2 years ago today Layla Grace Marsh went to heaven after a valiant fight against Neuroblastoma stage IV. Please consider a contribution to the Layla Grace Childhood Cancer Research Foundation in her honor.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Let there be light
Really just wanted to come on & update on the progress with the bathroom. Its slowing down, but I'll settle for one "to do" comepleted per week. We're just about ready to paint the cabinets, but the prep is just dragging tail. Especially with Wes only being home once a week to help. My accomplishments are achieved in baby steps..literally. 10 minutes here; 10 minutes there, but I'm not being greedy. I look at it as if I am able to put in a solid 30 minutes into the room each day, well..thats a success. Piper has just been super clingy the past few weeks.
on a "family" note. Piper is mobile! Now, granted she hasn't mastered the beautiful "all 4s" crawl just yet, it looks more like an ape crawl..lol. And when all else fails she drags her body in the typical "army crawl" fashion:) Either way..its awesome watching her little mind put things together. But, with crawling comes frustrations. When she just can't seem to get her body to cooperate with her mind, she has found a yell that strikes the pit of your stomach. So, theres a lot of me saying, "now,now girlfriend..we don't need to yell like that". She looks at me as if she really wants to say, "yeah, right..whatever {ahhhhhh}".
Now, back to the bathroom. We purchased the light fixtures from Lowes yesterday. This was a tad-bit more difficult that I honestly expected. It can be overwhelming..seriously. Do you want feminine, scrolls, bars, basics, hidden and the lists goes on & on. I really didn't want to go very feminine since the color scheme is more "womanly". So, heres what we chose...
I promise that just as soon as we make some head way in the room I'll share some pictures. Its just been at a stand still for a while, but hopefully we'll make some more progress this Sunday {Superbowl...hmm, probably not..lol}
on a "family" note. Piper is mobile! Now, granted she hasn't mastered the beautiful "all 4s" crawl just yet, it looks more like an ape crawl..lol. And when all else fails she drags her body in the typical "army crawl" fashion:) Either way..its awesome watching her little mind put things together. But, with crawling comes frustrations. When she just can't seem to get her body to cooperate with her mind, she has found a yell that strikes the pit of your stomach. So, theres a lot of me saying, "now,now girlfriend..we don't need to yell like that". She looks at me as if she really wants to say, "yeah, right..whatever {ahhhhhh}".
Now, back to the bathroom. We purchased the light fixtures from Lowes yesterday. This was a tad-bit more difficult that I honestly expected. It can be overwhelming..seriously. Do you want feminine, scrolls, bars, basics, hidden and the lists goes on & on. I really didn't want to go very feminine since the color scheme is more "womanly". So, heres what we chose...
I promise that just as soon as we make some head way in the room I'll share some pictures. Its just been at a stand still for a while, but hopefully we'll make some more progress this Sunday {Superbowl...hmm, probably not..lol}
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I {heart} you!
I can not believe we are already tip-toeing into February 2012! I just seems like yesterday we brought Piper home from the hospital.
Today Peyton & I worked on some little handmade gifts to give to family for Valentine's day. We're still not quite finished, but so far they are turning out super cute. Now, granted this year Ms. Peyton has an opinion of her own & the days of me picking out colors for paint,paper and so on are long gone, but never-the-less she has done a great job. Now, all she'll need to do is place her John Hancock & then we're ready to pass them out. The only thing that kind of stinks is I dated them for the 14th & well we're only on the 1st..lol. Oh, well, at least I'm in the right month {-;
Piper will also be making her stamped cards as well, but this mama is going to wait till that little wiggle wart is sound asleep to get our stamp on. I can only imagine the rainbow of color we would achieve if tried to make these while she is awake.
Today Peyton & I worked on some little handmade gifts to give to family for Valentine's day. We're still not quite finished, but so far they are turning out super cute. Now, granted this year Ms. Peyton has an opinion of her own & the days of me picking out colors for paint,paper and so on are long gone, but never-the-less she has done a great job. Now, all she'll need to do is place her John Hancock & then we're ready to pass them out. The only thing that kind of stinks is I dated them for the 14th & well we're only on the 1st..lol. Oh, well, at least I'm in the right month {-;
Piper will also be making her stamped cards as well, but this mama is going to wait till that little wiggle wart is sound asleep to get our stamp on. I can only imagine the rainbow of color we would achieve if tried to make these while she is awake.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Homemade Laundry Soap
So, in my journey to reduce our exposure to harmful or at least unnecessary products I thought the first place I would begin was our choice in laundry detergents. In my mind this would be one of the simplist ways we can step into a healthier home. Typically I would use Surf or even Tide. And honestly I don't have many "bad" things to say about these products, except for the obvious reasons.
no.1
Packaging {one less item that is needing to be recycled, so often}
Yes, even with your homemade detergent you will have items to
recycle, but be mindful that you will only be using 1-2 tablespoons
for each load. Therefore, way, way less on the containers needing
to be recycled. Another plus {+} is that most of the items are in
cardboard containers, and easier on the recycling process.
no.2
This is way less harsh of a detergent. So, if you have family
members with sensitive skin, this is the way to go.
no.3
Less is more. Like I mentioned you'll only need to use 1-2
tablespoons {1/8 cup} per load. So, your homemade batch will
last FOREVER {In fact I plan to update as soon as I have to
make a new batch}
no.4
Less money spent for a product that last longer! And right
there..I'm sold. I actually had the Borax & Baking Soda on hand,
so I can't honestly quote an exact number, but I'm thinking for all
ingredients your looking at $12. or less.
