Watermelon Lime "Licuados" and Slushies

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!
Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

I have always loved "licuados" or smoothies and in Honduras they were so cheap, I could actually get them frequently! My favorite in Honduras was watermelon with orange juice (Yum, try it!).

In my new found fascination with blogs, I found this delicious recipe to try! It is a very yummy slushy drink with frozen watermelon, ginger ale and limeade. 

I also made my own version (since I was too lazy to go downstairs to my freezer!) that is more smoothie/licuado than slushy. 

Pardon my photo... It's terrible...

I used my blender of course, and added lots of watermelon, as well as the juice that accumulates at the bottom of your bowl when you have cut watermelon, a big scoop of frozen limeade concentrate, and a handful or so of ice.  Blend it all together!

My husband loves both these recipes too!  Delicious and very refreshing! 

Reading Review!

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items! Check out her blog here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase!

Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

I "enjoyed" this latest book, The Murder Room, by Michael Capuzzo.

This book tells the true story of the Vidocq Society, an elite group of detectives, profilers, and other forensic experts who work on cold cases. The author talks about how the society came to be, gives a brief biography of the 3 founders, and details many of their cases.

I enjoy most mysteries though have not been a huge fan of "true crime"; this one is well written and keeps your attention better than most in my opinion.

However, knowing that it was true made some of those scenes a little harder to take. My one complaint would be that the author jumps around between the cases before sharing their conclusions, but I suppose this does hold your interest! I'd recommend it to those who enjoy the forensic/profiling/case solving genre!

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

I forgot to add this to the reading sidebar til now, but I just finished this book by Barbara Kingsolver. This is a long book, as was The Poisonwood Bible, the only other of hers I think I've read. I’m not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much as a “regular” paper book; I listened to it as an audiobook while doing my chores around the house, and this way, picking it up for different bits through out the week, I didn’t tire of it as I do at times with these longer, not so action packed books. Kingsolver educates the reader on Mexico and the communist era both in Mexico and the United States in an entertaining way. I at first wasn’t sure about the author’s narration (she reads this book herself), as I thought it was a bit monotone, but as the book continued and the characters developed and couldn’t have imagined it any other way. Because of my experiences in Central America, I really enjoyed the parts set in Mexico. I had never read very much about the communist “witch hunt” in our nation’s history and was appalled at the way our government handled the whole situation. I definitely enjoyed this historical fiction and will be looking for more in this genre. I recommend it to you as well! One more note: I was pretty proud of myself when I heard a Trotsky reference somewhere after reading this and actually knew who that was!)

 

I’m a fast reader, so there will probably be multiple books in each book review post. Tigerheart by Peter David was a sweet book based on the story of Peter Pan. You’ll find similarities to the popular children’s story, but it seems to be set in another time to the traditional tale; at one point the author says, “There has always been a Boy, and his cohorts, in the Anyplace. The names change. The circumstances of how they got there and who they might be are constantly in flux. But heroes and villains remain heroes and villains”.

The author has a very quirky writing style; my favorite statement in this book is the following. It is concerning the Boy and Gwenny (Peter Pan and the girl character… my mind is a blank…) and the Boy’s wanting to at times act like father and mother, though at other times wanting to be treated as a child as well: “In his inability to decide whether he wanted the most significant female in his life to be his mother or his life mate-and perpetually alternating between the two-The Boy was closer to the attitude of adult men than in any other aspect of his life.” LOL!

But anyway, I would recommend this book, it’s an entertaining and sweet book, a twist on the tale we all know and love. One note: if you enjoy it and decide to continue with others by this author, they may be a bit more… hmmm. What’s the word… raunchy is coming to mind… I began with David’s Sir Apropos of Nothing series. Also entertaining and inventive, though at times a bit vulgar. The author enjoys slipping in little jokes about modern culture, the typical" medievel novel, etc.  This series is set in a magical world of knights and the main character is the ultimate anti-hero, falling into situations and somehow scraping out of them. I enjoyed them, but just wanted to give a warning!

As always, leave your comments, thoughts and suggestions as well!

Little Notepad

Check out my friend Rebecca's blog, The Mommy Saver: Moms saving money, time and sanity. She gives tips for saving time and money in your household as well as yummy freezer cooking recipes. And, she's doing a giveaway right now of my Monkeyshiners items!  Check out her blog  here and enter to win a pacifier leash, bib clip, OR $5 off your purchase! Giveaway ends Friday, September 10.

now on to the Notepad...

