We have all heard about homemade laundry detergent lately.  I decided to give it a go.  I bought what I needed at Alice.com.  I followed the instructions pretty closely.  Here is the recipe:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

4  Cups - hot tap water
1  Bar of Fels-Naptha
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Put melted soap mixture, washing soda, and borax into a 10 gallon bucket.  Add hot tap water to fill bucket.  Stir until dissolved. Let sit overnight. The mixture will turn into this clumpy gel looking stuff.  

Use 1/2 cup for top load machines and 1/4 cup for front loaders.

Now for the review:

It was a pain in the behind to grate the soap.  I did not want to spend the money on the Fels Naptha, and my baby is allergic to Ivory (another substitution), so I used a couple of bars of Johnson’s Buddies LOL.   When I was melting the soap, it tried to stick to the pot I was using.  That kinda shocked me a bit.  The ingredients were very inexpensive, less than 10 bucks for everything. I have a LOT of wasing soda and borax left over.  I did not have two 5 gallon buckets so I just made one and figured I would use half the amount in the wash.  To get the clothes clean enough for me, I ended up using 1/2 cup in my front loader.  You do need to pretreat things like ketchup, chocolate, coffee, and heavily soiled places.  Other than that, it works well!  The clothes smell clean.  I have a bedwetter in my house and those sheets came out smelling fresh and clean.  Overall, even when I think about the cost of using a stain spray and doubling the recommended amount of detergent, it is still FAR less than other detergents.  I am going to play with this a bit.  I think I am going to use a bit more washing soda in the next batch.  I am also going to use my food processor to grate the soap.

So I give it 5 stars for the savings, 3 1/2 stars for “on its own” cleaning, and 4 1/2 stars for cleaning when combined with a stain remover spray. 

It’s that time of the week.  The T&C ad is online and you can view it here.

Honeysuckle Bone In Turkey Breast $.99/lb

Best Choice White Bread $.88

Strawberries 1lb 2/%5.00

Best Choice Flour 5lb $1.29

Russet Potatoes 10lb $1.88

Family Pk 10lb Fryer Leg Quarters $.59/lb (I don’t personally use these, but I’m pretty sure that is a good deal!

Star Kist Tuna 5 oz. $.79

Chicken of the Sea Tuna 5 oz. $.69

Best Choice Water 24 pk – 1/2 L Bottles $3/$10

Cabbage 3lbs/$1.00

Farmland 1lb All Varieties Pork Sausage $.99

 

I am a big fan of coupons.  I love them and get good great deals with them.  But I want you to look back over this week’s list.  Without the first coupon, I can see how one could with little money  stock up on some really good deals this week.  You could cook a week’s worth of suppers from just what is listed above or you could by these items while they are at their lowest price and stock pile them so that you do not have to run out and buy them at full price on down the road. 

Be smart with your grocery shopping.  It does not have to be as expensive as it is if we put a little thought into it before we go into the grocery store.

One more tip for you.  At T&C they often have a buggy or two of clearance items.  When I buy from the clearance bin and combine it with coupons, I get super great deals!  Don’t forget to check it out if you are there!

I recently read this statement on a blog, "I have SUCH complete respect for women with children that keep good meals on the table and their house spotless....."  Hmmmm...  I hope it was ok that I was highly amused!  I am trying to think of just one mommy that can do this.  No one is coming to mind.  To the wonderful blogger who said this; I say this to you, If you know someone like this - they are probably stuffing crap under the sofa!  I have four kids.  They are 9, 5, 4, and almost 2.  I gave up on the idea of spotless a long time ago.  It. Is. Not. Going. To. Happen. Period.  I have had to lower my standards more than I expected to have to.  But I wanted to remain sane and happy!  I also noticed the times that my house was the absolute cleanest, were the times that my children were left ignored and unattended.  I was constantly up on my feet, moving about, picking up every little piece of lint I saw.  I was continually after the kids to pick up whatever item they dropped.  I was exhausted.  So, spotless was just not going to happen if I wanted a happy life.  Before anyone gets their panties in a twist, if you can do this and be happy, then fine.  I am not talking to you anyway and we are probably not close friends.  ;-)

