The Sad Tragedy of the No 'Poo Experience

As my title suggests, my no 'poo experience has come to an end and I want to thank my mother (even though I was upset by it at first, but I'm not anymore) for pointing out my thinning hair as I am really proud of how my curls/waves look. I am no longer using the BS/ACV rinse anymore and have switched to a store bought, sulfate-free, shampoo and conditioner.

I was having problems each morning with the hair underneath being so tangled up like a bird's nest. It was painful to brush out and I was loosing a lot of hair from doing this. In the very beginning of doing this experience, I blamed the hair loss on the post partem part of my pregnancy and never really paid attention to it. I was still loosing hair, but not in big clumps as before after about the 6 month part of my post partem.

To give a little back story, I was having a recent conversation with my mother about our little family reunion coming up. She wanted to do a girl's day out, to give me a day away from all 4 kids, and get all gussied up... to do something really nice for me. She wanted to go to a good salon and also get mani's and pedi's with all the women in our family. I was a little skeptical about the salon, so I asked what she meant about it. She said my hair was looking flat and that my hairline was starting to recede at the top. I told her that my hair gets flat at the top when it is long (the longest layer is about an inch below my bra line in the back) since my curls are at the end of my hair. It did bother me and I became self conscious about my hair. I did a lot of research these past few days and found out that the baking soda cleanser, no matter how much water you use, or how little baking soda you use, the ph of it is higher (about 7-9) than your scalp's ph (at about a 4). The only thing that was remotely close to the scalp's ph is the ACV with a 4.5 ph, which means that this is still really good for your scalp! The majority of the stories I read from the women said that they lost hair even though they started out with thick hair, and that their scalp got damaged.

My husband also mentioned a post he read about someone documenting this same no 'poo routine. This girl had hair past her waist, but after about a year of doing the baking soda/ACV rinse, she started loosing clumps and clumps of hair. She finally figured out that it was the baking soda that caused this hair loss and has since stopped using it.

I did notice a couple months back, that my sides where starting to look thinner and I could see a lot of my scalp there. I always chalked it up to my hair being greasy and nasty which was my indicator I needed to wash my hair. I have since stopped using the baking soda and have bought the L'Oreal Everstrong Anti-Breakage shampoo and conditioner. I was wanting to get the Thickening shampoo and conditioner since it claims to be for thinning hair, but for some reason in the Golden State, they have this shampoo in a locked case, and the worker just handed me the first one she saw, so I didn't get a chance to see if it was the one I was looking for or not.

Depending on how long you have been using the baking soda, it can take up to years for the hair to regrow back. I did find that Castro oil is really good for thickening and regrowing hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes, so I will see if this does anything or not. To do the whole head, you will need to mix the castro oil with some melted coconut oil since it is a really thick oil and is hard to try to spread onto the scalp.

If you have started using the baking soda rinse, stop immediately! The longer you keep doing it, the longer it will take for your hair to grow back.

I hope you have enjoyed my experience with the no 'poo. If you still want to continue being a no 'pooer, there are ph balanced shampoos out there that only call for two ingredients! I would have loved to try this recipe during my experience, but never got a chance to buy the ingredients. If you wish to discontinue and go back to store bought shampoo, I did find that L'Oreal would produce salon like outcomes for a really cheap price (about $6/bottle). Once I get my hair back to normal, I will probably buy their Evercurl Hydracharge product line.

Thank you and I love you, mama, for pointing out my thinning hair so I can get it fixed! ^-^ And thank you for those sticking with me through this experience and I hope you learned a lot about your hair as much as I did.

Happy Shampooing!

No 'Poo Experience after 7 months

It has been an interesting 3 months since my last blog update about my experience. I did change up somethings since July, so I am going to combine 3 months worth into one post.

After the 5 month, I ran out of both the baking soda cleanser and the vinegar. I was happy to get back to the ACV rinse. This time, I didn't add the honey into the ACV, but I did put in tea tree and lavender essential oils. I could feel the tingling of the tea tree after the first use of the new ACV rinse, but after that, I guess my scalp healed up enough to where I didn't feel the tingling anymore.

I ran out of the baking soda cleanser twice within the last 3 months. The first time I remade it, I boiled some water then let some chamomile leaves and tea leaves brew for about 5 hours. I didn't create too strong of a smell from the chamomile, but I was getting tired of just plain old filtered water. Needless to say, my bath tub was very brown from using that mixture for a month!

The second batch of baking soda cleanser, i just added tea tree and lavender into plain, old, filter water. I made about 32 oz of this which I would have finished by the end of November, but I have since stopped using it for reason I will talk about in my next post.

