Easy Lotion Bars

It's hard to believe I'm almost 29 weeks with this baby girl!! Time is going so fast and sometimes I just want to hold it still. I'm still in a bit of shock that I am blessed to carry out next child. I love feeling kicks and wiggles!!

When I started growing a bit bigger, I asked one of my good friends what she used to prevent stretch marks. Her answer was olive oil or coconut oil. I figure, since she's had four kids, she probably knows what she's talking about!  So I decided to make myself a lotion bar!! 

It's a pretty simple recipe. I started with a 1:1:1 ratio of beeswax, coconut oil, and cocoa butter, but since I wanted it to be very "oily" I add in extra coconut oil. Then I add in several popped and squeezed E capsules and a few drops of essential oil.

For about one bar, the quantities look like this: 

1 oz. bar of beeswax

2 tablespoons cocoa butter

2 tablespoons coconut oil (plus an extra scoop or two!)

3-4 E capsules

3-4 drops of essential oil

I put it in a glass jar in a pan of water and heat it all up slowly. It just needs to be melted. 

Then I pour it into my mold. I love using silicone, the bars just pop right out when they are done! 

And all finished!! This is my second batch of making these. I've made a similar bar a few years ago, but I like this recipe a lot better. And best of all... No stretch marks!! And baby sure is growing!! Here I am at 28 weeks!! 

NOT a book review

Goodness... I just looked at my blog and realized like every post for the past almost six months has been a book review...  I really DO more than just read, but who has the time for blogging nowadays? Some do, I know! Just not me, evidently... But I shall try. If there's anyone out there that still reads this. :)

What have I been up to? my #1 job is this little (but growing fast) girl!

She's sooo much fun and learning so much! She loves her books, music, play phones and Baby Signing time. She loves people! So much fun to go to the store because she loves to say "HI!" to everyone we meet... several times! ;) How is it even possible that 17 months has passed already? She is an amazing girl! But yes.... she does keep me quite busy. If she is awake, she is moving. ;)

My second (naptime) job is my business! I love my work as a Lilla Rose Independent Consultant! Mostly I do what I can during naptimes (or occasionally after kiddo is in bed.) I don't have huge requirements to keep my consultant status and if I have a very busy time, my job will be right where I left it. And it's such an amazing product that it sells itself! I did my first vendor event last week with my mom and a young friend (she was our hair model!). We had a lot of fun and got to introduce Lilla Rose to our community. :)

A third thing that is happening is, quite frankly, something that ISN'T. We are still. in. our. apartment. sigh... We ARE very blessed! We live in an older, but VERY well maintained complex with an excellent staff! (Our little one loves going to the office to say hi! And they have known her since she was born!) ;) But apartment living is just that. Apartment living. We have neighbors above us with pets - very sweet neighbors - but it is still close quarters. We're not so much "looking" for a house as we are "waiting" for a house. We are ready in every way to buy our long term home, but our home has yet to open up. I know God is working things out in His perfect timing, but sometimes it's hard to wait - especially when you don't see anything happening... But we keep trusting and praying for His will for our little family.

Ah... what else? VBS planning, helping mom with her recital last week, gearing up to plan my sister's wedding... EEEK!!! my baby sister is engaged!!! So happy for her! ;) And many, other things that just keep happening. I reckon you'd just call it life! :) So yes... I do something besides read books...

A New Venture - My Lilla Rose Story

Two days before our little Joy was born was the last day I worked at my old job. I was a part time librarian at a local church library and loved it! Then I got a new job!! I'm a full time mommy!! It's an amazing job with lots of perks! I get to spend time with a darling little girl and watch her grow! But although I save money being at home, I don't make much money. ;) I had been considering for a while the thought of becoming a consultant for some company. I wasn't quite sure yet what I wanted to do, but just something to bring in a little income and be able to work at my own pace (and during nap times!) Enter Lilla Rose!

