Homemade Laundry detergent, Who would have thought!

The other day I decided to try to make my own laundry detergent. I have looked at several recipes on various occassions but I always decided against it as I didn't have the time or I figured it would be too messy and how well could it work afterall. I finally broke down and decided to try it with my I phone in hand I googeled several different recipes before I decided on one and tweaked it a little to my liking. Here is what I used.

2 cups Borax (found in the laundry section at Kroger and also at Ace Hardware)
2 cups of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (also found at the above named places)
2 cups of Fels naptha bar soap finely grated(I also made my powder detergent with bonner's bar soap which I got at HEB and both worked well, I have heard you can use Ivory, and Zote Bars of soap as well.

First I took a cheese grater and used the fine blade for hard cheeses and grated it over a bowl.

Then I took 4 cups of water and brought it to a boil, added the grated bar of soap and mixed until all of the soap melted into the water.

In a 4 gallon bucket I added the remaining dry ingredients and poured my melted soap and water into the bucket. I stirred well until everything was well mixed and then added 40 cups of warm water to the mixture and stirred for a few minutes.

Let the mixture sit for 24 hours and then mix well again. It will seperate and you will have to mix it up well. At this point I poured it into pint sized mason jars and sealed for storage. I use 14 - 1/2 a cup depending on size of load and filth. I have a HE top loader and it works well. There are very little if any suds from this detergent and I have had no issues. If you want an extra boost you can add some oxyclean but I have not needed it so far. As a stain treater, I wet the stain and rub my fels naptha bar of soap on it and then put it in the laundry.

This has saved a lot of money and makes you feel great when you know you are doing your part for the planet and your family but not rinsing harmful chemicals down the drain.

I think it costs a couple of cents per load, and I do scent it with essential oils. I have used lavender and vanilla, tee tree oil(which is great for cleansing) and also vanilla. I add just 2 or 3 drops to each pint sized jar and shake well. DONT use too much as it will over power you.

I hope you enjoy and give it a try it was simple and only took about 10 minutes from start to finish the very first time I made it.

Hey there Stranger!

My beautiful Children, what a blessing!

Wow it's been a long time since I last wrote. I have too much to update to put it all in one post so be on the look out for more posts in the next day or two.

We survived our first year of middle school with straight A's and got a fabulous beginer bassoon player out of the experience. Megan my second in line, finished 5th grade with wonderful grades, great friends, and a smile. She was nervous about middle school starting this year and we had a rough go of it at first but she is doing very well and is coming into her own. Francesco made it through Kindergarten though I was not sure at first if we would make it. Francesco is just as smart as the girls but his interests lie elsewhere and it was challenging getting him to take an interest in reading and spelling. Once I called in Dad to start working with him in the evenings thigns went much better and he seems to respond well to Antoine working with him. I think they both enjoy the time together. He is still more interested in climbing and running and honestly I am still not sure traditional school as it exists here, is the best environment for him to thrive in but for the moment that is where we are (I dream of homeschooling them but at the present time, Antoine and I are not on the same page). This is something I continue to pray about.

Over the past 12 3/4 years I have changed and grown in a lot of ways as a parent. I started out as a very idealistic parent who tried to make things fair and help my kids in any way I could. Sometimes that included swooping in to save the day setteling disputes for them, bringing forgotten homework up to school, conferenceing with teachers for everything that upset them and me, bringing their lunches to school regularly because they didn't have time to make them(poor time management), and other little things like that. What I have come to realize now is that once in awhile it is okay but when I choose to bail them out of a situation they have gotten themselves into because of lack of planning or just being lazy or irresponsible, I rob them of an opportunity to learn a lesson from the natural consequences that arise.

