Homemade Laundry Soap...

This is another thing I have been seeing floating around pinterest. I'm so proud of myself for actually doing a few projects that I have pinned! Before I embarked on this adventure of homemade laundry detergent I had to do my homework. I'm a coupon girl, so I generally get my laundry detergent for pretty cheap anyway. When I did the math on this stuff I believe it will save me about half, that's pretty good! This "recipe" is the non-cook approach and only requires three ingredients.

First you need your ingredients: You will need 1 bar of Fels -Naptha Soap, 1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, and 1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax. I found all these items in the laundry detergent aisle at Wal Mart. I checked Target first and the only thing they carried in my store was the borax. Am I the only person that gets totally bummed when Target doesn't carry something? Anyway...

Unwrap your Fels-Naptha bar and grate it on the finest option on your cheese grater. You can do this over a plate or right into the container you will use to hold your new soap. It will end up looking like a big pile of cheddar cheese.

Add 1 cup of the washing soda and 1 cup of the borax. Stir so that it is all combined. I have read where a few people toss all this into a food processor but that's just an extra step that's not completely necessary.

I purchase this glass jar to keep my soap in and I made a delightful label to put on the front using my silhouette.

Use 1 Tablespoon per load.

Yes you can use it with cold water wash

Yes those little yellow shreds will dissolve in the wash

I have done about 10 loads of laundry with my new soap and so far I am satisfied:)

Have you ever made homemade laundry soap? I would love to hear any tips or tricks you have!

Have a wonderful day!

With Love, Angela

I linked up with A Bowl Full of Lemons "One Project at a Time" linky party!

For Mom...

For my mom...my best friend. I'm sharing this here because these things should be shouted from a rooftop and not just read in a card.....all the great things you are:)

Have you ever known a woman, a Godly woman, an inspring woman that makes you think "if I could only be a little bit of her how awesome would I be?" Well, that woman is my mom. For those of you who know her you'll be nodding your head in agreement while you read this. For those of you who don't you'll be wanting to meet her. My mom is an incredible woman full of wisdom, strength, Godly character, and love. She's not only full of these things but she displays them with her actions. She actually walks these things out, truly being Jesus in skin to a world in need. As my mom she's always been there, through every hard and happy time. She's helped guide me through life's growing pains, and through wisdom and prayer helped shape me into the woman that God created me to be. Now that I am a parent it's even more clear all that she did for me growing up. I'm learning that teaching and guiding your children is difficult. I see how many parents try to just be a "friend" to their children, its certainly the easier route. My mom, however, took the responsibility seriously. I'm so thankful, now, for all the tough decisions she made and disciplining she had to do.
I could go on and on about how great of a mom she was and is to me. The truth is, although I'm an only child, my mom has been a great mother to many other "kids". She has such a mothers heart that she opens her arms, her heart, and her home to anyone who is in need of a mama. I know there are countless people out there who were tremendously helped and encouraged by my mom over the years. Her true hearts desire is to bring people into their destiny in Christ. She pours herself out and helps all she can through wisdom and prayers to push people upward into their true calling. She is honestly the most unselfish, giving person I have ever met. Always going above and beyond to help others and do things for the Lord in excellence.

I'm so blessed to have her for a mom. I often wonder why I got to be her only daughter? All I know is that I'm blessed and very. very. loved by God. I love you mom! Thanks for being the best mom and the best Noni in the whole world!

Oh & P.S. - All this talk about how great of a mom she is, she's also the best grandma ever! We are so blessed to be able to see and spend time with her just about everyday. This little guy looooves his Noni to the moon and back!

We love you Noni!

Happy Mothers Day!

With Love, Angela

A Big Boy Bed...

The time finally came. It was early...very early, last Sunday morning. Husband and I were awoken to the pitter patter of feet down the hall and into our room. We opened our eyes and gave each other a look of "did he just do that?" Luke had gotten out of his crib for the first time himself. He is just over 2 years old and sleeps in a crib. A wonderful crib that keeps him contained, for the night and during naps. Apprently he is finally tall enough to just throw his leg over the side and slide on down. We had been trying to hold off on the big boy bed until we finished re-decorating his room. Luke, however, didn't want to wait...he was ready. So the time came for the big boy bed. This little guy who is usually opposed to any sort of change or disruption was giggly with excitement as he "helped" daddy fix his bed.

 

Tucking his dog and monkey into bed

A big boy in his big bed



 Since the bed change we anticipated a rough few nights now that he is free to get in and out of his bed with ease. He has done better than I thought he would. We had a couple early mornings and one midnight wake up. You know what though? The cutest thing in the world is a little boy at your bedside, blanket in hand, whispering mama....even in the middle of the night. So for now the cuteness is overwhelming my lack of sleep. And I'm praying for a new level of grace and help from the Lord as our little guy grows into yet another new stage of life.

Much Love, Angela 

Wednesday What Day?...

