July 30, 2012

Homemade dishwasher detergent

I figured that since everything else was on Pinterest there had to be a way to make my own dishwasher detergent. BINGO! Found an inexpensive way and decided to give it a try.

Recipe calls for 1 box of borax, one box of washing soap, 24 packs of unsweetened lemonade, and 3 cups of epsom salt.



Just mix it all together and you're done! Put 1 tbsp in each load.

It made enough to fill up the container I usually keep my detergent in and I put the rest back into the borax box and it filled it up too.



Overall, I think all of this cost around $10, but it should last me a long time.

Update- I wrote up this post a few weeks ago. I have used this detergent a few times and I'm not sure my thoughts on it. Some loads come out really clean. But all the bottles and some of our clear plastic cups look cloudy. I'll continue using it for a while and then decide I guess.

11/9/12 update- I stopped using this because it was making all the plastic cups, bowls, and bottles very cloudy and weird feeling. I now just use it for cleaning out the sink, tub, or toilet.
If anyone has a better recipe, feel free to share it!

July 24, 2012

Walking Taco Casserole

I love walking tacos and usually get them at every festival or fair we go to.  Again, I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It was fairly easy to make and very delicious.

Walking Taco Casserole

1 1/2 lb ground beef
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
Fritos
Shredded Cheddar cheese

Brown 1 1/2 lbs ground beef. Mix in taco seasoning and cook according to directions on package. 




Layer in a casserole dish in the following order: Fritos chips, meat mixture, shredded cheese. Repeat layers once again.






 Bake at 350° for about 15-20 min or until cheese is bubbly.






After removing from oven I added more cheese on the top.

I really liked this and so did Marley until she got up from the table and Zeus ate it.  The only downside is when you reheat it the next day the chips are all soggy. Maybe next time I'll do a half size so that way I don't have soggy chips.

July 23, 2012

A tooth!

On July 13th I noticed a spot on Mason's gums on the bottom. I wasn't sure what it was so I touched it and it's a TOOTH! In the last week it looks like another one is starting to pop through too!


July 20, 2012

Summer time and the livin's easy

It's been so hot out lately. Marley wants to play outside almost everyday but it's just too hot. Finally the other day after the sun went down some it was "bearable" outside so we let her play in the sprinkler. Bonus- the grass also got watered since it's almost all dead.





Frozen Yogurt Drops

Remember when I said I was going to try to do a new recipe each day? I believe that lasted 3 whole days.  But, it's back!

I saw this idea on Pinterest and figured it seemed simple and yummy so why not try it out. 

All you need is some yogurt, I used Yoplait strawberry in the large container, a plastic baggie, and something to put the drops on that will fit in your freezer.


First, put your baggie in a cup so the zipper part is around the edges. Then pour the yogurt in and seal it up. 


Then cut off a tiny little piece of the corner of the baggie. I mean tiny. I cut mine to big and the yogurt was coming out to quickly.  Use the baggie like you've seen cake decorators do to put icing on cakes and make little drops of yogurt on your plate.


Place them in the freezer for at least an hour. Once they're all frozen just pop them off and store them in the freezer.

I think they are delicious! Marley didn't like them and Mike didn't really either. Which means more for me! 

July 19, 2012

Hospital Stay for Mason

As of Mason's last dr. appt he was up to 11 lbs 1 oz. (the week before July 4th) His dr. was leaving on vacation on the 2nd until the 24th, but told us to come in weekly for weight checks. She said her nurses would be there from 10-1. I went on the 9th (Monday) to get him weighed. They weren't in the office so I just took him over to the hospital. He weighed 10 lbs. 11 oz =( He lost weight again. I paged the nurse and she gave me the name of another dr to see. The following day (the 10th) was his appointment. According to their scale he was 11 lbs. Dr. Dhana (new dr) decided to admit Mason to the hospital.  Upon arrival they took blood and a urine sample.  Then we just sat...and sat... and sat. My mom and Marley were with me because Mike had to go to work. They did put Mason on Nutramigen formula since it's easier to digest.  His blood and urine tests came back normal. Dr said he would like to keep him for a couple days. To me, 2 is a couple, so I figured we would be out of there on Thursday night.  They kept track of how much he ate, they weighed his diapers and weighed him every night. They weren't doing anymore tests or anything, they were just observing him to make sure he was keeping the formula down and gaining weight. On Thursday he was up to 11 lbs. 3 oz.  When the Dr. came in in the morning he said he wants to keep him until Monday to make sure he continues to gain. After the dr left the room I broke down in tears. I was stressed to the max. Between sitting in the hospital room all day and night to finding someone to watch Marley and worrying about Mason gaining weight I just couldn't take it anymore. I called Mike and told him that I wanted to go home and I wanted Mason to come with me.  Mike got up to the hospital a few hours later and we talked it over and decided that since they weren't doing anything there that we couldn't do at home that we wanted to be discharged. We spoke with the nurse and then went over to talk to the doctors office to tell him our thoughts. His recommendation was to keep him at least one more day, but with Mike and my mom's work schedule it was just too much. The dr finally said we could take him home! A few hours later we were home and back to our normal lives.

I do want to mention that had Mason been ill or they were running tests on him we would of stayed. I don't want people to think we're bad parents because we left the hospital. We just decided we had to do what was best for both of our children and being at the hospital wasn't the ideal situation. Marley actually had to go to work with Mike the first night because we didn't have anyone to watch her and she is just a little to hyper to be at the hospital all night.

