Once Upon a Time - Second Star to the Right, and a bit more

Well! Bae met Wendy. Could he be Peter Pan? I called it :)

What a great episode.

I had planned on posting recaps/fun ideas for each episode, but with the lack of sleep that's been going on here, that just was not happening.

So...what'd we miss?

This is probably out of order, but it's all past episodes, so I don't care.

Belle is now her alter-ego, Lacey. She just went from a quiet librarian type, to...well, the complete opposite.

I have to admit, I do like the new Belle just a little bit. Or I guess Lacey. Did it come from years of frustration, being locked up? I just like that there seems to be a real personality. Maybe she'll turn to the good side when whatever is attaching Storybrooke comes, and since she's Lacy, she'll still keep her spunk. Anyway, I did not like the evil that she is bringing back out of Rumple. Bae almost had his father back...and then he turned evil again. Sad.

The flashback of The Evil Queen posing as a peasant girl with Snow White was very sad. The look on her face when Snow told her she could be forgiven, and there was good in her, was pure joy. Then the two had to happen upon the village the Queen just had destroyed. I wonder what kind of relationship they would have had? I am also wondering why Regina (as the queen, and Regina) didn't see her actions as evil. So much like her mother!

Second Star to the Right was fantastic. And not, at the same time. I just don't think Regina would have held out that long, only to tell Greg that his father was dead. There was really nothing to gain by lying. I don't think he's dead, and I'm not sure where I think he is. So, who's body was that buried in the forest?

I loved the flashback of Bae meeting Wendy. Was it just me, or did she resemble young Cora? I am loving Neal/Bae's character. He is selfless. Basically giving up his life, to keep another family together. Then later, giving up his true love, to save Storybrooke. Yup, I love him! And Hook and Bae on the boat! He had to have known that was Rumple's son, right? Can't wait to see where that story goes.

Now everyone knows Greg and Tamara are working together. And now we know there are more people who are working with them. Are they going to be coming to Storybrooke? And how did they all find out about magic? Did Tamara come from a land with magic too? She knows an awful lot about magic, and different lands.

Oh Emma and Neal. Of course, they profess their love for each other, then one has to leave. I wonder which land he goes to? Neverland? It would make sense, since we've just been introduced to those flashbacks. Or will he go back to the Enchanted Forest? We have to go back there sometime.

And where's Robin Hood? And what ever happened to the child that Rumple spared the life of (or the pregnant mother, I guess)? All the characters seem to be intertwined, so I'm sure we'll find some more stories of the baby. Can't wait for next season!

And my favorite theory of all...

A few episodes ago, Rumple had a dream. We saw an image of his shop in Storybrooke. And if you looked closely, you would have seen the camera briefly pause on...a lamp! I am wondering if Rumple will have to summon a Genie in the near future? Maybe the Genie is going to save Storybrooke from the self-destruction in Regina's ring. The season finale is coming, not the series finale, so we know everyone is not going to die.

Just one more thought...who do you think Henry is, or do you think he's a fairytale character at all? I am still wondering how he plays a role in Rumple's undoing. Those aren't very specific words, so I am wondering if that simply meant the boy will change him forever. Undo the evil, and turn it to good. After all, he did help bring the rest of his family back together, and he definitely brings the "good" out of Regina.

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

28 Days to Mary and Martha-Work on the kitchen

Here is a printable for you.
How much better my days would go
if I would think on this, all day!

I hope you’ve been washing your dishes every day! I have, and it has helped so much!

Once my dishes were washed and put away, it was easier to see the empty spaces in my kitchen. It was also easier to see everything that didn't belong!

Clutter takes away so much from a room. So, before you go any further on cleaning your kitchen, start the declutter process. Just the kitchen for now.

Get a box, and fill it with everything that doesn't belong in the kitchen. Don't worry about putting any of that stuff away right now, just get it out of the kitchen. This includes the 15 extra toddlers cups you may have, that you have been putting away on a daily basis! Or is that just me? I kept 3 plastic cups out for the 3 kids that actually drink out of cups. They will just have to keep better track of their cups now.

