Prepping for Summer Vacation

School ends June 14th and introduces something we have never had to deal with...a daughter who is used to structured activity, and lots of it!  Horror of horrors!  Well, I have been surfing Pinterest like the frazzled mama I am and stumbled upon one solution...The Jar of Fun! 

It was created by a homeschooling mama for her three little girls.  I will let you read the story on their blog at : The Daily Digi.  In essence you put 100 different activities in a jar and draw one a day for 100 days, the used activities go into the We Did It jar.

I counted the days and there cannot be more than 80 days between the last day in June and the first day in August (no clue when the start date is yet).  I spent a whole afternoon and evening searching Pinterest for different activities that are easy and do not take too many supplies.  I plan to have a large bin of the supplies needed for all the activities ready by June 14th so we can do any of the activities.

Below is the list in the order I came across them.  Some of them I will hyperlink for you, and they will open in another window so you don't have to keep using your back button.

1. Go for a walk
2. Do each other's makeup
3. Paint rocks
4. Read a book
5. Plant some seeds
6. Write a letter and mail it
7. Take silly photos and email them to Daddy
8. Do a photo scavenger hunt
9. Make breakfast for dinner
10. Bake cookies for someone and deliver them
11. Try a new recipe together
12. Make a time capsule (include predictions for the future)
13.  Cut sponges into shapes and make sponge paintings
14. Make play dough (I will post this recipe below, it is the one my mommy used)
15. Make sock puppets
16. Make paper beads
17. Make bath paints
18. Write a story together and illustrate it
19. Build an indoor blanket fort
20. Play Hot/Cold
21. Play red-light/green-light
22. Make popcorn and watch a movie
23. Make mud pies
24. Have a water gun fight
25. Make homemade bubbles and bubble wands
26. Make tambourines using disosable plates and beans, then staple closed.  Decorate
27. Create a Family Chore Chart
28. Have a tea party
29. Make a collage with a theme
30. Go outside with a pair of binoculars
31. Create party hats and wear at dinner
32. Make placemats for dinner
33. Make masks from paper plates
34. Make a bunch of birthday cards so you have them when you need them
35. Make your own memory game
36. Make a windchime
37. Sidewalk chalk
38. Make garden stepping stones
39. Make a nature journal
40. Make paper fans
41. Paint a sheet with watered down acryllic paint in a spray bottle
42. Make smoothie popsicles
43. Make rain sticks
44. Make a dream catcher
45. Make a tin can windsock
46. Make treasure stones
47. Spray dye a shirt (like #41)
48. Make fruit leather
49. Make a crown
50. Make an Herbarium
51. Make scented stones
52. Go on a Listening Walk
53. Make a kaleidoscope (have a kit for this but you can Google homemade ones)
54. Make a birdfeeder
55. Make a birdbath
56. Frozen Grape Skewers
57. Make clothespin dragonflies
58. Make a memory box
59. Make crystal geode eggs
60. Create pirate swords
61. Make gummy treats
62. Paint with watercolors
63. Activity/Exercise Cube
64. Go outside with a magnifying glass
65. Pool Noodle Bath
66. Decorate a Fairy House (wooden birdhouse from Michaels)
67. Mason jar glitter globes
68. Send a Hug
69. Make a cape
70. Stained glass painting
71. Nature Filled Suncatchers
72. Cement Garden Stones
73. Make a spin drum
74. Make an Anemometer
75. Make paper airplanes
76. Make a yo-yo
77. Make Fairy Wings (use sheer fabric and permament markers)
78. Make Chihuly "glass"
79. Aluminum Foil Art
80. Make a Magic 8-ball

Phew!  That was a lot of work!  :-)

Now for the Salt Clay recipe:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
Water

Combine flour and salt, then sift into another bowl.  Add enough water to make a workable dough.  Add food coloring to make different colors.  Shapes will dry out in a day depending on their thickness.


I also plan to have her doing a daily journal, and a weekly art journal. Plus all the usual summer time fun: swimming, running wild, etc.

As always, comments are very welcome.  Have an activity to add to my list?

Going Inward

This post was inspired by an article on The Wild Hunt asking for people to post/blog/tweet their personal spiritual belief in an effort to help in a 101 course-type experience.  When I was just starting out on the Pagan path I assumed that I had to be pigeon-holed into a preconceived spirituality.  As time went on, with reading and experience, I learned to create my own spirituality, one that I am completely at home with.

I believe Universe is energy with masculine and feminine polarity; and everything contains both just to a more or lesser degree.  All deities are characteristic manifestations of this energy.  Almost as if they were separate personalities of the energy.  It is possible for a one manifestation to be stronger than another due to a person's energy feeding them (worshiping them).  A deity can also claim a person for their own and act as a patron to that person.  I have had this happen with two Goddesses -- Athena and Brigid -- but no Gods as yet.

