DIYing - Hit or Miss

Recently I have been scouring Pinterest looking for ways to be more economical not only on my wallet but also towards the environment. Something I really want to do is make my own cleaners. I sometimes have trouble with commercial cleaners because of the smells, especially now that I'm pregnant. I don't particularly like the strong smell or amount of chemicals found in commercial cleaners either. And I really don't enjoy the price tag on a lot of them.

For the past 8 months, I've made my own powdered laundry detergent and have loved the results I get with our CD, but it doesn't seem to work as well on our clothing. My best guess is it's not working as well because we wash everything on cold except CD, which get washed on hot. The soap isn't really "melting" during the wash cycle. I found a liquid version of detergent that pretty much uses the same ingredients over at the One Income Family Living Blog and she had the same observations I did. It seemed incredibly simple and doesn't have many ingredients. Plus, she raved about the liquid version she tried so I was incredibly stoked to try it but severely disappointed in the results. Now, I don't know if it didn't work well because of the type of soap I used (Soft Soap instead of Fels Naptha) or what but I was definitely bummed about it. Actually, I still am... I might give it one more go and use Fels Naptha since that's what the recipe calls for and see how that works. Moving on...

I am in love with smells (good ones, not bad ones, in case you needed clarification). I'm a Febreeze junkie but can very rarely justify spending the money on it (even when I have a coupon), especially with how much I use it. I, of course, scoured Pinterest and the One Income Family Blog (if you click the link it'll take you to the recipe) had a recipe and I'm in LOVE! I bought a bottle of Snuggle in the Sweet Blossoms & Wildflowers scent and it smells amazing. I use it mainly on our bed linens in between washings and it's working just as well as Febreeze, plus it's ridiculously cheaper!

Another DIY recipe I found was to make hand sanitizer. I found this recipe over at the Little House Living blog and I LOVE it! (Hm... Pattern much??) I used Up & Up's green, moisturizing aloe vera gel in mine even though she says to use plain aloe vera gel. I like that it has more moisturizing properties and works just as well. It doesn't dry my hands out as much as regular sanitizer does. This is a fantastic alternative to washing your hands all the time, especially us mamas that are constantly changing diapers. I put in an old pump soap dispenser from Bath & Body Works and keep it near the kitchen sink.

The next DIY recipe I tried was making citrus infused vinegar. I really like the cleaning properties of vinegar but many times cannot stomach the smell. Side note: I still don't understand how people put vinegar on french fries! Over at My Merry Messy Life, she posted how to make it. It's sooooo easy! I used it for the first time this past weekend to clean my daughter's bathroom mirror and was pleasantly surprised that it cleaned just as well as Windex and left no streaks! I'll definitely be making a lot more of this to clean with. Now, I'll just have to eat more oranges. The next batch I want to make is lemon and lime.

The next few things I would like to try are making my own liquid hand soap (we run through it like there's no tomorrow and it gets expensive), making my own pad of paper (I use these all the time), and making my own fabric softener. I'll give my reviews once I make and try them.

Now on to more family oriented entertaining... I had my spring Thirty-One open house this past weekend and it was a lot of fun. Even though I only had 2 guests, it gave me a chance to sharpen up my talking points on the new products from my add-on kit, well brush up period because it's been a few months since I've had a home party. I have a party set-up next month and one in March already. I'm really hoping to get to the point where I'm doing at least 2 parties a week but would like to be doing at least 4 a week. I am working on building a team and have one lady who's about to join and another who may potentially join. My goal is to be a director by the time Harrison arrives in June.

Speaking of... I can't believe that I'm already half-way through this pregnancy! It feels like just yesterday we found out we were pregnant and in less than 6 months, we're going to hold another little baby. I am beyond excited but also a tad apprehensive. I don't know anything about baby boys! We're still trying to figure out the logistics of where Harrison and Love Bug will sleep in relation to each other but we have some time yet. :-) In the meantime, I'm just working on establishing some semblance of a cleaning routine and actually making/knitting some things for him. On an even happier note, I got the call from my OB this morning that my glucose levels came back normal so I don't have gestational diabetes! No finger pricking 4x's a day for me!! :-)

Well, that's about all I have for now so until next time, much love and many blessings!


♥Courtney♥

P.S. If you want to check out things I'm making for my LO's, check out my crafting blog, On My Needles.

Life...

...can be so dramatic yet so uneventful (my pondering of the day).

