October Wrap Up

October has been BEAUTIFUL and we've been outside a LOT! 

 Sky gazing on a beautiful clear blue sky day!

 First fall leaf!

 Watering our new yellow mums.

 Climbing trees at the park.

 Pumpkin sight word smash!

 This beauty popped up while we read Charlotte's Web.

 Growing our own lettuce!

 Giving the guinea pigs some outdoors time, which they LOVE!

Yoshi...because he's always fun!

I hope you all had a great October! This is my favorite time of year! Fall, football, cool weather!

~~Amy

Junior Scientists

Lately my son is very into science, so naturally his little brother goes along for the ride.

We did a little messy Ooblick, which every child loves! Cornstarch and water, always a hit!

And we are using Apologia: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day and di a little study on habitats.

And of course we're obsessed with Star Wars and we froze Han Solo in carbonite.

They have re-frozen Han and Luke about ten times since the original time, hope he survives. 

~~amy

It's the Most WONDERFUL time of the year...........

BACK TO SCHOOL!!! Yes I LOVE back to school time! For the past two years Harrison has attended Head Start, which I was delighted in as I am a former Head Start teacher and firmly believe in the program. He is absolutely a better developed child because of Head Start. Many of his sensory issues have subsided due to his time in the classroom already. 

Naturally, I'm excited and nervous for my "baby" going off to kindergarten. I'm also excited for me. I have always LOVED back to school. I don't know what it is about the new supplies, the possibilities, the education, the joy and anticipation of a 'new year'. I actually been enjoying the preparation, the supply shopping, picking out his little bookbag, etc. I have no idea if he'll love school like I did, or come to hate it as his daddy did. Hopefully I can help mold him into a good student who does enjoy it and can help him learn what he wants to learn.

Yes, I am looking forward to some time alone. :) I do have Eli at home, but any mom will tell you the difference between 1 and 2 (3,4,5) kids is all the difference in the world. I enjoy that alone time with Eli because it gives him the same solo time Harrison received by being the first born. Eli also needs a lot more time with me so we can work on his therapies to keep him moving on kicking Autism's butt. 

Eli himself may start school at least part time in January when he turns 3, which I really look forward to because he absolutely needs to be around other kids so he can learn the social cues so absent with Autism. But until then, he and I will enjoy some solo time. :) I will substitute when Head Start needs, they know they can't be rid of me :) 

And if you need some nifty stuff for Back to School, then hop on over to my shops!! :) I have back to school ponytails for the girls at Mama's Little Monkeys, nap mat covers at Nap Mat Covers and even some badge reel ID Holders for your favorite teacher at Badge Reels.

Back to School Ponytails

Back to School  Badge Reel

Michael Miller Nap Mat Cover

Back to School RIBBON Clothespin Magnets

And hey, even if you're kids are ready for school or you homeschool, you still have to keep your house clean, right? So check out my lovely shop Micro Mops full of green, clean, and organizing items to keep your home healthy and happy!

Happy Schooling Everyone!!! :)

Amy

The Science (and love) of Handmade Soap

Soap. We need it to clean our bodies, homes, cars, pets and sometimes naughty little children's mouths. But what IS soap?

From Wikipedia (because I'm too tired to crack an actual encyclopedia):

"Soap is an anionic surfactant used in conjunction with water for washing and cleaning, which historically comes either in solid bars or in the form of a viscous liquid. Soap consists of sodium or potassium salts of fatty acids and is obtained by reacting common oils or fats with a strong alkaline solution (the base, popularly referred to as lye) in a process known as saponification. The fats are hydrolyzed by the base, yielding alkali salts of fatty acids (crude soap) and glycerol. Today, soap is often replaced by other cleaning agents, such as synthetic detergents."

This is the part that intrigues me. So, by nature, soap is a fairly simple (chemical) process and something that has been done for years and years. So why are their synthetic DETERGENTS in something we rub all over our naked bodies? All over our delicate little babies skin?

I am new to the handmade soap world, a soap making virgin if you will. Thankfully I have access to many lovely friends who have shared their wisdom, trial and errors and success. Plus, I'm addicted to soap. Even if I never use it. It's just downright beautiful to look at! At this point in my handmade life, I only make melt and pour soap. Now, I suppose some would say that is not TRULY making soap. In defense of M&P soapmakers every where..I say it is!! Although we are not actually mixing the lye and fats ourselves, we do take care to purchase high quality bases and carefully select our colorings, molds and scents. Cold Process soap is very much on my list of to-do's as soon as I have the physical area to concoct it in!

I personally, take great care to only purchase SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) free soap bases from reputable companies. SLS free soap is far more gentle to the skin and doesn't cant SLS, a nasty little detergent that is commonly used in garage floor cleaners. Really? Thanks, that sounds GREAT for my skin.

So, you may ask, WHY in the world am I lecturing you about soap? Well, it seems I may have the opportunity to teach a local home school group how to make their own melt and pour soaps! So of course, any soapmaker (even us M&P'rs) will tell you that all soap making requires some skill and basic knowledge of simple chemistry and science! No, we can't build a bomb, (Ok maybe some can) but we do need to know enough not to melt our fingers off our burn our eyes with fragrance oils! So what wisdom can I impart on these young minds?

• Handmade Soap SHOULD be natural and very much can be.
• Handmade soap is FUN! Immensely fun! The molds, colors, fragrances, embeddable items, oh the possibilities are endless!
• Handmade Soap is eco-friendly, particularly when you use SLS free versions so nasty little chemicals are not going down our drains.
• Handmade Soap supports local businesses if you take care to order from local suppliers and if you cannot order from local suppliers, at the very least you are likely supporting a small business!

So I am not sure how the classes I teach will go, but I am confident we will have fun, get messy, and make some kick arse soap!

Soaps I love:

Personal Rant.....

Okay. I do not usually do such posts but this reaaaaly ticks me off. We need LESS government, not MORE! Anyone who reads the bible know such things will happen but this REALLY ticks me off. Government again trying to say what is right for me and my family as if I am too STUPID to know it?

http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87929