Pinnin!!! Winnin!!

Well here we are.  Another edition of Pinterest wins and fails.  Before I start in to the good stuff, I just want to say a little something about this.  On Mother's Day our church was gracious enough to lead us through Proverbs 31 - Be a Godly mom.  Watch it HERE or below if you want.  It was great!  Jeff issued a challenge to the woman of our church to take a 30 day fast from social media and start DOING some of the projects they've pinned.  After that service a handful of people stopped me and said that they thought of me because of my pinterest posts - they commended me for being industrious.  Well let me tell you - I sure do make a point to act on a lot of the things I pin, but there are about 5000 things on there for every 1 thing I have completed.  Oh, boy, do I spend my fair share of time with social media.  But if my pinning and winning inspires someone to spend their time more wisely, then go for it!  But don't be thinking I'm some super industrious, know what I'm doing, kind of person.  I have friends like that.  I admire that.  

So here we are - the latest: 

DIAPERS IN HANGING BASKETS

Travis says I have to wait on this one to see if it really works or not, but I think it's fine.  Savannah and I potted some plants and hanging baskets.  We put diapers in the bottom - the idea is that the gel in the diaper helps hold in the moisture in so they don't dry out so quick hanging up there flapping in the wind.  I'm pretty excited about this one because I LOVE hanging baskets!  We'll see.  I bought a HUGE beautiful fern this year.  We also put a mixture of sugar and Epsom salt in each plant to help them grow big and strong (1/4 sugar : 1 salt ratio).   

MAKE AHEAD SMOOTHIES

These have saved my life lately!  How many days have I tried to get us all fed and out of the house only to leave late or completely miss out on eating myself!?  So many.  That's the answer.  Nothing makes me more frustrated then driving to church and realizing that my breakfast is sitting on the counter still waiting for me.  And I love a good smoothie!  So I found these recipes for make aheads.  You make them, let them sit for a day in the fridge, then put them in the freezer.  Put it back in the fridge the night before when you know you have a crazy morning coming up.  What's awesome about this is A.They have Chia seeds.  I'm just now getting into these so I don't know all the benefits, but I do know that they help thicken the whole thing up real good.  B. They have oatmeal, which keeps you full forever and if you blend that first you don't even know it's there. and C. You make a bunch at one time (I doubled it) so you use the whole can of coconut milk (or whatever you use) at once and you don't have to throw half away or figure out how to save it. 

Here's my version down by the sausages.  

Barbie Hair Shop

I saw this in a couple of places, so I'm not posting a link because I'm not sold. By the second day of Savannah's summer vacation it became clear that we needed some activities, so I'm making a goal to have one "structured" thing we do each day.  She has a ton of dolls with snarled hair, and that bothers me for whatever reason, so we started there.  One website said to have a spray bottle with 2TBS liquid fabric softener and the rest water and use it like leave in conditioner.  That worked for some of them and it did smell good.  Another website said to submerge the hair in hot water for a few seconds then comb it - that didn't really work.  We got most of the girls hair combed and styled.  (sorry about the nakey girl on the left) This is the place where the girls with long hair waited for the fashion show after.  There was also a station for short hair girls and one for Ponies.  I'm curious to see if this makes their hair over all easier to comb out. 

Arrows in shoes / GAME CHANGER!

This is simple.  Put an arrow pointing inward inside all of your kids shoes so they can get them on the correct feet.  Did this with permanent marker in all of Savannah's shoes the other day and this morning she said "Momma, thank you for putting arrows in my shoes so I can do it right by myself".  The proof is in the pudding on this one.  HUGE WIN!

Drinks in Mason Jars

Actually, the Pins I had were all about having jars (like in the picture) with drinks for parties.  I've just been mixing my own drinks at home (like a John Collins - best drink ever), popping the lid on, and taking it with me to cook outs and stuff.  Especially if it's BOYB because I just don't do beer.  But we've also been using them for smoothies and all kinds of stuff.  Mason Jars.  Get with the times bro. 

Hope you're getting some ideas here. I'm sure the next couple of weeks have plenty to offer.  Of friend of mine said tonight "I think Pinterest is one of the most practical things I do"  - I definitely agree!