Mind trip...

Getting ready for the trip of a lifetime is really hard. There are so many emotions involved and I am trying not to have too many expectations, but I can just hear my husband saying "Yeah, Right!" So as a form of therapy, I am going to give you a small glimpse into my head...scary I know...you have been warned.

Well, let's start with leaving my children behind. This has been a mind trip! To ease my imagination that goes directly to this being the last nine days I ever spend with my children, I wrote my mom a short manual...ok...more like a six page dissertation on how to take care of my children that I emailed my mom a couple days ago. Now, I am sure she not only thought I was a crazy person AND wanted to remind me that she did raise me, but she didn't. She took all the advice in stride and actually thanked me. No mom, thank you. You are one of the reasons my husband and I can take this journey together and I will be forever in your debt.

Let's continue our journey together with where my mind goes next gifts. When going on a trip to a country that not too many people get to visit (Zambia), you want to get people something special. So I started to make a list of people I should buy for. Now that was a very dangerous thing to do. I have now thrust myself into the realm of Christmas cards...you know what I am talking about women.  The "I can not not send THEM a card".  Needless to say for mental health reasons, I threw my list away before popping a couple Advil. So, if you happen to get something from me...count yourself lucky. :)

Packing, packing and more packing. Now, in my family of four, I pack for everyone. So, I not only have to think about skirts and lipstick but my hubby's belts and glasses (two things that I frequently forget to pack for him). So I am starting to pack now, which has led to our bedroom looking like hurricane Katrina hit. You know the mess is out of control when you get up in the morning and you can't tell the difference between the clean laundry pile and the dirty laundry pile.  Now, as I am writing this I am beginning to panic a little.  You might be wondering why because I still have over a week before we leave. Well, Jason and I are going on a date tomorrow night and Amy Cook is babysitting at our house.  For those of you reading this who do not know Amy...how to describe her...tall, skinny, and friendly, with an outspoken honesty and an immaculately organized house, car, office, basement, family...etc. I think you get the point. I guess you all know what I will be doing tonight when I get home from band practice:)

But in all seriousness, my mind is mostly consumed with the possibilities of this mission trip.  What will this do for my marriage? How will this effect my kids? My spiritual life? My work? What am I going to see? Will I make an impact? As a Christian wife and mother, I want to lead my family by example. So, we are going in nine days to Lusaka and Mazabuka, Zambia to be used as instruments for Christ in whatever way He sees fit. I am sure I will pack way to much, and forget to get the most important people gifts, but it doesn't matter.  This trip isn't about me. It is about Him.

Zambia Mission Trip

It has been so long since my last post.  I think about posting all the time, but between raising two young and energetic girls, watching kids in my home and working part time as a Worship Leader in our church- time just flies by.

I originally envisioned this to be a place where Jason and I could share the different things we do with our kids and around our house to live simply and simply live.  And we will soon begin posting our adventures of the past year including but not limited to...the cob oven we built and our raised bed gardens.  But right now the only thing I can focus on is the fact that we are 16 days away from leaving on our first mission trip.  We will leave on May 3rd for 10 days in Zambia.

This journey has been a true test of faith.  God is incredibly faithful through generous donations and constant prayers.  We are so blessed by our family and friends who have accepted to take this journey with us.  God has been teaching me lately about his timing and being patient for it and through it. 

So as Jason and I start to prepare our family for this adventure, I ask that you take this journey with us through this blog.

Homemade Dish Detergent

I got the recipe off www.domesticcents.com. 

I altered it a bit.

• 1 cup Arm &  Hammer Super Washing Soda
  
• 1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
• 8 packets lemonade flavor Kool-Aid powder
• 1/2 cup Coarse Kosher Salt 

Directions: Place the ingredients in a large plastic resealable container and shake.  Use one tablespoon per cycle.

Tips:

• Only use the lemonade flavor Kool-Aid- others will color your dishwasher
• Use only unsweetened Kool-Aid
• The homemade detergent works best if there are no large food particles or really stuck on food.
• You can also add essential oils- lemon, orange, lavender, tea tree...etc. About 30 drops added to the recipe above.  Citrus essential oils are also anti-bacterial for that extra clean.

Tell me what you think!

