Monthly Archives: July 2012

Jul 23 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 352: Carpet Powder

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Today we made carpet powder.  You know, that stuff you sprinkle all over the carpet before vacuuming to make the house smell good.  I used to swear by this stuff.  LOVED it.  Would go through a container of Glade Country Garden every week…until I decided that probably wasn’t the best idea.

How I didn’t think to make my own, I don’t know.  But I didn’t.  Fortunately for me, Mrs. Happy Homemaker did.  Today, she’s our inspiration.

Making your own carpet powder is easy enough.

You will need:

A shaker (Jose had this one for mixing spices, but you can use an empty parmesan cheese container if you’d rather)

Baking soda

Essential oil (we used orange, but you can use any kind you like.  Preferably organic)

 

Step 1) Put some baking soda in a bowl and sprinkle some essential oil in it.  Ours doesn’t really sprinkle, but if you have the small bottle, it is easier because it comes out in drops.

 

Step 2) Mix.

 

Step 3) Put in shaker.  Shake it on your carpet and vacuum.  Yay.  House smells good.  :)

 

Jul 22 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 351: Mini Fruit Pizzas

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Today I made some Mini Fruit Pizzas.  Ysa’s friends had a surprise party for their mom and asked me to bring fruit.  These seemed to work well.

 

Ingredients:

Sugar cookies

A variety of fruit (kiwis, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries)

Cream cheese mixture:

  • 2-8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

 

Step 1) Set cream cheese out to soften (I don’t know if this is a recommended food safety procedure, so you may want to check that out…  We’re still alive, if that’s any consolation).

Step 2) Mix ingredients for cream cheese mixture.

Step 3) Spread cream cheese mixture on sugar cookie.  If you spread it on the bottom, your fruit will not fall off as easily.  That’s nice.

Step 4) Add fruit to your cookie.  And yum.

 

Jul 21 2012

Summer Bucket List 2012: Make SnoCones…Modified

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On our Summer Bucket List, you will find “Make SnoCones.”  But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen because our stuff is in storage.  I was hoping to get a new ice shaver, but I just can’t bring myself to buy something I already own.  Then, we were going to just buy SnoCones, but jeez, those things are expensive.  So, tonight, I remembered Luigi’s Real Italian Ice and how that was almost the only thing I ate the whole time I was pregnant with Joseph.  And I knew my kids just had to have them!

I’m making an executive decision and Luigi’s Real Italian Ices are taking the place of “Make SnoCones” on the bucket list.

 

 

 

We finally talked Matthew into letting us take some pictures of him, and he does this:

 

 

 

Teenagers…  :)

Jul 21 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 350, Part 2: Mosquito Repellant

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As you know, I try to avoid using a lot of chemicals when I can.  Insect repellant is one of those things that make me especially nervous, so when I saw a recipe for homemade mosquito repellant, I was excited to give it a try.

Our inspiration came from Surviving the Stores.

You will need:

 

If you have a small spray bottle like the one in the picture, use these amounts.  If you have a larger one, double it.

8 drops lavender essential oil (preferably organic)

2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2-3 Tbsp. lemon juice

 

Put all your ingredients in the spray bottle.  Fill the remainder of the spray bottle with water.  Shake well.

 

This stuff smells so good that we are using it for a lot more than mosquito repellant.  We used it to make the car smell good, as an air freshener, and I think I’m even going to use it as a linen spray.  I love it.

 

I sorta accidentally used a bit too much vanilla…  Or more than a bit…  Anyway.  Don’t be alarmed if yours is lighter in color than ours.

UPDATE:  We have discovered that while this wonderfully smelling concoction is very good for some things, repelling mosquitos isn’t really one of them…  Try it as a room freshener, car freshener, or linen spray.  Of course, you are free to continue using it as mosquito repellant.  You just can’t blame me when you get eaten.

Jul 21 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 350, Part 1: Toothpaste Headlights

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Do you ever see a handy tip and think, “I wonder if that really works.”?  That happened to us yesterday and so Jose took his little self outside to see if toothpaste really cleaned the headlights.  And guess what?  It did.

Here’s our before (no judging us for having dirty headlights…):

 

We put some toothpaste on a dry rag and Jose started scrubbing.  When he was done, he rinsed with water.  We didn’t get quite the turnout we could have because our headlights need cleaned from the inside, too…  (Can you even do that?)  But it was definitely an improvement.  Look:

 So, yes, it works.  Give it a try and let me know how you like your results.

Jul 18 2012

Austin, Year 3, Day 347: When I Made “Mama & Me” Journals

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Today, I made “Mama & Me” journals for the kids.

They will use these journals to write letters to me and then I will write them back.  I’m hoping these journals will help us get through tough questions that are difficult to talk about, as well as provide us with a great keepsake when they are older.  They were super easy to make and turned out really cute.

Our inspiration came from Mama Jenn.

To start, you will need the following materials:

The quantity in the picture is what you need to make five journals…just FYI.  You probably won’t be making five, but you might be, so then this would be helpful.  Anyway.  Basically, you need:

A composition book (on sale for $0.50 at Walmart right now)

A piece of scrapbook paper

Some contact paper (NOT on sale and was almost $6 DOLLARS!)

Printable labels from Mama Jenn:

Girl label

Boy label

Glue stick (I forgot to put this in the picture)

Ruler (optional, but helpful if you want your labels to be straight)

 

Step 1) Print your label and cut it out.  They don’t have lines for cutting around the label, so the ruler was helpful for me…somewhat.  I think mine are still a bit crooked.  Oh well.  :)

Step 2) Cut out a square of scrapbook paper that is about a half-inch bigger than your label on all sides.  My squares are 5″ x 5 1/2″ (which by definition makes them rectangles, but whatever…you know what I mean) and they were exactly the size I needed.

Step 3) Glue your label in the center of your scrapbook paper square.

Step 4) Glue the label on the composition book.

Step 5) Cover with contact paper.  It’s much easier to do this if you cut diagonal slits at the corners, but you probably already knew that.  So did I…  Jose did NOT have to show me.  :)

Step 6) Write a letter to your child on the first page explaining what the journal is for and telling him/her how excited you are to be pen pals!

I have to confess that I stole my first page letter word-for-word from Mama Jenn.  I’ve written three papers in the last week and my originality is non-existent right now.  But even Mama Jenn confesses that she lifted the letter from another blog, so I don’t think she’ll mind too much.

The letter we used (and that you are also free to use, as well) is as follows:

Dear Bizi (you can write your own kid’s name here…you don’t have to use Bizi…unless your kid is also Bizi…),

Would you like to be my pen pal?  Instead of mailing letters to each other, we can keep them here in this notebook.  Does that sound like fun?

I will write to you and then leave the notebook on your bed.  Then, when you want to write me back, you can begin writing on the next page and leave the notebook on my bed when you are done.

You can write about anything!  It can be funny or serious!  Just write about whatever is on your mind!

I am so excited and I hope that you are excited, too!

Love,

Mom

P.S.  Write back soon!