So I'm obsessed with food right now! Maybe it's giving up treats and my scale for lent, but I keep seeing recipes I want to try and I'm stockpiling ingredients on sale. I literally cannot fit anymore food in my fridge, freezer or pantry. I also put together a price notebook out of a composition book I bought for 25 cents in Sept when back to school sales were on. There were 100 pages, so every 3 pages or so I put another letter and list out in pencil staples we buy and how much I was able to buy them for. I don't generally coupon (and almost never bother with coupons under $1) but want to get my grocery bill down under my current $500 a month, make more of my own foods and see what is and what is not actually cheaper at Costco. I still have to make it pretty with some paper :)
Besides the fruit snacks I posted on Tuesday, I've tried the following...
I got chicken thighs for 99 cents a pound the other day and got 15 pounds, so I divided them into 7 bags of 4 (2 puonds in each bag, plus 2 thighs leftover) for dinner swap and threw them in the freezer a week or two ago. Yesterday afternoon I made mango chutney for this thai chicken marinade that I put together this morning and threw on the already frozen chicken pieces (I let the chutney cool while I was at curling and refridgerated it overnight). I now have a set of 7 dinners ready for either my regular swap group or if someone needs a meal or my irregular crockpot group. The chicken can be thawed then grilled or cooked 4 hours on high in the crockpot. I'm planning on giving it out with jasmine rice and a can of coconut milk to make coconut rice . I plan to get the jasmin rice and coconut milk at Costco as I think I saw big bags there that I will individually bag and multipacks of coconut milk.
Yesterday I also tried my friend Lora's wheat bread recipe again (last time I had to make up my own mix of flour as I didn't have wheat) I think if I'm going to continue to make it I need pans like hers, lol. My bread looks the same consistency (dense, great for sandwiches to hold up in lunches) but it's a little short and fat.
Also made a batch of snickerdoodles.
I'm trying more to listen to my holy spirit and in the last 24 hours, I've made an entire batch of snickerdoodles... so far I've sent them to a friend who needed a lift and had some to bring to someone who I'm bringing a meal to for having a baby. There's definitely still enough left for our family, but the jars still pretty full... wonder who else needs cookies?
I also was approached while filling up Paul's car with gas last night. I try really hard to put gas in his car after I have Wed night curling as kind of a little "thank you" for being home with the kids while I get out. A homeless man apologized for startling me and asked if I happened to have some change or something, he was trying to get some food for his family (outside the grocery store). I remembered I'd put a bill in my pocket earlier to get a drink at curling, but my skip had bought me one, so it was still there. I said, "no worries, just a minute, I think I have a dollar in my pocket." I reached in and it was a $20 bill. I had someone pay me for their return in cash, so I actually had cash on hand. I looked at it and for a split second thought, "oh, it's a $20 not $1" but was moved, "just give it to him." so I did. When he realized it was a $20, he thanked me profusely and I replied, "it's fine, you need it more than I do." then when he saw my car leave he waved. I'm still thinking about him because I thought... I should have just taken him grocery shopping and talked to him for a few minutes. But I know now a seed has been planted in my mind if I'm in a similar situation.
I wasn't going to share these stories because Matthew 6:4 tells us" so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." I'm sharing these two stories for 2 reasons. Sometimes the holy spirit speaks to us quietly. If you just obey without thinking too hard about it, you are less likely to lose the opportunity. If I'd thought about giving money to the man or cooking so many cookies "I've given up sweets for lent! cooking a whole batch will just tempt me!" I would have probably talked myself out of doing what I did. By just doing what I felt called to do (someone in our bookclub calls them "spiritual nudges") I got an opportunity to do something that just felt right and good. The kids (esp the younger 2 that are home all day) are at kind of difficult ages and some days I'm tired and I yell and don't do what is right, so I try really hard to take any opportunity I can to do something right. Sometimes it's "sit and listen to what your child wants to tell you. give them your attention" sometimes it's "don't yell, they aren't doing anything wrong and are having fun together." The second reason is that it's hard sometimes when we are wrapped up in our own world to realize what we can do to affect another human being. I may be busy and doing stuff, but I can cook stuff up and I can give someone a few bucks. You never know when an opportunity to do something nice can come up, but if you listen and use your imagination and be still, inspiration may come to you.
ok, so I got a little sidetracked. Today's baking was Baked Oatmeal cups which can be made gluten free and are made with stevia instead of sugar, so they are "diabetic friendly" I made most of mine plain because I was walking around the neighborhood trying to find my UPS package that they listed as delivered, but hasn't appearred yet, so they dont' have all the nice toppings that hers had. Maybe I'll melt some chocolate chips and drizzle a little on the tops before freezing them or bringing them to MOPs tomorrow.
ok, I need to get everyone in the car and out the door for pickup. Hopefully you feel inspired to either cook, bake or help someone out :) And if you got some extra wide shoes delivered to your house, let me know, they might be mine!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Pinterest strikes again.. with fruit snacks...
