Homemade Laundry Detergent

I'm super excited to share with you this recipe for Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent (courtesy of the Duggar's website) I made today. I know, I know......some of you may think I'm silly for being so excited over something like this, but as a mom of 3 boys (soon to be 4), our family is only growing larger in size which means I can barely keep up with the mounds of clothes each week, not to mention I have one boy that pretty much likes to bathe in his food on a daily basis and another that always seems to add extra sheets & clothes to the piles with leaking pull-ups at night. It's a never ending laundry duty!!!!

I have used so many different brands of Laundry Detergents over the past few years trying to find something that not only will get stains, food & pee smell out of clothes, but not cost a fortune. I never have found anything that worked great, but we settled for Tide along with using Borax Laundry Booster & Vinegar in each load to help clean our clothes better.

That is until today.........I have done 3 loads of laundry with this new Homemade Laundry Detergent and it works great so far! It has gotten out food & grime, pee smell out of pajamas & the clothes look nice & clean with a nice scent. YAY!!!!! I have finally found my new laundry detergent and it literally only costs pennies per load (which I am totally stoked about). This makes me one happy frugal Mama!

Here is the items you will need:

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup- Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (Do not use baking soda)
1/2 Cup Borax



Grate soap or break into pieces (do not mistake for grated cheddar cheese) :)



and process in a food processor until powdered.



Mix all ingredients together. For light load, use 1 Tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 Tablespoons (which is what I used). Yields 3 Cups detergent. (Approx. 40 loads)

*I trippled the batch & put it in a 2 gallon bucket with a lid to store. I will be making a few more batches again tomorrow so I won't have to make anymore for awhile*



Tips: I had a hard time finding the Fels-Naptha soap bar & the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I couldn't find any store in town that carried them. After much research online, I found the cheapest route to go. I ordered from Ace Hardware online & had it delivered to the Willow/Nees location to get free shipping. You can purchase Borax either at Target or Walmart & I'm sure many other various stores as well.

My husband calculated it out to be around .05 cents per load of laundry. Not too shabby!

Another Tip: I add either 1/2-1 cup of vinegar in a Downy Ball into the washer for heavily soiled clothes. It works wonders! I purchase my vinegar at Costco.

My Huge Baby Belly

Alright, so I'm 37 weeks & 4 days pregnant and I'm feeling HUGE & very uncomfortable now! I can't wait for little man to get here......I am so done being pregnant! With this being my 4th pregnancy and having 3 boys all ages 4 and under, this has definitely been my hardest pregnancy to date. I can't wait until I can start feeling normal again!



(Obviously I need to clean our mirror in the bedroom)

My New Birthday Gift

My husband and I have a really nice Nikon Digital Camera that I absolutely love, but the only problem is, it's really big & heavy to tote around. When I'm leaving the house with 3 kids (soon to be 4) with a diaper bag, purse & whatever else we may need, it's really hard to carry my big & heavy camera case too. I love taking pictures of my kids & capturing those precious moments which pretty much happen anywhere and at anytime, especially with their age. :)

I'm excited to show you my new pretty pink Cannon Power Shot SD1400 camera my hubby got me for my birthday. I haven't used it yet, but I'm anxious in trying it out. The only thing I will need to get used to is how tiny it is. This will fit perfectly in my purse or diaper bag where I can keep it with me at all times & never be without a camera again! :)



And of course I had to get a pretty pink camera case to match.

Our Christmas Tree & Gingerbread House

I'm happy to say that we finally got our Christmas tree up Monday evening & my boys are just excited as can be. Thanks to my good friend Lindsay who came over & helped me decorate our tree. We can't thank you enough Lindsay........your the best!

I realized after taking this picture that our Angel Christmas tree topper fell off and I need to have my hubby put it back on. :)



The boys have been asking me for several days to decorate their Gingerbread house, so we finally took it out yesterday (Thursday) and got it done. They did such a great job!

My Baby Shower

I had a wonderful time celebrating my baby shower today with great friends & family! I wanted to thank you all who came & shared in this joyous occasion with me today. It meant so much to me!

