Hair Sticks

Hairsticks

Okay so last spring I chopped all my hair off in an attempt to grow it down to my knees. Confused? Well, I want to have healthy long hair and my hair had a bunch of dead ends, plus I was in the start of pregnancy. Anyone that has been pregnant knows how that goes. So in my quest for beautiful hair, I have discover the fascinating world of hair sticks. They do less damage to your hair than pony ties and are a fun way to express yourself. Here is a picture of me with one of my new hair sticks. So my two favorites places to purchase them are as follows

Hairgems.etsy.com (the lady that makes these is super nice and they are very affordable)
and
Longlocks.com
Long Locks also offers so great tips on growing healthy hair to any lengths. Have fun looking. In case you were wondering this is a four strand french braid tucked under.

bean bags

Sewing- bean bags

The other night my kids were restless and wanting to do a sewing project. So we broke out some scrap fabric and headed to town.

Tic tac toe bean bags
These are great for a starter project and little hands love to help out.

Cut out two square of the same size I do around 4 in by 4in two different colors.
Take one piece of fabric with the right side facing, using a stitch of your choice sew and x or and o  on it. Then match the to pieces of fabric together with right sides of fabric facing each other and sew around the edges leaving a small opening at the end to turn the fabric right side out. Now let the little hands fill about 3/4 of the way full with dried beans. Tuck open ends under and sew shut.
Make a set of 3 x's and 3 o's.
All you need is an empty laundry basket and let the kids take turns throwing them in. And all it took was about 20 mins to make but gave a nightful of fun.

Enjoying the Simple Things

Enjoying the simple things in life is something we have all heard before but yet as hectic as life gets sometimes, it can be challenging to find time to do so. As I type this my little four year old woke up this morning and came to lay her head right on my lap. Hence right on top of my hands and laptop. Instead of feeling frustrated or ready to rush off to get my day started, I am enjoying the moment. (hey this is only taking me two minutes to type). As I gaze at her perfect little face I find a sense of peace, a stillness among a spinning world. A brief moment to stop and just breathe. To know that all is right in the world for at least this moment. So as things get busy and chances are they already are, take a moment and enjoy some simple things in your life.

Pj bottoms without a pattern

Sewing- Pajama Bottoms

So yesterday I got a little nuts trying to clean out my extra fabric and decided to make my kids some Pajama Bottoms. It is super simple and easy to do without a pattern. Great for a beginning project.  I use Flannel for our pjs. All you need is a pair of Pjs, some wrapping paper ( I like this the best, better for adult sizes) or paper grocery sack, fabric, crayon, scissors, 1/2 in wide elastic band and thread. I have included a link to a tutorial  that is great. http://www.ehow.com/how_5894250_sew-pajama-pants.html I will post some of my pictures later.

Just fold your pants in half making sure that you pull the crotch out flat. Lay on wrapping paper, trace with crayon or marker giving about 1/2 seam allowance except at top and bottom of pants. for this add 2 inches extra. For me I found that my kids had outgrown the pants so I needed to add around 3 to 4 inches on the bottom. Cut your pattern out. Simple so far!

Then lay your pattern on your fabric with the crotch away from the fold of the fabric. Cut out twice. Sew the inside leg up to the crotch. Make sure that you are sewing with the right side of the fabric together so that the seam is on the inside.  Once both pieces are sewed, match the waist and crotch together and sew. For the waist fold down inside leaving enough room for the elastic. Sew around making sure to leave a opening for the elastic to fit inside.  Measure your waist size pulling a little tight and then add a inch. I use a safety pin at the end of the elastic to make it easy to push through the waist band. Sew the edges of the elastic together. and finish up the waist. A neat tip is you can use a Serger to finish the waist by grabbing the edge of the elastic so it can not twist inside. You can also modify to add a drawstring.

Now all you have left to do is hem the legs. And there you have a cute pair of Pj bottoms.

Healthy Thanksgiving Yams

Candied sweet potato and yam

I love this recipe. A great alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving Yams.

Ingredients

1 Medium Yam (1 cup cooked)
1 Medium Sweet Potato (1 Cup cooked)
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Butter (I use Smart Balance)
3 Tbsp. Brown Sugar (I use 1 1/2 Tbsp.  Splenda Brown Sugar Mix)
1 pinch cinnamon
1 pinch allspice
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch black pepper

Bring water to boil in large stock pot. Add sweet potato and yam with their skin on. Cook until tender. Let cool, then peel and dice. You should have about 1 cup.

In a pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add butter and melt. Add yam, sweet potato, brown sugar and spices. Reduce heat to a simmer until sugar is melted and yam and sweet potato is glazed.

Enjoy!

Lysol!

I love Lysol! It is great tool for fast cleaning germs. So some quick tips are as follows; When empty your laundry baskets spray some lysol in them to kill all those nasty germs hidden in there. It's rather gross when you think about it. Yikes! And don't forget to clean those baskets that carry the clean laundry. No need to get the clean clothes covered in germs.

Also spray out your garbage cans in between cleaning, if you like you can also sprinkle some baking soda in the bottom of your cans to keep down on smell. I find that Lysol does the trick generally so baking soda is not needed. Also if you have a mainly paper trash can you can place extra trash sacks at the bottom of your garbage can so that you don't have to run to the cleaning closet every time.

With all the wet boots coming in the house, it can be a wonderful help in keeping those boots from becoming smelly.

Last Lysol tip is when making the beds in the morning in between changing sheets, quickly spray some Lysol on the sheets and blankets.

Now if you have allergies or want a more chemical free cleaning, I recommend using a steam cleaner to quickly do these functions.

Banana Fruit Salad

 Banana Fruit Salad

This is a quick and easy recipe!

Banana Fruit Salad
1 Cup green grapes, sliced in half
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 Cup Orange Juice

Toss together all the ingredients in a bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Don't worry about the Bananas going brown the acid in the orange juice keeps them fresh.

Enjoy!