Homemade Obsession

Since having Ramsay I have become obsessed with making homemade things for the house such as baby wipes, laundry detergent, fabric softener, liquid hand soap, and dishwasher detergent. Since I've been on this kick and am loving it, I thought I would share my recipes on here in the hopes of spreading my new found love with others! Such a great way to save lots of money!

BABY WIPES
2 cups hot water
2 tablespoons baby lotion
2 tablespoons baby oil
2 tablespoons baby wash
1 roll paper towels

Cut the roll of paper towels in half. I prefer Viva as they are very strong and stay together very well with the mixture on them. Take one half of the paper towel roll and remove the cardboard middle. Set the half roll into a bowl on one end, deep enough for a lid to fit on. Pour half the mixture over the roll. Let sit for a couple minutes then flip the roll over and pour the remaining mixture over. Place lid on the bowl and allow the wipes to cool completely before using. You can either leave them on the roll and pull off one at a time but I prefer to tear them apart and place in a lidded container (such as a plastic baby wipe container) as it's easier to grab one or two at a time.



LAUNDRY SOAP
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 bar of Fels Naptha
5 gallon bucket with lid

Grate fels neptha into a pot of boiling water and mix until completely melted. Put borax and washing soda in bucket. Pour soap mixture in bucket and stir. Fill remainder of bucket with water. Let sit for 24 hours before use. You can use old detergent bottles to put this in to keep in your laundry room or a container of sorts with a spout on it (which is what I use).



FABRIC SOFTENER
2-3 cups of water
1 cup liquid fabric softener
1 sponge
Container with lid

Combine water and liquid fabric softener in container. Cut sponge in half and soak plies in softener mixture. Just squeeze to remove excess softener and toss in dryer.



LIQUID HAND SOAP
1 cup soap flakes (one bar of soap makes about 1.5-2 cups of soap flakes)
10 cups water
1 tablespoon glycerin

First, grate the soap. You can use a cheese grater or vegetable peeler to do this. In a large pot, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 10 cups water, and 1 tablespoon glycerin. Turn on medium-low heat and stir until the soap dissolves. Let the soap cool completely then pout into whatever container you would like to use it in. I have the Lysol hands free pumps and I used one of those empty bottles to put my soap in. In order to do so, I had to use a flavor injector but it was easy and saves me LOADS of money!



DISHWASHER DETERGENT
1 cup salt
2 cups Borax
2 cups baking soda

Combine ingredients in a container and use a whisk to blend it all together. To use in the dishwasher you will need to put 1 tablespoon in each of the openings. To rinse, use vinegar. I was surprised at how well the detergent cleans the dishes.



ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
1 gallon hot water
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 tablespoons liquid soap (such as Dawn dish soap)

Mix together in a empty milk container. Fill a spray bottle to use for cleaning!

1 Year Birthday Party

Ramsay had an amazing first birthday party! He had lots of grandparents at the party to help him celebrate! Of course the party was an alligator theme and it turned out so cute! Ramsay definitely is loved by many!

Great Grandma Cris, Grandma Paula, Mommy and Ramsay

Great Grandma Connie, Grandpa and Grandpa Arnold, Daddy and Ramsay

5 GENERATIONS!!!!
Great Great Grandma Strange, Great Grandma Arnold, Grandpa Arnold, Daddy, and Ramsay

Ramsay and his cousins Murelle, RJ, and Jillian

Larry made bbq pulled pork for the party and Ramsay liked it a lot, obviously by all the bbq on his face!


I made Ramsay his very own alligator head cake to eat and he loved it! I also made the cupcakes as well and put alligator mints on the top. They were a lot of fun to decorate!

1 Year Pictures

I'm a bit behind in posting so I thought I would take the opportunity to do some postings while dinner is being prepared! Here are a few of Ramsay's 1 year pictures. He's so darn cute that it's hard to pick what ones I want hanging on the walls!

Ramsay is 1!!

It has taken me an entire week to sit down and write about Ramsay's birthday. His birthday and the days that followed were filled with many activities and such that I'm just now starting to re coop from it all! On Ramsay's birthday, we ventured to Curtis Orchard to get some pumpkins. It was Ramsay and myself, Larry, Grandma Paula, Grandpa and Grandma Arnold, and our friend Katie. It was a little chilly out in the pumpkin patch and we were all happy to get back to a cozy house to spend some quality time with the birthday boy.