So, I keep a modestly clean house.   I try to follow Flylady.  (My bossy, opinionated self wants to tell her to shut up, but I resist and dutifully put on my lace up shoes every morning.)  I have chore charts and the kids do a pretty swell job of doing what I ask.  As long as I am not expecting them to make a wrinkle free bed and to not miss a spot with the vacuum, it is clean enough.  Is there dust on my mantle?  Sure, it is under all of my husbands stuff he has piled there.  :) There is also fingerprints from curious hands and nose prints from curious faces on the windows and doors.  There are books in front of the overflowing bookshelves that were happily looked at.  There are a few stray puzzle pieces in front of the puzzle basket that were missed when my 22 month put them away.  One of the kitchen chairs is pulled up to the sink where the baby tried to help wash the dishes last night.

I spoke with Kim, from The Whims Of Kim, last night.  I complained that I worked REALLY hard on the house yesterday morning and it was messy again when we went to bed.  But, this morning I woke up with a different opinion.  We worked hard, played hard, and had time for lots of hugs and kisses.  It was a great day, even with a sick child.  We took time to learn that 7 wants to be a 10 in our math lesson.  We learned that the world was a different place in the book, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry.  But mostly we learned about hard work, and not taking things for granted.

So my "tip' for you on this Tips For Tuesday - Keep it safe, keep it basically clean but, don't sweat about the dust.  If all the puzzle pieces don't get put away before bed, or the books lay on the floor in front of the bookcase, it is ok.  There is no long term or eternal consequence.  There will be lots of time to clean the house when the kids are bigger.  The rewards from time spent with the children far outweigh the satisfaction that comes with lack of dust. 


Here is the sweet blog post I referred to earlier.  Go link up if you have housekeeping tips!

Share

	Breakfast	Lunch	Supper	Snack
Monday	Cereal	Homemade Pepperoni Pizza, Applesauce	Vegetable Beef Soup, Cornbread	Yogurt
Tuesday	Cinnamon Rolls	Ramen Noodle Chicken Soup	Italian Beef, Salad, Macaroni & Cheese	Popcorn
Wednesday	Cereal	Fish Sticks, French Fries, Peach Slices	Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad, Garlic Bread	Bananas
Thursday	Sausage & Cheese Omelets	Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Applesauce, Chips	Chicken Taco Soup,  Crackers	Cubed Cheese, Crackers
Friday	Cereal	Ham & Cheese Slices, Crackers, Broccoli & Ranch, Juice	Pork Chops, Broccoli & Cheese Noodles, Green Beans	Carrots & Ranch
Saturday	Pancakes	Hoagie Sandwiches, Chips, Apple Slices	Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas	Canned Pears
Sunday	Cereal	Out for Lunch!	Cabbage and Smoked Sausage, Cornbread	Pretzels & Dip

I am linking up with Menu Plan Monday!

Chimichurri sauce is a spectacular condiment for steaks, chicken, pork, tacos, and just about everything else.  I love it.  I could not find a version that suited me.  So I created my own. 

1/2 cup very finely chopped cilantro
1 clove of minced garlic
4 T olive oil
2 T lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  Let sit for at least an hour.  Enjoy!
You can also do 1/4 cup cilantro and 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley. 

Share

Dear Stupid Dog,
Please stop barking at everything that moves, makes a noise, or things you are imagining/dreaming about, while the baby is napping.  I am begging you.  If you quit, I will promise to call you by your name.
Jessica

Dear Husband,
Please do not refer to taking care of the kids, sans their mother, as babysitting.  You can do it!  I have faith. 
Love You!
Your Wife

Dear Brother Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax Machine,
Please print the pages I send to you promptly.  This business of waiting until the computer has been shut down and restarted bites.  If you continue, I am going to throw you at my husband. 
Thanks for your prompt attention to this matter.
Jessica

Thanks Kat @ 3BedroomBungalow for this entertaining idea!  If you want to play, go to her site and link up!

