Life on Planet Caddick

2015 is here. The year itself really isn't important - but it made me think. Zach will start high school this year. I'll be 7 years retired. 9 years in the same place. The.same.place. 2014 was a good year. So here is a little recap. We had a little winter weather. We went to Myrtle Beach. We went to the zoo. Hilton Head! Learned to make soap. Got to take lots of together pictures. Started attending church. Crazy shirts were purchased. Zach got taller than me. We did a lot of goofing off. I got baptized. We rang in 2015. Can't wait to see what this year brings!

So today I get a call from a credit card company. A phone call they received seemed suspicious and please could I call them. OK, I can do that. But first - online to my account - yipes! Do people really order that much stuff from Grub Hub? Oh, and what is Grub Hub? So I call company X back - and my December starts off beautifully. I wrote a lot during the duration of the calls. Yes, several, because I had to call them back. Below, you'll find all my notes to myself while waiting on hold, being giving the run around, and trying to figure out how someone who seemed suspicious was able to change information. Sadly, I never got answers to those questions. I'm withholding the name of the card company. ~ XX cards - sucks ~ A phone call triggered a fraud yet you let someone set up a payment? Greedy much?? ~ "Advisor Assisted" when all other payments show "internet" ~ Question their security - they get highly emotional. Run around. 2 hours on phone. Suddenly...

I've tried homemade laundry soap before. The powdered version. Because I wash in cold I had lots of trouble with it working well. I've always wanted to try the liquid version, but I don't have a proper laundry room (read - no space to store 5 gallons of laundry soap) so I've been buying my 'free of scents' brand and thought I was doomed to pay high prices forever. Then I found this article on Mommypotamus and it spoke to my newfound love of soap making. So I held onto this recipe for months, hunting for the perfect sized detergent recipe for a family of three. Finally I found one, so I got to start. I followed this laundry soap (1% superfat) recipe exactly - and my bars came out hard, white, and beautiful. It looks good enough to eat. My first time using my new loaf mold Yeah, my cutting skills still need work but aren't these pretty? Then I found this recipe  for a smaller batch of liquid laundry soap. I grated up a bar of beautiful w...

My homeschooling friends are pretty much in the same boat as me. We are all homeschooling boys, and at least one in each house is a teenager. I know we all love our boys very much, but I know we all need time with other moms, to talk about mom things. You've all been there - you get what I'm saying. So, as an ode to my family's love of all things tie-dye, I planned a tie-dye party. Yep, all boys, all thinking "lame" and other assorted things. And dang it, I don't know if they had fun, but the moms had a blast chatting and enjoying one of our last perfect days here in SC. Many colors were chosen. Most of the 'girly' colors are left! It was about 70* and not humid. Perfect day. Not looking very thrilled but playing along anyway. What good boys! He's enjoying himself at least!! My completed shirt The shirt I made for hubby Zach's completed shirt (our first attempt at a swirl)

Today we had a good time doing school. I know I should be able to say that every day - but the fact is, that's not always the case. Recent events have made me try to be a little more fun and a little less witchy (with a b) during school though. We've been lucky enough to have some beautiful weather lately so today we ventured out to do a science lab on predator and prey. I thought this was going to be super lame and almost skipped it - but Zach ended up enjoying it very much. The object: to catch as much (uncooked) pasta you could in 30 seconds using different tools as the predator. We used chopsticks, bamboo tongs, a fork, a knife, a spoon, tweezers, and a small cookie scoop. He didn't even mind writing his hypothesis and analysis. Always a plus for us. I can't get my pictures to upload though - so sorry. Too bad, my shadow was super skinny and looked pretty darn good!  Today we also talked a little about King Cyrus of Persia. When I said King Cyrus my son says "L...

I've tried homemade dishwasher soap. Many variations. Many. I really wanted to love it (and make it, and save some money) but the reality is it's not going to happen. No matter what combination I try, with or without borax, citric acid, baking or washing soda, I just can't get behind it. Every recipe has left my dishes cloudy and not very clean (and I always pre-rinse). *sigh* So, when I'm in the store I beeline for the Cascade Platinum. I know - chemicals, bad, blah, blah - I get that. But I also get dishes that don't need to be run through the dishwasher twice. Or washed by hand after they come out of the dishwasher. While I'm confessing chemical laden products I still use I may as well admit I'm still a Dawn user too. Nothing beats it - nothing. I want to use more natural cleaning products. Sometimes I do. But they have to work or for me it's not worth the effort. Or the cost savings. Let's face it, washing dishes twice isn't saving me...

Yep, it's become my job to taunt my friends with a Christmas Countdown this year. 61 days guys!! So close - how are y'all doing in preparing? My husband & son are the decorators. I'm a scrooge - I wouldn't even put up a tree if given the choice. But I'm not, so I do. What I do love is buying stuff for my boys and seeing them love what they've unwrapped. So far each boy has one present stashed away in the house (quit looking Erik - and no Zach doesn't know where it is either! Jeez - men!). I have several good ideas this year for each of them. Sometimes I'm not sneaky enough to pull them off. But I think I should be able to this year. Fingers crossed!! They always say I'm too hard to buy for so I'm putting my list right here in black and white. A new coffee pot (one that makes a pot or a single cup), an apron (because when I cook I end up wearing what I'm making), and an iPhone 6 plus. See only three little things! =) Yep, my needs ar...