Tea Treatments

During my kid's rest/naptime, I try to get some stuff done for me. I attempt to sell things on eBay, I work on this blog, I workout, and I do a beauty treatment. Oftentimes, one or many of these do not get done, but today I was able to do a tea treatment.
First, I washed my hair in cool water. Yes, it was my kid's bathwater from yesterday. A little gross, but it saves water.
Then, I sprayed my hair with old suntea I put in a salon spray bottle. I've heard this treatment works best with black tea, but I used Tension Tamer.
I wrapped my hair up in a plastic bag, and will leave it in for a half hour.
After the tea does it's hopeful magic, I will condition my hair.
The Hubs thinks these at-home beauty treatments are crazy and yucky, but I always feel better after doing them.
The tea is supposed to stop breakage and hair loss, and make my hair shiny and smooth. It is a lot to hope for, but I've read a few other blogs whose authors swear by this treatment.
Try it and let me know.

Headaches and The Library

I'm laying in bed with a tension headache that has creeped up from in-between my shoulder blades, to the top of my shoulders and into my neck and at the base of my skull. I already took two Excedrin this morning, and I don't really want anymore.

My headache might be caused by tension but also by the weather, which is proper stay-at-home fall weather. It is low 40's and raining. Real rain, not drizzle. And cloudy, of course. Where is my hot tea?

We went to the 'train library' also known as the Morton Grove Library, which has a train table and a dollhouse. The boys love it there, so we played for just under an hour. The kids got a bunch of Halloween books and I picked up a Halloween craft book for them. We'll finally be carving our pumpkins this afternoon, but other crafts later.

Pumpkins

I recently read an article by Heidi Stevens about keeping the basic traditions alive but not going overboard and forcing people into activities. Specifically, she was talking about not driving 50 miles outside the city to the most picturesque Pumpkin Patch, but rather, being ok with and even liking the 'patch' at the corner of a busy intersection in Chicago. Her kids didn't want to spend all day in a patch, and they didn't.
I grew up with both types of traditions. We had a house in south Evanston, which is technically a suburb of Chicago, but feels more urban than most suburbs. Both my parents worked, and it was hard to find a time and even a reason to travel all the way out to farmland for apples, pumpkins, Christmas Trees and whatever other holiday items people need. We bought our Christmas Tree from the usually-empty lot about five blocks from our house. Our pumpkins were bought from another usually-empty lot about five blocks north of our church. Our apples, however, were picked at a special orchard an hour and a half (in good traffic) drive north of our home. Once a year we made the trek, for fresh apples and donuts. I'm keeping the tradition alive by bringing my sister and kids out, and meeting up with my dad. We love it.
So after church today, the kids and I met up with my mom at Windy City Pumpkins, on Greenbay. It didn't take long to choose pumpkins; there were no corn mazes or fields and we were packing up the car in about twenty minutes. We didn't get corn or Mums or haybales or any extras. And we had a great time. It was nice to be part of a holiday errand that didn't require weeks of planning and a car-load of supplies.
 Sometimes I wish we had elaborate traditions and recipes and dances and stories from The Old Countries (Ireland and Estonia and Norway and probably England). As a child and young adult I craved something more than 'just'...
 Recently (the last eight years or so) I realized the traditions we have are 'real', lovely, and activities I will carry on with my children. Our American ways are our ways, (and many of them are derived from the traditions in The Old Country) and they are beautiful and traditional and meant to be done year after year. We will be carving our two pumpkins as a family of four sometime this week. When are you carving your pumpkins?

House Paint

The Hubs has decided its a good a time as any to paint the middle floor of the house. He and a coworker moved most of the furniture to the garage, and I had to bag up all the loose stuff we had on various surfaces. Even though its not a renovation, it feels like one, and I am hugely stressed out by the displacement of items and the disarray of our home. Also, The Hubs has stated clearly that he wants to take this opportunity to get rid of stuff. And that in and of itself is a cause of stress for me.
The Boy is very excited about the work going on, and this morning he followed his father around with a dry roller. The kids got into a scuffle about the equipment and The Hubs had to make sure they had the same stuff.
The last time we did any home improvement, the kids were way to small to do any work. In fact, The Boy had burned himself on a work-lamp while I was at work. He was a baby in a walker and I wasn't pregnant with The Baby yet. Only a few years ago, but it is literally a lifetime ago. Incredible, for me, to think about.
Anyway, the kids can sort of help now, and they are very interested in doing what their dada is doing. And lucky for all of us, The Hubs is pretty willing to have them 'help'. It is truly a learning experience.

Photos

I read in The Happiness Project about taking the time to deal with photos. Putting them in frames and albums, uploading and printing and sharing them, and making scrapbooks. The author (Gretchen somebody...) stated that it was part of her duty to do these things as an archivist and historian and record-keeper of the family. I feel the same way. I feel that it is up to me to take, print, share, upload, album, scrapbook, and memorialize all our photos. So, that is what I have been doing.
Right now I am working on printing all the photos (after editing, of course) that I took during a family reunion in July. Which means the photos taken after that have not been printed. The task is orderly and daunting.

I printed my most recent batch at Walgreens, using an online coupon making the prints 12 cents each, with the purchase of 50 or more. And I got extra points on my Walgreens card with an in-ad coupon.

Now I have to label and album those prints. Some will be given away. I truly hope I can carry on with this project.

How do you deal with (or don't deal with) your photos?

Salvation Army

As far as I know, the Salvation Army supports causes and viewpoints that I do not. Despite that, I did find myself shopping there because it is close to the house. I know, I know.
I got so overwhelmed and excited while I was shopping! I really had to remind myself to stick to my list. And I had to pull my list out repeatedly.
 I was surprised that I couldn't find any ice cube trays. I want them to make homemade popsicles (with Saran wrap and toothpicks, like we used to do when we were kids). And to freeze herbs/butter or herbs/oil.
We were able to find a cute pair of blue, Velcro sneakers for The Boy. And I got them at 25% off because they had a tan tag. I also bought him an adult-sized pair of cozy Halloween socks (25% off) and a pair of new white socks that look too big but probably aren't. Also 25% off. I spent $6.54.
Despite the fact that thrifting is always cheaper than retail, I always make sure to stick with the sales.

Sick Day Part 3

We all woke up late; too late to get to church on time. I had a fair amount of guilt about this. We don't do church during the week (although I do pray everyday), so it seems like if we miss one or two days in a month, that is actually a lot. It is probably good that we didn't go; the kids and I all have coughs. As I think I've mentioned, I'm pretty sure I'm the only SAHM at my church, and I would hate to bring an illness to the kids and moms who have to go to school/daycare/work. Perhaps this justification is a way to ease my guilt about waking up later than I intended. I think it's working.