Ranting 101: Fun Stuff minirant

I am I cursed to only have so much fun? I have to wonder after this happening twice in the same week to me. First I was sent me an email "Save The Date" letting me know my 10 year High School Reunion was the same night as a friend's wedding, pooey... Of course I'm going to the wedding as long as I am invited but why couldn't it have worked out that they were on different nights? I even have someone who I don't feel guilty asking to babysit... That's MAJOR...

Then this morning I noticed that my favorite band, Cowboy Mouth, had posted some new tour dates, and FINALLY they were coming to Charlotte, I've been stalking the website for months waiting for them to make it back here, it was a priority for me you see to make sure I got a babysitter or a girlfriend go with me and see them. It's been years (okay 2 but still its pural) since I've seen them and I've really wanted to make sure to take sometime for myself and actually go... BUT a couple days ago Bobby was asked to be in a wedding and the concert is the day before the wedding, which usually means a rehearsal of some sort... We don't have the details yet so I'm not sure if I'll be able to work it out or not...

Both weddings come first in a heart beat of course but it still feels like a curse against us having too much fun, especially because I finally have a babysitter and could make all of it work out if it if only it wasn't at the same time... It's 4 events, that is 1 event every 3 months and that's not asking too much is  Mother Fate? It's more than we've ever asked for before... We've had a babysitter 3 times in the last 3 years... And once was for my mother's funeral and that shouldn't be counted... Right?

Carpet Wars

So a few weeks ago I posted about my Project Iron the Carpet where I literally ironed my carpet. I spent a total of 7 hours over 3 nights ironing my carpet and after awhile while those spots were cleaner, the rest of the carpet was just bad and continued to get worse, seeing as I let the carpet go for a week or two longer than I would have while I tried to figure out something else... While doing research on it I discovered that my problem was probably stemming from my over zealousness to get my carpet clean and I was therefore using too much soap and as I wasn't doing a water rinse. So there was quite the build up of what's called detergent residue. So I decided to go back to basics and keep things simple. So tonight I spent 2.5 hours cleaning my carpets, again. I first did a water rinse to try to get up some of the detergent residue and the recent dirty stuff up. I followed up with a vinegar wash. I used a half water half vinegar mix. Then followed with a second water rinse. I am confident that the carpet is the cleanest I am going to get it. I need to figure out a good carpet spot stain remover. Once I figure that out I think I'll have the carpet situation until complete control but for now I've got it under control...

Some things to note about this process. You can tell how clean I was getting the carpets by simply watching the water I was dumping. During the first water rinse it was a thick almost chalky soapy but not sudsy water, then during the vinegar wash it was just dirty, but then the second water rinse wasn't clear but it was certainly cleaner and more "dirty waterish" than the first water rinse. Also the carpet fibers had the same dirty to clean to them. The chunks of fibers that clump up kinda of like lint, went from black to a greyish to white like new fresh fiber was being pulled up. There was also a definite reduction in the amount of fiber pulled up too. Like I said I am confident that the carpet is as clean as I am going to get it. I just need to find a good set stain carpet remover and I'll have my carpet cleaning system down pat!

The Before

The After

The Before

The After

DIY Soaps

Lately I've been all about figuring out what works for us... Whether its been routines, cleaning schedules, what keeps me motivated to get everything done, or better habits for all of us, I feel like I am starting from scratch and having to figure what is going to work for us now that we're in our own place and everything is up to us. The year and half we spent living with my parents while I was taking care of Mom, everything was already in place, their routines, cleaning (Dad has a maid service), etc. So I feel like I've spent the last 6 months figuring out everything all over again and I'm finally getting there... Which means I have more thought and time and resources to go into some other projects... Yay!!!

Which brings me to the new projects I've been working on. So I've seen on pinterest the DIY cleaners and soaps and I decided to jump on the band wagon and figure out if that's what is going to work for us. I really liked the idea of keeping things simple, using less chemicals and all that... So I went to the hubby and talked to him about it and he liked the idea but didn't want to make large amounts of anything until we know how we like it, so I said I can make that work... I didn't plan it out this way but it worked out to where I've made the soaps in the amounts that I'd usually buy so we'll really be able to see the difference in actual usage. The DIY soaps are suppose to last longer so we'll see. I marked my canisters that I'm storing the soap in with the start date and so I'll know for sure how long it lasted... All my practical calculations were based on volumes on packages and the idea of using 2 Tablespoons a load/run. I will recalculate everything again once I know what the actual usage is...

