Bunch of sickies!!!

Unfortunately the Meyer family has been hit HARD by a nasty stomach flu. Avery got really sick on Mon. and the poor thing is just barely starting to eat a little bit. She's been drinking a lot of fluids, though, thank heavens. It always worries me when little kids get a tummy bug. I was really sick yesterday and it finally hit Harley last night so today we are all resting and trying to get better. I hate being sick!!!

Going to the FuN center!

It was Traciis birthday party and we were invited! Avery had so much fun going down the slide over and over and over in pirates cove! I couldn't really climb up the stairs they had too well plus, there were kids EVERYWHERE; so, Mel helped her until she got the hang of it. In no time at all Avery was climbing the stairs and going down the slide herself. She couldn't really get positioned on her bum so she would slide down on her belly backwards! It was great. I can't wait for the snow to melt so we can go to the park and she can go down the BIG slide!

Breadmaking

I've attempted homemade bread making the last couple of days. Although it's been fun I can't quite get the dough to rise completely. Here's pics of my third attempt. Not bad but, the dough still doesn't rise above the baking dish. HHMMM! Any suggestions?

Savings on the homemade laundry detergent

So, I've made 3 different kinds of this laundry soap. First I made the liquid detergent, which turns into more of a goop, second I made a powdered detergent with the Fels Naptha soap, and third I made another powdered with a generic brand of white soap I already had in house that I use to treat stains with. Love them all. I can already see the savings because after buying a box of the washing soda, a box of the borax and 6 bars of soap, you can make six months worth of laundry soap and still have 1/2 a box of the borax and washing soda. You use a whole bar of soap for each batch of the detergent you make. With the liquid detergent, you only need to use 1/4 cup per full load~which if you make 6 batches of this you will get roughly 288 loads! With the powdered all you need is 2tblsp!! WOW.The washing soda I think cost me about $3 and I found it at Smiths. The Borax was around the same and I found it at Walmart. The bars of the Fels Naptha I found at Smiths also and they were $1.59 a bar so, I think I may try to find a cheaper soap. Some of the recipes say you can use brands like Irish spring and Ivory. Some of the websites also recommend using vinegar as your fabric softener. Apparently it does something to balance the ph of the water with the soap and also helps rinse the soap completely. I also read last night that this actually IS an Eco-friendly way of doing laundry and cuts your cost saving about $70! I think overall we spent about $15~maybe on all the ingredients which should give us six months worth of laundry soap. So, not only are you helping the environment you're also helping your pocket book!

Goin Green!~{sort of}

A while ago my step-sister Jessica wrote a post saying that she was going to attempt to make her own laundry detergent. This isn't really going green as much as it is cheaper than buying prepackaged laundry detergent from the store~which who doesn't love that!? Anyway, after thinking about this for quite a while and making the decision for myself to not be lazy I came to the conclusion that I would try this myself. With the economy being the way it is and having yet to get worse~as some would say~I really felt the need to do something to help our family start saving money and stop being so wasteful. You have to understand that I am fairly lazy and lets face it, for me it's so much easier to be lazy! Well, during these times with Harley being the sole breadwinner and making the decision to keep me at home with the kids right now I have had some time to really think and see what I can do to make a substantial contribution to my family.
I decided to do some research on the net. Gotta love the internet; ENDLESS amounts of information! I started by Googling homemade laundry detergent. I was able to find a website that I really like~http://www.thesimpledollar.com/. I found a bunch of other websites and recipes which all tell you to get creative and have fun with being frugal! It really was a lot of fun making my homemade laundry soap. It made me feel a little more in control of what I was spending my money on and the things I can make at home and save a buck or two!
I then moved on to home cleaning supplies. Harley hates that I use bleach to clean and disinfect with and it really isn't healthy for anyone to breathe. So, having asthma myself I decided that I really should do something about this. I again found tons of websites that have recipes for homemade cleaning supplies and how to use them. I was thrilled~this is the going green part. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be, cost me a lot less and doesn't bother my lungs! I now use things like white vinegar and baking soda to do a lot of my cleaning. At first I thought it wouldn't be less expensive but so far it has!
I don't know about anyone else but for us trying to save money in this economic time has been tough. We've had a lot of fun trying to think of things we can do to save energy, cut costs, and not waste as a family and have had a lot of fun doing so. There are so many ideas it's been great!
Here's the recipe I used for my laundry soap:














I actually used the Fels Naptha soap~not the one in this pic. So, there's borax, washing soda~not to be confused with baking soda, and the bar of soap. You also need a pretty big bucket~3-5gallons to mix the soap in. If you go to the simple dollar website, up in the right hand corner is a search tool. Just type in homemade laundry detergent and it will bring up the instructions of how to make it. Like I said, though, I found tons of websites with different recipes but, all had pretty much these three main ingredients; just different ways to make it. Have fun getting frugal!

It's a BOY!

Harley, Avery and I are pleased to announce we are having a boy! We had the targeted ultrasound today and right away this little man was showing his goods!lol It was amazing! Everything looks good and the baby looks healthy! Here's his little profile. Could we ask for anything more?!

The 80's

You Know You Grew Up In the 80's if:

1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.

2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton.

3. You know that 'WOAH' comes from Joey on Blossom.

4. If you ever watched 'Fraggle Rock'.

5. It was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.

6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.

7. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.

8. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side. (or you fashioned your own using a rubberband)

9. You played the game 'MASH' (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House).

10. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.

11. You know the profound meaning of ' WAX ON, WAX OFF'

12. You wanted to be a Goonie.

13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing.

14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off, his cheeks shifted and his nationality became questionable.

15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.

16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pail Kids in the schoolyard.

17. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.

18. You still get the urge to say 'NOT' after every sentence.

19. You thought your childhood friends would never leave because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.

21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.

22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying 'I know you are, but what am I?'

23. You remember 'I've fallen and I can't get up'.

24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.

25. You have ever played with a Skip-It, Pogo Ball, or Popples.

26. You remember boom boxes and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.

27. You remember watching both Gremlins movies.

28. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.

29. You remember ALF, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.

30. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool... and don't even flinch when people refer to them as 'NKOTB'.

31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on 'Saved By The Bell,' The ORIGINAL class.

32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.

33. You just sang those words to yourself.

34. You still sing 'We are the World'

35. You tight-rolled or french-cuffed your jeans; and still debate on which is the right term!

36. You owned a banana clip.

37. You remember 'Where's the Beef?'

38. You used to (and probably still do) say 'What you talkin' 'bout Willis?'

39. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you! (it’s OK, I am, too)

~Jenny, I had to put this on my blog so everyone could see it! hilarious!

New YeArS!

I only got three pics of New Year's Eve! I know, horrible! We had so much fun, though! Buster was knocked out on the couch and Rob thought it would be funny to stick some cheese in front of his nose and see if it would wake him up. He didn't wake up until we all started laughing and moving around to grab the camera! We played the wii all night~well, Harley, Heather and Jeff did anyway. We mostly played bowling, golf and a little bit of boxing. SooooooO fun! Dave finally fell asleep in the recliner and Harley thought it would be funny to pile all the water bottles we drank that night on Dave! Doesn't he look peaceful?!

Our little TiNkEr!

Today we finally got our computer out of the kitchen and back into out living room! Avery was so cute. She decided she was going to help dada put the computer desk back together~or take it apart~we're not sure. She was so happy to help!