Gun Metal Hoops, My Favorite Thing...Under $30

I'm linking up tonight with a super fun blog party ... a favorite things party!  The idea is to host a party, and instead of doing a white elephant gift and being sad your gift wasn't the "hot item" of the party, you bring a reasonably priced favorite thing for everyone at the party!  Then you introduce your item as you pass it around explaining why it is your favorite item.

Ummmm, yes!  I love this idea!  I could invite all my curly haired friends over and we could do a favorite curly hair product...how fun would that be?  I would pass around

It's under $5 and is fabulous!!...although I did love it better before the reformulated it...

But, if I was having a normal party, I would have to pass around

Gun Metal Hoops made in Ethiopia!  This piece is handmade in Ethiopia using recycled nickel, copper, and bronze melted down from previous war weapons. Most of the artisans who created the pieces are HIV positive and receive health care and literacy training in addition to job training.  I would love telling these women's story as I passed out these beautiful earrings!  It is the total story of taking something that is ugly and destructive (war weapons) and turning it into beautiful and job-creating jewelry!

So, who is up for a "Favorite Things" party??

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Helper in the kitchen

I have a little helper in the kitchen tonight! We're making brownies to enjoy as we decorate the tree and celebrate the last day before Sander starts his...

NEW JOB!

More about that when I'm not writing the post on my phone.

Happy Sunday!

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Happy Thanksgiving, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving from the Rays!
This year we are thankful for so many things. Here are just a few:

• Maxwell!!  He was born without complications and has been so healthy (no reflux!).  I have realized more this year that healthy babies are not just a "given" and that every day with healthy children is truly a blessing.
• Friends.  I could have said community, but didn't want to be too hipster. ; ) 
• Family.  We are so blessed to have extended family on both sides who love us and love our children.  Again, realizing more and more that in most of the world, this is not a "given".
• Dexter!  He is talking up a storm, sharing his thoughts and desires (ha!), and we are able to experience the joys of childhood all over again through his eyes.  [I just asked Dexter what makes him happy and he said: "Pssah!"  Remember his made up curse words?  Oh boy...]
• Whitney's opportunity to play a part in helping others out of poverty around the world through her role with Noonday Collection.
• The chance for Sander to work on some fun projects around the house (finishing out the shed in the back, working on the CJ Jeep, demo-ing the downstairs bathroom...)

And so many, many other things.  We feel like we have very full hearts, and stomachs, this Thanksgiving.

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Best Kid's Christmas Movie!

So, my friend told me about this sweet movie, The Very First Noel, so I paid a huge amount online (via amazon) thinking it wasn't for sale anymore.  My mother-in-law just called us today and she, however, found it for just $5 at Family Christian Bookstore on the clearance table. 

Seriously, it is worth the trip to go and get this movie!  It tells the story accurately, in rhyming verse, with beautiful music!  We've watched it twice today and I honestly can't wait to watch it again. 

Happy day-before-Thanksgiving!

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Forts and Toddler Tourettes

Today Dexter and I built our first "fort" from a sheet and baby blankets strung between two chairs.  It was lots of fun for both of us.  Dexter was just in awe when he got underneath and kept trying to re-arrange the blankets on the side.  We even put Maxwell inside too, until Dexter felt like it was time to destroy the fort by jumping on it...that's about how the whole day went.  Fun activity for 5-10min, then destruction of said activity.

Also, we have decided Dexter has created his own form of curse words.  Now, to be clear, Sander and I do not curse around him and neither do we use "ok" curse words around him.  Nope.  Nada.  But for awhile now he would yell "chaka!" or "rock on!" in a very curt, angry way, usually when I said something he didn't like.  It has only gotten worse, with a new addition of "tiku!" to the vocabulary.  I know it sounds crazy, but I have begun to punish him when he says these nonsense words.  He is responding ok...instead of yelling "chaka" he is just making up new ones and looking at me like, "ok, I know I can't say 'chaka', but can I say "X".  Oh gosh.  Guess this is why curse words aren't so much what you say as the heart behind it...

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Is That a Pirate, Mommy?

Well, perhaps we have watched too much Veggie Tales recently, or maybe Dexter is entering that age of, "Kids say the darnedest things," but yesterday was a doozy!  We went to HEB after dinner (not our usual time, but after being out of town, we really had nothing to eat), and boy was I glad Sander was there.  We were making our way down the aisles when all of a sudden Dexter starts yelling, with a look of pure glee on his face, "THAT'S A PIRATE IN HERE! THAT'S A PIRATE IN HERE!"  Thankfully, Sander picked him up quickly and took our son, who was still yelling in glee, to the next aisle.  The "pirate" in question, thankfully was far enough up the aisle he didn't realize what Dexter was saying.

Yes, the man mistakenly called a pirate did have a head scarf and facial hair, but he also had a whoooole lot of tattoos - not quite what you see on the Veggie Tale version of a pirate. 

Dexter kept talking about the "pirate" all night.  I think he was just so excited to finally see one in person. 

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Oil Face Wash -- the Update!

In June of 2010 I met a woman with the most radiant skin.  She said she always had trouble with acne (same here!) until she found the recipe for the oil cleansing method.

I know -- oil on your face?  Oil on an already oily face?  I was really hesitant, but since nothing else had ever worked (dermatologists, prescriptions, Proactive...all would work for a month or two, then I would have issues again), I thought I should give it a try.  Here is my first post on it with lots of links.

More people have asked me about the oil cleansing method as more and more is coming out about the harmful additives in commercial beauty products (Skin Deep resource page, news areticle on the call for recall on Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo!).  Plus, since I started using the oil cleansing method, I have seen articles in Elle, Real Simple, and even Martha Stewart Living.  It's the new thing people!

Here is the recipe I use and love:

•  Dropper bottle from health food store
• 1 part castor oil (if you have oilier skin, you would want to use more)
• 3 parts sunflower oil (high in vitamin E. I usually use a mix of grapeseed oil and sunflower oil)
• 1/2 part of neroli oil (neroli is fantastic for your skin as it helps regenerate skin cells, reduce scarring, etc)
• About 10 of drops of sweet orange essential oil (reduces redness and smells great!)

To use the wash, wet your face and then massage a small amount of oil (about the size of a nickel) into your face for about one minute.  Focus on trouble areas, like the t zone, and just think about massaging all the dirt away.  Then, wet a washcloth with as hot of water as you can stand and hold the washcloth to your face.  I focus on an area at a time and hold it there till the cloth cools.  You are blotting, not wiping.  Except I do wipe off my eye makeup.  (*Note: I use an old washcloth for this as the mascara never really comes out, but it is so nice to wash your face and get all the makeup off at the same time!)  When you are done, your face will be slightly oily (you'll want to do this at night before bed), but when you wake up you will be dewy fresh!  Just rinse your face quickly with water and you are ready for the day!  You may break out more the first week, but keep going!  Once all the impurities are rinsed out, you will be so happy with the results!

Check out the Oil Clensing Method website for lots more info and recipes to tweak to your specific face type.

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