Now, before I step off here & give you the magic ingredients for your laundry potion, I need to give credit where credit is due. In one of my late night Pinterest obsessions I found this recipe. You can visit "Being Creative To Keep My Sanity" if you would like as well. She has some awesome stuff on her blog. Definitely worth the time to check out.
Okay, back to your laundry soap...
So,simple...you will need...
A bucket {or something large to store the bulk of your laundry soap}
A trash bag {to put all ingredients in & to mix together}
1 - 4lbs. 12oz. box of Borax
1 - 1lb. box of Baking Soda
1 - 3lbs. container of Oxi-Clean
2 or 3 bars of Fels-Naptha heavy duty laundry bar soap {5.5oz. each}
1 - 3lb. 7oz box of Arm & Hammer All Natural Super Washing Soda
and there you have it!
You'll put your plastic bag into your bucket...
Then put all the ingredients into the plastic bag/trash bag. Now, the next step is you'll need to grate your Fels-Naptha soap bars. I used my cheese grater and it worked perfectly. Absolutely no worries about the shredded pieces being a little chunky. After you've grated the soap bars, run your hands under water & you will see that the slivers just melt away. This will also occur in your machine.
Now, put your shredded Fels-Naptha into your trash bag. Secure it somehow {I used a twisty-tie} and then mix together by swishing the bag around. You'll probably feel little balls of the Borax, just use your finger to break them up. I put some into a smaller container that I will keep on our laundry counter top with a 1/8 cup scoop {just makes it easier for the other humans in the house}.
Personally, I chose to only use 2 bars of the Fels-Naptha just because I was concerned that over time the soap would build up and actually cause "crunchy towel" syndrome {but, as of yet no problems}. I would love to hear if you've used a homemade recipe for laundry soap & how is it working out for you? Or if you had to switch things up a bit for the right recipe. Also, just a side note...supposively this is HE machine safe. I still have the ancient top loader, but others have said that its very low suds & HE safe.
xo, shannon
no.1
Packaging {one less item that is needing to be recycled, so often}
Yes, even with your homemade detergent you will have items to
recycle, but be mindful that you will only be using 1-2 tablespoons
for each load. Therefore, way, way less on the containers needing
to be recycled. Another plus {+} is that most of the items are in
cardboard containers, and easier on the recycling process.
no.2
This is way less harsh of a detergent. So, if you have family
members with sensitive skin, this is the way to go.
no.3
Less is more. Like I mentioned you'll only need to use 1-2
tablespoons {1/8 cup} per load. So, your homemade batch will
last FOREVER {In fact I plan to update as soon as I have to
make a new batch}
no.4
Less money spent for a product that last longer! And right
there..I'm sold. I actually had the Borax & Baking Soda on hand,
so I can't honestly quote an exact number, but I'm thinking for all
ingredients your looking at $12. or less.
Now, before I step off here & give you the magic ingredients for your laundry potion, I need to give credit where credit is due. In one of my late night Pinterest obsessions I found this recipe. You can visit "Being Creative To Keep My Sanity" if you would like as well. She has some awesome stuff on her blog. Definitely worth the time to check out.
Okay, back to your laundry soap...
So,simple...you will need...
A bucket {or something large to store the bulk of your laundry soap}
A trash bag {to put all ingredients in & to mix together}
1 - 4lbs. 12oz. box of Borax
1 - 1lb. box of Baking Soda
1 - 3lbs. container of Oxi-Clean
2 or 3 bars of Fels-Naptha heavy duty laundry bar soap {5.5oz. each}
1 - 3lb. 7oz box of Arm & Hammer All Natural Super Washing Soda
and there you have it!
You'll put your plastic bag into your bucket...
Then put all the ingredients into the plastic bag/trash bag. Now, the next step is you'll need to grate your Fels-Naptha soap bars. I used my cheese grater and it worked perfectly. Absolutely no worries about the shredded pieces being a little chunky. After you've grated the soap bars, run your hands under water & you will see that the slivers just melt away. This will also occur in your machine.
Now, put your shredded Fels-Naptha into your trash bag. Secure it somehow {I used a twisty-tie} and then mix together by swishing the bag around. You'll probably feel little balls of the Borax, just use your finger to break them up. I put some into a smaller container that I will keep on our laundry counter top with a 1/8 cup scoop {just makes it easier for the other humans in the house}.
