Typical Texas Bluebonnet Pictures

5 on Friday

I am linking up with Darci from The Good Life blog, for 5 on Friday!  I have been reading them for a few months, found a few great blogs to follow, and so now I am ready to take the plunge and link up myself.

ONE My house right now is a crazy unorganized mess, and it stresses me out very much.  But I have yet to do anything about it.  I am letting it be for now, because I know that if I try to start organizing, the craziness will only get worse in the process.  Cartoons for the boy, nap for the baby, and blogging for mommy wins over the mess.

My house isn't this bad, thank goodness

TWO I seriously have gotten bad at sabotaging myself when it comes to eating better.  I eat great all day, then at night I gorge myself on ice cream (like the whole pint of Blue Bell cookies and cream (it was SO good, I just could not stop)) or candy, really anything sweet.  I am not sure how to control my actions.  I will tell myself in the morning that I will do better than the day before and most days I find I do worse.  I have put up notes for myself that I thought would help for visual motivation.  But when I am brushing my teeth at night, I just feel so deflated and depressed with myself that I couldn't overcome my weakness.  (More on this in another blog post).

THREE The kids are counting down the days till Spring Break (only 7 left), because my mom and possibly my oldest brother are coming into town!!  I seriously cannot wait!!  I am hoping we have some great fun and that loads of memories will be made.

FOUR I recently had to upgrade my iphone to the IOS 7 for a new app I wanted to add (Mint personal finance), and I hate it!  That is all.

FIVE Paisley is growing up way too fast!  She is almost 6 months, and I want time to slow down.  She is my last and I have been savoring every moment, but I still feel like I am missing out.  She is eating fruits and veggies, she is sitting, she is rolling, and she is jumping in her bouncer.  Before I know it, she will be walking and talking.  Please some one tell me how to make time stand still!!

 

Being sick + a water overflow + a broken oven

Last week was a crazy week in our house!  If it wasn't one thing, it was another.  Let me quickly (hopefully) recap for you.

Valentine's Night, I had 2 of my girl friends and their kids over since all of our hubby's had to work.  Crappy right?  Well being a restaurant wife, I am very used to it.  This year, I decided to do something fun for me and the kids.  It was perfect.  We had wine, chocolate covered strawberries, the kids made a HUGE poster board card for the daddies, and they played.  Two of the big girls decided to spend the night with my big girls.  Saturday we went to make cookies, and our first batch burned and our second batch never really finished cooking.  Crazy right?  I wished I would have thought about that then.

Sunday I woke up with a major headache.  I toughed it out as long as I could before I decided to take a nap before the hubby went to work.  I slept close to 3 hours before I had to finally get up, and by then not only was my head still pounding, my throat was starting to hurt.  I made it through the night as best I could with all the kids, and I crawled in bed early.

Monday I got up to take the girls to school and I could hardly swallow.  My hubby sent me to the doctor before he had to go back to work for the day.  I ended up having strep.  BOO!!  The doctor gave me a shot and a prescription and sent me on my way.

I made it through the day with my two little ones, and went to pick up my meds and dinner before getting the older girls from school.  I figured pizza would be easy for me to make for the kids, and I got myself some tomato soup.  The big girls and Brayden hung out watching tv most of the afternoon, while Paisley and I napped.

I got up to "fix" dinner by throwing the pizza in the oven, and Maddi helped me by starting some laundry.  This is where things go majorly downhill for me.  The oven was not working (wished I would have thought about the cookies) and in return, not cooking the pizza.  I sent my hubby and text, and he offered to feed the kids BJ's pizza when he got off.  Life saver!!  I left the pizza in the oven to see how long it would take with the temperature reaching a staggering "warm" and it took well over 2 hrs!  Ugh!

In the mean time, Maddi went to go to my room, which is close to the laundry room and noticed water all over the floor.  I squished my way to the laundry room, and was greeted by a waterfall of water coming out of the washer.  The carpet was soaked and the laundry room was flooded with ice cold water.  I told the big girls to get towels to soak up the water on the carpet while I scooped water in the laundry room.  The girls took turns dumping out the water for me.  The towels didn't really help since there was so much water.

