Citrus Lane review

My Citrus Lane box for Graham came a couple weeks ago and I wanted to show all the fun goodies we got. I used to get a box for Owen as well, but canceled his once I subscribed to Kiwi Crate for him. But I still get a box for Graham each month since it's my favorite subscription box company. 
     For those that don't know, Citrus Lane is a monthly subscription of toys, books, clothing, hygiene products, and more for kids from newborns through age 5. It costs $29 a month, but there are generally coupon codes to help you get a discount on your box. In fact, if you sign up with my referral link, you can get your first box for half off! Just click HERE. 

Here are the details on the contents of my 12-month-old boy box for September:

• Happy Baby Spinach, Mango and Pear stage 2 squeeze pouch: As you can see from the photos, this didn't last very long once Graham saw it. We've been fans of Happy Baby for a long time and began buying it when Owen was a baby so this isn't a new product for us, but we were happy to see it just the same. 

• Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day dish detergent (2 ounce travel size): We were actually pretty low on dish detergent so I went ahead and started using this. We got the new radish scent, which has a kind-of spicy, earthy scent that I really like. I would definitely buy a full-sized bottle of it if I could find it at Kroger.  

• Boon Fleet bath toy: This is one of the cutest bath toys we have gotten from Citrus Lane. Boon makes hands down the best bath toys. We love their rubber duckies and some of their other bath toys so I was really excited to see these. Graham really loves them and played with them all day that we got them even before bathtime. The stack and float and you can pour water from the right-side up or shower water down through the holes in the bottom by holding them upside down. This set of 5 boats is just the cutest! 

• Tea Collection onesie: This was the customizable option this month. I got to choose the size of our onesie and have noticed that there were at least a couple variations in onesies for boys and still more for girls. Tea Collection makes very well-made organic clothing. This onesie retails for close to $25 on the site. It is super soft and fits Graham really well right now. The box also included a coupon for $25 off a purchase of $50 or more, but I haven't redeemed it yet. 

I was very happy with our box this month. The value was good for the price I paid and although two of the items were smaller value, I think the other two items more than made up for the price of the box by themselves. 

Here are some more photos of Graham enjoying his new toys and wearing the onesie. He looks so cute in it! 

Menu planning Monday

At the request of my mom (Hey Mom!), I am bringing back my menu planning post so people can see what I'm cooking for the week and maybe get some ideas for some new recipes to try. You will find links to the recipes and photos for each one. The photos are not mine, but shared from the original source. Enjoy!

Monday: 
On Monday we will be eating Chicken Enchilada Soup. This is one of my go-to recipes from the blog Skinny Taste (if you're new to the blog, you will soon notice that it is my favorite place to find new recipes). It's super delicious and is made in the crock pot. Crock pot meals are awesome for weeknights because Tim gets home from work pretty late because of his new position and the kids seem to always want to go insane at about 5 o'clock. It will be great to not have to try and occupy them while making dinner for one night of the week. 

Tuesday:
On Tuesday we will be having another Skinny Taste favorite - Autumn penne pasta. It is a ridiculously good recipe considering it contains brussels sprouts. The recipe is such a lovely beginning-of-fall meal and perfectly fitting for the first day of fall. Yay!

Wednesday:
On Wednesday we will be meeting at our friends' house for church small group. It is casserole night so I will be bringing Skinny Taste's Chicken and Broccoli Noodle Casserole. I made this for the first time last week and since I still have noodles and parmesan cheese leftover from making it then, I decided to make it again. Plus, it tastes really good. I don't typically make a lot of casseroles, but fall just sort-of seems like a good season for that type of food. I make the recipe basically as it is, except I substituted mozzarella cheese for the cheddar cheese. 

Thursday:
On Thursday we will be eating Italian meatball soup. This is a Pioneer Woman recipe that includes lots of vegetables and it really flavorful and delicious. I have made it a few times before and really like it. This time I bought pre-made meatballs to make life a little easier for me and because they weren't really that much more expensive than buying the ingredients to make them myself. 

Friday:
On Friday we will be eating Spanish Chicken and Rice. This is a Skinny Taste recipe that Tim really likes. It's very comforting and tasty and I really love the green olives in it (Tim refuses to eat those). I make it without beer and use chicken stock instead and I also just put olives on mine and not in the recipe as usual. 

Saturday:
We will be eating Publix's Italian pie for dinner on Saturday. I have been making this recipe for several years now after first having it while at dinner at my Mom's. It has been years since we lived near a Publix (insert sad face), but I still make this recipe. I don't have the bruschetta mix that the recipe calls for, so instead I make my own by combining crushed tomatoes, basil, and garlic in a food processor. I will also be using the leftover pork sausage from the autumn penne pasta earlier in the week with ground beef for the meat part of this meal. We'll eat it with salad. 