As part of my Proverbs 31 year, I'm trying to make a lot of the prepackaged foods I put in my oldest son's lunchbox. I pack lunch for him EVERY day and a lot of it is prepackaged stuff. He's also picky... So far I've got granola bars under control. Our favorite recipe is quick and no bake while my backup recipe is better for you and has more fiber.
I've also got cheese crackers down to a science (we do not use the red pepper flakes in the recipe linked-a double batch fills my food processor). They are AWESOME. The trick is to make them as thin as you can roll them out (I roll them out on a silicone mat with lots of flour) pricking the center and keeping them closer to 1/2 inch than 1 inch (I have a little flower punch I use-take FOREVER but the fact that they STAY crispy in the pantry makes it worth it. I also cook on convection and find they take about 11 minutes when I really get my rhythm, which is about how long it takes me to get the next pan ready for the oven.
I tried about 5 different fruit snack recipies of pinterest. My kids are crazy for fruit snacks, they are, well, a staple, however at 14 cents a pouch for the Treetop ones at Costco and 20 cents a pouch for really good sale character ones, they aren't super expensive except that they want as many pouches as they can have and they have, well, crap in them. So I have been trying to get a handle on making my own, healthier ones for at least comparable cost. they all tasted good to me, the texture was not at all what I needed to survive lunches. Most used puree or jell-o and were either the consistency of a bouncy ball or the were basically stiff fruit puree. Carter wouldn't eat ANY of them and 2 batches were around long enough to actually grow mold.
I had found a recipe that used 100% fruit juice. I figured that was about as good as puree. However, when I went back to my pin, I noticed she'd revised the recipe to use FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATE. Brilliant. I tried her recipe and used 3 envelopes. 1) it bordered on that high bounce ball consistency, BUT it wasn't sticky and tasted good and bold like store bought snacks. 2) it makes very few snacks.
So I played with it and did this:
1 countainer of fruit juice concentrate (my first attempt was grape, my second I used Tree Top Apple Cherry concentrate).
7 packets of unflavored gelatin. These are the .25 oz packets. I got a 32 packet box for $9.99. It was on the bottom shelf under the jell-o at the grocery store. FYI, if you plan to store in the refridgerator, consider using only 6 packets as when they are chilled they stiffen up a bit.
put the concentrate in a saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on it. Heat on medium until the gelatin disolves. Pour into molds (you may want to use a spouted measuring cup for this) and let set 20-60 minutes depending on the size of your molds.
The key to getting them the right consistency is CORNSTARCH. You could also use arrowroot powder, I suppose. I put some into a very small cup (like a dip cup) and dipped my fingers into it and rubbed the molds before I put the liquid in (which will also keep them from sticking) and then did the same to the backs of the snacks before I popped them out. I cut mine because I haven't invested in actual molds yet, I'm using an egg carrier that has egg shaped indents, so I cut mine and used the powder on the scissors and dipped my finger in and rubbed the open edges.
They should not stick this way and not be as messy. I am keeping them in the fridge. I dont' know if i have to or not, but most of the gelatin recipes suggested that you do. I probably don't have to, but I have the room and better safe than sorry. Maybe someone can try to keep them in the pantry and comment here how long they lasted.
The key that they are right. Carter ate them and asked for more :)
Cost break down....
So character boxes of fruit snacks with 8 oz can be found on sale pretty regularily for $2.50 a box, sometimes even $2.00 a box. Fruit snacks from Costco (Tree Top) are 4.5 pounds for $11 normally. So this means your fruit snacks are generally costing $2.44-$5 a pound.
