(And All My) Work Be Praise

I know I said I was done journaling for at least a little while, but I was so surprised by today's developments that I just had to share: So, yesterday I went out and bought a $10 bottle of natural shampoo (though the cashier gave me a 40% off coupon at the register!), and today Crunchy Betty posted this: " sorta 'poo " made out of castile soap and coconut milk.  I could have bought a lot more coconut than shampoo for the $6.38 I spent!  Anyway, the shampoo: I'm still pretty greasy, but my curls have returned!  And so this is what I will use when I have to go somewhere and want to look nice.  Yay.  Still, I'm going to try to keep it to once or twice a week, since it costs considerably more than baking soda (and because I just nabbed a giant box of baking soda from my husband's grandpa's condo, which he won't need when he moves in with my mother-in-law).  Also of interest: the shampoo is citrus-based, so it's possible my hair will lighten in ...

When you spend any amount of time browsing "natural lifestyle" blogs, you're bound to run into someone(s) touting the "no 'poo method."  (Each mention of it is followed by a dry joke about this having nothing to do with constipation.)  The premise?  Shampoo is bad for you.  Going without is natural, frugal, and doesn't involve slathering your skin with chemicals.  It's more complicated than that, but let me let people who know more than I do explain: Keeper of the Home Simple Mom Crunchy Betty I click every link to everything and read and read and read . . . but still, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on the best way to go no 'poo (since it all depends on hair type, etc.).  I thought I'd keep track from my first day (May 31) until . . . until when?  I told myself three weeks, or maybe a month, or until I can't stand it anymore . . . Day 1: I don't have to go anywhere today, so there's no need to wash my hair. Day ...

I was super excited about Jenae's  idea to make this counting caterpillar , so when Isaac said he was headed out to get pool supplies for the youth group, I requested he bring home a foam noodle for me.  If you don't feel like clicking over to her site, she cut 11 small pieces off of the noodle, made one a caterpillar face, and numbered the rest 1-10.  String some rope through the middle, and you have lacing beads (great for motor development) and a counting game (put the pieces on the rope in order) all in one. While Levi loves numbers -- we're still using them to count out his bites at meal times, going all the way up to 9 multiple times now -- he really doesn't know them in order at all, so I thought this would be a fun way to practice.  Now, Jenae has a three-year-old and an 18-month-old, so this particular activity was designed for her older boy, but she also uses it just for the motor development with her younger son.  I figured, Levi's done so many sta...

A few weeks ago, I came across this idea  for making your own alphabet rug out of masking tape and thought it was just perfect for Levi.  Our sad little rug isn't nearly big enough for our living room, but it is just big enough for 26 letters and nine numbers taped around the edges!  Here's what we do with our rug: Place objects on letters based on the object's first letter (toys, those animal cards  I mentioned earlier , anything) The police car and school bus on their respective letters. Run to each letter in Levi's name Jump on L for Levi (etc) Hop on each number Walk the circle and sing the alphabet song As you can tell, most of those are actually gross motor activities, since that's what I feel Levi lacks (because, of course, that's what Mama least likes to do). (I used a Sharpie to draw the appropriate number of dots on each number.)

A few things bringing me temporal happiness: Whole wheat pita pockets Creamy onion dip/dressing: 1/2 Tbsp onion soup mix  + 1/4 cup mayo + 1/8-1/4 cup (more for dressing, less for dip) milk or buttermilk Chicken spaghetti  (made with this cream of chicken soup , of course) Hamburger Helper (in a dozen varieties, with whatever I have on hand at the time) The Jesus Storybook Bible + CD http://www.icanteachmychild.com/ : search "songs" in the search bar and watch them all for endless toddler entertainment!  (Nice to learn some new ones, too.) Mark Miller When I made this list in my head yesterday, there was more on it, but I can't remember anything else.  If I feel so inspired, I'll do more of these in the future.  Gotta share the good stuff!

I tackled several little projects for Isaac this year.  Partly that's because a holiday gives me an excuse to try out some things that are too involved for every-day, but also because I really feel like I haven't been doing enough to honor all of the work he puts in to and for our family.  I'm so grateful! First, I made a little trio of snacks: Apple rings (dehydrated in the dehydrator I bought him for Christmas, given with the promise of making dried apples . . . which I haven't done since Christmas), which look super cute in their big Ball jar.  :) Whole wheat crackers , which didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but have promise. I ordered some more coconut oil last week, and waited and waited and waited for it to come, but in the end I ran out of time and had to use olive oil instead.  It's pretty intense in the flavor.  They're good with cheese, or maybe dipped in hummus or something??, but in the future, I'll choose a different oil.  I al...

