Avocado Egg Boat

I've been seeing this idea going around the internet of frying a egg inside an avocado. I decided to try it out. To save you from the trial and error I experienced I thought I would post more details then the Facebook photo that is going around (it has no actual words to help guide you to succeed).

(Yes, this is a different pan then the other photos, it took a couple tries to figure out the best way.)

I took a cast iron skillet and coconut oil and heated it. While that was warming up I sliced in half and de-seeded an avocado. I scooped out the avocado with a spoon and placed the side that had the seen in it up. Then I carefully cracked the egg over the avocado. One didn't stay in the little dip so I just flipped it over on top of the egg. To avoid this you can simply scoop more avocado out of the seed ed, or just do like I did in the photo. Fry until the egg is as firm as you like, don't be afraid to flip it. Once cooked I sprinkled a little cheese on top and seasoned the whole thing whole it was cooking with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. It was delicious! My 20 month old loved it as well. 

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Snow Cream

We have a nice thick layer of ice, and about 5 inches of powdery white snow. So of course after playing in the snow we had to come in the house and make snow cream (out of the "clean" snow, not the part we were playing in). I have to say it turned out to be pretty darn good, and it was VERY easy to make. It took me longer to find the vanilla (it fell back behind my other spices) then it did to whip everything together. Okay, enough about my experience. Try this recipe and let me know what you think.


Ingredients:

4 cups (a little more or less is fine) "clean" snow (do NOT use yellow snow)
1 cup almond milk (or coconut milk, or cream, or whatever you use as milk)
1/4 cup (or so..depending on taste) honey (or maple syrup, or sugar or whatever you use to sweeten)  
1 tsp real vanilla extract

Put the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Thats all. You can add more or less of anything depending on your taste, and if you want it thicker just add more snow.

Need some doTerra essential oils? Check out my site... CLICK HERE

Homemade Solid Lotion

I have been hesitant to make solid lotion. I'm not sure why, it just seem silly to me because I usually just use coconut oil, olive oil, or almond oil. However, there is one issue with that...it is hard to carry olive oil in your pocket. Sometimes I just need something that I can pull out of a purse or coat pocket and put on my hands because they get really dry in cold weather. I cannot and will not use lotion from the store. Mostly because ALL of it makes me itch. I don't mean just the stuff that isn't natural, or just the stuff from big box stores, I mean ALL lotion that I purchase makes me itch! Even from someone that makes it in small batches and uses "natural" ingredients. So here I am with dry, itchy, flaky, rough hands trying to remember to carrying around a little tub of coconut oil, and I run across a recipe for solid lotion. Just so happens that I have all of the necessary ingredients, so with a little tweaking to the found recipe I make something that does NOT make me itch! I repeat this does not make me itch!! Its amazing! I can carry it around in a pocket, purse, my hand, stuff it in the top of my boot, or even just sit it in the car and I have lotion whenever I need it. It doesn't cost an arm and a leg to make because all of the ingredients I already had at the house because I use them for other things, and it is easy and quick to make. Freaking love this stuff. I can't believe it took me so long to decide to make it. Anyway, enough about me, time to tell you how you can make your own homemade solid lotion.

 

Ingredients: 

• 2/3 cup beeswax
• 1/2 cup  coconut oil
• 1/2 cup shea butter 
• 15-20 drops of doTerra essential oil (I used peppermint and wild orange)

(Optional: 1 teaspoon vitamin E oil, next time I'm going to try this with almond oil)

Measure everything (except essential oils) out and put them in a large glass jar/cup. I used a pyrex measuring cup. Place the glass jar in a saucepan of boiling water. The water should be about an inch high on the jar. Stir until combined. Once everything is melted and combined then remove from heat and let cool for about 2-3 minuets, then add the essential oils. Stir and pour into silicone mold, or mini muffin tin. Let the bars cool for 2-3 hours then pop them out, wrap in plastic wrap and store in a pretty container until you are ready to use. 

For an exfoliating lotion bar just add a pinch of oatmeal to the bottom of the mold before you pour in the mixture.

Simply rub bar on skin to moisturize.

This stuff not only smells nice, it moisturizes. It doesn't have any chemicals, and it doesn't make me itch! It is very cheap to make, especially if like me, you already have these ingredients on hand for other projects. Not counting the cooling time, this didn't even take 10 minuets to make. That included chasing after my 18 month old (whom was diaperless at the time and kept coming up to me telling me he "pee" and taking me to it so I could clean it up, then of course he "poop, sh-ew" and I had to clean that up as well in the middle of the measuring). Let me know if you make it, and how it turned out. What essential oils did you put in yours? 

