Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been wanting to try making homemade laundry soap, but never found the time or recipe.  A friend of mine was showing me around her house and I saw the homemade laundry soap.  I mentioned that I've always wanted to try it.  So she sent me home with a container of it.  I loved it and have since made my own batch.
Why I like it:
1- Its free of dyes and perfumes. It smells great!  Light and fresh.
 I'm 'sensitive to fragrances, but this one I like.
2-It's gentle on our skin.  We haven't had any rashes from it.In fact I think my skin and the girls' is less itchy and dry this winter because of it.  
3- It works great!  I haven't been pretreating clothes with this recipe and they still come out clean.  When needed you can water the garment and rub the Fels- Naptha on it as a pretreater.
4- Its cents per load to make.  Super cost effective!  This recipe costs about 0.71 cents to make (depending on where you purchase your supplies).  It will give you 64 loads. That is about .01 cents per load
5- I used to have a mildew or musty smell in my washer when the water fills, but after I started using this soap its gone!
6- I feel great making something homemade and natural for my family.

This is all you need to make many batches...Borax, Washing Soda,
  Fels-Naptha, and water.

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Let it sit for the full 24 hours or it wont gel properly.  The consistency a watery gel, not a solid gel.

  In the picture above you can see it makes 4 half gallons.  

The soap is a low sudsing soap, so If you don't see suds, its OK.  Suds aren't what does cleaning, its the ingredients in the soap.

July 31st

This has been the longest 2 months of my life...
July 31st. A day Ill never forget. A day that changed our lives.

