Taylor Turns 34!

Happy Birthday honey. I know you are a secret reader of my blog. (Ok, not secret to me...but to the rest of the world.) I hope you had a fun day yesterday, albeit you had to work. ;) I hope you know how much we appreciate you as a Daddy and Husband. I can't believe you only have 6 more years to 40 though!!! Ahhh, you're sooo old! ;) Just kidding.

I wanted to share with the rest of you some pics from a fun evening last night. The kids had a blast sharing presents with Dad, and helping him blow out his candles. This cake was a serious project, but it was ohhh so worth it!

Time Stand Still!

I was working on my computer today, enjoying some music...Jadon was in the bathroom doing the stuff that takes men forever (yes, even at 5). And, I realized it was really quiet, so I looked over and saw just the back end of Carmel lying perfectly still. So, I walked over and looked around into the hall, and there was the rest of her; perfectly, serenely, adorably, sound asleep. Ahhhh, be still my heart.

Great Song

This song reminds me that Jesus is still waiting for those who would come to know Him, those who have gone astray, and those who are trying to do it all on their own. I know, I used to be one of those. This song touches my heart, and instantly reminds me to pray for people I love to know Him!

Deal Of The Day

Hey Gals, just wanted to pass on this deal for a free coffee or tea at Barnes and Noble. In case you need to do some shopping, or just want to pop in for a free coffee...here ya go! They also have story times available if you want to take the little ones.

Link to Storytimes (Washington Square. If you don't live near that one, just click on store locator and it will show you all events for that B and N.

Printable Coupon

Update

I tried out my new detergent. The consistency is a little weird...I do have to warn you. It's sort of a gel, but watery still, so kind of just a funny mixture of both. I tried it on my hubby's undershirts. Need I say more? ;) They smell great! (Yes, I smelled the armpits.)

I don't know what it would do for whites, (as far as getting them bright) but I think I'll just put an extra 1/2 cup of borax. So, all in all I think it works out great! If you can get over your preconceived notion of what "detergent" is supposed to look like, you'll be fine.

I Did It!

I took Mary Lou's advice, and made my own laundry soap! It was super easy...here's the recipe:

The Recipe

Homemade Laundry Soap

The Ingredients:

1/3 Bar of soap. I used Fels Naptha (Fred Meyer laundry isle)

1/2 cup Washing Soda (also found at Freddies)

1/2 Borax (20 Mule Team also at Freddies)

Instructions:

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

**The cost of making the above recipe of laundry soap was .71 cents. That was amazing to me! With this 2 gallon size recipe you will have enough to do 64 loads of laundry. That translates to about .01 cent a load.** (credit to thefamilyhomestead.com)



I will be sure and let you know if the clothes actually get clean. That's the true test. If my family all of a sudden starts stinking, please do not hesitate to tell me, as I will be switching back to the good ol' store brand! ;) Also, this is a low sudsing soap for all of you who like me have an HE machine.

Inspired By The Economy

A couple of years ago, we decided to do an experiment on being poor. ;) It's been interesting to say the least! I have had to come up with some serious ways to save money. I know this sounds dumb, but I had never even been to Goodwill to buy something. (Really good stuff, by the way. Especially the one in Tigard.) I needed to change my thinking on things. God needed to change my thinking on things. I was getting waaaay to into worldly things. Don't get me wrong, I like nice things, but they were too important to me.

I am interested, that the economy wants to join in our experiment! Yikes! I don't think any of us are immune from what is going on financially. I am watching Oprah right now, I know...eek! She has a great show on today on living frugally, having debt...oops, and living within our means. It's really hard, I know. We went through the whole Dave Ramsey class, know what we need to do, but still we mess up. I am definitely not perfect. But, I have some small tips that I thought I'd share with you all.

- As much as I wanted to save $, I did not want to shop at some of the "bargain" grocery stores. I spend a little extra time and clip coupons from the free Food Day that comes on Tuesdays. Every once in awhile there is a $10 off coupon in there from Safeway, and you can use all coupons at Albertsons. You can even use the doublers for your manufacturer coupons.

- Make your own cleaning products. I make my own counter cleaner and antibacterial wipes. I bought reusable microfiber floor cloths that I can wash in the washing machine. Here are the recipes for the cleaners:

All-Purpose Cleaner

2T vinegar

1 t Borax

Hot water

a few drops of a mild dish detergent

10 drops of essential oil (scent, like citrus along w/ tea tree, a natural antibacterial)

In a 16 spray bottle put vinegar, borax and hot water. Swish around until borax has dissolved. Add the drops of dish detergent and fill the rest of the bottle with water. Add the essential oils (I like citrus or lavender.)

Homemade Window Cleaner

This one can be made right in your spray bottle.

½ t mild dish detergent

3T vinegar

2 cups water

Put all these ingredients into a spray bottle. Shake this up some and use it just like the commercial variety.

I also did some research after a comment by Mary Lou. I was intrigued at the thought of making my own laundry detergent. I have a high efficiency washer, so I have to use low-sudsing soaps. I found this great website that you can buy some of the raw ingredients. Also, you can buy your essential oils at Whole Foods. Or, I buy some of my stuff online at Essential Wholesale when they are having a sale.

