Review: Creative Kids Photo Guide Craft Books

 

Just received a set of books that are perfect for summer!  Creative Kids Complete Photo Guide Craft books!  Along with a couple extra bonus books.

The Creative Kids Complete Photo Guide series leads the way with step-by step instructions.  Sewing, crochet, knitting and bead crafts!  Super easy instructions with clear photos of every step.  Tons of great projects that will keep the kids entertained through the summer!

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For a little more variety, dip into the sparkly side of life with Charm Love Friendship Bracelets and Rubber Band Glam. They are both sure to be a hit with kids from about first grade through middle school.  Easy enough for my 7 year old grandson, and holds the attention of my 13 year old daughter!

My kids are already diving in and excited about all the projects layed out.  I am excited to share them with you!

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The opinions and thoughts contained in this post are 100% mine. I only ever work with companies I support and think you, my readers, will like. Please read my full review and endorsement policy here.

Koala Safe Router Review


In today’s world, we all have a dependency to play a little too much on our electronics devices.  Smart phones, tablets, lap tops, all common products in our homes.  Kids are especially vulnerable to the addictive qualities of these products.  I know I wished for a better way to limit time on their electronics without the fights.

KoalaSafe is a router with a wireless network that can be programmed to shut off. Easily connect kids’ devices to the network, and schedule when they can access the Internet. When it turns off, children know it’s time to put away their electronics.

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Parents faced with addicted smart-device kids have an ally on their side with KoalaSafe! Create a “KoalaSafe Moment” right from the start by limiting online time for kids and gain some much needed peace at home. KoalaSafe is a simple solution for the endless hours of screen time on connected devices.

Easy-to-use family-friendly WIFI access point:
•    Protect and manage all devices from one mobile device interface
•    Set to turn off at specific times
•    Block inappropriate sites and apps

After seeing his nephew become more addicted to online games and seeing his sister battling to manage screen time, founder Steve Pack created a better way to help parents regain some screen time balance.

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We have been using our Koala Safe for over a month now and love it!  Really has cut down on the battles and disappointments when we tell the kids times up!  I love that I can control it from my phone as well.  Definitely recommend this router!

The opinions and thoughts contained in this post are 100% mine. I only ever work with companies I support and think you, my readers, will like. Please read my full review and endorsement policy here.

Review: AQUA Carpatica Naturally Sparkling Water

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A recent article in The Atlantic pointed to the effects carbonated water has on tooth decay. As people started substituting sparkling water for soda, studies were being conducted on dental effects and it all boils down to pH.

Acidity is measured on a pH scale. The lower the number, the more acidic the substance, and the more detrimental to dental health. Pure water has a pH level of 7. Bottled water, both still and carbonated, can have a pH level of 5-7, while sodas can have a pH level as low as 2.

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AQUA Carpatica recently sent me some products to sample. Both sparkling water and still water. I have to say, I love sparkling water, and this water didn’t disappoint. It has a very smooth consistency. Not overly carbonated, but still just as refreshing! And it appears to be healthier for your teeth than most other carbonated waters!

For those who love sparkling water but are concerned about the recent news, consult your pH scale! AQUA Carpatica Naturally Sparkling Water has a nearly neutral pH of 6.5 – the closest pH level to pure water compared to other brands on the market (for comparison, Poland Spring Sparkling has pH of 4.6, Perrier 5.8, and San Pellegrino 5.6 according to recent lab tests with NSF International).

AQUA Carpatica’s Naturally Sparkling Water also contains a very high mineral content, which according to dentists, can actually offset some of the potential damage caused by consuming beverages with a low pH. AQUA Carpatica Naturally Sparkling Water contains 280.00mg/L of Calcium, 24% of an adult’s daily needs. So while there is still some natural CO2 in AQUA Carpatica, the nearly neutral pH level and the mineral content can offset the acidity, making AQUA Carpatica Naturally Sparkling Water the ideal choice for a sparkling refreshment.

This brand has recently been launched in select stores and will be available in national stores in the coming months.  I highly recommend grabbing a few bottles and trying them for yourself…refreshing!

 

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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I love this time of year when the weather is cold and soup is hot!  The other day I made the best soup! Chicken and Wild Rice using Young Living oils.  The flavors blended beautifully.  I have to say I even impressed myself.  The real test came with my youngest.  She is super picky, but loved it so much she went back for more!  I coupled it with Pamela’s brand gluten free bread mix for a homemade bread.  This is definitely a new staple in our home.

