DIY Laundry Detergent

Ok so I've been testing a new detergent that, get this, I MADE!

We've been using the new detergent for almost two months and we really like it! The recipe comes from Sew Much Ado. Her tutorial is so easy, I just had to share!

You will need:

1 Fels-Naptha bar of soap

1 cup Borax

1 cup Washing Soda

1/4 cup Baking Soda

*All of these items are found in the laundry isle next to the laundry detergents

Directions:

1. Grate the Fels-Naptha bar soap finely.  I used my mom's Pampered Chef electric grater (which is AWESOME). Then I put the shredded soap into my Magic Bullet to finish it off but I guess a food processer would work just as good. Coarsely grated, this will equal about 2 cups. Finely grated measures less, of course.

2. Add 1 cup Borax.

3. Add 1 cup washing soda.

4. Add 1/4 cup baking soda.

5. Stir well.

6. You should have a nice powdered mixture.

7. Place in an airtight container.  Use 2 tablespoons per regular load of laundry. 

That's it. Pretty easy. 

If you try this recipe and like it, you can double or even triple the ingredients the next time you make it to get a larger batch. I like to make 3-4 batches at a time. And it lasts quite a while!

Our Easter Weekend

Our Easter Weekend

I can’t believe we just had our second Easter with our little sweet B! Last Easter, B was only a week old. We celebrated at Geoffrey’s parent’s house Saturday evening. My family joined us as well. Geoffrey and I worried we wouldn’t make it with the hailstorm that day, but we did. It was a wonderful evening with our families. B was given her first Easter bunny by her Lolli and Pops (Geoff’s parents)... 

Look how tiny she was!

Here Uncle Landon held B for the first time…

Lolli and Pops with their first grand-baby…

Can you tell they are proud?

Aunt Emily with B...

 My sisters and my mom...

All B's Aunts...

It's so crazy to think this was a year ago. So many things have changed and B has grown up way too fast!

This year, the tradition carried on. First with the weather; although there wasn't any hail, our area was under a severe thunderstorm warning and it rained like cats and dogs. But we managed to get to Geoff’s parent’s house before the storm hit. My family joined us again as well. 

This year we added an Easter egg hunt for B! She didn’t quite understand it all, but when I led her to an egg she picked it up and put it in the basket. I thought that was a start! 

I wanted to make the egg hunt fun and special for B, so I stuffed some of the eggs with play necklaces and bracelets. Then the others had her favorite snacks: cheerios and Gerber veggie puffs! She LOVED it!!!

B was given another Easter bunny by her Lolli and Pops...

And her Easter basket from mommy and daddy had spring pj's, bath crayons, a rubber ducky, a yellow bunny and loving words from both of us.

Gigi and Papa (my parents) gave B two books and Aunt Juju (Julianne) gave her a little bunny beanie baby...

After gifts and the hunt, we ate a yummy dinner, then dyed Easter eggs!

It’s always good to get together with family…

Easter Sunday was wonderful too! Geoff and I went to first service and B went to the nursery. This week’s sermon was so good. Three amazing testimonies of God’s grace and the message David preached was such a good word. If you missed it, check it out here (just click on the icon for video or audio).

Our little family of 3 on Easter Sunday...

After the last service, I dropped B off to spend the night with Lolli and Pops because Geoff and I were headed to a Ranger’s Game!!!

We went with some good friends and had a great time! And to make it better, the Ranger’s won and had a great game!!!

{Above} Me and the girls at the Ranger's  game!

Hope you and your family had a wonderful Easter weekend as well!

Weights, Soreness and a New Routine

I mentioned earlier this week that it was the WEEK of NEW ROUTINES. Well, in addition to my new cleaning routine, I’ve also {deep breath} joined a gym! Planet Fitness. It works great for me because it’s less than 5 minutes from my house, only $10 a month, there’s no contract (just in case), its brand new, open 24/7 and I really like the atmosphere. If you’d like to check out Planet Fitness for yourself, check it out here

And the best part is I get to go with my good friend Ashley. We are both mamas of babies who both want a good workout. So we are keeping each other accountable. Right now, our schedule is 3 days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) from 7-7:50 so we can be home by 8 am (when babies wake up and/or husbands go to work).  