I did start washing the ACV rinse out with cold water. Yes, that is right, cold water! Now, you are probably thinking I am crazy for doing this, especially with the colder weather coming, but trust me, it is well worth it! If you haven't guessed, the cold water helps to close the cuticles in your hair strands to keep the moisture "locked in," so if you have dry hair (like I do), this will help out a lot! I did start combing my hair in the shower, using a wide tooth comb, after I squirt the ACV rinse on my hair (still using the same method as I mentioned in my last post "No 'Poo Experience after 5 months"). I researched that people with my hair type (wavy/curly) should comb their hairs in the shower, especially after the conditioner is added in, and that's it. Our hair does not like a comb when it is dry! You will get breakage and split ends like no tomorrow. It's no fun and you hair will hate you for it, believe me!

I did purchase a boar bristle brush as a last minute resort when I couldn't find my regular brush. One of my children hid my brush in a drawer in the school room right before vacation time. It's a Conair brand and it doesn't work. At. All. My hair started to get static in it and it wasn't even getting the tangles out. I had to use my girl's brush to get the tangles out. I do not recommend the Conair boar bristle brush. It does work great of fine baby hair, though, our pirate prince really enjoys it when I brush his hair in the morning. :-)

No 'Poo Experience after 4 months

Alright, now that we are up to speed, here is my post after 4 months!

My hair after 4 months. This is also the next day after washing with
the bs cleanser and the lavender infused vinegar rinse.

I did run out of the herbal and baking soda mix shampoo around the 4th, so I made up a batch of just the baking soda cleanser. This time I boiled the quart of water and added some lavender leaves and loose tea leaves and let that set for a couple of hours before adding the baking soda to it.

 I also ran out of my ACV rinse so I got to use my lavender infused vinegar as a rinse until I buy some more apple cider vinegar (which I have).

For these past few showers, I have been washing my hair a little differently. When I did the baking soda cleanser, I would just squirt it all over my scalp then massage it in and let it rest for a few minutes. I would wash it out under the water, then I would squirt the ACV rinse all over my scalp, rub it in, then squirt some more on the rest of my hair, and also leave it in while I wash my face and body.

Now I flip my head over, squirt the baking soda cleanser all over my scalp, rub it in, then flip my head back over and squirt some more at the top, and rub it in again then wash it out immediately. With the ACV rinse, instead of starting at the front of my scalp, I'll start more towards the back of my head and just focus on my tips since I have layers in my hair.

I have noticed with using the lavender infuse vinegar, that my hair feels a lot lighter and the smell is not as bad as the apple cider vinegar. The only bad thing is it feels like the white vinegar is stripping my hair of it's natural oils and it doesn't feel as soft, even though I have seen people use white vinegar and have great results while using it. Also, I have to take showers every other day like I normally did with store bought shampoos and conditioner. Then again, each person's hair is different and each will have different results.

I did not make much of the infused vinegar rinse, but I will be glad to go back to my ACV rinse once it is gone.

If you feel like experimenting with one of your favorite infused vinegar, give it a try! There is no harm in trying it out and you will have an idea of which is best for your hair.

Happy Shampooing

No 'Poo Experience after 3 months

Sorry I did not get a chance to put this up back in June. My body has been going through crazy changes trying to get back to normal after having Pirate Prince. Now you get to enjoy two posts this month! -:P

Right after I posted my last blog, I tried just using the ACV rinse on my hair. It turned out being just as greasy, if not more greasy, as if you were to just use the baking soda cleanser. Needless to say I took a shower the next morning using both the BS cleanser and ACV rinse. 

I did a little more experimenting with my herbal castile soap shampoo that I had left and the last bit of the baking soda rinse I had.

I was pretty much down to about a third of the herbal shampoo and was just about to run out of the baking soda cleanser so I put both together in one bottle and to try it out. When I was doing the research on 'no poo-ing,' I did come across a tea shampoo recipe that used both baking soda and castile soap. Let me just say that I fell in love with it! It had more lather to the shampoo then it originally did by just using castile soap, and the benefits of getting your scalp rubbed clean from the baking soda. It was refreshing to use and it left my scalp feeling great! I was able to go at least 4 days without washing my hair with the "new and improved" herbal shampoo. I wish I would have combined the two earlier so I could enjoy it more, though. :-(

I keep forgetting to mention how I dry my hair after a shower, so now that I am thinking about it, I'll put it in this post. :-)

If anybody has done research on "how to take care of curly and/or wavy hair" has come to find out that bath towels are evil for our hair types! There are many ways you can dry your hair without getting too many split ends, making it frizzy, or have a rats nest to comb/brush through after your shower.

For the longest time, I used to never brush my hair before I took a shower. Don't get me wrong, I would brush my hair before I would go to school, but I never really thought about brushing before bed time or taking a shower. It wasn't until after I graduated high school and spent the entire summer with my aunt and uncle, when my aunt had asked me, while I was combing my hair after a shower, if I ever brushed my hair before I took one. So I tried it out to see if there was a difference when it came to combing my hair after it had been washed. And well, what do you know, it was A LOT easier to comb through after a shower! That was the first change to my routine.