Share

Homemade biscuits, there’s nothing like ‘em!  This is not a recipe, but a “How To”.    You can find many variations of biscuit recipes in cookbooks and online.  What I’d really like to teach you is technique.

If I could have a picture or video of my Grandmother making biscuits, I believe you could make good biscuits with any recipe!  My Grandmother made biscuits with lard.  I remember so vividly the image of her making the dough and the rhythm and gentleness with which she worked the ingredients together.  Think: slow and rhythmic. 

Today, I dare say, very few people use lard.  I know I don’t.  Never have and never will.  When I wanted to learn to make good biscuits I had a pastry blender.  I had shortening. I had a recipe.  I had hard, heavy biscuits. 

My next try was different.  Without knowing the benefit of what would happen, I set the pastry blender to the side and I put my hand in the flower and shortening.  I envisioned my Grandmother’s, slow and steady movement of hand.  Realizing quickly that it would be somewhat different working with shortening than the lard, I gently, rhythmically  between thumb and forefinger began working the shortening into the flour.  I could feel the tenderness of the flour.  I knew instantly that I had been way to harsh with my little pastry blender in my previous attempt.  

Next, I pushed the mixture to each side, making a well in the center.  I filled it with the liquid and very steady, with rhythm, and a cupped hand I began working the liquid and flour together until I had dough.  LAAAAAAAAA (angels singing around me!) I saw a miracle before my eyes, in my kitchen, by my hands.  I kneaded the dough 5-8 times and no more.  I floured my work surface and rolled out the dough.   Beautiful, wonderful, glorious biscuit dough on my kitchen counter. 

Not having a biscuit cutter at the time, I grabbed a glass, turned it upside down, touched it to flour and then used it to cut my biscuits.  (I learned that one from my Mother.) 

The biscuits were much better this time.  Not perfect, mind you, but better.  I guess what I’m trying to get across is this:  Work with the dough.  Learn to appreciate it for what it is.  Use a bit of gentleness and don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.  You will be rewarded for your effort.

Linking up to:  Follow Friday @ midday escapades

I am a good finder.  If it is lost, I can find it.  I never worry about losing my keys, because I always find them.  There are a few rare exceptions.  Last December, my dh lost my dh and I lost a $300 check.  We searched high and low and it was gone.  That was a sad day/week.  We came to the conclusion that one of the children may have thrown it away in their zeal to help 'clear off the desk'.  It now may take an act of congress to get it replaced.

Anyway, I regularly joke around with my sister that men are horrible finders.  Let's review this hypothetical situation.  The phone book has been misplaced.  They waltz into a room, raise their head off their shoulders a bit, turn around in a circle, and survey the area.  With the announcement, "It is not in here!" they walk away, unaware that the phonebook is under the pair of socks that they put on the coffee table.  To my consternation, I have found that this affliction does not only affect men and children, but some women. 

If this is you, NEVER FEAR.  I am here to help.  Here is the scenario:  You have lost your keys.  You have run around frantically, throwing things around, and yelling at the kids.  You are going to be late.
Take the following steps.

1. Stop panicking.  You must stop, take a deep breath, and calm down.  
2. Gather the kids, tell them you will give whoever finds the keys a dollar.  Send them to look in their room.
3. Think about the things that go with keys.  Purse, cell phone, etc.  Do you have those items?
4. Retrace your steps, orally.  Say them out loud. When do you last remember having them?  You used your keys when the family went out yesterday and you made it home, so the keys are at home.  Go look in the places around the path you took when you came in. 
5. Check your car: look in the ignition, look under the seats, look in the console, look under the car. 
6. Check your purse.  Empty it on the kitchen table.  Make sure it is empty.  Put everything back.
7. Check your current pockets and the pockets of everything you may have worn in the past 3 days, including your coat!
8. Check where you dress and undress.
9. Remeber to NOT panic.  This is the most important thing.  Do not get emotional about this.  Emotions can cloud your memory and your judgement.  Call your husband and ask him if he had picked them up.  Do not fight, snip at, or otherwise engage your husband.  Calmly thank him anyway and keep looking.
10. If you have calmly retraced your steps and can't find them, move to the flat surfaces of the house.
11. Look at all the flat surfaces. 
12. Look under and beside the flat surfaces.
13. If I still have not found them, I look in the crevices of cushions.  Maybe they fell out of my pocket when I sat down. 
14. Start looking in every room.  Start with one corner of the room and look everywhere.  Look high, look low.  If you have a toddler, crawling around on the floor at their level sometimes help. 
15. Look in stupid places, like the refrigerator. 
16. Stay Calm!!!!!  Go back and repeat all of the steps. 
17. Look in the trash. 
18. Look under your bed.  Ahh Ha!!  There they are in the last place you would have ever looked!  They must have fallen out of your husbands pocket when he was taking his pants off!  That's right!  He took them from you when you were carrying in groceries.  :)

