Henna Hair Experience

So on a whim I decided that I was tired of being gray at ripe old age of 31.  I have dyed my hair in the past with the cheapo walmart dye and I quit because a) aint nobody got time for that, b)it made me look like a witch, and c)gray is my crown of wisdom (ha).   But out of nowhere I decided to give henna a try, you know, because it takes WAY less time (yeah right).  Plus its natural and its the cool hippy thing to do.
Just know, henna takes a million years.  I started at 5:30 am, which gave me 1.5 hours before the kids get up to get started. I was done by 11am.  So it takes many hours (not a million years, I exaggerated).  I bought the Henna especially for gray hair; its a 2 step process.


So just know going in that I am not a pro at taking selfies, in fact I make a point NOT to do that.  So I have probably captured the worst angles possible.
This is me going in, pretty gray.









Looks worse in person, trust me. lol.














So you have to mix the henna (2 different packages) in bowls and they have to sit there for the exact right amt of time.  Of course i have no idea what that amt of time is so I just guessed.
Mud head take 1:

It felt just as gross going on as it looks.  It was the consistency of wet mud.  You only keep this on for 5-15 min (??) or until your hair is pink/orange.  Well I had no way of knowing that since my hair was muddy.  So again, I guess and did the full 15 min, probably should have done 30.
Bag head for mud #1: 

Not bad for 5am right..ha!  Guess this the time of day I go cross-eyed

Oh I forgot to mention that you put oil around your face to keep the dye from sticking to your skin.  All I had was nipple cream..not sure if it did the job...

So after my hair was pink (?).  I washed it out.  When washing this out I thought about easy this was.  It came out way easier than normal dye.  And you cant use conditioner so my hair was nappy.
On to step 2.  I had to rub this green mud into my hair that smelled too much like green tea.  Gag. 

This was around the time the kids got up, they are like "MOM what are you doing?". Im like "kids its rough being a hippy".  

So this was fine for the first 2 hours, I did my normally mothering duties.  But right around 3.5 hours I started to get a headache and decided I was done with this gig.  I probably should have waited longer but not sure if I could have.
So into the shower, my oldest watched as I washed it out..it was gross.  There was henna everywhere, walls, shower curtain, floor, tub.  Thankfully it wasnt too difficult to get off.  But it really does go everywhere. I washed and washed and WASHED.  And no shampoo allowed for at least 24 hours so there was way I could get it all out.  Thankfully after my hair dried it didnt rub off on anything but it felt gross and it was like swimming in green tea all day.  I did use conditioner though.  

Right at first it looked like I had completely covered the gray.  

Once I washed it finally with shampoo though (2 days later) so much more came out.  Its hard to tell in the pictures but its kind of a light reddish color. Im worried that the gray will come back with each wash...and if that happens I wont be doing this again. BUT if it really stays "colored-ish" for 6 weeks I may attempt it once I forget how long it took.
Me now 3 days later: 

Have you had your fill of forehead shots of me? Hope so bc that is all! 

Wheat-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread

We recently joined a local CSA to get fresh veggies every week.  Its wonderful.  We got the largest box because we eat (or want to eat) lots of vegetables.  I make it a personal goal to have used ALL of the vegetables before the next box comes.  This sounds easy but its not.  It ends up meaning me having to find a way to cook several different veggies a day.  We love zucchini bread and we love chocolate and I love having something already made for breakfast.  Most of the recipes I found had 50 cups of sugar and just as much flour.  That would be like eating double sugar for breakfast plus the kids would be begging for more food 15 mins later.  SOOOOO thats where this recipe comes in.  Its still not grain free, and Im fine with that, but I do one day want to try with all almond flour. If you try this recipe and have tweaks PLEASE let me know.

