OK so I left off Friday with 5 of my most fave cleaning products! I figured after the first round y'all needed a breather so here is the NEXT round! Same disclaimer as the last post...these are not your vinegar and water types of cleaning and yes I know I am probably losing brain cells in the process BUT...my house is sparkly (at times) and this is what works for me! So here you go Sami...round 2!

6. Clorox Bleach - yes...I said it. Bleach! I fill one side of my sink up at a time with HOT water and then pour bleach into it. Set the timer for 1 hour and as I am draining it out I use my sponge scrubber and wipe out the sink! It makes it shiny and sparkly! I also double duty this step by using the sponge and an old toothbrush dipped in the bleach water to scrub my microwave, stove and dishwasher door! It's fantabulous really! OH and did you know there is "scented" bleach too?! Oh yes...yes there is!

OK let me start out by saying that if you are an eco-friendly cleaning products mom. Stop here! Seriously...go! This post is NOT for you!

I just got off the phone a bit ago with my dear friend (also a blogger!) who just had baby #2 5 weeks ago. While on the phone she notices her oldest face turning beat red (AKA pooping)...in his underoos. She hollers RUN...GO...GET UP TO THE POTTY AND I WILL GIVE YOU 3 GUMMY BEARS! But...he couldn't get his bum in the potty fast enough so he decided to "clean out his drawers" for his mama just the way he has seen her do it a million times. By dumping out the yuckies into the toilet and rinsing them out. Lets think about this for a second...poopy undies, 3 year old and a toilet?! Hmmm...this makes for poopy water all over the bathroom! Enter mommy. I hear "Uh...what...uhhhh...I will call you back!" When she called me back she said HELP ME! I wanna know how you do it with 3! So I will tell you my fave cleaning products I told her...and why! (oh and this lovely picture you see below...yes...this is a before picture of the destruction my babies made on my house the other day! You ever see smoke come out of someones ears?)


My kids are usually really really helpful and make limited messes. Not saying they are perfect, they have their moments but I have never had a day like the one above! I had already spent that day cleaning and doing 8 loads of laundry! I was completely and utterly flabbergasted! As mad as I was I actually stayed pretty calm! lol! ANYHOW...here are my fave products:

1. Scrubbing Bubbles - Color foaming bathroom cleaner - I use my trusty Costco scotch brand sponges (yellow spongy on one side and green scrubby on the other) spray on the goods...scrub a dub really fast. Rinse out and DONE! I love having a shiny shower that I did little to no work on!

WOW it seems like forever since I sat down to do a rays of sunshine piece! What a blessing we can be in other peoples lives! Don't you think? You can do something as simple as what we will do this week...send a Thank You.

What got me thinking about sending Thank Yous this week is I don't think enough people use the traditional way of thanking people! You know...pen. Paper. Stationary. Stamp. What is more fun than opening your mailbox to find a hand written note from someone you care about?

Since my Uncle had the most amazing staff watching over him we took the time to find a card for the nursing staff at the hospital. My Grandma, Aunts and myself all wrote a special message in the card thanking them for being there for not only him but for us as well.

Are you on Instagram?! I ADORE Instagram! I have friends I have met through Instagram and I look forward to chatting with them through pictures each day! It's always wonderful when you get an "I haven't seen much from you lately...just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you"! Also, you can get tagged in things (to tag someone you put an @name and then the name of the person so like mine is @britchesnboots) and you can hash tag things (meaning all the pictures with the same hash tag get archived together! For instance this picture will be hash tagged under #5randomfacts) Well my dear friend Kelsey a blogger over at Poofy Cheeks tagged me! I figured it would be perfect to share with you!


What are some random facts about you?! I would LOVE to hear them!

Hello dear friends! It's been awhile I know...let's see where do I begin. Well, the same week my sweet girl got her cast. My uncle was placed in the hospital with a collapsed lung. Tuesday of last week I took Emily Grace to get her cast removed (we were SO excited!) and as we pulled out of the drive I got a call from my Grandma saying I needed to get to the hospital quick that my uncle took a turn for the worst.
Here is a little background on my uncle:


He was 64 years old and born with Cerebral Palsy after a very difficult birth. He is the eldest of my mom's family and he was and will always be...my favorite uncle. The course of the month I have been away from the blogging world as I focused my time on being by his bedside as much as I could. My kids adored him. He was ornery, feisty, stubborn, strong willed, FUNNY and to me he was always the sweetest! Despite his handicap he was extremely independent. He lived on his own (United Cerebral Palsy would come in to cook meals and assist when needed) and he worked for Seattle's Best coffee where he delivered coffee around downtown Portland, OR. Portland State was one of his major stops. He had hundreds of friends...not even kidding you! He was incredible.

I spent the last 40 hours of his life with him. It was rough saying goodbye to someone...especially when they know their last breath could come at any moment. Basically over the course of the month he went from a collapsed lung...too aspiration in the lung from the feeding tube. The aspiration caused pneumonia which in return was a constant struggle. Lack of calories meant his health was deteriorating faster. Each time they would try something new he would aspirate more till in his final days he had what they call a white out. A white out is where the x-rays show BOTH lungs completely filled with pneumonia. Once you are to that point, you basically have no hope of coming out of it.