Final notes:  I don't call my husband first because I don't want to hear it I don't want to worry him, until I have checked the most logical places.  I attempt to bribe the kids with money because it motivates them to be looking while you are and that is what my mom always did.  LOL  But it turned me into a great finder.
Think, think, think.  Stay calm.  Think.  Picture everything you did in your mind.  Think about if the baby could have gotten what you have lost.  Babies play with things and leave them lying around.  They do not hide them.  If the baby had it, and she is anything like my baby, she can bring it to you if you can make her understand what you want.  :)  That is how I found the scissors last night. 

Share

Ok I have been playing around with new toys for my blog.  Here is my signature.

Woo hoo!!!!  I love it!

My house is crazy at night.  My husband comes in at 2:45 or so and the kids lose their minds.  I have often wondered about the cause.  I have relative calm during the day and my husband doesn't see that part.  He only sees the crazy.  In an effort to make things a bit mor calm and peaceful I have tried to take a good hard look at how we are spending our evenings.  What I discovered surprised me.  During the day we have stucture and routine, at night, there is none.  Ok so now I feel sure I know what the problem is.  I am expecting far too much from my small children and husband.  I need to either lower my expectations or form a better routine for the kids so they can have the tools they need to meet them. 
This is the plan for the 2 –8 pm hours.
When the weather cooperates, I am going to make outside time from 2 to 3.  That way they can run around to their hearts content.  When Daddy comes home, they are all eager to see him, so they will come inside for a bit, but I am betting that they go back out.  I need for them to be occupied while Gary and I talk about his day.  He needs that down time with me.  So if they don’t go back outside, I think I may let them play Webkinz on my computer for a little bit, I hardly ever let them and that always keeps them busy.  That way I can have the time with Gary and coffee, without the distraction of my computer LOL.  When I sit, the laptop is the first thing I want to pick up.  
Then we have the cooking supper hour.  I know what people say, “Let the kids help you.”  I say, “Come get them and let them help YOU.”  I am a realist.  While I can get some lofty ideas in my head, I know what will work long term for me.  That is not going to be having the kids underfoot during the  ‘crabby hour’ (I will not say if it is me or them) while making the biggest meal of the day.  So, I need something to keep them occupied from 3:45 or so to 5 pm while I am cooking.  I am thinking realistically here so I know that asking Gary to entertain them might work for a little bit but would not be a long term solution.  I initially thought maybe they could do their evening chores during this time slot but that requires more intensive supervision than I can give at that point. 
Some ideas to rotate around, depending on time and what I am cooking: 

• Put Quin in the bathtub and Mike in the shower.  This is me being sneaky, once they are in there, Gary will get them out most times.  If not, it is not that big of a deal to do it myself.   
• Have them go play in their room for a little bit.
• Have them go back outside.
• Allow them to take part in supper prep. (I can sometimes do this, it really does depend on the circumstances.)
• Let them hook up the game cube.
• Break out the play dough.