Wheat-Free Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/2 cup coconut oil (virgin if you like the taste, we do)

1/2 cup of coconut milk (regular milk could be used, we used canned)

1 tbs vanilla extract

3 cups-ish of grated zucchini (I say ish because I dont measure, its usually one good size zucchini)

1 cup almond flour

2 cups ground oats (I ground mine in the blender/vitamix)

3/4 cup of honey (add more if need be)

3 tbs of peanut butter powder (optional)

3 tbs of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 C)

2. Grease TWO 4x8-inch pans (I melted about a tbs of butter in each pan)

3. Beat eggs in a large bowl until light and foamy; mix in coconut oil (heat it a bit), honey, vanilla, coconut milk, and zucchini.  

4. Wisk flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder together in a seperate bowl

5. Stir flour mixture in with the zuchinni mixture

6. Mix in chocolate chips and chopped nuts

7. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pans

8. Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour

9. Let cool in pans for 10 min before removing from pans and cooling on wire racks.

Enjoy!
This is a very filling cake.  Dont forget to eat it with butter. :)

Soaked Baked Oatmeal "Cake"

One of our biggest (ok not biggest) dilemmas in this house is what to have for breakfast.  Most typical breakfasts are full of sugar/carbs/more sugar AND usually take a ton of work to get ready.  So you spend 1 hour making a breakfast only to have the kids burn it off in an hour and be begging for more food.  Blah!

Anywayssss....I have found (and tweaked) a recipe to make everyone happy.  The kids call it cake and Michael loves that he can just toss it in the toaster oven while he walks Pokey and come back to a very healthy and filling breakfast.

It has to be done the day before and takes close to an hour to bake so it does take some prep.  When I make this recipe, it makes a BIG pan.  The whole family (of 5 or 6) can eat this for 3 breakfasts straight.  It lasts in the fridge for up to a week though.  If it were only one person it could easily be enough for a weeks worth of breakfasts (or more).  We usually cut it into squares and toast them as needed.  They are sooo yummmy.  Im not even kidding you.  Feel free to add your own variations.  I added some extra fat for the skinnies in this family.  The more calories for them the better.

Here goes

Soaked Peanut Butter Chocolate Coconut Baked Oatmeal
(say THAT one three times fast!)

The night before:
6 cups of rolled oats

1 cup of coconut oil (or butter or a mixture of both)

3/4 cup of honey

2 cups of plain yogurt (half vanilla is yum too)

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of natural peanut butter (optional)

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup of shredded coconut (optional)

1/4 cup chia seeds (optional)

1/2 cup nuts/seeds (optional)

In the morning:

Preheat oven to 350

(I usually let the cold oatmeal heat with the preheating oven so its easier to stir while mixing ingredients)

In a bowl mix

4 beaten eggs

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

Mix in really well.  When its all mixed bake 35 min covered in foil, then 15 minutes without, you may need to bake longer depending on oven.  Mine ends up being closer to an hour, I check often for the edges to be nice and brown.  If you are putting it back in the fridge for later, let it cool before covering. Dont cook too long or it will dry out!

*tip: I let it sit overnight in the pan that I bake it in.  And its also the pan I store it in the fridge, it has a handy snug lid.

Enjoy!

Homeschool "Trial-Run"

Two years ago if someone had said that I would homeschool I would say "are you nuts!?".  It wasnt for me, school is where my kids belong with other kids, socializing, etc.
Never say never because look at where we are today!
We put Ness in preschool this past year and Im not going to lie, there were times where I thought preschool was the best thing ever.  Sage is a very easy child if he is alone, as is Zael.  Its when they have their Ring Leader/Ness that chaos break out (Sage is like me and Ness is like his dad...of course..lol).  But at the same time it was a major pain brining him and picking him up plus he didnt seem to be learning anything.  He would bring home worksheets with a bunch of scribbles (always black or blue..?) or crafts that I KNOW he had no hand in making (trust me, I have crafted with this child).  There was nothing wrong with the school or his teacher, but Ness didnt seem to be flourishing and plus it was a lot of money.  THEN we found a house that we really really want (want to buy our house) and decided that we needed to start saving the money.
On top of all that the public schools in EBR are not great (cell phones are allowed in schools now? Insanity!)
So thats when I decided to do a Homeschool Trial run! Ness is only 4.5 so if we do preschool (starting in Jan.) and its a total bust I havent screwed him up too badly.  Then we will move on to Plan B, whatever that is.

