New Christmas traditions

I cannot believe that Christmas is next month. We are just days away. I am not one of those people who wants to just skip Thanksgiving and I do get annoyed at Christmas stuff in the stores in September, but the holiday takes a lot of planning to give my kids the Christmas I want them to have as children and I don't want it to sneak up on us so I began planning in early November.
     This year is going to be special now that Graham is a little older and also because Owen is old enough to understand more and do more. Christmas is always a little crazy for us because we always travel and never have Christmas at home so I like to have lots of Christmas traditions that we do throughout the month of December just as our family of four.
     I am adding two traditions to some of our normal ones this year. I think we may still do the Christmas book advent because I really enjoyed that the past two years. I may swap out some of the books for a couple new ones, if so. If not, I will just have the books out and available for reading throughout the month. 

     The new traditions for this year are Elf on the Shelf and a Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Advent.
     I never thought I would do Elf on the Shelf. I'm not big on trying to con my children into behaving during Christmastime, but I have seen all the cute things people have done with their elves throughout the season and I think it will be fun to surprise the kids every morning with their elf's antics. Owen in particular should get a kick out of it now that he is older. I plan to print out a calender of the month and write down my ideas for what the elf will be doing each day to make it easier on me.

      Our second new tradition will be a Random Act of Kindness Advent. I found this idea at Emily Ley's blog and bought the set of 25 printable cards with RAK challenges on them, plus 25 "You've Been RAKed" cards. All proceeds from the sales of the RAK Advent go toward the Cystinosis Research Foundation. Last year, Emily raised $10,000 for the foundation. I am so excited about letting Owen help me to bless others with thoughtful surprises. I think we're going to have a blast. He may not understand it completely, but if it helps me get into the spirit and he learns by modeling my behavior, I can't ask for more. You can purchase your own set HERE.

     What are some of your family traditions during the holidays? 

That time Owen painted his brother...

Life with two boys is certainly an adventure. And yesterday was probably the biggest, most hilarious (afterwards) craziness they have ever gotten into.            It began when I walked into Owen's room to find he had dumped out all four of his red storage bins from his bookcase. I told him to please put the toys back in them and not to come out of his room until he was finished. I then went into the kitchen to do the dishes and fold some laundry as I was trying to get out house picked up and clothes clean so we could get ready for traveling for Thanksgiving. 

I heard lots of noise coming from Owen's room, but thought nothing of it because cleaning up for Owen means a lot of throwing stuff where it belongs. It wasn't until Graham came toddling out of the bedroom looking like Mel Gibson in Braveheart that I knew something much more sinister was going on. 

Owen had somehow broken the doorknob protector off the door to his closet where I store things I don't want him getting into (for good reason, obviously) and had gotten into all his art supplies, taking every cap off every marker he owns, opening paints and painting his brother's face and his own, dumping out crayons and beads and puffy paint and glue and the entire inside of the closet was a mess. 

I dumped both boys in the bath and was able to clean up relatively quickly (somehow they managed to keep the majority of the paint on themselves and not the walls and furniture, thankfully) and all was well, but it was definitely an early bedtime and mommy needs to relax type of night last night. 

So the moral of the story is this: check on your sons every 2.5 minutes (if not more often) or they could be painting one another. 

Menu Planning Monday

Last week was a super tasty week. I think one of my favorite meals was the Rustic Italian Gnocchi Soup from the Skinny Taste cookbook, which was the only new recipe I tried. It's not listed the website, so you'd have to buy the cookbook to get the recipe. Or pay me to share it with you. Whichever.
     Here's what we're eating this week:
Monday: Lomo saltado. This Skinny Taste recipe is a Peruvian beef stir fry. It's unlike any other recipe I've made, but really tasty. It includes a weird variety of ingredients - potato, yellow bell pepper, jalapeno, tomato, and red onion - that all magically come together into something delicious. And the recipe is on her blog if you're interested.

Tuesday: Take out. 

Wednesday: We have church small group tonight. We're supposed to bring homemade pizza. I will be making mine using Pioneer Woman's pizza crust recipe, but I haven't decided on toppings yet. We do have a container of Trader's Joe's refrigerated pizza sauce, which is amazing, so we'll probably use that. The crust recipe is super simple and easy though. It can make several at once and you can freeze crusts to use later as well.

Thursday: Trader Joe's pesto chicken sausage with roasted vegetables and house salad. The chicken sausage is something yummy we picked up this past weekend when we went to Trader Joe's. The side dishes are both from the new Skinny Taste cookbook. The roasted vegetables recipe is my favorite way to cook vegetables right now. 

