My new toy!!!!!

It's a bread machine! I know they have been around for years but, I didn't know that you could delay the timer or just make pizza dough! I have some in the mixer now.......hot bread tonight!

My Last Country Home Issue

Today I received my very last Country Home issue. I heard from The Cottage Nest a month or so ago that they would be closing the magazine. They did say however,(on the paper cover) that we would receive a few complimentary issues of Family Circle which I thought was a nice Gesture.

Cute P.J.'s

On our way to preschool last week I had Mike snap a shot of lil man and me.

This is the new front door decor that I made a couple of weeks ago. I really like how it turned out. (I know there is a little straggler hangin..dang it I hate it when I see things like that after I have taken a pic of it!) I was inspired by Ballards Christmas catalog so I decided to make my own. I love it~!

My dog Spot jammy's for Blake and I think I might make some for Etsy

Here is the cute pin cusion and a cute boy! He helped my stick all those pins in there!

I was in a freak mode the other day and spent the entire day sewing! I made 2 pairs of capri pants for Camyrn (for some reason I didn't take a pic) and these adorable p.j.'s for Blake! I also made a fun pin cushion that I just love. It is nice and fat with lots of room for more!

Where are the pictures?

As I posted b4 Blakey decided to have some fun with the computer.  We now know what happened!!! While pushing buttons of all kinds and clicking on all kinds of icons he decided to go to the power strip that the pc is plugged into and turn the power off!!! I guess the combintation of it all is what really did it! So, I wanted to post some pics today and I can't find the file! It is empty. SO, when the man gets back from picking up the children, maybe he can find'em.

I'm still here

Gosh it has been sooo long since I have posted.

Blake has struck again! That's right. Out sweet little boy has killed the family computer! I miss all of my bloggy friends out there. Hopefully we will have the computer back real soon. The pc doctor just rang and hopefully it is good news!!! It has been a whole week!!!! I have to say that since the computer has been gone I have been going to bed at a decent hour!!! LOL Will check back soon~!

Check out P.C. for Cami's new skirt

Go here to see!

Camryn's Party Like A Rock Star party!

I am shocked that Blogger didn't crash while uploading 20,000 pictures from Cami's party! I have way more but this I thought would be enough for now! So, for Camryn's 7th birthday we decided on a Pop Star theme. It was so fun to put together (until the flood happend) I really enjoyed it. I loved all the colors!!! It was a bit more grown up theme than the previous parties and I know that she is getting older. :(   We had a few different stations: make up, dancing and decorating your party cup!  Check out the pics below! (Thanks to Hollie for some of the pics )

KIWANIS and Gavin

Gavin received a ver special award from the Palmdale West KIWANIS Organization. All because his teacher nominated him! One child is chosen from each school each month to receive this award. Below is Mrs. C reading the essay that his teacher had to write in order for Gavin to be entered. We are so proud of this guy! In first grade he won student of the year! 

Here we are! I took the kids out of school early so we could all show our support to G! We love you!

Laundry Detergent Recipe

OK! I made the video and it was soooo fun! But too bad no one will ever see it! I didn't even look like my self nor sound the way I think I sound!!!! Can we say self conscience? LOL

Anyway, here is the recipe and directions to make your own. Above are the ingredients with pictures of what I use.

You will need:

A 3 or 5 gallon bucket or container with lid

3/4 C Borax (20 Mule Team)

3/4 C Washing Soda (Arm and Hammer) Don't confuse this with Baking Soda!

1 Bar of Soap grated . (I used Ivory, my Granny back in the old days used Fels Naptha which you can still get today and lots  of people prefer it. I used Ivory because I have it in my storage)

You will then need water at 3 different times during process.

First 6 Cups

then 1 quart very hot water

finally 1 1/2 Gallons

Ready?

Grate your soap and add it to a large pot on med high heat. Right away add 1 cup of water (from the 6 cups listed above)

Melt as much of it as you can befor adding the next cups. Once it has melted about 85%  you can then add the rest of the water one cup at a time. When the soap is completely melted you will 

add:    Borax and Washing soda. Stir until the powders are dissolved. 

In the meantime get your 1Qt of hot water and add it to your 5 gallon bucket (or at least 3 gallon size) 

Pour the mixture into the bucket and then add the remaining 1 1/2 gallons of water.

Stir really well and you're done! I use my old detergent cup to measure how much I need. I would say about 1/2 cup should do it for a large load! 

It will have the consistency of Jello or something like that. It will not produce a bunch of suds either. It's not supposed to. Suds don't make your clothes clean. 

I got the Borax and the Washing Soda at my local Albertsons for around $3.50 each. 

I have been using this for the past couple of months and I LOVE it! It has been great for Blake's sensitive skin and is also really cost effective! Only pennies to make this much detergent and you know exactly what went into it!

Oh the fun........

So it was Friday night and I was getting things ready for Camryn's party when I heard what sounded like pouring rain in the living room. I couldn't see anything and I knew that it wasn't the shower draining but I definitely knew it was water! I ran upstairs to the kids bathroom to find that our lil Blakie decided to have some water fun! He plugged the sink and turned on both hot and cold and got distracted and left! So.........after stepping on the carpet in front of the bathroom door and water enveloping my foot, I saw that there was water everywhere!!!! It took every towel, blanket, dirty clothes (bathroom is next to laundry room) and neighbors towels we finally got it all dry on the tile. Thank goodness for our wonderful neighbors who brought over fans and ladders and more.  

This is a little snippet of the water falling through the holes that Mike drilled to alleviate the pressure. Water was running down the walls and the shutters. After a freak out moment and then a quiet prayer.....we realized it could have been much much worse!
One of many buckets!
Here is Mike our handy neighbor who came by to help my Mike out! Don't you love the huge hole in my ceiling?