Homemade Laundry Soap Photo Tutorial

The Ingredients



5 gallon bucket and lid



1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup Borax

The How To:

Grate the soap into a pan on the stove.  Don't worry about using your best pan, it cleans out super easy.

Add 4 cups of water and turn the heat on medium-low.  Stir occasionally until the soap is dissolved.

Meanwhile, add the Washing Soda and Borax to the bucket 1/3 full of water.  When the soap is dissolved add it, too.  Fill the bucket the rest of the way with water. Stir it up, cover it, and let it set over night.

The next day, cover your floor with newspaper.  Funnel the detergent into saved jugs.

And Voila!  You have made 5 jugs of laundry detergent for about a $10 initial investment.  Figure up how much you spend on one jug of detergent and you will see the savings!



Typically...This is how it goes...

This is how my Sunday went...

I went to bed Saturday night and changed two clocks in the house.  I woke up and they said different things.  It wasn't until 9:38 that I knew exactly what time it was.  I had to call mom.

Travis took us to breakfast and Merry Ann's.  The rest is as follows...



We played dress up.  It usually involves a baby doll or stuffed animal and Aug's own clothes, socks, or underwear.



Aug put on her Halloween costume and played all afternoon.  She was Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.  All afternoon she said a quote from the movie:  "I will never, ever kiss a frog!  Yuck!"  Then she crashed on the couch after telling me that she was NOT tired.



Gentry found something on the floor and tried to put it in his mouth.  When I say tried, I mean that he held it in the palm of him hand and sucked his thumb.  The food landed and stuck to his chin.



Gentry tried to eat from Aug's teacup left over from our afternoon tea party.



Got mad becuase it was empty...



And tried to climb up the cabinet to get his bottle.

The End.

Curls and Cr...ks

Just a little something to whip out when he starts dating!!!

She looks so old here!

The Cobble Wedding Gallery

Cobble Wedding Gallery

Click above to see the photos from this wedding.  The weather was great and the wedding was beautiful!

Fall Pictures...Take 1

I'm not really sure why I even try.

The pictures of the kids by themselves turned out really great!  Gentry was in a good mood and August smiled without the cheese. 

You will notice that her shirt is on backwards...she dressed herself.

The following pictures are reason enough to forgo the cutesy pictures ever again...

Gentry, put your legs here.  And look there's a pumpkin for you to hold.

Daddy!  It's moving!!!!!

Well...at least they both look kind of happy!

Aug's First Day at Pre-School

At some point in your child's short life, you realize they are starting to outgrow you. That day was today. August started pre-school.

Here is my baby girl on her first day of pre-school.  Of course she had to pose, she couldn't just smile on the porch.  She is such a little entertainer!

She has been talking about this for months...and I'm not joking...m-o-n-t-h-s.  We knew this day was coming.  It has been marked on the calendar for the last two weeks.  And still, it hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.  As I picked out her clothes for the day, I just knew that I had to put her in her favorite color...pink.  We posed for a picture on the front porch.  I think this is a tradition for most American families.  I'm okay, I tell myself, it's pre-school not kindergarten.  We drop Gentry off and meet Travis at the pre-school.  I unbuckle Aug from her carseat...I'm still okay...

When we got to the school, she ran inside.  I didn't even have time to focus my camera before I took this shot.  She was so excited to go!

And she's off.  We stroll inside...I'm still okay...it's just pre-school...not high school.  As we enter the school, her backpack is off and she is gone.  And I mean gone.  She is exploring all the other rooms, she is checking out the toys, she is even introducing herself to the other kids!  I spend a couple of minutes with the director and I go to say goodbye to Aug...and she doesn't even care that I'm leaving.  The look on her face said, "You're still here?"

And so we left.  And I lost it.  She needs me to drive her to school and fix her meals.  She is a social butterfly with no fears.  I'm not sure how she got that way.  It certainly wasn't from me.  She must get that from her daddy.  :)

What a Sunday...

It started out, "Mommy, don't take my picture!"  And she turns her back to me.

We picked up sticks around the yard using the Gator.

Gentry joins us outside and enjoys the weather.  He even makes silly shapes with his tongue!

Gentry goes for a crawl in the grass.  He is not sure what to think of it.  The look on his face the entire time was priceless.  He was also funny when I tried to take his picture with him looking at the camera.  He tried to look around the camera instead of at it.  He knew I was back there and he kept looking for me.

We ended the day with meatballs (becuase they freeze beautifully)...and lipstick as eyeshadow.  Yep, she found some lipstick and put it on her eyelids.  Isn't she pretty?