God has definitely blessed me with another precious gift from above and I can't wait to meet you baby Caleb! Your big brothers are very excited to meet you too! :)


Look at this beautiful & tasty fruit bouquet that my mom & her friend Joan made. I thought this was so creative & fun!

Me & my wonderful mom!

Thank you mom for making this day so special & all of your hard work involved. I know it wasn't easy for you considering you are just recovering from your hip replacement. You mean the world to me!

Me & my Grandma! Thank you Grandma for all your hard work in cleaning up. Your the best!

My good friend Lindsay who was such a huge help in preparing for the baby shower, not to mention her much talked about pasta salad (we are all waiting for your recipe?!?!).

My moms friend Joan whom my boys have gotten to know as "Auntie Joan" over the years. She is always so creative & she worked hard in making my baby shower invitations that turned out adorable!

My friends from church that I have gotten to know & adore over the past few years. Jonna, Lora & Jackie.

Here are all my amazing friends & family that came today to celebrate the blessing of baby Caleb. Thank you for making this day so special & all the memories you have created for years to come! I love you all!

I think it's baby fever......4 preggo's all at the same time! :)

Watch out.......who's next?!?!

Delicious Turkey Recipe

When I went shopping at Vons last week, I picked up an almost 20 lb Butterball Turkey for only $10.00 w/ my Vons Club Card. Since my family loves turkey so much, I thought I would make it for dinner tonight & we will have plenty of leftovers for turkey sandwiches & whatever other meals I come up with involving turkey for the next couple weeks.

We usually do not have many leftovers after Thanksgiving since our family is so large, so I wanted to start a little early this year. I have made this turkey recipe for the last 3 years & this is my families absolute favorite recipe. The meat is so tender & moist and it just falls apart. It has the best flavor too! If your interested in needing a good recipe for your Turkey this Thanksgiving, I will post this recipe below. :)



Homestyle Turkey, the Michigander Way (from allrecipes.com)

1 (12 pound or more) whole turkey
6 tablespoons butter, divided
4 cups warm water
3 tablespoons chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 tablespoons seasoning salt
I also add a little pepper & some garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and wash turkey. Discard the giblets, or add to pan if they are anyone's favorites.
2. Place turkey in a dutch oven or roasting pan. Separate the skin over the breast to make little pockets. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter on both sides between the skin & breast meat. This makes for very juicy breast meat.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the warm water with the bouillon. Sprinkle in the parsley and minced onion. Pour over the top of the turkey. Sprinkle seasoning salt over the turkey, pepper & garlic powder.
4. Cover with foil, and bake in the preheated oven 3 1/2 to 4 hours, until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 180 degrees F. For the last 45 minutes or so, remove the foil so the turkey will brown nicely.

Meal Plan Monday

Here we are to a start of another new week and I'm already feeling a little behind again. I can't believe the holidays are just around the corner already! This is going to be a simple week for me in the kitchen. :)

Sunday: Pizza- Take Out (momma is taking a break)

Monday: Roasted Turkey, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, Corn & Biscuits

Tuesday: Salmon & Mixed Veggies

Wednesday: Turkey Sandwiches & Fresh Fruit

Thursday & Friday: Hubby & 2 older boys going out of town- Either leftovers or grabbing something super fast for me & little one.

Saturday: Dinner with Friends

Puzzles, Puzzles & More Puzzles

My boys just LOVE puzzles! They can sit all day long putting puzzles together one after another. We started out with the 24 piece puzzles, but they are just way too easy for both my 4 & 3 year old boys. I then got some 48 piece puzzles and within a couple weeks, they mastered those & they just aren't challenging enough for them now.

I was happy to find these new Toy Story 3 (which is now their favorite movie) 100 piece puzzles at the dollar store. They had four different ones to choose from, so of course I got them all. My boys were so excited when I brought these home & they are definitely more challenging.



These would be great Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers! :)

Pretend Play

I went to Target yesterday to pick up of a few items and I was pleased to find the Halloween items marked down to 90% off. I was able to find a few costumes for only $1.20-1.50 each. My boys love to pretend play so they will have loads of fun with these new costumes! :)

Glow in the Dark Crocs.......Only $8.99 Shipped!

