Sunday, May 29, 2011

Waiting Patiently

We are still waiting patiently for baby #3 at the Davis house!  I am 2 days past due now and Jman predicts it will be 4 more days.  I was not impressed...but he's probably close!  I'm going to be trying jumping jacks, jogging, stairs, walking, and our friends are bringing over Chipotle for dinner tonight.  It's become a tradition for us.  Jess and Angie brought it over when I had just started having contractions with Jman, and he was born the next day.  We tried it with BG, but it didn't work.  I'm praying it works this time!  I am starting to get very uncomfortable by the end of the day;  it's time.  We're all ready for baby and will keep you updated!!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Nate's Graduation

Last weekend Nate graduated with his 2nd masters!  He now has a Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership.  It's like a MBA, except a MBA focuses more on the numbers, and a MAOL focuses on being a leader in management.  It's a great addition to his resume.  It's very diverse: Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering, Masters of Divinity, and now Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership.  What next, right?  Now we just need God to open doors to a new job.  We're waiting patiently!  We are doing that a lot these days.  :) 

Here are some pre-graduation pictures.  You can enjoy my belly at 39 weeks pregnant too!   

Friday, May 27, 2011

Bunk beds

Here are the bunkbeds almost complete.  Nate has only to add the head boards to both beds and the newer side rails for BG's bottom bed.  Projects are getting finished.  Time to start something new??  I'm feeling the itch to get busy!

I think they look great!  Nate did a fantastic job. 

BG saying Cheese!  Jman sticking his foot out for the camera...two totally different personalities!  Love them both!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Finished Kitchen Cabinets!

Here they are!  I apologize for not putting the pictures up this weekend, but we were busy!  Nate graduated on Saturday with his Masters of Arts in Organizational Leadership and Sunday was a day filled with tornado warnings, bunk bed building, curtain sewing, cleaning...you catch my drift.  Enjoy the pictures!  It feels great to have them done and all of the doors hung.  Now to get the floor replaced...that comes MUCH later on our list! 

Friday, May 20, 2011

Baby Prep

It is officially one week until baby is due!  We are anxiously awaiting the arrival, or as Nate likes to tell people, I am "impatiently" waiting...which is close to the truth!  We have finally finished the last 5 cabinets in the kitchen and hung them tonight.  (I'll put up pictures tomorrow!!)  Now we've moved on to the bunk beds.  As you can see in the first picture...they are a little too tall.  The boys love it!  Nate is going to lower the top bunk this weekend, get the sides on and the ladder built.  We'll soon put the crib up in the baby nursery.  You can see the pack and play is up for now, which will work just fine!  I feel that we are as prepared as we can be.  I'm sure we'll find something that still needs to get done once we actually get baby home!  We now play the waiting game and pray that all goes well!     
Over 6 feet high!  DEFINITELY coming down a bit!

The boys enjoying the view.

Baby room: Closet on the left and door to the hallway on right.

At least the baby closet is completely ready! 

Pack and play ready to go.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Homemade Laundry Soap

UPDATE (8/30/17): I no longer make my own laundry soap.  Click here to read Why I stopped.

I decided to make my own laundry soap this week.  I first heard about it during the Hearts at Home mom's retreat I attended in November.  I just hadn't actually tried it yet.  This week was the week.  We were almost out of detergent and I didn't have any coupons for detergent, so why not try it!  It is a huge savings in cost.  I got my recipe from www.jillsavage.org.  She was the speaker at the conference that talked about it. 

Here's how I made it:
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, grated
1/2 c Borax
1 c Washing Soda

I warmed the grated soap in 4 c water on the stove, until melted.  Then I added it to the dry ingredients in a 5 gallon bucket.  I stirred it and filled the rest of the bucket with water.  Let it sit for 24 hours.  Then I filled an empty detergent bottle 1/2 full with the soap and filled the rest with water.  And it's ready to go!  Just shake it before every use.


The grated soap bar

It has worked great so far!  And it smells really fresh and clean.  The total cost for the ingredients was about $8 and I'm sure it's going to last for a LONG time.  Great for our budget!! 

Backyard Work and Fun

This past weekend and week we did a bunch of work in the yard.  We decided to plant grass where we had our gardens last year and have a much smaller garden this summer.  We did add some landscaping though.  We paved out a semi-circle and I planted some different perennials back there.  It turned out great and we're hoping our grass grows!
Our landscaping - There are blanket flowers, creeping phlox, lupine, hot pokers and "gold in a basket" (I'm pretty sure that's the last kind) planted back here.
BG in the mud
Jman petting his swing, Charlie Horse.  He came up with a great name!!
The bucket filled with muddy water.  You'll notice the rock in BG's hands...yes, the boys were throwing them in and laughing hysterically when they got splashed.
The only problem with planting grass is that the boys now have no place to dig...which causes problems!  My boys LOVE to play in the mud.  Monday and Tuesday of this past week were warm and beautiful here.  (And we didn't plant grass until Thursday night.)  The boys had lots of fun making mud pies and splashing rocks in a bucket filled with muddy water.  I think they went through 3 outfits in 1 hour before I finally had the bright idea to put them in their swimming trunks!  Needless to say, they had 2 baths and a ton of fun!   

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Finally back!

It has been MUCH too long since I've last posted anything!  We've been working hard around the house and I have some updates.  The kitchen is almost done.  We only have 5 doors left to paint.  So the pictures below are not completely updated; all of the upper cabinet doors are on now.  You can see the messes on the countertops...it has been extremely discomforting for my type A personality! 
It feels good to get it done.  I put things away and now my counters are spotless!  I did a thorough cleaning the minute I got done painting the bottom cabinets.  We have decided we are not going to paint the walls, but leave them yellow.  It looks nice and bright!  Plus, we just have too much else to get done before baby comes.  My due date is in 3 weeks.  Crunch time is in effect!  
I'll add pictures of baby room as I get it ready!  It is a matter of clearing it out and getting the right things in.  The clock is ticking!