Our Egg Dying Eggstravaganza!

So, I thought I'd post this since every one's been asking. This year, I decided that we would find a natural method to dying our Easter eggs. I got the idea from another blog, Crunchy Domestic Goddess. We had so much fun experimenting with different foods to come up with colors. Here's a summary of what we did. You can visit the above blog for the full tutorial. Yes, it was a bit more pricey than the .99 cent Paas box, but it was a fun experiment for the kids. Plus, my husband and son like to call me a modern day hippie, so I thought I'd live up to the name. I really wanted to go with a more earthy color theme so I was very impressed with the results The above picture shows the ingredients and materials we used to make the dye. We used, purple cabbage, spinach leaves, frozen blueberries, frozen cherries, canned beets, coffee, tumeric powder, chili powder, vinegar and rubber bands and crayons for decorating. The crayons are the little colored pebbles in the pouch. There's also a red onion pictured, but we didn't end up using it. I wish we would have though because our red dye turned our eggs a dark bluish gray.

We used spinach leaves, blueberries and some tumeric powder to make green. This green turned out beautifully!! We didn't do too much measuring aside from the vinegar. We just kept throwing stuff in. It's important with the fruit especially to warm it and mash it up. When the berries burst, then all the color is released.

Next we used the purple cabbage and blueberries. This made an amazing dark blue!!!

This is the red dye....well..what was supposed to be red anyway. I used 2 cans of beets, (next time I'll try 3), frozen cherries, and not pictured above, some ocean spray cran-cherry juice. I think the juice is where we went wrong. Next time I'll use the red onion instead. These eggs still turned out a cool color though.

This is the yellow...obvioulsy...We used tumeric powder at first, then we decided to add chili powder to the mix and it mad a more vibrant yellow. Also, not pictured, we used coffee for the brown. I just brewed a REALLY strong pot of coffee and let the eggs sit overnight. I actually strained all of the dyes and set the eggs overnight in the liquids. This part is definitely crucial if you want the most vibrant color.

Our beautiful eggs!!!! We loved them so much. Milla especially likes to smell the brown ones because they smell like french vanilla coffee!!! LOL All in all we had fun. It was our first attempt. We learned a few things and we'll tweak some things next time. Thanks for looking at our masterpiece! LOL

My First Client!!

I was so excited starting my journey towards becoming a doula. After finishing my 16 hour workshop and my own research, I was finally ready to take on my first client. But who?? I prayed and prayed for God to send me the right mama who would take a chance on a new doula in training. Finally, through a friend, I was able to book my first client. Mom and dad are such amazing people! I enjoyed the prenatal visits. We really got to know eachother. Mom was pregnant with thier first child and dad was a little nervous. He was worried how he would react during labor and delivery. I assured him that when the day came, he would instinctually know what to do and if not, that's what I was there for. To help them along the way. I finally got a call at about 7 am on a Thursday morning from mom that they were on thier way to the hospital. I met up with them around noon at the hospital and mom was still laboring with lots of back labor. We (dad and I) were able to use warm compresses and positioning on the birth ball, to relieve some of that pain. Mom did amazing!!!! After a long day and night of laboring, mom delivered baby boy via ceserean early the next morning. I was sooooo blessed by them letting me be a part of this special day!! Unfortunately because of the cesearean, I wasn't able to meet baby right away. I didn't meet him until the post pardum visit with mom and dad about a week and a half later. It was sooo very worth the wait! Baby boy was so precious. They are such a beautiful family!!! It was such a blessing and reminder of why I do what I do. I love helping mama's have thier babies!!!

Cleaning Tips

Kitchen cleaner/pot scrubber~ All you need are lemons and salt. I use lemons that need to be thrown out, and salt. (Morton's is 52 cents at Target). Just slice a lemon in 2 and dip the open end in salt and there you go! You can use it to scrub counters, pot, pans...just about anything! It's cheap and easy and the lemon acts as a natural bleach and lifts stains. Also, there are no chemicals involved!

All Cooped Up!!

The chicks finally have their coop! It's not all the way done, we still need to build a run, but at least they have a home of their own to lay their beautiful eggs in!! Justin worked so hard all day on it. I planted some more of our garden, and the kids....well scroll down the pics and you will see how they passed the time!

Molly, Stella and SuperGirl in their new home. Last night was thier first night outside in the coop. I must have checked on them at least 5 times last night before I went to bed! LOL

Justin did such a great job. He loves our chicks too!

Here's what the kids got into!!!!

At first she wanted nothing to do with the mud, and then we couldn't get her out of it!

I worked on the garden. Justin and I both got sunburned but at least we remembered to put sunblock on the kids!!!

I had so many people ask my about my body scrub recipe so I thought I'd just post it here with pictures and step by step instructions! Enjoy!

YOU WILL NEED:

~ 1/2 cup of sugar

~3 tbsp of oil (I use apricot kernel oil, but olive oil or grapeseed oil is fine too.)

~3 drops of peppermint Essential Oil. This is just for the peppermint scent. You can use any Essental Oil for a different smell like orange, lemon, tea tree,ect. I've used lavender before too:). I think peppermint extract would be ok to use if you don't have the oil.

~A container to mix and keep it in Here's a picture of the items you will need

First add 1/2 cup of sugar

Then add the 3 tbsp of oil (Apricot, grapeseed, or olive)

Then add the 3 drops of EO of your choice (I used peppermint)

Mix it all up with a spoon and here you go! This makes enough for a couple of applications so you can double the recipe if you want more. I just mix it in this container and keep it in the shower. You have to make sure to mix it up everytime you use it because the oil settles to the bottom of the container. It works great on feet too! Just be careful because the oil can make the tub or shower slippery. The best part about this, is it's cheap because you have everything you need right in your kitchen!!

April 14, 2009

So I'm glad I finally started this whole blogging thing. I've put it off for so long. Easter with the Leal Family was a blast as usual. Aunt Tina's mansion was packed with love and lots of yummy food! We talked, the kids played, Theresa, Dolores and me organized the egg hunt for each age group of kids. Justin actually had that day off which NEVER happens on a holiday, so that was such a blessing for us! We didn't get to go to church though because the kids were getting over a cold. Milla still had a bit of a runny nose and I know they frown on that in the nursery. But we still had a blessed time in fellowship with our family. I always leave a family function, thinking to myself "I can't wait until next time!" Time goes by so fast when you are having fun with family!!! And the best part about Easter....HE IS RISEN! Praise God for such an awesome gift!