DIY Laundry Soap Revised

For almost two years now I've been making my own
laundry soap and fabric softener, it has saved me a
lot of money and it gets the job done like any store
bought products do if not better. ;-)
My sister got me started, she made a batch for her
family and shared a gallon with me...from there I've
tried different recipes and tweaked them until I found
the one that worked for my family.
I've blogged before on how I make it BUT I had to
revise it just a bit.

All the recipes I found use a

five gallon bucket, I don't

have room for one so I cut

it down to two jugs.

My washer is small so I wash

2-3 loads a day, and my

soap lasts me for about four

months using 3/4 of the cap full.

"Two Jug Laundry Soap"

4 cups boiling water

1/4 bar Fels-Naptha

4 Tbsp. Borax

4 Tbsp. Washing Soda

2 Tbsp. Oxi Clean

4 Tbsp. Purex Crystals

2 Jugs (2.34qt) reusable

I grade my lil' piece of soap bar

and add it to the boiling water

stir until all the soap is melted.

Add half everything to the two jugs;

 2 Tbsp of Borax, 

2 Tbsp of Washing Soda, etc.

Once the soap has melted I

add half of it to my jugs,

shake a little to mix everything.

Then I fill with hot water half way 

(about 4 cups) give it another

good shake and let sit over night.

It will gel up and you take a 

spoon and stir really good

and add more water to fill jug.

Before every use give it a good shake.

Nine Months in Oklahoma

We are SO homesick for humid, mosquito
infested, hurricane valley "home sweet home!!!"
But, the good news is, this one year job is
about to rap up and we hoping to be heading
HOME by next month, the kiddos can't WAIT!

Here it is, the new coker drums

are almost ready to be

tested and started up for use.

My husband and a few other men did

all the welding and building on

this frame around the coker drums.

The first lift of this huge crane.

Then the coker drums were lifted 

into place, this lift drew a crowd of people.

Then the pint house was lifted up

this was the heaviest lift of all

we watched for over two hours

along with many other people.

My husband and a few other men

waited for it to be put in place

so it could be bolted down and

secured into place, this was the

scariest part for me to watch.

For nine months the USI

crew have been preparing 

for this day, their first

complete coker drum build,

it was exciting to watch.

Field Trip to the Zoo

Ladybug finally got to go to the zoo,

she been asking for awhile now.

I met up with my sister and we took

seven kiddos for four hours...

THEY HAD A BLAST.

Field Trip with Daddy

Well, Thursday my husband had a day off

so we planned a field trip to a

pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkins. 

We put on our school shirts we designed

and spent the day with daddy.

Ran through the maze and picked many

pumpkins...too many. :)

My pumpkin kiddos.

Didn't know there are white ones

or ones that weight about 50lbs.

Crazy Hair Day

Wednesday was Crazy Hair Day

and we had fun making some strange

dues with some bright colors. 

But to wash out was NO FUN...

my shower was full of colors.

Homeschooling Away from Home

The kiddos are taking part of

 "National Homeschool Spirit Week"

that's every fourth week of

September that two homeschooling

moms started a few years back.

Tuesday was "Homeschool Away from Home"

so we started at the library, the boys

wanted to read more about spiders, snakes

and moths they have been seeing.

Then it was on to the Conoco plant were

their daddy works at, today the huge

crane was making a lift and my kiddos

have been waiting for this day.

Then we had a nice picnic at the park not far

from the plant, still watching the crane.

My oldest went to put his hand on a tree and

what he thought was bark FLEW AWAY,

so we chased a "camo moth" around to study.

Then we went to the Conoco Museum and

found out all kinds of info about the

refinery dating back to 1918, and the starting

business of Conoco's 127 year history.

This oil horse-drawn wagon dates late 1880.

And lastly, we went to "Standing Bear Park"

we have been here three times now,

the kiddos love to learn all about the Indians

that came over here and started a new life.

We learned so much in ONE day NOT

sitting at a table with a work book.

Six Weeks Under our Belt

The kiddos just finished SIX weeks of school, 

and here it's almost Autumn already.

North Oklahoma got their first cold snap...

brrrr, it's time to start baking. :)

Some horses got out and visited the park

and my kiddos had a blast feeding 

them carrots...so I had to go buy more

for our science project, they are growing

fast in just a little bit of water.

Mammoet crane is the world's most advanced

super heavy lift. It should make it's lift soon.

The kiddos have been so amazed by it

and the plant that my oldest had to build 

the plant and his daddy working in Lego's.

Been reflecting on fifteen years ago

my love got down on one knee at a high

school football game and asked

me to marry him..."it won't be a picnic"

was his words to me, glad I said "YES". :)