When I walked into the room for his final hours awake (his last hours were under heavy morphine to stop the pain and help him to breath) he looked me in the eye and said "Hi". I told him "I love you Uncle Melvin...who's my favorite uncle?" (something we ALWAYS do) he replied, "I love you...I am" with a twinkle and slight smile. It broke my heart as I knew...this was going to be the last thing I heard him say to me. My uncle was feisty to everyone...but me! He would get angry if someone could not understand what he was saying as he HATED repeating himself...but with his type of Cerebral Palsy it was often times difficult to understand him. He would always look me in the eye and slowly repeat it till I understood. NEVER any fists flying in the air! He was always gentle and kind to me. My children adored him. And my daughter looked at me and said "Mommy, uncle Melvin loves us. And because of this, he will always be right here (pointing to her heart)." She was right.

My cousin Dean made this video not too long ago:



My uncle passed on July 11th at 5:15 p.m. He is extremely missed and was loved by many. The funeral home was packed. Not a seat open and people standing all around the back of the room. From the day I got the call to just yesterday I had at one point 12 people staying in my tiny house! It was actually nice to be surrounded by family. The Oregonian did a small article on him as well **HERE**. They had done a piece on him in the past. He was HUGE amongst the Starbucks family (Starbucks and Seattle's Best are owned by the same company!) and was actually honored for his success! He was one of a kind. And he is greatly missed.

My uncle LOVED WWF wrestling! He had every single DVD that contained any sort of wrestling! He had autographed pictures from Hulk Hogan from way back when! My son now has his wrestling figurines that I have always remembered him having! (the bums of them date back to 1984) and he adores them and knows they were uncle Melvin's! And yes...that is a spoon on Hulk's junk...don't ask. I couldn't tell ya! After all the kids only almost 4!

Going with the "Summer" theme I decided to do something that the kids could play with rain or shine. You see we live in Oregon and its kinda wet this Summer (abnormal despite what you hear about Oregon!) and my kid have been cooped up! So for our what looks to be Indian Summer I found some awesome LARGE chip bowls at Target for $1 each and made bean bags to toss into them!

The first thing you will need is some fabric. I found the fabric I am using and fell in love with...realized when i started sewing with it that it is not "ideal sewing fabric" as it "strings" while I sew! I am gonna warn ya now...I am a NOVICE sewer! So even the most inexeperienced sewer can handle this one! In fact I made some for my daughters school (it burnt down this year due to 2 kids starting a fire...sad!) and agreed to do something I had NO idea if I could! IT WORKED!


Now the reason that I didn't cut them 5x5" is because I figured I saved myself 1 less edge to sew!


Basic sewing skills used here! BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER: backstitch in the beginning and at the end of each side!!


Cutting your corners will make it so you do not have a funky rounded edge to your beanbags! You see here that I use a stir stick to push my corners out. That's because I don't trust myself with scissors to not poke through my fabric! It's just long enough to get to every corner of the beanbag.


Stick a funnel (or if you do not have one roll a piece of paper into a cone shape!) into our 1" space of the beanbag and fill with lentil beans. I have tried other kinds but lentils work the best and are very reasonably priced! I can get 3 1/2 beanbags with 1 small Safeway bag of lentils!

Now comes the hardest part...are you ready?! I am now going to show you how to do an "invisable stitch" Mine aren't always so invisible as I am a work in progress I tell ya!


OK, so at the stick the needle in your fabric part...this pic shows my needle backwards?! How I did that completely NOT sure! But...flip your needle over the opposite direction as CLOSE to where you finished sewing with the machine (so that the knot goes inside your beanbag!). You will then take your needle back and forth grabbing small bits of fabric (like you are threading a shoelace into a shoe) pulling it as you go along.


Back and forth! When you come to the very end of it...do it a few more times and pull tight!


You will then make a circle with your thread and needle (like you are about to make a knot...cause you are!) and stick your needle (without pulling the knot tight!) into the seam of your beanbag and pushing the needle out further down the beanbag and THEN pulling the knot tight. So basically the knot tied inside the bag! I hope that makes sense!


Voila! There you have it! 1 finished beanbag! The kids can balance them on their heads, toss them back and forth, toss them into the bowls. Oh the possibilities! Have a blessed day!

I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July! May our hearts go 'BOOM BOOM' with pride for our amazing country! I pray you have a safe and wonderful day! To our men and women who serve or have served for our country...we salute and honor you. Thank you so much for all that you do and sacrifice for us. For those that are holding down the forts at home while loved ones are away...I pray God's blessings and strength be upon you. And for those that we deeply miss today, you will never be forgotten. Brennan and Sean I miss your goofy smiles but know I will see you again one day. I pray for your wife and children and think about you often. I love you two with all my heart.

LET'S CELEBRATE OUR FREEDOM!!

Have a blessed day!

I cannot believe that I hit 100+ followers on my little ol' blog! I cannot thank you enough for taking the time out of your busy lives to stop in and say hello! I am completely overjoyed and honored! Humbled in fact! Thank YOU! So much!  Because of this milestone...some friends of mine (THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!) have offered to join in the celebratory mode and giveaway some pretty cool prizes! And the best part...1 winner...takes ALL! Pretty cool right?!

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