Attempting to be a Super Mom

In my quest to go to homemade products and a more green lifestyle I decided I needed to make my own dishwasher detergent .  It was so easy and literally took minutes. Homemade Dishwasher Detergent What you'll need: 2 cups borax 2 cups baking soda 1 cup salt 2 cups lemi shine Mix all of the ingredients and store in an air tight container.  It is recommended that you leave in a bowl on your country for a day or two and stir frequently throughout that time to keep it from clumping together, then pour into an air tight container.  When you use, you'll use about 2 tbsp per wash and make sure you use white vinegar in your rinse compartment.

So, last night, I finally got around to making the homemade laundry detergent I've been wanting to.  It's so easy and not expensive, I don't know why more people don't do it.  I'm only assuming it's because they don't know how. Homemade Laundry Detergent What all you'll need: 1 bar soap 1 cup borax 1 cup washing soda a pot that holds more than 2 gallons 2 gallons of water a large spoon a funnel a grater 2 empty gallon jugs Grate the bar of soap and pour it into the pot. Pour in 1 gallon of water, and cook until the soap dissolves. Pour in the borax and washing soda.  Bring it to a boil.  It will coagulate.  Turn off the heat and stir in 1 gallon of cold water. Pour into the empty gallon jugs. Use about half of a cup per wash.  I kept an old laundry detergent cap to use.

The meal plan for last week was: Monday -  Pork ribs , corn on the cob, summer squash, watermelon Tuesday - In KC Wednesday - German Pancakes with ham Thursday - Pizza Crescent rolls , creamy corn Friday - In KC Saturday - Overnight french toast bake Sunday - In KC   Monday -  Pork ribs , corn on the cob, summer squash, watermelon Tuesday - BBQ chicken, watermelon, salad  (In KC) Wednesday -  Pizza Crescent rolls Thursday -  German Pancakes   with ham and grapes Friday - Mexican (In KC) Saturday - Sloppy Joes, fries, fruit salad (In KC) Sunday - Chicken kabobs, fruit salad, butternut squash, peppers, onions, mushrooms (In KC)    The meal plan for this week is: Monday -  German Pancakes , bacon, strawberries Tuesday - In KC Wednesday - Creamy chicken florentine, bread Thursday - Eggplant parmesan, and handmade ricotta cavatelli Friday - Vacation Saturday - Vacation Sunday - Vacation

The weather::: : Hot!  Another day in the hundreds. On my reading pile::: We Believe by Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, CM 50 Shades of Grey. On my tv::: Frasier  and maybe Breaking Bad  On the menu for this week::: Monday-  German pancakes, bacon, strawberries Tuesday-  In KC Wednesday-  Creamy chicken florentine Thursday-  Eggplant parmesan and Handmade Ricotta Cavatelli Friday-  Vacation Saturday-  Vacation  Sunday-  Vacation On my to do list::: It's kind of cheating because it's so late now, but pretty much all that's left is some laundry and the kitchen floor. What am I sewing, crocheting, knitting, or creating::: Finishing up my Giant Granny Square Blanket and starting on the one for Ben. Homemaking tips::: I just made my own laundry detergent.  I found out how from  Why Not Sew - How To Make Homemade Laundry Detergent Looking around my house::: Shawn is in the shower upstairs and I can hear th...

We used to eat German pancakes every now and then growing up and I always remember loving them.  I remember my mom having to make a couple because we would wolf them down.  These are a little different than I remember us eating as a kid but still so delicious.  I spent forever, searching through a bajillion recipes and finally found this one that looked yummy. German Pancakes Ingredients: 6 eggs 1 cup milk 1 cup flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp butter, melted Place eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth.  Pour the melted butter into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish.  Spread it around and then add the batter.  Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Buttermilk Syrup Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup butter 2 tbsp corn syrup 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp vanilla extract In a good sized sauce pan*, combine the sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, and baking soda; bring to a boil. ...

In an effort to use my Mason Jars that I've been buying... I decided to try this muffin idea.  I have to say, they turned out delicious and really cute! Also, they are so easy, so I don't know why someone wouldn't do something like this. Mason Jar Muffin Breakfast I used muffin mixes, but make any muffin recipe you like.  Instead of cooking them in a muffin tin, use 4 oz mason jars.  We made 6 chocolate chip, 6 blueberry cheese cake, and 6 wild berry. After they've cooled a bit, put yogurt over the top.  For the chocolate chip we used vanilla and honey greek yogurt and for the fruit muffins we used strawberry and honey greek yogurt. Put on any additional toppings you like.  For the chocolate chip we sprinkled some peppermint hot cocoa mix and chocolate chips over the top and for the fruit muffins we put some cut up strawberries and blackberries on top. Enjoy!