So that is what I have come up with so far.  I can’t just pick one thing and repeat it everyday.  I need this to be very flexible.  So, I am glad for this list.  Now here is my plan for after supper:

• Clean up after supper
• Baths for everyone
• Final chores for the evening
• Storytime
• Bed time

I think this will work!  I really want my home to be more peaceful and less chaotic.  I feel so much stress at night, I don’t want to cook, clean, or care for anyone!  Our lack of structure at night surely plays a part in this.  Hopefully, as I am now more aware of the problem, we can make our nights pleasant!

 

Good Wednesday morning!  It’s time once again for the deals of the week for Town and Country Grocery Store.  Hope you all stocked up on that great Split Fryer Breast  sale last week.  I did!

This weeks deals:

Best Choice 3lb. Bag, Frozen Chicken Breasts or Tenders:  $3.99

Pepsi 2 liter:  5/$5.00

Shed’s Spread Country Crock 48 oz. tub:  2/$4.00---use coupon for even better deal!

Best Choice Flour 5 lb. Bag: $1.49

That’s the best of it this week folks.  To see the ad online click here.

The last time I visited my local Wal-Mart, I picked up 2 or 3 family size frozen meals.  They were not cheap, coming in around $10 each.  I guiltily placed them in my buggy.  I used to preach against these.  Then I realized, if I don’t have something like that, and we are rushed for time, we go out to each.  For a family of 7, a cheap run to McDonald’s can cost up to $35.  We rarely go to McDonald’s and generally choose Chili’s or Fridays instead. 

Ideally, I should premake a few meals to freeze, and I often do.  But, I also have 4 children, 5 if you count my husband.  I also have a mentally handicapped brother I take care of, and home school my oldest daughter.  So, that does not leave a lot of time for freezer cooking.  I know what people say, “Cook an extra _________ (insert whatever you happen to be cooking) at night when you have that for supper.”   That is a GREAT idea!  I have done this and it works well.  It is definitely a time saver however, it does take more time.  I run short on time on a regular basis and sometimes feel proud just to throw together sandwiches and chips for supper.  I give myself extra points if I manage to cut up some fresh veggies and serve them with ranch! 

Sometimes, feeding our families for less means that we have a Stouffer’s Lasagna in the freezer, therefore saving us the cost of going out to eat.  I don’t suggest anyone serve these on a regular basis.  They are full of preservatives and sodium, but in moderation, they can really be a money saver.  I don’t believe they are evil, I do believe that prepackaged food can be used as a very useful tool!

KIM HERE:  I confess.  I’m somewhat technology challenged (a little more so each year).  I want to post our family’s menus for this week and have it go to my personal blog and go to this one as well.  Since I couldn’t get that to work, I’ll just link to it. 

Be Sure to check it out as I have planned 3 meals and snacks for 5 days.  If you want recipes, don’t hesitate to ask.

View the original blog post here.  Comments and questions welcome!

Hi all!  This is Kim.  Please be patient as I try putting an ad blog in for you as this is my first time.  I’m including a link to the actual ad so you can see if I missed any good deals.  You can view it here .

GREAT DEALS TO STOCK UP ON:

Family Pack Fryer Split Breast $.79/lb

Russet Potatoes, 10 lb. Bag $1.99

Best Choice Frozen Vegetables, 10 varieties, 16 oz., $.99

Family Pack Extra Lean Boneless Pork Cutlets, $1.99/lb

Hunt’s Tomato Sauce, 8 oz., 3/$1

4 lb. Bag Sugar, $1.88

GREAT DEALS WHEN COMBINED WITH COUPONS:

Hamburger Helper, $.99—Use $.75 off 3 coupon

Land O Frost 16 oz. Premium Thin Sliced Meats, $2.99—use $.55 off coupon

Hunt’s Ketchup 24 oz., $.99—use $.20 coupons (will double)

Welch’s Grape Jelly or Jam 32 oz., $1.99—use $.75 off coupon

Sauve Shampoo 9 varieties 15 oz., $.88-use $.50 coupon (should be free)

Thanks for Reading!

Kim sent me this link this morning.  If you are an educator: public, private, or home school teacher; then go to the Scholastic Book Website.  You will find a couple hundred books for only $1.00!  Shipping was CHEAP.  I purchased 21 books and only paid $23.25.