Our journey through Homeschooling & Life

Melissa & Doug’s Camp Sunny Patch!

2012-06-15T13:58:00.001-07:00

Let me start off by saying I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE Melissa & Doug toys. They are educational, cute and STURDY! So when I saw they are going to have a Melissa & Doug's Camp I was thrilled! We are "officially" starting homeschooling in August so this "Summer Camp" will be a perfect kick off! I can't wait to see what ideas they have for us!
Melissa & Doug is thrilled to announce the launch of our first-ever virtual summer camp: Camp Sunny Patch!

All season long, our blog will feature exciting original play ideas to help you add a little bit of structure and a whole lot of fun to summer vacation. Each weekly camp activity, written by our favorite bloggers, features a creative new way to get your kids moving their bodies and using their imaginations in the great outdoors . . . and you never have to leave your own backyard!
Just check out the weekly activity online to get inspired, then get outside and start having a blast. Download a weekly badge for each session your kids complete, and you can paste it on the printable Camp Sunny Patch poster (available exclusively on our blog and to our email subscribers!).
We’ll have special camp-themed surprises throughout the summer for Melissa & Doug Facebook fans, too. Remember to sign up and tune in to get the latest on giveaways, albums, contests and more.
Best of all, camp is just around the corner–June’s activity calendar will be available in just a few short days. It’s free. It’s fun. And it could be the start of the best summer ever.
See you at Camp Sunny Patch!
For all things Camp Sunny Patch see our Camp Sunny Patch Guide

Joel Deacon Williams

2011-06-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

Joel Deacon Williams arrived on June 17th at 8:10AM weighing 8lbs 10oz and 21½ inches long. He fits perfectly into our family!

The Otter's game

2011-06-13T08:02:00.000-07:00

One of the things we like to do in the summer is go to Evansville Otter's baseball games. Evansville Otter's is a minor league baseball team. They play their home games about 5 minutes from our house so it's nice to go down there sometimes and watch them play!

A family story book

2011-06-03T15:24:00.000-07:00

I decided to start writing a book, a scrapbook book, about our family. I love the fact that I get to stay home with the boys and be here with them while they grow up. I want to keep those memories too. The boys are always doing cute and funny things. I want to be able to pull out a book and bring back all those memories. I know in 20 years when the boys are all grown and leaving for college or doing whatever they decide to do with their lives, I will really be glad that I put together a book of the little things they did. I got the idea today when my youngest boy Jack found a baby bird. He was so cute with this baby bird. I know this is not a huge event in his life that I will remember 20 years down the road but it is a little memory that would be nice to remember how sweet and innocent they were. So my first entry is titled "Jack Bird". They named the bird Jack Bird. (I have very creative kids) I don't have the pictures on the page yet. I have a folder that I have all the pictures that I want to print and when it starts getting full or there is a good sale on prints, I print them out. So right now I just have the actual page.

Haircuts

2011-06-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

While the boys were playing outside this morning I felt sorry for them. They looked miserable. Their hair is long and shaggy so it was all sweaty and matted to their head because it is so hot outside. We had plans to take them to the barber on Saturday morning. But I was sitting there watching them and thought, surely its not THAT hard to cut boys' hair. We have clippers so I started looking online for tips. I came across an article on a blog that said Cutting little boys' hair in seven easy steps. PERFECT! I read it. It didn't seem too hard. So I got the clippers out and a towel and went to town. I was trying for the more "professional" look and not just a buzz cut. I don't know what I was thinking! It started out fine and Jeremiah did great! But then when it got time to "blend" it was all downhill after that. I kept taking it higher on one side then higher on the other then I realized, wow, it is too high now. So I had no other choice but to buzz his whole head. Once I got finished buzzing and trimming I looked at it and realized that it probably wouldn't have looked that bad if I would have just buzzed the whole thing to start with but used a longer attachment. But by the time I decided to buzz the whole thing I had the bottom cut short already. I cried for a little bit. What is sad is the reason I cried is because the first thing I thought of was him having his picture taken when the baby comes and always being reminded of the awful buzz cut. But then I got over it. His hair grows like weeds and in 16 days when the baby comes I am sure it will grow out a bit. So after all this, what did I do?? "Jack, your turn!" Jack's hair is different. He has thin baby hair that does not look good with a buzz cut. So I had to be extra careful with his. I cut the bottom long so just in case I messed up and had to buzz the whole thing, it wouldn't be as short as Jeremiah's hair. So I took the clippers to the bottom and used scissors on the top then trimmed it. It still looks kind of long but it was even longer before I started chopping on it! And after what happened to Jeremiah my goal was to not cut it short but pretty much just trim it up a bit.