Now your dishes should be out of sight (put away, or in the dishwasher)
Here are some tips to get you started on the rest of the kitchen:

1. When using the dishwasher, place one cup right side up in the top rack. Add a small amount of vinegar. When the cup fills up, vinegar water fill pour out into the bottom of the dishwasher. The upside-down cup will catch all the extra bits of food swishing around your dishwasher, so that your dishes aren’t caked with dried food crumbs.

2. If you have any fruit sitting out on your counter, cut it up and make a fruit salad! We buy lots of fruit, and it clutters the counters. And usually goes bad. But, if it is cut up, the kids will eat it in less than a day.

3. Keep a small basket or box in the kitchen, to stick everything in there that doesn’t belong. Have one in there on a regular basis. It helps

4. If you don’t use the item at least once a week, it does not belong on the counter (toaster, blender).

5. If you can get the counters cleared enough to spray and wipe down the whole thing, go for it. Otherwise, just worry about what you can see. We aren’t deep cleaning here!

6. How often do you bake? Do you really need all 5 baking sheets in your oven at all times? And how many baking dishes do you really use? Get rid of the extras (as I’m looking in the mirror).

7. If you know you aren't going to use it, get rid of it. I tend to save glass jars, "just in case"...well, time to get rid of them. They are just taking up counter space.

8. Vinegar, water, (50/50) and a little bit of Sweet Orange Essential Oil  is great for cleaning the kitchen! That same mixture, with just a little bit of olive oil is great to clean wood floors and cabinets.
9. Last kitchen tip for now: Once the kitchen is fairly clean, light a scented candle. It just makes it look so much nicer.

How does your kitchen look?

And just as a side note, sometimes, life happens. Your kitchen is not going to stay looking great. Just remember that the minimum is your dishes. Keep doing those, and you'll be fine.

28 Days to Mary and Martha

First off, Amanda is the winner (and the only one who entered :) ) the giveaway for these two books. Enjoy, Amanda!

Now, the beginning of our 28-Day Challenge…28 Days to Mary and Martha

By the end of the 28 days, I hope that I am in the regular habit of reading my bible first thing in the morning (I'm joing Red and Honey's 30 for 30 for this), and doing the basics around the house, every.single.day.

During these 28 days, I will be following the book 28 Days to Hope for Your Home, in addition to working on some extra assignments to get things in order around here.

I can only pick one habit to share from the book, so you'll have to buy the book to learn all the awesome tips Dana has to share…here's the one habit I'm sharing…

Do your dishes! Now, and every single day. Make that your first habit. As simple as that sounds, it works!

I feed 4 kids, 3 or more times a day. I cook every meal (okay, there are days where I just stick a Pizza Pocket in the microwave!), and I have lots to wash. I don’t normally wash dishes as we use them. I let the dishwasher get full, start it, and let clean dishes sit, while we are dirtying more dishes. I let dishes sit in the sink, or on the counter, overnight. Most nights.

After reading the first, and most important habit of the book, I got up, and washed my dishes.





Before

I focused on doing only my dishes, and you know what? Once they were all clean and put away, I could actually get to the counters to wipe them off! And you know what else? I wanted to clean the rest of the kitchen.

After



Day 1: stop reading, and wash some dishes :)

If you have little ones you need to keep occupied, a dumped out Battleship game does wonders for keeping them busy!



I didn’t dump the game out myself, the kids gladly helped with that last week, but I’m thinking that the next time I have a time-consuming project, I’ll either be dumping the game, legos, or puzzles. Not kidding.



Here are the areas I’ll be working on during the next four weeks:

• Kitchen
• Laundry
• Playroom (or wherever you keep the kids toys)
• Spare bedroom/craft room/home office

 

I will probably not go in order, and some days I'll work on the master bedroom, or the kids room, because my cute little tornadoes are very sporadic on the rooms they destroy customize.

 

If you are joining me, I'd love to year about your journey in the comments throughout the challenge! And if you're a blogger, please share your link if you are document your "spring cleaning", whatever that may look like for you.







Congratulations!

Amanda (the only one who entered :) ) be on the lookout for your books!

A giveaway, and why I can't "Spring Clean"

I am seeing all these posts about spring cleaning...checklists, books, calendars...