A few years into my college years, I found out that I should scrunch my hair with a towel vs. rubbing the towel over my hair to dry the excess water off. I also use a wide tooth comb through my hair, but I have been doing that since high school. You can also use a natural boar bristle brush on your hair once it has dried. I haven't been able to buy a natural boar bristle brush just yet, it's on my wishlist after we get out of debt. :) I do remember using something similar while I was a kid and it did make my hair feel very soft, I just never realized that it was a boar bristle brush!

After doing these two changes, my hair seemed to be doing a lot better at keeping the split ends to a minimum and when I thought I was doing an awesome job, I find out there are more things to do to make my hair even better!

I found that people with my hair type should not use a towel, but a cotton t-shirt or a microfiber towel. Again, only scrunching your hair, not rubbing your hair with it. Also, people with tight curly hair do something called plopping. I do it a little different then the video. You basically lay out an old t-shirt (a large long sleeve is preferred, but I use one of my husband's short sleeve) to where the neck line and sleeves are closets to your body, flip your head over to where your hair is laying on the shirt, then fold a little bit of the shirt, where your hair ends, over the tips of your hair, then fold the rest of the shirt over toward your neck to cover the back of your head and tuck it under your forehead. If you are using a long sleeve t-shirt, take the sleeves and cross them over the back of your head then bring them to the front of your head and tie a knot. If you are using a short sleeve, just bring the sleeves to the back and tie a knot. You want to make the knot tight, but not too tight where you are not comfortable. You can leave shirt on as long as you like or as little as you like, it all depends on what your day is like. I usually take my showers at night, when all the children are sleeping, so I usually leave it in while I brush my teeth, put on the witch hazel, and face moisturizer to finish off my routine of washing my face, then take it out before I go to bed; about 10-15 minutes. If I get a shower in early enough at night, I leave it in while I watch some Stargate episodes with my husband then take the shirt off before we go to bed; close to a hour.

I haven't used any kind of hair products since switching to a no poo shampoo, but the plopping is most effective when you do use them, especially if you want the scrunch look for your waves. I like plopping without hair products just fine, it gives my waves a more natural look to them.

I hope some of these tips on how to manage your hair after a shower will help you out and make your no poo experience a great one!

Happy Shampooing!

No 'Poo Experience after 2 months

As planned, I have an update about my experience of using homemade shampoo! I do have to apologize in advance with this post as there will not be any pictures until a later time. My macbook decided to stop taking a charge, on top of Cuddle Bug stepping on it and breaking a 1/3 of liquid screen. :-/

This month, I did a little experimenting with the baking soda cleaner I mentioned in my last no 'poo post. I had stopped using my herbal shampoo because my hair would be in knots the second morning after washing and on top of that my hair was feeling brittle even with using the ACV rinse, so I went straight to using the baking soda cleaner and the ACV rinse for about 3 weeks.

I could last about 3 days before my hair started feeling dirty and my scalp would start to itch. One week, I washing my hair with the BS cleaner and the ACV rinse and the next time I needed a shower, I just did the BS cleaner. I had a horrible experience doing this! Even though I scrubbed my head really well, my hair was crusty after it completely dried! I wont be doing that again! I have not tried solely doing the ACV rinse yet, that will be my next experience for the following month.

After the past 3 weeks of using the BS and ACV combination, my hair was not having that volume effect that it did at the beginning or how the herbal shampoo did, so I used the herbal shampoo a few nights ago and my hair felt light and fluffy! Again, my hair only lasts about 2 days with the herbal shampoo, but it felt so nice to have the volume for a change!

I am still experimenting to find the perfect shampoo, but I definitely love the ACV rinse. I also have some distilled vinegar that has been infused with lavender petals as something to try once the ACV is all used up. I've read that distilled vinegar works just the same, if not even better then ACV.

Until next update!

Happy Shampooing!

Dress Refashion

I have been doing a little spring cleaning in my closet lately and trying to consign and donate most of my clothes I don't wear anymore, along with the clothes Jelly bean is now out growing. I have also been pinteresting (I don't think that is even a word, but it is now! :P) like crazy to see if maybe I can refashion some of the long sleeve shirts I bought only a year ago. They can still have some use for them, right? In my digging, I found a tank top maxi dress I had bought for Jelly Bean's baptism (almost two years ago) that I only wore once! It was a nice dress, but I wasn't too fond of the maxi length. 

So what's a girl to do?

Like I said above, I have been searching the inter webs of pinterest like crazy to see what is out there and I finally found a few tutorials that was quick and easy!

I followed the guidelines for this tutorial to make the dress a little shorter. I wanted the dress to end right above my knee since the material is spandex, so it would be perfect for the summer months here in the desert. 

I also wanted the dress to be a little more form fitting at the top, so I took another dress that I liked and used it as a guide to pin up the sides.

Sorry about the shadow at the top. My dachshund wanted to help -_-

I sewed along the pins, cut the some of the excess material, then used a zigzag stitch to serge it since I don't have a serger....yet! :P

I tried on the dress to make sure I liked the way it fitted on me at the top, then I used my measuring tape to measure the length of where I wanted to cut the skirt. I measured to about 27" from the shoulders to about my mid thigh.

