The Wonders of Baking Soda

So I learned a new tip and thought I would share. It has been sometime since I posted a Mondays Made Simple tip and well, it has been awhile since I had anything worth sharing. But this, this is definitely worth sharing. 

So Elsie as you know is now in big girl panties but still wears pull-ups for bedtime. She occasionally gets up during the night to go potty (she doesn't grasp that she can just let it go in the pull up) and well decides that the pull up comes off and somehow manages to find underwear, in the dark mind you, to make the "switch." There have been many of mornings I wake to find her in panties instead of the pull-up and am puzzled how she accomplishes this when I can barely walk straight let alone change clothes come the middle of the night. 

Ok to make a long story short, because of her changing in the middle of the night, without us knowing, has lead to her having two accidents in the bed. Once in ours and then in hers last night. No biggie right, wet a towel, soak up the mattress, wash the sheets, wait for mattress to dry and call it a day. Unfortunately both hers and our mattresses are new and I kind of went neurotic on making sure no stains or smells were left behind. 

After scouring the net for How-to's on ridding of pee and the scent of it I went with the simplest and highest ranked option. BAKING SODA!

All you do is coat the wet area (heavily) with the baking soda and let it soak up the moisture. This takes a few hours. Then vacuum it all up when it is dry. This is seriously amazing. Oh and you can rid of old stains the same way only you soak the dried area with a wet cloth first then apply baking soda. It is truly astounding that this works on old stains. No crazy circles stains, no scents! 

Ok so now that you can sleep soundly with this new knowledge let us move on to my highlights from this past week.

having a surprise visit from a friend with this sweet goodness in tow was THE highlight of my week

being able to relax, journal and soak up the sun was awesome

watching Elsie splash in the water was priceless

found out Vernon was ann official Sand EATER!

While the babies were hanging out with Grandma & Grandpa Micah and I took a bike ride to In & Out. It was fab and reignited my love for family bike rides.

scrambling around aimlessly at three in the morn crawling on the floor and feeling around for his paci. Of course I couldn't find it and had to turn on the blinding lights only to see that he was holding it in his chubby little hand.

 

this was my view of the boys from the sunroom.Couldn't resist to snap a shot

some of us obviously need less sleep than others. Love Her!

Repurposing Halloween Candy

I have to say, I still get really excited for Halloween candy. The mini sized bags are perfect for a yummy treat without going overboard. Plus my babies are still too little for me to worry about sugar consumption or anything like that.
Also, we are still potty training so bring on the Smarties and Tootsie Rolls people! (that is what we give Elsie as her "reward")

Last year was a bit overwhelming with the amount of candy we had come in, I will admit that, only because I had no idea Disneyland's Halloween fest was going to give out truckloads of candy! But the candy I wasn't able to pass out or rid of through Micah's office I turned into yummy snacks.
So after the kiddos go to bed this year don't rush to the trash can to dump the junk but instead whip up something yummy using all of the stuff you want to rid of.

For example using all the chocolate candy bars you can make quite a few incredible treats, some even good enough to have with your Thanksgiving Feast.
First up is one of my FAVE recipes. So delish and it only has three ingredients. THREE!

Candy (bar) Apple Salad

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• Snickers
• 4 Tart Apples (chopped into bite size bits)
• 1 8oz Frozen Whipped topping

Smash up the snickers into little chunks then blend with apples and whipped topping. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for later.

I've never made this next recipe but wanted to last year and am determined to this year because Micah loves Butterfinger anything and his birthday is in like two weeks. So I'm crossing my fingers I get tons of butterfingers tonight. 

Butterfinger Cupcakes

Recipe and more tempting pics found at this lovely blog here

And then I'll leave the rest of the recipes up to the professionals over at Real Simple where they have 10 fab recipes using leftover Halloween candy.

This one I am making for sure

York Peppermint Pattie Brownies, yes please!

I'm expecting a lot of this after the loads of candy from tonight. But since we are heading to our church's Fall Festival maybe it won't be so bad...maybe.

