Randomness about bronzer

When my sister, Erin, visited recently she taught me about the use of Bronzer.  It gives you a healthy sun-kissed glow instead of leaving you washed out looking after putting on foundation.  So I made a mental note to pick up some the next time I went to Wal-Mart.

Well, I've been shopping several times since her visit and forgot.  Until last night.

I went to Wal-Mart, after the Pack Meeting with 7 kids and a husband in tow, in search of Bronzer.

And then, oh my goodness, there was like 20 different choices!  I had no idea.  A lovely lady who I'd guess to be maybe five years older than me helped me understand how to choose and warned me against going too orange.

So I shelled out the $7 and bought some.

This morning I straightened my hair while Hammy looked on, entertained.  I found two gray hairs and decided against coloring.  just yet.

Then I put on make-up.  Hammy said, "What day is it?"  Hammy's know I only wear make-up on Sundays.  lol

Then I opened the package of bronzer.  And I swept some over my cheek-bones.  and my nose.  Wow!  This does make me look less-dead. 

Then I got carried away.

Now the wrinkles in my forehead are nice and bronze.  I didn't know I had wrinkles in my forehead.  I'm feeling old.

Birthday Party Invitations-- part 4 of our series

It's time to buy or make invitations for the much-anticipated Hammy turning 4 birthday party.

Determine the number of guests that need an invitation.  Four in our case.

Our children can invite as many friends as the year they are turning.  We made an exception for the last big party we had (when Pookie turned 8) because of their policy of handing out invitations at public school and not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. 

Hammy is turning four so he gets to invite four (non-related) friends.  Siblings are automatically included (cousins would be too if we lived near them).

We've chosen our theme:  Polkadots.  Since we will be hand-delivering invitations we aren't worried about special costs for mailing off-size envelopes.  So we're making polka dot invitations-- big, happy, bright circles!

"Circle" the date and don't be late-- or something cute and appealing to the 4 year old crowd.

The most important part is having the date, time, and place clear on the invitation.  And I personally wouldn't put a TON of work into them because if these children receiving them are like mine, they'll want to carry it around until that date. 

Try to get your verbal invitation out at least two weeks in advance and the physical (paper) invite out at least a week before.  If you're not going to get a verbal invitation out, just send the card out 2 weeks prior to the party.  That gives your guests plenty of time to prepare for the date and get a gift if they choose.

If you haven't finished putting together your goodie bags or game prep, do that this week as well.  You want to save the week of the party for cleaning your house and decorations and cake.

Freshly scrubbed Peach

I love this little pink thing.

Gabbers before and after the peanut butter upped our anxiety level

Here Danny attempts to brush peanut butter through Gabbers hair with a toothbrush and a spoon.  The toothbrush and spoon were in a method we read about online.  All I remembered from my childhood (and the last time she got gum in her hair) was to use the creamy peanut butter.

Danny kept saying it wigged him out.  So I gave it a try. 

I'm not sure if it was the combination of Skippy Peanut Butter and the bubble gum in her hair, but it turned to a nasty consistency.  I couldn't handle it either.  So, we gave her the chop.

Here's a picture of her this morning, folding clothes in the family closet, with her new short do (and a pirate helper).

Dear Easter Bunny,

What were you thinking giving bubble gum eggs to a three year old?!  Granted he's almost four. 

But we have a strict "No GUM under the age of 10" policy in our home.  It's pretty new, you can read about it here.

I'll be busy now with a container of creamy peanut butter. 

In which you find out we're not a Miracle Whip family, love our cream cheese, and don't drink

Here's a picture of my kitchen fridge.

I didn't wash any shelves or splatters or toss out anything old before snapping this.  I do that so you can feel comfortable with our friendship.  And if you come over to my house for a visit, you'll catch it on the messy side unless you give me adequate notice.  And if you do give me adequate notice, I still don't promise much.  I do that for you too.  I'm generous like that so you can always feel good about your home.  ;)

The fridge right now is a little on the sparse side for our family.  I haven't made a good grocery shopping trip in a while.  I did grab those tortillas at Wal-Mart a few days ago and the cream cheese I picked up when I went for a quick bunny-run to the commissary right before they closed.  The cream cheese were only 79 cents each with coupons.  And since they don't expire in forever, I grabbed a bunch.  I should've grabbed more coupons too.   hmm...

Ever since Laurie mentioned turntables in my previous post and then posted her fridge party pictures, I have been wanting drooling!  My fridge doesn't have anything special going on in it.  Let alone awesome turntables.  They are on my shopping list.