As much as I would love to join in on someones Spring Cleaning challenge, I cannot.

Why?

Well...In order to wipe down my refrigerator, I'd be forced to empty it completely, of all the leftovers. Then, I have extra dishes to wash, and put away.  On top of the dishes that I already didn't wash from yesterday and this morning. And probably some pans from before that. So, a simple task like wiping out the refrigerator turns into a huge project for me.

And somewhere in between all that, I have a baby to nurse, and 3 preschoolers to watch. And laundry. Can't forget those cloth diapers that need attention!

I've been following the blog A Slob Comes Clean, for a while now, and love all her great tips.

After much internal debate (I am trying to curb my e-book addiction), I finally bought a book that might actually help me. At least I hope so! It's written by the author of the above mentioned blog.

In 2 days (April 3rd) I will be starting a 28-day challenge, following the book 28 Days to Hope for Your Home and would love for you to join me!

(written by Dana):28 Days to Hope for Your Home includes:
•Twenty-eight days of specific instructions to help you develop four basic (but essential) home management habits.

•Insights into why these concepts seem foreign to you.

•Practical tips to keep you from giving up.

•Bonus sections with realistic strategies for laundry management, meal prep, and decluttering.

•More than 45 pages of all new, exclusive content!

Before I write my first post about the 28-day challenge, I'll be announcing the winner of this PDF version of the 2 E-book set: 28-Days of Hope for Your Home and Drowning in Clutter?

To enter, just leave me a comment in this post telling me your name and your most challenging homemaking task.

If you want to by-pass the giveaway, you can buy the set here, and use the code SPRING13 to get both books for only $5.00, pdf version.

*There are affiliate links in this post, but I have not been paid for promoting the book, nor have I been given any free product. I purchased this book myself to review and share...and hopefully to learn from! I've already started reading some of the tasks, and it sounds doable, even for me, with 4 little ones at home all day with me!

I will announce the winner Wednesday morning. Please don't forget to check my first post of the day, and also Facebook. The winner will need to e-mail.

Encouragement for the week ahead

Behind my shower curtain - Cheap and Natural Beauty Routine

It's been a fairly slow journey, but I've managed to make my shower/beauty routine very simple and natural.

I wash my face with oil, then I moisturize with coconut oil. Sometimes, when I don't accidentally add too much Tea Tree Oil to my Olive Oil/Castor Oil mixture, I swish some in my mouth for a while before I brush my teeth in the morning. Washing my face with oil was the one thing I was very skeptical about, but it is my favorite part of my routine now. My skin has honestly never been healthier. Well, except maybe when I was a baby. And it's a little bit relaxing, massaging the oil onto my face. If you are looking for a new face wash, this is what I recommend. It seems to be the best facial cleansing option, for all skin types! FYI-I use Bella Pierre mineral make-up, and it washes off just fine with oil. I also do not always wash it off, and my skin doesn't get mad at me the next morning.

Then I sprinkle some of this on my hair (on the left), sometimes when my hair is wet, sometimes when it's dry. Then I rinse very thoroughly. And no, it's not cheese :) It's filled with baking soda.

After rinsing with water, I squirt this (on the right) across the front of my hair, on the roots. Then I squirt a little on the back of my head and the bottom of my hair. This bottle works great for my vinegar rinse...I just need to remember to search for a sharpie to write that it's vinegar, to make sure it never gets put on a set of contact lenses!

For body wash, I switch between a natural oatmeal bar soap that is placed in a soap cozi, and some Castile Soap . I am currently working on making a felted soap bar out of an old sweater. I'll let you know how that turns out!


If you are considering switching up your beauty/bath routine, let me just warn you, the baking soda and vinegar routine is the hardest to get through, because there is a period of adjustment for your hair. Don't start this if you plan to go to a salon soon, or they'll advise you to stop. It can take up to a month before the oils in your hair naturally adjust to your new cleansing routine.

All of the items above cost pennies per use, and except for the castor oil, I already keep every other item stocked up for other uses. I do not buy anything extra in order to green up my shower routine. I love that.

Here are some more great resources:
Simple Mom
Sorta Cruncy here and here
Wellness Mama

This post is linked up with Your Green Resource!