Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Arm & Hammer Power Gel Review

I was really excited about this opportunity to use a new laundry detergent and to review it for Tackle it Tuesday on the 5 Minutes for Mom blog. One of the ways I love to serve my family is to do their laundry. It's a time where I get to be in prayer for each of them as I touch their laundry and think of each person God has put in my life for me to serve.

So, here is my review.
I purchased my detergent and used the coupon provided to allow me to have a free bottle of Arm & Hammer Oxi Clean Power Gel. This detergent wasn't very pricey as Safeway was carrying it on sale for $3.99 for the bottle at the time of purchase.

When typically doing my laundry I use a different detergent for my little ones than I use for the adults in the house. They are extremely sensitive to detergents and once I found one that worked, I stuck with that one but it was pretty expensive so I thought I would try this detergent to see if this bothered them at all. As of yet I've seen no reaction, but it usually takes a while for them to work it through their wardrobes so everything has been washed in a specific detergent and for them to have full exposure to it. I'll have to update at a later time to see if they reacted to this detergent at all.

The first thing I noticed with this detergent was its scent. It smells wonderful. Just walking near the laundry room when the washer was running you were given this wonderful clean scent. A huge bonus I never expected! Very exciting as all of my good smelling things around the house have run out and making it to the store these days have been few and far between.

My biggest tests I wanted to do were on stains, mostly because the bottle states multiple times that it is a 'stain fighting' detergent and does it really do 31 loads of laundry.

First test...Stain Fighting. It does include Oxi Clean which is my go to detergent and stain remover in most things. What a great week it was to try this detergent as well. There were two meals in particular that my little ones chose to use their outfits as napkins and of course when we were having Blackberry crisp and something with a red sauce.

I didn't pretreat the stains at all, I wanted to see what the detergent would do on its own. It did wonderful. I ran them through the wash and upon removal I could still see the stains but they were barely there. So I hung these items to dry and then I figured I would run them through again at the end of my laundry day and try again. Much to my excitement, there was no need. The 'stain fighting' continued working while they were drying and the stains were gone when I went back to throw them in the wash. Woo hoo, an exciting day in the Moore home. We have enough laundry and not to have to run things through twice makes my life that much easier.

Second test...does it really do 31 loads of laundry? To be honest, this test isn't complete. I'm 15 loads in and will update when I've completed the bottle of detergent. This is really important to me though because as I budget out our expenses I want a detergent that is going to do what it says it's going to do. In doing this test, I have run into my first negative thought of this product. The bottle states to fill 1/3 of the cap full of detergent for a medium load. So upon filling the cap I notice that inside the cap there are multiple lines and markings. None of which have a 1/3 fill line. The levels it provides is 1. 30ML, 2. 60ML 1/4 cup, 3. 85ML 3/8 cup, 4. 115ML 1/2 cup. A little frustrating for this Type A girl wanting the back of the bottle to match the markings in the cup. So, I'm not sure if we'll make it to 31 loads as I'm filling the cap to the 3/8 cup line as that is the closest line to 1/3 on the cup.

That's it for my review...thank you Arm & Hammer and 5 Minutes for Moms for allowing me to take part.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Psalm 9

Written on Tuesday 6/22.

A lot of life has passed since I last wrote in November. I did start a blog post or two in between here and then but never finished them to post. Possibly at some point I'll post those.

Why write today of all days?

In my time in scripture today (I'm reading through the Psalms for the summer) I was struck by a few verses.

A little background first; the family has just complete what Mars Hill calls Redemption Group. I say the family because it really has been all of us. Josh, Lexi and I attended intense biblical group counseling one night a week for the last 8 weeks and the two little ones lived it out with us through our "homework" every other day of the week.

For myself, it was an intense time, and the Holy Spirit has convicted me on many levels. What is my relationship with the Lord: Answer: After exhausting all of my own ways of being my own Savior, I would go to the cross. However, this rarely happened because I minimize anything and everything so I rarely feel a need beyond my own human capabilities. Essentially I have hardened my heart to a point where I'm so numb, nothing hurts, nothing makes me feel and I don't need Jesus. [I've learned many of the places I go to remain numb but I am not going to go into that part today.]

As a result, I'm repenting. This is a process for sure. As much as I would like this to be fixed this instant, it's just not going to happen that way.

I'm on this journey to see what it looks like to run to the cross.

So, right now I'm reading the Psalms. What does it look like to praise my heavenly Father? What does it look like to be joyful? What does it look like to be hurt or sad? What does it look like to cry out during each of these times?

So back to the point of this post. I read Psalm 9 and 10 today and a few verses in Psalm 9 jumped out to me.

Psalm 9:1-2, 11
1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!

Reading this prompted my heart to want to praise Jesus for those deeds he is responsible and proclaim them to his people.

New baby, the pregnancy has been a test. Maybe a test to make me feel? Anyway, she'll be here in approximately 4 weeks. I can't believe how close we are and she seems to be a healthy little girls so far. Praising God for the endurance to make it through the pregnancy so far and asking for grace for the next few weeks.

Lexi. Lexi has been in our life for quite a while but in February she moved in with us. Shortly after she moved in, the 3 of us decided it was best that she would be fully adopted into our family . We sat down at our kitchen table and prayed through a covenant we made with her and she made with us and that the Lord's blessing would be upon it. God has already blessed us in so many ways through this. To Him be the glory.

Josh finished school. God's grace was so apparent through this time. He was able to endure work, full-time ministry, and school. Our family was a definite support to Him during this time. I praise God that he saw us as a support and not another drain on him. [Most of the time.] That we didn't jump on the priority list because of what was on his plate. Anyway, he graduated on the 11th with his Masters in Missional Leadership through the Resurgences Training Center. Then he finished his thesis on Friday . Officially complete. In true Josh Moore form I received a text today with his Re:Train stats. Since August of 2009 to last week; 42 books read (including 9114 pages) and wrote 16 papers (including 232 pages and 71,071 words.)

Isaac is potty trained. We did Lara Jensen's 3 day method - Very tiring! 3 days describes for us how long it took for him to be day pee trained. Poop training took approximately 3 weeks because of a sudden anxiety regarding pooping and we are now approximately 90% night trained. Last night was the first night where he didn't come and get us during the night. We think he had to have woken up on hi s own and went by himself. If that is in fact what he did, we're excited about the nights of sleep to come. Oh wait, I'm 9 months pregnant and will have a newborn soon!

Ali is beginning to read and loving it. I'm also reading a book right now called "A Praying Life." The beginning chapters are talking about becoming like a child when we go to our heavenly Father. Her child like excitement when reading and coming to me when she has read something new has been so timely. Praising God for her excitement and what I'm learning through her!

Many of these things are new phases in our life. However today I was reminded in a conversation I had with Ali that our God is sovereign over all things. Jesus is our Creator and Sustainer. He is responsible for our very existence and every breath I take. He is responsible for our baby and her safety as she comes into this world, He is responsible for Lexi coming into our family, He is responsible for Josh finishing school, He is responsible for Isaac being potty trained, He is responsible for Ali beginning to read. To say otherwise I would be a glory robber. To God goes the glory.