Make Your Own Kind of ... Laundry

So, for the past, I don't know... 6 months, I've been making my own laundry detergent.

Why??  Because it is SO cheap.  I'm constantly annoyed by how much necessities can cost.  Like garbage bags.  Sure I can get cheap ones - but they are cheap.  And those don't do so well in the diaper pail...  But ANYWAYS... this isn't a rant about garbage bags...  Yes, cost.  And really that was my main reason.

I started out making a liquid detergent.  I gleaned the recipe at WigLife.  It is very easy to make.  I tweaked it a little bit.  I made it a little more concentrated.  It worked pretty well.  It really didn't last as long for us as it did for her on the blog.  But, it still saved lots of money.  It probably cost about $3 for a whole batch - which was the equivalent of several normal containers of detergent that would cost about $10 a piece.  So lots of money saving.

The clothes get clean, but they don't come out with that Tide fresh smell.  You can add essential oils to the detergent to make it all nice smelling, but because of allergies and whatnot, it is actually better for us to have non strong smelling clothes.

Today I made my first batch of powder detergent.  It is even easier than the liquid.  The recipe I made makes about 4 cups.  The recipe says to use 2 Tbsp for each load - so it should last about 32 loads.  The powder detergent recipe is Here at Tipnut.com.  That site actually has quite a few different laundry detergent recipes.

Both recipes call for Borax, Washing Soda, and a bar of soap.  Easy peasy.

Let me know if you decide to make some, and how it turns out. :)

Over and Over

Do any of you have movies that no matter how many times you've seen it, you can watch it again?  Movies that, when they are on TV, you can't help but tune in and catch at least a little of it?

As I was surfing the channels last night this movie was on:

For whatever reason I can watch Apollo 13 any and every time it is on.  Interestingly enough, I don't own this one.  I should.  I think one reason I enjoy it is that it is very accurate, at least according to what I have read.  Some of the dialogue in the movie was taken from the transcripts of what was actually said.  I also like many of the actors in the film, and think the acting through out is really good.  Although, I'm really not a good judge of acting skill. :)

Actually, there are lots of movies that I can watch over and over. (And books I can read over and over)  I used to think that everyone did that, but I know better now.  Jonathan often shakes his head at me as I'm rereading a book for the 3rd or 4th time.  This is probably why spoilers don't bother me, I don't mind knowing the ending - I still enjoy the getting there.

Goodbye House

This weekend we said goodbye to our house of 5 years.  I took some last pictures, and realized that most everything I had taken pictures of were things that Jonathan had built himself.  (Well, with some help. :))

I think that is one of the best things we will take from our time at that house.  We learned so much there.  We grew our family there. We watched our kids grow.  I learned about gardening and canning and much more.

But the great thing is - we don't leave that stuff behind.  We just leave behind the place the learning happened.  I was surprised at how easy it was to leave.  And how easy it is to settle into this new house.  Where we will learn a whole new set of things.  Where we learn all about what it is like to have a girl.  What it is like to have family as close neighbors.  We'll learn more about landscaping and gardening and building.  I can't wait.  And can't wait to share all we do to our new place.

Before I post the pictures, I do want to acknowledge the one thing that we will miss the most.  Our neighbors.  There were several kids right close by that Ohlen loved to play with.  It was a great set up.  They had a lot of fun together, and now we've left.  I can't imagine moving your kids when they are in school and have lots of friends established.  I'm hoping they will still get to see each other here and there.  And actually Ohlen is attending Bible School with one set of neighbors.  And I will probably buy eggs from our one neighbor too - it is nice that we've only moved about 5 minutes away.  It will be really strange to someone else's car in "our" driveway.  Maybe then it will sink in more. :)

And now for the pictures.  Some of the things we added ourselves that I'm the most proud of.

Comparisons

Because it's fun. A little comparison of the kids all around a few days old.

Top is Ohlen, then Noah, then Katherine.   I'm thinking she looks more like Ohlen, although I think they all look pretty similar. :)

Crazy Times

So, we have a new baby.  And a new address.  Or we will after this weekend.

It has been pretty crazy.  Jonathan has been working his tail off trying to take care of everything with the move, plus keeping up with his normal job, and dealing with all the stresses of a new baby and a wife that can't help much.

I've been feeling pretty useless as far as stuff for the move goes.  I can do a little here and there, but I know immediately when I'm starting to do too much - and really I can't do a whole lot without that feeling coming on.  It is so frustrating.

I don't know what I would do without my mom.  She has taken off a couple days this week to help pack things up and take care of the boys.  She has gotten so much done!!  I try to help out a little, but like I said, I can't do much yet.  I can tell I'm starting to heal, and I really have to watch myself or I will go backwards.

I am so excited to be in our new place.  It is definitely a bit smaller, but there are so many things there that we don't have here.  We will have much more closet space (although, we are losing a basement).  There are just little nice things here and there.  Like a built in medicine cabinet on the sides of the bathroom mirror.  A lovely pantry type unit that is just itching to be filled with all our food and canning supplies.  Plus there are all new appliances.  OH and a kitchen faucet with a sprayer.  And a corner shower with a rain fall head thing that I can't wait to try out.  Just some little things to excite me. :)

We are currently waiting on some inspections to happen - and then we will be free to officially move in.  We have to be out of our current house by Monday.

