Been a LONG time…

 Wow. My youngest is now 7. I’ve learned a lot about herbs, homeopathy, and healing naturally. Throughout the years of COVID I read and studied more journals, books, and interviews than I did in 8 years of college. With age does come wisdom.

What I’ve learned:

Government doesn’t care about your health.

Pharmaceutical companies can’t be trusted. 

Doctors don’t know it all, and hospital administrators know even less.

Masks don’t work. 

Supporting your immune system means more than treating illness.

Nutrition is more important than the exercise you get.

Hormones are controlling.

Friends come and go. Some weren’t really friends. 

Faith always has room to grow. 

You’re never too old to learn new things. 

Physical books are better than the internet. 

I hope to spend more time sharing tidbits and recipes. I give away my remedies. I might as well share the directions!

If you’re here, thank you. And Welcome.

Yours in Christ,

Cricket

Teething

What I've learned with my first born is teething comes at all ages. Some references say 4-7 months and as late as a year. My baby was an early bloomer and got his first at 4 months and didn't stop until he had 8 teeth, 6 months later. Right before his first birthday we noticed a bit more biting and chewing on things. 4 molars are working their way in. He's been teething his whole life! Mostly he drools and chews, occasionally fever, but I don't think diarrhea is a symptom of teething. Sensitive skin may break out around the mouth, I tried to keep his face dry by blotting a bib frequently but never used an ointment.

So what do we do about it? The teeth he has are sensitive so popsicles and frozen rings aren't a favorite. Instead we freeze wet washcloths. For the molars, he likes frozen grapes he can gnaw on in a net teether. I still have teething tablets from Hylands and Little Rememdies so he gets those at night. I don't treat fever unless he's cranky.

originally posted 3/11/2011

Gluten Free Cauliflower waffles

2 cups unseasoned steamed caulifower
2 cups GF Pancake & waffle mix (I used Bloomfield farms)
1.5 cups milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 egg
Approx. 1 cup water
*Makes about 5 medium waffles

Whip the wet ingredients and slowly add flour mix. Add water slowly to get consistency you prefer.

We made Mickey Mouse Waffles in the Disney Waffle maker. My kids thought they were "so yummy" :) Score 1 for Mama!

Rachel and the Treeschoolers, back with another Kickstarter!

Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix

I was looking for something creative yet simple to do as a happy for friends and coworkers this Christmas season and I stumbled upon this post on Pinterest. It was good hot chocolate, but it needed more. So I played with the recipe a bit and looked at a homemade Nesquik recipe here. We don't do just any chocolate milk, it's always "Ovaltine and Nilk pwease" around here. All that being said, I came up with this recipe which makes a little more than 1 quart of dry mix.

Homemade Hot Cocoa/Chocolate Mix

2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup non-dairy coffee creamer
2 cup dry milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a fork or whisk until larger clumps are mixed in well. Store in glass airtight container.

To make a mug, add 3-5 heaping tablespoons of mixture to hot water. Add marshmallows or marshmallow bits if you like. Enjoy. It's smooth and chocolatey and way better tasting than store bought brands.

Rachel and the Treeschoolers

Traceable Letters For On The Go Learning

Supplies needed:

heat laminator

printer with ink and paper

scissors

binder ring

name badge laminate sleeves

dry erase crayons 

font found here

** you can substitute badge holders with pockets if you don't have a laminator**

I have a Duck brand heat laminator I bought at Walmart years ago. Not sure if they're still available. It's pictured above. I also helped myself to a glass of red wine to ease the pain of cutting paper. I ordered my sleeves on amazon.com.

First I googled for a kids traceable font with lines. Then I typed each letter on a single line, centered.

I cut them free hand so they're crooked and uneven so my kids know mommy made them herself just for them. I printed each page twice to make double sided cards. I thought about gluing the pages together but after running that through the laminator and seeing the glue through the letters decided it wasn't the way to go.

Some of the letters I had to cut out for the ring hole. Naturally, they were G, P, Q, and Y.