Personally, I chose to only use 2 bars of the Fels-Naptha just because I was concerned that over time the soap would build up and actually cause "crunchy towel" syndrome {but, as of yet no problems}. I would love to hear if you've used a homemade recipe for laundry soap & how is it working out for you? Or if you had to switch things up a bit for the right recipe. Also, just a side note...supposively this is HE machine safe. I still have the ancient top loader, but others have said that its very low suds & HE safe.
xo, shannon
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Holy toledo, Batman..we have progress!
Over the course of 2 days, Wes & my father-in-law completed the Wainscoting tile work where the tub will be placed. This is exciting news! The only step thats needed to complete this task will be the sealant & then is officially checked off the "honey-do" list (:
I'm done stripping all the doors & drawers of the cabinetry in the bathroom, and next is the actual wood work & sanding everything to prep for paint. The color of the cabinets & wood work {base boards & doors} is going to be "Pale Bloom" {7002-8} by Valspar in a soft gloss finish {semi-gloss}
Now, the actual walls {other than the area where the tub will be} will be "Delicate Bliss" {7001-8} by Valspar in a satin {matte} finish.
And of course like I mentioned wall above the tiling will be Raspberry Wine {1009-9} by Valspar in satin finish as well (:
And then after all painting is complete its the task of staining the concrete that is next..and oh, my I'm dreading the prep for that job. But, I know in the end its going to be exactly how we want it to be & it will be worth all the work.
I could use a little help in finding one main piece of art for the room {probably on the wall colored, Raspberry Wine}. I want something that has a little bit of a color pop, but also masculine, since I am having a more feminine color on the wall I don't want to totally make it "my bathroom"..lol. Any suggestions??
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Rain,Rain..Can you stay??
We're under a tornado warning & that's not necessarily welcomed...BUT the rain is desperately needed! Please let the sky stay open & fill our poor lake! Since the incrediably long drought this summer, water was taken from Lake Conroe to fill Lake Houston. So, combined with no rain it left our lake looking void & just sad to say the least. We love when heavy rains finally come our way, cause we know how badly its needed. Now, granted watching the sky swirl around with crazy colors its necessarily exciting, but watching that invaluable H2O fall is priceless.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Baby Girl Feeling Icky
Last week Peyton had to deal with an outbreak of staph on her inner left thigh. It was terribly painful for her. It was our first experience with a staph infection, but from the get go you could tell this wasn't a normal boo-boo. So, off the the Doc we went & started her on Bactrim & now 7 days later it is all but a small red area. Then, while dealing with that she developed a nasty cough..no fever, just a congested cough. And now Miss Piper has this nasty cough, but it seems to really be bringing her down. Shes constantly rubbing her left ear, but doesn't seem to be a lot of pain. I went ahead & made an appointment for 1:00, just to have him listen to her & look her over. Peyton had pneumonia at 14 months & that was after being told it was viral for almost 2 weeks & then she begun retracting & just completely drained of energy. So, I just would rather be proactive & make sure Piper is ok.
So, we went to see Dr.Mac {incognito name}. Who of course listened, tickled & played with Piper. He looked in her ears, but at 1st couldn't get a good view of her left ear due to wax. So, he used the puffer on his otoscope to move the wax & he said he could finally see. He said it's red & "not moving". Dr.Mac hates rx'ing antibiotics in the 1st year of life due to the association with asthma, but he explained that if it was only red & mobile he would suspect drainage associated with a viral illness, but because it's non-mobile, red & she has fever, then it needs treatment with antibiotics. I'm a little disappointed, but I don't want my little one hurting or uncomfortable.
On a side note she's 21.8 lbs! She's an exact image of her sister. Dr. Mac even said that he wasn't even worried about it because of how lean Peyton is now {5 yro. 39lbs}.
Funny thing is all my babies are little chunkers & then I'm fighting to put weight on them later in life:)
So, we went to see Dr.Mac {incognito name}. Who of course listened, tickled & played with Piper. He looked in her ears, but at 1st couldn't get a good view of her left ear due to wax. So, he used the puffer on his otoscope to move the wax & he said he could finally see. He said it's red & "not moving". Dr.Mac hates rx'ing antibiotics in the 1st year of life due to the association with asthma, but he explained that if it was only red & mobile he would suspect drainage associated with a viral illness, but because it's non-mobile, red & she has fever, then it needs treatment with antibiotics. I'm a little disappointed, but I don't want my little one hurting or uncomfortable.
On a side note she's 21.8 lbs! She's an exact image of her sister. Dr. Mac even said that he wasn't even worried about it because of how lean Peyton is now {5 yro. 39lbs}.
Funny thing is all my babies are little chunkers & then I'm fighting to put weight on them later in life:)
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