Breakfast made easy!

We try to avoid processed foods around here. I am always looking for easy ideas for quick and easy breakfast foods. This one is my favorite

Steel cut oats in the crock pot.

This can be divided in half for a smaller batch

*2 cups of steel cut oats

*8 cups of water

*1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil

*1 cup of dried fruit

*brown sugar to taste. We use 1/2 cup

Place all of the ingredients in the crock pot and give it a stir. Cook for 4-8 hours depending on the texture that you and your family like.

I store half of this in the refrigerator and freeze the other half. To freeze, let the oatmeal cool and fill 2 ice cube trays with oatmeal and freeze. After 4 hours take the oatmeal out of the ice cube trays and place in storage bag.

This is so easy. I just heat as much as we are going to eat. It stores great and is soooo yummy! Enjoy!

WAHM Wednesday!!!

You have to check out this WAHM! She has amazing wipes and other products.

Here is her shop

This is a tid bit about the shop

Welcome to Little Lily. I am proud to be a Canadian shop, hand making all of my products right here in Northern British Columbia!
Aside from being gentle on our Earth, bamboo's wonderful silky softness is gentle on your family. And it's hypoallergenic, and naturally antibacterial, so it's perfect for bath products...which you'll find lots of here!

Why use Bamboo?

*Bamboo is a natural, green, eco-friendly plant
that is biodegradable
*Considered a sustainable natural resource
*Has natural properties that wick moisture
*Naturally anti-bacterial
*Repellent to harmful UV rays
*Hypoallergenic
*Breathable
*No chemical additives
*Lightweight
*Strong
*Naturally soft
*Holds 3 times its weight in moisture
*Produced Organically

**I am currently shipping once a week, on Mondays. If you need your order in a rush, please let me know and I will be happy to accommodate you!**

**Are you a repeat customer? Please remind me at checkout, and enjoy 10% off your purchase!**

Blog on hold!!

Sorry followers, the next 3 weeks are going to be a tad crazy. I guess it's how summer goes. I will be back soon and will get WAHM Wednesday up and going!!

Have a great couple of weeks.

No Poo...first attempt

If you are following my new journey of "No Pooing" the link to my first entry is here

Tonight I took the plunge and gave the no poo a try. I mixed the baking soda and water before getting into the shower. It looked like cloudy water. I poured the freezing cold mixture over my head and started scrubbing. I was not overly impressed with the salty taste of baking soda entering my mouth. I have to admit...it was nasty.

Here is what I will do next time for the "cleaning" process.

I am going to used just enough water to make a paste next time. I think the paste will be so much easier to work with.

Conditioning....

This was not any better than the cleaning process. The vinegar smelled so bad. It was just so gross. I want to feel clean after my shower. Whatever, I sucked it up and kept moving it around my head.

Here is what I will do next time for the "conditioning" process

I am going to use way less vinegar. I will start with 2 tablespoons. I am also going to use apple cider vinegar because I think it will smell better. The last thing I will to do is add a couple drops of tea tree oil or coconut oil to the mix.

Results:

My hair feels so squeaky clean. It really does squeak. When I got out of the shower I was afraid to brush it because it felt icky. You know that feeling when you get out of the water at the beach? The salty, dry, icky feeling? Well, it's the same feeling. But...as soon as I combed my hair it was silky soft. My scalp was tingly and it felt really good. hmmm there might just be something to this "No Pooing"

No Poo

No, this is not a post about pooping. It's a post about not shampooing your hair. It's something that I ran across and was very intrigued by. I thought "hmmm, why not give it a try".

It's just another thing that would put me into the "crunchy" stereo type. But pfft I don't care. I want to try this. I want to know if it works. Now, I bet you want to know how it really does work. Well this is what I understand about it.

All you are going to need is vinegar, baking soda and water. Easy, right?

Time to clean that head of hair.

~ Mix 1 tablespoon of baking soda with 1 cup of water. Apply it to your hair starting with the roots and working your way down to the ends of your hair. Once your hair begins to feel smooth you can go ahead and rinse it out.

Condition

~ I have read a bunch of different ratios for this. I am going to try 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of water. Start at your roots and work your way down. I guess you can add essential oils to the mix as well.

Style your hair as you normally would.

I read that your hair can go through a transition process and it can get nasty. I am telling y'all right now. If I hit that point I am going back to the curly girl method of washing my hair. The curly girl method is pretty similar except that you use store bought products that don't contain "cones" or "sulfates".

I am going to update after my first wash! eeek I can't wait to try this!

We have a winner!

I want to say thank you for everyone who participated in the giveaway. It was so much fun and I look forward to doing more in the future.

