I think I am a runner now.

A few months ago I got this crazy idea in my head to sign up for the 2012 Crazylegs race here in Madison.  Actually it was my friend Steph that gave me the idea.  So you can thank her. Crazylegs is an 8K (5 miles) run that winds through the capital square, around the campus and ends at Camp Randall Stadium.

Keep in mind I am not a person that enjoyed running as a kid.  When I think about it, I only ran if I was being chased or doing the chasing.  Yes, I was on the track team in Middle and High School.  However, that did not entail me running.  I did the high jump in Middle School and in High School I added the discus and shot put to my list of events.

So when I decided I was going to run in the Crazylegs race I was sure that I had lost my mind and should be checked into a mental health facility.  I'm sure my husband thought about it too.  But on I went with "training" for my up coming race.  I use the word training loosely because I didn't follow I strict routine or program.  There were weeks that I didn't run or workout at all.  And the only one to blame is myself.

Well, by now I'm sure you are so intrigued to see how I did in my race.  :)  OK, maybe not but I'm going to tell you anyways.  Yesterday, Saturday, April 28th was the 31st Crazylegs race.  Here is how the race went;

I finished and I didn't finish last.  LOL.  I actually finished 25 minutes ahead of the time I put down when I registered.  My official time was 1 hour 13 minutes and 29 seconds. 

Here I am enjoying a few free beers after the race.

I was such a big accomplishment for me.  I had such a rush for several hours after the race was finished.

The big question is:  am I going to run again?  The answer is: YES!!  I am running in the Race for the Cure. It is in 5 weeks and only 3 miles long.  Should be a breeze, right?

Spice jars to save lives.

When I first came upon this post by Lauren Davison over at DAV.I.SON.: Check Out My Moves! I knew that I wanted to do it too.  Here are my spice jars.

Spice drawer before.

 Spice draw after.

Here is how these little spice jars can save lives.  When I heard that little girls are still be used in the sex trade I was sick to my stomach.  We have 3 little girls, I can not even imagine one of them having to do the things these kids do. 

What I am doing is with every order of spice jars the money goes to help get kids out of the sex trade industry.  notforsalecampaign.org will receive the proceeds.  

Prices: $7 for a basic set- salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, basil and parsley
           $13 for a deluxe set- basic set plus - ginger, cayenne pepper, paprika, oregano, thyme and rosemary.
            $6 for a baking set- baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves.

I can make the jars without the spice name on them.  Please note the jars come unfilled so they can be filled with their favorite brand of spice.

Please let me know if you would like to place an order.  I can change the color scheme of the jars as well.

Thank you!

Anita

What a broken dryer can teach you?

On Easter Sunday our dryer decided it was going to be done working.  As much of an inconvenience as it is to not have a working dryer I decided I was just going to grin and figure out a way to be able to dry our clothes without having to load everyone up and take them to the laundry mat.

The next day Scott told me to string up some cord in the laundry room and line dry our clothes.  

Having to hang our clothes really caused me to slow down.  It only took me a few extra minutes with each load to hang them up instead of throwing them in the dryer.  The mindless activity was a great way to connect with God.  With each article of clothing I would say a little prayer for the person it was for.  A dress for Kennedy- "Lord, please help her know her self-worth isn't in her clothes."  One of Scott's work shirts- "Lord, please help him to have a great day at work, striving to work for you instead of for men."

It took over a week for our dryer to be fixed and in a small way I kind of miss hang our clothes up to dry.  One thing I do not miss though is cardboard stiff towels.  :)

Jars, jars, jars...everywhere you look you will see jars.

Last Spring I read a post by Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom about saving glass jars.  You can read it here.  I was like "Duh, why didn't I think about that?"  

So I started saving all the glass jars we emptied.   And then our neighbor across the street put out a box of empty Yankee Candle Co. jars, so I scooted across the street and brought the huge box home.  At first my husband thought I was crazy, until I started finding ways to put them to use.    And in the process I am organizing our house.

  Kitchen cabinet before

And after, so much more room.  And love being able to see what is in the jars.

 

 

All my beautiful jars just waiting to be put to good use.

 The little one holds my sewing pins and scissors.  Lexi helped me decorate it with pretty stars.  The big one holds the threads I clip off of sewing projects.  I plan on putting them outside for the birds to take and use in their nests.

 Marinading orange peels in vinegar to use in cleaners.

 They make really nice marker and change holders.

 Saving pop tabs to give to the Ronald McDonald House.

 I made a nice holder for the bamboo utensils and tongs I received for Christmas last year.

 Holding Box Tops for Mackenzie's school.

And finally, a really good way to keep the toothpaste corralled.

What other uses can you come up with?

Happy Easter!

One of the activities we do every year with the girls is dye Easter egg.  Here are the pictures from that.

The girls had so much fun.  And out of the 2 dozen eggs we colored on Friday afternoon there are only 4 left as of 9 pm Saturday.  The girls really love hard boiled eggs.

We are also really trying to get God's word into our daughter's hearts as well.  This morning I discovered a recipe for Resurrection Cookies.  While making cookies we talk about what each ingredient represents.  I'm not sure if the girls really understood it.  But I'll know in the days to come if they bring it back up.  Here is the recipe.

Easter Story Cookies
To be made the evening before Easter

1 cup whole pecans (We used peanuts as Lexi is allergic to tree nuts.)

1 tsp vinegar
3 egg whites
pinch salt
1 cup sugar
zipper baggie
wooden spoon
tape
Bible
Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

Place nuts in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read John 19:1-3.  (set bag aside.)

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27:57-60.

Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!

Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read Matthew 28:1-9. 

