Monthly Archives: July 2013

Jul 11

This Week

This week has been another one of those weeks. The hot weather has set in, and the Summertime moodiness is in full swing. The kids are bored, but not bored enough to want to go back to school.

They have been fighting, a lot… It is always two at a time, with only one acting right. Oh goodness, I am one tired mommy.

The whining and complaining is non-stop too. Mainly with the middle one, he hasn’t liked anything this Summer. He complains/whines constantly, and it is driving me nuts.

The littlest one is the screamer and fighter. She is usually the one ending the fights, and she has spent a lot of the Summer in time-out.

My oldest is pretty good, most of the time. He has been helping out a little more around the house, but he is quick to pick a fight with his little brother.

I need a day out…

Jul 9

Homemade Laundry Powder

When we were going through the budget, I was running through my mind on just what we could cut from the weekly grocery bill. I couldn’t think of where to start, but then I looked at the giant pile of laundry waiting for me. It made me think that laundry detergent would be a start. I’ve seen lots of recipes to make it at home, so let’s give it a try.

I do a lot of laundry. Most days three loads at least. If I wait a day or two I have ten loads of laundry waiting for me. I seem to buy laundry detergent at least once or twice a month. If I can find the brand that I like, it is usually on sale for $5.00. So that is at least $10.00 a month that is just going to laundry.

I looked up a few different recipes for homemade laundry powder on Pinterest. I then headed to amazon to shop prices. They were a bit much, but then I read through all of the comments. They all seemed to say the same thing,  check your local store first, you should be able to pick up everything for around $10.00. We were heading to the grocery store on Monday, so I added the supplies to my list, and scratched off the ready-made laundry detergent.

I found everything on my list to make the detergent, and I picked up a grater to be used for soap only, and a set of measuring spoons and cups to use for detergent only too. The grand total was just $12.68, just a few bucks more than I usually spend in a month for detergent.

I set up everything in the utility room, and I got to grating. I decided to make a batch using the Pink Zote soap first. It did take a while to grate the soap, and my flakes were not as teeny-tiny as I had seen in the pictures on Pinterest. A friend of mine suggested to microwave the soap for one to two minutes, let it rest, and then it should flake nicely. I’m going to try that on the next batch.

The recipe that I used called for one cup of Borax, one cup of Arm & Hammer washing powder, and one bar of laundry soap, grated. I combined all of the of the ingredients in an old plastic ice cream container, and gave it a good shake. You use one to two tablespoons of the laundry powder per load.

I washed three loads of laundry with the new laundry powder, and it worked very well. The scent was pleasant after going through the dryer, and the clothes were soft too. Here’s hoping that none of us are allergic to it…  I missed one very ice cream stained shirt of Agnes’, so that one didn’t get cleaned too well, but a little pre-treater should do the trick.

The cost and the time spent were well worth it too. I’ll be making the detergent again, and enjoying a bit of grocery savings too. The only downside was when I grated my finger. I’m a bit accident prone when it comes to graters, and veggie peelers, but that won’t keep me from grating laundry soap.

I have no idea how long the first batch will last our family. If I keep up with making laundry detergent at home it should save us around $100 off of our yearly grocery budget. I think I’m off to a good start.

What about you? Do you make laundry detergent at home? How do you save when it comes to this daily chore?

Jul 8

June’s Favorite Photos

June was a fun month. We kicked off Summer vacation with a family tradition. We hid out indoors when the weather was too warm. I have lots of favorite photos to share today.

Thade has been enjoying the Summer break.

Dylan is anxious to get back to school though.

Agnes received this dress from Aunt Sarah, she loves it so much. She calls it her princess dress, and she twirls around and around.

I’ve been working on a few crochet projects this Summer.

Aunt Sarah brought me these pretty roses too.

I’ve been keeping Mia indoors. The fireworks started early on our block, and she was not a fan.

The big kitty just wants to nap, and avoid the heat.

I agree with the big kitty. It is a little warm for me too.

Jul 7

Budget Busters…

I’m at a loss, and I need some help. We’ve been going over the monthly budget, and trying to figure what else we can cut to save a little bit more. I’m just out of thoughts on what to cut next.

We still have our satellite service, but we are down to just the essentials when it comes to the house. I don’t think we can cut the electric bill, the kids might not like that.

The groceries have been my biggest hurdle. I’m just not saving… I’ve couponed in the past, and shopped Aldi too. With gas prices, and multi-buys on the coupons the savings just aren’t there. I cook a lot, and try to make as many of the kids snacks that I can. That leaves me with a lot of extra dishes to wash. Today Dylan said to me, you really do live in the kitchen.

I’ve been making many things from scratch like, Salsa, Desserts, Dog shampoo, and even some clothing. I’m thinking of giving homemade laundry powder a try to see if that helps the grocery budget a bit.

Ugh, my head hurts, and my kitchen is a mess, and I have nine loads of laundry waiting for me. Help…

Jul 2

June’s Tasty Treats

June was a funny month. I don’t really think I cooked too much, but I never left the kitchen. There were lots of dirty dishes to keep up with. I do have a few photos to share, and I tried a new recipe too.

Well the first two I didn’t make, but we did enjoy. We visited the Good ‘Ol Days and shared lots of tasty goodies. It is mandatory to have at least one funnel cake at the Good ‘Ol Days.

Lately I’ve been making Giant Chocolate Chip cookies, just like you would buy at the bakery. The family loves them, and I make them once or twice a week. They go fast.

I made a batch of Chocolate Ice Cream.

It made a pretty tasty treat for an all too warm Summer day.

I also made a batch of Vanilla. As you can see I like a little bit of Bundt Cake, and a bunch of Vanilla Ice Cream. I’m going to make a few more batches for the Fourth of July.

More Giant Cookies! Maybe I should turn these into giant ice cream cookie sandwiches.

Since there was a bit of vanilla ice cream hanging out in the freezer, I made a Cherry Pie to go with it.

I made a batch of cupcakes for the kiddos snacks.

Agnes loved the cupcakes.

Summertime lunch for me.

When I was little, my mom would make me an amazing dessert. It was Blackberry Duff, and she would top it off with half & half, or full on heavy cream. It is still the dessert that I always request from her. I had some fresh fruits hanging around, and I thought let’s caramelize them in some brown sugar and butter, and make a tropical Duff.

I made a batch of Caramelized Banana, Coconut, and Pineapple Duff. The aroma in the kitchen was amazing as this was baking. I couldn’t wait for it to cool a tiny bit, so I could try it.

I topped mine off with lactose free 2% milk. How I wish I had just one scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream left to top off the Duff, but the kiddos ate all of the ice cream. They didn’t want to try the Duff though, and I didn’t mind. I had it for breakfast the next day. It was delicious. I think the next batch I might omit the banana and coconut, and just go for the caramelized pineapple.

July has arrived and already I’ve been busy in the kitchen. I’m prepping all of the desserts for the Fourth of July a little ahead of time. Yesterday I made a big batch of vanilla ice cream, and today I’m making triple chocolate ice cream for the holiday. Time to get to it.