SUMMER ORGANIZING/CLEANING HOMEMADE CLEANERS

NAUGHTY, BUSY MEGS~
OK. I turned spring cleaning to summer cleaning because of personal things that kept me away...family "issues." But #1 at least the kids can help clean and #2 who likes to be traditional? If we spring clean in the summer, we can clean, removing things we don't need. Our OLD treasures have you, that we "forgot," didn't use after all, wish there was somewhere to put it cause it takes up too much space and no one uses it, all the "old" things of the kids, and turn our clutter into MONEY. PLUS #3 I downloaded BLOGGEROID on my phone. So, when I'm not home, I can still keep up with our plans.

Since I turned Spring Cleaning to Summer Cleaning, we don't have to be in the house due to the RAIN! I'm not sure where you live but we get rained in sometimes. Sometimes, the opposite. I let the kids get rained "OUT." No lightning, yes you can "Jump up and down in muddy puddles" Like Pepa Pig. Like they say, "EVERYONE LOVES JUMPING UP AND DOWN IN MUDDY PUDDLES." So, even if it don't rain where you are spray a yard and jump in mud with the kids. If you haven't seen this cartoon, not just the pigs do it. Danny Dog, Rebecca Rabbit, Suzy Sheep, Pedro Pony, Zoe Zebra, Emily Elephant and whomever I forgot, they love it and so do their parents. Off Subject. ADHD again, but I work thru it. I don't take medications for that so work with me.

Next on our cleaning agenda was that I was going to list the SAFE cleaners you can make from your own household items, some that are staples you buy and wouldn't think of, some you may know about like I did, but I was unaware of the possibilities that each one possessed. So, I'll list the items we can clean with, and you make sure you have them.

SAFE, CHEAP AND MOSTLY CHEMICAL FREE HOMEMADE CLEANER SUPPLIES:

• BAKING SODA (I use 2 small a month one for in fridge and in freezer as a neutralizer,2 large ones, a box for laundry, and a second large box for actual cleaning tips or cleaning"paste")
• SALT (I rarely use a whole container of salt, its mainly used for scrubbing, so if you are like me and don't cook with salt, what's on hand should be fine. If your family uses salt for food a lot, or play doh, then I'd grab one for cleaning.
• LEMON JUICE (Though you can buy small lemon shaped containers, I get the big jug. I never use it all before it expires, BUT if you're not eating it and just cleaning, it still works and the fact it's expired a little won't matter)
• A LEMON OR LIME (I buy one every month to two months. They get rid of stubborn stains that need scrubbed, by pouring salt on a lemon half, it works better than a scouring rag, and even SOS pads)
• PEROXIDE( this is great to have an extra bottle or two in the laundry area. Just a few things it usually always will work on, getting blood out of clothes, it helps get rid of grass stains, and even got permanent marker out of my daughters new white shirt, red juice out of grandma's $700 rug and more, also a great disinfectant)
• WHITENING TOOTH PASTE-must be whitening and paste NOT gel (I buy the cheap brand for cleaning, they do the same. So, one example we'll use it for: whitening porcelain sinks and toilets if stained or just want them show room white, and whitening any white shoes...and more)
• VINEGAR(Again I have one for cooking and food, and a gallon every month to three months for cleaning. This gets rid of black mold-which causes brain damage, and that black GUNK behind the bathroom and/or kitchen faucet. Also a great disinfectant)
• RUBBING ALCOHOL (As with peroxide I keep an extra on hand. Rubbing alcohol amazingly, an obvious germ and bacteria cleaner, it cleans the mold, bacteria, and disease off your garden tools so your new garden don't catch a cold, cleans your combs, and not to mention chrome.)

Okay so, go get you this stuff, I already have cleaners to be made for spray bottles, and the other things these household items can amaze you with ALREADY to be posted. But, I want to research tomorrow to see if there are other common household items I missed that can help, or other grossness that these current ones can clean. SO NEXT STOP, MAKING YOUR CLEANERS. I will then woo you with foods and food garbage can ward off bugs like ants, beetles, spiders and whatever else so you can do the perimeter of the rooms you're cleaning. NOBODY likes getting in the mood to clean, or having to MAKE themselves do it, and then picture it: You get into sorting, throwing away, wiping down and BUGS! So, lets combat that next.

I promise I'll be around more. I will be on the computer more because: YAY I finally went and got myself enrolled to get a degree in Psychology concentrating in Human Services and Substance Abuse Counseling. So, in between assignments, I'll post more often. 

