It's A Crazy Life.....

Just a bullet point list for today . . . perhaps some deeper posts later on the same subjects!

*Preschool - Money lapbooks, groundhogs, shape matching, color sorting, sight words
*Dance - recital choreographies, competition updates
*House - detoxing the home, keeping up on laundry, redoing the bathroom, getting rid of pests
*Kids - pictures of busy, fun times
*February - Valentine's Day ideas!!!
*Birthday Party Planning for a 3 year old and an 8 year old

*trying to relax and enjoy life as it goes by!

Doing a little different format this week and going Monday-Sunday instead of Sunday-Saturday.  Just makes more sense since I'm posting on Monday and the weekends usually get mixed up a bit in the plans.  And as always, I'm linking up to Org Junkie's Meal Plan Monday.  =)

So today I was blog hopping (I do that alot . . . I should probably leave some comments and share in the fun, but mostly I just read.).  Today it was some craft blogs and some Mommy blogs and some running blogs.  All good fun.

And then I saw this post at Make it and Love it: Delicious and Quick Holiday Treat.  And then I looked at the pictures attached.  And then I fell in love.  Total and deep love.

Oreos and Brownies?  Two of my favorite treats blended into one?

Try this, I must!!

So I followed the original link: Picky Palate  and printed the directions.  Guess what I'll be doing tonight??

Update tomorrow (or maybe Sunday or Monday or whenever I next get online to post) to let you know if these are as good as they appear to be!!!

Growing up in a family that was very active in the Scottish-American community and as a Highland Dancer, January 25th was always an important "holiday" in my life.  For those of you who don't know, January 25th is Robert Burn's Day - a day to celebrate the national poet of Scotland.

I've never been a big scented lotion or perfume user.  I'm not sure why, I just never had.  I'm the kind of person who finds something they like and sticks with it forever or until the company stops making it.  Which is just what has happend to my favorite perfumes and lotions.

My favorite lotion is the Bath and Body Works Plumeria scent.  It was my signature scent throughout college.  Friends said my dorm room even smelled like it.  Then about 4 years ago, they discontinued it.  I was so sad.  This past holiday season they brought it back out and I bought about five bottles to tide me over for a while!

My other signature scent is vanilla.  I've always been a huge fan of vanilla scents.  It's my all-time favorite smell.  It reminds me of cooking with my Gram.  It reminds me of something warm and homey.  I love it.  However, I've never found a vanilla perfume or lotion that works for me.  I did use Vanilla Fields for a long time, but then it changed.  I like a pure vanilla smell - not a fruity, flowery, musky one.

So I've been on the lookout for something with either of these two scents for a long time.  I've searched out making your own and so forth and never really come across anything.

Imagine my suprise and delight when I came across this post today from Natural Mommie: How to Make Vanilla Perfume.  I was so excited!! I can't wait to get home and start my own vanilla oil perfume!!



Here's what you need:
-Knife
– Vanilla beans
– Vodka
– Glass jar
– Strainer {mesh, nylons or cheesecloth}
– Jojoba oil {or any oil – grapeseed, etc.}

Check your local health food store for vanilla beans or any store that sells bulk spices.  Sometimes you can find them at the grocery, but they tend to be more expensive there.  I'm also planning on using coconut oil - that should make a nice blend with the vanilla (despite my claims of PURE vanilla scent love above! =) )

Directions:
1. Take your knife and gently cut down the middle of the vanilla bean lengthwise. Scrape your knife along the inside edge of the bean to release the paste. Drop the paste into a glass jar. Cut the rest of the vanilla bean into small pieces and drop those in the jar as well. You can use as many vanilla beans as you wish.
2. Pour vodka directly into the glass jar, on top of the vanilla beans. Add enough alcohol to cover all the bean pieces. This allows the alcohol to soak into the beans and absorb the scent of their oils.
3. Place the container in a warm, dry place and let stand for 2 weeks to 2 months Remove the lid every few weeks to test the strength of the scent. Use when ready. Strain out the small pieces of vanilla. You’ll want the perfume to be nice and smooth without any pieces that might irritate your skin.
4. Add your strained alcohol mixture back into your glass jar and top it off with jojoba oil. You’ll want to use 2-3 times as much jojoba oil as vanilla bean oil. It distills the scent, but also makes the mixture last longer.
5. Store your mixture in a cool, dry place. This will last for several months as long as you keep it from getting too hot.

The process is exactly the same as the process for making your own vanilla extract, except for step 4: adding oil.  If you wanted pure vanilla extract, follow steps 1-3 and then skip to step 5.  It's amazing and you should try it.

Something else I wanted to add is that you might want to use a dark colored glass jar instead of a clear one.  The less light that gets to the beans/alcohol mixture, the stronger, purer and better the solution will be.
I can't wait to get home today and start my own!!!

Let's talk for a moment about something we all hate to talk about (and deal with.)  You know what I'm talking about.  AF.  Our lovely monthly visitor.  The thing we all look forward to getting when we're 12 and hate by the time we're 13.  Yep.....that punctuation....the period.

This is on my mind today because my lovely little friend decided to suprise me a whole WEEK early this month!  This almost never happens to me and it really set me off.  So a bit of a rant and some ideas to help "green up" a very personal issue.

