HOME MADE

§  I feel bad that I haven’t posted in a while, but trust me I have been busy.  Van, my son, has been keeping me up all night.  Thank God for coffee.  Anyway, some of you may know that I am not returning to my part-time job.  I previously worked at the After School Program for the ARC.  I didn’t want to say anything officially until I sent in my resignation.  I liked this job, but with both of my kids and Devin’s new job, it was impossible for me to stay.  

§  Even though Devin now has a job, leaving the arc stills means less money.  I have been trying to find ways to save, and I noticed that one of my friends has been using a web site called “Frugal Girls”.  I tried it out.  I found many ways to save.  Some of these may sound crazy.  I have not tried all of them yet, but I could not wait to share.

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I just finished making homemade laundry soap.  It was so easy and if it works, it will save me about 20 dollars each time I make it.  One container of laundry soap could cost up to 20 dollars and I made the same amount for like a dollar. 

§  I also made homemade fabric softener.  All I needed was container and vinegar.  Just finished a load of laundry with it and the clothes feel so soft.  If you use suave and store brand vinegar it only cost like 3 dollars for a gallon of it.  

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§  Finally, I made homemade wipes.  Devin wasn’t sure about these, but they seem to be working.  I took old t-shirts, cut them up, and then put them in a mixture of baby oil, baby shampoo, and water.  You wash them and then reuse them.  Oh, what did I just GO GREEN!  Well I am happy that I am saving green.  The t-shirts are softer then regular baby wipes and I use less of them because they absorb more.  The wipes also smell wonderful, better than the ones I was using before.

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I almost forgot.  I made homemade leave in conditioner.  It is so easy.  Just take your spray bottle, put a little conditioner in to it (whatever smell you like) and a little water, and shake it up.  I tried it this morning and it works great.  I didn’t even need regular conditioner just the spray.  I saved money because you only need a little conditioner for the entire bottle.  I used suave strawberry.  The entire bottle of conditioner cost like a dollar.  It could last me all year, and my hair feels great!

Home Made Laundry soap

What you need

§  1/2 Cup: Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda {not Baking Soda}

§  1/2 Cup: Borax {print a coupon here}

§  1/3 Bar of Fels-Naptha Soap {you could also use Ivory soap, but if using Ivory… use the whole bar}

§  Bucket {2 gallon size or larger}

§  Empty laundry detergent containers or bucket with lid to store detergent.

What You’ll Do:

§  Grate 1/3 bar of Fels-Naptha Soap over large pot or saucepan…

• Add 6 cups of Water.
• Heat over medium-high until soap dissolves and melts.
• Add Washing Soda & Borax, and stir until dissolved.
• Remove from heat and set aside.
• Pour 4 cups Hot Water into bucket, and then add Soap Mixture.
• Stir, and then add 1 Gallon + 6 Cups of additional water.  Stir.

§  Transfer to a bucket with a lid, or pour into empty laundry detergent containers.

§  Set aside, and let it sit overnight, or up to 24 hours, to thicken and gel up.

Home Made fabric softener (I tried it and loved it.  I would probably put more conditioner in next time to make it smell better.)

What You’ll Need:

§  6 cups HOT water

§  3 cups white vinegar

§  2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

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What You’ll Do:

§  Mix conditioner & hot water well, until conditioner is dissolved completely.

§  Add the vinegar, and mix well.

§  Store in a large container {empty fabric softener container, empty large vinegar bottle, etc}

§  Pour into a downy ball… or the fabric softener spot in your laundry machine… then wash!

Home Made Wipes

•2 1/2 cup Water

•2 tsp Baby Shampoo or Baby Bath

•1 tsp. Baby Oil

•1/2 Roll Paper Towels (Bounty) I used scarps of old T-shirts.

Directions

Take old t-shirts.  (I had just gone through our closet and took out anything that was fading, ripped, or didn’t fit anymore.)  Cut them into pieces.  Mix water, shampoo and baby oil in a container.  Put the scraps into the mixture and let them soak.  (I would wring the out and then put them into the baby wipe container.  Be sure to make extra so.  While you are cleaning one load of wipes, you can use the others.  I made an entire box full of scrapes.  Keep a laundry basket (one with a lid) next to your changing area.  I would wash these wipes by themselves in your washing machine.

