Crocheted Bucket Hat

My parents recently got me a book entitled 24-Hour Crochet Projects.
All of the projects listed are able to be completed in 24 hours or less. I chose the bucket hat pictured above for my first project. It was simple and took much less than 24 hours to complete. :-) I used some acrylic yarn I had lying around. I am not sure that I like the fit on my head (I have thick, curly hair.), so I may try it on my daughter to see how it fits her. I am excited to try some of the other projects in the book.

Crocheted Bucket Hat

Free Hallmark Mother's Day Card

I normally don't post freebies and things like that, but I just have to say how excited I am about the card I just made. I went to Hallmark's website and created a paper photo card for my mom (Mom if you happen to read this look away quickly and pretend you didn't read it.)

Hallmark had the option of addressing and mailing the card to my mom for me. This is all really cool in and of itself, but it gets better. I entered the code CARD4MOM at checkout time and poof all of the charges went away. So, my mom is getting a really cool photo card delivered to her door and it didn't cost me a thing. How cool is that? If you want to take advantage of this you have to create your card TODAY. Let me know it works for you.

Also, I want to give a big thank you to The Queen of Free for posting this offer on her site. Check out her site here for daily freebies and frugal tips.

Free Hallmark Mother's Day Card

Otoscope for Home Use

I am not a doctor, but I play one on TV. Well, not on TV, but I am the resident on call in my own home. I have had no formal medical training, but have lots of hands-on experience with several medical conditions including, but not limited to, ear infections.

OK. So, I am being a little dramatic this morning. The reason I am talking about medical conditions is because my two older boys recently had pretty nasty colds which turned into ear infections. However, I was able to avoid running to the doctor because of a handy little tool that we purchased over a year ago.

Having an otoscope makes it so much easier to monitor an ear infection. It has more than paid for itself with the peace of mind it offers as well as not having to pay a co-pay for office visits. I am not sure how we made it so long without one. Actually, I do know how. My mom, who is a nurse, would come look at my kids' ears with her ototscope if necessary. Anyway, we were able to deal with the infections with the help of some pain relievers at the onset and then ear drops. The boys are doing much better this week.

Considering the research indicates that antibiotics are being over-used and that they don't necessarily make a significant difference in the treatment of ear infections we avoid their use as much as possible. Having an otoscope just makes me feel better about dealing with ear infections.

Here is a good link about ear infections. Dr. Greene on Ear Infections & antibiotics.

*Disclaimer: I am not a health care professional and do not suggest that you never see a doctor. I am just stating that an ototscope is something I have found to be useful for our family and helps me be proactive in the care of my children. I am also not suggesting that you should never use antibiotics.

Join Works for Me Wednesday each week at We Are That Family.

Otoscope for Home Use

Tuesday Morning Randomness

The laundry, dishes, toys, and other clutter are taking over again. Every time I think I have things under control and am making progress something happens that causes things to build up again. I know that God is in control, but He isn't going to do my laundry and dishes. :-) Yet, maybe the fact that I can't keep my house under control means I need to allow God to be in more control of other areas of my life.

Like I said in my title this is a random post, so I am just thinking out loud here. I often feel like I must be the only one who can't keep it all together as far as homemaking goes. No room is more than a few minutes from company ready, but I would like it to be company ready at all times.

So, in order to get the house back in shape it means I need to get off of the computer and get back to work. Before I do that I will leave you with a few pictures I took this morning. With the storm from last night we have been left with lots of water all around and more seasonable temperatures.

This is the view from our little hill looking out over our neighbors field. The creek has left its banks and is quite a sight.


Our purple irises are in full bloom. I love how they look covered with rain drops.


Yesterday I mentioned in my garden post that if there was water on the ground that the sweet potato plants would look like they were surrounded by a moat. Well, here you go.

Tuesday Morning Randomness

The Garden Has Been Planted!

I haven't posted in several days for a few reasons. First, I have had a cold and didn't feel too great for a few days. Then, I spent almost all day Friday working in the garden with the help of a family friend. She is so knowledgeable about all types of plants and gardening and I was so grateful for her tutelage. She even gave me most of the plants we planted. She has her own greenhouse which is very nice.



The picture above is a shot of how the garden looks right now from ground level. I was almost ready to say that I would post a picture each week of how it is progressing, but I better not. However, I will say that I will post pictures when I can. The plants and seeds in this garden are tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, green peppers (not planted yet), broccoli, cabbage, onions, sweet potatoes, green beans, zucchini, spinach, and a salad mix. I need to create a new garden spot if I am going to plant any sweet corn.