This was about 27"

Next I used my rotary cutter and hit a straight line. I know, I know! I probably should have pinned all the way across to make a curve, but I was being lazy and just cut straight across! It worked out in the end. :-D

After I cut the excess, I tried the dress back on and measured from the edge of the new dress to where I wanted the new length to be. I think it was about 5-7 inches. I wanted to use the original dress hem so I wouldn't need to make a new hem on the new raw edge (why I measured the first length at mid thigh), so I measured the length with the on the piece I cut off, pinned it to the raw edge of the dress, and sewed all the way around.

As you can see, I am pinning the piece that has the original hem.

The reason for the two pieces was to make the bottom of the dress have a sort of ruffle to it! Here is the new dress!

The floral print doesn't really match at the bottom, but that's ok, I like it anyways. :) 

Now, I wasn't too fond of the no sleeves, so I used the extra fabric I had from the part I cut off and made some sleeves. I wanted to make some butterfly/flutter sleeves, by the time I got it all figured out and sewn on using this tutorial, it didn't turn out the way I had it in my head. Plus, it felt like they were pulling my shoulders down.

To fix that problem, I just used my seam ripper and detached the part that was sewn to the side of the dress. Now they look like kimono sleeves, hehe!

Now detached

Kimono sleeves!

Side view

I am happy about the outcome of the dress and can't wait to wear it to church.

I hope today's post has inspired you to dig through your closet and find those dresses you haven't worn too often! Now onward to refashion some shirts! 

Happy sewing :)

No 'Poo Experience After One Month

I seriously need to get back to blogging! I miss it. As you have notice, I changed the background up. I was getting tired of the bright orange and wanted something a little more suttle. :-P

No 'poo seems to becoming very popular these days as a lot of people are finding all the harsh chemicals in commercial shampoos and conditioners.

I decided to jump on the band wagon as I was doing some research on DIY facial cleaners. I was trying to look for something I could use as I was still breastfeeding Pirate Prince, that wouldn't effect my breast milk since our body absorbs so much through our skin. I came across an oil facial cleaner and skin toner. I really love how the oil isn't harsh on your skin what so ever and it feels like you are at the spa when you put the warm washcloth over your face before washing the oil off. The toner, for me, was drying my skin out a lot since I live in the desert. I did find a moisturizer recipe I want to try, but haven't had the chance to buy all the ingredients to make it yet. (Just need cocoa butter!)

Of course, once the searching for homemade facial cleaners started, it took me down the road to DIY shampoos and conditioners.

I was getting tired of having to search for coupons for the type of shampoo I was using (TRESemme), and still not saving as nearly as much as I would like with the coupon. I already make my own household cleaners, so why not start making my own hair and body cleaners! I'm not going to go into much details about the different chemicals that I have no idea what they are, to know that homemade is always best!

Growing up as a teen, I had the most frizzy hair of all time! My hair type is wavy with curls at the end (depending on how long my hair is. If it's short, I just have waves and puffiness). The only way it wouldn't be frizzy was if I added products to my hair and scrunched it. I have gone through many hair cuts, from super long (passed my mid-back) to an a-line bob (more so because little ones pull the hairs on the nape of my neck). No matter what style hair cut I have, it is always frizzy.

Long hair;  I was 12 weeks pregnant with Princess Pea.

Hair sitting on the shoulders, no layers

Product in my hair and scrunched; with layers

A-line bob; the shortest my hair has ever been!

Any who, I came across a lot of recipes, but my most favorite was a homemade herbal shampoo (recipe below). The recipe reminded me of the herbal essence shampoo I had used all throughout high school and I loved the smell of them! The recipe also called for essential oils , so I dug a little deeper to find some for a good price. I got lavender, lemon, and peppermint (for the toner) from here. I found even better prices for essential oils from here, so I think I will be going to this one from now on.

As with any kind of homemade shampoo, you WILL go through a transitional phase. Depending on your hair type will depend on how long the phase will be. Mine took at least a month before it stopped looking and feeling greasy. So stick with it, I promise you will notice the difference!

Herbal Shampoo Recipe:
8 oz of boiling water
3 oz liquid castile soap
1-2 TBSP of dried herbs of choice
20-60 drops of essential oils
1/4 tsp of jojoba oil or olive oil (adjust as needed- use more for drier hair or omit completely for oily hair)

Make an herbal infusion by pouring boiling water over the herbs, cover, and allow them to steep for at least 4 hours. Strain the herbs out and pour the reserved liquid into a bottle, then add Castille soap and oils. Your herbal shampoo is now ready to use! Always shake well before use since the contents will naturally separate.

I found pretty much all the ingredients where I bought the lavender, lemon and peppermint essential oils, including the bottles and a pump top. I bought the jojoba oil from iherb.com for a reasonable price as jojoba oil can be expensive, but it is great for hair and scalp. 