Sunday: 
We have a church picnic on Sunday so I am fairly certain we will have our fill there. I am not sure what I will bring, but will decide sometime later this week. Most likely a dessert. 

Graham is 12 months old!

      Graham is a year old now. It is an awesome age. Lots of fun, but also lots of running around, shouting "No!" and preventing his death on a daily basis. He is into everything and moving constantly. He is adorable and loves to laugh and is a total Momma's boy. He's the best. 

At 12 month old, Graham was:

• 23 pounds, 14 ounces (65th percentile)
• 29 1/4 inches tall (27th percentile)
• 46 cm head circumference (35th percentile)

Eating: Graham is still a pretty good eater. Though he has learned the age-old game of "throw my food off my highchair tray and drive my parents crazy." Big brother laughing only serves to encourage him. He loves pretty much all fruits and will eat most vegetables as well. He is a little iffy on meat, especially chicken. He does well at feeding himself by hand and can pick up food between his thumb and pointer finger. We have switched him from formula to whole milk and he is doing okay with that. We still give it to him in a bottle because he won't drink much from a sippy cup or straw cup yet. He prefers water in those and his milk in a bottle still. He'll figure it out soon. 

Sleeping: Graham is still a champion sleeper. He goes to bed at 7:30 or 8 and sleeps until 8 or so in the morning. He naps either once or twice a day depending on if we are out of the house during his morning nap. If we are home, he naps at about 11 and again later in the afternoon. If he misses his morning nap, then he will typically sleep for two or three hours starting at about 1 p.m. and will most of the time go to bed a bit early at night. He sleeps with a thin Aden+Anais swaddle blanket and his elephant lovey. He still uses a pacifier when he sleeps. 

Other Stuff I Want To Remember: 

Graham wears size 12 months right now. He wears size 4 shoes when his fat little feet will squeeze into them. He wears size three diapers when he is not in cloth diapers. 

He is walking really well now and has great balance. He can bend down and pick things up and stand from sitting without having to pull up on anything. He loves getting into everything and pulling all the Tupperware out of cabinets and generally making messes all the time. 

He loves playing peek-a-boo. He can wave, clap, high five and blow kisses. He is also a fan of sloppy wet mouth kisses. He understands a good bit of what we are saying, but only says a few words right now and not frequently. He can say Mama, Dada, book, ball, and apple. He mainly just grunts and points to communicate. 

He loves music and will bob along to a beat or turn in circles and "dance." 

He got his first haircut on August 27 because he had a chunk of hair in the front that kept getting in his eyes. The haircut made him look so much older. 

He hasn't been sick in months, which I attribute to a healthy immune system and also to essential oils. 

He only has three teeth still on the bottom in front. His top middle two teeth are really close to finally popping through. 

One of his favorite toys to play with is a small playground ball. He loves to kick or throw it and then run across the floor to get it and do it again and again all by himself. It's so fun to watch him play independently. 

He is super cuddly. He will run up and hug my legs or plop down in my lap. 

He loves books. He loves to sit in my lap while I read to him and laugh as I'm reading. He takes such delight in books. I probably should read to him more, but don't always make the time to do so. 

Here are some other photos of Graham from our 12-month photo shoot: 

Homemade face wash

So I am always looking for ways to use my essential oils around the house and I love finding new recipes to try. I recently found a recipe for face wash, which is great because I don't have a lot of success with store-bought brands and have even had pretty terrible results with the fancy natural brands. After having Graham, I have had some pretty terrible acne and it's the worst. I have the skin of a teenager. Next time, if I get the choice, I'd prefer the body or energy of a teenager. 

      I have actually been having good luck with this recipe for my skin, and may tweak it a bit in the future to use some of the essential oils that are good for acne, like Purification or Melalueca A (aka tea tree oil). But so far, this one has been really good. It leaves my skin feeling clean and it smells really good as well. 

       

Here is the recipe:

1/2 tsp. sweet almond oil or olive oil (I used olive, but in the future would try the almond or jojoba since they are more skin friendly)

1/3 cup Dr. Bronner's Castile unscented soap

2/3 cup distilled water

10 drops ylang ylang oil

6 drops geranium oil

4 drops lemongrass

Combine in a foaming handsoap bottle. Swirl to combine before using each time as the oils and water separate a bit. 

This recipe would also be great for a baby wash and I plan to make my own soon. I think I might add lavender oil to it to help the boys smell good and as part of their bedtime routine to help the with good sleep.