Friday: Italian meatball soup. Yes, we are having this again because we still have meatballs in the freezer and because Owen requested it. And it is hard enough getting him to eat lately so whatever he wants that also happens to be relatively healthy, he gets! 

Saturday: Leftovers of the soup with crusty French bread. Yum!

Sunday: Slow cooker Moroccan Chickpea and Turkey Stew. This is a new recipe for us this week from Skinny Taste (the blog, not the cookbook.) It's unlike pretty much anything I make and I have only cooked with chickpeas a few times, but Gina from Skinny Taste has never really steered me wrong, so I decided to give it a shot. Either way, it should be an easy meal I can throw in the crock pot before church in the morning and we can have dinner ready and the kitchen cleaned up for the most part in no time on Sunday night. 

Well that's it for this week! Anything look good to you? What are you making this week! Comment below and include links if the recipe is online! 

Cinnamon Vanilla Sugar Scrub

One of my newest oils is cinnamon bark, so I decided to make a little something with it: cinnamon vanilla sugar scrub. It contains simple ingredients that I had around the house and smells amazing! I used it in the shower last night and really loved it. I felt so soft and moisturized afterwards.

Most of the ingredients are ones you probably already have around your house. And it's super simple to whip up. It took me less than five minutes. 

Cinnamon bark is an awesome essential oil. It has anti-inflammatory properties and is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and a circulatory stimulant. 

The recipe calls for: 1 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 3 drops of cinnamon bark essential oil. I combined the sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon bark oil first and then added coconut oil until it reached the consistency I wanted. I recommend using liquid fractionated coconut oil because normal coconut oil will harden again even if you melt it. You know that summer is officially over when your coconut oil goes back to a solid state all the time. 

     The best thing about it is that you know all the ingredients inside. No preservatives or synthetic ingredients. You could even eat it if you wanted. I'm not going to lie... I tasted it. And it was yummy. 

This scrub has a delicious warm wintery scent and would make a great homemade Christmas gift. Put it in a pretty jar and tie a ribbon around it and you're good to go! 

Fall fun!

This past Sunday, Tim finally had a day off work. Of course, he needed to spend part of it doing some things around the house and in the yard, but we managed to have some fun in the midst of doing chores. He took the boys outside with him while blowing and raking leaves and they had a great time. 

Graham is my wild child. Knee deep and sometimes face first into the leaves. 

 Daddy using the leaf blower on Graham's Buddha belly was pretty hilarious too. 

 Owen is more likely to stay back a safe distance and form an escape route. 

Run! Daddy is coming with the leaf blower!

I'm not afraid. I will crawl right through these leaves. 

Even Lightning McQueen joined in on the fun. 

Menu Planning Monday

The weather has been getting cooler (and then warmer and then cooler and then warmer...thanks, Kentucky weirdo fall), but mainly cooler so I am loving making more soups and warm comfort food. 
    I have been cooking through a lot of the recipes from my new Skinny Taste cookbook. Most of those recipes are not online so I won't be able to link to them. I highly recommend the cookbook though. Everything we have tried from it so far has been delicious. You can go to the Skinny Taste blog to learn more about it and find out where to buy. 

Monday: Tonight we are eating leftovers of Pioneer Woman's Italian Meatball soup, which I made last night. I can easily feed us two times so it's a great meal to have twice in a row. It's also awesome because it has lots of vegetables in it and both boys will eat it happily. Once again, I bought pre-made meatballs at the grocery store to make preparing this a bit quicker. I served it with crunchy French bread to soak up the broth. Yum!

Tuesday: Pasta with pesto cream sauce. I made this recipe for the first time recently and really liked it. I used store-bought pesto to make things easier and also added in chicken for some protein. It was a super easy and quick dinner. I used bowtie-shaped pasta instead of whatever curly noodles are pictured. Owen called them "butterflies" and scarfed it up. And whatever Owen meal will eat quickly is a win in my book. With a simple side salad (which Owen calls "leaves" and also eats really well, surprisingly), you've got a complete meal. 

Wednesday: Aztec chicken, quinoa, and avocado soup. This soup is from the Skinny Taste cookbook. The recipe is not on her website, so I can't link you to it. There is a similar recipe though called Chicken and Avocado soup if you want to try it. It's a little bit different though and doesn't look as yummy. This soup is also surprisingly one that both my boys like to eat. I think it is warm and delicious and I am obsessed with avocado. If you had told me 10 years ago that I would love avocado this much, I would have thought you were crazy. I guess that's what happens when you become an adult. Anyway, the moral of the story is get the cookbook and make this soup. Here is a photo of the "not as good" soup.

