Million Dollar Baby

We have been having internet difficulties lately, so this post has been sitting and waiting for days. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that today's the day (not "tonight's the night") that I will get it finished.

While my mom was here visiting, she made some homemade laundry soap that we have been using. I thought I would pass it on, in case anyone is interested. Definitely another way to save some money, and with the increased laundry I am doing thanks to the little love, I am grateful for that. The recipe for powdered laundry detergent is:

1/2 c. Borax
1/2 c. Washing soda
1 bar Ivory soap


Borax is easy to find, on most laundry aisles. The Washing Soda is a little harder to find. My mom got it at Harmon's in St. George. Grate the soap (my cheese grater works fine) and mix the three ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Mix together thoroughly, until powdery.



I don't add any fragrance, but you can add some essential oils if you want your laundry to smell good. I store mine in a large yogurt container, and use 1-2 tablespoons with each load. It is low sudsing, so it is good for HE machines like mine.

What else have we been doing besides making laundry detergent? I bet you can guess.


Yep, I have been holding Carter. A lot. And I love it. Most of the time. I have taken to toting him around in the Baby Bjorn so I can things done, because he still doesn't like to be put down. He seems to really enjoy that, and spends most of his time with his head buried in my bosom. Who wouldn't like that?

Allie is being very good about keeping her distance. We told the kids they can hold him again in April, and she asks every day how many more days. He started smiling at us, which of course we haven't been able to fully catch on camera, but makes us all extremely happy.

Damon loves taking pictures, and when I am in a good mood, I let him use our camera. This is one of the best pictures he took (out of about 50). I love how sweet Carter looks. And it proves that occasionally he can sleep somewhere other than my arms.

And we started getting statements from the hospital for Carter (no bills yet, just statements). You can see in this picture that Carter looks awfully concerned as Jeff reviews some of the statements from the insurance company.

Now for a fun game...let's play a little Price is Right with Carter's hospital bill. The itemized statement we received was 5 or 6 pages long and ended with a huge number. Let's see if you can guess how much everything cost. Here are a few highlights to help you make a guess:

He had 14 chest x-rays, 17 blood gases, 8 days of normal care, 4 days of 24 hour personal care while he was on the ventilator, a picc line, 10 days of antibiotics, 2 days of IV TPN, a spinal tap and multiple other tests. How much do you think all that cost?

Another note: I am so glad that we have health insurance. I realize that health care in this country is out of control, and something needs to be done about it. Everyone needs insurance, and Carter proves it. I wish I had the answer of how to make that happen, but I don't. Instead, I just thank my lucky stars that we did have health insurance and are not going to have to mortage our home to pay for our son.

Okay, there is more to say, but Carter is getting antsy. And Jeff, who is holding him, is getting antsy.