Friday Thoughts
It’s been a while, but I’m pretty excited to be popping back in with a Friday Thoughts post (they’re my favorite because of YOUR comments). I have a lot on my mind. Like, a lot, a lot.
And I’m excited to get your feedback and thoughts on all my rambly venting today. 🙂
All the other past Friday Thoughts posts here.
1) Family Vacation: I need your help! This resident homebody needs to know: what is the best family vacation you’ve ever taken? To where? And why? (I’m gathering some highly scientific data to present to Brian next week, so thanks in advance.)
2) Sunday Dinner Assignments: Last fall I realized weeknights were not working when it came to teaching my kids how to cook. Too busy. Too noisy. Too distracting. Too stressful. Too much controlling OCD (ahem, taking full ownership for that one).
So we switched the system up a bit, and I can’t believe how well it is working. I love it! The kids love it! And honestly, they have totally shocked me and Brian with their rock star cooking abilities.
I call it Sunday Dinner Assignments. Super clever and catchy, huh? Gosh, I’m a marketing wizard.
How it’s working so far: I plan out a simple menu for Sunday night and assign one of the kids for each section. This involves a super high tech system of writing the menu on a post it note with one of the kid’s names next to each section.
Usually it’s a main dish, homemade bread or rolls of some sort, a side dish or two, and dessert. And in most cases, I let them choose the specific recipe they want to make (within reason and with approval).
I don’t put myself on the rotation. The kids execute the whole meal AND they are responsible for washing the dishes for their recipe. My role is to not helicopter and just answer questions and step in if they ask for help.
Yes, it’s a bit chaotic and messy; they try and work together to plan out oven usage and stagger the prep/cooking times so there are only a couple of them in the kitchen at a time.
The best part is seeing how excited they are to tell Brian which dish they made when we sit down to dinner. Of course we have had quite a few spills (including a whole bucket of honey) and arguments about who gets to use the favorite whisk first (that one ended in tears + at least one bruise)…and there have even been a few times where something was…um…slightly inedible.
But the learning process has been invaluable. Each one of the boys has made homemade rolls (or this buttery bundt bread is a fave choice) at least twice by themselves, and let me tell you, if they do nothing else in their lives, I’m going to hang on to some mom pride over this accomplishment.
They are all used to the system now and ask me on Saturday night if I know what their assignment will be yet. I’m sure this Sunday Dinner Assignments thing will go through several variations as we stick with it, but it’s working pretty great right now.
In the interest of full disclosure, about every fourth or fifth Sunday, I have a little “moment” and decide I can’t handle anyone else being in the kitchen and declare it “Mom’s Sunday Dinner Assignment All By Herself Please Leave the Kitchen Area Immediately.”
How do you teach the kids in your life to cook? Are you able to let go of the control and give them free reign?
3) Eagle Scouts:Both Walker and Jackson earned their Eagle Scout award a couple Sundays ago (with three other young men from church). Scouting has been a fun journey for them, even if they didn’t love every single minute.
Quite honestly, toward the end, I didn’t know if our relationship would survive the paperwork process, but I’m really, really proud of them for achieving this award. And I’m really, really proud of myself for making it through, too. Haha. No, but seriously.
At the ceremony, my 15-year old chose to give his mentor pin to me, which was so touching and sweet! The scoutmaster handed him the microphone so he could say a few words about why he was doing this, and Jackson cleared his throat and very meaningfully gave this tender tribute: “well, I’m giving this mentor pin to my mom because she basically threatened me that I couldn’t get my driver’s license until my Eagle Scout was done. And also, she drove me around to a lot of places.”
And you know what? I totally gave him a huge hug and kiss on the cheek because I’LL TAKE IT. The tribute and the mentor pin. 🙂 I love these boys and am really, really proud of their hard work, including learning the art of making real, live phone calls, which apparently might be the hardest, hardest, hardest thing to ask a teenager to do.
4) Natural Deoderant:ok, you guys, I’ve tried a lot of natural deoderant out there, and I’m sorry for the inclusion of too much info here, but I’ve done so even at the cost of some serious underarm chafing and rashes (Schmidt’s, I’m looking at you). Lume, Tom’s, Schmidt’s. I still feel like I smell like a pre-pubescent middle school boy.