I brought from Wal Mart; a box of Borax, Washing Soda (who knew such a thing existed?) Lemi Shine, Oxi Clean, regular old salt, canisters to keep the soaps in, and Bar Detergent Soap. You also need baking soda which I had on hand. I use it a cup at a time in the boys bath when they have diaper rash, it feels like one of them always has it, so we buy it in bulk from Costco. I made Dishwasher Soap and Wash Soap (laundry soap) that should last me about 3 months. Guess we'll see...

DIY Dishwasher Soap

The How To

I found the pin and decided to not mess with it any. It calls for 3 cups of Borax and 3 cups of Washing Soda. 1.5 cups of salt and the whole container of Lemi Shine. I mixed it up in the container by closing it up and shaking it well. It smells lemony so that's a good thing...

The Practical Stuff - Using volume for the calculations and given that I'm going to use 2T a load.  This mix will roughly make 72 runs of the dishwasher. All the stuff in the mix cost me $7.52 and makes it works out to roughly $0.10 a load. Compare that to powdered detergent and its roughly $0.09 a load. So maybe its not technically cost effective. But that's the math, we'll see how long it lasts.

How Does it Work?
I've washed my dishwasher using it, which was advice I had gotten awhile go that you should clean your dishwasher by running it empty every once and awhile and I figured I'd better start off fresh. I guess will see how it works and whether I notice a difference... =) 
*** Updated: 3/26/12 OMG I love this soap! I can see the difference in my silverware! My dishwasher is brighter and cleaner and so it seems are my dishes. I played around with some plates and left gunk on to see how well it works, for this dishwasher I still to scrap and clean off in the sink what I would have with the other stuff. Like I said a second ago, I can see a difference in my silverware. I have a stainless steel set that was pretty decent before but this soap doesn't leave any residue and barely any water spots, I think if I add some more rinse aid to my dishwasher, those would be gone. Amazing difference and totally worth the penny difference per load. I even have started using a little less because its SO clean, I don't think I need that much soap...
 

DIY Wash or Laundry Soap

The How To
I did things a little differently than the woman I linked you back to, since I compromised with the hubby about making smaller amounts I tweaked hers a bit. The only tricky bit is grating up the bar soap. I actually cut myself on the grater, oops... Since I used 3 cups out of the Borax and washing soda I decided to use the rest of it for the Wash Soap ( I call the laundry the "wash" so it's playing out in my head as Wash Soap). I dumped the Borax into the container, measured out what was left of the washing soda so I could use the same amount of baking soda which was 3 cups, added the whole container of Oxi Clean  since I have some messy boys in my house and then I grated up the bar soap and added it. Then I closed up the container to shake it all up. The Oxi Clean came with a pretty decent scooper so I think I'm just going to use it.

The Practical Stuff
The math works out to 96 loads with our average of a load a day it should be roughly 3 months worth of soap... With a cost of $10.65 it comes out to $0.11 a load. Compared to $0.18 a load for Gain powder which is what I normally use. It already comes out cost effective.

How Does It Work?
Well I've done a load of wash and it smells clean and seems brighter. But to be honest it could be one of those mind over matter things. So stayed tuned and I'll let you know how it goes...

Our Puppet Theatre

I recently read a wonderful article about the common excuses or hurdles Moms need to overcome to before more "hands on". Definitely one article that was thought provoking and inspirational. I've started to make some serious changes because of the article. I fall into most of those hurdles and her counterpoints to the hurdles are definitely true as well. I almost feel silly maybe even lazy for not coming to this point sooner. I've been planning on doing so much with them but waiting until they're older or more skilled or have longer attention spans, and that just isn't the way to do it.

One of the points is that "The arts and craft projects never turn out!"

I feel like this is SO true. I am always intimidated by posting photos of our projects because they're never as neat or clean or whatever as the ones I've seen on the interwebs... Not that my children's artwork isn't gorgeous or artistic or a million times better than anything I see, I guess I always kind of figured the "polish" look comes from doing it with older kids... IDK but its not an excuse anymore... =)

I made us a Puppet Theatre!!! I fashioned it out of duck tape and the cardboard from a case of Coke... I even thought to make the "backdrops" interchangeable so that I can start to make puppets and scenes and keep a collection going for puppet theatre anytime... Kudos to Disney for giving a template for Jake and the Neverland Puppets. I printed coloring pages of Hook's Gang and I've got the whole set! I plan to tape the inside of the box too so it looks better... =)

Some Tips

* I came in from the top so that I could stand or sit behind it and just face the boys to make it work
* I taped a folder and a plastic sheet protector to the back so that I can change out back drops for different shows. I plan to make one using Space as a theme since Dylan is into rockets and space right now...

