Hello Dirt!

Thad has long been obsessed with the little tags that come in the pot when you buy a new plant. He goes around the backyard, retrieving each tag, and carries them around, using them to scrape the dirt in my veggie bed. As of yesterday, he has moved on to using a shovel in my veggie bed. We had been banished from our home by Justin, who was working on installing the hardwood flooring (I’m not sure why he wanted us out of the house, Thad is REAL good at helping). So we were hanging out in the backyard, making trouble. I watched Thad figure out how to use a shovel, and even though he was destroying my bed, I figured I shouldn’t stop little neurons connecting in his brain as he learned a new skill. (Please note that prior to discovering the fun of dirt, he had given himself a shower by walking back and forth under my just-watered-and-now-dripping hanging fuchsia). 

……And we’ll be getting our cucumbers from the grocery store now.

Taking a break from his destruction to make sure I had noticed the dob barking. Yes Thad, I hear him, thank you.

Checking the integrity of his work.

“What, Mom? Are you not happy about this?”

The filthy ear that I will have to wash. I’m sure he’ll cooperate. Ha!

The sweet dimple adjacent to the filthy ear. I forgive you!

Some of my remaining plants, pictures taken in case he comes after them next. :)

The Wall

At my parent’s old house, the house I grew up in, there is a wall in the kitchen that is covered with markings of all the kids’ heights. Over the years, 5 kids plus friends, cousins, etc, added up to a of of markings. It’s always made me sad that the wall is in that old house and not kept with my family. So, our idea for OUR family was to make a transportable wall. Justin screwed a board up on the wall in our garage, and we made our first lines.

Thaddeus, at a whopping 2 and a half feet tall

Going Green(ish)

Lately I have been thinking a lot about living simply, saving money, using homemade products, and eating more naturally. More on all of that later. One easy change was making my own laundry detergent. For a long time I have had an issue with the cost of laundry detergent and have felt disgruntled about having to spend 12 bucks to wash 64 loads of laundry. (Someone should pay ME to do laundry!) I have heard a couple of other moms lately talking about making their own detergent, and thought I would google it. Turns out most recipes are all the same as are the instructions. I used the recipe found HERE and the next time I made a trip to Walmart, I picked up all the supplies.

I was a little worried about finding the specific ingredients, but they had everything I was looking for (borax and washing soda in the laundry detergent aisle and soap in the soap/shampoo aisle). I spent a grand total of under 6 dollars, and made 2 gallons of detergent. Each load uses a 1/2 cup. I won’t do the math, but it is going to last me a LONG time, I usually do about 5 loads of laundry a week. Not only did I get 2 gallons of detergent, I have enough of my supplies left to make another 5 batches. To be fair, I should also add in the cost of the big bucket I store it in, since I bought it specifically for this purpose…so there is another 5 dollars, bringing it up to $11.00 total. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and it is working great, no different than standard detergent. For ease of use, Justin was kind enough to fill up an empty detergent bottle that is a more manageable size. So, score one for me and minimizing unhealthy ingredients while keeping a few of my dollars in my pocket instead of Mr. Walmart’s! 

Sweetface