Happy Summer,

Happy Puddle Jumping and Swimming,

Happy Organizing and Cleaning,

Most important~Work to be a happy YOU,

XOXOXO 

MEGS

APRIL AND MAY AGENDA: ORGANIZING HOME, A NEW YOU

HELLO~
I got some cool crafts to share with you this month. We are organizing like crazy. SPRING CLEANING of course. I want to share some of the cool ideas I found myself, as well as some that I found in magazines and thanks to other Bloggers. I hope that when I put the different things down that helped me, my husband, and my children to not only be organized but also, to put our house into perspective, you will get the feeling I got. RELIEF that the little spots of clutter are gone. Looks like a new house in places. YES I'm still working. I am going to master my daughter's bedroom and our craft area, as well as the toy/play area. This will lead into how to get ready to throw a killer yard sale in order to buy much needed things for summer, or just to get rid of the old.

NEXT a NEW YOU: as moms and dads, we don't have a ton of time to work out do we? I have found some 5, 7, and 10 minute workouts that you can do while cooking, cleaning, reading to the kids, playing with the kids, and just sitting on the computer at home, work, or school.

Along with a new you, I have been trying a TON of lotions, make ups, hair supplies, and everything beauty. As a mom, you play such an important role in your child's life. It's important your children know that you DO take time to paint your nails, shave your legs, throw on some anti-aging lotion, and keep your hair strong and looking new with different styles. I have not only found the highly recommended in magazines we read, but I have tried them and passed them to friends and family to get an opinion. I'm not a huge blog so NO I am NOT getting paid to recommend these products throughout these months.

FINALLY: PRODUCTS FOR THE KIDS. Lets share summer ideas for kid toys and trips. As well as our favorite must have summer products. Feel free to share now, or as the topic comes up. Deal? As we get more followers and more and more feed backs we will be doing more give always. It just seems like it's not a great idea to do that NOW since we have mainly friends of mine and family following. LOL. NOT FAIR> but down the road as the listings go up I will post freebies and you can find them on Pinterest. I'll post the link when that time comes.

Okay first two steps will be coming within this week. Along with some COOL actual professional looking crafts and the how to's.
xoxo
Megs

Cleaning tips and 11 awesome DIY outfits for summer

Cleaning tips that will blow your mind, DIY outfits for summer

 I found this site, it has cool DIY cleaning products like how to clean glass and mirrors with shave cream, remove stains with bread, neutralize odors with Vodka,
They also show you so many cool ways to make AWESOME HOT clothing from T Shirts.
I recommenced it.
xoxox
Megs

IMPORTANCE OF GETTING YOUR KIDS TO JOURNAL/SCRAPBOOK

     When I was in school, I hated creative writing. As I got older, I found that keeping a sort of journal/scrap book helped me. Several reasons. As I get older I can always look back and see how much I have grown, or how things in life changed. Being able to visualize the change, see it on paper, brings reality for an adult/teen to see that yeah times get hard, but "will this problem matter 10 days from now, a year, ten years?" Usually It won't but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

     My youngest daughter is 6. She was having some issues sleeping, and some feelings about life a 6 year old shouldn't know about I wouldn't think (no body likes me, everyone wants me to be unhappy). I made her a journal out of an old cook book(you can see it on this blog by clicking here>>> homemade cook book journal. DIY journal art "cook book" journal ). This also gave us the chance to be creative together putting it together. However, when she is having a bad day, sometimes I give her a "time out." Not as in she's in trouble, but as in "Princess, you're getting mouthy, you are not listening, please take time out and go write in your journal. Or draw a picture of how you are feeling." 9/10 times it works. I feel doing this is giving her a head start in expressing her feelings, and NAMING her feelings~which is hard for adults let alone kids. They think they feel either happy, angry, mad or sad. But there are so many more emotions. When she comes out she is so much more happier from writing, drawing or even pasting photos, cut outs, or other memorabilila in her SPECIAL journal. 

    When she comes at me with a, "mom I don't know what to write." I give her ideas off the top of my head. Here is a quick list of ideas.

• What is your biggest dream come true.
• What do you want to be when you grow up, and how will it help other people.
• Name three things you would like to know about your family or family members.
• Make a "bucket list" or list of things you'd like to do on the next rainy day. Then every rainy day, go back and check them off as you do them.
• Write about your hero, who it is, why they are your hero, what things have they done that you would like to do too someday.
• If animals could talk what animals would you want to talk to, and why?
• Describe your dream vacatoin.