We planted 8 San Mateo tomato plants (These are supposed to be like Roma tomatoes, but better suited for our soil.) and 2 grape tomato plants. My friend told me that putting some garden sulfur in each hole and mixing it into the soil will help the tomatoes. She also said to put some wood stove ashes on the soil around the plants to prevent cutworms from killing them. The plants are 3 feet apart in a single row.



Broccoli was stagger planted meaning that we made a row of 12 at 2 feet apart and then went right beside that row with another row of 12. We planted those plants sort of in-between the other row. That may not make sense, so I will have to post a picture another time of exactly what that looks like. We put a sprinkling of oyster shells (like people give to chickens) in each hole and mixed it up before planting the broccoli. I forget what this is supposed to do for the plant.



We planted 24 cabbage plants in the same manner as the broccoli again using the oyster shells in the plants. I did want to mention that we filled each hole with water before putting the plant in. (This was done for all established plants that were planted, not for seeds). I was told that this not only hydrates the plants, but it also gets air out of the soil. Then we watered the plants again after putting them in the ground and covering the roots with dirt. One more tip she gave me was to take off the leaves of the plant near the roots. She said you don't want any leaves to be under the soil.



I planted 12 sweet potato plants and they are in a single row 18 inches apart. We planted the plants in an area of soil that we built up to be much higher than the rest of the garden. If there was water on the ground below it would look like the sweet potatoes were surrounded by a moat.

I am so excited about the better utilization of my garden space this year. There will be much work to do still, but the end result will be so worth it. :-)

The Garden Has Been Planted!

Decorated Oatmeal Box

In the spirit of Earth Day I thought I would share my latest craft project which used an empty oatmeal box. I have tons of fabric I could have covered it with, but I wanted to see how it would work with scrapbook paper. What I did was very simple, but these could be decorated many ways and make great storage containers to match any decor.



All I did was cut 2 pieces of 12" x 12" scrapbook paper in half diagonally. I used double sided tape to attach them to the oatmeal box. I added a scrapbooking embellishment and called it done. I think some great options would be to add ribbons, trims, buttons, etc. This could also be done with one piece of 12" x 12" paper. The reason it had to be cut in half diagonally was because I couldn't cover the whole can any other way.

Now in case you are wondering what decor I decorated this container to match I will share a picture of the lid.



The oatmeal box holds 2 rolls of toilet paper perfectly. Now I have a more decorative way to store extra toilet paper.

The Crafty Crow has had great recycled craft ideas each day this week. So, if you have children and would like to find something to do with them that also incorporates reducing, reusing and recycling then I suggest checking it out.

One site that was featured this week was Plum Pudding and there was a great idea for using an oatmeal box to make a nature can. It's a good thing I have more oatmeal boxes. I think my kids would really like to have one since it is supposed to be such a beautiful weekend here.

Decorated Oatmeal Box

Kitchen Scissors

When I was a younger girl I went to a friend's house for supper. Her mom used a pair of scissors to cut the homemade pizza she was serving. I had never seen anyone use scissors on food and it really stuck with me.

Fast forward to having my first toddler who needed her food cut. I purchased a pair of kitchen scissors and have used them almost daily ever since. They are such a time saver and there are always lots of ways I can use them. Cutting herbs (chives pictured above), meat, spaghetti, etc. The list could go on and on, but I am sure you get the point.

My family has laughed at me over the years, mostly my brother, when they see me cutting up food with the scissors. There have been many times where I have been cutting up meat and just went ahead and cut up my husband's portion as well. I used to always use a steak knife and would never have cut up his meat for him. I guess after four kids it is just habit.

This is something that works for me to save time during meal prep. Join We Are That Family for Works for Me Wednesday.

Kitchen Scissors

Another Hen and Our First Egg

We added one more hen to our brood Saturday. My daughter named her Josefina after a hen that was in a book we read called The Josefina Story Quilt. Her addition gives us a total of four hens.

I am not sure whether it was her addition to the pen that caused the hens to do what they did Sunday, but they sure gave my husband and brother some grief. Even with clipped wings they managed to get into the tree next to the pen. After trimming a row of branches, moving their house away from the fence, and some discussion I think they will stay inside. (Well, I don't really think you can reason with a chicken, but it made me feel better to have a pep talk with them about staying inside the pen for their personal safety.)