Now I am determined to get this down so I can start cutting the boys' hair all the time. I think I had my expectations set too high for being the second time doing this. (I tried once before last year and said NEVER AGAIN!) I should have just started with a buzz cut on Jeremiah and once I get the hang of it try different hair styles. But I was thinking too, if I cut the boys hair instead of taking them to a barber I could save lots of money. For my husband and two boys to go to the barber costs $45, which includes the tip and stuff too. They go once a month. We are getting ready to add another boy to the mix so it will jump to $60 a month just for haircuts! So if I cut the three kids' hair every month that would save us a bunch. I don't think my husband will let me cut his hair until he sees a few good haircuts on the boys. Lol. I don't blame him! So hopefully next months haircuts are more successful. I will be sure to post pictures again!

Pinwheel Flowers

2011-05-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

This morning the boys made pinwheel flowers. They had so much fun! I feel awful because I don't do nearly as many "art projects" with them since I got pregnant. Only 4 more weeks until the new baby gets here so I am hoping to get on a better schedule and have more planned activities for the boys.

Little trip to the zoo

2011-05-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Paper Easter egg decorations

2011-04-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

We actually made these last week but I am just getting the pictures posted today. I have been falling behind on my blogging lately!

New Blog

2011-04-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start up a new blog to keep all my Primal stuff in. So go check out my new blog My Primal Family. I am still working on it so be patient! Everything about eating primal, the primal pregnancy, getting our kids to eat primal, recipes and my daily food log with all be on the new blog. I still plan on keeping this blog for homeschooling and other family things. I just post so much about eating primal that I thought it would be appropriate to have my own blog just for that!

7 Months

2011-04-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

Wow, this past month flew by. I am already 7 months along! I can't believe it. Only 11 more weeks until the baby is here. I have gained a total of 24 lbs. I was looking back at my 6 month posting and I noticed I only gained 2 lbs this past month. I was shocked! I haven't swelled much. Some days I forget I am pregnant. But then other days I feel like I have been hit by a truck and everything hurts. Overall this pregnancy has been pretty easy. Let's hope it stays that way. We have been discussing names tonight. I think we may have finally agreed on one but I think we are going to wait until we have the baby to tell everyone. Part of the reason is we are not 100% sure on the name and mostly because I want something to be a surprise since we already know the sex. Who knows, we may end up just telling everyone because I am not very good with secrets.

Primal Chicken Nuggets

2011-04-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am super excited about finding this recipe. I found this recipe on a blog I read, Life as a Plate. My second son is a pretty picky eater. He is getting a lot better though. But I always tell Josh he is our processed food kid. He will eat any processed food you put in front of him. He loves the noodles, the frozen breaded chicken nuggets and things like that. Anytime we cook "real" chicken, we can barely get him to get eat it. Well, I made these chicken nuggets tonight and I put four on his plate and he ate those then asked for more! So I gave him two more and he ate both of those too! He kept telling me he, "I like this chicken". I was shocked. One step closer to getting the boys primal. Today was a good day! So here is the recipe. You can find the original recipe on Life as a Plate. The one below is how I made it. And best of all you can make a big batch and freeze them and use them as you need them. An easy fast meal. I make the chicken nuggets but do not cook them. Then I put them on a baking pan so they are not touching and then stick them in the freezer until they are fully frozen (overnight) then I stick them in a plastic freezer baggy and put them in the freezer. Then they are just as convenient as the frozen chicken nuggets in the bag, only healthier!

Primal Chicken Nuggets
What you need:

3-4 chicken breasts, diced into chunks
1/2 c. mayo
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp yellow or dijon mustard

Breading:

3/4 c. almond flour
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
pinch of salt

What you do:

Mix the mayo, mustard, and honey in a bowl and put in the chicken chunks and coat.

Mix the breading ingredients on a large plate

Remove the nuggets from the mayo mix and roll in breading
Lay on foiled cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for approx 30 (time varies depending on size of nuggets) until brown, crispy, and cooked through.

