Laundry Detergent Making Party...

Last night, me and a few girls from our Sunday School class made our own laundry soap! I saw the idea on pinterest and have several family/friends who make it, so we decided to give it a try! I bought the supplies for everyone and it came out to be right at $20 per person! We made enough laundry soap that should last our family between 9-12 months! It made a ton, and the best part is I only have to use a tablespoon per load of laundry:)  Here's the formula!

1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax (2.15 kg or 76 oz) 

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda (1.81 kg) 

1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz (3 lb 7 oz) 

3 bars of Fels-naptha soap,

2 small containers of oxyclean (try to get about 3.5 lbs total (1.58 kg)) This is optional BUT I decided to add it because it adds that extra power of cleanliness to it:)

(you can also use pink Zote soap instead of Fels-naptha)

I found all of these supplies at Wal-Mart on the detergent isle and I literally cleaned them out:)

Basically, you mix everything together in a 5 gallon bucket. We lined our's with trash bags. Fels-naptha soap has to be shredded either with a cheese grater or a food processor[that is the easiest] and then tossed in the mix[these will dissolve in the wash even with cold water). Once everything is together, mix it all really well together and you have your soap! I have been told by friends who have HE washers that it works great in those specific washers. I'm super excited that I don't have to buy detergent hopefully for the rest of the year:) AND it was a fun time to spend with friends!

 We are storing most of ours in the 5 gallon bucket in our garage BUT I bought this container at Wal-Mart for $3, and sprayed a little chalk board paint on it to keep in our laundry room. This isn't even half of what the detergent made and it only takes a tablespoon:)

pillows, sewing, and window panels...

So yesterday I told you about some of the projects we have been working on...Well, those were really the big ones but I’ve been working on several small projects! For Christmas, I asked Kaz for a sewing class! I knew some of the basics but wanted to really learn how to sew clothes for Annie Rice..you know, some of the super cute ones that cost a fortune! Well, this sewing class has come in handy in more ways than one! We have been re-doing the guest room, that used to be my former office..When we started with a blank room, I knew I wanted to use the colors gray, yellow, and white! That along with apple green, gray, and white are my 2 favorite color schemes right now! So we painted the room gray, Kaz made a new headboard, and I had to add yellow accents! I already had yellow curtains that my friend Anne made but needed pillows! I ordered 2 pillows off of Etsy for $22 and loved the way they came out! BUT this week, I bought some of my all time fabric fabric[that comes in many colors] to reupholster the chair in that room. I decided to attempt to make a pillow! Well, not just any pillow because I can make a typical pillow but one that I can just inset pillows I already have in the house! JUST like the ones I ordered off of Etsy. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but decided it shouldn’t be too hard, set my mind to it, and 20 minutes later I had the finished product! It turned out SUPER and you would never know which was the “true professional one” verses mine! Can you tell?

Well, I made the one with the gray bird on it! I made a smaller gray one for the chair the exact same way! Instead of cutting 2 strips the same size, I cut 3. 1 was for the front, 2 for the back. On the 2 back pieces I added a hem, put all of them right sides together, and sewed all the way around! Once I flipped it, I could just insert the pillow! My measurements were not the best way to go about it, but the easiest for me. I made the new pillows by comparing the size of the pillows I had to insert:)

We also put up some pictures! We took old window panels, measured them, and printed 1 picture to fit the size of the frames!

 This is the new chair! It was covered in a blue fabric for our dinning room but now it’s completely different and in the guest room!

I love how it’s all coming together and hope to post the whole room very soon:)

life, fabric and lots of staples...

The last few weeks I have been extremely lazy...well, in some ways! Annie Rice takes a 3-4 hr nap each day and I’ve found myself lately wanting to do nothing but watch TV and lay around! More specifically watch 90210:) I have January and February off from weddings and it’s my time to relax. The problem is I’m relaxing a little too much:) BUT life and work will get crazy soon enough so I’m going to enjoy it while I can!  While I’ve been lazy in some areas, I’ve been working really hard around the house on projects. I think we have about 5-6 different projects going on! AND everyday when Kaz comes home I’ve started on something else:) Our current list of projects are re-doing our kitchen[counter tops and back splash, guest bedroom which is almost finished, our bathroom, and little odds and ends such as making a chalk board for Annie Rice! I HOPE HOPE HOPE to be posting pictures soon! Pinterest has become my new best friend and I have found so many ideas on there:) Kaz gets really scared when I ask for his staple gun because I have come to LOVE the words fabric and staples. I have come to realize that fabric, paint, and staples can fix just about anything! I have recovered the same chair 2xs this week with fabric:) It’s finally the way I want it! BUT I do scare Kaz when I mention those words or say, “I have a question”. BECAUSE he knows I’m thinking of something new to do:)

