Almost Aunite Anns hot dog pretzels

I should have taken step by step photos of this. There is a trick to getting them golden and tasting more like a pretzel.  They are delicous.

This is what I used
1 Pkg. Hebrew National Hot dogs (7 count)
1 Pillsbury reduced fat Crescent Rolls tube
1 cup of hot water
1 egg room temperature
1TBS. baking soda
1 -2 or so TBS. flour ( for rolling dough)
1 Tbs. butter
Pretzel salt or Coarse Sea Salt

Pre Heat oven to 350 deg. Fahrenheit. Lightly flour surface to roll out dough.  Open package & roll out dough on surface with your fingers. Sprinkle some more flour on top of dough to keep roller from sticking to dough.
Looking at dough, you will notice that there are triangles to the dough.  Pinch the triangle edges together. And make 4 large rectangles out of these (this is where I should have taken a picture)  Roll the dough out once or twice to seal the triangle edges your pinched together.

 Using a cutting tool ( I used my pizza cutter) cut each rectangle in half horizontally. This should give you 8 strips of dough.  Spray cooking surface with Pam,  if it is not a not stick surface. Gently take one strip and roll a hot dog in it to create a "pig" in a blanket. Do this for all 7 of the hot dogs. Use leftover strip to create your own little pretzel creation.

Here is how to get a golden sheen and a pretzel taste from the dough
Fill up a measuring cup to 1 cup of water. Add 1 tbs of baking soda. Place a skewer or chop stick or wooden stick in the water. Cook on high for 1 minute. ( placing a wooden stick into microwaved water will prevent the water from exploding since unlike traditional methods of boiling water, microwaved water may not bubble showing that its boiling.)

With a basting brush, take the hot water baking soda stuff and brush all the dough with it. Want to know why? Watch this Episode of Good Eats S11 Ep. 2 Pretzel Logic   (start at 12:29 on the time on youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcHEQpoOraE
Or watch the whole episode
I chose to not boil the dough in the water because I did not want to , and it seemed to get fine results with out boiling the dough in the baking soda water.

Then break you egg and whisk it to make a egg wash. Brush the egg wash on each pig in the blanket and cook for  16 minutes, or until a nice dark golden brownish color.
Take out of oven and brush melted butter on your little piggies. Sprinkle with your pretzel or sea salt.

Grab a soda and eat one of these before the kids get the rest. They will go fast!

"Moby" type wrap from a full-size bedsheet

Ha ha I look back at my last few posts and think why did I think I could actually get more things done ..So here is my now Quarterly update.  Sorry followers.

The shear reality of Cinnamon Bears pending  arrival in the next 10 days has me on nesting mode to get things done. I saw a pin on Pinterest about making your own Moby wrap by going to the fabric store  getting 5 yards of fabric and sewing them together and VOILA, a Moby wrap for a fraction of the cost.  http://www.rookiemoms.com/how-to-make-a-moby-wrap/
(this site also has a youtube video on how to use the wrap)
I like to be frugal and thought, why would I go the the fabric store when the thrift store will do me just as good.  So I went to my local thrift store, found a full size sheet in great condition for $3.99.

The fabric is a cotton Jersey type fabric I found. I made sure it was a little stretchy because I know with the "Moby" brand , the fabric needs a little give in it in order for it to be snug but not too snug.

I am not a  professional or good sewer by any means, and I know my husband would be impressed to see the sewing machine out on the desk. I am also at times impatient. Therefore,  I thought I would take the easy route and sew only what I needed to, using the bedsheets finished edges to my advantage. That, with being 37 weeks pregnant, I do not want to stand long..it hurts.

Alright enough talk , here is what you need to get started and get done. Took me about an hour.  Here is the condensed version;  Measure, cut , sew.. done..  scroll down for the detailed version.

Materials:
1 Full size bedsheet ( Jersey knit or stretchy fabric)
Pinking shears , scissors or rotary cutter
Measuring tape
Sewing machine
Pins

 

 For me I found that my table here is exactly a yard wide, so I measured like the ladies do at the fabric store using the table.
 I measured my sheet lengthwise. (if the sheet was on your bed it would be from the top of the sheet to the bottom.) The sheet was 3 yards long.

The width of my full size sheet (from side to side) was 75 inches wide. The instructions in the website says it needs to be 21 inches wide.
With these dimensions, it does mean that you have to cut the fabric to make everything work out.

I taped my measuring tape to the table so I could measure out the with of the sheet , pin it accordingly.  So that it would be 21 inches wide the whole length of the sheet.  Iron it and cut ( this may not be the way to do it professionally, but it worked for me. Notice the wood clamps..yea, that holds down the fabric so I can cut it.) For my Male readers... see, you CAN use tools and sew..and that is electrical tape holding down my measuring tape.

The sheet is LONG enough to make two- 21inch wide strips that are 3 yards long a piece plus a left over strip.
 Once sewn together,  that is a Moby wrap that is  6 yards long and 21 inches wide.
(With 1  left over 3 yard long  strip you can make homemade baby wipes out of. Or dust rags. )
 Upon more reading I found that some Moby wraps are made for those who are a little larger in size, and the dimensions in the website above, may not fit all very well.  I'm smaller my husband is bigger so I decided instead of cutting and measuring and more sewing than I really want to do,  I will just make it a 6 yard long strip of fabric.

