haley's shower.

on saturday i had the opportunity to co-host a shower for a sweet friend who is in our small group from church.
she is also MY sisters, sister-in-law.
so we are kind of related, right?
the shower went great! it is hard to judge the amount of people who will come, to the amount of brunch needed. but all of our numbers came out right!
Mrs. Ice gave the devotion, she is a mother of 3 grown boys. it is always so encouraging to get advice from mothers who have been there. and loved it.
(at this point in my typing i feel like i am writing a shower review for a small town newspaper. so i will now list everyone in attendance, in alphabetical order. just kidding.)
but seriously, the shower was fun--you can tell by my pictures what my responsibilities were.
decorations! and the activity.

you knew i would make a banner.

color scheme was fall/oranges/baby boy blue

sticks from the back yard, glitter sprayed.

see that baby bump?

mrs. Ice encouraging Haley (& everyone!)

the activity--handmade burp clothes!

joes birthday/ play dough.

according to bentleys to-do list...we have a full week!

today, is my baby BROTHER'S birthday.
his 10th birthday.
(and he isn't having a victorian tea like i did.)

i am holding on to him being a kid for as long as possible.
so i made him play dough.

Grandma Kathy's play dough

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 Tablespoon Alum
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 Tablespoon oil
• food coloring
  
  step 1 : Mix the dry ingredients together
  step 2: Boil together oil, water, & food coloring
  step 3: Pour into dry ingredients and mix well
  kathy's notes: I found that you don't want to heap the flour (or it is to dry) and don't let the water boil any length of time (or it will boil away some moisture) So I have my dry ingredients ready the minute it starts boiling.
  

  

  
  

  and in the spirit of birthdays...

  i found old pictures. 

  (mary, you KNEW i had to bust this one out!)

  our first look at the little guy. the end of my junior year of high school.

  i'm pretty sure no one else in my class had a baby brother born that year.

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  this is the age i remember him the most. maybe it was because that was when i lived at home. weird to think i moved out when he was only 2.

  
  

  

   this is a gem. i am a few months younger than joe in this picture, but it is amazing how much we look alike/are built the same! and yes, those ginger snaps got a purple ribbon at the fair.
  

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  

   happy birthday, joe!

  you are a great guy.

  we are so blessed to have you as our brother.

  

  and since we are going through old pictures, might as well bring out shawn's jr prom teal jacket.

  
  

   

  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

laundry soap.

for about the last 6 or so months i have been making my own laundry soap! it isn't anything new or invented by me, but it works great for us! it is cost effective-which is a huge plus, and i like that it has minimal ingredients/low on added fragrance. don't get me wrong, one of my favorite things in life is good smelling laundry-so that is very important to me. but this stuff is amazing! oh yes, and it also get your clothes clean.

what you need:
arm & hammer washing soda
borax
oxiclean
fels-naptha bar soap
optional: downy scentable beads ( i will note here, at my wal-mart, when these first came out, they had tons of samples. so whenever i would walk down the laundry isle i would grab a few. so i actually never bought them, which would up your price a little bit. it also adds a fragrance that might not work for sensitive skin. when i run out of my samples, i will just add in some essential oils for extra fresh scent.)
also optional: 19 month old helper. who is obsessed with standing/walking sitting on the counter & unwraps your soap for you.

recipe:
2 cups washing soda
2 cups borax
1 cup oxiclean
1 bar fels-naptha
1 cup downy beads or 30 drops essential oil

mix together your powders.
grate or grind your soap. i have previously used my enormous cheese grater. this time i used the chop attachment to my immersion blender. i like the small pieces better.
add soap & beads or oil.
mix together well.

i have found that about 2 tablespoons is a good amount to wash with. (you can tell if you are using to much, your clothes won't feel as squeaky clean-if that makes sense.) also, i usually times the recipe by 3 since you will have such large quantities of the washing soda & borax.