New Product!! and a giveaway spoiler….

 

I just tested out a new product!

Stay tunned to see what I think of it and there just might be a giveaway!

blank page in a new book…

Have you heard that saying before? That January 1st is the first blank page in a new 365 day book?

At this point in my life, I hope so, I really do.

The weekend before New Year’s we spend a lot of time giving the house a really good cleaning and checking off a lot of our to do’s from our list that we never seem to make the effort to do.

The boys washed the screens all over the house and I cleaned the windows from the inside. BTW, window cleaning tip, equal parts rubbing alcohol and water… done!

We also put together the baby’s crib and shampooed the carpet in the entire house. Next time, we’re ripping out the carpet and putting down wood floors! I’m not even joking!

It felt good and it was our way of washing off the old to begin new.

I got to spend some time with my lil guy just me and him. I treated him to his first Icee, and probably his last. Don’t let this photo fool you, he didn’t like it much.

We took in a beautiful sunset right in our yard while I watered the grass.

We spent New Year’s with our friends and my son was so excited to be going to what he called a firework party.

This was the first year he really got into the fireworks and sparklers, usually he keeps to the pop pops and stays away from anything you light on fire.

Great, I think I have myself a fire bug.

Of course as tradition goes, we had mochi soup at midnight.

YUM!

We had a nice time and I for one am happy to say goodbye to 2012 and look forward to a brighter and different new year in 2013.

I have decided not to make resolutions or a list of goals for this year. We have so much going on and especially with the new baby on the way I don’t want to be tied to a list that I will constantly compare myself to.

Instead the only thing I want to work towards this year is enjoying and loving my family. I will not let myself get pressured to doing certain things by a certain time. I will not pressure myself with the little details. I will let go and let God guide me. My focus is my family and they come first, not making anyone else happy.

Here’s hoping for a better 2013 for my family and all of you!

DIY Soap Scum Killer

About a month ago, Jennifer from Life, Crafts and Whatever posted a miracle recipe.

She called it the Soap Scum Killa.

Ok, so its not really a Miracle but it sure does work like a dream.

I have white shower stalls and no doors just a shower curtain so me taking pictures of that is just pointless. But me sharing this recipe will be life changing.... ok maybe I'm being a tad overly dramatic but you'll love it.

First take two regular household items. Dawn liquid soap and vinegar, equal parts.

Put the vinegar in the microwave for about 1 minute and then add it to the Dawn.

Mix it well together.

It won't smell all that great.

Let it cool slightly before pouring into your spray bottle.

Otherwise you get this....

Yea, it melted, lesson learned.

All you have to do it spray it on let it sit for a bit and then scrub off.

I could never see my soap scum and I scrub my shower once a week.

When I used this concoction I noticed the water bead off the shower stall as if I had just polished it. I also used it on my bathroom sinks and my kitchen sink.

Loved it!

It's a cheap (free if you already have the stuff at home) and you know exactly what's going in it.

I'll be linking up at the parties at the bottom of my page, hope you guys try it out too!!



Cleaning with Purex

This past December I mentioned cleaning for the New Year.

Not only is it about letting go and moving forward, but we have to star the new year CLEAN.

I got this new laundry detergent from Purex to try out called Purex Ultra Packs.

I like anything that makes my life easier so I was down to try it. Plus its so clean and simple no mess. I dont have a sink in my laundry closet so not having to go to the sink in my kitchen or bathroom to rinse out the measuring cap on the detergent was cool in my book.

Check these cool lil guys out.

They felt really interesting and I had to resist all temptation to squeeze them between my fingers till they burst. Hehehe

All I had to do was pop one in the washer and that was it.

I have to say I really liked it.

It was not messy, easy to use and they made my clothes clean.

I did however have two pairs of my son's jeans that still had a little tint of red dirt on the knees after the wash was done.

I wasnt bummed about it since red dirt here is nearly impossable to wash out of clothes without pre-scrubbing and pre-treating and even then sometimes it never comes out.

I was impressed that it did do as well as it did without any pre-tretment.

Oh and bonus points, they have a free and clear version too!