Taking advantage of the finished edges on the sheet, I decided to match up the bottoms of the cut strips from the sheet. ( they are finished edges as well, so following the line to match it up was easy peasy.) Please excuse the big baby belly in black fabric..

Because you are sewing the bottoms together of the sheet, the top finished edge of the sheet will become your "Moby" wrap ends.  (I chose not to sew and finish the  left edge right now that I cut  with my pinking shears. If you look at the right of this wrap, the other side edge is finished as well already because that would be the sides of the sheet)

So..ALL DONE! I now have a "Moby" wrap that I made from a full size sheet that I did try out using Boo Bears' Raggedy Ann doll. I will certainly post a pic of the finished product , in actual use here in about 11 days!

Here is the Front, with Raggedy Ann. The doll  is up pretty  high, because the baby bump is totally in the way.

 

This is the Back, I did not have time to make the back look perfect in this photo and even out the fabric for eye appeal, but you get the jist.

DIY - No Sew Belly Band

Why buy new when it can be made by YOU?  So since you are pregnant about 40 weeks,  I am almost 5 months pregnant in these pictures, and Maternity clothes seem to be twice the amount of regular clothes, It makes me scratch my head when others go out and purchase clothes that may be worn for only 4 months. So in my Pinterest addiction, I found a website called DIY Maternity.  They have some great DIY stuff from making your own nursing pads to taking your significant others button up shirts and making them look adorable on you.

I am now at the stage where I really want to wear my jeans, but those lil size 2s are not going to fit anymore. You can pay  26.00 retail to buy a Bella Band. OR you can save money, and like me spend nothing, and use that money for say.. a pedicure.

So with all that being said here is the link to where I got this idea http://diymaternity.com/pants-skirts/how-to-make-a-no-sew-belly-band/


Now instructions for a No Sew Belly Band
You will need

and old tank top
pair of scissors

Take your tank top, lay it flat, cut off the top of the tank top and VOILA a  New sew belly band.

 I folded mine down a bit for comfort

 Update  1-5-13
This worked well for the remainder of my pregnancy. and post partum.  I highly suggest using a cami or tank top that is smaller than what you normally wear or tight on you or that made of a stretchy type fabric.  My hips grew one pant size so those jeans in that pic.. are being given away. I ended up wearing yoga pants mostly by pregnancy week 38 and 39.  The belly band was still able to be used since by that point my shirts were too small. Oh the joys of pregnancy!

Im Back ..with a Surprise!

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I have been on and blogged. There is a reason for it.. As we found out that we are expecting our 4^th little bear in this House of Bears. Cinnamon Bear is HER name in October . Yes it is a girl as of now , we will see what the next ultrasound says. Boo Bear , Teddy Bear and Gummy bear are excited to have a new sibling join us this fall.

Well I have not posted since January. Now that I am in the second trimester, I thought  this is the best time to catch up on Confessions of a Theta Mom.  I have been compiling some ideas especially for saving money on baby needs, and comparing costs for making items or buying items.  Keep on the lookout for some new posts, and bear with me as I get them posted and still learn this blogging thing.

  The new posts will be including things like making your own cloth baby wipes, or disposable wipes, making crib sheets, nursing pads,  belly bands and so forth. I will not just be focusing on baby but adding posts about older kids and summer activities. Also some more household DIY things, like up-cyclying  to make a new master suite look and bathroom.  

The plan is to do a post every other week. So keep checking back for new things. :)

Homemade Dishwashing Detergent and Rinse Aid

 Hello friends, it has been a bit since I have been online. I started a new early morning part time job, so between kids, house, hubby, work and church, I have had little time to blog..So finally here is my post on Homemade Dishwashing Detergent! 

I was very excited to run out of my store bought detergent so that I could try this out. So instead of going to the store, I decided to make my own. I found the recipe online. Thank you The New Homemaker!
http://www.thenewhomemaker.com/dishwasherpowder

I used:
1 cup Borax
1 cup  Arm and Hammer Washing soda  * Not baking soda!!
1/4 kosher salt
2 lemonade kool-aid packets. ( or 1/4 cup of citric acid)
Put in 1 TBS per Load

Rinse Aid:
Vinegar


 Since I made my homemade laundry detergent I already had what I needed to make this. Stir mixture well.  Put in a seal-able container. I put mine in a large yogurt container and added a measuring tablespoon to the container. I put a masking tape label on it, with the name "5 Bears Dishwasher Detergent" and wrote "1 TBS Per Load"

I had done some research on it and some say that most "green" products like this will leave a cloudy residue on the clear plastics. I did not have that issue. I use vinegar in the rinse aid compartment and it seems to do the job of  rinsing everything quite clean with no cloudy residue.


Review:
I have been using this now for over a month and just started my next batch. I recommend stirring each time you open the container to mix it up and then add your detergent in your dishwasher. Some people who have made this say that it may clump due to the citric acid, but again, I stir it each time and it has yet to clump on me.  I like it. It is easy to make, it works  and is  cheap..even better. Oh yes, and it smells good too.  I have a cheap dishwasher from our previous owners of our home, so I usually scrape most of what I can from plates before I wash. I have not tested it on dishes that are coated in food and its effectiveness on those. But for soiled dishes that have been scraped well, it works for me. :) Happy washing!