1.75 oz of gelatin plus 12 ounces of juice will yield 13.75 oz, theoreticly of fruit snacks (assuming you don't spill any!) It cost me $2.19 for the gelatin and sale frozen juice is 75 cents to $1.25, so let's assume $1.00. So it would be $3.19 for about 13.75 oz, which is less than a pound. $3.71 a pound to be exact. So, yes, the Costco ones are cheaper, but I'm still cheaper than regular grocery store. BUT mine have gelatin and 100% fruit juice. And a little cornstarch. The Costco ones (and probably the Character ones are worse for you) have: Juice, corn syrup, sugar, gelatin, citric acid, natural flavores, acerola extract (vitamin C), socium citrate, mineral oil and carnauba wax. ew. I think I'll take these ones, thanks.
I haven't decided for sure, but I'm leaning towards returning the Costco ones and just getting me some frozen concentrate instead.
Edit: I'm returning them. Once I realized that it's 80 packages that we'll be throwing out into the landfill while I'd be using my own reusable containers, it tipped the scales for me. I may even invest in a mold :)
I've also got cheese crackers down to a science (we do not use the red pepper flakes in the recipe linked-a double batch fills my food processor). They are AWESOME. The trick is to make them as thin as you can roll them out (I roll them out on a silicone mat with lots of flour) pricking the center and keeping them closer to 1/2 inch than 1 inch (I have a little flower punch I use-take FOREVER but the fact that they STAY crispy in the pantry makes it worth it. I also cook on convection and find they take about 11 minutes when I really get my rhythm, which is about how long it takes me to get the next pan ready for the oven.
I tried about 5 different fruit snack recipies of pinterest. My kids are crazy for fruit snacks, they are, well, a staple, however at 14 cents a pouch for the Treetop ones at Costco and 20 cents a pouch for really good sale character ones, they aren't super expensive except that they want as many pouches as they can have and they have, well, crap in them. So I have been trying to get a handle on making my own, healthier ones for at least comparable cost. they all tasted good to me, the texture was not at all what I needed to survive lunches. Most used puree or jell-o and were either the consistency of a bouncy ball or the were basically stiff fruit puree. Carter wouldn't eat ANY of them and 2 batches were around long enough to actually grow mold.
I had found a recipe that used 100% fruit juice. I figured that was about as good as puree. However, when I went back to my pin, I noticed she'd revised the recipe to use FRUIT JUICE CONCENTRATE. Brilliant. I tried her recipe and used 3 envelopes. 1) it bordered on that high bounce ball consistency, BUT it wasn't sticky and tasted good and bold like store bought snacks. 2) it makes very few snacks.
So I played with it and did this:
1 countainer of fruit juice concentrate (my first attempt was grape, my second I used Tree Top Apple Cherry concentrate).
7 packets of unflavored gelatin. These are the .25 oz packets. I got a 32 packet box for $9.99. It was on the bottom shelf under the jell-o at the grocery store. FYI, if you plan to store in the refridgerator, consider using only 6 packets as when they are chilled they stiffen up a bit.
put the concentrate in a saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin on it. Heat on medium until the gelatin disolves. Pour into molds (you may want to use a spouted measuring cup for this) and let set 20-60 minutes depending on the size of your molds.
The key to getting them the right consistency is CORNSTARCH. You could also use arrowroot powder, I suppose. I put some into a very small cup (like a dip cup) and dipped my fingers into it and rubbed the molds before I put the liquid in (which will also keep them from sticking) and then did the same to the backs of the snacks before I popped them out. I cut mine because I haven't invested in actual molds yet, I'm using an egg carrier that has egg shaped indents, so I cut mine and used the powder on the scissors and dipped my finger in and rubbed the open edges.
They should not stick this way and not be as messy. I am keeping them in the fridge. I dont' know if i have to or not, but most of the gelatin recipes suggested that you do. I probably don't have to, but I have the room and better safe than sorry. Maybe someone can try to keep them in the pantry and comment here how long they lasted.
The key that they are right. Carter ate them and asked for more :)
Cost break down....
So character boxes of fruit snacks with 8 oz can be found on sale pretty regularily for $2.50 a box, sometimes even $2.00 a box. Fruit snacks from Costco (Tree Top) are 4.5 pounds for $11 normally. So this means your fruit snacks are generally costing $2.44-$5 a pound.
