What it Means to Love

This week, we had a scare. One of those incidents that knocks you down emotionally and makes everything stop. It was an experience that makes me grateful for health and the petty problems that plague our day to day lives like picky eating and potty training.

Wednesday night, I was tired and cranky. I was ready for the kids to go to bed so I could relax. We had a busy morning visiting the fire station with friends and then to the mall to do some pre-Easter shopping and grab lunch. By 8:00pm, I was ready for some peace and quiet. We were all in the playroom, David, Elise, Ben and I. I was sitting on the floor looking at my phone, and David was watching the kids as they ran back and forth tackling each other to the ground and giggling.

Fire Station Crew!

Ben started crying, and I looked up to see the kids getting up off the floor. They had tumbled on top of each other; David said it looked like in the fall Ben hit his head on Elise's foot. Ben ran to me and plopped in my lap, crying profusely. What happened next was the most terrifying moment I've experienced so far as a parent. That weird slow motion effect that takes place in movies seemed to happen to me.

All of a sudden Ben was crying, and then he suddenly went silent, slumping over in my arms while his eyes rolled back into his head. His lips turned blue. Elise cried out, and David screamed Ben's name. I remember shaking his arm, thinking about the infant CPR and choking sheet I keep on the fridge, wondering if there was time to grab it, scooping him up towards me as he convulsed and his arms jerked and then crying out in happiness as Ben gasped loudly and started breathing again. The entire thing must have lasted a minute, but it felt like an eternity. Other than being a little frightened and not knowing what had happened, Ben was fine. He smiled and walked and talked like nothing had happened. David and I were not okay. We cried in relief. We hugged both kids tightly, and that night we prayed like we never had before.

Thinking about your mortality is a scary thought, but it is even more scary to imagine losing a child. Our week stopped, dead in its tracks. I watched Ben all night, sleeping next to him and reaching over to feel his little chest rise and fall, rejoicing in the little kicks and movements that are often annoyances when trying to share a bed with a toddler.

David went to work and then turned back around and came home, unable to concentrate. We started calling around. The guilt was worse the next morning when we were questioned by every single person we spoke to,"Why didn't you take him to the ER?!" Going by gut instinct apparently isn't something you should do as a parent anymore, you should be shamed into doing what others want. That's a whole other post though! Thursday passed quickly encompassed by prayer and support from friends and family, calls to doctors and neurologists. Watching and flinching anytime Ben cried out or fell, we were emotionally done.

We finally got an appointment on Friday with a neurologist in Tampa, not local to us, but who my sister uses for her epilepsy. We were hoping to get some answers for what this scary incident meant - seizures? minor concussion?

EEG "Helmet" as the nurse called it.

After a 3 hour drive, restless sleep, an early wake up, and finally a 20 min EEG we were given great news - a normal reading. The doctor explained that it sounded like Ben had a breath holding spell. (Why couldn't the after-hours nurse figure that out?!) Basically, he exhaled all his air without inhaling and passed out. The spells are a reflex to pain or fear, and something that happens to young toddlers. So, it could happen again, but (if there is a) next time we will know what it is!

Post-EEG hair - super crazy from all the sticky stuff left in his hair!

Overall, I'm so grateful that everything is okay. It was a scary process we've endured these past few days; I can't imagine what parents with terminally ill kids go through on a daily basis! I know we are lucky. We are not totally in the clear; we will always watch our kids more closely than most for signs of seizures. However, our family came together,  and all of the miniscule and unimportant things faded. This morning, we snuggled in our bed with our kids and thanked God for his grace and mercy.

Mother's Day DIY Idea!

Hey everyone!!

I actually created these books for Valentine's Day, but these would be perfect for any mommas or grandmothers in your life who adore the hand and foot prints of your little one(s)! 

The black books themselves were something I snagged from the $1 Spot in Target. It was an impulse purchase I'm so glad I made! I got an 8 pack of these for $3! So many books to make! I then used craft materials I had on hand - paint, paper heart doilies, chalkboard markers, tissue paper, etc. 

Anyways, here are a few things I learned along the way. These will make your life easier - trust me!

1. Plan out the number of hand/foot prints you will need. This will make it go quickly which is always beneficial with short attention spans! I distracted my kiddos with their own painting materials and made the prints while they sat in their chairs making pictures! 

