Homemade Laundry Stain Removers

Recipe #1
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
Directions:
Mix ingredients then store in spray bottles. Spot treat stains then soak overnight.


Recipe #2
2 quarts water
1/2 cup ammonia
2 TBS laundry detergent
Directions:
Mix ingredients then store in spray bottles. Spot treat stains then soak overnight.
Do not use with bleach.

A good pretreater:

Save pieces and leftover slivers of bar soaps and collect in a jar. Those little hotel soaps are ideal for this too (cut them down to small pieces).
When jar is filled half way with soap chunks, add boiling water. Mix soap bits and water until soap is melted.
Once cooled this will make a soap jelly. Use to pretreat laundry.
*Handy to gob onto stained items and toss back into the dirty laundry bag for pieces that you can’t wash right away.
Quick Tip: I’ve also used just straight liquid dish detergent successfully. Squirt a bit onto stain, rub in gently with your fingers, and then toss the garment in the laundry pile to be washed later. This is an especially easy one since you can apply the soap as soon as you notice the stain and leave the garment sit until laundry day.

Wave Of Light

WAVE OF LIGHT

1st Annual Awareness Vigil for Pregnancy and Infant Loss

October 15, 2009 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park

Birth Stories and More of Mobile is joining with the Global organization, Wave of Light, to sponsor a candlelight vigil for all families who have ever experienced a miscarriage, pregnancy or infant loss. Bring a candle to participate in the Wave of Light which has the goal of having candles lit around the world on October 15 in memory of those losses.
President Ronald Regan declared October as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month in 1988. Families who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss rarely get the opportunity to express or process their grief in a healthy and safe way with others who have experienced the same loss. This Remembrance Day allows everyone to both mourn and celebrate their short lives.
We will have a remembrance banner to add names and dates, an informal and on-going candlelight vigil, silent auction and loss awareness ribbons for purchase.

Contact birthstoriesandmore@gmail.com
Info at: PregnancyandInfantLoss.org under October Awareness Activities
Visit us on Facebook under Birth Stories and More.

Homemade Fabric Softener

"I've been using homemade fabric softener in the washer for several months now. It works in the dryer and even for the clothes hung on the line.


The key ingredients in homemade fabric softener are simple household objects: baking soda, water, and (you guessed it) vinegar. All you have to do is take is two cups of white vinegar and two cups of baking soda. Slowly stir these into four cups of water.
(Remember when you made those "volcanoes" in first grade and the volcano "erupted" when you poured vinegar into the top? That's what happens when you mix your own fabric softener so make sure you mix it in the sink in case it overflows.)
When you're finished making the softener, store it in a plastic bottle. When you need it for doing your laundry, just shake up the solution a bit and add to the laundry load and continue as usual. You can also try adding half a cup of white vinegar or one-quarter cup of baking soda to the last rinse to increase the fabric softener effect.
To add a smell you like you can use a couple of drops of essential oils.&; They are sold at the flea market.

Another way to make it is:

1 bottle of hair conditioner (CHEAP.......don't remember the brand I used but it was $.79 and lilac scented)
2 cups white vinegar
6 cups water
Mix in a gallon jug. I transfer it to a used softener bottle, then use that cap as a measure for the amount to use."

How To Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap (whatever kind you like; I used Lever 2000 because we have tons of bars of it from a case we bought a while back)
- 1 box of washing soda (look for it in the laundry detergent aisle at your local department store - it comes in an Arm & Hammer box and will contain enough for six batches of this stuff)
- 1 box of borax- this is not necessary, but I’ve found it really kicks the cleaning up a notch - one box of borax will contain more than enough for tons of batches of this homemade detergent - if you decide to use this, be careful.
- A five gallon bucket with a lid (or a bucket that will hold more than 15 liters - ask around - these aren’t too tough to acquire)
- Three gallons of tap water
- A big spoon to stir the mixture with
- A measuring cup
- A knife

Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, whip out a knife and start shaving strips off of the bar of soap into the water, whittling it down. Keep the heat below a boil and keep shaving the soap. Eventually, you’ll shave up the whole bar, and then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved and you have some highly soapy water.

Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket - the easiest way is to fill up three gallon milk jugs worth of it. Then mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, and then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, and then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool. And you’re done. When you wake up in the morning, you’ll have a bucket of gelatinous slime that’s a paler shade of the soap that you used. One measuring cup full of this slime will be roughly what you need to do a load of laundry.
The ingredients are basically the same as laundry detergent. Thus, out of three gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry. If you do this six times, you’ll have used six bars of soap ($0.99 each), one box of washing soda ($2.49 at our store), and about half a box of borax ($2.49 at our store, so $1.25) and make 288 loads of laundry. This comes up to a cost of right around three cents a gallon, or a savings of $70

For those of you who are unable to find Washing Soda:

You can heat baking soda to convert it to baking soda.  It must be heated above 140*, though the higher the temperature the faster the conversion. You need to preheat the oven to 400F and it's about two hours. Just spread it thin on a Pyrex baking dish.

Sick Kid At 3 A.M.

Well, Last night was not so fun.  My youngest son Conner, apparently climed into bed with me & my husband at 3 A.M. only to puke on us.  Nice way to wake up right!  Well after cleaning all of us up and changing the sheets he did a replay of that about 1 hour later.  This time I did the smart thing and made a pallet right beside our bed on our wood floor, which is much easier to clean up, with a through-up bucket right beside him.  Of course this time he was totally fine and didn't get sick again.  Wish I would have done that in the 1st place.  So this blog is for all mothers of kids that could get sick out of no where this seson.

Ways To Somewhat Be Prepared:

1)  Always sleep your sick child in your room with you so that there is no chance he can drown in his own     through-up. ( Really could happen)

2)  Don't let them clime into bed with you- make a pallet on the floor instead.

3)  Have a through-up bucket and some tissues near them.

4)  Avoid kisses and hugs during this time-  you will become the puke target otherwise! (Just teach them to blow you kisses)

5)  Some kids think Pepto-bismol taste like candy.  Hide the bottle after administering to your child or they may try to drink the whole thing.

6)  Make sure you hide the bottle when their not watching you.  Kids can somehow find their way into anything!

Walk For Life

This year is the 2nd annual Walk For Life.  It is happening on October 17, 2009 at 9:00a.m.  There are 2 locations that are hosting it- The Hank Aaron Stadium, and The University Of Mobile.  The walk will be about 2 miles.  If for some reason you can't make it you can walk, skate, swim, ride, run.... or pretty much anything you want to do for 2 miles to support the cause.  If you are interested in donating just go to the site listed for contact information.
www.savalifemobile.org

Cake Pops

What you need

1 batch Dark Chocolate Cake
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk (or more, as necessary)
Bake the cake and let it cool completely on a rack. This is a very moist cake, which is ideal for this recipe. It's best to let it cool overnight at least. When it is completely cool, break the cake into a large bowl. Crumble it with forks or your fingers until it is in fine crumbs.
In a separate bowl, whip the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and milk together until smooth. Pour into the cake crumbs and mix with a spoon. Then continue mixing with your fingers, kneading and mixing until fully incorporated into the cake. Check to see if it will roll into a ball. It should: this makes a very malleable, easy-to-handle cake mixture. But if it needs a little extra moisture, add milk a spoonful at a time.
When the mix is completely done, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. You can leave the mix refrigerated for several days at this point. I left mine in the fridge for about three days before making the balls. You could probably also freeze this.

Making Cake Pops

What you need
Lollipop sticks
12 ounces chocolate chips
12 ounces white chocolate bark
Edible wax, optional
Colored sugars, candies, and other decorative sprinkles

How to make the balls
Prepare two large baking sheets by covering with wax paper or parchment. Take a bit of the cake mixture and roll it into a smooth ball. If you want to use the lollipop sticks, stick one into the end of each ball, pointing upward, as you put the ball back down on the sheet. [Note: I cut the long lollipop sticks in half; they seemed a little long for the size of the balls.] Repeat until you've used up all the mixture. As each sheet fills up, put it in the freezer so that the balls harden.

How to decorate the cake pops
Melt chocolate or white chocolate in a double boiler on the stove. If you want to make the coating a little more resistant to melting, add a small square of wax to the pot and let it melt too. Stir well. Dip each ball into the chocolate until covered.
Dip in sugar, coconut, sprinkles, or anything else you'd like to decorate with. Put it back on the sheet to harden.
Don't refrigerate these; it will cause the coating to weep or melt. They can be frozen, however.