Andy and I went away with our friends last month to Atlantic City. It was so much fun and much needed couples time. Andy had been on loads of overtime since September so it was nice to just spend some quality time with him. We stayed at a beautiful resort and got to swim, do karaoke, and relax in a jacuzzi and hot tub. We ate at the Rainforest Cafe for dinner and had the best fajitas we've EVER tasted! I just love the atmosphere of the restaurant. It's created just like a jungle and has lights that flicker during "rain storms" with full sounds effects. It makes conversation a tad difficult during those times but it's still a lot of fun.

One of many aquariums throughout the restaurant

They move and trumpet

I went to my first casino (well the first casino I was actually allowed on the floor) and played my first slot machine, Mr. Cashman. I only played $20 but walked away with $53.44!! Not bad for my first time! Ryan and Jill both made out with more than they came with but poor Andy got nothing! Even though he lost, we still walked out with $13 more than we walked in with. :-)

I was so excited that I actually won!

After we finished there, we went to see Skyfall in IMAX. Oh. Em. Gee. It was uh-mazing! We spent the rest of the time just hanging and having quality time together. We are so thankful and grateful that our friends asked us to tag along on their weekend!

The weeks following our trip were a whirlwind of activity and getting ready for Christmas. I did lots of shopping, prepped for Kristi's classroom party, manned the snack station at her party, had my first family Christmas get together since my grandparents passed away, Christmas morning with both girls, and Christmas day at my in-laws. Christmas was so amazing, emotional, and wonderful this year! It was emotional because it's the first Christmas without Pappy John. The Bentzels made a beautiful video chronicling many joyous moments in our lives with Pap. Even though it made us sad to watch, it was joyous to share the memories. Here's a few pics of Christmas:

Christmas Eve PJ's

Little Love's Christmas Eve PJ's

Santa's cookies & milk

Love Bug opening her first gift

She LOVED this gift! 

My "macho" man! 

She's such a great big sister

Beautiful girls<3 i="i">

Shari loved her watch and earrings

My gypsy!

The loot!

Some updates on Trinity... She's in the 85% for height and weight. At her 10 month check-up, she was weighing in at 21 lbs, 8 oz. and 29" long. I'm sure she's up over 22 pounds now though! She's saying, mimicking, and doing so many new things! Her vocabulary now includes Uh Oh! (her first word that she actually understands the meaning), mama, dada, pretty, mmmmm, thank you, and boo. It's amazing how aware of her surroundings she is. She copies everything! She got a Fisher Price Rock Table from the Bentzels for Christmas and from the moment she started using it, "dances". It is soooo adorable! She's learning to point at things, like the Christmas tree. That's how she learned "pretty". She absolutely melts my heart when she points at me or Kristi and says, "Pretty!" So sweet! She's tried a bunch of new foods in the past month including: pineapple, pears, yogurt (plain and vanilla), cantaloupe, green beans, and a bunch more I can't even remember. Unfortunately, she has an allergy to pineapple, squash, and pears. She's pulling herself on EVERYTHING! In the past few days, she's started letting go and standing. She can hold it for about 30 seconds and then plops down. She loves to pull things off the shelves and turn the DVR on and off (I think she likes looking at the blue lights turn on and off), especially in the middle of watching a program! She also loves touching and pulling down every thing that's not hers, i.e. mommy's work binder, coupon binder, etc. I think her most favorite thing to do right now is put every stinking thing she finds in her mouth! Smh... I've learned to make sure nothing is sitting around that can be put in her mouth, no matter how big, and to vacuum every or every other day. I swear she finds the most minuscule crumb on the floor, you know, the ones that are microscopic to my eye but has a red flasher sign for her! Anyway.... she's now 11 months old and I just can't believe in less than a month, she will have been on this earth for a year! Incredulous is about the only word I can think of to describe that! In other news...

Being a Thirty-One Independent Consultant is just plain awesome! I love that I get to hang out with ladies, party, and gab (oh and have great food too)! I love that Thirty-One has helped me become a little more organized with their products but still be fashionable while being reasonably priced. I also love every thing this company stands for! Anyway... My purpose in explaining all that was to say that I'm love helping my family's financial future while enjoying what I do. Unfortunately, not many people feel that way about their "job". Well, on that note, I've got to do some "work" while Trin is napping so until next time... Much love and many blessings!!

♥Courtney♥