Laundry experiment a success...

A few months back I decided to try and make my own laundry soap. Which is shockingly easy to do. I figured if it didn't work out no biggie, I would only be out under $10 and 1 hour of my time. Well folks I'm here to tell you it works. A few adjustments and I'm quite proud and happy with the results.
You can find the instructions that I followed here: http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html.
I found the soap did just fine. Now if you are like me I was using Tide with color safe bleach. I didn't see any difference in the cleaning power between the two, but did notice our clothes not being as bright as they used to be after a few times being washed. So I did a little more research and found that commercial brands of soap have chemical brighteners in them. So I simply started adding a small amount of Clorox 2 to each load, and all has been well.
I haven't tried the fabric softener ideas yet, but plan to as soon as I can remember to buy a 3 gallon container to mix/store it in.
So I basically have laundry soap for a year for under $10. I should also mention that I have a front loader so I use way less soap than a top loader. Even with adding in the Clorox 2, we are still saving a fortune in laundry soap, I only need a very small amount of the Clorox (I'm on month 3 with the same container).
Also another item I have found that I'm currently in love with is Simple Green, it's an all purpose cleaner, but I use it as a spot stain remover. Anybody who has red clay dirt or volcanic dirt...go out and get this today, this minute. That stuff stains like no tomorrow, I was having a ton of trouble with Gavin's clothes, but this stuff gets it out. I had almost dissolved a pair of Gavin's shorts trying everything I could think of to get the red clay dirt out of it, but to no avail, even bleach doesn't get it out. But Simple Green is awesome...Thanks Kristi who moved here from Hawaii and was all too familiar with stubborn stains.
Another note, get a gamma lid for the 5 gallon bucket, they are super awesome and make getting into the buckets way easy. http://www.gamma2.net/new/GSL.html. For those lucky enough to live in Utah you can get them at Macey's grocery stores. I buy 25 lbs. of flour and sugar, poor into a 5 gallon bucket and TADA with the gamma lid, easy access and perfect storage. And that is all I'm going to say on my homemaking geekiness.

Life and broken bones

I just realized that I didn't post all of last month. What kind of crazy is that? My excuse is that I've been in a funk and it's taking a while to get out of it. Slowly, inch by inch progress is being made and I have dreams of returning to my crazy self soon.
Time has been flying by, way to fast. I can't catch my breath or get caught up. This is a mystery to me, since I'm a stay at home mom and so in theory I plan my days and am in control of what goes on. Partly my funk is to blame, partly not planning well enough on my part and partly time has seriously sped up people. Am I the only one who feels that way. I am seriously shocked that it is July...JULY people, for crying out loud.
I'm still stuck somewhere back in January, well actually February of 08 when we moved out here. I just can't believe we have been in Alabama for over a year. It's been very awesome for 99.99% of it all. I've adjusted to the heat and humidity, well mostly. The only .01% is being so far from friends and family. Everyone is growing up without us, and living their lives and doing all those little things that are easy to be involved with when you are near, but you get lost when you are far apart.
I miss my nieces and nephews and brothers and their wives and even (sometimes) the craziness of my in laws. Mostly I miss my friends, the ones I was just getting to know, the ones that I had just bonded with before we left.
We have found a wonderful life here in Alabama. It's been more amazing than I could have ever dreamed. I don't think I could leave. My brother told me about a man he works with who moved from Birmingham area to Utah, and how his wife cried every day....I totally get that now. I really don't think I could go back, specifically to Utah, but really anywhere other than here. It's an amazing bubble of a place that is just so perfect it's amazing. Enough waxing lovesick about my adopted home state...(seriously everyone just move here, it's awesome!)
In other news, Gavin is growing big and strong and just turning into an awesome kid. Who broke his left elbow last Sunday. It was super sad and stressful until they got the splint on and gave him pain meds, then he got really goofy and was feeling alot better. Poor little guy.
Ben and I weren't feeling too well, we think we got too much sun on Saturday. Anyway we were taking turns napping while the other watched Gavin. Ben thought he could sneak out really quick to change the sprinkler. As soon as Gavin heard the door he launched himself out of the office chair to get to the door to go out with Dad and he must have caught his feet on the armrests and he landed hands down first.
We go to the orthopedic doc on Thursday to get his real cast. I can't wait, the temporary splint is really big and cumbersome. Only the tips of his fingers poke out and he can barely touch his thumb to his index finger. He's been super frustrated that he can't use his hand. He's adjusted pretty well overall. And we wonder if he's going to be ambidextrous after all this. He already has great control over both his right and left hands, but favors his left. He's even being a trooper about taking the loritab, which tastes pretty yucky and the Motrin, which tastes really yummy or so he's told me.
It's sad it's happened so early in the summer. We had been going to the pool alot and jumping on our trampoline every day, just about all day. Both activities are now out, at least until I talk to the Dr. on Thursday and find out how long he'll be in a cast and what he'll be allowed to do. Currently I'm not even letting him outside because if the splint got dirt or debris in it, we couldn't really get it out. The hard part is that it hasn't slowed him down one bit, but he doesn't compensate for his lost ability. I'm just waiting for him to break the other arm or injure himself in some other way.
So on Tuesday when we have the second house visit from DHR, Gavin will be sporting a broken elbow, that will be fun to explain, lol. It's just a bit ironic, that our kid will have a broken arm when we are so close to finishing up the licensing procedure for foster care.
And that is a long post on not much :).

Going to court is fun to do...