Luckily my hubby felt sorry for me being sick and all, and brought home the pizza for the kids, and went and picked up a shop vac from work and a carpet shampooer to help suck up the water.

The next day, I started feeling better, and we had a guy here to fix the washer (a tube came loose), a guy here to put out fans to dry out the carpet, and a guy here to fix the oven (a wire burned).  Our house was a mad house for a few days walking over fans, catching up on laundry, and having lots of workers come and go, but it all worked out, ya know $200 later.  But that's life I guess.

Letter Obstacle Fun

It has been very cold here for a few days and the kids really haven't been able to go outside.  Thursday it was snowy (and I kept the girls home from school) and I wanted to do an activity to keep their bodies and minds active but that was also fun.

I found this post from pinterest, and thought I could do something similar.

I used small and colorful sheets of paper and wrote a letter on one.  Then I taped them all over the floor, chairs, bench, and table.  Then I had the kids jump to each letter.

For Brayden (3), we started with saying what each letter was.  For Ella (7), I had her tell me a word that started with the letter.  For Maddi (9), I had her tell me a word and spell the word for each letter.

The next time through, I had Brayden count the letters, Ella made up an addition problem with each number, and Maddi made up multiplication problems with each number.  Ella did lots of +1's and +0's, and I am ok with that.  Maddi did some x1's and x0's, but for the 20's, she tried to figure out what two numbers multiplied together would make that number (ex:4x5=20).

The kids loved getting to climb on the table since it is something that is normally not allowed.  We also changed it up and did different exercises over the letters.  They did jumping jacks, high knees, bear crawl, crab walk, going backwards, and so on. 

They laughed, worked their brains, and their bodies.  I would say it was a successful indoor activity!!

 

I love you because...(Simple Valentines Craft for you Children)

I wanted to let my kids know how much they mean to me since we have had some rough couple of months here and there.  I thought I could make them something for each of the kids that would be tailored just to them.  I came up with this simple craft because of all the Valentine décor floating around pinterest right now.

I took some construction paper and cut out a bunch of little hearts.  Then I cut out 3 big hearts, one for each of my bigger children.  On the big hearts I wrote their names, then wrote I love you because.

I hung each of them on their doors on a ribbon, and wrote on the little hearts things I loved about them.  For example, on some of Brayden's I wrote that he loves to cuddle, he loves monster trucks, and he is a great big brother.  I plan on adding one everyday till Valentine's day (and hopefully for a long time after).  So far I have added 4 hearts. 

 

The kids love seeing what new heart I add to their ribbon every day.  For me it is a great reminder that my kids are very special in their own way.  This is an easy thing to do for your kids to let them know how much you love them. 

 

*I didn't do one for Paisley for obvious reasons (she is 4 months old and would not understand (I will include her in the future though)).

Taco Soup

I love soup and I love tacos, and so by default I love taco soup.  The recipe I use is so quick, easy and delicious.  I got the recipe from my old boss when we lived in Sherman, and I have tweaked it to my liking.  I hope you enjoy it as well.

Ingredients:

I lb. ground beef (I have used 93/7 and 85/15, so anything will work)
1 can sweet corn (I get no salt added)
1 can ranch style beans
1 can diced tomatoes (I get no salt added)
1 taco seasoning packet (I use low sodium versions)
1 dry ranch dressing packet
1 cup of water (optional)

Start by browning your ground beef and drain off grease.  In a big stockpot combine the rest of the ingredients (with their juices from the can) and start simmering.  Add your ground beef and simmer (stirring occasionally) for around 30 minutes.

Depending on how thick you like your soup, you could leave it as is or you can add in the water to thin it out some.  I like my soup with a "brothy" consistency so I add in the cup of water during the simmering process.

My girls and I like our tacos topped with cheese, so we sprinkle on a little cheese on the top of my soup, but that is up to you.

