Brighten whites naturally
>> 2.17.2013
A friend of mine recently shared this blog with me for a better-than-Oxiclean recipe. I've tried it twice now with good results. It's simple and since we make our own laundry soap we already have the ingredients on hand.
Toss 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide into a load of whites with your regular laundry soap. Let it sit overnight (or at least for a couple of hours) and run your load normally. I thought my whites were noticeably whiter.
If you haven't tried making your own laundry soap yet, you are missing out on huge savings. Pop over here to see the recipe we use.
If you try the whitener recipe, let me know how it works for you.
~Katrina
P.S. So... I always love sharing book ideas and hearing some from you. The boys (now 9 and almost 6... what happened?!) have just finished The Wright Brothers by Quentin Reynolds. They very much enjoyed this book. It encourages the reader to be inventive and work hard. Inspirational really. I wanted to go out and build something every time we read another chapter. Some days they colored in this book while we read which details the history of flight. The coloring book was delightfully informative for my fact-seeking 9-year-old and contained well-drawn aircraft that was fun to color for my almost 6-year-old.
Read more...
Four-year-olds love undivided attention and my little guy got a lot of it while his big brother was gone for a week. He probably secretly wished to be an only child after so many one-on-one experiences. His favorite parts were probably helping his daddy clean up the chrome on an old garage sale bike and reading books with me.
. 
as a family. It seems to be age-appropriate for my 7-year-old and somewhat boring to my 4-year-old. I love the descriptive nature of the narrative. It also plants little seeds of good manners throughout. Perhaps we will watch an episode or two from the good old days when we are finished. I remember thinking Michael Landon was so handsome when I was a little girl. :)
chewed on small bits at a time. Right now I'm learning about teaching my children good manners, but I've gleaned much from this book from establishing a family heritage and traditions to praying for my children. It's a great book full of wholesome advice. I highly recommend it.
by James Dobson. If you have a boy or are a role model for one, you may also benefit from some of the practical advice and encouragement in this book.
. (Maybe it was your first thought, too.) Sometimes you take a gamble out of sheer desperation. For us, these treatments have changed our world. So many people have asked me about this, it seems only fair to give out a few more details. 
books like 
, 
, 
for Christmas! I am super stoked. You might think that's a goofy thing to get excited about. Welcome to my husband's world.
by Kate DiCamillo. We read 7 chapters today. They just kept begging for more. I love when they do that.
and friends--plus a little bit of trial and error--have taught us much. We've noticed a few things that are helpful.
by E. B. White last week. Beautifully written and a breath of fresh air. The boys are fascinated.
. It's the story of Pilgrim's Progress for youth. Great book. The illustrations, though a little dark, intrigue our 6-year-old. If you aren't familiar with Pilgrim's Progress, it was written by John Bunyan in 1676 while he was in prison. Ironically, imprisoned for preaching, he wrote this book as an allegory of the Christian life. Highly recommended. If your child is 10 or older, we recommend the real thing-- 
, but in today's English. Katrina read and re-read this book as a child.
. This is a fun book for ages 4 and up. Well written, beautiful illustrated and, best of all, contains excellent morals with each story.
. We love this series. This is great for all ages, whether they read it themselves or you read it to them. We don't own the whole series in print, but we are reading through library paperbacks during our bedtime routine with the boys. We have the dramatized 
and love it. Riveting.
. This children's Bible tells the story of salvation in a unique way suited for young readers. Our boys love the illustrations and it increased their understanding of God and the Bible.
. If you have a toddler, you simply must own this book. The illustrations come alive and it's just plain fun.
. These are "first readers", but our kids liked them as toddlers. Frog and Toad are silly AND easy to read. Or pick another book from Arnold Lobel.
. Written chronologically but as appealing as a fairy tale, this a Bible for children... and adults. We love this Bible. We would recommend it for ages 5 and up, but our three-year-old listens to it every morning during breakfast.
books. Kids love Dr. Seuss's silly style and funny illustrations. Alex was given a set of 
by his Aunt Jody when he was quite small and we have nearly worn them out. We still read them often.
. This is both beautifully written and illustrated. James Herriot tells his 
intriguing tales, in the way only he can, about special animals he encountered as a country veterinarian in Yorkshire, England. Ages 3 and up.
books. Little Critter and Little Monster books make Christian a little nostalgic. We hope they do the same for my boys. Your children will love the illustrations.
. Nursery rhyme books are fun for kids. We found this particular one at the library years ago. Alex liked it so much, we bought all three in the series (nursery rhymes, lullabies and songs). Almost any nursery rhyme book will do, but these were fun since we knew the tune to a lot of the songs. The boys love to sit down with the book and sing through them. Cute illustrations enhance the fun rhymes, songs and lullabies.
by Rudyard Kipling, 
or 
(collection of classic Little Golden Books), and 
by Helen Bannerman.