It is a struggle to sit back and watch your kids fall short, go hungry for an afternoon, or get in trouble but it is a necessary lesson in life and part of the process of growing up and maturing. If not now, then later they will have to learn this lesson and the consequences stand to be much greater as they get older. I love my children with all of my heart and I want to see them succeed. However I don't want to raise a bunch of kids that feel entitled to everything and don't know how to take responsibility for their own actions. When the girls were young I meant well doing all the chores and everything for them but I watched as they grew and saw how they expected things and didn't want to take part in the work and responsibility that comes with being a part of a family.

Things are better now and we are still a work in progress but I believe that noticing the issue and changing my patterns and behavior will trickle down to them. I am very blessed that I have such great children, who know how to be respectful, and really don't give me problems, hother then the typical fights amoungst siblings and sassing us back at home once in awhile which comes with a big consequence.

I think as mothers we do our best and I am continually searching for thigns that work for our family. I learn and grow as a parent alongside my children and husband. I fall short all the time but I do my best and I have my families best interests at heart.

My big girl is going to middle school!

After picking up our packet and filling out the redundant paper work I am feeling less apprehensive about middle school. I have to admit I am not sure who was more nervous at first. We got her schedule, bought locker shelves and decorated them with duct tape (pink and green) and then walked around the school following her schedule from room to room. It's not so bad. She has a great schedule and works her way from one end of the building to the other by the end of the day. I think this helped both she and I to feel better about things. It took Lexi a few tmies to get the hang of opening her locker and by the second day of registration (yes we did stop by a second day) Alexis was a pro! We had to stop back so she could decoreate her locker with pictures of some of her favorite country music singers and of course lets not leave out all the of the many Twilight actors! I know Alexis is a good kid and she will do well in middle school!

Why isn't there more time in the day.

Today is going to be hectic! We have Tae Kwon Do until 11:40 a birthday party at noon, a hair cut that isn't going to happen, mom's yard work, and a trip to the heights to bring some more of my items I sell down to the shop. Lately we seem to have very full days and so little time. Yesterday Alexis mowed our yard and then our neighbor Tom's. Then She stayed home and took care of the baby while I headed to the cancer center with my mom and Antoine headed to his dad's to do his yard work. Did we bite off more then we can chew? Isn't service a good thing.



I thought having Alexis take on mowing my father in laws yard it was a good thing to do, a way in which she could give back. It ends up being a family affair and Antoine and Alexis head over there to mow edge and blow. We have already been doing my neighbors yard as his wife is in a nursing /rehab facility after coming down with H1N1 in Jan. Since we were doing for everyone else it only seemed right that now that mom is sick we would do her yard too. I know it's a good thing but I just wish we had some more time!

Today was a very hard day.

This blog was supposed to be about mothering and maybe in some ways this post is. Today I went with my mom to her first Chemo treatment. I didn't want to be there, in fact I dilly dallied around until I was 20 minutes late give or take a few. When I got there I had a bit of an attitude and wanted to know where the privacy curtains were. I "didn't want to sit there and look at sick people". Afterall my mom was not one of them. As I sat there the reality of why I was there began to sink in. My mom is one of these sick people. She has Cancer, though they say it's a good kind.

Ahh if I hear "it's a good kind" one more time I think I will scream! If it's so good would you like to have some! Cancer sucks and though the prognosis for stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma is better then some it is still cancer and mom still has to go through chemotherapy and all of the side effects that come with it.

Mom said we would only be at the cancer center for 2 hours but to our supprise one medication takes two hours but there were at least 6 she had to get so we were there for 5 1/2 hours today. As time passed slowly, I eased up and at one point mom asked me to go over to the cabinet and look at some hats and caps they had there. I did and I came back with some winners! I figured if we were there we might as well laugh a little, isn't it good medicine? I found the most hideous hats I could and retuned with one crocheted with some shaggy yarn, half of it bright yellow on top and the bottom black. I showed it to her and couldn't keep a straight face. I told her the kids would love it and each time I saw her I would have to "buzz". Next I found a furry Russian looking hat! It was hysterical. I told her I could put some cheetah gerber daisy flower clips on it and she would be "in". I laughed so hard. Lastly I found a rainbow print cap and though she though it was comfortable she didn't want to look like rainbow bright. She decided to get up and go look for her own hats. I think that broke the tension for me and we all got a good laugh and some of the others did too.

