AH-Mazing Grout Cleaner - FOR CHEAP!

Ya'll ..... I can not believe this works!!!

Let me first start by saying .... if you're like me and these hard, manual tasks are daunting ... If I can do it ... so can you!!!

I have been in my home for over a year now.  I have cleaned the kitchen floors weekly since moving in, however, the grout has NEVER been cleaned!  Eeewww ... grosss ... yeah I totally know.  But in all reality, I don't have time to sit there and scrub my floors until they sparkle.  I was literally 2 seconds away from calling a company to come and clean the grout.  It was getting bad.  I mean, I have two dogs, two kids, and we use our kitchen like there is no tomorrow!  I knew it had to be done, and that's why I was really curious when I read that you can use Lysol Gel Toilet Cleaner on your grout.  Say whaaaa??  I know, I was just as curious as to how this worked as you!  I jumped in the car and headed to the nearest CVS to see if it would work.

I'm a little hesitant when using products I have never used before on floors.  I didn't want to stain them or ruin them in any way.  There were two options to choose from.  There was the Lysol Gel with Bleach and the Lysol Gel with Hydrogen Peroxide.  I had read the bleach worked well, but honestly, I wasn't willing to try it.  I get a little nervous about bleach.  So I opted for the HP.

When I got home, I tested a small area under our back door rug, just to see what I was working with. To my surprise ... It WORKED!  and with minimal effort ... [see above where I don't have a lot of time!]  Below are the exact steps I took to make my grout sparkle like the day I moved in. If you have dirty grout ... don't be ashamed :) Do what I did!!

Okay ... so this is the exact product I used.  I think I paid $3.75 for it at CVS.  You can probably find a coupon ... but again ... WHO has the time?!!??!

Steps:

1.  Prep your floors.  I swept my floors only. I didn't clean them at all, just used the hardwood floor vacuum.
2.  Take your Lysol toilet gel and apply it to your grout.  Like the photo below ...
3.  Take a bowl of water and a brush [just a reg. ol scrubbing brush you have laying around] and dip it into the water and scrub the grout.  You don't even have to scrub hard!  Just enough so the blue gel turns white and bubbly.
4.  Wipe away all the gel and water, and then refill your bowl.  Again, scrub the grout using only water and get the access away and continue to dilute the tile and grout.  [I don't know if this step is necessary, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving the product on the title for too long, so I made sure to do this step each and every time.]
5. Wipe away and let the title DRY.
** The tile grout will look darker than when you started ... this is ok .. it's wet and needs to dry.  [see photo below]

Tips:

1.  Make sure to TEST a spot.  I would hate for you to try this product and it NOT work.  Don't blame me ... I told you to test first! :)
2.  Select small areas at a time. It's easy with this Gel to just keep on filling in the grout ... DON'T.  This is still a strong blue gel, and if left on too long, could stain.  Do you really want blue grout?!  So start small.  I did mine in sections and didn't have a problem.
3.  Don't leave the gel on too long.  As soon as I applied to the grout, I filled a bowl with water and got started.  I only gave the gel about a minute to work. Any longer and I would have gotten nervous it could stain.
4.  Don't skip the water and brush step #4 .. just saying :)
5.  Allow to dry for a few hours before you really examine the tile.  For me, my tile took about 2.5 hours to really dry and look clean. You will freak out for a moment when it's drying and say "what have I done, it looks worse."  If you followed these steps AND tested, you will be super pleased with the outcome!

My title grout looked so good, when the hubs got home, he noticed it RIGHT away!  That's right ladies ... it's that good!

** I have real stone tile and grey-ish grout.  It did not stain or harm my floor in anyway.

Share your own photos ... I would love to see how it worked for you!!!

#cleaning #grout #lysoltoiletgel

Mother's Day 2016

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! Amen to all the mom's who keep their family organized, work, clean, and multi-task the family's calendar.  Lord knows I had one heck of a mentor!  Love you Mom!

I had to share this on the blog today, I couldn't let it go any longer.  This Mother's Day was rough. I had run a race on Saturday and really pushed myself too hard and ended up with a mini heat stroke.  So, needless to say, I had to really take it easy and rest.  Ryan and I picked out stone for the front of the house and he put it in while I rested.  I am totally impressed!  I just think it turned out perfect and turned our boring outside, into something we can really be proud about!

For Mother's Day he gave me a pedicure gc ... because he worked so hard, I begged him to go with me and rest his feet too ... so I had a pedi day with the hubs!  Then the  most wonderful Italian for dinner.  I was totally spoiled, but I am so blessed and appreciative of my sweet boys!

#mothersday2016  #imhoffhome  #landscape

Mother's Day Peonies

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day Weekend!  This post is coming a little later than I wanted, but we have been incredibly busy the past few weeks!

