Post 'em.

Make sure all housework and related things are done before dh gets home so that we can have family time.

Menu plan for the next week. I didn't do this for this week so I am not nearly as organized as I have been for the last 2 weeks.

Make a couple items to put up on hyena cart next week.

Find some supplemental literacy activities to do with Gabe.

Track down Forrest's new school counselor and get his schedule.*done*
Tour his new school.*done*
Finish 4 custom requests.

*Finish organizing mine and DH's room so it can be used as a study area
*Patch dd's pants, my pants, DH's shirt
*Mark patterns I plan to use for the kids summer clothes
*Get back into Enki/rhythm
*Stock the fridge & house w/foods that DH can easily take to school

To not let the fact that I am not feeling well be an excuse for eating out more than 1x this week.

Roast that chicken in the fridge!

Drop off the bags and bags of decluttered stuff at Goodwill.

Sew Ellie's heart pants and her Winnie the Pooh dress.

Sew DH's boxers....maybe sew two if I can find the time.

Attempt to clean my sewing space.

Edited to show what I've done and to add/remove a few things. I just realized that I don't have Sunday to accomplish things, and Saturday just had something pop up that will take half the day.

Make elderberry syrup *done*
Start echinacea tincture *done, and I started some motherwort and St. John's Wort as well*
Make herbal salve WITHOUT almond oil
Make clay hair cleanser *done, but I think I'll use red clay next time*
Make herbal hair rinse *done*

Work on knit hats for valentines day *did a lot Thursday*

Put together herbal care kit for MIL's birthday (add EO to salts, roll candles, blend herbal infusion mix, make floral water, label lip balm and salve)

Find a sturdy box for birthday gift
Have boys make birthday card

Plan meals using produce box contents

Paperwork and bill paying.

Order a couple of seed catalogs (organic) to what is out there and to read so I can get a basic idea *done*
Get Square Foot Gardening from the library (to read until I find a reasonably priced used copy).

call about new recycling cart
set up humidifier
plan menu for next week
*Beg KimberMama to teach me how to make all those great herbal things*

*Beg KimberMama to teach me how to make all those great herbal things*

LOL! I'll answer your PM tomorrow.

Ther herbal stuff I'm just learning. I did the elderberry syrup by making some adaptations to Kristerae's recipe (http://www.amitymama.com/vb/super-crunch/219174-elderberry-good-take-boost-immune.html?highlight=elderberry+syrup). Tinctures are really easy, as are salves. I did salves and lip balms in December, and now I am using the Herbal Medicine Kit from Learning Herbs (http://www.learningherbs.com/herbal_kit.html). I mostly bought the kit to get the herbal course; it could be done for less. I think the kit is sold out. Most any herbal book out there has the basics for making salves, tinctures, etc. I have a lot of books - Susun Weed, Rosemary Gladstar, and several others I like.

I actually react to echinacea, but DS#1 can take it and this time of year I try to boost his immune system to help prevent ear infections.

Also - I learned this the hard way - if you are allergic to nuts don't use nut oils/meals in your herbal products. I'm finally connecting the dots and almond oil in my products isn't good for me.

Milling soap is a fancy way to say rebatching. You take a basic castile soap, grate it, melt it, and add ingredients, and then remold it. You can use soap you've made, or a good quality bar, or a good rebatch base from some place like Bramble Berry (http://www.brambleberry.com/soapbases.html). It's NOT melt and pour. I bought everything to do it before the holidays but my recovery was slower than expected so we're just getting to it now.

Clay hair wash: whatever clay you like mixed with herbal infusions. Terressentials (http://www.terressentials.com/haircare.html) sells a ready-made version and I like the fragrance free, but it is pricey for what it really is. Plus the point is to not buy, and making my own I can customize it and eliminate the packaging. Terressentials uses Moroccan red clay; I have bentonite here so I'll try that. In the past I've used French green clay and I like it as well. Clay is relatively cheap; not as cheap as baking soda but my hair responds to it better.

Herbal rinses: herbs infused in water or vinegar. I've been having terrible allergic rashes on my scalp and I want to heal it and also condition my hair. I've used apple cider vinegar or lemon with honey and rosemary in the past; now that I have a lot of herbs I want to work with some of the recipes I've read. The clay wash/herbal rinse combo is a no-poo thing.

Okay, that was too long and I need to go to bed. I'm really just learning; there are a lot of mamas on Amity's and even this forum that know far more than I do.

(I decided to study herbalism for a lot of reasons, including making medicines and products for my family and also to avail myself of the knowledge that is available to all of us, and may prove useful in the future (converging catastrophes such as peak oil and global warming. I don't have a business now, but want to have that as an option when/if we return to local economies, small government, etc.)

Okay I am totally late to this, but still working on my goals - hey there are two more days left to the week, right? ;)

*put up indoor clothesline *DONE*
*clean/organize loft office area and clear file cabinet and move it up to the loft space *DONE*
*procure/reclaim hanging file folders for file cabinet *DONE*
*file backlog of paperwork, sorting out stuff for jake's school and taxes *IN PROGRESS*
*send out two queries
*start planning garden, looking through seed catalogs, deciding when/where to put starts in basement, lighting for down there, etc
*clean up house for k's sleepover tonight
*sort through giveaway stuff and make a trip to Goodwill to donate, make boxes of appropriate stuff for local friends

)



:bow: :smooch:

Thank you so much! And that site is great! My ds is really excited about it too.

:bow: :smooch:

Thank you so much! And that site is great! My ds is really excited about it too.

Which site did you like? My boys have the Wildcraft! game from Learning Herbs and they love it. Their supermarket herbalism "course" is really fun for kids too, and is totally free (sent via email).

My boys helped with melt and pour soaps last month, and had a lot of fun.