It is sinking in finally and the reality of the next 6 months or so is that it won't be fun seeing my mom suffer through this, but it could be worse. I just really didn't want to go here with my mom. Cancer didn't run in our family what the hell happened! I dread the cancer center because it puts me in a situation where I have to look at sickness in the face and it's just way to close to home for me. It was hard enough when my brother in law, and then my mother in law got terminal cancer. It has definitely brought back some raw emotion for me. I didn't want anyone to shave their heads because I didn't want my mom to look out and see sickness. I want her to look at us and see health and know that she too will soon be there with us. I can't wait for her to be better and I continue to pray to the Lord for healing as only he can restore her to health. I know these treatments are necessary and I pray that mom, my sister Kathie, and I all have courage and strength to get through this together.

Summer Fun

This summer started off great and I cannot believe it is almost gone. The girls and I started crafting and before we new it we had a little business. Bella Designs was born from a rediscoved passion for creating things. I never thought I was very creative but one day at work a customer called wondering when her order would be in and it had been nearly a month since she ordered her item. I went home that night thinking I could make the bow holder she ordered and get her her item the next day since she had waited so long for it. My supervisor ended up filling her order with another bow holder from a different vendor but that evening I realized how much I enjoyed creating and crafting and I now had a bow holder I had to sell!

The girls and I had already stated working on making bows and hair clippies so we added bow holders to our list of things to make and sell and off were went. I opened an etsy store just to get some things out there and then brought some of our Bow holders to a local consignment shop to sell there! We have gotten off to a great start and are looking forward to our craft shows this fall.

We needed a name and I couldn't think of anything. We thought of Baby J designs, and some other names but Bella is somthing my husband calls all of us girls since he speaks Italian. Bella has been a bit overused but since it was a loving and affectionate term he called us all we went with it! Bella Designs it was!

Just another crazy day!

If all were calm and uneventful around here I think I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Today, after getting just a couple of hours of sleep, I got the kids off to school and came home to nap with Julianna until 11.

Then I had to get the girls from school due to early release. We ended up eating at Taco Bell for lunch where we ran into a friend. They immediately got all giddy and LOUD, and I had to laugh. It took me back to when I was in junior high and we would just go sit outside the mall watching people coming and going waiting for our ride, the whole time giggling out of control for no apparent reason. I suppose I am just thankful that for the most part they are happy girls! Even though my head hurt and my patience was thin due to the lack of sleep.

After lunch I left Taco Bell with just J, as Alexis was picked up by a friends mom to go play, and Megan went with our friend we bumped into and had lunch with. Since I was down to just one child I decided to go shopping for Megan's party and some much needed groceries. What a joy to shop with only one child!! I was in and out in a jiffy and went to pick up Francesco from school. He was so happy to see us and Julianna was delighted to have him back with us. Recently I have noticed that even though his loudness can make me cringe, Julianna finds it very amusing and he gets reactions out of her that I have never seen before. She was actually chuckeling at his monster noises. I have to admit it was fun to watch them playing together.

We headed home fed Julianna and hung out till the girls came back. Then we headed out to math night at the school. I tried to make sure I sat with each of the girls for at least one activity and I really had fun with them.

We got home about 7:40 and ate the dinner that I managed to get in the oven before we left. I thought it was pretty good but the kids didn't go for the mushrooms and onions they saw in the caserole dish with the pork chops. Oh well their loss.

After completing homework, and taking baths and showers everyone was in bed by 9pm. I would say it was a good day here. It could have been much more hectic if we had gone to soccer training and Tae Kwan Do, but due to math night I didn't want to make us crazy running non stop. Sometimes I enjoy the evenings when there is less to do and we can just relax a bit. Most days I feel like I run on Adrenaline!