When the Cat Wets Your Bed...You Make S'mores

My kids go to bed in their own beds really well.  But usually, by morning, one or all of them are in our bed.  I don't even notice them coming in anymore.  They're just there when I go to shift in the middle of the night.  If they wake up before me they just play around my bed until I'm coherent enough to call myself "awake".  Well, a few days ago I woke up to my 4-year-old son playing by the side of my bed, and I noticed that his pajama shirt was all wet down the front.....so I asked him what happened.  He proceeded to tell me how he had been holding one of our two five-month-old kittens on the bed, and that he had squeezed it so hard that it peed on him.  At first, I laughed!  Just the prospect of squeezing someone so hard you make them urinate makes you giggle a little bit.  And then it suddenly sank in that there had to be cat pee ON MY BED!  I popped up and inspected the sheets.  Yep...there was cat pee...on my blankets and in my mattress.  Ugh!!!  If any of you have cats, you know how their pee STINKS, and that stink can last for a long time!  It's horrible!

So I searched the internet for what to do for my poor mattress.  I found this idea, and decided to try it. (If you click the link, it will open in a new page. Or you can read my description of it below.)

For me, it was definitely a success!  So I thought I'd share:

How to Get Cat Urine Out of Your Mattress


Things you'll need:

• Paper Towels or Towel
• Wet/dry Vac (Optional...I didn't use one)
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Water
• Dish Soap
• 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

 Step 1: If the urine is fresh, blot up as much of it as you can!  Use a towel or paper towels and press and hold all over the spot until you get most of it out.  You can also use a wet/dry vac if you'd prefer, but I didn't.  If it's an old stain, or already dried, skip to the next step.

Step 2: Put a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water in your liquid measuring cup, and pour a small amount onto the area (She recommends approx. 50 ml--or about 1/4 cup).  Then continue blotting (as described above), or use a wet/dry vac.

Step 3: Sprinkle a good handful of baking soda over the area.

Step 4: Mix 1/4 cup of the 3% hydrogen peroxide with 1 tsp of dish soap.  Drizzle that over the baking soda and work it in with your fingers or a scrub-brush.

Step 5: Allow this to sit for about 15 min.  Then blot the liquid out of the mattress again.  (She says, at this point, to NOT use a wet/dry vac...just blot.)

Step 6: Leave the mattress to dry thoroughly.  I left it with a fan blowing on it all day, and that worked fine.  You could also put it out in the sun to dry, use a hair-dryer, or a heater.

Step 7: Use your fingers or a brush to break-up the dry baking soda, and vacuum it up!

Ta-Da!!!  The smell was gone!  And my mattress even looked a little whiter in that area.  ;)

To get the smell out of the blankets and sheets (because just a regular wash didn't do it like I thought it would), I poured the vinegar/water mixture on the spot and sprinkled some baking soda on it.  I let that sit for between 15 & 30 min, and then washed it normally.  Once I did that, the smell was gone!  *Happy dance*

This happened again a few days later (minus the loving squeeze), and I used the same method.  I am loving this!  Although, I'm not-so-much loving the reason that I have to use it ...

After a long day of cleaning cat pee, you need an easy-to-make, sweet snack.  What could be better at the end of Summer than S'mores?  (Okay...so they're s'mores bars.  But that makes them even better!  Not as messy to eat!)  I found these on Pinterest, here.  I just tried making them for the first time, and they are DELICIOUS!  I can't stop eating them!  (This could be a problem...)

Here's the recipe:

Golden Graham S'mores Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (10.5 oz)* miniature marshmallows (abt. 5 1/2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) milk chocolate chips
• 5 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 box (13 oz)** Golden Grahams cereal (abt. 8 cups)

*This is what the recipe called for, but my bag was only 10 oz.  I added a few large marshmallows I had on hand, because I LOVE to have my treats TOTALLY covered with chewy goodness.
**This is what the recipe called for, but my box was only 12 oz, and it was just fine.

1. Grease 9x13-inch pan.  Reserve 1 cup of the marshmallows.
2. In a large saucepan, melt the chocolate chips, butter, corn syrup, and remaining marshmallows over low heat.  Have your 4-year-old stir it until it's completely melted. ;)
   
   
3. Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.
4. Add cereal to the saucepan.  Stir until completely coated with the melted chocolate mixture.  Stir in remaining 1 cup marshmallows. (Or, if you're like me, you'll forget this step...in which case you can sprinkle them on top later.)

   

   Yes, I believe in child labor. Jk.  But seriously, this is a great recipe for kids to help with!

