The South and The North, Part 2

Here are more of my observations:

• Scarves aren't just a fashion accessory here.
• I haven't seen a single roach since I've been here!!!!!!
• I'm not seeing many people wearing camouflage, okay, I don't think I've seen anybody wearing it.
• The water is so beautiful (no swampy, muddy water here).
• Chicagoians aren't as tough as I thought when it comes to the cold weather. They had sweaters and coats when it was in the 70s. Maybe I'm just used to seeing guys (such as my brother-in-law) wear shorts when it's in the 30s in LA.
• I've seen hail a few times in the 2 1/2 months that I've been here.
• I now have this nice little white gadget on my windshield. 
• Not a lot of pick-up trucks around here. 
• I had to google what a sump-pump is.
• There's a lot of diverse people groups here, so many different languages heard when walking on the street in the city (or even in Target).
• Fall is absolutely beautiful here; the colors keep getting more vibrant. All I can think about is the song "Jesus, You Sure Know How to Color". I heard spring isn't so pretty here. I'll have to wait and see!
• I can buy a gallon of milk here for $1.89!!
• I don't think I've seen a single outdoor dog kennel.
• In this house, there are AC/heater vents on the floor, lower wall and just below the ceiling. I think that's normal here.
• Y'all = Yous Guys
• I hope they decorate for Christmas as much as they do for Halloween.
• My two advisors suggested investing in a pair of Uggs. I have never heard of the brand before (keep in mind that I don't get out much).
• I think Illinois drivers are better than Louisiana drivers.
• If jambalaya is on the menu at a restaurant here, DON"T ORDER IT!
• I'm trying to get used to store-bought sausage…. and it's not even Richard's or Savoie's. I like opening my freezer and being able to smell homemade smoked sausage.
• My school kids are still picking up the Chicago accent. We were talking about stars the other day and Gracie's word for "star" was almost "stire". Really?!? It's pretty funny though because she had such a southern accent.
• I used to hate driving in Lafayette because of the busyness. I now look forward to the smallness of it.
• The "fun in the snow" section at target is getting me so excited!
• I think I said this on my last post but as a whole, people are very friendly here, maybe even more friendly than Louisiana people. People start conversations in a grocery store line. The first question is always asking where I'm from! :) 

Family Update

At the beginning of the month, my parents and grandma flew up for a visit. My dad made some roux to save for the winter (I have tried a few times and failed tremendously). Eric and I were able to go on a date while babysitters were here!

Let's see, Gracie is now NINE! Wow, that's old!

She wanted a red velvet cake so we put one together the morning of her birthday. She was excited to receive some gifts in the mail and flowers from Nan!

The Saints vs The Bears. Eric had the bright idea of wearing Saints jerseys/shirts to church that Sunday. On a football Sunday, many will wear Bears jerseys to church so he anticipated October 6th. FYI, we won the game!

The weather is getting cooler. I've retired my flip-flops for now :( The kids have been wearing jackets and occasional beanies. I've seen friends from LA post pictures in shorts. I'm sure they'll rub it in soon.

Dane and Gracie have been practicing baseball and football a few times a week in the backyard. Lucas learned that he shouldn't be in the pathway of a baseball….

Ouch! (it was a plastic ball, calm down!)

The last few weeks have been pretty calm. I was just thinking to myself that nobody has been sick. Can you guess what happened? Lo and behold, that night Hannah started running fever! It was a low fever and I noticed a blister on her lip and then more in her mouth and more the following day. I've diagnosed it to be HFMD. Nobody else has caught it. She quickly learned that she can torment Gracie and Dane by sitting by them; they'll scream and run away. She can easily get Gracie out of her room and play with her barbies by just going in. Gracie doesn't want to be anywhere near as HFMD (if that's even what it is) is very contagious!

School… Sara Kate is a drop-out. She got to where she would throw her paper on the floor and tell me she didn't like school. It was distracting for Hannah. I found it best to go over lessons with Hannah while Sara Kate naps. Lucas has the most homework of all but has improved so much! He is reading words and short books, adding, comparing numbers and more. Gracie and Dane are taking keyboarding classes and doing well in school. They all love their teachers! We have been very blessed to have such wonderful teachers so far (I have no complaints about any teacher so far)

Eric just started a turn around so we will see him less for a few weeks. We still see him in the morning and for a couple of hours before work because we live so close to the plant.

Overall, we are doing well and enjoying our extended vacation! We love hearing from our LA friends; thanks for the texts and e-mails!

