Rub a dub dub

So, I took the challenge of making my own laundry soap and fabric softner. It was a challenge trying to find washing soda around here. I was told that many Ace Hardware stores carry it, but not ours. Want to know where I found it? The grocery store that I go to every week...duh! They also had the Fels soap and the Borax. So, I stocked up and headed home to mix my concoction up.

I started by blasting the crap out of the soap in the food processor. At first, I dont think my mixer was up to the challenge, but after a bit of convincing, it got the job done.

Then all I had to do was add the Borax and the Washing soda and my scent of choice, which was Lemon Pound cake. I then put it all into a glass canning jar and it looked like this:
And then I shook it up to mix it all evenly and it looked like this:

Overall, I think it turned out pretty well. I think next time I might try the Dove soap. I just enjoy the scent of that better than the Fels.

Then I tried my hand at making the fabric softner. The recipe calls for using conditioner, like Suave. I thought, great, I have some upstairs that never gets used. This is a perfect thing to use that up. Little did I know that apparently it can get sudsy if you shake it up.
Notice all of the suds at the top of the mixture. But I thought I would give it a shot anyways to see how it did. This method you can just add it to the wash, but I liked the idea of adding the soaked sponges to the dryer. (I thought I might get more scent that way and less static)To tell you the truth, I wasn't that impressed with the fabric softner, nor the sponge thing. I just cant get past the soap suds in the conditioner. Who would have thought?! (I guess that is why I can never use Suave conditioner on my hair!) I think I prefer just using vinegar in the wash and then adding scented oil to a wash cloth and adding it to the dryer. Or just using regular fabric softner. But hey, I tried!

Oh How I love my cloth!

I have simply fallen in love with our cloth diapers. Now, don't get me wrong, obviously I have loved it for some time to cloth diaper 2 kids. But I've gone up and down with the love of my stash of diapers. At this particular moment and for the past 6 months or so, I have been very content with my stash (this is rare!). I have found a system that works really well for us and is easy for family and the babysitter to use. I've also found a really, really good wash routine that has done away with the stinkies and never leaves any stains.

Since March, we have been using exclusively Nana's Bottoms AIO's (All in ones) and Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers. This system has worked really well for us. I send either the Nana's or FB's to the babysitter and then use the FB's at night for both boys. I usually double stuff the night time diapers and both boys go all night with no leaks. The Nana's are uber trim under clothing and I don't need to size up Bubba's pants with them like you have to sometimes with cloth diapers. Here are some pics of the little guy with his Nana's on:
We have also recently acquired some flat diapers. Basically these are just a large square piece of fabric. You have to fold them in order to put them on, or you can trifold them and lay them in a cover. The nice thing about these diapers is that they are super cheap ($12.50 a dozen) and you can fold them according to the size of your baby, making them truly a one sized diaper. Here are some pics of Bubba in the flats:For both diapers, the Nana's and the flats, I have made my own fleece liners that I just lay on top as a stay dry liner to help keep Bubba's bottom dry. The FB's have a fleece inner so they are already stay dry.

Our wash routine has also been perfected. We have hard water so its hard to find a detergent and wash routine that does not cause stinkies. This is what we do: wash on the heavy duty cycle on hot with a 1/4 scoop of Tide HE original powder. Then do another hot wash on heavy duty with no detergent. This has worked perfectly and we never have any stains. I just love it when everything seems to come together and you achieve stash nirvana! :) And, there's just nothing cuter than a little cloth covered bum!!!

A cool find!

During some down time at work I was reading some emails. I am a subscriber to the Hillbilly Housewives newsletter and I had a new one in my Inbox. I am a big fan of the Hillbilly Housewife simply because there are a lot of great tips, recipes, and tricks to getting the most for your money. They even have an emergency meal plan for a week for a family of 4 for $45!!! You can find the website here and subscribe to the free newsletter if you are interested.

Anyways, I was reading the newsletter and was browsing through the recipes and such. I came across the homemade detergent section and read a reply that had a link to the lady's blog. I then started to read her blog. She had some really good recipes on there for homemade cleaning products, fabric softner, and laundry detergent. She even posted a great link to an online store where she buys her scented essential oils. So, of course I visited the store because I have been looking for some more scented oils to put in our wetbag for diapers and other uses. So I ordered Monkey farts (smells like banana and other yumminess), pink sugar (which is my favorite and I even have the perfume), Amish Friendship bread (you know this HAS to smell good), and lemon pound cake (I love lemon smelling things, very fresh!). They were only $2.50 each and you can use them in so many things. I use them for scenting our homemade cleaners, laundry detergent, wetbag for diapers, and many other things. Here is a link to Natures Garden where they sell the fragrance oils.

I really wanted to share this blog with everyone because it has some really good recipes and tips on there. And with the economy the way it is at the moment, we all can really use some ways to save money. (Hint, cloth diapering is a great way!! :)) Anyways, here is the link to the blog: Farming on Faith

I hope you enjoy it and learn as much as I did. :)

A little bit of Christmas

The boys and I have been hard at work trying to get some of the Christmas decorations up around the house. It's been difficult without daddy here to help us get the house ready for the holiday season. I decided not to put everything up this year, just the important things that would make it feel like Christmas for the boys.