Guiness Pot Roast

In case you live under a rock or are perhaps a hermit crab, Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. I was so sick of being bombarded with Corned Beef Recipes... They were everywhere, my cooking/recipes emails, my parenting emails, pinterest, facebook... EVERYWHERE...

You know how certain songs or smells become so intertwined into a memory that it can become tainted by the memory? For example the Anberlin song "Inevitable" is an amazing song and the sentiment expressed describes my realtionship with my hubby and I'd love to share it with him, but I tainted the song by using it as the First Dance song with my ex husband and so that song while amazing and perfect it is tainted, luckily Plain White T's feels that void perfectly with "Write you a Song"... =)

Anyways, Corned Beef is kinda sorta like that for my hubby. He grew up in a Polish household and his "Baci" (polish for Grandmother) used to make it frequently and it just wasn't something he stomached very well as a kid and therefore has some very bad memories attached to it. He's tried it as an adult and while he doesn't hate it is just tainted and never something that will eaten in our home, and I can completely understand... So needless to say St Patty's Day needed a spruce up! I tried a spin on Pot Roast with Guinness... (Insert witty comment about Guinness, meat and potatoes, and the Irish)The only comment my hubby had was it needed more salt (maybe even some celery salt) but it was perfect and a perfect new Patty's Day tradition... Although I did see a Guinness Pie recipe floating around that is screaming me to research... =)

Guinness Pot Roast (Crock Pot)

Guinness Pot Roast

- Roast
- Can of Guinness
- Beefy Onion Soup Mix
- 1/4 c. minced garlic
- Soy Sauce - (I used a splash, maybe 2T)
- Worcestershire Sauce - Again a splash, about 2T again but it seemed like less because because it was thick..
-Water - Enough to fill crock pot about 1/2 full
- Veggies - Potatoes and Carrots with an hr to cook...



1. Season roast with salt and pepper and brown on all sides in a little olive oil.

2. All the other stuff gets added to the crock pot and whisked. Add the water last and make sure there is enough to barely come below the meat... Cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. About an hr before you're ready to eat eat potatoes and carrots and switch to High... Yummy!!!

The start to a great dinner!!!

Momma Glahn's Lasagna

So I guess I have to admit Disclaimer: It's my lasagna. I AM Momma Glahn, to make a short story shorter there is no other Mrs. Glahn in our family so I get to be Momma Glahn, least that's my plan, to go do in family history as THE Momma Glahn...

My recipe is has been in the works for awhile now, I got the idea from the fact I love stuffed shells and my husband does not, I searched for a recipe that would at least be tolerable to him and in that search found the foundation for my lasagna. It doesn't have ricotta cheese as that's a deal breaker for my hubby and it was the ultimate honor this year to make a version for my ILs at Christmas. My FIL had seconds which is a good sign... =) I made this version recently and decided its the recipe. We had new friends over for dinner; I've been really trying to make new friends, reach out to old ones, and make stronger more social friendships and relationships with those around me, so when they asked for the recipe it was a huge moment for me...Also I found my lasagna pan... Its a 3QT Pyrex casserole dish, its like the perfect size... No photos =(  I was in between cameras thanks to a cracked screen by my oldest when we had our dinner but I'll be making again soon!

Momma Glahn's Lasagna

- 1lb. ground Italian sausage
- 1lb. ground beef
- 2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce (I want to learn to make my own sometime soon)
- Box of lasagna noodles
- 1/2 container of Savory Garlic cooking creme
- 3 Bags of shredded Mozzarella cheese

1. Boil your noodles. Season and brown your meats. I usually do them one at a time and add them to a  pot that becomes my meat filling. Add some pasta sauce to the meats, it should be meaty not saucey. Add the cooking creme, the cooking creme will thin it out some but you don't want it to be liquidy you want it to be meaty. Add a handful of shredded cheese to thicken it up some if you need to.

2. Spoon some pasta sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pan and begin to layer your noodles. Lay the noodle, spoon and spread half the meat sauce, top with a bag of cheese, add another layer of noodles then the other half of the meat and another bag of cheese. Top with noddles, a little pasta sauce and the last bag of cheese

3. Pop into a 350 oven and bake 45-60 minutes, until the cheese on top is melty, bubbly, and browned... So yummy.... Serve with a salad and garlic bread and the perfect dinner for company...

*** I held on to this post for awhile in hopes I'd be making it again and would have photos to add but I haven't yet and I'm not sure when I'll make it again so I thought I'd go ahead and share...