Help? Am I missing something? Is there a natural deoderant that actually works and doesn’t rip up my skin? Please enlighten me and the rest of humanity.
5) Being a Finisher: I’ve been working on teaching my kids the art of being a finisher. And instead of lecturing, I decided I better just model the desired behavior and actually finish a couple projects I’ve been working on for years.
I started this crochet quilt when Camryn was a toddler. Yes, that’s 5+ years ago. And I just barely finished it over the holiday break. And then I wrapped it up and put it under the Christmas tree as a present to myself. I’m embarrassed to say I actually cried tears when it was done.
It’s been a labor of love. And now I’m afraid to actually ever use it because what if it unravels? (Free pattern from Purl Soho and yarn from Knitpicks, which was enough yarn for my mom to also make one of these blankets, which she finished years before mine – she’s a rock star)
The other blanket I finally finished was this Fancy Forest quilt, pattern by Elizabeth Hartman. A couple years ago when I decided I wanted to learn to quilt (never had before), I chose this as my first quilt. Yes, you just go ahead and laugh at me, because everyone else in my real life did, too!
I admit it was a bit ambitious, but I figured if I was going to learn, I was going to learn. Anyway, you can see how well that worked out. It took me, again, about five years to finish this quilt. And there are so many mistakes I can hardly bear to look at it. (Sidenote: not sure quilting is the right hobby for someone with a brain like mine.) But I finished it! It’s legit the hardest project I’ve ever done.
And I am really, really proud of myself. I even took a long arm quilting class at a local quilt shop and long arm quilted the top of this bad boy all by myself, and I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE SCARED AND MORE PROUD OF ANYTHING I’VE DONE IN MY WHOLE LIFE EVER. Also, I sweated an obscene amount during the long arm process. Also, this may be why we need to really delve into topic #4 up there. Also, I promise to never talk about sweat again.
Do you have any goals to finally finish something this year that you started long ago?
6) Vegan, Vegan:A good friend of mine is transitioning to a plant-based/vegan/no sugar diet to combat a stage IV cancer diagnosis. We basically talk about the food part of this journey nonstop, and my brain is going a mile a minute to figure out how to help her (and also incorporate more plant-based recipes in my own life)!
She and I have already been experimenting with different cashew-based dressings and sauces among other things. We’ve had some wins. And some losses. Haha. Do you have any great vegan/100% unprocessed recipes to share? Favorite online sources? Cookbooks?
7) Grit and Resilience: this TED talk is really fascinating. I really, really want my kids to be gritty! And let’s be honest, I want it for myself, too. To persevere through hard things and not give up. Since I’m 1,000% certain lecturing does.not.help. I’m trying to find more ways to help foster resilience in my kids. Any experts out there on growth mindset? Have I gone too far? Is this too deep for a Friday? What are your thoughts?
8) Games:You know I can only go so long without talking about what games we are loving at the minute. One of you awesome persons recommended the game Patchwork – aff. link on my holiday game gift guide. We love it! It’s a 2-person game and it is so, so fun. You don’t have to be interested in sewing or quilting or buttons or anything to love this game. It’s super strategic with a little bit of luck, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
The other game we’ve been pulling out for a quick game sesh is Left, Center, Right (we have the basic version and also the wild version – aff. links). Super, super fast. Super, super fun. Everyone around here loves LCR!
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Ok, you guys, thanks for sticking with me through this rambling post!
Love your guts.
