Barbell in the Kitchen: Motherhood

Aria is Three

9:02 AM

Aria is three.. and has been for almost two weeks - and that right there is one of the thousand reasons behind the hashtag #momlife..

The day of her birthday, we had so much fun. She picked out her favorite dress, we then headed to the cutest little bakery where she picked out four cupcakes for our little celebration at home that night. The fun continued all day as we went to pick up balloons, run some quick errands for her party the next day and even ended with a fro-yo date topped with all the sprinkes & gummies.

Her party was the next day - cue the Costco platters as I made the cupcakes. A post-naptime celebration would ensure everyone was in a good mood and minimize meltdowns. However, 2:15pm and we hear Aria rustling around in her room followed by the sound of her vomiting.

Oh no! (you should know there were some other four letter words mixed in there.. ;)

Her party was set to start at 3:30pm - we had planned to wake the girls at 2:45pm so we could arrive early, but we played janitor as we called all the families to let them know the party was rescheduled. We covered her in Tummygize and she seemed better later that night and she recovered over the next few days.

Since then, we've been doing our best to enjoy the sunshine which shows itself a few days at time.

It's been a blur, but to think I became a mama just a couple years ago to the sweetest little girl - one who's too smart for her own good, has more sass & attitude than any three year old should but the biggest heart and sweetest soul; makes me take a step back and wipe my happy tears.

Over the past year she has become a snuggler, which I can't get enough of. Every night we read stories and talk about our day - and every night she can tell me more, using bigger words, understanding and conversing with me - it's bittersweet because I love each phase a little more than the last, but I long to hold onto those days she'd fall asleep in my arms.

To see how she loves her little sister makes my heart melt. Insisting on giving her kisses at naptime, bringing her pacis, blankies & sippy cups.. and already convincing Emi to do her dirty work.. gets me every time.

Happy birthday sweet little Aria. We love you more than words can say. Stay little.. stop growing and all that mushy mom stuff. xoxo, Mama

Essential Oils

Oola for Women | Book Review

10:28 AM

Conquer your fears.

Build the bridge to your dream job.

Have more fun.

Restore balance to our lives.

Those are things we all want right? Those things are Oola.

Oola - that’s what life feels like when you’re in the sweet spot, when your life is balanced, and growing in the 7 key areas of health and well-being – what is referred to as the 7 F’s: fitness, finance, family, field (career), faith, friends and fun, as defined by "The Oola Guys", Dr. Dave and Dr. Troy.

Oola is:

A state of awesomeness
A life that is balanced and growing in the key areas of health, finances, career, relationships, and well-being
A destination (i.e. getting to Oola)
Describing actions, insights, and goals that lead to a balanced life (ex. That’s so Oola)
The ultimate plan for achieving balance in an unbalanced world

As women, our roles are vast – wife, mom, chef, maid, nurse, chauffer, employee – sometimes all those hats are worn in one day. We juggle work, kids, family, and home life – hoping there’s room left in there somewhere for 5 minutes to ourselves - without fingers reaching under the door.

And if you put on that mompreneur hat, you’re juggling clients, customers, sales, marketing, professional events, and so many activities that your 24 hours per day are stretched to the max.

That’s a lot to handle. Insert an emotional roller coaster and chaos control.

In Oola for Women, they tackle all that tough stuff; fear, guilt, anger, self-sabotage, laziness, envy, and lack of focus that all contribute to stress that keeps us from living the life we dream of.

There are also elements and feelings such as love, gratitude, discipline, integrity, passion, humility, and wisdom that contribute to helping us live a more balanced life – they dive into how to help us uncover and embrace these factors.

You’ll learn why these seven areas are so very important. What I really loved was how reading this helped me determine which areas are getting too much of my time and which aren’t getting enough - what is hindering me from balance and things that will help to achieve balance.

Oola for Women contains lots of personal stories, all from women, along with helpful tips, guidance and confirmation for when you’re on the right track. It’s all about finding balance in your life, that feeling that everything is as it should be – like that rare moment where the last piece of laundry is put away with the washer & dryer empty but on a much bigger scale.

This is a MUST READ guys! Even if you’re on the right path and feel confident that life is in order (that’s called “living Oola”) you can always take steps to learn how to keep it there, make it better and stronger. If you’re a Young Living member, we have an entire line of essential oil blends that coincide with the Oola concepts and reading this book will help you understand the background behind them.

Oola for Women hits the shelves tomorrow, so you can preorder NOW for 40% OFF & order after 5/2 from here. It's the best $10 you'll ever spend.