Larry cooked dinner for us all and we got to sit around the table and have slider burgers with the birthday boy. The burgers were yummy and everyone enjoyed them. I made a cake for dessert. After all, it was his actual birthday so we HAD to have cake! I decorated it pretty quickly before leaving for the orchard but I thought it turned out pretty good. Not to shabby for doing it on a whim! It must have tasted pretty good as well since Ramsay had the icing everywhere.




Ramsay had a great day spending it with mommy and daddy and his grandparents. It was a fun time and we all enjoyed it.

I'll be posting about his birthday party once I get the pictures from the photographer. It was so great to have her at the party to take pictures for me so I didn't have to worry about it. I am very anxious to see them all!

Reflecting........

Here we are a year later and my how things have changed! A year ago today I went in for my weekly appointment and the midwife decided it was time to induce me so they informed me to go home for the rest of the day, put my feet up, and be back bright and early the next morning to be induced. Did I do what they said? Not exactly............I did go home and I did show up bright and early the next day, but did I stay off my feet? Those who know me well already know the answer to that one. I was way to busy cleaning, doing laundry, unpacking and repacking my hospital bag, and making sure that everything was in place before leaving for the hospital the next morning. I wanted to make sure that when I got home with my bundle of joy that I didn't have to do any house cleaning, at least for a couple days. Little did I know that I would be told no household chores for 2 weeks after delivery. Had I know that BEFORE going into the hospital, I would have left the place a mess so someone else would have had to pick it up! lol
An entire year has passed since that day and so many changes have occurred, some good, some difficult, and some for the best. Ramsay has grown to become such an amazing little guy. I've loved him from the very start but had no idea that my love would grow for him each and every day. I love waking up to his smiling face every morning and watching him sleep so preciously every night. I love listening to the sound of his tiny little hands clapping in excitement or just to be silly. I love that he's become such an independent little guy (just like his mommy) that he insists on feeding himself at every meal. I love that he misses mommy like crazy during the day and gives me LOTS of kisses every afternoon when I pick him up from daycare. I love that he's happy, content, and such a joy to be around. I love watching him sit on the living room floor playing with his toys without a care in the world. I love him smile, his laugh, and the cute faces that he makes. I love that when he's grouchy and nothing else seems to make him happy, that Dr. Seuss puts the biggest smile on his face, even if tears are still sliding down his little cheeks. Most of all, I love that he loves me. No questions asked, no expectations, just pure love and there is nothing in the world like it!
The big BIRTH-day is just two days away and there's lots of plans for the big day and weekend! As long as the weather is nice we'll be going to the pumpkin patch on his birthday. I'm really looking forward to it and I'm sure Ramsay will just be intrigued with the pumpkins! Friday will be a day of preparation getting the house and things together for the big party on Saturday. It's going to be a great day, regardless of the weather. Ramsay will be surrounded by the ones that love him the most and spoiling him rotten. I probably should think about doing some additional cleaning to make room for all the goodies I'm sure he'll get at his party!

One Week Away

One week from today is the big day, Ramsay turns 1! I've been busy working on party stuff for a few weeks now. He also has his one year pictures this coming Saturday so I've been trying to figure out the clothing I want him to wear. So many choices! I can't believe an entire year has gone by. I know it will just continue to go just as fast the older he gets. I'm super excited about the birthday party and looking forward to having family over to celebrate. Alligators is the theme and it's going to be super cute!

This past weekend we went to the park again for some play time and even took Grandma PP with us. Ramsay had a blast swinging in the swing! Once out of the swing though, look out people! All he wanted to do was walk, walk, walk. He's not walking on his own yet (although he could be) but if you hold out your hands beware, he will grab on and take you for a ride!




We also went to Tuscola to the outlet mall over the weekend. I needed to get Ramsay a good pair of tennis shoes since he's starting to walk and I knew Stride Rite was the place to go. I ended up buying two pairs, one he can wear now and then another pair that is the next size up. Before I know it he'll be walking all over the place wearing the shoes out!

Here are a few random pictures of Ramsay that I have taken lately. This kid of mine is so silly! :)

October Already?