I personally wouldn't mind totally free-range chickens, but I think that the coyotes and our dogs would think we were offering an all you can eat buffet. So, the hens will have to survive in their 20' x 20' pen.

I found a cool list of chicken treat ideas at this site. There is also quite a bit of chicken raising information at the site. I mention this just in case you decide to become a crazy chicken lady like me. :-)

Now for the exciting part, we got our first egg yesterday. Hopefully, it will be the first of many. I am so excited. (And yes, this proves once again that it doesn't take much to excite me.)

Another Hen and Our First Egg

Kitchen/Cleaning Gift Set

This will be my fourth post today, and I will make it my last. I guess I am in a sharing mood today. :-)

Pictured above is a gift set I made recently. It consists of a double-sided apron, a crocheted wash cloth, a decorated spray bottle of homemade all-purpose cleaner, a decorated can (Rescued from a school cafeteria before it could be thrown away.) that could be used as a kitchen utensil holder if the recipient wants, and a small photo album filled with natural cleaning recipe cards. This was a fun set to make.

Below is a picture of everything placed inside the can. I am not sure how I will wrap this, but I am thinking of making a reusable shopping bag for that purpose.



If you are interested in a few specifics about how I made everything here you go. The apron is just a simple design I am working on for a tutorial. I am trying to perfect it to only use one yard of fabric. The wash cloth was crocheted using only a single crochet stitch and measures 9 1/2 inches square.

The can and spray bottle were covered using a cotton print that matches the apron. I simply measured the height and circumference of each. I added one inch to the height and two inches to the circumference. (Who said you wouldn't use math when you grew up?) Then I ironed the edges under 1/2" on each long side and 1/2" on one of the short sides. I hot glued the fabric to the can and bottle along the top and bottom edges. Next, I glued the raw edge of one of the short sides down and overlapped it with the pressed edge.

I may have just made this sound more confusing than it really was. Sorry. I could have left them like that, but I had some trim that I thought might dress things up a bit. I hot glued it on and called it done.

Kitchen/Cleaning Gift Set

The Story of Stuff

I am not someone who is overly political in public nor am I anti-government. I have opinions and ideas, but I generally try to not get into heated debates. However, the video I just watched called The Story of Stuff was really a good use of 20 minutes. So, if you are interested in a great explanation of consumerism and waste I would suggest clicking on the link below. It really makes you think.

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff

Homemade Scoop

If you need a scoop for some purpose like scooping pet food from a large bag or some other such use don't head to the store just yet. You can use old plastic jugs or bottles to make scoops. First, clean the container thoroughly. Next, decide how you want your scoop to be shaped and draw lines as a guide (or just wing it). A utility knife or really strong scissors can be used to make the cuts. The process is really quite simple and a great way to reduce the amount of trash heading to the landfill.



The scoop pictured above was made from an empty maple syrup jug which was very thick and sturdy. We cut the bottom off and then cut part off of one side to turn it into a scoop. Other containers that might lend themselves to this idea are milk jugs, gallon vinegar jugs, liquid laundry bottles, or dish soap bottles. Just be sure to thoroughly clean the jugs or bottles before using them as a scoop. Also, never use a scoop made from a cleaning product jug or bottle for use with any food items.

Homemade Scoop

Cooking Spaghetti

I am sure that everyone who may read this post has probably cooked spaghetti before. I have cooked spaghetti many, many times. However, recently I have tried several gluten-free varieties--corn, quinoa, and rice. I haven't been overly pleased with any of them until we tried the brand Tinkyada.

Well, on the package it gave an energy saving cooking recommendation. I tried it and it worked wonderfully. I even tried it with some regular spaghetti we still had and it worked great as well. I think it is worth a try because it can't hurt to save energy, and I think you may like the results.

Here is what to do. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add your pasta, and return to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, cover the pot and turn off the burner. Wait 20 minutes and then drain the pasta. Easy!

One thing I do to prevent sticky pasta after it has been cooked and drained is to add a few dashes of olive oil to the pasta and stir. This is especially helpful if you have extra pasta you are going to refrigerate.

Cooking Spaghetti

Ask and Ye Shall Receive.. Chickens?