2. Have wipes or a wet washcloth handy in case your kids decide to try to jump out of their chairs and leave paint on the floor! Ask me how I know...

3. Use washable paint and strip down to as little clothing as you can tolerate - my kids paint in their undies. When the kids were super small I would take them to our walk-in shower and let them paint there so I could immediately rinse off ALL the paint. Now we settle for painting outside on a disposable tablecloth or at the table with newspaper on top. 

Ready to begin? Perfect!

The cover was created by Elise. We did this separately, and then I added it onto the front. I made a heart shape for her which she then filled in using stick glue and balled up tissue paper pieces. Super easy and so cute!

For the inside of the book, I used a blog for inspiration, but I can't seem to find the link! I searched Pinterest though, and there are TONS of handprint and footprint crafts!! I basically combined these individual ideas to make one big book of LOVE. We added pictures I printed at Walgreens, paintings the kids made while I was doing their prints, and love notes throughout the book for the recipient.

I started with the monkeys - painting each little foot brown and stamping it in the book. In retrospect,  construction paper to be cut out later would have made life much easier. Not having to wait for pages to dry between prints makes for happier kids as I discovered! I made three books so each kid made 3 footprints per picture so that each book included 1 from each child.  Next came the race cars created with little blue feet.

Followed by red feet for "love bugs" and then multicolored hands for our flowers. I let Elise & Ben help with this one, and the swirls of pinks and purples turned out really cute!

 I laid the paper out around our kitchen to dry while I cleaned up the kids, table, and their artwork. Cue a long break for my kids, and I continued the rest while everyone napped.

Once all the paint was dry, I cut around the outline of the prints and glued them in the books. I then decorated each foot/hand to go along with that page's theme complete with a corny love catch phrase. Pictures interspersed in between the prints and some hand written heartfelt notes make for a tear jerking present any mom (or dad!) is sure to love!

It takes some time to complete, and I honestly did it in three different stages, but the result and reactions were SO worth it. Hope this project sparks some creativity! If you recreate or even use my idea as a jumping off point please let me know! I would love to see pictures or hear how it went.

When Mr Sun Sun Isn't Awake

The other morning, a little before 5am I heard the small squeak of our bedroom door being opened. I sighed inwardly. My alarm was set for 5am and I had planned to do my early morning devotions before working out - a little bit of me time before the kids are awake.

Elise, our 3 year old, walked around to my side of the bed. She already knows her dad doesn't wake up, and I sleep very lightly. "Mommy my night time panties are wet" she whispered. "Do you want to take them off?" I said. She nodded yes. We changed her underwear after which she looked at me expectantly, ready to start the day. "Mr Sun isn't awake yet, honey so it isn't time to get up yet. Would you like to go back to your bed and sleep more?" She nodded no. "Would you like to snug with me and daddy for a while?" A quick climb up into bed and under the covers signaled a yes.

Great I thought, now I really can't get up and workout. Two weeks of sickness and early morning wake ups as Elise fought off a cold (waking up coughing and sniffle very early every day) made for a snag in my routine.

I can't say I wasn't annoyed that morning as my alarm went off and then David's alarm went off. He got up and around to go workout before heading into work while  I lay in bed trapped with a 3 year old on top of my arm.

Embracing my imprisonment, I went back to sleep and snuggled in. Elise finally drifted off and rolled away, clutching her favorite "cupcake blanket" and one of her stuffed animals. Being a morning person, my body automatically wakes by a certain time, and so I lay there awhile before venturing out of my room to start my day with a little bit of quiet.

I thought about it, and honestly, that snuggle time in the morning was so sweet and fleeting. She isn't going to crawl into my bed much longer asking to "snug", falling asleep in my arms, secure in the knowledge that mom and dad are there.

I don't know what woke her up to make her come into our room, but I am so thankful for little girl's love and snuggles, even if it meant postponing my workout to later in the day. My workout ultimately  isn't important. Sure, I want to get it in, but I will have a lifetime of workouts if I so choose.
Snuggles with my girl are only going to be around another couple of years, and then awkward 'tween hugs may turn into teenage angst. 

 

 

For now, I'll wait for Mr. Sun to wake up and snug with my girl.

 

 

 

DIY Heating Pad with Essential Oils & A Make 'n' Take Party

Evening friends!

