Homemade Laundry Detergent

So tonight I finally took the time to make my own laundry soap.  I used this web site as my guide: 
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/04/09/making-your-own-laundry-detergent-a-detailed-visual-guide/
I have read through this site before and had forgotten about it.  Jason and I did watch his tutorial on youtube about a year ago.  Here is the link to that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfEJHb5lfds
I like this guy cause he is from IA so he must know what he is doing!!! :)

I did not use Borax as I have heard that it is harsh on clothes and not ok to have around kids.  I used Oxiclean instead.  For the bar of soap, I used Dr Bronners castile soap.  You can find it here:
http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/OBPE05/PeppermintOrganicBarSoap.htm  Dr Bronners is pretty cool.  Looks to be a good go to site for some good soap!

It was a very easy process to making this detergent.  The only thing that took a bit was shaving the soap but I cut the time by using my food processor.  I had the water heating up while I shaved the soap.  Once the water was boiling, I added the soap.  I didn't do it little at a time like the guy said and I had a few clumps.  I just took my wire wisk to it and it broke up the clumps fairly easy.  In no time at all, the soap was dissolved.

I added 3 gallons of water to my "Homer" bucket by filling it up in the bathtub as my kitchen faucet has terrible water pressure.

I added 1 cup of Washing soda to the bucket and then poured in the soap that I had just dissolved.  I stirred that up really good.  I didn't have any lumps to break up.  I think it's because I had hot water in the bucket to begin with.  After that I added 1/2 cup Oxiclean to the bucket and gave it a good stir.  I put the lid on and had my wonderful husband take it to the basement for me.  I can't wait to give it a good stir tomorrow night and start using it!

I don't know how much this cost me as I bought the washing soda about a year ago and the Oxiclean from Sams club.  The Dr Bronners soap does cost a bit but I am happy that I am using something that is good and green!  I am hoping to find it cheaper on line and buy a few at a time.

I did take pictures and wanted to share but my husband went out to run some errands before I had him download the pictures. I will have to add pictures later.

A year gone by

Almost a year ago, my twins came into this world. This year has gone by very fast. It has been a blur but there have been some great memories made, wonderful pictures taken and lots of laughter in the Starbuck household!

It has been so fun watching the boys grow and change each day. It's been fun watching Nate interact with the boys as they grow. These days when you see Nate crawling up and down the hallway, you can be sure to see Jonathan right behind Nate crawling and right behind Jonathan is Riley doing the army crawl!!! They do everything they can to keep up with big brother. Nate gets a kick out of his brothers doing the same thing he does. I think all 3 boys are going to be buds as the years go by.

This year has been special but it has been difficult too. It has taught me to be more organized, flexible and to just sit and not worry about the house. I have taken the time to just sit on the floor and play with the boys. I am a stronger person now because of the last year. Raising twins is very difficult. I remember once saying that I wanted both boys but not at the same time. Now, I wouldn't change it. I am glad I have both at the same time. They have given me lots of laughs and to be honest, tears too. I can't imagine going through the day and not loving on them in some way. I am sure some day, all 3 will tell me "Enough kisses!!"

I will leave you with a picture of each of my babies.

 

 

Picture of my boys!

We were outside one day last week enjoying the beautiful weather and I decided to pull the twins around on the wagon. Nate of course hopped in for the ride. I pulled them under our magnolia tree and got a decent shot. Enjoy!

No more helmet for Riley!!!

If you all remember, back in March, I noticed Riley was laying his head to one side. I took him to our wonderful chiropractor and she said that he has torticollis. She also noticed that his head was misshaped. When we took Jonathan to his hip doctor, we asked him to look at Riley's head. He said it was simply plagiocephaly. We took Riley to see Barb the helmet lady. She took measurements and said that we needed a helmet to help shape his head correctly. We got the helmet May 21st and today was our last day!!! He has made major improvments since we first had his head measured. We are quite happy with the results. His head isn't totally round and the left side of his face isn't perfect, but it's so much better than it was. He will continue to improve over time!

Happy Birthday to my darling 4 year old!

Today is Nate's 4th birthday! He was born at 7:44pm and was 7lbs 4oz and I think 19 3/4 inches long.

I will have share pictures tomorrow.

Neat picture to share of Riley and Nate

Thought I would be goofy and set Riley like this on Nate. They both were being pretty goofy themselves!

It's Helmet time!

Riley as you can see got his helmet! I love the camo print! Jason said that he can go hunting with Grandpa Starbuck this fall now!! Riley is tolerating his helmet just fine. We are working our way up to 22 hours a day of wearing it. Right now we are one day 3. He wears it 3 times a day for 3 hours at a time. Kinda hard to wear it for 3 hours when you throw nap time in. By tomorrow, he can take naps with it on. By Tuesday, he will wear it over night too. We will take it off every 3-4 hours for a break, check for redness and wipe down his head and helmet. He gets pretty sweaty in it. I am going to ask if they can drill a couple of holes in the back of the helmet for more ventilation. He will have to wear this helmet for 3-6 months depending on how well the helmet works. Since we found his plagicephally early enough, he probably won't have to wear it as long.

Other news: My 33rd birthday was this week. My mom came into town to spend time with me. She made a peach pie that was very yummy! Jason took the day off. My mom babysat all 3 boys so Jason and I could go out for lunch. Thanks mom! We ended up at Walmart to get a few things after lunch. I bought a wireless mouse for my laptop that is awesome!! I also picked up a case for my new digital camera that Jason bought me! I love it! I am having fun taking pictures. I can download/upload pictures right to my laptop and manage the pics that way. The camera is a point and shoot from Pentax. It suits my needs very well. I also received a necklace and earring set from my parents that is beautiful!! Jason also bought me the movie Emma w/Gwenth Paltrow, 2 cds from my favorite Christian, Chonda Pierce and some spending cash. I am need of some nice clothes.

All 3 boys are doing fine. Nate had his last Parents Day Out last Thursday. He will start again next fall. I am thinking we need to schedule in some play dates with some friends this summer. Nate sure enjoys playing with his pals!

Jonathan and Riley are growing like crazy. They are talking all the time and getting louder too! They are enjoying an exersaucer that we are borrowing from a friend. They are getting interested in small toys too. Makes my life a bit easier to be able to entertain them! They are now sitting at the table with us. I brought out the booster chair that straps to a chair. I found another one just like what we have at a yard sale yesterday!! I was so excited! The seat has a tray that hooks on. Kinda like a highchair but for a chair. I need to wipe down the one I just bought and hook it to a chair. Our kitchen is too small for 2 highchairs so this fits our needs just fine. The boys are doing ok with sleeping at night. I stopped giving bottles to Jonathan and nursing Riley at the 3am feeding. A few nights ago, Jonathan woke up and I went in, gave him a paci, patted his bottom and within 2 mins he was fast asleep. I had to do this for a few nights in a row with both of them and last night they slept till 6am this morning!! I don't know how long this is going to last.

Guess thats enough rambling for the day! We have a birthday party to attend this afternoon. Lots of fun!