Green cleaning

I dont claim to be one who has been super into the "green" revolution. I know it may not be cool to say that, but if I'm truthful, it seems like alot of extra work for a mom of two busy little ones (YEP...i'm full of excuses here). But, recently, I have been thinking more about the health of my kids. Not just the day to day health (colds and flu, etc.), but their long term health (the big stuff).
You see, cancer is all over my family tree and My Bro in law is currently putting up a fight against the awful C-word. (Please pray for him this week as it is surgery week!...for more see Durham Diary on the right)
I also have family who battle multiple chemical sensitivity (in a nutshell, the body has been overdosed with toxins and "reacts" to even minimal exposure to everyday chemicals).
Both of these things combined have gotten me to think about what I'm exposing my girls, myself, and Brad to on a day to day basis. Have you ever sprayed cleaner in your shower and then gone to scrub and practically choked on the mist? It just cannot be a good thing to be sucking that down, right?
So, after a little research I have decided to begin to clean green. Not just buying "green" stuff from the store that still has chemicals in it...but really cleaning with things I have around the house or with concoction I make on my own. I know this will be a process of trial and error, but I feel like its worth it. I'm planning to keep anyone who is interested updated on my findings on here!

Week 1: So my first step was to get organized. I found an app for my phone called green shine that breaks down every room/surface in your house and give suggestions for what to use! Also i went and bought some empty spray bottles to put my mixtures in. I made sure to find ones with spaces to label them with what its for and what it contains for easy refilling.

My first two surfaces to try were mirrors and tile floors.

For mirrors: create a solution of 50/50 water and white distilled vineger. spray on mirrors and wipe off. It also suggests to use newspaper instead of papertowel as it lets off no "fuzz". I didnt have any lying around that day so i used paper towel this time but will try newspaper next time and let you know how it goes!

Review: Very effective! Got the mirrors super clean, no more scrubbing than usual. The vinegar smell is definately there, but not unbearable!

For Tile floors: fill bucket with warm water, a couple drops of dish soap, and 3oz of vinegar. Wipe and dry floor!

Review: it worked fine, no strong smell. On one tile it left a little residue, but the other three...no issue whatsoever. I'll keep tweaking this one!

more to come!

Let me know if you have any green techniques to share or if you try these out!

Christmas Card 2010

Great Wolf Lodge

A couple weeks ago, there was some time off of school so Brad and I took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge. Truthfully, its always been fun, this time was the most fun we've had there yet! The girls were able to do all the slides and were excited to do so! We got to do more as a family and didnt just stay in the kiddie areas! They also had trick or treating and a costume contest for the kiddos which we took full advantage of!

My Punkins Pumpkins

Blogger and I have been in a bit of a fight. I keep trying to post, it wont let me. I stick my tounge out, It shuts down. Hence the 5 week absence. I have a big gap to fill, but we'll start with the present and work back. :)

Monday night we decided to bust out the grubbs and knives and do a little pumpkin carving! The girls had picked out thier gourds the previous weekend at the farmers market with Mommy and Nana. Sabrina immediately went for a biggun while Anabelle gravitiated towards the very petite. We had to keep encouraging her to think bigger so we could actually carve the thing!

In true Anabelle style, she got a little attached to her pumpkin and initally she didnt want to carve it at all! We really had to convince her that she would like seeing it all glowing at night after we carved it! (this is the same girl who has slept with and dragged all round the house the small pumpkin she painted nearly 4 weeks ago!)Sabrina dove right in with all kinds of gusto directing what shapes she wanted for each feature! Sabrina wanted happy cheery and Anabelle wanted something more scary!





Since it wasnt dark enough when we finished carving, we went in and got jammies on and brushed teeth and then headed out to enjoy them all aglow :)

Hola Treescolar!!!

Bienvienidos a la mundo de escuela Sabrina! (Welcome to the world of school Sabrina!)
This last week Sabrina began Threeschool in the El Puente program at Zeeland Christian. This is a spanish immersion program in which the kids will be exposed to and immersed in the Spanish language! Sabrina has been SO excited to begin school and this week could not have come fast enough in her eyes! She picked out her own backpack (had to be purple, her fave color) and wore in aorund the house constantly. She and Anabelle became comnsumed with playing school and it was almost all she talked about at bedtime snuggle time! When the day came there was not a bit of hesitation on her part and she dove right in! The first day I got to go with her for the day and then the second day she went on her own for the two hours. After picking her up I had nonstop chatter about every moment of her day...needless to say she loves it! She is already using a number of Spanish words she's learning at home and is teaching Anabelle as well. I'm finding I am going to have to brush up on my Spanish to answer all her questions! WIth Maestra Hernandez
Doing a craft with Maestra Uribe


Most partents talk about being sad or teary on this day, but with all Sabrina's excitement, it was hard to not just be super excited for her! Right now she goes just two days a week for a couple hours, I imagine when she starts going evey day all day it will be much harder. Anabelle really enjoys the time she gets with just mommy and I do too, her personality is really evolving lately with the influx of language and I so enjoy getting to know this much more chatty Anabelle!

DOnt mind the goofy poses, Sabrina is a tough one to take pics of, she does not sit still and I think she things she's a high fashion model :)

Fishing and life lessons

This post kept getting skipped over and forgotten, but the memories of fishing were some of the highlights of this summer! Poppy had told the girls he'd take them fishing at the cottage this August. He got all our old gear that I remembered from growing up (even the old holey tan glove we use to take the fish off the hook) and headed down the dock with the girls. I was pretty sure this adventure was not going to be long lasting, but oh was I wrong! The girls loved it and the fish were practically fighting eachother to get on the hook! (perfect for two antsy little girls!) ALtogether they caught about 10 fish, mostly pan fish but as you can see, Sabrina got a pretty good sized bass!



It was so much fun watching them learn how to fish with my dad, he taught us girls to fish when we were little and we took lots of little fishing trips to Huizenga park or Lake Laminations (the pond by where my dad used to work). I loved fishing with my dad and I loved that he taught us to fish like boys, not girls. I owe alot of my confidence and willingness to try things that are not tradiotionally "girly" to the fact that my dad never saw having three girls as a limitation to what he could teach us. When we fished, we were expected to bait our own hooks and take our own fish off, thats part of what fishing is why should that be any different because of your sex? Just that small lesson while fishing taught me about not letting the worlds expecations of me as a girl, limit what I can do! My dad always saw us as having unlimited possibilities and juch confidence in us, it was hard not to feel you could achieve anything! So blessed to have had this kind of dad :) and doubly bless to now watch this lesson be imparted to my girls!

And by the way, I still bait my own hook and take fish off :) Thanks Dad!

Here's to 32!

Monday was Brads Birthday :) He's not one to make a big deal about birthdays, but we like try try to make it special, like it or not! The girs and I made him his favorite cake (rainbow chip) and the girls decorated it with sprinkles! We made his favorite dinner and set the table with fine china and candles! It was nothing crazy, but we tried to make daddy feel extra special on his big day!

Blowing out the candles with Daddy!

We love him so much and is definately the backbone of our family. He never quits and always finds a solution to whatever problem arises. He always goes the extra mile and too often without thanks or recognition. Kind, generous compassionate....I could go on all day :) I just feel so blessed that I can call him my other half!