Suzy Q Homemaker

Today I’m trying out homemade dishwasher “soap.” I put a tablespoon of Borax & a tablespoon of washing soda in the main detergent cup. Then I put another tablespoon of washing soda in the extra cup for good measure. I added lemon juice to the jet dry dispenser.

I’ll let you know how it works.

Over the past month or two I’ve been trying out “no-poo” which is basically washing your hair with baking soda & rinsing with apple cider vinegar. My trip to the salon last weekend threw my scalp for a loop though and I had a serious case of the itchies for a few days. I tell ya though: the only thing I don’t like about “no-poo” is going around smelling like fish & chips on wash day. I try not to do it on Sundays when I have to blow-dry my hair. I’m sure you can imagine how much stinkier I can be.

My homemade laundry detergent adventure is frustrating. I thought for sure I had my proportions down but my second batch turned out just as gloopy as the first. Once I’m done with the ivory, I vow to purchase Fels Naptha and also use a bigger bucket. I think I’m just not adding enough water.

In knitting news, I’m done with my Top Secret Birthday Project! I figured it wouldn’t take me too long to finish. Tuesday evening I dragged the boys to the yarn store to get the needle I needed because I got tired of waiting for it to arrive in the mail. Wouldn’t you know it: it came yesterday. Whatever. I picked up some really nice yarn while I was there, so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

That being said, I’m close to being done with Simon’s new longies. I have a few inches to go before I get to the top. I think I’ll deviate from the pattern and do some ribbing at the top instead of casing for elastic. Then I’ll just make an i-cord drawstring.

Well, I guess I should do some stuff around here before I go help out Jamie’s mom with some stuff.

Happy Thursday!

What I thought was allergies I am now thinking is a summer cold. Both ds2 and I have been coughing. I just hope the baby doesn’t get it. The symptoms aren’t that bad, just coughing and gunk on the throat. The only thing is, I’m singing a solo in church tomorrow that requires pure tone and I can barely talk right now. I may be able to sing through the gunk. We’ll see.

By the end of the day yesterday, I was itching to get out of the house, so I braved another trip into town with the baby. The driving part sucked, but the party was fun. I really like the people in the church choir. Everyone is so nice but not in a creepy way. The baby was awesome while we were there and I even got to show off my babywearing skillz. He got a little distracted while I was trying to nurse him because it was kind of loud with all the people talking. I’m sure several people caught glimpses of my nipples. After he was full, he was happily passed around. Then, before I left, I put him on the couch where he wiggled and smiled at all who wanted to hover over him.

I need to vacuum at some point. I can’t believe it’s already after nine. The baby woke up around six to play, but I was too tired to sit up with him. DH was nice enough to take him and let me sleep a little longer. I guess that’s another indication of my impending illness; fatigue is taking over.

You know, I haven’t cleaned the windows in the house since the week we moved in six years ago. What’s up with that? Maybe I’ll do that this week. They sure as hell need it.

I’ve been witnessing the awesome power of the sun this week. For one thing, our moonflower plant is getting bigger by the day and we’ve had two flowers a night all week. Another thing is I’m getting rid of stains on diaper covers. Sun rules!

I’m putting off using wool soakers until it’s a little less humid here. And that may be until winter. With hurricane season, I never know when it’s going to rain, and just stepping outside makes me sweat. So I’m going to wait a while to turn the cute stripey sweater into a soaker. When I’m ready, I’ll measure the baby and make sure it fits well. I’d hate to make it now and have it be too small by the time he’s ready to wear it.

Wonder what I’m going to make for dinner. Woah. We’re having company!

It is HARD not to try to do everything around here. I was so fed up with the mess at the end of the day yesterday that I started doing dishes at 9:30. DH swept the kitchen and wound up with a giant pile of crumbs, cereal, cat food, etc. And it was only two days’ worth! I concluded that our children are gross. Really, it’s ds2 who does most of the mess-making. He was taking corn flakes by the handful and crumbling them onto the floor the other morning. Also, every now and then, he likes to take whatever he is eating and pretend he’s Cookie Monster. As funny as it is, we are trying not to encourage this behavior.

I started putting some of my maternity clothes up for auction on ebay. I may try to consign them online as well (there are a few AP online consignment stores out there somewhere). It’s time to get rid of the big bag of clothes in the closet.

I’m hoping this dragging feeling I have today passes. It was incredibly difficult getting up this morning even with the baby fussing. He wasn’t hungry anymore, so I had to walk him around a little to get some burps out of him.

I had a dream last night that I was still in school. My mom came over with one of my sisters and I asked them why since I was about to leave for class. They said they had to take care of dh’s grandparents. I decided to stay home and hang out with them. Then there was a rainstorm and it was raining sideways. I looked out to the woods in our backyard and a kite was rising out of the tops of the trees. I was wondering who would be flying a kite in the middle of a storm, but then it rose all the way up. No one was holding the end of the string and it floated away like a balloon.

Maybe it won’t be too hot today for the boys to go outside. They are starting to drive one another (and me) crazy. The tent we made with the bunk beds yesterday was only exciting for about 30 minutes. I need to think of something a little more fascinating today.

DS2 is three today and we’re having our usual cookout/birthday party this evening. I made the mistake of ordering the cake to be picked up around 5:30 when it turns out dh gets off work early today. This means one of us will have to make an extra trip into town this evening instead of him just picking up the cake on the way home from work. I called the store to see if we could get it earlier, but they said there was “no way.” I guess I should count my blessings that we were able to get a cake with Superman on it in the first place.

I got a bit behind on housework yesterday because I got lazy and nursed the baby in bed in the afternoon. It was all I could do to get up again after that and then I didn’t feel like doing anything truly productive. Today, though, because there will be outsiders in the house, I must motivate myself to clean, clean, clean. Even though I dusted two days ago, there’s a nice coating of dust upon everything again–it’s the only drawback to living out here in the country. So I guess I’ll try to find where I put the Swiffer duster I managed to get as a free sample and dance my way around the house like I’m in a commercial. Or maybe I’ll give it to the oldest and let him do some dusting for me.

We’ve come to the conclusion that the baby absolutely HATES being in the carseat. He screams almost the entire way whenever we go somewhere and I think we may have to pacify him from now on. I detest pacifiers, but he’s not able to find his thumb and we can’t really reach him to put a finger in his mouth while we’re driving. So, it’s either use the pacifier or not take him anywhere. I can’t possibly just stay cooped up all the time. Pacifier it is. At least I didn’t buy it myself–it was free from the hospital.

I got the nursing shirts I bought off ebay the other day. I like them, but because I’ve still got the baby belly going on, they are a little tight and short. Once I can fit into some regular (not maternity) pants again, I’ll be able to wear them comfortably. I tried on some of my pre-pregnancy pants yesterday and I couldn’t button them. Alas!

And now for some news:

My dad is in the hospital. He had a bad reaction to some pain medication and is now in ICU for severe dehydration. His blood sugar levels are all out of whack and they aren’t sure what to do. I’ll probably find out more today.

On one hand, I’m worried for him because he’s so sick and I feel like I’m too young to lose a parent. On the other hand, it’s his own damn fault for not taking care of himself in the first place. He’s a diabetic, for Christ’s sake, and he still smokes, drinks, and does stupid things like forgetting his insulin when going on a weekend trip out of town. I want to feel bad for him, but I’m too angry.

Ok. I’m done.