First Easter

This year was Beau's first Easter and I could not wait to share one of my most favorite holidays with him! I love Easter! It's a holiday that brings warm weather, pastel colors, white pants, flip flops, egg hunts, unique candy, family time and good food! I ordered Beau a special Easter basket with his name on it which I thought turned out precious! 

I also had his Easter outfit monogrammed and it too turned out precious! 

Jon and I had not seen my family since Christmas so we decided to meet them at our new hunting camp near Butler, AL. We loaded up our car around noon on Friday and drove three hours to see them. It was a fabulous weekend and we all had plenty of time to catch up! 

On Sunday we found a little Baptist church that we decided to check out. It was fun to go to a little church out in the woods. 

It was sad to leave on Sunday afternoon but our hearts were full. I love time with my family and I disparate lay wish we lived closer! Hopefully one day! 

Happy First Easter baby boy! 

Sunny Weekend

The weather has been nothing but warm and sunny until Monday of this week but we have enjoyed every bit of it. This past weekend we decided that we would do as much outside as possible. Thursday evening we had our good friends Rachel and Bubba and their kids over for dinner. The weather was warm and the sun did not go down until after 7 so it was a great night to spend outside grilling with friends. They brought steaks and we made a few sides/dessert and we ate so well! After dinner Rachel and I took the kids on a walk around the neighborhood in the strollers while the guys hung out. It was a perfect night with friends!

 Friday was my off day from work, I take off every other Friday from work so I can have some “me” time. Typically on those days I will get my hair cut, go shopping, lunch with friends, clean the house, doctors’ appointments, or just relax without anyone around. Beau still goes to Mrs. Pat’s but I try to pick him up a little early so we can enjoy the afternoon together. I could not survive without these Fridays! So back to last weekend. On Friday I went shopping and found something that I had been looking for. I found this!

I quickly called Jon to see when he would be home from work so we could take Beau for a ride. He said he would be home early afternoon so I spent the rest of the day visiting with my good friend/neighbor Melissa and cleaning the house. When Jon got home we put the pod together and attached it to my bike. We were ready to roll! We picked up Beau and took him on a ride. He LOVED it!

Friday night we grilled out again but this time it was just us. We put a big blanket in the grass outside and played with Beau until our pork chops were cooked. It was so fun being outside in the evening. Beau loves to be outside and really loves the grass. He will crawl around and pick the grass and try to eat it. He knows it does not taste good but every once in a while he would try it again. He is in the adventure stage where he wants to see what is going on all around him. He will study a piece of grass so closely. It is so fascinating to watch. Jon and I did have a parenting fail while we were out there. Jon was busy grilling and I went inside to check on my side dish. When I came back out I saw something brown under Beau’s lip. I knew the grass was not brown so we quickly realized the he had tried a little piece of Lilly’s dried up poop. Yep, GROSS! We felt awful that he ate that but hopefully he will never do that again. We always try to pick up Lilly’s droppings but I guess we missed a little. After that we headed inside. Beau went to bed and we enjoyed our dinner. Cheers to a great night outside!

On Saturday morning we wanted to get outside as fast as we could because it was sunny and warm so we loaded up the baby and dog and headed to the park. There is a great dog park/kid park about 15 minutes from our house. Lilly is able to run around with other dogs while Beau swings. It was a perfect way to start our day.

Jon had to check up on a few jobs in the middle of the day Saturday so Beau and I took a nap. He is a big nap taker and will sleep 2-3 hours every day which is nice. Saturday evening Jon’s mom came to get Beau so he could stay at their house and we could have a night out. Jon and I went out to eat and then went by Lowe’s to pick up some plants for our garden. This year we have a big space for a garden so we wanted to get our plants in the ground as soon as possible. We came home and got our garden planted and finally sat down around 10:30pm. It was a late night but a lot of fun!

Sunday we went to church at 9:30 and then went to a little sandwhich shop downtown for lunch. It was so good! It is called the Sandwhich Farm and I was shocked how good it was! After that we headed up to Monte Sano to mountain bike. We had a blast on the Family trail and wore ourselves out. After 3 hours of riding we headed home to get a shower and rest. Jon went to pick Beau up from his parents’ house that evening while I stayed home to get ready for the week.

Our weekend was great and we could not have asked for better weather. We love days that are sunny and warm. The summer is coming up and we are ready!!

Spring Is Here!