There are so many more ideas, but there is always something that the kids can write about a few times a week. Again, this will prove helpful during hard times they can look back at their las "hard time" and see how quickly it went away. Skills for identifying emotions are important. How can we fix negative feelings or celebrate positive ones if we are stuck with 4 feelings~happy,sad,angry,mad? I found giving a description or list of feelings when my daughter gets her "time outs" to journal, helps her to use more than one feeling. Especially for a 6 year old, it's best to have pictures and names below them to help her spell them. I am able to then ask her how she felt and explain the meaning. This is great for vocabulary.
  I hope that parents find this helpful for children with nightmares, behavior problems, emotional issues, boredom, or to even use it as a family "night" making journals, and/or decorating them and/or writing in them. 
   No matter what your child does, if they show effort it's important to notice outloud to the child their efforts and accomplishments. This will build self-esteem in the end. How do I know? I once was a child who couldn't express emotions. I had no outlet when i was upset. I was bored as an only child. As I started writing, and my parents commented on my writings, I then moved from loose leaf paper to putting them in a scrap book, and eventually buying a journal with birthday money at the age of 8. My progress in writing helped me to become a fast reader, and enabled my self-esteem to grow.
  Try it out. I recommend it and so does my 6 year old daughter, along with MANY teachers, parenting experts and Psychologists.
Here is an example of some emotions or a chart you could use:

There are plenty of websites that offer these charts, as well as charts thruout the day. Here are a few links.

• Feeling journal for kids with chart
• feeling and behavior charts for FREE
• "Name It to Tame it" Feeling charts for children

Hope you parents, or journal fanatics like myself or teachers found this helpful. I do. Any questions or coments, Feel free to give them as you please.
xoxo~ Megs

My hero: Abe Lincoln, Leader, Hero, and Manic Depressive

I finally got THREE things I wanted. 1.) a night AND day alone with the Hubby Chris.~A.K.A. babysitters for the kids...OVERNIGHT and at the same time  2.) To lay back alone and watch a movie with Chris RELAXED without having to Pause it, stop it, or forget it due to interruptions that come with having a beautiful family and much 'needy' children. AND 3.) I got to do numbers one and two while completing number three. Watching the new release movie "Lincoln." 
I have always thought of Abe Lincoln of a GREAT role model, wonderful man, honest and caring Christian and great political leader. As a child in school, I would do reports on Abe when I was given the chance to pick a topic. Of course, in Elementary School, I was limited on my choice of books to gain information from. However, every report was different, each revealing more and I remember doing six reports all together-so with my memory there may have been more.
I always thought that Abe was awesome because he was able to stand up to so much controversy, and overcome the conflicts, hurdles and bumps in the road when it came to his idea of the ever famous, and then seemingly ludicrously impossible idea of signing the 13th Amendment.  Today, after watching the movie "Lincoln", I realized that even as a child I thought that to be a couragous task, but I didn't fully grasp all the negative feedback, put downs, all the trouble, the fighting for what he believed in, and even the lack of support from family, and even his best friend, Joshua Speed.
So, the movie focused on Abe's Presidency, what he did as a leader to unite the country, and what he did FOR THE PEOPLE. I must admit that I thought the movie would be good, but just a documentary and have little comical moments. However, anyone who knows about President Lincoln knows that he was known for telling stories and jokes, which sometimes caused him to gain some criticism throughout the term. As I was watching the movie tonight, I had wondered, WHY didn't I know he was this funny? Really? I always quote him. I always find awesome quotes about life, love, people and Christianity that are wise and so intelligent. I can't help but notice how his mind and my mind work alike. I figured it out. He and I suffer from the same ailment. 
Manic Depression. Also sometimes referred to as Bipolar disorder. I notice when growing up, I was under a load of stress. I always used comedy as a way to channel my energy when I was depressed and had to appear somewhere like work, school, and being a parent. Why? Because it got my mind off of  being depressed. I thought if I could focus on something else then I'd feel better and nobody would know what was wrong with me....because there was a time I didn't know nor did I want someone to tell me. But after watching the movie and with my ever wondering mind, I did do some research and found that there are many documented incidents of Abraham Lincoln's depression, as well as a book called "Abraham Lincoln's Melancholy" by Joshua Wolf Shenk. In a couple reports I read on this book I found that it focused on how Abe used his "comedy" to focus on what he needed to get done. He stated that telling his stories and jokes are what kept him going sometimes. It's as if being Manic and Bipolar at the same time, it's a feeling that is not fun when someone is forced to go from the "manic and exciting" end of the pole down to the "sad and depressed" end which happens unexpectedly and uncontrollably. This is why President Lincoln told stories and jokes when there was stress in the room, when times were hard. Just as a kid, I used my humor to get sent to the principal's office  or to miss too much work while isolating. We both used humor, he just had a better way with it that was more positive. He used his humor, and his ailment to help found our country again.
So, tell me. Why is Bipolar and Manic Depression now a means for someone to get put on disability? We now have medication to help, as well as doctors, counselors, psychiatrist, psychologists. Why now do we need to also become "disabled"? I see commercials with the "disability lawyers" who claim to get you disability...the money you 'deserve'...if you suffer from any of the following: Bipolar, anxiety, Manic Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, ADD, ADHD, and the list goes on. In times of Mr. Lincoln these medicines, knowledge, and help from professionals were not available. Why do we NEED to get disability and stay in bed, stay at home wasting our God given talents?  Lincoln who faced going thru the Great Depression, the Civil War, not to mention he lost his only brother at a very young age, his mom, aunt, and uncle died due to disease. A few years later his sister died after giving birth while delivering a still born baby. He also lost his job, had his business collapse and was in debt for 17 years, he failed to be nominated for congress, senate and the vice presidency too! He also had the failure of rejected by two women. But, he didn't quit. He fought, became President of the then "ununited" States during the Civil War and had to unite millions of Americans while dealing with his own issues, taking care of a family, and running a country.I'm sure after all of these events he wasn't just depressed, rather would have had some Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well.
So, instead of using his Manic Depression, and catastrophic events in life as an excuse to run, hide, give up, and lay around and wile in the mire, he stood tall, and used his Bipolar (which can cause creativity as the brain races during mania), to pull a country together and become one of the best loved, most heroic, brave, and UN disabled humans and Presidents of the United States of America.
I no longer feel I need to hide my Bipolar. No longer do I feel it's an ailment, rather something to make me stronger. I believe that in times of trial, confusion or hard times, if we dig deep enough for information, we can find someone, somewhere in history or present, that has our same issues. Seeing someone else completely overcome such set backs with such success is inspiring enough that I don't feel anything could hold me back from success. Who am I to complain? I have been able to be a successful parent, student, wife, daughter, and part time work at home mom. Now though, when I'm feeling melancholy, I know who to think of and that will help me make it through whatever I need to. Because the present is important. Hiding from my condition will not help me continue to raise a happy and successful family. Hiding and isolation are ways to miss memories. Never miss a minute because each minute lost is a memory not made. A wise Abe Lincoln once said, "See what is before you in the here and now, that's the only thing that counts."