Anyone have any other ideas.  My kitchen has become a lab!

Penny and Boba Fett

First, I would like to say, “I love my dogs”.  This leads to me have a difficult time trying to find a football team to root for.  Any suggestions, I love football, and unfortunately, all I have are Eagles jerseys.  I love my dogs much more than I love the eagles. 

I have always thought of myself as a dog person, but when I got married, we couldn’t have a dog.  We lived in an apartment and they didn’t really want us to have any pets but they said we could have a cat.

We got a little black and white tuxedo cat.  He was so cute.  We called him Little Devin, because he actually acted a lot like my husband Devin.  They would sit on the couch and watch TV together and whenever Devin was playing a video game, little Devin would try to hit the controller.  It looked like he was trying to play with him. 

Next, since Little Devin was crazy and we needed someone for him to play with we got Little Nancy.  Okay so then we got Ranger and Darth Vader.  When we had to move to another apartment, and they only would allow us to have two cats, we needed to get rid of Ranger and Darth Vader.  Don’t worry we found good homes for them, but that did not stop us from finding other cats.  We then found Gonzo and Jack (Jack is a girl but we did not know that when he found her she was too little.)

We bought a house and took our four cats with us.  Now that we have a house, I can have a dog.  I convinced myself that I had become a cat person, but that was not true.  We went to the Pleasantville animal shelter and adopted Penny.

Okay so I love my cats but Penny is awesome.  She cares for us in ways the cats did not.  Penny wants to make us happy.  When I am sick or sad, penny is right there next to me.  The cats are not.  When I was pregnant with my daughter, Penny would lie next to me and lay her head down on my stomach. 

One day during one of those strong summer storms, I found a little white dog on my doorstep.  He was filthy and shaking.  I took him inside, feed him, and gave him a bath.  Penny loved him.  I was so excited about this because Penny is normally afraid of other dogs.  Infect Penny is afraid of everything.  I had to call animal control and they came and picked him up.  They took him to the animal shelter and I told them that if not one comes for him we will take him.  That is how I got Boba Fett.

Like I said I love my dogs, but they drive me crazy.  Like I said I love my dogs, but they drive me crazy.  They are always getting into to things they are not supposed to, and Boba is so bad about going to the bathroom.  It is obvious that Penny is smarter then Boba.  Penny will knock down the trashcan, grab something from it, and run and hide with it.  Boba will put his head in the trashcan and stay there.  

Why big worry right now is what we are going to do with the dogs.  Thankfully, Devin got a job, but since he has been out of work since September, we are behind on some bills.  If we need to sell the house, and get an apartment, where will the dogs go?  I pray that we are able to get back on track with things. I know that God will show us what we need to do.  As for now, I just continue to pray and work as hard as I can to everything together.  

God Provides

Some of you know the struggles that have been facing my family this year, others of you may not.  This has been difficult year for us.  It was not all bad; finding out that I was pregnant with Vance was surely a highlight.  The children were and always are the silver lining in all things.

In September, Devin lost his job.  This may surprise some of you because as you know he worked for his family.  I myself was shocked, but that would not be the first time that I was shocked this year.  Devin told me that he was fired.  The night this happened to say I was not panicked would be a lie.  I know that God provides, but all I could think about was, “What are we going to do?”  Van was coming and Zelda was already here.  Devin used to take Zelda with him to work.  It was great.  Since it was a family business, she was surrounded by family and not strangers.  We didn’t need to pay daycare.  Now what were we going to do.  He had not job and if he got a job, where would Zelda go? 

We tried to get unemployment, and here is where it gets crazy.  Devin’s family told the unemployment that he quit and that he was not fired.  If you quit you cannot get unemployment, but they did not stop there.  They also told them that Devin was not a good employee and they would not take him back.  So not only did they fire him, but the made it impossible to get unemployment.

Mind baffling isn’t it.  Devin has not talked to them since.  I can’t blame him.  He needs to prove to them that he does not need them and that he can take care of his family on his own.

