"If I Had A World Of My Own...

...Everything Would Be Nonsense. Nothing Would Be What It Is, Because Everything Would Be What It Isn't. and Contrary Wise, What Is, It Wouldn't Be. and What It Wouldn't Be, It Would. You See?"

I wrote this post two years ago today. When my heart ached to be a mother to a very special little girl...

If I had a world of my own I would be able to take care of her. I would be there all the time to wipe her nose so boogers never get stuck to her face. I would take her to get her bangs cut so they are even. I would spend time every single day to teach her new signs. I would sit with piles of medical records and research and travel to countless specialists to be sure she had the best care and the best opportunity and the least restrictive life. I would march into her school for all of her IEP meetings and make sure she was getting everything she was entitled to. And - I would march into her school for all her parties...any letter I got for any activity...I would be there. I would dress her in clothes without holes. I would encourage her to walk. I would take her to the park. I would do...

anything.

But I can do nothing. 

But this world is not mine. And I trust that because this world belong to God there is a reason for all of this. There is a reason for loving someone you can't call your own. I know I'm being prepared for something. Maybe to be a mom. Maybe one day I will need all of these lessons for something more. Maybe one day I'll need to be prepared to be a mom to a child with special needs like hers. 

Maybe. 

But for right now...

I'm wishing everything would just be what it isn't. 

Pretty amazing how God works, isn't it friends? 

Jillian's a mama! X2!

I have ALWAYS loved Jillian Michaels.

Her amazing 30 minute DVD's are currently kicking my post-adoptive-mom-larger-rear-end back in shape. 

LOVE her. 

And now...

I love her even more! 

Cheap Mama: Baked Potato Hand Scrub

Yeah - so not kidding. 

Since my Cheap Mama: Best HomeMade Face Scrub  was such a hit, I thought I'd share another little happy accident of a beauty product. 

I wanted to make baked potato's but ran out of foil. And I also have a 3 month old, so quick trips to the grocery store are no longer appealing.

Not that they EVER were.

Anyways...

So I came up with the idea of piercing the potatoes a bit, rubbing them with olive oil, and then scrubbing them with salt. 

After washing and piercing the potato's I put them in a colander and then coat them evenly with olive oil. I dump on some salt, and rub that into the skin of the potato's. 

Yes. That is my daughters booger sucker in the background. 

Don't judge. 

 You pop them into the oven in a baking dish and can bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or 350 degrees for 60 minutes - I've tried both and they both work.

You can also just sit them on foil directly on the rack in the oven. But seeing as how this recipe came about because I ran out of foil...almost seems wrong to do it that way...doesn't it?

The resulting potato has crispy, salty skin and a perfectly cooked and easily fluffed inside. I've tried this on non-baked-potato-skin-eaters weird people and they LOVE it!

The other, unexpected result of this experiment was that this makes for an AWESOME hand scrub. I literally just rub my hands together for a few seconds after I'm done with the potato's, rinse, and they are smooth and soft for days!

And seeing as how my hands are either getting washed, sanitized or giving baths these days...

This baked potato hand scrub is a much needed little treat!

Enjoy!