We travelled to the tree farm last Sunday to get our tree. Last year daddy chopped one down for us, but my plan this year was to just pick out a pre-cut one from the farm. However, Peytonn was having no part of that. Luckily, Papa and Nay Nay were with us and helped us pick out a tree. Papa was kind enough to cut it down for us and Peytonn helped pull the cart with the tree loaded up on it.
Once we got home, Peytonn helped Papa untie the tree and open it up. He then helped me decorate it and put the lights up. Everyday he reminds me to turn the lights on. He was such a good helper putting everything up with me. He even helped me decorate the mantel with lights and our stockings.
We have gotten all of our stockings from Pottery Barn Kids and I love them!!! We have gotten one each year and this year was my turn. This picture has my old stocking in it, but my new stocking came in the mail the other day and is now up on the mantel with the others. I got a red one so we now have 2 red and 2 blue ones. Our stockings are now complete. I can't wait to fill them up with fun things for the boys for Christmas.

Here we go....

We're very, very soon going to have a full blown walker on our hands. Bennett has been walking for a while holding just one of your fingers and will stand alone, but he would not take any steps on his own. So I got this brilliant idea to try out the old fashioned white Stride Rite shoes. I even got those little bell things that keep the shoe laces tied. And let me tell you, what a world of difference those things have made! Bennett loooooves the bells and will kick his legs just to hear the bells jingle. I've noticed he feels a lot more stable and sure of himself with the shoes on.

So, its been about a week and a half since we got the shoes and today he took his first steps all by himself. (I was only slightly trying to bribe him with his cup of milk) He is so cute though, he gets so excited and happy when he is standing by himself. He will even dance and clap his hands.

He is just growing so fast and quickly turning into a toddler instead of a baby. He is now into 18 month clothes and quickly outgrowing the 12 month stuff, especially in pants. I think he just has long legs and a short torso, because he not a "big" kid. I think he may just have long legs like his daddy. The outfit he has on in this picture is head to toe 18 months. He just looks so big in this picture, like a little man. :tear:

Such is life.....

This is the phrase that sums up what life has been like for this month. I have gone through a lot of ups and downs this month and I am ready to get off the roller coaster. Let's start with the positives:

Bennett is completely off the bottle and has been since the day after his birthday. It was difficult to find a cup that he really liked. He would drink out of almost any cup between meals, but he really just wanted his bottle in the morning and before bed. We were using the Playtex drop-ins with the latex nipple because the soft texture of the nipple worked really well with bottle and breastfeeding. It was easy to switch back and forth. So, then I went on the hunt for a cup spout that was similar in texture to the latex nipple. And I found it!!! B is in love with the Nuk Trainer cup. It has a latex spout that is soft and he is able to draw it further into his mouth than the hard plastic ones.
On another note, I accepted a position for a new job. I start my new job on December 1st and I am really excited about it. The position is similar to what I do now, but I will be in contact more with my clients instead of sitting at a desk and doing a lot of paperwork among everything else. The best part is, I get to make my own schedule and it is a lot more flexible than what I do now. I really need that right now in my life, I feel very stressed out at the moment due to work and taking care of everything at home by myself.

Now onto the moments this month that have led to me really think about my life and the people that surround me.

I am stressed out to capacity! Not that I am surprised at all, how could anyone not be in a situation like this. It has really made me look at my life and how I can simplify it and make it less stressful for me and the boys. I have come to realize that I cannot be everything for everyone. There comes a time when you realize you have done all that you can possibly do to make things and situations go smoothly. Then you just have to take a step back and let things progress how they are meant to. I feel as though if I am stressed out and upset, then my kids are going to pick up on that. I want my kids to be happy and healthy and us all to get through this phase of our life in the best way possible. I can no longer pretend as if statements and situations do not bother me and remain silent any longer. I am not one for confrontation, but I am up to my eyeballs in stress with no end in sight. I have not had a day or night all to myself since May. So yeah, I'm a little tired and irritable, but I am doing the best that I can given the situation.

I just want people to understand that when you come to me with a full plate and you want to pile that full plate on top of my own full plate, I may just got a little nuts. I am starting to speak up and I will say what I have kept bottled up for so long. Just realize that when you want to come to me with your mound of issues and problems.

Needless to say, the holidays are going to be strange this year. I want my husband home to enjoy this special time of year with us. It already feels like something is missing.

Can't believe he is 1

My little monster man is 1! How crazy is that?! This year has flown by, even faster than normal. We had wee man's party today and everyone was so generous with new toys and clothes for him. Both boys were so excited to have everyone over to the house and to play with friends and family.

Let's see what B is up to these days:
--Cruising like a mad man, but still refusing to walk. (fine with me!)
--Has been on whole raw milk for about 2 weeks now
--FINALLY started sleeping through the night once he started the whole milk (thank heavens!!!!)
--Is cutting his top two teeth
--eats just as much, if not more than his older brother
--drinks about a gallon of milk per week, so we go through about 2 gallons per week for both boys
--calls me "mama" and will crawl after me yelling it
--he is super good at feeding himself and eats just about anything.
--some of his favorite foods are black beans, waffles, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheerios, hot dogs, chicken, pot pies, peas, carrots, cheese. Basically the kid will eat anything that I give him. :)

Wee man loved his cake so much! He was a little unsure at first about getting into it, but once he took a few small bites, he really went to town on it. He ate the entire piece that I gave him. We even video taped some of the party to send to daddy and we took plenty of pictures for him as well. Daddy really wished that he could be here for wee man's 1st birthday, but soon enough he will be home for a visit.