27 weeks ultrasound and stuff

2011-03-31T17:19:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't posted in a while. I had my follow up ultrasound on Monday and the ultrasound tech said that the placenta is still low. I will have to follow up with my doctor. I have another doctors appointment with him on April 11, so hopefully I will know more then. I am hoping and praying they do not move my c-section date. I was due with my second baby on March 17 and they did the c-section on March 2 and he spent a week in the NICU. I just don't want the baby to be born too early and have to go to the NICU. They are already taking him 8 days early, which makes me nervous. Hopefully with the placenta still being low, they will not move the c-section unless they absolutely have to. And I already know VBAC is out of the question. I know they do not allow vaginal births if the placenta is low.
Jack had his two year check up on Monday too. He is only 25% on his weight and 12% on his length. He is a little guy! He has always been on the lower end for weight and length so it did not cause any concern. If I remember correctly, he was 6% on length last appointment so he actually grew a lot!
We found out today that my husband will be starting a new job in two weeks. WHAT A RELIEF!! If you only knew how excited I am about this!! I NEVER knew how hard it would be to have a husband that worked nights. Not only is it hard for me but it is hard on the kids. They don't get to see him and hang out with him nearly as much as they would like. It is also very hard on my husband too. Not only is the job he had very strenuous and hard on his body, it was hard for him to get enough sleep during the day. He would always try to stay up a few hours in the morning to hang out with us and then that would cut into his sleep. He was lucky to get 6 hours of sleep. And very rarely was it a straight 6 hours of sleep. And then not to mention the two hours of overtime a day plus some Saturdays. Sure the paychecks were nice with all that overtime but it just is not worth it. We would rather have a husband and dad at home than to have money. I could go on and on about how happy and thankful we are that this job came but I will stop because I would be up all night. So the two week count down begins!!

Glucose test came back fine!

2011-03-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

Not that I was really worried that it wouldn't come back fine. Well, I was a little worried it might not come back fine because of the whole fasting thing, not knowing if I was suppose to fast before the test. But I wasn't really worried that I would have gestational diabetes since this is my third and I had no problems with the other two. And my second ultrasound to see if the placenta previa corrected itself or not is on Monday. I am really nervous about it. I am thinking it did correct itself just because that is what happened when I was pregnant with Jack and that is what I am really hoping and praying for but then I get nervous thinking that it did not correct itself. Which I plan on having a c-section anyway since my first two were c-sections but I don't want them to take the baby any earlier. They are already taking the baby 8 days early which makes me nervous enough. They took Jack two weeks early and he had to spend a week in the NICU and I really don't want to have this baby go through that too. Well, being a little selfish now, I don't want to have to go through that again either. It was awful and I feel so sorry for any family that has to go through having a baby in the NICU.

Mexican Pulled Chicken Stuffed Peppers

2011-03-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe on a new blog I have started reading. Life as a Plate. This was delicious! Definitely goes in our Primal cookbook to be made again! The first picture is what it looked like when it came out of the oven. The second picture I cut the pepper in half, sprinkled the cheese and put it in the microwave for 30 seconds.

Mexican Pulled Chicken Stuffed Peppers

What you need:

4 large bell peppers, any color is fine
3-4 chicken breasts, depending on size
2 tbsp chopped jalapenos (I used jarred)
1 c. can diced tomatoes with juice
1/4 c. finely minced onion
1/4 c. chopped green peppers (can use organic canned)
2 c. salsa (to cook the peppers in)
shredded cheese
1 package of Taco Season

What you do:

Put whole chicken breasts and all ingredients except the cheese and salsa in crockpot and stir and set on low for 6-8 hours.
When it’s finished or after at least four hours in, shred chicken using two forks until it’s all complete. Mix well.
Using a sharp knife, cut the top of the pepper off and pull out all the inside ribs and seeds.
Run under cold water to wash and remove remaining seeds inside.
Stuff peppers with chicken mixture, cover with some salsa (so they don’t dry out) and bake at 350 for 20 minutes until pepper is soft.
Top with shredded cheese and the salsa!

Fun day at the zoo!

