Sore Throat Remedy

Today's guest blogger is my friend Jen.  She is a fellow Navy wife and mother.  Since I will be moving soon, I will (hopefully) be featuring guest bloggers to help me keep current! Here is what Jen had to say about a Home Remedy for sore throats! 

Source: nancyvienneau.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

In lieu of the cold/flu season upon us I thought I'd share this awesome pin I stumbled upon. It's a great little homemade remedy for a sore throat, cough, chest/nasal congestion or any yuckiness you may feel. I have personally recreated this recipe 4 times and suggested it to friends and family members as well. It's been a hit with all of them. It has simple ingredients that are likely already sitting in your pantry and it takes just minutes to whip up a batch. It stores well and the best thing is......IT WORKS! I didn't use organic vinegar or raw honey either, yet I still felt its effects and beware, it packs a punch! But it's what your body needs when a cold/flu is coming on. 

Just combine the ingredients shake it up and take a few teaspoons, or more. My sister was feeling sick so I suggested this concoction. She drank the whole thing that night, and reported back, feeling so much better the next morning! Next time you are feeling like a bug is coming on remember this quick and easy remedy and give it a try!

Knit Piggy Hat

I was asked by a friend to knit a Piggy Hat for her daughter and found this pattern on Ravelry, a wonderful source for knitters and crocheters (kind of like Facebook for us!).

Source: ravelry.com via Kate on Pinterest

I really liked this pattern.  I did what I usually do when I use patterns like this, which is using them as a template and I tweak to techniques I prefer or find easier.

One thing I didn't understand was the pattern's way of doing the edging.  I usually prefer a crochet edging, pretty much the ONLY time I prefer crochet since my brain can't understand how to do anything other than single crochet. Ha!  I also used size 8 and 9 needles, instead of 8 and 10... mostly because I couldn't find my size 10 needles and was too lazy to look for them in my stash.  I had fun learning how to do the curly ends!

Overall, the pattern is great and super adorable.  I hope my final product does the pattern justice!!

Felt Super Hero Capes

A few weeks ago, my son turned 4.  He wanted to have a Super Hero/Hulk birthday party.  His birthday is after Christmas, which usually means I am a bit out of  a slacker when it comes to planning his party.  I wanted something for the kids to be able to take home that wasn't a goodie bag full of candies and toys that will break within moments.  The capes were a perfect idea.

I checked out a few pins, but this one seemed to be the easiest, minimal sewing tutorial.

Source: quiltedturtle.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

I bought felt by the yard and velcro.  After cutting all the capes, I just had to sew about an inch of velcro onto the cape.  Then I used scrap felt to make circles (I traced a small bowl to get the correct size) and I cut out the first initial of every kid who was attending.  I made extra circles so the kids had lots of colors to choose from.

Each kid go to pick their cape and circle color.  We used felt glue to glue the pieces together during the party.  I also bought a few bags of foam star stickers so the kids could decorate the capes.  I think this was a big hit!

Making A Mess With Slime

Source: ourbestbites.com via Kate on Pinterest

Sometimes I have to let go of my internal control freak and let my kids get good and messy.  My daughter has been begging me to do a science experiment, something fun and hands on, so I decided to try making slime with the kids today.  4 ingredients, easy to follow steps.

All the ingredients can be found at grocery stores, Target, Walmart... anywhere that sells laundry detergent is likely to have Borax.  If you already make your own detergents, then you've got it on hand.
I couldn't find clear glue while I was at the store, so we used the cheapest kids glue we could find (.34 cents!).

At first I thought I had a major Pinterest failure.  My "slime" was slimy alright... and soupy.  VERY soupy.  However, after many many minutes of mixing by hand, my kids were able to make it more like the solid substance that was pictured on the pinned post.  Of course, my kids had a blast no matter what it was like!

I put the slime in an airtight container and am anxious to find out how long the slime lasts before I have to make a new batch.  Regardless, the kiddos want different colored slime, so we will surely be making this again!