The last few days Annie Rice has been sleeping a ton! Normally we put her down around 8 at night and she wakes up between 730-815 in the mornings. The last few days we’ve put her down closer to 7 and she’s been waking up at 9. Don’t get me wrong...It’s very nice and I’ll take it when it comes:) Each day, I go into her room to find a new dilemma in her diaper! Yesterday morning, she had pooped and peed so much that not only was the entire sheet covered, but her clothes were soaking wet and she slept through it all! I had to WAKE her up at 9. I don’t know how she slept through all of that...I know she much have been freezing! Today, I found a lot of poop:) It had gotten on her back and clothes so I took her to the bathtub to wash her off. I put the dirty clothes in the hall because it’s hardwood flooring...Got Annie settled with eating and then went back to pick up the diaper and clothes. The pj’s were no where to be found. After searching around, I found them with my 4 legged friend...You can imagine what she was doing! I hope tomorrow morning is a little less drama free:) Doesn’t Miley just look guilty?

 Annie Rice has started LOVING camel backs! She loves drinking out of Kaz’s backpack and we got her a little pink camelback that we have to practically pry out her hand! These pictures are so sweet of her:)

JOY...

The Lord has been teaching us a lot about this word JOY over the last few months, and I know he isn’t done yet! This word has appeared over and over in our lives especially the last 3 months! One of the many ways we have seen this word alive in our lives, is through Annie Rice. The Lord has given her a spirit of JOY. She is the happiest little girl. If she is crying, you know something is wrong. Sure, she has her moments like any child, but she is 99% happy most days! She goes to sleep smiling and wakes up smiling. People ask me all the time if I trick her into smiling for the camera. Nope, I don’t. That’s her personality. Other people ask if she’s always happy. She really is. From the moment we put her in our car on June 25 until now, she has been the same. She smiled and clapped the day we got her like she knew we were her parents. I think the only tears that day was when I took her blanket from her:) She says HI to everyone and will even go to random strangers! She's so outgoing!

I can already see the Lord and Holy Spirit working in her life everyday. At night, before bed, we read a story out the of the bible and let her pick a stick from her prayer pail. She is so at peace during this time. It amazes me to watch her. I hope and pray everyday that the Lord uses her story for HIS glory and honor not just now but all the days of our lives. She is such a blessing to our family, and I couldn’t have imagined the perfect plan that He had/has for our lives. 

For the fruit of the spirit are: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.   Gal 5:22-23

kisses from Miley every morning!

running 13.1 miles...

A few days ago, Kaz and I ran the Charleston Half Marathon. I haven’t mentioned it on here at all, and there’s a good reason! BECAUSE WE DIDN’T TRAIN! We signed up back in the summer and I kept saying that my start date for training was August 1. Then it became Sept 1....then October, and so on and so on! Last year, I was extremely motivated to train. This year, it did the opposite effect! I maybe ran 2xs a week up until the week after Christmas! I honestly had no idea how the race would go because of my lack of training! Kaz agreed to run with me and I’m so thankful he did! He made some big sacrifices to do that! He normally can run a mile under 7 minutes and I’m around 11 minutes so that tells you how much he slowed down!

We both surprised ourselves! Last year, I finished in 2 hours 21 minutes. This year I finished in 2 hours 23 minutes. Not bad for no training!

My friend Carissa also ran the race:) 

Here was my thought process throughout the race....The first 6 miles was great! I kept thinking the whole time, I want to do a full marathon! Mile 6-8, I thought, Why in the world did I sign up for this! 9-11 Ok, I can do this...Just keep running. 11-12, I'm so close just keep moving....12-13, Just keep running. You are almost there. 

The beginning to me is always easy! The hard part is half way to the end! Thankfully, my ipod got me through a lot of it! Between Pitbull and Miley Cyrus they gave me just the amount of motivation I needed! It also helped knowing we would see Annie Rice at the finish line. I never talk when I run so Kaz kissed me and said good luck before the race, because he knew he wouldn't hear from me until the end! I actually surprised him and talked some during the race BUT HE TOLD ME TO BE QUIET! Can you believe that? HaHa! When I would talk, I didn't turn down my music so in reality I was talking REALLY LOUD:) I was really thankful he ran the whole race with me. I couldn't have done it without him!  The weather has been so nice in Charleston so I decided to wear shorts! A cold front came through the day before the race and the morning of the race it actually showed snow flurries! It was COLD, BUT I had already decided on my outfit:) When we started the race, my legs were numb! While running, I literally could not feel my legs! They just kept moving the whole time! My legs were the only thing I couldn't feel...Well, after the race my leg started stinging...I couldn't figure out why! THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BUT I guess during the race my calves rubbed together! I couldn't feel my legs so I didn't notice it so I have a raw spot on both legs! It looks worse than it is. It doesn't even hurt at all BUT I CAN'T BELIEVE that happened! It was a really fun race and actually motivated me to do another one!

waving to Annie Rice!