That is it!!  Quick and easy!

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do!!

 

Naptime = Playtime 1 Painting and Letter Recognition

Since most of my day is spent catering to baby Paisley, I am trying to make an effort to do things with just Brayden.  This time comes in the morning when Pais takes her nap.  I have been working with him on his letter recognition and writing and also fun things like painting, coloring, foam, and anything else fun we come up with.  I think he has really enjoyed the time that is spent just me and him.  I am going to do a series where I show you fun things Brayden and I are doing, how he likes it, where I found the idea, and how he is progressing.

The first thing Brayden wanted to do was paint a Christmas picture.  I used green washable paint and painted his hand 6 times and we made his handprints into a Christmas tree.  I put lines on the bottom of the tree and let him use brown paint to paint in the trunk of the tree.  Then I asked him if he wanted to add ornaments to the tree and of course he said yes, but he painted them around the tree.  Silly boy!  I let him paint how he wanted with out correcting him since it was his picture.

 

 

With Brayden being 3 1/2, I also want to work on his writing skills.  I wrote his name on a piece of paper with yellow marker, and had him trace over it.  The yellow is easy for him to see and easier to follow than hash marks.  After we tried his name, we worked on the letter A. 

 

 

I don't want to push Brayden to do more than he wants, so this was all we did on this day.  His attention span isn't very long, so we moved onto something more playful.  I do think he enjoyed his time with me.  I know I enjoyed being able to focus on just him.

 

I can't wait to show you more of what we do! 

 

Any suggestions are welcome!!



 

Ella's 7th Birthday Party

This is a serious better late than never post!!  Not only am I a terrible blogger, I am also a terrible mom!  I just looked through my list of posts and realized I never posted on Ella's 7th birthday!  It's still October right?  Jeez I am awful!

She is very close to being a Halloween baby, and I was very excited this year when she decided to do a Halloween themed party.  I started pinning lots of ideas and tried to figure out how to make it fun.

Some of my favorite things were the sweet treats that I made.

Boo Mix, Witches hats, and pretzel bites.

 

I attempted to make mummy dogs.

They were cute and the kids loved them, but mine looked nothing like the pinterest pin.

 

 I loved that I could decorate for Halloween and leave it up as décor for Ella's party.

 





I bought packages of pumpkins, witches hats, and ghosts for the kids to decorate with foam stickers.  I am pretty sure I won't do that again.  It left a lot of mess from all the little stickers.

 

It was a very nice day, so the kids played out in the back for a very long time.  I was worried since the kids were in their Halloween costumes, but luckily only a few accessories were misplaced, and they were found and returned before trick or treating.

 

Of course Ella wanted to play the Mummy Wrap game, which is just wrapping each other in toilet paper.  This game has been a hit with my girls for a few years and they ask for it at every party.  The party guests always seem to enjoy it as well.  It gets lots of laughs, makes a HUGE mess, and since I use dollar store toilet paper, I don't feel bad when it ALL goes in the trash.

 

I made some easy cupcakes for her party.  I wish I knew how to make an awesome looking cake, but it is just not in my repertoire.  Even though they were not amazing cupcakes, they served their purpose.

 

 

Of course, there were presents opened and gift bags given on the way out, but more importantly there were lots of laughs heard that day.

 

I love my Ella, and I know she had a blast.  Hopefully next year I will get her birthday post up on time.

Our Christmas 2013 Part 2

Catch up on Part 1 HERE

When we left my brother's house Saturday night, we drove to my best friend, Roxy's house.  She had no clue we were in town, and I couldn't wait to surprise her.  I was talking to her earlier that day, and I almost gave myself away, but I had to make sure she would be home when I was going to head to her house.  I tried to record her reaction on my phone but some how stopped the video instead of recording, but it was priceless!!  I enjoyed an amazing night of catching up and only wish there had been more hours that night for us.  The kids and I spent the night, and Roxy and I stayed up way too late chatting and listening to our kids' laughter.

