpackaged food. I will buy the occasional treat like store bought cake and ice cream for my son’s birthday the other day. But that only happens a couple of times a year.
If you were to run into me at the big grocery store you would be likely to find the following in my cart.

tp
baking soda
washing soda
dish soap
dishwasher detergent (I am looking for a good alternative to this, let me know if you have one)
sale produce
white vinegar – by the gallon
Borax
herbal teas
Natural Peanut Butter with no added sugar
Whole Wheat loaf bread for the kids, with no High Fructose Corn Syrup – read the labels closely, even though some brands advertise right on them they have no HFCS.

at Sam’s

organic salad greens
organic spinach
whole cooked rotisserie chicken –at $6.99 – this gives me a break on busy days and keeps us away from the fast food places
fruit
big bags of brussel sprouts
baby carrots
Lara Bars
oatmeal – for making our Homemade Cliff Bars
cheese – I find mini bell and Kerry Gold Cheese at mine. – no sliced cheese at our house.

At our Local Store

Sale produce
Nature Well Meats – on sale
Smart Chicken - on sale
Organic Cereal – yes my little local store is the best place to get Organic breakfast cereal.
Pop corn – they have big bags for us to pop our corn in the Whirly Pop.
dried beans - they have a HUGE variety bigger than the big store.
bulk grains - brown rice, buckwheat groats

At our Food Co-op

We get a meat share about every other week – this runs us $32.50 for hormone free grass fed local meat. I can chose to opt in from week to week and I am not obligated to purchase each week, they also offer breakfast shares and produce shares.

At the Farmer’s Market - I only go about every other week, since it is a bit of a drive for me.

meat about $20 worth of the sale meats offered by local producers
produce in season.

At Our Local Health Food Store

buckwheat noodles (gluten free option for the whole family)
artichoke flower pasta (gluten free option for the whole family)
raw walnuts

In our Garden

I grow easy to grow foods

tomatoes
onions
lettuces
spinach
rosemary
basil
sage
kale

We also have an orchard,that came with the property, that has

apple
pear
peach
blackberries

I do not shop every store every week. I do not do a “big shop” anymore. Until recently I was doing a two week shopping trip. I do not even go shopping every week. How do I manage to not go shopping all the time? I buy multiples when I do go, (When the closest store is 7 miles away it is inconvenient to run out of things, so you learn to buy two.) Because I use the stocked pantry method of meal planning I don’t need to worry about needing and ingredient for dinner and not having it, I just adjust and move on. You may be wondering where the “kid food’ is. They eat what we eat, there are no chicken nuggets, or cookies or crackers. or juice. I feel as if cookies and crackers and juice are filler food and are not the best food for kids or anyone.
After writing this I wished I could have included my food expenditures for you, but alas I did not think to save my receipts and it can vary from month to month, since I do take advantage of sales and stock up, If hard pressed to put a number on it I would have to say I feed my family of 5 for about $500-$600 in an average month.
How about you do you have any secrets to feeding your family?

This post is linked up to Your Green Resource

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This is what happens when your teenager takes your phone. ^o^ LOL♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Feeding My Family

This is what happens when your teenager takes your phone. ^o^ LOL
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