 

Here is the recipe.  I promise you will love it!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup cooked wild rice blend
2 cup chopped yellow onion
2 cup diced carrots (from 4 medium)
2 cup diced celery (from 5 stalks)
14 Tbsp butter, diced, divided
2 clove garlic, minced
2 lbs shredded chicken
9 cups chicken broth
2-3 drops each thyme, marjoram, sage and rosemary oil
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 lbs chicken, shredded
1 cup flour
3 cups milk (I used Milkman Instant Powdered milk according to package directions)
1 cup heavy cream (I didn’t have heavy cream, so to make soup richer I added 3/4 cup of Milkman milk with 1/3 cup melted butter)
2 tsp lemon zest

Directions

Prepare rice according to directions listed on package.

Halfway through the rice cooking, in a separate large pot, melt 2 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery and saute until slightly tender, about 4 minutes, adding in garlic during last 30 seconds of sauteing. Add chicken broth, thyme, marjoram, sage, rosemary and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Increase heat to medium-high, add chicken and bring mixture to a boil. If chicken is uncooked, cover pot with lid and allow mixture to boil 12 – 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (rotating chicken to opposite side once during cooking for thicker chicken pieces – if they don’t fully immerse in broth). Remove chicken and set aside on cutting board to cool 5 minutes then shred into small bite size pieces. If chicken is cooked then just shred it and add it and continue from here… Reduce heat to low and add cooked rice.

In a separate medium saucepan (I just rinsed and wiped out the rice pan), melt remaining 12 Tbsp butter over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 1/2 minutes, whisking constantly. Then, while whisking vigorously, slowly pour milk into butter/flour mixture. Cook mixture, stirring constantly until it thickens. Add milk mixture to soup mixture in pot and cook about 5 minutes longer, or until soup is thickened (at this point, you can simmer the soup for a longer period of time if you want the rice to soften more, just cover with lid first and stir occasionally. You can also add more chicken broth if desired). Stir in heavy cream and lemon zest and serve warm.

Original recipe can be found here.

I did modify it and double it for my large family.  I also boiled a whole chicken with onions, celery, carrots, rosemary and salt and pepper and then shredded the meat for the soup and continued boiling the bones for the broth.  Yum!!!

 

Perfect meal for even the skeptics in your house.  Enjoy!

~Peace and Love,

Cat

Better Late Than Never

So this is a late post on our May Day celebration.  The girls and I went out to the Austin Waldorf School for their celebration and had so much fun!  We did miss the May Pole, but the girls got to spend the afternoon doing all sorts of crafts and running around the school with other kids, so it made up for what we’d missed.  We truly love this school and really hope that one day both girls can attend.  Right now we are trying to get Xi in for Kindergarten. (She fits the mold for this school 100% and would just thrive here).  The Fall is filled, but she still has another year or so before Grade 1 so still has time to find herself in one of the Kindy rooms.  If all works out, and we can afford it, we’d love to get Lola in started in Grade 3.  She absolutely adores the school and that is the next grade that they start accepting applications for (after Kindergarten).  We’ll see what happens.  It is truly an amazing environment where we feel the girls could get a top notch education and still keep the philosophies that we feel so strongly about.  Regardless we will still keep the principals of it all going at home, while crossing our fingers that the gods smile down on us in regards to the girls’ opportunities there.

At the end of our afternoon, which included a cake walk where the girls danced and tried to win homemade goodies for almost an hour (they did not win a cake, but had smiles on their faces as they played along which in our books is a win anyway), we went into the bookstore where there was a huge sale going on.  Both the girls got new journals, Xi got a new cooperative board game and Lola got some new cookie cutters that spell out L-O-V-E.  We came home with big smiles on our faces and vows in our hearts to continue to branch out within the Waldorf community here in Austin.  We really felt like we were “home” while together there.  

Here are some photos of the day and the projects they did:

Lola sewing a pillow for Emo (one of our cats)

Xi and her pillow.  She filled it and sewed the top herself.  Her’s smells like roses.

Xi’s God’s Eye, which is now hanging in their room along with Lola’s.  Xi was really proud of this one.