1.75 oz of gelatin plus 12 ounces of juice will yield 13.75 oz, theoreticly of fruit snacks (assuming you don't spill any!) It cost me $2.19 for the gelatin and sale frozen juice is 75 cents to $1.25, so let's assume $1.00. So it would be $3.19 for about 13.75 oz, which is less than a pound. $3.71 a pound to be exact. So, yes, the Costco ones are cheaper, but I'm still cheaper than regular grocery store. BUT mine have gelatin and 100% fruit juice. And a little cornstarch. The Costco ones (and probably the Character ones are worse for you) have: Juice, corn syrup, sugar, gelatin, citric acid, natural flavores, acerola extract (vitamin C), socium citrate, mineral oil and carnauba wax. ew. I think I'll take these ones, thanks.
I haven't decided for sure, but I'm leaning towards returning the Costco ones and just getting me some frozen concentrate instead.
Edit: I'm returning them. Once I realized that it's 80 packages that we'll be throwing out into the landfill while I'd be using my own reusable containers, it tipped the scales for me. I may even invest in a mold :)
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
After a relaxing weekend comes the week...
Valerie's been a bit congested/stuffy, so she's not been sleeping well, which means I'm not sleeping well. I'm also trying to finish The Thousand Autumns of Jacob DeZoet for bookclub, so I'm staying up late. Not a good combination. Monday we had people over, I worked a little on Carter's crosstitch stocking and watched some kids... basically Monday morning little kids were everywhere and trashed the house, the afternoon we picked up and recouperated.
Tuesday was a baking/cooking day. First I dropped preschoolers off and spent an hour in the bathroom with Henri. Henri's about 2-3 weeks into potty training, going about 90% in the toilet, when all the sudden control issues are raring their ugly head. For 20 minutes, "no I don't want to go potty" screaming, crying, etc. So I gave in and started to leave preschool. Then for 10 minutes. "No, I WANT to go potty" so 30 minutes after class started I finally got to leave with my snotty girl. We went to Costco, Albertsons and Whole Foods then I picked up everyone and we started home. The other preschoolers stayed for lunch, which was fine, they all ate some Costco hot dogs while I unloaded the car. Then I put V down for nap and got to work. First up was making waffles for the freezer. I had the idea to use a large, Costco sized creamer container for my batter to make it less messy while actually making the waffles. Two waffle recipes will fit in the container. It can be shaken up if the ingredients settle during cooking. However the opening is quite small. I'd recommend making up the batter in a large bowl with a spout and pouring it into the creamer container, or using a funnel with a wider opening like this one rather than the standard plastic funnel.
I also opened up the huge #10 can of pears from Costco (pear halves 6pounds for 3.50!) and used the can to assemble my crockpot swap dinners
I'm making curry chicken from here lots of fun flavors, should be excellent, but lots of chopping!
I also made a double batch of the cheddar crackers, but with a smaller cutter. That took FOREVER as well as making 12 servings of scalloped potatoes and running them over for Community Supper.
Wed AM comes. V is up at 4, H is up at 5:30. By 8am, I've been barfed on twice, washed and remade a bed and a couch and showered to get that "just been puked on smell" gone. Lovely. So I finished up a couple of tax returns, since V was down for nap by 9:30am, I have a curling game tonight and of course now that I'm finally tired enough to rest I need to go pickup Carter at school. Sigh.
Tuesday was a baking/cooking day. First I dropped preschoolers off and spent an hour in the bathroom with Henri. Henri's about 2-3 weeks into potty training, going about 90% in the toilet, when all the sudden control issues are raring their ugly head. For 20 minutes, "no I don't want to go potty" screaming, crying, etc. So I gave in and started to leave preschool. Then for 10 minutes. "No, I WANT to go potty" so 30 minutes after class started I finally got to leave with my snotty girl. We went to Costco, Albertsons and Whole Foods then I picked up everyone and we started home. The other preschoolers stayed for lunch, which was fine, they all ate some Costco hot dogs while I unloaded the car. Then I put V down for nap and got to work. First up was making waffles for the freezer. I had the idea to use a large, Costco sized creamer container for my batter to make it less messy while actually making the waffles. Two waffle recipes will fit in the container. It can be shaken up if the ingredients settle during cooking. However the opening is quite small. I'd recommend making up the batter in a large bowl with a spout and pouring it into the creamer container, or using a funnel with a wider opening like this one rather than the standard plastic funnel.
