No Average Mom

This was one of those mornings when I woke up feeling good about myself. Instead of worrying about my weight and looking for effective diet pills I just looked in the mirror for a good long time and smiled. For once the curves and softness of my body didn’t bother me and I felt just fine in my own skin. I gave myself a pat on the back and reminded myself that those curves brought two beautiful children into this world and they are the result of a miracle. I may wake up tomorrow with a different attitude but for today I am just fine with what I see in the mirror.

I’ve given our vacation some serious thought lately. Although I would love to take a family vacation is seems that I have pretty well talked myself out of it for many reasons. The main reason is because DS2 would not remember it and it would be a hassle with talking all the extra gear he still uses. As an alternative I think I have come up with an idea that we can all live with and enjoy for years to come. I think we’re going to take the $ we would have spent on a vacation and make our own oasis in the back yard. So now I will have to check prices of stone, sand, gravel. I also want to put a flowering hedge at the border of our property with an arbor/gate combo leading to the veggie garden. Now all I need to do is get DH to think that it was all his idea!

What is it about dogs and eating anything they can put their mouth around? Seriously I think our dog would eat literally anything we put in her bowl from to tin foil to Apidexin diet pills if given the chance. Her favorite thing to do is pull down my kitchen towels and chew on them. I know this is a real problem and do my best to keep them up and out of the way but somehow she manages to find one whenever possible. The other day I gave her one of those candy “Red Hots” and she had the best time with it. It was like she couldn’t figure out whether she liked it or didn’t. It would go in her mouth and then she would throw it up it the air and watch it fall and then repeat the process all over again.

I am trying the tightwad gazettes recipe for laundry stains on some pretty tough stains tonight, the cleaning cloths….these are always stained even after bleaching them. They have been stained for years and nothing took the stains out. I will post tomorrow how they turned out.

her recipe was;
1/2 c all fabric bleach (like clorox 2)
1/2 cup dishwasher powder
5 gallons hot water

to make it simplier for me I calculated the rate for my lowest washer settin, which is 12.5 gallons, adjusted the ingredients accordingly, and put everything in there to soak. (that way i don’t have to lift the bucket and make my back sore).

Tomorrow I will just add some laundry soap and run through a cycle, then dry.

I should have an answer for you all about 12 noon or so.

Since all these cleaning rags had already been washed and dried already before, I did add some old burp cloths in there that too, had been stained by formula….think its a good experiment.

When we went camping last weekend were found ourselves surrounded by RV’s. Our little pop-up camper was literally surrounded by those big 40 foot mobile houses on wheels! I just don’t understand how people consider that camping. Do you really need satellite radios and flat screen televisions to enjoy the great outdoors? I know when we were tent camping that we would look at pop-up campers and think the same thing. I suppose given another year of camping in our pop-up and we might be singing a different tune. For now I am happy to be up off the ground but have no need to watch my favorite television shows while I am camping.

Here is a list of what you will need~

Water Bath Canner(if you are only doing high acid stuff)
Pressure Canner
Canning Rack
Jars
Lids
Rings
Jar Lifter
Funnel
I would suggest getting a good canning book. They have them at walmart for around $5 and they have tons of recipes in them.

I have always just used a water canner but this year I am expanding what I can so we are buying a pressure canner. Good luck! Its very addicting. I love canning.

I have tried every bribe in the world and nothing works with my youngest son. No amount of sales training is going to convince this little guy that using a potty is the right thing to do. I have tried stickers, toys, charts, and any number of motivating tricks. He knows what the potty is for and why we use it. The problem is getting him to actually use the potty. I just keep telling myself that in his own time he will do it. The little bugger just needs to decide that using it was his own idea.

As I crawled into bed last night and smelled the sheets that had been washed yesterday and dried outside in the sunshine I thought about how that has to be one of my favorite things.. I love freshly washed.. line dried bedding. So as I am falling asleep and DH is starting to snore I really got to thinking about all the things I really love and you know the biggest blessing is that none of them really cost anything..

These are a few of my favorite things…

freshly washed sheets
raindrops on tin roofs
my husbands touch
my son’s gratitude
my grandma’s new innocence
the smell of coffee brewing and bread baking
watching the dogs play in the yard
sitting in the sunshine with a book
giggling with my girlfriends
parades ( like last night)!!
the sounds and yes even smells at the county fair
dinner as a family
Prayer and the peace that comes with it
hugging my church family every Sunday
laugh lines on my face
unexpected invitations and unexpected company
the way my husband heads our family
the bond I see between my children
Faith
friends and family who comfort me in times of need

I know there is so much more but it was such a wonderful feeling last night to think about how much I really love in my life and if come tomorrow we would find ourselves without a penny that none of those things could be taken from me.

Now.. try to get that song out of your head!