ninja turtle ooze & a borax giveaway

elijah's new obsession is the teenage mutant ninja turtles. my mom got him the entire ninja turtles set for christmas so i couldn't wait to make him his very first batch of ninja turtle ooze. i basically made elijah's day when i made ooze for him to play with yesterday. surprisingly, i was sent this large box of 20 mule team borax right around the same time i got my brilliant idea to make it, so it worked out perfectly.

it is very simple to make, the ingredients are cheap, and they lead to hours of fun. below is the list of ingredients along with the recipe to get you on your way to making ooze for your little one.

stay tuned...

as if this project isn't inexpensive enough, two six cherries on top readers will get the chance to win a box of borax to make hundreds of batches of ooze.

ninja turtle ooze

materials

• 20 mule team borax
• 5 oz. bottle of clear school glue
• yellow food coloring
• green food coloring
• water
• 2 containers

step 1:

in the FIRST container, mix...

• 1 cup of warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon of borax 

stir until dissolved. 


step 2:

in the SECOND container, mix...

• 1/2 cup of water
• the entire 5 oz. bottle of glue

then add...

• 2 drops of green food coloring
• 5 drops of yellow food coloring

stir it all together until it is neon green color.


step 3:

pour the mixture in the FIRST container into the mixture in the SECOND container (be sure to do it exactly like this because it does make a difference) and watch your ooze come to life.

stir a little if needed.

elijah played with this for over an hour and i actually had to be the bad guy and take it away or he would have continued to play with it well past lunch time. i plan on making some more for phoenix and tyler since they weren't here to witness the magical change when you add the two mixtures together. the color can easily be changed by choosing different food colorings. they are dying for purple. and by the way, the food coloring does not pose any problems getting on clothes or hands. 

so, how about a giveaway? how would you like to win a 4 lb. box of 20 mule team borax to make ooze with your kids?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

disclosure: as a purex insider, the coupons, and a 4 lb. box of 20 mule team borax was provided to me at no charge.. i was not compensated for this review and all opinions and ideas are my own and in no way influenced. six cherries on top disclaimer/terms of use.

please monitor little ones that tend to put things in their mouths. the ooze material could possibly be considered a choking hazard. i would also recommend mom or dad making the mixture. although borax is a natural product, it is considered toxic in it's natural form, and harmful if swallowed. however, it poses no problems once made into ooze, but it is still best if not ingested. google borax to read more about this product if you would like further information about any safety concerns you may have. i personally feel okay giving the ooze product to my children to play with, however, please make your own informed decisions. six cherries on top is not responsible for any incidents that occur.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram

my laundry tips to make your clothes cleaner and last longer + a giveaway

growing up, i always thought my mom was a little neurotic about all of her cleaning "routines"... a certain way to do this, a certain way to clean that. it drove me crazy! but, now that i am older, and a mom, i understand why my mom was like she was. she worked hard for the things she had and she wanted them to last longer, and that included the clothes we wore. my dad was the same way. he still to this day has never owned a dryer because he believes that they are not good on clothes.

although, i have not gone as far as getting rid of my dryer, i have taken on some of the care for washing laundry that my mom instilled in me. with six children, i try my best to recycle as many of their clothes as i can. and, surprisingly, i have been very successful at preserving their clothes simply by making sure i care for them properly when i wash them. phoenix and tyler have both worn clothes that were mackenzie's (she is 7 years older than phoenix, 8 years older than tyler) and i have even passed some of them on to amanda for gracie (who is 10 years older than mackenzie). they have lasted for over 10 years and through 4 children. ryan and jacob have clothes that i have put away and will save for elijah. he has quite a while to go, but in the long run it will save me some money to have those extra clothes for him.

here are a few tips on how i keep our clothes clean and make them last longer. and, be sure to stick around til the end for your chance to win a coupon for a free bottle of new purex plus oxi detergent and to learn more about a great sweepstakes purex is hosting. you could win some fabulous cash prizes!


laundry care tips

1. wash spills out right away with cold water and a little bit of detergent. i use purex laundry detergents because they smell great, clean my clothes well, and are extremely affordable for everyone, especially us. scrub gently and then let it sit on the spill until you wash.
2. before putting your clothes in the washer, turn all clothes right side out unless it specifies on the garment to turn it inside out. it is always important to read the labels of your clothes. most garments that require you to turn them inside out, usually have buttons, sequins, or a print on them. 
3. wear your clothes more than once before you wash them. if you only wore a pair of pants or a shirt for a couple hours and you didn't really do anything to get it dirty, hang it or fold it up and wear it again before you wash it. 
4. never overload the washer. although cramming more clothes in the washer might cut down on your time spent washing clothes, your clothes are not going to get clean that way. newer machines, like mine don't have the old fashioned agitator inside, so your clothes are basically cleaning themselves by friction moving around in the washer, so if your clothes can't move around, they aren't going to get clean. 
5. clean your washer every now and then. i know that sounds silly since you are basically "cleaning" it every time you use it, but they do get dirty. about once a month i run my washer empty on the clean cycle using vinegar. if your washer doesn't have a clean option, just run a regular cycle and fill the container where the bleach goes with vinegar. i prefer white vinegar, but i am sure apple cider works good too. 
6. speaking of vinegar... if you ever accidentally forget about your clothes in the wash and when you discover them, they smell a bit sour, just rewash them in vinegar and it will take the smell out. i promise you your clothes won't smell like the vinegar once you have washed and dried them. 
7. only use the recommended type and amount of laundry detergent. more laundry detergent doesn't mean your clothes are going to get super clean. the manufacturers have already considered that when creating the laundry solution. using more detergent will just leave a residue on your clothes. those residues attract dirt more, so if your kid plays in the dirt, their clothes are going to hold onto that dirt more because of the sticky residues on their clothes. 
8. always wash like colors together. i get a little crazy here and separate my clothes in reds, whites, darks, lights, and towels. i even do a separate load for those clothes that you aren't sure whether you should wash them in whites or light colors. i wash those using color safe bleach.  

