more gems...

This was also found in my grandmothers house...oh how I can't wait to go back. And this old lantern that was my dads. I think I have two :) I was thinking of making the lantern into a light for our library nook...

Ideas wanted and welcome!

little gem of many

I got this little vanity bench out of my grandmothers garage and I can't wait to clean it up. If anyone has any ideas for color, fabric or use I would like to hear.

I can't wait to go back and dig a little more to see what I can find. Oh the little gems in life. :)

dryer-sheets

Here it is...

I couldn't stand it so while the kids were playing so well I mixed up the softener. I already had the Downy on hand and to be honest, not really sure where it came from. We have never bought liquid softener. (It could have been any of the many college students that have lived with us over the years) I also had a bottle of Dreft spray that was gone, so I used that.

I filled the Dreft bottle half way with Downy then the rest with water. Then turn back and forth to mix up but do not shake vigorously...I know you are tempted but you will get lots of suds. Another little hint is that you can use hair conditioner...yes i said it! So the when the downy is gone I will be buying inexpensive hair conditioner. Sometimes you can find Suave for $1.00. Then follow the same process.

After mixing it up take an old rag, sock (cause we know we have lots of those sitting around because the dryer ate the other one, right?) and spray it with the softener. Don't drench it but enough to be moist, then put it in the laundry with your wet clothes. Ta Da!

You can re-use it with several loads and spray as needed. And if you want to wash it, go for it. Thanks again Stacy for your thrifty-ness... below is another great hint from her as well.

"If you’re really hard core into using your dryer sheets, that’s cool too. Just cut them in halves or thirds. Or do like me and reuse them. Another tip I came across said to soak an old rag in pure fabric softener and then leave it out to dry. When it’s dry you can toss it into the dryer with wet clothes and use it again and again. You can re-soak it as needed. My mom does this and she uses an old sock. See, I’ve been brought up very well."

Don't forget to label your bottles either. If you go to Stacy's website she made labels, I got lazy in that area and taped my own on and as you can see I tried to take the picture with baby in hand and well we got blurry..or it could be my eyes going bad again. LOL

The old wipe box is what I will use to store my rags, lonely socks or what ever I use to make the dyer-sheet.

Happy mixing!

Borax...what's that??

At least that was my question.

First let me say that this blog credit goes to Stacy from stacymakescents.com. This lady's blog rocks my world! :) I love finding ways to save money and of course love making my own things. Check out her blog!

So here it is; I made my own laundry detergent. Ya'll this was so easy and only took me 5-10 minutes. I am so pumped. You know I am excited because this is the first time in a LONG time that I posted something immediately after doing it. :)

The items below only cost me $7.00.

After grating my soap and slightly my knuckle (Stacy, I tried to avoid your happenings but it was inevitable. I was so excited I think I got a bit carried away). I was ready to mix in the other ingredients... 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of washing soda.

Stacy mentions the workout of mixing and well I just skipped that step and put it all in my food processor as did she and we are ready... make sure you clean your processor really well before using it for food. I happen to come across a FREE one so now I have one to make my detergents and other household items and one for food. If you can find one for FREE I would recommend that...then you won't have to worry if you cleaned it good enough. :)

you only need 2 tablespoons and remember to put it in with your water before the clothes...

Laundry complete! As I was moving my laundry over to the dryer I was thinking..if I could only make dryer sheets....well are you ready for it????

YOU CAN!!! Yes, Stacy advised me of how to make dryer-sheets. I will post later but will be making those this afternoon.

Looking forward to the amount of money we will save!!!

Bathroom cabinet makeover

Really?? Has it been a month already. Time sure flies by when you have two kids. Those of you with more than two...not sure how you do it yet.

Evangeline is now 3 months old, she is growing sooo fast! She has been a joy. Elijah is talking up a storm and will be 3 this summer. Hard to believe. In between the kids I work on projects here and there and need to get better at putting the pictures up of the few I have completed. My list keeps getting longer and longer. LOL

Here is a cabinet I redid for our bathroom. I wanted one over the toilet and they are so expensive. I just could not find one I was willing to spend the money on. We were given some cabinets from some friends who were redoing their kitchen...so I sanded and painted and WHALA! Makes the bathroom a little more cozy. :)

RESULTS

Okay, so I am still learning all this couponing stuff but here is my results from today...

