When Tim and I decided to do cloth diapers, we also chose to start making our own laundry soap to clean them with because we knew we would be doing a lot more laundry. The cost of making your own soap is just a fraction of the cost of buying detergent, and we’ve found that it works just as well. Soon after we started using our cloth diaper soap recipe, we tried making liquid laundry detergent for the rest of our clothes. So far, so good.

A few of our friends have asked for our tips and recipes, so here they are:

Cloth diaper soap recipe:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
1 cup Oxyclean (original)

Cloth diaper laundering:
-Store soiled diapers in a dry pail (shaking out any solids if necessary)
-Wash every 2 – 3 days
-Run diapers on a rinse cycle on large load setting
-Wash diapers on hot cycle with 1 tablespoon laundry soap
-Add ½ - 1 cup vinegar to the rinse cycle
-Dry diapers

Liquid laundry soap recipe:
4 cups hot water
1 bar Fels Naptha soap (finely grated)
1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda
½ cup Borax
-Add grated soap to saucepan with 4 cups water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted (will take awhile).
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken (will look kind of like snot).
-OPTIONAL - you can add 10-15 drops of an essential oil per 2 gallons to scent the soap (I've not tried this yet because I'm still trying to figure out what I want our clothes to smell like).
-When you’re ready to use the soap, fill a laundry detergent container half with laundry soap and half with water. Shake before each use. Use a half cup to 5/8 cup of soap for each load. Use ½ - 1 cup vinegar in rinse cycle.

Making your own laundry soap sounds like a huge hassle, but it has really not been a big deal. You make such a big batch at a time that it lasts for months. I would recommend it to anyone looking to trim their household budget a little or trying to be a little greener (we use the same laundry detergent container over and over).

We just got back from a great trip to Florida for our good friend Tommy's wedding. Laurel got to experience her first plane ride, and she did fantastic! She once again amazed us with her great behavior all weekend. Here's her outfit for the wedding rehearsal and dinner.

We also spent a lot of time at the pool and in the ocean. She's such a water baby.

Tim was one of Tommy's groomsmen. Doesn't he look handsome?

And despite the fact that she'd had a really long weekend and was exhausted, Laurel saved enough energy to party it up at the reception!

Towards the end of the reception I put her back in the sling so that we could start saying bye to everyone. Within minutes she was out like a light.

Best wishes to Tommy and Alli for a wonderful future together!

Laurel is eight months old today. Her favorite things right now are pulling up and walking around. She is around 27 inches long and probably about 19 pounds. She's got one tooth and is still really resistant to eating solids. We are breastfeeding and that's where 99% of her nutrition comes from. She is a sweet, silly girl, and my life is so much fuller because of her.

Here she is getting a massage from mommy. Ahh, to be a baby...

Laurel has her first tooth. She was a little cranky last night, but I didn't really think about it. And now she has a little tooth that has popped through (her bottom right tooth). Yay Laurel!

Laurel's newest trick is pulling up in her crib and walking around the inside of it. She likes to stand up, but she is pretty cautious when she's on the floor. She seems to know that it won't hurt as much if she falls on her crib mattress, so she's a lot more daring there.

Now that Laurel is so much more aware of her surroundings and so much stronger (pulling up on everything!) she is really enjoying spending more time with Daddy. He loves to walk her around the house and yard. Tonight they took a trip out to his garage. He was showing Laurel all of his projects. He even let her "drive."

This is her fire truck pedal car that Daddy ordered for her from Ebay. (All I can think is tetanus, but I'm trying not to be too overprotective.)
Here's Laurel in the MG (a '72 Midget). Love the serious expression.
So far, she loves visiting the garage with daddy.

Yesterday was Tim's 30th birthday. I threw him a surprise party. The shocking part is that he didn't find out beforehand. We were joined by lots of friends and family. It was a blast! Thanks to everyone who helped pull it off.

While we are still proceeding with solids, it's mostly just playing rather than eating. The other day I tried avocado. Laurel seemed to have fun sticking her hands in it and chewing on her spoon. She did get a few bites in her mouth!