I call it, "Pokey" Picture 12

On our ride on Sunday, flowers were in bloom everywhere.  We stopped along a little dried up river and I did a little exploring with Maya.  We were looking for bears.  I took some pictures of some desert flowers, but this one caught my eye.  It's not a flower.  It's some kind of weed with lots, serioulsy lots, of thistles on it.  Isn't it cool?

I thought I'd play a little in Photoshop with it.  I didn't do much playing as this was the second overlay I used and thought it was perfect.

Batgirl Reappeared

I usually let the kids pic out what they will wear.  Usually they are fine, sometimes it's a fight and other times, I'm all whatever.  If we're not going anywhere, be mismatched.  If we are going to be seen in public, you will be presentable. 

Last Wednesday, Maya decided her BatGirl costume was the outfit to wear.  We were going to be in public, quite a bit, I had tons of things to do and I was not in any mood to fight.  I asked if it was what she was going to wear.  Yep, it was.  Was she sure?  Yes.  Do you know you are going to daycare?  Yes, I am wearing BatGirl.  Much to my own shock, I gave in and went with it.  It prettied up her hair and said no mask unless we are home.  OK.



She wore it ALL DAY LONG!  Three girls at daycare asked if they could borrow it.  Two girls said they are going to buy one when their moms picked them up.  The mask and arm sleeves were removed for public vision and cuz I knew they'd be lost, broken or misplaced somewhere.  Upon return home, however, they were promptly put back on. 

Laundry on the Cheap!

I've been (slightly) addicted to Pinterest for a few months.  I don't spend hours on it, but I do my fair share of browsing in the mornings and evenings.  Some things I am absolutely loving are the recipes and DIY projects.  I found a smoothie recipe for a 7 day weight loss and dropped 8 pounds in a week.  I've found recipes that my family loves and craft projects I have really enjoyed. 
One thing I found a while back has been on my mind since the day I pinned it;  Homemade Laundry detergent.  I figured I would get to it when I ran out of Tide, then I did, but couldn't find all the ingredients at the grocery store, so the last time I had to buy some, I bought the smallest bottle. 
I finally got done with that bottle and found all the ingredients I needed at two stores.  I could have found them all at one, but I am a Target shopper all the way and avoid Walmart like the plague.  I found 2 things at Target yesterday and drug my butt into Walmart today for the other 3 (4).
The recipe I used is from here.  I read through most of the comments and found them extremely helpful in my decision to make this.  I have an HE washer and have never used powder in it.  Most people said they put it in the soap dispenser and not directly in the drum.  SOLD!
Here is what it calls for:



 The rundown of cost is this:
4 lb box Borax:  $3.49 @Target
Arm and Hammer Baking Soda, two 2lb. boxes:  $2.09 ea., $4.18 @Target
3 Bars Fels-Naptha soap: $.97 ea, $2.19 @Walmart
2 Oxy Boost I got the Sun Oxy (Oxy Clean or whatever): $1.97 ea., $3.94 @Walmart
1 3.7 lb Box Super Washing Soda: $3.08 @Walmart (this price is a guess, my receipt didn't print right.  The other 2 Walmart prices I am pretty sure about.)
The total is:  $16.88 without tax.  Probably under $20 for all of this!  I did buy a $5 glass container to put it in, so it was a smidge over $20, but I can use that again when I run out.

All of this gets mixed into a bag/bucket and is supposed to last almost a year.  Give or take a little depending on how many loads you do.  I maybe do 4-6 a week. 
Here's what you do:

Shred the 3 bars of soap like cheese.  I used my food processor's shredder attachment and shoved those bars in and viola!

Didn't really want long strands of soap, so I put the blade in and ground that up to get granules.

Take all those goodies outside and use a 5 gallon bucket with a black garbage bag inside.  Dump all that stuff in there and mix it up.  I kind of layered everything and then pulled the bag out and moved it around from the outside with my hand.  I put it back in the bucket and scooped with the plastic Oxy containers and poured into the glass container until full. It made enough to full up both of those Oxy containers and 2 1 liter Ball jars.

Use the scoop that comes with the Oxy boost as your laundry scoop.  1 scoop for small, not too dingy loads and 2 scoops for large and dirty loads.

This is what the result looks like.  Smells very fresh and clean!  You can use your fabric softener with it.  Some of the comments from the site said they use the Downey Unstoppables and add a whole canister of that into the mix.  I am thinking of going the "green" route with softener and doing Vinegar and  Essential Oils.  I also use the Bounce bar that sticks to the side of the dryer as well instead of sheets. 

Dunin', Pic 11

We went to the Sand Dunes in California this past weekend.  It was a blast!  We went with our fabulous neighbors who have been out there numerous times before, so we had pros helping us out on the driving and fun. 
Buddy was in his element driving and playing.  He borrowed our friends quad a couple times and tore it up in the sand.  The Rhino isn't completely made for sand travel, but it made it.  I don't think a smile left his face the entire weekend.  The kids just love any form of camping and the sand being all around them made it even more fun for them.  It took a few trips through the Dunes to really enjoy what was happening, but they loved it at the end.  Maya took a little more convincing, she didn't like the bumps, but considering she fell asleep on 90% of the rides, I'd say she was fine with it.  Me, I'm a little different from my three kids.  Momma gets a little motion sick.  I toughed it out and went along, but it got the best of me on the last ride.  Plus, the slant in which we went ALOT was nerve racking.  It felt like we'd tip over numerous times.  We didn't.  I actually DROVE in the Dunes too.  That was fun, but I am a little too cautious and nervous at turns and jumps.  It made me appreciate it more though.  Driving and riding in the Dunes it COMPLETELY different from going for a ride in the mountains and camping rides. 

Were it not for these masks, we'd be picking sand out of our teeth for the next week.  We're still picking sand out of our ears...