This is the story of Elissah and her diabetes.
We had just come off of a week VBS every evening at church when she got a summer virus.  Kocksaki was going around the church nursery and it could have been that.  We know now that this illness was her body's 'trigger'. Trigger to attack her pancreas and start this disease.  She had a low grade fever for 6 days when I decided to bring her in to our family practice doctor.something wasn't right.  Couldn't put my finger on it, but she was much to sick appearing for a temp of 99 degrees.  I thought she was getting better because she still had energy, was drinking alot and still had wet diapers...too many wet diapers and too much drinking in fact. Now that I have looked back all the signs were there!  But on day 6 of her illness she seemed to take a turn for the worst.  Her breathing in particular bothered me.  It was a huffing and puffing pattern that was rapid, about 60 breaths a minute.  Normal is half that amount.  Her energy seemed to disappear and was practically limp in my arms. I would try to nurse her and she would just let the nipple fall out of her mouth!  I truly was concerned but her fever was only 99 still so I thought the doctor would laugh me out of the office.  I brought her in anyway and told him all my concerns.  He wasn't concerned about her fever, or her hydration status.  She was still drinking lots of water and having lots of wet diapers.  He checked her lungs and said they were clear and that she was breathing fast because it was hot outside and she has a fever.  Ummm. No. I wasn't happy with that answer.  You don't tell an ex-PICU nurse that her baby is breathing 60 because its hot outside! Hello- we were in air conditioning and live in AC as well.  Even a mom who isn't a nurse should see that as red flag!  He dismissed us as her having a virus and call if she gets worse.
Over the next few hours she took a nap in my ERGO and woke up vomiting green. Bright green toxic looking and the same came from below!  So I was seriously looking at what was coming out of my baby and thinking it looked metabolic.  So I'm pacing my house cradling her trying to sense of all this.  OK. So I knew she was metabolic and was breathing way too fast so as to try to burn off extra carbon dioxide...Then It started to all come back to me. My years as a peds nurse in the ED and PICU.  She was acidotic!  Now why??  Why was my daughter acidotic? This part is funny...
Laptop in one hand on my bed, baby in the other, kids downstairs creating havoc, and I'm googling metabolic acidosis!  what am I doing??  If I'm even thinking this is what she has, I need to get her to the ED! I slammed down the cover, called Mike and told told him to meet me there.  He had taken the boys to Darien Lake and was still an hour away. ( it was the last day to use our free passes)
Erik was also gone! ( at camp)  Thank the Lord! Sarah ( Erik's BF) was home 3 doors down and she  came to watch the kids while her mom drove us to the ED.  It was the worst thunderstorm of the summer and I was worried about our safety, I almost called the ambulance.
I sat in the backseat with her and watched her go in and out, talking to her, asking her to stay with me, I was afraid that if she fell asleep she might not wake up. Her lips looked so dry and she was so pale.  I was wondering why hadn't I seen this before?  3 hours before I was in the doctors office and he hadn't noticed either!  I prayed Dear God! Please keep her safe! Please keep her with me!  Guide Roseanne as she drives.  I was also trying to keep a clear head in case I needed to do CPR on my baby...
Once we were in the ED I felt relief wash over me.  I knew we'd be safe now and taken care of.  I used to work there and I recognized the nurses and staff.  It was a good feeling!  They rushed us back and began working on her immediately.  Her breast milk baby fat wasn't an advantage when it came time to get an IV in her...plus she was dehydrated in spite of the excessive drinking.  They had to turn off the lights and use a special light to see thru her skin and locate a vein that way.  Ive done all this on other children, but its so very different when Its your baby laying on the bed crying for you while they do their job!
They just finished putting a catheter in (on the second try) when someone yelled out her blood glucose number they tested at the bedside....538!
It took me a minute to register. I couldn't process what they were implying, what the NP was trying to tell me. My baby was in Diabetic Keto Acidosis! what? no way?'
The next few hours were a blur with Chest xrays,  more attempts at a second IV, and staff coming in and out...   At times Ive judged moms and couldn't understand why they left the rooms when their baby needed them... now I know.  Mike had arrived to comfort her and I used that opportunity to call my mom.
I couldn't leave that cubicle fast enough!  Standing in the hall looking outside I rang mom and as soon as I heard her voice I broke down sobbing as Ive never done before!
It wasn't just because she was diagnosed with Diabetes, but an accumulation of emotions over the past few days came to the surface...  I was mainly feeling guilt.  Although false was real at the time.
We didn't stay long in the ED because the transport team from the PICU came for us.  How bizarre it was to be riding in the back of the ambulance.  When I worked, I received  transports from the ED.  Weird moment for me.
We spent the next 2 days in the PICU and she was on an Insulin drip.  Ill try to paint the picture...
There she was now with a second IV, one in each arm, straightened and boarded down so the IVs don't bend in her arms.  Laying on the metal crib inconsolable as she was not allowed to nurse or have anything by mouth.  Her body ached from the high glucose- a side effect. I tried putting her the ERGO to sleep, as she liked that at home.  Wires, tubes and all! We were tethered by a 3 foot radius, so that was difficult...    And she was being poked for blood every half hour to an hour, either by finger prick or blood draw from her IV.  The IV draw involved putting the tourniquet on tight so the blood would flow back into the syringe. Even though there wasn't any needles involved she still screamed.  To top it all off they were worried about brain swelling from possibly bringing down her sugar too fast, so the nurse did neurological checks every hour.  Just as she would get back to sleep she'd be awakened by someone prying her eyes open and flashing a light in her eyes!
Oh lovely! And there I am pumping my breast milk in the corner while she is moaning in the crib.  No matter what I did she kept crying.  It's an awful feeling when you can't comfort your child.
All this went on for a good 12 hours.
She stabilized and her blood levels were reaching their goal marks so they backed off on the every half hour blood draws and went to every hour, then every 2 hours.
Finally I convinced them to let me nurse her...or at least I feel like I did the convincing.
I felt more human when we were finally able to leave the PICUs close watch and spend the next 2 days on a regular peds unit.  One IV came out, she was only getting finger pricks every 3 hours, they brought her toys,  her nursing had picked up, and she was getting back to her regular self! Smiling even! I hadn't seen that in over a week.

Reality was starting to settle in... As we were made to watch 12 videos about childhood diabetes, complete 7 learning modules, get quizzed on our knowledge, and demonstrate our abilities before we could leave.

