Home Tour Part Two | The Kitchen

Hey there! I know this post is a couple of days overdue, but we were traveling on Wednesday and yesterday was one of those days where I just lounged around and did absolutely nothing all day long (you know, besides chasing my kids around and keeping them alive... I've forgotten what it's like to do nothing).

Anyway, here is part two of my home tour! I like our kitchen a lot - I do wish there was just a bit more cupboard space, but at least this way we can't hoard stuff! HA!

I am looking for a way to decorate the wall above the table and just haven't found anything that I love. I would love to hear any and all suggestions that you may have for that space. Right now it is just empty and sad. I was thinking of some floating shelves with cute dishes on them, but am not sure. What do you think?

In Real Life | Real Product Reviews | doTERRA Essential Oils

Well, hello! This week marks the start of my In Real Life | Real Product Reviews series on this here blog. I'm going to kick this series off with a real review of doTERRA Essential Oils. There's really no reason this product is coming first besides the fact that it was the easiest accessible one when I wanted to take pictures. 

I'm going to be reviewing the oils I use most often, and then give you a review of the product and brand as a whole (all from a consumer point of view - I have no intentions of pouring hours and hours of research into each product to give you some scientific review that you could go look up yourself). 

These are the oils I'll be reviewing: 

Peppermint: I LOVE this oil when my kids have a fever. I was so skeptical that putting a stupid drop of oil on my baby's foot could really bring down a fever, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I first put some coconut oil on my hand so that it melts, then a tiny drop of peppermint, then I rub the mixture onto baby's feet. Granted, I generally combine this measure with some medicine, but this has worked when we haven't had any medicine and I didn't feel like driving to Walgreen's at 1:00 in the morning.

Lavender: This is my go-to oil. Teething baby? Use lavender. Baby has a rash? Use lavender. Baby won't sleep? Use lavender. Have a burn? Use lavender. Have a mosquito bite? Use lavender. SERIOUSLY, people! This stuff works! Look up all the ways you can use lavender and you are sure to be surprised. I could probably write a blog post on this oil alone! It is what I'd call a miracle oil.

Melaleuca (aka tea tree oil): Canker sores. They suck. You also get them a lot if your baby enjoys head-butting you in the mouth. Melaleuca gets rid of those puppies, and it gets rid of them within a couple days. It tastes like crap, but it works, and that's the important thing. 

Serenity: This is actually an oil blend. I personally LOVE it. It is really great for calming Callum down and helping him sleep. I've only used it on him, but from what I've seen, it works for him. Will it work for everyone? I have no clue. I've used it on myself, too, but, as a sleep-deprived person who falls asleep within 10 seconds of laying down, I really don't know if I could give a fair assessment of it when used on me. HA!

Breathe: This is another oil blend, and it is a necessity in our house, especially during the cold winter months. I diffuse this oil when one of us is stuffy, and I also apply it topically to the chest before bedtime. It is AMAZING. I cannot say enough about how effective this oil is! Its purpose is pretty self-explanatory (uh... just look at the name of the blend). Whenever one of us is congested, it is a miracle-worker. 

I've told you about the oils I use regularly, but let me tell you really quickly about a few in my stash that do not work for us and that I would not recommend. 

TerraShield: This stuff is supposed to be a bug repellent. Ummm. It's not. It's more like a, "COME FEAST ON ME!" oil. I swear it made me a bug magnet the few times I've used it.

Slim and Sassy: I didn't really notice this oil doing anything for my waistline. Granted, it tastes like poopy diapers, so I only used it a few times. Maybe if you can stomach it, it will work, but it just didn't for me.

PastTense: As someone who suffers frequent migraines & tension headaches, I was so excited to try this oil blend that is supposed to give relief. Suffice it to say, I was totally disappointed. This oil does nothing for me - if anything, it makes things worse because the smell is strong and I'm pissed that it's not working, so I'm even more tense and stressed than I was before I used it.

ANYWAY. That's my review of doTERRA essential oils! I think it's all about finding the products here that work for you. Not every oil is going to work for every person, so I think it's a good idea to find a rep in your area and get samples before you buy anything.

Have you used doTERRA Essential Oils? What oils do you and your family use? What oils have you tried? Did they work for you? Share your thoughts - I'd love to feature them!! 

Road Trippin' It

If you watched my vlog yesterday, you know that my photography business was doing pretty well right before we moved. Well, I'd booked quite a few weddings in Nebraska before we got the news that we were going to have to move. I had no intentions of leaving my brides high and dry without a photographer, so I've been making lots of trips back and forth to Nebraska from Utah, and I've loved it!

I've got a wedding tomorrow, so I decided to road trip 14 hours to Kansas with the kids and the dog to visit my parents for the few days surrounding the wedding (oh my gosh... reading that out loud just makes me sound like a crazy person) .

Anyway, here are some things that are a necessity when traveling with a newly potty trained 2-year-old, a 4-month-old who has recently developed separation anxiety, and a neurotic dog.

1. Snacks. Snacks of all shapes, sizes, and varieties are a must-have. Grapes? Check. Fruit Snacks? Check. Goldfish crackers? Check. Cheese sticks? Check. Have them within arm's reach at all times, because your toddler does not know what patience is or understand that you have to keep your eyes on the road.

