Ornaments

We made cinnamon ornaments this week.
It was actually easier than I expected!

We basically made our dough, rolled it out, made shapes
and let it dry. The kids had a great time with the cookie
cutters. I think they turned out well, and smell VERY good too!

He's One!

One year ago today, our sweet baby boy was born.
John William Gucker, you have been
such a blessing to our lives!
We love your sweet faces, goofy faces, and constant smile.

The way you have worked hard to learn
everything your brothers and sister do.
You had to roll over, then sit up...crawl, and now
I am amazed to see you walking around with
that oh-so-cute toddle. Soon you will stop
crawling all together!

I love how you snuggle and want to be held.
I love it each time you fall asleep in my arms.
Your special glow lights up a room.
Your sister thinks that you are her baby,
but you are quick to let her know...you can
hold your own!

Dub, you are a special boy. We love you very much.
Happy Birthday this very special day. Last year
I thought you'd never come! Thank You Jesus for our
sweet little son!

Favorite baby carrier and giveaway!

I've used several types of baby carriers since my first was born, but have recently found one that is my favorite (thank you for lending yours to me Amy!!!). So today, I found this giveaway. Check it out!
Win a Free Organic Embroidered Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System from Along for the Ride
Yes, you've guessed...Ergo wins for my pick of best carrier!

J-Dub

Our sweet little J-Dub is trying to figure out how to walk. It won't be long till he's got it down!

Homemade laundry detergent

So here I am again, making another attempt at

homemade laundry soap. The first try, I did powdered

detergent, and didn't get the soap grated fine enough.

This time, I did liquid, and after about 8 loads of laundry,

I'm pleased to say that I'm happy with the results.

I still need to treat stains, but overall, this cleaned well .

I like that it isn't a very sudsy soap either.

This is not my own original recipe. I found

it online.

Homemade liquid laundry soap

Ingredients:

4 cups hot tap water

1 Fels-Naptha soap bar

1 cup washing soda

½ cup Borax

Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water.

Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

Fill a five-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water.

Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax.

Stir well until all powder is dissolved.

Fill bucket to top with more hot water.

Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser

half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water.

Shake before each use. (It will gel.)

Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per two gallons.

Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

Top-load machine: 5/8 cup per load (approximately 180 loads).

Front-load machine: ¼ cup per load (approx. 640 loads).

Meal or No Meal

Ok, had to post just one more of these for now...
Kira, this one's for you!
If you can't see the video on your email, just go directly to the post. I really cracked up at this one.

Sesame Street Cracks me up sometimes...

November Testing

Here are some pics from last testing.

The purpose of testing is to push your limits to know where they are, and measure how much they have grown.

WARMUPS



Here is Toby strutting his new Testing fashion. I figure that with the amount of time it took him to make that shirt, billed at his lawyering rates, it would have to be the most expensive piece of clothing on the training floor :-)

FASHION

ACTION

FINISH