Projects galore!  They had so much fun making these.

Having an apple snack and being goofy.
Extremely proud of herself for taking her sister around the craft booths and working with her on their own while mama watched from the picnic table.  Lola had a really great day.
Hope your week has been full of love and joy.   Peace!

Two More To Love!

 My niece and nephew have made their debut and couldn’t be more perfect!  New Mommy wrote on her Facebook page:

Born on April 8th – Vivienne Westwood, Biz Markie, and now Riley Anne and Dylan David Jones! Riley is 6lb 11oz, Dylan is 5lb 14oz. We are all doing great! Pics to follow soon 🙂 they are perfect in every way…”

I am soooooo excited for them and can’t wait to see more pictures.  They are as healthy as can be!  🙂  

Peace!

Do You Ever Feel Like It Never Ends?

The laundry…the dishes…the cleaning…the cooking…you get the picture.  Hah!  Today I have so much to do and it just seems like the days are way too short to get everything done.  Somedays, all I want to do is sit and knit.  In my defense for whining right now, I do take care of extra kids during the week…I love them all so much, but do get tired sometimes.   Haha!

There are many excellent things happening in my world too, it’s not all piled under laundry and dishes!  My dear dear sister is giving birth to her first children on Thursday.  Yes, I said children.  A boy and a girl!  She’s been a trouper through all she’s gone through to get pregnant and then carry twins to over 38 weeks.  I’m so proud of her and excited for her and my bro in law!  Can’t wait to see the pictures…Check her out at Happy High Heels.

Also, J’s sisters are visiting!  His oldest sister and her two wonderful children are here all the way from Australia!  We have been having the best time.  I swear I could just keep them all.  I wonder if they’d be mad if I sabotaged their trip home in a few weeks…hmmm.  The kids, Chai and Lilee are so much fun to be around.  They and the girls clicked from the moment they saw each other.  This is our first meeting of them as S and her husband (an Aussie) moved to Oz while J and I were still in Hawaii.  Then they adopted their two lovelies the same years we had the girls.  So it’s been close to 11 years since we last saw them, and of course only had pictures and videos of the kids.  We are in-love to say the least.  They go to Steiner schools in Australia, so we are all on the same page with how we are as parents.  It’s so easy!!!

 Hunting Easter Eggs as the sun came up.

J’s other sister is flying in this afternoon with her partner and the girls are so excited to see their aunties they can’t stand it!  Xi corresponds with their dog, Wink and keeps saying that maybe Wink will sneak on the plane..haha!  Seriously, she sends letters and L sends emails from Wink back to Xi.  It’s very cute!  I can’t wait to see them though…L writes Lelo in Nopo, and is an extremely talented writer, artist and all around person.  She’s also a gardener extroidenaire!  Her and my in-laws are my true gardening inspirations.

Which brings us to the garden.  It’s growing by leaps and bounds!  Here are a few photos to share, most of them were taken last week and there has been a ton of growth since!  I do need to get back to the piles around here and then get ready to go to the eye doctor.

Hope you all find some amazing bright lights in your times of overwhelming chaos!  Peace!

When Did She Grow So Big?

 My first daughter is quickly turning into a young lady.  She just celebrated birthday 7…7 years already!!  I will post pictures from that day and her joint party with her cousin, Chai (who is visting all the way from Australia…we are so happy they are here!) soon.  But I just received this photo from this year’s soccer pics…who is that girl?!  When did my little baby turn into a real kid and how do I slow this down? 

Life is speeding by way too fast.  I wish I could find someway to slow down time.  I blink and they are bigger…I’m trying to savor every moment.  These girls are all light and love to us…I have to say I do laugh with them everyday and feel so amazingly grateful to have this time, no matter how fast it goes.

Hope your day is slow and easy.  Peace!

Family Bowling Night

We went bowling tonight.  First time in years and we had a blast!   We went with some good friends of our’s and their son.   While both girls did great, I think Xi is actually hooked.  She kept telling me how much she loved to bowl and I swear she didn’t stop grinning the whole night. 

Here’s our little bowler:

Every time she hit a pin she’d jump up and down and then clap. It didn’t matter if it was 1 pin or 9 pins, same reaction everytime. We are definitely going to be bowling more in the future.

Hope your weekend is full of grins and unguarded glee! Peace!