God bless!

Squeaky Clean!

What kind of blog-writing-stay-at-home-mom would I be if I didn't post my favorite homemade cleaners?!?

A good friend read on the internet that stay-at-home moms are cancer prone because of the chemicals that they breathe in on a daily basis…… SO….. as faithful pinners and pinterest scrollers, she and I have made a few different homemade cleaners.

Vinegar. Do you know what vinegar can do? This site has tons of ideas. I haven't tried them all yet!

I do have a spray bottle with 2 parts vinegar, 1 part water. I was using it to clean almost everything but my husband complained about the pickle smell. I thought the price was well worth the smell, even after I tried masking it with Scentsy warmers. We compromised a little...

 Here are my favorite:


BATHTUB CLEANER:

• 1 part dawn
• 1 part vinegar

This is a famous pin and so worth making. I bought a sponge/soap holder thing for convenience. Mix the dawn and vinegar in the holder. Scrub tub, rinse. For deep cleaning, sprinkle baking soda around the tub first. 

KITCHEN CLEANER                                    

• spray bottle                                                   
• water
• vinegar
• tree tea oil
• dawn

BATHROOM CLEANER

• spray bottle
• water
• vinegar
• borax
• tea tree oil

For both kitchen and bathroom cleaners, I put 1 part water and 1 part vinegar (to fill bottle 3/4 full). Several drops of the oil was added to each and 1 tablespoon of dawn or borax. 

Tea tree oil is anti-fungal and vinegar is anti-bacterial or maybe it's vice versa. The oil leaves a nice, fresh scent. ***KEEP IT OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN! IT CAN BE HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED***

If you have a Cameo, I can send you the file for the labels. I'm sure there's some way to post on here but I can't figure it out!

LAUNDRY SOAP

The link is here. 

I have tried to make dishwasher soap but the recipes that I tried didn't leave my dishes as clean as I like. I'm open to your suggestions!

Happy Fall, Y'all!!

Fall is very different in Chicagoland! I have never seen such vibrant colors. I thought I'd share a few pictures:

This is when the leaves first started changing, probably a month ago.

I've taken several pictures on this street. Unfortunately, I'm just now thinking that it would have been better to be in the same spot each time. Oh well! 

Notice all of the picture-perfect yards. These people are OCD! (just joking)

Yes, I did take these from the driver's seat. 

The weather is still beautiful. There were a few cool mornings but we haven't pulled out our coats yet. I'm looking forward to the first few snows but that's it. I'm not a fan of winter (I've only experienced SWLA winters) so this will be a change! 

After I picked Lucas up from school yesterday, I brought the three younger ones to The Morton Arboretum. I didn't know what to expect but the kids had a blast! We enjoyed a picnic lunch with friends and let the kids play.

Hannah couldn't get close enough to the princess scarecrows. 

This was a shallow pond for kids to walk across on the rocks ….. Cooper and Judah had other plans!

I am just soaking up these beautiful fall days before my hibernation starts. I did buy some closed toe shoes and a scarf or two (or three, okay…five). 

Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been making my own laundry soap for over a year now. A friend sent the recipe to me and another friend and I made it one afternoon and LOVE it. I think the main reason we chose powder form is so we could stick a cute vinyl label on the container! It's so much cheaper than name brands and I think it works better. Here are step-by-step instructions:

Ingredients:

• 1 box Borax (4 lb.)
• 1 box Baking Soda (4 lb.)
• 1 box Washing Soda (3 lb. 7 oz)
• 3 bars Fels-Naptha Soap
• Oxi Clean (I use about 2 lbs)

Wal-Mart conveniently has the ingredients all together in the laundry section.

I usually cut the recipe in half but decided to make a full batch today. I mix it over a double lined trash can.

Directions:

1. Shave the bars of soap. I use a Pampered Chef microplane. You can order one here. This is the hardest part but the bright side is getting a good triceps workout.

2. Pour in the other ingredients (slowly). It's somewhat strong so keep a little distance!

4. Mix together.

I have a glass container from Hobby Lobby to store the soap in. You can order a cute vinyl label from me here.

For HE machines, use 1-2 tbsp soap per load. 

For standard machines, use 1/2 cup-3/4 cup per load.

note: There is very little smell for this recipe. I add smell good beads to most of my loads.

This is so easy to make and costs $11.77 (before the oxi-clean). It lasts my family of 7 for months!