A Spoonful of sugar

So I realized I didn't have a tip for Mondays Maid Simple yesterday and started to tap my head like Pooh Bear saying "Think, Think, Think" I always try to use tips I learned throughout the week that helped simplify my life in some way whether it be for baking, cleaning, personal hygiene, well you get the point for ANYTHING really.

This last week I was on an emotional roller coaster not only due to Elsie becoming a big girl with her potty training and sleeping in her big girl bed but because of my little brother having his kidney removed as well. This was yet another repercussion from the near death accident he was in over a year ago. Though he will be fine having one kidney it is hard to think at only 25 years of age he has had so many major surgeries and problems from that one accident.

With all that being said I realized the only thing that made my life a little bit easier (besides prayer) was having a special treat. See's candies can literally help the hurt as I like to say. And we made sure to buy some during a trip to the mall last week.

I realized Mary Poppins really knew what she was talking about when she sang the infamous lyrics, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."
Last night Micah and I snuck out for a late dinner and while having a serious discussion of things we've been dealing with and the hard week behind us we enjoyed a slice of a raspberry chocolate cake, and let me tell you it made me feel alot better.
So today I am not leaving you with a life changing tip but a fabulous recipe.

Pumpkin Cobbler
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs beaten
30 oz. pureed pumpkin
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
12 oz evaporated milk
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup sweet butter (melted)
1/4 cup brown sugar


Directions
first get your handy helper(s)

Preheat oven to 350
mix together the first 8 ingredients (sugar - milk)
Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and pour the mixture into the dish
Sprinkle DRY cake mix evenly over the mixture
pour melted butter evenly and slowly over that.
Then sprinkle brown Sugar on top of the butter
Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until edges look slightly brown.

 Serve warm and top with whipped cream or Vanilla Bean ice cream.

while trying to take picture of the cobbler

some little fingers just couldn't resist

and that is that

So whip this delicious dessert up for your work Halloween pot luck, church event, or if you're like me, just bake it for you and your fam at the house. And the next time you need a little pick me up. Serve yourself some and enjoy it. Every bite.

Proverbs 24:13-14 "Eat honey, my son, for it is good; Honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul, if you find it there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

WASTE NOT WANT NOT

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, we certainly did. Elsie and I had a "Girls Only" shopping day (morning) on Saturday. Grandma came to visit and play with the babes. Then after naps on Sunday we ventured out to Disneyland for some fun and fireworks!

Also, during the weekend I did some major food prep for Vernon's meals this week. I make his food from scratch so it is just easier to have it prepared for future meals instead of dragging my tired bum out in the morning to steam and puree, which actually doesn't take that long since we invested in this little beauty.

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When I say "invested" I mean we found on Craigslist for $30 and it was basically brand new. This little appliance deserves its own post so I won't go into how AMAZING this thing is, but just know that I actually enjoy making his food because of this machine.
Back to where I was going with this post. When making his food I go through quite a few apples and pears. I core and peel them using the Pampered Chef Apple Peeler.

I have talked about how much I love this contraption in an older post. This leaves a perfectly good peel that I normally just toss in the trash until I remembered about Simmering Pot Potpourri.
There are so many variations to be used and will have your home smelling warm and inviting in no time.
Just save any peels from your fruits (apples, oranges, pears, pomegranate). Gather up your cinnamon sticks, whole cloves or whatever spice suits your fancy and simmer away.

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• Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add your choice of ingredients and bring back to a boil for a couple of minutes. Turn heat to low and simmer throughout the day. 

NOTE: Make sure to keep an eye on it and add water every 30 - 45 minutes so the water doesn't burn out. 


You can also just toss this together right before the hubby gets home so he is welcomed into a lovely aroma upon his arrival.

There are so many combinations and since it is by your own preference you really can't go wrong. Today I chose to combine pear skins, apple skins, cinnamon sticks and cloves. It smells like I baked a fresh Apple Pie. How disappointed Micah will be when he gets home to find out that it is only potpourri.

