Cute fabric, lettering and pockets. Do you know how many advent calenders I "added to cart" in the past month? Sorry, Anthro, I love you, but I just couldn't do a $50 pocket-covered curtain. I wanted something with big enough spaces I could really get creative with little treasures for the kids, without breaking the bank.

Summer is FINALLY here, (if you're in Oregon like me, winter lasted 10 months too long) - but sunny weather means all the fun posts and summertime activities. We love essential oils and all the fun DIY's and festive things that come with them, so I thought I'd share a few things I've put together recently in case you're a new member of our team or interested in what all essential oils can do.

First things first, because in the valley.. we have lots of bugs.

1.  Outdoor Spray: In a 2oz glass bottle, add 1 tablespoon witch hazel then add 10 drops Lemongrass + 10 drops Citronella (you can also use Purification) + 8 drops Lavender, top with distilled water. Shake before each use and avoid spraying on face, I prefer to spray lightly on back of the head/shirt, arms & around ankles/shoes. You can also bring that diffuser outside for to enjoy dinner on the back patio or fun in the yard.

But on the flipside for those super busy moms, (because mommin' ain't easy) Young Living just launched (literally last week!) a deet-free insect repellent that when tested by a third party was 30% MORE EFFECTIVE - and is so, so much better for you and your children than the chemical-based sprays. So there you go.. a not-DIY thing on a DIY post. ;)



2.  After Sun Spray: This one is perfect after an afternoon at the park or playing in the water. In a 4oz bottle: 1 tablespoon witch hazel + 1 oz pure aloe vera gel + 10 drops lavender + 10 drops Copaiba + 10 drops Peppermint. Mist on sunkissed skin as needed.  One of the new product launches was a spray called Lavaderm After-Sun Spray - so that makes that easy too!

3.  Sugar Scrub:  These are so fun because the possibilities are endless! The ratios that I use are 1 cup of sugar (white or brown) + 1/4 cup of oil (coconut, almond or jojoba)+ 10-12 drops of essential oil. This makes one small mason jar which should last a few weeks! Using these ratios, you can pretty much make any kind of sugar scrub using things you have on hand. A few of my favorite oil combos are Orange + Stress Away or Grapefruit + Peppermint or any of these individually. These make for super amazing gifts - triple the recipe and make a few smaller jars to give to teachers, moms, etc.

Please note to avoid peppermint if nursing and to avoid citrus oils on skin before spending time in the sun.

4.  Homemade Play-Dough: 

You will need:
1 cup of flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup of hot water
1/2 cup of salt
1 tbsp. cream of tartar
3-5 drops of essential oil - we love using Lavender, Stress Away or Peace & Calming
+ food coloring of your choice.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the hot water and oil and stir until mixture becomes thick & clumpy, once it sticks together, pull out of the bowl place on wax paper to cool. Once the playdough has cooled, add your essential oils and mix well with your hands. This is such a fun activity to do with your kids, and using calming/relaxing essential oils will provide an aromatic environment that is soothing and entertaining at the same time

4.  Beach Day Room Spray:  In a 12 oz. spray bottle, add 12 drops Grapefruit + 8 drops Bergamot + 5 drops Stress Away and top with distilled water. Mist around your home or on linens to freshen the room (from 12+ inches to make sure oil does not stain) for a summery, beachy vibe!

6.  Long Hair- Don't Care Leave-in Conditioner:  In a 2oz. glass spray bottle, add 1 tablespoon coconut milk (yes, milk ;)) + 10 drops essential oil (lavender + rosemary) and top with distilled water. Shake before each use & store in the refrigerator. 

PS. Add a few drops of Lavender to your shampoo during every hair wash to promote healthy hair growth

7.  Mermaid Hair Salt Spray: In a 4oz spray bottle combine 1 tablespoon epsom salt + 2 teaspoons organic coconut oil + 2 teaspoons aloe vera gel (the real stuff) + 5-10 drops essential oils of choice (rosemary & grapefruit* or lavender & lemon* both smell amazing!). Top with warm distilled water and shake before use. Spritz on dry hair fora "I just had a relaxing swim in the ocean" look ;)  

>>A couple notes for this recipe - you can definitely use real sea salt, however that can result in a crunchier feel and can be somewhat drying for the hair shaft. Epsom salt results in a softer, more natural wave and is gentler on hair.

>> And the * is because citrus oils are photosensitive and will lighten your hair, so omit if you'd like.



We absolutely love oils & believe that every household should have them. If you don’t already use oils & want to get learn more, you can read more over here! In this post, I talk about all the ways we use essential oils everyday and to find any of the spray bottles mentioned above, head over to My Favorite Oil Swag (scroll down the page a bit). Also, follow along on our Happy Mama Essentials instagram.

xoxo

It's 5:30am and I'm sipping a little coffee while trying to plan our day. I think its a coffee + park playdate kinda-day. I'm also taking advantage of the calm before the storm.. the Emi storm. A source of constant movement & excitement, that girl keeps me on my toes from the minute she wakes up, with her new favorite game being climb on the fireplace hearth and jump-off.  The best solution we've come up with is to make the dogbed her landing pad.

Over the past month or we've been working to transition Emi to regular milk and I felt as if we'd never done that before.. it's so strange how you forget things from one kid to the next. Transitioning to whole milk proved to be easier said than done with Emi since she had a tummy bug last month that seemed to make her more sensitive to everything for a few weeks afterward.

Transitioning to whole milk is a huge milestone. For the formula feeding mamas, no more spending time washing & mixing bottles! And for the nursing mamas, regular bras & no more dipping into a dressing room to feed your babe while shopping! ;) All of that is to be celebrated!