Don’t leave until you add your thoughts below. I need your insights, humor, wisdom and recipes in my life. 🙂
UPDATE!!!! You guys. YOU GUYS! I have spent hours (days!) reading through your comments. I’ve read every single one. I wish I had time to respond to you each personally. Instead, I literally just made a MASSIVE spreadsheet (ahem, nerd alert) with all of your vacation, deodorant, vegan and grit recommendations. And you guys, this spreadsheet is gold. I can’t wait to organize it (ahem, second nerd alert) and read through it and learn from it and PLAN A VACATION and make some plant-based meals and try out the 5,000 deodorant recommendations all while telling my kids to stay gritty. Haha. But seriously, I could kiss all of your faces for all of the comments. The insights. The personal stories and experiences. As always, you’ve made me laugh and think and think some more. And you have given so, so many good recommendations. WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU? No really, what would I do? I’d actually have to find friends in real life and that would just be super lame. So glad you guys are my people. I loved reading every single one of these comments. I promise to update a future Friday Thoughts post (or maybe just at the bottom of this one) with my spreadsheet findings! xoxo
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I agree with Native Deodorant. I reluctantly switched a year ago. It took a few months before I felt it was working 100% but now it’s all I use. It doesn’t keep me as dry as Secret but I don’t feel I have an odor. (That’s important!). And now that Target carries it, I don’t run out.Â
Native Deodorant!
Hello Mel – for me the best ever vacation was when we went to Glacier National Forest in Montana. The scenery is incredible and the water is the bluest – I could just ramble about it anyway the time to go would be summer – yes more families and busier – but we went in October and some of the mountain passes were closed. If you go, there is oodles to see and do for the kids. Go up into the Canadian part too if you have time/resources.
On another note, may I saw kudos to you on walking with your friend through the difficulty if Stage 4 cancer. It is not easy but press in because it will be an incredible encouragement to her. I’ve learned that words aren’t always necessary – just a hug or holding of hand – they all are wonderfully comforting. May the Lord bless you as you walk along side of her and strengthen you for each encounter.
Our best family vacation was our amazing 2-week trip to France. Yes, it’s a splurge (although we managed to find $500 tickets on American to Paris so that helped!), but there’s something about being overseas and experiencing a new culture together that is magical. We spent a week in the countryside (Dordogne region, about 5 hours southwest of Paris) and then a week in Paris. It was great to be in the countryside and visit the caves, castles and quaint French towns. Paris was great because there’s so much to see an do. We really tried to embrace the culture and soak it all in with our 2 – 3 hour dinners, going to the bakery every morning to get fresh croissants and just enjoying each other. We rented a car for the countryside and got apartments in both places so we had plenty of room for sleeping and a kitchen.
What a wonderful idea !!!!! Thanks so much for sharing, I’m putting this on my buckelist to do with hubby !!
I have strong opinions about deoderant. I’ve tried everything as well. So far my favorite is Native for sensitive skin. It’s the first time I’ve been able to use scented deoderant without extreme rashes and I love the coconut vanilla scent. The one thing I have learned is that with my extremely sensitive soap for my body, I must scrub my armpits with a stronger soap to get the smell out every day. (My sensitive soap somehow cannot get that smell out every day). Native is now sold at target, but not the sensitive version. Just buy it on their website.
What soap do you use for your under arms?
I love your Sunday meal idea. My kids aren’t quite that old yet but I may have to try a variation of it.Â
We did a road trip up through Oregon and Northern California that we loved. We hit Crater Lake, Â the Redwoods, Silver Falls State Park (so many waterfalls!) and Columbia River Gorge area. It was a beautiful trip! And my kids even enjoyed the hikes there.Â
My favorite natural deodorant is Native. Not all their scents work for me but my favorites have been the coconut & vanilla and charcoal. You can get it at Target but it is a little less in price if you subscribe and have it delivered straight from Native. I was not impressed with the texture of Schmidt’s either. Native doesn’t stop me from sweating (but neither did any of the prescription grade deodorants) but at least I don’t stink anymore! Yay!Â
I’ve really liked recipes from minimalist baker, detoxinista and simply quinoa. I’m not sure if any of them or only vegan but I have a lot of vegan recipes from them. Â
We also love playing games. Our favorite games right now are Low Down, Uno Flip and Five Crowns.Â
Re: Natural deodorant…
Milk of magnesia. It is NOT an antiperspirant but it does keep BO at bay!
The People’s Pharmacy even has MoM roll ons in unscented, lavender & some men’s scent (haven’t tried that because, well, I’m not a man). My preference is the lavender.
Plain unflavored milk of magnesia applied with a cotton ball is more economical than the roll-ons.
I’ve used it for years (both The PP roll-ons & the regular MoM) and it works.