It's Saturday, and we just returned from a strenuous afternoon of exploring the JBE Playground! If you've never been I would highly recommend it! The kids had so much fun exploring, and they find more and more to do every time we go there. From little to big kids, it seem to be a hit.

On to the point of this post though - my DIY Heating Pad!

I've had great success with making this super simple rice heating pad, and I even gifted them to my MOPS table this year at Christmas. I've had one myself for ages that nana made for me forever ago. While perusing pinterest (the bane of all crafting ideas), I saw the idea pop up and decided I too could make some! Being a sewing novice, I felt confident I could tackle a few straight lines sewn in a square.

This really takes little sewing skill, and it's super simple. I knocked out 9 for friends in a few hours start to finish, and my friends and I completed 7 in about hour with each person making their own.

What you need:

Sewing machine or needle/thread
1 yd of fabric (I prefer a soft cotton, think almost PJ pant material)
A bag of white rice (5 lb bag)
Funnel or measuring cup
Tupperware bowl (if using essential oils)
Essential Oils to make it smell nice! (lavender, deep blue, peppermint, citrus bliss are a few!)

How to Make It:

Start by cutting your fabric into squares. I made 4 bags out of 1 yd of fabric. Each bag measured around 4.5 in x 4.5 in. To cut your fabric, fold your yard of fabric in half and cut down the fold. You should have 2 large pieces now - approx. 18 in each. Repeat the following steps for each piece.

Fold your fabric in half and cut down that fold (it doesn't matter if you fold it hamburger or hot dog - whichever you prefer!). Now fold each 9 in piece one more time and cut down each of those folds. You should now have 4 equal sized pieces measuring about 4.5 inches each.

Repeat the above steps for your other large piece. You will now have 8 small squares of fabric which will make 4 bags total!

Place the fabric in pairs with the front or patterned sides facing each other and the "wrong" side out.

You will now sew around this square leaving a small seam and one small section open in the corner of one of the sides. Do not forget this opening! This is where you will insert the rice!

After sewing, flip your bag right side out.

If you want your bag scented, now is when you will add the oils!

Using a large tupperware container or even a large gallon ziploc you will add your rice, approx. 4 cups if you used my measurements. Now, grab the scent you want. At my Make 'n' Take party, Deep Blue was a huge hit. This blend is made of wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, blue chamomile, helichrysum, and osmanthus! It is known for its relaxing qualities as well as ability to help with tension headaches and muscle soreness. Really, it's the perfect scent for an athlete or someone who needs to de-stress quickly!

 I typically make lavender heating pads as well for its calming properties which makes this heating pad great for bedtime or when dealing with monthly cramps. The possibilities are endless so whatever scent you prefer, add it just don't mix them randomly!

We did 2 - 4 drops depending on the scent intensity preferred. Stir in the oil and let sit. Ideally, you want to add the oil and walk away for a few hours before finishing. Don't have time for that? That's okay too. It's just nice to do if you can, stirring every 30 min or so.

Using a funnel or measuring cup, scoop your rice into the heating pad bag. I prefer each bag about 2/3 full, but again this is all personal preference so add a little more if you want. Don't worry about adding plain rice if it's scented, it will absorb the scent as well.

For the next part, I did happen to spill rice all over my floor at my party so be careful when picking your bag up that the open side is not facing down! Once the bag is filled, carefully slide it into your sewing machine and add a few stitches over the opening to make sure it stays shut! If you are hand sewing it do the same, making sure to knot each end off well.

Annnnd you're done!! A personal heating pad for monthly cramps, sore muscles, headaches...anything you can think of! The drops of essential oil just make this a little more special and effective too! Look, you have 3 extra bags too! Gift them to friends, relatives, whoever could use one! I keep finding people to give one to.

To use, heat up your rice heating pad in the microwave with a small cup of water for about 2 minutes. The water helps keep it moist and is essential when heating up your heating pad!

I had such a great time making these for friends and then with friends! Doesn't our party look like fun?! It was Valentine's Day themed (the heating pads were mostly made for significant others) so we had lots of chocolate, some wine, and all things pink/hearts. It was a great first party, and I'm so happy so many great ladies got to join me for it!!

Thanks for following along! If you make one too, please comment or post your results!! I would love to hear about your experience. If you want to host your own make 'n' take party, send me a message or email! I would love to help you make your own deodorant, bud spray, cleaner, or even seasoning for your food!

