Slacker

So I haven't posted anything in a week! I'm either a slacker or just busy. Maybe both.

Just a few points of catching up:

The Duggar laundry soap has been working like a dream! So far, it's gotten everything clean. Even smelly pits aren't smelly after they've been laundered. And Porter's shirts that usually are caked with food have come out totally clean. I do use Snuggle fabric softener (cause it's my favorite scent). At the rate I'm going, I'll probably be spending about $1.50 a year now on laundry soap!! Can I get a WOOHOO!!!!

I think the spring cleaning bug has hit me. I'm ready to get rid of stuff again. I feel that need to have everything clean and fresh. I wish today was warmer so I could open my windows and let the breeze in.

I'm going to a Twilight party on Friday night! I can't wait!! Some of my other mom friends and I who are crazy about Twilight are getting together to watch the movie, play a little trivia and just enjoy a night together. We're all excited about it! I can't wait!!! I need to watch the movie again and brush up a little on my trivia because I WILL WIN!!!!!



We went up to KC this past weekend to help Mike's mom clean out her garage. Her house is up for sale and we've already helped get the inside clean and ready for show. This time we had to tackle the garage. There was stuff we found that had been kept for literally decades! There was a box of income tax returns dating back to 1971!!!!!!! I mean, really?! The funniest thing we found was a box that had mine and Mike's name on it and was sealed in packing tape. Mike's mom started snickering when she saw it and had me open it. It was a wedding gift she'd gotten us EIGHT YEARS AGO that she'd put away and had forgotten about. Oh my granny! We just decided it would be an anniversary present instead of a wedding gift. And the fun thing is that I think I'll still be able to use it!

Speaking of our anniversary, last Tuesday was our 8th wedding anniversary. I can't believe it's been that long already. Time has sure flown by. While we were in KC, we went out on a date on Friday and went to Dave & Busters for dinner and some games. We had a choice of waiting who knows how long on a table in the main seating area or we could sit at the bar right then. We chose the bar. It's always fun watching those guys throw those bottles of liquor and make some pretty little drink. We sat by a couple that was out on a date as well and the grandparents were babysitting for them also. They were a fun couple and we were all enjoying our time just chilling. Alas, I do think I'm getting old because by 11pm, I was yawning and thinking about how good it was going to feel to go to bed. How sad is that?! However, it was a great evening and we really did enjoy having that time together. Since I'm working every Friday night, we don't have a lot of opportunity to go out, so it was a nice treat.

Now it's off to cleaning. I have a bunch of things I want/need to get done and with trying to keep Porter out of the stuff he shouldn't be getting in to, it's taking WAY longer than necessary to get stuff done. Such is the life of a mom of a 1 1/2 year old, right?

The Duggar's Laundry Soap

So I have tested Michelle Duggar's recipe for laundry soap. I must say, it was VERY easy to make and VERY, VERY cheap!!

Here is the bucket I used...

And here is what the laundry soap looks like...

It's sort of like watery jello. I made it yesterday and let it sit overnight. I just stired it this morning and mushed the gelled parts (which the kids helped me with for a minute until they thought it was too gross) and then took a big mixing bowl with a spout and dunked it in the soap. I filled an empty laundry soap container half full with my new laundry soap and the rest of the way with water. You're supposed to shake the contents before each use as it gells after sitting for a while. So far, I've washed one load of towels with the soap. They smelled great when I pulled them out of the wash. We'll see how it does with some of the more "smelly" clothes later.

Let's just say that if this stuff works like it looks like it will, I will have cut my laundry budget by a TON!! Literally, I spent less than $10 on all the ingredients and then spent about $4 buying the bucket and lid at Lowe's. The ingredients make 5 gallons worth of detergent, but then you dilute that mix (1 part mix to 1 part water), so it actually makes 10 gallons worth of detergent that will be used.... out of that one batch!!! And you just use a little over 1/2 a cup of stuff in each load of laundry!! Holy CRAP!!!!!! I mean, seriously - this is SOOOO cheap! I'm so excited!! Can't you tell?!

Michelle Duggar and Friday Night Out

Thursday night, the ladies from our Sunday school class (and some extra girls) got together to visit with Michelle Duggar. We were all so excited, as Michelle is, you know, a TV star and all! :)



She is very gracious and has such wisdom. She was the same last night as I've seen her on TV and when I had the opportunity to be at her house a couple years ago. Just a very down-to-earth lady who loves to share about her family. And I tell ya, she absolutely breathes the Bible! I mean, she's able to incorporate scripture into just about every sentence she says, but in a good way - not a "preachy" way.

Most people think they are crazy for having 18 kids. And rightly so. That is incredibly unusual for a family in our day to do that. And they'll be the first to admit they didn't start out with the plan to have this many kids. However, something that Michelle said about that made it click a little bit more for me. She said that she was so humbled that God had chosen to use them, because of their unusually large family, as vessels to share Christ. Hmmm. I'd heard her say before they wanted as many children as God would give them, but didn't really consider the perspective that this is the situation God has allowed them to be in so that He can be acknowledged and He can be seen. The media is so interested in their family, as are all of us viewers, and like I said, Michelle absolutely breathes God and His Word. Anytime anyone hears her speak, they'll hear the Word and they'll be able to see Jesus through her. God uses people in different ways. Looks like he choose to use the Duggars, with their enormous family, to get people interested enough, to listen long enough, that they might hear Him.

Changing gears, tonight is our first Friday Night Out. I'm a little nervous about it, but excited! I think it will be good. We have over 130 kids signed up to come!!! YIKES!! I think I'm prepared for the most part. I'll just be glad when 10:00 comes and we see that everyone has come through it safe and sound. :)

Yay Melissa!!!

Melissa is on Dancing With The Stars!!!! I voted for her as many times as I could. Not only do I just love her, she did a GREAT job!! I hope she stays on there for the duration.

Blood Draw and Screaming

After 8 straight days with a fever, we took Rachel to see the doctor today, only to find out she's a medical mystery. The doc examined her from head to toe, literally, and couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, besides a runny nose. She got to pee in a cup and have her blood drawn, which let's just get it out there right now, my child does NOT like needles in her arm!!! She's had that done once before a couple years ago and it traumatized her so much that she tells the exact story verbatim every time we pass the doctor's office. She knew what was going on as soon as I told her they would need to get just a little bit of blood from her arm. Oh boy. You'd think they had a hack saw to her arm the way she was acting. It was so hard to sit there and not get teary while she was literally screaming her head off. Then, she said, "I want my grandma!!!!" and Mike and I both started getting tickled. She followed that up with "I DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS!!!!" After the blood draw and the screaming, we're still waiting to see what her blood tells us. The urine was fine, so we'll see if there's anything going on with her blood. I certainly hope there's not. Because she had such a tough time, she got 3 stickers AND a coupon for a free kids dinner at TGI Fridays. So, the moral of the story is that if you have to go to the doctor, tell your kids to scream bloody murder and you might get a coupon! :)

And for your picture viewing enjoyment, here are a couple pics of the kids taken by our KDO photographer, Mr. Michael Drager. He's so great! I love when he comes to take pics of all our kids.

Rachel, of course is always super photogenic and knows when to crack that smile.



Porter did great as well. He's usually pretty good with the camera. Could be the ten thousand pictures I've taken of him in his 16 months of life so far... I'm just sayin'.

Except when it came to a group pictures, I think my little tyke was a bit disturbed that he was NOT the center of attention anymore...