 

Yesterday was a lazy Sunday for The Imhoff's and this was my view as I was getting some work done in the office.  Hubs surprised me with a beautiful peony arrangement and it's still looking incredible a week later.  I am so blessed to call my family mine.

 

 

 

Have a wonderful week and God Bless!

It's a Coffee Kind of Morning ...

 It's one of those mornings ... overcast, dreary and 2 cups of coffee just isn't enough

yep, I totally overslept!

xoxo, Natalie

Happy Mother's Day 2013

Happy Mother's Day 2013

the Imhoff's

Natalie

{Little Bit Funky's Open Letter ...}

I found this open letter yesterday on Little Bit Funky's Blog. Isn't it funny how you can just sit there and relate to every single word she is saying? This particular open letter is to new moms. Although I am not a "New Mom" anymore {at least I was told I could no longer park in the new mom spot at the mall... rude,} I still related. I also have a TON of new moms in my life. All of them are fabulous women, and I think to myself ... they are going to be wonderful moms! BUT ... there are some things they should know after birth, and this is an excellent open letter to them!


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So here is an open, honest letter to all new moms out there addressing some of the things that no one ever tells you. From a mom who had a pretty run of the mill birth and normal little babies.

Dear new mom,

The first thing you should know is that you are normal. Everything you are feeling is normal. Millions of women have been in your shoes and for some reason just don't ever talk about it.

It is OK to feel happy, elated, sad, weepy, angry, frustrated, exhausted, energetic and all that in a span of 10 minutes.

It is OK to question your choice to have a baby in the first place. Every mom has those moments. The whole "what have I gotten myself into"? feeling is normal. It's a HUGE change. YOU CAN DO THIS.

It is OK to have moments where you don't like that baby. It's true, hard to write and read but so very true. You are learning to take care of, and anticipate all the needs, wants and desires of a whole other person. On top of your own. It's only natural that you have moments of annoyance or anger towards the person who is demanding so much of you. That does not mean you love them less, it just means you are a human learning to do a HUGE task. It is OK to put that baby in the crib, crying or not and walk away until that anger passes. It will get better. It is OK TO TALK ABOUT THIS TO SOMEONE!!!!!

A crying baby will be fine. No baby is allergic to crying.

Please say OUTLOUD the ways that your husband can help you. Do not assume that he will magically read your mind. I bet he really WANTS to help you but he feels as lost as you. A simple kind suggestion to what you need or want done can go a long way to making everyone a little bit happier. Talk about how hard it is to be a parent!

You will feel like a crazy person. You have insane amounts of hormones literally raging through your body. You will literally, simultaneously say something that sounds like a deranged woman is talking WHILE hearing your inner voice yell "WHAT ARE YOU SAYING YOU CRAZY WOMAN?". Take a deep breath, say "I'm sorry" and move on. Don't beat yourself up over it. It will get better.

You will leak milk at the least appropriate times. You will probably expose yourself to a stranger at least once. Don't worry, you WILL get the hang of it. When it's all said and done you may end up with less cleavage than you started with. Sorry, it can be true.

If you are going to breastfeed please try for at least a month. I hear SO many people say "I tried for two weeks and quit"...it gets SO MUCH EASIER after two weeks. It really, really does. Your body needs at least that long to adjust to this strange new thing that you are doing.

Your hair will fall out. Not all of it but a lot of it. All the hair that you didn't shed while pregnant. Pony tails help.

Your bladder will never be the same. Go when you need to, don't wait.

Mylicon is a lifesaver. There are a million uses for plain cloth diapers that don't involve using them as diapers. When trying to decide what you NEED for a baby think about life on the prairie and how little they needed and had then. A bed, some clothes, some bottles/boobs and diapers are all a baby needs. Don't give into pressure to buy it all.

Attending to things other than baby does not equal neglect (like taking a shower or eating or washing a dish). It is also OK to skip all those for a nap. Take a nap when you can. Sleep changes everything. EVERYTHING. If you nurse in bed, do it knowing that you will probably fall asleep...adjust baby accordingly.

Your baby will probably fall off the bed. At least once. You may also drive without having them buckled in the bucket carseat (unintentionally), baby talk to your husband and your once amazing memory will start its exit routine.

You will regularly have in depth conversations about poop. When, where, how much, texture, color...all of it. And it won't feel weird until you do it in front of non-kid having people.

You will be pooped on, puked on, spit-up on and drooled on. Oxiclean will take care of most of it.

Don't ever thank God that the baby is finally asleep.
Somehow that is code for "please make him cry right now!".

Middle of the night bargaining never works.

Never say anything that starts with "My kid will never...".