 In the end it looks like this.

How to Clean your Pillows

So I was surfing Pinterest and came across a blog about how to clean pillows. I can't find it now and that disappoints me but basically the author had a magic recipe for getting yellow pillows clean and white. It involved laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and borax. The comments section had questions about front loaders and whether or not the dishwasher detergent was necessary. I've seen it recommended that you wash your pillows three times a year although I prefer to do it more often. Since I did this just this week by chance with awesome success I figured I'd blog about it. I washed my 9 (yes all on my bed) standard size pillows 3 at a time in my Samsung HE top-loader with Planet detergent on the gentle cycle. There is no agitator in this machine. I then laid them outside on my front lawn for 12 or so hours, flipping every couple of hours. This not only dried them in the 80 degree heat but also sun bleached the yellow sweat and drool stains.They looked almost new except the frayed stitching. I wish I had taken pictures but I didn't know it would work so well or that it was interesting enough that other people have blogged about it. Oh well. Maybe next time. Before you look toward chlorine bleach, give the sun a chance. Lay it out on some green grass and watch the stains disappear.

Cricket's Crack Dip AKA my version of Mississippi Sin Dip

I took several recipes I found online and modified them to fit my tastes. This is what I used. (For once I took notes AND measurements!)

2 cups (16 oz) sour cream
1.5 box (12 oz) Neufchâtel cheese or cream cheese
1 roll Jimmy Dean Regular sausage
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups green onions, chopped
1 can (4oz) green chiles, undrained

Crumble sausage in frying pan and cook fully. Mix sour cream and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Add other ingredients and mix. Pour into baking dish and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve warm with Triscuits or pita chips.

After 45 minutes...

Stationery card

Everything Is Merry Holiday Card

Create unique holiday invitations at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Revamping some old Cloth Diapers

A dear friend of mine had 20 Bamboo Baby cloth diapers she wanted to re-purpose. The diapers are clean and in great shape with the exception of the velcro closures. They are worn out completely. For her I "unstitched the tongues" ( basically took a seam ripper to the microfiber inserts). They came out cleanly to be used as doublers for other diapers. :) Since I'm in the market for some new diapers I thought I would try my hand at putting snaps on these diapers and using them with prefolds. With my friend's blessing of course! 

It took quite a while to get the velcro off, and the process took off the tags as well. Lots of little strings but the fabric still inact. Total of 5 pieces had to be removed from each diaper.

I used this blog allaboutclothdiapers.com as a tutorial. I made my own template on the inside of a cereal box.

Using a pencil I marked the spot for each snap and using an awl poked the holes from the inside of the diaper to the outside. I used the clamp tool and secured the snaps on the front of the diaper, and then on the tabs.

 ...And it works! Since my babies have to be asleep for me to work on this project, they are asleep now and cannot model for this blog entry. Maybe sometime later they'll be still long enough to snap some good shots.

Daily Chores

My husband got the bright idea that we need to schedule a room to clean each day to keep our house livable. It will never be spotless again. Not with two toddlers who throw sippy cups full of milk across the room where they roll under the couch, or at dinner when they're finished eating and just drop their plates from their highchairs onto the floor splashing food on all surfaces in range. Forget the splash sheet, our dogs can't even keep the kitchen floor clear of food! I agree, instead of cleaning every room every day, one room each day might actually get accomplished around here. After looking at several formats and reminders of what ought to be cleaned regularly I came up with a poster for my family. Notice there is nothing there about organizing anything. Yeah, as organized as my brain can be, I cannot keep my house that way. I blame it on the lack of cabinet space and closets. I mean, my sewing machine lives on a table next to my kitchen table with the projects in bags underneath or on top. I forgot to add "dust the sewing machine corner" to the list. Oh well, everything here is a work in progress! Here is my master design.

We're starting Friday since Thursday is technically a holiday and I need an excuse to postpone this!

