From frugal to most expensive homemade laundry detergent in one night:

So ever since Pinterest came into my life (Oh blessed day!) my husband has done a great job of smiling and nodding while I shove my computer in his face and scroll down the list of pins he hasn't seen yet. He also is so great at indulging my cravings to try a new pin out! Be it a new healthy recipe or something I want made for the kids. He is my go to guy! 

Yesterday we decided it was time to try making Laundry Sauce!

I have been using a dry homemade laundry detergent for the past two years. It works great! I really have no issues with it, but worry that maybe the Fels-Naptha wasn't dissolving in my cold water loads. 

We had purchased all the ingredients to do the dry stuff again but then decided to switch it up and try THE SAUCE!

$1.76 for 128 loads ain't bad! 

So we followed the instructions. Very simple and easy! Plus Mr. did most of it... (Side note: Mr. would be a way better stay at home parent than me. We both know this. He cooks, can clean our entire apartment in one hour with a baby strapped to him, he builds stuff, he is crafty, he has a natural instinct on parenting tactics that I have yet to develop, he can sew... ok I'm going to stop now before I feel like a failure.) 

We waited the four hours to let the jars set and began to blend! The first two jars went off without a hitch. Then on the next one, I am depressed to say, our blender of almost seven years died. The motor is kaput. 

Now because of the wait time, it was already midnight (Monday and not Sunday)! So Mr. ran out and bought a new blender, because if you don't blend it at the right time, it won't turn out as good. The next jar on the new blender went good but the one after that...BROKE IT! Somehow the seal on the blade part of the blender got sucked up and broken in two. We are taking it back for sure! Ridiculous.We managed to get the final jars mixed, albeit not very well. Needless to say we were spent both financially and emotionally... One day I will be able to afford the super nice industrial blenders and get super skinny off all the smoothies I will make. But until then, I am stuck with stupid blenders and chocolate to sooth my aching heart :)

As for the sauce I just put it in a load and will write a review at some point when I feel like I've given it a fair shot! 

Have a great day everybody!

Tips for PCSING (aka moving!):

(Map Template Source)

Last night I had the pleasant (yes, that last word should be read with extreme sarcasim) of calling 9-1-1. It started out as a semi quiet night...our upstairs neighbors are incredibly loud but I have managed to tune it out...mostly. Then I heard some more distinct yelling coming from outside my open kitchen window. I crawled on all fours and sat on my kitchen floor as I listened to a very irate man screaming at his female partner. Going on about how he was going to beat someone up and then come back and beat her up, just because. I dared to peak out and get a rough description and I called the police. Unfortunately, the man and woman stormed off just as I got them on the phone. I don't know what happened after that. 

I wish I could say this was my first rodeo here. But sadly its not. I have had to call 9-1-1, our apartment security patrol and child services more times than I ever have in my entire life in the past year we have lived here. Let me tell you, there has been some bad stuff going on all around me. 

How did we get stuck in such a rough part of town? Why did we move here?

Ignorance is one: I am not a big city girl. I have always lived in very safe areas! I have never lived in a city where there seemed to be more dangerous places than good. I just assumed that was the standard. It sounds stupid to say that now, I know! 

We gave ourselves only three days to find a place: We didn't have much of a choice the way things worked out, never being to the area definitely played a role. But sometimes in the military that's just your lot in life. 

We saw the first red flag our first week here when our car got broken into. I really hope they needed those bags of jumper cables since that is all they got. 

 It all went down hill from there!

(Most members of our ward will only visit us during the day if that gives you any idea! Or some not at all...)

When our lease was coming to a close, the apartment asked if we were planning on renewing...we gave them a big HECK NO! 

We are moving, THANK GOODNESS! And this time we decided to be smart about it. We really did our research! These websites really helped us make our final choice:

Crimereports.com:

This website lists the reported crimes in the area! You can look back six months and it

also gives you the location of sex offenders.

Apartmentratings.com:

Want to know what the residence of the apartment complex really think? I plan on leaving quite a 

warning for our current place!

Google Maps
This is a great way to take your future neighborhood for a test drive. Use the street view setting!

Neighborhoodscout.com
This website gives you a rating for the city you are moving too. Our last city was rated 2 out 100!! Scary!! Meaning 98% of cities in the US are safer than that one. So glad to have found this! You can get a more specific details for your perspective neighborhood for a fee. Definitely one to use!

Facebook
Now has a great way to search your friends. In the search box just type in something like "friends that live in (enter city and state here)" and if you have friends there or nearby they will pop up! Nothing beats getting a first hand account of what an area is like! Ask as many people as you can think of and get many different opinions!

Greatschools.org
Have kids that are school age? This is an excellent website that can give you an idea of where the best schools are for your children!

I will never NOT do my research ever again. This year has been awful! We are so excited for our new place that is much quieter, next to a beautiful park and surrounded by really nice neighborhoods. Adios old apartment!!

****UPDATE 3/24/2014****
 Since I wrote this post we have moved two times and are preparing to move AGAIN! Thankfully not because of the same issues we had before but because we actually had to move for the army. Thus far the websites above have again proven to be paramount in our search for safe and family friendly areas to live! I can not emphasize enough the importance of research as soon as you know where you are going! It has saved us so many headaches and heartaches!  

The Power of Motherhood:

Hey fellow mothers! Do you ever have "days"?

Days where the house can't seem to get clean. The laundry doesn't seem to get done no matter how many shirts you fold. The dishes are piling up and the garbage needs to go out. The bills need to be paid, the children need to be fed. Diapers need changing...and changing...and changing... 

Today was one of those days for me!

But you know what I did? I put aside all the chores and my expectations for a super clean house, I surrendered because it wasn't happening today. Instead I played with my children. Their laughter filled my heart with love. Their joy radiated into my soul. I forgot how much fun it was to play with them. 

Now the day is over, and the house is still a mess, but today I accomplished much. Today was a good day :)

"When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses? When the surf of the centuries has made the great pyramids so much sand, the everlasting family will still be standing, because it is a celestial institution, formed outside telestial time. The women of God know this."

-Neil A. Maxwell April 1978 "The Women of God"