My husband also joined Planet Fitness. We are both pretty pumped about the price, the fact we can go anytime we want and we didn’t have to sign any contracts.

The target areas I want to work on are my arms, legs and strengthening my core. Also, I really should be able to do cardio without feeling like I’m gonna fall over, faint or die.

Until today, Ashley and I really hadn't thought through what days we would do weights and what days we would do cardio. But here is what we did this week:

• Tuesday: Cardio then weights focusing on abs, arms and legs.
• Wednesday: We did the “Planet Fitness 30 Minute Circuit Workout” (basically it’s a 30 minute FULL BODY workout). Then we finished up with some cardio on  the bike.
• Thursday: All cardio. Treadmill, Elliptical, Bike.

It’s now Thursday evening and the results from this week’s 7 am trips to Planet Fitness are in. The phrase "you live and you learn" rings true for us. After back to back days of weights and not really stretching before and after our workouts, we realize we don't want to do that again. YIKES!  But first of all, I want to mention that I've noticed an increased level of energy this week! {YAY} However, I also have sore shoulders, very sore abs and a pulled calf muscle that hurts like the dickens! Needless to say, we've changed our plan of attack for next week:

• Tuesdays & Thursdays: 30 Minute Circuit Workout and some cardio.
• Wednesdays: All cardio.

I really do love working out again and I feel great, despite the slight limp from my pulled calf muscle. Note to self:

Stretching + workout + more stretching = less pain in the long run

Cleaning My Home

This week is full of NEW routines.

Monday started off my new cleaning schedule routine. Since I’ve become a mom, I’ve noticed that cleaning my home has gotten harder and harder to do with a little one around. I mean there are just so many opportunities in a day when B only takes 2 naps a day now; one in the morning (45 minutes) and one in the afternoon (2-2.5 hours).

Before this week, I’ve used the morning nap to get ready for the day, do my devotion, pick up the house, empty the dishwasher, clean bottles, gather my grocery list or complete other projects around the house. During B's afternoon nap, I ALWAYS work.

I have a GREAT job! I'm so blessed to work 12 hours a week for Beltway Park Baptist Church. 6 hours from home and 6 hours on Friday mornings at Beltway. Because I work from home, it is just easier to set aside an hour and a half every afternoon to sit quietly, without my 11 month old distraction, and focus on writing curriculum, gathering crafts, and managing accounts for Kids’ Club and The Summer Club; departments of Beltway's children’s ministry. I LOVE my job. It gives me flexibility and allows me to be creative. 


Once B is up from her afternoon nap, we go pick up my little sister, Julianne, and her friend Maggie from school everyday. I take Maggie to her house and then B and I hang out with Julianne at my parent’s house until one of them gets off of work (usually around 5:30). It's so fun hanging out with her! Can you see how my day becomes so short so fast? And cleaning just doesn’t make the cut.

Sure, I maintain my home. But there is something to be said for really cleaning: dusting, mopping, sanitizing etc. However, I don’t like the thought of giving an ENTIRE day per week, to clean. Yuck. Nor did I want to clean on the weekend when my husband is off from work. We want to play and relax on the weekends, not work more. Instead I ran across this blog, Organizing Made Fun, which outlines how you can clean your home in 15-20 minutes per day (with the exception of the first day; floors just take longer). Check it out here.

So I looked over her list but decided to make my own. Here it is:

Mondays: Vacuum/sweep house thoroughly and mop. Occasionally do vents, curtains and window crevices (Total time: 25-30 minutes)

Tuesdays: Dust house, blinds and baseboards (Total time: 15-20 minutes) Occasionally wipe down nice furniture with polish and dust fans.

