Memorial Day Weekend + some...

This past weekend was Memorial Day, and it was busy but I still got to relax and sleep in! (Woop!) Friday night, we had Messy Madness for our children at church. Because I don't get off until 5:20 most days I missed the messy part! I came in time to help clean up, get supper going and to watch Dauphin Tales with the kids! It was a great time! On Saturday, I got to sleep until, get this...10:00 AM!! It was absolutely amazing!!! I got up and went for a run (Jenn and I are doing Couch to 5K, pray for us!) 

Okay, so here's a story...yep, it's hilarious. Or at least it was at the time! Saturday night, one of my childhood best friends got married! Her wedding was in Daphne, AL. So, I hop in the car with Mom and Heather for the 90 minute drive. No big deal, right? Hahahaha...Okay, so we go in Mom's car. She tells us that her a/c has been acting up and that it just takes a minute to get to kicking. We reach Frisco City, (10 minutes into our drive) and I'm pretty positive that I'm hotter than I was when I ran that morning. My hair is damp from sweat and my legs are sticky, yes I know, gross! I start looking at Momma, who starts looking back at me, and then I glance at Heather in the back seat who is giving me a look of "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!" Momma says "Well, do you want me to go back home!?!!" At this point, I'm still hopeful that the air will get better. Hahahahaha...Jokes on me! About Bay Minette, Heather says "Momma Donna, you're gonna have to stop at Taco Bell so I can get a cherry limeade, it's just HOT!" So she stops and it seems to be quicker for Heather to run in, so she goes in for her cool down drink and a soft shell taco with NO cheese. They give her a soft shell taco with ONLY cheese, I get the taco. Mom calls Dad. Dad says, "First thing Tuesday morning we will get it looked at." HAHAHAHA (I'm laughing out of heat stroke by now) Mom rolls her eyes and pull into the first auto parts store we can find, hoping that someone will put some freon in the blasted car! I'm not one to walk into an auto parts store but it's so hot we're sure that they probably have some COOL air, so out Heather & I go right behind Mom, with taco in hand! Heather and I missed this part too busy enjoying the air. Mom says all these guys, way younger than my married self, are all huddled around the counter. We walk in and apparently they part like the Red Sea! I did, see this part. Mom turns around and gives me a look and I just shrug. I look at Heather and say "Girl, we might have to flirt to get air! And when I say WE I mean YOU!" She just laughs and I know she's ready to work it if need be. Mom asks if someone can PLEASE put some freon in her car, Heather says "PLEASEEE!!" I offer my taco. I'm to the point where I'll walk back to Taco Bell and by them a grande challupa with a large cherry limeade. Luckily, I didn't have to do that. One of the nice gentleman came on out to handle it for us, without the taco. It was pure bliss the rest of the 30 minute drive. 

Meagan's wedding was BEAUTIFUL! We all shed a few tears and laughs, it was so good to see old friends and catch up! 

On Sunday, Josh and I drove to Orange Beach, Alabama to visit with his Uncle Jerry, Aunt Karen, Cousins: Ryan & Amanda, Madeline & Hunter and Cameron & Elizabeth. We spend most of the day at the beach or pool! Josh & I both got fried! 

Madelyn is so cute and reminds us so much of Abby Fleming, and if you know her, you know what a hoot Madelyn is! We threw her all over the pool, flipped her, and I even painted her toenails before we left! 

We went to dinner with Leighton & Alley Griggers, which we should do more than we actually do! Love hanging out with them! We got home around midnight, and I got to sleep until 9:30 on Monday, again..pure bliss! We went over to Mom & Dad's for a cookout with the McCrory's & The Bayles'. Yummy and good fellowship!

One of Michelle's baby showers was last weekend, and I don't have any pictures on my phone, I was too busy hostessing and chatting. Here are a few pics I snagged off of Facebook. 

I'm not sure if I posted these Easter pictures, but if I did, you get to see them again! 

Homemade Laundry Detergent

This is not the first time I have made laundry detergent. Scratch that, yes it is. Josh made the first batch and I just claimed it, when I in fact did nothing but shop for the ingredients. It's not my fault though, I can't help it he is just as thrifty as I am and wanted to try his hand at saving us some cash. I found this on Pinterest, but it actually sent me to another blog Why Not Sew but I will post the recipe so you don't have to start clicking away, unless you just want to! :-)

Here's what you need:

• 1 Bar of Soap 
• 1 Cup of Borax
• 1 Cup of Washing Soda (or baking soda, read below!) 
• A pot that holds up to 2 gallons
• A grater
• A funnel
• A long spoon
• 2 empty gallon jugs

You want me to be completely honest? When I read washing soda and I was like "What the heck is that...?" I searched all over Walmart and could not find it. It's supposed to be in the laundry detergent aisle but after checking with an employee turns out they were fresh out. (My luck!..Monroeville's Walmart, duh!) But I happened to run into a friend that has tried this several time and she says that baking soda worked find when she did it. I even checked online to see the difference, and several site said how different they were but I took the risk and tried it. It worked just fine the first time, so I'm assuming it will this time as well! So, if you can't find washing soda, you can substitute it with baking soda.

