Filling a Void

I have been looking for something to fill a void in my family gallery wall. I didn't really have another picture to put up so I was thinking something more artistic. I decided to do a small canvas with our name on it. I had some cream and gold spray paint already so, I started taping off the canvas. {It is kind of ironic that most of the overall tone of the wall is gold, I never liked gold.}





I have to say doing things like this with kids around is a bit tricky. Note my 'S'. I am not very happy with it, but that is what happens when your four year old son decides to touch it while it is drying. He said he thought it was chocolate. Right. Ah, well. It adds character.



I think overall it turned out great. It adds another element to the wall. It ties in perfect with everything else and was simple and easy to make.

Tube Monsters

For some reason our son has a hang up on monsters. Not sure where that came from, but he likes anything monster related. So, the other day {W} and daddy created some monsters out of toilet paper roll tubes. Super easy, yet be warned. When crafing with daddy, things tend to be VERY messy. At least in my experience. But, fun nonetheless.

What you will need is:

                  Toilet Paper Tube

                  Paint

                  Googly Eyes

                  Fine Tip Marker

                  Glue Stick

Take your toilet paper tubes and pinch the top together to for two pointy ears. Then paint the tubes.



After the paint has dried take a glue stick and glue your googly eyes on then draw a face using the fine tip marker.



In no time at all you can create your very own monster family! Enjoy!

A MARBLEous Reward

We are trying something new in the Sposato household. A marbleous reward system. Positive reinforcement works great as long as it is consistent. I have found myself lacking in that department with the old system. For one of our discipline tactics we will take a toy away if {W} refuses to do something we ask. {Mostly for not picking up after himself.} Well, that is fine and dandy, but the problem I was having was remembering to give them back when he did something great.

So, to help both myself and {W} with this we decided to go to the Marble Reward System. For every good deed done, he gets a marble in a jar. When the jar is full, he gets a special treat. We can go for ice cream, go the the Wild {the Call of the Wild}, putt-putt golfing, and other similar outings. He can watch the marbles pile up and see how close he is to earning something special. {Not to mention they are pretty to look at!}



{DISCLAIMER: He doesn't actually have a full jar yet. This was filled for effect.}

Believe it or not, it is actually working! After trying to explain to him the process of what was to be expected,  how to earn a marble, and what would happen once the jar was full I was completely convinced it was all in vain. It was like throwing a rubber ball at a wall and expecting it to stick.

Five minutes later just before we were going to have lunch, {W} bounced into his chair and announced that all his toys were picked up and he was ready for lunch. What!? Did that just happen??? Then I realized that he was already working on his first marble. Well, I can get used to this!



Family Prayer Board

I have been wanting to create a way to post prayer requests that our family receives in a way that is visible for us to see daily and to help remind us who we need to pray for everyday. It had to be something that is easy to change and update.

I have been seeing message/ menu boards made with just a regular frame with scrapbook paper placed behind the glass. Dry erase markers are used to write on the glass. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea for a Family Prayer Board!

The 8 x 10 frame I chose was $10 on sale at Hobby Lobby and I already had the scrapbook paper. Viola! Not too shabby!

A kind of neat side note I would like to share is the scavenger hunt I went on to find my new-in-package magnets that I wanted to put on the back so I could put it on the refrigerator. I looked long and hard for them without turning up anything. Finally, I sat down and said a little prayer asking God to help me find my magnets. {I know, seems so insignificant.}

Well, I said my prayer, I got back up and went downstairs to look one more time. After looking in a couple spots I decided I would look in a regular cardboard box that I had long forgotten what was even in it. Guess what I found! My magnets!!! See, no prayer is too small! I was ecstatic!

The down side: The magnets are not strong enough to keep the frame on the refrigerator. Oh, well. You can't have it all!



Soap Box Politics

My first time voting was in 2000. I remember being super excited and feeling so grown up. The election was between Al Gore and George W. Bush. It was the closest contest in presidential history with the Florida recount. There probably was a certain amount of negativity passed around and if Facebook was around it could have been worse, but I don't remember any of that.