I also opened up the huge #10 can of pears from Costco (pear halves 6pounds for 3.50!) and used the can to assemble my crockpot swap dinners
I'm making curry chicken from here lots of fun flavors, should be excellent, but lots of chopping!
I also made a double batch of the cheddar crackers, but with a smaller cutter. That took FOREVER as well as making 12 servings of scalloped potatoes and running them over for Community Supper.
Wed AM comes. V is up at 4, H is up at 5:30. By 8am, I've been barfed on twice, washed and remade a bed and a couch and showered to get that "just been puked on smell" gone. Lovely. So I finished up a couple of tax returns, since V was down for nap by 9:30am, I have a curling game tonight and of course now that I'm finally tired enough to rest I need to go pickup Carter at school. Sigh.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Mid-Winter break
Tuesday we had the Vaughns come over. The kids were over the moon to see each other. Now that they are in school full-time and in different districts with different breaks they hardly get to see each other.
Wednesday we went to Maria's house for yummy Chinese food she and her mom made up, it was fun to have all our kids playing and trying some new foods. Then we ran to the post office (I know, with 3 kids, what was I thinking????)
Thursday Henri had school and I had some taxes to do, so V & C when to visit A & A... Wednesday morning C asked what day it was and I said Wednesday, "so tomorrow I get to play with A?" they get along really well despite a few years' age difference.
This morning I had MOPs and we collected over this month 2500 diapers in a diaper drive. We assigned a different size to each table with the winner getting the steering team to watch the table's kids so they could have a weekday kid-free outting together. About 500 went to the church's food bank and the other 2000 the kid and I drove over to Issaquah for the Eastside baby corner. Then we hit Value Village for a few finds...
1st up was this very good condition, bright, cheery orange teapot. I've been looking at teapots for awhile, they are about $25-$30 new and $12-$15 at Ross This was $5. Would orange be my first choice? Maybe not, but it's bright and happy and in good condition.
Another item I've been after is a cast iron pan. A few recipes I've found call for one and I don't have one. This beauty was $8.
Considering many nice ones are $40 and up, this is great to see if I actually use it or not before investing in one. I also have been needing a small sauce type pan. I kept one set of pans and gave my other to my grandmother, but I didn't realize I didn't have a really small pan and I've been missing it. For $5 I got this one.
My last find were these little shakers, that I plan to use in my craft room for glitter. At $7 for 10 of them, I'm happy to see how it works. I also got $3 off my total for donating some clothing today..
Wednesday we went to Maria's house for yummy Chinese food she and her mom made up, it was fun to have all our kids playing and trying some new foods. Then we ran to the post office (I know, with 3 kids, what was I thinking????)
Thursday Henri had school and I had some taxes to do, so V & C when to visit A & A... Wednesday morning C asked what day it was and I said Wednesday, "so tomorrow I get to play with A?" they get along really well despite a few years' age difference.
This morning I had MOPs and we collected over this month 2500 diapers in a diaper drive. We assigned a different size to each table with the winner getting the steering team to watch the table's kids so they could have a weekday kid-free outting together. About 500 went to the church's food bank and the other 2000 the kid and I drove over to Issaquah for the Eastside baby corner. Then we hit Value Village for a few finds...
1st up was this very good condition, bright, cheery orange teapot. I've been looking at teapots for awhile, they are about $25-$30 new and $12-$15 at Ross This was $5. Would orange be my first choice? Maybe not, but it's bright and happy and in good condition.
Considering many nice ones are $40 and up, this is great to see if I actually use it or not before investing in one. I also have been needing a small sauce type pan. I kept one set of pans and gave my other to my grandmother, but I didn't realize I didn't have a really small pan and I've been missing it. For $5 I got this one.
My last find were these little shakers, that I plan to use in my craft room for glitter. At $7 for 10 of them, I'm happy to see how it works. I also got $3 off my total for donating some clothing today..
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
More paper
When you want some clips for your pantry, you can make pretty ones with paper, ribbon & clothespins & a little mod podge...
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Games & Cookies
Besides beginning to work on taxes for friends and family, I tried two new recipies for cookies this week and Paul brought home some new games. The cookies are Molasses Pops (from a cookie cookbook I have) that are like a mild gingerbread cookie, but rolled into a ball and into sugar, like a snickerdoodle. The other are from pinterest- Apple Toffee Blondies and were quite tasty, they are for a memorial for a woman at church.
