School days and memories

It's hard to believe so much time has past since my last post. End of summer/back to school activities have swallowed all my time. I have said many times that days are long, but time flies.
I have found establishing a routine helps, but with several children getting everyone on the same schedule is difficult.  Next to impossible if they are teenagers.
Yesterday morning,  before school, my youngest son and I had a few minutes before he had to get on the bus. Instead of watching TV, he wanted to play a card game with me.
I'm so glad I chose him rather than one of the things that constantly needs my attention. Now we have that memory of laughing together.
One day soon, he will be off to college. Then building his own life away from home. We blink and they are grown.
Days are long, but time flies. Don't waste precious chances to make memories. They are fleeting.

Independence Day

It's a few days after Independence Day and I've been pondering about our country. Mainly about the strange look I got telling people "Happy Independence Day" rather than " Happy 4th of July". It happened several times over the course of the day.
Now I feel I should always make that distinction.  After all, one is the actual holiday celebrating our country's  declaration of freedom feom England. The other is a day on the calendar.  I know what everyone means, or should mean. But the confusion on some faces makes me wonder.
Is the meaning of Independence Day slipping away? Is it just a fun day for grilling and fireworks?  I hope you had a lovely day with people you enjoy with grilling and fireworks.  And also remembering what the holiday is really about.
Freedom has never been free. It never will be. Please enjoy it, but also remember how we obtained it. And how we have kept it so far.
We live in a free country. To make choices,  whether they be good or bad. I value that freedom, and I hope you do too.

Summer garden

I was checking my garden yesterday and realized that my garden this year is the smallest one I've had in years. It has been very hot so far this summer.  Heck, even this spring was hot! We seemed to have about a week or two of spring. Then summer was here.
Has the weather this year effected your garden. Did you, like me, only plant a small portion of what you normally plant? Most of the gardeners I've spoken to have scaled back due to the extreme heat.
I'm considering planting a fall garden this year. I've never done the fall planting thing because I'm usually "gardened out" by then. This year may be the year!

Sensitive skin

I have a confession to make. I have sensitive skin. Many products either irritate or at least dry my skin. I've been trying to find out what works for me for most of my life.

I found a few things that don't play well with my system. Mineral oil and petrolatum are two biggies.  I don't ever use products with these in them. Also artificial fragrances and dyes are sometimes a problem.  The only way to know if an individual fragrance or dye will play nice with me is to try it, so I don't always try a new product because of possible problems.

I've found the more natural a product is, the better my skin responds. So I've been trying to convert my bathroom supplies and cleaning supplies to a more natural state.

One thing that makes my skin calm and happy is a good quality cold process soap. But even these can have the dreaded artificial colors and dyes. Beautiful, but usually not for me. The one in my bathroom right now is a peppermint version that I'm loving in the summer heat. This particular bar is from Barclay Soap Company.  Her soap is available at this link.

www.etsy.com/shop/BarclaySoapCo?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Her shampoo bar is also very good. Like any shampoo bar,  you need a vinegar rinse after to smooth the hair back down. But I find it cleans well without overstripping my hair. My curly hair craves moisture so a drying bar wouldn't work for me. After towel drying, I use a leave-in oil conditioner. Someone with finer textured hair would probably need something lighter. My hair is getting healthier as my new routine continues.  I'm finding less hair in my brush and the shower drain.

Even if you don't have sensitive skin, give some of the more natural products a try. Your skin will probably thank you.

Summer heat

Summer's heat is here in full force. Everyone is looking for ways to stay cool. I'm so thankful for my air conditioner!
What do you do to stay cool? Swimming, a cool drink, and popsicles are three good ones. But this summer I have discovered a new one. I tried a mint clay mask and couldn't believe it took me this long to find this cooling, good-for-my-skin treat.
I used the Mint Julip Mask by Queen Helene. Next I'm going to try Marie Rayma's version. Here is a link.
http://www.humblebeeandme.com/cooling-summer-peppermint-mask/#more-6039
Enjoy the summer weather. Back to school time will be here before we know it.

Last night I made an eczema salve for a friend. It was easy, full of ingredients that have shown effective for some people with eczema, and I hope will work for her.

My salve started with Marie Rayma's recipe. You can see the original here.

http://www.humblebeeandme.com/eczema-salve/#more-4400

I changed it around a little. Not because my recipe is better, but I didn't have all the essential oils. So I substituted some that I knew were also good for eczema. 

If you aren't familiar with Marie's site, check it out. She has a huge amount of recipes to make just about any type of skincare you could want. 

www.humblebeeandme.com

Have a blessed day.

School is officially out for summer break. I don't have to get up early tomorrow to wake children for school. It does seem to take my body some time to adjust to the new relaxed schedule., so I probably will wake fairly early anyway.
Do any of you other parents find this to be true? The kids seem to flow with whatever the day brings, and I'm slower to adapt. I don't know if that is age or just responsibility showing itself. What do you think?

I hope y'all had a lovely Memorial Day. My family had a mix of busy and relaxing all weekend. We got to spend time with dear friends beside a beautiful lake. We even got to eat s'mores around a campfire. It was wonderful.
We also had a pipe burst under our floor and had to make a temporary fix to stop the water. We have gone from two toilets to one for six people. I keep reminding myself it's just for a few days. The good news is the sink and shower still work.
Sometimes it feels like everything that can go wrong, does. It's important to focus on what is going right as much as possible. Sometimes, in the moment, that's very difficult. I have to remind myself how blessed I am.
This weekend was focused on remembering those that have served our country, and we should always remember our freedom was not free. It was paid for in blood, in grief,  in great sacrifice.
Now that the weekend is over, I would like to take time to remember how blessed I am. In the day to day whirl of activity, it's easy to lose sight of that.
I thank God for all He's blessed me with. And I thank Him for being with me and strengthening me as I walk through the hard times.

It's that time of the year again. The end of the school year seems to bring a flurry of activities for my children. So that means I'm busy as well. At least for the two who can't drive yet.
Just counting from yesterday till tomorrow my youngest son has four parties to attend. This is the one child I worried that he didn't have enough social connections. When he entered middle school he just blossomed. Now I'm not the only one who knows what a great guy he is!
I do miss having more time with him. It seems that time is flying so fast. Sometimes I think if I blink my children will be grown and out on their own.
But isn't that what a good parent does? We love them, meet their needs, some of their wants; all the while letting go a little at a time so they can stand on their own when adulthood is reached.
I'll always love them and be there to help if necessary. But mostly I'll stand back and let them be uniquely who they are. Trying very hard not to burst with the love and pride I feel while they do just that.

Candles and cool days

Hello! Today we have had lovely, cool weather. It's been in the eighty's for a few weeks and very dry. I live in a rural area so most driveways here are gravel. When it doesn't rain for a while, it gets dusty. We had rain yesterday and partially through the night. The high was around sixty degrees! Can you tell I love cool weather?
After getting my children off to school, I decided to spend part of my day making a lovely candle. My son gave me a candle for Christmas that smelled like cinnamon rolls. It made my home smell warm and inviting, so I lit it for an hour or so every day.
It didn't take long for it to burn down in it's cute ceramic jar. At this point the wick was gone. The problem was it still had a lot of wax left in the bottom.
I carefully removed the remaining wax from the jar. I had a glass jar set in a pot of simmering water.  I added the wax plus more from another candle stub to the jar.
While it was melting, I added two fresh wicks to the ceramic jar. Then after the wax was melted, I carefully poured my new candle back into the jar my son gave me.
It took a while to set, but my home smells like cinnamon rolls once again!