Homemade

If you've known me for even one minute, you know that I'm no Martha Stewart. I hate cleaning. I don't get a big charge out of organizing my belongings. I don't do crafts, and I hate to cook. Baking is even worse. Sewing's not my thing. Just ask my mom about the time she tried to teach me to hem my own jeans.

Its kind of ironic that I'm a stay at home mom. Some call me a homemaker, but I actually cringe at the idea of "making my home". Sigh.

But, I do like to save money. A lot. A few years ago God even told me that since He has pulled me out of the workforce and put me in charge of my children's education, my job, if you will, is to save money for our family. I also love to do things the "natural" way. Still, when I came across this blog post about making homemade laundry detergent I laughed it off at first. But as I read on about how much money making this detergent saves Rebekah and her family, I decided to give it a try.

Much, much to my surprise, I loved it. And I still do!

Here's the recipe, if you're interested.

12 cups Borax (from the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart)

8 cups baking soda (also from the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart)

8 cups washing soda (from the laundry aisle at Kroger)

8 cups bar soap- approximately 7-8 bars (I use Ivory)

Mix everything together. Use 1/8 cup for normal-large loads.

These ingredients cost around ten or eleven dollars, and make a ton of detergent. I made my first full batch last March and didn't run out until July. Now I make a half-batch. Believe me, its plenty!

The first time I made the detergent I noticed that if I didn't use hot water the grated soap wouldn't always get dissolved. Someone on Rebeka's blog suggested to chop it all up in a food processor after everything was mixed. I felt kind of funny about putting laundry detergent in my blender, so I found a used one at Goodwill for two dollars. Now I have my own detergent chopper that's not used for our food. This is the most time consuming part for me, but I like it because it turns the detergent into a fine powder and I don't have to worry about soap flakes getting on our clothes.

Like I said, I've been making this detergent for a year now. I think it even works better than the store-bought stuff. It removes all of the boys' stains and it doesn't cause the fabric to stretch or fade. I did find that I missed my laundry having a "scent". So I started adding a few drops of essential oil to the water before I throw my dirty laundry in. I love to mix lavender and tangerine together. Bergamot is another favorite of mine. I must admit that I get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I breathe in the scent of a warm load of clean laundry. I kind of feel like Laura from "Little House on the Prairie". But please don't spread that around!

After I had been using my own detergent for a few months, I began to wonder what else I could get away with making. I googled homemade dish washer detergent and found this recipe:

1 tablespoon Borax

1 tablespoon baking soda

use in dish washer

How simple is that? And, as with the laundry detergent, I really think it works as good... if not better than the kind I bought at the store. For a fraction of the cost. I've been toying with the idea of trying out a recipe for plain liquid dish detergent for the sink. I'll keep you posted when I try it.

Now, I realize that this is not the norm. And I've taken some flak for doing it. But I beg you... don't knock it 'til you've tried it!

The knee again

Shaun was injured this week. Again.

Usually, if the weather's nice, I allow Shaun and Jordan to go outside and ride their bikes and scooters while I get lunch together. We affectionately refer to this as "PE time". It works well for us. By the time lunch rolls around we're about half-way through our day, school-wise. The kids are more than ready for a little break to clear their heads and they also need get rid of some energy.

Such was the case on Wednesday. The weather was gorgeous, and I had the windows and doors open while I was in the kitchen. Therefore, while I didn't actually see the accident happen, I heard it as plain as day. I heard Shaun's scooter rolling into the car port and then there was a huge crash... a beat of silence... and then some ear-piercing screams. I ran outside to find Shaun laying on the floor of the car port, holding his knee, and shrieking in pain.

Now can I just say, without being mean, that my oldest child has a tendency to be just a little bit dramatic. So I didn't overreact to his screams. Or the fact that he couldn't walk. The fact that he had fallen on his left knee further added to my ability to be calm. You see, about a month ago he fell on the same knee and bruised his knee-cap. It only recently has gotten back to normal. Because of the CP, Shaun's left leg is weaker than his right, and he always "favors" his left leg. So, I assumed that he had just re-bruised the left knee-cap and was afraid to walk on it.