Project Iron the Carpet

So as you know I have 2 small children, 2 Little Boys, 2 Toddlers... My kids are rough on carpet or I'm OCD about carpet or a little of both, probably a little of both right? Granted we've either been in a rental or living with my parents but either way I didn't want my kids ruining their carpet... And I thought my Dad's carpet was light, but the stuff in the condo where we live now is BAD... It wasn't in perfect condition when we moved in, but it was pretty close in my opinion. My grandmother had wonderful decorating sense, depending on who you ask of course ;) and she was a grandmother whose grand kids were all grown, so I guess she didn't have to worry about WHITE carpet... Yes, my carpet is WHITE or at the very least a very very very light beige... I steam clean my carpet about once a month to every 6 weeks, with a spot clean with the steamer scrubbing brush at the halfway mark... I've used everything from fancy cleaners, to vinegar, to other home remedies... And while I get my carpet presentable, at least to me it never actually comes clean and the same stains come back after awhile... I work hard to keep a clean home and this carpet has been driving me nuts...

 

The area right in front of the couch, ground zero for my oldest son...

My Living Room

These photos were taken last night, this is my living room with all the toys picked up, and after a good vacuum. I steam cleaned my carpets last Thursday night, my sister was coming home for spring break, my Dad was going to be home last weekend. I always try to have clean carpets when my Dad is town because if he stops by (never does but still what if) I don't want to be deathly embarrassed by the carpets and have him think I let my kids run around with open gallons of chocolate milk and juice. Swear I don't... Despite the photographic evidence...

Recently I started following one of my Aunts and her daughter on Pinterest... My Aunt pinned THIS.  It's blog who claims she cleaned up YEARS old stains, mystery stains from previous owners, using this method. Simple really, mix equal parts of water and ammonia and spray on your carpet, cover with a towel and iron out the stain. Her commentators agreed that it works well so I further researched it and lots of people claim its super awesome powers... So I figured I'd give it a try...

My thoughts, I mixed up 4 cups water to 4 cups ammonia and poured it into an old windex bottle to spray on the carpet... Once I learned I wasn't going to burn the carpet or my towels and not bleach my carpet I got into a groove and think I did pretty well... It's time consuming and I think it took me almost the whole time figuring out my method. I spent 2.5 hours and all 8 cups of the cleaning spray getting up enough that I'm impressed but I want to finish up the carpet and see if it lasts. I have to redo a couple of the spots now that I got my method down but see for yourself... All in all I think that it at least got my carpet clean, I want to see how long it takes for the spots to come back if they do. If these spots come back or come back quickly its not time effective to clean my carpet this way.

My Living Room this morning

 

The huge pink puke stain from my first experience with Mr. Sick Bucket is gone...

Ranting 101: Parenting

My Boys playing on their "hideout"

I was raised to not talk religion and politics outside of the family, as a matter of fact the first time I can remember my parents discussing politics (besides eavesdropping on their conversations in the car when they didn't think we were paying attention to them) was after I was already out of the house and engaged... I just always thought this had to do with the fact my mother was Jewish and was afraid of being a target for a hate crime... I'm actually thankful for this a little because it allowed me to form my own political identity without their influence. Which made for some interesting discussions later on... The one thing my Mom did instill in me was to read, research, read, listen and absorb, and read about all sides, then form your own opinions. Which I think has made me into a pretty decent person and I know the ideals I hold are my own... My husband and I often argue/discuss/oppose something simply to play devils advocate and 9 times out of 10 we hold the same opinion on the topic... Its one of the things I absolutely love about my soulmate... Back to my point, is I tend to take huge amounts of information on topics and forge my own path...
 
 I think parenting is one of those topics I've added to that "no talk list" naturally. I pretty much discuss MY parenting only with my hubby, and thank God we don't have different ideas about the major stuff... And I only discuss other peoples parenting with him too... I will ask for advice on general things like potty training or diaper rash or where to find the best deals but when it comes to teaching and disciplining my children certain things are only discussed with my husband. And while I feel that that's the way it should be (only discussing some things with your partner and not the rest of the world) I know that not everyone feels the same, and it gives me a plethora of reading material...

When I was a new mother oh so many moons ago (okay so 30 months isn't THAT many but it sure feels that way sometimes) I made the mistake of turning to an online parenting community for support and asked a simple question and I was literally eaten alive, torn to shreds, and made fun of on other online communities... Needless to say, in my emotional new mother state I was reduced to tears and seriously contemplated whether my son would be better off raised by wolfs... And that was my first introduction to Attached Parenting... Since this particular experience I've avoided parenting blogs and websites and I don't really discuss "styles" with other Moms, I hate the judgeyness that comes with discussing it...