Vacations we have enjoyed are Pensacola beach,
St. Louis -has really great free zoo, free science center, the Arch and we found some great restaurants. Branson is fun. I recommend highly renting an Airbnb house or condo over a hotel room. Though for the traveling part hotels with free breakfast and maybe a swimming pool are great. We do a decent amount of bring/cook your own food on vacations but try to eat at some nicer restaurants at each destination-unique to the area to make the eating out a cultural experience vs fast food or a chain restaurant although we do include a little of that too. Â
Instead of using a natural deodorant I started using Burt’s Bees diaper cream which I know sounds totally crazy… but it works, I very rarely stink, my armpit skin is very happy, and I get compliments on it.
I’ve made my own for years and my husband even uses  it! It’s equal parts cornstarch and baking soda and I add a few drops of scented oil. I keep it a jar and apply it with a powder puff. It really works! I’ve given it to lots of friends and family and they’re now making their own.
Vacations: we LOVE cruises! You get to see lots of different places, the food is all taken care of, destinations are already planned, lodging is easy and consistent, etc. We have only done Carnival Cruises so far – they’re definitely the least expensive, but still a great value for what you get!Â
Mel, your quilt is absolutely stunning! I’ve only ever done square piece quilts and I thought those were stressful! You are amazing.Â
For games we also love Left Center Right – fun twist: use candy instead of the tokens (make sure everyone washes their hands before ) – it makes it a little more exciting!Â
Just Ingredients has a natural deodorant that is amazing. Â You will love it!
Favorite trip was a big one—Australia and New Zealand. Best memories ever! This is the trip we all say we want to go back to.Â
I tried Primally Pure’s deodorant. Liked it so well I stocked up, then came the rash from the “low amount” of baking soda. I’ve been using deodorant from justingredients. So far so good. I also just ordered some smarty pits that I’ve heard good things about.Â
I think Native deodorant is one of the softest I’ve tried, but I do sensitive because the baking soda gives me rashes. I’m currently trying Each and Every which is also baking soda free. So far so good.Â
Pinch of yum is my favorite vegan recipe website. She does a lot of vegan recipes, but usually has tips to make any of her recipes vegan. Great videos on Instagram of you just want to see a quick view of what she’s making.Â
There is a girl on Instagram justingredients that makes her own deodorant and it’s amazing. Also on Instagram is platefulhealth. She is an md but is plant based and has an e-cookbook that is so good!! Good luck
Favorite vacation ever is so hard to answer!! I have four young children (8 and under) and we went to Disney world last year with extended family and it was a lot of work but amazing.Â
We also really enjoy road trips. For spring break one time we went to the east coast and did DC, NYC, palmyra and Niagara Falls and it was awesome. Â
We also drove around Michigan and Lake Mackinac island with extended family and it was so fun.Â
Growing up we went to lake Powell and that was a lot of fun as well.Â
Good luck!
Native deodorant is awesome!  I’ve been using it since last summer and it works great! Â
Have you been to the Oregon coast? Â That is a great family vacation. Cannon Beach is our favorite place to land on the coast.Â
As for natural deodorant, I am in the process of making the switch myself. I tried the Crunchy Betty Kokomo Cream from Amazon because it came highly recommended from a friend who’s tried them all. It has a lot of baking soda and if I have shaved my armpits recently they get irritated, otherwise it was ok. I don’t like that you have to rub it on with your fingers, that feels gross to me. So now I’m trying the Crystal Body Deodorant Stick, also Amazon. So far no stinkage. Probably when it’s hot will be the true test though. I have heard there is a transition period when switching to natural deodorant so hang in there and let us know if you find anything amazing.Â
Our favorite vacation was to Maui in October 2018, for 10 days. Our kids were 8 and 10 at the time and it was the most fun we’ve had on vacation. Beautiful beaches, delicious food, endless shopping and lots of little day trip opportunities; The Road to Hana, driving up to Haleakala, upcountry exploring, etc. Stay at a VRBO, its WAY WAY cheaper than a hotel, especially with 5 kids! We also really loved Rosemary Beach in Florida, again, beautiful beaches, fantastic food and endless shopping! If you’d like more info on either place please email and ask away!