For the past week I have had an overwhelming desire to have a few hens again (As well as having a dairy goat, but that is another post. Maybe?). I don't know if I have ever mentioned it here or not, but we used to raise chickens. When my husband and I bought this house from my parents 10 years ago taking care of the chickens was part of the deal. We sold the eggs of our golden comets for years. We also would raise fryers for our freezer each year. My husband became quite the chicken farmer.

Well, to make a long story probably even longer. :-) We sold all of our chickens 2 1/2 years ago. We even sold all of the equipment and other misc. items. We made this decision when I was waiting to miscarry for the fourth time, my husband was still coaching football, and he was also getting his master's degree. It was just getting to be overwhelming caring for about 50 hens, washing all of the eggs, selling the eggs, etc.

I guess I said this to prove that we do know a little about raising chickens. However, I know that I definitely don't want to have the number of chickens we did have, but it would be nice to have our own fresh eggs again. My husband was ok with the idea, and has been looking into where to get a few hens that are already to the laying stage of their lives.

Last night I mentioned this idea of wanting to have a few hens to my brother and his fiancée. My sister-in-law-to-be said that her dad might have some hens he would be willing to just give away and asked how many I wanted. I said 2-4. Later in the evening my brother calls to say they will be bringing over 3 hens right then.

I was really overwhelmed by the speed at which my request was granted as well as the generosity of a man I have never met. We already had a large dog kennel sitting idle (We tried to sell it several times, but to no avail.), so the hens will be safe from our dogs and the coyotes that live nearby. I spent some time this afternoon tidying the pen. It felt good to take care of some farm animals again.

We will be happy to get our own fresh eggs again, and I know that will be a blessing. I just keep having the desire utilize our property as a means of being more self-sufficient. Hopefully, I won't be known as the crazy chicken lady, but you never know. ;-)

Without further ado, here are our new hens. My soon to be sister-in-law said that the hens are "yard hatch" which means that they are like the mutts of the chicken world. That is ok with us. Left to right you will find Princess Jasmine (named by my daughter), Henrietta (named by me), and Princess Leia (named by my oldest son).



I am sure I will post when we get our first eggs. Just humor me by smiling and nodding. It will make me feel like you care. :-)

Ask and Ye Shall Receive.. Chickens?

Some New Recipes

This week has been a busy week during which I have done lots of cooking. I have taken a little break today so I can go out and enjoy the beautiful day. Before I do that I thought I would share a few new recipes that I made this week.

Chili Mac



1/2 Cup Cooked Veggie Puree
1 Cup Cooked and Pureed Beans
1 Quart Tomato Sauce
2 Cups Cooked Ground Burger
1 Tbsp. Honey
4 tsp. Chili Powder
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
1/8 tsp. Pepper
2 Cups Cooked Pasta
1/4-1/2 Cup Cooked Whole Beans

Combine all ingredients in a skillet or pot and heat to boiling. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve.

This recipe is very easy and can be thrown together quickly because many of the ingredients are pre-cooked. Home canned tomato sauce was used. (I make my sauce by simply cooking down tomato juice until it is the desired consistency. A simple way to do this is to put a gallon of tomato juice in a crock pot without a lid until the sauce is cooked down enough)

For the batch pictured above butternut squash was used as the vegetable puree, kidney beans were the bean, ground venison was used for the burger, and macaroni was used as the cooked pasta. A food processor makes short work of the pureeing process. We cook up large batches of ground burger with chopped onion and freeze in 2 cup increments which speeds up meal prep tremendously. Beans can be frozen whole or mashed to save time as well. A large batch of macaroni was cooked and used for this dish and homemade macaroni and cheese.

This is my own recipe, and it was a big success. It is packed with all sorts of good things and is very frugal.


Fried Bananas



1 Banana
2 Egg Yolks (Wash off egg whites.)
½ Cup Almond Meal
Bacon Grease

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of bacon grease to the skillet. (I like to use a cast iron skillet.) Meanwhile, slice the banana into approximately ¼ inch thick slices. In a bowl, beat the rinsed egg yolks. Dip the banana slices into the egg yolk and thoroughly coat each side. Put the almond meal in another bowl and coat the banana slices with it. Fry the banana slices in the skillet turning once. Remove from skillet when slices are browned on each side. Serve and enjoy this tasty treat that is packed with nutrition.

This is my own recipe based on something I read from the Weston A. Price website. My toddler loved it and I know he was getting needed fats and nutrition with each bite.


