(you don’t need gloves to use, it won’t dry your hands out and it’s SAFE)

Okay,  so I am totally in love with this super simple and amazing stain remover. 

I finally got around to using it today on several of my children’s clothes.  I was so skeptical that I bought the ingredients two weeks ago and kept washing and drying the same shirts with the same stains.  Not sure where the inspiration came from, but I was finally up for the challenge.

• The first stain I tried it on was on my 3 yr old’s shirt.  This stain is over 6 months old.  Not sure what it was, but it would not budge.  I just pulled it out of the dryer and IT IS GONE! (the stain is   The area that was stained is the same color as the rest of the shirt (a cream color).

• The second stain was on my 1 yr old’s shirt collar.  He was self feeding (bad idea for keeping shirt clean).  This was much simpler and only took about 5 seconds to remove.  But I was happy because it was a brand new shirt *sigh*

• The third stain was a greasy ketchup like spot on a shirt that was white and the stain bugged me so much I never let my kid wear it again…so there it hung in the closet.  And, yes he stained it upon the first wearing.  I didn’t notice it until it came out of the dryer.  Now the stain is gone – perfectly gone.

So, you want the secret?  You won’t believe it when I tell you…

Original Blue Dawn Dish Soap and Hydrogen Peroxide (3% solution – the regular stuff from the store)

Yep, you use one part soap and two parts peroxide. Mix up a small amount and keep in a dark container.

I thought maybe it was best to wet the shirts before treating.  Then I poured the “stain-remover” on the area.  Used and e-cloth to gently scrub the area.  And threw in the wash. Two of the three stains were gone before the washer machine even started.  The 3rd stain was 90% gone.  The rest disappeared in the wash.  (btw – e-cloths are amazing to use on any and everything.  I have a few spots in my carpet that I am excited to try this combo on!  I have a friend that used an e-cloth with just water and removed juice from her kid’s carpet – no lie)

I was so skeptical that I did not take any before and after pictures.

On the next laundry day, I will.

Real Simple Magazine just gave it a thumbs up as the best washable mop. They sell them at MyEcloth.com

MyEcloth is also the only online retailer of the Professional Line (with silver embedded) of Microfiber Cloths.  Real Simple also said that E-cloth has the best Microfiber on the market!

Click the link below to see the REAL Simple article:

Real Simple Show Best Way To Clean – May 2012 E-Cloth Mop Featured In Real Simple Magazine

www.MyEcloth.com is the only place I have found that sells the Professional E-cloths with the Silver embedded.  Norwex also sells the Antibac Enviro cloth, but Norwex price is higher than MyEcloth’s prices.  The Norwex Mop is over twice the price compared to the E-cloth Mop.

Go to to the MyEcloth facebook page for a discount coupon for more savings!

2 bananas mashed
6 eggs (yes, that says six – yay for good protein)
1/2 cup coconut flour (lots of great fiber)
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of coconut oil (or butter)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate chips (optional, I just put a couple on top of each before baking)
350* for 20-25 min
Be careful not to over bake

And I will even tell you about a website I found the best prices without a coupon code!

These blankets are seriously one of the best baby gifts you could give someone. Doesn’t matter if they are a new, first time mom or an experienced mom having her 8th baby.  They are 100% muslin cotton. (different than the muslin used for quilting or patterns – this is MUCh softer and a different weave)

So soft and perfect for almost anything you could use a blanket for. Many mothers use them to swaddle their newborn baby with…but you can do much more with the Aden Anais® blankets.

We went to Hawaii last May with our 11 week old and I used the A+A (that is their acronym) blankets all the whole time.  I’m telling you these are the best baby gifts, you can’t have too many.  I use it to cover the carseat to protect our little one from the sun.  When we were on the beach, it was a perfect cover to protect the baby from the wind and sand.  It’s so light weight and breathable, that the baby was never too hot.

They are 47×47 cm – a nice large size.  I use it for a nursing cover, a stroller cover and a carseat cover.

I have had friends ask me the difference between the ones Target sells versus the ones in the Boutiques.

The Aden Anais ‘snobs’ say the Boutique blankets are better,  here is why:

• Bigger -  Target’s Aden Anais blankets are only 44×44.
• Better made – rumor has it that the Target blankets are more prone to tears.
• More Prints – Boutique Aden Anais Swaddle blankets have 4 prints to a package, Target 3 prints with one white/plain blanket.

The exciting news I just found is this website BestBabyGifts AdenAnais that sells them one at a time.  Normally you have to commit to buying a 4/pk.  I think you need and will definitely use all 4 swaddle blankets, but you may not like all four prints or want to mix’n match from different sets.  This website sells them one at a time so you can pick and choose.  How cool is that?!

OR if you want to give one to a friend without having to spend $40 on a 4 pack, you can just buy one or two ♥

Check this site out (they don’t have a ton of choices, but they do have the cute ones

Here is a diagram of how to swaddle, I thought it was really cute

What is your favorite print?

2 pounds ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can (4 ounces) mild green chili peppers
Sea salt to taste
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
16 ounces cream cheese, softened and cubed

Brown ground beef in a skillet with the onion.  Place cooked meat into a crock pot and add remaining ingredients.  Set crock pot on low for two hours.  Stir, taste, and add additional seasonings if desired.  Serve with tortilla chips.

Made With Real Cheese!