 

Sunday was her annual cookie party (a tradition we missed last year), and I was so excited to have made it this year.  The kids love rolling out their own cookies, making messes with flour and dough, and then decorating the cookies how ever they want.  These cookies are always used for Santa cookies, since they are overly sprinkled and frosted.

 

After the cookie party, the kids and I headed to my mom's for a big kid sleepover with Grani.  The big girls love spending the night with my mom and Brayden was going to try it out for the first time.  They had a blast!  Pepe, our elf, made an appearance, they made chocolate mice and cupcakes, and just overall enjoyed some Grani time.  Brayden did great staying with her, and I got a semi-kid free night.  Paisley and I went back to my dad's Sunday night.

Monday afternoon, Paisley and I headed to my mom's house.  I heard how Grani almost made Pepe lose his magic by accidently knocking him over.  Maddi and Ella freaked out for a few minutes, but Pepe let my mom know (when she was by herself of course), that he was ok because grandparents can touch the elves.  That was a close call though.

After the elf fiasco, mom and I loaded up the kids and went to see my grandpa.  It is a long story, but after a fall he had, he has been placed in a home where he is getting 24 hour nursing care.  But he seems to be slowly declining.  We took a few pictures and tried to talk to him, but he had no idea who we were.  The whole situation is very sad, and I don't like talking about it.

To end Monday on a happier note, the kids and I went to see my other best friend Marsha.  Her hubby, Cliff and I went to high school together, so I have known them forever.  Marsha has an older son, Blake, that Brayden just absolutely adores, and a daughter that is 1 month younger than Ella.  Cliff went to pick up Marco from the airport, which was perfect for me to get in some Marsha time.  I just love her!  Marco and I hung out way too late after he got there.  We let the girls spend the night with Persy, and the rest of us headed back to my dad's.

 
Christmas Eve we headed back to pick up the girls and do some final Christmas shopping.  Maddi started feeling bad, and ended up running fever all night.  She was puny most of the day, but had nothing more than fever.

 
We were getting together for Christmas at my dad's Tuesday, so both of my brother's came there.  The guys played pool, the kids ran around like crazy, Pepe left the kids some green milk (with magic dust to help them sleep), we ate, we opened presents, and we watched movies.  To end the night, my dad drove us around his neighborhood to look at Christmas lights.  When we got back, the kids put out their reindeer food and Santa cookies, and it was off to bed.

 

Part 3 Coming Tomorrow

Our Christmas 2013 Part 1

This post is a "better late than never" kinda post.  I am just now writing about our Christmas.  I am probably the world's worst blogger!  Most bloggers are already writing about Valentine's Day and I am still in 2013.  Oh well.

Our Christmas was amazing, to say the least.  We decided to go to Dallas, which is HUGE for me.  Since we have moved so much the past few years, I had decided for Christmas, we would always stay home.  If the family wanted to see us, they could come to us because:

• I didn't like the idea of the kids not being at home for Christmas Eve.
• I didn't like figuring out how to squeeze in Christmas around Marco's work schedule.
• I didn't like loading up the car with Santa goodies, the kids presents, and the family's presents, plus all the packing for all the kids.
• I didn't like trying to pack the car after Christmas for the drive home.

P.S. I made the rule when I only had the older girls.  Gah, I thought it was work then!  That would be a breeze now.

But my family always understood, and they came to us.  It was much easier when we lived closer, but last year was our first year being 6 hours away in Lubbock.  We had an amazing Christmas just our little family, but that was it.  It was just us.  No one visited Christmas Eve, no one was here Christmas day.

When Marco and I first talked about going to Dallas for Christmas, I was really stressed.  Actually I was really stressed till I was about 1/2 way home (home being Dallas), then I was just excited.  The stress was money, the baby's first long car ride, do I leave a few days before Marco and get more time with friends and family or do we drive in together for just a few days, and packing.  Packing for the big kids and I is easy at this point but I was very worried that I would forget something for the baby. 

