This Week

Sunday: Wyatt is well,  Kate is sick.  Just a "virus".

Monday: Kate has her 6 month checkup. Orrr maybe it turns into a sick visit?

Tuesday: Hunter and I celebrate our 8 year anniversary.

Wednesday: My sweet niece Calleigh has heart surgery to help close up her murmur and improve her quality of life.  Send prayers her way Wednesday morning.

Thursday: I have my one month evaluation for all of the physical therapy I have been doing for my knee.  Every week they add to my routine.  I am therapying an hour every day.  Every day is legs day so I don't really do anything running or any other fitness stuff.  I think my knee is a little better but not all better.

Friday: Halleluiah!

Until next time, more of this....

 

Oh and potty training might be sticking this time? Woot!  And Wyatt might be done with his booster seat at meal times. I might never forgive myself for letting that become a habit.

New Orleans for Easter

So we had our first vacation as a family of 4.   I would call it a good one one but maybe not a great one.  It was too short to justify the drive time.  We spent too much time waiting in lines to eat.  I didn't get to eat any etoufee.  The valet at the hotel broke off a piece of the racks on my truck and wasn't going to tell us about it. 

We did get to eat some delicious oysters and crawfish po boys and beignets.  We did get to walk around the city and see all of the sites and crazy people watch.  We did get to spend time with our friends that happen to have a baby the same age as Kate.  We did get to briefly visit with a high school friend. We also had the best weather you could ask for.

The kiddies did good sharing a hotel room.  I might be an Embassy Suites lifer because of the door on the bedroom so 2 kids don't wake each other up. And they have a happy hour from 5:00-7:00 with free drinks, appetizers, and goodies for the kiddies.  On Saturday, after we pushed Wyatt to the limit with no nap that turned into our dinner before we tucked ourselves into bed at 7 PM.  Nice-uhhh!

So here is the breakdown:

We left Friday at 9 AM. We got home Sunday at 7:30 PM.  That is a 800 mile, 58 hour trip.

A 58 hour trip

• 15.5 hours in the car (including a 2 hour stand still on the interstate)
• 3 hours waiting in lines to eat
• 20 hours of sleep

That leaves us with 19.5 hours of vacation fun! Would I do it again?  Yup! Way more exciting than my living room.

We ate at Oyster Acme House, Johnnys Po Boys, and Rabideaux's.

We took almost no pictures because I forgot the memory card and it's hard to remember when you are trying to keep two kids happy.  Here are some mostly repeats from instagram.

This Post

This post is just to tell you that I am still alive and I am sorry for no posts in a very very long time. I might not be alive after Sunday as we are attempting to travel to New Orleans.  Two small kids on a road trip and in a hotel together might not be pleasant and naps on the go...eeek!  

I will have to shove excessive amounts of delicious Nawlins food into my belly to ease the pain.

So all I have energy for is a TBT

Wyatt at 7 Months in his Easter best

Wyatt dying eggs with Aunt Linda and Cousin Carol in Georgia last year

Happy Easter weekend!

By Reader Request!!!!!

Notice how I didn't say by readerS request?  I got one response...asking me for more information on my essential oil trials. 

So back when I was living the kid free dream...working, working out, going to happy hour, reading books, leaving my house to eat, I never pictured the stay at home mom version of me that I turned into.  Of course, I would keep running with my kids.  Of course, I would go to playdates and ladies Bible study. Of course, I would cook and clean.  Of course, we will still leave the house.

I did not know that I would schedule obsessively around nap times. I did not know that I would be a Chick Fil A mom (just like all the others). I did not know that I would cloth diaper. I did not picture nursing for 12 months.  I did not know that I needed to be around people sooo much. I surely did not picture my desperation that hits around 4:00 every day where I just hope that I can make it to bedtime and that dinner, bath, bedtime could break me.  I surely didn't even know what essential oils were.

Ok, but seriously, back to Chick Fil A...if you go to Chick Fil A with one kid they bring a high chair to the counter and help you order, get drinks, food, ketchup, first fork, second fork, placemat, napkins, drink refills, purell wipes, and take your trash.  If you go with 2 kids, they do all this but first they seat you at a table and take your order there.  That is why all moms are chick fil a moms.  And they actually have clean looking floors and playgrounds and you can swap your kids meal toy for ice cream. Amen. I get it now.  Every mom should be a Chick Fil A mom.

Now, I have been to a mom group thing where one mom was talking about how her kiddo's teeth were really bothering her. She was so fussy etc and then she gave her kiddo Tylenol and everything was so much better.  Amen.  And then this other mom was like oh my gawshness I can't believe you did that to her. <<Implied you are such a horrible mom>>. Hollistic and natural and blah blah blah and next time don't harm your daughter.  And I was like whaaaat? I never want to be friends with you crazy lady. So anyways a few years later, I know several people that vouch for the wonderfulness of the essential oils. Of course, they are stay at home moms too. Bwah ha.  We are like a club. And I am in it.  And I guess I like it. 

So by recommendation I tried DoTerra OnGuard and DoTerra Breathe. Our whole house was sick all winter and it was nawt fun so OnGuard was to help with the immunity boosting.  And Breathe was to help with the congestion and allergies that everybody suffers from.  I talked with my rep, and she recommended mixing the oil with cooking coconut oil instead of fractionated coconut oil because it massages better. And I said, hey I like that idea because I don't have to buy something else.  So oils can be massaged into skin, can be breathed in by diffusing into the air (but can't diffuse with heat), and some oils can be ingested.

I mix 2 Tablespoons of coconut oil for 1 drop of essential oil to get a ratio that is safe for the bottom of babies and toddlers feet.  I mixed the OnGuard and the Breathe.  I put them into little PET jars like these for storage. Would you believe that one drop still gives a very strong smell.  I also bought this little diffuser that I love because it makes your house smell like a spa depending on what you mix with the water.

Ok, so after all this blabbering....what's the verdict!?!??!?  Our feet smell really good and are moisturized and our house smells like a spa.  That is all I can report so far.  I started out really hopeful. And now I feel kinda like I was suckered into this oil that doesn't really do much.  Will I keep using it? Heck yah.  Will I be hopeful that it has healing or preventative powers?   Yah, I will still give it a good chance. Will I ever have scientific (aka Janet analyzing everything) proof?  Probably not. Will I buy any more?  Not unless I see some magic happening.

I will continue to use essentail oils for homemade deodorant, room sprays, various homemade cleaning products, cloth wipe solution, etc.  I really love the smell of the lavender and eucalyptus combo.  It's like a spa in my house.  With a lot more crying. And toys on the floor. And piles of clean and dirty laundry. And Daniel Tiger playing in the background. I bought this little 6 pack from Amazon a while back.  Deelicious (smelling). 

The End. Of my pointless post. I hope I didn't lose my one reader.