At 7am, Isaac turns to me in the bedroom doorway, asks, "did we sleep at all last night?"  I feel it, too, the lethargy of busy days and long nights, the sinking disappointment of both boys up early.  I kiss him off to a week full of service projects, sit down to spoon yogurt into one mouth, cereal into another. Owen unexpectedly takes a good morning nap so Levi and I cook together, him pouring ingredients into the bread machine, watching bubbles form in a simmering pot.  I sense hope that I have rallied my troops, that perhaps the reluctant start to the day will give way to satisfactory naps, creative activities, a happy mama. But I get too optimistic and suddenly the batches of pita bread in and out of the oven have coincided with my plans for a walk before lunch, and I've forgotten Levi's morning snack and anyway he doesn't want to go outside, and I've lost track of when Owen ate last so all three of us are hungry and just like that, we're all out o...

I have a big scrapbook-type book that houses the majority of my recipes, copied from other people, clipped from magazines, etc. Tonight I spent half an hour pulling out recipes I never make anymore, or that flopped the first time, or that contain ingredients we don't use now, and replacing them with the ever-accumulating stack cut from magazines.  It's a project I love doing.  I love looking for new recipes, asking Isaac if a particular one appeals to him as I think it might, tossing anything that no longer suits my fancy.  It's very cathartic. I've noticed lately, though, in the many blogs I follow that post weekly menu plans, that "the pros" (as in, the people who write blogs that contain menu plans) seem to have a collection of 15-20ish recipes that they make regularly.  I'm sure that cuts down on a lot of wondering, a lot of flopped dinners, a lot of purchasing one-time-use ingredients. I'll be honest: it sounds horribly boring to me.  The numb...

Since you all followed my Goin' Crunchy 2011 updates with such interest, I feel compelled to give a full account of the homemade chocolate chips we made.  As I said earlier, they were absolutely divine in taste, and if I hadn't overcooked the brownies I put them in that weekend by 20 minutes (oops), I think they would have melted nicely into the brownie batter for an extra chocolate kick.   Laura  did warn that they would melt if used in cookies, but seemed to indicate that they would simply turn the otherwise normal cookie into a chocolate cookie. Not so (for me). The chips were melting already at room temperature, and they caused the cookies to spread horribly almost immediately upon entering the oven.  I should've taken a picture of that first batch, but they were so flat and unappealing that we (Isaac and I) just ate them all right away.  (That was the correct response, right?) Ever the quick thinker, Isaac suggested we try the next batch in muffin ti...

It's funny to me how milestones have changed with having children.  The "big things" used to be, you know, graduation(s), wedding, job, decade-birthdays (okay, that still counts), stuff like that.  But I feel like today was a "milestone day" in my house, and here's what happened: Levi indicated for the first time that he wanted to do something (hold the bubble bottle) by himself (without my asking if he wanted to). Owen held a sippy cup (jury's out as to whether he drank anything, but he definitely proved the spill-proof cap to be a lie). Levi was offered his first bite of hot dog (he declined, but still, it was something I'd put off until now). Owen moved from the Bumbo to a high chair for meals. Fun day.  :)

I've written three variations on the same basic blog posting over the past two weeks, never quite reaching a final product worth publishing.  The bottom line was this: I suspect that every mom (or woman) thinks that everyone else is doing a great job except her, and I wanted to be the one to say, "hey!  I'm not doing a very good job right now!" so that y'all could have some consolation, if and when you needed it.  The first attempt was much too whiny; by the end of the second iteration, I realized that I can't very well complain about not having enough time when I know perfectly well how poorly I manage my hours. I've wrestled with the notion of "me-time," knowing that most people would argue for its occasional necessity  but still feeling too selfish (and nevertheless being granted an hour by a gracious husband . . . but then, when you walk in the door after work and your wife bursts into tears for reasons unknown even to herself, what is ther...

I was brave enough to try the green smoothie again this morning, with some tweaking to fit my preferences.  Again, here's the original recipe (including the instructions for frozen cubes of kale):  http://sarahs-musings.blogspot.com/2008/07/green-smoothie-that-isnt.html My version: 1/8 cup plain yogurt (homemade, organic, whole milk!) 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil 1/8 cup oats 1 cup berries 2 cubes kale cranberry juice (Meijer organic brand) to cover (or water kefir, which I often flavor with cranberry juice) Definitely more fruit than anything else, but I'm still getting a serving of leafy vegetable, and a small punch of probiotics and whole grain.  I'm not used to drinking my calories, so I'm finding myself hankering for a piece of toast, but halfway through the glass I'm getting full already.  We might have a winner!