The Scary World Potty Training

My daughter and I began down the treacherous road of potty training nearly a year ago.  Hindsight, I was a FOOL for pushing and starting as early as I did.  She was about 18 months when we started and I was convinced that she was ready.  But as we began each time it went like this:  we tried for two days, I would get frustrated, she was clueless, I would be more frustrated and then I would give up.  I did this several times over the past year.  I began to push harder and harder the older she became.  But it all boiled down to her not understanding why.  Why was mommy so frustrated?  Why can't I go in my diaper?  And I had to start asking myself... why am I pushing so hard?  I think every mom wants her child to be above average... including me.  I finally let go about a month ago and Tah-Dah...she is potty trained.  It was a piece of cake once she was completely ready.  Don't get me wrong we had our fair share of accidents.  But here are a few tips that helped us succeed:
1.  Get Naked:  Let your child run around completely naked for at least four days.
2.  No Outings:  We didn't leave our house at all during the week.  For anything.  If you go out, you will probably put your child back in a diaper or pull-up and that is confusing for child.
3.  Set a Timer:  I set the kitchen timer the first couple days for every twenty minutes and we would only sit for a little bit, but she had to sit each time.  This was only for a couple days!
4.  Know what you are going to call "pee and poop" before you start:  It was confusing for us because I started calling the toilet "the potty" and her pee-pee "potty"  So I would say "Do you have to go potty on the potty?"How confusing is that!?!
5.  Make a chart: there are four specific things I would do with this chart
      a.  Make it accessible:  tape it up on the wall in the bathroom next to your child's potty.
      b.  Use stickers: stickers help your child be involved in the tracking process. Instant gratification.  You go pee-pee on the potty and you get to put and sticker on your chart!
      c.  Have pictures of the items they are earning right on their chart:  this way your child can see exactly what they are striving for.
      d.  Make the prize with in reach:  I made my daughter's chart have 13 stickers to the first prize, 26 to the second and 39 to the third.  A Dora book, then a My little pony, then a pink bike.

These guidelines I figured out as I went, but she really responded to the structure and routine of it all.  She was excited about potty training and all the "jobs" she got to do!  She finally understood how "big girls" do it and WHY.  Our potty chart is finally full of stickers and Stina is getting her bike tomorrow!!

DIY Towel Rug

DIY Towel Rug!

Materials:
-Start with a non-skid rug pad-  I got mine at Gabriel Brothers for $.50.  
-Scissors
-Two old bath towels of same or complimenting colors.


Start by cutting the mat to the size you prefer.  Then using a scissors, make slits around the outside- make sure to leave 1/4" of mat around the edge.  Cut the towels into strips- approximately 1/2-1" wide by 6" long.  You are ready to start tying towels.  After the outside was full, I went row by row making slits and tying in the towels.  It is really a trial and error project and doesn't call for exact science.  It was fun, a little time consuming, but had GREAT results.  I am very happy that I have a brand new bath mat for only $.50 and I got rid of two old towels!!

Community Supported Agriculture

We are off to the Anderson Farmer's Market this morning to pick up our share of produce from Bergefurd's Farm, a family owned farm located in Wilmington, Ohio.

What is Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). It is a way to get locally grown fresh produce every week during the growing season--20 weeks here in the Cincinnati area--for a fixed price paid up front. The idea is you are buying a share in the farm, or a half- share like we did this year, and thus sharing in the risk-reward equation that every farmer undertakes every year he plants his crops. Good season=more food, bad season=less food. We paid $300 this year and receive a bag that is about as big as a Kroger cloth grocery bag with produce in it every Saturday morning. While we are sure to get fresh, healthy, vine-ripened, organically grown food every week, we are hoping that it turns into a cost savings for the year as well. At this point we are only two weeks into it and the pickings have been a little slim on account of the incessant rain that our area received during May, which meant farmers had a tough time getting crops going this year, but will see what comes of it through the summer and into October.

There are several CSA's serving the greater Cincinnati Area. A quick Google search will find you many of them. Here is the website for the one we use: www.bergefurdsfarmmarket.com

Getting into a rhythm...

Being a new mother of two, the daily struggle is to find my rhythm.  Ironically, we named our newest baby girl Cadence.  She has added an energy to our family that I love, but that doesn't always help me get things done!  So, I am beginning a personal challenge to make my life easier.  Step one:  GET UP EARLIER!  I began my day this morning by taking my husband to work at 7:00 downtown Cincinnati which is 30 minutes from our home.  I had the girls ready to go and we were out the door...make up on and everything.  It felt GREAT!  I came home and listed a few cards on Etsy.com, which is new for me, and sat down to blog.  I feel like I have accomplished so much and it is only 10am.  Stay tuned for my next step in finding our new family rhythm...