Homemade Laundry Detergent

Yep! That's right, I made my own laundry detergent today! It was super easy and so fun too. I was inspired by this blog. It took me a couple of days to locate all of the ingredients. But, once I did, it was just a matter of grating the bar soap and mixing it up! I put it in this cute jar and tied a ribbon on it. It looks so pretty and happy in my laundry room. I even got a little silver scooper to use with it.

Here's the recipe I used:

3 bars Pink Zote Soap

4 pound box of Borax

4 pound box of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda

4 pound box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

1 small bucket of Oxyclean (30 oz)

The Borax, Baking Soda and Oxyclean are available almost anywhere. I found them at Walmart. The Pink Zote and the Washing Soda were a different story. It seems that they aren't stocked on my side of town. I hit the stores that were recommended online to be known to carry these items, but no luck. I had to go to the part of town where they speak more Spanish than English and, then I had to go to the right Dollar store and I finally found my final ingredients.

I used my Kitchen Aid grater to grate the bars of soap. I thought it was really pretty! And then I had to use a garbage bag to mix it all together. It makes a BUNCH of detergent. I washed my first load with it today and every turned out very clean. I took the advice on this blog and used white vinegar as my fabric softener and it is awesome. It also said that the cost break down for this detergent is about $0.08 per load. That's WONDERFUL! Let me know if you decide to make some!

Community Service Build-A-Bear Event

On Saturday, October 24th, APMC partnered with Starlight Children's Foundation and Build-A-Bear to make bears to be donated to Starlight families. We met at the Build-A-Bear at Barton Creek Mall and had 49 bears made from teddy bears to monkeys and turtles. There were families from APMC, Bee Cave/Lakeway Mamas, Little Helping Hands, UT Students and high school students. All of the bears will be donated on November 8th at the Starlight Little Gym Party. Come out and join us for that event! See MeetUp for details.

Our New APMC Banner was displayed under the Build-A-Bear instructions.

There was quite a group!

Things I love...

I've been thinking about a couple of different posts for this blog, and I decided to combine them into one post. These two things, are things that I love. A mamas' job is hard! I find that these things make my job a little bit easier. Who doesn't love that?!

First, I'm going to talk about the dirty laundry. It's the job that never ends. After Wyatt, my third child, was born, I needed to find a new system for my laundry. I was buried in laundry. It never seemed to be done. I always had a pile that needed washing or putting away. It was like unfinished homework from my school days, just hanging over me.

My OLD system... I had 3 laundry baskets in my closet. One for WHITES one for DARKS and one for COLORS. When a basket got full, I washed it. But, the problem was that they all seemed to get full about the same time. So, I would have a laundry "day". I say "day", because there wasn't enough time to wash all of my laundry in one day. So then, the "full" loads would become extra full! And by the time that I got it all put away, it would be time for more. It was frustrating and it made me feel bad about myself. The clothes hardly ever were put away and my family was always having to dig through baskets of clean laundry to find that shirt or dress or sock that they wanted. UGH. This was not how I wanted to live.

Enter NEW system... My sister-in-law recommended this product.... The SHOUT Color Catcher...

Let me just tell you that this is an awesome product. It has helped me achieve my clean clothes put away - laundry done goal! No more waiting for enough clean clothes to make a load. This is how it works... I don't sort the laundry anymore. I only have 1 laundry basket for the dirty clothes. Every morning, after the kids are dressed I gather up all of the dirty clothes and put them in the washer TOGETHER. It doesn't matter what color they are. I can wash whites with reds with jeans, etc. IT DOESN'T MATTER! As long as I put one of these little sheets in the washer with my clothes, they all come out perfect. After I get home from the morning activity, I move my load to the dryer and then I put it away by the afternoon. Everyone can get 1 load of laundry done in a day. And putting away 1 basket of clothes isn't a big deal. I still have a "laundry day" when I wash sheets and towels, etc. But the clothes are clean and they are put away. I consider it a small victory every day and it makes me feel good.

My next thing that I love is my NO SOLICITING sign I have in my entry way. When I started staying home after my first child was born, I was so surprised at the number of visitors I had during the day. A few times a week there would be an unexpected knock at my door. Sometimes selling magazines or car service plans or tree service or landscape or maid service. You name it. I have to just go ahead and tell you... I'm a sucker. It doesn't take a very skilled sales person to sell me something. If they are polite and respectful, then I'm pretty much going to buy it. It's really kinda embarrassing.

While, it is a problem for me to be buying things we don't need... that's not the bigger issue. First, I really don't like to be interrupted at home. Maybe I was nursing my baby. Or, maybe one of my kids are napping. Or I could be on the phone, or napping myself. Whatever the case, I don't like to be interrupted, I don't like strangers at my door, I don't like my dog barking. These unexpected visitors are not welcome.

Then, there's the other problem. Some of these "sales people" are not the kind of people that I want to know that I am home with small children. It makes me feel vulnerable. I think you probably know the kind. They usually have bad manners. Maybe they stand too close to the door and make me uncomfortable. Maybe they make a comment that isn't expected or welcome. Once, I opened the door to a magazine sales person that was standing extremely close to my door, and he said "Wow, you have pretty eyes". UGH. I shut the door immediately and ordered my NO SOLICITING sign that day.