As for natural deodorant, I LOVE Primally Pure ( http://www.primallypure.com ) It’s a little pricier than the brands you find at the grocery store or Target but it works! I used to get brownish discoloration in my armpits from other ‘natural’ deodorants, it was there for YEARS and when I started using Primally Pure it cleared up within 2 weeks! My favorite scents are Geranium and Blue Tansy. They smell great and last all day, no stinky pits! They also make natural skin care products as well that are great!
Good Luck!!
Favorite family vacations so far:
Bar Harbor, Maine, Acadia National Park
Garden City, Utah Conestoga RanchÂ
I used Tom’s deodorant for a long time, but eventually felt like I wanted to go even cleaner. I tried Lume and have never been so stinky in my life. It was awful, embarrassing, and threatened the stability of my marriage! I switched to Just Ingredients deodorant and I LOVE it. The citrus smell is fantastic and the ingredient list is so short. And while you’re at it, try her face serum. It’s amazing!
Favorite vacation: every single time we have rented an airbnb somewhere and spent 67% of the vacation just hanging out with each other without the interruptions of normal life. And if the airbnb has a pool table or a hot tub, bonus. Probably our favorite airbnb was in the Smoky Mountains and it was glorious.
Natural deoderant that actually works – for me I found that Native actually does the trick. But I read that part of the reason it is so hard to find the right one is that everyone’s chemistry reacts differently to each of them. So what someone tells you is amazing might be a no-go for you. But for me, several tries later, Native is the one that actually smells nice from morning to night for me!
Love Jason’s  Lavender. Also best vacations were the cruises anywhere my boys still talk about them and there married with there own kids and have taken there family on a cruise.
We take 3 generation vacations, so finding a place big enough is a challenge! We’ve gone to the Oregon coast several times and Island Park, Idaho, but our hands down favorite is Coeur d’Alene!! Private dock, kayaking, fishing, biking. So much fun! And the Hiawatha trail is not too far away for the adventurous among us.
Lume Deodorant!!!! Run don’t walk! It is fantastic for ALL things that it advertises!!! I am a HUGE sweater and it really does work! I still sweat… I don’t think that is ever going away, but I don’t stink and it’s all natural! Love that!!
Favorite Family Vacation: Nosara, Costa Rica in January! We loved it in March too, it’s just dry season so it’s not green and plush, but it’s the cutest, off the beaten path town, with yummy food, a short walk to the beach and the most fantastic sun rises you have EVERY seen!!
I’m sorry to hear about your friend. I don’t have first hand experience with Stage 1V cancer. Best of luck and I hope that you find some good answers.
Favorite Family Trips – RV trips to National Parks with hiking and biking
Why? Â Just simple, good family time, explorer our beautiful USA and time around the campfire, without the distractions of electronics
How? Â Rent an RV at a local RV rental place or online
What? Â Best family RVs for beginners are Class Cs with two slide outs and bunkbeds
We do this every summer and it is our kids favorite vacations, the memories are priceless! Â Best family memories ever!
I love Bubble and Bee 100 % natural products (bubble and bee.com) and their deodorants are incredible. When we were dirt poor students and I ran out of deodorant, I mixed baking soda and corn starch and used a cotton ball to powder in on under my arms and it worked very well. Sometimes I mix the two with some coconut oil to make a paste. You can use arrowroot in lieu of cornstarch to absorb moisture. Thankfully, I’m not a heavy sweater even when I’m physically active.
That’s what I use too. Here is my recipe: 3 Tbp coconut oil, 2 Tbp baking soda, 2 Tbp cornstarch, and some drops of essential oil ( i have tried lavender and peppermint, I prefer peppermint) but yeah don’t use it after shaving,Â
I love your Sunday dinner idea. My 16 y/o stepdaughter cooks for herself most nights, She likes to eat healthy and while I don’t know how well she does on clean up, I’m sure she does it. Anytime I need her to help me she is there and I hardly have to give instructions. Her sister on the other hand am happy she can make no bake trail mix balls herself 🙂 Congratulations to and your boys for achieving Eagle Scout status. I have seen a lot of great vegan recipes on Ambitious Kitchen blog and I think Heather Christo is starting to do more plant based recipes. Will definitely watch that TED talk. That is one thing I would love for my girls to learn is resilience and having the confidence to stand up for what you believe in. My husband has a “be honest, I’m not going to judge you” policy with them. He always try to instill in them to try their best and if you don’t do well, be OK with it because you’ve put your all into it. These are some of my favorite posts that you & other bloggers do. You are truly a rock star in my eyes Mel!