Thursday: French bread pizza supreme. This is another Skinny Taste cookbook recipe, so no link or photos. Sorry folks. This recipe looks super easy and yummy which is imperative for the end of the week when I am just about worn out from the boys and Tim still has another day (or two, sometimes) of work. I already have some homemade marinara sauce in the freezer so I just need to thaw that out and we'll top the bread with whatever ingredients look good and have a salad for a side. 

Friday: Chicken pot pie. I have been in the mood for a nice warm chicken pot pie so that's what we'll be having to kick off the weekend. Pioneer Woman makes my favorite version. It's also great with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. And we will most likely have leftovers for lunches over the weekend. 

Saturday: Chicken rollatini with roasted vegetables and Skinny Taste house salad. This is one of the few recipes from the Skinny Taste cookbook that is on the blog as well. I really love that there is a reason to buy the cookbook because the recipes aren't on the blog. I have a Pioneer Woman cookbook and found it strange that pretty much every recipe is on the blog. Why waste the money buying the book, then? Anyhow, this recipe is really good. I will use any leftover marinara sauce we have on top and serve it with two great side dishes from the Skinny Taste cookbook (not on the blog, fyi). 

Sunday: Rustic Italian gnocchi soup. This is another recipe from the Skinny Taste cookbook (surprise!). It is not on the blog so I can't link you to the recipe. The soup includes chicken sausage, onion, celery, carrots, roasted red peppers, spinach, and basil. This will be our first time trying this recipe and I can't wait! It sounds so stinking good. 

Anyway, that's it for this week! I am searching for some new crock pot meals to make life easier, especially with Tim working so late every night. So hopefully I will have some of those next time. What are you eating this week? 

What's in my oils bag

 So after getting started with oils earlier this year, I quickly learned that I would need something special to be able to take them on the go. I have a basket that store my oils in at home in our bedroom, but I didn't have anything to put them in for when we're traveling, running errands, or out and about doing whatever. 
     I wanted something that would hold various sized bottles and fit easily in my diaper bag. I found the perfect bag on Etsy (where else?) from a shop called OurHHH, short for Our Healthy Happy Home. The best thing about her bags is that you get to choose what you want the interior to look like. You can combine several different configurations to hold sample bottles, 5 and 10 ml bottles, roll-ons, spray bottles and more. 

I chose one side to hold spray bottles and dropper bottles and the other to hold 5 ml and 10 ml bottles of oil. The little elastic pockets hold each bottle fairly well, though some have loosened since I got the bag. Either way, my bag can hold up to 12 bottles of oil, plus three spray bottles. This is perfect for holding my most commonly used and favorite oils for when we're out of the house. 

The bag is nicely cushioned and everything stays separate so that my bottles seem secure and safe from breaking or rolling all around in there. I also love the cheery turquoise color of the inside. 

In addition to my oils, i also carry a The Primary Usage Guide for essential oils that lists suggestions for what oils to use for different issues. It's easier to carry than my huge desk reference in case I need to look something up while we're out of the house. I also have a small baggie of vegetable capsules if I want to ingest any of my oils. And lastly, a pouch of Ningxia Nitro if I need an energy kick. 

 I always take Thieves hand sanitizer and Thieves spray when I go out. Thieves hand sanitizer is great for sanitizing our hands and the kids' hands if we use a public restroom or go out to eat. Thieves spray is great for sanitizing grocery carts, restaurant high chairs and more. My two homemade sprays are bug spray (using Thieves, peppermint, and Purification oils) and a Boo-boo spray (containing tea tree oil, lavender and cypress oils). 

 These are the oils that I take with me when we leave the house:

• A blue glass dropper bottle of fractionated coconut for on-the-go diluting of oils.
• Lavender: The most versatile of oils, lavender can be used for burns, various skin conditions, insomnia, nervous tension and more. It's fragrance is calming and relaxing.
• Valor: Valor is one of my favorite blends from Young Living. I typically have it set up as a roll-on so I can apply it right away, but I gave my roll-on to Tim because he wanted to have one at work. Valor contains spruce, rosewood, blue tansy, and frankincense oils. The blend was formulated to balance energies and instill feelings of courage, confidence and self-esteem. It also helps the body correct balance and alignment. It is known as the "chiropractor of oils." I think it smells amazing and I love to apply it when I am feeling anxious.
• PanAway: PanAway is a blend of wintergreen, helichrysum, clove, and peppermint oils and is used for pain of all sorts. I use mine for headaches as well.
• Allergy Roll-on: This is a blend that I made myself. It includes fractionated coconut oil, lavender, peppermint, and lemon. Lavender is a natural antihistamine, peppermint is helpful for congestion, and lemon aids with detoxing and drainage. We use this all the time in the spring and summer. 