But money worked out, I left Friday when the kids got out of school and Marco flew in on Monday night, the baby did amazing on the ride down there when it was just me and the kids, and I made a list for packing (a very long and detailed list).  I made sure I had everything of necessity for Paisley, but of course I could have packed more.  I missed her boppy and baby tub, but they weren't overly necessary.  I nursed with pillows and she bathed (unhappily) in the big tub.

 

I got the girls out of school early and drove in Friday to my dad's loaded down with all the kids, 3 small and 1 large suitcase, Santa's goodies in a very large bag, the presents for the family, the dogs and their kennel. 

I wonder how amazing it would be to be my husband and have ZERO responsibility for 2 1/2 days, no dogs, no kids, no wife.  I wonder if I will ever get that chance?

We made great time, only stopping in Abeline (1/2 way) to stretch our legs, eat, and get Paisley out of her carseat and feed her.  We drove straight to my mom's in Mesquite to drop off the dogs and chat for a few minutes and then we headed to my dad's house in Forney.

 

My dad has recently moved and his new house was perfect for the 3 big kids.  They had plenty of room to watch a movie and run and be wild upstairs and get their "we just sat in the car for 6+ hours" crazies out before bed.

 

The next morning I was supposed to meet a friend from Sherman for lunch and let the kids play while we caught up, but the weather was terrible.  She was having freezing rain and it was pouring at my dads.  We both agreed that it was just too much trouble.  I am still sad that we didn't get the chance to meet up and that she still hasn't met Paisley.  Better safe than sorry.  And hopefully she will be coming to Lubbock soon.

Not getting out Saturday morning, meant the kids and I were able to enjoy a rainy morning (which we don't get in Lubbock) and just watch cartoons and hang out with my step mom.  Once the rain cleared up, we repacked smaller bags, and the kids and I headed to my brother and sister in law's house.  We had an early dinner, watched movies, and the big kids wrestled with my brother while Melissa got in some Paisley snuggles.

Be back tomorrow with Part 2!

Bring on 2014

 

1-1-14

A fresh start.

A clean slate.

A day for resolutions, and looking back on the past year.

My year had some high points and some VERY low points.

 

2013 was a very hard year for me.  I admitted to not wanting to be pregnant and to needing help mentally after giving birth, neither of which were easy to write out and share.

 

I had a hard time writing on my blog the past year due to repressing my true feelings for fear of what my readers would think.  When I actually spoke about my issues, I lost 2 followers.  Did I care?  I tried not to, but I did.  It is hurtful to think that how I felt affected them so much that they know longer wanted to read what I have to write.  Am I better off with out them?  I think so.  I should be able to write out my true feelings and not have fear of backlash.  This is my life, not anyone else's, and I just wanted to put it out there that life isn't always sunshine and roses.

 

2013 was also great to me.  My kids are thriving in Lubbock and God blessed us with an addition to our family.  With all my unhappiness about being pregnant and overly worrying about Brayden no longer being the baby, Paisley has truly added to our lives in ways I couldn't imagine.  I will save that for another post though.  She was definitely the HIGH for 2013.

 

My resolutions for 2014 are going to be simple so hopefully I can accomplish them.  I am not good at resolutions, so I will just call them goals for the upcoming year.

• Pay down some of our debt
• Build up our savings account
• Write more
• Play and laugh more with my kids
• Find a church home

What are some of your resolutions?

Did you keep last years?

Are you ready for a new year?  I sure am!

Bring on 2014!!!

 

Wishing you all health, wealth, and happiness.

Gone are the baby blues

What a difference two weeks has made in my life!

I am feeling like my old self again.

I am feeling more energetic.

I am feeling calmer.

I am feeling more patient.

I am feeling so much happier.

I am loving on my children much more.

They are so much happier.

 

I know in the past few months, maybe more, my children have suffered from my feeling down.  They didn't get as many hugs or cuddles as they wanted.  I pushed them away, especially my older girls.  I was down and I didn't want them around.  I was sad Brayden wasn't going to be my baby anymore instead of being happy that I was going to have a new baby.  I was down on life, and my kids suffered.

