Saturday, April 28, 2007

Freaky laundry magic and other insights...

Ok, ok...I know I have been a little lax about blogging lately. This one will be long, though, and I'll include lots of pictures. I just can't seem to get my hands around keeping up with KJ, working (some extra days, too), stuff at church, entertaining house guests, laundry, cleaning, etc and still make time for blogging. I guess this is actually a good thing since it means I have been motivated to get other things done. I am impressed with those of you that seem to be able to do it all, though!

Speaking of laundry...I'm looking forward to the day when I do not have to pre-treat a large portion of clothes before even beginning the laundry. KJ rarely gets through a day without one kind of stain or another. After recently mentioning this to several friends, they suggested I try oxi-clean. I must say, at first I was not impressed. For the first test, I picked some serious stains that had been sitting for several days so I first soaked in the stuff then I added some to the detergent when i washed. Unfortunately, when I pulled his clothes out not only were the stains still there, they seemed more vibrant. Frustrated, I hung the clothes up to dry thinking I'd come back later and retreat with something else. Next day I came in and discover the magic...VOILA- the stains are gone. Not just faded...GONE. At this point i was pretty sure I was going crazy, but I've had the same results since after doing the same thing (soak, wash, hang still-stained clothes to dry, come back later to find them magically clean). Any one else had this experience with oxi-cleans magic stain-evaporating powers? Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

For other insights here are some pictures...





My parents came to visit over Easter weekend (pictured here with their favorite grandson, who thinks they are the greatest!). You know how you have some house guests who just make your home a better place for having been there? My parents are guests like that. Besides the fact that they outfitted my entire family for Easter, they provided some much needed rest and encouragement during a rough time for RRL and I. THANKS AGAIN MOMMA AND DADDY!!


I LOVED getting to have some sweet time with some dear college buddies last weekend. Those moments seem too rare these days, which makes me value them all the more. Between us we have 5 boys and they sure had a blast together. We gave up on trying to get a photo, though, of them all looking at the camera. These were just some of our best efforts.


We have a real stinker on our hands. KJ is really learning how to be a ham these days and loves being the center of attention. From L to R above: Literally RIDING his friend, TRJ, kissing his own reflection in the TV with his "cape" on, and pulling all the books off the shelves in his closet.


This was one of only a few pictures that we got of KJ in the bluebonnets. He was not thrilled with the idea (actually, complete meltdown is a more accurate description). His buddy SPG did not like them either, so after about 5 minutes we all packed up and left. These two are super laid back so i wonder- has anyone else had this experience with little ones not liking the way these flowers feel?

Hope that makes up for lost time!
ABL

4 comments:

karen.bradfield@gmail.com said...

sweet!!
to quote a favorite son in law!
love momma

Unknown said...

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

OxiClean is a cleaning product marketed through infomercials (most featuring Billy Mays) as a "miracle cleanser," ostensibly a miracle "oxygen" chemical. In reality, it is sodium percarbonate (C2H8Na4O12), a detergent and bleaching agent which produces hydrogen peroxide when dissolved in water.
OxiClean works through hydrogen peroxide molecules bound within a sodium carbonate structure. Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizing substance which will "bleach" the stains away.
A stain is generally chemical compounds which absorb a given wavelength of light to make it a certain color. OxiClean changes the molecules structure so that it no longer absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of light. Essentially the color is bleached out of the stain, rendering the stain unable to reflect visible wavelengths of light, which has the effect of making the stain effectively invisible. It reacts like water to light. While not technically "miraculous", this can have the effect of making the stain appear to vanish.

Elisa said...

I like your description of how the stains seemed more vibrant at first - too true and too funny. I'm glad that Oxi worked in the end and that now we know how thanks to your dad!

I don't know why you wouldn't have time to blog these days (that statement is thick with sarcasm), but I'm glad that you found a little time to fill us in on some of the thing you've been up to. I love all of those pictures. KJL is too cute! It's fun to hear how his little personality is developing.

My love to you!

Christina said...

I'm glad you posted pictures of our park outing- helps to relive how much fun it was. And after seeing that pic of KJL and Titus on the slide together I think it's pretty obvious that they are destined to be buds.:) Miss you guys already!