*This book was sent to me for free in exchange for my honest review. These are my own opinions and thoughts. This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product through an affiliate link I make a small commission at no cost to you. This helps keep my blog running so thanks for your support!

Baby

Why Every Mom Needs Essential Oils

1:37 PM

Motherhood

These are the days

10:25 AM

It's been awhile since I've shared the girls ages & stages and all the fun things about our days. Life has been a whirlwind lately and the blog has been slow, but our days are overflowing with sweetness as our girls are becoming closer.

Aria is almost three and I can't even handle it. Every night as we read stories at bedtime and snuggle in the rocking chair a few minutes, I can't help but want to squeeze her to keep her little just a little longer. This girl makes my heart swell and brings me to my breaking point hundreds of times each day. Her vocabulary is incredible and some of the things she says everyday just baffles me. She is all attitude topped with an extra dose of sweetness. Seth and I will be singing along with some tune or dance around when music comes on and all we hear from her is: "Nope." Shut down. Apparently we are already the embarrassing parents ;). But five minutes later she will come ask for a hug & a kiss and ask us to come do a puzzle with her. She is currently obsessed with tutus, all things ballerina & princesses. She loves to sing & dance will never pass up the opportunity to snuggle and be cozy.

Emerson, our little loveable ragamuffin is a constant mess in the making. She's almost a year old and I feel like we just brought her home. Her daily struggle is wanting to play with (and eat) everything that Aria has.. which leads to the sisterly battles I recall having with my younger sisters growing up. She's only a couple pounds away from the same weight as Aria, so the battles over barbie dolls & play kitchen utensils are getting interesting. She doubles as a mini-vacuum; anything she finds on the floor goes in her mouth, which was never anything we dealt with before so the actual vacuum has become a permanent living room fixture. She loves food, but still has no teeth, so bananas, peaches & yogurt top the list as her favorite foods. She's walking with her walker, we're sure her first solo steps will come any day now. And she makes the best silly faces & always hugs our legs while were in the kitchen.

I try to remind myself that the days are long and years are short. These days are fleeting. Even when things are crazy, tantrums never-ending, another mess needs cleaning and there are a million more things I need to get done. I have to remind myself that time spent playing with our children is never wasted. Every night I think back through our day and try to store at least one sweet thing in my memory to hopefully never forget, and I hope our girls do too.

I'm working on sharing more of the daily happenings over on Instagram, I hope to see you there!

Motherhood

What's not in the pictures

11:48 AM

When I started blogging, my goals was to inspire, motivate, provide something valuable, and create a community to connect - with my posts & words and with each other. It's become a place where being a mom collides with creating, cooking, fitness, health and everything in between.

There is so much happening, and we are only weeks into the new year. So as we move forward, I hope you know that life isn't all rainbows & sunshine, pictures may be pretty, but I hope you know there's more to it.

For every pretty picture, there is a pile of laundry on the bed - that's been relocated between the basket, dryer & bed three times already. There are diapers that are still on the floor and a sink full of dishes.

For every project and new print I share, there was plenty of stress & exhaustion, and wonder of if it's 'worth it', because a dozen other things were pushed to the side to complete it.

There were disagreements and frustration - creating our app while parenting a toddler and a new baby at the same time is without a doubt the hardest things our marriage has gone through.

Behind the pictures is an overtired mom who uses too much dry shampoo, slept in her makeup and is frazzled beyond belief by 10am. A mom who curses too much, who promises to be more patient.. then loses it when her toddler asks for a waffle, refuses the waffles then cries when I take it away.

For every cute picture of the girls, there are plenty of tantrums & tears, fits thrown over wearing a jacket outside and battles at bedtime. There are nights I wonder if I was a good mom, did I hold the girls enough, did I show them how much I love them...?

I don't ever want anyone to feel like less - whether you stay at home or work full time, breastfeed or formula feed, workout once a month or 5 days a week.. or can't remember the last time you cooked at home.

Just because I do things one way, does not mean that it's the best way. There are lots of things I don't talk about here, and that's most likely how it will stay. I choose to see the beauty in things, share the happy & fun times and share things that might inspire you. I still deal with guilt, stress, anxiety, defeat.. and all the mood swings one could possibly have. So know that for each post, each moment or story shared, there are a million more that aren't.

Last week, I posted a quote I found that read, "I don't want anything from you, I want everything for you.." which captures my goals with this blog perfectly.

Thank you so much for reading, understanding and supporting my blog. Thank you for trying recipes, downloading our app, hanging my art in your homes, sending me emails and posting comments. It all means SO much.