A smell, a taste, a sound

Yesterday as my 3 little men were napping and I was doing some catching up on the computer, I overheard my husband watching an episode of Band of Brothers. The men were singing the song "Glory, glory, what a hell of a way to die" and I found myself in a different place for just a moment. No, it was not World War II. That song had triggered a memory of my grandfather who used to sing military songs to us. I could see a moment in the living room with him and my brother, I could feel what I felt at that moment, I could almost smell my grandparents house. It is amazing how our memory gives us those small gifts.

All of my grandparents have passed and I treasure these moments where I am taken back to a time when they were still alive. Sometimes it is a song like yesterday. Sometimes it is the smell of something cooking that reminds me of my grandma's kitchen. I have even been brought back by the smell of Oil of Olay as that was what my one grandmother always smelled like. A phrase or gesture can  trigger this time warp. All of my grandparents had qualities that were distinctly them and when they reappear in a different form I am instantly reminded of them. It makes me wonder what kind of things will trigger someone's memory of me when I am gone. Will my husband smell someone else wearing my favorite Bath and Body scent and think of me? Will my kids be at a park with their kids and be brought back to a time when we frequented the park? In someway it is comforting to know that these pieces of me will continue on.

I am so grateful that those we have lost can still live on in our memory. It is like an appetizer...something to tide you over until we have the real thing again one day.

Unwrapping this post at:

Homemade Laundry Detergent Part 2

A little over a month ago I tried my hand at making my own homemade laundry detergent.  Days after making this my detergent was put to the test with several loads of vomit covered items (I know, lovely).  It was then that I realized that this would not pass the test for heavy duty loads. I have since also discovered that it does not do well at removing things like deodorant and sweat stains and that it leaves clothes pretty much smelling the same as they did when they went in the washer. So when doing a load that has my husband's clothes in it, they all come out smelling like his cologne which is nice smelling but not how I want MY clothes to smell.  Of course this is a much better smell then the clothes that went in with vomit on them.  I also had to bump up the amount of detergent to a cup each load to try to make it cleaner so this has reduced the amount of loads I get out of a batch, also reducing the amount of savings. Now having said all that you may think I have thrown in the towel on homemade detergent. But seeing as I still had ingredients left and that I am determined to give it a proper chance before resorting back to overpriced, watered down, chemical filled store bought detergent, I gave it another go. This time trying the powdered detergent hoping that by not watering it down it will be more effective. I haven't washed any clothes with this but promise to update when I have properly tested it out.

Ingredients:
* 2 cups grated Fels Naptha (or other bar soap)
* 1 cup Washing Soda
* 1 cup Borax

(Again, I was able to find all 3 of these together at Fred Meyer's)

I just tossed all 3 of these into my food processor and gave it a spin until it was powdered. A little warning, this is much like putting flour in your food processor and creates the same lovely "dust" so don't make near any open food or drink (says the lady who had a class of Iced Via sitting about 6 inches from my food processor at the time of making this).  When that was done I put it in an old empty flax seed container (I hear many people use old large yogurt containers). I added 15 drops of essential oil, orange is my scent of choice at the moment, put the lid on and gave it a good shake. I then labeled the top with a reminder that I would need 2 Tbsp per load and put it in my laundry room. Again, I will update when I have used it long enough to really get a feel for it. Hoping this goes better then the liquid version!

**UPDATE**
Since I was on here today getting the measurements to make some more detergent I thought I had better update you on this current version of detergent that we are using. I can happily say that this powdered version is working MUCH better than the liquid and I have continued to use it on a regular basis. I now make a triple batch at a time and don't have to remake it all that often. I have started using Dial bar soap instead of Nels Faptha as it is more readily available and with sale and coupon I can get it an 8 bar pack at a great price. Plus, I love the great clean smell:) Speaking of smell, I no longer have had the issue of my clothes coming out smelling the same as they went in, so I am pleased.
Also, I am very happy with how long my supplies are lasting. I just ran out of Washing Soda today and I bought it 5 months ago. There is still about 1/3 of Borax left.