Instructions for Antibactieral Wipes

Things You’ll Need:

• Roll of paper towels
• Water
• Container half the size of a paper towel
• Tight lid
• White Vinegar
  
• Tea tree oil
• Small bowl

• Step 1:
  Roll out half of the paper towels, tear apart and then stack them in the container. If you are using regular-sized paper towels, cut them in half with a non-serrated knife.
• Step 2:
  Mix ¼ cup water, ½ cup vinegar and approximately 10 drops of tea tree oil in a bowl. Tea Tree oil is a natural antibacterial agent which will disinfect the area you are cleaning without using harsh chemicals.
• Step 3:
  Pour half of the mixture onto the paper towels in the container. Move the paper towels around and allow them to soak up the liquid.
• Step 4:
  If there is enough room in the container, break apart the other half of the paper towel roll, add the towels to the container and pour the other half of the mixture over the new paper towels.
• Step 5:
  Place a tight fitting lid on the container and store the towels until you need them.

-I started cutting both my boys' hair. I can give lessons...if any of you are scared to try. I practiced, and am pretty good at it! My hubby lets me "pay" myself for each of their haircuts to save for my own professional cut and color.

- Plan! I make all of my meal plans a week ahead, according to what is on sale. I sit in front of the ads, and plan my shopping. I make sure that we eat proportionately so that the hubby can have leftovers for lunch.

- This is hard for me to do. Do the envelope system. Even if you are wealthy. It helps to keep you accountable with where your money goes. We are all just one step away from losing it all, so don't be lulled into a false sense of security.

-Get your clothes second hand. I do most of my shopping at Buffalo Exchange. You don't have to sacrifice fashion there. They have in style things, and if you have nice things to exchange, you get credit! I also know of a clothing exchange coming up. Girlfriends get together and trade their duds. If you don't know of one, do your own! Just make sure to invite some people your size! ;) I took the kids to Goodwill before school this year. They wear uniforms, so we went and found khaki pants, polo shirts, even regular clothes that were in perfect shape! I also consign their clothes at our local kids consignment store.

-Want something? Go to Craigslist. I really wanted a new Ipod before I ran Hood To Coast, and so I went on Craigslist and found one for $35!

Ok, so that's it on my ideas. Hope it is helpful to some. If you have some ideas, please share in the comments! I hope we can all survive this economic crisis.

Women's Retreat at Bradley

I had the pleasure of going to Applegate's Women's Retreat last month and lead some worship with my sis Danelle. It was such a blessing to be at Lake Bradley with seriously a camp full of women I did not know. I love being stretched out of my comfort zone, and get to know people new! We had such a fun time, and it was so beautiful there.

After it was over, my sis was going to haul us to Brookings, all in the name of Clam Chowder! We persuaded her to only go 30 minutes away to a cute little coastal town to eat at the Crazy Norwegian. She was unimpressed; as were we, not by the food, but the service was seriously lacking. I mean seriously.

After lunch we had an impromptu beach stop, where we took some candid shots. I think they turned out pretty hilarious. We even had a free prop in the way of a gigantic dead rotting fish. Mmmmm. Then on our way back we sang, took some pics out the window, ie. the cool rainbow shot! The sun was starting to get pretty low in the sky and there were some shots we wanted to take by this field, but by the time we turned around and parked on the side of this side road, it went behind a cloud. We didn't really pay attention that we were sort of standing on somebody's dirt driveway, because it was really long, and it was a really rural area. But, then we noticed these people across the street in their nightgown and PJ bottoms standing on their porch staring at us. We thought it was so funny; the vision of us with our camera, taking pictures of their neighbor's field. We stayed there a bit, just to make them a bit more nervous. We got to our car though, once we noticed a van coming down the driveway. Once we were in our car, it stopped and just sat in the middle of their dirt road. The PJ people sat and stared at us like we were some secret government agency coming to take secret photos of their property. I ran back across the road...just for good measure, but then my sister told me she didn't want to get abducted and to get back in the car.

I really am 30 people, even though I don't act like it. If you saw my sis and I together, you'd understand our humor a little better. Or, then again, maybe not! So, I just thought I'd explain all these weird pictures, and why they are really funny to me. ;) Thanks Kristal and Nellie for the fun trip, you make me feel like I'm 15 not 30...love it!

Carmel's Birthday!

If you just read that last post, you'll understand why this one is out of order, and way late. (Carmel's birthday was August 28th) Hey, at least I got it in here before December! ;) Thanks Suzanne and kids, minus Phuong who was in Africa, for coming and having fun with us! Thanks Shana and kids, minus Ty, because he was out of town too, we had a blast!

1st Day Of School

I am a slacker Mom. I have had this picture on my camera for weeks, and I noticed all the other "with it" Moms had already posted their cute little first day pics long, long ago. Sad, but my poor kids did not get one of these "with it" Moms. They will have to be satisfied with status quo, because I fear I will always be just barely surviving! Thank the Lord I am surviving though! Anyway, thought I'd post this adorable pic of my cuties going to school, and Carmel, who absolutely could not be left out of the picture.