Tomorrow I will probably do apples, orange rinds and cloves.
What a great way to be Green and also save some cash on oil or potpourri right? Hope you all get as much of a kick out of this as I did. Happy Simmering!

Oh and while we're on the topic of new uses of possible waste, Micah got around to cutting down the tree that grew and was shading 90% of my garden that desperately needed sun to thrive.
Not only did he saw up plenty of firewood for the anticipated chilly nights ahead of us, but he made quite a few cuts of the wood for future tree stump pedestals I've been swooning over on pinterest. YAY!

oh the simple joys in life.

DIY Fall Facial

If it wasn't obvious by now, I'm a little obsessed with fall which translates to I LOVE pumpkin anything. Today I'm excited to share with you a Pumpkin Facial Mask I came across here and tried out last night. Let me set the scene. Burning my pumpkin clove candle, relaxing to good music, scouring Pinterest for inspiration, nibbling on pumpkin bread. All the while having my face replenished with a Pumpkin Mask which not only smells (and tastes) yummy but is full of vitamins your skin can benefit from.So whether a Fall fan or not, embrace this seasons most popular Veggie (or fruit depending on who you ask) and whip up this treat and have yourself a Pumpkin Pampering Party!

click image to enlarge 

Mixture will keep for approximately three weeks in a tightly sealed container

When your mixture is ready

Apply a thin layer over your CLEAN face

 Let it sit for 5 minutes

Wash and pat dry. 

I hope you can take a few minutes away from the grind this week to make sure you have some quite time for yourself.
What better way to start off your day this season with a pumpkin facial while doing your devotion. Let God restore your soul and this mask restore your face.

Matthew 11:28-30 "...and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Mondays Maid Simple:Ready, set, ok still not ready.

Have you had those days where you think you're ready? You know when the kids are dressed and fed but you are NOT, but it's okay because you already have in your head what you're going to throw on, but when you go to find it... well it is no where to be found. Oh wait, there it is, crumbled at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper. So now your scrambling to find something other than yesterdays garb only to spend twenty extra minutes looking for it. This may not sound like a big deal but when you have nap times and feeding schedules it is.

If only I had Cher Horowits outfit-picking program on my computer...man life would be so much easier.

Pictures from Domino Mag

For the record if I had a closet like one of these I wouldn't mind spending time in there, but if I had closets like these I would most likely have a personal assistant running my errands for me as well. 

I thought about it, when I was working (at the office) I would always have my outfit picked out and ready for me to throw on in the morning. Not only did I have my clothes picked out, but I also had my lunch ready the night before (if I was bringing one), and gym clothes & ipod in my bag.

So now why can't I enforce that rule with this momma job of mine. When I have a Dr. appt or church, I know to have all of our outfits picked, diaper bag packed and food ready the night before which always helps to avoid a panic situation. But here I am fully aware I was going to go the grocery store after breakfast and yet I was scrambling to get all of us dressed and ready to get out the door. A 10 minute ordeal turned into a 45 minute production, mainly because I didn't have my clothes ready. So basically the kiddos were waiting on me. Mind you I didn't even put make-up on, this was just trying to find something to wear.

Vernon waiting on me with a face that reads, "Really mama? I mean Elsie is two and a half and I'm 7 months, you should have this down by now."

No more. From here on out I am treating everyday as if I'm running out for an errand or an appointment.
I will get everything READY. Having all of our outfits planned out. Food or snacks prepped. Diaper Bag packed.
I will SET. Everything by the front door so I can just grab it.
So we can just GO wherever we are going with time to spare and not having to be rushed because I saved time by having been prepared.
I know most nights I would rather just drag my butt to bed after having just watched a movie with Micah but I know the payoff is worth it if I take 5 minutes to get things ready for the next day.
This applies to both mommies at home and working women out of the house. Having everything set out and ready will save bundles of time and for me, stress.
Hope you all have a wonderful week.