"Mommy, me fix it with tape. K?"

So, I heard some noises in the kitchen just now and I noticed that all of the lights were on. I found David in the kitchen going through the junk drawer and when he heard me come in he turns around and holds up Erin's Barbie doll and a roll of tape and looks up at me sweetly but nervously (not knowing if he was in trouble) and says, "Mommy, me fix it with tape. K?" I love that he immediately thought to fix it as he is our little fix-it-guy and that he was going to fix it with a huge roll of packing tape. He is so cute.

Homemade Laundry Soap!

Last night Cynthia came over to help me make my first batch of homemade laundry soap. It's really easy to make. Took us about 30 min. and now I have 180 (top load washer) loads of liquid laundry soap for approx. $2. I have already tried it on 3 loads and it works great! It doesn't create bubbles though so I googled the problem and found out that its the soap and not the bubbles that cleans clothes. Actually, the stuff they put in detergents to cause the bubbles can damage your washing machine and take years off its useful life.

I used Michelle Duggar's recipe. You know, the one with 18 kids. I got all of the ingredients at our local Macey's grocery store.
So, here is the recipe if anyone wants it:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Day 3 of the Cleanse...

Today is the third day of my "Master Cleanse" experience. I have 7 more days to go! The cleanse drink consists of: filtered water, cayenne pepper, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and organic, grade B maple syrup. That's all I have had to eat/drink for the last 3 days. Well, that and a salt water mixture in the morning and at night that flushes everything out of my colon.

With the exception of about 10 minutes the first day, I haven't felt any hunger at all. I didn't like the taste of the drink the first 2 days but today it has been much better. I have to admit though, cooking for Miguel and the kids isn't fun. But I am able to make myself just enjoy the rich smells of the food and then drink my cleanse drink and be satisfied. I have cravings from time to time but they usually hit when it's about time for my next drink (every 2 hours). I feel like I am getting a lot of the toxins (from fast food, soda, sweets, ect.) out of my body. I have been in a good mood overall and have been fairly productive. A pleasant side effect of the cleanse is that I have lost 3 lb. in 3 days.

I will keep updating the blog with my progress. It is a good way for me to deal with this experience that at times can be difficult. I'm sure this next week will be great though. Everyone that has done this cleanse says that days 3 and 4 are the hardest. Wish me Luck!

Dance with me...

Erin and David love to dance together but until now I had never thought to get it on tape. They must get their dancing talent from their Mexican genes.

From the mouths of babes...

This conversation took place the other night before bedtime:

Mom: "Erin and David, you have 10 minutes till bedtime."
Erin: (Whining) "But mom, Nooooo."
Mom: (Sarcastically) "Okay, then 5 minutes."
Erin: (Smiling) "Okay!"

Kids are so funny sometimes.

Jellyfish, Stingrays and Sharks,.. oh my!

Today I finally took the kids to the Aquarium for the first time. I have been wanting to take them there for over a year. They LOVED it! The whole way home, I turned off the radio so we could talk about the stuff they liked and their favorite parts. It was a 45 min. drive home and we never ran out of conversation. I'm glad we finally made the trip.

Designing Women...

Today Erin wanted me to see her bed that she made. She loves coming up with different looks for her bed. Not only is she my little fashionista, she is my little interior designer. I went to look at it and was surprised once again at her ability to come up with new designs. I love the color block stripes with the blankets and the different pillows. It's funny because I remember when I was little, loving to decorate for parties and making everything look stylish and cool. I still enjoy design. I love watching her enjoy it even more. Here's her design of the day...

Some new tools...

We had a great time at the Successful Mothering Convention this weekend. We listened to speakers on everything from parenting peacefully to getting the spice back in our marriages. As promised, I took notes on the things that the speakers presented. So here are a few things (by topic) that I learned...

Parenting:

1. Explain EVERYTHING that a child can expect in a new situation. Then check for comprehension.
2. TEACH instead of TIME-OUTS. Personally, I like to combine the two. But I think the point of the speaker was that we tend to focus more on the punishment than on the teaching that could go on before, during and after the situation.
3. Get your child to "Buy into" the consequences of their actions. An example: Your child bites another child. They need to understand their actions have hurt someone else and they need to help in healing/taking care of the other child (i.e. Going to get the Neosporin and the Band Aid for them). I think there are situations in which this might work.
4. Say YES! every chance you get, but on your own terms. i.e. "Yes, you can have a cookie, right after you finish your dinner" I know I am guilty of using the word NO far too often with my kids.
5. Use "preventive parenting" and avoid control battles. Head them off at the corner.
6. Pull them out of their bad mood and into a happy place with your imaginations and positive outlook.

The last one is my favorite. I've already tried this on Erin and it works wonders...
7. To eliminate whining or sassy talk... i.e. "MOMMY! I WANT IT NOW!" (imagine the whiny, demanding voice) Get in front of their face and repeat it exactly how they just said it in a whiny voice. Then say it the polite way, "Mommy, could I please have it now" (in a sweet voice). Then say, "Repeat." If you make it clear that they have to repeat it and show that you are waiting to hear it, they will do it in the nice voice that you used. I tried this one for the first time with Miguel in the audience and he was amazed at how well it worked. Frankly, I was amazed too.
(combination of teachings from Shelly Locke and Paula Fellingham's classes)

Dating your Husband:

1. Use what little time you have together to talk about uplifting things instead of venting about the bad parts of your day.
2. Plan for dates like you did when you first met. Put on your best outfit, perfume, make-up, ect., and get excited about the date.
3. Take pictures on your dates and make an album or blog you can refer back to. Sounds cheesy but it could be cool.
4. Get into your husband's head. Maybe he would rather have tickets to his favorite team than a new tie. Or he might love it if you cleaned his car.
(Lindsey Rietzsch's class)

Grocery Deals:

1. Don't go to Costco or Sam's for food! Always buy the smallest, and buy it on sale. (Use a coupon too)
2. Plan your week's menu solely around the sale items on the front of the grocery ad. from your favorite store. Don't go to multiple stores.
3. Don't clip coupons and organize. For every 100 you clip you will probably only use 10 and you wasted time clipping the other 90. Just 3-hole punch the insert and stick it in a 3-ring binder that you take with you.
4. Grocery coupons typically last for 2 months and the same ones come out every 4 weeks... meaning you don't really need 4 or 5 copies of the Sunday paper. 2 will suffice.
I am guilty of having 5 copies. So I learned something new. Although I do enjoy the 5 copies of coupons when I get great deals on non-grocery items like shampoo, razors, ect.
This class was a great supplement to the other couponing classes I have taken. I do have to point out that food storage was not addressed and that is a major thing that I coupon for. So maybe it isn't so bad having 5 copies when you get something down to a "stock-up" price.
(The Grocery Guru's class)

Motherhood:

This class was titled, "Exchanging Martyrdom for Motherhood"
1. We need to remember that we CHOSE motherhood as a career. No one forced us to become mothers.
2. Just like any other job, it has its glamorous points (pros) and its not so glamorous points (cons). Maybe we should exchange the word cons for "not fun things."
3. We need to start giving OURSELVES high fives and pats on the back because it will be a long sad journey if we are waiting for someone else to do it. Motherhood is not like other jobs where you get praised by your boss or promotions/raises.
(Rachelle Hughes class)

The convention was awesome. I feel refreshed and ready to put these new tools to work. I can't wait for next year's conference!

p.s. Thanks Jenn, Cynthia, and Abby for going with me.