Back to School: Kindergarten Style

First Day of School-Kindergarten

Back to school. Kindergarten style. I’m not gonna lie, I was that mom. Ya know, the one who stoically dropped her kids off on the first day of school, leaving the class quickly as not to cramp their style but cried the whole drive home. I’ve said this a thousand times in the last few days, but I CANNOT wrap my mind around the fact that my babies are old enough to go to all day-everyday, real elementary school. It was just yesterday yadda, yadda, yadda…not going to bore you with all that, but this is nuts to me. The end of an era.

Do you guys remember buying school supplies? That was one of my favorite things about school. I would get everything home and lay it out in my bedroom, organize it and put it into my school bag. Esprit bags, anyone? I actually never owned one, but wanted one sooooo bad! The girls and I did our school supply shopping last week and it’s safe to say they’re as into it as I was. Wasn’t expecting to have to buy shoes for PE though…whatever happened to going barefoot if you didn’t have the right shoes? I’m sure someone got athlete’s foot and almost died and so the end of bare feet. Kidding. Though Mr. B, arguably the best gym teacher ever, would be appalled.  

School Year Must Haves!

The final thing on our back to school shopping list was the restocking of my Young Living essential oils. I’ve been a total EO slacker this summer but am back on track now that the school year is in full swing. I swear my kids stayed as healthy as they did last school year because of our family’s essential oil use. Thieves is seriously our life saver. I’m adding RC to my order for respiratory crud that inevitably goes around (can help clear out coughs and congestion) and Breathe Again (helpful with congestion too) this month. My go-tos on the girls’ to avoid any bedtime woes are lavender and peace and calming and you better believe they’re also on the list. A well-rested child is a happy child and I’m all for a little bit of happy around here!

In spite of all the tears yesterday and the few tears today, I’m so extremely proud of my babies and am thrilled to be a part of this new adventure they’re on. Can’t believe my kids are in kindergarten!

Colorado and De-stressed

No stress here.

Before I get started, forgive me if I repeat anything from yesterday's post today because I wrote "Stressed" such a long time ago I don't have a clue what I actually said. Ooops.

My last post was about stress and right now I'm feeling anything but.  I've been in Colorado at the 'rents' house (did anyone else read Seventeen...if not, I'm REALLY sorry about that reference. It's bad). Anyway, we've been here for two weeks and I am in full blown Colorado summer mode. Man, I love June in this state! We've been doing everything Colorado, especially Boulder, since my parents are still here. Pearl St., hiking at Chataqua, Scott Carpenter Park, Boulder Creek, Moe's, Efrain's, boat rides at the res, the list goes on and on. Will was able to come out for the first week and only worked ONE day...major victory around here...so we were able to get some much needed family time in. He's since gone home and the girls and I have been solo. A little weird at first, I missed him a lot, but now I'm in the swing of it and we're having a blast.



"Izzie Park." We bring an Izzie every time we
go. Don't even know the park's real name.

In other news, the house STILL has not sold which was the source of much of my stress and what inspired this trip to Colorado in the first place. I couldn't handle another showing, keeping a house clean-like perfect clean-with kids and a dog is near impossible. So we decided to jump ship and fly west. 
I think our house is finally priced right, our first realtor was not doing us any favors in that department. Our first realtor wasn't really doing us any favors actually. In fact, it got pretty ugly there for a while. Now we've got the right realtor, the right price and hopefully the right buyer is writing their offer now! Hey, a little positive thinking never hurt anybody! This will all shake out soon. Wishing I had a crystal ball because I'd love to know what's going to happen here. Not worrying about it anymore though and couldn't be happier than to be spending some time in CO so it's aaalllll good.





Soph at Sunflower Farm in Longmont.

Overall, things are turning up. Not sure how many of you follow me on FB or we are still in touch but a few months ago I found out that I not only owed $3800 for a semester of grad. school that I didn't attend but I'd also received all "F"s for those classes, that I again, never attended. I'd registered for classes prior to finding out about the move to FL and failed to officially withdraw from the university. I accept responsibility for the mistake, but it truly was on oversight. While I'll never get the money back...lesson learned, and an expensive one at that...I was able to appeal the grades and was notified last week that my "F"s were reversed and will no longer count toward my GPA. All of a sudden transferring into UCF to finish my master's is looking possible again. Holler!

Needless to say, the stress level around here is way down. I've got some other REALLY exciting news that I'll share soon (NO, I'M NOT PREGNANT). I'm still in that giddy, nervous stage, but the ball is rolling and I couldn't be happier. Can't wait to tell you all about it so check back in!

Stressed

So, I wrote this a month ago, but never posted because the version of internet explorer I have apparently is no longer compatible with blogger, further adding to my stress. Posting now even though a lot has happened...and I guess a lot is still the same...since. Enjoy.