2. A Potty Chair. When your kid is not 100% potty trained, it's so tempting to just toss it all out the window and strap on a diaper for the road trip. It's tempting, but it's probably not the best idea in the whole world. And you KNOW that kids will inevitably wait until you've passed the last rest stop for 40 miles when they suddenly decide that "OH MY GOSH, MOMMY I NEED TO PEEEEEE!!!!!!" Bring a potty chair with you, plop that thing on the side of the highway, and save yourself the time and effort involved in cleaning pee out of a car seat. Besides, dumping pee out on the side of the road is WAY better than smelling it for 14 hours.

3. An iPad. I try not to break out the iPad till things get bad, but holy cow, it is a lifesaver. I know, I know - screen time is soooo bad for your kids (<-- sarcasm. total sarcasm). But you know what's even worse for your kids? A mom having a break down. That's right. My sanity is more important than the fact that I'm going to have a zombified, tv addict for a child.

4. Headphones. When your kid is in the backseat screaming, singing "Let it Go" for the 50th time, or whining about who-knows-what, you will realize why headphones are a god-send.

5. Caffeine. Whether it's in the form of Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Green Tea, or a million cups of coffee, you need caffeine. Don't question it.

Have you ever been crazy enough to road trip with kids? What about when you road trip alone? What are your must-haves? 

Where Have I Been?? | A Vlog

Hey people!

I thought it would be a fun vlog to tell you in a nutshell where I've been for the past year and what I've been up to. What about YOU? What did I miss in your life over the past year? 

Home Tour Part One | The Living Room

So I know I've been MIA for basically the past year. I've popped in occasionally, here and there, but for the most part, I've been a craptastic blogger. Sorry about that.

Anyway. Over the past year, we've had lots of changes. One of those was a pretty big move. We left our home in Lincoln, NE and moved to the good old blogging headquarters of the world - Happy Valley (AKA Utah County), UT.

We lived in an apartment in Orem for about half a year while we looked for a place to call home. We ended up buying a home in southern Utah County. It has been quite the move, but I'll talk about all the crazy culture shock and adjusting and all that good stuff another time. Until then, I've decided to introduce you to a different room in our house each week. I, for one, really enjoy getting a peek into other bloggers' homes - it makes me feel like we are real life friends. :)

Week One: Our living room

Really, the thing I'm most proud of are my bookcases. I'm still looking for something to do with the 2nd to last shelf on each one, but I'll figure it out eventually.

 

I actually really love this room. When we first moved into the house, the walls and ceiling were brown and the doors and trim were a greenish tan. It looked so, so dark and I hated it. We ended up having the home painted about a week after we moved in. Totally worth it.

Someday we would like to put some wood floors in, but that might not happen for a couple of years, as there are other things we'd like to do first.

Have you done a home tour on your blog? I'd love to see it!! 

Camping with Monsters

 I always said I'd never become boring after I had kids. I wouldn't stay at home all the time, we'd still go on fun trips, and we'd stay out past their bedtime if it meant having a good time with friends.

Let's just say that I stay at home a lot. Because a lot of times, it's easier to hang out around my house than it is to load two kids and all of their junk into the car to go to a storytime or park for an hour. I'm not kidding- it takes exponentially longer to get two kids out of the house than it does to get one kid out.

ANNYWAY. We do stay out past the kids' bedtime occasionally (but we always pay for it later). And sometimes, just sometimes, we even go on fun trips. Like camping - camping is fun.

Let me tell you a little bit about what it's like to go camping with a toddler and a baby. It's crazy. It's a hassle. It's stressful. But it's also worth it. 

When your 2-year-old watches you set up the tent and gets so freakin' excited about it... that's worth it.

When your baby boy is full of smiles and laughter because he gets to roll around outside... that's worth it. 

When your husband gets so excited about shooting guns and chopping wood... that's worth it.

When you sit around the campfire with your little family, look at the stars while eating foil dinners, and take time to enjoy a day and night without any technology.... that's worth it.

In Real Life | Real Product Reviews

So.

I said I'd be getting back to this blogging thing and I wasn't kidding! About a week ago, I asked what sorts of blog posts people would be interested in seeing. I got a lot of great suggestions, and I am so excited to work all of them in. My sister-in-law came up with one that I want to make a regular feature, though. I'm going to call these posts "In Real Life | Real Product Reviews."
MLMs are everywhere. Chances are, you have either been part of an MLM or you know someone who has. I, for one, have had a TON of contact with a TON of different MLMs and products. It's always really iffy if these products actually work or if they are just really hyped up. I've compiled a list of companies/products I've tried and want to review.

Products I've used and will be reviewing:

There's also a list below of products that I haven't tried but would be willing to. If you're involved with one of the products I haven't tried and would like me to do a REAL review (I will not sugarcoat anything, folks), just shoot me an email! I would be happy to put your product to the test.

Products I have not tried: 

I'm sure there are a multitude of other products I haven't tried, but those two were really the only two I could think of. I am VERY skeptical of both of the products that I haven't tried, so it would be interesting to try them. We'll see. ANYWAY, let me know what you guys would like to know about the products I HAVE tried, and I'll answer any and all questions in my reviews! :)