She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. (Proverbs 31:27)
One of the simple pleasures in the lives of Sugar Plum and Sweet Pea is Kandoo Foaming Hand Soap. For them, there’s just something irresistible, intriguing, and fun about foaming soap that squirts from a colorful frog pump. If I let them, they’d pump a sink full of foam each time they were asked to wash their hands!
Though I am thrilled that they are eager to keep their hands germ free, personally I’m sickened by the soap’s nauseating faux fruit scents and neon colors. Consequently, I was quite happy the morning the girls approached the pump only to find that the foam was finished.
I attempted to reintroduce the girls to the regular soap pump but to no avail. This did not satisfy either of them as liquid soap does not foam and simply smells like soap (gasp!) and not like Magic Melon or Jungle Fruits.
Later that day, as I was refilling my Pampered Chef Suds Pump I realized that I could take the directions listed for refilling the Pampered Chef Pump and apply them to girls’ beloved Kandoo soap pump. Since the Kandoo pump was already equipped with the special foaming mechanism, I was nearly certain it would work. I filled the pump one quarter of the way with liquid soap and filled the rest with water. I primed the pump a few times and was excited to see foaming soap emerge!
This soap trick has made us all happy. For Mommy and Daddy, it’s a real money saver. We don’t need to buy expensive new pumps each time the soap runs out and because we’re filling the pump only a quarter of the way, it makes the liquid soap last much, much, much longer. Sugar Plum and Sweet Pea are just as happy because they can still enjoy foaming hand soap.
Photo: Courtesy of cmdrfletcher
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. (Genesis 9:12-13)
Today, it had been raining on and off all day long. One minute the sun was shining brightly and the next minute dark clouds rolled in bringing a torrential downpour. As I was feeding the girls their lunch I thought, “I wouldn’t be surprised to a see a rainbow some time today.”
A few hours later when JT came home from work, he made a beeline straight to Sweet Pea saying, “I have something to show you!” I knew even before he whisked her onto the porch that a rainbow was waiting. I grabbed the camera, followed them out to the porch, and snapped several photos.
This was the first time Sweet Pea had ever seen a real rainbow. (Too bad Sugar Plum went to bed early and missed it!) A few minutes later the rainbow faded and Sweet Pea was quite sad. I explained that rainbows only lasted a short while and were special gifts from God. JT explained that she could look for another rainbow the next time it rained.
As Sweet Pea completed her bedtime ritual with her father, the skies turned dark again and the rain came down. A few minutes later, the sky cleared and the sun peeked out. Though I doubted we’d be blessed with another rainbow, I ventured out to the porch and looked to the sky. I was surprised to see another beautiful rainbow.
Immediately I bolted up to Sweet Pea’s room and interrupted JT’s reading of her bedtime story. I yanked up the window blinds and said, “Look, there’s another rainbow!” Sweet Pea ran over to the window and jumped for joy shouting, “Another rainbow! Another rainbow!”
Tomorrow, the girls and I will revisit the story of Noah through story and song. I think this time the story will have special meaning for Sweet Pea since she’s seen a rainbow up close!
The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. (Zechariah 8:12)
A few weeks ago, we took a family trip to Lowe’s to buy some flowers for the yard. Sweet Pea loves to dig in the dirt, so I planned to buy some herbs and let her help me plant them in pots. I also figured I could teach her some things about plants as she tended the herbs.
As we neared the basil, peppermint, and chives, Sweet Pea noticed an advertisement for strawberry plants. “Mommy, can we make strawberries?” she asked. I laughed at her desire to ‘make’ strawberries and responded, “You bet! We’ll make strawberries together!”
We took the strawberry plant home, potted it, and have been watching it grow. It has been doing well, so well that a few strawberries are ready to be eaten! Yesterday, I allowed Sweet Pea to have the honor of picking and eating her first homegrown strawberry. When you see her, ask her about her strawberries. She’ll be happy to tell you all about them!