Wednesdays: Clean hall bathroom, including toilet, counter, mirror and shower. (Total time: 15-20 minutes)

Thursdays: Clean master bathroom including toilet, counter, mirror and tub. (Total time: 15-20 minutes)

Fridays: Clean kitchen, appliances, sink and countertops. Wipe down cabinets if needed.  Occasionally bleach B’s toys. (Total time: 15-20 minutes)

Weekends: Laundry, other small projects or nothing at all!

Maintain house daily by picking up things and immediately putting items away or in a basket to take to other rooms. Throw junk mail away immediately and sort out incoming mail for Geoff.

So far, this new routine has worked for me. I clean every morning after B eats breakfast. So what does B do when mama’s cleaning? She has independent playtime. Which works perfectly because she always has independent playtime before her morning nap.

Like I said, I just started yesterday (Monday) so the cleaning is taking a little longer right now. Mainly because I haven’t cleaned cleaned my house in a couple of weeks. But the idea of this routine is to maintain a clean home. So, hopefully, because I cleaned my floors yesterday it wont’ take as long next Monday to sweep, mop and vacuum my entire house.

Today was my dusting day. It also took longer because I went ahead and dusted blinds, baseboards and used furniture polish on a few pieces. I look forward to timing myself next week, once I have cleaned this week. Hopefully it will take less time than it has this week.

I still use B's morning nap to get things done. But I am much better and managing things now.  I get ready when B is up. She hangs out with me in the bathroom and plays in her corner where I have placed a small container of toys. I empty the dishwasher, clean bottles etc when she is eating a snack or finger foods in her high chair. The house gets one last GOOD pick up before Geoff and I go to bed. And when I have a spare moment to compile the grocery list or do other small projects, I take advantage of it. The key is just using my time more efficiently SO THAT I can read, blog or even watch TV while B is napping in the morning. YAY! ME time. 

One last thing about cleaning; I do LOVE the smell of cleaning products. And with this routine, I get that fresh, ‘clean’ smell everyday. Pine Sol on Mondays. Pledge on Tuesdays. Scrubbing Bubbles and glass cleaner on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Then on Fridays, it’s the smell of Clorox Wipes and bleach baby. Oh. Yeah!

Happy Cleaning!!!

So Proud!!!

As I woke up this morning I noticed the sun was starting to come up…when I leaned over to check my phone I noticed it was 6:58 am. Berkley had slept through the night (STTN)!!! I couldn’t believe it! B had STTN before, a lot actually. But I have been doing some “retraining” because she was sick for a week plus she had a little mini growth spurt after that. So when B would wake up in the middle of the night, I would just feed her instead of letting her cry it out (CIO).

I had only been working on the retraining for three nights and ta da; she did it! She STTN! The night before last, I was sick and Geoffrey was planning to get up with B in case she couldn’t go back to sleep after CIO for 15 minutes. He said she woke up around 4 (which is usually when she wakes up) cried for 15 minutes and then just stopped. She stayed awake looking around for about 20 minutes before she went back to sleep on her own. Which we were happy with that too! But then, the very next night, she sleeps through the night seamlessly! I never heard her on the monitor!

Now I have been told progress is a spiral. And B is textbook when it comes to this. She is able to grasp something new when I least expect it. Then she will revert back to old habits…take two steps forward, one step back. But I am so proud of her. She has come a long way. Plus she has bounced back well despite a few set backs that really were out of her control (and mine).

I then looked at our video monitor this morning (if you don’t have one, get one! They are amazing and take a lot of the guess work out of knowing when to go in to comfort your baby because you can see your little one) and noticed she was still asleep! She actually stayed asleep for about 15 more minutes; which was shocking. I figured she would be getting up around 7 starving!  The last time she had eaten was at 11 pm. Once she did wake up (about 7:15) she just laid there in bed looking around; didn’t make a peep. AMAZING! She woke up happy! So I let her lay there for about 5 minutes before nursing her.

