Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Who Knew? Removing Water from Ear w/ These Strategies

A trip to the pool and your family's summer schedules is on a roll. The only hiccup? Water in the ear.  Here are some At Home Formulas you can try.



We tried #7 Lie down on your side with your ear facing down for a few minutes.

Then #2 Create a vacuum in your ear. Face the affected ear down on your palm and then use your palm to gently push in and out until water begins to come out.


Finally #1 Use a homemade solution of half rubbing alcohol and half white vinegar. In addition to helping your ears get rid of that extra water, this solution will also keep them from getting infected. Simply make an ear drop solution that is made up of 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% white vinegar and carefully use an ear dropper to drop several drops of the solution into the affected ear. Then, carefully drain it out. You can get the help of an adult to drop the solution into your ear for you. That did the trick. 


These are all simple solutions, and most people have white vinegar and rubbing alcohol on hand.

Have you tried any of these yourself? Do you have a go-to?

Monday, July 6, 2015

Simple + Delicious



After a long holiday weekend, I poke around the freezer, pantry, and such to put together something quick, simple, and delicious.

I found one bag of Frozen Seafood, (we make Korean Pajeon) Casareccia Pasta, a 28 oz. of Whole Tomatoes, Sake, and some Sun Dried Tomatoes. So I found this recipe by lightyummy.com via lightyummy.com Pasta with Frozen Seafood


So if you find yourself with some frozen shrimp, pasta, and tomato sauce or a can of whole tomatoes, make yourself a Spaghetti allo Scoglio with whatever you have on hand. 



It's really delicious, and nobody has to know that you threw it all together and that it is surprisingly easy.


Spaghetti allo Soglio (Seafood Pasta)

Adapted from lightyummy.com


Fill a pot with water, add salt and wait until the water boils. Follow directions per pasta carton instructions for timing. Cook Pasta, then drain pasta once the pasta is cooked.
In a pan pour in 1 TSP of oil, add Garlic over moderate heat, allow the garlic to cook. Add the Frozen Seafood, and then pour in Sake and increase to high heat to evaporate the alcohol. Next add Sun Dried Tomatoes. Finally, add Pureed Tomatoes and stir for 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens. Adjust sauce if it is too thick add pasta water if it's too thin, add pureed tomatoes. At the very end add 2 tsp of olive oil when the sauce is ready, and salt to taste.
When both pasta and sauce is ready, put the pasta into the sauce pan together and mix well until all the pasta is coated in sauce. Add Basil, Shredded Parmesan Cheese, and Pepper.
Bon Appetit!


180 g Pasta (Casareccia, or whatever pasta you have on hand)
400 g Mixed Frozen Seafood
1/2 28 oz Whole Peeled Tomatoes Pureed (Food Processed or Hand Blender Pureed)
3 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Garlic Cloves Smashed / or Sliced
1 Tsp Chili Oil
2 TBS Sake
2 TBS Sun Dried Tomato Sliced Thinly
1 TBS Fresh Basil Cut Thinly (Ribbons)
Salt & Pepper to Taste






Sunday, July 5, 2015

Organizing and Forming New Habits



I've been reading up on how to better organize myself. Summer is a good time to form good habits, and figure out what works for me and my family.

via huffingtonpost.com Forming New Habits 


Apparently, according to this article, it takes 66 days to form a habit. It is the process that helps us form healthy habits and it depends on many factors.


The first habit I want to tackle, is having the kids make their beds. We're always rushing like mad during the school year, and I want them to form this habit down pat.


The other habit I want to tackle is setting up and completing the act of having a consistent landing place for my purse, keys, wallet, and phone. The same will go to all the members of the family, so that we can get out of the house quickly, without forgetting important things.


The third habit I want to incorporate is daily exercise. Since it's the summer, I want to get my kids out of the floaties. So, I want to teach them how to swim, and gain confidence without forcing them. Swimming should be fun. I'll start our summertime schedule by adding a time in the pool for instructions as well as general fun. That way, they can reach the goal of learning how to swim, and I can get some time to myself to swim laps.


What new rituals are your thinking of incorporating in your daily life? Drinking more water during the day? The best way to tell if you are getting enough water is to check the color of urine, it should be colorless or light yellow.


 via mayoclinic.org Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition and Healthy Eating | How Much Water Should You Be Drinking Every Day


You can also start eating breakfast every day or exercising 15 minutes in the day and 15 minutes in the evening, etc. Every action to form better habits can only make you and your family better. I can't wait until these habits become second nature! It really will be a great process to enact, and we'll be celebrating once we got the habit formed with a little celebratory ceremony.



Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Minecraft Fans? Check Out Qixels for some Pixelated Creations - Art + Toy Fusion




Check out Qixels at your local ToysRUs, Walmart, 
Target, and Amazon.com

I came across Qixels and thought that this would be a great activity this summer for the kids. They are crazy about Minecraft, and Qixels makes 3D Pixelated images into something they can play with without the screen- TV or PC (minecraft, youtube videos)

What do you think? Something to add to your screen-free arsenal?

We purchased our Qixels from Target. We went with the Fuse Blaster (Cool Water Gun) and a Deep Sea Adventure Refill. The cubes are small, about the size of a black peppercorn. We found that spraying the cubes 2 Times, that the 2nd time of thorough water spraying layer helped cut down the stickiness of the cubes. Also shaking the tray does help cut down the time, but if you have a ceiling fan, that will help too.

We had to open the patio door, these Qixels do have a chemical smell, due to the composition of these cubes to fuse together with water. At first, all the kids followed the sample designs, and later they created their own projects. Our kids have spent the past 3 days building creations, and they don't mind the drying process (over 30 minutes). You can further solidify these cubes by spraying the back and letting it rest overnight. Sometimes these creations start curling, so we place a tray over the pixels and stack books on it to flatten. They tell us they love Qixels, and we love how entertained they are with this toy day after day. We're going to have to get another refill pack soon.









Summer Bucket List



Summer Routine is setting in. What's on your Summer Bucket List?

How about taking your kids to see $1 Movies?

via regmovies.com Summer Movie Express $1 Movies

Teaching your kids how to swim? or just spending time at the pool?



SwimKids Swimming Lesson Make It Fun Video

via parentinghelpme.com Teaching Kids To Swim In Ten Easy Lessons

Joining your local library's summer reading program
Pick up a book on Magic Tricks, Jokes, a new hobby like Rainbow Loom, etc.

How about some new twist on old favorites?
Flashlight Tag?
Hide and Seek in the Dark w/ Flashlights

Camping w/ Smores

Cook off! Getting kids in the kitchen

Making Lemonade

Making Ice Cream - Check out the ziplock via thekitchn.com How To Make Ice Cream in a Ziplock Bag

Biking, Hiking, Adventures

Going to the local Parks

Go Fly a Kite

Picnics at the beach, park, outside

Where will your Summer Adventure take you?






Download and print this Summer Checklist via minted.com Printable Things To Do This Summer Checklist