Ingredients For Citrus Bath Salts

• 2 Cups Epsom Salts
• 1 Cup Baking Soda
• Fresh Grated Zest from 1 Orange or Lemon
• 20 drops of essential oil. Use Lemon, Orange, or Citrus Bliss essential oil. I combined lemon and citrus bliss for this recipe. You can do whatever you prefer.
• Glass bowl, metal spoon, and large bath salt jar (available at Walmart for $2.97) or use any clear glass jar you like.

How To Make Citrus Bath Salts

• Combine Epsom Salts and Baking Soda into a glass bowl.
• Grate zest of orange or lemon and add to bowl.
• Stir all of the above ingredients together.
• Slowly add in about 20 drops of essential oil and stir, until well incorporated.  I used lemon and Citrus Bliss which is an exclusive scent to doTERRA. (It smells a lot like a Creamsicle.) You could combine lime and lemon, or orange and lemon. Even grapefruit would be wonderful….you decide!
• Spoon the citrus bath salts into a clean empty jar and seal.
• Let your bath salts sit for...

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Ingredients for Lavender Sugar Foot Scrub

• 1 Cup Sugar I prefer the natural cane sugar- it is a bit more course and I like the natural brown color.  You can use whatever you like.
• Approx 1/4 cup of Grape-seed oil, Sweet Almond oil, or any unscented body oil.  You will want the oil that is for body use, not cooking.  The NOW brand is a good one.
• 6-10 drops of lavender essential oil (depending on the strength of scent you want)
• glass bowl, metal spoon, empty jar (available at Walmart for $1.97 or you can use a pint size fruit jar.)

**This makes enough for one small jar of scrub-perfect for gift giving.

How To Make...

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If your kids like strawberry lemonade they will love this quick recipe, and they will never know you were trying to cut out the high fructose corn syrup and add in some healthy fat! Coconut milk is a very healthy ingredient and your kids won’t even know it’s in there. They won’t taste any coconut flavor.

For this quick frozen treat you will only need 4 ingredients! It will take minutes and you’ll have the kids happy for a handmade treat from you.

How To Make Frozen Strawberry Lemonade (Dairy Free)

Throw these 4 ingredients into a blender.

• 3/4 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup pink lemonade (in this photo you see I used Newman’s which does have sugar in it, but not HFCS.  If you prefer to start with no sugar, you could make homemade lemonade.)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• Honey to sweeten as needed.

Whip it all up in your blender on high for a minute or so.
Serve and enjoy with a straw!
This recipe made enough for two small glasses of frozen strawberry lemonade

What kind of sweet treats are you looking forward to making for your kids this summer? Let me know if you try this recipe.
Have fun...

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25 Ways To Use Lemon Essential Oil

1. Spot free dishes: Add a couple drops of lemon essential oil to your dishwasher for spot free dishes.
2. Body cleanser: Add one drop of lemon oil to a glass of ice water for a gentle natural body cleansing in the morning.
3. Furniture polish: Combine lemon oil with olive oil for a natural furniture polish.
4. Kill aphids: Just like peppermint oil, you can Add some drops of lemon oil to water in a spray bottle to kill aphids.
5. Remove scuff marks: Rub some lemon oil on floors to remove scuff marks.
6. Homemade all-purpose vinegar cleaner: Add lemon essential oil to this citrus vinegar cleaning solution for a fresh and very effective cleaner.
7. Removes sap and sticky tar: Lemon essential oil will remove tar from your skin, carpet, or clothes.
8. Lemon iced tea: Add some lemon oil to fresh cold iced tea.
9. Sooth a sore throat: Add lemon essential oil to hot water and honey to soothe a sore and scratchy throat.
10. Freshens up stinky laundry: Ever have your towels and washcloths get stinky or mildew smelling. Add a few drops...

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I know we always anticipate the time off from school schedules in our family, and look forward to a change of pace. But it can be a daunting task to come up with new ideas and ways to keep the kids occupied all summer long.

That’s why Susan, from The Confident Mom has created the perfect solution for us busy moms with the Summer Survival Calendar!

Susan, the founder and creator at The Confident Mom, is a personal friend, so I know first hand how much thought and time and exceptional work she puts into all of her wonderful mom resources. The Mom’s Summer Survival Calendar for 2013 is no exception!

You are going to love it!

What is the Confident Mom’s Summer Survival Calendar?

The 2013 Summer Survival Calendar is a four month calendar with over 120 activities to blast boredom and increase family time. It features at least one low-budget (and sometimes free) activity, craft project, or kid friendly recipe every day from May 1 to August 31. The calendar comes in a digital PDF download so you have it instantly, and most activities include a clickable link so you can easily view directions or supplies needed. The activities are mainly targeted for ages 3-12, but every family and child is different.  The Summer Survival Calendar keeps kids busy, happy, and engaged during those long, hot summer days—and moms will find it to be a...

