It's a great time to try cloth diapers!

Yep that is a giraffe on my baby's butt!

 Cloth butts are adorable! Cloth diapers are awesome! They're better for your baby, better for your wallet and lets face it they're so stinkin cute! Who can resist! AND The best part is that today's cloth diapers are not your mama's or gramma's cloth diapers! There's no stinky vinyl, no fancy folding techniques, diaper pins are optional, and no dunking poopy diapers in the toilet! There is a ton of info on the net about cloth! One of my favorite info places is All About Cloth Diapers. There has never been a better time to try cloth diapers! Cloth diapers are the easiest they've ever been, and disposable diapers are more TOXIC than ever before! Cloth diapers are fun, healthy, cheap and easy to make, and disposables are boring, monotonous, full of chemicals and cost a small fortune! Need I go on?

Another great reason to try them is the giveaway going on right now! You can enter to win a free diaper making pattern. The giveaway is for a Rocket  Bottoms diaper pattern, and is done at the Crazy 4 Cloth blog. They're fun and easy to make! Plus you can even use old receiving blankets or trendy t-shirts to make the absorbent part of the diaper.

For the outside you'll need PUL, a special water proof fabric, and I have some for a great price on my hyena cart store, Windy Willow Pond.  I have a friend who also sells diaper making fabrics on hyena cart, named Monika and her store is Diaper Fabric Fanatic. With diaper fabrics easily available for cheap or free, and now a free diaper pattern, why not start making your own diapers today! Save lots of money, deck out your sweety in something that really reflects their cuteness and feel good about protecting their health. See for yourself why so many mama's try cloth and never go back!

^"13She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands." Proverbs 31:13 KJV

Blessings,
Staci

ps: if you don't win the pattern, you can find a many free diaper patterns online. Just google it! Celtic Cloth has a good one.
Oh and if you visit any of the links be sure and tell them I sent you! :-)

Snow Cones!!! - the natural way! - MYO snow cone syrup

Snow cones are a favorite summer time treat! And any kid loves a snow cone, even if their parents are slightly crunchy! The store bought syrups are made with corn syrup or sugar, artificial flavors and artificial colors -YUK! Who wants to eat that? So our solution is simple, make a natural snow cone! YESSSS!!!! The cool thing is when you make your own syrups YOU get to decide what flavors you like, what goes into them, AND you save money! Have you seen the price on those syrups!? So to kick off the fun, why not ask your kids to come up with flavors they'd like to try! The crazy ones can be the tastiest of treats so go ahead and let them imagine!

Here's how to get started...

First you're going to make a syrup...

Using your own favorite recipe, or the one below make a syrup, or several syrups and let it chill. This is the super fun creative part! It's also the messy part, but hey, sometimes having fun means making a mess!

My recipe:
1 cup honey (raw is best)
1 cup water or 100% natural fruit juice
1/2 teaspoon 100% natural flavoring, or a couple of essential oils that are edible.

Mix honey and water/juice over low heat, stirring consistently, until well blended, so the honey is completely dissolved. Don't cook it, just warm it so the honey will mix in. Then remove from heat and add your flavors/ essential oils. Adjust the amounts to your own taste. If you really want colored syrups and are not using juice, you can purchase truly natural food colorings from a health food store or online. They're made from food, like beets make red etc.

A couple tips

• If you use juice you can leave out the flavors or blend flavors and juices to make them super cool!

• If you'd rather use natural unrefined sugar you can do that, either using 1 or 2 cups sugar, depending on how sweet and syrupy you want it. 
• For younger children lean to the simpler side on flavors.
• For an adult party you can get really complex flavor combinations and really wow your guests!

Beside, the typical flavors, here are a few more flavor ideas:

• hazelnut espresso
• blackberry lavender
• lemon lime mint
• watermelon pomegranate
  
• pineapple coconut
• green tea pear

Once your syrups have chilled put them in neat bottles like these, they look pretty and are easier to poor from. You could also use ketchup style squeeze bottles, used for candy making or picnics from the kitchen 

or cake decorating supply section at any department store.

Now that your syrups are ready, it's time to bring on the fun!

