Success!

I worried loads and tons about how my son would react to his new baby sister and as expected there was a little jealousy in the beginning. I gave as much extra lovin and attention as I could and told him often that she loved her big brother. Within a few weeks he was really curious about her and I encouraged it as much as I could while still staying Mama Bear in case he decided to try something fishy. He never did and soon he was giving hugs and kisses and I praised praised praised and his face is so happy everytime. Deep down he probably hates her guts but he loves the praise so its so far so good to me haha.

Tennesee: The Hillbilly State

When we brought our baby girl home from the hospital a month ago we got a lovely note from the apartment management about a bag of garbage left on our porch for a few hours in the early morning. It actually had a photo of the bag on our porch telling us not to be litter bugs! Excuse us! Then we got a note telling us we had to move our dish. We called out the dish guys to move it. They talked to management and THIS is whats acceptable:

I mean REALLY! Sometimes ya just gotta laugh..

Crash and burn.

I think my computer has seen its last days. Right now Im on my husbands laptop thats been to Afghanistan and back. My computer is a desktop thats quite a few years old and sure theres lots of better computers out there but mine has MY WHOLE LIFE on it. Its really quite sad to me. Anyways, to get to the problem of it all, the power button was stuck. It was stuck for weeks but if you manhandled it enough it turned on. Well now it wont even though I somehow got the button unstuck. I dont care how jacked up something is. I always use it til its dying days but I havent figured out what to do for that damned button. *insert mad/sad face here!*

Helpful tips from Gooseberry Patch

So I have this Gooseberry Patch cookbook called "Speedy Suppers" ( which I recommend you pick up). It has a ton of tasty recipes and at the bottom of each page it has some smart tips that I'd like to share. Heres a few:
-To check an egg for freshness, put it in a pan of cool salted water. If it sinks, its fresh and if it rises to the surface, its time to toss it.
-Club soda will shine up stainless steel sinks in a jiffy! Use a cloth dampened with soda and rub sink until stains disappear.
-You'll shed fewer tears if you peel an onion under cold running water. Cutting the root end last will help too.
-Did you know that sausage links will shrink less if they're lightly coated with flour before frying?
-Eggs will beat up fluffier if they're at room temperature and not too cold.
-Blend equal parts of olive oil and lemon juice to create a polish that will make wood furniture shine. Just apply with a soft cloth and buff.
-If pots and pans become scorched during cooking, sprinkle then with baking soda. Add just enough water to moisten the baking soda and let stand overnight. Voila! In the morning the scorched portion should lift right out.
-Fiberglass surfaces will shine when you wipe them down with a damp sponge sprinkled with borax.

Just Hitched

Living together, a long 14 month deployment, and two kids later we finally got hitched on March 11th! Nothing big n fancy. Mostly it was a "lets go get the piece of paper we need" type of thing because at this point no ones going anywhere.

Not that it wasnt special for us, but he had to go back to work soon after! I got lots of beef with the Army but thats another blog altogether...

Homemade Cleaners

They say the air in your house is more poluted than the air outside. Thats because of all the cleaning supplies, hair sprays, air fresheners etc. After I had my son, I decided I didnt want him around all those crazy chemicals. So Ive been making my own, and its a whole lot cheaper than buying the "green" cleaning supplies they have out now. The three cheapest ingredients you probably already have:

Baking Soda - cleans, deodorizes, scours (think comet or ajax)
White Vinegar - cleans pretty much everything from kitchen counters to floors
Isopropyl (rubbing) Alcohol - disinfectant everything and anything

Get some spray bottles from the dollar store or reuse one you already have (wash it out first).

In one spray bottle put alcohol (one part alcohol to five parts water). Disinfects everything. Really good for bathrooms, doorknobs, telephones. Ive even used it for the floors.

In another spray bottle put one part vinegar to four parts water. This will clean floors, appliances, counters. Pretty much anything.

As an all purpose cleaner mix half cup vinegar and a one-forth cup baking soda into half gallon of water. Cleans chrome fixtures, water stains, showers, toilet bowl.

Use baking soda alone to scour stovetops, fridge, sinks.

Adjust the formulas or experiment with them yourself because you cant do much damage with these cleaning supplies. Test in a small area first if you're unsure. Anything you use alcohol and vinegar on will smell like alcohol and vinegar but only for a short time. The smell will go away, and I dont think its nearly as bad as some of the stuff I was using before. I guarantee your grandma cleaned with these!

The Crazies

I love horror movies. I prefer the older horror films but every once in a while movies surprise me. We havent been to the movies in over 8 months. We dont get many days out without the kids period. Saturday we got one, so we decided to go see The Crazies.

Overall I'd say it wasnt all that bad. I hate movies that take a good half hour of my time to tell you what the plot is. The Crazies got right to the point which I liked. I actually liked the idea of the whole story too. I also like horror movies that dont rely on fake boobies to get people to pay attention. I thought it dragged on a little toward the end but I dont regret watching it.

Uses for baby powder other than your baby!

Like many other gals, I got a ton of baby powder at my baby shower before my son was born. However, I dont use the stuff for him, so its just been sitting there. So I wondered, what else can I possibly use it for? So I looked it up and here it is!

Repel ants. Sprinkle Baby Powder in cracks, along a window sill, or under doors where ants enter. Ants will not walk through baby powder.


Help rubber gloves slip on easily. Sprinkle Baby Powder inside the gloves.


Give your dog a dry shampoo. Rub Baby Powder into your dog's fur, wait a few minutes, then brush out.


Cure a squeaky floor board. Sprinkle Baby Powder into the crevices along the edges.


Hide a stain on a white suit. Rub Baby Powder into the stain.


Clean grease from walls. Sprinkle Baby Powder on a soft cloth and rub the spot until the grease disappears.


Keep shoes and sneakers dry and comfortable. Dust the insides with Baby Powder.


Prevent sticky sheets on a hot, summer night. Sprinkle Baby Powder between the sheets to absorb perspiration.


Give your hair a dry shampoo. Work Baby Powder into your hair, then brush out.


Prevent white shirts from absorbing oil and grime. Lightly sprinkle Baby Powder on the shirt before and after ironing.


Clean sand off wet skin. Sprinkle Baby Powder on skin to remove moisture, and the sand virtually falls off by itself.


Untangle a chain necklace. Dusting the chain with Baby Powder will make it easier to untangle.


Soften rough hands. Apply Baby Powder as you would hand lotion.


Prevent friction burns when shaving your legs with an electric razor. Dust legs lightly with Baby Powder before shaving.


All this came from: http://onlytigersden.wordpress.com/2007/06/20/alternative-uses-for-baby-powder/