With that said, as of today Mason is up to 11 lbs. 12 oz!! That's a 12 ounce gain in 10 days! Which is above "normal".  He is still on the special formula but I am slowing transitioning him back to breastmilk and keeping up with the same feeding schedule to see if that makes a difference or not.

I hope we're done with all these issues. Who would of thought that my 10 pound newborn would have weight problems?!


July 9, 2012

4th of July

We had a very laid back but fun Fourth of July this year. We started out at the parade. The Portage parade is the longest parade in the world! Last year it was at least 2 hours long. This year we only stayed for an hour. It was also like 110 degrees at 11am so we didn't last very long.  After the parade we came home and relaxed. Mike went out on the four wheeler and me and the kids stayed cool. Later that afternoon we went to the beach with Rusty, Stacy and their kids (All four of them!) After the beach we stopped at Uncle Bob's for dinner.  Once it got dark out we went to Hobart to see fireworks. It was a very laid back but fun day!  Marley said it was parade day when we asked her why we were going to a parade and seeing fireworks.

Since it was Mason's first Fourth of July and he was a day shy of 3 months I did a little impromptu photo shoot while Mike was out riding.

Hope everyone else had a great day too!


Cooling off at the parade


Just chillin'


She crashed out once we got home from fireworks.

Crescent Dogs aka Pigs in a blanket

I made these for lunch. Wait- back up. Let me start by saying that I LOVE HOT DOGS! I could eat hot dogs for every meal every day of my life. So, of course before I even show you a picture or tell you the recipe I am giving these a big thumbs up!

Okay moving on... I found the recipe here. Except they say to use bacon and I didn't when I made them.

After I took them out of the oven Marley asked why the hot dogs were in a sleeping bag. I didn't take pictures of the "process" of making them, but here's the recipe-


8 hot dogs
4 slices American cheese, each cut into 6 strips
1 can crescent dinner rolls 

Heat oven to 375°F. Slit hot dogs to within 1/2 inch of ends; insert 3 strips of cheese into each slit. Separate dough into triangles. Wrap dough triangle around each hot dog. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cheese side up. Bake at 375°F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.





July 6, 2012

Corn Dog Mini Muffins

Today's recipe we're trying is corn dog mini muffins. I found the recipe here through Pinterest. It seems fairly easy to make and I had everything already in my kitchen except for the corn muffin mix.

Here's the recipe-

1-8.5 oz. box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 TBS honey
4 Hot dogs, each cut into 5 pieces



Spray the wells of a mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.


In a med bowl, combine the mix, egg, honey and milk. Allow to sit for 3 - 4 min. Stir batter.


Fill each mini muffin well with about 1/2 TBS batter. Place a piece of hot dog into each well, pressing in.


Top each hot dog with about a tsp. of batter, covering hot dog.


Bake in oven for 10 - 15 min. or until golden brown. Allow to cool in pan for 5 min. before removing.



Marley liked them. I thought they were okay. I would rather have a regular corn dog. These were very messy because the corn muffin crumbled once you took a bite.

July 5, 2012

Pinterest Challenge Accepted

Two blogs that I read every day while feeding Mason are hosting-




Young House Love and Bower Power are great DIY blogs. I mentioned the Pinterest Challenge a while back when I installed this bar under the kitchen sink.  When I did that I was to late to actually join in on their challenge, but this time I have accepted their "challenge" and have my "pin" done on time five days early!


I actually first saw this idea on Young House Love's instagram photo.  After browsing Pinterest for the actual recipe/instructions I came across them here and drove to the store the next day for cinnamon rolls. It is fairly easy to do and smells wonderful!

The first time I made them I used Pillsbury mini-bites. They were more flat then the regular rolls so it didn't turn out as good as they did when I used the regular cinnamon rolls this morning.  I did notice if you open the waffle iron too early that they were splitting in half. Nothing awful, but just a side note. Here's a little photo play by play of the whole process-



Here's what you need. 

Just set it in and shut the lid. I waited about 2-3 minutes and then took them out.

I put the icing on while they're still warm. YUM! 



You know they're good when you get a thumbs up from Marley. 


 I love them so much I could probably eat them for breakfast everyday.

Besides participating in YHL and BP's challenge, I've also decided to challenge myself in a way. I have decided that I will try, key word here is try, to make a new recipe that I have found on Pinterest every day. Whether it be for breakfast or dinner or just a snack.  Every night I will report back on what we all thought of the food. So consider this post my first recipe review!

Waffle iron cinnamon rolls receive an A+



July 2, 2012

Double Digits

I am a few weeks behind posting Mason's weekly pictures. He's had lots of dr. appointments these past couple weeks, but he finally gained some weight so things are starting to calm down. As of June 28th he weighed 11 lb 1 oz! He gained 9 ounces in a week.

I can't believe how fast time is going by! He's already in the double digits!  Both backgrounds for these pictures are actually shirts that belonged to Mason's great grandpa. When Marley was a year old I used one of his shirts and made it into a dress. I had a few others still so I decided with Mason turning 10 weeks old the week before Father's day, and 11 weeks old the week before his great grandpa's birthday I would use the shirts as the background.  So without further ado...