It works! I no longer have these interruptions. I feel less vulnerable and I am not wasting our money on things we don't need. Just last week, there was an email on my neighborhood listserve warning against some undesirables that were going door to door that day. It ended with somebody calling the police and an arrest being made. I was so happy I had my NO SOLICITING sign up. Nobody knocked on my door that day.

Young Chef's Academy Fieldtrip Fun

What a great lunch the kids made at Young Chef's Academy last week. The kids learned a few new kitchen techniques and it really inspires Nick to help out in the kitchen and eat all of his nutritious meals that he helps me prepare. I really can't say enough about the YCA staff and building, just a wonderful enviroment. It is such a bright and cheerful place to be whether it is for a simple cooking class or a birthday party. Our experiences there have been fantastic. They offer other great programs that the club may be taking advantage of in the near future so look for you chance to join in on all the fun sometime soon.

Can you say "Lets decorate a haunted house play date."? Who's with me?

Jellystone Park

Last month, I took my family "camping" at Jellystone Park in Waller, Texas. It's about a 2 hour drive, if you don't have a 2 year old that has to stop to use the potty every 45 minutes. We had a great time! I definitely recommend this campground!

We arrived on a rainy Friday afternoon. The rain was welcome, we hoped that maybe it would help with the HOT temperatures that we've been experiencing. Right away, we were impressed with the camp ground. As we approached the ranger station, a woman in a rain coat directed us to a parking spot and asked our name. Then she quickly ran up to a box and returned with our welcome packet. In it, we found a map of the park, our cabin keys and the schedule of events for the weekend.

We went directly to our cabin and started to unpack. I was very impressed with the cleanliness and efficiency of the cabin. We rented a Yogi In The Pines cabin. It came with everything we needed. We had to bring our own bed linens and towels, but everything else was provided. We had a stove, microwave, toilet and shower, and most important... air conditioning. Our cabin slept 8. There was one bedroom with a queen bed, a queen pull out couch in the front room (it was a kitchen/living room), and two full mattresses in the loft above the front porch. My girls (Lily is 4 and Madeline 2 1/2) LOVED the loft!! They could stand up, but Lily only had about 4 inches clearance. To them, it was a space just for kids. We set up a pack and play for Wyatt (14 months) in the bedroom. My in-laws came with us, we we had 4 adults and 3 kids all staying in the cabin. My cousin and her family met us there (2 adults, 3 kids) and my husband's best friend and his family (2 adults 2 kids) met us there too. All together, we were 8 adults and 8 kids. The other 2 family's stayed in the RV area of the campground. It's a little crowded, but they had a great time too. For a few hours on Saturday afternoon, we all wanted to escape the heat, so we were all in our cabin. The bigger kids played up in the loft and there was plenty of room for the rest of us. I was really surprised!

A+ on the entertainment! This campground has a water park! It was awesome.

I was very pleased with the slides and size of the play area. Around the slides is not too deep, and the water some how stayed chilled. I even took Wyatt down the water slides a couple of times. It was really fun!

Yogi Bear came out to greet the kids and raise the flag each morning. He was available for pictures. There were arts and crafts and games going on all weekend. On the website, there is a schedule of events for the rest of the year. If you're looking for a little get away for your family, check out Jellystone Park in Waller, Texas. I think you'll have a great time!

Clarksville- 3.5 out of 5 Cheerios

I am giving Clarksville Wading Pool and Park 3 1/2 out of 5 Cheerios. All the moms and kids enjoyed the shallow pool and I could see Nick playing just a few feet away from me at the playscape while staying with Noah in the pool. The wading pool is perfect for toddlers to pre-schoolers-depth is "9 to 2'. The pool is drained and filled everyday it is open but is only 10% shaded and has limited hours.The playscape is covered and has toddler swings. I plan to visit this location in the future and I believe it is especially easy for the more than one child mom-completely fenced pool and park. We did get to enjoy our snack at the shaded picnic table. Two life guards were present and the bathrooms were fine. Unfortunately there isn't a parking lot so parking is curb side, lucky for us it wasn't busy with other families. See out soon.

Treasure Hunters

This morning Julie and her four year old daughter Taylor met up with me and August at Mayfield Park for our first letterboxing adventure together.  Letterboxing or geocaching as it is also known, is basically a treasure hunt. People post maps on the internet of where they've hidden 'treasure'. In it's most basic form you would find a log book to sign for the hider once you've found it and the hider in return provides an artful stamp (mostly homemade) which you can then stamp into your own book. Sometimes there are treasure prizes, sometimes there are not, sometimes they are easy to find, sometimes it's like Raiders of the Lost Ark (and if you're with me, bring a sandwich because it could take awhile).

The one we found today was about as easy as it gets, a short quarter mile walk into the woods (a half mile if you're relying on me and my map skills...ah hem, sorry Julie) and the box was hidden under some rocks right off the traveled foot path. It's a wonderful way to take in nature and especially thrilling for kids to find treasure. You end up seeing places you would have never known about otherwise and be a part of a whole subculture that's magically hidden in plain sight.