The first time I made this, I doubled the recipe to fit in a 16 ounce shampoo bottle, but I have to admit that I misread how much jojoba oil to use and instead of the 1/2 teaspoon (for a double batch) that was called, I used 1/2 cup! DOH! My hair was WAY greasy....I mean gross, like I hadn't taken a shower for a week long, greasy! I dumped the bottle out and redid it with the right amount of jojoba oil in it, but I was mad at myself since I used up most of the oil from the 8 oz bottle I bought. After the redo, my hair was still greasy as it was going through the transitional phase, but it was better looking then the first wash! 

Before going no 'poo

about a month after no 'poo

After the month of trying it out, the greasiness settled and my hair felt lovely! Only problem was still the frizziness, but it felt heavy and flatten out my hair. On top of that, I was still finding my hair to be a tangled up mess, more so then when I was using commercial shampoo. I was also loosing a lot of hair every time I combed and brushed it. I did some more searching and found that, for those who have been no 'pooing for many months/ years that resembled closely to my hair style, were doing a baking soda cleanser and ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) rinse. Yes, Apple Cider Vinegar! A lot of people have come out with fantastic results by doing this method of the baking soda and ACV rinse AND were not washing their hair as often (as it's supposed to be when you no 'poo). So I found a recipe for a ACV rinse that does NOT smell too much like the vinegar and it has worked wonders within a matter of one washing! There is still some frizz involved, but my hair is much easier to manage and felt much lighter in weight! I think once I have gone through my last bottle of herbal shampoo, I will start doing the baking soda cleanser. I also just recently started drying my hair with an old t-shirt as terry cloth towels are a big no-no for curly/wavy haired people. Now if only I can get Pirate Prince to stop pulling my hair out, I'll be set!

Apple Cider Vinegar Rinse:
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 TBSP aloe vera gel
1 TBSP honey
8 drops peppermint oil
8 drops tea tree oil

Combine all ingredients in a bottle and shake well. After cleansing, squirt all over scalp and hair. Allow it to sit for a few minutes and enjoy the tingle. Rinse well. Be sure to smell you concoction! It have a minty smell with a undertone of vinegar.

I did not have tea tree oil or aloe vera gel on hand so I used lavender with the peppermint oil and just omitted the aloe vera altogether. If you have scalp problems, like psoriasis, I would go ahead and keep the aloe vera. Honestly, you cannot smell the lavender oil as peppermint is a very strong smelling oil to begin with! If you are worried about the ACV smell, have no fear! It goes away once you rinse it off and even when your hair dries! I even smelled my hair while it was still wet and nothing! I could smell the minty freshness of the peppermint though! :-P

I think I like sextupled the recipe as I had 1 1/2 cups of Apple Cider Vinegar left in the pantry. At least I will have some to refill my little 8 oz squirt bottle as I run out of it! :-D To mix this much up, I used my big stock pot and a wooden spoon, then scooped it out with a measuring cup and poured it into an old shampoo bottle through a funnel. Not all of it would fit, so once the 32 oz bottle was filled, I used the ACV glass bottle for the rest of it.

After one washing with the ACV rinse.
(Princess Pea took this one for me, not too bad for a 6 year old!)

I love how my waves and curls are looking in this photo! I also just recently cut my hair by myself. Well, more like a trim. I ended up making a subtle V-shape for the longest part of my hair and actually defined my layers more, and trimmed my bangs a little shorter as they were the same length as my top layer. I found a great youtube tutorial for cutting long layers (and she is a no 'pooer too!) The tutorial I used to trim my bottom layer was from here. There is also a youtube video for those of us that learn things visual that shows this technique for the u-shape. I was going for the u-shape, but I like the way it turned out! 

Hopefully over the courses of the month, I can update how the no 'pooing is going!

If you ever decide to jump on the band wagon of no 'pooing, you will not be disappointed! 

Happy Thursday!

If you are a no 'pooer, what has been your experience?

Pom Pom Garland and other Valentines Decor

This year I got into the spirit of Valentines by amping up the decor. Last year I didn't get a chance to make anything as my last grandfather died back home in Texas at the beginning of February then Cuddle Bug's birthday party was the week after his funeral so it was a few weeks of traveling back and forth.

This time I had all the time in the world to get my craft on. I made a Pom Pom Garland (tutorial below) using Valentine colors, a paper heart wreath, and a yarn wrapped wreath with felt flowers and a felt banner. I really enjoyed making the yarn wreath and I think it's one of my favorites out of all the wreaths I have done so far.

Now, some of you may be experts in the crafting world, but some may be amateurs, like me. There are tons of websites out there that shows you how to make the pom pom garland, but I'll spare you the searching and provide the tutorial for you here in this post. :)

Valentines Pom Pom Garland Tutorial:

Material:

I used Red Heart since it's the cheapest out there to use for this project.

