I'm a snob..

for a good dishwasher soap that is. I do not want to wash my dishes before I put them in a dishwasher. That's stupid. And... I think... for a mom of kids - obvious. Why do what the machine itself is supposed to be doing???

We use cascade. We have tried 'cheaper' brands in the past only to find out that - well, basically, they don't work. Not for our house. Not for our messy oatmealy type dishes. Dishes that have been sitting out for hours or maybe days. (oops! Did I just divulge too much??) lol!

Anyways, we always came back to cascade. One problem. I don't care for the chemically smell that comes from the dishwasher when using it. ugh. (or the price for the amount of dishes we use!!!)

So I came across a make it yourself recipe on-line. I have known about this recipe for months, but honestly, had little faith in it - so I have just been sitting on the information. Until last week. We ran out of cascade and I decided to give it a go. I'd make a small batch and just planned on tossing it when it didn't work.

Weeellllll!!!! I am eating my words of unbelief!!! It works. And it works good!! My plastics don't even have that microscopic whitish film the cascade left behind!! Ahem... did you hear that??? The homemade batch works BETTER than the fancy store bought stuff. And.... it's cheaper. I'm sold.

Here's the recipe if you also want to 'give it a go':

1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda - and it is at King Soopers - and many other places)
1/2 cup borax (even Wal-mart carries this one)
1/4 coarse salt (I have coarse Kosher salt in the kitchen -easy peasie)

Mix together. Use one Tablespoon per load. You can 'heap' it if you want to. But I don't. It works great for our nasty dishes. (And if you know how un-super-clean I am, you can imagine how not immediately I get to the dishes.)

And finally - pour some white vinegar in the rinsing area. This may be key (but honestly I have been doing this for some time - even with the cascade)

Super easy. Super cheap. Lasts a long time. There ya go! You're welcome!!! :)

Moving

I myself am not moving, but our friends are. Bum!

We are 'losing' a few good family friends and neighbors to other states this year. I'm sad. Sad for my kids - because their kids are our kid's good buddies. :(

I have to admit we have have even talked about moving ourselves...a couple months ago, and again this last weekend. We have no really urgent, pressing need - other than to leave our first home for one we envisioned living in for a long time. (ie: bedrooms grouped together, not one in every corner and level of the house, a formal dining room, and a large yard to name a few of our 'dreaming' points)

But I'm torn on many levels as to whether I'm willing to make that 'moving' leap. Too much to really delve into right now, but here are a few of my thoughts:
- I'm tired, and moving sounds like a lot of work.
- I'm thinking I might be too lazy to move for a non urgent cause.
- I'd really like to have that house I've dreamed of (not so much a mansion - just the little things I would 'get' this time)
- I would like the kids to enjoy a big backyard while they are young and little. Not just something to come home to when they are in college or bringing the grand kids to see us.
- I'm freaked because, what if we get this (more expensive) new house and something happens... like a job is lost or the economy falls away completely. (we'd probably be screwed here or in a new place....but anyway)
- I can't imagine showing a house with four young kids in an economy where houses take awhile to sell.
- I don't know where to start when it comes to clearing out for good, and clearing stuff out for storage in order to list the house. That sounds overwhelming.

Well.. that's my random thoughts on us 'not' moving for now. I feel like I have been laying on a couch talking to my therapist. How much do I owe you??? :)

happy with less

In the beginning of the year, I mentioned my goal (resolution) would be to clear out clutter and live happily with less.

Because, frankly, we have too much freakin' stuff!!

Well, half year update here... that progress is going painfully, painfully slow. However, a month ago, I got rid of two car loads of nice stuff for a drive our church was doing, a different load went to the thrift store and another load to my mom's garage sale.

Still, our house is too crammed full. Must get rid of more!! (how the heck did we end up with all this??? I'm not even that big of a shopper!)