It is very exciting for me to have a spare fridge in my garage now that I can use for bread kits and for Danny's frozen lunches and extra gallons of milk and later in the year holiday pies.  But the true challenge and enjoyment with organization comes in the fridge in the house that the family uses multiple times a day.  An organized fridge makes life easier.  When it's organized food doesn't get lost in the back forty and die.

An ideal fridge in my mind:

• holds enough gallons of milk for the whole family
• has the right-sized shelves
• a cheese/meat drawer
• non-broken crisper drawers
• shelves in the door not too tall
• and now, of course, TURNTABLES!

I can't wait.  Then I will show you a more lovely organized fridge.  Until then, I feel like you're peering into my sock drawer and learning something about me from seeing this sadness.  lol

Someone related to me, and I'm not going to say her name in case she doesn't want me to-- but if you're related to me to you can probably guess who it is-- once labeled the shelves in her fridge.  I want to do that.  My only worry, do the labels come off when it's time to leave and the Air Force wants its fridge spotless? 

If I could label my fridge shelves, ahhh what a beautiful thing it would be.  Turntables and labels?  I could die happy.  And hey, I made a rhyme. 

What do these items have in common?

Look closely at the 9 items on the white copy paper.

Top row from left to right:  Most of a Lego guy, coupon to see the bishop, cellphone, dental floss

Bottom row from left to right:  empty fruit snacks bag, green Lego legs, foil wrapper from Butterfinger egg, Lego pieces configured like a gun, brass safety pin.

Do you know what they all have in common?

Three good reasons not to wash towels with clothes

I know you've been wondering why it's not good to wash your towels with your clothing. 

1.  Towels are made of a heavy-duty material that when tumbling or agitating together with clothing will wear it [the clothing] out.

2.  If they are kitchen towels, they are likely VERY dirty/germy.  Bathroom towels can also be very dirty.  You want to wash your towels on hot/cold.  That means hot wash and cold rinse. 

• Most clothing should be washed on cold/cold or warm/cold.  (We're not talking dry clean types and gentle cycle types.)
• White clothing-- like underwear and undershirts and white socks worn close to the body should be washed on hot/cold to get the stink out.
•  It's best to wash similar fabrics together.  As pointed out in number one, they are of very different materials, and I don't want them wearing out my clothing prematurely from a couple towels that didn't want to wait for a full load.

3.  You should not use fabric softener with your towels (kitchen or bathroom).  It decreases their absorbency.  Towels need to be absorbent.  Have you ever visited somewhere that used fabric softener with their towels and you didn't feel like the towel actually dried you off?  Maybe you felt like it smeared the water all over your body?  Have you ever had that happen at a hotel?  No?  That's because they don't use fabric softener with their towels.

So the third point really is, don't wash your towels with your clothes because you want to use fabric softener with your clothes so you can kiss static cling good-bye.  and so you smell like a fresh spring field.

Teach your children young.  and it will always be ingrained in them-- and they can one day post about it to pass on their wisdom.  ;)






P.S.  There's a new Kiddie Kwip today posted at Danny's blog.  It will be added to the Kiddie Kwips next time I update.  But if you want to read it now, click

HERE.

Homemade Disposable Baby Wipes Tutorial

4/20/11 This is a revisited post updated with a breakdown of prices in parentheses next to the ingredients.  Prices may vary according to your area.  I recommend using the generic baby oil and shampoo but using quality paper towels.  Buy the paper towels in bulk (use your coupons too) for best prices.  Watch the sales.  Paper towels don't expire.  ;)  My cost for homemade wipes?  74 1/2 cents for a batch of 70 wipes.  So, YES, homemade wipes are cheaper than Wal-Mart wipes.

1/2 roll Quality Paper Towels    (58 1/2 cents for the half roll when bought in bulk)
1/2 Tbsp. Baby Shampoo or Baby Bath    (5 cents)
1/2 Tbsp. Baby Oil    (5 cents)
1 drop of Tea Tree Oil    (6 cents)
container for wipes
1 1/4 cups water

Start with some good quality paper towels like Bounty. Yes, this truly turns out FAR cheaper than store-bought baby wipes even with Bounty. It makes a difference.  Don't waste time and extra money by buying the cheap stuff.  I hear Viva is good too for wipes.

Unwrap them. We're doing a whole lot at once because we change a WHOLE lot of diapers in Pookieville. AND because I am all about efficiency. No sense getting the knife and cutting board out every three days when I need wipes again. And I do not make enough wipes to last a week. I'll get to that later.

 

Now get yourself a cutting board and a knife.  Do NOT use a serrated knife.  I made that mistake for YEARS (yeah, I'm s-l-o-w sometimes).  It causes a huge fluffy mess.  Even the electric serrated knife makes a mess.  Just use the knife your grandma gave you that ended up being your favorite knife even though it doesn't match any of your other knives.  You know the one. 