It's a date:)

I still haven't been able to make it out on a date with my hubby since the little one was born but I did decide to make a date with my older boys. I figured we were in need of some alone time since they have had to split my attention with a needy baby for the last 10 weeks. Since I am still exclusively breastfeeding and haven't been pumping at all I knew I had to make it a fairly quick outing so daddy wouldn't be stuck with a hungry baby. So we hit the local Barnes and Noble. I told both of the boys that they could each pick out their own book. As I suspected, as soon as we hit the children book section they both wanted the first book they saw. It took some prompting to get them to look around a bit and we finally landed in the discount section which allowed them each two books. They then played with some other kids on the stage area and then we moved to check-out. They both wanted to carry their own books and upon arriving at the register they proudly plopped their books upon the counter. The check-out lady even commented on how well behaved they were, which always does my heart good. She must be a mom because she made sure to give them each their own bags to carry.

After purchasing the books we decided a treat was an order so we hit the Starbucks inside the store which also happens to carry Cheesecake Factory desserts. Jordan practically plastered his face to the display counter and pointed at each dessert exclaiming, "I want that one!" They finally settled on chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting mounded on top. I got the Godiva chocolate cheesecake which was to die for! A few messy faces later and we were ready to head back home. They were so excited to show daddy their new books. All in all it was a great time spent with two of my favorite little guys.





 

It's a start!

For those of you who read my last post I was confessing my overall state of disorganization. I have to say in the few short days since I wrote that I have already been making some changes and it feels great!! Starting with the house first since the visible clutter seems to effect my mental state in other areas, I took the advice of a fellow blogger and checked out www.flylady.net and am glad I did. Right now I am working through the baby steps of developing a good housecleaning routine. Since I started I have woke up to a shiny and empty sink every morning. I had to laugh when I first read how she thought waking up to a shiny sink was like a hug for yourself but the enthusiasm I have felt over having a clean sink is pretty ridiculous so I have given into the fact that although it may be cheesy, she is totally right. I have also woken up each morning and started the day by getting ready head to toe. This has been good for me as being a stay at home mom for 4 years now has helped me fall into a routine of sweats and no make-up on days Jeremy works.  It has made a big impact on my motivation when I start my day by getting myself ready. It is also helping me reach my goal of having my house company ready at all times. This means that not only does my house need to be presentable, but so do I.  Like I said before, these are all baby steps but it feels good to be moving in the right direction. 




 

Needing to reorganize

 Have you ever gotten to the point where you feel like every area of your life is cluttered and chaotic? I am feeling that right now. Our house is a mess. Not disgusting filthy type mess but just majorly disorganized and inefficient. I think this is spilling over into other things as well. We have been pretty frivolous with our spending lately and I am feeling completely out of control with my weight and eating habits. There I said it...I am an overall mess!! Now I know some of you kind people are going to point out that I just had a baby or that I have 3 kids 3 and under to take care of. While these things are true, they are not the cause of this mess. It is just something that has been building up. I let one area slide and then the next and before I knew it I was feeling buried. But that is about to change. Sometimes it takes me awhile to kick my own butt into gear. Sometimes I have to feel totally dissatisfied with myself to make a change. I hate that I am like that, that I let things go so long, but that is who I am. Something to work on as I continue to try to improve myself.

It felt good to just unload all of this. I will be blogging about specific changes soon but needed to get this off my chest for the moment. Anyone with suggestions on how they keep their chaos in order would be much appreciated. I love hearing how other people get it done, there is a lot to be learned that way.




 

More baby pictures

2 months have gone by since our newest peanut joined our lives...crazy how time flies!! I thought this was a great  excuse to post more pictures. Just can't get enough of that baby face:

Serious face

Happy little man

How you doin'?

Lounging

Resting with daddy

The easy life

 

You know you are the mother of an infant when...

As the title states, you know you are the mother of an infant when:

*There are spit up stains on every shirt you own.

*You pick what you are going to wear based on how easy it is to pull your boob out and feed at a moments notice.

*You get excited about poop...any period of time with a constipated baby leads to great excitement when the poop finally comes!

*You find yourself despising noise of any kind as it inevitably comes as soon as the baby falls asleep. What in the world were you thinking moving so close to train tracks??

*You thought pregnancy brain was bad, but baby brain has proved to be worse. That lovely addition of sleeplessness has made you extra forgetful.

*You forget stuff...wait, did I already say that?

*You take the long way home when driving if baby has finally fallen asleep. Anything for peace and quiet:)

*You find yourself rocking even when you are not holding baby because it has become such a habit.

*You will go to great lengths just to see that precious baby smile...crazy faces and silly voices that you once would have been ashamed of are a part of daily life.

*You feel love like you never have before. Your heart has expanded in a way you never thought possible.

Feel free to add your own. I know several of my followers just had babies themselves so I would love to hear your thoughts, I am sure I have missed some (i.e. baby brain!).