Every day I do a little cooking, loving, playing, praising, crafting, praying, and learning as I "Rain" it all in.


Showing posts with label homemade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homemade. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Summer Bucket List

After searching Pinterest and online for summertime "bucket list" ideas, I was inspired to make my own list.


 Just a word of advice, though- if you search online, you will most likely become completely overwhelmed and feel that you are lacking in every area of your life because the woman with the perfect website or blog makes you want to puke on her perfect little picture because she can do nine thousand things with her ten kids in tow and still look super model-ish and unstressed as she tells you her latest homemade accomplishment ....whew...glad I got that out!

Anyway, the point is, that there is no right or wrong when it comes to your list and we can't do it all, contrary to popular belief (and all those cool blogs we come across--yes, I am guilty of feeling guilty, too!). So choose things that are meaningful to you and your own family. Also, be sure these are things that are realistic and doable for your family.

Take into consideration these tips when you make your list:

1.  The ages of your children- this one is self explanatory, you want things to be age appropriate

2.  Your summer schedule- for example, my husband is crazy busy at work and does weird night hours in the summer, so he is out for lots of things or we have to do them on the weekend

3.  Your geographic area -we live in a small town, 25 miles plus from lots of things to, so I wanted to be sure we added lots of things to do at home or very close

4. Your summertime budget-every mom knows you don't want to break the bank for a fun summer so 
             keep your budget in mind when you make the list

5. Ask your children what they'd like to do-I've been asking my four year old what he'd like to do this summer and he is already excited about doing many of the things on our list

I am already beginning to think that the benefits of doing the things on our list, will be that I can pass on wisdom to my children as we do things, they might accidentally learn something, the physical activity, the quality time together, and the memories we will be making. Don't forget to take pictures so you can remember your summer! One fun idea would be to take pics of each thing you do and make a bucket list photo book that your family can enjoy forever (and don't worry about this one...that's what all those cool photo sites are for-you can add pics and make a photo book without craft skills!)

Enjoy making your list! Here's mine- hope it inspires you to make your own with your family!!

 
SUMMER BUCKET LIST

o       Aquarium
o       Zoo
o       Philbrook Museum
o       Woolaroc
o       Movies
o       Library
o       Cherry Street Farmers Market
o       Broken Arrow Farmers Market
o       Picnic
o       Play in sprinkler
o       Blow bubbles
o       Paint outside
o       Sidewalk chalk
o       Make homemade ice cream
o       Swimming
o       Obstacle course
o       Treasure Hunt
o       Air & Space Museum
o       Camping
o       Visit a children’s museum
o       Visit a natural history museum
o       Go to a Pick-Your-Own farm
o       Make garden stepping stones
o       Make popsicles
o       Go to the Lake
o       Nature Center
o       Make butter
o       Mini golf
o       Go fishing
o       See some fireworks
o       Shade for under playhouse for table and sandbox
o       Incredible Pizza
o       Plant pumpkins & work in garden
o       Catch fireflies in a jar

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Valentine Road Map

  I used to despise Valentine's Day, but since I have kids now, I've found that it's kind of a fun thing to do and a good excuse to buy some extra chocolate (as if I really need an excuse). And, it is an extra special opportunity to be super mushy, which for me, with all the testosterone in this  house, is not always possible!
  Last year, I did a really fun road map valentine for my husband. It was so nostalgic for me and he absolutely loved it! It was simple, but thoughtful, and still inexpensive (depending on your "travel coupons").

I made the boys a dinner they both really like...I can't for the life of me, remember what it was, except that I'm pretty sure it included mashed potatoes...and we all had placemats that I made from 12x12 scrapbook paper, which I placed some of their little goodies on at dinner. For my three year old, it was a book and some M&M's...easy to please! 

 I helped my little one make a card for his Daddy and he insisted on doing hand tracing, too. The card on the left, we made with both of our thumbprints in the shapes of hearts and added some stickers, of course, because every three year old loves stickers!
 These are the "travel brochures"...each is a little mini valentine with a travel theme.
 The "travel itinerary" is a the little "booklet" that enclosed the "brochures", "coupons", and "map".



 This is my favorite part...the map! Each tag with ribbon has a date and something significant to our relationship (for example: when we started dating, when he proposed, etc.). I wrote little notes with some of them and at the "end" I wrote him a little love note.



The coupons can be whatever you want. I can't remember what I did on all of them, but I know one was for a batch of his favorite cookies upon request...didn't take long to cash that in on some PB cookies!

The only materials I used were scrapbook paper, ribbon, inkpads, markers, and stickers....all of which I already had in my craft supplies and the end results were something special!


I hope this inspires you to have some fun and make something special for you favorite valentine, too!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thrifty Thursday--Laundry Soap

This is tough stuff!!
 There are a million recipes on the web for how to make your own laundry soap and I found one that I personally like and began using it this past summer.
   The one I like is a recipe used by the Duggar Family and is on their website. I figured if it worked pretty well for 21 people, then it sure could work for the four of us!
   The recipe makes A LOT, so I decided to sell some at our local farmer's market and give it to people as well. I ended up basically having free laundry soap for myself, which is still a pretty sweet deal if you've been down the detergent aisle at the store lately and noticed the price! I like liquid, some people prefer powder, and there are thousands of different ways to do both as well as tutorials on You Tube. (Simply search for Homemade Laundry Detergent) I use it on all our laundry, including baby clothes and it works great! It even doubles as stain remover by applying it to set a while directly on stains before you wash!
   You might want to experiment if you like scents or don't like certain ingredients...there are lots of alternatives and most are a great "green" choice- environmentally and for keeping some cash in your wallet!

HAPPY WASHING!!
My homemade soap removed the poo stain!!