2011-03-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Today me and the boys went to the zoo with my mom, dad, sister, and my two nieces. We were afraid we were going to get rained out but it ended up being a beautiful day. The boys had a blast, which is good because we bought a season pass so it will be somewhere else I can take the boys when we need to get out. I can't remember if I even said that since I work at an after school daycare, I am off this week because of Spring break. So that is why we have had so much time to do stuff. I was thinking about taking the boys to the library tomorrow but I was thinking about maybe just making an easy day since we were out and about all day today. Sometimes if I try to squeeze too much in the boys get cranky and hard to handle out in public. So I was thinking about coming up with a project for them to do tomorrow at home and maybe go to the library on Friday. We haven't been to the library in a long time. Before I started working at daycare we went at least once a week, if not more. Then we slowly stopped going once I got pregnant due to me being so sick. I really want to get back in the habit of going because the boys love going. We stopped by Dairy Queen for lunch and I remember why I am eating primal and staying away from that junk. I ended up getting a chicken sandwich and fries and I have felt awful the entire afternoon. I have awful heartburn and I just feel huge and nasty. I should have stuck to primal and had a salad. Oh well, lesson learned! I am excited because I am going to order the 10lbs of almond flour I found on Ebay. I am excited about trying some new recipes and getting the kids on board. I think having almond flour will help because I can make fun food like pancakes, pizza and chicken nuggets. I am very excited! If all goes as planned I will being trying/adding a new recipe tomorrow!

Primal Pizza!

2011-03-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe off of Primal Matriarch's blog. This pizza was sooo good. I think I may be able to go 100% primal now that I have my pizza! I forgot to take a picture of the pizza before my family dug into it. The kids even loved it!

What you need:

3 c. almond flour
1 c. sour cream/plain organic yogurt
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
pinch salt
1 egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
fresh parsley (optional)

What you do:

Mix dry ingredients
Beat egg into sour cream and slowly add to the dry mixture.
Beat until well blended.
Mixture will be batter-like and not dough-like, so you must SPREAD this with a spatula onto parchment paper, about 1/4-in thick.
Bake at 350 for around 30 minutes or until brown all the way over, like this.
Top with whatever your heart desires.
Stick back in the oven for five minutes to melt the cheese and toppings.

So this is what it feels like

2011-03-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am still a fairly new stay at home mom. I quit my full time job last May then in August I started working part time at an after school day care at my church and I also have my own business selling on Ebay. Which I still consider myself a stay at home mom because I only work 3½ hours a day and my boys go with me. Well, I guess I would call myself a work at home mom since I work at home with my Ebay business. When I first stayed home with my boys I remember how much I loved it. I had plenty of time to cook, clean, run my Ebay business, play with the boys, go outside, do projects with them and teach them all kinds of things. Then it seemed like my life got extremely busy just by working the 3½ hours a day. I know that sounds really stupid because it is only 3½ hours a day. But with me working at daycare we have to be getting ready to leave the house by 1:30. And my youngest still takes naps. So for him to be able to get his 2 hour nap in before we leave it means I have to be feeding the boys lunch by 10:00 in the morning. We usually have breakfast at 7:00 and I clean up breakfast, I then take a shower and get ready for the day. So by that time it is usually at least 8:30, and that is only if we are on the ball that day. So most time it is closer to 9:00. So that only gives us :45 min to do stuff before it is time for me to start making lunch. So unless I actually have something planned for the boys, we usually end up just playing whatever and not doing any activities or anything. Then we eat lunch and Jack is off to bed and Jeremiah has quiet time while I get caught up on cleaning, laundry, Ebay or whatever needs to be done. Then Jack wakes up and we are out the door and we don't get home until 6:00. My husband is already at work at this time. So it is up to me to cook dinner, feed and clean up. So now it is about 7:00-7:30, then give the boys a bath and it is already 8:00 so it's already time to get them to bed. By the time I get them to bed I am pooped and I usually lay in bed or Ebay if I need to. So that is our typical day. I think this is why I don't enjoy staying home as much now. The job in the middle of the day that breaks up our day. We are on spring break this week and that is what really got me thinking more about it. Yesterday me and my son were sick so we did not get much done but today has been great and we got to do so much and we don't feel rushed. I think we have done more today than we do in a week when I am working. We woke up, ate breakfast, got ready for the day, I started laundry, we went for a walk, got home and cleaned up the leaves in the flower boxes and around the house, the boys played outside while I switched laundry, cleaned the windows and took down St Patrick's Day decorations. We did all this before lunch and nap. Oh and I had time to blog and it is only noon! I just feel so much more productive and I feel like I can actually spend more time with the boys instead of feeling rushed all day. This is the reason I wanted to stay home to begin with. So, now I am trying to figure out if it is worth working the daycare job next year or not. My husband wants me to quit. But of course I keep thinking of the extra paycheck and that is nice too. Decisions decisions. After sitting and typing out all my feelings on the subject, I think I have made my decision to just quit and stay home full time again. Well, finish off this year then quit.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