Most of all, I want you to know that you can do this. God chose YOU to be the mother of HIS sweet precious baby. You were handpicked by the creator of the universe to have your own little disciple to minister to. Admit when you have made a mistake, ask for forgiveness from God and that baby and keep trucking on. You are stronger than you know and before you know it these days will be in the distant past.

Find someone to talk to, email me if you have to.

YOU CAN DO THIS!

Love, Been there and done that.

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Pretty dead on right? Loved it! Head over to Little Bit Funky's Blog and check her out!

{Loving is When Im Organized}

At our last MOPS meeting we had the Simply Sisters come and talk to us about staying organized. This was totally up my ally. Most everything in my life is organized, and everything has it's place. When things are chaotic, or unorganized, I am stressed to the max. And one of the ladies said something that really struck me ... she said, "When I am not organized, I am not loving." I wrote it down really quickly on my pad of paper and came home to write it on the dry erase board. How true that statement is to me. I get so stressed, that I become snippy & unloving. To me, it just means going that extra distance to prepare ahead of time & keep things organized, so that I can be the loving mom & wife that I desire to be.

She also mentioned to "Sprinkle your day with prayer." If you're anything like me, just trying to get out the door in a timely manor can mean utter chaos. Usually leaving the house with laundry on every inch of our floor, breakfast left out & juice cups leaving puddles on our floor. One of the sisters said when you walk back into your house like this, you are automatically stressed out. Since there is a ton to put away and pick up, you tend to not be the friendliest either. Not only are you busy picking up, tending to the kids, etc. but you aren't finding the right amount of time to have a relationship with God. I have been struggling to find my relationship with him for some time now, it seems like life has got in the way. But when the woman said to "Sprinkle your day with prayer," what she was really saying was to find little moments, to talk with him. For instance, if you are picking up clothes around your house, just give thanks that you have clothes on your back to wear and keep warm. Of if you are cleaning up dirty dishes left over from that morning, just saying thanks for providing us with food on the table. I just thought that was a great idea.

And the last thing that she mentioned that really hit home with me was to keep unusual lists in your planner that you carry around. A list for "Gifts." So the next time you're out and about and you think "wow, that would be a great gift for mom for Christmas" but it's July, you can write it down so you wont forget. I don't know how many times I forget things like that.

SO, here are my "unusual lists" for my daily planner ...

Gifts
Funny Things Braeden Says
Funny Things Bayler Does
Books, Websites/Blogs or Movies to Check Out
Wish Lists

I'll think of more eventually, but that is a good start. Once I have filled the pages for Braeden & Bayler, I'll be able to put them in their yearly folder, so I will always have those memories. Did I mention my kids were color coded? Yeah ... I told you I was organized :)

If you are not apart of a MOPS group, I strongly recommend it. It's been a great resource for me!

{MOPS in the News}

This is just a shout out to my local MOPS group. MOPS stands for "Mother's of Preschoolers," and is open for any mom's who just need a morning surrounded by other Christian moms, talking, eating & learning.

Every other Tuesday we meet at Concord Baptist Church, eat food, have a guest speaker, and discuss what's going on it all of our worlds. It has been a life savor for me. I encourage everyone to look for a MOPS group in your community if you have small children, and just need a morning for yourself. You will love it, I promise!

Recently, our MOPS group got some press time in our local paper! Look at all of us ... aren't we gorgeous! :) Don't we look like just the group you want to join? :) I love the header, "Club strives to mentor, encourage young mothers." It goes on to read, "Striving to be the best mom and/or the best wife, it could be easy for a woman to lose touch with her identity." This is so true in my life. So many times I just try to be the best at everything, not noticing that while I'm doing the 'best' at one .. I'm failing in another department. If anyone of you who read this have small children and live around my area, let me know, and I would be happy to take to you to MOPS!


(I'm in the picture ... can you find me?)

Hope you all are finding the right balance in your life amongst all of the chaos!

{Motherhood ... How did she Know?}

I found this post about motherhood the other day here. It was if she was reading my mind ... everything she wrote is soo true of us mom's. Hope you guys enjoy!

...

Remembering Me
I wake in the morning, rub my eyes and try to decipher which child's cry I hear. I can immediately eliminate Katie as she has climbed into my bed sometime in the night, sidled herself next to me and pushed me to the very edge of my bed.

I hear the cry again and determine that it is Megan, not so much crying as alerting me that she is ready to depart her crib.

I get up, feel the familiar pulls and spasms that remind me I have a bad back each day. Three c sections with epidurals plus an extra thirty - five pounds has sent my back into early rigormortis that usually takes half a day of picking up children and toys to work itself out. I should go see someone... I'll add it to my list.