So, here we go! 

Grate your bar of soap: Since Josh did this the first time, I was expecting mine to turn out like his, turns out mine was better! His left clumps of soap floating around the bottle when it was done. (More on that below!) I just used a bar of Irish Springs soap, you can literally use whatever kind you want. Just be aware that what you use, that's what your clothes will most likely smell like. It does not have a strong smell but you still smell the scent. 

Fill one gallon jug with water and pour into pot with grated soap. Cook until the grated soap dissolves. I don't have a pot that I keep in the house that holds 2 gallons. I had to sneak out to the shed and see if I could find one. I think when Josh made it, he actually did it on a propane gas thing-a-ma-bob. (You know what I'm saying, right?) So I found the big pot that he uses for that (thing-a-ma-bob) I figured it would work on my stove just fine, which it did! Above I made the comment that Josh's batch had soap pieces floating around in it. I figured out why, because he's a man and has no patience whatsoever! Apparently he just didn't let it sit long enough. I just turned it on and let it go, occasionally stirring it. When all I saw was bluish water, I moved onto the next step. 

Add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda, bring to a boil and let it coagulate. 

Stir occasionally...I let it boil for about 5-10 minutes....

Turn off the heat, and add another gallon of room temperature water. 

I had a lot of suds with mine, I let it sit for a while and let them die down a little and let the detergent cool off before pouring them in jugs.

When you think it's cooled off enough use your funnel to pour in your detergent...

Viola! You use about half a cup per load, I use a little more for my larger loads. This is enough to last well over 2 months, maybe longer. I can't remember how long it lasted the last time, exactly. This saves on money BIG TIME because when you buy the Borax and Washing Soda it helps makes several batches of detergent! 

Birthdays, Mother's Day, etc.

To say that we have been busy over the last few weeks would be an understatement. I wrote a few posts ago what all we had going on and it's finally starting to calm down around here. Julia's shower was a success, and I think it all turned out to be beautiful! In less than a month, she and Kyle will be saying "I DO!" So happy for her and proud of her for planning a wedding and going to school full time! 

Dad's birthday was last Tuesday (5/15) We cooked supper for him and Michelle made his birthday cake. A golf course! The cake turned out pretty good! Josh & I gave him some golf balls so he could go play golf on Saturday. 

In between all the craziness of the weekends and the weekly chaos, I still have the precious babies. The picture below is of 4 out of 5, this is one of those scarce moments when no one is crying! (#winning!)

Last Sunday was Mother's Day! We went to church with MeMaw (Mema?) {the spelling of memaw has been up for debate over the last few weeks, we all spell it differently!} So we attended Excel Baptist with Grandy & MeMaw. She knew that Daddy was going to be there but she was surprised when Mom, Michelle, Brian, Jenn, Josh & I all walked in. And even more surprised when Aunt Jeanie, Jeffrey, Vicki, Addison and Ella Kate came in a few minutes later! Grandy told her to make a hashbrown casserole for supper that night, he didn't tell her we were all coming over for lunch! So we spent a few hours eating and spending time with each other. (Which doesn't happen as often as we'd like!) Later, we went to Momma's to do gifts with her! Then everyone came to our house to grill hamburgers and make homemade ice cream and to celebrate OUR mom!! 

Saturday was my 24th birthday, woo! I decided I wanted to spend the day at the BEACH! One of my very favorite places! Brian had to work, so he couldn't come :( Josh & Dad are not all about the sand, so they played golf while us girls laid out. Which only lasted about 2 hours, but was worth every second we were out there! It's been so long since I've had my toes in the sand! 

Momma & Daddy gave me a purple Pandora bracelet & earrings!

After a few hours of shopping, we ate at Lambert's! 

Josh trying on his red high heals! 

My very best friend since birth {literally!} sent me some new shorts for my birthday! She is awesome and she knew I needed some! Ryanne was born on May 17th and I on the 19th. Our parents have known each other for a while but when the day came to take home there precious bundles of joy, it just happened to be the same day! So, our Mom's rode down the elevator side by side with us in there arms, 24 years later we are still the best of friends! 

And last and DEFINITELY not least! Josh gave me a KINDLE!! I was so excited! He actually gave it to me on Friday night so I could charge it and add a few books to it to read while at the beach. I didn't need a fancy Kindle Fire or anything like that. I have my iPhone and our laptop is fairly new, so I was happy with the simple kindle. I usually have it in my hand every other hour. I try to read as often as I can around here, and during the day that's hard, except nap..there is always nap! That's when I need the downtime and happy to always have a good book on hand now! 

I'm always overwhelmed at how many people wish me a Happy Birthday on Facebook! I had over 100  people write on my timeline and every time someone did I got a notification on my phone. I was trying on some clothes in Gap on Saturday and it went off about 4 times in 5 minutes. Jenn was standing outside of the dressing room to take a look at my try-on's and every time I'd sing a little "Happy Birthday to meeee...." She just laughed but probably acted like she didn't know the girl singing to herself in the dressing room! It was a good day. We had some laughter, good shopping and excellent food! 

Until next time.......