Mike stayed with us every day and would go back home in the evenings.  We aren't usually together THAT much but it was nice being just the 3 of us for a few days.
The Lord was with us the whole time. I truly felt that!  He has a purpose for her life and mine.

I look forward to seeing how that all plays out!

Never say Never

That is one of my husbands favorite sayings... "Never Say Never".
I never thought we'd go Organic, but we are!  My husband and I would make jokes about 'organic' and 'in-organic' food.  Isn't all food 'organic'?
For a few years now Ive tried to stay away from high fructose corn syrup.  Then I stopped buying foods with MSG on the label.  (although we do love to get Chinese take out!)
A few months back I was talking with a co-worker of mine who is a dietitian.
She said "Do you know whats in peanut butter?"

I love PB!!  The hydrogenated oils in the PB make it essentially a 'Super Fat'!
Super Fat! I certainly don't need any of that! I already have enough regular fat hanging around...
So now Im addicted to natural peanut butter~
Then she mentioned that eggs from conventional farms have stress hormones and low nutrients.
In some places they cut off the beaks so they cant peck when they are in tight closed quarters.
So now they are stressed from not being able to peck, and that get transferred to us!
I don't know about you, but I don't need any more stress hormones! I'm good.
They also are fed not-so- nice foods and antibiotics to fight infections from being in too close.
Tip- You can tell if an egg is fresh by the way it sits up in the pan when you crack it.
And a healthy egg will have a nice deep orange to it. 
I now buy the cage-free chicken eggs when I can.  Like at the farmers market.
I have also bought the 'healthier' eggs at the local store...
click here for a good concise article on  types of eggs.
Our conversation then went on to milk products.  Not pretty.
I had no idea the milk industry was such a mess! 
Here is an article about organic milk.
My short conversation with her was very eye opening!
In general I'm trying to stay away from pesticides, dyes, preservatives,nitrites, and GMOs.
And when you go down that road pretty much the only way to ensure the foods don't have that stuff, you have to buy organic!
Definition of GMOs here
It can be challenging at times to stay within my budget, so I shop at BJ's.
They have a line of organic products that is their generic label.
They give coupon books every month to use.  and I'm not talking .50 cents here!
The coupons are for $2, $3, $4, etc...
AND you can use manufacturers coupons on top of the store coupon!
So Ive been searching online for the products I want coupons for and printing them off at home.
Another way I save money is by growing my own organic fruits and vegetables.
I have four 4x8 raised garden beds and another plot large enough for sprawling plants to grow.
(Currently I have cantaloupe there).  Raised beds really help keep down on weeds and pest control!
Ive never canned before, only froze, my veggies after blanching. 
But this year I plan on canning for the first time!
For meats, I try to buy vegetarian-fed, no hormones added, no antibiotics used, and uncured.
I do that because I don't want those chemicals passed down to my children or myself!
Antibiotics have a purpose but can cause yeast overgrowth in our bodies.
Yeast can cause behavioral problems, concentration issues, and immunity compromise in the gut.  Slowly over the past few years Ive been learning about yeast, I didn't learn all this over night!  In case some of you are wondering how does she know all this??
Ive found the best meat prices for 'healthy' meats at BJs also.
I also shop the organic meat counter at Wegmans looking for the meats that are discounted.
 The expiration date is close.  Our Wegmans also has $1 coupons around for their organic meats.
To save money on meat we buy a quarter Beefalo every fall.
 ( although we need to start getting a half!)

Another great website to find healthy growers in your area is Eat Wild.
(of course I had to put a nursing picture in this post)
That is where we found our beefalo dealer.
We have referred many families to our dealer and here is the info:

Beefalo, like their relatives the American Bison, thrive on the grasses and various legumes found in our pastures. We try to provide as much green grass, fresh air and sunshine as possible to our animals by employing rotational grazing to provide them with a fresh salad bar eating experience. This menu of grasses helps to provide our meat with more flavor and nutrition than found in conventional grain fed, feedlot beef from the supermarkets. Our animals are raised without implants, antibiotics, hormones and in most cases, no grain feeding. Various studies have shown that Beefalo is higher in protein, and lower in fat, cholesterol and calories than other meats and poultry. It is tender and tasty and cooks in less time than regular beef, with less shrinkage due to its lower fat content.