I went to Rite Aid cause the were having a sale on Pepsi and halls, weird combo I know, but hey I am couponing. (Is that even a word - couponing????) I have been hooked on Pepsi ever since Eva was born and I don't even like cokes. And the halls, well medicine can be expensive and we have all had are share of sore throats this winter so why not stock up. :)

Back to the results...

Halls were 2/$2.00 and I had 2 manufacture coupons for .50 off. And at Rite Aid you get reward points toward your next purchase. (coupons don't double at Rite Aid :( sad) With my reward points and my coupons plus their sale the total was $1.24 for 4 bags of halls. (I paid $3.24 at the register with $2.00 towards my next purchase) They are normally $2.99 each a total of 11.96 and tax. I saved $10.00 HAPPY DANCE HAPPY DANCE

THEN they had Pepsi on sale. With my $2.00 rewards and the Pepsi sale (3/10.98 plus 3.00 in rewards back) 12 packs are normally $5.29 each. At $3.66 each minus $2.00 from halls rewards my total was $8.98 then I got $3.00 to use towards my next purchase...so my total for 3 - 12 packs of Pespi was 5.98! ANOTHER HAPPY DANCE!!! Basically I got 2 free packs. :)

My grand total for today was $7.22 (I have not included tax in these prices) that was for 4 bags of halls and 3-12 packs of Pepsi. What would have cost me 27.83 (plus tax). A TOTAL savings of $20.61.

For those of you who are professional couponers and would have got all that for free, don't hate on me. I am enjoying my happy dance right now. :)

I love saving

I am now addicted to couponing,crazy! I sat down this morning to clip a few before going to the store. And of course got side tracked...because I am addicted and every coupon or deal I see, I CLICK!! AHHHH!!!! So now 2 hours later I am about to get ready to leave for the store. I just can't help it. I love saving!!!

YAY we did it!

Finally, I took Elijah to the library. I have been wanting to take him for months now. They have story time for kids twice a week where they read them a story then the kids get to do a craft of some sort...and I am all about crafting these days. :)

I decided this year I want to be more intentional about some things and this is one of the things on my list. He has always loved reading too. While we were there I got a library card so we can go weekly. When we were done he wanted to check out a book. He said "Mom, can I get Harold?" He has been reading 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' with his Nana when he stays over there.

He must really like this book. We brought it home and he was so excited.

It is good for us to get out of the house and why not do something free and educational.

Why didn't I know about this 10 months ago...

I don't know how many of you are in or have been in the season of life of MATERNITY. With that goes the pre-belly and after belly awkward sizes...nothing seems to fit right. Maternity is too big and old clothes, you're just not there yet. That is where I am now. But these little bundle of joys are SOOO worth it.

Not only that, it seems every time I am pregnant I end up having to do something that I need a dress for. Check out this dress, it is too cute... I am honestly thinking of buying it just to have for the next pregnancy. :)

You can find this dress at http://www.shabbyapple.com

They also have TONS of other CUTE CUTE things. Here is some things I am looking at...

There is so many things on this site...everything from jewelry to kids clothing too...so fun!

ENJOY!

potty time

We are working on his potty training right now. We are not pushing the subject with the new baby and all but making our way. He is very curious and wants to "go to the big potty" but still has not figured it out. I keep my niece during the week and she is fully potty trained. She and Eli are the same age. So I am hoping this encourages him.

So far two things have happened...

1- he wanted to use the potty and when I returned to check on him he was playing IN the potty with his toy boat.

2- he again wanted to potty, sat on the potty for 30 minutes while I was getting ready for the day and when he got off, he peed in the floor... really???

I know we are close but still have a way to go. Hopefully sooner than later.

Here is the Barton home during the week....

no more hitting the snooze button

Just in the past two days Elijah has discovered that he can now come OUT of his room when he wakes up in the morning and makes his way to our room. He has been in a big boy bed since the summer so we have been lucky that he has not figured this out before now. I wish I could be a fly on the wall as he runs down the hall to us so proud that he has figured this out because when he enters our room he peaks around the door, comes in and says "I'm awake...I want my dinner and juice". LOL (yes, he gets breakfast, lunch and dinner mixed up, ha) Though it was so nice to "hit the snooze" and ignore his shout outs for mom and dad for an extra 15 minutes it is also sweet to have him come crawl in the bed with us so proud.

I can't believe how big he has gotten. Too cute for words.