Native deodorant for natural deodorant. Can’t help you on the vacation front because we always just go to Boise (lol) and if you can avoid the 18 hour drive like we do that would be smart. So my advice an Airbnb on the Oregon coast. We went there once and I found it pretty laid back and not super crowded.Â
Forgot to add games – Sangrada, Azul and jokers and marbles are current family favs.Â
Native deodorant all the way!
Love Just Ingredients natural deodorant. Doesn’t break you out and she has an awesome face serum as well. justingredientswithkaralynne.com
Lavanilla Deodorant…yum! A bit pricey, but works…I have been through a bunch. This is my favorite. Vegan recipes…yes, anything specific, I have a bunch…and a few cookbook recommendations if you want.
Toms deodorantÂ
I’m glad the Friday thoughts posts are back! For vegan and plant based recipes try http://www.pinchofyum.com she doesn’t post strictly vegan or vegetarian but has a ton of recipes that are! On the game front, have you tried Dixit? It’s fun for the whole family, easy to catch on to, and the current favorite of my almost 7 year old.
Hilton HeadÂ
Love your recipes, but these posts are my favorite. I always think to myself, “she is so similar to me, we could be BFF’s”. Anyway, try native deodorant or I think even better is one by @justingredients I too had rashes galore and irritation, and no longer. Also, just ingredients face oil is “money”. I was laughing about the drivers license and Eagle Scout thing because that was so my family growing up. So much so ingrained in me, that when my son was just a project away from his eagle and he and my husband and decided he had learned what he needed to learn, and peace out, I was kind of shocked and dare say embarrassed we were “following through”, but had to let it go. Love, love the Sunday dinner teaching approach and think I may try that. Keep up all the good work!
Native deodorant for the win!
One of our favorite family trips was biking the Hiawatha Trail. It’s an old railway line that has been converted into a bike path. It was amazing! And totally doable for families of all ages (the path is all downhill ). We combined the trail with a day at C’oeur D’Alene Lake (amazing temperatures and so much fun in the water and I am NOT a water person) and topped the trip off by picking blueberries at a you-pick farm near Sandpoint, Idaho.Â
And, I’ve recently made the switch to natural deodorant myself-I’ve been using Arm and Hammer, but will reach for the Native brand next-I’ve heard great things about it.Â
I have tried alllllllll the natural deodorants too (Lume, Native, Schmidt’s, etc.) and had the same issues as you – terrible rashes and not very effective. I was about to give up until I tried Just Ingredients. Game Changer. Trust me, it works. And I haven’t had a single rash. And I love supporting her independent business. https://justingredientswithkaralynne.com/collections/deodorant-face-serum
Also, your woodland quilt is amazing. I don’t see a single mistake so don’t be too hard on yourself.
Our best family vacation was to spend 2 weeks in Nauvoo being in the family cast for the Nauvoo and British pageants. Life changing for me and actually for my kids as well. The first week is exhausting in the best way but you are surrounded by amazing people. The second week is lots of fun. We had extended family come for the pageants so we did lots of history sites together. We will definitely do it again!
Oops. Posted in the wrong spot.
So many good topics this go round!
1- Family trips – Washington DC/Williamsburg VA,,,Hilton Head/Charleston SC/Atlanta,,,
Southern Utah hiking – Escalante, Bryce, Zions,
2-Natural deodorant – follow just ingredients. Her deodorant is the best (I’ve tried many as well). I LOVE her face serum as well (and very reasonable priced).
