My Not so Little Secret

We found out that we are having another baby!! And I will be an auntie at the same time too! I can't wait. I am so blessed. I am due around April 3.

I have a little...not so little secret

I have a little secret and today my secret got even bigger. It's driving me absolutely crazy that I can't say anything so this is me not saying anything. Hopefully only a few more days and I can spill the beans. I have been squealing with excitement though.

Today my grandma from San Diego and aunt Alesa from Las Vegas came to town for a little visit. It was so nice to see them again.

Laundry Soap

I came across a recipe for homemade laundry soap of the internet and I thought I would share. So far everyone that has tried has loved it. My grandma says it's the best she's ever used. It is a very simple recipe and doesn't take but maybe 20 minutes. It is way cheaper than store bought stuff and doesn't have all the icky chemicals. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 1 bar of Fels Naptha (found at grocery store in laundry aisle), Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not to be confused with baking soda), and Borax (20 mule team), Fragrance oil or Essential oil (optional). I hear that the washing soda is kinda hard to find, but I got it at Fred Meyer in Brookings. All of these will be found in the laundry aisle.

Step 1: Grate the bar of Fels Naptha. I used a regular cheese grater and it works just fine.

Step 2: Bring 4 cups of water to almost boiling.

Step 3: Add grated bar of Fels Naptha. The grated soap will melt in water

Step 4: Pour 3 gallons of HOT water into a 5 gallon bucket.

Step 5: Pour in melted soap from step 3. Stir for about a minute.

Step 6: Add 1 cup of Washing Soda. Stir for a minute or two. Add 1/2 cup of Borax. Stir for another minute or two.

**optional** At this point add 1 oz of desired fragrance oil or essential oil. I use Soapy Clean from Brambleberry.

Let sit overnight.

The consistency will be like thick soup while cooling. Then it will be kindof like a gel. My mom uses this in her HE washer and loves it. You will want to use about a cup to a cup and half per load.

Lazy Days

Well, Grace, Sarah and I have not done a whole lot of anything today. The girls put all of the pillows on the floor so that Sarah would not get hurt jumping off the couch. I was able to get some things done on the computer. I was able to get in the shower thanks to Grace for entertaining Sarah. I did NOT get dressed though :)

We are just waiting for Daryl to get home from work so we can go to Brookings and get Grace a new bike. Maybe, if we bat our eyes he will take us to Rancho Viejo for dinner.....

Kinda strange!!

It's been so long since I've posted anything. Life in the Barrett house has been super crazy lately...good crazy though. We had the neatest week with some friends of ours. The kind of neat when the only exlanation for certain things is God. His movements the past week and half are absolutely unexplainable.

Our friends went home but they will be back this weekend :) Spencer went to see his grandma in Bend for a few days and Mackenzie is camping in Howard Prairie with mom and dad. Grace is with her daddy until tomorrow evening. Sarah is sleeping right now...what??? The house is super quiet. Kinda strange. Here I sit on the computer and my hubby is out in the shop working on a transmission. Such is life!!