Before I continue my story... what is Lilla Rose? Lilla Rose is a company that makes beautiful hair products! These products are very versatile, strong and come in so many sizes to suit your particular hair type and style. They are even more lovely in person than in the pictures! :)The "Flexi Clip" is their main product. It comes in the sizes below:

The wire part of the Flexi is made of strong music wire and the attached pin is a very heavy duty metal. These beauties are strong! They hold the hair very snugly and are super comfortable!

Back to my story... I've had a medium clip for a couple of years. A gift from a friend. I wore it a bit, but not a whole lot. Then this spring I bought one for a friend... she has thick heavy hair and could only wear her hair half up in a little claw clip or in a very loose braid - anything else gave her a headache. I gave her a Flexi for her birthday and she has fallen in love! It is beautiful in her long dark hair!! She is so happy to now have something pretty that works (and has since bought another!) :)

Her excitement got me to thinking about the company a little more and about maybe selling them myself. A few months later (no, I'm not a quick thinker...) at the end of July, I signed up. Becoming a consultant for Lilla Rose is very affordable!! I got my consultant kit in the mail a few days later. The kit comes with five flexis all different sizes, starting with the mini through the large. When I started using the large my hairstyle options expanded! I love it! It really shows the importance of having the right size for what hairstyle you wear the most often. I still want to get an extra large to go over a bun - my go to hairstyle. This is my favorite way to wear my large and it holds all day! (I do put a pin in the bottom to keep the braid loop from flopping, but the flexi is what truly holds my hair.)

Since starting out, I have been learning more and more about the company. The more I learn, the more excited I get! This really is an amazing company to be a consultant for! As a full time mommy and housewife, I don't know what a month will hold. With Lilla Rose, I don't have to meet a certain quota every month. In fact, the requirements to staying active are very achievable! The company has amazing customer service and I have been able to get acquainted with some wonderful ladies who are also consultants!

And here's the deal... I genuinely love these products and this company. What I have said above has not been fed to me by some training in saying the right thing to get people to buy... I am not a pushy person. Some may think the product is expensive. Yes, I understand that! (we are saving to buy a house... no extra $$ floating around here!) But I think of these as quality products worth the investment!! They are very durable and come with a great guarantee!

I am currently having my Grand Opening party!! For many of my local friends, I am having an in home party next week. (I'd have it in my own home, but unfortunately an apartment doesn't have much space... Thankfully my parents are most gracious to allow me to use their home!) If you are interested in the clips, I'd love to be your Lilla Rose consultant!! Please let me answer any questions you might have! As for the size you need, there is a video in the bottom right corner of my party link. Come have a look around!

Spring Time Fun!

Wow! It's hard to believe it's the last day of May! Time has been flying by so quickly and our little girl is growing so fast!!! I wanted to post an picture update... beware, many pictures coming! I also don't want this to be entirely a book review blog! (Books DO help me keep my sanity and relax, and it certainly is nice to get them free, but that isn't the only reason to have this blog!) :)

We've certainly had an eventful spring! Our little girl is growing and changing so fast! It's hard to keep up - and hard for my back to keep up... "Little" Joy weighs 20 pounds! ;) But thankfully, the Lord gives strength for what we need! And little girl LOVES being held! Not necessarily cuddled.... but held. heehee!! I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just give some highlights from the past three months. :)
March:
My grandmother came down for her annual visit - which turned into something more permanent! She is now living with my parents and we are enjoying having her close! Joy loves "NeeNee!" March was a crazy month weather wise, beautiful day one day and ice the next! But spring did eventually come and we got to enjoy our local spring flower festival a bit! Some of our friends were "belles" for the trails and Joy enjoyed visiting! ;)

 

April:

Her first Easter!!! So fun to celebrate with our little one!  Such a happy girl - most of the time!! She is very strong and loves to jump when held!