Cut it in half.  When cutting it sometimes makes a squeaky sound that upsets my chi. This is to be expected and does not lower the awesomeness of homemade wipes.

Now, I like to use purified or distilled water to lower the chances of anything growing.  And I heat it in the microwave in a glass measuring cup until it boils which is 2-3 minutes. 

 

Remove the paper tube from the center.  Just work it loose and pull it out.  It's a little easier if you wait until the roll is wet to pull out the center.  But soggy paper towel tube wigs me out.  I dunno.

 

Add 1/2 tbsp (1 1/2 tsp) baby shampoo/bath to the 1 1/4 cup of boiled water.

 

Add 1/2 tbsp. baby oil to the water/ baby bath mix.

Add 2-3 drops of tea tree oil (not to be taken internally by gremlins- or anyone)

Pour over the paper towels in container.

 

Watch out for the steam!

All done!

The tea tree oil helps prevent mildew from growing on the wipes.  But even with tea tree oil they will mildew in about a week (at least here on the central west coast).  So that's why we only do one-half roll at a time.  It's really fast once you've got the supplies close by.  I keep them on top my fridge and whip them together between doing dishes or cooking dinner. 

These are ready to use as soon as cool enough.  My kids love to hug the warm container.

This post is linked at http://www.lifeasmom.com/ , Tales from Bloggeritaville, My Coupon Teacher, Finding Fabulous, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven

Why I haven't posted fridge pictures alternate title: Sicky Nikki

Friday night we had a ward activity-- complete with Easter egg hunt for the little kids and dinner and desserts for all.  I didn't have much to eat (like two bites) because I was juggling Peach and feeding Squdge at the same time as trying to keep him [Squdge] from falling off the picnic bench and Hammy from overdosing on jelly-bean topped cupcakes.

The rest of the kids were also having a great time-- as was Danny.  I had fun talking to a fellow mom who shares many of the same parenting philosophies as myself.

When it came time to go, I had a van full of content kids (with the exception of one ready-to-nurse Peach) and bags of plastic eggs with jelly beans, m&ms, tattoos, and fruit snacks waiting to be discovered inside.

We headed further into town to pick up a new light for Danny's little blue car from the local Auto Zone. 

I was feeling good about our accomplishments. 

• Attended a ward activity and no one got lost or pooped their pants. 
• Bought the bulb for Danny's car so he doesn't get ticketed. 
• No one was complaining or bickering.

And then I had a weird feeling.  It felt like... hunger.  So we visited the Taco Bell drive-thru on the way home.  I bought my absolute favorite:  The Steak Quesadilla.  And in two miles, tops, it was gone.  And I felt sick.  and strange.  and hot.  and freezing.  and regretted my severely fast scarfing of it.

By the time we got home, I was convinced that it wasn't the hunger, or the over-stuffed-ness.  I took my temperature.  103.7  Whatever it was, I felt validated for feeling the way I did.  do.

Kiddie Kwip Whispers

I was laying down on my bed with my laptop on my lapdesk in front of me.  I had been researching some things before falling asleep. 

Hammy (3 years 11 months) came in and asked in his usual Hammy volume and excitement, "Mommy!  What show are you watching?"

I groggily replied, "hmm?  Oh, I'm not watching a show.  I'm napping."

Hammy, now much wiser, whispered, "Mommy, what show are you watching?"

The reason I have me a bag of Cadbury mini-eggs.

I don't Facebook.  I don't Tweet.  I do talk to my cousin though.  and I blog.  But you know about the blogging bit.  ;)

This blog is also like a journal for our family.  If I don't write it down, there's a good chance I won't remember it next year.  Or possibly even next month. 

The following is what I just instant messaged my cousin.  Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

So Bun was playing on the camping chair on the back porch. Pookie was lifting his feet. The chair collapsed and Bun smacked the back of his head on the cement. He screamed for about 10 minutes until we convinced him that we indeed understood he was hurt and could stop screaming.

Then like half an hour later he was saying he had the worst headache ever. So Danny decides we should take a look at it. He had a MASSIVE lump and trembled with cold sweats when he thought we were going to touch it.

I called the after-hours number to ask the doctor on call- but the phone service suggested I take him [Bun] to Urgent Care.

She asked which one I wanted to take him to. I requested the location about 25 minutes away. She said, "Be there before 8."

Well, I was there by 7:35 p.m. and their doors were locked. The sign on the door indicates they're open until 8 but take their last patient at 7:30 for registration. I was livid.

