My Hair, My Office, My Heart.....

So by this time it has been firmly established that I am a terrible blogger......but hopefully that is because I am being a present Mother in the lives of my children. Do forgive me.

I blogged only 4 times in December and left you with questions.....

Am I still going shampoo-free? How is that going?

What about that grand office reveal???

I made it 9 weeks without shampoo, using baking soda and apple cider vinegar. I loved every minute of it and proudly told everyone I met that I didn't wash my hair anymore. But mid December I ended up with a bit of a dandruff problem (which I am not convinced was related to going poo-free, cuz I've had it on and off before).
I was super stressed in December because of everything that goes on in December combined with sickness etc, that I felt too overwhelmed to begin researching natural ways to deal with my dandruff (which shows up nicely on my black hair). So I quit. Lame. I know.

I have been using shampoo again since mid-December and the first time I used it my hair felt so soft and......flat and dry. My head got kinda itchy from being so dry since I wasn't used to drying out my head with shampoo anymore. I have noticed that although I am shampooing again, my hair does not get very greasy anymore. I used to HAVE to wash my hair every other or third day and now I am only needing to wash it about once a week - SCORE! That makes me happy cuz I'm kinda busy.

I will probably quit the shampoo thing again, but being on the verge of possibly more kids makes me a little hesitant to begin the experiment just yet. I don't want to take on too much at once.

The office. Oh my. Ok it is definitely much better than it was but it's still a bit of a gong show. It looked GREAT for like 3 days after I organized it and then got pretty bad again. I think I have organized it two more times since the supposed "great reveal" and it's less chaotic now, but still needs work. I think the real problem is that it is a dumping ground and I don't really use it much. Maybe if I actually used that room more, it would be more organized and functional. I need to develop better habits when it comes to that room and I think it needs one or maybe 2 purposes at the most - currently it probably has about 7 uses...I AM making tons of progress over here with the rest of the house and it looks better more often and I am feeling less and less stressed about it.

My heart is next on the list for this blog post and by far the most exciting for me. For the last month or so I have been feeling God tugging at my heart concerning orphans and adoption and fostering. Obviously this has been a passion in my life for awhile, but this is a new and strong desire to really make a difference in this world.

• John 14:18  

  “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

• James 1:27  

  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

  

These and other verses like them have greatly impacted me. I have been content to be a foster to adopt mom and to love and raise my kids. I have always loved kids and thought that I'd have a big family. I always felt that I'd have a bunch of kids (maybe 10ish) and that'd be it. (LOL) Then they'd grow up, leave home, get married, have their own kids, and I'd get to be Grandma. I don't feel that way anymore. I want to adopt. I don't see an end in sight. When these kids are grown, I don't want to stop adopting, I want to take more difficult or special needs kids and love them (since I'll be able to focus on them without babies underfoot). I want to adopt the whole world. I want everyone to know what a blessing it is to love with all your being for the glory of God. I want to share my love of adoption and influence others to do the same. I want to save all those kids out there that need a mom and a dad to love them. I can't do it alone, but I can do my part. I am so excited! (I know some of you are probably rolling your eyes and saying, "oh Rachel" but I'm serious!) 

I could go on and on, but my kids need me, so that's it for today :)

Putty Goop Slime

This is super fun stuff to play with and really easy to make! I promise your kids are gonna love it and it's going to keep them busy for awhile! There are three ways to make it: with or without the cornstarch, and the with the third method, you add water to the glue before mixing.  If you use the cornstarch you'll have putty and if you don't use it, you'll have goop - a little softer and more workable, and if you add water to the glue before mixing you'll have slime. Thus the title - putty goop slime.

So here's what you need:

• 1/4 cup of warm water

• 1/2 tsp of Borax 

Dissolve the borax in the water in a bowl and put aside.

Then in another bowl:

• 1/4 cup of cornstarch *(if you are making goop)
• 1/4 cup school glue
• 1/4 cup water *(if you are making slime)
• food coloring

For Putty:

Mix the cornstarch, glue, and food coloring together, then add to the borax water mixture and stir it up. Remove the lump from the water and discard the leftover water. The mixture will be quite firm and pliable. Press it against different things and see what patterns you get!

  Borax and water...

Glue and cornstarch mixture...

 Glue mixture in borax/water mixture...

Putty - the color is swirled because I added it after. You should add the coloring to the glue mixture before mixing with the borax and water.