Paul brought home Agricola , Power Grid, Forbidden Island and Pandemic games. Forbidden Island and Pandemic we've played with Carter (rated age 10 and 13) and they are co-operative games where players work together to finish the game before time runs out due to circumstances throughout the game. Agricola is a little more complicated-There's a basic "family" version that Carter has played with us and Paul and I have played with the cards added in and it may be a bit too frustrating for Carter, but we're having fun with it.
Paul brought home Agricola , Power Grid, Forbidden Island and Pandemic games. Forbidden Island and Pandemic we've played with Carter (rated age 10 and 13) and they are co-operative games where players work together to finish the game before time runs out due to circumstances throughout the game. Agricola is a little more complicated-There's a basic "family" version that Carter has played with us and Paul and I have played with the cards added in and it may be a bit too frustrating for Carter, but we're having fun with it.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Mid-week
Tuesday is normally my driving around day... H has preschool and in carpooling with my neighbor, I drop off C, my neighbor takes him and her daughter to the elementary school on Tuesdays while I pick up her twin girls, all 4 of us (V is with us) head to school, then I run errands with just one kid and then we pick them up, usually it's a full line with 3-3 year olds and an 18 month old who wants to run around and play with everything in the classroom and try to get hit by a car in the parking lot. This Tuesday, however, I borrowed a carseat, put the middle seat back in the van and.... put C, H & V in the car and headed to the neighbor's house. Dropped off C, picked up her twins, dropped off the 3-3 year olds at preschool, went home and did an hour of chores, then my friend dropped off her 3 & 4 year old (you see where this is going, don't you?) I took V & my friend's kids to Costco by the preschool, then took 18 month old, 3 year old & 4 year old to pick up 3-3 year olds at preschool. Luckily they felt sorry for me and sent the new assistant teacher out with me, who carried V out to the car while I played a game of Tetris of figuring out what order the children had to go into the car in order to be in the proper carseat, get over the middle seat, and buckle everyone in.
In case you ever need to know... Baby gets in first because she'll run (she's right behind the driver) then get in the twins on either end of the backseat. Buckle them in, put in the 4 year old, buckle her in, then shove her booster seat back so it's covering all the seatbelts in the backseat. Then put in Henri in the carseat middle, middle seat, the the other 3 year old who can ride in a booster next to him.
Dropped off the twins, gave the other 4 lunch, then drop off all 4 so I can go to Carter's Valentine's day party. When Carter asked me this morning where his lunch was, I threw in some stuff and told him to sit tight until the party, his teacher asked 3 kids to bring cookies and 1 to bring brownies and 1 to bring cupcakes. Yeah,the plates were pretty full, so we set aside the rice crispy treats that also came. Anyways, it is always fun to come to the parties because your kid thinks it is so awesome that you got to come. His friends were asking all sorts of questions and I was mostly at Carter's table to help the kids read their Valentine's if they got stuck. We're also trying potty training for Henri AGAIN because, apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. But he's only got one day of preschool this week and C's off school next week, so it seemed like as good a time as any.
Oh, yeah, then babysat a baby that night as well, lol. I thought Paul was going to have curling so we didn't make any plans, he didn't but it was fine, he headed to the game store and brought home 4 games that we played after the kids went to bed. The two we have played so far are: Forbidden Island and Pandemic. Both can be played with 2-4 players and are co-operative, which means you work together to try to win against the games, which have a large degree of randomness to them due to cards shuffling and there are 6 roles each person could be with special abilities. We've been having a lot of fun with them. Carter's played Forbidden Island with us, and we're hoping to play Pandemic soon with him. LOVE that he can read and is sharp as a tack with his problem solving. Many of our long-forgotten games are coming out of hiding now that we have another player in the house.
Wednesday is our other "not doing much" day, so I watched the twins in the morning and we made cheese crackers like before only thinner and I cut them out with a cutter rather than just square. 'Cause I'm fancy like that...
We also made a sample batch of laundry soap
That's right, yet another use for those milk cartons. I'm using the Duggar's front-load recipe... 1 cup hot water, 1/4 bar of Fels-Naptha soap, 1/2 c. washing soda, 1/4 c. Borax, cook the soap and water until dissolved (This takes awhile, be patient), then add the soda and borax. This is 1/4 of their recipe they make for 5 gallons of concentrate (in a bucket) for 10 gallons of soap. I only wanted to make 1/4. Since that would be 1.25 gallons and that's annoying, I'm putting it in my 1 gallon container. This is the concentrate. Let sit overnight, then add same amount of hot water and mix up, use 1/4 c per load. So today (Thurs) I'll pour 1/2 into my other gallon jug and add hot water to both of them and then try it out and give you a review. As much as people hate the Costco milk jugs, the milk is cheaper, they are more square, making the bottoms great for organizing projects, and storing in a packed fridge, AND the openings are larger, making them great for reusing them like this.