3- We have been doing about 75% meatless meals around our house and it’s much easier than I thought it would be. We just feel lighter with less meat. We even like tofu which is shocking. The key to tofu is the air fryer. Marinate the tofu for a bit, then air fry for 8 or so minutes. I can’t honestly claim it’s delicious, but it’s good. We do a lot of soups, stir frys, and use lots of beans. Another go to are grain bowls. Using a base of rice, quinoa, or mashed potatoes, we can make endless delicious combinations with roasted veggies, beans, sauces and sometimes tofu. My best resource for finding good meatless meals is pinterest. I’ve also successfully converted many of your recipes to meatless – subbing in white beans for chicken in your Chicken Quinoa Butternut Squash stew is one example.
4- Your quilts are AWESOME! I started quilting a few years ago as well. Sometime they are fast projects (months) and sometime they are slow (years). I have started a fun (and labor intensive) project of making 2 matching quilts for my graduating seniors. In theory they help me sew their quilt. When they take off for college, they have a quilt from mom and I have stack and smiles of quilts that represent each of my graduates.
We LOVED our family trip to Seattle, Orcas Island, and Olympic National Park. It was beautiful and a good mix of natural beauty and city fun.
I’ve been using natural deodorant for a little over a year. Only one made me peel like a sunburn (Myro at Target). I’ve settled on Kopari. Using one with charcoal at first helps the transition. I know Kopari works because I forgot a few weeks ago and I could tell! I ordered directly from the company so I could get the scent I wanted. I don’t love smelling like coconut, especially in the dead of winter. Someone suggested even doing a charcoal mask to your pits to detox them at the beginning of the process. The theory being that years of antiperspirant use has clogged up the nasty, and it needs to come out.
I use Native deodorant.  Nice smell and it’s sold at Target.  When I first started using it, I had to order it online.  As for vacations, we love Bald Head Island in NC. You get there by Ferry and no cars are allowed on the island, only bikes and golf carts.  Not a lot to do there except rest, read, bike, and enjoy the beach.  Drawback – it gets crowded in the summer.  The quilt looks amazing!  Congrats to the Eagle Scouters! Â
One more detail, I cook the soup in the IP. After I saute the vegetables in the IP, I add everything through the Italian herbs. Then I cook on manual for 5 minutes. I let it naturally release, but not sure if that is necessary.
This goes for the recipe in my comment below (my reply didn’t attach to my previous comment for some reason).
My sister-in-law switched to a mostly plant-based diet with her family a few years ago. She also helped her mom with plant-based for a cancer diagnosis this past year. I’m not quite up to that kind of commitment, but I’ve tried a few things that she has recommended. We absolutely love this soup recipe (love might be a little strong for most of my kids, but they ate it without complaining so I’m calling it a win). There are other recipes on this site that I’m hoping to try. I’m excited for you to do the experimenting for me though since I trust your judgement with food and my kids know that if it comes from “Mel’s”, it’s going to be good.
https://www.simplyquinoa.com/creamy-italian-quinoa-soup/
I am in love with your crocheted blanket and quilt!! I’m struggling with finishing things as well – this year I’m hoping to declutter our house. I’ve been taking about it for ages, and making bits of headway here and there, but it’s time! Your Sunday dinner system sounds fantastic!! My kids are homeschooled, so weeknights are generally less hectic around here. Our new system is that each child gets a day of the week that’s their special day – they get to say all the prayers, get the mail, sit next to Mom at mealtimes, and help me out with anything I need. That will include being the dinner helper. My kids are a bit younger – ages 10, 9, 6, 5 – so they will need help from me a bit more before they’re doing it on their own. We’ll see how this works, but I’m hoping to stick with some version of this for the long haul. I just love these Friday Thoughts posts, although I rarely comment! Thank you for sharing all your thoughts with us!
Totally with you on #4. I’m a super sweater and nothing has worked for me. I’ve been wanting to try Lume, but if you say it doesn’t work for you, it probably won’t for me….
I have a friend here who beat stage 4 cancer naturally. You can read her story and some awesome recipes at realfoodcentral.com.
Your quilts looks amazing! I have neither the space nor the patience to sew, so good for you for finishing it!
I think you need to buy each of your kids their favorite whisk for Valentine’s Day! Ends the fighting, and you can add to their set of tools at other holidays. By the time they move out they will a good amount of tried and true cooking utensils.
This is a GREAT idea! I’m all for those useful kind of gifts and you can add to each year and/or holiday!
