Activity Day: SPA DAY!

If you have a little girl, it's likely you've read a Fancy Nancy book or two. Miss M received a copy of Fancy Nancy: Ooh La La! It's Beauty Day (affiliate link) from her auntie and absolutely loves it! She's been pouring over it for weeks and begging to have a Spa Day. We decided that in honor of our last week day off before starting second grade, we'd have a special Spa Day!

Fantastique Face Mask

Mash half a ripe banana in a small bowl. Add in about half a teaspoon of honey. Mash the mixture some and put it in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

Miss M had begged for this. She even got out the ingredients for me. But one look at that slimy, banana scented goop and she had an instant change of heart! She let me apply it to her in spite of her wails of protest and cackling laughter.

Little Guy's response was: "I'm ugly! I'm ugly!" until I wiped it all off of him.

Marvelous Manicure

The next order of business was to manicure their rather grubby little mitts. This involved the usual nail cleaning, trimming, and filing. We used Mama's Healing Salve for cuticle cream. And Miss M picked out pink nail polish.

While having her nails painted, Miss M said wistfully, "People always tell me I'm pretty, but no one ever tells me I'm fabulous." I guess she has high aspirations!

Soothing Sea Salt Foot Soak

Have you ever had a footbath? It's heavenly! Miss M and Little Guy perched on the counters and put their feet in the sink. This made for a simple cleanup! I added a handful of Kosher salt and a few drops of eucalyptus essential oil (the "recipe" in the book calls for lemon juice, but this was already in the bathroom, so I went with it).

Magnificent Massage

While we waited for little tootsies to dry, I gave each of them a massage. They must see Hubby give me massages when my back hurts now and then because both of them groaned and sighed and said, "Yeah, yeah, that feels goooood!" It was hysterical!

Perfectly Posh Pedicure

Our last spa activity were their pedicures. Little Guy had felt left out when he didn't get his fingernails painted, so I let him choose two colors for his toes: purple and yellow!

Miss M was so excited to finally get to use her foam toe separator. She asked me, "Mama, why aren't you more of a girly-girl?" I guess, sweet child, God didn't make me one. I have no desire to go get a manicure or pedicure. I would, however, like to get my hair done when spring comes.

Are you a girly mama? Or do you shudder at the thought of a stranger touching your feet like I do?

No More Quiet Time

I have always thought it sounded trite to speak of “falling in love with Jesus.” But trite or not, isn’t that what I want for my children? To learn to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). With that in mind, and having run across this blog post on Pinterest several months ago, I created a morning devotion basket for the kids and I to use. You see, up till now, I would typically find time to read the Bible and pray away from my children. Away from distraction, away from the demands of dust and dirty dishes, and away from the 437 questions a four-year-old asks every day. Then I realized I was doing them a major disservice by disallowing them to see me in the Word regularly. If I want them to love the Lord God, then I must show them how I love the Lord my God! Our new routine is to wake up in the morning, prepare a simple breakfast — usually cold cereal for the kids, toast and tea for me — and sit d...

She Made It!: the Get to Work Apron

This weekend Miss M decided she wanted to sew something. I was elbow deep in a sewing project of my own, so I told her that if she wanted to sew, she would have to do it all by herself. I set up my old sewing machine on a little table for her and answered her questions, but otherwise she did all the work herself! First, she picked a project from Sewing School . (affiliate link) She choose the Get to Work Apron. It's a cute tool apron that helps you carry your tools or supplies with you while you work. Then she picked some fabric from my stash. She cut out the paper pattern and traced it onto her fabric with a piece of chalk. (We had to have a little talk about placing your pattern near the edge of the fabric and not smack-dab in the middle!) Then she cut out her pieces and pinned them together, right sides facing. At that point I gave her a piece of plain white printer paper to practice sewing straight lines on. ...

Homeschool Sanity Saver: Meal Planning for a MONTH

Last year while on my blogging hiatus, I did something crazy. I planned meals out an entire month or more in advance! And it was heavenly. I give a lot of myself during a typical school day. My energies are consumed with many, many details. Did this child read today? Did she understand math? How many minutes did that lesson take? Do I need to supplement this topic? How long until they need a break? Did we cover everything? Is that spelled correctly? What is 7x12? How are we doing for time? Did I take my vitamins? Do we need to be anywhere today? And on and on. By the time our lessons are over, I am frequently suffering from decision fatigue. I just cannot make choices about what we will eat for supper. I will literally stand in front of the fridge or cupboard staring at ingredients for 15 minutes, then give up and order Jimmy John's. To relive myself of this burden, I have discovered that having a meal plan in place is essential. I have enough physical energy t...

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