We ended up shopping at Target (which was across the street) while waiting for a phone consult. Because he didn't ever pass out, vomit, or seem confused, we decided not to go to the ER and just keep an eye on him. The doctor said to keep him up for 4 hours from the time of the injury. We did. He was exhausted. He seems okay this morning--- except a huge lump.

P.S. Tomorrow we move the fridge into the right spot in the garage.  Then we can organize it and take pictures!! 

Get ready, we're going to have a fridge party!

As you know, I just got an extra fridge.  I have one that is assigned with the house, but this is an extra one for the garage. 

Why are we going to have a fridge party?  Because I am nosy want to see how you organize your fridge. 

Will you take a picture of the inside of it for me and will you explain how you organize it?  If you'd like to tell me about your refrigerator's freezer, I'd love to hear about it too.  Truly.  An organized freezer is a beautiful thing.

I love to glean ideas from other people's organization.  I'm not as FlyLady would call, "Born Organized."  My mom?  Yes.  And my sisters.  But not me.  Noooo.  I need lots of training and ideas.

So, now you have something to blog about this week.  or next.  Make a post and leave your link in the comments.  Check here to learn how to post a link in the comment's section.  Or you can just use your words to tell me in my comments how you organize (if you're not up to taking pictures of your food).

Thank you.  And I'll post pictures of mine when we get the fridge into a good space in the garage.

Look right over there on my sidebar.

It's on the right.  I only have one sidebar right now. 

Do you see the picture of Gabbers?  My sister, Erin, took it. 

Isn't Erin talented?  Even though she has been known to travel half-way across the world for a client, I'd guess that most of her photography customers are in Utah County. 

Here is her button. 



Press it. 

I know you're curious about her work.  It is awesome.  seriously.  You can go like her here.

How to Make a Paper Airplane

Alternate Title:  How to keep your boys busy with an inexpensive and interactive craft.  

Or you.

No one has to know if you are watching this so you can make your own paper airplane.  Go ahead -- live a little.  Everybody's doing it.

Big Signature Thingy Here
Danny created, Nikki approved.

I have a new toy!

I own my own refrigerator now.  I am giddy.  giddy!  It's not new really.  But it's new to me!

I'm like a child anticipating Christmas morning thinking about what will go in it first.

It's going to live in the garage probably near the chest freezer.

On the way to church today I daydreamed about OAMC and freezer meals lined up in the freezer like books on a bookshelf.

I entertained visions of home ground whole wheat flour in the fridge so it wouldn't go rancid.  I also saw gallons of drinking water getting cold and making the space more energy efficient.  Bread kits and roll kits lined the shelves too.

I dreamt of Thanksgiving time and having a turkey thawing in there in a brown paper bag while pies lined the shelves the day before the big meal. 

I was giddy with thoughts of home grown veggies in the crisper drawers from the garden we will start.

I saw labels on the shelves in a perfectly organized manner.

What first?

Nikki

"It is not okay to put enchiladas in your nose."

Sometimes after saying such ridiculous things as this, I think about my mother-in-law.  On occasion she shares her wisdom with me in regards to child-rearing. 

If you didn't notice, I have a few "spirited" or "enthusiastic" children in the bunch.

One thing that I hear my mother-in-law say (in my mind) almost daily, "Pick your battles."

Today I chose the enchiladas battle versus explaining to the Urgent Care doc why my toddlers can't breathe. 

Unfortunately, telling Squdge, "It is not okay to put enchiladas in your nose" made him cry. 

What a meanie I am making up such absurd rules!

And just now I just heard myself say, "Is that cheese or snot coming out of his nose?" 

No, my job is not glamorous.  But it's worth it.

About Me ABC's

I haven't done a meme in ages.  But I saw this on one of my favorite blogs, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, and decided to do it too.  Don't run off, I'm not going to tag you.  Sit down and see if you learn anything new about me.  Okay?  And if you decide to do it, link back so I can come read yours as well.

Age: 34

Bed Size: King-size

Chore You Hate:  Cleaning the kids bathroom.  I have five boys.  Granted they don't all use it.  The three oldest boys make it very obvious that boys use that bathroom.  grossss.

Dogs:  None.

Essential Start of Your Day: Prayer and a large glass of water.  and more prayer.

Favorite Color: Yellow

Gold or Silver: I love the way silver looks-- but I'm allergic to anything that's not gold.

Height: 5'5

Instruments You Play: Piano (25 years), flute, clarinet, recorder, nose.  hahaha


Job Title: homemaker, chaser of little people, mommy, chauffeur, maid, nurse, cook, baker, teacher, blogger

Kids: 7, ages 9, 7, 5, 3, 19 months, 19 months, 4 1/2 months

Live: California

Mom's Name: would I really blog that?  no ma'am.