All Natural Cleaner How To & Review

Hello friends!

I promised a quick post on how to make your own all natural cleaner so here it is!! I've seen this recipe out and about a few times, but I never took the time to make it. Honestly, WHY didn't anyone tell me to do this sooner?! So here's my PSA: Make this today! It took me under 2 minutes - no exaggeration.

Supplies needed:

Spray bottle
White Vinegar (you can get it pre-scented, but I added essential oils so I used plain ol' unscented.)
Your choice of essential oils

Fill your bottle with 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar. Add essential oils. I did 5 drops of lemon and 25 drops of On Guard. Shake to mix. You're ready to clean!

I picked On Guard & Lemon for my first test run.
On Guard is composed of wild orange, clove, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary.

It is an amazing immune support booster! We use it religiously when the sniffles start or when we are in a large public place full of people like the mall, theme park, restaurant, etc. doTERRA makes a lot of things with On Guard in them - toothpaste, detergent, cough drops, etc. 

Lemon is well-known for its cleaning properties, and I love the smell so I added this one in to hide the vinegar smell a bit and add to the cleaning power!

I sprayed a fine mist of this on my floors before mopping, and I swear I finished faster than when I use the steam mop! This is definitely my new go-to! I can't wait to clean more things with it! According to my father-in-law our fridge needs it next, haha. Adding it to my list of deep cleaning things that often get put off for fun things! I plan on hitting that and cleaning out our air vent sometime this week during nap time. Adulting is so fun!

Really though, make yourself some of this cleaner! If you have little babies crawling still, it's SAFE for them to lick the floors! Anyone else have weirdos that liked to do that? Just me? Ben ran across the floors while I was still mopping, and I was relieved that I didn't have to grab him and rinse his little feet off in the middle of my cleaning. 

Thanks for reading along & happy cleaning! Please let me know if you make this cleaner & love it as much as I do!!

Bless the Lord Oh My Soul!

Good morning to my fellow early risers!

It (looks) to be a beautiful day! Our forecast calls for rain and more rain to go with the rain we've been having here in Florida. I'm optimistic that maybe we'll be able to play outside and do some fun things today!

So my silence last week was not due to a sudden change of heart about blogging! I've unfortunately had sinus issues and was down for the count most of the week. I'm still a bit sniffly, but I feel SO much better! I know I've talked to friends about this recently (definitely last week as I was recovering from feeling like my head might fall off) that whenever we seem to find a good rhythm, something happens to throw it off. For me, it was personal sickness. For other moms, sleeplessness from kids has been an issue. For another mom, I know her kids were sick. The list goes on!

I got to thinking, why is it always when we're doing what we're supposed to do that something comes up?! How discouraging! I've been doing my daily devotions and quiet time, I'm working out, heck I'm knocking out blog posts before my kids even wake up! What gives?! 

Then, I thought about the Biblical story of Job, and I was a bit humbled and embarrassed. Remember Job? For those of you who are unfamiliar or need a refreshing, the short little book of Job in the Bible tells his story. Here's the "quick" version.

Job was a blessed man who loved God. God showed him to Satan and bragged on this great guy. Satan challenged God and told him Job wouldn't still praise him if he wasn't so incredibly blessed. God agreed to let Satan take anything he wanted from Job except his life. So, Satan took everything, literally everything from him - his kids, his wealth, his house, his health....all gone. Job still praised God. 

There's more to the story, but you can read up on the ending yourself if so inclined! 

The point that I want you should take away is his reaction to his circumstances. How incredible of a witness was Job for everyone around him?! If Job can praise God, spend time with him, and continue to honor that relationship, how shallow are my reasons for slacking last week on my quiet time? A little bit of a sinus cold? Is it a legitimate reason to be under the weather? Yes. Is it exactly the response Satan was hoping for from me? I'm sure!!

I truly believe that when Satan starts to see you rise, to be a positive witness for Christ, is when he strikes with something that he knows will be a stumbling block. All the more reason to pick yourself up and praise God through it all. 

And so, the song 10,000 reasons has been in my head. Having a minor cold isn't so hard, but I know when something bigger comes I want to be singing & praising God through it all like Job.

It is indeed a new day! Have a happy & HEALTHY Monday everyone!!