Home made wet wipes

Making wet wipes is super easy and saves a lot of money. It is also healthier too. Regular wet wipes can contain all sorts of things you don't want on your baby's skin. Some contain formaldehyde.. did you know that? Then add perfumes and alcohol... well it can be a bad deal. (not all of course, but some)
These are great for babies with sensitive skin or eczema. They help deter yeast rashes and clear them up.
Step one: gather supplies. You need Bounty paper towels(no other ones work as well! )I use select- a -size which we get at S@ms for less in bulk. You need warm water(about 2 cups. Oil of some sort.(olive, apricot, vitamin E oil, etc) You will need tea tree oil and some other essential oil (lavender is nice), a sharp big bread knife, a cutting board or tray. You will need a container.(I have used a Rubbermaid style big cannister. Others have had good luck with giant coffee cans)Cut an "X" in the lid.







Step two: cut your paper towel roll in half.(this is a bit messy with little fluffy tidbits but it is easily swept off into the trash if you are careful. Loosen the inner cardboard tube and pull it out. The wet wipes will come from the center out the top of the "X"






Step three: add your oils to the water and stir well.


Step four: pour water/oil mixture into the container.


Put the lid on and pull the paper through the "X."Let them sit for a few minutes if possible to let them all get saturated.




There! You are done! These are money saving and healthier. You can adjust the recipe however you want. If you want less oil, or they seem too dry you can add more water. Or different essential oils to get your perfect scent. Tea tree oil is an antibacterial one so you need to keep it, but play around with others. I like to label the back with the recipe so I remember what went in but also so others can re mix them without my help!

Mama on a mission

Here at the home in the woods, Mama is on a mission. The mission is: to save money, to get healthy, and get out of debt.
The beginning if this is simple in theory.
*It begins with shaving of any extra spending. I figured the best place to start was to cut off some of the misc. stuff. So I have been trying to find cheaper ways of getting the things we need. There will be a lot of these posts coming up. Home made everything! Well, not EVERYTHING, but still I may be going a bit hippie on ya. Bohemian even.
*The next bit is to get for ourselves or make for ourselves anything we can. We have begun a garden. We are raising chicks. We are trying to learn the art of self sufficiency in some degree. It is a tall mountain to be self sufficient and we are only on an anthill, but I figure everything we do teaches us something and helps cut some spending. So it will help at least a little. Recycling, reusing, and restyling are going to come in heavy here.
*The best part of this whole ball of wax? The saving. What I save from my efforts will be saved and put to debts or needs that wlll keep us from occurring anymore debt. I hope by tax season of NEXT year, to see a big difference in our debt and savings.
*An extra here, is that I want to give more. Obviously to our church, but also to people. Give my time, energy, and gifts. One thing I am working on, is Christmas gifts. Crochet or hand-made things that I make throughout the year are being earmarked for certain people and put up in my closet to await Christmas! I hope to have a vast majority of Christmas ready by the time that season hits!

Tornado in a small town

I am sure you have seen the national news about tornadoes lately. I wanted to share a bit and ask for prayers. Also I would like to share with you our powerful Father's abilities to keep his children safe. We spent Friday before last in a sheltered area of the hubster's workplace. My brother lives about 30 minutes away. They have no storm cellar and a new house and two little ones. I was terrified for them. The news was showing that the worst part of the storm was just a few miles from their home. I texted them and they were safe, for the moment. That was the text. "for now" There were more to come. After the storms, and I knew they were ok, there was nothing to do but pray and go to bed. Nothing else we could do.
They were without power for 24 hrs or so.
The Tiny town of Tushka-- only a few miles from the-- was a different matter. We have three families in our church there in Atoka (that I am currently aware of) that have lost their homes completely. Another had some severe roof damage. There are down trees, power lines... etc Some families right now with nothing. And entire school was destroyed. One church we saw had serious damage. It is just so awful to SEE the devastation up close. Things that shouldn't be together that are complicatedly intertwined. Like metal roofing wrapped like a twist-tie around the branches of a tree. Trees were ripped off , or even up at the roots. BIG trees, not saplings. Rvs in people's yards. Upside down. Semi trucks piled in a heap like some toddlers toy trucks in a yard. It is awful to see at the top of a hill where a beautiful Two story home was, to just see a big blank spot with debris. It is hard to believe. But these people have lost everything. Memories, photos, clothes... all they have is each other. Miraculously . In two homes, the ONLY thing left standing was the shower or closet in which they were hiding. Several people were told by God, "get out" and their homes were destroyed. One lady just said "my house is just gone! I don't know where my house is." We have church members feeding families, tacking on tarp over damaged roofing, cutting trees that are downed doing tons(literally) of laundry. There is so much to do and I need wisdom even knowing HOW to help. Please keep these families in Tushka and Atoka, and Lane OK in your prayers.

Gardening begins

We kicked off Gardening this year with a "class" about gardening with our local homeschooling group. The kids learned some basic gardening ideas. They made gardening books. They planted a sunflower seed, and started a bean in a baggie to watch it grow. So far we have 2 of the five sunflowers growing. But it is not the seeds fault I am afraid. Some were "oversaturated" despite our teachers' warnings. Some were plucked up to check their roots early.
These pics are of that class. Riley, being a teenager, spent more time socializing than actually planting. But as a homeschooled teen with younger sibs.... he may have needed a bit of that.


We did a garden several years ago when the littles were babies. But um, it wasn't all that productive. The Hubster joked about the 2.00 cucumbers. That was all we had I think. A few cucumbers.
THIS year, I am preparing soil, planting seeds indoors, "planning" the garden... I am much better prepared. Not only those things, but also I have big time help! Elijah says he loves using the tiller. He BEGS to get to use it.(?!) Riley is BEGGING to get to build a chicken coop and chick pen and raise chickens!(!?) Isaiah has found a use for his strength and activity. He has been hauiling and lifting nearly his own body weight in dirt and manure for the soil. He digs, hoes and plucks out rocks like a machine! Moriah is not too into this "work" thing yet. But she swings and works the rake a bit. She prefers "break time" Olivia loves the planning part. she is soaking her morning glories seeds and we will plan those tomorrow to go over the arch we bought.(still in box at Goodwill for 2.00!!)
Dan said I deserve a gold star for getting them ALL out together and working. One rides the mower, one does the weedeater...etc. It is AWESOME! I am seriously hoping we get a decent batch of food this year. It would be great to get food for free this summer and fall!