Shave your ice using a blender or ice shaver. Put the ice into cups and pour the flavors over the ice!

The only thing left to do is enjoy your cool sweet treat that you made yourself! (Oh and don't forget to share with the kids)
 The best thing about these is that although they are a treat, they're not nutritionally empty like the sugar syrups made from white refined sugar!

Tune in next time, we'll show you how to make your own home made juices! We're also going to teach you how to make herbal syrups! Did you know that Lemon Balm can help to calm super rowdy summer crazy kids! Learn how to have fun with your kids using herbal syrups that they'll love!

"And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God." Deuteronomy 28:2 KJV

Blessings,

Staci

Super fun, Super cool! homeschool helper!!

I'm really excited to share a link with you all today! You probably know I home-school my children. You may not know however that my oldest son has real difficulty retaining information if there is no tactile stimulation WITH the lesson being taught. He needs it the most, but ALL my children enjoy hands on learning. So I enjoy trying to find ways to give them that tactile response. We have done snack counting activities and crafty learning projects. They're fun, but consumable, which can get expensive when you need it every single time you teach. Sometimes it can be hard to find things that are really useful, and reusable! But this is a project you are going to love!

This is my oldest son, Jon Jr., using cookie cutters to practice spelling.

Holly over at Ches Beeper Bebe has a tutorial, complete with pattern, for counting bean bags! You can find it Here.

these number bags are simply backed with pretty fabric

I think these are great because you can play all kinds of games with them, AND practice math. There are different styles too, one style has a "picture" showing an amount on one side and the other side has the corresponding number. Another mama, Laura from Chicken Counting, did letter bags! You can see her article Here. These can be used for phonics, letter recognition and basic spelling words, as well as games! If you made additional letters you could even take it up to more advanced spelling!

letter bags using natural color fabric and hand drawn letter appliques

This is such a cool idea! The best part is it gives you a way to use up all your super tiny fabric scraps! They are called bean bags, but you can fill them with whatever you have. I plan to add herbs to the filling to make them scented! (Just because I like things that smell good) One more tip I have is for parents of  children who respond well to tactile response. If you make these with lots of different fabric textures the tactile response will be even greater! Your children will have so much fun looking at all the different colors and feeling the many textures of the bags and letters! The hardest part will be letting them go when you no longer need them! The greatest part is, if you use scrap fabrics replacement letters or numbers can always be made. (For those of us who have houses that eat our favorite toys school supplies.) I'm off to dig up some scraps and make some bean bags!

¹⁴"And let our's also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful."
Titus 3:14

Blessings to you and yours,
Staci

Sewing with children and the usefulness of a child...

What does that mean? When I first became a mother that might have meant not very useful. I've found that our children, as limited as they may be, are really very capable of being helpful and useful. Don't believe me? Try for a week to train a little one to do something you think they can't do. Chances are at the end of the week they'll be better at it than you thought. I did mention the word "train", I know "sigh".  But let me encourage you dear mother that the time put into the training will be worth it.

A hundred years ago a 3-4 year old little girl could go right on over pick up a sewing basket carefully and bring it to mama without spilling it, then begin to help with the mending. At such a young age?! The practicality of it was 2 fold. They needed to learn young so their skills were fine tuned enough as older children to help with real important sewing, like clothing for the family. Secondly, the older children had chores more pressing than the "mundane" work of mending.  Most blessed of all was that those little hands were learning a skill, keeping busy not getting into mischief, and they felt useful because they were useful and everyone needs to feel useful.

How do you feel when you're stuck in bed, sick or laid up. Pretty frustrated I'm sure. I've been there and I know that having something useful I can do, ANYTHING, makes me feel better. I know from watching my littlest ones that they feel the same way. They don't care if they're wiping the door nobs on cupboards or sweeping up a pile of dust, they are helping and THEY LOVE IT. The smile and sense of pride that comes over them when they feel helpful is amazing. Thankfully, I caught on to this concept early and my children do help a lot! The older ones do "real" chores. But my 3 year old puts away silverware, clears the meal table, folds washcloths, helps with cooking and even helps wash and dry laundry. It takes her 2 long minutes to climb the basket to reach the dryer button and turn it on, but she doesn't care, she's helping. And besides I don't get to see her beautiful smile when I push the button myself! Don't forget the babies! My 14 month old wipes her face, and if left alone with a washcloth, she'll wash the table too! She may not do it "right" but we cheer her on and clap for her anyway, because we're building her up. Soon her time to help will be here and she'll be happy to do it because of the joy she brings to others.