So today is like Wednesday right? I can't tell if it feels like it's already Wednesday or it's only Wednesday...this last week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Things are happening, hard things are happening, random things are going on...all at once. This can make your head spin, not knowing what to do, what to think. All I know is how grateful I am for my savior. With Him there is always hope, there is always peace, and there is even joy.

My devotional for this morning was in perfect timing...."Keep your eyes fixed on me today. Circumstances of this world are happening all around you. Keep your eye on me like a spinning ballerina keeps her eye fixed on a point as to not get dizzy"

I'm so grateful that in the midst of chaos, even when our understaning is minimal, we can fix our eyes on the rock. That's one of my favorite things about God, He's my rock. He's never shaken, never wavers. He's firm, steady, the one you can lean on.

And on that note I will leave you with a few random pics of Luke this week:

Happy Boy!

 

Unhappy Boy :(

 

      This little guy got a new backpack from his Noni and Papa and he is in love! He packs it up everyday and we take it everywhere!





Much Love, Angela

Training in steadiness....

Steadiness, a steadfast heart, an established heart....this is what God is looking for. This is also what I've been striving for lately, well for longer than lately. I'm getting a better handle on it...which makes me feel great cause' growth is good! What I'm talking about is an everyday trust and reliance on Him. No matter your circumstances, worries, highs, or lows. Unexpected events shouldn't throw us for a loop and send us off God's course for our day or our life. Instead, we should be able to respond calmly, knowing that He is in control. (Psalm 112...a lesson in steadfastness)

Let God train you in steadiness...go first to Him with everything

Isn't it easier to just let God handle your worries?

On a lighter note.....

I've been seeing these float around pinterest for quite some time and I thought I would give them a try. 

These are even tastier than I thought they would be and they are super fast to make! The little guy and me have been gobblin em down like crazy! Here are the step by steps in case you wanted to give em a try!

Step 1: Gather your stuff. You can use any flavor or type of yogurt you prefer. You will also need a baking sheet and some small zippie bags.

Step 2: Fill your bag with yogurt, then cut a small triangle off one of the corners.

Step 3: Squeeze the bag to make little yogurt discs on your baking sheet.

Step 4: Pop the baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour.

Step 5: I used a spatula to pop the frozen yogurt drops off the baking sheet.

Step 6: Eat and enjoy! Store your yogurt drops in a zippie bag in the freezer (they do melt a little quickly)

I did a few different flavors and dumped them all in one bag. It's strange, but I feel like I'm getting a treat when I pull them out of the freezer...nice healthy alternative to the usual Ben and Jerry's I pull out of there!

Hope everyone had a great day...I'm looking forward to the sunshine we are supposed to be getting this week, finally!

Much Love, Angela

Lately...

Lately we've been.......

Celebrating Easter...



Dying eggs...in our diaper



Wearing (and walking in) moms heels

Finally celebrating Valentines Day and our birthdays with a date night
(Long overdue!)



Rockin' my new fabulous shoes...Thanks Mom!



Being such a well behaved and happy boy!



Fixin stuff like daddy



Lately we've been enjoying. Just enjoying the moments, because they don't last forever, and this is the stuff that really counts. Yes, I've been lacking some blog inspiration. It will return, but these moments won't. So when things slow down you'll be seeing more of me but until then my time will be given to the most important people in my life. They deserve my attention and all my love. Happy Easter to all of you. I hope that you enjoy the day for what it really means...celebrating that we serve a God who is alive! Have a joyful weekend!

Much Love, Angela

  



An Easy Peasy Easter Craft...

For my birthday my husband conspired to get me the most awesomest gift! He and my friends pitched in and bought me a Silhouette!!! For those of you who haven't been lusting after one of these, it's an electronic cutting tool that helps you to create endless crafts. Once I got my machine hooked up and semi figured out how to use it I wanted to create something right away. Easter is almost here and I needed to put up some decorations. So I downloaded a bunny design from the online Silhouette store, picked out some happy spring scrapbook paper and made bunny cutouts using my new machine. Then I took two silver dollar store trays and spray painted them white. Then I simply used some double stick tape (I didn't want them to be real permanent) to secure my bunnies to the trays and then placed them on my shelf inside a plate stand. Here's the result....

Easter Shelf

Don't have a fancy cutting machine? No worries...there is another way to get this look. Print out a bunny shape from your computer and cut it out. Next simply trace the cut out onto the scrapbook paper you have chosen. Then cut out the shape from your scrapbook paper then follow the rest of the steps from above. Doing it this way does require a steady hand to cut but if it's not perfect it will still be cute! So like I said an easy peasy Easter craft for those of you who waited till the last minute like I did!

P.S. I'm sure there will be a large amount of craft inspiration coming to the blog since I got my new machine! I feel like there's no end to what I can create! I love the feeling of crafting power!

Much Love, Angela