The winner is.....

Elly!!!

Congratulations! I can't wait to see what you pick out!

WAHM Wednesday!!! Giveaway today!

Name Art 4 Kids.

Are you looking for the finishing touch to your child's nursery or room? Are tired of bringing the same old gift to baby showers? Do you want something unique that will blow people away? If you answered yes to any of those questions this product is for you!

I was so excited when I got my Name Art in the mail. The packaging is outstanding. There was no way the precious works of art were going to get damaged or bent. The colors were bright, colorful, and uber cute. The art was everything I expected and more. The boys names turned out beautiful. I am so excited to find the perfect frame to put them in. The process of ordering the creations was easy. The hard part is going to be finding a frame that will do them justice. My goal next weekend is to continue the hunt! I looked this weekend and did not find a single thing. I am going to be patient...sigh...

Do you want to see the boys Name Art? okay here goes.

***Note , I edited the boys full names out of the pictures***

How cute are these? They are going to look adorable once I get them framed and in the rooms. I am going to update this entry as soon as I find the frames.

Maryanne, the owner of Name Art 4 Kids is a joy to work with. There are so many options for these cute creations. Maryanne always returned my emails in a timely manner and it was apparent that she really loves what she does.

Here is a small informational paragraph about Name Art 4 Kids:

Beautiful pieces of custom artwork that make the perfect addition to any baby or child's bedroom. Although there are other Name Art companies, there is nothing as unique as Name Art 4 Kids.

Originally hand painted, every letter is truly unique. Each Name Art is custom tailored to the child it’s being made for. From the themes included in the artwork to the personalization added below the artwork. My top priorities are making sure each customer absolutely LOVES their Name Art and keeping it affordable.

As for me, I’m a mom of one awesome 15 month old little guy. I consider myself a SAHM even though I’m very busy running Name Art 4 Kids. I honestly enjoy designing every single Name Art and I get such pleasure out of hearing from customers after they receive their artwork.

The details

Sizes are 11x14 or 8x10

Prices range from $23 to $17

Shipping & Handling is $3.50. Discounts available for multiples.

Name Arts fit into standard sized frames.

Turnaround time is two weeks or less.

Giveaway Time!

Here is how you can win your very own customized Name Art.

Remember I am not going to use your information for anything at all. This is just for fun.

LEAVE a comment for every entry!!!

Earn extra entries

• Post a link to my blog on your Facebook, blog, or Twitter and then come back here and post a comment with the link. (can be done once per day)
• Become a fan of Name Art 4 Kids on Facebook . Leave a comment saying you are a fan of Name Art 4 Kids
  
• Visit Name Art 4 Kids here. Leave a comment with your top 3 favorite Name Art 4 Kids letters.
• Follow me on Google. Leave a comment letting me know that you follow my blog
• Enter this giveaway in a giveaway linky on another blog. Be sure to leave me the url to the linky you posted the link to! (Can be done twice - Good for 2 extra entries each time)

**NOTE: Leave one comment for every entry. You must have a visible email address in your Blogger Profile, otherwise it needs to be listed on every entry!!**

Wow, y'all have a bunch of opportunities to enter to win one of these beautiful pieces of art. I am so excited to see who wins! Good Luck everyone.

This giveaway is open to US Residents 18+ only and will end on Friday, May 21 at 10:00 pm CST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org and will be posted . Winner has 48 hours to claim his/her prize otherwise a new winner will be picked. Please contact Name Art 4 Kids upon winning nameart4kids@gmail.com
Special thanks to Greek Mama for allowing me to use her giveaway format and rules!

Cloth wipes

I feel like I have been explaining how to make my cloth wipes a lot lately. I thought I would add a tutorial because let's face it, some things are sooo much easier to understand when you can see it!

If you are not interested in making cloth wipes here is a link to my homemade

disposable wipes.

You are going to need a container for storage (some people use old wipes containers), wipes, baby wash, and coconut oil.

You know those thin receiving blankets that you got as gifts? The ones that are sitting on the shelf not getting any love? Well, it's time to put those blankets to work. I cut two blankets up into squares the size of my hand. I fold the wipe twice to make sure it will fit in my container. I did not sew the edges. The edges did fray the first 10 or so washes but nothing that I could not handle.

I have some wipes made from receiving blankets, a handful of store bought wipes, and a couple old baby wash cloths. What you see here will last one week.

Pour 2 cups of hot water into your storage container. While it's still hot add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Stir until the coconut oil melts.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of baby wash. I like California Baby because it does not contain harsh chemicals. I add around 1.5 tablespoons of wash. It's all about preference.