So here's my challenge to you, find a mundane chore, that can be done right or not and give it to the little ones! Let them have at it, teach a little, laugh a little and smile A LOT mama because you're teaching that little one to be a helpful contribution to the family.
A word of warning though, focus on their strengths, not your needs! A happy sweeper is much more useful than a discouraged duster! If a certain job is particularly challenging or boring to your child, find something they enjoy that you can encourage them in and continue building them up.

Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. 2 Chronicles 15:7 KJV

If you're interested in teaching a little one to sew, here is some great information: Preschool Sewing Activities , Easy Hand Sewing For Kids  (at sew mama sew, I love this site!), and a Free Hand Sewing Stitch Guide. We started Hannah with lacing beads, and sometimes I poke the needle into my quilt and let her pull the thread through. When she's older I'll start her on dolls, perhaps she'll bless other children with them, or even explore entrepreneurship. My boys got to participate in a recent quilted pot holder class at our church. They loved it and with a little help they had a neat gift for their gramma's! My husband is a great sewer and is very helpful, so they naturally don't have qualms about sewing. It's a useful skill for men and women alike!

This is my oldest son making a doll skirt for his sister!

 Thanks for reading! and feel free to comment on what your children to do help! Blessings!

Your Legacy

What legacy have you left or are you leaving behind. There are so many different kinds of legacies, each one having their own value. Some people don't even know they're leaving one, but leave it none the less. My great grandmother and great great grandmother were both midwives. They probably did it out of necessity, but also out of their desire to help. I doubt they did it to "be remembered by", and yet when I came to a moment in my life of realizing God had called me on this path, their legacy was a blessing to me. I hadn't known that they were, but when I shared my my feelings with my mom, she told me how they had been midwives and it encouraged me.

My mother in "love" makes quilts. Not your fancy, expensive machine stitched ones, the hand sewn, hand quilted scrap quilts. Sort of a crazy quilt you could say. She started a long time before I ever knew her, but we have watched her quilting grow and evolve, but it's still "her style". The interesting thing is that it was also her grandmother's style, possibly her own grandmother's legacy. The quilt in the picture was made by her (mom) and each of my babies have one. Hannah and Jr. have 2. My husband and I also have a wedding quilt, which she makes extra special with fancy fabrics and such. One of the most fun things to do with these quilts is look through and find fabrics that you recognize, a favorite shirt or a leftover piece of fabric from a maternity dress. Our wedding quilt has scraps of fabric from some of the dresses worn in our wedding party.

When thinking about this idea of a "legacy" I ponder on the other side of things too. When I relive my day today, I think about my behavior and my lack of patience and self control. I know we all have days, good and bad, but I am keenly aware of the unintended memories. I myself remember things about my childhood that reflected my parents in less than ideal light. Am I unintentionally leaving my children with a legacy that will darken their future or am I blessing them. We all do our best, but I think on these things and it inspires me to do better.

"5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." 2 Corinthians 13:5 NKJV

I like to use this scripture to remind me to think of anything I can possibly pray for that God would help me lay down the old so that I may pick up the new (habits). I also pray "Help me die to myself so that I may live for Christ". Every day is a new chance, every moment a new moment. It only takes a second to crack a smile on a cranky face, and it only takes a few minutes to pray over and ask forgiveness for bad behavior and attitudes. People only loose relationships in an instance after a death. But all other lost or broken relationships are lost one missed opportunity at a time. Our lives are filled with opportunities to love and laugh and leave lasting legacies of joy and God given inspiration for our families to remember us by.

"28Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her." Proverbs 31:28 NKJV:

What legacy will you leave, what will your family remember about you?

Be blessed