Stain Removal

Here it is.  The much anticipated post about solar stain removal.  Prepare to be amazed.  

My kids know how to make a mess when it comes to poop and clothing.  Maybe it's a breastmilk thing, but my babies have some major blowouts.  Using cloth diapers has helped a ton with Brooklyn, but let me tell you, if she's in a disposable when you hear/smell that thing coming.....look out.  As a result, I've had some very stained clothing on my hands.  Sometimes I've let the stains set in because I was not at home when the bomb went off, or I was just too busy to deal with it at the time.  For a long time, I had a pile of clothes that I had washed several times with no success of removing the stains.  I was about to throw them out when I discovered this super simple technique of removing stains.  Set the clothes out in the sunlight.  Yep, that's it.  That's all there is to it.  Some people say you can put lemon juice on the clothes first, but I haven't even tried that yet.  All I do is put the clothes out on the deck and watch the stains disappear!!  Small stains could take an hour or less.  Bigger stains take several hours and maybe a couple of days.  

Want proof?  Here you go!

Stains are completely gone after three hours in the sun!

And look at the improvement of this horrible stain!  It should be gone in another day or two.

I'm not sure what all kinds of stains this will work on.  But I think it'd be worth a shot to try on just about anything.  It's easy, safe for colored clothing, safe for baby clothes, and best of all...it's free!   

Ten things on my mind tonight

1.  Jeremy thinks he has an ear infection.  See my "You Might Be a Hippie if.." post about how I've been treating ear infections around here.  Tee hee hee hee.

2.  We're trying to go swaddle-free tonight with Brooklyn.  Our pediatrician thinks it would be safer to end the swaddling since she rolls over so easily and could potentially roll onto her tummy without the use of her hands.  This could get interesting.  

3.  Speaking of Brooklyn, at her 6-month appointment this week, she weighed 18 lbs, 12 oz.  She's sitting up on her own better each day and started to eat rice cereal.  We'll start veggies this weekend.  

4.  Our friend, Jason Munday, posted a Katy Perry parody video this week that went viral and got some neat attention (including a tweet from Katy Perry herself!).  I like to see people succeed.  Cheers!

5.  Father's Day is this weekend, and I'm reminded that I have an amazing dad and so do my kids.  

6.  Jack has started hitting lately.  I don't know where it's coming from, but he preps us by saying, "I hit Mommy" and then goes in for the hit.  I appreciate his communication but would prefer a more socially acceptable action.  

7.  I've wasted a lot of time on the computer today.  Perusing Facebook, shopping for clothes that I'm not going to buy, watching music videos (see item #4), and reading random news articles.  I feel pretty guilty about the wastage, given the amount of real work I have to do, but the guilt isn't quite strong enough to get me on my feet just yet.  

8.  I've been using grass clippings as mulch in my vegetable garden to help with weed control.  Lately, I catch myself scoping out the neighbors' yards for extra clippings.  I've thought about going out after dark armed with a rake and Jack's wagon to pillage for more.  Item #7 is the main reason I probably won't.  

9.  Today I laughed so hard I peed a little.  In JC Penneys.  Whatev.

10.  I serve a loving and gracious God that is in the business of restoration.  I'm thankful that He hasn't thrown in the towel on me, despite my many shortcomings. 

Now it's time for me to do some laundry check Facebook once more before I go to bed.  I'm such a bum.

Precious Moments

There are so many moments these days that I wish I could capture forever.  Very simple things that remind me of how blessed I am.  Here are a few from this week:

*Brooklyn sitting up at the dinner table with us for the first time, trying out rice cereal, and giggling at her brother across the table.

*Jack running out of his bedroom and straight to the front door first thing in the morning, saying "I play Roman?" (referring to hanging out with his little-man buddy, Roman Barton).

*Jack spotting and announcing every single windmill between Gilbert, Iowa and Northfield, Minnesota.

*Brooklyn's face when she saw Jeremy for the first time after three days of being away.

*Jack pushing his bike down the sidewalk, wearing boots that are too big and a helmet that's too small.

*Jack mooing at the cows at my Grandpa's farm.

*Brooklyn laughing hysterically at Jack, while he's trying to pick on her.

*Jeremy doing push-ups over a giggling baby.

*Jack bringing me a bouquet of dandelions with great excitement.

*Jack saying "Jesus loves you" in his sweet toddler voice.


It's in these moments that I am reminded of God's love, creativity, and sense of humor.  (Perhaps I'll put down the moments that remind me of His justice and judgment in another blog...)  And I am so thankful that I have the privilege of being a wife and a mother.  Oh, how I love my family!

Week in review

1.  This week was *supposed* to be Vegan Week in the Jennings house.  We wanted to try eating vegan for one week to see what it would be like for our little family.  We made it until Wednesday when I said, "You know what sounds good?  Pizza."  And that was the end of Vegan Week.


2.  Parenting a toddler is quite the adventure.  Jack's been testing the waters lately to find out how serious we are.  It's more important than ever that we are consistent and both on the same page.  Jack does really well when given options ("What should we do first-brush your teeth or put on your pajamas?") and takes pride in having a little bit of responsibility (i.e. being in charge of our shopping bags until we check out).  I momentarily forgot these things on Wednesday and ended up walking a screaming toddler out of Target.  


3.  I don't plan to go back to Pizza Hut anytime soon.  There are several reasons why going there this week (see items #1 and #2) was a horrible idea.  After waiting over 45 minutes for our pizza (I could make one from scratch in less time), our family was pretty much in shambles.  I hadn't brought any activities for Jack (mistake #27) and he decided that the phrase, "Please use your inside voice" actually meant shriek louder.  


4.  On a much more positive note, my niece, Grace, turned two yesterday.  Two years ago, our lives were forever changed when the adoption agency called my sister-in-law to say they had a brand new baby girl.  Seth & Sonya were holding Grace by the time she was 11 hours old.  You don't forget a day like that. 


5.  We got to hang out with some sweet friends tonight, the Bartons and the Rippkes.  We are blessed to know some really great people.  


6.  I made an amazing discovery in the way of stain removal this week.  For now, I will just say solar power.  More on that later.  


7.  Tomorrow marks six years of marriage for us.  Man, that's crazy.  I was just a kid back then (I turned 20 a few weeks before our wedding) and have changed so much since then.  But I am so thankful that I've had Jeremy beside me through all the changes.  Jeremy challenges me but shows me grace when I blow it.  He makes me laugh daily, and he's a really good listener.  We've been through some pretty big ups and downs together, and he knows me better than anyone.  I'm excited to see what the next six years will hold in store!


Maybe by then we'll be ready to go back to Pizza Hut.