Bed Sheets - The Best Way To Store Bed Linens

I think this is brilliant!  Now off to my closet to implement this idea

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

• Pie Dough
• 1 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2teaspoon table salt
• 8 tablespoons butter (1/4 pound), chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening , chilled

• Chicken Pot Pie
• 1 1/2pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1can low-sodium chicken broth , with water added to equal 2 cups (or use 2 cups homemade chicken broth)
• 1 1/2tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion , chopped fine
• 3 medium carrots , peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
• 2small ribs celery , cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 4tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2cups milk
• 1/2teaspoon dried thyme
• 3tablespoons dry sherry
• 3/4cup frozen peas , thawed
• 3tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1. 1. For Pie Dough: Mix flour and salt in workbowl of food processor fitted with the steel blade. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, tossing to coat butter with a little of the flour. Cut butter into flour with five one-second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, keeping some butter bits the size of small peas, about four more one-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

1. 2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons ice-cold water over the mixture. Using rubber spatula, fold water into flour mixture. Then press down on dough mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more cold water if dough will not come together. Shape dough into ball, then flatten into 4-inch-wide disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate 30 minutes while preparing pie filling.
2. 3. For Pie Filling: Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken and broth in small Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat. Cover, bring to simmer; simmer until chicken is just done, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to large bowl, reserving broth in measuring cup.
3. 4. Increase heat to medium-high; heat oil in now-empty pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. While vegetables are sautéing, shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.
4. 5. Heat butter over medium heat in again-empty skillet. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth, milk, any accumulated chicken juices, and thyme. Bring to simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in sherry.
5. 6. Pour sauce over chicken mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings. (Can be covered and refrigerated overnight; reheat before topping with pastry.)
6. 7. To Assemble: Roll dough on floured surface to approximate 15-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. If making individual pies, roll dough 1/8-inch thick and cut 6 dough rounds about 1 inch larger than pan circumference.
7. 8. Pour chicken mixture into 13-by-9-inch pan or any shallow baking dish of similar size. Lay dough over pot pie filling, trimming dough to 1/2 inch of pan lip. Tuck overhanging dough back under itself so folded edge is flush with lip. Flute edges all around. Or don’t trim dough and simply tuck overhanging dough into pan side. Cut at least four 1-inch vent holes in large pot pie or one 1-inch vent hole in smaller pies.
8. 9. Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 minutes for large pies and 20 to 25 minutes for smaller pies. Serve hot.

‘Do something every day, that takes 15 minutes or less, for the
next 30 days that in some SMALL way moves you forward’

Before you start grumbling about the commitment level here (I dare
you to be more wary of commitment than I am),

let me clarify…

I’m not asking you to make enormous changes…I just want to see what
happens when you decide to commit to taking 1 small action every
day for 30 days.

IT SHOULD BE SMALL…the ONLY rule of this Mission is that you must
be able to take this action in 15 minutes or less or it doesn’t
qualify. (And it doesn’t need to take a full 15 minutes
either…that’s just the top time.)

Here are some examples:

- Learn 1 word of Spanish a day (that’s small)

- Call or email 1 person you want to connect or reconnect with

- Walk for 10 minutes

- Walk for 1 minute

- Wake up and actually enjoy a cup of coffee or tea before you leap
into your day

- Write for 10 minutes

- Drink a glass of water (just 1)

- Write a letter to someone (yes a real letter, remember those)

- Touch your toes 10 times (or as close to your toes as you can get)

- Laugh for 1 whole minute (even if you have to start with a fake laugh)

- Take 1 picture

- Eat a piece of fruit

- Sit in silence for 1 minute (or 10)

- Listen to your favorite song

- Pet your cat or dog and really pay attention to them while you do

- Stare into the eyes of someone you love for 1 minute

- Stare into your own eyes for 1 minute

- Wake up and say, ‘Yes’ out loud

You get the idea…

What’s your commitment?

Yep, I just said that word and am now delving into the topic…

–My goal for you is to be educated–

Know ALL you can before making a decision. 

My motto is to not be controlled by fear or the unknown.

You probably are asking “why this topic” or “what does she have to prove” or “she is just choosing sides”.

First of all, there is an ABUNDANCE of info on the internet talking about how horrible circumcision is and how every boy should stay intact because that is the way he was born and it is inhuman to cut anything off the body of a baby.

There is almost NO info on the online talking about and discussing the Pro’s of circumcision.  Almost none.

Any mother would love to not expose her precious newborn to the pain of being circumcised.

For those of you who acknowledge there is a God, I have one question for you:

“God created sex.  And if sex is suppose to be a beautiful thing, then WHY would God command those in the Old Testament to cut a part of their penis off and totally ruin sex?  Why would God destroy a beautiful thing?”

What if the JOKE is on those who don’t follow the advise of God in Old Testament and don’t circumcise?  From what I can tell, most of the rules in the Old Testament were for the peoples protection, health and hygiene.

After much thought on this topic and talking to MANY new moms about whether or not to circumsize their new born son, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to REALLY know is by talking to men who were intact until adulthood and then had their foreskin removed after having full knowledge what it is like to have a foreskin, wash one, have sex with one, etc.

Here is a website that has exactly that info…  the testimonies are many and may be very helpful for you in this decision of whether or not to circumcise your son.

www.circinfo.net-men who know both sides…

Men who have been circumcised since birth don’t know what it’s like to have a foreskin.

Men who are not circumcised don’t know what it’s like to not be.

Men who have had both, have the most accurate info of what it’s like to not be circumcised and then to be.

This website: www.circinfo.net has every topic from Penile Hygeine to Why Are Men Born With Foreskin to Infections.  He has over a 1,000 references and his whole goal is to simple inform.

For the Biblically minded:

“Interestingly, the physical difficulties experienced by the uncircumcised may explain why the word for uncircumcised in Hebrew means “obstruction” or “to impede”, so explaining the Biblical term “uncircumcised heart” when referring to obstructionism.”