 

I know that.

I am not proud of that.

 

Now is my time to change it, now is my time to love being a mom again.

 

We laugh more, we hug more, we cuddle more, we love more.

 

I am not saying pills will work for everyone or that taking something is the way to go for everyone, but taking an anti-depressant has changed my life.  It is helping me so much more than I ever thought I needed.  I can feel it and I know my kids can feel it.  Our house has changed for the better.

 

I only wish I would have spoken up sooner.  I tried not to talk about my feelings, and when I did, what I was feeling, I felt, got pushed aside.

 

For now though, I am happy.  Which feels amazing!

 

 

Baby Blues

Sorry I have been MIA from the blog the past few weeks, I haven't been in much of a writing mood.  I have been dealing with some personal things. 

I have been very down, blah, and just not feeling like myself since Paisley was born.  I have been constantly overwhelmed with all the kids by myself.  I yell way to much at the big girls and strain our relationship greatly most days, and I let Brayden wither away in front of the tv for hours a day, all while feeling stuck on the couch with no energy or enthusiasm to get up and live life.  A lot of days I feel lonely, I overeat, and I sleep horrible, I am just not myself.  I feel trapped in some one else's body.  My mood swings are out of control.  I can go from happy and content to crazy angry and yelling to feeling like crying my eyes out all within a matter of minutes.

I know "baby blues" are always possible after you give birth, but I never thought I would have it.  I am not sure if what I am experiencing is "baby blues" or just really bad hormonal changes due to getting my tubes tied.  I did not feel like this with my other babies, at least not to the extent that I do now.  Doctors are quick to tell you that there is no relation with getting your tubes tied and hormonal changes, but based on my mood, I feel otherwise.  This past week, I finally talked to my doctor about how I have been feeling, and hopefully will be feeling better in a few weeks (praying for sooner).  We agreed the best course of action, in my case, was to go on Lexapro.  I hope it starts to kick in over the next few weeks.  I never thought I would need to be put on something, however, if the medication helps me turn this all around, then so be it.
It has been very hard with 4, much harder than I ever thought it would be.  I never wanted to have 4 kids and I stressed and worried my entire pregnancy, but it was obviously in God's plan for our family and he is never wrong.  I love Paisley and wouldn't change having her for anything in the world.  She makes me smile and I know she will bring so much love and joy to our world that we would be greatly lacking with out her here. 

I was worried about how Brayden would be with her, but he has been amazing with her.  He always wants to hold her and give her kisses; I think he is very proud to be her big brother.  However, he has become increasingly insistent on getting my attention any way necessary, whether that is being overly sweet or throwing mega fits.  Maddi and Ella also love and adore her and constantly want to hold her, and they also try to keep her from crying as much as they can, they are awesome big sisters.

I hope that the medicine kicks in soon so I can get back to feeling like myself with my amazing family.  They deserve so much more than I give to them.

I am sure postpartum isn't overly talked about or that if what I am feeling could be from my tubal, but I wanted to put it out there.  If you are down, I don't think medication should be your first choice, but sometimes it may end up being the best choice.  The main thing is that you keep yourself healthy for your family and talk to your doctor about your feelings sooner rather than later.

Slow Down Christmas

It amazes me at how early Christmas has come this year.  It seems no one really cares about Thanksgiving anymore.  The stores are putting out Christmas decorations in August it feels like.  What's the rush? 
Have you seen this photo?  It is so true!

Black Friday ads have become 30+ pages long and stores are opening SO early, 6 am on Thanksgiving for Kmart!  I loved shopping on black Friday; the getting up in the middle of the night, the thrill of hunting for great deals, but 6 am, what's wrong with people?  The bad thing is, there will be people there shopping just to save a few dollars. 

Christmas has just become so commercialized and so overdone, it is seriously stressing me out!  The commercials make you think you have to buy everything for your kids or they won't be happy and you are a bad parent.  Or at least that is how I see it.

