Giveaway Winner

Thank you everyone for entering the giveaway.

I do hope that even if you don't win, you will still purchase the items for yourself, they are so pretty and would make a wonderful gift for a special lady in your life, or for yourself :)

I used Random.org, and the winner is:

#13 - Jesskelly

Congratulations, I will be contacting you shortly ;)

Happy Homemaker Monday #18

Good Morning everyone, I do hope you all have a fantastic Mother's Day :)

I'm a little on the slow side today, didn't get much sleep last night thanks to my pugs, the older they get, the more room they take up on the bed and the more it annoys me LOL

Will have to keep the coffee pot going to get me through the day.....

If you want to save and use the new button, just click here.

The weather:::

It's been really nice weather here, the kids have been enjoying the pool this weekend and I have my tan going again, doesn't take much, just 5 or 10 minutes outside :)   We did have a dust storm last week with such strong winds that it broke my canopy in the back yard.  Bummer :(

 
On my reading pile:::  
Daily Bible Reading
Daily Devotionals
Went to the library yesterday and couldn't help myself, walked out with a huge stack of books to enjoy, even though I have some at home to review AND my Kindle is overflowing.  What can I say, I am a Bookaholic.
 

On my TV:::

-Got the first episode of the new series from England called Starlings.  The reason I picked it up is because Brendan Coyle (Mr Bates from Downton Abbey) stars in it.  Will see if I like it.
-Still watching The Universe on Netflix.

On the menu for this week:::

Have to work on the new menu plan today, so not sure on some of these days.

 Monday -   Spaghetti with salad
Tuesday -  
Wednesday -  Mushroom Swiss Burgers
Thursday -   Cast Iron Beer Chicken
Friday - 
Saturday -  
Sunday -  

 

On my to do list:::

Laundry of course, it's never ending.
Make it through the day without falling asleep

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::

Still haven't finished the ripply cushion, it's becoming frustrating because I want to get it done but am constantly distracted with something else. 

In Homeschooling:::

We're done with school for this year, so we're on Summer Break.  I'm going to change this category next week with something else.  Any suggestions?

Looking around the house:::

Just finished straightening up the kitchen and living room, watered the veggie garden and did a little pick up out back as well.

Have a load of laundry in the washer and another int he dryer, got the dishes washing as well and am starting on the Menu Plan for the next 2 weeks.  :) 

From the camera:::

Sunset Saturday night. 

Something fun to share:::
Ever wanted to build your own Outhouse?  LOL   I know I have, now I don't know if I would want to use it, but I would want to use it, but I think it would be neat to have one  out back just for aesthetic purposes.   BUT, then I saw this one and I thought "Oh My, now that is a nice looking outhouse" LOL  

On my prayer list:::

Friends who have husbands deployed at the moment and who will have them leaving soon.  Mine is going to be on a TDY for 6 weeks soon as well, it's never a fun thing to go through.  So prayers for everyone.

Bible verse, Devotional::: 

As a blood-bought believer and child of God, you are greatly blessed, highly favored and deeply loved.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" -Ephesians 1:3

Cooking Thursday

Well hi there :) 

Come on in and have a cup of coffee, let's share some recipes and chat for a little shall we?

Instead of giving you the full recipes today, I'm going to show you the pictures and send you on over to my food blog, because yesterday I posted two really yummy things for you to try. 

Oh and while you're there, if you would like to and have a minute, won't you vote for Full Bellies Happy Kids on the Top 25 Foodie Moms contest???  I'm at #13 right now :)

If you want to use the picture, just click here for the original.

So here we go....

Corn Dog Tots - These are just like the ones you get at the store, but actually BETTER and they're super easy to make.  Your kids will thank you, trust me.

Homemade Nutter Butters -  Yeah I went there.  You KNOW you want to make these.  Forewarning, they are so good you will have a hard time having just one. 


Now it's your turn....show us what's cooking in your kitchens :)

These bugs are bugging me

So it's that time of the year, you know?

You are trying to sleep and keep hearing these loud buzzings right up near your face, so you swat blindly at nothing, hoping you don't whack your nose, you just want that annoying mosquito to go away.

Then you wake up the next morning with bites and then your sweet children wake up covered in bites too and you decide that enough is enough.

Welcome to my life!

As if the usual mosquito influx isn't enough, we recently removed the fish we had in the turtle tank and this morning I found a ton of mosquitoes breeding in there.

YUCKKKKKKKKKKK!  Makes my skin crawl.

So I set to work, got the tank all cleaned out, all the water removed and refilled and spent hours with the net in my hand catching them individually.

I did a good job, but I still see one or two in there and it's bugging me.  I mean really bugging me.  I returned one of the fish to the tank and hopefully the little fellow will help get this under control.

BUT, I'm not just going to walk away, and in my quest to use as many homemade products as possible, I have decided that instead of spending money on nasty chemical full products, I would use homemade traps which have worked great for me in the past.   

And then I realized that there are those out there who are probably going through the same problem and figured that you would benefit from this post and this recipe, or how to.  I found these a few years ago on Wise Bread.