 Devin got his SORA license in October.  For those of you who do not know, in New Jersey you need to have SORA training to be a security Guard.  SORA stands for the Security Officer Registration Act.  Since then he has been looking for a nighttime security job.  Since I work during the day, Devin can work at night.  That way someone can be home with the kids.  While Devin was looking for a job, I was the only one working.  It made for some stressful times. 

So why am I telling you all of this?  Remember, in the beginning I said, “God Provides”.  Well, it is true He does.  Devin had a difficult time finding a good security job.  Some places did not have nights or weekends available and other only needed someone for a day or two.  Now you take whatever you can get when you are out of work, but most of these jobs were an hour away or more.  So we prayed for a job that was close and one that needed nights and weekends.  Well our prayers were answered.  About 5 years ago, I was the manager of the Payless Shoes in the Hamilton Mall.  Some of the people, who worked at the mall, were still there.  One day I went in and asked about the security there.  I brought Devin in with me for my friends to meet.  It turns out that they were looking for a SORA trained Guard to work nights, overnights and weekends. 

Now we are not out of the woods yet.  We have lots of catching up to do, but this puts us on the right track.  As I said before “God provides”.

I give up on sleep!

I give up on sleep.  I have tried and failed.  My son Van is up every two hours to eat.  He sleeps a lot during the day, which is frustrating because he sister is up all day.  This makes for one tired mommy.  I was breastfeeding up until a few days ago.  During this time, I walked through life like a zombie.  In dire need of caffeine, I decided to go to formula.  Now I was going to go to formula soon anyway, because I won’t be able to breast feed while at work, but this is a little earlier than I planned on.  I feel bad, because I know that breast milk is the best for the baby, but I was not able to pay attention to anything else.

 Despite the long nights, that beast feeding had to offer, it takes a toll on your body as well.  I could not figure out why I was so tired.  I know people who have gone back to work right after having a baby and I can’t figure out how they do it.  My husband told me, that most people do not have c-section.  He said, “They inflicted a mortal wound on you, and then they stitched you up and gave you a baby to take care of.  So you are healing, and breast feeding.” 

Now that I am using formula, my husband can help me feed Van a little but.  Honestly, it is still mostly me.  At least I can have coffee now!  My daughter has also been very mommy needy lately.  I feel bad that I can’t give her all the attention she wants.  I know that she has to get used to it, but today I was feeding Van and Zelda was screaming.  She was just screaming for attention, but it made mommy very sad.  How am I going to do this when I go back to work?  I don’tI have the option to stay home, which would be awesome if I did have that option.  I carry the family health insurance, and needless to day, we need the money.  I have decided not to go back to my part-time job.  I haven’t told them yet.  By not working there, it will give me some extra time with the kids. 

Okay well it is five in the morning and the baby is up.  Time for mommy to make some coffee.

Why Blog?

Where do I begin?  That is the big question.  I have been sitting at my computer for a while now, trying to figure this out.  There are so many things that I can say and want to say.  I am just so excited to be writing again.  I guess I will start at the beginning.  I want to become a better writer and writing a blog can help me get there.

The more you write the better you get, and the more you let others read your work the more feedback you receive.  I have to learn to take criticism, and then take what I have learned from it, and make my writing better.  I wrote a book last year about the birth of my daughter.  My husband just started to read the book, and although the book is published, he had some things to say about it.  I wish he had read the book before I published it, but the things he commented on made sense.  After swallowing my pride, and realizing that he is right, I started to edit my book.  I hope to have another version or edition to upload sometime this year.

I love writing!  As I write more, I learn new things and better ways to say what I am thinking.

I was reading a blog that one of my friends wrote and I said to myself that I could do that.  I followed her format and used the same web site that she did and here we are. 

I have also started to read more.  By reading some of the world’s best authors, I can become better. I started with one of the best and one of my favorites, Tolkien.  It had been a long time since I read The Hobbit, but still a wonderful story.  I have been looking through my bookshelf pulling out books that I want to read.  I just hope I can find time for all of them.

Now the only thing left to do is to keep myself accountable.  I need to write and read daily.  I am not saying that I will post something everyday but I should work on it everyday.  If you start to follow this blog, please keep me accountable.  If you don’t see a post at least each week please yell at me.  I tend to have these great ideas, but sometimes I lack on the follow through.  Till next time when I will post something more interesting.  I promise.