To say I am proud of Berkley for learning how to sleep through the night is an understatement. It doesn’t matter how small or grand the accomplishments are, I am ALWAYS so proud of her! I delight in seeing B learn, make connections and begin to understand the world around her! It’s incredible! And as a parent, the patience is just built right in. She is going to learn at HER own pace. (Good reminder for me: don’t compare her to other babies and expect her to do exactly what they did). I’m just there to coach her along, encourage her, love her and teach her. Plus, I am her parent; therefore no one else knows what is best for her than me (and Geoffrey).

I think it’s safe to say I am beginning to catch a glimpse of Father God’s love for His children. We are His pride and joy! He delights in us, even when we fail. He is patient, slow to anger and abounding in love! Father God is such a good daddy! And when He’s teaching us or stretching us, it can be painful. A lot like when I let B CIO. No, I DO NOT like hearing her cry and I know she doesn’t like crying. But I see the value in teaching her to self-sooth, plus I know what is best for her. (I’ll post more on sleep training in a future post). Father God knows what is best for us. He sees the end result; the bigger picture. So we have to keep that in mind when God allows things that might be painful or difficult. I mean He wants us to grow. And growing isn't always easy. Sometimes it's a growth spurt and it happens all of a sudden. And sometimes markable growth seems to take F.O.R.E.V.E.R.!!!! But the goal isn't to stay a baby our whole life! And Lord have mercy as much as I love my baby B, I don't want her to stay a baby her whole life either. There are so many good things I want her to enjoy and experience that she can't handle as a baby. So, as her parent, I am feeding her (real food and brain food) because she has got to grow! Therefore Father God's goal is to grow us into strong, mature believers because there are many good things He has for us; we just might not be quite ready for them yet! 

Labor and Delivery: Part Two

Ok, so as promised, here is part two of my labor and delivery experience…and I know, its WAY OVERDUE:

After I was told I was in labor (YAY)…I asked for pain meds - STAT! So they loaded me up with Demerol and Phenergan. Almost instantly, my head crashed towards the hospital grade pillow.  But that pillow wouldn’t do…my sweet husband offered to get my pillow out of our car so I could rest more comfortably.

Despite my drowsiness, I some how managed to keep up a conversation with the nursing staff and Geoffrey. So as Geoff was telling me he was leaving the room to grab my pillow, I apparently made a funny comment. According to Geoffrey, I turned to the nurse and said, “Yes, he’s leaving to get our pillows, because we are pillow people.” End scene for Sarah. I became completely incoherent. My brain was working, but whatever ended up tumbling out of my mouth didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. In fact, before the lights went completely out, I remember being frustrated that I couldn’t talk anymore.  

Before too long, I fell asleep and only ‘half-way’ woke up when contractions were off the chart.

Meanwhile we waited for my body to dilate to a 4 or a 5 so that I could be given an epidural.

2:00 am – Finally, the anesthesiologist could come in to give me an epidural. Might I add, they are not as scary as they seem. I was so ready for the epidural I didn’t care how long of a needle the doc was going to shove up my spine. 

From what I remember, the nurses came in to explain to me how the procedure would be done and before too long the guy with the goods came in to numb me from my waist down to my toes. 

Basically what happens is you are instructed to sit at the edge of the bed and lean over your knees to expose your spine (this is the best position for the doctor to insert the needle below one of your vertebrae). What I didn’t know is that a small tube or catheter is threaded through the needle into the epidural space. The needle is carefully removed leaving the catheter in place so medication can be given through periodic injections or by continuous infusion.  The catheter is then taped to your back to prevent it from slipping out.

So, after a local anesthetic was given to numb a small part of my back, I was told, “Don’t move!” Which is harder than you think considering I was still having really strong contractions every 2-3 minutes. So I grabbed Geoffrey’s hand and waited until the anesthesiologist was done. The whole thing lasted only a few minutes.  Not bad at all. I highly recommend it!

2:30 am – I was laying back down, loosing all feeling in my legs.  Quickly thereafter, I was asleep.

