Oh What a Night

It was a busy week! Cub scouts + Ladies’ night! I had a blast at Ladies’ night. It was nice to talk to some of my female friends about the current state of the nation. We’ll work back up to conversations on dismantling the patriarchy even if things seem pretty glum now. I joked that the with the FDA being dismantled by those who don’t understand science that it’s a wonder no one is hoarding canned goods! Kathy suggested our new Ladies’ night we should learn to can our own canned goods. And then I suggested we should start the Women’s Liberty League to learn to counteract all the stupid/bad things the current administration is doing. We were only semi joking but I think maybe we could combine tongue in cheek crafts like making pussy hats with useful things like maybe make literacy kits for those districts in MA impacted by the federal cuts. Something I’ll need to mull over.

My kids were amazing helpers this weekend. They helped me clean the whole house and the house hasn’t been so clean since they’ve been alive! (Except that time my mom cleaned.). The back room of the basement is even clean! Despite my kids being amazing helpers I still managed to get frustrated. Patricia is so curious and not a great listener so she breaks things a lot. She’s only 4 so I really need to cut her some slack. This morning though I discovered that she covered the side of her toy shelves in that super strong sticker paper from the foil art kits. I got very mad until I made her cry and realized I was being a total jerk about something that was extremely unimportant. In which case I told her how it was something I shouldn’t have gotten mad about. What a jerk. I don’t know why I can’t keep my temper sometimes. (Honestly it doesn’t help that I’m not a morning person.) My resolution this year is to stop yelling and stop pointing blame. Both of which are useless traits that I don’t want my children to pick up. I know we’re 4 months into the new year already but no time like the present to start! I need to hold myself accountable!

Okay enough about my problems! Let’s discuss how we can make shower bombs that will enhance that precious moment of me time and relaxation in the shower! Everyone agreed this ladies night craft was an easy one. (Sometimes I go a bit overboard.) I bought everything in bulk (except the baking soda which I got from Hannaford’s) from this company Bulk Apothecary (because I’m avoiding Amazon as much as I can.) They are a small business but they made sure my order made it to me in a timely manner! I spent about $80 on supplies (including shipping) for shower bombs but I have enough supplies to make like 500 more so I feel like it was a very good deal. Oh and we used plastic egg cartons for this craft so it’s even eco friendly! I tried a couple formulas but found the best was just to make sure you use no water whatsoever in the mixing so no reactions start. This recipe is what I used as my basis but you’ll noticed I made some changes. This version was not crumbly and held up well in the shower too…it didn’t fizz to nothing instantly.

Before we started our craft though we had dinner which was homemade sourdough, impossible lasagna and salad (very simple but IMHO delicious). I made a batch of brownies and chocolate chip cookies too for dessert.

After dinner we got down to business and made our shower bombs. My recipe below makes about 5 egg carton sized shower bombs. So we each made a few batches and shared them around. Now that I have all the stuff I’ll make the next few batches with scent mixes.

DIY Shower Bombs

Ingredients (for 5 small shower bombs):

• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 1 tsp of essential oils
• 91% isopropyl alcohol
• 1/4 cup citric acid
• 1 plastic egg carton
• glove (you’ll want to wear a glove)

1. Measure out baking soda and essential oils into a small bowl and mix.

2. Add 3 to 4 squirts of isopropyl alcohol (probably like 2 tsp) and mix. When mixture is wet enough to hold together in a clump when squished in your hand and dropped you’re ready to move on. If not add a bit more alcohol and continue on. (Note: isopropyl alcohol does not contain water which is why I used it.)

3. Add in citric acid and mix thoroughly.

4. Pack mixture into egg carton pressing down firmly.

5. Let dry for 24 hours. Gently remove from egg carton and place in a glass jar to preserve scent.

To use: place one shower bomb in shower out of the direct spray while you wait for the water to heat. Enjoy the aromatherapy experience.