Over all I really do like using them, I've always had great results with Purex products.

If you want to try them out for yourself check back and I'll be giving away some coupons for ya'll to try them too!

Disclaimer: I received a free sample of Purex ultra Packs laundry detergent in exchange for writing a review. All opinions are 100% mine .

Homemade Febreze

I came across a recipe for homemade Febreze a while back while over at The Frugal Girls.

Heather Bea over at Fake it Frugal shared her recipe for the stuff.

I dont use Febreze that often but I sometimes do, the one thing I dont like is the scents they have. So why not try to make some with a scent that I love?

It wa super duper easy, honest.

I went to Walmart and picked out my favorite scent of liquid fabric softener.

I took out an empty spray bottle I had stashed away.

I mixed up just over 1/8 cup of the fabric softner with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and filled the rest of the bottle with tap water.

Thats it.

See it was easy wasnt it?

I sprayed all over the house and my car and now everything has a lovely vanilla scent that I picked out and love.

Go make yourself a bottle too!

I'm linking with the parties {here} and at the bottom of my page!

Getting clean and putting Shaklee to the test

A few weeks ago I entered a Shaklee giveaway over at A bowl full of lemons.

I've been hearing about Shaklee for a while now and have been very curious to try it out.

I got this really cute card in the mail from Toni

I took out my sample and I just had to take a pix.

(I put the nickel there as reference for the size)

(I couldnt for the life of me flip this photo right way up)

Ok so are all of you thinking the same thing I was thinking?

What in the world is that small little thing gonna do?

Seriouslly?

Well I followed the directions and made my mixture.

Hmmm what to clean? What to clean?

I decided to REALLY give it a tough job.

My oven

Its awful in there, just terrible in there.

Actually Toni has a cleaner made just for this kinda job so I wasnt expecting it to do anything. I decided to just tackle the inside glass on the door and see what would happen.

It completely shocked me!

I cleaned better than I ever thought it would!

I knew it couldnt completely clean that awful mess in there, but what it did do surprized me.

First of all there was no smell, I swear nothing. I had to ask the hubs to come and see if I was missing something.

I sprayed it on and let it sit while I looked for a scrubbie pad. Just a little bit of elbow grease and it cleaned it up pretty darn good.

Good enough infact that I'm ordering that special oven and grill cleaner from Toni.

I've been using it to clean up my countertops after dinner and my sink and even the bathroom counters and sinks. I really am pleased with it I must say.

If you wanna grab yourself some go see Toni over at A bowl full of lemons!!

And speaking of cleaning dont forget today is the last day to enter for the free bottle of Purex Crystals Softener!!

after weekend vent session....and boobies

I've had a completely exhausting weekend... oh how I wish I had one more day to recover!!!

I have lots of little projects to share with all of you and so much to catch up on.

I got my sample of basic H2 cleaner that I won from a giveaway hosted by A bowl full of lemons, I so wanna tell you guys about that.

We changed out the light above our dinning room table and for a great deal.

I picked up a craigslist desk for $25 yay! I now have a place to craft instead of my bedroom floor!

I sometimes feel like I am caring for a 2 yr old going on 15, a 34 yr old going on 3 and lets not even get into mama drama and daddy drama...just plain old family drama. (btw none of the family drama is connected to the other, its all seperate)

And just all kinds of other little things that make our life so crazy and hecktic.

(all photos via google and all I'm feeling as my anthem right now)

But, this morning I read {this} post over at Hip Chick's Guide to PMS, Pregnancy and Babies!

Hanna from The Olive Parent is guest posting on her journey of breastfeeding all 7 YES SEVEN of her children.

I feel like she was telling my story!
I breastfed for exactly one year at that time my son decided that he was done breastfeeding. I didnt have to fight him he decided, and I was so greatful for that.

Breastfeeding was not an easy task for me. I knew the health benefits and I wanted that bonding experience with my son. Not to mention the cost of formula!