May:
Oh, goodness.... the most eventful month this year!! So proud of my hubby! He graduated with his Master's degree!!! We are also so glad that he now has more time to spend with us!! ;)

It was also wonderful to visit with a good (life long) friend and for her to meet our girl and me to meet her twins!! So glad we could fit a visit in with Melissa!!

And my first Mother's Day as a mommy! Such a special day!!

 

Joy has been growing so fast!! And changing so much!! She has....

Eaten her first official food: 

Avocado in her mesh feeder.

She is also learning to pick up food and eat it. (For those wondering, we are trying the "Baby-Led Weaning" route to feeding her.)

 

 

She has also started sitting up! (This was kindof a surprise discovery for me... a friend's baby a bit younger than her started sitting and I wondered if she could. Low and behold, she can!) heehee!! 

She's so proud!

She has also got her first little "bug." So hard to see her not feeling well, but she is getting better now and we are SO very blessed that she is so healthy!!

On Memorial Day she had her first pigtails!! I about died from the cuteness! ;)

So that's just a bit of our world over here!! Yes, most of our life does revolve around baby, but Mark and I are trying to be sure and fit in some time to connect as a couple - we celebrated our nine year anniversary this week! So blessed with my wonderful husband!!

Finished Object Friday: Celebrating Spring!

Thankfully, spring has started to "spring" around here!! We are starting to see blooms!! So happy! I know we don't have a whole lot to complain about down here in Texas, but the trees are about a month late budding out! Such a strange year! But my little project made it feel a bit more like spring whether the weather cooperated or not!

I haven't made many wreaths, but I'm thinking this could quickly become a favorite craft!! It wasn't that expensive to make and came together quickly as well! It sure has been fun to have something cheery on our front door (it had been empty since I took our Christmas decorations down!)  I got a lot of inspiration from Pintrest, no surprise there! And the supplies came from Hobby Lobby. Oh, and my mom actually did the bow. She's the expert bow maker! :)

 

So, yes, I have had a couple of minutes here and there to squeeze in some crafting! Little "Joy" is sleeping for looong stretches at night - usually at least 8 hours!! YAY!!! She is such a sweetie and we are so very blessed! :) Not sure when I'll get the next bit of craftiness in, other than hair bows for my little one. I've had fun with that! Maybe I'll do a post of bows sometime... :) 

Until then, feel free to link up here with a project!! Maybe you've had a minute to put together something springy?! 

In which I talk diapers....

When you wait years and years for a little one, you have a LOT of time to do research! ;) One of the things I researched was cloth diapers. After using them for about 3 weeks, I am by no means a pro, but I thought I would share some reasons why I chose to cloth diaper and what is working for us at the moment. Any other cloth diapering moms out there? I'd love to hear your take on things!

 Reasons why:

 #4: Less Waste! 
 I'm not huge into environmental issues, but I do feel it is our job as Christians to take care of God's world. So less trash is a good thing. I also just didn't see the point of pouring resources into something that couldn't be reused. Just didn't make sense! (This goes closely with number #1... so hang with me.) ;)

 #3: SO CUTE!! 
 I mean, really!! How stinkin' adorable is this? (Ok, poor choice of adjectives...) ;)

 I'm very much a texture/tactile/sensory person. (Part of my reason for my knitting love...) And I love the thought of these soft cotton/fabric diapers. (Especially when you think of what is in the disposables!)

Edit to add:
#2: Safer
One of the huge things that I like about using cloth diapers is that they are a lot more natural! There aren't any crazy chemicals in them. I'm not a mom that has to have 100% pure natural or organic. BUT I do think that there are so many chemicals that we don't even think about that we are daily in contact with. Using cloth diapers helps reduce that a bit. :) Edited yet again to add: One particular brand of disposables actually burned my poor baby. Enough of THOSE! :/


 #1: Saving Money!!
 Yep, this is the number one reason!! I can hardly stand the thought of using something I am just going to throw away, when there is an option of me just washing and reusing it. (Told you this went with #4!) And the more kids that use these, the more savings we will have! We know one family who's fourth child is using their cloth diapers. Imagine the savings!!!