Cows milk has a different texture and taste of course than breastmilk or formula does, (Emi wasn't so sure at first) and can be a little more harsh on your babe's tiny tummy. We started with regular whole milk but found that lactose free milk was much a better option and as an added perk has less sugar than regular whole milk.

Today I'm sharing a few tips to make the transition easier for anyone with that phase coming up!

• Introduce whole milk at lunch or in the morning with breakfast rather than at bedtime. Little ones love that bedtime feeding for comfort more than anything, so introducing it during another feeding might go a little smoother..

• Try milk at room temp or slightly warmed up instead of cold from the refrigerator. Emi looked at me like I was trying to poison her the first time I gave her cold milk haha!

• Mix half whole milk + half breastmilk or formula to make the taste transition a little easier.

• Consider what they are drinking from - this is where you have to be careful, but you may be able to work on two birds with one stone here. If you’re newly transitioning to a bottle or sippy cup, this could be too much change at once. If they’re used to a bottle, maybe try sticking with it instead of incorporating a sippy cup transition.  But if you think they may be ready in the next few months to transition off of a bottle, try offering whole milk in a sippy cup only, and stick to breastmilk/formula only in bottles. This has seemed to work well for us. We are down to just a bottle at naptime and bedtime. These are our favorite sippy cups: with & without handles.
• With Aria, I do remember that she drank coconut milk for awhile as her tummy wasn't quite ready for cow's milk - which made for two transitions, but we just went slow. 

• And of course, if it doesn’t work, just keep trying. As with all things, right?!

Now if only we can figure out how to potty-train Aria. If you have any great advice or tips to share on the whole milk transition.. (or potty training for that matter) we would love for you to share in the comments to encourage other moms!!  xoxo

No Cook - 5 Minute Playdoh

1-2 cups All-purpose flour
2/3 cup Salt
2 tsp Cream of Tartar (stabilizer)
1 cup Hot Water
1 1/2 tbsp Coconut Oil
5-8 drops Stress-Away (or your favorite essential oil**)
5-10 drops food coloring, glitter etc.

Directions:

In a medium mixing bowl, mix 1 cup flour, the salt and cream of tartar together then whisk in the hot water, coconut oil, and essential oil until it starts to thicken and becomes tough to stir. Dive in with your hands (the dough should be warm- not hot) and knead until a soft dough forms. Like when you make cookie dough, have additional flour on hand to fold in. I ended up using almost another cup to reach the consistency I wanted.

Have fun!! Aria loved playing with it while it was warm too, as it was much softer. It did firm up like typical playdough as it cooled. Do allow to cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.


** Young Living offers plenty of kid-safe oils, as well as a dedicated line of blends just for children. Lavender, Orange, Thyme & Frankincense are great kid safe alternatives. 

*If you search, they state that it's a secret proprietary blend. Okay, that's fair I suppose, and I did survive my childhood playing with it all the time, but I still kinda what to know.

With a toddler and a newborn, most days are filled with happiness, love & cuddles, I love it. There are also those days where I empty the dispenser of baby wipes and accept too many fistfuls of food that the toddler doesn’t want to eat.. on those days I need something to help keep my sanity intact. So here’s my list of favorites in case you need some sanity too.

1.  Music
Aria loves to dance. She has some serious moves for a two year old. So if the day is turning to shit in a bucket, I will turn up some music and we dance in the kitchen until daddy comes home.

2.  Sunshine
It helps so much, and sometimes I don’t even realize how much I need to get outside until we've been cooped up in the house for awhile. Going outside with a blanket, iced coffee and bubble solution will fix any toddler’s meltdown and make mom feel sane again. (Have you seen the spill-proof bubble containers?!)

3.  Target
I know, I know. But really, where else can I go in for toothpaste and come out the proud owner of so many things that are not toothpaste? Also, have you seen all the other moms & crying kids are in that store.. that’s camaraderie. See #6 below.



4.  Purging one thing in the house
When everything is out of control I’ll find the pile in the house that is bothering me most, whether that’s the junk drawer in the kitchen or the pile of laundry on the top shelf in my closet, and I’ll dump the whole thing on the floor, then organize it.  Having at least one thing that starts from scratch and feels nice and tidy makes a huge difference. It’s slightly OCD, but hey, it works.

5.  Coffee
I once tried to stop drinking caffeine, but that lasted about 2 hours.

6.  Camaraderie
Talking to women who are dealing with similar life challenges is probably the easiest way to help me feel like I’m not as crazy as my husband sometimes suspects I am.  I can’t stress the importance of adult conversation..

7.  A Hot Bath and a Locked Door
…and music to tune out the little knocks on the door.

Cribs work great for containing the little people while you finally put that pile of laundry away

8.  Exercise
I find that if I want to keep from flinging someone out a window, I need to have at least felt like I put some energy into throwing a barbell or kettlebell around a little bit. Plus the post-workout endorphins make a huge difference in how I handle coming home to witching hour.

9.  A Trip to the Grocery Store - Alone
I realize this is an odd and somewhat sad statement, that I now consider this as a luxury or vice. But there you have it.

10.  Wine
I used to work in the wine industry and would pride myself on my wine-hoarding abilities.. not anymore.. I now have more corks than full bottles.

11.  Ditch the plans
Sometimes just throwing an entire day’s plans out the window and going to get a flippin' ice cream cone can make life better, even if dog hair sticks to the toddler’s fingers afterward.


12.  Admit Defeat
Admitting defeat can be oddly freeing when you’re covered in baby vomit and have a crying toddler on your leg with cheerios on the floor and crayon marks on the TV screen. Do all of the above if needed..

Tomorrow is a new day.

How do you handle the crazy moments in life? I'd love to hear your tips!

Such a little comedian, haha! I captured so many different faces with these balloons, this was my favorite!