I look at what elections have become since and it seems that it has progressively gotten worse with each election. How hard it must be for young people to feel encouraged to vote and be excited about it!

I really dislike Facebook during elections. I, myself, love a good debate and don't mind defending or sharing my beliefs. If you are not willing to back up what you post, then simply do not post it. What I also find frustrating is seeing my Facebook "friends" post political photos that are degrading, disrespectful, and sometimes exaggerated for effect. Those are insulting and offensive to those with different opinions and beliefs. Some so exaggerated  that they are misleading to those who haven't done their own research. Then there are the posts that are just stating opinions, but the comments under the post are full of name calling and other negative talk. Why? Does it make them feel better about themselves?

I have to admit the majority that I have seen that are like this are posted by my liberal "friends". I say, "friends" because a true friend would be mindful of others beliefs and opinions and respect them for that. They would not allow comments by others which are degrading or engage in debates negatively. That doesn't mean we can't disagree. There is nothing wrong with that and nothing wrong with a good friendly debate! But we have to treat others respectfully!

Lately, I have seen so many posts that are posted by my "friends" that have really bothered me. I am a firm believer of freedom of speech and the right of others to voice their beliefs and opinions. What I am finding hard to overlook is the ones that go beyond that. It is one thing to post political photos that support your position, but it is a whole other thing to post political photos that degrade and disrespect others. It is so distructive!

Even though these are not directly referring to me personally it does feel that way when I see "friends" posts that call conservatives: Tea baggers, crazy, nut jobs, stupid, idiots, racist, intolerant, haters, ignorant, small minded, and so on. Boy, they may not be specifically saying to me, "Lacey, you are a racist because you don't support President Obama, you are a intolerant hater because you believe in the Biblical definition of marriage, you are a tea bagging idiot for believing in our 2nd Amendment rights, and you are ignorant for being pro-life!" but it certainly feels like it. I have my reasons for what I believe just like anybody else. Just because I have different views doesn't mean I am any of what was stated above.

I find it extremely disrespectful to see these, especially from people I know! It turns me off to politics and the debate. If I was a new voter, I wouldn't want anything to do with it. I would feel pressured and influenced that if I were to vote, I had better vote in a way so that no one will think down on me or find me stupid! Why is the negative always louder than the positive? More influential? Why does it have to be: If YOU believe in this you are            ? Why can't it just be: I believe in              because of this.


Things to remember when expressing your beliefs:

Politics is a touchy subject. Polorizing even. Sometimes it is even the best thing to not respond or engage. Especially if you can't do it without allowing negitive banter. Right or left let's keep it clean and treat others like we would want to be treated.

Homemade Dish Soap

In an effort to save money and to rid our household of harsh chemicals I have been making my own cleaning products. My first experience was my own laundry detergent. I have since made my own soap scum remover. My latest endevor has been dish soap.

I looked for a long time trying to find a recipe that made the most sense and this recipe is the one I decided to try. It includes only four main components and was rather simple to make:

I used Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, found in the laundry detergent aisle, Kirk's Castile bar soap, Tea Tree Oil essential oil, and white vinegar. The recipe I followed actually used liquid Castile soap, but I used the bar soap and just grated it. I also doubled my recipe so I don't have to make it that often.

Make sure to let it cool completey and stir well to make sure the soap dissolves into the mixture. There won't be a lot of suds, but I noticed I really didn't have any. I could see the soap was mixed well in the water, but suds have always made me feel like the soap was "working".  I have read, however, that you may have a better chance of suds if you have soft water. We have hard water so that is probably my problem. 

Cost wise this was very inexpensive. The Castile soap was $3.39 for three bars. So one recipe would be $.56. The washing soda is $3.24 for 55 oz. and we are only using 2 TBS! So you can see how extremely minimal the cost is to make.

I thought it worked pretty good. My dishes seemed to come out clean. I will keep you updated as I use it more, if you try it yourself please feel free to comment and share your experience!

Hope you enjoy!

UPDATE: In an effort to mix it better, I ended up making really foamy. I thought that the foam would go down like usual, but it stayed. I have still been using it. It is a little harder to squeeze out since the foam is so thick. Not sure if that was suposed to happen or not!