Colorful fluffy shipment!!!

 What works for us: 

This is what is working for us now. Things may change - as they are very likely to with a little one. Right now, obviously we are on formula so dirty diapers are pretty (ahem) consistent. I know there will be some adjustments when we introduce more foods into Joy's diet.

We have seven diapers and more on the way... seven doesn't work. I am doing a load of diapers every day - ok if I am home every day to do laundry, but it gets a little old and doesn't seem to be a good use of resources. I'm thinking 12-15 diapers will be a good number for us. You don't want to go too long between washes anyway. ;) (and I just use Tide Original - I read that many CD moms like it just as well as the fancy stuff.)

 I have one diaper pail liner - and another on the way. One wasn't enough. (ETA: I wrote this last week. Since then I got another liner and also realized that it is ok to throw the liners in the dryer...ON LOW HEAT! So one is probably sufficient.) It takes a while for them to dry and about the time it's dry, it's time to do laundry again! I think two will be perfect. I also have a small wet bag and a medium wet/dry bag on the way. The small one fits about three (very squished) of her diapers when we are out and about. I think the medium will be just right. (ETA: Got the medium! I LOVE having a dry section in my bag... I keep the wipes and clean diapers in the dry section and then wet in the waterproof side. Kindof a mini diaper bag - easy to grab and go!)

 Right now we are using disposable wipes. But why buy wipes when I can (once again) wash and reuse something? So I have cut up some old stained knit and plan on keeping a few at a time damp in her wipe warmer ready to use. We'll see how that goes... :) (ETA: I love using cloth wipes. SO much easier just to throw them in the wash with the diapers than to have to throw them into a separate trash can. I just dampen them as needed - although I have kept them wet in the warmer as well.)

 As for the diapers themselves??? WOW. You can't imagine. I am so impressed with the quality, and we have yet to have a dirty blow out. (Some leakage when she's been in a wet one overnight, but nothing nasty.) Yesterday we had a nasty disposable - and one of the top brands too. Let's just say, I'd rather rinse out a diaper than a very nasty onesie that I have to pull over her head. The ick factor of the diapers doesn't bother me a bit right now. (Like I said, that may change when we diversify her menu.) The wet ones just go in her pail with the wet bag and I rinse the dirty ones before putting them in as well. No biggie. (eta: with milk only babies rinsing even the dirty ones isn't necessary... the wash takes care of any issues. Later "big productions" will go into the toilet before the wash.) :)

ETA: I also wanted to add that Mark has no problem changing the cloth diapers. I have still done the washing out on the dirty ones. But there really wasn't much of a learning curve for daddy to still do diaper duty. (And yes, I know I'm very blessed to have a hubby who will change diapers!! We both have much younger siblings, so we've both had lots of experience!) ;)

 Initially I thought I would use prefolds mostly at home and save the all-in-ones for daddy and out and about. (Someone gave us a huge stack of prefolds.) But she feels icky so much faster in the prefolds and cover than she does in the all-in-ones and I had to change quite frequently. The all-in-ones are very absorbent and the layers help pull the moisture away from her skin. So, yes, I'm a fan!

My first box - including supplies for using prefolds.

Negatives? Yes, I must be balanced... but really I can't think of many for us. Like I said, right now, the ick factor isn't an issue for me. I love that we are saving money (especially when we are hoping to get a house soon.) The diapers are rather bulky, so we have probably gone up a clothing size a bit faster than we would have, but really she's growing quite fast anyway... ;)

Do I think cloth diapering is for everyone? Nope! It works well for us - I am a stay at home mom and a bit more diaper laundry isn't a big deal. (Love a pile of clean diapers!) It may not work into someone else's schedule or lifestyle. OR you may be one of those coupon queens that can get disposables cheaper anyway. BUT I do think that cloth diapering is an awesome thing with the  amazing diapers that are available now. (Yes, I've only tried one brand, and I know there are other awesome ones out there. ETA: I've tried a couple other brands and the BumGenius Freetime are still our favorite and hold up the best.) I just think that it is something that most moms don't often think about and maybe after reading this you might see it as an option! :) I'd love to hear from other cloth diapering moms or even if you've chosen not to!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 PS- None of the links or mentioned brands are asking me to advertise. They don't know I exist. I'm just sharing what is working for us.

