Happy Birthday Gramy!

Josie's Beautiful Cake- She asked Grace what to put on it. Grace told her Darby, Tigger, and Pooh picking apples. (just a little too complicated!)

My last Pregnant Photo- not exactly a belly shot. (but I'm okay with that)

Making Funny faces/ Grammy's Birthday Necklace

Last Saturday I spent the entire day cooking a big meal. Sunday was my mom's birthday and my siblings and I worked together to make a special dinner. I made homemade rolls, bbq meatballs, greenbeans, and cheesey potatoes. (Little did I know I would be having a baby the next "day" or I would have probably been cleaning!) We went to early church then headed to my parent's house. It was a lot of fun spending time as a family & celebrating my mom's birthday.

Grace & Faith made my mom a special fancy birthday necklace. Grace even drew a birthday cake to put on it. It turned out pretty cute. For Christmas we got my sister some cake decorating supplies, so she did the cake. I thought it turned out great!

Get Well Soon Balloons

Before the baby was born we all had the flu. (actually Faith had it twice) So, Jeremy's mom "Nana" surprised the girls by sending them balloons. They loved it. They came on Grace's first day of school so she got extra bonus points for that. I am hoping they still have a little "get well soon" left in them because when I was in the hospital Jeremy was not feeling well and now Faith has the flu for the third time. The girls have played with them a ton, they really love balloons. Thanks Nana!!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

My official "stirrer" isn't she adorable?

Well, with Jeremy's job changes I have been re-inspired to try and be extra frugal. When Stephanie and Lindsay and I got together for our girls day they mentioned homemade laundry detergent. So, I started doing some online research and decided to give it a try. After feeling totally overwhelmed with all the different recipes and ingredient ratios I finally decided to use a recipe I found on the Duggar's website. I figured who is more economical or experienced with doing lots of laundry than the Duggars? Basically most recipes include three key ingredients Borax, Washing Soda (not to be mistaken for Baking Soda), and Fels-Naptha soap. I was able to find the Borax at Wal-Mart and the other two ingredients at a local grocery store. I also purchased a new 5-gallon bucket & lid from Wal-Mart. I didn't want to reuse one due to the chemicals.

We made our first batch while Grace was at her first day of school. Faith enjoyed being my official "stirrer" for the project. It was really easy and probably only took like 20 minutes, which would normally probably be ten. I am excited to try it out and see what I think. I will let you know. I am also contemplating making frugal "dryer sheets" and baby wipes.

If you are interested you can find the recipe I used here.