Update on Homemade Laundry soap.....

I LOVE it!

I highly recommend it!

Going Old School to save a few $'s

I did it.

I...well, Sam and I made laundry detergent from a recipe.
First let me tell you that I am Tide and Cheer's biggest fan.
That is all I use...EVER.

Until today.

I saw this recipe at The Duggar's website, and for many months have thought about
giving it a try. They claim $2 for 180 loads of laundry. I like the sound of that, but
I worried about the odor and how clean the clothes would really be.
THEN I was reading comments on a blog from (Tide using) women who have tried this
very recipe and love it.


So I ordered my Fels Napa bar, because I couldn't find it in any local stores.
I bought my washing soda, borax, a 5 gallon bucket, and a funnel. Then (last night) me and
Sam made the brew.

We have enough ingredients to make 30 gallons of this stuff, and really spent
very little considering what I drop on one container of Tide.

If the following things work out, we will stay with this and save $:

The odor: So far not bad, very mild once completely diluted.
Cleanliness: Do not know, will find out soon.
Skin irritations: This one I'll be watching closely for, if anyone gets a rash...it's a NO GO!

I will post soon with an update:)

*Today's review*
1st I skeptically put in a mean, stinky load. It came out of the washer smelling odorless...no soap smell, no unclean smell...just fresh and clean and odorless. It came out of my dryer smelling like my fabric sheet...nice. I even stuck the clothes in Sam's face when he came home for lunch...he liked.

I'll tell you what I like....

I like summer.

I LIKE summer.

Have I mentioned that
I LIKE summer?

I like cold watermelon.
I like the extra freckles that
paint my girl's faces.
I like vacations.
I like having NO schedule.
I like flip flops.
I like the smell of sun block.
I like sitting on a blanket watching fireworks
explode in the sky, and being glad I am
in this free country.

and I LIKE a good parade!

That is were we found ourselves today! Sitting in a shady spot, watching a parade go by.

With cousins,
and "happy hour" slushies.

Santa even likes summer,
we know because we spotted him
on his favorite horse.

Freckles and cotton candy,
does it get any better?

Oh, it does....

How am I supposed to watch the parade with this cutie beside me?

I like a place where the unusual fits right in.

And I like this face.....

Do you know why?

Yes, she is my first born.

BUT, the reason I like this face is because it is free
from the make-up that will soon cover it.

It's the face that is not yet in puppy love with
some silly boy.

It is free from worry over jobs,
and budgets, and schedules
and life.

Not the face of a baby, or even a young girl.

It's the face just before she becomes a young women.

And I like it.


And I like summer,
have I mentioned that?

Oz may not be far away

We've had some very exciting scary weather around here for June. Freak storms, strange cloud formations, and one evening after a storm we had the most beautiful (eerie) sky. Every thing was a burnt orange glow, and across the sky was a double rainbow, with lightening streaking through it. I've NEVER seen anything like it. I wish I had clicked a pic of it.

Is it the end of time?
Is it Global warming?
Is it just the Earth doing it's thing?

I can't answer that, my brain came from a thrift store.

What I can do is enjoy it. This earth is beautiful and amazing, how dare I not notice.

I can also tell a funny on my dear sister in law.

She has only lived in Arkansas for a year. She is a little nervous with the Tornado warnings we've been having.

Last week she noticed the sky growing dark in the middle of the day, and the winds picking up. She then heard the ominous tornado warning siren.

What do you think she did next?

a) Opened all her windows, and anticipated meeting munchkins
b) Got to a safe place in her house, away from windows
c) Ran across the street to her neighbor, to ask if that was tornado a siren

You are a smart one, I believe you guessed it!




C) She ran to her neighbors house.


Ha,ha,ha!

I'm not sure why that is so funny to me, but it is. It still cracks me up. I am easily amused....hmm.

Anyway, don't do that...if you are ever in the path of a storm. DON'T DO THAT.

Just so you know, I can make fun of her if I want. I can.

She has PLENTY on me!

That's all,

Warning: This post is not very interesting

Typical Lazy Summer Day

My two early birds woke me up.
Made Cream of Wheat.
Woke the two girls
that like to sleep all day.

Sat on the computer for a while,
daring myself to get somethings done.
Gutted half of my room,
did a little reorganizing.




Laundry, as always.
Made girls fold and put clean clothes away
Made girls do some house work.


Sam came home for lunch,
had sandwiches.
Sam went back to work.

Went to Target.

Home again

Sam's home.

Dinner.

Girls played in our little pool.

Sam mowed the lawn.

Took self-portraits with the fam

Went to the park, as the sun went down.

Stayed up too late playing on computer.

Time for bed.

!Free Fun!

I
LOVE
Free
Fun!

This is at a local "spray ground"

Great way to cool off,
on a hot day.

Summer!

I love summer!
Especially early summer.
Hot, humid August in the somewhat south...
not so much.

Here is G-bop on her last day of school,
graduating from the fifth grade...

That medal around her neck is the medal for
Most Amazing Artist in Fifth Grade!
That is how her art teacher announced it,
"Not only does this girl have a great attitude,
she is also the most amazing artist in fifth grade"
Cute.
She is a very talented artist. I am often...well...
amazed how she can turn a blank paper into
something "wow" in such a short amount of time.

Sometimes I feel a tinge of guilt for not having her involved
in a multitude of after school activities like a lot of
other children are. It is one of the things we have sacrificed
to get Sam through school, and for me to be home...
It's great to see talent, and confidence still develop in her,
and in each of my girls.
AND we look forward to jumping into
a few of those activities soon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This past Saturday we kicked off
SUMMER
with a bang!

We went with my brothers family
to Silver Dollar City in
Branson, MO.

So Fun!
Such great Weather!


The cousins

The Plunge

I wish you could see cousin "T"s face better, so funny.


B-Bop with cousin "A". She is not into heights.

The Storm mapping out our day

K-bop with B-bop. Hi!

We played a crazy traveling game on the way that
started with K-bop getting 10 points for every cow she saw.
G-bop took away 10 of K's points for every horse she saw.
Then more rules kept adding on:
If G saw roadkill -20 for K
If K saw a red vehicle +10
If Mom saw a tractor K and G had to sing, "Old McDonald"
(Dad added that one and they were not lovin')
If Dad saw a school bus he had to sing "Yankee Doodle"
If K saw a mullet she'd get 1000 points
If G saw an RV -10 for K
The closer we came to Branson, it became an all
red car/RV war.
(Branson is the RV capitol of the world, I think)
The stakes were high...
If K had 100 points when we arrived she
could choose to ride the big coaster.
If not she had to ride it.
Also, if K had 100 points or more,
G had to ride the Elephant ride, and pretend she loved it.
Are you following?

It was a close race...
Guess who lost?

"Why G-bop, looks like you're lovin' that ride!"

"Wave!"

"What is that? A little attitude?"

Elephant photo's taken by Dad.

BTW, K-bop chose NOT to ride the big coaster!

Good Times,