For Goop:

Mix the glue and food coloring together and then add to the borax water mixture. Stir. Remove the lump from the water and discard the leftover water. This mixture will be a little wetter than the putty and more pliable and soft.

The glue poured into the borax water. I added the food coloring to the borax water, but I should have added it to the glue first...

Goop.

For Slime: (this one is messy)

Mix the glue, water, and food coloring and then add to the borax water. You will have to work the mixture for a 2-3 minutes with your hands while it is still in the water. Then when you feel like it is solid enough to remove from the water, take it out and discard the excess water. This stuff is amazing and SLIMY!

Glue, water, food coloring mixture...

 Glue, water, food coloring mixture all stirred up...

 After adding the glue/water mixture to the borax/water mixture....

Slime :) After working it for a few minutes in the water.

All three can be stored in ziplock bags indefinitely. If they start to get a little too dry, just add some water to your bag and it'll be like new again. This makes the PERFECT gift/stocking stuffer for that boy on your list!

I would not recommend this for children under 3 as it should not be eaten.

No Shampoo - 8 weeks & 3 days

I have not used shampoo for 8 weeks and 3 days. So far I like it! I've had a few bad hair days, but nothing crazy and nothing that couldn't be fixed with a little dry shampoo or a hat :) I have ended up having a small amount of buildup - almost like dandruff or something - so I am working that out and going to try a few things. But my hair is fine. Totally fine. It's weird.

I don't like that shampoo is full of chemicals. I don't like that it dries out your hair and kicks your scalp into overdrive, producing too much oil. I don't like HAVING to wash my hair every 3 days. I like the freedom of once a week hair. It makes me happy.

I am trying the hemp oil today for the first time and I will let you know what I think. Yeah, yeah, I know. You want pics. Proof. Evidence. Fine then. Just a sec, I will make my son take some right now.......brb......

Not too shabby :) I tried the hemp oil and it's great :) I had wet hair and then rubbed a little on my hands and then put my hands through my ends and it made my hair quite smooth and soft. I think I will be using it more often, just on my ends. 

My Office - Part 1

My "office" is a mess. Always. All the other rooms in my house on my main floor are pretty organized and clean - for the most part - and that is thanks to my good friend, Office. Here's a picture of him......

 Going in...

 Inside......

 What IS all this stuff??? Craft supplies, tools, junk that needs to be organized......

 Storage for tools and sewing.....LOL

 What was I thinking?

 Oh yeah, and the washer and dryer that aren't hooked up.

 The floor......I think??

Pretty ain't he? He's really accommodating and goes out of his way to help me out. All the time. He hangs on to all kinds of stuff for me while I get other, more important things done. There's a LOT going on in there. It is the craft/storage/ironing/sewing/tool/filing room as well as housing a future stackable & space saving laundry area. I know, a little too much for an approximately 10'x10' room. Poor guy :(

Let me introduce you to my other friend, Desk. You saw him already, but in case you missed it......

This is where I am supposed to get all my crafting done. Obviously that isn't happening, so I have to haul out all my stuff to the dining room table and we eat 3 meals a day here, so that can't be for very long. Problem.

 I should insert here that I TOTALLY reorganize this room about once a month. It ends up looking great for about 2 days and then it's back to this again. I need to find a REAL solution. Fast.

My intention is to fix this problem TODAY. I don't know what I am going to do exactly, but telling you about it is the first step. Telling you means I have to do something about it - I think. K. Going to do that now. Be back later with after pics........any after pics would be awesome in comparison to this!

Middle Child?

If you know me, it is common knowledge that I have been potty training my middle child for the past TWO YEARS. Enough said.

I have tried everything. Nothing has worked. How many times have we heard that from parents?

I really have, though. And I have been at a loss for awhile now. I have been very frustrated.

My husband came home yesterday and said something to me that I think (and am hoping and praying) will make all the difference in the world.

He said, "The oldest gets all the responsibility and privileges, the youngest gets all the attention, and the middle child is just stuck in the middle."

Ok those weren't his EXACT words, but they are my interpretation/paraphrase of them. My plan now has been to really spend time with her. I've given her attention in the past in hopes of it helping in the potty training area, but this is different. I think I need to change the way I am with her for the long haul. Reading a book to a kid one day and not the next 5 doesn't change anything. But really investing in who they are and getting down on their level on a moment by moment basis and including them in everything I do is what I am getting at here.

This is Day 1. I will let you know how it's going :) I'm optimistic!