I am..I love..I feel..I want..

I want... to hurry up and start my pet grooming business again. 

Nothing like cash everyday and no overhead, YEAH BABY!!

I need... to see a Dr. I stopped going for my back issues when I 

moved to FL 6 months ago, but here recently, my back 

and my foot are giving me major grief again - but I refuse to 

take those GAWD AWFUL pain meds EVER again!!

I wish... that I could just snap my fingers and already have school 

figured out. I want to go somewhere else, other than my current 

school, but I'm just confused and don't know where to start.

I watched... the saddest "E! Investigates w/ Lisa Ling", this afternoon, 

about the Susan Cox Powell (and family) tragedy. Man, that is one SAD,

 SAD story...those poor little boys and their maternal 

grandparents :'( - I cried...don't get me started on that, though.

I am... so thankful my girls are finally in bed for the night - let's just 
hope M stays put for the entire night (so far, not looking good) :P

I feel... content. This is usually something I never feel anymore, 

but more and more these past couple of weeks, I am finding myself 

in a state of content again. Things are finally going our way without

 any rude bumps in the road...seemed for so long, that's all we got -

 RUDE bumps in the road, :) .

I love... my family that B & I have made...my kids are so cool. 

I hate... being broke. I must chant in my head, "This is only 

temporary" LOL

I hurt... when I lie in my bed...my back has issues, dude. 

I hope... we can move past this part of our lives VERY quickly. And 

soon. It's time to be back on top and laugh at those who 

laughed at us...

Have a great night!! =]

MY Home-Made Laundry Detergent

I know that this topic is found ALL over the Internet within different blogging sites, BUT, I know people don't go searching every little thing out like I do, all the time. When I say "Ooohhh, I'm gonna Google that", this usually entails an all out 1 hour research nerd fest on my behalf. True story.


Anyhow, I spent a month or so researching how to quit spending my little bit of extra cash on stuff that I hated to spend that extra cash on....low and behold, Laundry Detergent! I researched how people liked it for cloth diapers (which I found was acceptable and I loved because we've already determined that my little spare change was NOT going to stretch for expensive "Cloth Diaper Detergent").


It's actually quite simple, in deed. Many of my close relatives and friends have asked "What's the recipe?"


Well, here it is!


Simple...you will most likely need to purchase 3 items:

1. Borax Powder
2. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not BAKING)
3. Fels Naptha Laundry Soap Bar

Property of MamaWinkle

I purchased each of these in the exact same spot (down the Laundry Detergent Isle) at everyone's fav, Wal-Mart, to the fine tune of only $8!


Now, you may want a 5-gal bucket with a lid (I used my cooler to mix it up and let soak, then bottled it in different jugs I saved up) and I've heard you can usually find these at Lowe's for around $4.

Here's how I made it:

1. Take your Fels Naptha bar (it's just like a long bar of soap) & cut it into 3 equal parts. I wrapped the remaining two pieces in saran wrap to save to make other batches later on down the road.
2.  Using a grater, yes, a cheese grater, grate the third of a bar into a medium saucepan.
3. Add 6 cups of water and heat until all soap is melted, do NOT boil.
4. Add half cup of each Borax & Washing Soda to the mixture. Mix until dissolved.
5. Dump saucepan into big 5-gal container, add either 22 cups of hot water or fill up to almost the top of a 5-gal bucket.
6. Let sit overnight.

Now that it has sat overnight, SURPRISE!!!! It's gotta really neat consistency to it. Kinda gelled, kinda liquid. It's not necessary to mix it, not even before you put some in the load of wash you're dying to do. Just use a half a cup for a regular load (I always use extra so I use a full cup, no matter the load :P ) & for front loaders (H.E.) this is awesome stuff, because it does NOT suds up.


Also, if you want some good fabric softener and you have hard water (which us in Jacksonville, FL have it the worst, I believe), here is a simple fabric softener recipe:

Mix together (do not shake, it will foam up) in a bowl:

1. 2c of Suave Conditioner (whatever smell you like)
2. 2c of white vinegar
3. 6c of water

I put mine in my old store bought fabric softener bottle. 

Have fun with it - if you have grade school kids or even preschoolers, invite them to get involved and explain WHY you chose to do this.


Let me know if you use this!!! :)

Let me introduce myself...

I figured since (maybe) many people who most likely do not personally know me might read this blog, whether now or someday down the road, it would be nice to have one of those starting posts to explain my "who, what, where, when, & why" ...so here it is.

My name is Kristen. I am 30 years of age. I have been with my soul mate, Brandon, for almost 6 years. We met on the Internet and 3 months later I left home in Florida & moved halfway across the country to Missouri. When I say pure bliss, I ain't lying...woooo. OK anyhow....

Here's us:

And within our great love for each other, came two absolutely wonderful baby girls.

McKenna Mae, who will be 3 on july twenty-seventh:

& then, SURPRIIIIISE, here's Brooklyn Sue, she turned one year on february eleventh this year:

We moved from Kansas City, MO to my hometown of Jacksonville, Florida at the first of this year. It's been dubbed one of my biggest mistakes of my entire life. But, we are finding our reasons for being here...finally, after almost 5 months.

Why a blog? Well...during these past 5 or 6 months and being a new family of four with two very small girls, I, as a stay at home mama & full time online college student, have made it my personal mission to cut costs, save money and not pay for convenience in a strong effort to conserve money in a way that we could see a humongous difference asap. I figured it would be cool to share what I do to make that difference and I wanted a place where I could share our journey as a family of four.

Blog name? Ha...that's what stopped me for a long time. Soooo.....I came up with MamaWinkle. For those that know me, yup, it is that simple.


For those of you lovelies that do not:

My two girls call me by my long awaited name I didn't earn til age 27, Mama. I know many of you are called that too, but I love it and Brandon calls me that too. I waited a long time for that title & there was a point in my life when I truly believed I would never earn that marvelous name. I never take it for granted.

Winkle? Easy....its part of our family name. We are all "Winkle's" in our family. Winkle is a term I've coined in my married family. And with that, my daughters are often called princesses, so there you have it.

MamaWinkle....my journey raising two princess Winkle's.

Welcome. Enjoy. & please, let me know what ya think.

Take Care,

Ready, Set, Go...

So...here I am. Starting a brand new venture in "social networking". I'm a little nervous, confused, lost, but most of all, very excited to finally do what everyone has said I'd be good at doing...and what I've wanted to start doing for quite some time. 

Bear with me as I get into my groove and find my little niche. ;)