Yesterday early in the morning I was privileged enough to get to go to the courthouse and wait my turn to go up in front of a judge to say: "Why yes, I am an idiot, thank you very much!".
The beginning: A couple days into April I was pulled over by a cop and given a ticket...this is how it went. Cop: License, insurance and registration please. Me: One second..here you go. Cop: The insurance isn't current. Me: Oh, sorry, it is current, that's just the wrong paper, hang on, I'll find the right one. (To this date have not found the stinkin right paper!) But do have a paper confirmation that I have current insurance. Cop: The reason I pulled you over is that your tags are expired. Me: How can that be, it's only April, I registered the car last May, so it's not due until this May, which is next month. Cop: With an air of talking to the stupidest person alive...well yes you did register last May, but it was only good for one month. You should have realized this when the registration cost was so low (it wasn't that low). This is when I found out that in Alabama they make you register a certain month of the year that correlates with the first letter of your last name. So all M's get to register in June...and only June. You cannot do it early. You can do it online, if you are lucky enough for them to actually mail you the notice with the special pin number. Otherwise you get to go and wait in long, long, long lines for the privilege of registering your car, in June and only June. (Guess who has never received any mail regarding tags...yup, that would be me). Also the address was incorrect on my drivers license, since I haven't wanted to wait hours on end at the DMV to get it redone. Again the cop informed me of the 30 day get it done or else rules about address changes and drivers licenses. Again in the same attitude of I'm-about-2-seconds-from-frisking-you-because-you-really-don't-believe-that-I'm-falling-for-your-just-that-stupid-act, right?! Um, yes I am just that stupid. I don't think I've ever felt more belittled than that cop made me feel. I get that there job is dangerous and I even get that pulling people over is one of the most dangerous aspects of there job. But seriously...after a few minutes of dealing with me, he couldn't tell that I was not a freak job waiting to pounce?! I'm a bit bitter over the whole experience, he was a serious jerk with a serious attitude. And so I of course got a ticket, which really doesn't bother me a whole lot, I didn't know the rules and so I got the ticket, I completely understand but there really was no need to give me such a hard time and soooo much attitude.
Along with the ticket I was given a court date, which was yesterday.
I tried calling to see if I really had to come to court or if I could just pay it and be done with it. Which I still think I should be able to go in and pay the fine or whatever and not have had to go to the court. We of course got the car properly registered...which we will do again in a week, because it was only good for a couple months because it's not JUNE FOR THE LOVE OF PETE AND YOUR NAME BEGINS WITH AN M! I realize that, but I'm here now and would like to give you money for next year and be done with it..NO...but...NO...but...NOOOOO. So that was awesome too.
Court:
So I arrive for court, along with 100 or more others. They split us up...L thru R go to the 8th flour courtroom blah blah...court is about to begin so hurry. Except we can't hurry because they have the slowest elevators ever! If they have a staircase, it is very well hidden as none of us could find it. And they announced the split about 32 seconds before 8:30. Good thing I came 15 minutes early, because I didn't get to the right court room until 8:35. And then the waiting begins, and we wait, and wait and wait and wait. I feel lucky that all in all my wait was only 2 hours, I was fortunate to be in the first 20 pages of defendants. It was so long and boring and hot. And then they call my name I go up with my documentation showing that yes I did get the right tags and I really am not a psycho who was on the verge of attacking the cop, and this is the best part, wait for it, waaaaiiiitttt.....He tells me great, it's all good, you are free to go.
Hold the phone...
What?!
No fine?!
No nothing?!
You just wanted to look at the registration?!
And I'm free to go?!
Seriously no one could have looked at this form? Only the lawyer who was getting things in order for the judge? I couldn't have come in and shown anyone, someone that I took care of it and avoided the black hole that was the last two hours? Don't get me wrong I'm glad I didn't have to pay a fine. I'm glad once I got up, it was like 2 seconds and it was all over. But seems to me that I could have shown the correct registration to someone in that courthouse, I don't know, seconds after I got it and been done with the whole thing.
From beginning to end a truly special experience that I hope falls into the black hole of memories until a time that I can look back at it and laugh.
P.S.
Thanks Emily for watching Gavin for hours and so early in the morning!
P.P.S.
A simple little paper can be filled out and mailed in to change your address in the system, it doesn't change it on your license, but it makes it all legal and on the up and up. Buuut you cannot fill it out and hand it back to the DMV lady who just handed it to you, you MUST mail it in. Again AWESOME!

Fear

So it's late but I can't sleep so I thought I'd write some about what I finally figured out.
After a really depressing day, and I mean really depressing, things are well not looking up exactly, but clearer. For a couple of weeks I've been feeling more and more depressed without being able to figure out why. Of course life has it's stresses but usually when I get to feeling this way I can pin point a reason and then deal with whatever it is and move on. But the reason has been eluding me for a couple of weeks. Until just a bit ago, I finally realized I'm terrified, about this whole foster care/adoption thing. We are almost done with our classes and then we will be licensed, at least as soon as our paperwork is finalized. And it's starting to sink in what we are about to do. And on one hand this feels like the right thing to do and the path we should be on, the other hand is shaking uncontrollably with fear of what we have gotten ourselves into. I fear how much we will get attached to these children and the heartache of possibly having to send them back to be hurt more. The unknown of what we are doing to Gavin. He is such a happy, lovable little boy. What is this going to be like for him? How can we possibly help him to understand why we will have a child in our home and then possibly suddenly not? How do you help a 3 year old understand abuse and neglect? How do you help a 33 year old understand the same (as in me). At the end of the day I know we can do this and it will all work out, under the Lord's plan. And that as afraid as I am, I have the strength and love for this, for these children or child.

Well it's taken a bit over three years, but they finally caught up with me. The stay at home mommy blues. The I don't ever have to use my brain, doing the same thing day in day out blues. I can't even seem to get up enough gumption to even type this. Just sitting here in my puddle of can't muster up a desire to care. Aren't you glad I shared?!

Easter

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Gavins 3rd Birthday

Make a Smilebox postcard