Chalkboard Paint

Chalkboard Paint.  You know you want to try it!! So many pins out there about chalkboard paint.  You can put it on ANYTHING! It's fun! And it is a craft for YOU, not just kids.

Source: abeautifulmess.typepad.com via Kate on Pinterest

And good news, super easy.   Warning... you only need about 1 TBSP non-sanded grout or less to make a small batch (which goes a long way).  However, the smallest box I could find was huge and will probably last me a lifetime and then some.  I will be sharing my wealth of non-sanded grout!

I saw one website, unfortunately forgot to pin, that suggested you mix the grout with a tiny bit of water before adding the paint.  I did this, and I'm glad, it wasn't clumpy at all! If you do this, just make sure to use the TINIEST amount, I can imagine using too much would make your paint too runny.

I used 2 2oz containers of paint from Joanns (89 cents each!). You can use ANY color you like, I decided to go with classic black. I wasn't feeling too adventuresome.  Within seconds, my batch was ready!  I have lots left over, so next time I will only make 1 container.  Here are my newly painted jars (counting down daddy's time away from us), and wine glasses!

So many fun things to do with your paint!

Source: etsy.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Kate on Pinterest

Source: inspirationforhome.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

(So doing this last pin when the kids are old enough to play scrabble!)

Handmade Children's Belts

Source: handmademommy.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

Sometimes the smallest things can make the outfit.  For my daughter, she loves to wear belts with her pants. She doesn't really NEED them, but she likes them and I can't say no.  I could not find belts that we liked last year, so I just bought some cheap ones that, of course, peeled paint off of and looked kind of icky after a few months. I saw a friend post pictures of some homemade belts she made for her sons and I thought, gee, I can do that!!

Since I have creative kids who find solid colors boring, I looked at this tutorial for something a little different:

Source: craftychicmommy.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

I took the kids to Joann's and let them pick out their favorite ribbons.  (This could also be a great project to use up ribbons you have stashed up!)

Then, silly me, forgot to look at this tutorial when I actually sat down to MAKE the belts... so the ribbon doesn't wrap around to the other side... oops. Thankfully my kids love what I do, even with I mess up. Ah unconditional love. It's awesome!

Jello Playdough

Coco here....

Soooooo I have a couple of bored little kids today, and I thought I would try another pin I've been eyeing.

Jello Playdough!!

The link from the original pin is:

Source: playdoughrecipe.org via Kate on Pinterest

I made a few amendments, based on the comments.  By the way, tip for any sort of pin activity, ALWAYS READ THE COMMENTS!!  It will invariably save you a lot of grief...  The recipe omits to mention that you need to cook the ingredients,  and per the comments, make sure that it is on LOW heat, this stuff burns easily.  I also used a large non-stick frying pan (as suggested in the comments) and I'm glad I did, as I'm pretty sure it made clean-up a thousand times easier.  Here are the supplies I used.  (all stuff I already had lying around, which makes it about 12000 times more likely that I will actually do something):

I used Olive Oil instead of Baby Oil.  A. I already had some. B. My kids aren't inclined to eat play-dough, as a rule, but they know this one was made with Jello, and it would not surprise me if they gave it a try.

I mixed all the ingredients together, threw them in the pan, and stirred.  And stirred.  And stirred.  It took a while.  Once it balls together in the pan, plop it out onto a piece of wax paper.  Don't be an idiot, like I was, and put it on the wrong side.  *sigh*  Oh well, it was an easy enough fix...

Ok, the dough has cooled.  Be aware, you will need to add a LOT of flour to get it into non-sticky play dough consistency.  There is also a lot of kneading involved.  Much like a fairly sticky bread dough.  Here are the results:

It doesn't look like much, but the kids are currently playing with it, and seem to really like it.  The olive oil also means that my hands feel smooth and soft after all that kneading. ;)  I don't know how well it will keep, but the comments suggest that an airtight, refrigerated container will keep it pretty well.  We shall see....

Verdict:  Success!