Rustic Pallet Patio Table (for FREE)

I am loving pallet projects! I mean who can say no to free wood!

A couple weeks ago my dad was in town visiting and he needed to pick up some flooring from Lumber Liquidators. While we were out back pick it up, we noticed a pallet in the trash and a bunch of wood to the side. We asked if we could have the pallet and 4 of the wood pieces and they said no problem. SCORE!!

I started by taking the pallet apart. I removed the wood from the bottom. There were four pieces underneath – two large and two small.

I used the smaller pieces on each end.

Then I cut the wider pieces down to fit the gaps. I used a few pieces from another pallet for the rest.

Then I just cut down the four wood pieces to 30” for the legs.

I attached the legs with 3” wood screws and flipped it over to admire my work

Lastly, lots and lots of sanding.

My chairs fit it perfectly! So in total, my entire patio “set” cost me a whopping….drum roll please…. $0!!! Seriously, everything was FREE!! I loooove FREE!

Soapbox Saturday - Many Babies Begin Eating Solids Too Soon

Well it has been an interesting week. I definitely didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped to. My boys got sick over the weekend and my husband had a sick day on Tuesday. Luckily I was able to avoid it, but I've been exhausted all week.

So I'm back with another Soapbox Saturday. This week I wanted to share an article my friend shared on her  facebook page, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

The CDC conducted a national survey in which 40% of mother's said they gave their baby solid food as early as 4 months and 9% said they started at 4 weeks!  The mothers gave several reasons for starting among them; their baby is old enough, their baby seemed hungry, and they wanted their baby to sleep longer at night.

Doctors now recommend waiting until at least 6 months. If food is started too young, the baby could lack the proper gut bacteria to digest the food safely. This could lead to gastroenteritis and diarrhea and some studies have even linked the early introduction of solid foods with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, eczema and celiac disease.


Andrew's first rice cereal

I thought this was an interesting article and it kinda scared me to read that so many parents are starting their children on solids so young. For our first, we waited until 6 months. I don't remember with Ben, but probably around then too. I do remember there was a lot of pressure from family and friends to start. None of it was direct 'you should start feeding him solid food,' but more that it was expected that he was over 4 months, so people assumed he had started or would offer food/crackers to him. I also felt like it was harder with the second one. Ben would start reaching for food that he saw us and his older brother eating. So I can definitely understand how some moms start early, but it scared me to read the risk factors that can follow.

I guess I also never knew it was an option to wait longer. I have several friends who have exclusively breastfed for 7,8,9 months before introducing solids. I think it has become such a norm to start them asap that I was never aware that they'd be fine until then without solids. I think this is the method I want to try with any future children. I think for me personally, it would help with milk production and supply.

Ben's first rice cereal

What are your thoughts? When did you start your child on solid foods?

Young Men/Young Women’s Activity Idea: Giant Jenga

I’ve probably mentioned it before, but in my church I serve over the young women. Last week I was in charge of planning the activity for all the young men and young women to do together. Well after some searching on Pinterest and talking to another leader I came up with this idea.

It required a trip to the hardware store. I love the looks you get when you go in there with two little boys in tow.

So here’s the idea. Giant Jenga.

But with a twist…So to make it a bit more interesting I found some quiz questions on the Prophet and Apostles (“Watchmen on a Tower”). The kids were divided into two teams and took turns answering the questions. If they got the question right, the other team had to pull a Jenga brick. If they got the question wrong, they had to pull a brick out.

It was really fun and the kids and leaders all seemed to enjoy it.

The Giant Jenga was really easy, each brick was 10.5” long. For my own purposes I made 45 in total so there were 15 levels to represent The First Presidency and the 12 Apostles, but a standard Jenga set has 54 I think…

Anyway, enjoy. It's super fun to play with a big group, lots of 'ooohs' and 'ahhs'.

UPDATE: Since the activity I've had two leaders borrow the set to play with their family or at a meeting. Pretty cool they like it too!