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?

MFW ECC: What's different this time around?

I am so excited to go through Exploring Countries and Cultures again. The last time my kids were so little -- 3rd grade and Kindergarten. And now they are in 5th and 8th grades! They have grown so much over the past five years. As I began to think about our plan for this year, I realized two things: 1) my gifted eldest child remembers just about everything we covered in ECC the first time, and 2) my younger one hasn't had many of the basics that ECC covers. So I was faced with a dilemma -- how do I adjust ECC to suit the very different needs of both children? How do I shift the focus for my 8th grader to aspects of ECC that she hadn't spent time on before (such as types of governments, imports and exports, etc.) while also taking my younger child through the more foundational information that he missed when he was just a kindergartener? ECC is designed to be parent-led, family learning, with a supplement for 7th and 8th grade. But I came to the conclusion that I need to deco...

Review: Seed Starting by Gary Emmett (an ebook)

As I've already confessed, I am a plant murderer . I have, however, had marginal success with container gardening. The past year or two I started seedlings with my dad, which means the kids and I dropped a few seeds in pots and my dad cared for them. Once they were established outside, I was able to keep them alive long enough to harvest a few peppers and tomatoes and have a pretty pot of flowers on my doorstep. (At least until a horrid heat-wave and drought came along and killed them all; it's hard to keep containers well-watered when it's that hot!) In spite of the 10+ inches of snow on the ground right now, it's time to think about starting seeds again and I figure if I'm ever going to develop a green thumb, I better start educating myself! That is why I jumped at the opportunity to read Gary Emmett's book Seed Starting: The First Step to Gardening . (affiliate link) Available for your Kindle or Kindle app from Amazon. Currently priced at $2...

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...

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