Hummus



2 Cups Cooked Garbanzo Beans/Chickpeas
2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
2 Cloves of Garlic
2+ Tbsp. Water (Start with 2 and add more if needed)
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1 1/2 Tbsp. Tahini or Other Nut Butter
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and process until mixture is a smooth adding more water as needed to achieve desired consistency.

To cook dried garbanzo beans first rinse and drain 1 pound of beans. Soak for 12-24 hours in a large pot with plenty of water and a few tablespoons of lemon juice. After soaking drain and rinse beans once more. Cook in a pot with fresh water for 1 and 1/2 hours after they start to boil. Drain and use in this recipe. Freeze the remaining beans in 2 cup increments to easily make additional batches of hummus.

This recipe came from someone on one of my online groups. She used much more lemon juice, but I prefer less and use more water instead.

Some New Recipes

Before and After: 6

It has been a little while since I have done a before and after post. I had been working very hard on my routines and trying to make sure that the kitchen was totally clean before going to bed each night. It was beginning to feel like a habit until the events of last Wednesday threw me totally off-guard.

Yesterday and today were big cooking days for me. I cooked and froze lots of beans, rice, ground venison, muffins, our regular meals, and more. I ran the dishwasher 4 times yesterday (totally packed full each time) and I am getting ready to run it for the third time today. However, by looking at the before photo below you would never know it.

Before (This morning right after breakfast--Most of the mess was left from last night.)


Well, today I was determined to get the kitchen back in shape before bedtime tonight. I think it looks pretty good. I even have some Blender Pancake Batter (I will let you know how everyone likes it. I am making it dairy and egg white free as well) in the blender. I think it will be pretty simple to finish up in the morning so they can be cooked. Sue Gregg's Blender Batter Waffle/Pancake recipe can be downloaded (among other sample recipes) by filling out this survey.

On a side note, I have been doing lots of research and reading about whole grains, soaking and sprouting, and whole foods. If you have any great info to share please do.

Below are the photos I just took of my kitchen. I am so happy and I sure want to keep it up. I know cooking as much as I do can lead to a messy kitchen, but I really feel like if I can do it tonight then I should be able to do it every night.

After (Pictures taken around 9:30 p.m.)






I did want to say that the bucket beside my sink is for all kitchen scraps. I throw the contents outside once a day. The dogs and cats end up eating most of it, but the rest is left as compost. Also, the dispenser above my sink was purchased a few years ago at a yard sale for 75 cents. I try to limit our usage of disposable products, but for the times I do need them the dispenser has been very handy.

Before and After: 6

Recipe Binder

If you take a look at my blog you may notice that I take a lot of pictures of food and post quite a few recipes. There is a reason behind what would appear to some as a time-waster. It may seem strange to take a pictures of your food; however, my kids have gotten so used to it that they will remind me to grab the camera before we eat. :-)




A good friend gave me the recipe binder pictured above for Christmas in 2007. I thought it was cute and it was really the motivation I needed to get my recipes in order. However, when a task is too big or seems overwhelming it often fails. I wanted to make this work, so I came up with a solution.

Every time I cook something that I want to make again I will take a picture of it and type up the recipe. I print it out in color, stick it in a plastic page protector, and put it in the appropriate category in my binder. I also post the picture and recipe (or link to the recipe) here on my blog for a couple of reasons. For one, it is a way to back-up the recipes, and two they might be of help or interest to someone who may read them.



The picture above is from inside my binder. I am sure I could have used a fancy background and really made this binder something special. Yet, that would take more time than I am willing to spend on this endeavor. I just simply use my word processing program and in just a few minutes I can have a page ready to print.

Some of my recipe pages have a picture of my children helping make the food items. I have tried to make sure I put the date the picture was taken, so that the binder will a scrapbook quality to it as well.

This is something that works for me. Join me each week for Works for Me Wednesday.

Recipe Binder

You Just Never Know

Today is Gratituesday again. (Join Heavenly Homemakers each week.) We have had quite a week, but God has seen us through and for that I am so thankful.

I posted on Friday about my baby's seizure, so I won't go into the details again. However, I didn't realize just how much it had affected me until this morning. I do want to say that I am so grateful that he is alright. God sure was watching over us and for that I am truly grateful.

Here is a picture of him and me on Easter at church.


Now, I will share how I think it has affected me. A good friend came by while I was sitting at the computer trying to come up with what to write for this post. She and I had talked yesterday about her stopping by to pick up something this morning.