Our meats are processed in a USDA federally inspected packing house. They are dry aged in a cooler for two weeks to promote tenderness and a good eating experience. They are then cut and wrapped to your specifications and frozen, ready for your freezer and eating enjoyment. Available by the side, split half, or 50-pound mini pack.

If you have any questions or want information regarding current prices and available pick up dates, please phone us. We also offer a variety of handcrafted soaps made from Beefalo tallow and other fine oils.

Bennington Beefalo, Bob and Kathy Ott, 1990 Stedman Road, Attica NY 14011 (585) 591-2685.
E-mail: bobandkathyo@verizon.net

Baby-Led Weaning

I don't use the conventional 'spoon feed' your baby at 6 mo. approach. 
With my first 4 I did.  Couldn't wait to put them on cereal and purees!  Then along came Matthew boy...
A fat, healthy, thriving on breast milk alone- baby till 10 mo!  I went to  a natural mothering group and they weren't feeding their babies solids till 12 mo.- with studies to back it up . 
Even when I worked perdiem in the Pediatric ED I would pump or Mike would bring him to me on my lunch break and Id nurse him.  He was just as fat as he could be!
With the next baby, Rachael, I attempted to spoon feed her at 6 mo...have no idea why... and she cried the whole time I tried!  So we stopped that and I did the same thing with her.  Table foods around 10 mo.  This year I read a neat book Baby-Led Weaning by Gil Rapley.  I was able to incorporate some of things I have done in the past with new ideas.  The basic premise of the book is that its best for baby to learn to feed themselves.  If they control the food and feeding they wont overeat, as a baby can being spoon fed.  So around 6- 8 mo when a baby is able to sit upright and gasp objects, he can start. You will notice your baby taking interest in the foods you eat, and wanting to grab your plate. Just because they show an interest in your food, doesnt mean they want or need you to start spoon feeding them.  He simply needs to experiment and learn how to feed himself.  No need to supplement with foods when breastmilk is all he needs. The first few months are experimenting with textures, grasping, and learning not to gag.

There is a difference between choking and gagging.  Its ok for a baby to gag as he is learning to control his eating.  After a while baby gets adept at choosing foods they need. 

To do baby led weaning you breastfeed (or bottle feed) first, then sit baby down with the family for a meal.  Either on your lap (be prepared for a mess) or chair- never reclined.  Put soft, not mushy foods near so he can grab which ones he chooses.  Meats are good in 2 in strips as baby suck nutrients out as the meat softens. Toast is better than bread, as it wont get mushy like bread.  Pita or toast with hummus is one of Elissah's faves!  You may be wondering about starting foods one at a time...but that really is related to babies under 6 mo. whose digestive system isn't ready for foods. Or if there is a family history of food allergies.  Gill's book covers those topics.  Peanut butter is one you would wait on, and honey till after a year.  At 8 1/2 mo. Elissah has tried carrots, beans, pasta, steak, chicken, pita, hummus, eggs, potatoes, french fry, chicken nugget, sweet potatoe fry, cauloflower, broccoli, brown rice, toast, rolls, strawberries, tomatoes, apples, bananas, cheese stick, and organic spinach puffs. Not in any particular order and all without teeth.  She is having a great time experimenting with her food choices and in a few months will actually eat for nutrition not for fun!

Maple Fun

I have always loved the Maple themed time of year. 
Love the maple leaves in fall and the sap and syrup in Spring.
This year we did a Maple unit study and lapbook.
I got the books from the library.
And the unit study free from www.homeschoolshare.com.
As with all unit studies, our Maple study was centered around a theme,
 but had many branches (no pun intended).
So not only did we learn about how Maple syrup was made, but we learned new vocabulary and spelling words, geography, Indian and Pioneer customs, liquid measurements, and life cycle of a Maple tree.  Plus it was fun! Gave us a break from our everyday studies, but still with lots of learning and activities.