Split your wipes stash in half. Place the first half of the wipes to the solution and push them down. Once the wipes are wet pick up the wipes and add the second pile to the solution. Press those wipes down until they are wet. Place the first batch of wipes on top of the batch that is in the container. Push all of the wipes down. My wipes are not soaking wet at this point. They are damp and feel similar to the store bought disposable wipes. I think if you get these too wet they will mold. Keep that in mind. I have never had a mold problem *knock on wood*

I have some really exciting news. Starting next week I am going to feature a WAHM (Work At Home Mom) and her business. There will be a lot of giveaways so make sure to check it out. I am hoping to feature 2-3 WAHMs every month. It will be called WAHM Wednesday! Spread the word because it's going to be fun!

Cloth Diapers

Here is a great article on cloth diapering.

http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/category/cloth-diapering/

Prefolds, Flats, Fitteds, Covers

Pocket Diapers

All in One Diapers

Overnight Diapers

More laundry room organization!

I had an ugly shelf in my laundry room that needed to look better. We are selling our house and I want everything to look perfect. Yes, it would have been fine the way it was but I was not 100% happy with it.

I looked around for large baskets that would hold our extra paper towels, toilet paper, light bulbs, and storage bags. I could not find anything for under $20. I did not want to spend a total of $80 on baskets. I tried to settle on some that were $10 but the just were not big enough.

I went to our local craft store with a coupon in hand. I was going to find something! I looked the entire store over and nothing caught my eye. I was walking out when the unstained wood grabbed my attention. They were the perfect size containers for my laundry room. They were even on sale. I picked them up for $4.99 each. Such a bargain. I figured I could paint them with leftover paint I had laying around. I did the entire project during nap time. The project is so easy.

Here is the before picture. I placed the new boxes on the shelf to see if they would fit..woohooo they are perfect!

I painted a quick coat of white paint on all of the boxes. I was going for a rustic look so I did not try to cover the wood.

After I painted all of the boxes white I added a touch of blue. The white paint was not dry. I took a dry brush and a small amount of blue paint. I wanted a weathered look.

Woohoo, the finished product. I cut some scrap book paper and printed off labels.

I love it!

1 Ingredient Ice Cream

Yes, you read that correctly only ONE ingredient. Anyone with a blender and make this creamy ice cream. The only catch is you have to like banana flavored ice cream.

I ran across this in another blog (I wish I could remember the name) and had to try it. Little G has diary allergies and I thought it would be a good alternative to rice ice cream.

Step 1

Cut up a ripe, but not over ripe banana. I would suggest freezing 3 bananas

Step 2

Freeze the banana overnight or for 6 or so hours

Step 3

Blend the frozen banana. You are going to want to add liquid..but don't. It will work. Trust me!

Step 4

Refreeze the blended banana for 3-6 hours. You can stop at this step and serve if you want. It's very similar to soft serve ice cream at this point. If plain banana ice cream does not sound good try adding something to it. I chopped up some left over Easter chocolate and added it to Big G's batch before I refroze it. Add your extra ingredients before refreezing. MmmMmmm I think nuts would be divine! Maybe peanut butter, pretzels, and chocolate!

Step 5

It's time to eat!

Potty Learning!

Yup, you know you want to do it. But how do you go about it? I talked to many been there done that moms and had great success with their tips. We started around 18 months with Big G. A little young but he really wanted to give it a go. We ran with it and it was a breeze with these tips.

Here is a link to a potty learning readiness checklist...start with this.

*Start by bringing your child into the bathroom with you. Let them watch you go and learn about the whole process.

*Read them potty learning stories. There is also a great Elmo video out.

*Stay home for 3 days. Have your child go without underpants on the entire 3 days. Well, at night they can wear some! But no diapers or pull ups. During these three days push liquids. You want them to learn the feeling of having to go potty. Have them drink very often.

*Put them on the potty every 30minutes to 1 hour. I know, it's a lot of work but worth it in the end.

*At night have them go potty right before bedtime. Then wake them up to go when you go to bed. They will sleep through the entire thing. Trust me! I would also take Big G around 3-4am. Yeah it's work but it saves you from having to clean up pee. We did this for around 3 months. He now sleeps all night long and goes to the bathroom when he wakes up in the morning.

*Have them sleep in fleece PJ bottoms. Carters makes great fleece pajamas. They are amazing. If they have an accident the pee is absorbed into the pajamas and not on your sheets.

*Once the child is going consistently you can stretch out the amount of time they go in between. We told Big G when to go to the bathroom for around 3 months. He went when we told him to go. Eventually we gave him more and more control.