Well, I forgot and didn't have the items ready. The house is a mess even though she was polite about it. (She just emailed a few minutes ago and said not to worry about it, but I was embarrassed.) Also, there was a little pallet on the floor where my little guy has been taking naps.

I am sure this seemed strange to my friend, and I don't remember if I even tried to explain. He has been taking naps there because I have been afraid to let him sleep by himself. I keep thinking he might have another seizure and don't want him to be alone. Also, what if I didn't hear him even though I have a monitor.

I know those thoughts and fears aren't of God, but it is hard not to feel that way. It is definitely something I need to pray about. Even though I may not have it all together, I still want to be grateful for all of God's blessings. I am sure there was a reason why we went through this, but until I know what it is I need to get motivated and keep this house in order.

Below is a picture of my kids and I on Easter. I would love it if they always behaved and everything looked "picture perfect". Yet, this is my reality and I am grateful for these kids. I mentioned to the nurse last week that they keep my on my toes. She said that she has five kids and they keep her on her knees. I thought that was an excellent thing to say because that is exactly where we should be, especially when it comes to our children. Prayer is a mighty tool.

You Just Never Know

Wee Bunny

I downloaded a free bunny pattern from Wee Wonderfuls last week. I made the bunny pictured above for my little guy and it went together really quickly. The pattern called for printed fabric for the back side, but I opted for making the whole bunny with a brown fleece I have had for a while. It is very soft, and my little guy seemed to enjoy chewing on the bunny's ears. :-)

My hand embroidery is not all that great, but drawing the face on with a water soluble marker made the job easier. I hope to get better at it since my husband's aunt gave me all of her embroidery floss. She is also the one who taught me machine embroidery, but I don't do that anymore at all. I am enjoying the quieter needle arts much more these days.

Wee Bunny

Febrile Seizures

My littlest guy gave us quite a scare on Wednesday evening. He had woken up from a short nap and wanted to nurse. I did that and rocked him. He fell back to sleep. I held him for quite a while. He was feeling warm, so I took his temp. It was a little over 102. I decided I would give him some medicine when he woke up.

When he woke up I took him into the kitchen. While I was holding him he had what appeared to be a cold chill. However, he kept shaking and didn't seem quite right. I am sure it was God's voice I heard coaching me as to what to do because I have never encountered anyone having a seizure. I know I had read about febrile seizures, but had never thought it would happen to one of my children.

Anyway, I laid the baby down on his side on the carpet in our living room. I kept saying his name, but he was shaking quite hard and his eyes were rolling around. He started drooling quite a bit. I just kept talking to him and rubbing his back.

My oldest son came into the room and I sent him to get my husband. By the time my husband came in and called my mom (a nurse) it had be been well over a minute of seizing. When my baby's lips turned blue my husband called 911.

After probably 3 minutes the seizure ended and I took his temperature. It was 103.9. I quickly got him undressed and used lukewarm washcloths to try to cool him. He had his eyes closed and cried very hard for over half an hour.

Within 5 minutes of the 911 call someone was here. Within 10 minutes there were lots of medical personnel and my mom here. This was great because we live way out in the country. We got him to calm down enough that we felt it wasn't necessary to ride in the ambulance, but since it was after office hours we had to take him to the ER.

They did blood tests, urine tests, checked his ears, throat, lungs and heart. The only thing they could come up with was that it must be a virus. The reason for the seizure had to be the rapid rise in temperature and the fact that it was such a high temperature for such a little guy (almost 16 months).

They also said that once a child has had one febrile seizure that they are more susceptible to having them again with fevers. So, I am to make sure I medicate him if he has a fever again. I am usually naturally-minded and know that fevers are usually a good thing because that is our body's way of fighting off infection. However, I will be taking their advice because I sure never want to repeat the events of Wednesday evening.

Febrile Seizure Information and Links

By Mayo Clinic staff

If your child has a febrile seizure, stay calm and follow these steps to help your child during the seizure:

Place your child on his or her side, somewhere where he or she won't fall.
Stay close to watch and comfort your child.
Remove any hard or sharp objects near your child.
Loosen any tight or restrictive clothing.
Don't restrain your child or interfere with your child's movements.
Don't attempt to put anything in your child's mouth.
If possible, try to time the seizure using your watch or a clock.
Because they're so alarming, seizures often seem to last longer than they really do. Also try to note which part of your child's body begins to shake first, and look for other signs of illness. This can help your doctor understand the cause of the seizure.