I'm hopeful after earlier this week discovering 1/2c washing soda plus 1/2 c. 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed in with my diapers is working better than the 2 scoops of Oxyclean I'd been using. They smell like they were out in the sunshine. Clean, not chemically. LOVE it. I need to experiment with using a little less of the mixture though, because hydrogen peroxide isn't super-cheap. BTW, if you want to try the "homemade Oxyclean" mix with 1 cup and you are supposed to let it sit for at least 20 minutes before washing. I was in a hurry and have a front loader, so I threw it in and let it go. I haven't used it on my regular laundry yet.
Today's project while I was watching the girls was to make a little something for my boring laundry room this would have also looked cute over the window, but this way you can enjoy it while you sit on the toilet, lol. The idea's off pinterest but I used paper instead of fabric. My instructions are: Buy letters at Hobby Lobby. They didn't have chipboard ones, so I got the very thin wood ones (think smooth MDF). Then I took a brown Stampin' up Craft ink (they no longer have craft stamp pads, but I think they have craft refills-it's just pigment ink instead of water based-you could use either or even paint, I just figured this would work best)and 1/4 of a SU! ink sponge and sponged/inked all the edges, esp on the front in case my paper ended up short. Then I put the letters on the BACK of the paper so that the BACK of the letter (with the staple side from where I took off the price tags towards me, not the paper). They were $2.49 each at Hobby Lobby BTW. I then used a sharp pencil (I used a CM photo pencil, it's softer lead so it wouldn't accidently tear my paper) to trace around the letters and use scissors and an Exacto knife and CM cutting pad to cut out the letters. I cut on the outside of the lines I had traced. I then sprayed my letters with spray adhesive and attached the paper. I used a sanding file/paper to sand the edges so that the paper would then be exactly the size of the wood letters. It is important to sand from front of the letter to back, not back and forth and go easy because otherwise you'll rip your paper. This makes the paper fit perfectly and also gives a nice little edge to go with the brown paint/ink.
I then used Modge Podge because the spray adhesive didn't make them stick completely and it also gives a nice, shininess to it as well as protects it should my washing machine spray everywhere or something. I made sure to paint a very light layer so my paper wouldn't curl (esp since I already had spray adhesive doing most of the work) and made sure to paint front to back and just a little on the edge to protect from the paper lifting up.
Then I tied some ribbons and fibers on. Then the tough part came. These letters did not come with hangers on them. BTW, if yours do not and you need to put hangers on, I'd do the hangers first, then the ribbon, since once you get the ribbons on,the knots will prevent the letters from sitting flat while you attach hangers. Another FYI, these letters were pretty well balanced, but some letters may not be perfectly balanced, so the middle of the letter is not necessarily where you want the hanger to be.
My first idea was to use pop can tabs, like this awesome idea from pinterest, the letters are pretty light so I figured a flat tack would work, unfortunately I don't have any on hand and all my nails/screws were too long. Then I thought I could use the best invention ever... Superglue. But then I realized I had some little picture loop things, imagine a very small version of this
I then took a 1/16 drill bit (I would have used the one smaller one I have, but I broke it last week, this worked alright though) and VERY carefully and slowly drilled into the top of my letters and then screwed these loops in. The awesome part about using these is that it was very easy to hang... make a straight line with a level, then line up the letters and make a dot where the loop goes and put a nail in the wall. Easy peasy.
In case you ever need to know... Baby gets in first because she'll run (she's right behind the driver) then get in the twins on either end of the backseat. Buckle them in, put in the 4 year old, buckle her in, then shove her booster seat back so it's covering all the seatbelts in the backseat. Then put in Henri in the carseat middle, middle seat, the the other 3 year old who can ride in a booster next to him.