*There will be accidents, they happen. Regression happens too. Just stick with it and you will be so happy that you did.

Big G is fully potty trained, even at night and during naps. It's the most amazing feeling ever. He now tells us when he has to go to the bathroom. We have such a new freedom.

I am sure I missed something. Do you have a tip? Please add it!

Happy Easter!

In honor of Easter I thought I would post how to make your own

Chocolate Easter Bunny

I bought a plastic bunny chocolate mold at the craft store

Melt down chocolate. I melted around 2 cups for this project. It took around 80 seconds. I started at 60 seconds, stirred. Then melted another 20 seconds

Stand the mold up and pour the melted chocolate into the mold. Once it's 3/4 full start to move the mold around to cover the entire bunny. You can make a solid bunny by filling the entire mold with chocolate.

Place the mold in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

Here is the finished product. I store ours in clear plastic candy bags.

I also made homemade peeps. I will have to post those next year. I thought about posting them this year but missed taking pictures of some important steps. Off to dye Easter eggs with the kiddos now! Have a great Easter!

Egg Art!

Yesterday I made egg molds. They were so easy and fun to make. My little man went crazy over them. I bought the molds here then I started boiling!

Step #1 Boil eggs. Put 6 eggs in a pot, bring to a boil, turn heat off and cover for 12 minutes.

Step #2 Peel eggs and place into the mold

Step #3 Place mold in a bowl of ice cold water for 10 minutes.

Step #4 Open the mold and enjoy!

I had a hard time snapping a good picture of these because I had a little boy who was really excited to chow down. I ended up snapping these pictures with my phone.

Coconut Oil!

I have recently discovered coconut oil. The search began when Little G had a rash on his face from a dairy allergy. I went to a natural food store and found a 15 ounce jar of coconut oil for $10. I bought it and put it on Little G's face. With in hours the rash was gone. I later found out that coconut oil is cloth diaper friendly. I gave it a try on a nasty diaper rash. The diaper rash was gone by the next morning. Coconut oil is my new answer to everything.

Why spend a lot of money on expensive diaper creams when you can buy all natural coconut oil. I now use it when I make my baby wipes.

To use it you scoop out what you need and start rubbing. It will begin as a solid but melt into a yummy smelling liquid. It smells like the beach. ahhhh I love it.

Still not convinced? Here are other benefits

*Great for your skin and hair

*Can prevent some illnesses

*Wonderful for rashes, scrapes, and cuts

*Can play a role in weight loss

*Helps digestion

*Stress Relief

There are so many more benefits to this amazing oil. A simple Internet search will open your eyes to this all natural miracle.

Fun Project!

A local store was having a huge sale on Thank You cards. I picked up a couple of packages. Each package contained 12 cards. I was not sure what I was going to do with them but thought for around $1 I could not go wrong.

My grandma was in the hospital. I did not want to buy her flowers because let's face it, they die! I did not want to buy her a nick nack type stuff because she has plenty. I was laying in bed and this idea came to me. It was so easy and a lot of fun.

The start of a great thing! The boys finger painted on large sheets of white paper. The paper cutter came in handy for this project.

Before

I printed off some quotes to add to the back of the cards.

After

The boys finger painted large sheets of paper. I cut the paper down to a size that would cover the words "Thank You". I used regular white glue to adhere the paintings to the cards.

The back of the cards.

The Grandparent quote is on top. I also added a note from the boys to their grandma. I used mailing labels for the message.

Verdict...my Grandma loved these. She has been sick and in and out of the hospital for a month. She said she was in need of some Thank You cards. This was such a fun project to make. Give it a try. You won't regret it!

More travel tips!

Woohoo we made it back from Disney World. It was a wonderful 7 days of Mickey. I have to say if you have never taken a Disney trip it's a must.

We had so much fun. I am still trying to fix my camera on my computer. As soon as I get it working I will post a video about cloth diapers.

Here are my latest tips

*Pack 3 diapers, changing pad, wipes and change of clothes in a large ziplock. When you are at the airport grab the baggie out of your diaper bag. It's nice not having to bring the entire diaper bag with you into the bathroom. This works really well on the airplane too.

*Bring new snacks on the plane. Bring things that your child has not eaten before. Most of the time they go crazy over it because it's new. It keeps them busy.

*If you did not buy a seat for your child under 2 take your car seat with you to the gate. When you get there ask them if there are any seats available. If there are they will normally give you the seat free of charge.

*Keep your little one in his/her car seat. I treat the plane just like the car. They come out for a diaper change but that's it. It makes the trip much easier. Of course if you have a long flight taking them out to stretch would be a must.