•  Deep Relief: This is one of my favorite blends. It contains peppermint, fractionated coconut oil, lemon, idaho balsam fir, clove, copaiba, wintergreen, helichrysum, vetiver, and palo santo. Most of those oils are known for their anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving characteristics. It relieves muscle soreness and tension, sore joints and ligaments, reduce inflammation, and can also be used for headaches. The roll-on makes it super easy to apply because it's already diluted and ready to go. 
• Stress Away: This is a must-have oil for any mom of little ones. The blend contains copaiba, lime, cedarwood, vanilla, ocotea, and lavender. It is meant to bring a feeling of peace and tranquility to both children and adults and helps relieve daily stress and nervous tension. It's fitted with a rollerball so I can just roll it onto my wrists and the back of my neck when I am feeling stressed.
• TummyGize: This blend is part of the KidScents Oil Collection and contains spearmint, peppermint, tangerine, fennel, anise, ginger, and cardamom. It works so amazingly well for any sort of stomach issue and is easy to apply because it has a roller ball on it. It is blended especially for children, but works great on adults too. 
• AromaEase: This blend is brand new. It is a blend of peppermint, spearmint, fennel, ginger and cardamom. It is helpful for nausea and stomach stuff as well. Definitely a good oil to have in the car if you or your kids get carsick.
• Owie: This is another blend from the KidScents Collection. It contains Idaho balsam fir, tea tree oil, helichrysum, elemi, cistus, hinoki, and clove. It works so well for little bumps and bruises. Most recently, we used it while camping when Graham fell and bonked his head on a rock. His brow bone bruised and swelled and he looked like he'd gotten into a fight. After a few applications, the next morning he woke up and you couldn't even tell that he had fallen.
• Bite Buster: This is another blend from the KidScents Collection (can you tell that I am obsessed with that kit?). It contains Idaho tansy, citronella, and palo santo. I use it on bug bites. 

So there you have it. My favorite oils to have on hand for the most common issues we might have when we're out of the house. Most are ready to use right away so I can take care of everything from headaches to upset stomachs with all natural solutions. 

Robin Hood and a pumpkin walk into a bar...

 I don't have an ending for that joke title. I was just trying to come up with a clever name for this post and I'm tired and my brain isn't on point right now. So here is our Halloween recap for this year. The boys both had a great Halloween. We didn't get to go trick-or-treating because the weather was really bad, but they did enjoy dressing up and we had a fun Halloween play-date and my inlaws came to visit over the Halloween weekend. 

 I have had an obsession with baby pumpkins for forever. I just think there is nothing cuter than a baby dressed like a fat pumpkin. I am not entirely sure why I didn't dress Owen as a pumpkin as a baby, but I figured this was my last shot at a baby pumpkin for a while. We found this costume at TJ Maxx for $15 so it was a cheap option too! 

 Owen has been a big fan of the old Disney animated Robin Hood movie for the last several months so he decided he wanted to be Robin Hood for Halloween. I looked online for a costume, but wasn't able to find anything. In the end, a friend's mother in law sewed this costume for Owen and I am so happy with how it turned out. It fits him perfectly and is so cute! 

 Owen refused to take his costume off the day we got it in the mail. And he asks to wear it almost every day. He loves his hat and enjoys putting all sorts of things like rocks and cars in his quiver. 

 This face is what happened when I asked him to smile. It seems as if we're getting into the "weird smile" stage that every kid seems to go through. 

 Graham started running in the last week and it has become his only speed. Getting an un-blurred photo is nearly impossible because he won't stay still for long. 

 I may be biased, but I believe this is the cutest Robin Hood that ever was! 

 This pumpkin is pretty adorable too. Graham loves playing in the leaves. It's hilarious because he will crawl straight through them and roll all around in them. It's so cute! 

 This kid cracks me up. His grandparents bought him the bow so he has been practicing trying to shoot it a lot. When that fails, he likes to hit his brother with it. 

 We had a Halloween playdate with friends last week as well. The kids played out in the leaves, decorated cookies, and did a craft project. It was a lot of fun and the adult conversation was pretty awesome too! 

Graham snagged a cookie while the big boys were decorating theirs. He's sneaky. 

After making a fall wreath with leaves and acorns, the boys decorating some Halloween sugar cookies. Owen is a big fan of the sprinkles. 

 Graham tried to keep up with the big boys and playing with all the toys and eating nonstop. 

 Check out these little cuties. They get into some serious craziness together. 

 Trying to get a photo with all three boys looking at the camera was impossible. This is the best we got!