31 Days of settling: Day 5

Whew!!! What a busy and tiring day!! I do have a bit of progress to report this weekend!

Our master bath now has a pretty curtain to help finish it off:

So much better!! 

And... We now have our dresser back!! We were rather tired of living out of laundry baskets! 

(After evicting a little house gecko who had made herself quite at home in my drawer! Don't worry, she now happily resides in the ground cover outside our door with lots of new friends!!) ;)

But lest you think I've almost got us settled in here: 

That's our guest bedroom!! (And YES, there is a bed under there!!) oh my... Now you know.... Sigh... Now to sort this mess and decide what I don't need often enough to rate keeping it here... But not tonight!!! :) I hope everyone has a blessed Sunday tomorrow!! 

31 Days of Settling: Day 3

Not a big difference today. Busy  day! We enjoyed having our first guests over for dinner. My parents came over for a supper of beans and cornbread! (One of my Dad's top favorite meals!)

I did do a little sprucing in my kitchen. One of the most important areas:

Gotta have that cup to start off the day right!! 

I tried putting my tea canister out as well, but it makes it look a little crowded, especially since I don't use it every day. What do you think? 

Lastly, I wanted to show one of my favorite mugs. This one belonged to my grandmother. Not only was it her mug, but she also grew lots of daisies! 

Can you see the 3D effect going on? It is one of my treasures! 

31 days... Of getting settled.

Well, 31 more or less... We'll see if I  actually post each of the 31 days in October... Wait! Can it really be October already??? What an adventure the past couple of months has been!!

We are moved into an apartment! That in and of itself has been a journey. I won't give you the long version, but the short version is that God provided a very nice apartment in the complex that Mark and I lived our first year of marriage. 

That's the good part... The hard part has been trying to fit from a three bedroom house with two living areas, into a two bedroom apartment. It is a very daunting task. 

However, I thought if I brought you all along with me this month as I make some effort in getting us settled, that it would inspire me to just keep plodding! And it will be fun to look back on what we have accomplished. And, hey, maybe you even have some tips for me! I'll take any help I can get!! 

First off, I wanted to start with a pretty picture:

The welcome mat I bought before we even moved out of our home, and I saved it for our apartment. The burlap wreath is the same one from last year. That has been one of my most used projects, I do believe! 

Not pictured above: the beautiful mum from my parents to really cheer up my front door! But here it is... It's really starting to bloom out! 

That's the fun part... The NOT so fun part is what it still going on inside... 

(And will you believe it when I say, that is an AFTER shot from Saturday??? Yipes! Inspiration needed ASAP!) 

So it may be baby steps at times, but I will try to post a progress photo every day... Except probably Sundays, that IS a day of rest, after all. ;) 

Finished Object Friday: A Place to Sit

Hard to believe it is the second Friday in September already! We will be moving into our apartment very soon. Mark and I are so thankful to have parents that have shared their home with us for these interim weeks while we waited for it to open up! While we have been here, we have, of course, done a bit to help around the house - normal things like dishes, cleaning and yard work. However, last Saturday, Mom and I snuck this little project in.

My mom teaches piano lessons (and has for over twenty years!) She loves her little "teaching chair." (isn't it darling?? It's called a "Hepplewhite" chair - one term I DO remember from my interior design class...) ;) After quite a while of continual use, it needed a little TLC... as well as a bit more padding...