I knew he really was in pain, so I humored him... I carried him inside (which was no easy task... he weighs 90 pounds now!), settled him in the recliner, got some ice and gave him some Advil. He cried and screamed whenever he moved at all... which alarmed me, but I decided to play the situation by ear, hoping that this case would be like most others and that he'd be back to normal in an hour or so.

Didn't happen. He sat in the chair, in the same position for the rest of the day. The only time he moved was when I carried him to the bathroom, and then he went to bed. Late that night, he was able to move his leg a little, and Chris and I both assumed that he was on the mend.

After a very, very long night, I woke up to discover that the knee was hugely swollen and that Shaun was in even more pain than he was the day before. I called the doctor, who said to bring him in. My mom came to help. It took both of us nearly 30 minutes to get him outside. Every movement was painful for him. I began to feel tons of remorse for not taking him in the day before. I called the doctor back and explained what was going on. They said to just go ahead and take him to the ER. So we did.

Chris met us there. X-rays were performed, which showed no broken bones but plenty of swelling. (Duh.) We were referred to an orthopedic surgeon who, thankfully, agreed to see us that same afternoon. At the end of the day, the diagnosis was: a severely bruised knee-cap.

Uh-huh.

Should I begin the pursuit of a medical degree? Just kidding.

Seriously, we are so thankful that it wasn't something more serious. We were all (Chris, my mom, and myself) were all beginning to get a little worried considering all of the pain Shaun was in. We were given an ace bandage, and immobilizer, and instructions to come back for an MRI if he wasn't any better by Monday.

Today- Friday- Shaun's doing a little better. He still can't walk, but he's able to sit up by himself and he's even moving his leg a little. Huge progress! He doesn't seem to mind the fact that he's immobile. He's content to relax on the couch and watch NetFlix. We've managed to squeeze in school without too much resistance. I guess he figures he's stuck, so what else is he going to do!

Jordan is being sweet to his big brother. Mostly. I just walked into the living room to find Jordan laying on the other end of the couch with his leg propped up, like Shaun. He told me that he fell and hurt his leg. I figured he deserved a little attention, so I made a big deal over his injured leg. Just like that, miraculously, he was healed!

Now...what can I do to make Shaun heal as quickly?

The Hubs went out of town, and I survived!

Chris abandoned us last weekend. Technically, he was asked to play bass at a youth conference in Savannah.

He sent me this picture of himself with Reggie Dabbs, who spoke at the event.

I was so proud of him for actually being on stage with Reggie Dabbs that I wasn't jealous of this picture at all. Not one little bit.


Anyway, about two weeks ago I began to be a little nervous about being alone all weekend long. Flashbacks from several years ago when Chris traveled to California almost every weekend began to fill my mind. That was way back when I was letting the children eat anything and everything they wanted and they were a little unruly. And a lot hard to manage.


But we're at a different place now. And we actually had a very nice weekend together.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday, so my mom was kind enough to take both boys plus one of my nieces to Home School Day at a local skating rink. I managed to have lunch with Chris, run tons of errands, and get my hair cut before I picked them up on Friday afternoon.


We played, watched movies, visited the cousins, and I got groceries Friday night before bed time.


We all slept late Saturday morning. After we rolled out of bed, we straightened up the house, cleaned out the car, and the kids played outside while I cleaned up inside. After coming back in for XBox time, we met some friends at the park. I was able to (somewhat) have adult conversation with my friend Kelli and our four boys were able to run wild and unhindered around the park. By the time we left everyone was starving and I still had to go to Wal-Mart, so we stopped for dinner on the way. Even that went smoothly. They're growing up, these boys of mine!


We stopped at Granny's on the way home to visit with her and Pawpaw. We hadn't seen them in way too long! While we were there my nieces also came to visit. My Granny and I sat together on the swing, talked, watched the kids play, and waited for Super Moon to appear. We were all very disappointed when the sky proved too cloudy and the moon wasn't even visible.

We went home then, and I let the boys ride their bike and scooter in the dark. This was a huge hit and earned me major Brownie Points with them. Next it was baths and then time for bed. Both kids went to sleep easily, and I watched my NetFlix movie that was delivered that day: "Big Love". Its my latest television show addiction. I find the whole concept of polygamy both fascinating and creepy. But that's another story.