First thing I did was measure out how long of a piece of yarn I needed to attach the actual pom poms on. I already had a few hanging nails from the Christmas garland I hung up above the window in our living room so I just used those as a reference. Once I figured out how I wanted the final garland to look, I cut the yarn from the spool then put it aside for later. I didn't want mine to be too long since I have two toddlers running around at the moment being curious about EVERYTHING! :P

Next you are going to get your cardboard and wrap the yarn around the width 100 times. That's right, 100 times! It makes for a much fuller looking pom pom, trust me! ;) I basically counted to 100 in my head as I wrapped the yarn and it came out just right. After you wrap, cut the string at the bottom so that it will be even with the bottom of the cardboard.

Carefully remove the yarn from the cardboard, trying your best to keep the bundle in tacked. Then get another piece of yarn of the same color and tie it real tight around the bundle so your loops won't come undone and the pieces won't fall out after you cut the loops. Once you tie the bundle together, cut all the loops at both ends, then you want to trim the ends to make the pom pom more round.

Tada! Now you have a beautiful pom pom :)

I started off making six pom poms from all three colors, then I found out I needed seven for each color! Once you have all your pom poms made, lay your string out.

I laid out my pom poms in a pattern to see how far apart I wanted each one to be, but to also see if I had enough pom poms. 

Once you have a pattern laid out, push all the pom poms together. Remember that darning needle? Go ahead and thread the needle and start threading your pom poms!

To keep your pom poms from falling off the ends, I tied about 5-6 knots on top of one another at both ends. You will want to make that many on top of one another so that the pom poms won't fall through the knot and off the yarn. If you want to really secure each pom pom so they don't move, make 5-6 knots on top of one another underneath each pom pom.

And you are all done! Here is what my garland looks like hanging up.

*I redid my paper heart wreath and added yarn to the top to make it hang lower.*

Here is my Pinterest inspired yarn wrapped wreath. I love the color combination of the grey's, pink, and white. 

To make the banner, I found a triangle image on the internet and traced it on the white and pink felt. I hot glued the ends to the pink yarn, then used a pen to write each letter on the pendant. I then used a thin paint brush and black paint, and painted over the pen marks at least three times.

I didn't like too much of the argyle on the one I found on Pinterest so I spaced them out a little more. It turned out rather cute, I believe! ^-^ While I was shopping for the supplies to make this wreath, I was unable to find the pearls that the lady had on her's, but I am sure it's out there some where. Unfortunately, there wasn't a tutorial on how to do this wreath when I found it, so I did a whole bunch of searching on how to do a yarn wreath, the argyle wrapping, and even the felt flowers. The banner, I just looked at the picture to figure out how big I wanted the triangles to be and where to place the entire thing.

I do hope you find the links I have posted in here helpful and maybe inspire you to make some Valentine's Day decor!

psst! I updated the page for DIY cleaning product recipes. I added my own reviews to them as well, Go check it out!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Let the Family Fun Nights Commence!

Ever since we have moved to CA, my husband and I have revamped how we want our week nights to go. One thing we added was a Family Game Night. We figured the middle of the week seemed to be a good time to do this and saw it as a way to look forward to the rest of the week.

We decided that we wanted to spend more time with the kiddos after dinner and came up with family Game Nights during our Wednesday nights. We talk with Princess Pea on Sundays, during our family meetings, to see what she would like to have for dinner on Wednesday. We also let her pick out a board game to play after everything from dinner is put away (and if Cuddle Bug and Jelly Bean let us!).

The first week went well. We had a variety of foods to eat since we were doing a trial run of how the night went, and if need be, change up some things. We decided to have one main course and add two to three sides to the course, along with a special dessert. Last week we had pizza, hot dogs, and corn dogs. It was a bit much, dinner wise, but we thought Princess Pea would like to pick and choose what she wanted to eat from the choices we had to offer.

This week, we asked what Princess Pea what she would like to eat. She told us she wanted hamburgers with ketchup, miracle whip, mustard, cheese, pickles, lettuce, and tomatoes (a first time to hear this request for tomatoes). We also wanted some fruit with the fruit dip I made in the past for birthday parties. The hubby wanted cucumber salad and homemade potato chips. I opted to get one potato and one sweet potato just to change it up and I thought of a fun dessert.

The hubby picked up some magazines at our local commissary to see if there were any coupons in them. I flipped through it one day and found some to use, but they also had recipes for desserts and casseroles. One of the recipes caught my eye so I decided to take a closer look to see what it was all about. The recipe was called Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Marshmallow Treats. Mmm.... marshmallows..... Being the good, pregnant mother I am, I made these, along with some "homemade" caramel brownies, for dessert. They turned out to be a hit with the kiddos that I wanted to share the recipe with you!