Spring is finally here and that makes me so happy. Jon and I have the same conversation every year about seasonal depression. We never really know we have gone though it until the days get longer, the sun starts to come out more and the air becomes warmer. Jon and I are warm weather people. We thrive on going for walks/hikes, enjoying our backyard, grilling out, wearing flip flops/shorts/t-shirts, sunshine, longer days, energy from vitamin D, a good day by the pool, kayaking, swimming, running, yoga, playing on the playground with Beau and just being able to spend time with each other outdoors. The winter always makes us stay inside, on the couch, watching TV and doing nothing. Once the time changes we feel that we can come out of hibernation and be free again. Last year and this time I was almost 9 months pregnant and ready to meet our little one. I was so excited to finally be able to wear long dresses instead of long jackets. Beau was born at the end of May so our summer was spent not sleeping much, feeding, getting used to being parents and adjusting to our new life. We did venture out to the neighborhood pool some and we did make a couple trips down south to the beach but mostly we stuck around the house. This spring and summer are going to be totally different. We cannot wait to get Beau in the pool, take him to the beach, play on playgrounds and enjoy being outside with him.

The other day I took him on a walk around our neighborhood and on our way back home we stopped by the huge sand volleyball court that is right out of our front door. The weather was in the high 70’s and the sun was bright with not a cloud in the sky. For a second I envisioned being at the beach. Beau had not experienced sand before so I took off his socks and let him explore. At first he was timid but then he got his feet moving back and forth in the sand and started loving it. He thought the sand between his toes was funny and enjoyed moving his hands around in it.  Every once in a while he would see a clump of sand that thought it looked tasty so he would try to eat it. Of course I had to stop him every time but it was too funny. He would get a little in his mouth and make a sour face. He listens to small commands like “no” really well. If you raise your voice too high and get too stern he will cry so we have to be sensitive to his feelings. He is such a joy!

We are going to have one awesome summer with Beau and I cannot wait!

Oily Lotions

As you can probably tell by now, I am really enjoying my essential oils. This past weekend I gathered up some supplies and made my own lotion. I have a friend who recently posted some wonderful recipes on her blog so I gave them a try. It was fun to make!

The base:

1/2 lb shae butter

4 oz grapeseed oil

4 oz coconut oil (warm until liquid)

*the yellow shae butter is the most raw form but it does not smell too good

Whip for 5 minutes or so with your kitchenaid mixer or hand mixer.  It'll get big and fluffy and creamy.

Divide the base into glass jars and add oils.

*Note: it's important to use glass containers as the oils break down in most plastics.
(I used glass half pint mason jars, and it was perfect.)
There is enough base to make 4 batches of creams with about 3/4 cup base each.

I made 4 creams: pain cream, sleepytime cream, vapor rub, and eczema cream.

Pain cream:
Using about 1/2 cup of base, I mixed in 10 drops each of panaway, valor, and peppermint, and lemongrass.  
I recently read about a "heavy duty" pain cream that included 10 drops of frankincense, idaho balsam fir, and copaiba in addition to the others.  I will add those next time.

Eczema cream:
Using about 1/2 cup base, I mixed in 10 drops each of lavender, frankincense, and melalucea A (tea tree oil).

Sleepytime cream:
Using 1/2 cup base, I mixed in 15 drops each of Peace & Calming and lavender.  

Vapor rub

Using 3/4 cup base, add 8-10 drops each of peppermint, eucalyptus (supports respiratory health) and lemon.  SO perfect to rub a bit on the chest to help a stuffy nose, or on the feet with socks to soothe a cough.

I also have the recipe for an energy cream:  1/2 cup of base with 15 drops each of Motivation, En-R-Gee, and Peppermint.  I've heard it's awesome!

How much fun are these oils? You can do so much with them and make them last a long time! After the first night of using the Eczema lotion I could tell a huge difference in the softness of my skin. Jon had me rub some pain cream on his lower back and he could not get over how good his back felt later that night. The creams are magic! Just give them a try and see!

Oily Infatuation

We have been using Young Living Essential Oils for the past few weeks and have loved using them. We use our diffuser every afternoon when we get home from work and it has such a calming effect. This week has been a pretty stressful week between work, being tired and life in general. I have been coming home and instantly diffusing Peace & Calming which has helped lift my spirits. I also love to rub Stress Away on my wrists for an extra calming effect and that works wonders. I find myself with an increase in energy and able to get through cooking dinner with a baby crawling around my feet and a little dog begging for scraps while I cook. These oils are truly amazing to me! Once the baby goes to bed and I get a little free time I love to take a bath with Epsom salt and Lavender. I cannot tell you how relaxing this combo is and it allows me to sleep so soundly. Right before bed I will rub Lavender or Peace & Calming on the bottom of my feet and I fall right asleep. The oils have a level of comfort to them. I love how I am not using Tylenol PM to sleep or any other medications to make my body fall asleep. I recommend everyone at least give them a try! I have been using them on the bottom of Beau’s feet before he gets into his footed PJ’s and he has been sleeping so well. He is cutting 4 teeth right now so he is a little fussy and going to be extra early so this has helped him stay asleep all night.

I love how the oils added such a positive vibe in our house and truly work wonders for us! Even Jon loves the oils and uses them every day just like I do!

I plan on making some lotions with the oils this weekend so I will post my recipes next week!