Unless I am making offerings to my patrons, I think of the deities in general terms of Mother and Father.  This makes things earsier in terms of praying and devotion, as well as teaching my daughter.  I have trouble thinking of the Goddess and God in terms of Maiden/Mother/Crone and Youth/Father/Sage through the Wheel of the Year, so I have a loose belief in some of the Sabbats.  I will TRY to list them below:

Samhain: A time to honor our ancestors, last harvest
Yule: rebirth of the sun, longest night
Imbolc: celebration of Brigid
Ostara: celebration of Spring and Persian New Year (Hubby is pure Persian.  Ain't I a lucky girl????)
Beltane: celebration of love, not just romantic love either, and the way the divine becomes one in each of us.
Litha: celebration of the fae, longest day
Lughnasadh: First Harvest
Mabon: Second Harvest

Not your typical Wiccan Wheel of the Year, but not much about me is typical. 

My "afterlife" beliefs are more Karmic in bent.  I believe we are reincarnated into each life with a lesson to learn.  If we do not learn that lesson to the Universe's satisfaction we will be born again to learn it.  If we have racked up any Karmic points (either for good or ill) they will be worked off in that next life.  If we have learned our lesson, then we are reincarnated to learn a new lesson, but will still work off our Karmic points.  Each time we learn our lesson, our energy reaches a higher frequency and eventually when we have learned all our lessons our frequency will match that of the Universe/Deity Energy and we will merge with it.

So, that is me belief in a "nutshell" after almost 18 years of searching and learning.  I believe I am still at the 101 stage because I am always learning there is so much more to learn.  To me there is no such thing as a Master, or if there is we are all one because we each are all Masters of ourselves and bring different experiences to the table.  Alright, I am just rambling now.  Comments are more than welcome, I love a good discussion!!!

Beltane Blessings!

The Firefly House Maypole 2013

I am just bursting at the seams with pride and love for my daughter and my Firefly Family.  Today was our open Beltane ritual and potluck, and it also happened to be my daughter's first ritual ever.  David, one of our High Priests, asked if I minded if my daughter helped cast the circle.  I was overjoyed!  Of course I didn't mind!  She would follow Kali around the circle sprinkling flower petals.

When the time came she did a wonderful job and smiled the whole time.  Then all through the calling of the corners, she closed her eyes and opened her arms to the corners, she even said "Hail and welcome" once or twice.  She really liked the chant David had us sing and the Conga line was a big hit as well.  She was still wanting to sing the chant at bedtime. 

The Maypole was hilarious at first because of her height, but her Daddy joined in and helped out so we didn't have to duck down THAT far.  She also loved We All Come From The Goddess as well and hand me sing it again before bed.  She really enjoyed Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes as our grounding.  I think that surprised her that "grown-ups" know that one!  :-)

She crashed half-way home while coloring; the crayon was still poised in her hand.  She was so tuckered out from all that energy raised and used.  I could not have asked for a better first ritual for my daughter.  It was fabTABulous!

I have saved some of the flowers she carried around the circle to press and then I plan to make a scrapbook page for today.  I might scrapbook all of her rituals, I have not decided yet.  She asked if they were going to go in the "sticky book", her term for a scrapbook.  She was excited when I told her yes, so that is a good sign.  Now to look forward to our Litha ritual in June!

Homemade Cleaners

I feel like a domestic goddess after the last few days.  I have made a whole regiment of cleaners for the house and they have all worked fabTABulously!  I had been meaning to do this for YEARS, but just kept putting it off.  Thanks to Pinterest I got a reminder to do it this week. 

One of the main ingredient in these recipes is Citrus Vinegar. 

• Vinegar
• Citrus peels
• Gallon container with a plastic lid (vinegar will corrode a metal lid)

Stuff as many citrus peels into the container as you can.  (Bonus: you get a Vitamin C boost.)  Cover with vinegar and close.  Sit in a sunny place for 2 weeks to a month.  Strain off peels (place in garbage disposal to freshen drain) and bottle vinegar.


Soft Scrubby Cleaner

• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup liquid castile soap (I use Dr. Bronner's brand)
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon Citrus Vinegar
• 20 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

Add soap and water together in a bowl, and then pour in vinegar.  The fat in the soap will solidify, continue to stir until the fat has dissolved again.  Add baking soda a little at a time until well blended.  Add essential oil and bottle.  (It is a slightly thick mixture, so use a funnel and spoon to push the mixture into the bottle.


Natural Degreaser

• 2 cups Citrus Vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons liquid castile soap

Mix everything in a spray bottle.  The fat in the soap will solidify; occasionally shake the bottle until the fat has dissolved again.  Use on tough grease or dried on food.


Window Cleaner

• 1 part white vinegar
• 1 part water
• 1 to 2 drops liquid castile soap

Mix everything in a spray bottle. The fat in the soap will solidify; occasionally shake the bottle until the fat has dissolved again. 