We all had such a good time just enjoying the morning together - and that's what's so fun about it. You can get a GPS and go Tomb Raider or just put on your mucklucks and find a reason to take a long walk in a place you haven't visited in a while. Either way you'll have fun with a friend or your family.  The first one I ever went on, actually the first time I ever even heard of it, was from my friends in Vermont. I went up to visit them and we ended up going on an impromptu treasure hunt through the hills with his wife and three kids. Not bad a bad way to spend a chilly autumn afternoon catching up with old friends.

These letterboxes can be found anywhere all over the world. Some places are more densely populated than others, but you can also join in by planting your own treasures for other people to find. We used Atlas Quest today for our map, but there tons of other sites you can check out. 

Have you ever been letterboxing?

Fuel Your Creative Flame

I'm nerdy. I am not creative. When I draw pictures, they are usually composed of standard geometric shapes, like squares, triangles and circles. When I paint with my daughter, while she experiments with colors and textures and freely swipes her paint brush or paint covered fingers or feet, I paint letters or spirals. So, when I realized that topic of this month's Mother's Renewal meeting was Unleashing Your Creativity, as described in Renee Trudeau's book The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal, I was doubtful. I led the group discussion with a bit of apprehension, how was I supposed to encourage other moms to unleash their creativity when I couldn't unleash my own?

Our discussion was centered around three questions- What creative things did you do before having children? What creative things do you do now? What creative things can we do that involve our children and partners?

As always, the group was full of insights and ideas. I was not the only one who denied having any creative talents, and I left the discussion with a great list of ways to foster creativity in myself and in my family. All the answers to the three questions we discussed are posted to the APMC Yahoo Group message board for members, but below is our answer to the third question- What creative things can we do that involve our children and partners?
Garden
Tell stories and encourage story telling
Create puppet shows
Build forts
Play with dry beans
Create an ever-changing toy cupboard
Paint with water- can use Buda board or Aqua Doodle, or just water and a sidewalk
Create themed books with magazine pictures, exp. sleep time, animals, outdoor fun
Play with buttons- kids can string them and sort them
Learn and teach sign language
Play hide and seek- little ones can play some variation of this by 12 months
Dance! and make dance compilation cds
Make movies, scripted or not, shot around town or not, make a compilation of
movie clips you already have
Go geo-caching or letter boxing
Complete 3-D Balsa wood puzzles, sighted at Michaels craft stores for $1
Visit Teacher Heaven for inspiration and purchases
Repurpose cardboard boxes

By the end of the evening, we determined that each of us has creative talents, we just don't all have creative talents that are easily recognized. When we day-dream about fantasy vacations, the projects we are going to complete, the businesses we will some day start, or the fun family activities we will do as soon as the kids are old enough, we are being creative. Any time we come up with a solution or alternative solutions to problems, we are being creative. I headed home with a creative spark shining brighter than usual and I was excited about all ways I was going fuel my creative fire. Our next meeting will be at the end of August.

Reed Park: 4 out of 5 Cheerio's

If you're like me, you've been to most of the parks in Austin and have a short list of your favorites. For me, these are the parks that seem to always have a bit of activity with other children playing, lots of shaded area and that have wonderful modern playscapes. My son August is 18 months old and we've already been to almost every green spot with 10 miles of our house. So isn't it nice when you think you've seen it all, to get invited out to a little green gem you never knew existed?

Lane Pollack, fearless leader and President of APMC has been hosting a Tour de Parks every Tuesday from 9:30-11:30 at a different park and green-space in Austin. Today we all headed over to Reed Park in Tarrytown right off Pecos Rd. Since this is a  small neighborhood park you wouldn't really know about it unless somebody told you it was there. Reason number one why I love this club, by the way...

Reed Park is a small pocket park nestled into a green-space within a tree-lined neighborhood. There is a small playscape good for both infants, toddlers and older children, a full sized pool and a wading pool, a small field, a brook and swings for both toddlers and older kids. Since there wasn't much shade I would suggest going early or visiting on a cloudy day, as today turned out to be. There's also a short little hike you can take. We didn't do it today but information can be found here.

Thanks to all the moms that showed up to to play this morning. There was great turnout and it's always a lot of fun to see new faces. What's your favorite park?

Rating: 4 out 5 Cheerio's  

Reed Park - Tarrytown, 2600 Pecos St.

• swings - big & small
• playscape - good for big & small, easy to see
• pool - full size and wading
• green field
• picnic tables and seating
• babbling brook just behind playscape
• historic sites - just across the driveway stand the remains of Taylor's Lime Kiln, which was used in the 1800's to produce quick lime for making cement used for the construction of stone houses
• minimal traffic

Fantastic Mr. Fox Book Club: What are your favorite chapter books for preschoolers?

The third preschool book club was a great success. The kids made puppets of characters from Fantastic Mr. Fox and put on their own puppet shows. We "feasted" on special treats of apple cider (apple juice) and doughnuts.


We actually didn't make it through this particular book in our house, but introducing longer books to Mattie this summer has been really fun and we want to continue. What are your favorite chapter books that your kids have loved at this early age or that you remember loving early?