Here they are.  I hope the kids "get it" in the morning.  Have a great Easter everyone!  Remember just how much God loves you.  John 3:16

Hearts at Home Conference

Yesterday I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Hearts at Home National Conference in Normal, IL with one of my best friends, Katrina.  Yes, there is a Normal, IL.  (But we're convinced there are strange things happening there.  Long story short, the GPS was having issues and we found out ours wasn't the only one.)

Hearts-at-Home is a wonderful ministry.  They provide encouragement to women of all ages in all stages of motherhood. Hearts at Home’s mission is to encourage, educate, and equip every mom in every season of motherhood using Christian values to strengthen families.

Katrina and I left her house at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning.  You read that right, 4 a.m.  We knew it would take us about 3 1/2 hours to get to the conference.  Then we needed to check-in, figure out where we were going and find a good seat before the opening speakers.

 We were greeted with a beautiful sunrise.

One of the opening speakers were Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar.  I'll admit, I was excited to see them, with the hopes of meeting them before we left.  They gave their testimony and told us about how God is working in their lives.  We also heard from Jill Savage; speaker, author and CEO of Hearts at home.  And the emcee of this year's conference was Brenda Paccamonti, she is the Executive Director of Resources for Hearts at Home and was hilarious!

Our first workshop was also with the Duggars.  They gave us some practical parenting and marriage tips.  Some things I took away from them are: get God's word into the hearts of your children, teach them how to love God and love others.  I also learned the effectiveness of speaking in a soft, sing-songy voice.  You check out more on the Duggars at their website duggarfamily.com

Our next workshop was with Marla "flylady" Cilley.  Hmmm....how to describe the flylady.  She loves organization and teaching others how to regain control of your house and home.  Some things I took away from her are:  to have a before bed routine to get a jump start on your next day.  She emphasized that keeping your stuff is a lack of faith in God to provide for you.  And to bless someone else with your things that you no longer need.   You can get a lot of tips from her on flylady.net

After the flylady we heard from Marianne Miller.  She is Crown Financial Ministries Counselor, a Certified Parenting Instructor, and a She Speaks graduate.  Yesterday she gave us some tips on Raising Grateful Kids.  We learned a lot of tips on teaching our kids contentment, that we are not our stuff and we need to help our kids find their identity in Christ.  We also learned how to teach our children financial discernment with too many tips to mention.  Read more info here mariannemiller.com

By this time our brains were tired and fried.  So we decided to take a break and skip the last workshop.  We took a walk to stretch our legs and check out the books that were for sale.  I did find a really nice Prayer Journal that I bought.  We took some time to chat with some other moms we ran into then went to find some seats for the final session.

 Katrina waiting for the final session.  By this time we were tired, hot, sweaty and our brain's were fried.

To end the day we had a really good session with Dr. Juli Slattery, from Focus on the Family  She taught us that in order to survive motherhood we need to have wisdom. And the best place to gain wisdom is from God.  Three ways to get it are to: Desire it- make it a priority. Regonize where it comes from- a good place to start is to read the 31 chapters of Proverbs. And to Sit daily at the doorsteps of wisdom- get on your knees, ask specifically for what you need and make sure you listen.  Take a peek at focusonthefamily.com

Of all the speakers we listened too.  I came away from Juli's speech the most moved.  I know that I can not be a great mother to the children God has blessed us with alone.  I need God's help, guidance and wisdom.  I know that He also puts amazing people in my life to give me advice, friendship and love.  

I am so happy that God put things in motion for me to be able to go to such an amazing event.  Katrina and I are already making plans to go to next year's conference.  I know we will be recruiting other mom's to go with us.

Katrina and I before getting back in the car for our long ride home.

Until next time~

Anita

Homemade Laundry Soap

As you know I have several items on my goals list this year.  I’ve recently decided that I would like to add one more thing; get back to a simpler more frugal lifestyle.  That can mean something different to everyone.  What that means to me is this: eat more whole homemade foods, make as many things at home as possible and just save the family money any way that I can.  With that being said here is what Coobs (Kennedy) and I made today.

Homemade Laundry Soap
 
I first saw the recipe on Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s website and then again on Aubut Family website.  The two recipes are almost exactly the same except one used 3 bars of soap in the recipe and the other only uses 1.  So I decided to meet in the middle and use 2.

4 lb. 12 oz. box of Borax
4 lb. box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
3 lb. 7 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
2 bars of Fels-Naptha soap (or Zote)
3 lb. container of Oxy Clean, or two of the smaller ones, to make about 3lbs
1 container Purex Fabric Softener Crystals

Start out by turning your bars of soap into a powder.  One website used a cheese grater and another said to microwave it for 4 minutes it will foam up like a marshmallow.  Let it cool down completely and it will turn into a powdery substance when you break it apart.

I wasn’t too sure about either method so I went with the microwave one.  I put both bars in for 3 minutes.  I should have taken the wrappers off completely, oops.  What happened was one bar didn’t foam up all the way, which worked out in the end.  The puffed up parts didn’t crumble like I thought they would.  We couldn’t get the soap to break down to a powder. 

So I used a cheese grater on the rest which I liked better anyways.  I ran it on the finest side of my 4 side cheese grater and it turned into a nice powder.    I will definitely be using the cheese grater from now on.

Now for the huge container I would need to mix it up in.  We had an extra empty plastic kitty litter pail leftover so I scrubbed it out really well then dried it with a clean towel.

Kennedy helped me pour all the ingredients in and mix them up.   We poured in a little of each at a time until everything was in.  I did have to tip the container to the side a few times to get the stuff on the bottom mixed up well.

Store and use however you like.  Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per load.

Right now the house smells amazing from mixing everything together.