*Use the hotel coffee maker. Not for coffee though. I brought easy macaroni and instant oatmeal with us. For breakfast I would run just water through the coffee pot. The warm water worked great for making oatmeal. I would also make macaroni and bring it with us to the parks.

*Stay relaxed. If you are nervous or anxious your child will pick up on it.

Here are my lifesavers when I travel

Do you have any tips? If so add them to the list.

Yummy Lunches!

My plan was to post a video explaining cloth diapering. Well, I had technical difficulties and after trying 8-10 times I threw in the towel. My hope is to try again when we get back from our upcoming trip. Keep an eye out in the upcoming weeks. It will work, I know it will. haha

I ran across this blog and fell in love. I have been holding back and have yet to go crazy buying everything to make a perfect Bento. There are many wonderful Bento blogs out there. Do you have a favorite Bento blog? If you make Bentos I must hear all about them. My amazon.com cart is filled with items to start making Bentos. Do I go ahead and push the purchase button? hmm. I will think on that for a while.

Diary of a stay at home mom!

What do stay at home moms do all day? I guess the question is what don't we do. Here goes our schedule. Hang on for the ride.

It all starts the night before. I get ready for the next day. If I wait until the day of I find myself an absolute mess. Here goes.

7:00 pm or earlier ~ I pick out the kids clothes for the next day. I lay out everything...even socks and underwear/diaper

9:00 pm~I take a shower and lay out my clothes for the following day.

7:00 am~Wake up get dressed, make up and hair done. My job is taking care of my children, right? Well then I need to get ready for my job. If I were still teaching I would wake up early and get dressed for my job. I put an importance on getting ready for my job every morning. Some days I put my gym clothes right away. Other days I dress for success. Even if it means getting covered in paint or play dough.

7:30~kids are up and ready to go

8:30~Breakfast is served. I make and freeze egg bakes, waffles, pancakes and other breakfast foods on the weekends. By making and freezing I save a ton of time on the weekdays. During breakfast we do "calendar" we talk about the day of the week, month, weather, and count.

9:00~most days we have classes from 9ish to 12ish. I love our early childhood classes. They are so much fun. We also enjoy going to a mom's group at our church.

9:00-11:30 on the days we are not in class. We play sports in the basement. Work on letter and number puzzles, stack blocks, play with Lego's, sort shapes, paint, play with play dough, bake, sing, dance, play trains, sort and play with animals, and so much more!

11:30 to 12:30 lunch and get ready for naps

12:30 I love naps! ahhh it's time for a mommy break. I normally take it easy during this time. Before I sit down to relax I set the table for dinner and prep any food that may take some extra time to prepare for dinner.

3:00 the troops are up and ready to go. We have snack and get ready to hit the gym

4:30 we are at the gym and ready to work out, swim, or go to swimming lessons. We are normally there for 2 hours.

6:30 I finish making dinner and have the food ready to go by 6:45.

7:30 baths, brush teeth, read books, and hit the hay.

Both kids are normally asleep by 8:00. I pick up the house and get ready for the next day.

Okay followers, what do you do? What does your day look like? What kinds of activities do you do with your kids during the day? I want to hear all about it!

Final Winter ONEderland

I have been waiting to post this week. I wanted to blog about the big day. It turned out great. Little G had a double ear infection but he made it through the day. Here are some pictures from the day. The great part about themed parties is you can normally find decor on sale!

Enjoy!

Next week I will post a video explaining the different types of cloth diapers! Eeek I know it's so exciting!

some of the food

Egg plant penguin

Olive Penguins

Drinks

I used winter themed books to decorate the ledge in the dining room

Utensils

Favor table

Party favor~build your own snowman kit

Wreath for the front door

Kitchen Table

High chair and smash cake

Cake

Living room

Sleeping at the end of the party

The Little Details

Some of the smallest details make a party great. Here are some more things that I have been working on for the big Winter ONEderland party.

I made little signs to label the themed food. Another cute touch were the labels I made to wrap around the utensils. The projects took around 30 minutes from start to finish.

Whether you are hosting a BBQ or Birthday Party these little touches are a big hit!

What a big mess. I used my computer and printed off labels that I wanted to put on the utensils and food. The paper cutter made cutting a breeze.

I cut large scrap book paper sheets to 6 inches, the solid blue paper was cut to 3 inches, and the words were cut to 2.5 inches.

I folded the 6 inch piece of paper in half so it would stand up on it's own. I then used double stick tape to adhere the solid blue paper and label to the folded sheet of paper.

Woohoo! The finished Labels.

The labels for the utensils. These were pretty easy to make. I used Microsoft Word to create them.

Finished and ready for the party.