I can't believe it's October already. Where did this year go? I love this time of year though and seeing all the leaves change colors. I wish it could be this way year round. I would be in heaven!
This past weekend was great weather wise so of course, Ramsay and I did a lot of walking which we both love to do! Sunday we walked to Walgreens for our Sunday paper, then to McDonald's for some breakfast, then to Hessel Park for some swinging and playing. Ramsay LOVED the swing and just laughed his little heart out every time I pushed him back. It was too cute!!

Eating hot cakes at McDonald's. Mommy couldn't get them cut up fast enough!


Here he is swinging at the park. He was having such a great time.


Here we are, two weeks away from Ramsay's 1st birthday. I can't believe it's been an entire year already and man, what a year it has been. So many ups and downs, but God has been good to both Ramsay and myself and we are enjoying every minute we have together. Soon enough my lil man will be walking and things won't be the same ever again! Look out kitties, you thought Ramsay was fast before, you haven't seen nothing yet!!

Our New Addition

Ramsay and I have decided to add a new member to our family. Welcome Alli! Alli joined our home on Wednesday, September 21st. She is a 3 month old American Eskimo and FULL of energy! Ramsay wasn't so sure about her to begin with but they are becoming fast friends and now he cracks up at her! I got so tickled yesterday as I was sitting at the dining room table working on some coupons and Ramsay and Alli were in the kitchen together and Alli was just sitting there looking at Ramsay and he was cracking up so hard at her. It was precious!






Things have been crazy for us lately and I haven't blogged every week like I normally do so I'm going to try to do better on that as I know this is a way that lots of people keep up with what's going on with Ramsay! Hard to believe he'll be a year old next month and party planning is well under way.

Auntie Brielle's Wedding

Yesterday, Larry's sister Brielle got married and Ramsay was the ring bearer. It was quite a challenging day for Ramsay as he only had one 1-hour nap in the morning and a little cat nap in the car on the way to the wedding. He was quite a trooper though and did much better than I thought he would without his afternoon nap. He looked so cute in his tuxedo and did a great job sitting still in the wagon going down the aisle. I was so proud of him!

Larry, Ramsay, and Big Larry - 3 generation of Arnold men!


Ramsay and Grandpa Arnold


Daddy and Ramsay


Ramsay testing out the wagon that Grandpa Arnold made for him to sit and ride in going down the aisle. Nikoli did a great job pulling Ramsay down the aisle and Ramsay actually sat still the entire way down!


Hanging out with daddy during the ceremony. He got a little fussy so mommy had to take over and he ended up sitting on my lap watching Dr. Seuss on my portable DVD player. I knew it would come in handy to take with us!


It was a great day for a wedding and the weather turned out to be perfect. Congrats to Auntie Brielle and Uncle Cory!

Busy, busy time of year!

Wow, I thought I was doing bad the last time I blogged but this time is even worse. Things have just been crazy busy and I haven't had much time for anything! School has started up again so I'm buckling down with studying in the evenings after Ramsay goes to bed. My baby boy got his first hair cut last night. Hard to believe he's old enough for it! His poor little ears were getting covered by his hair so his Auntie Brielle came over to give him a hair cut since he's going to be the ring bearer in her wedding in a couple weeks and needs to look his best!


He was quite the trooper! Of course I had put Dr. Seuss in the DVD player so as long as that was on we could do whatever we wanted to and he didn't care!
Today it was pretty nice out so when I got home from work Ramsay got to play in his pool a little bit out in the yard. He loves splashing around in his pool and I'm sure everyone that drove by got a kick out of watching him!


My baby is going to be 10 months old tomorrow. Once we get through Brielle's wedding in a couple weeks it will be full force party planning for alligator's first birthday! YAY!!!!!
I have made Ramsay's best and bow tie for Brielle's wedding so he will match the big boys (the guys) and the girls whom will all be wearing watermelon pink. The vest turned out really great and I'm anxious to see my lil man on wedding day all decked out!

Ramsay loves to crawl into the bathroom in the mornings when I'm getting ready and bang on the toilet seat. He's also just realized that the toilet paper roll moves! lol

And this would be my silly man, sitting on the floor and playing with a cat toy mouse. He was holding it with one hand and hitting it with the other so it was swinging back and forth. It was pretty entertaining to watch! :)