Currently, you can score a pair of Glow in the Dark Crocs available here for ONLY $8.99 shipped! Just head on over there and add a pair of these Crocs to your cart. Once you add a pair to your cart, the price will be reduced to $8.99. Plus, you can use coupon code secondchance to snag FREE Economy shipping. *Note: The FREE shipping will not show up until the final order page.

I just ordered the Dragon Crocs for all 3 of my boys! :)

Looking for the Perfect Holiday Photo Card

Are you looking for the perfect Holiday Photo Card? Shutterfly has just about every selection of Holiday Photo Cards available to choose from to fit your needs. There are three different styles available: Folded Greeting Cards, Flat Stationary Cards and Flat Photo Cards. As you can see, the varieties are endless to choose from. I always have such a hard time figuring out which one I want to use every year because they always have such great designs!

Here are my three favorite Holiday Cards:

This is my favorite photo card. Faith And Family Religious 5x7 photo card. It has a nice Christian message with a beautiful elegant script. I also like how is has 3 photo spots available so you can highlight your favorite photos without trying to just choose one.

Rejoice Lord King Religious Christmas 5x7 folded card. Not only does this card have a wonderful message, but it also gives you the ability to add 7 photos which is great if you have a large family & you want to share in all those special photo moments.


Holly Jolly Story Christmas 5x7 folded card. You can include 4 photos with 4 captions and 4 text boxes. These can be used to highlight special events of the year or to highlight each member of your family and they are easier to create than a multi-photo collage on the front of the card.

I have personally ordered Shutterfly Photo Cards for Christmas a couple times in the past and I was extremely happy with the quality. I look forward to getting started on my Christmas Photo Cards now. :)

This post is sponsored by Shutterfly. Bloggers get 50 free cards from Shutterfly, find out how… http://bit.ly/sfly2010.

Meal Plan Monday

I can't believe November is here already! I look forward to all the delicious foods & yummy treats that the upcoming holidays have to offer. Plus, the weather is getting cool so it makes it extra nice to cook all those delicious meals.

Happy November everyone & I hope you all have a blessed week!

Sunday: Pizza- Take Out (Never made it last week)

Monday: Fish Tacos

Tuesday: Roast, Carrots, Potatoes & Corn Muffins w/ Honey Butter

Wednesday: Mini Slider Turkey Burgers, Tator Tots & Fresh Fruit

Thursday: Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches

Friday: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Corn

Saturday: Salmon, Mixed Veggies & Rice

Meal Plan Monday

I'm planning my meals with the food I already have on hand and I will only go to the grocery store for milk & fresh fruit or veggies this week.

Sunday: Leftovers

Monday: Southwestern Chicken Salad

Tuesday: Lasagna, Salad & Corn

Wendsday: Crockpot Pork Chops, Rice & Peas

Thursday: Cheese Raviolis

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: BBQ Chicken, Mashed Potatoes & Corn

Footprint Ghost

Here are the art projects the kids made today. They are ghost's made out of their footprints sprinkled with cinnamon for a delightful smelling aroma. Not only are these super simple, but the kids had alot of fun making them.

Cobb's Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to Cobb's Pumpkin Patch Saturday afternoon once the kids woke up from their naps. We all had such a great time, the kids didn't want to leave. Of course, mommy always takes way too many pictures, but having 3 boys, it's hard to get one good picture of them all looking & smiling at the same time! :)

Our beautiful family.

Preston, Jeremiah & Noah........my three handsome little fellas! :)

I can't believe I got two good shots of all 3 boys. Too cute!

Noah being silly as always. He's such a character.

Big brothers.

My adorable Preston.

My sweet little Noah.

My little cutie pie Jeremiah.

Jeremiah is taking after his big brother Noah with his silliness.

I think they were done with picture taking at this point.

Preston liked the weird looking pumpkins in the background.

Jeremiah had to touch & feel them too!

The boys favorite part of the pumpkin patch.......the tractor train ride.

Look at their cute little smiles. They are definitely having a great time!

I love how cute & furry this Llama was. He's adorable!

These donkeys reminded me of donkey on Shrek. They were too cute!

The boys enjoyed feeding the animals.

Noah

Preston

Jeremiah