I carry a little 3x5 notepad with me in my purse. It contains my price list, a la OrganizedHome.com where I write down the prices for things I usually use so I know when I'm getting a great deal.  I tend to forget what I've paid in the past! I'm a big yard saler so it also contains my lists of the kids' clothes I've bought in larger sizes. It is getting pretty beat up in my purse and I saw this cute little mini list taker on etsy, and based my project on this.

Here's mine:

The ribbon holds it closed.  I love how the peicing turned out- Mainly I was just trying to find cute fabric for it and didn't have enough in all one piece.  The inside fabric took about 6 peices sewn together! 

See how beat up that poor little notebook is? I'm tempted to buy a new one but I don't want to be wasteful...It's a little too short for my mechanical pencil but I have a "normal" pencil that fits perfectly. and it has a perfect little pocket there on the left side for notes or reciepts. Now I need one for my flip top memo pad and my larger mini-journal!  Back to the sewing machine...

New! Book "reviews"

I very much enjoy reading and somehow seem to find time (sometimes when I should be doing other things related to my last post!). I’ve always loved it and have absolutely NO idea how many books I’ve read in my lifetime. I thought it would be interesting to keep track of that and also share some books some of you may enjoy as well. I have a very eclectic taste in books so you’ll hear about all kinds… I’m not a literary critic though, so I’m basically just going to be giving a quickie overview and my very brief thoughts!

 

Currently, I’m enjoying fantasy and have enjoyed series by Jim Butcher. The Dresden Files are what I would call Harry Potter for adults! And his Codex Alera series is more on the fantasy end of the spectrum; I enjoyed both series equally and wished for more when I finished them! So when I finished them, I looked for more fantasy books. I just finished the last three books in the Sword of Truth  series by Terry Goodkind (Chainfire, Phantom, Confessor). These are quite long books and there are 12 in the entire series. I picked up somewhat towards the end and would love to go back and start at the beginning; unfortunately, our library does not have all of them, so I may have to look elsewhere. As I said, though, they are long books; it has a “Lord of the Rings” feel times 20! You get to the end and feel there has to be more! It’s a very epic “save the world” kind of series. I didn’t feel confused by not starting at the beginning, but am definitely interested at reading more to understand how it all came to be. So don’t let it dissuade you if your library doesn’t have them all either.

 

If you’ve read any of these series, I’d love to hear your comments! Or questions if you haven’t (help me hone my book reviewing skills!). And I’m always looking for more books for my list, so what are you reading?

My Housecleaning chart

I am a terrible housekeeper. I really dislike cleaning (until I start doing it, and then I don’t mind so much). It’s the idea of it, I think! And now that I’m home full-time, with an infant who still isn’t moving, and a toddler that does a fairly good job of entertaining herself, one would think my house would be sparkling… Not so much. I’m very easily distracted (ooh, shiny!). So in this, my very first official post in my home organization journey, I’ll share my plans to remedy this situation!
 

My initial attempt was through the file card system set up by the Sidetracked Home Executives. I found out about this through organizedhome.com and between this site and the book I found at the library from the Sidetracked Home Executives, decided to give it a try.

In a nutshell, for this system, you put each task on its own card and then file it in the correct day in your box. Each morning, you pull out your cards and know what you are to do each day. You use a certain color card for daily tasks, a different color for weekly, etc. As you complete each task you file it where it belongs (the next day for daily tasks or the appropriate day of the week if its weekly, etc.). This is a fairly simplified description as there are also ways to keep track of seasonal tasks, monthly tasks, etc. I was so excited by this and thought it was really going to keep me on track. However… I disliked the box and piles of cards on my counter all the time, and got a little overwhelmed seeing all those cards.

Which leads to attempt #2.

This time, I decided to add daily checklists to my notebook (the organized home site describes the “household notebook” of important information; I’m attempting this as well, and perhaps will make it the subject of another post in the future…). So I made up the checklists on my computer, glued them to old file folders to make them thicker, and laminated them (so I could write with dry-erase markers and wipe it off).

For my monthly and seasonal tasks, I created a one page sheet with a list of monthly chores and dates completed, as well as a mini “calendar” of seasonal tasks and reminders. I added chores like washing windows, as well as reminders for Holiday activities and birthday celebrations.

I liked this better- not so many little cards floating around, and I could see at a glance each day what I needed to do. But I didn’t like keeping them in the notebook, as now I had a bulky notebook on my counter. As if there isn’t enough junk on there already… So I tried hanging them on the fridge with a magnetic clip. Better… But then I thought of a revision…

Better known as Attempt #3. When it comes to daily planners, I would much rather have a weekly view. In my first job out of college, I got very excited about getting a pda. However, after I used it for a week or so, I realized that I hated having to see only one day at a time. I’ve only ever liked a daily planner once, and that was in Honduras when I had a million different things to remember each day (and plus, it was free!). So I made this:

This shows all my tasks in one weekly view. Inspired by this homemade beautiful dry erase board from Make It and Love It (another awesome idea I’d like to do- they are so much prettier than my $2 Ollie’s dry erase board!), I put it in a picture frame, and plan to hang it on the wall beside my dry erase board and magnetic boards.