Well, yesterday I filled one and a half boxes for the thrift store again, and today I worked on my overflowing closet. I rearranged, and cleaned (not quite finished) and I filled the other half of that second box for the thrift store. I'm really proud of myself! The fact I could still find that much to get rid off after all the recent giveaways, is a big deal for someone like me. And ...it feels good!

how it ended up

Okay, so let's see... obviously I haven't written in a week and I need to let you know how we got the dog. Well! I last left you with us being angry and sad that someone else got the dog we wanted - even though we didn't 'want' a dog.

I kept looking at sites online over the weekend to see if I could find another forlorn dog that needed us. I kept looking, but part of me was already disappointed, because it wouldn't be... her.

So I look again at the Humane Society website on Monday... and WHAT!?!? - THERE she is!! She is BACK. Someone brought her back! ...uh... but why?? Now I want to know what is wrong with the dog. So I call the number listed for more information about her and ask. Turns out the lady that got her on Saturday just felt she (and another dog she picked up the same day) didn't fit in around her house.

I call Patrick. I call again. I keep getting his voicemail. Boo! Ugh! I want to tell him this crazy and unexpected news... the dog we saw is back!

An hour and a half passes. I text him again. He calls, and is like, what's the big deal?? What's going on??
Turns out he didn't get the other messages. I tell him the news and he tells me to go get her - right now! Go get her and bring her home! She is meant to be!

So I call mom and ask her to come and help me with the dog process and four kids. She agrees and I head to her house to pick her up. Patrick calls me with updates about four times on the way to her house and the pound. The dog is still there. (It's a first come first serve deal. If you visit the dog, she is on reserve for you and you only to adopt for an hour.)

We get there... and .... we missed her by FIVE minutes. What kind of cruel world do we live in??? We missed her by 30 minutes on Saturday, odds of all odds, she comes back and we miss her AGAIN.. this time by five minutes. You've got to be kidding me.

The kids are sad... yada yada. I'm a complete stress ball. Thank goodness mom came!!
She watched the kids while we waited to see if the other lady would take the dog home.

I'm guessing you know the end of the story by now... but that is it. The other lady didn't take her and we did. So... that is how we ended up with a dog.

how it started...

Sometimes I like to look at the clothes in Nordstrom. You know, $2000 dresses, $900 jackets...etc. But I can't afford that - you've gotta be kidding me.

I like to tour model homes that are far, far out of our price range. It's fun! A free activity I really enjoy. But I'm not moving, and even if I was, I couldn't/wouldn't move there.

So, there I was, it was Friday night and I was looking at the Humane Society website again. Sometimes, just looking doesn't mean you intend to buy. At least not in my world. There were some cute dogs available. I liked one Shih Tzu that was a girl, 8 yrs old, and two other male Shih Tzus 2 yrs old each. I am not much of a large, mutt dog person. I like the little cute ones I may not have allergies to.

Our son, Alex, went to spend the night with his friend. We were 'footloose and fancy free'! ;) We thought going for ice cream downtown sounded fun. But instead, I said, "let's do something different tomorrow (Sat.). Let's go down to the Humane Society and then on the way back grab the ice-cream." So that was the 'wild and crazy' plan for Saturday.

So on Saturday morn, we went to the shelter and even though Patrick didn't want to think we would ever get a dog 8yrs old, she melted his heart. And mine. Her eyes just beg you to save her. Awww...

Unfortunately, someone took her home just a few minutes from then. We inquired about her, and we missed her by 30 mins. Man! Wait a minute.... why were we so upset??... we weren't actually intending to get a pet that day... but we were mad. And sad. For the rest of Saturday. We were bummed. Oh well.. what could ya do??

A new, new pet

Well... I don't know what to say. I think for your sake and mine, I'll sum this entry up and perhaps elaborate later, as the story itself is quite interesting.

Here's the short of it:

Gil died. (our fish) Sunday night. Bummer.

Got a... dog.... on Monday.

It wasn't meant to happen. It wasn't on purpose. It just... happened.
We got the dog from the Humane Society and we have a 14 day trial period to see if the dog fits in, no one has allergies, the dog doesn't turn out to be deathly ill or something. We got her on Monday night and have 12 more days to go of trial period, but so far, so good. She's a sweet pup. Actually, she's no pup, she is 8 years old. But like I said, I will elaborate later I'm sure. And I'll post a pic later too... but to be honest, I'm only writing this so I can delay making dinner. And so, I don't really have the time to upload from my camera, but also... I'm feeling lazy. Which...is why I'm not making dinner.

