One of My Favorite Kitchen Gadgets

With all the onions we've been cutting up from our garden to dehydrate, I've fallen more and more in love with my stainless steel "soap" bar. The bar helps remove any bad odors on your hands from the kitchen. You wash your hands using cold water, soap, and the bar and voila - any lingering odors will be quickly removed.

Onions. Garlic. You name it. I am amazed almost every time I use it. It's almost a game for me to check my hands and see if any smell remains. I know, I know. I have serious entertainment issues...

I originally bought mine about 7 years ago through a fundraiser so I don't know the exact type I have, but this one is pretty similar. I think I purchased mine for around $5-7. It's gone from accessory to neccesity for me.

Just wanted to share something that Works For Me!

Rated What?

Our family really enjoys having movie nights together. Unfortunately, I am constantly being surprised by the content in many movies targeting children. And truthfully, I'm shocked at what's considered acceptable in movies targeted at adults as well.

A few years ago, I got fed up with being unpleasantly surprised and started searching for a way to eliminate these moments in our family. So...I thought I'd share a few online movie review sites that work for me.




My favorite online movie review site is Kids In Mind. While not a Christian website, they have the most detailed reviews that I have found. I love this site and feel like I can make informed decisions about what our eyes and ears are consuming. Here's what they have to say about their site:

We enable adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for them or their children, according to their own criteria. Unlike the MPAA we do not assign an inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE & PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10. We also explain in detail why a film rates high or low in a specific category, and we include instances of SUBSTANCE USE, a list of DISCUSSION TOPICS that may elicit questions from kids and MESSAGES the film conveys.

I also use it to make decisions regarding movies for myself. They have recently had some cyber problems (hackers, etc.), so they have a couple messages on their site - including one about membership, but I have been able to continue to access their reviews for free.

Another site I frequent is Plugged In Online, a website of Focus on the Family. While I don't find it as detailed as Kids-in-Mind, it occasionally has additional information that helps me make a decision about movie selections. One neat thing is that they don't just stop at movie reviews, they also cover music, video games, television, etc.

I recently discovered that the Dove Foundation does online movie reviews. While I haven't used their site very much, I checked out a few of their reviews and I really like the way that they have done them. Probably more so than Plugged In Online from what I can tell. I will definitely be using them in the future.

Making wise decisions about the movies we watch definitely works for me! You can check out more Works for me Wednesdays here. Happy viewing!

A Few of My Favorite Things - Games

My family loves games. No, really. We love them. We love the laughter they generate. The dark side they bring out...no, we won't mention any names, Jake *cough, cough*.

So this time around I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorite games.

We have several favorites by Cranium. Man, that company just knows how to do it right. Balloon Lagoon is fantastic for little ones and Whoonu is fun and doesn't involve a lot of strategic thinking for those laid back nights. But, the huge hit for us has been Jam Packed Jam.



Caleb received this game last Christmas and it has been a blast! Adults and children have all liked it. Straight off the Amazon website: The object of the game is simple -- to fit as many fun items as possible, of all shapes and sizes, into the trunk before time runs out. On each turn, players say the number of objects they think they can precariously pack. When time's up, the trunk shoots everything out the doors. The 14 items to be packed are random and include a tire, a birthday cake, a cactus, and more.



One of our most favorite card games is Dutch Blitz. A quick moving game, that some days just makes this tired momma dizzy!
It's a very fast paced game for up to 4 people and the competition is crazy. I'm not sure I could accurately describe the rules and Amazon didn't have the description up. Okay, I'm also too lazy to get my set out and look at what it says. I do know that it says it is a "Vonderful Goot Game" and yah, I agree!

Our current family must-have is Blokus and it's been at the top of our list for a year now.
This is a great strategy game and kids 5 and over can join in on the action. Caleb (8) holds himself really well in this game. It is fairly quick moving and "challenges spatial thinking". It's another game for up to 4 people. According to the Amazon description: Blokus is simple to understand, but the game's complexity is revealed shortly after everyone begins to play. It can be addictive, even for those not normally into abstract games... Children and adults can play together for hours of competitive family fun. Hours. No joke.

These are probably my familiy's top three favorite games right now. But really, we're usually up for anything. We just learned how to play Speed Scrabble and it has quickly won us over. We are looking forward to Christmas for many reasons, including a bit of trash talking game time.

