Homeschooling February & March 2013

I confess, I failed to take a lot of pictures during these months. This was for several reasons. 

One of them was that K started to nap later and later and it was getting harder to homeschool 

in decent amounts of time. I was trying so hard to sneak in a lesson here, a lesson there, 

but it never worked out too well. My camera was probably the last thing on my mind at the time. 

Sorry about that and I promise to TRY to be better at taking pictures of our lessons and activities.

This is one of our meals where I incorporated all the food groups. Looks great when you can get them separated, but it is harder to use these when you are having lasagna, for example, because several food groups are merged into one mélange, if you will.

Laying out the outfit for the day. Loved it!

Kale chips

Hair coloring with coffee

                

Homemade chocolate "bars"! My own recipe

As you may know, I've been doing a sugar detox (day 12 out of 21, but I'm sure I'll adopt this lifestyle permanently) and have been craving sweets regularly. Hopefully, these symptoms will subside when I starve the candida (bad yeast) that feeds off of processed sugar by not consuming it. For more, look at my post on the at-home candida overgrowth test.
I am not giving up all sugars/sweeteners, only processed/refined/white sugar. I am using natural sweeteners like fruit, raw organic honey, pure maple syrup, coconut sugar, and organic liquid stevia. Having said that, I know that since I am not giving up all sweeteners, it will probably take a little longer for the candida to starve, but it's ok. I prefer that over an extreme right now.
Note: I waited until my daughter self-weaned to begin this detox. It is not safe to detox while pregnant or breastfeeding.
Anyway, I had yet another craving for sweets last night. So, I thought: "How can I make something yummy, healthy, and that will satisfy my craving?" Aha! This hit the spot.

I used:
- 1 cup coconut oil
- 3 tbsp unsweetened raw organic cacao
- about 6 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
- sliced almonds
- OPTIONAL: sweetener like coconut sugar, maple syrup, liquid stevia, or honey
- cookie sheet
- parchment paper
- freezer

How to:
- Put parchment paper on top of cookie sheet to cover surface.
- Melt the coconut oil in a bowl.
- Mix in cacao and coconut.
- At this point, add sweetener of choice (just a little at a time, try it to make sure it's not too sweet). I skipped this point, but recognize that it could've used a little something sweet. The raw cacao isn't sweet.
- Pour the mix over parchment paper Swish it around slowly until it's a thin layer.
- Sprinkle sliced almonds all over top.
- Put cookie sheet in freezer for 30 minutes.
- Get it out and it should be solid by now.
- Crack the chocolate into smaller, bite-size pieces.
- Keep in an air-tight container in the freezer.
- Enjoy. :D

Wool yarn dryer balls

Dryer sheets contain chemicals that are toxic to inhale and come in contact with through skin. You see, the "good smell" that makes your laundry smell fresh, is actually harmful to humans, pets, plants, and the air. The environment in general suffers from a pollution overload and these dryer sheets are releasing vocs (volatile organic compounds) into the air. Not good.

I made these dryer balls about two months ago and I love them! I read an article or a pamphlet somewhere on how to make them, but I seem to have lost the paper.
They aren't hard to make them, so here it goes.
You need:
- a hank of yarn, 100% wool (yes, it has to be 100% wool)
- knee-high nylons or old socks (one per ball)
- essential oils (optional)
- washer and dryer

Make balls of yarn. Make sure to wrap it tight. I like to make them big, so I only got two out of the hank.
I got mine from Amazon.com (Lion Brand Yarn 150-202 Fishermen's Wool Yarn, Birch Tweed).
When the balls were tight and ends secure, I put each in a knee-high nylon (make a knot at the end of the nylons) and threw them in the longest wash cycle by themselves (no detergent). Then I threw them in the dryer by themselves for about an hour.
Over the next few days, I threw them in the wash with other clothes (and detergent). Then into the dryer to dry thoroughly. The point is to felt the outside of the balls so they don't unravel.
It took about 5 wash and dry cycles for mine to be ready. I later heard that it'll felt faster if you put the ball in nylons and then in old socks. I'm thinking it'd take longer to dry, but I'm willing to try that the next time I make some.
When you get the balls out of the nylons, some of the threads could've gotten stuck on the nylons. No big deal, just pull gently and slowly to separate them.
You will see that the top layer of the balls is smoother and can't necessarily see each individual yarn strand.
You can put 3-5 drops of essential oils on each ball every few dryer cycles (I don't use my dryer very much, so I do this once every week or every other week). This isn't necessary, but it makes clothes smell very good.

These dryer balls, if made right, should last for years.

I am a Young Living essential oils distributor. You can order from www.youngliving.com and use my distributor number to order if you'd like (1498096).