I better go make dinner.....

Come again?????

My three year old daughter came into the house yesterday afternoon after playing in the hot sun and tugged on my shorts to announce something:

"Mama, I'm de-screp-a-mate-ted"
"You're ...what?? ...descrepamateted???"
"uh-huh. I'm descrepamateted."

Me, "okay, um... is that bad?"
(sad face) "yeah...")
"oh, I'm sorry."
She leaves and returns to play outside.

I have to tell you - I just don't know what to do with some of the information my kids hand to me!

We got a pet!!

This is a big deal, I feel... when your kids are six and younger - and there are four of them.

Let's face it. Most days I'm so proud of myself for cleaning up after THEIR poo and feeding them!! (hello!!)

But... on the other hand, this is starting to not be what I imagined in 'happily-ever-after-parenthood'. I figured that by the time my oldest was almost seven (he is) that we would have a puppy or something. Isn't that how it is in the movies??? Some cute as ever little boy gets a puppy and they turn out to be life-long friends.

However, I didn't realize that when he is that age, I'd also have a diaper-wearing, baby food eating, crawler - with toys and shoes of all sizes on the floor at all times... no matter how hard we try. Perfect trouble for a puppy. Chewed on shoes, choked on Barbie shoes.... what's a parent to do??

I'll tell you what - you get a fish.
(drum roll please...)
Introducing..... Gil

Last day of School

Summer's here! Today is the last day of school! We have an ice-cream party planned, play dates.... ahhh...

Let's hear it for play dates. Lots and lots of them!! I don't know how to live through summer without them. oh... and child labor of course. uh... just kidding..

I have zero firm plans for the summer. Just lots of "happy thought plans". You know what I mean... you imagine lemonade and play dates, days at the zoo, mornings at the park and afternoons in the backyard pool.

But that's just fairy tales without a plan. (And in the words of Rachel Green..."I don't even have a pla.") So, I'm setting out to make a plan. Here's the thing. I'm not super strong on 'following through'. So... I'm making this big announcement, but I'm not sure if it will ever get off the ground, or if it does, make it a whole week.
But here's hopin'! :)

Well folks, with just mere hours until I have all four kids in my hands 25 hours a day for 2.5 months... I gotta go! Plans to make! Schedules to draw up! Insane asylums to call! haha....

A Banner Day

You see that tag line under my blog title?? It's true. The very best parents in the world are those that have no children. Suddenly you have kids... and boom! Your perfect parent dreams go into the diaper pail with the exploded diarrhea diaper your baby just had.

But! This last Saturday was bliss. Pure bliss. I was... THAT mom. The June Cleaver, Betty Crocker, Martha Stewart super mom! Ahhhh....

Saturday the kids cleaned their rooms. Then we took them to the park - with fresh homemade zucchini bread and June Cleaver apples, sliced nice with cinnamon and sugar - it wasn't just three apples thrown haphazardly into the sack. Patrick and I even had warm chicken jambalaya! :) They all swung on the swings at the same time like some kind of picture perfect Anne Geddes scene.

They played kick ball in the grass with dad, we saw Grandparents, everyone was in a pretty good mood. I even had a few minutes to sun the very very white thighs I've been hiding under pants.

Later we took all four to the library and each got to pick out some books. At bedtime, I read a story to each and everyone of them. Lovingly and slowly. Not hurried, like some nights when I think if I don't kiss them and run out of the room for grown-up time fast enough, I'll die.....

It was a banner day, people. A great day. I was a 'good' mom, and enjoyed being her. Each bedtime was sweet and special. I wish I could remember moments like that more often.

...Like the next morning. Sunday morning. When each of them wanted to bite each other's heads off! Ahhh... Saturday... you were good to me. I miss you, and will think of you fondly!