A Warning From Mom to Mom

We live in a great, family-friendly area. Actually, it has been seen on top ten lists and anyone who has lived here encouraged us that we would love it when we moved.
And we do. But we also loved where we lived before. As Texan transfers, we have come to appreciate the Midwest for the family-friendliness of it all.
But, this is still part of the world, there are still messed-up idiots that ruin our sense of safety and freedom. In the past couple of weeks, we have had at least five police reports of someone trying to convince kids to get in their car. Each time, the children are smart enough to yell "no", and run. But, still, there are prowlers nearby, and we have sat our kids down and explained Stranger Safety again. Perhaps we were lax before, now we are more careful.
Be sure you explain Stranger Safety to your kids. There are strangers out there that lurk...make sure your family is prepared!

My precious time

 I woke up this morning on a mission. I would get the kids to school, then revel in my last morning to myself to truck along on my novel (mostly by myself, baby girl is still easily entertained so Mama can write). Ooh, I haven't been that excited to have my morning to myself in a long time. But it will be my last until the next school year, and I am a procrastinator by nature, so just knowing it would be my last few hours, revived my excitement.
And then, the morning started, and I drove the 20 highway minutes (this will change next year since they will be at a new school, 10 minutes closer) to the boys' school, and realized on the radio that it would reach 87 today and my son had pants on--to go on his field-trip to the zoo. Not cool (in more ways than one). Okay, let's knock off a few of my precious morning minutes and run to the store to purchase some shorts and get them to him before they leave on the bus...I wasn't about to drive all the way home and back again.
Yep, it's usually my fault that time management gets messed up. I am so not a time manager. Give me a family, give me a meal plan, give me a budget, and I'll manage...but time...ugh...it is not my friend. It is like pouring oil in water, we just don't mix.
Oh well. I will say, that I have become excited for summer with my kids. I love spending time with them (when they are kind and somewhat obedient :)). I have planned some fun stuff and I found a pool to join! It's going to go by fast, and they will be a little taller and a little older by the end of it. Again, time is not my friend, but I will prove it wrong this summer, and enjoy every moment.

Dishwasher Soap Update

Well, I hate to say it folks, but my dishwasher soap recipe failed. My dishes came out just as dirty as they went in....now, that might be because we are in the habit of not scrubbing our dishes because of the shelf product we used. So, I guess, if you want to wash your dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, you can use the homemade stuff. I think I am going to resort to Cascade Complete.

Note: I have only done one load of laundry with my homemade detergent...can't complain. We'll see when I get a really tough load though!

Homemade Laundry Detergent and Dishwasher Soap

Every time I do laundry, I cringe as I pour the detergent onto our clothes. Even though I only use clean and clear (of dyes and perfumes), you never know what chemicals you're exposing yourself every single day you wear clothes (which for us, is every single day! ;) ) I have heard awful things about the stuff in our laundry products.
Recently, a friend introduced me to an easy and cost effective way to cut all that stuff out. She gave me a recipe for laundry detergent. I was worried about the time it would take to make it but it literally took 5 mins and 30 seconds!! The 5 minute part was for stirring, while the 30 sec. part was for shaving the soap and mixing it all together!

Here is the SIMPLE recipe:

1 bar of shaved Ivory soap
1 cup of Washing Soda
1 cup of Borax

Store in an airtight container. Still waiting to hear how much to use per load...but it makes around 32 loads a batch.

Along with this recipe, she gave me a dishwasher soap recipe that used some of the same ingredients. She swears by this, and I can't wait to see how it works on my own dishes!

1 cup of Washing Soda
1 cup of Borax
1/2 cup of Kosher Salt
1/2 cup of Citric Acid

Store in an airtight container. 1 heaping tablespoon for a load of dishes. Vinegar for a rinse aid.


All together, these ingredients cost me around $12. That's at least 3 (94 loads) batches of laundry detergent, and at least two batches of dishwasher soap. Win, win in my opinion!

Like a friend said a while ago, "It's a journey, right?" Might as well try something new every now and then!

Quench my Hopelessness

Photo by Kejadlen (www.flickr.com/photos/kejadlen/222615074/)

Life goes along great, and then, as if I was in some sort of state of disillusion, trials present themselves and my corner of the world begins to crumble.

Even if the struggles are mild, insignificant once I've paid attention and corrected my heart (ahem, my last post), they are trials just the same, refinement of my heart by a sharp sheath dragging away the muck.

I sit here, feeding my children lunch, my elbows tingly, my stomach flipping along with my heart, as I tiptoe around hopelessness in broken friendships, poor word choices, and wrong intentions. The feeling is familiar. It always creeps into my heart and severs my peace of mind. It places its greedy hands over my eyes and has me reaching, grasping for some release from the dire condition.

Photo by Christopher Craig (www.flickr.com/photos/kriztofor/3724503239/)

Only until I recognize this feeling of hopelessness as my soul's thirst for the Holy Spirit, do I turn and examine my heart.

My soul is quenched with the Living Water, the soft God-whispers in my heart that can only be heard when I listen. If anyone tells you it is impossible to have an intimate relationship with God, I beg you to search for yourself. It is very, very possible. It is more real than anything else. It is absolutely necessary for me.

Why does it take so much turmoil to get to the next step in the journey, to quench the thirst, to discover the next triumph in this walk of faith? I learn through my heart's sadness, my spirit's discontent. And then I know that God allows these things to happen because it's one of the only ways He can get my attention. And once He has it, the Holy Spirit moves in a mighty way.

Always.

A vicious cycle of Peace to Comfort to Complacency to Misery to Submission to Peace again. Perhaps it is a good thing that my heart can be forgetful at times. It leaves such ample ground for God to grow my faith.