We have taken God out of everything in this country and it seems that he is slowly being pushed out of Christmas too.  The whole reason for the season is the birth of Jesus!  I think a lot of people are forgetting that.  I know it has even happened in our house.  Santa has outweighed the true meaning of Christmas, a fact that I am not proud of.  My kids know why we celebrate Christmas, but the "give me's" are crazy out of control.  I hope that I can change that this year, but it will have to wait till after Thanksgiving. 

I am very much looking forward to Thanksgiving this year.  My dad and step mom are having Thanksgiving at their new house this year and we won't be able to leave town with Marco's work schedule, so they are coming here this weekend!  My mom will be coming in for Thanksgiving like she did last year.  Marco has also invited some of his coworkers over Thanksgiving lunch.  It should result in some great times all around!

What are your Thanksgiving plans?
What do you think about Christmas becoming so commercialized?

The best floor cleaner ever

I am not the best at keeping my house deep cleaned.  I surface clean a lot and it is mainly just the living room that stays picked up (as best it can with 3 kids and a newborn). 

Mopping is not high priority on my cleaning list.  Who wants to get out the bucket and mop water every day?  So I have been using Swiffer wet pads.  They "clean" the floor, but they don't deep clean at all.  There have been many times when something falls on the floor and I pick it up but I don't wipe it up, and my Swiffer won't get up the stain or gunk it leaves behind, even if I use the scrubber part. 

 I haven't really let all the little stains, scuffs, and dirt bother me lately (with facebook a newborn there is hardly any time to deep clean) but I decided one night to deep clean the kitchen floor, and Lord knows it needed it.  After everyday life and multiple birthday parties, it needed some scrubbing.

I cruised Pinterest for a good mopping "recipe" and I ran across this one from Sweet Deals for Moms, and it was just what I needed.  I had all the natural ingredients on hand, and it was SIMPLE, smelled GREAT, and worked AMAZING!!  I wish I had some before pictures of what Swiffer left behind that this solution had no problem getting up.

The recipe is:

• 1/4 cup of white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dish liquid
• 1/4 cup of baking powder
• 2 gallons very warm water

Mix well in a big bucket to make sure the baking powder dissolves and the water gets sudsy, and start mopping.  Prepare to be amazed at how well this works. 

Sweet Deals for Moms does add that this mixture is not good for waxed floors so please keep that in mind.

This also makes a big batch since you use two gallons of water, so I knocked out all the floors that could/needed to be mopped (including the laundry room and both bathrooms).  I am also glad that my mop is from the dollar store and easy to replace because it looks gross (which means a lot of dirt came off the floor), so I call that a success!!

I hope you love this floor cleaner recipe as much as I do!

I also love it when I have help :)

 

What are some of your go to recipes for deep cleaning?

Terrific Tuesday #2

Time to recap my week with some things that made it terrific!

 

 

• Wednesday my friend and I took our boys to the Science Spectrum for their fall carnival.  The boys had a blast going through a maze, jumping in a mini bounce house, and playing carnival type games.  Afterwards, we went to lunch and our boys serenaded Chick-fil-a with their version of "Girl on Fire."  It was very entertaining.

 

• Wednesday night, I took the kids to a trunk or treat and to a church carnival.  They had fun seeing all the decorated trunks and playing games for candy.

 

• Halloween night was a blast!  We went to our friend's neighborhood for our 2nd annual Halloween block party!

There were 20+ kids on the trailer!

 

• Saturday the kids and I went out to Tech and tailgated for the first time this football season!  I forgot how fun it was to hang out in a parking lot!
• Sunday was a super lazy day!  Marco was off all day and we ordered pizza and watched football all day.
• Paisley has started smiling and cooing and it has to be the cutest thing ever!





Wordless Wednesday

Our past week in pictures, with as little words as possible ;)

 

Ella was sick on her actual birthday

 

Paisley has started smiling

 

Brayden got sick

 

Ella's late "birthday dinner"

Make a wish

 

Soccer Saturday

He is no longer Brayden, he is now "Super Reader"