Brown Bag Popcorn

I recently ran across a way to make microwave popcorn without paying so much. I went to Publix and bought a bag of Jolly Time popcorn for $1.50, and then I went to the Dollar Tree and bought 50 brown lunch bags for $1. Last night I decided to try it out. It's so simple. Just add 1/4 cup popcorn kernels to the brown bag, turn the end of the bag over 3 times, and stick it in the microwave for 4 minutes or less depending on your microwave. I stood beside the microwave and waited until I felt like it was done but not burned. Voila! You can add salt, butter, or whatever else you are craving once you pour it into a bowl. Pros- It is simple, cheap, healthier, and tastes great. Cons- Not all of the kernels popped. I will definitely quit spending money on packaged popcorn.

My next project is to make Kettle Corn, but for this I took some birthday money from my parents and ordered a Whiley Pop stovetop popcorn popper. I found a good recipe on Instructables, which by the way, is a very cool website! Once my popper arrives, I will whip up a batch of my favorite, Kettle Corn, and post the results!

Happy Popping!

Cheaper, Better Laundry Detergent

Have you ever wondered why you're paying so much for laundry detergent? I have. When I decided to use cloth diapers on Vance, I started reading up on how to wash them. I learned that I was going to have to switch detergents to find one safe for diapers and Vance's sensitive skin. After researching a good bit, I found it's almost necessary to switch all of your laundry to this type of detergent since you wouldn't want to add the unhealthy residue to his diapers by alternating detergents. That left me frustrated because I knew that I couldn't keep paying so much for detergent. Then, I found an awesome solution. It's called Charlie's Soap, and it comes highly recommended on several cloth diapering websites. The things I love about it are that it's inexpensive compared to what I've been spending, it's more natural, and it eliminates the need for fabric softener. You don't have to be a cloth diapering family to enjoy it either. To read more, go to Charlie's Soap. This is the page about the laundry detergent, but it's just called Charlie's Soap. They also sell all-purpose cleaner, which you can read about from a link on that page. Now that I'm living in the big city I am able to find this easliy. I went to a Whole Foods and purchased the detergent and the all-purpose cleaner after I read the website and testimonials. I made the detergent switch over the weekend when I finished my old detergent, and I can honestly recommend it to you. My clothes smell clean, and I'm also saving money.

If you're a liquid detergent kind of person, they also sell liquid. I opted for the powder since it's cheaper, and it's not like using other powder detergents since it's a fine powder and you only use 1 tbsp. That's right- one tablespoon.

One important note: Whole Foods sells the Charlie's Soap powder detergent (80 loads) for $9.00 ($.11 per load), which is $5.00 cheaper than the Charlie's Soap website...

If you like to buy in bulk, you can order from the Charlie's Soap website. I might end up buying the 12 gallon bucket, which does 1280 loads for $121 ($.09 per load). If anyone wants to split the bucket with me, let me know.

This doesn't apply to me, but if you have a front-loader, you can use Charlie's soap. It's front- loader/HE compatible.

Oh, and check out the all-purpose cleaner testimonials. Amazing...

It's in his genes...Poor guy!

Poor Samuel... I started talking in my sleep at Samuel's age, and then I started walking after that. This week Samuel started talking in his sleep. I went to bed one night and heard him say, "truck". It was just out of nowhere. I dismissed it thinking that I must be hearing things, but then Jeremy and I have heard it since then. Just today during his nap he said it again.

I'll tell you why I feel sorry for Samuel. Most of all it's because I most of my life I haven't gotten a good night's sleep because of it. I went to a doctor about it at one point and even had a sleep study done, but none of the medicine they prescribed worked. My neurologist went as far as to say that I would stop by the time I was 30. Jeremy and I think he was just trying to get me out of the door since he didn't have an answer for me. Thankfully, it has gotten a lot better since I had Samuel. I only walk and talk every once in a while, which is a huge improvement over every night...

I pray Samuel doesn't suffer like I did. I won't bore you with stories about walking and talking in my sleep, but I seriously could write a book about those dangerous and very embarrassing moments. If you ever want a good laugh, ask me to tell you some stories. Just remember that I only know what friends/family told me since I rarely remembered any of it.

(I could even tell you stories about my grandfather's walking and talking escapades. He even walked down the block to his grocery store one time. )

Wi-Fi Family Radio

This Wi-Fi Family Radio is now on my wish list. I love everything I read about it. For a one-time investment of $179, you can take Christian programming to the next level. I love the thought of our children growing up in a home that is always filled with the sounds of encouraging music, stories, and messages. This radio looks like a great way to make that happen! Check it out!

30 weeks

Today I had my 30 week appointment. All is well with my pregnancy. I wasn't surprised when the nurse midwife (that's going to deliver Vance) said that 2nd (and all subsequent) pregnancies are harder but with easier labor and delivery. I'm definitely more tired and uncomfortable than I was at 30 weeks with Samuel. I am READY for June 23 to get here!

I go back in two weeks, and I will let you know how that goes!

Vance is kicking me as I write this! He's definitely an active baby just like Samuel was. I am going to have my hands full!!!

So proud of my hubby!!!

Today my hubby made a wise decision to cancel the cable tv that we ordered almost two weeks ago. I could say it was because of all of the garbage on tv, but it was actually because we're trying to watch how we spend our money. There is a lot of garbage on tv, but my hubby was interested in sports. That is the hardest thing for a man to give up- live sports events. I, on the other hand, could take or leave cable. I was excited about On Demand for Samuel because they have cute cartoons for little kids, but that's not a big deal because he has videos that he can watch.

God working in mysterious ways??? Funny thing is that we ordered the cable almost 2 weeks ago, but they were unable to get it working for us. They were out here on Friday and then again on Saturday. I see it as God's way of giving us time to re-think our decision. Today I started thinking about how we could save that money each month, and I mentioned it to Jeremy. The cable guy was set to come back today to work on the problem, so we didn't have much time to call and cancel. I only mentioned it once to Jeremy, and before I knew it he said that he was going to call and cancel it. They didn't even give him a hard time when he called to cancel. (Before he called, he said to me that if he was going to cancel cable that I was going to have to quit buying unnecessary books and stuff at thrift/consignment stores. I agreed, so I guess both of us are going to sacrifice...)

I just wanted to say how proud I am of Jeremy. I know it wasn't an easy call to make, and I'm sure he's going to miss watching sports because we've always had cable (even in Honduras).
Once our house sells, we will probably reconsider our decision, but for now we will get used to life without cable. As I type this, Jeremy is reading a book we just bought called Heaven. It's by Randy Alcorn, and it was recommended to us by several people. Life without cable isn't so bad after all. Now if I can just put this computer down and pull out my book...

Counting and the ABCs

Samuel is learning to count to ten, and I'm going to post a video soon. He's counting to six without a problem. Sometimes he gets to seven. He knows nine too. I think he'll be counting to ten shortly. It's so cute!

He's also working on his ABCs. If you don't have Fridge Phonics, I highly recommend it. Samuel loves it, and it works! He carries it around the house while he sings along. Talk about funny...

I will post videos soon.