My sister is having a baby!!!

Homemade Cleaner Cleaners

Wow, since my baby girl has been born I have been BUUUUSY! I haven't totally abandoned my life as a crafter or an avid pinterest...er.... I have been trying out all kinds of cleaning methods lately, I've been using all homemade mostly-natural cleaning products for about 7-8 months now. I can't believe how happy I've been with the results. Actually I cleaned my mom's bathroom for her to surprise her the other day and she had some kind of Clorox spray cleaner. I had the vent on and the bathroom door wide open and the fumes gave me a bad headache and I felt like they were in my mouth and sinuses for about 3 hours after I was done! I NEVER want to go back to that. My mom has actually just bought all the ingredients to make all of her own cleaners.

What am I using? Well, I'm glad you asked! Here's a list:

Tub/Sink/Shower - 1/3 Blue Dawn dishsoap + 2/3 White Vinegar
This stuff has been all over Pinterest, most say to do 50/50 but I have found that adding a little more vinegar makes it spray better because it doesn't get so thick. I used this the first time on my bathroom sink which had some pretty terrible gunk around the faucets. I had literally tried everything on it (I even tried scraping the stuff off once) it would not come off. Then I sprayed this miracle on it, let it sit for a few hours and with a bit of light scrubbing the gunk came off and the faucet sparkled. I was geeked!

Baking Soda
I'm a pretty new baking soda user, I decided to try it out on my stove. You know, you've all been there, the greasy sticky film that sticks on your stove and nothing will get it off. I was so frustrated that my stove looked so nasty, here's a picture:

As you can see it's aaaaaall smudgy. I tried all kinds of cleaners. NOTHING worked and I was scrubbing really hard. I thought that my stove had had it, that this was as good as it would get. Enter baking soda on a damp rag. This nasty stuff wiped right off. I felt like I was in a cleaning commercial when they take one swipe through whatever they're cleaning and it looks perfect. Except this was for real. It was awesome, I was trying to get my husband, Mike, to be just as excited as I was, showing him how it wiped right off... he wasn't nearly as enthused. I on the other hand was so excited I think I jumped up and down a couple of times... yea... I did. Here's a picture of the other side of the stove after it was cleaned:

It looked like new. Oh my beautiful stove! I also did the same thing with my refrigerator and stove handles. Basically anything you may have used a Magic Eraser for, try baking soda first.

All Purpose Cleaner - 1/2 Vinegar + 1/2 Water
I use vinegar water to clean all kinds of things. Windows, toilets, kitchen/wood floors, pretty much anything. I love using it in the kitchen because it kills germs but it's still completely food safe. Also, after having a scare when my son got a hold of some Clorox all purpose cleaner I got rid of most of my store bought products. I love knowing that if he gets into the vinegar water it won't actually hurt him. It might be uncomfortable if he sprays himself or something but nothing too damaging.

Homemade Concentrated Liquid Laundry Detergent
I just made this yesterday for the first time. I have used homemade laundry detergent both powder and liquid, but I am most excited about the concentrated kind. Oh and did I mention? you don't have to grate up a bar of soap! It's awesome and soooo quick and easy to make. Check out One Good Thing by Jillee for the complete recipe. But I'll tell you, all you need is water, Borax, Washing Soda and blue Dawn dishsoap. I have used Jillee's laundry recipe before (the grated bar soap kind) and I really liked it. My clothes were clean and smelled nice. I HIGHLY recommend her blog for cleaning tips among other things. She's pretty fabulous.

Stain Remover/Diaper Blowout Fixer - 1/2 Blue Dawn Dishsoap + 1/2 Hydrogen Peroxide
Oh my goodness. I have little kids. My oldest at two and a half is a crazy rowdy potty-training boy. Let's just say he doesn't have #2 down quite yet. My youngest is 5 1/2 months and if you have kids you know allll about diaper blowouts and the stains they like to leave on those once adorable little clothes. This has saved sooo many outfits and Spiderman underwear. I just wet the stain and add the remover and scrub a little with your hands. You can let it sit (for really bad stains) or you can rinse right away. It's worked so well for me especially for the diaper blow-outs.

Other Faves (but not so homemade)
I still have more things I would like to try, but those are the ones that have really impressed me and saved me a ton of money! I HATE buying from the cleaning isle. The only thing I actually still buy is Oxi-Clean, because it pretty much rocks. I like to soak my whites in it in HOT water. Overnight is best, and I also like to apply it directly to bad stains. Even old stains look way better with Oxi-Clean. There's a spot on their website where they sometimes have coupons, here, always worth checking!

I hope that helps! Enjoy the savings and freedom from the harsh chemicals!

Wow! It has been a long time since my last post! So many things have been happening in my life since then. Obviously the holidays came and went. Then around New Year's Mike and I found out we're pregnant! I'm actually well into my second trimester now. We found out that we're going to be having a little girl, which I am so excited about. She will be here on or around September 17th. This is her ultrasound picture:

Rhys is getting so big and he is talking like crazy now. It's so cute. He repeats everything, and comprehends it. One of my favorite things he's said comes from his love of The Lion King. He was watching it at his grandparent's one night, then on the ride home in the car he starts saying "kill Fasaaaaa" which is maybe a bit morbid but the fact that that is the line that he chose to remember is hilarious to us. He also runs around the house yelling "Dang it!" which may be my fault... It's also pretty cute though.