Dr. Greene-Febrile Seizures Article
Web MD-Seizures and Fever Treatment

I have been through many things during the course of my life. Many major things in the last 10 years such as 4 miscarriages (1 in which I lost 4 pints of blood), severe breathing issues with both of my older boys, food allergies in my middle son, this seizure episode, and more. But, as difficult as those things were I always felt like God was with us. I have never given up hope or let those events get the better of me.

The reason I can have that hope is the reason we celebrate Good Friday today.



He carried my burdens with him and made the ultimate sacrifice for me.

Febrile Seizures

Reusing Empty Containers

It's time for Works for Me Wednesday again. The responses I got to my post last week were great. (See post here.) I have really been enjoying the use of my blender since I started using mason jars for smaller jobs. As we speak I am enjoying a smoothie made right in the glass out of which I am drinking.

Ever since I was a little girl I have enjoyed finding new uses for old containers. My craft shelves and my husbands workshop are full of peanut butter containers that now hold all sorts of items from buttons to screws. They are great because you can easily see what is in them. I even have given my old spice rack new life. (See post here.)

Well, today I want to share two other ways I reuse old containers. Maybe you will find these ideas useful or maybe you will be inspired to reuse something that might otherwise have gone in the trash.



My kids like cinnamon and sugar on their toast or sometimes on pancakes. My mom used this trick that I am going to share. Take an empty cinnamon container that has a shaker lid (lid with holes). Fill the container about 3/4 full of sugar and then add about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon (more if you like). Put the cap back on and shake it. Now it's ready to use. Do you know that I actually saw cinnamon and sugar for sale at Kroger's one time? I didn't know you could actually purchase it already made. It was rather costly and if I had to purchase it we wouldn't use it around this house. :-)



I love to use baking soda as a frugal and green cleaner. However, using it from the box can be a problem if you get it wet or dump out too much. I decided a few years ago to use an empty Parmesan cheese container to hold baking soda for cleaning. It works very well, but you could even use an empty spice container like I do for my cinnamon sugar mix.

These are a few things that work for me. Have a great day!

Reusing Empty Containers

Homemade Play Dough

My mom used to make play dough for us when we were little and I do the same for my children using her recipe. It really is so easy to make and very frugal as well. This is a recipe that you can use cheap ingredients for like bleached flour, table salt and vegetable oil for and not feel guilty. :-) I haven't tried this with rice flour, but for someone with celiac's disease it would be worth a try.

Play Dough



1 Cup Flour
½ Cup Salt
2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
1 Cup Water
1 tsp. Vegetable Oil
Food Coloring (10 drops or more)

Combine flour, salt, and cream of tartar in a pan. In a separate bowl, combine water, oil and food coloring. Add the liquid mixture to the pan with the dry ingredients. Mix well. Cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat when mixture forms a ball and isn’t clinging to the sides of the pan. Take dough from pan and knead on a floured surface until it is soft and smooth. Store in an airtight container or zippered bag.



I made 2 batches and shaped them into eggs to go inside of some plastic eggs for my son's school Easter party this week. I wrapped the play dough in plastic wrap, and it fit perfectly inside of the plastic eggs. Yay, for fun that doesn't rot your teeth. :-)

Homemade Play Dough

Blessings

I chose the name of my blog because I felt that I had been given so many blessings that they were just overflowing. (I still feel that way.) I have been doing these Gratituesday posts for a few weeks and I feel like a broken record. However, I think that it is good for me to focus each week on how God has blessed me.

I first want to say that I am so grateful to have parents who raised me to know God. I can't imagine how I would have been able to get through the low spots if I didn't have faith.

I am also grateful for my family. I can't imagine going through this life alone. I think that the experiences we have that seem to weigh us down (sadness, loss, anger, stress, hurt, etc.) should make us appreciate the blessings even more. It can be so hard to look for the good in spite of the bad, but I don't think I could make it if I didn't try to stay positive.



But, how can I not be positive when I am surrounded by these 4 children? I think this photo captures their personalities pretty well. They each are so different and I am thankful for each one.

Join Heavenly Homemakers for Gratituesday each week.