2011-03-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

It all started last Sunday evening when my youngest boy got the stomach flu. Then nobody else in the family got it and we thought we were in the clear when it was Friday and still nobody else got it. Well, we were wrong. Friday night I got it in the middle of the night then about 5:00 Saturday morning my older son started throwing up. Which I am happy he waited until then to get it. My husband got home around 5:30 Saturday morning from work because he works nights. Usually it is me taking care of the boys all week by myself since my husband sleeps during the day and works at night. So we couldn't have picked a better time to get sick because my husband does not go back to work until tonight at 5:00 so he was able to take care of us all weekend. I felt really bad for him because he had to come straight home from work and take care of the boys because I was sick, so he got no sleep at all! He even kept the laundry caught up, kept the house cleaned, watched after the boys, cleaned up after my older one who was sick, waited on me, did the grocery shopping and even made up homemade chicken vegetable soup. And he only got three things that weren't on the list, and of course not primal. Well, really two. He got Sprite but I told him I wanted some and yes I have been drinking Sprite but right now I am just worried about staying hydrated and that was the only thing that sounded good. He got Cheese its, which is fine because he got them for Jeremiah to eat. And he got a big bowl of spaghetti from the deli for himself for lunch. The funny part is he is the one that was so into our whole family becoming primal and has been trying to talk me into for the past two years and I think he cheats more than I do! Oh well. He deserves spaghetti after the day he had. I think he should get super husband/dad award! He was great! I am use to the stomach flu only lasting 12-24 hours. It is now Monday and I think I feel worse today than I did yesterday. And Josh is actually at the doctor right now with Jeremiah because he still has a fever and was up all night crying because he felt so bad. This stomach flu just sticks around. Not fun at all. I am just hoping Josh doesn't get it now.

So here is what was in the soup

Homemade chicken stock

One whole chicken

Carrots

Celery

Onions

Mushrooms

Broccolli

Cabbage
Can of diced tomatoes with the juice

Fresh parsley

Usually our chicken vegetable soup is whatever veggies we have sitting in the fridge. It always turns out pretty good. This time Josh said he used the twisty spatula to separate the chicken. I liked it that way better and it seemed like it was easier for my youngest to eat it.

Happy St Patrick's Day!!

2011-03-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

The boys actually colored the shamrocks yesterday and they made their names out of pasta today. This morning Jeremiah gave me the idea of making their names out of pasta because he was taking his shredded cheese off his eggs and spelling his name on the table. And I remembered we had this pasta....and since we don't eat pasta anymore I thought PERFECT! We use to do "art projects" two or three times a week then I just got tired and lazy and blamed it on the pregnancy. But now that I got back onto eating primal I have a ton more energy to actually do stuff. Going on three days of NO cheating I have eliminated my heartburn, have more energy and lost three pounds. Not bad!

My day

2011-03-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today I decided to make almond flour for the pizza I will be making on Saturday. I read how to make it and they made it sound so easy. I had to make 3 cups and it took forever. Next time I will just be buying it already made. It is pretty expensive at the store. It is about $12.99 for a 1 pound bag. I found some on ebay for only $45 for a 10 pound bag. So that would save us about $85! 10 pounds of almond flour seems like a lot and I am not sure how long it will take us to eat all of that. But I asked the seller how long it would stay fresh and he said you can put it in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to a year. So I am thinking we will be able to finish a 10 pound bag in a year. I read that one pound of almond flour is about 4 cups and just the pizza recipe takes 3 cups. I am hoping to start cooking with almond flour more. I am really trying to get the boys to be primal. There is a good recipe for chicken nuggets using almond flour.

I think I am going to try to work on my blog for a while tonight. I want to make a recipe section to post all of my recipes and I also saw this chart thingy on someone else's blog that charts what she eats everyday. So then I can chart it instead of writing a post about what I ate everyday because obviously I can't keep up with that! So hopefully I will have some free time tonight when the boys go to bed to work on it.

As I mentioned before, I had been cheating a lot lately. But the last two days I have been doing so well and not cheating. And I have already noticed that I no longer have heartburn! I was popping two tums before I went to bed every night for the past couple weeks because my heartburn has been so bad it felt like I couldn't breathe. Then last night I was getting ready for bed and I noticed I had no heartburn at all!! None whatsoever!! This was enough to motivate me to keep going primal because the heartburn was killing me.