I saw that you were having your kids help with Sunday dinners on one of your roll posts and it was like a light turned on. I had been having the same problem with weeknight kids cooking. (Getting a system down only to have the next week’s activities disrupt it.) I have pretty much been copying your idea, and having similar results. Lots of mess and lots of sense of accomplishment! I’m thrilled.
Also, thank you for your game recommendations! Quixx, Sushi Go, and Chameleon, have saved us many a cold night this winter.
I have no idea about natural deodorant. But best of luck. Thanks for saving my dinner. Every. Single. Night.
I too, have had trouble with natural deodorant! One gave me a rash (I think it was Schmidt’s). Native works pretty well, but right now I’m using Dove 100% aluminum free. The other thing I’ve found to help is to use antibacterial soap on my armpits when I shower. I use shower gel for the rest of my body, but make sure to use the antibacterial soap on my armpits and that seems to help with stinkiness. Congratulations to your boys on their Eagle Scouts! That’s going to help them so much in their life. My husband got his and not only did it help him with college, but he still includes it on his resume for work. College admissions and employers know how difficult it is to achieve the Eagle scout and that it shows leadership, determination, hard work, etc. Have your boys include it on college applications and job resumes when the time comes! Love your Friday thoughts posts!
The forest animals quilt is one of the cutest things I have ever seen-truly. Simply adorable. Great job!
I’m trying to remember if you’ve posted about Monopoly Deal before? I am obsessed with it! We got it for our girls for Christmas and then my husband and I stayed up until midnight playing it even though we had to leave super early in the morning for my parents’ house! It’s more fun, faster, and easier than the board game!
We’ve also been enjoying Play 9 (my daughter beat me -30 to 80 last week) and Cover Your Assets per your recommendation! My husband and daughters were playing CYA while enjoying chips and queso at a restaurant and texted a picture to Grandpa Beck! He replied and they were SO happy!Â
Your quilt and crocheted blanket look amazing! I made suuuuuper basic quilts for my girls for Christmas several years ago and about lost my dang mind! After that, I decided to stop because I zero percent enjoyed it and sewing machines make me crazy! My sister is a great sew-er and the process is life giving for her, so I delegate sewing projects to her! My basic hand sewing skills get me by with putting on buttons and fixing holes and little tears!Â
Every now and then we do a meal like you’ve been doing Sunday dinners! The girls LOVE it, but it’s SO much work for me because they choose what they make. I like your way of assigning things, because then you can see that they are actually learning a useful skill and you can grocery shop more intentionally for it! I’ll have to add that to our menu!
Have an awesome weekend! <3
Totally embarrassed that after years of reading and making your awesomeness, my debut comment is about deodorant. But, For the good of humanity, here we go. I’m not a super sweaty person, but I do exercise and chase my kiddos around ALOT and this seems to do the job really well. use and love this deodorant-https://megababebeauty.com/collections/all-products/products/sunny-pits.Â
Yes, to megababe!
I have had the same problem with natural deodorant!  I had a rash that lasted for MONTHS and I couldn’t use anything but soap and water .  Anyway, the crystal works (literally a clear rock in a DO container).  I did find that I needed to wash my pits before applying but, it worked great as far as keeping me stink-free.  Currently, I have opted for Aluminum free/fragrance and dye free Secret.  I’m sure it’s not 100% awesome but, it’s what I can do RN!
Congratulations on your boys making Eagle Scout! And for finishing your projects- they look amazing!!
And thank you for sharing your new method of getting the kids into the kitchen. This is something I’ve been thinking about and haven’t implemented and I just need to start- one little job at a time!
And I love this natural deodorant- works great and makes the skin feel so soft! https://www.amazon.com/Little-Seed-Farm-Deodorant-Aluminum-Free/dp/B0791XWCCK/ref=redir_mobile_desktop?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Thanks for everything, Mel!
Native deodorant is the best! It works and I’ve been using it for over a year. My hubby uses it too. No stink and no rashes. Plus, it’s easy to find, even Walmart has it. Love your Sunday night assignments idea, and the forest quilt is AMAZING!
Native smelled okay but i perspired like crazy. did not like.