A day with the boys!

A while back Aunt Beth & Nana took the boys for a fun sleepover while Bret and I got some quality time in with our girls. This week, it was the girls’ turn to stay a full day and night with Nana & Aunt Beth while the boys got us all to themselves!

After dropping the girls off bright and early Bret, Korbin, Brody and I headed to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth for Brody’s annual appointment with his neurosurgeon (if you’re a newbie and don’t know the history click here). It’s a long drive anyways and when you add multiple car wrecks and TONS of traffic…ay yi yi. It took us nearly 3 hours before we finally arrived, but we did, and safely so I’m thankful for that!

The boys playing with the brand new touch screen games in the waiting area!

Big man being a brave boy getting his arm hugged…

Brody’s appointment went well and we’re super blessed to have gone 3.5 years with no shunt issues whatsoever. We went over the usual and all of the age-appropriate signs we should look for in the event a malfunction were taking place. Dr. Honeycutt did say he highly recommends adding a neurologist to our team of docs to help keep an eye on overall development so that will be our next goal.

I love the picture below of Korbin & Brody with Dr. Honeycutt.  I’ll never forget the bright and early morning of Brody’s surgery. Here we had three tiny babies far away in another hospital dealing with their own issues and my Brody lying in an unfamiliar place fighting for his own little life.  Bret and I were terrified but knew there was no other option than to go through with the surgery, praying for the best outcome and that the shunt could stop Brody’s swelling. Dr. Honeycutt came into the NICU, met with Bret and I and asked us a simple question that blew me away “Do you mind if I pray over Brody before I take him?”. My heart sank, I smiled, and cried as I stood in prayer with a perfect stranger for my little helpless boy. SUCH a great man and yet another doctor who will never know how much he’s appreciated.

The boys in the elevator – the hot air balloons on the walls were “beeaauttiful!” as they’d say!

After Brody’s appointment at Cheddars! We sat in a regular sized booth, high chair free, smiled for no pictures (besides this one, of course!) and answered no questions…bliss!

After lunch we headed over to Toys R Us. It was EMPTY and we let the boys roam and play with whatever they wanted. We hit just about every aisle (multiple times). We tried on masks, rode (and crashed) on bikes, played musical instruments, pushed little shopping carts and doll strollers…etc. Having just two to look after is SOO much less stressful than when we have all 4. The freedom was a dream for them and we all enjoyed it!

After Toys R US…Cabellas! Acres of boy fun…camping gear, fishing gear, hunting gear, stuffed animals and live fish…you name it it was there and the boys loved it!

SUCH a fun day for us as a little herd of just 4! Thanks again, Nana & Aunt Beth, for such a fun opportunity with our sweet boys!

DIY Homemade Laundry Detergent

Not my typical blog post title, ehh? It’s pretty self explanatory though, I am now officially making my own laundry detergent – go me! I’ve heard of people making their own detergent before but have never even thought of trying it myself. After visiting family in Kentucky a few weeks ago, I saw how Jenn made her detergent and decided to give it a whirl! I also recently (finally) signed up on pinterest where I found a ton of laundry detergent recipes (all very similar to each other) among a world of other phenomenal, crafty, DIY genius ideas! Who knows what I’ll be blogging about in the near future ;)

With a family of 6, soon to be 7, we spend our fair share of money on laundry detergent, fabric softener and all of the other cleaning necessities.  If I can save us some major money while getting the same results with my laundry, why not, right? I figured it’s worth a try. It’s been a few weeks now that I’ve been using my homemade detergent and I am loving it! I wanted to blog about it right away but wanted to make sure I was truly happy with the product before sharing it with my blog buddies.

What you’ll need: 1 Cup of Borax, 1 Cup of Washing Soda (not to be confused with baking soda) and 1 Bar of Fels Naptha Soap. I found all in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart and spent a total of about $7-$8.

Directions: Grate soap and mix together with the Borax & Washing Soda.

That’s it. Really, it’s that simple!

You only need 1 tbsp. of detergent per regular load of laundry. This batch made me just over 3 cups of detergent which should last at least 50 loads!!! The best part is I only used a single cup of the Borax & Washing Soda that came in those huge boxes seen above meaning they’ll last foreveerr and I’ll get plenty of batches out of them!

 

*You may be wondering if this soap is safe for HE washers. It is! We have one and although it has a compartment for powdered detergent, because of the small chunks of soap, I choose to put it right in with the laundry just to be safe. The detergent also has little to no suds to worry about with an HE washer.

*The biggest “inconvenience” with making it yourself (to some people anyways) is having to grate the soap. I did it in like 3 minutes. Totally worth it saving the $$ and we could all burn a few calories, right? ;)

*The soap smells GREAT in it’s powder form and while washing but I’ve found the clothes tend to come out nearly scent free. Not a bad thing necessarily, unless you’re a sucker for that strong fresh laundry smell :)

*You can also use a regular bar of soap (think Dove, Irish Spring, Ivory…or whatever other scent you like). I did make a batch using Irish Spring and had great results as well, no issues with the soap dissolving at all. Fels Naptha is most commonly used because it’s an actual “laundry soap”. In doing my research I read a ton of opinions, views and outlooks on the detergent and what soaps are good and not good to use. This recipe seems to work for us, if something changes, I’ll be sure to update!

*Be sure to store your detergent in an air-tight container or cute glass jar. For now, I am using an old yogurt container. As always, if storing the detergent (or anything for that matter) in an old food container, be sure it is labeled and away from your kiddos so there’s no confusion.

*Some say they add in a little Oxi-Clean to their mixture for a little extra boost, I personally chose to leave it out but may consider it for those super dirty loads in the future.

If you get the urge to make some for yourself, let me know how it turns out!  If you already make your own soap, please share as I’m always up for improvement !

Beach Bash!

Our local multiples group rented out a SWEET private beach a few nights ago. Ya know, most neighborhoods have the typical neighborhood pool or splash pad…not this neighborhood…this neighborhood has a b e a c h ! All the good stuff a real beach has to offer minus the fish, seaweed, and all of the other scary living creatures out there.  Being a private party the place was nearly empty (compared to a public pool). Bret was able to join us and we all had a blast hanging out with our multiples friends! A few pics for you to enjoy…

SOOO SO SO FUN! We can just build a beach in our backyard, yeah?!