In my head, I like that I’ll be able to see everything at a glance, and know what I’ve done (or not done!) that week. And I can use my dry-erase markers and check things off or add new ones, and then… viola!- clean slate for the next week.

 

I’ll let you know how it works, and in the meantime, I’d love to know what works for you! How do you organize the running of your household?

Quick and Easy Tutu

I finally finished this tutu for L… I ran out of the tulle in the middle, but really it’s a very easy and quick no sew project!

I based it off this tutororial from Samster Mommy. She shares a super quick method using rolls of nylon tulle from a craft store. I didn’t want to wait to get to ours (30 minutes away!) so I bought by the yard from Walmart and modified her method. I ended up using 2 yards for L’s tutu, but you could use more if you wanted it even fuller. If you don’t want your elastic showing at all, you’ll definitely want more than 2 yards, especially if you are making one for a larger child (L is almost 3).tutorial

I bought ½ yard of each the first time I bought it, and folded it in half so I had an approximately 9” wide rectangle. I lined up my 4 inch quilting ruler against the short side, and wrapped the tulle around the ruler, and the cut up both sides, creating 4 inch by 18 inch strips. From there, I followed Samster Mommy’s directions to tie it onto my elastic (which I sewed as she suggested, but later tied in a knot since it was too big; on my second tutu, I just tied it in a knot.

It’s cute, easy, and so much fun to watch L dance around the living room and shake her little bum!

I added this under my saving money label, as this tutu cost me less than 3 dollars to make.  Compare that to the beautiful tutus on etsy.com or this tutu from Amazon.  You even save money on the less expensive ones  though they are great options if you don't want to do your own.

E's Early Intervention Therapy

I thought since its been so long since I posted, I would write up a quick post on E's Early Intervention Therapies.  I haven't taken many pictures, but have a few of him working hard! 

I'm so thankful every day for the 3 wonderful women who come to our house once a week (each).  It's so nice to know that they don't care what it looks like: how many toys are scattered on the floor, if there's a pile of cookie crumbs or L's breakfast bowl in the living room, baskets of folded (or unfolded) laundry sitting around.  They don't care about any of that, just about E and his progress.  I love that you can tell, every time they see him, how much they care about how he's doing and what progress he's making.  I won't show any photos of these three lovely ladies, as I don't  have permission, but we appreciate them so much!

In case you don't know, E has been diagnosed with Complete Agenesis of the Corpus Collosum, meaning that his corpus collosum (the part of your brain that is the main bridge of communication between the two sides) did not develop.  We don't know yet what this will mean with regards to his future, as there is a huge range of development for individuals with ACC.  Some people never know they have ACC, and others are noticably affected in various ways, whether it be in their physical abilities, speech, etc.  Whatever happens, we are believing that God has a plan for our beautiful boy.  In my heart, I want him to be "normal" but we know he will be amazing no matter what his capabilities.

E has been working hard in therapy and is very close to sitting by himself!  We are also working on weight bearing activities, and helping him take steps.  He is still not very interested in toys, so we pray (and ask you to pray with us!) that the opthamologist, who we will see tomorrow, will find some way to help him be able to see those toys better.

So, without further ado, here are some photos of our almost one year old (TOMORROW!!!!) working hard at his therapy.

Daughter L was SO excited when our physical therapist brought this big ball (she's been asking  for one everytime we go to walmart!), and has done a good job of "sharing" it with E! Here he is working on standing- Isn't that ball just the perfect size for him?!  We also have him sit on it and roll it slightly so he has to work at bringing himself back up straight as well as doing tummy time on it which he seems to like a little better than the floor!

And of course, later when L is playing, she does some therapy too...

We do this activity with E also! 

Working on crawling!

One of my favorite therapies with E is water therapy!  We spend time in the pool, and are excited to see his legs start kicking more!  I don't have any pictures of that, but here's a photo of what's been happening every time we go to the pool.

Yup, he's sleeping... I guess he really loves the water too!

As I said E turns 1 tomorrow; seems like this year has gone too fast for that...

We know lots of our family and friends have been praying for him, and we would love if you'd continue to do so!  We are so excited to see what this year brings for him!