Dropped off the twins, gave the other 4 lunch, then drop off all 4 so I can go to Carter's Valentine's day party. When Carter asked me this morning where his lunch was, I threw in some stuff and told him to sit tight until the party, his teacher asked 3 kids to bring cookies and 1 to bring brownies and 1 to bring cupcakes. Yeah,the plates were pretty full, so we set aside the rice crispy treats that also came. Anyways, it is always fun to come to the parties because your kid thinks it is so awesome that you got to come. His friends were asking all sorts of questions and I was mostly at Carter's table to help the kids read their Valentine's if they got stuck. We're also trying potty training for Henri AGAIN because, apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. But he's only got one day of preschool this week and C's off school next week, so it seemed like as good a time as any.
Oh, yeah, then babysat a baby that night as well, lol. I thought Paul was going to have curling so we didn't make any plans, he didn't but it was fine, he headed to the game store and brought home 4 games that we played after the kids went to bed. The two we have played so far are: Forbidden Island and Pandemic. Both can be played with 2-4 players and are co-operative, which means you work together to try to win against the games, which have a large degree of randomness to them due to cards shuffling and there are 6 roles each person could be with special abilities. We've been having a lot of fun with them. Carter's played Forbidden Island with us, and we're hoping to play Pandemic soon with him. LOVE that he can read and is sharp as a tack with his problem solving. Many of our long-forgotten games are coming out of hiding now that we have another player in the house.
We also made a sample batch of laundry soap
I'm hopeful after earlier this week discovering 1/2c washing soda plus 1/2 c. 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed in with my diapers is working better than the 2 scoops of Oxyclean I'd been using. They smell like they were out in the sunshine. Clean, not chemically. LOVE it. I need to experiment with using a little less of the mixture though, because hydrogen peroxide isn't super-cheap. BTW, if you want to try the "homemade Oxyclean" mix with 1 cup and you are supposed to let it sit for at least 20 minutes before washing. I was in a hurry and have a front loader, so I threw it in and let it go. I haven't used it on my regular laundry yet.
Today's project while I was watching the girls was to make a little something for my boring laundry room this would have also looked cute over the window, but this way you can enjoy it while you sit on the toilet, lol. The idea's off pinterest but I used paper instead of fabric. My instructions are: Buy letters at Hobby Lobby. They didn't have chipboard ones, so I got the very thin wood ones (think smooth MDF). Then I took a brown Stampin' up Craft ink (they no longer have craft stamp pads, but I think they have craft refills-it's just pigment ink instead of water based-you could use either or even paint, I just figured this would work best)and 1/4 of a SU! ink sponge and sponged/inked all the edges, esp on the front in case my paper ended up short. Then I put the letters on the BACK of the paper so that the BACK of the letter (with the staple side from where I took off the price tags towards me, not the paper). They were $2.49 each at Hobby Lobby BTW. I then used a sharp pencil (I used a CM photo pencil, it's softer lead so it wouldn't accidently tear my paper) to trace around the letters and use scissors and an Exacto knife and CM cutting pad to cut out the letters. I cut on the outside of the lines I had traced. I then sprayed my letters with spray adhesive and attached the paper. I used a sanding file/paper to sand the edges so that the paper would then be exactly the size of the wood letters. It is important to sand from front of the letter to back, not back and forth and go easy because otherwise you'll rip your paper. This makes the paper fit perfectly and also gives a nice little edge to go with the brown paint/ink.
I then used Modge Podge because the spray adhesive didn't make them stick completely and it also gives a nice, shininess to it as well as protects it should my washing machine spray everywhere or something. I made sure to paint a very light layer so my paper wouldn't curl (esp since I already had spray adhesive doing most of the work) and made sure to paint front to back and just a little on the edge to protect from the paper lifting up.
Then I tied some ribbons and fibers on. Then the tough part came. These letters did not come with hangers on them. BTW, if yours do not and you need to put hangers on, I'd do the hangers first, then the ribbon, since once you get the ribbons on,the knots will prevent the letters from sitting flat while you attach hangers. Another FYI, these letters were pretty well balanced, but some letters may not be perfectly balanced, so the middle of the letter is not necessarily where you want the hanger to be.
I then took a 1/16 drill bit (I would have used the one smaller one I have, but I broke it last week, this worked alright though) and VERY carefully and slowly drilled into the top of my letters and then screwed these loops in. The awesome part about using these is that it was very easy to hang... make a straight line with a level, then line up the letters and make a dot where the loop goes and put a nail in the wall. Easy peasy.
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