A Few Links For The Week

I'm listening to two things right now, neither of them all that good. One is a bug in what I think is a bag of Hubs's trash, but I'm not sure enough to throw it away. But the scritching is getting to me.

The other is Goose, over her monitor, playing away in her crib instead of napping. I'm 100% convinced that she still needs a nap, but when I put her down, she will play for up to two hours. It's much preferred to the two hours of screaming she used to do, but still frustrating in its own right. Plus, on one hand, I'm worried about her falling out of her crib (which happened once four months ago) but from what I've observed, she really likes the confined space for sleeping. Anyway.

MAKE
Premeditated Leftovers has a post on making your own "paint with water" pages. I thought this was fun once in a while as a kiddo myself.

I still don't have Hubs convinced that we ought to get a wheat grinder, but instant mashed beans sounds pretty cool! (Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker)

Proverbs 31 Living has a lovely post on pressing flowers, with links to some very pretty things.

These velcro shoe add-ons would be a fun way to dress up a little girl's special outfit. (Happy Together)

I've not yet made the water bottle sling I posted last week, but this ribbon one at Martha Stewart is a bit easier, perhaps. And I need to get a real water bottle to go in the sling, first, so I know what size to make it . . .

Also on Martha Stewart is an interesting idea for making a blanket waterproof by attaching a layer with snaps. I especially like the suggestion to use "snap tape".

DO
Lots of good tips on freezing fruit at Tipnut.

No Time for Flashcards has a fun post on spray painting for little ones.

Chasing Cheerios had a ton of stuff this week that I starred in my Google Reader. Activities include one big post on matching balloon textures, hammering golf tees, what doesn't belong? and matching varying sizes of triangles, painting egg carton cups to match colors with nature finds, making symmetrical butterflies, monoprinting, and seasons and clothes matching. Looks like lots of fun!

I know I need to just get out in my garden and start pulling, but this post at Tipnut on weed killers might come in handy for other areas.

BUY
It's not often that I recommend straight-up buying things, but Hair Bows 4 Life is a pretty uncommon website! I especially love their religious bows and that 10% of their sales is donated to the pro-life community. There is also a place to donate $5 which will pay for sending a bow to little girls in orphanages.

LEARN
After spending an entire half day waiting on the "bus" system in the nearby "city", I told Hubs and my mom that "it takes a lot of time to be poor." According to this Washington Post article, it takes a lot of money, too. (You may need to register to read it - if you don't want to do that but would like to read it, leave me a comment with your e-mail address and I'll copy/paste it for you. It's pretty interesting!)

I'm kind of amused that this article written by an agnostic and reprinted at the Catholic Education Resource Center pretty well nails down why the Catholic Church is not a democracy. And thanks be to God that it is not! There are many different ways that one could interpret the Bible, and personally, I need a strong authority to help me figure out which one is correct.

EAT
It's been a bit since I've posted a recipe link . . . these popsicles at the Prudent Homemaker sound like just the thing for summer, if it ever gets here, that is. I'm not complaining, though! It'll be hot soon enough!

Sarah at Sarah's Musings posted on making honey-sweetened strawberry preserves and freezer jam. We love PB&J here, too, and this looks like an awesome idea! (Haven't tried it yet, but Laura at Heavenly Homemakers also recently put up a post on homemade peanut butter that she says is delicious!)

I have a recipe for peppermint taffy that I've been wanting to try for a few years, but haven't found anyone who wants to pull it with me. This post at Unplug Your Kids gives me hope that Goose can help me in a year or two. Or three.

Whew. In the time it took me to type all this out, Goose finally fell asleep and our internet connection went out but thankfully came back. I think I'm going to go treat myself to a bowl of cereal!