Now, let me start off by saying that I have been a bit blessed in this area.  I didn't start until I was 12 and my periods have always been fairly light and short and absolutly regular.  But I still hate dealing with it.  I've always hated the feeling of those paper sanitary pads.  They itch.  They rub funny.  They are crinkly.  And they are expensive.  Plus, I hate the thought of all that "stuff" sitting around in a landfill for almost ever.  Between disposible diapers and disposible sanitary napkins, future archeologists are going to make some interesting conclusions about our society!

So, partly in tune with trying to "green" up my life and partly due to the suggestions of friends and partly just to see what the fuss was all about.  So I tried  "Mama Cloth" and they have changed my life....one month at a time!

I first used cloth pads postpartum with my second child, six years ago.  I had bought some from a local cloth diaper store.  They were the only brand she carried (and they are still my favorite brand).  At first, they did feel a bit bulky, but I got used to that quickly.  What amazed me the most was that my postpartum period (hah, what a pun!) lasted a much shorter time than with my first child.  And then once my ummm, punctuation returned 8 months later, it too was shorter and lighter than ever before.  And each month since has been the same.  My periods went from lasting 5-7 days with a medium flow to about 3-4 days with a light flow.  It's amazing.

Now, I don't know why this is.  There are the rumors, of course.  Companies put some kind of chemical into the pads/tampons to make you bleed more.  Therefore you need more of their product, yada yada yada.  I'm not sure I buy it.  But whatever the reason.....I've found it to be true.  Cloth pads make my time of the month last a shorter time and a much lighter time.

It seems strange to us to think of using cloth pads, I'm sure.  I mean, you never see this on TV, right?  But forever, up until about 50 years ago, this was the norm.  Using something disposible would have been unthinkable.  I mean, how did Eve take care of her monthly issue?  Or the pilgrims?  Or Queen Elizabeth the first?  No matter what, all women throughout time have had to deal with this.  And they all did it without the use of something disposible.  So maybe it isn't all that weird afterall?  Check out this link from the Menstration Museum.

There are all kinds of Mama Cloth out there.  Tons of WAHM 's make them and sell them.  You'll have to try a bunch to find what you like.  There are also more natural internal systems, the Diva Cup and the Keeper among others.  I personally love the Happy Heiny brand and Luna Pads, but have a bunch of others as well.  They come in all sizes and shapes, with or without wings, snap or velcro or pin closure, pillowcase style or not.  Find what works for you.

Now the question arises of what one does with the pads after use and before washing.  Or what to do when on the go.  Or just how to deal with the cloth at all.  Here's what I do.

I keep a small, covered bucket in my master bathroom.  After I change a used pad, I set it in the bucket, which contains cold water.  I soak the pads for the duration of my AF (usually 3-4 days).  I then dump the water into a smaller container.  The soaked pads are thrown into whatever load of laundry is ready to run, although I do usually throw them in with towels or sheets.  The water I save for watering plants (my roses love it!), but I do use it quickly.  Mr. CrazyLife really doesn't like this part of the process.  I do not dry the pads in the dryer.  I hang them dry.  It's not complicated and aside from some strange looks from your family members the first few times, not a huge issue anywhere.

There are other options out there as well....diva cups, moon cups and the like.  I've never tried them, but have heard rave reviews.  Just not my thing, I guess.

So for anyone out there sharing my pain right now, look into some greener, cleaner, healthier options....you'll be glad you did!

It's been quite a while since my last series of posts here on CrazyLife.  I hate to do that as I love blogging and sharing things here.  When I started this blog, my plan was to share recipes, craft ideas, homesteading ideas and the like.  And I did great - until summer started and I was so busy at home with the children (on a side note, I don't know how you stay at home moms do it - you're AMAZING!).  Then I took a little break, blogging now and again with the intention of starting up again in the fall when I went back to work.  Well, lo and behold, a change in my work status meant a change of life for me.  I went from having a classroom in three buildings to being in one building, teaching off a cart.  I lost my walking routes.  I lost my desk computer hook up.  I lost my free "prep time."  I lost track of my life.

One of the best things we did was have Auntie CrazyLife come and start watching the kids.  It was such a big help this fall.  Then last week happened and we had a crazy time of it.  The long story short is that Auntie CrazyLife is no longer working for us and we're back in a home daycare setting.  It was one of the hardest decisions to make ever, but we had to do what was best for the kids and for us.  It was a stressful week for us, but I'm happy with the decision.  I'm hoping my sister and the rest of my family is understanding of it eventually.

I'm still running/walking, but the cold weather and different school/prep times have really cut into that.  I'm doing the Princess Half Marathon in about a month and a half and I'm really excited about it, but feel like I need more training and not sure that I'll get it in.  The less walking/yoga I've been doing, my body has really been not happy with me.  So I'm working on getting back on track with that.

Another thing we've been working on at the CrazyLife house is "greening" up our lives.  I've got some posts planned around that that will *hopefully* get posted soon! 

Lots of Homesteading ideas are flowing as well - I got my first seed catalog in the mail about a week ago and my mind has been racing!  Can't wait for the ground to get unfrozen and uncovered with snow so I can play in the dirt again.

Sooooo.....lots of ideas flowing around here.  Hoping to get them posted and shared and all that good stuff!

(back to business....)

So how can it be that we're already a week into 2011?  This year is flying by so quickly already!!  So