Pork Chops and Saurkraut (slow cooker)

2011-03-16T16:56:00.001-07:00

These turned out so well!  I tried to show in the picture

how the pork chops just flaked apart with my fork.  This

is definitely a recipe you need to try! I am not a huge fan

of pork chops because they always taste "porky" if that makes

any sense.  But these did not have the porky taste and they

just melt in your mouth.

Delicious!

Pork Chops and Saurkraut

------------------------

4 to 6 chops

1 lb. of sauerkraut

2 grated apples (peeled)

1/3 cup of ketchup

2 Tbsp. honey

garlic powder & pepper

Brown chops in olive oil for about 2 or 3 minutes each side.

In a bowl mix the sauerkraut, apples, ketchup, honey, garlic

powder and pepper. Put browned pork chops on the bottom of

the crock pot and pour remaining ingredient mixture on top

and cook on low for about 6 hours.

The world's best omelet...so far

2011-03-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

This morning I made the best omelet ever. I got the recipe from a cooking show. I never realized how good fresh herbs are! I always just substituted the dry herbs instead of using fresh. I made one omelet with fresh basil and I am hooked. I have been missing out!! I think I want to switch to all fresh herbs. I think I need to grow some herbs now. So here is the recipe. I actually did not have any Romano cheese so I substituted mozzarella cheese instead. I have not cut out dairy from my diet yet. I was thinking after I have the baby I am going to try to cut out all dairy.

2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup Romano cheese

And that is it! Mix all these ingredients together and place in your hot skillet flip and voila! Believe me you won't be disappointed! I can't believe I have been missing out on something so simple!

25 week appointment

2011-03-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and everything is going well. I am measuring 27 weeks but I am really only 25 weeks. Not a big deal though. I also had my sugar glucose test yesterday. I asked my doctor if I needed to fast and he said no but after I went down to take the test the lady said, 'Now go get you something to eat!' Which I thought was a little weird. At that point the test was over so I didn't want to ask if I was suppose to fast because I was afraid she was going to make me start over another day. I figure if I was suppose to fast hopefully I will still pass. And if I don't pass I would just have to retake the test anyway. The doctor is calling the ultrasound doctor to get my 28 week ultrasound set up to see if the previa corrected itself. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it has corrected! I had it with Jack and by 28 weeks it was fine so let's just hope it is the same with this one too! I am now 25 weeks. I am getting a bit nervous because this is usually when I start packing on the pounds and swelling and all that great stuff. I am hoping that eating Primal will prevent that. So I am going to start really buckling down and limit my cheating. I have really been craving pizza so I am searching for a good pizza recipe. Hopefully I can find a good one. I will post one once I make it and let you know how it is.

6 months

2011-03-09T18:35:00.000-08:00

I am a little behind posting my 6 month picture and update. We have had birthdays, parties and a wedding. So our schedule has been crazy and of course so has our eating. I haven't been eating the greatest lately. But I am hoping to change that and get back on track and get our hectic schedule calmed down as well!

As of this past Saturday I was 24 weeks. I have gained a total of 22lbs. I have 15 weeks left of being pregnant, since they are taking the baby a week early. So that means if I want to stay within my goal I can only gain 13lbs tops! It is going to be rough. Good news is I gave up sodas for lent so that should help tremendously! The past couple weeks I have been drinking a lot of sodas. I just got finished reading this one lady's blog and she was talking about how she ate Primal during her pregnancy and it helped a lot with the swelling. I have noticed my ankles are starting to swell just a bit so I want to make sure I start taking this eating Primal thing serious. I had awful swelling with my other two. The first one was the worse. Reading her blog got me back into wanting to take this serious because I know I will be so happy I did. So here we go again. Hopefully this time I WILL stay on track until baby gets here:)

Homemade foaming hand soap

2011-02-19T05:52:00.000-08:00

I know foaming hand soap is not that expensive but I found this neat little recipe to make your own foaming hand soap. I have a ton of Dawn Hand Renewal soap that I got free from having $1 off coupons and then the soap going on sale at CVS for $1 and since we have a dishwasher, we really don't use that much dish soap. So when I found this recipe I thought PERFECT! All you need is:

Liquid soap (I used Dawn Hand Renewal)
Hot Water
Empty foaming soap dispenser

Just put about 1 TBSP of liquid soap in the dispenser and fill the rest up with hot water and shake. Then you have foaming hand soap. I just made it this morning and it worked out so well. From what I read, you do not have to keep shaking the bottle to keep it mixed. They say it will just stay mixed. So we will see!!