Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #5

Up:

• My Grandfather's funeral was truly a celebration of life. I definitely feel at peace with everything and I think he would be pleased as well! Thank you again to everyone for the thoughts and prayers.

It is extremely rare that we are all together, but here we are - the Major girl's! From the left we have my sister, Carey, my cousins Madison and Lacy, me and my cousin Holly!

• On Tuesday our newest nephew was born, William Mark Hefferly! He arrived unexpectedly a whole month early! He was having some trouble breathing, but things are looking up now! I can't wait 'til he gets out of the NICU so I can meet the little fella'! Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

• Thursday our Kennedy turned 100 days old! Pinkie and Pa made her a card for the occasion!

• Friday I had a great evening with the girls at Cheddar's for Mike's cousin, Mandi, and Abby, my sister-in-law's baby shower.
• Saturday Mike and I had entire date day! We went to mass and ate yummy fried cheese at Spanky's then went to the movies. It was a great day!
• Also this week Mike finalized the deal on his new truck! He bought my Dad's old pick-up a 2007 Ford F-150. He has wanted a truck for so long and when this opportunity presented itself, he jumped! So now we have to sell my Saturn Vue - anyone interested?

Down:

• Hard to have any downs when you have that many ups! Unfortunately, Mike is let us Monday to go back home. We will miss him terribly and can't wait until the end of March when we get to see him again. 
• Also, Jackson, Kennedy and I have all come down with a cold - yuck!

Favorite Thing:
   During tough economic times everyone is making sacrifices to save money. One of the things I've done to save money in our household is making my own laundry soap. I've been using homemade laundry soap for over a year now and have only had to make 3 batches. It is extremely affordable and easy to make. I haven't had any issues with stains, smells, etc.! My sister-in-law, Laura, is the one who got me started and shared her recipe. If you are interested in making your own soap here is the recipe:

Supplies:
6 gallon jugs (the Arizona tea or Tree Top Apple Juice gallons work really well)
5 gallon bucket with lid
funnel
long handled spoon (I found a great one at the Restaurant Supply Store)
grater
1 box Borax
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 bar Fels-Naptha soap (found on the laundry aisle)

Grate the bar of Fels-Naptha Soap. Heat 4 cups of water in a saucepan over medium heat, add grated soap and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Fill the bucket half full with water and add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of A&H Super Washing Soda. Stir until powders dissolve. Add melted soap and fill bucket full with water. Stir again. Let the mixture sit over night. After the mixture sits it will be a gelled consistency. Stir again, very well, to break up the gel. Fill each gallon container 2/3rds full with mixture. Fill the remaining 1/3rd of the container with water.
The containers will need to be shaken well prior to each use. This soap isn't like your normal laundry soap, it does not 'sud up' and therefore can be used in the HE machines. Just because you can't see suds doesn't mean it isn't working. If you would like to add a scent you may do so by adding 10 drops of scented essential oil (like lavender) to each gallon. I just use the dryer sheets to add scent to the laundry. I actually like the smell of the soap just the way it is!
3/4 cup for large load, 1/2 cup for medium load, 1/4 cup for small load

I'm about to portion out my soap into each jug - seriously super easy!

This is what the soap looks like after it's gelled overnight.