What you need:

Betty Crocker Double Chocolate Chip Cookie mix*
11 regular marshmallows, cut in half to make 22, but only use 21
Smucker's hot fudge topping*
sprinkles

*The recipe calls for double chocolate chip cookie mix from Betty Crocker, but since our commissary didn't have it available, I went with the regular chocolate chip cookie mix. I also grabbed a big dark chocolate bar since our family are fans of the dark chocolate.*

Directions:

1.) Mix and bake the cookies according to package directions. The package claims it makes 2 dozen regular six cookies (teaspoon size cookies vs. tablespoon size cookies). I managed to get 21 cookies out of the mix so I guess it depends on how "rounded" you get your cookies, lol.

2.) While the cookies are baking, cut the marshmallows in half and set aside.

3.) Once cookies are finished baking, take them out of the oven and immediately put the marshmallow on top, pushing down on the cookie. Let it cool for a minute on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack to cool completely. (The cookie directions, at least on mine, says to let them it for a minute before moving to the cooling rack).

adding marshmallow to cookies

4.) Since I did not buy the Smucker's hot fudge topping, I did a double broiler and melted the chocolate bar with a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter. I added maybe a tablespoon of corn syrup once the chocolate was all melted and smooth to kind of get it to "set up" the chocolate once it would start to cool. Anyway, make sure the cookies are cooled completely before adding the chocolate, hot fudge or otherwise. I didn't want my marshmallow to melt completely especially since the chocolate would be hot. BE SURE NOT TO MISS THIS STEP!! I just spooned enough melted chocolate on the marshmallow to let it run off the side of it a little. 

Melting chocolate on the double broiler

Chocolate added to marshmallows.

 

5.) Lastly, add the sprinkles on top and you're finished! I let the chocolate cool completely before I dug in. Of course I got these knocked out while everybody took a nap, so they were nice and cooled off by the time dinner was ready.

Don't mind the color of the sprinkles. They were the only ones I had on hand, lol!

Finished product!!

I hope you get to enjoy these as much as my family did! I think these will make another appearance not too distant in the future! ;-) :-P 

Until then, happy cooking and many blessings to you and your family!

Why are you homeschooling?

Why am I homeschooling? I wanted to think on this question for a very long time. This is actually a 5 year old question that I struggled with when my husband first brought up how we wanted to educate our first born child. It wasn't until a year ago, when we found out that we were moving to the East Coast, that I finally decided to start investing my time in answer this question.

My husband and I do not want our kids to be educated in a public school just because we don't feel that our children will not receive the education we want them to have. We have nothing against those who have their children in public schools; that's their choice, as it is our choice on what we feel is good for our children. I wanted our children to be in private school as did my husband, but then he brought up the idea of homeschooling.

I'm thinking "homeschooling? No way I want to do that! I want my freedom away from my children; to have some me time."

Sounds selfish, doesn't it? 

Let me move forward 5 years later for a bit....

Today (August 22) I read an article from The Blaze News that was talking about a book on the recommended reading list for the Common Core Curriculum that our education system is trying to implement into our society. The book is called "The Bluest Eye." You can read the article about it here.  *I do have to warn you, there are passages from the book in this article, and they are very graphic.* To summarize the article, the book basically is written in the view point of a rapist. It goes into detail about pedophilia, incest, etc. It is said that it's supposed to be a teaching tool to help students to reject that sort of mentality and abuse. 

Um, really? Do you really think reading a book like that will deter your child away from that kind of mentality? When did it become the government's job to teach my child about this kind of thing and in a school setting no less?

I got into a discussion over this through a famous networking website. The person had the gaul to say that I am naive if I think I can keep my children away from being exposed to those sort of things. Also claimed that I would be making my children socially dysfunctional by homeschooling them. Well, if that's the case, then my kids will have the best education I give them, even if they become hermits, ha! (More on this topic in a few...) 

Anyways, as a parent, it is my responsibility to decide when my child is ready to be exposed to this, and it is my duty and responsibility, as a good parent, to be able to sit my children down and have a conversation about it. I don't want my child to be exposed to this through some sort of book from a reading list at a school. My children will respect their sexual life. This is one of many reasons I decided I want to homeschool.

Ok, now going back 5 years...

I must confess that I used to have the same mentality as the person I had a conversation with today about homeschooling. I used to think that my children would not become social like they would if they were in a school setting. I fought long and hard against homeschooling our oldest and kept pushing private school. I didn't want to budge from that decision at all. I wanted that space away from my oldest, especially if I had younger ones roaming around my legs, wanting my attention all the time. Thinking about it now, it was very selfish of me to even think this way. This is my own observation of my life, not anyone else's. I'm not saying that every person, who puts their children in public schools, are selfish either. Some people have the opportunity to homeschool their children, and some people don't. It's all about where the parents are in their life.

My mentality changed, or I should say, “I woke up” about a year ago, when we found out we would be moving and the closets private school was about 35 miles from our home. On top of that, all the school’s ratings (public and private) were below 4. I kept doing research around the surrounding areas to try and figure something out that would work for our children. During my research time, I talked with a few people that lived in the same state as we were going to move to and they all suggested to either homeschool or put them in private school. Again, private school wasn’t a viable option for us and so we looked into the Memoria Press curriculum (as I mentioned in a previous post).

