On the Road and Hair

I felt like I was on the road most of the day today. I really wasn't, but it seemed that way. I started off the morning at Erin's house. She had one visiting teaching appointment, so I stayed with Ellie and Hattie while she was gone. Ellie was so fun. She wanted me to read to her, so we read many books. Hattie tried taking a nap, but after about 15 minutes of her crying, I went in and she said something that I didn't understand, except for her last word, "Up!" So I got her up. She said she wanted to sit on the couch and read books with me and Ellie. She lasted for about two books, then she was up and wanting to play, so we did. They had a great time doing somersaults on the sofa. (Don't tell Erin!) It was funny to watch them because both of them got a lot of static electricity in their hair from the leather couch and their hair was totally standing on end! I should have taken a picture, but of course, I didn't.
My next stop was Vistancia to drop off papers and pick up another stack. It's always fun for me to go into Brian's classroom and watch him interact with his students. It's obvious how much the kids like him.
I had a hair appointment across town today, so that was another traveling journey. It took me almost an hour to go from the school to my hair appointment. Today was cut and color. I like the color, but for the first day or two, until it's washed out a little, it's a little shocking to me when I look in the mirror!
Then I came home, picked up Mark and we headed back in Erin's direction. I had to pick up PETE containers (for food storage) near her house and I needed to drop off her Tvala soap order. We've found the BEST place to order soaps/lotions/balms. If you're interested, the site is www.tvalahandmade.com. It's a friend of ours that makes everything herself. And can I just say....her products are the absolute best! I love the handmade soaps...they smell so fresh and clean and they don't have any foreign substances (chemicals)...just very moisturizing oils and emollients. Last time I ordered her whipped shea butter and it's so nice to use (especially at bedtime) because she doesn't use any alcohols that dry your skin like most lotions do. This time I tried her lotion and so far, so good. And I also love her lip balms. Very tasty and very soothing for dry skin. You might want to give it a try.
And I have a friend, Susan, who was wanting an update on my "required" list of things to do. One of them was making my own laundry soap. I got the recipe from Kamille, and I must say, it's very nice smelling, inexpensive and seems to do the job well. I'll share with you:
Grate one bar of Fels Naptha soap (about 2 cups)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (different than baking soda---It's hard to find, but I found it at Bashas'.)
1 cup 20 Mule-Team Borax
1/4 cup Oxy Clean
I made a triple batch and put it in a small plastic bucket I had on hand. You only use 1 Tbsp. for a light/small load or 2 Tbsp. for a dirtier/large load.
This week I've felt like a pioneer woman...between using handmade soaps and lotions, canning beef, making my own laundry soap and bread baking.

Abby 1, Abby 2 and T-Ball

In my last post, I mentioned that Abby had the viral fever. She still had it on Monday, so she spent the day with me resting and recovering. I thought we were out of the woods, but around 3 in the afternoon, she once again had a fever. That day we watched Space Buddies and several cartoon shows. I went into my workroom to work on a book project, and she wanted to be by me. So I set up a small table for her and gave her the makings for some beaded bracelets. She made one, and wanted to then be at my elbow "helping" me with my book. She did great. She's a wonderful rub-on applier. She helped me choose the photos and words to use on each page. We dropped her off at Kamille's workplace and we headed to Casa Grande to watch Emma's t-ball game. It's so much fun to watch games for kids at that age---no stress, but lots of funny things. They try so hard to do what their parents/teammates/coaches tell them to do. Too bad, it's probably three different things all at once. What's a kid to do??!! Emma's team is called the Muckdogs. Don't know where that came from, but she's a cute player!

Brian thought last night that Abby would be well enough for school today, but she woke up with a slight fever, so she spent today with me, too. Today we watched Space Buddies, 102 Dalmations and Inspector Gadget. I was prepared today! Erin came by later in the morning with Ellie and Hattie. Since Abby hasn't had a fever since early this morning, and since Erin's girls have both already had this virus, Abby was able to mix and mingle with the other girls. They had lunch together, which was fun. Ellie and Abby chose a mix of Chicken & Stars and Chicken Noodle soup. Hattie wanted mac and cheese. Erin toasted a bagel and I had the leftover soup. The favorite treat of the "sickies" has been Scribbler popsicles. They're small and cute and the kids love them. They're also helpful in keeping down a fever.

Abby is still fever-free, so it's a very good probability that she'll be sitting in her class with her fellow students tomorrow. We're crossing our fingers that Luke will be able to dodge the viral germs. After all, we have a trip to the zoo planned for Saturday, and if he's sick, we can't go....again! Say a prayer that he'll skip the sharing this time.