I stop on the way to rescue Megan from baby jail and take my meds. Yet another reminder that I am approaching middle age faster than I can down a twelve pack. I sweep my short hair up into a nubbin for the 998th day in a row, examine my eyebrows that are about 8 trips overdue for waxing, analyze how much longer I can go with my lip hair before people call me a man, and sigh.

I used to be so pretty. And I know I am not hideous now, but if you look at my pictures from five years ago, I am clean, tidy, and refreshed looking. My hair is trimmed and fixed, my nails painted and buffed, my feet are soft and unable to sand deck boards just by walking on them. My legs are shaved, my waist fits in a size 8 and my skin is clear. I used to put on at least a spot of make- up on daily basis. And if I didn't, it was ok. Because my skin was tight, soft and a reason I was carded to buy beer.

I took time for myself, took pride in myself and cared how I presented myself to the world. I had confidence that I was in style, looked sharp and took good care of myself. My car was clean, my house was spotless and my husband was weeelllll taken care of, if you get my drift.


I went to the dentist twice a year, went to the Doctor the second I felt sick, and took my vitamins like a good girl. I was a priority.

I see myself now and wonder what happened to that carefree, fun loving girl. The one that would hop on a plane to Vegas or New York just because I didn't have any other plans. The one that could tell you more about wine, trendy restaurants and bars than any local paper could.

I look in the mirror these days and see a shell of my former self. My skin had aged and is tired looking, my hair is graying - shhh - don't tell my husband, I tell him he's the only one! I need a haircut, tweezing, waxing and shaving. I need a shower for Heaven's sake! My fingernails are broken, my feet are just plain scary and I think I am wearing the same shirt for the third day in a row.

I am - much - heavier and for the first time in my life my stomach enters the room before my boobs. That's not a drain on my self confidence at all. No - I am healthy like that. I have tried to lose it. It keeps finding me. Damned built in GPS system.

My house is a mess, my car is reprehensible and I can't seem to find the time to get either of them to any sort of order. My husband is not as well taken care of thus meaning I am not so well taken care of. If you get my drift.... again.

I have not been to the Dentist in 3 years, and except for an Obstetrician, I have not idea what condition my health is in. Oh, except for a back Doctor about a year ago. I could not move for 24 hours after. I can't wait to go back.

The last place I traveled to was Wal- mart and I could not tell you if a bottle of wine is from Australia or Calamazoo. I have no idea what restaurants are even in this town, well - except McDonald's - I know where all of those are in a 10 mile radius. The last bar I went to was called Dusty's or Darby's or something like that and had half sized pool tables and full priced watered down drinks. It was the closest one to home in case the sitter called.

These days the closest I get to being hip, trendy and cool is Friends reruns and buying Huggies Jeans diapers for my baby. Plus, I jump into the totally awesome category when I alert my friends of a good clearance sale on children's clothing! I am really surprised there is no E! True Hollywood Story on me.

But, as I get back to reality, I suppose it is all relative. Life is meant to change, evolve and take you in different directions. Staying in the same daily routine can be boring and uneventful.

I take a deep breath and head out to Megan's room, stepping over toys, clothes and shoes promising I will get this house clean today. I will fail, but at least I have high hopes. A four tooth grin greets me and I know that trumps any jackpot I could have hit in Vegas.

I hear Sarah coming out of her room, pull- up so full it sags past her knees. Her hair in knots from twirling it through the night. I inhale deeply because I know there will be crying and pain when I attempt to remove the knots from her hair. She alerts me that she has, again, peed in her bed and tells me to "Change it." I know I should correct her for her bossiness
but she is just so darned cute that I can't get up the energy to do it.

Katie comes down the hall, heads to her room, ignores my Good Morning, closes her door and signals that my day has, indeed, begun. I smile and think, this is only the beginning of the drama queen that will attempt to reign supreme for years to come.

I suppose I have learned that in order to properly tend to my children and have a somewhat sane day, I had to put memories of my old self aside. Even my aching back, tiredness and hair do will have to wait for another time. And instead of feeling like I need to spend my entire day just trying to find time to myself, I have to just face reality and give 24/7 to my children.

I remain confident that they will appreciate this and make sure my Nursing Home has an open bar.

After changing diapers, pull- ups and sheets, settling fights between Katie and anyone who enters her room, attempting knot untangling from Sarah's hair and picking up Megan for the bejillionth time, I am lost in my new reality.

A reality that I fully accept and appreciate more than I'd like to admit. I love my little drama queens - tantrums, personality disorders and all. More than my past freedoms, lavish trips and extensive bar tabs. I love them more than the me that I used to be.

But as I take time to remember me, I pray that I can guide my girls to create the woman that they will be proud to look back on too.

...

So true right?