I really started to get excited about everything that came with the curriculum. Princess Pea would be learning about classical music, getting art history lessons about some inspiring artist, and reading poetry from all the classic authors. And to think that I get to teach her all of this and watch her grow as she learns! It will be the most rewarding experience of my life.

As my excitement grew, so did my curiosity on what I could so Princess Pea could have the social experience. I found a homeschooling support group that planned holiday parties, P.E. days, field trips, and any extra curricular activities the people in the group could come up with. I even talked with Princess Pea’s preschool teacher before we left and she also suggested putting her in some kind of sport. Luckily Princess Pea was already in tumbling and we want to keep her in it since she really enjoys it. We were also thinking of putting Cuddle Bug in tumbling as well since she is a little more reserved then Princess Pea, but we haven’t hit that milestone quit yet. J

So why am I homeschooling?

I get to teach my children what morals actually are, what responsibility is. They get to learn the classics from music, art, and poetry. It’s rewarding to see how well my child is doing and get to cater to her needs.

In the end, we (my husband and I) made the right choice for our children when it comes to education, and I am glad that we decided to homeschool.

Jelly Bean's 1st Birthday!

I know it seems like I am jumping up in the months, but just trying to catch up on the crafts and baking I have done!

Jelly Bean turned one in May and the theme I chose to do was a bumble bee theme. I wanted to have everything to do with bumble bees, or at least the color of bees. I made the invitations out of the scrapbooking stuff again. I thought I had a picture of the invite, but I guess I don't. Will have to find the one I saved and add it later!

For the decorations, I used a yellow plastic cover and the black wrapping paper for the food table, black and yellow streamer and balloons. Who would have guessed that you could do so much with these simple decorations! I had the thought of drawing a bee on the balloon before I inflated it, but the marker barely showed up once I started blowing air into. So the balloons were just hung up around the house, and again I did a number one on the garage door, actually took a picture of it, but it never uploaded to my computer! How frustrating!

The food was mainly finger foods with fruits, vegetables, a cracker, cheese, and meat platter, and "ants on a log," also known as celery with peanut butter and raisins on it. For the fruit, I got a fresh pineapple and sliced it up and grapes. Those were really the only black and yellow fruit I could think of without going over our budget and everybody likes grapes and pineapple! I laid them out in a yellow and black pattern to represent the body of a bee. For the vegetables, we got baby carrots, celery, and cucumbers. I thought about black olives, but I think Princess Pea and I are the only ones in the family that will eat them, so I opted out. The cracker, cheese, and meat platter was already put together and was on sale. For a drink, I just bought grape juice.

For the "cake" portion, again, I made cupcakes. I wanted to find a recipe that had something with honey in it. I searched high and low until I found one that I really wanted to try. Finally, I found this Lemon-Honey cupcake and frosting. I used the biggest round tip I had on hand to try to pipe a bee hive on the top of the cupcake. I thought about piping up some little bees, but decided otherwise. To be honest, I was lazy and had just gotten back from a trip of house hunting in CA. They. Were. Delicious. The frosting really brought out the honey in the cupcake and it was exactly what I was looking for!

For the goodie bags, I wanted to keep with the bumble bee/black and yellow theme. I kept with the edible goodie bags like I did with Cuddle Bug's goodie bags, but I added a little extra since it was the middle of May. I bought a box of Honeycomb cereal and mixed it with raisinets (chocolate covered raisins), and attached a little vial of bubbles. I used little tiny goodie bags instead of the normal size ones. I made a little sticker tag that read "Thanks for buzzing by!" Of course that picture is lost with my number one made of balloons. :(  After I put the cereal and raisinets in the little bag, I folded the top and  placed the sticker tag over the flap to keep it in place. I used a single hole punch towards the corner of the bag and tied a strand of black and yellow ribbon (the smallest size you can get) around the bubbles, then treaded the ribbon through the hole, and tied a bow.

I took the same concept of the tutu I did for Cuddle Bug and made one for Jelly Bean's birthday outfit. I also crocheted something. I was debating on whether or not I wanted to crochet some sort of summer hat or some kind of headband. I finally decided to do the headband with a yellow flower and little amigurumi bumble bee that I attached to the headband. I was astounded to find that I had an outfit with little tiny bees on it that went perfectly with the tutu and headband! The headband didn't last long as you can see she is trying to take it off her head! It was a little bog on her so hopefully she will be able to wear it when she gets a little older as well.

It was such a beautiful day for her party that I got some cans of silly string and found a couple of bumble bee bubble wands all at the Dollar Tree! So we let the kids run around outside, chasing each other with the silly string. It was a mess to clean up, but the kids had so much fun! The bubble wands were a big hit too and I was so glad to have found them the day of the party.