From one Mom to Another, More of My Favorites

I feel like Oprah! Here are a few websites to check out. I love sharing all the knowledge I've gained!

Babysteals.com twice a day they have a quick deal on nifty items from clothing to furniture. I've gotten quite a few and if you miss the goods one time, they tend to repeat a few weeks later. Some of it's frivolous but I've bought fedoras, travel high chair, baby legs, and innobaby food storage towers.

Local to Jackson MS Seasonal Consignment Sales:
All4Children 
Little Feet
Rhea Lana

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin
2 boxes cream cheese or similar
3 tsp. cinnamon (or more to taste)
3/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar

 Combine all ingredients and mix very well (I use my stand mixer with whisk attachment). Chill for 1 hour. Serve as a dip with graham crackers, ginger snaps, or fresh fruit. Keeps refrigerated for 4-5 days.

adapted from the recipe found here: chocolatecoveredkatie.com

Chimichanga Recipe

My aunt Sarah (Nanny to me) taught me how to make these and my family LOVES them. We use the meat for tacos, quesadillas, and chimis.

For Meat only:
6 boneless chicken breasts
1 jar chunky salsa

For Tacos:
shells, soft or crunchy
tomato
sour cream
lettuce
guacamole
shredded cheese
salsa

For Quesadillas:
tortilla shells
shred cheese
oil/ oil spray

For Chimis:
3 c. cooking oil
1c. water
fajita size tortilla shells
tomato
sour cream
lettuce
onion
guacamole
shredded cheese
salsa

To prepare the meat, boil chicken in large pot until cooked thoroughly. Drain stock (save if you want or toss) and let chicken cool to touch. (Fridge, Time, Freezer, it doesn't matter). Once chicken is cool, shred with fingers, disposing of fat and goo. (This is why you're using boneless). Then return chicken to large pot and mix in jar of salsa. Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until chicken is colored orangish and salsa is no longer a liquid. Make your tacos or quesadillas with hot meat.

OR Let the meat cool again (Fridge works great). Heat tortillas between paper towels for 15-30 seconds in microwave until malleable. Using the cold meat with some shred cheese, roll tortillas into burritos. Use the water to make the tortillas gooey as to glue themselves together. If tortillas crack or break, either your meat is too hot or your tortillas are too cool/old. Fry your wrapped tortillas over medium heat until golden brown, turning once. Serve with sour cream like an eggroll or cut with knife and fork. Garnish with veggies.

Pinterest Acomplishment: Coasters

The first thing I created after "pinning" on Pinterest was my own coasters that I gave to friends and family for Christmas presents. I used scrapbook paper I've been collecting for scrapbooking (which I can't get back into). My mom had a stash of tiles in her garage for years so I made use of them while the boys were asleep. These are the ones I gave to my "sister-cousin" Lauren.

 And these are two of the pinterest posts I've seen. I used one of them as a reference and actually had similar paper on hand.

click the picture to open original post

the original link is no longer active :(

Handmade 2nd Birthday Car Invitations

I decided for Liam's 2nd Birthday I would make his invitations. Can't be too hard eh? After I started putting all the pieces together I found just the right elements to make it work without being too complex. Here's how it went down.
While talking to my sister on the phone I got the idea to hand make car shaped invitations. I tried to explain th her how I thought it should work out. I took a post it note and cut it out freehand. I was so impressed with myself I saved it! I figured I could find a picture online to model my design after and draw it myself. It's somewhat VW Beetle-ish.

I thought it would be cute to have the door open and reveal the party details. I then picked out scrapbook paper I have on hand for taillights, headlights and windows.

Yeah, that got to be a little much when I was going to make 50 cards. so the design got whittled down to this:

I bought number stickers at the dollar store to complete the look and this is how they were mailed:

Time Mag Cover Interview

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Dr. Sears on the View

BabySteals.com: Earth Mama Angel Baby

One of my FAVORITE brands for Moms and Babies. Hurry, there's a limited supply and steal ends at 9pm MDT.

babysteals.com