A Few Of My Favorite Things - Alternative Christmas Gifts

Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, and brown paper packages have been on my mind lately. Not to mention a few other things, including Julie Andrews.

I remember as a little girl I always looked forward to the Christmas season because this movie would come on television and my mom would let me stay up and watch it. It's just one of those special childhood memories. Maybe that's when my love for musicals was born.

So...since I've had that song stuck in my head for several weeks now, I thought I'd do a couple of posts on some of my favorite things that I'll just pick randomly. And since it's that time of year I thought I would start things off by highlighting some of my favorite alternative Christmas gifts. These are all organizations with whom I have personal experience.




World Vision - As taken from their website, "World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice." World Vision has a gift catalog that has loads of different "gifts" that you can donate in honor of someone. We have done this several times for various family members and we love it.

They have their gift catalog conveniently online here. It's probably my most favorite thing to give. You can also sponsor a child. I hope to be able to sponsor a child with the same birthdate as each of my children one day.

For those of you who are local, my friend, Christina, is hoping to raise money to buy a well soon. Would you consider helping? Get in touch with her and let her know!

Kiva - As taken from their website, "Kiva lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty." This is a really neat organization that raises funds to loan money to help people in developing countries start or expand their small businesses. Once the money is repaid by the entrepreneur, you can pick another entrepreneur to help or receive the money back. I think it's a great gift for small business owners, like my mom and my sister, Jaclyn.

Heifer International - Their approach is to help "people obtain a sustainable source of food and income." It is similar to World Vision. They are near and dear to me because we always raised money for animals through them when I was kid in vacation bible school. *grin*

There are so many different organizations out there to give a "gift" through. Do you have any favorites?

Homemade Baby Food

Toward the end of my pregnancy with Abigail, I became very interested in making my own baby food. This way I could know what was going into her little body and I hoped that it would be cheaper.

Hands down, it is ridiculously cheaper. Not only that, it is soooooo easy! I can't believe I didn't do it with the boys.

A month or two before she was born, I bought a cookbook called La Petit Appetit by Lisa Barnes from a local discount bookfair. Can I just tell you how much our family has enjoyed this cookbook! We have not made a recipe that we didn't like so far. I never thought I would see a two year old scarf down eggplant, but I have now and he is one of mine. :)

That being said, this book is not necessary for making baby food. I had a severe "duh" moment when I read the portions regarding baby food. Basically, take what you are serving for dinner and either puree it or you can even mash it with a fork if it's soft. (You may have to add a small amount of water to make it a thinner consistency.)

It doesn't get much easier than that. And Abigail will now be exposed to so many more types of food that is not readily available in the store bought brands. Not only that, it's fresh and not processed. Nutritious, cheap, and easy - that's what I'm talking about! ;)

Even though Abigail is solely nursing right now, I still took advantage of the summer's garden offerings to make homemade (which happens to also mean organic in our house) baby food to store. I pureed a small variety of fruits and froze them to use when she is ready.

I have also been keeping my eye out at the grocery store for super cheap veggies and fruits. I recently got organic pears and sweet potatoes for a great price.

As far as storing it, you can take whatever you have made that won't be eaten in a timely manner and put it into ice cube trays to freeze. Then take the cubes, put them in a bag together and back in the freezer. Now you have baby sized portions ready to be thawed and eaten. I did run across these special cubes yesterday specifically for baby food storage in the freezer and think they're pretty cool.

Another way to make and store baby food is through dehydration. Dehydrate your fruits or veggies and store in airtight containers. Then when it's time to feed baby, pulverize the dehydrated food into a powder. Rehydrate the food with water to your desired consistency and serve.

I plan to follow our doctor's recommendations regarding foods (such as introducing one new food at a time), but there are so many more foods she can enjoy now than if we were using the jars and I know what is in the food she is eating. As she gets older, she can enjoy our whole meals and not just sides. I am so excited to be doing this with her!

Want more frugal ideas? Check out Frugal Friday at Biblical Womanhood.

Have You Seen These Things Yet?

Maybe I'm so out of it these days that these things are old news, but I thought they were so cool! It's a t-shirt band that fits around your waist and hips to maintain skin coverage. Or as they call it - rear view exposure. You can find them at http://www.myhip-t.com/.