When Shawn is away for work, we usually cook simple and quick meals.  This definitely fit the criteria for that and was pretty tasty too.  My kids love anything pizza or even just cheesy so it worked well.  I did, once again, get this from Sandra's page. Crescent Roll Pizzas Ingredients: Crescent rolls pepperoni cheese sticks Directions Preheat the oven to the temperature on the package of the crescent rolls.  Lay out the crescent rolls and put about 4 pepperonis on each one.  On top of the pepperoni, place a mozzarella cheese stick, and then roll up the crescent roll.  Bake for about 14 minutes until the crescent rolls are golden and the cheese is melty. Yum!

I used Sandra's food blog as my cooking Bible.  I'm pretty sure that any thing I'm looking to cook, she has a recipe for. Haha!  I was looking for something a little different than the usual for us because Shawn was going to be going out of town and I wanted to give him an amazing home cooked meal before he left since he'd be eating restaurant food for the next 3 days.  I decided for ribs.  I've never cooked ribs of any kind before.  I love to cook (and not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty good at it) but I don't get out of my comfort zone often and I'm beginning to want to do that more.  You can find her recipe here .  These came out absolutely amazing and just fell right off the bone. Slow Cooked Ribs Ingredients: Spare ribs can of sprite salt pepper garlic powder paprika bbq sauce Directions: Cut the rack in half so it will fit in the crockpot.  Season both pieces on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic, and paprika and pu...

But I'd rather blog.  To be fair I've done quite a bit today and now I'm thinking of recipes to post and updates on the stuff I've been up to, which isn't really anything other than what I'm usually doing... Here's what I have to look forward to when I'm done blogging.  Laundry... blech! Also, poor Mr. Unicorn is in need of Dr. Mom. I feel like I spend the majority of my time being Dr. Mom to my Destructo kid's toys.  Ben and Sydney watch this show called Doc McStuffin and she is able to fix all of these toys and somehow my kids think I'm able to do that.  Mr. Unicorns open belly is not a problem, but when pieces come off of Ben's Transformers and he thinks I can just glue them back on, I'm totally lost.  Some toys can be just glued back together but can Transformers? My blanket is coming along nicely and I'm almost done.  My kids have already voiced that they want their own so I went to Walmart and stocked up on beautifu...

The meal plan for last week was: Monday -  Creamy taco pasta bake , chips and  super mild salsa Tuesday -  Ranch house crockpot porkchops , rice, veggies, and bread Wednesday - Encore Thursday - Roasted Chicken, veggies, mashed potatoes Friday -  Spaghetti  with  meatballs  and bread Saturday -  Baked chicken ,  creamy corn  and fruit Sunday - In KC   Monday -  Creamy taco pasta bake , chips and  super mild salsa Tuesday -  Ranch house crockpot porkchops , rice, veggies, and bread Wednesday - Encore   Thursday - Jimmy Johns Friday - Burgers by Biggs Saturday - Go Chicken Go Sunday - Cheese burgers, hot dogs, sweet potato fries, veggies, watermelon The meal plan for this week is: Monday - Pork ribs, corn on the cob, summer squash, watermelon Tuesday - In KC Wednesday - German Pancakes with ham Thursday - Pizza Crescent rolls, creamy corn Friday - In KC Saturday - Overnight french toast...

The weather::: : Too hot!  I'm so ready for it to cool down just a tad. On my reading pile::: We Believe by Fr. Oscar Lukefahr, CM 50 Shades of Grey. On my tv::: Frasier Breaking Bad  On the menu for this week::: Monday-  Pork ribs, corn on the cob, summer squash, watermelon Tuesday-  In KC Wednesday-  German pancakes, ham Thursday-  Pizza crescent rolls, creamy corn Friday-  In KC Saturday-  Overnight French toast bake  Sunday-  In KC On my to do list::: laundry dishes make beds clean windows What am I sewing, crocheting, knitting, or creating::: Finishing up my Giant Granny Square Blanket and starting on the one for Ben. Homemaking tips::: I can't really think of anything at this time. Looking around my house::: Rylie is napping next to me, the big kids are cleaning their room, and the dog is snoring at my feet.  Dinner is cooking in the kitchen and smells amazing! From t...

I want to start off by saying that I had a wonderful birthday!  I'm so blessed to have the best family and I love spending time with them. This last weekend, my mother-in-law took me out shopping for some clothes because I never buy anything for myself and spend any money I have on the kids.  I just want my kids to have the world.  I can't help it if I spoil them.  I always say that Shawn and I don't have nice things but our kids do, and that's the way it should be.  Anyway, Saturday evening,  I went out shopping with Shawn's mom (Julie) and his brother's girlfriend (Morgan).  We had such a good time and I got some really great new clothes. Morgan is a tall skinny girl with this crazy ability to wear the highest freaking heals, even when she's pregnant.  We laugh and call her shoes hooker heels, so when we were at the shoe store she was dancing and wearing some of the obnoxiously cute neon colored heels.  I jokingly titled this picture St...