Pretty sure I'm going to be making a batch of this for Christmas gifts! 

Need some doTerra essential oils? Check out my site... CLICK HERE

Crafts.

I decided that I wanted to make something crafty out of the okra from my garden. It was too big and I wanted to let it mature so I would have seeds for next year. However, since I have 20 plants I had WAY more then enough to have seeds. So making a wreath out of some of it was obviously the next logical choice.

I found a plain wreath at the local craft store. It had been used so I snagged it for $3. Then I got a roll of floral wire for another $2.50.

After gathering the okra, which was brown and starting to split. Which is exactly how I wanted it. I took a big needle (or you could use a knife) and put a little hole in the tip of the okra.

Next, I put the floral wire through three okra ends.

Then I simply arranged the groups on the wreath.

Thats it. Added a bow (that I already had so it was free) and now I have a beautiful fall wreath that only cost $5.50, and about 30 min of my time.

Itchy foot relief.

My husband came home from work and said his foot itched. I told him after his shower I would put some essential oils on it. He said it itched really bad and has gotten worse all day. While he was showering I put together what I labeled "itchy foot relief". It consists of:

2 oz coconut oil

2 oz almond oil

10 drops oregano essential oil

5 drops peppermint essential oil

10 drops tea tree oil

I put this all in a small mason jar, and labeled it. 

As soon as I put it on his foot it stopped itching. Here are before and after photos of his foot. 

As you can see, it healed right up! According to my husband he had this rash for about 2 days, it had finally started it itching so much he couldn't I gore it and finally asked me to put something on it. After applying the "itchy foot relief" that I made he said it didn't itch anymore until about 24hrs later at which time I took a photo and applied more. 

I buy my essential oils at: http://www.mydoterra.com/kennatimmons/

My life as a "crunchy" mama.: My breast feeding journey. The first 3 months.

My life as a "crunchy" mama.: My breast feeding journey. The first 3 months.: From the very moment my son came into this world until he was about 3 months old he wanted to be latched on the boob. I'm not making thi...

The "Second" 3 Months (4-6 months) of my breastfeeding journey.

The "Second" 3 Months (4-6 months) of my breastfeeding journey.

Around 4 months the little man decided he wanted to sit up, it would be until 6 months before he could sit up all by himself. However, that didn't keep him from working at it every day until then.

By this point I was able to get 1-2 hours at a time without nursing him. I couldn't believe it! I had time to fix lunch, and eat! I had time to put something in the crock pot for dinner, and throw a load of laundry in the wash. It was simply amazing to be able to get a few little things accomplished during the day. Assuming you read my blog post about "the first 3 months" you know that I was overjoyed to be able to just fix a glass of water without the little man screaming, so to be able to do laundry was almost more time then I knew what to do with.

Occasionally, I could even slip away while he was taking a nap and have a little "me" time. We were co-sleeping from the beginning, but we began part-time bed-sharing around 2 weeks. By 2 months we were full-time bed-sharing. Nights were so easy, I would lay down with him, he would nurse to sleep, and I could slip out of the bed and go do whatever I wanted for an hour to two. Sometimes I could even get 2-3 hours of a sleeping, happy baby that wasn't latched on or touching me. Don't get me wrong, I happily practice attachment parenting, however when you have been either holding, nursing, or in some way touching another person constantly for nearly half a year, then I don't think it is too much to ask to have a couple hours to yourself now and then...even if it is at 2am.

During the daytime he pretty much nursed every hour, or maybe once a day he would go two hours before he would want to nurse. This was AMAZING! I realize that doesn't sound all that great, but it was constant nursing before that. He spent quite a bit of time trying to sit up, and I spent quite a bit of time watching him, talking to him, reading to him, and just looking at the world with him.

Then came the teeth. By 6 months the little man had two teeth (two more the next month). Once teething started he needed me a lot more so my few hours a day turned back into a few minuets during the 2-3 weeks at a time that he was teething.

There were quite a few challenges during the "second 3 months", such as moving from Hawaii to Arkansas. Which meant the little man and I had to fly across the country (we were by ourselves for that trip). I will say that during the trip I was SO thankful so many times that he only took boob and nothing that could be dropped on the floor, or that had to be mixed. I was also very thankful for my ergo baby carrier. That way I could hold him close, away from all the strangers in the airport, nurse him if he wanted, and load the stroller down with everything I didn't want to carry.

Overall the "second 3 months" were very different, easier, and more difficult then the first three months. They were a preview of what was to come when he started seriously teething, and it was a welcome and much needed time that I had a tiny bit of freedom to just take care of me now and then.


Click here for my doTerra essential oil page.

To read about the "First 3 Months" of my breastfeeding journey click here.