At first homeschool totally overwhelmed me.  I thought about joining a Classical Conversation Co-op (which we may still do next year) but Mr. "Ants-in-the-pants" didnt seem to do well.  Maybe he will when he is older.
Then I found this: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week
Total God-Send!
This lady's style is right up my alley, its very organized but all very fun and diverse.  Its a lot of work, and a lot of printing but I have had fun!  I got a laminator (woot!) and have been laminating up a storm (we will be using this same curriculum again with the other boys).  It has been several weeks of work but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I figured this blogpost would be helpful because we have very limited money and even more limited space (right now).  So I have cleared out a wall that will become our "School Wall" with a bulletin board, calendar, weather, sight words, days of the week, and whatever else Ness is interested in at the moment. (Hopefully potential buyers can look past that).
My main problem was figured out how to organize all the paperwork.  So I have several "lightbulb" moments (usually in the middle of the night) and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

One idea that I really like that we are doing (as we are aiming towards Montessori Style), is the Workbox System. Basically there are boxes for each day of the week (I prepare the week before) and each morning after our Circle Time (school wall stuff) he will go and get whatever is in that days box.  Those things will be put in "centers" (as he gets older those centers will be named) and then he will be able to choose the  order in which he wants to do them.  This will be helpful too because Sage may be doing some too and they can rotate activities.  I love this curriculum because most things are games/puzzles/"sewing" that can be used again and again (laminator baby!).

Another problem I had was that we dont have a school room right now so every time we did an activity I was running around the house and gathering stuff which would leave a mess and that stressed me. SOOO a good friend that saves weird stuff had given me all of these puff containers (and since baby #3 is an animal with food we will have EVEN MORE puff containers in our future) and that became my answer!  Hello free organizing!  Im keeping them on a rolling cart that can be easily moved (has all the other supplies too).  (I got a label maker and these plastic bins from a really awesome garage sale)

The last, and biggest problem I had was figuring out I was going to store all the flashcards and weekly curriculum.  After thinking about it for a long time I decided on a file box (why I didnt think of this sooner I have no idea).  So all of my laminated flashcards as well as extra worksheets are in this box.  Plus the curriculum and the games/activities that go with it.  My plan is that once a week of work is done all of it will go into my file box to be used again next semester for Sage.  I will mark stuff that will need to be printed again in my Curriculum Guide binder so I can easily find and print next year.  

      

There you have it folks.  Ness is SO excited about starting.  We will probably start the week after Christmas, he wants to start now but I still not ready!!  Updates soon!

In other things, we will probably be certified for Foster Care in the middle of January, we are really praying that we can be headed towards the other house at that time.  We are so cramped right now!  I have plans for a huge school room with a side play room for the little ones while we do school.  I would also love to start up a Montessori Co-op. 

Christmas is next week! Gotta go work on laminating! 

:)  

 

Thick and Creamy Yogurt Making!

So, with the help of a good friend, I have finally figured out how to make yogurt of a yummy consistency (THICK and CREAMY).  After perfecting my technique I have decided to share it with the world (ok, so maybe just my facebook friends).

Here goes!
You will need:
1/2 gallon of milk (makes a 1/2 gallon of yogurt)
1 Tbs of Beef Gelatin
1 small container (8 oz) of Voskos yogurt (for starter)
Ice
Crockpot
3 quart size mason jars
Thermometer

First take out your crockpot and fill it half way with water and let it start heating up.