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Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

20 Ways To Rejuvenate Your Body Mind and Spirit

1. Say no to something. I find summer is the perfect time to break off commitments and gives me time to re-evaluate my obligations before fall.  The summer break is a good season to prioritize what commitments I make for the coming ones.
2. Add something to your schedule that is for fun, such as taking a pottery or photography class.
3. Start a new hobby like knitting, or gardening for pleasure.
4. Turn off electronics often.  Summer is a time for being outdoors more and a great chance to debrief from electronics.  Leave your iphone or computer closed for a while and go out and breathe in nature.
5. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.  I love this time of year to get loads of nutrients in fresh veggies and fruits. This is the perfect time to change eating habits.
6. Drink water and more water.  Since we are out more in the sun, and more active, it is that much more...

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So I wanted to share with you some fun and interesting ways to introduce foods to your kids, that will hopefully make you feel a bit more equipped to take up the challenge.  I have a feeling you may be seeing some changes and get quick results.

Keep it cold.  Raw veggies and fruits are so much better when served crisp out of the fridge.  I have noticed my boys lap up carrots sticks and crisp apple slices so much better when I do this.  You can even cut up veggies at the beginning of the day and have them ready to go, so your kids can run to the fridge and self-serve when they want to.

Offer a dip.  Ranch dip or hummus is the perfect thing to get more veggies in your kids.  It’s all about flavor.  Now my boys just eat carrots plain, but they used to need the dip.  As they have gotten used to eating fresh veggies their palates have changed, and they enjoy the plain sweet carrot.  Peanut butter and nut butters are a winner for dipping apples as well!

Spring LunchBox Ideas

Make food fun!  The same old way you serve foods isn’t going to work.  You are going to have to pull out all the stops and make the food appealing and kid friendly. I do a...

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10 Homeschool Resources To Encourage You

My hope is that these 10 homeschool resources will take you from being unsure to feeling more confident in a decision to homeschool or not. I pray these will inspire you in your parenting and ignite the interest to explore more about your children, their learning styles, and their unique abilities. Maybe they will even help you in making a decision for educating your children.

#1: The Way They Learn : Cynthia Ulrich Tobias

The Way They Learn was one of the first books I read on learning styles, and it helped me see my children in a whole new way.  I highly recommend this to any parent whether you homeschool or not.  The Way They Learn, is practical and so useful for dealing with your kids personalities in practical ways, so that you can effectively parent and teach to your...

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Peppermint Essential Oil – 25 Ways To Use It

1. Stay alert while driving:  Place peppermint on temples and under nose or just put the bottle under nose, and inhale several times to wake up.

2. Cool a fever:  Place a few drops of oil on a wet washcloth and wipe down fevered body to cool down.  You can also apply the peppermint to bottoms of feet to bring down the fever.

3.  Herbal tea: Add a drop of peppermint oil to a cup of herbal tea to clear sinuses, and enjoy a brisk cup or warmth to soothe you.

4. Relieve nausea: Rub a drop of peppermint oil on the tummy, and place a drop in a cup of hot water and sip it.

5. Repel spiders: Place peppermint oil on a cotton ball or cotton pad and place in areas where you find spiders.  You can also make a spider spray repellent.  Add 4-5 drops of the oil to water in a spray bottle. Make sure it has a strong peppermint scent, and spray in areas you want to repel spiders. Check out Momasuarus for more about repelling spiders naturally–be sure to watch her great video...

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Homeschool Room Rain Gutter Bookshelves

 Homeschool Project #1:  Rain Gutter Bookshelves.

I have been seeing rain gutter bookshelves online for several years, and couldn’t wait to try this inexpensive way to display books and make reading much more interactive for my kids.  I love the way the rain gutter shelves encourage reading, but also become the art on the wall. The array of color is very stimulating.  You feel like you are in a candy store!

Here is how we did the project.

Supplies We used for Project:

• 3- 10 foot lengths of PVC rain gutters
• 9 gutter braces (we used 3 per 8 foot length)
• 6  gutter end caps (2 per shelf)
• hack saw
• stud finder (if you need one)
• level
• screws
• cordless screw driver
• Total cost of project under $50.00
• The gutters were only $5.88 each. The braces and end caps added the additional cost.
• Total time for project: 45 minutes.

Mark and cut rain gutters to desired length with hack saw. – we cut ours to 8 foot lengths, you can choose whatever works for you.

Locate studs and mark them on wall.

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