Stress
Okay, I did it again. I am making a cake for my goddaughter’s friends’ 16th birthday party!
It’s not just any cake and I am soooo stressing.
It’s an Alice in Wonderland, topsy turvy cake.
Sort of like this:
What was I thinking?
Five Years?
I can’t believe it’s been five years
since you came to us
in that wild, winter ice storm…
J on his birthday (Christmas Eve 2004)
J on his birthday 2009
Liquid Dishwasher Soap
I am going to try this recipe for liquid dishwashing soap from naturemoms.com.
I have tried MANY recipes for natural dishwashing soap, and not had good results.
Hope that this one works!
Natural Dishwasher Soap Recipe
1/2 CUP LIQUID CASTILLE SOAP *do NOT use regular liquid soap!*
1/2 CUP WATER
1 TEASPOON FRESH LEMON JUICE
3 DROPS OF TEA TREE EXTRACT
1/2 CUP WHITE VINEGAR
COMBINE WATER AND LIQUID CASTILLE SOAP. STIR.
ADD LEMON JUICE, TEA TREE EXTRACT AND VINEGAR.
STIR UNTIL EVENLY BLENDED.
STORE IN A SQUIRT TOP BOTTLE.
USE 2 TABLESPOONS PER DISHWASHER LOAD.
CAUTION! DO NOT USE REGULAR SOAP IN PLACE OF CASTILLE, UNLESS IT IS LOW SUDSING SOAP….. OTHERWISE, YOUR DISHWASHER WILL OVERFLOW!I’ll let you know!
Chipper! (Or Going Nuts)
I am getting “munked” this week. My baby turns 5 on Christmas Eve. The only day we could book the movie theater for his party (first REAL party) is tomorrow. Anyway, he wants an “Alvin and the Chipmunks 2” party and mom had to come up with a cake to match.
ARGH!
Emily helped me make the little guys tonight. We used fondant and are hoping it holds up (looking good so far.) We still have to paint the details on Alvin’s shirt and whatever else we get around to.
I think we’re doing white cupcakes with sparkles but stay tuned!
Colorblind Fun
My maternal grandma was colorblind, a VERY rare thing for a woman (actually 0.4% chance!)
Because of this, all of her sons and grandsons are colorblind. All granddaughters have a 50/50 chance of being a carrier of the gene (which I am.) Both of my sons are colorblind and my daughter could be a carrier.
At my oldest son’s parent-teacher conference I was making sure all the medical stuff was in his record. I asked if they had the eye doc’s report that he was colorblind. We started talking and realized that his test scores had gone down in math (which is crazy because this kid can do multiplication and algebra and he’s only 7.)
Hmmmm…
The teacher said, “You know, they are focusing on graphs and charts this year alot on those computerized tests. Would the colors on that effect how he answers?” Well, I got online and started researching. A scientist at the Eye Institute in California told me he was sure it would effect the test outcome.
Maps- First is normal vision, then 3 types of different colorblindness
and how it looks
Look here for how things can look to colorblind people.
“What can we do?” I asked.
Well, we are still awaiting answers. I’ll keep you posted. Or, if anyone else has had experience in this please leave a comment!
I talked with my uncle yesterday and he said “You know, I can’t read a lot of the things on your blog.” I hadn’t even thought about the background colors and font colors and how they would appear (or not appear) to colorblind people! I changed a lot last night, let me know if it works guys!