Saturday, December 19, 2009

A Merry Little Christmas...


It's Saturday morning, a week before Christmas. It snowed last night and it's still coming down, I'm sipping my morning coffee and watching it out the window. I would say that all is calm but Josephine is awake too so that would be a lie. Oskar is snug in his bed still, pooped out from having friends over to decorate Christmas cookies last night. The girls and Jeff are still out cold as well. So, I'm pretty much alone with my thoughts, a dangerous thing.

Christmas shopping is done, are you finished too? I'm almost sad about that, I would kind of like to go one more time into the hustle-bustle, I know that probably makes me a little deranged. I do have a little more sewing to do, I made all the kids pajamas this year. Oh, and Christmas cards. They're not done. Shame on me. I'll finish them up as soon as I'm done with this post, if I mail them today they should all get there on time. You know, normally I love sending them but I have to admit, this year, bleh. I guess it's because I'm still without good news to report, Jeff is still looking for a job and I'll have to explain to some why the card is coming from PA this year. I'm just so tired of talking about it. Not to be bah-humbug, but honestly. So...I will probably sign a lot of them, Love, The Larsons and be done with it. Which should make it go a lot faster, actually.

The kids will have a nice Christmas, they are all at easy ages to shop for. Toys for the little ones and clothes, clothes, clothes for the girls. Oskar asks me every day if it's Christmas. Josie has no clue what's going on, she just loves the "balls" on the Christmas tree. I have to keep her away from it or I will see them rolling across the floor every once in a while. She has undecorated it and I have redecorated it I don't know how many times. Still in diapers, she has also taken a liking to pooping while standing by the tree, I think she becomes one with mother nature or something. Wonder what she will do when the tree is gone? Oh, well there is still the fake ficus in entry way.

Well, I hope that every one has a wonderful Christmas. I hope that you have time to enjoy it and are able to discern the folly from the true meaning of this season. For me it's a sentimental time of year. I miss my family tremendously, I don't see them enough. This year there are many families that are facing new hardships, the future is scary and uncertain, they are all in my prayers. I know Christmas is about celebrating our Lords birth but lately I often think about him returning as well, do you? Prayers for blessings to everyone, Merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Homemade Air Freshener

I've had so many people visit my blog for my Homemade Glass Cleaner that I thought I would post a few more homemade ideas that I know. I'm not very big on the store bought air fresheners and plug ins. I get headaches from most of the scents and they always seem to concentrate in just one area. Plus, I'm always worried that the little ones will pull them out of the outlets and play with them. So, when I want to fill the house with a nice smell, I make my own air freshener.

If you have a crockpot it works the best for this idea because you don't have to watch it as closely. Fill either a crockpot or a large pot on the stove with water and then add any of the following ingredients in any combination, the spices can either be whole or ground, whatever you have on hand.

Cinnamon
Clove
Ginger
Nutmeg
Vanilla beans or extract
Orange peel
Lemon Peel
Lime Peel
Apple slices or juice
Peppermint extract or oil
Dried sage
Dried lavender

Bring the water to a slow boil on the stove or turn the crockpot on high and leave uncovered. Add water as needed and never leave the air freshener unattended. A nice thing about doing this in the winter is that you get the benefits of a humidifier as well. In the summer, the lime and vanilla are awesome. I'd love to hear how this works for you as well as if you have any other ideas to add to the ingredients list.