Legacy

My daddy is not your "average Joe". He has a bit of creativeness in him that we sometimes forget about, I guess Michelle got those genes from him, because Jenn & I stink at being crafty! He's not like an artsy person by any means. (I'm laughing just thinking of him painting a canvas!) He tries to spice up life, I guess you can say. He wants things to be different, he loves new ideas, and doesn't really like "normal". So, for his Sunday school lesson yesterday, he wanted to do something different. It was on legacies. One day last week he came over as I'm feeding Ashton baby food, changing Ethan's diaper, and trying to find Avery a snack. My hair is in my face, toys are everywhere, you can't walk without something singing "ABCDEFG......", I haven't peed in like 6 hours. (sorry, just trying to set the scene!) I'm like "here hold this kid", and he's like "no..I just need to ask you something" "well ask while your holding" "no" "okay, well what do you want". Okay..I'm probably exaggerating a little bit, but that's what I do. Ask my family. He asked me to write a legacy about him, so as I'm wiping peas off my face I say "Well, that sounds gruesome..". He then goes to explain what he's doing. He asked Michelle, myself and Jenn to write a legacy about him. What we think of when we think of him. Jenn says this was just an "ego-boost" for him. See, we have said for years his theme song is "Your so vein, you probably think this song is about you.." Okay, so I'm pumped to do this. I used to LOVE to write and make up stories. So I see Michelle & Jenn later that day and tell them how excited I am about this, and Jenn is like about to puke because she hates this stuff and Michelle wants to know what I'm going to write but I refuse to tell her. I write mine the next day. It's a whole flipping page long, and I'm proud. Won't let anyone read it or anything! Friday night Michelle says "Mine is TWO PAGES long!!" I say, "Well, that's great but mine will make you cry!" :) Yes, we're a tad bit competitive! Mom calls Sunday morning reminding me to bring my legacy to church. See, Mom had to read these in class, and Dad wasn't supposed to know which one of us wrote them but he could tell immediately whose was whose. After Sunday school, Mom came over to me with a tear stained face, and mascara smeared under her eyes and says "SEE WHAT YOU DID TO ME!" I just smile, because I knew it was going to make her cry. And I knew Daddy would be beaming because he just had a major ego-boost! :) Okay, I guess I'll let you read this legacy of my Daddy, through the eyes of me anyways....

According to Google, the definition of legacy as a noun means, an amount of money or property left to someone in a will. Ya hear that Dad? I'm your favorite, remember? Okay, kidding. I know I'm tied for 2nd with my sisters. But you love me more than your son in-laws, however I happen to be married to one of them, so I guess he gets what I get? Now, according to Google, the definition of legacy as an adjective means, something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. Is this what you meant? I'm not really going by what Google says of course, but when you asked me to write a legacy of you, I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, so of course I turned to the world wide web. 

Funny, when you asked me to do this, your Sunday school lesson about legacy falls on Founder's Day. When I think of Eastwood, I think of the history. I think home. Founder's Day to some, may not mean much, but I have always enjoyed it. Whether the church is full of charter members, and old preachers, or just the regular crowd. I can't help but feel excitement when I think of Founder's Day. I love when they put the old pictures out during the covered dish lunch each year, and each year I usually find a picture of you, one I have never seen. So as I'm writing and brainstorming about what to say, when I think of you as a legacy, my thoughts turn to those old pictures I find every year at Founder's Day. I think of the man of God you are. I'm proud to have a Daddy that made it important for me to be in church "every time the doors were open". I'm proud to have a Daddy that took time out on Saturday night, to take me on a date to show me how a boy should treat me when time to start dating. My 13th birthday, I received a ring from you that I promised to you, Momma, and God that I would not take off until my wedding day, and it had so much meaning behind it. I'm thankful God gave me both of you to see the importance behind that promise ring. When I think legacy of Jeff Kirchharr, I think about church. Not just the building but the body of Christ, and the example you have been for our family. I think about Monroe Meats & Cold Storage. It's okay, you can smile a little. :) I remember coming to your store after school for a balogne and hoop cheese sandwich with a coke in a glass bottle. Watching you with your customers, who were more like friends. I will always remember looking at your little business cards, they had the verse "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17. I guess you can say, you sharpened our family. You showed us by words, and actions that having Christ in our lives is so important. I think of the husband you are to Momma. As much as we say "ewwww! stop kissing in front of us!", as we are older, we know how blessed we are to see how in love you still are after raising us 3, marrying 2, and your first grandchild on the way!  You showed us how our husbands should treat us.

The definition of legacy of Jeff Kirchharr from my point of view: Disciple, follower of Christ, great friend, knows when I need a hug, good listener, .....and talker! Awesome Diddy, outstanding husband,  and one proud PaPa! 

Was that good enough to be at the top of your will? ;) 

Thursday Laughter

This video is actually from earlier in the week, but I forgot to post it when I blogged on Monday. Just got busy and didn't really have time to upload it! Avery LOVES the baby, and she loves to make them laugh! Ethan has the best sense of humor, and Avery was playing a little game of "rawr" with the panda bear. Ethan's laugh is so contagious, and can't help but make you smile!