something I just noticed.

Does anyone happen to think that

Crazy Harry from the Muppets

looks an awful like Gru from Despicable Me?

I guess I should say that Gru looks like Crazy Harry.

randoms

I have a huge blog post that I need to write up, but honestly I am not in the mood at the second. I am currently sitting on my couch, watching Sex & the City reruns on style, and waiting for my benadryl to kick in. You have be forewarned that this blog post may start getting funny... benadryl has a way of doing that to me.

I am watching reruns of Sex & the City, as stated like 2 sentences ago, what a fantastic show. I heard a rumor that SATC 3 or a prequel may be in the works. Hey, as long as it is better than 2, I will be happy. A prequel would be fun. Along the same line of thinking... the current episode that I am watching is the one where Viktor is being so romantic that it makes Carrie uncomfortable. You know, I am THAT girl. I am the one that if Rob were to propose with roses, candles and champagne in a chocolate box I would probably throw up. We will never be that couple that sits on the same side of the booth. If a guy wrote me a poem or tried to ballroom dance with me in the middle of the park... I would either puke or punch him. My idea of romance is holding the door for me and letting me get the surf and turf for dinner.

Shit, I totally just forgot what I was going to write here. Oy.

Look for a new look for the blog soon-ish. I am bored with the current look so there is that.

I had major intensions of making this post much longer, instead I have spent a majority of the time using spell check. I think the allergy medicine has started to take over. Nighty night for now.

Around town and back again

We have been all over the place lately. The family and I were in Northern Michigan for a fabulously fun wedding. The girls were the flower girls and they were probably the cutest flower girls ever. After driving back home 4 hours, I unpacked and then promptly repacked the girls. They left to go camping with my parents for 6 days. Rob and I decided to take the opportunity of having the kids gone to take a mini vacation, just the two of us. On Wednesday evening, we left. First stop was the casino for a couple hours, then to check into the hotel. After the hotel we hit up Bell's Brewery and a local place for dinner. Thursday came and we headed to the west side of the state. Lunch was had at Founder's Brewery, and it was delicious. An early dinner was spent at New Holland Brewery, after that we walked around the downtown area. Lake Michigan was next on the agenda for sunset. It was a simple couple of days, but it was exactly what we needed. Our trip reaffirmed that we really are so very in love, and are truly the best of friends. :)

Braggy Braggy

There are times in a mom's life that you are literally bursting at the seams with pride. Today was one of those days for me. Emma (who recently requested she be called Emmy now- specifically EMMY, because she likes having 4 letters in her name) had her last report card mailed home. I received her report card today. I was like a little kid on Christmas, I couldn't wait to tear into it. Report cards aren't just for the kids, it is more for the parents. I need the moment where I have the teacher back up that I am doing something right. (If you don't have kids, you have no idea... get at me when you have them.) Emmy's report card made me want to climb on the roof and exclaim from the roof tops that I rock as a parent. She literally aced everything. Every time there was some thing she could get a "4" (meeting or exceeding expectations) on, she got the 4. Every single math/writing/reading questions she nailed. Oh, then throw in that she was reading at a first grade level pretty much all year... and ended the year at a beginning second grade reading level... jesus, I need CPR. I just died, my kid is THAT awesome. My kid that could barely write letters 9 months ago is writing and reading at a second grade level now. I WIN!! Well, I rock as a parent and she had the most amazing teacher known to man. (I love the woman like she was a part of my family... I had to tear down the hall on the last day before I burst into tears when I said thank you and good bye.)

P.S. When in the hell did I become a sap? I was in tears writing my thank you note to Em's teacher. Good lord, I never thought that I would be that person. EVER.

oh hai there...

Yeah, I pretty much have sucked at blogging lately. No really good reasons, just utter laziness on my part.

My dishwasher detergent is working smashingly. I love to be able to whip up a new batch whenever we are out rather than having to run to the store.