I didn't sleep well Saturday night. Between the moon shining in my window (it had decided to finally make an appearance!) and my too-quiet room, I just couldn't settle down. It was after 3:00 when I finally drifted off... and my alarm is set for 6:00 on Sundays. Ouch. That wasn't pretty. I overslept and was late for church.

We finally made it in, and the kids were so excited to see their Daddy waiting on them. I was excited too! It was good to be together again.

What my mom taught me

Lately, I've been making an effort to look... what? More put together? Less like a slob? Like a girl? All of the above, I guess.

I went through a period when I was simply too overwhelmed with my life to even think about how I looked. I put myself last and let me tell you, it showed! I looked rough. Slouchy. Hideous. Tired. Frumpy.

Not that I claim to look all fabulous now, but I care. Something clicked last summer after I was sick. I guess laying around feeling like crap for a month will do that for you.

When I began to join the living again, I decided that I wanted to look like I wasn't still sick. Or something like that. And okay-- I admit it. Its just a teeny, tiny bit fun to shop. And buy cute clothes. And earrings, necklaces, and bracelets to go with them. Always on sale, of course!

So, I'm accessorizing. Its kind of funny. When I was going through my rebellious-gothic-awkward stage in high school, I had four holes pierced in each ear. I spent many moments of time in front of the mirror every morning before school, making sure all of my earrings were in place. I was also straightening my black hair and applying my black eyeliner that looked oh so wonderful against my pale never-touched-by-the-sun skin. Yes. I was that cool.

But anyway. Back to the earrings. After I got a job, graduated, got married, and had a sick baby, my priorities kind of changed... and I didn't have time to think about earrings anymore. For about 11 years. I never took the time to bother with them much until a few months ago. And I guess I'm still not entirely back in the habit because I keep losing them. One at a time, while they're still in my ears. And because I'm still not quite used to having things in my ears, I don't notice they're gone until someone is kind enough to point it out to me.

Which is what happened on Sunday. I was sitting behind the information desk talking to a friend when suddenly she stopped mid-sentence and asked if I was missing an earring. Of course I was. Luckily, I found the missing earring. It had fallen out of my ear and was stuck to my shirt. But the back was missing.

And suddenly, I had a flashback:

I was in elementary school and had lost the back to one of my super-cool earrings from Claire's Boutique while in the car on the way to school. I was just going to skip the earrings altogether but then my mom gave me some very wise advice. She said to me, "Just bite the end off of a pencil eraser. It'll work just fine until we get home and find another back". And so I did. And it worked. My mom's pretty smart.

So, that's just what I did yesterday. And, since I never did find that pesky little back, I wore the same earrings with the same eraser back again today.

And it made me smile!

I suppose there's always tomorrow

Jordan took Shaun's chair this afternoon. Rather, he got to Shaun's favorite chair before Shaun himself could sit down in it. And oh, the drama it caused. I really don't understand what the big deal is. I suspect they just make this mountain into a molehill to grate on each other's nerves. Not unlike the things I did to my own sister as a child.

Anyway, Shaun was bound and determined that he would not sit in any chair but his favorite recliner. And Jordan was bound and determined not to budge. I decided to sit back and see how the scene would play out. First, Shaun tried to demand Jordan to just move:

"Jordan. Dude. You're in my chair. Get out. Now."

Next he tried begging:

"Come on, Jordan. Please just let me have my chair. Please. Puh-lease. I'm begging. Please!

This was followed by the "Please Feel Sorry for Me" routine:

"Jordan. I sure wish I could have that chair. I need it so I can prop my knee up. It still hurts from when I fell over at Johnston's house. And its sore from skating today. It's very painful for me to sit in a regular chair. And the couch is uncomfortable. Can I please have my chair so my knee won't hurt so bad?

And then, since he was so convincing and he didn't resort to anything drastic, such as pinching or just flat out removing Jordan from the chair with force, I piped in with:

"Oh, come on, Jordan. Why don't you just let Shaunie have his chair? You can sit over here with me."

Of course, that didn't fly. So Shaun decided to give it once last try:

"Maybe one day my brother will be nice to me and give my chair back."

And Jordan responded with:

"Yeah. Maybe it'll be tomorrow."

