Today's Tip | Baby Food Jars Upcycled

This is one that I want to do the next time I have an overabundance of baby food jars just cluttering the countertops.  Or the next time that I'm at a rummage sale and see some I can get for a steal.

Reuse those old baby food jars for spices!  Make sure you clean them well, but we already know they're food safe.  You can even paint the tops with blackboard paint and write in chalk on top for labeling. 

Here's a great article with some extra fancy ideas on how to spruce up those jars.

Today's Tip | Shuckin' the Sand

Years of military duty stations had us living near one coast or another.  Here's a tip I picked up along the way.

If you're headed out to the beach, be sure to pack a bottle of baby powder.  I'm not picky on the brand either.  When you're ready to head home, let the sand on your feet, hands, and other parts dry just a few minutes and then apply a dusting of baby powder.  Rub the sandy parts and the sand shucks right off.

No mess in the car and you smell quite nice too.  Great to know for babies who get sand in all kinds of undesirable places.

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The Ultrasound Results are In!

And it looks like we're having another baby BOY!  His name will be Jedidiah Robert, and we'll call him Jed.

Oldest and Youngest

Our oldest and youngest, playing together.  Just thought I'd post for the family to see.  They actually do play together ... sometimes!

Today's Tip | Make Use of TP Rolls

Here's one way to reuse the toilet paper or paper towel rolls instead of throwing them in the trash or recycle bin.

Make your own USB and co-ax cable caddy.  It's very easy and practically free.

To make the one I made in the pictures, you will need:

Scissors
3 toilet paper rolls, clean and empty
Glue gun and hot glue
Stray cables

Today's Tip | Funnel of Love

Ever found yourself in need of a funnel and nary a one is to be found?  Solve this problem with something that almost everyone has on hand.

I used a two-liter Coke bottle, but you can use any plastic bottle that has a tapered opening, even a milk jug in a pinch (although the mouth on it is wide).  If you cut is jagged, add a little duct tape to the cut edge, sealing it off and preventing cuts.

Just cut the top off the bottle, clean it and there it is ... a ready to use funnel!  Go crazy, and make several out of different size plastic containers.  It's not only free, but you are making use out of what would be trash.  I can't tell you the amount of use I have gotten out of just this one funnel.


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The Lord's Army Singers

Today's Tip | Baking Soda Kills Toots

Beans, beans, the musical fruit.  The more you eat, the more you toot.  Right?

These days I've found beans to be a great source of vitamins and protein, and they're easy on the budget.  Problem is, you can get a little gassy after eating.  And then it's not just your problem.  It's everyone's.

Here are a couple ideas.  If you like your beans out of a can, be sure to rinse them before cooking with them.  Not only does this reduce the amount of sodium intake, but it takes away some of the gassy-ness of the beans.

Another great tip that I can attest to is to add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to whatever bean dish you are whipping up.  It will fizz/foam just a little when you put it in there, most likely.  That's okay.  Just stir it in really well.  This helped cut the "musicality" of the beans to almost nil.


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Today's Tip | A Little Bleach Goes a Long Way

Today's tip of the day:  bleach.

This one comes from my mother, and when she told me this I almost slapped myself silly.  I was tired of smelling the funky dish rag.  You know what I mean.  Dish rags get funky, especially when novice housekeepers like my older girls never wring them out and open 'em up to dry.

Just when I was about to go out and buy some more, my mom said, "Just add a little bleach to the next load of dishes you handwash."

Duh!

Why didn't I think of that?!  So today's tip comes to you from my mom.  I'm sure there will be many more from her in the future.


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Princess Signups

Just in case you wanted to mark your calendars.  I have no idea what the spells involve.
Hopefully learning how to be obedient children.

Utterly Sinful Chocolate Stuffed Brownies

I guess I could have taken a picture, but they disappeared fast.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 box extra moist chocolate CAKE mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 bag milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
1/8 tsp almond extract (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350*.  Spray the bottom and sides of a 9x9 pan with cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, mix together the melted butter, egg, brown sugar, almond extract (if desired) and water.  Slowly add the chocolate cake mix, increasing the speed to medium and scraping the sides as you go.  The batter should resemble a very thick cake or brownie batter.  If you need to add more water, add it about a tablespoon at a time, stirring well until fully incorporated.

With a spoon, gently fold in the chocolate chips.  Scrape into the baking pan and smooth out.  It's a thick batter. It won't just pour into the pan.

Bake at 350*  for 30 minutes.  Check to see if the top has a crusty-like look to it.  If not, check every 5 minutes after that for doneness.

**Note:  I used a glass pan.  If you use a dark baking pan, you may want to decrease the oven temp to 325*.

Cool for one hour before cutting.

Try not to go into sugar shock.  Enjoy!

Why?

Surprisingly, not a lot of people have asked why I would homeschool the kids.  I really expected the Inquisition, but I think it's much more acceptable up in this region of northern Minnesota.  Our state has an exceptional homeschool law, and a lot of freedom to go with it.


There are many other reasons why.  The joy of seeing them master a concept.  Learning the ability to work together as a team, rather than compete as siblings.  Fostering a sense of responsibility.  Building character traits that will last a lifetime.

More immediate reasons come to mind.  The kids like being able to stretch out on the couch and read their literature assignment.  We start school when it's good for our family, and we can turn every day errands into life lessons and school topics.

They can learn things like embroidery and sewing, two things that are not available at this age in public school.

The main reason Jesse and I decided to keep the kids home and teach them ourselves is because God gave these souls into our care while they are on this Earth.  We saw extremely negative results from the public school system across the street.  It seemed the longer they attended, the more we lost our kids to the world.

Our goal is to win our children's hearts to Christ and see them become His followers.  It's an amazing journey, and a difficult one, but one that is proving well worth it.

Dog Hair Dilemma SOLVED!

Having a dog has been quite a challenge to me.  My mother said to me the other day, "How can you not be a dog person?  We had dogs all the time growing up!"  And then I reminded her that I never went around them, never played with them, never touched them.

I'm not a dog person.  And yet, we have a dog.  A dog that sheds ... a LOT.

The Boy is always dragging a blanket around, and it is a natural magnet for dog hair.  It drives me crazy to have to wash a blanket daily, because it's coated -- literally -- in hair.

I made a snarky comment to my husband that I should just pull a blanket around the house to pick up all the stray hair, and then be done with it.

After a little while, I thought back to that remark, and then thought, "Why the heck not?!"

Jen's Sweet & Spicy Almonds

I love almonds, and a friend made some sweet and spicy ones around Christmastime.  I put together a quick and simple recipe that anyone can do.

Ingredients

1 lb whole salted almonds
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil

How to make them:

Preheat the oven to 300*.

In a large plastic baggy, toss the almonds with the vegetable oil, making sure to coat them well.  Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients until very well mixed, like grains of sand.  Pour this into the bag of oiled almonds.

Spread out on a baking sheet with sides.  Bake 15 minutes at 300*.  Stir.  Drop the temp on the oven to 275* and bake 10 more minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool.  Store in an airtight container and try not to eat them all at once.  Enjoy!