New shelf/nick nack holder from a drawer

Okay so we found an old drawer. It was a boring day. Aerieannah and I made it into a shelf for some of her dolls and nick knacks and books. we even designed it with scrap paper, family sayings AND Modge Podge. Here is our steps: 

And here is the finished project. Perfect for my 6 year old's wall.

DIY Journal made from Cook book

I made a journal by taking an old cook book and ripping out every 4-5 pages and leaving 2. Then covering old recipes with printer paper, card stock, and scrap booking paper. Idk if I want to fabric the front or use many different papers that are bright like me. Tearing out the pages doesn't only make for great journaling but leaves plenty of spaces for taping gluing or stashing larger memories like flowers, letters, drawings, and other keepsakes. The binding on the book makes sure that it Will keep for years,or generations to come. It's also a creative way to keep journals and memories for the kids! I'll post a picture of my decision on front décor. Xoxo and happy crafting! ~Megs

YOU KNOW YOU WANNA TEAR APART A BOOK NOW RIGHT?

Check this website:GREAT gardening ideas, check link below.

A women uses Salvaged Bricks for a nice edge to flower garden   

 I'm very excited to use our bricks we got this weekend in our new flower garden. We'll post pictures of our project as we go.

Our handmade teacher appreciation gifts.

My 5 year old loved the student teacher so we painted an old flower pot with homemade chalkboard paint, wrote thanks for helping me "grow" and "bloom" in chalk then covered it with my fav-modge podge. Then the top we used acrylic painted a ruler. When it was  time for her to go, we used a seasonal plant. The teacher LOVED it said it was the best gift shed gotten. My daughter, Aerieannah, loved making it.
Check this link for chalkboard paint in any color:    
http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2012/02/how-to-mix-chalkboard-paint-in-any-color.html

A beautiful mes blog one of my faves

MUST CLICK TO VIEW WOOD Pallet Table DIY - A Beautiful Mess
My favorite blog made this beautiful cheap handmade table. I'm obsessed with pallet 'art'. You could use it on a porch,  patio, dining room, kitchen, garden, gift it, or sell it! Click the link and check it out.

Trendy Rainy Day Jewelry Projects

Trendy Jewelry Projects ~This is just ONE of 34 jewelry ideas,easy, fast, and trendy. DIY. I Love to make jewelry (check out Hippie Hemp) and do it a lot. I think this leather piece is so cute.

RAINY DAY PROJECTS SCRAPBOOKING!!!!!/PHOTO BOOKS DIY

Scrapbooking Techniques - How to Make a Scrapbook - Scrapbooks Etc.

Just a little help, also info on embellishments (which i LOVE). Here is another link that is good if you're a new "scrapper:

New scrap booker info: Family & Friend scrap booking CLICK HERE

Homemade Furniture Polish -CLEAN THAT WOOD RIGHT AND SHINY

Homemade Furniture Polish - iDreamOfClean I thought that this May or may not work....GIRLS AND BOYS its AWESOME. Really, all those times I've spent buying furniture cleaner, NEVER again. EVER. Trust me this is the trick.

How to Build Floating Shelves - Swagbucks TV

How to Build Floating Shelves - Swagbucks TV To build your own floating shelves with only 5 items....kick ass