"Couch School"

Usually, when the boys and I are having school, we split up. Sometimes I teach them at the same time. I put some praise music music on for "background noise", Shaun sits at the kitchen table, Jordan settles in at the school desk in the living room, and I go back and forth between them.

Or, we school separately. I'll work on the beginning sounds of letters with Jordan while Shaun has Xbox time. Or vice versa. I hardly ever allow them to work together at the same table. It just doesn't work for us. Instead of completing their work, Shaun will be busy kicking Jordan under the table. Or Jordan will distract Shaun by standing up in his chair. Or someone burps (or worse!) on purpose to cause fits of giggles in the other brother. Or...well. You get the picture. A task that would normally take fifteen minutes multiplies into thirty minutes when my boys are distracting each other. And we don't have time like that to waste.

But today was a crazy kind of day. Rainy and cold. I didn't feel well. So, against my better judgement, we had school on the couch. "Couch School". Because "variety is the spice of life" and all that.

I sat in the middle with a son on each side. And it actually worked out pretty well. We were actually able to complete everything that we were supposed to complete today. How often does that happen? Not very often. At least, not very often at our house!

Shaun even finished up his current math book. We'll be having a Math Party when he finishes his big Unit Test. He's requested pizza, chips, and dip to help us celebrate.

Here's a (bad quality iPhone) photo of him right after he completed the last problem in his book.

And here they are together at "Couch School". Doesn't Jordan look absolutely thrilled?

Yes, "Couch School" was a success. I don't think its something that we'll do every day, but most definitely a treat every now and then.

All Hyped Up

Ahhh. The hyperactive and/or strong-willed child. My children have made me an expert. That is, I'm an expert on recognizing the signs of said children. No way am I an expert on what to do with them! I've been down several roads of treatment with my oldest child, in search of a cure for his ADHD symptoms. I've medicated. Chosen to stop medication and just deal with the symptoms. We've changed diets. Declared food dyes to be The Devil. Declared stimulant medication to be The Devil. I've begged our doctors for medication and then flat out refused it at later visits. I've sang praises and thanked Jesus for the wonderfulness of stimulant medication and I've also called it The Devil.

I've never realized before just how often I refer to things as "The Devil".

You may have guessed by now that we, my husband and I, are at a standstill on what to do with these children God has blessed us with. More about that later. For now, I was just thinking back about our week and the crazy, zany, funny, things our children have done. All in the name of hyperactivity and strong-will.

As you will see, there's no doubt that my lovely ones have hyperactive minds of their own. And here's how I know.

You Know You Have Hyperactive and/or Strong-Willed Children When:

1. Your grandma buys you a copy of The Strong-Willed Child by Dr. James Dobson for your birthday.

2. You pick up your five year old from his class at church and his teacher says this to you:

"I was just trying to tell Jordan, and maybe you can help reinforce this to him, that its okay if he twirls during worship but that he really needs to stay on the carpet or the floor mat when he twirls. So he doesn't hurt himself if he falls. Its really okay if he twirls. I love that he's so exuberant in his worship. I just don't want him to get hurt."

Then you reply with:

"Did he obey you when you asked him to stay on the mat or the carpet?"

And teacher responds:

"Well...I could tell that he was really trying."

3. Your eleven year old has to flick, pinch, tap, kick, or swat his brother every single time he walks by. I mean, he really, truly must do this.

4. Both of your children must all the time be engaged in some kind of physical activity: running, jumping, dancing, wrestling, light saber fighting, karate chopping, etc. Again, they really, truly must do this.

5. At your son's eleven year check-up you burst into tears and cry to your child's pediatrician :

"Sniff. Sniff. Sob. I'm ready to....to....entertain the idea that maybe he needs to be on something to help him calm down just a little."

And then you proceed to spend one hundred bucks on a medication that doesn't work at all. Even though you swore on a stack of Bibles that you would never, never medicate your child for ADHD ever again. Ever.

6. Your five year old has an uncontrollable desire to climb on every single object he sees. Cars. Tables. Chairs. Parking lot signs. Play houses. The "outsides" of slides. Counter tops. Dressers. Its all fair game.

7. Your five year old's legs keep moving, as if he's running on air, when you snatch him up into your arms to stop him from running in Kroger.