So now that we're expecting another addition to our family, we've realized that our house is going to become even smaller. Our house is considered a "three bedroom" but sadly one of those "bedrooms" is the small landing at the top of the stairs. It's a lie. It would not work as a bedroom. Plus it is housing all of Mike's music stuff, he has about 50 guitars and different percussion instruments and amps and pedals... Not to mention we also have the computer in there. We've come to the conclusion that our house either needs to be added on to or we need to seriously consider moving.

So we looked into an addition, and that has been ruled out since our house would become very awkward. So now the only real plan is to get ready to move. I've been doing projects to prepare for this. I've cleaned out our closet, and got rid of a TON of clothes. I painted my bedroom from an awful pea soup green to a nice off-white, I actually can't believe I didn't do this sooner. In the five years that we've lived here our bedroom was the first room I painted and I hated it the day it went up. It just wasn't a priority. It's much better now though. I'll post pictures once I get my new bedding. Today my project has been peeling wallpaper (just a little bit) and painting the inside of our new laundry closet.

Tip: If you're taking down wallpaper, try spraying it with vinegar water and let it sit for about 15 minutes. The wallpaper that I had to take down was what I couldn't get off when I origionally pulled down the bulk of it. The vinegar water did the trick. I don't know if that is a solution people normally try, but I figured, vinegar is acidic and breaks things down... why not wallpaper. I was done in 10 minutes.

So now I have to decide what to do with the walls, I'm thinking I'll just paint them white, which is boring but very "newcomer" friendly for potential buyers. Then we'll finally put up the shelves that I bought about 3 months ago! Yeah for storage!

So sorry that I've probably bored you with some of my life's details, but much is happening in our lives right now. I'm just truly hoping that we can get this house selling/buying thing taken care of and that it doesn't take forever.

Just found out about some sad news. My hubby, Mike, is going to Wisconsin for 6 weeks training for work. He goes two weeks, then one week home, then four weeks away. This trip will include missing our 4 year wedding anniversary and my birthday. Also he leaves on Sunday... this Sunday. So I'm not very excited about that, but that's what is happening in my life right now. However, there is a cute DIY project that will stem from this so stay tuned and I will be posting the project once I do it. And sorry about my lack of posts, this past couple of weeks have been very busy with all kinds of various things. Well, that's all for now!

New hair color!

Today I went to my uncle's salon, Matt Flora Hair Studio in Hudsonville, MI, and I left a brunette! I'm pretty excited. I've been blond for a long time and I needed a change. What better time to do it? It's fall (almost!) and it looks so shiny and healthy. I needed it. Anyway, just thought I'd share!

Cajun Chicken Alfredo

The other night I made a pretty tasty dish. Mike called and he was on his way home and mentioned that he didn't plan on running because his knee is quite sore. I was not expecting that, normally I wait to make dinner until he's actually out running. Sooo, that meant there was no food ready at all and he was on his way. I looked around the kitchen trying to think of something to make. Between the freezer and the pantry I came up with a Cajun Chicken Alfredo (kind-of a knock-off of TGI Friday's Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta which is my favorite thing they serve). However theirs is about 1430 calories, mine is about 350 calories (BONUS!). Anyway, it turned out really good, it doesn't taste exactly like TGI Friday's but it's good enough for me! Hope you enjoy!

Servings: 4
Approximate Calories per Serving: 337
Prep: 15 min  Cook: 20
Total Cook Time: about 35 min

Pan mixture: (shrimp can be added but is optional)
2 chicken breasts sliced bias about 1/4"
1/2 bag frozen broccoli (thawed)
1 red bell pepper sliced
1 orange bell pepper sliced
1/2 bunch green onion chopped
1 T. Tony's Cajun seasoning
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. minced garlic
2 T. extra virgin olive oil

Alfredo mixture:
1 package McCormick Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce Mix
1 c. milk
3 T. butter
1 T. Tony's Cajun seasoning
1 t. cumin
1/2 t. ground red pepper (or if you like things more spicy 1/2 T. red pepper flakes)

1/2 box linguine (I used angel hair but I would rather have had linguine)

In large pan, cook your chicken until you no longer see any pink on the outside. In same pan add olive oil, broccoli, red and orange bell peppers, and green onion. Stir around then add Cajun seasoning, garlic powder, and minced garlic. Cook until veggies are softened and chicken is cooked through.

Start boiling your water for the linguine, follow box instructions.

In saucepan, follow instructions on back of the McCormick Creamy Garlic Alfredo Sauce Mix. Once sauce is simmering add Cajun seasoning, cumin and ground red pepper.

Mix alfredo mixture and chicken mixture together then serve over pasta. Enjoy! Let me know how you like it!

Mike's 5K!

Last weekend Mike ran his first 5K since high school, almost 10 years ago. He used to run cross country and track and field. Recently, he's gotten back into it and within two weeks was able to run a whole 5K which is 3.1 miles. He's so awesome! This run was a fundraiser for the Special Olympics which is really cool. They raised over $4000! Here are some pictures from the day
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