So here is an easy Bottle Trap for Mosquitoes:

Homemade Mosquito Bottle Trap

Start with an empty plastic bottle.  It can be as small as a 500ml bottle, or as large as a two-liter soda bottle. Discard the cap.

Cut the top third of the bottle off. It is important to make your cut in the area below the top of the main shaft of the bottle (where it is widest). You should now have a bottle top in the shape of a funnel, and the cylindrical body of the bottle.

Invert the bottle top (funnel) into the bottle. It should be a snug fit (given the equal diameter of the funnel top and bottle shaft), but if necessary, secure it with tape.

Wrap the bottle with black paper to create a warm dark place for your mosquitoes to go.

Inside the bottom of the bottle (either before you secure the inverted funnel, or poured into the bottle through the spout), place the following:

• 1 tablespoon of yeast (for a 2-litre bottle, reduce proportionately for smaller bottles)
• water to fill the 1/3 of the bottle
• 1/3 cup sugar

Place the bottle a short distance away from where you are.

This mixture is good for up to a couple of weeks. Change as necessary.

How it works: The mosquitoes will be attracted to the CO2 generated by the yeast and will fly into the bottle. The sugar and water mixture will make them sticky, and they will be too disoriented to escape.

I usually just make one, but since these mosquitoes are getting on my nerves, I made 3, one plastic and then just used some empty coffee bottles I had laying around.

But let's not stop here, I may as well give you a few more ideas for other insects and creepy crawly annoying things.

For general insects:

STICKY PASTE ON PAPER

Find some old paper bags, plastic bags, or even just pieces of cardboard. (Don't be afraid to find creative ways to reuse things you would otherwise throw away).

Make a paste of sugar, corn syrup, and water by heating it together. When the mixture cools, spread the paste on the paper bags (or equivalent) and place strategically around the house. They are ideal if hung.

How it works: The insects will be attracted to the sweet smell, but will get stuck in it as soon as they land on the bag.


STICKY LIQUID IN BOTTLE

Start with a large clear plastic bottle or milk jug.

Attach some string around the mouth of the bottle so it can be hung later.

Make a thick sticky liquid with sugar and vinegar.

Pour this sticky mixture into the bottom of the bottle.

Chop up some appropriate bait into small enough pieces to put it inside the bottle. Fruit is usually a good bet.

Poke some additional holes in the jug to give bugs greater access to the bait inside.

Hang the trap in a “high-traffic” area for bugs.

How it works: They will be attracted by the fruit and fly inside, only to get stuck in the vinegar and sugar mixture.

Flies: 

BOTTLE TRAP

Follow the instructions above to make your own plastic bottle trap.

Add a ¼ cup of vinegar and a ¼ cup of sugar to the bottle.

Finish filling the bottle to just below the funnel bottom (which was formerly the bottle top) with water.

Fruit Flies

Using the same bottle trap technique, apparently all fruit flies need is vinegar to get in and get stuck.

Alternate method to the Bottle Trap:

If you don't have a plastic bottle handy, you can use a glass jar and poke holes in the lid large enough for your pest of choice to get in.

**********************************

Now go pull out your bottles and get to work, it's time to push these buggers out of our homes.

Homemade Gel Air Fresheners

I'm always tinkering around the house, making things that I would otherwise have to go and buy at the store.

One of my favorite things on earth are air fresheners, so I try different making different ones, back in February I made one using Baking Soda and a few drops of essential oil.  That one is still going strong for me and actually resides in my son's bedroom.

The one I made today is a gel based freshener using gelatin, food coloring and your favorite essential oil.



I made two.  A blue one scented with the Rain scent oil.

And a red one scented with Jasmine, which aside from being my daughter's name, is one of my favorite scents on earth.

These are really easy to make.  I first came across them on Instructables site, which I love, they have so many DIY projects available.

This will literally take you about 5 minutes and it works SO well, so give it a try and let me know what you think.

Homemade Gel Air Fresheners

2 cups water
4 envelopes Gelatin (plain) (In other words, a whole 1oz box)
15 to 20 drops Essential Oil (adjust to personal preference)
1 to 2 TBS salt
Food Coloring



In a small pot, bring 1 cup water to a boil.  Remove from heat and stir in the gelatine and salt (do NOT omit the salt, it is there to prevent molding), stir well until dissolved, then add 1 cup of cold water.  Set aside.

Add the drops of essential oil and the food coloring to the bottom of the mason jars you're using.  I actually want to buy tiny ones like the baby food jars, to make smaller gels. 

Pour the gelatine into the jars and using a stick or chopstick, stir well until combined.  Let it cool down complete.

I leave mine open with just the metal ring on.  If I want to close it I just add the inner lid and DONE!

These last me about 3 weeks or so, depending on how strong the essential oil is. 
The salt in this recipe is used to help combat mold, please make sure to add it.

EDIT:  I added the gelatin amount.  I thought I had it up there but I guess I didn't.  You are going to use a box of gelatin (1 oz), so use all 4 packets in there.   I am sorry if I confused anyone, I'm used to saying packets instead of envelopes LOL