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It’s been hot around here. I chuckle to think of my Australian friends bundling up and enjoying nights around the fireplace. It just seems so far removed from where we are now, because, well, it is. Winter is still a long way off, even here in The Frozen Tundra…
One of our favorite ways to cool off is by enjoying a favorite summer treat- delicious homemade popsicles.
I’ve tried several popsicle makers over the years and I have a new favorite! The Norpro Ice Pop Popsicle Maker
For this batch I used some tangy raspberry lemonade mixed with some natural plain yogurt. All natural ingredients, no food colorings or high fructose corn syrup or ”flavorings” that I try to avoid. Everyone loved them!
The only downside to this popsicle maker? I have to buy popsicle sticks, no real biggee. The upside to that? Our children throw them away when done and I don’t have to wash them all and keep track of ten extra pieces.
One more thing- if you try this popsicle maker, and I highly recommend that you do, remember to make sure the sticks go in straight up and down. Don’t ask me how I know that, ’cause I’m going to tell you regardless. We had a couple leaning, ehem, a bit too far and it made it a little tricky to get the kid off… but we managed and the popsicles were all quickly enjoyed, the popsicle maker cleaned, and the next batch (this time with strawberries blended into some Simply Lemonade!) is in the freezer
After you’ve cooled off and are ready to head back outside, try blowing some super Big Bubbles! Good times, I tell ya, good times!
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I had a killer headache last week, and by killer I mean the kind of migraine headache that builds and grows through the night (grr, headaches are supposed to get better with sleeping) and leaves me vomitting and in intense pain, unable to get out of bed for a day. Ugh, I hate losing entire days of my life to pain.
It could’ve been worse…
I attempted to take my kids to a county fair. We stopped at a grocery store for some snacks that don’t cost an entire arm and a leg. We piled back into the van to head to the fun. The van wouldn’t start. The fuel pump was dead, it wasn’t gonna start no matter how much I tried. I was stuck in a parking lot 15 minutes from home, with 7 eager children, and my husband was working and unable to head over to save the day. We got out and walked to the fair. It was fun, and then it got hot, and I had forgotten to charge my cell phone, it was almost dead, but it had enough battery left to call my sisters for a rescue which (with their children in tow) took 3 car loads! We piled 6 of the 8 of us into their 2 cars and I handed my 2 oldest boys some cash and sent them over to Target to wait in the snack area for 1 of my sisters to head back for a second load of my children. We stayed at my youngest sister’s house (she lives very close to where we were stuck) for some hours, appreciating her air conditioning after I had started to succumb to one of my way-too-much-sun headaches. Eventually my husband came to pick up some of us and then had to head back for a second trip for the rest of them. We may have (fer sure) developed a deeper appreciation for our 12 passenger van.
My husband had to spend several hundred dollars and an entire Saturday replacing the fuel pump.
It could’ve been worse…
I have sleep issues. They ebb and flow, sometimes more of a problem than others. Saturday night I had major insomnia. Wide-eyed and alert until 2 am, when I finally laid down and tossed and turned for at least another hour, only to wake up a few short hours later, not really ready to face a Sunday morning and all the getting ready and the getting out the door and the getting to church, but I did and I was tired and it was ok.
It could’ve been worse…
Today is a bad pain day. My neck is apparently quite upset with me for something. I’m trying to stay off of pain killers, both because I am newly pregnant, and because I’ve started seeing a new chiropractor and I’m trying to ease back into the detoxing and naturally eating and living lifestyle that I prefer and away from the conventional convenience foods and prescription and over-the-counter medicine overuse lifestyle that I had slowly slipped back into over the years.
It could be worse…
I’ve had a few reasons to grumble… and I have, a little bit, but mostly I just rolled with it, and this is pretty much a major victory for me, as grumbling may have been my middle name for the majority of my life. By the grace of God, that is changing, it really, really, is.
Thinking on things to be thankful for is life-changing.
Meditating on the multitudes of His mercies is heart-changing.
In a good way!
471. a vehicle which has given us so few problems over the years
472. breaking down in town, near our destination for the day
473. beautiful (hot & sunny) weather to be outdoors in
474. family that lives close enough to help
475. sons old enough and responsible and trustworthy enough to be left alone in town for a while waiting for the third car load
476. kids day free games to entertain the children for under a million dollars (have you seen the price of carnival/fair games these days?! who throws away $5 to toss 3 basketballs?! Ok, my teen did, just once, ’cause then he was out of cash, and is pretty sure he’s learned that it really is a waste of money…)
477. cold water on a hot sunny day
478. ice cubes
479. finding the right part in our small town on a Saturday morning
480. room to work and all the tools Mr. Extraordinary could need at my parent’s place
481. company and assistance from my dad and brother-in-law while my husband tackled what may be his biggest vehicle repair project yet
482. it worked! (the repair)
483. it still works!/works again! (the van)
484. the money to fix it
485. no morning sickness
486. ice packs for when my neck needs ice
487. hot rice packs for when my neck needs heat
488. years of safety on the roads on our long drives to and from church every Sunday
489. good messages from His Word
490. hymns sung with kindred spirits
Thank You, Lord! You are so good to me, to us, better than I deserve.
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There is something so fun about bubbles. Just watch a child’s eyes light up with delight when you blow bubbles or listen to them squeal as they chase after them. There are no two ways about it- bubbles are just plain old fun.
*FYI- sometimes while listening to classical music my girls will feel inspired to twirl around the house doing their best ballerina impersonations, often while wearing the poofy underskirts from their old flower girl dresses… Just before heading out to blow bubbles, Grace was moved by a particularly lovely song, and, well, that pretty much explains her outfit Not exactly “town clothes”, but I pretty much just roll with the dress-up waves while we’re sticking to our own property…
Here’s an easy “recipe” for making your own Big Bubbles-
Big Bubbles Solution
1 gallon distilled water (less 2 cups poured out)
8 oz Dawn Ultra* dishsoap
4-6 Tbsp** Vegetable Glycerin
*It’s getting harder to find regular old Dawn, most recipes call for 12 oz of regular Dawn, but 8 oz is plenty if you, like me, can only find Dawn Ultra on your local store shelves…
**4 will do ok, but more is better. Glycerin isn’t cheap, so feel free to skimp, just know that the glycerin is kind of the key to making good bubbles…
Pour 2 cups of the distilled water into another container- you can make a smaller batch with this if you don’t want to waste anything! I used mine to try a batch with a natural dishsoap. I added 1 Tbsp of glycerin and 2 Tbsp of Earth Friendly Products Dishmate, Liquid Dishwashing Cleaner, Natural Grapefruit
Pour in the Dawn dishsoap, a funnel works great here, and then add the glycerin. Cover tightly and gently tip and roll the gallon jug, being careful not to shake and form suds.
Your bubble solution is ready to go right away, but it does get better with a day or two of aging- if you, er, I mean your kids, can stand the wait.
For more bubble fun, you could try making Square Bubbles!
What are you waiting for? It’s time to make some bubbles! Enjoy!
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