In this day of ultra low rise pants and shorter shirts, I thought it was a fantastic idea for keeping modest. And protecting the world from that which they truly do not want to see. :) It's one of those things that also leaves me wishing I had made it up.

I wonder if I could make my own out of a tight t-shirt.

Nothing Like A Good Book

I devoured Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt last night. I'm not kidding, I finished the whole thing in one night after the kids went to bed. A book about good books, can't get much better than that.

I devoured it like someone famished. Have you ever been so hungry that you found yourself eating so incredibly fast and not really caring what anyone thinks? Okay, so that's me a lot, but usually I'm just trying to shovel food in my mouth before a baby cries, someone is fighting, another HUGE mess is made, or some other semblance of chaos is occurring in my life. :) Or maybe it's just because I want to at least taste it half warm. Or maybe I have just slipped in all form of manners in my life.

Anyway, that's why I feel like I consumed this book. Starvation. Of words, not food. I love the English language. I love words. Word games and puzzles. Plays on words. The use of words. The way they can be melded together and transport you anywhere. The way they can take an ordinary moment and turn it into something extraordinary.

That's part of why I love homeschooling so much. I am getting to enjoy so many quality books with Caleb that I never got to experience when I was a child. Right now am so thrilled about our school year because I've been working on our reading list for the year. It helps that Caleb loves to read and be read to, also. That's where Honey for a Child's Heart comes in. Also, Books Children Love by Elizabeth Wilson , which I just borrowed from the library, again...definitely going to have to add this one to our personal library some time.

I feel like I used to know and use so many more words than I do now. My command of the English language has digressed to dropping off my g's, as in, "Let's get goin'," and even "idear" has slipped out. As in, "Hey, I have a good idear." Not even sure where that came from. Some of it has to do with the region we live in, which I'm not knocking because I have country blood in me. I just never quite talked like it. And I'm not even saying it's wrong, it's just different for me. And I'm certainly not using much of my vocabulary these days.

Perhaps it's just the constant use of two to four letter words in this house of little ones (no, stop, sit, etc.) or just the fact that I don't get out much or intentionally engage my mind by reading books that I used too. Or maybe I just type so quick on this blog and don't really go over it enough to reword and really think things through...that's a scary thought. I don't know, but it does make me think of the commercial that had the wife greeting her husband at the door with baby gibberish and he quickly realizes that he needs to get her out for adult time and quick.

Sweet Samuel "reading" a book in his cowboy boots

As I've been feeling like I've lost some intellect (do all moms feel this way at some point? and if they do, when does it come back?), this book certainly whet my appetite for words. I have also been having fun recently with Caleb looking up words in the dictionary and watching the light in his eyes as he tucks it away to use some rainy day. I find that I know the general meaning of a word, but can't quite give him a solid definition, so it's helping both of us. Side note: His favorite word last year was putrid, can't wait to see what it is this year.

I feel like if my children learn to love reading, then they are prepared to learn anything they set their minds too. A lifetime of learning will be available to them. That God's knowledge will be that much more accessible to them.

Anyway, this book about children's literature satisfied something in me other than just having some new titles to add to our literary repertoire. It is my hope that my children will learn to love the English language and will master the use of its words. Or at least some of them. That they will be articulate adults able to communicate God's redeeming love to a dying world in whatever capacity God uses them. The possibilities are endless with God in control. Now that's exciting!

Anyone up for a good game of Boggle? Scrabble?

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine Giveaway

This one is for all you homeschoolers out there! Jolanthe at Our Homeschool Creations (also of No Ordinary Moments, which I read regularly) is giving a chance to win a one year digital subscription to The Old Schoolhouse magazine. Click here to go get the details and make sure you stop and have fun on her blogs.

Since I believe this is a quality product, I wanted to spread the word. I have a current subscription to their print magazine and love it, but have been pondering going digital when this one is up. Anyway, it's a great magazine and they also have a variety of weekly newsletters, an online store, and more through the web. If you haven't checked them out, you should! I learned about them by reading an old copy my Mom had lying around the house, which I've read a few times now. Thanks, Mom!

So, make sure you head over to Our Homeschool Creations and get the details for the giveaway. Don't forget to mention that I sent you when you enter!