Nicknames: Nikki, Nik, Nikki-tikki-tavi (only to my parents)

Overnight Hospital Stays: Baby deliveries, preterm babies

Pet Peeve: When people wash their towels with their clothes in the same load!

Quote From a Movie: "You are evil and must be destroyed."

Right- or Left-Handed: Right

Siblings: 3 sisters, 1 brother

Time You Wake Up: when Peach wants to nurse around 6:30 a.m.

Underwear: Mormon-style; over the shoulder, down to the knees

Veggie You Dislike: Okra.   When Mom and Dad weren't looking we'd donate it to the Scouts food drive. 

What Makes You Run Late: Loading the diaper bag for church, and when the twins strip off their clothes and socks and shoes before we get them in the van, when Peach poops out of her outfit or spit-ups all over mine.

X-Rays You Have Had: Dental, Ultra Sounds, wrist, ankles, spine

Yummy Food You Make:  hmm... cinnamon raisin bread, cheesecake, cookies,  Let's just say:  desserts.

Zoo Animal You Like Best: The otters.

Planning your 4 year old's party- part 3 Games

When I plan a party for my child involving friends, I like to spread it out and start about 2 months in advance.  You can start anytime to plan your child's birthday party.  The earlier you start, the more time you have to gather ideas and information, supplies, gifts, etc.  If budget is going to be an issue, you may want to plan six months in advance.  Some things have to be ordered and waiting until a week before usually ends up in a sub-par party that costs too much.  Don't fall victim to procrastination-style parties.

As you read in part 1,  Brainstorm and pick a theme, pick a location, pick a date, we were picking between a polka dot party and a Sesame Street one.  Hammy chose polka dot for sure.

And you read about Goodie Bags in part 2.

Now we are ready to plan games!

For four year old's parties, I think of school carnival type games to get my thoughts flowing:

• bean bag toss
• a fishing game
• pin the tail

and Kindergarten or Preschool type games like:

• Duck, Duck, Goose
• Farmer in the Dell
• Wheelbarrow races (some might be too young)
• balloon pop (may be too traumatic for little ones)
• freeze dancing
• musical chairs

I like to recall parties my children have been to and what they played, games from past birthday parties we've thrown, games from parties I attended when I was little (if my memory can assist).

Try not to be intimidated by online ideas with fanciful matching themes and bouncy castle birthday parties.


Your child will remember the fun time that went into planning and the fun they have with you and their friends and family.

Without further ado, Hammy's games will be:

1. bean bag toss into big colorful circles-- the bean bags will be made out of dried beans or uncooked rice and the fabric will be from either polka dot scraps or brightly colored fabric scraps. 
2. duck, duck, goose -- it's a circle game and kids love to play tag
3. musical chairs -- I have birthday CD with songs I can pause and I can set the chairs up in a circle
4. fishing game-- there's not really circles, but it's fun to fish and get a prize!
5. freeze dancing-- will be back up game/time filler if necessary

That was easy, right?  Now all I need to do is create the bean bags with background and the fishing game.

93 days and the counting is over.

I ate an m&m today.  It was a peanut m&m.  Someone put a sandwich bag of them in my sock drawer.  Yeah, I wear socks occasionally. 

I'm guessing it's the only other person in our home old enough to shop at the commissary. 

Perhaps it was because I begged him to "bring home a bag of Cadbury mini eggs or maybe one of those Cadbury orange creme filled eggs."

So anyways, the sad part?  I couldn't taste it.

I can't fool them all, can I?

I know it wasn't the best April Fools joke.  The best part?  When I called Danny at work to tell him I posted and I wanted to make sure no one at his work would see it, lest we be kicked out of housing, HE thought it was real. 

He even said, "That explains a lot." 

It's a real test.  It's MY real test.  Do you remember?  Were you here when I posted it on October 8, 2006, to announce my pregnancy with Hammy?

I resaved the photo though under a new name to show as 4-1-11.  I originally changed it to 3-31-11 but with the help of Danny decided it was too misleading and switched it to 4-1-11 to give you a chance to figure it out.

You're so smart.  That's why I like you so much.  And of course Kimberly and 6kids4me-- because you're compassionate and thoughtful. 

Oh, and one more thing, I took a test last night.  It was negative.  Leaving a post like yesterday's got me worried.  I'm not worried about having another child.  I'm worried about having another one while being so out of shape.  I've got to tone up my body and lose some weight.  no fooling.

Nikki

Sleeping through the night has its pros and cons.

Remember how I said Peach was sleeping through the night?