5. Grease either the back of a spoon or your hands (or your kids hands) and press the mixture into the 9x13 pan.

   

   The kiddos love to help!

   

   I forgot to stir in the full marshmallows, so I sprinkled them on top.  That's my daughter trying to sneak a marshmallow...silly goose!

6. Cool at least 1 hour, or until firm (or dig in...I couldn't wait!)
7. Store loosely covered at room temperature (That is, if any survive to see the next day)
    

YUUUUUMMMMMMMM!!!  These are so good!  And my kids loved helping me make them.  It was a good "quality time" activity.

Pinterest WIN!!!

Go whip up a batch for yourself, and let me know how they turn out!  I'll read your comments while I slowly take small bite after small bite, and pretend that I'm not eating the whole pan!

Back to School: It's All Fun and Protien Bars...

It's September! Time to start actually accepting that school is starting and there's no way of getting around it. I was very anxious for school this year, with my health seemingly stable I was afraid to once again offset the precious balance. Whenever someone would ask the dreaded question, "So are you ready for school to start?!" I would say to myself, "Seriously? No! Who is ever actually ready for school to start at the end of a glorious summer? Definitely not me!" I dreaded the early mornings, the homework, the stress, the cussing in the halls, etc.

This year however, after failing at trying to trick myself into thinking that it wasn't going to happen, I decided to do something about my anxiety at the prospect of starting school. I prayed that I would find the strength to make it a good year and that the Lord would comfort me and soothe my fears. In my daily scripture study over the next few days, I focused on school and what I could do differently to change my situation. Through those nights of study, God gave me strength and faith. Somehow, every verse I read directly related to something that made me nervous about school. One by one, the fears slipped away, replaced by faith in a wise Heavenly Father who I know will protect me. Through this process, my testimony has grown and most of all, my faith is fuller! I know that when we trust God with our weakness He will take us and make us stronger than we ever thought we could be. I am most certainly not perfect, and I still have a very long way to go to become like our Savior Jesus Christ, but I do know that God has prepared a proven successful path to perfection. He takes us every step of the way, never leaving us alone. If we do the things He asks, it's a no brainer, we will be blessed beyond measure and be worthy to live with Him again. He has given us so many tools to keep us on His chosen path, including scripture study and prayer. They seem like simple, almost trivial commandments, but what a difference they make in our lives! The scriptures have strengthened me so much in my life! Do not let them go to waste! They were prepared for our day and what a blessing they are. I can testify of the strengthening power of daily scripture study and sincere and honest prayer.

So once again comes the question," Are you ready for school to start?" but now I can answer with a valiant "yes!" I am excited for early morning seminary, learning new things, testing my limits, and missionary opportunities. I may still have small fears of what this year holds in store for me, but every time I worry, I remember that God is driving and the road is a beautiful one. If I let Him take the wheel then He will surely lead me where I need to go. I know now that whatever comes my way this year I will be able to do it with Christ.

Read Ether 12 with a journal ready to write down impressions and feelings

Another thing that I know will help me get through this year are...protein bars! We have this amazing recipe for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free, egg free snack bars that are great for lunches and after school snacks! These kid-approved bars are not only a good source of brain power, they're really good even if you're not gluten free! I haven't met anyone who didn't like them. Affectionately known as "Birdfood Bars" around our house, we always make sure to have some in the fridge.

Practically Perfect Chocolate Protein Bars

1/2 cup honey (I prefer agave, but it's all a matter of taste)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup raw cocao (or cocoa powder)
1 tsp. vanilla (gluten free)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup pumpkin seeds
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup ground flax seed

Grease an 8x8ish pan. (Depending on how thick you want the bars to be you can choose an appropriate size pan) We often use coconut oil to liberally grease the pan because they like to stick.
In a medium size sauce pan add oil, honey, and cocao. Bring to a boil while stirring frequently. Allow the sauce to boil for one minute to get kind of syrupy.
Remove from heat (or turn to low heat) Add all remaining ingredients, stir until evenly mixed in syrupy stuff.
Pour into greased dish and refrigerate to harden.
Cut into squares and store in a closed container in the fridge or freezer.

We have tried replacing the seeds with nuts and they are just as delicious! We used pecans and almonds but you can experiment with anything! And if you end up loving this recipe and making it a lot (which I know you will!), you can save a little money by buying the seeds and coconut in bulk. Most of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store but for some (cocao or maybe ground flax) you should be able to get them at any health food store.

Read lessons learned from my first week of school and more next Friday!