Blessings

"Hoppy" Easter Wall Hanging

I think it was 5 years ago when I made this little wall hanging. I embroidered the bunny and phrase on a piece of fabric and then squared it. I then just made some squares and strips and stitched it all together. I embellished the wall hanging by adding a few egg buttons, and then stitched on a pocket in the back to hold a dowel. The wall hanging is a 14 1/2" square. It is really nothing fancy or hard, but we like to put it out every year. Of course my kids probably wonder why their mother can't spell happy, but maybe someday they will appreciate my attempts at humor.

"Hoppy" Easter Wall Hanging

Fabric Gift Bag

The gift bag pictured above was made using a piece of double sided quilted fabric I got from the free box at church. It looks vintage to me, but I can't be sure of the age of the fabric.

Here is a little info about what I did to make this. Cut 2 pieces at 8" x 9" (front and back); 2 pieces at 3" x 9" (sides); and one piece at 3" x 8" (bottom). I stitched the front and back to the bottom and then stitched on the side pieces. I used some brown double fold bias tape I had to bind off the top of the bag. Then I made handles out of the bias tape. A grosgrain ribbon attached with a safety pin completed the bag. I think the size was just right to hold the gifts I had to put inside.

Because the fabric was double sided I didn't have to make a lining, but since there would be some raw edges showing inside I used a zig-zag stitch on all of the raw edges. To make the bag stand up better I cut a piece of cardboard to fit in the bottom and covered it with some scraps of the fabric by using duct tape to hold the fabric in place. There are so many variations on making bags. I think this was a fun environmentally friendly sewing project.

Fabric Gift Bag

Weekend Cooking

I have always done a lot of baking and cooking from scratch, but never more than I have the last 2 months since finding out about my son's allergies. Cooking almost everything from scratch is so much healthier for us, but besides that it is more frugal. So, since I have so much free time (at least according to a friend from church I do) :-) I went searching for some recipes to try.



I tried out the recipe for Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread from King Arthur Flour and found it to be a very good recipe. I really want to start making all of our own bread so that I can control what ingredients are in it. Bread making is my last frontier to explore with regards to cooking from scratch. What would be great would be to buy grains in bulk and grind my own flour. I am still researching this option though.

I did make one variation to the recipe by using 1 1/3 cups of homemade rice milk in place of the water and powdered milk.

Like the Queen of Free posted about earlier this morning I made some whole wheat pizza crust while I was waiting on the bread to rise. I am anxious to try out the versions she tried, but below is what I did to make whole wheat breadsticks.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough/Breadsticks



2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 Package Active Dry Yeast
3/4 tsp. Sea Salt
1 Cup Hot Tap Water
1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. Honey

Combine the water, yeast, honey and olive oil in a bowl and whisk to blend. Allow to sit until bubbles form. Add flour and salt to the wet mixture and stir for 3 minutes. Cover and let rise until desired size (usually double). Shape into breadsticks or use for pizza crust. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

I made a variation of the whole wheat pizza dough using gluten free flours for my allergic son. For some reason I didn't write down the flour combinations I used, so I will have to try it again and post those. I did take a picture though. My son really liked them which was great. I know I used oat flour (grind oats in a blender) for part of the flour.



I also made cookies, pancakes, and waffles over the weekend in addition to our regular meals. I didn't have any flax seed binder made up, so I tried a different recipe for flax seed egg replacer.

Flax Seed Binder 2



Replaces 1 Egg in baked goods. You may double, triple, etc. to meet the needs of your recipe.

1 Tbsp. Ground Flax Seed
3 Tbsp. Water

Mix well and let sit for a few minutes. The mixture will thicken and become gelatinous.

Weekend Cooking

Scrapbook Cards Gift Set

I love scrapbooks and projects made with scrapbooking supplies. However, I usually choose sewing and crochet projects when I want to be creative. But not this time. I made up this set of 16 greeting cards for a gift. They were fun to make and were actually a fairly frugal project. The cards were made by cutting pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock in half which gave me 2 cards per sheet. Then I just used other decorative papers and stamps to embellish the cards.

I felt like they needed a box, so I made one using the instructions I found here. I had to adjust the dimensions to suit my needs, but went with the basic concept. You might be able to see from the picture above that I printed out the contents and a picture of the cards and taped it to the bottom of the box. This may have been an unnecessary step, but I am notorious for doing things like that so I went with it. :-) (Not pictured are 16 envelopes that I almost forgot to include.)

Scrapbook Cards Gift Set