Emma finished kindergarten today. I broke down sobbing when I was writing her teacher a thank you note. The end of the year really snuck up on me and I was rather unprepared for it. I have never been one of those moms that cries when their kid starts school, or loses a tooth. I was a fricken mess today though. Watching my girl grow so much this year really pulled at my heart strings. Her teacher is a saint, and she adored Emma. I actually had to get out of there before I started bawling, as they were saying their goodbyes. She is growing up entirely too fast for my liking. She is 6 1/2. When in the hell did that happen?? (Yeah, yeah, I know... that past 6 1/2 years.) Emma is truly becoming a young lady. She is courteous and kind, friendly, sensitive, too smart for her own good, and just a joy. We were incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful teacher this year. I can only hope that they will maintain a relationship for years to come. Emma is lucky enough to have found a kindred spirit at school as well. Watching her form friendships is amazing. I have already arranged weekly play dates for the two girls for over the summer.

Emma lost her first tooth last weekend. See what I mean about this growing up thing?

Arabel is hysterical and trying. She refuses to fully potty train though she has been halfway there for months. She gets her stubborness from her father. :)

The girls are flower girls in a wedding next month. I am super excited to see them all dolled up and looking like the little princesses that they are.

I spent 2 whole days at Em's school this week. It was incredibly hot and I was exhausted by the end of it, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I love that her school is close enough and invited parents to participate in many of their activities. Plus, I got a pretty sweet tan too.

homemade dishwasher detergent

As I posted before, we have decided to make our own dishwasher detergent. Well, I did it! I found a recipe online that needed washing soda (different than baking soda, it is in with the laundry stuff by the borax), borax, kosher salt and citric acid. I couldn't find citric acid, so I used a package of Kool Aid Lemonade. *I read lots of recipes online to find the perfect one, many of them used a kool aid packet instead of citric acid. It is the first ingredient listed. Plus, at $.10/packet, the price point was perfect.

Price breakdown:
76 oz. Borax- $4.29
55 oz. Washing soda- $2.79
packet of Kool Aid- lemonade- $.10
kosher salt- already had it at home

I used 4 oz. of washing soda and borax in my mix. (I made a half batch to start.) I could make over 13 batches of dishwasher detergent with my ingredients. *I will have to find/buy citric acid or buy more lemonade, but I can handle it. :)

Oh yeah, that is about $.52 for dishwashing detergent. Green wins again!!

I know that people are wondering... does it really work as well? It really honestly does. We use 1 Tablespoon of mix per load and I filled my rinse reservoir with white vinegar. I am already telling everyone I know. It is sooooo simple and cheap! I don't know why anyone would pay $2+ for detergent when you could make your own in a couple minutes.

Up next is laundry detergent. My Borax and washing soda are used in that recipe as well.

going green-er

Rob and I have been trying to live a slightly greener life. Since we moved here last July, we have a recycle bin. Our trash output has gone done by almost 75%! I recently found out that MSU recycling center takes even more, and it isn't far so I am now saving the landfills from all our plastics & styrofoam. Psst... we are almost done with diaper here too. :) I really want to get into cloth diapering for the next one... whenever that may be. We have been using homemade cleaner (50/50 water and white vinegar) instead of chemical cleaners. The simple (and super cheap!) mix works better than your standard store bought cleaner. We will be trying our hand at making dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent. We are planning on a garden this summer... planting here in the mitten can't happen before Memorial Day, or we risk losing every thing. In order to give ourselves a little pat on the back for doing the fiscally responsible thing (as well as the best thing for the environment) we concocted a plan. We are opening a joint savings account, that requires 2 signatures with no debit/atm cards. Every time, over the next year, we would have bought detergent, dishwashing liquid, cleaners, produce (that is grown the garden), we are going to put the price of the store bought stuff in the account. Since we will have to purchase some products to make our own stuff, we will take that price right off the top. I can't wait to make our own products and let you all know how it goes. Who knows... maybe I will even end up doing my own how to post!