All-Purpose Cleaner

• 1 cup citrus vinegar
• 2 tablespoons liquid castile soap
• 6 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil
• Warm Water

Add vinegar, soap, and essential oil to spray bottle.  Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake.  (This is a rough measurement, but should be about 2 cups water.)    The fat in the soap will solidify; occasionally shake the bottle until the fat has dissolved again.


Disinfectant Spray

• 1 part vinegar
• 1 part water
• 10 drops Tea Tree Essential Oil

Mix everything in a spray bottle.  Use to disinfect the matteress after colds/flu/sickness, or any where you would need to disinfect.


Furniture Polish

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup Citruc Vinegar

Mix everything in a spray bottle.  Shake to mix well.  Use as you normally would on wood furniture.


That is what I made so far this week.  I have a list of other products to make and will let you know how they turn out.

***Go to the Dollar Tree for the Spray bottles.  $1 each for 32 ounce bottles!!!***

Children's Cough Syrup Worth Buying

This is the time of year when the "hackin-n-barkin" are in full swing, and given our Bipolar weather there is really no wonder.  Well, daughter-dear has developed a cough again and the doctor's stance is no cough syrup with DM in it.  Not much to ask for is it?  Wrong!  All the damned cough syrups have the DM cough supressant.  Ugh!  Well, the Hubby found one that did not and bought it, praying the whole time that our little darling would take it.  Here is a picture of it (made is really big so you can read it easier):

 

 

 

 

Total shocker...she loves it!  There is absolutely no color to it, it resembles slightly thick water, and really has no flavor as well.  It soothes her cough so she isn't coughing as much or hard, but at the same time it breaks it up.  Or melts the ice in her chest as our daughter likes to say. Bonus points: it is homepathic!  Score at Giant Food!

 

She has been taking it for five days and her cough is all but gone, and it was a pretty bad cough when it started last Friday.  (We did not find this product until Sunday night.) Tonight will probably be her last dose, just wanted to make sure she slept through the night. 

 

So, if your little one has the "hackin-n-barkin" going on, grab some of this.  It is fabTABulous!  In case you cannot find it at your local grocery or drug store, Amazon has it and the rest of Hyland's line of homepathic products.

 

***I was not paid or compensated for this review...but would welcome it should Hyland's feel the desire to do so : -)  ***

 

"From Drab to Fab" File Cabinet

Slowly but surely I am working on creating a Home Office, but I refuse to have it look drab.  I found inspiration on Pinterest (shocker, I know).  Someone had taken book pages and decoupaged them onto a trashcan.  Since I am a self-proclaimed bibliophile, I LOVED it!  So I took a page out of their book (corny, yes) and went wild.

This is the poor drab creature getting a make-over...

To get him prepared for the decoupaging, I removed the handles and applied a coat of primer to the drawer fronts.

While this dried, I grabbed a hardback book from my bookshelf that I didn't like, but never got rid of.  (Names have been withheld to protect the poor innocent book.)  I tore the pages out and then tore them in half from the middle, making two fat rectangles. Then I tore the blank edges off, leaving just the text.

Once the primer was dry, I poured ModPodge into a disposable bowl and applied a thick coat over the whole surface of the drawer front.   I placed a half page on the drawer front at a random angle, making sure there was over-hang to the sides of the drawer.  Another layer of ModPodge went over the top of the page, including the over-hang, gluing it to the sides to secure it and make a clean, neat edge.  Repeat this step all the way around and overlap the pages, making sure to vary the direction of the text.  Some of my pages are even upside down.  This is what you will end up with when it is completely covered.

Next move on to the second drawer front and cover it as well.  Once you have both completely covered, apply another thick coat of ModPodge to make sure it is sealed.  When that coat is dry, use an X-acto knife, or scissors, to trim any excessive over-hang and then re-attach the handles.  And here is the final product:

I only used about 50 full pages for the file cabinet, so a thin book would have worked.  Since I have some many pages left over I am now decoupaging my printer stand (a.k.a an old microwave cart).

Welcome 2013

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!  Oky, now that is out of my system, on to bigger and better things.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how...well, unsatisfied I am with myself and life in general.  I feel like I am in a rut, and a not-so-productive rut at that.  Since it is the New Year, I thought some changes were in order. 

   1. Health

• Only go out to eat at a restaurant for special occasions
• Get an entree salad when we do go out, unless it is for a specific type food, like pizza
• No more sodas...period
• Try HARD to have a salad at every dinner at home

   2.  Housework

• Change my cleaning schedule to one room a day
• Have a structured daily routine broken down into Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Before Bed

   3.  Home Office

• Set up my home office in the basement
• Menu Planning on Monday
• Garden Planning on Tuesday
• Clean my home office on Wednesday
• File papers on Thursday
• Plan/check schedule for weekend on Friday

  4. Finances

• Cut our grocery budget to $50 a week
• Any left over from grocery budget go into fund of some kind (haven't decided yet)
• Only go out to restaurants for special occasions

I think I can adhere to these without too much problem.  I will probably struggle along the way, but in the end there will be a better me.  Gods above, please say it is so!