Between 2:30 and 5:00 am not much happened. The nurses came in about every hour to see how I was progressing. Apparently I had a catheter – didn’t know that. Once I found out I had one I was actually kind of embarrassed. My curious mind went straight to “Well how does a catheter work? Would it have hurt if I hadn’t had the pain meds? Where is the bag of urine? I hope it’s hidden…” Haha. Thinking back on it now, it makes sense that you need a catheter because you’re pretty much contained to your bed after an epidural. Plus you are strapped to monitors and IV’s.

There wasn’t too much excitement the whole night. Just a lot of waiting on my body to dilate to a 9 so I could push. Needless to say, I actually rested quite well. Geoffrey on the other hand was wide-awake; bored, stressed…he watched movies and paced. He said he would look over at the monitors to see how strong my contractions were, and was shocked I never woke up.

-Note from Geoffrey- I actually spent almost the entire time that Sarah was unconscious listening to the song by Bethel church called “God, I Look to You.” I was fairly stressed out and nervous about everything. So I downloaded the song, and then just worshipped and prayed over Sarah and Berkley. I probably listened to that song 50+ times that night. It brought me such peace, and I really believe the Lord’s presence was resting in that hospital room throughout the rest of the labor/delivery.

5:00 am – The OB on call came in to break my water. I hardly remember it at all. Side note: Geoffrey said he was actually surprised at the whole thing because he was expecting a lot of water, only to find out there was just a little.

5:10 am – I was back asleep. I think Geoffrey was able to catch a few winks. He needed to rest some before the BIG DAY!

Meanwhile our whole family awaited the arrival of our Sweet B in the waiting room. They slept, they talked, and then some of them slept some more while the others were just too anxious.

6:30 am – We were told my OB would be in to make her morning rounds in between 7 and 8. She would then check me to see if it was time to push.  It was time to get excited!

However, things don’t always work out the way you hope. As it turned out, my OB had an emergency c-section and she couldn’t get away.

So the nurses asked how I was doing…did I feel the urge to push or did I think I could wait for my OB so she could deliver B…I didn’t feel the urge to push or anything, I was comfortable. So I told them I would wait.

We waited…and waited…and waited…

I couldn’t help but wonder how I would know when it was time to push. I mean, I had carried B SOOO low and each time they examined me they were having to reach around her head to see how dilated I was. I mean this girl was LOW! And I couldn’t really feel any pain; I just felt pressure. But they assured me I wouldn’t just have this baby and them not know it…she wouldn’t slip out. Haha, One of my favorite nurses told me ‘you’ll know!’  And as it turned out, she was right.

Not surprisingly, I was able to catch a little more sleep.

10:15 am – Some of my family came in to see me. My sisters were the last to leave my room; which was around 10:30…my OB was almost there and it was TIME TO PUSH!!!

10:40 am – I started pushing. Which is a very odd feeling. I couldn’t get over my legs…they were SO NUMB! But the pushing was pretty easy.

10:55 am – Berkley Grace Turner arrived. Not bad at all…I pushed for 15 minutes. First thought I had “Why is my baby girl purple?” Second thought “Oh my gosh, she’s here…she’s mine…she’s beautiful!” The whole thing was so surreal.

After Berkley was cleaned, measured and weighed I got to hold her for the first time. It was incredible! Then Geoffrey got to go with her to the nursery so her pediatrician could make sure everything was ok. She also got her first bath…and daddy got to watch.

I had a fever and so did B…so we actually had to stay in the hospital for three days while I was on antibiotics! In those three days we had SOOOO many visitors who came to meet our sweet B! We felt so loved and supported. Geoffrey and I were overwhelmed with thanksgiving for those in our lives who care so much for our little family of three.  

By the third day, I was really ready to go home. We checked out at about 1:00 pm. Strapping B in her car seat and driving with her was really weird!  I suddenly found myself freaking out as cars passed us on the highway. I mean, we were carrying precious cargo!

Once we got home, it was a NEW reality. To sum it all up, we were overwhelmed. Not scared or nervous, just overwhelmed with gratitude. God had given us such a precious little gift; she was ours. God trusted Geoffrey and I as her parents for such a time as this.