and there you have it. i don't use a ton of products on my clothes except for purex laundry detergents, purex crystals, and a fabric softener bar in the dryer. i wash a lot of laundry on a daily basis and feel like i have mastered the art of laundry washing and folding. can they please make it an olympic sport next time? actually, it is pretty much my least favorite job because i know if i miss a day or two, it will always gets backed up and someone is without a shirt, a pair of pants, or even...underwear. we have renamed our giant laundry pile mt. rushmoore...you know, because we are the moore family! get it?


purex sweepstakes

be sure to check out the purex sweepstakes to win cash prizes. purex wants to give one lucky winner $1,000, plus 250 2nd place winners will receive $25. just sign up HERE for your chance to win.


giveaway

alright, here is a quick giveaway and chance for you to win a coupon for a free bottle of new purex plus oxi detergent. just enter using the rafflecopter below! good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

purex contacted me and provided me with the coupons mentioned in this review. i received no compensation for this post and all comments, opinions, and ideas are my own and in no way influenced. by entering this giveaway, you agree to six cherries on top disclaimer/terms of use.

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

the ants go marching one by one

as a family, we didn't do very much this summer. we had a few great days at the lake, and even a few days at the pool, but there were no day trips or vacations this year. quite frankly, our summer was pretty boring because money has been very tight for us recently.

however, one thing we did do this summer was make a lot of our own fun at home. last christmas, we received a fire pit from my mom that we kept in the box forever. we had planned to keep it in the box until moved (another thing that didn't really happen this year either), but decided that not getting some use out of it was ridiculous. we pulled it out of the box, set it up, and right away started using it to cook hot dogs and make s'mores. we did that many times throughout the summer and we all really enjoyed it.

another thing we enjoyed doing throughout the summer was growing our own container garden on our back porch. it was a first for us because we have always grown a garden in the backyard. we definitely have the space for it, but it was so much work keeping the weeds out and the hot NC heat seemed evaporate any water we tried to give our plants. container gardening has been much more doable for us, and we loved eating fresh foods from our garden all summer.

we also spent quite a bit of time on our porch, eating snack everyday. the 100+ degree weather we were having most of the summer usually had us reaching for popsicles to keep cool. in the hottest of summer, i bet we ate a popsicle (or two) every day for weeks.

all of this eating and food going on, on our back porch left us with more than just great memories...it left us with a bunch of new friends...ANTS! some days, i would go outside and find that my hot pepper plants were covered in ants. apparently they like it hot because i could not keep them away. the peppers drew them in and the crumbs from our hot dogs, s'mores and popsicle juices was like a big ol' welcome sign right into our house. nothing i did would keep them away.

ironically enough, i received a package from combat to try their combat source kill max ant products. by the time i received it, i was pretty fed up with my uninvited guests, so i immediately opened up the fast killing gel formula and got to work. the gel is a colorless odorless formula that comes in a syringe making it easy to  squeeze into tiny cracks and corners. i used it in the track of my sliding glass door that leads out to my porch to keep them at bay. within 2 days, one of my children pointed out a little "battlefield" of dead ants near the back door. i had only used a small amount with plenty left in the syringe for several other uses. i was surprised how quickly the formula worked and have not seen a single ant, or any other bugs, coming in through that door since. i must say, i am impressed with the combat source kill max fast killing ant formula!

 

our garden is slowly coming to the end of its life for this season and we sit outside for snack less and less, but we still plan to use the fire pit into the fall and maybe even winter...bug free! next year i will be better prepared for the warm weather seasons by researching ways to keep the ants away from my plants and definitely have my combat ready to keep ants out of our home... i'm the bouncer and your not welcome in this club guys!

right now you can get a coupon for $1 off. stop by and get your coupon to try this combat product if you are having a problem with ants in your house. and be sure to go watch this video to understand more about how combat works. 


as a purex insider, i was provided with the products mentioned in this post to try, free of charge. i received no compensation for this post and all comments, opinions, and ideas are my own and in no way influenced. six cherries on top disclaimer/terms of use.

 joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com |twitter | facebook | pinterest| instagram: sixcherries