I had so much pain while breastfeeding and everyone told me thats how it is in the begining, it gets better. My son nursed every hour and a half and when he was done I was left with burning nipples to the point I was crying instead of a close bonding feeling that I thought I would have. It must have been over two months before we got diagnosed with Thrush. It was THE most painful experience ever. What hurt even more was thinking that my son was suffering because of it as well and that I missed out on that bonding feeling from the very begining. I was tired and cranky and lets just say it a bitch for a while.
It took two rounds of antibiotics and a week of blow drying my nipples before it cleared up. But when it did, breastfeeding was a breeze. I couldnt think of any other way to have it.

I have a smart, happy and healthy boy. (not to brag or anything) I feel so blessed to have been able to give him the gift of breasfeeding and to have had that closeness and bonding time.

Go read her story {here} if youre a mom who breastfed you can appreciate it.

I am:

Recipe Mess

I love to cook. And I guess my family and friends know this.

I seem to have collected a lot of cookbooks and receipes over the years.
I just stash them in that tiny cabinet over my micro since its so small I never know what to put up there.

And its a MESS....

(this is after I took most of my stuff out)

I organized them by type of cookbook.

Just check out this mess!!! Thats all the stuff I print out on the internet and cut out of magazines and newspapers. (if you look closely you'll even see a recipe scribbled on a recept for car parts!)

 Toni's over at A bowl full of lemons is awsome when it comes to cleaning and organizing. I took her 21 day challenge back in January. I didnt do all 21 days but it got me started and on a good path to getting organized and clean!

She did a post on creating a recepie binder which I PROMISED myself I will do! I just have to! No excuses. (as I write this post... this pile is STILL on my kitchen counter)

I did put the rest of my cookbooks back in the cabinet all nice and neat.

Lets see how long it lasts.

What mess are you going to tackle?

Dont forget to enter my Purex Giveaway and stay tuned for more!

Bloggerversary giveaway #1 with Purex Crystals Softner

{Giveaway now closed}

So I have been talking about how much I really like the new Purex Crystals softner and I want you all to have an opportunity to love them as much as I do.

Why do we love new Purex Crystals?

Well, its so easy to use! You put it in at the begining of the wash. What does that do? It gives it time to infuse your laundry with its fresh scent and lasts longer.

It's also 92% natural ingredients so even those who have alergies can use it.

You can use it on your all your clothes and your towels... yes your towels.

I hate that feeling of fabric softner on your towels and then you dont feel like you're getting dry. I found out that its because of the oils in the fabric softner. Purex Crystals are FREE of oil-based ingredients so you get that clean dry feeling! Yay! Thats absolutely my favorite thing about this products!


So give a huge thanks to Purex who sponsored this giveaway.... clap clap clap!
I am giving away a coupon for one free bottle of Purex Crystals softner. (up to a $5 value)

How to enter?

*Mandatory Entry*
1. You must be a follower of From the Heart.
(leave me a comment telling me that you are)

*Extra Entries*
2. Tell me what scent you would like to try if you win

3. Like Purex on Facebook and at the same time sign up to get a $1 off coupon.

Giveaway open from now until next week Thursday. I'll announce winner on Friday!

Thanks again to the great folks at Purex!

Laundry day with Purex Crystals update

I told you all about Laundry Saturdays and this weekend I was excited to try my new Purex Crystals.

They come in puuurrrdy bottles and the idea of crystals is cool.

All you have to do it add a capful (depending on the size of your load).

Just sprinkle it all over your clothes, no need to put it in a seperate place on your washer.

Let me just say that I luv the smell! I'm usually VERY turned off by the smell of fabric softner. These scents were very nice and clean without being over powering.

Also I like my towels crunchy not that super soft feeling that doesnt seem to dry you off after a shower. Well, these didnt feel that way at all! I still had crunch to my towels, yet they were a bit softer and smelled really good. I felt nice and dry after my shower.

The strange thing was my clothes, they felt soft and not as crunchy, very nice infact.

I'm all for it and if you look now in your PB&G Brands Saver add in your local newspaper they have a $2.00 off coupon... totally worth it!

Also dont forget to like them on facebook and get a $1.00 off coupon!!