(And All My) Work Be Praise

exploring with the five senses Marshmallow week was so long ago now that I barely even have the desire to document it. But, so as not to ignore it completely, I'll do a picture-heavy version: Levi and Owen traced their names with glue (well, I helped Owen) and then lined them with mini marshmallows. (Idea here .) Meanwhile, Silas scooped mini marshmallows from one bowl to another using a tablespoon. He might have gotten one or two into the bowl instead of on the floor . . .  In the name of science, we experimented with dissolving colored marshmallows. The tall glasses on the left were filled with very warm water; the short glasses on the right, with cold water. You can only just start to see it in this picture, but the warm water really took on the colors of the marshmallows (pink and green), while the cold water stayed clear even after several hours. (Idea here .) Owen used mini tongs to move marshmallows from plate to paper, counting to the number...

I don't have time for a full report this weekend, so let me just do a quick run-down of what's happening in my kitchen today: Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos  (for the freezer) Homemade sunscreen  -- an experiment Coconut lotion bars  -- also an experiment, cooling in silicone muffin molds right now. Wishing I had some essential oil other than lavender for scent (not being particularly drawn to tea tree or eucalyptus for lotion, the other two oils I keep on hand) Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal (a triple batch for the freezer) I'm still waiting on a shipment from Amazon (of dried calendula petals and bentonite clay), but up next in the "experiment" department will be calendula salve (because we have angry wasps on our deck) and a new deodorant recipe (one without  coconut oil, so that it won't melt in the summer heat). I always feel a little guilty when I don't have anything to blog about: not because I'm concerned about building a big, money-...

[First, two asides: 1: My apologies for publishing a post that didn't actually say anything.  I'm still getting used to the new Blogger look.  If you don't follow through Google Reader, you probably didn't notice. 2: I said not long ago that I likely wouldn't be blogging much, if at all, for a while, and instead I've managed a post nearly every day this week.  I'm on a sort of modified bed rest, and it turns out I have little to do while I sit on the couch . . . except write blogs.] It's been a while since I wrote a "natural living" post, and this week I've got quite the doozy for you.  This past Saturday evening, while the rest of the world . . . did whatever the rest of the world does on Saturday evenings . . . I made homemade deodorant .  (And you thought going no 'poo was bad.)  The reasons for my foray into homemade deodorant are several: 1. We stopped getting the Sunday paper, so I no longer have coupons at my disposal.  De...

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 ...

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...

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!

What a super fun weekend!  For an extremely picky eater, I am amazed at myself for all of the new (and bizarre) things I tried over the past few days.  Here's what went down: 1.  homemade vanilla : Fun, easy, highly satisfactory.  We're looking forward to giving some as Christmas gifts in small bottles, and otherwise not having to buy vanilla from a store for at least a decade.  Most of the fun, of course, was in pouring large quantities of vodka and laughing at the incongruity between us and big bottles of liquor. 2.   water kefir : Overall, not bad.  Fairly easy to make, and fun to watch the bubbles form (though it wasn't excessively bubbly).  Tastes like very-watered-down juice [we used cranberry juice to flavor it], smells a whole lot like beer (which is not surprising, given the yeast content).  That's the downside, actually.  Right now I'm drinking it mixed with even more juice and trying not to breathe through my nose.  :...

When my friend Jen  comes this weekend, we have some grand plans in the works.  See, for the past year or two, we've each been finding our own way towards a more natural lifestyle.  You've read about a number of my pursuits already (homemade Clorox wipes, cleaning my shower with baking soda and a toothbrush, honey-and-onion cough syrup, my slow foray into cloth diapering); meanwhile, Jen's been chatting up local farmers at markets, buying chickens and eggs from real farms [you know, as opposed to real Krogers], canning tomatoes, using an all-natural shampoo bar. There are some things, we decided, that are either too big of a project or too scary  of a project to try alone, so we have dedicated the upcoming weekend to conquering some yet-uncharted waters [you know, when we're not entertaining our husbands or keeping track of the three little boys under 2 years old].  Here's what we're hoping to accomplish: 1. homemade vanilla 2. water kefir 3. yogurt (I hav...

Well, I've finally done it: I have admitted, to myself and everyone else, that I am ridiculously addicted to sugar.  For months and months I've been saying, "As soon as we finish this leftover youth group snack/open bag of holiday M&Ms/carton of ice cream/etc., I'm not making or buying any more."  But there's always, always another reason to bake a dessert, open a bag of chocolate chips, buy another carton of ice cream! Last Sunday I silently put my foot down and determined not to eat anything explicitly sugary until Friday -- and if I succeeded, I could have a treat on Friday.  Then Monday I found out that I'd be attending a birthday party on Tuesday, so I shortened my goal to just Monday.  Then the boys completely refused to nap, and by 3:45pm I was in the Starbucks drive-thru, ordering a half-price double chocolate chip frappuccino.  Fail.  Might as well finish off the ice cream, then . . . So, Tuesday I had cake and ice cream (yes, more ice cre...

I'm so glad I decided to blog about some of these issues that make me nervous to say out loud (or, write for the general public, as it were).  Here are some things I've discovered (or changes that have occurred) from/since writing my last several posts: 1. It might be easier than I expected to convince me to pay attention to at least some political issues, particularly those that pertain to the education of my children.  More investigation planned on that front. 2. Even if Levi was talking exceptionally well for his age, he still would not be participating in any dialogue regarding his tantrums.  I'm expecting too much too soon. 3.  I absolutely refuse to leave the "ue" off of the word "dialogue," no matter how many times spell check insists that it should be "dialog." 4. In my "clean without chemicals" campaign [hey, what a great slogan!], I have begun cleaning my shower with baking soda, a loofah (for the tile), and a toothb...

Once upon a time, I loved Kentucky Fried Chicken. I used cream soups liberally. I survived sinus infections through copious amounts of DayQuil.  I kissed many a boy before agreeing to marry one, expected to formula-feed my babies, thought home-schooling families were too weird to explain.  I cleaned everything with bleach or Clorox wipes. I haven't had KFC since before Levi was born. I make my own cream of chicken soup and ration it out of the freezer. [My husband is extremely anti-MSG.  It's second-nature, now, to flip over a can or box at the grocery store and scan ingredients for it (or its counterpart, autolyzed yeast extract).]  Last time I cleaned out the medicine cabinet, all cold medicine went in the trash (or to its appropriate disposal location). [Can't have it during pregnancy anyway, so why re-stock?]  I didn't kiss my husband until our wedding day, am on my second round of nursing a baby, and anticipate home-schooling my children.  ...

I have approximately three paper towels left in my house -- individual sheets, not rolls.  I decided some time ago that when this roll was gone, I would buy no more: be gone, paper trash!  Every time I grab a sheet, then, I've been evaluating what I'm using it for, and what cloth product (or, in the case of washing mirrors, newspaper) would work in its place.  I'm pretty sure I've come up with a solution for every paper-towel usage except one: placing meat (bacon and sausage in particular) on paper-towel-lined plates to drain.  I don't make either one very often, but it's an occasional treat that I don't want to give up, and I just can't see me laying slices of bacon on a dishtowel.  What's a girl to do?! (Seriously: I'm open to any suggestions.)