I threw a fit when my husband bought the fanciest crockpot available, but now I am quite happy because it has a thermometer.  I had a candy thermometer and then I washed it in the dishwasher..well you can probably imagine how that went down.  

Your goal is to get the water to 110 degrees.  Since this takes the longest I suggest getting this going first. 

How pretty is milk in glass jars?!? (I did a gallon with these pictures, but in the end I realized that I couldn't fit 5 jars in my crockpot (its the milk plus the 8 oz of yogurt), so one jar went to the chickens. (do it in half gallon size to make life easier).

Pour your milk into a large pot.

Now, this is VERY important!  Add Beef Gelatin BEFORE the milk gets hot!

Here is the one I used, I believe its from grass-fed beef.

Add 1 Tbs of gelatin to COLD milk

Whisk in quickly, it will dissolve well if the milk is still cold.  

Now you wait for your milk to get to 190 degrees F.  

While you are waiting get a nice ice bath going for your yogurt, I usually empty out the ice bin and add water until there is plenty of coldness to go around.

Once your milk has reach 190 degrees bring to ice bath and stir frequently.

Let your milk come down to 110 degrees (same temp you want the crockpot!).  This doesn't take as long as you would think.  So keep checking.  (ignore the white soap scum on my sink! eep!) 

Once its down to 110 degrees its time to add the yogurt starter (and you are almost done!).  I use Voskos because I was told to use Voskos and frankly Im scared to try something else.  I use a 8 oz container. If you use a different starter with the same results please let me know! Voskos is not available everywhere (whole foods mostly).

Take your milk out of the ice and add yogurt.

Whisk it in as much as you can, it will still be a bit lumpy but thats ok.

Now pour your milk/yogurt mixture into your jars.  Only 4 quart jars fit into my crockpot so dont do more than 4!  It will make all yogurt, no whey and no waste.

She's ready to grow me some yogurt!

Put jars into the hot crockpot (100 degrees F). Fill it as high as you can without overflowing.

Put the lid on.

Cover with foil. This is where this crockpot is cool.  I poke the thermometer through the tin foil into the water so I can check the temp throughout the day.  

And now cover with blankets!  My husband not-so-fondly refers to this as "my blanket yogurt".

Now here is the real secret to this yogurt making business. You MUST keep the yogurt between 105 and 110 degrees ALL 10 to 12 hours!  I usually check it every few hours to see where it is.  I will turn it on for 5 min (set the timer so you dont forget!) and then turn it off again.  The thicker the blankets you use and the more foil you use the less often you will have to heat it up.  I always start around 7am so that its for sure done by 7pm (almost my bedtime!).  You can do 10 hours though and if you need to add an hour or two to that it should be fine as well.  

Happy Yogurt Making!  Let me know how it turns out!

Some of my own personal cuteness to make your day brighter:

  

Triple Coconut Supreme Blueberry Muffins

You will not regret making these muffins.  They are the best muffins I have ever made, by far.  They are a combination of these two recipes: http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/02/double-coconut-muffins/
http://www.cookingclassy.com/2012/01/finally-the-blueberry-muffin-of-my-dreams/
PLUS my own changes (no white sugar, etc)
I always change recipes but I never write it down and when people ask me how I make a certain recipe I have no idea.  SOOO I decided to mark down exactly what I was changing.
Here goes:

Triple Coconut Supreme Blueberry Muffins

Yield: 20 medium size muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey
1 cup coconut milk (whole milk can be used instead)
7 Tbsp of WARM (has to be warm for it to not harden) extra virgin coconut oil
1 large egg
2 Tbsp of yogurt
1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries (more can be added if you want more)

Topping:
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2 1/2 Tbsp chilled butter, diced
2 Tbsp Raw Sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Prepare topping by combining 1/3 cup flour, 1/3 cup coconut, 2 1/2 Tbsp butter in a food processor.  Pulse just a few seconds until combined, it should look crumbly (dont do it to much or it will become to dense).  Put topping into a bowl and whisk in 2 Tbsp Raw Sugar (MUST be Raw!!) and coconut, set aside.