 

Ah... much better!!! And so much more comfy too!! There is a slight flaw that we have discovered, however... the chair looks so much better, that Mom doesn't want to sit on it! ;)

 

Here is part of her studio, complete with recovered "Hepplewhite" chair!

This was a pretty quick project. We didn't take the seat down to bare bones... just took off that nasty vinyl. (which we discovered did actually have some pretty(?) gold swirls on it.) And thanks to the sweet lady at Hobby Lobby who cut a generous sized piece (to make up for the test swatch that was hacked out of the end), the whole project cost less than $15.00. Not too bad! And so pretty too!

What little projects have you snuck in lately? I know we aren't the only ones with a hectic schedule around here! :)

Finished Object Friday... but not really

I should have posted this sooner... but y'all would probably get worried about me if I actually posted on time!! heehee!

Nope. I haven't been very crafty recently... too busy doing this:

Whew!!!

Thankfully, we've had lots of help!

Impossible to get a non-blurry picture of this... she was moving tooo fast!

(Yes, this little "Love" is walking!!! Those sisters sure walk early... my sister and I were cautious. We waited until we were well past a year before we ventured forth on two feet!!) ;)
Speaking of sisters....

(I'm probably SO dead after this one....) But might as well have some fun while we are working!!

We had a wonderful crew last Saturday and got a big bunch packed away!!!

(and with more help coming tomorrow, we hope to pretty much finish up!!)

So a big thank you to all who have helped and are going to help!! :)

And yes, we did sell our house! I would say "finally" but I know that there are others who have their homes listed a much longer time. It has been an eventful summer - one I hope we don't have to repeat for a long time. On July 3rd, Angie and I were in a fender bender:

Fortunately, we weren't hurt much at all (just a tad stiff...) but it did total our car. (Paid off... cold air... ran good - we weren't ready to let that one go!) But we got a new ride! (New to us, anyway...) And are really thrilled with it!

 

Anyway... with all the mess/paperwork/phone calls that come with a wreck, within a week of that we had a contract on our house!! wow!

So where to now? We don't have a house lined up yet. We need a little time to save a bit. So we will be in an apartment for a few months. Not the optimal way to move (especially since we will be staying with my parents for a little while until our apartment is ready for us to move in.) BUT we are rolling with it. The good thing about being in an apartment is it will (hopefully!) give Mark the chance to finish up his Master's work without the worry of a house or yard. "All things work together," right? ;)

Sooo... maybe some of you have had a chance to do some crafting! I hope everyone hasn't had the roller coaster of a summer that we've had over here! :) I'm going to put Mr. Linky up, so enjoy sharing! :)

A little spring

I've done a bit of spring decorating around here. Like I said before, I tried to keep pretty and simple.

 

I sure do enjoy decorating my piano... here is the other side of it:

My mantel didn't turn out quite as I would have liked, but it is more simple. It may look bland to me because I was so used to the pretty Christmas/wintery decor I had up there. All that greenery had a bit heavier look.

I even added a bit of spring to the dining room. Does anyone care for a "spot of tea?" :)  

Just a bit of news: one of the reasons I wanted to keep things simple is because we have listed our little home for sale! We truly feel God's leading in this decision and are excited for a new step in our lives. We will be staying in the same general area, but feel that it is time to say goodbye to our little "starter home." Please help us pray that God would work all things out in His perfect time - that He would send the right buyer for our house and help us to find the right home for us to raise our family. :) 

Oh, and Friday is the second Friday in March already! Be ready with your finished objects and I will try to be on time this week in posting! :) 

The first step to a cure:

Admitting you have a problem...

No, friends, this isn't even ALL of them! Maybe the problem is that they mostly reside in pairs. Think they could be multiplying in the boxes they're stored in?

**sigh** No, I'm afraid I simply have a problem. Anyone know of a support group?


I'm starting my spring decor today. Going to keep it simple and less "Easter-y." We'll see how it goes. :)