Here are pictures of our lapbook.  Mostly done by the older boys.

One of the highlights were the maple milkshakes we made at home one night.
Sooo good! And easy as you can see from the ingredients above. Just play around with it, till you get the flavor the way you like it.
We also enjoyed the trip to the Genesee Country Village and Nature Center in Mumford, NY.
In the nature center we walked thru the timeline of maple sugaring in the woods.
Starting with present day and ending up in 1800's.

In the village we sampled old time hot cocoa, sugar on snow, and a homemade cough remedy.
I know that last one doesn't sound appealing... but it was good! Made with maple and vinegar.
We saw a candle making demonstration, learning that old time candles were made with beef fat, not wax.  Mike enjoyed the brewery the most.  (don't need to elaborate there...) But seriously the boys did ask lots of good questions to the brewer (again, no pun intended) and learned many things about chemistry in the brewing processes.

Our day at the village was complete with an 'all you can eat' pancake, Maple syrup, and sausage breakfast. For us it was lunch...

Sensory Tub

I saw a friend post pictures of her preschoolers playing in a plastic clear tote filled with water and floating penguins toys.   It was labeled a 'Sensory tub'.  Well, in all my 6 years of home school, I had never seen that! How did I miss that?? 

I didn't have a plastic tote to spare, so I used  a large black metal one.

Added anything we had on hand...rice, decorative sand, marbles, small seashells, smooth stones, sunflowers seeds (in the shell), small plastic animals, and croutons.  Have since removed the croutons as the kids wanted to keep eating them...  I don't have a picture of it, but I also gave them small tin pails to play with from our Blueberries for Sal book and activities.  So they were able to hear the different sounds of each object as the were scooped or placed into the pails.  It was great for all the senses!  As well as hand eye coordination.  Then they had the idea to get their magnifying lenses out.  I meant it for my 2 and 4 yr old, but the 6 and 8 yr old couldn't keep their hands out of it.
It kept them occupied for hours! 
My husband didnt care for it much because of the mess...so we only use it when he is isnt home:)
Sometimes the kids get too zealous and the contents end up out of the basin...  So now I put a towel down for easy cleanup.

Calories Count

Mike and I watch the biggest Loser every week.  Just like some couples watch Idol, or Bachelor, we watch Loser.  We really enjoy watching them succeed and get healthy.  Up until recently I would eat a  bowl of ice cream while watching them sweat.  For some reason that show made me hungry! 
Mike has started working out with our Wii Fit and it inspired me to do something about my 'baby fat'.
I always considered myself to be a healthy eater for the most part, so I started calorie counting.  In addition to that we joined the community center gym and track. 
Back to the calories...  I wasn't sure how much I actually was taking in, so one day I just kept a food log. I wrote down everything I ate and drank.  If I knew the calories  I would write that down.  Otherwise I would look up the item online when I had a chance.  I did it for about 3 days.  Not limiting my intake but eating as I normally would.  The results were interesting...
1700 - 1300- 1000. 
Now I had these results, I wasn't sure If they were good, bad, or ugly.  Mike thought my 1700 was too high.  So I found a neat website to plug in my foods, calories, etc... click here
Here are my results:

Results

You should consume about 1,374 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 140 lbs . This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1 lbs per week, which should be reached by July 18, 2012.

Experts recommend weight loss at the rate of 0.5-2 lbs/week. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. It may vary slightly depending on other factors.

Generally, women should not consume any less than 1,200 calories per day, and men should not consume less than 1,500 calories per day. 

So I felt discouraged when I saw that...
However I went to a breastfeeding website I know and trust and found out different information there:
Studies have shown that most healthy breastfeeding women maintain an abundant milk supply while taking in 1800-2200 (or more) calories per day. Consuming less than 1500-1800 calories per day (most women should stay at the high end of this range) may put your milk supply at risk, as may a sudden drop in caloric intake.

I am now trying to eat when I'm hungry and not worrying about calories. I have also started to walk and do Zumba at the community center. 
It was very eye-opening and I would encourage you to do the same~