In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside.  In a seperate mixing bowl, using a wisk (no hand mixer!), mix together 1/2 cup honey, milk, egg, yogurt, and WARM extra virgin coconut oil (do not mix it in cool, it will become a globby mess).  Gently whisk in dry mixture until just combined, batter should be slightly lumpy (do not over-mix, key to fluffy muffins.)  Fold in blueberries with a spatula.  Divide mixture evenly among 20 (or so depending on how big you want them) muffin tins.  Evenly sprinkle topping over the muffins.  Bake muffins for 19-23 minutes until light golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes then move out of muffin pan on to a wire rack to cool.

Soo yummy!  The "topping" is sweet and crunchy also the coconut oil makes it have a crunchy outside with a dense middle.
Ness says: Super!

Make your own wetbag! A tutorial (my first!)

I am doing this for a friend because explaining the process with words wasnt working out. I am a bit worried about letting a pattern I created (with ideas from other places) get out. So if you are in the same circles as me please dont sell this specific bag. BUT if you are on etsy, etc, then go for it. ;)

First I have my fabric. You can make it whatever size you want. I wanted mine to be a square so I did a giant rectangle. But keep in mind that the width (the top where the zipper goes) has to be SHORTER than the zipper is long. So if you have a 20 inch zipper then your fabric should be around 17 inches across. I think I have a 15 inch zipper and this fabric is 12.5 inches by 24 inches. I also cut a piece for the strap, it is about 2 inches by 9 inches. You can make this as long or short as you want. I make my bags with longer straps.
First you need to sew the strap. You CAN NOT iron PUL, so you basically have to make the fold with your hands. I try to pin this fabric as little as possible because I dont want to pierce the fabric more than necessary. So here I am holding the fabric with no raw edges showing.
Here is the strap on the machine. It is not necessary that no raw edges are showing as PUL doesnt fray. But it looks better if you have it doubled. Sew from one end to the other.
And then you have your strap.
Next you need to sew your zipper on the edge of the fabric. Always remember FACE TO FACE. So the face of the zipper is facing the face of the PUL. This is not an easy task. PUL is slippery, so dont expect to get it right the first time. YOu may need to try this more than once.
NOTICE I AM USING MY ZIPPER FOOT! Sewing the PUL onto the zipper. FACE TO FACE.
Sew all the way to the end.
Next you need to sew the other end to the zipper. . Ignore the cut fabric, I had to trim that off. And again, sew it face to face.

When you are done it will look like this. Its like a giant tube. You can stick your arm inside of it (I tried to get a picture but my camera wasnt cooperating).
Slide the zipper down to where you want it to be. I usually do it 2 or so inches from the top. Here it is. Next take the strap and side it where you want it. I do it above the zipper.
Pin it in place.
Now sew both sides. So that you are closing the "tube". Sew over the zipper (notice I went back to my walking foot). Be sure you dont sew over the tiny metal piece of the zipper, it will break your needle (trust me I know!).
Its a bit more difficult to sew over the strap but you can do it! Pull out the needle holding it in place right before you get to this spot. If your machine is having issues with the PUL (as in skipping stitches) then you probably need to change out the needles. I wish I could remember which needle is best (a higher number or lower) but I cant..so try out different ones. Maybe a middle size one.
So then you are almost done. Lay the bag down.
Trim off the ragged edges. Just cut the zipper off, make sure the zipper pull is not on the part you cut off! lol.
This is where a serger comes in handy. You would just serge the edges. But since I dont have a serger I do a zig-zag stitch with the foot half on and half on the fabric so that the thread wraps around.
Turn it inside out and you are done!! A beautiful wet-bag!
I had issues with this particular PUL de-laminating. I am hoping that that was just a bad batch and that this will be fine.
If you make one post a pic for me to see!
;)