Actually typing that out kind of makes me sad.  I am going to miss this place.  We've done so much here.  Our kids have been through some major milestones here.  So many of the little things about this place we did ourselves, and that is hard to leave behind.  I'm guessing there will be some tears shed the last time I am here.

June 7th

She is here!!  Actually she's been here for over a week now.  It's been a tad crazy around here.  But anyways --- Introducing Katherine Lane.  Born on June 7th. She weighed 6lb 14oz and measured 19 inches long.

Some interesting trivia about her birth date:  Ohlen was born on the 6th, Noah on the 5th, and now Katherine on the 7th....  All different months, but still - my kids like being born in the first of the month apparently.  Also, my dad's birthday is May 24th, mine is exactly a week later on the 31st, and Katherine's is exactly a week after mine on the 7th.  :-D

I woke up Tuesday early morning around 1:30 with regular contractions.  We got the hospital around 2:45.  Because I had taken my evening Heparin shot, I was unable to get an epidural.  Ouch.  I had gone natural with Ohlen too, so I was somewhat prepared, but it certainly wasn't the restful pain free delivery I had imagined. :)  As with the boys, I progressed quickly.  She was born at 5:59am - so approximately 4 and 1/2 hours after I woke up.  So even though I had to go natural, it was at least a quick delivery. And I did get some IV pain meds - Nubane.  It didn't take away the pain, but it did take it down a bit.

So far she has been an excellent baby.  Mostly sleeping and eating. She's not very fussy.  That has been such a blessing.  With everything going on right now (another post coming on that.) we feel so incredibly blessed that she has been so laid back.

The boys love their little sister.  Ohlen is completely in love.  Noah thinks everything she does is hilarious.  He has shown a twinge of jealousy here and there, but mostly has been very happy to have his sister here.

Not so thrilled about her hat.

It is still sinking in that we have 3 kids now.   And one of them is a girl. :)  Again, I'm amazed at how much love you can have for a tiny little person - and without having to borrow any love from anyone else.  It's like with the Grinch - you're heart just grows a little more.  :)  And the same with my brain.  It's like I have a little section of brain designated for each of my kids.  Although, I don't think my brain grows for this one - I think I just lose a little normal brain power. :)  (Some of the penguins are lost.)

NST and induction

Here is me, waiting. Seems like that is what I'm doing a whole lot of lately.
Because I am on blood thinners, they like to keep an especially close eye on me. So twice a week they have me come in for an nst. This is a test where they hook me up to two monitors, one for baby's heartbeat and one for contractions. They are looking for the baby to have nice accelerations and movement. Technically it can be a 15 minute test, I haven't had that happen yet. I must just pick the wrong time of day to schedule. So it is usually an hour.
But, it's all to make sure she is healthy and she is.
Also, we have an end date in sight! I've been scheduled to be induced on the 13th. So, unless she comes before then, that's the day she will be here. Exciting, and nerve wracking ask at the same time.
I can not wait to meet this little girl.

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Ok, I get it now

I never understood when other women complained about the last month of pregnancy.  Sure it wasn't like I was out running 5Ks with the first two at this point (Yes, there are women that do that - and yes, I do believe they are certifiably crazy), but I certainly wasn't miserable.

This time is different.

This time there is pain, discomfort, other things that no one wants to hear or know about.  It is miserable.

Well, some of the time.

I've been finding myself being sort of a Debbie Downer lately.  Not just about the miserable state of not being able to walk across the house without pain; it has seeped into just about everything.  My patience level is at a pretty remarkable low.

Ohlen is the one that suffers from this the most, I think.  Because being 4.5, he is pretty sure he knows just about all there is to know about the world.  And that really requires a whole lot of patience from a mom. When you hear your 5th "How do you know that??" by 8am, you know your patience levels are going to be tested.  But, my goodness I love this kid.  The rest of the million words that have come out of his mouth from the moment he has woken up have probably been highly amusing, and there has probably been some loving in there too for each of us.

So my goal for trying to beat this negativity has been to try to think of 2 good things for every complaint that comes to mind.

It is SO HOT!  1. We have air conditioning units in the house, and working air in the van    2. We aren't dealing with devastating floods or tornadoes.

I wish I could walk   1. Only 11 more days (or less)   2. Little girl seems to be perfectly healthy

It has really been quite the exercise to follow and remember, but it has been good.  And really I've turned around alot of the negativity in the past couple days simply by stopping asking her to come now.  I was so anxious for her to come over the weekend.  Finally I had to put my foot down and tell myself that I was being a little ridiculous.  So my prayers have been changed.  Now I'm just asking for a wonderfully smooth delivery, whenever she is ready. I do however, have an end date.  The Dr. will be inducing labor on June 13th if she doesn't decide to come by then.  That is another topic for another post.

Sorry for another pictureless post, I know those are always more fun. :)