Now my husband and I are the oldest in our families and first of any of our close knit friends to have kids, so it was completely new territory for us, and while I love our Moms and of course they both got many many calls from me, I wanted an opinion that was a tad bit more "in touch" with modern parenting... Kind of like when I was in high school and my Mom asked if I had been approached by a drug dealer yet... "You're just SO out of touch Mom" (I think was my response or perhaps it was an eyeroll or two...) And in my constant search for more "relevant" information for parenting today I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't really matter how or what I do... I'm gonna screw them up anyways...

I have never met a person (or at least out of those who've I've discussed this issue with) who had a "perfect" childhood and has no issues what so ever about the way they were raised... So if my children make it to 18, and are healthy and generally accepted by society I guess I will have done an acceptable job.  Hopefully I'll do better than that... I have wishes for my children when they grow up, that they find loving partners and have a family, that they have decent jobs, work hard for what they have and are happy, that they share or at least considered the ideals I hold close... As long as I raised my children to be kind, hard working, honest, and a good person they're going to get there, it doesn't matter the methods I used to teach them those lessons...

Yes my children probably get too much TV... BUT they've only been exposed to PBS and Disney and other educational programming; which I think has only helped to reenforce what I'm trying to teach, makes my kids smarter and able make the right TV choices on their own...Cashiers are always floored when my toddler tells them to "Have a great day". D is at about 80% with his Pleases and Thank Yous even at home with me... My sons says excuse me when he burps (or when other people do) granted he thinks bodily functions are hilarious... 9 times out of 10 its not my kid having a meltdown in Target or Wal Mart... Granted I have kids, I have a toddler, they meltdown, I've had a shopping trip when the cashier told me "So that's your kids"... Same trip where a very nice bakery lady sought me out several aisles away to give them cookies in hopes we'd all have less of a headache... But that has only happened once... My boys are awesome in restaurants, granted that may be because I let them use the iPad (but how is that any different from letting me have a book at the table when I was a kid, something I WAS NOT allowed when I was home) but I value the ability to carry on a conversation that isn't about Wall-E and burping... =) I spend time everyday playing with my boys, both together and individually, but it is SUPER important to me that my boys have the ability to entertain themselves for a length of time... Most nights when my hubby is at work I am able to get a meal on the table mostly uninterrupted, my boys are never alone or unsupervised but they are able to do their own thing... I feel like they value the playtime we do spend together (everyday) more because I'm not a constant playmate.

I don't read (least not regularly) any kind of "parenting" blog because I believe in instinctual parenting... I come across them when I do reading on something relevant like potty training or toddler activities but firmly believe in listening to my gut when it comes to my kids... My kids tell me when they're hungry, bored, interested in something new, or tired and as long as I stop and listen to them and continue to teach my ideals and society basics (like the golden rule, and ABCs and that kind of stuff) my kids are going to be okay...

My Garden!!!

There are two things I regret most about the time I spent taking care of my mother, one of course is not having the pluck to ask her some questions about tough stuff ... And the other is that I killed almost all her plants... My mother loved her plants and I feel absolutely horrible I couldn't keep them all alive, she started giving them away to friends who'd come visit in hopes they'd be able to give them the attention they needed and deserved... I'm not a plant killer and I have a pretty green thumb, but between taking care of a 1 year, being pregnant, and taking care of my Mom and the house, I tried but I failed miserably with the plants... And while I know my mother was immensely proud and grateful and understood I just had too much on my plate, I still feel horrible about making her give away all her plants and/or killing them...

So this year I decided that I'd grow a garden in my mother's honor... One day I'll plant Lincoln Roses for her, I won't be able to do that until we get a house but its the plan anyways... In doing my research and planning for the garden it also brought back some memories from my Mom's gardens... It made me realize that my desire to garden wasn't something original but something that had been planted in me... My mother never had lush bountiful veggie gardens, least not while I was around but I know now, that it had to have been a passion of hers if she'd try to plant one every year knowing how much harder it was to maintain one while being a full time working Mom with 3 kids... My grandma Ann, my Dad's mother, was also a gardener. I remember her huge tomato plants and rhubarb, I hope to learn more about my grandma Ann's gardens this summer at a family reunion maybe grow something she always did next year... But this year this one is for you Mom...

I started Hot Peppers, Roma tomatoes, broccoli. The blue container is Moonflowers for my hubby. The yellow set is my indoor herb garden - sage, basil, oregano

Broccoli was the first to sprout!

Moonflowers!

Herbs!

I have sprouts!