8. When having a conversation with a friend in the noisy children's area at church, another friend wonders how you and your first friend can hear each other talk. You and first friend laugh and reply that this is the most quiet each of you has had all day. And then second friend quips:

"Ha ha! I guess so. You (referring to first friend) have about 15 kids? Right? (She was joking. First friend only has 7 children) I bet it IS loud at your house. And your two kids (referring to me this time) are about as loud as 15 kids. Ha ha ha!"

9. You comment to your husband that maybe its time for your oldest child to go back on some meds to help him calm down. And then, under your breath, you mutter:

"And Jordan's next!"

And you're only half-way joking.

10. You decided a long time ago to pick your battles with your children. And the battles you choose to let go are often the cause of raised eyebrows from strangers in the grocery store.

11. You begin having a constant internal debate with yourself. First, stating that God made your boys this way on purpose and that you really shouldn't try to squash their spirits. Second, stating that just a little squashing would be a fair price to pay for a little control.

12. You totally do not respect the personal space of the owner of your local vitamin store when you give her a bear hug upon learning that she sells homeopathic remedies for hyperactivity and impulse problems.

13. You buy 2 jars of said homeopathic remedies. One for each of your little angels. And consider getting one for your husband, too, because they inherited this from him in the first place.

14. You find yourself relating to and feeling sorry for Mark Lowry's mother.

15. You frequently comment to your husband how glad you are that your lives are never, ever boring.

And you actually mean it.

This one's for the girls...

I have a clique. A clique of chicks. Really, we're just a group of homeschooling moms who go to church together and have become kindred spirits...Bosom Buddies, if you will. We're all as different as night and day but somehow we all clicked and, over this past year, have become extremely close. There's no doubt in my mind that God brought these wonderful women to me just when I needed them the most.

We laugh together. Get together for Thursday night breaks. We've cried together, prayed together, worshiped together, decided to lose weight together. You get the picture. It really does seem as though we've been "together" for years and years. The Hubs began affectionally calling us "The Clique" and it stuck.

For the record, we're not a snobby clique. Anyone who loves Jesus and loves to laugh is welcome to join.

Anyway, this morning I was praying for my friends because praying for each other is one of the things we do best. As I lifted up each one of their needs to God it occurred to me that we are one seriously messed up group. I mean, really. In under a year we've gone through sickness, loss of children, legal battles, financial problems, depression, issues with our husbands, and heartbreaks over our children. And this is just the stuff we tell each other about!

Each time one of us has a crisis, we band together. We've never had to ask if we should do something. We automatically do it. We pray. Bring meals. Tell each other to get over ourselves and get to La Parilla even if we haven't showered and are wearing sweats! We've shopped for funeral clothes together, held prayer vigils, baby-sat each others' kids, stayed up all night long coloring each others hair, and confided secrets. We've seen each other at our best and worst. And we've made it out alive!

We've been singing this song at church a good bit lately. Its by Kari Jobe. It reminds me of us. In all that we've been through as a group and as individuals, (and we've been through a lot) God has been right there by our sides. He always has. He always will. He's faithful and constant...even when we fail ourselves or each other.

And so, this one is for my clique. I love you ladies and thank God for giving you to me.

You Are For Me
kari jobe


So faithful. So constant.
So loving and so true.
So powerful in all You do.

You fill me. You see me.
You know my every move
and You love for me to sing to You.

I know that You are for me.
I know that You are for me.
I know that You will never,
forsake me in my weaknesses

I know that You have come now,
even if to write upon my heart.
To remind me who You are.

So patient, So gracious,
So merciful and true…
So wonderful in all You do.
You know me. You see me.
You know my every move.
You love for me to sing to You

Lord, I know that You are for me.
I know that You are for me.
I know that You will never,
forsake me in my weaknesses.
I know that You have come now,
even if to write upon my heart.

To remind me that
I know that You are for me.
I know that You are for me.
I know that You will never,
forsake me in my weaknesses.
I know that You have come now,
even if to write upon my heart.
To remind me who You are.

I know that You are for me.
I know that You are for me.
I know that You will never,
forsake me in my weaknesses.
I know that You will come now,
even if to write upon my heart.
To remind me of who You are.