I'm feeling stressed. I'm feeling anxious. And, well, it kinda sucks! This whole selling a house thing in the traditional way is hard. We were so lucky when we left CO as our house went under contract before even listing it. My brother is a realtor and one of his coworkers had buyers, they looked at it and that was that. It was SO easy!

Our current house has been on the market a little over three weeks now and nothing. Lots of positive feedback about the décor which at first, I have to admit, flattered me. Now, not so much. Décor doesn't come with the house, people!!!  I'm not confident in our choice of realtor either. Actually just got done sending the oh-so-uncomfortable email which outlined our concerns about her ability to get our house sold. Never fun.

It's also sinking in that the neighborhood we'd like to buy is so competitive that sellers laugh at offers with contingencies. Which is fine, I don't want to get into the situation where we'd be carrying two mortgages anyway. But, this increases the urgency to get this place SOLD! Not to mention, keeping the house clean with two small children is next to impossible. I take that back, it's totally possible, we're doing it, but not without some tantrums and meltdowns along the way (and I'm not just talking the kids here!). I feel like Annette Benning in American Beauty when she was manically vacuuming before the open house.

To add insult to injury our pipes backed up the other day and the downstairs bathroom flooded. Why do those things only happen after hours???!!! It didn't end up being that big of a deal. I definitely got some grays and Will has less hair than before but we were cleaned up for showings the next day.

Have I ever told you about the artichoke hearts I LOVE from Costco? They're in this oily, seasoned marinade that is SO good. I know, doesn't seem relevant, but stick with me. I was taking the girls to the park after school yesterday and for the first time in a long time, dared to make food in my own house. If you've had a home on the market I know you can identify with this...do I mess up the kitchen and save the $20 to go out to lunch or just go out?? Anyway, I'm grabbing the bread from the fridge and in the process knocked the jar of artichokes out which then shattered on the floor below. Out came the oily goodness all over the fridge, all over the floor and all over my feet. Awesome. I didn't have plans for the next 30 minutes, but I'd rather have done nothing than clean that mess up. Still finding glass shards everywhere.

I guess the moral of this story is that I'm stressed. I just wish our house would sell and sell FAST. So, please, send me some selling vibes! We need it.

Moving. Again.

Pool

All the pictures are hung, furniture arranged and we are officially settled. It's taken nine months, but man, this feels like home. So why not put the house on the market?!!!?? Crazy, I know, but that's what we're doing. Trust me, I don't fully understand why we're doing this either. I love our house, it really is beautiful, but it's come to our attention that there are some issues.

Biggest problem is that we don't have a yard. I thought this would be a compromise we could make given the swimming pool. That was BEFORE I learned it's way too cold to swim in the winter. Thank you, Mr. Realtor, for telling us that when we went back and forth a thousand times and ultimately decided, eh, no big deal, we'll just swim year round.

This has proven to be a problem for the dog too. Actually, not the dog, but rather the dog's mom who is SO SICK of taking said dog on walks when she needs to do her thang! I just need a fenced yard so that I can throw both my kids and dog outside. I think we may be going from one extreme to the other on this one, because now I want a REALLY big yard. Like a half acre. Picture me on one of those riding lawn mowers...that would be awesome!



Kitchen-a bit more stark than normal for showings.

Financially this sounds crazy, but after running the numbers we're not making a bad decision here. First, there's been a little bit of appreciation in our area over the last year which will contribute to paying the realtors' commissions. Plus, I'm looking at it as though we moved to FL and rented for a year to figure out the lay of the land. Rent is expensive and offers no tax benefits what-so-ever so I don't regret having bought right out of the gate. The only thing I'm out is my time, which was A LOT, given my love for interior design. But that's fun for me so I'm not worried about it one bit.

Fingers crossed we sell our home quickly because this whole having the house ready for showings with two small kids and a dog sucks! Bye bye, Stone Cross Cir. Thanks for treating us so well. Hope you all like this little photo gallery of the house. I'm really proud of it. Enjoy!



Stairs near front entry

Front Hall/Entry

Family Room

Girls' Playroom



Master Bedroom

Guest Bedroom

Girls' Bedroom

Weight Loss Trio Non-update Update

A little less than a month ago I posted about the weight loss trio of peppermint, lemon and grapefruit oils and, sadly, the only update I've got for you is that I have no update. I was diligent the first couple of days and then forgot. And forgot again. And, well, then forgot again. Crazy is the new normal around here and so this fell by the wayside. Which is fine by me. Given my non-update update, there isn't too much more to say! Over and out.

Weight Loss Trio

So, I’m trying something new. I’m really hesitant to share this with anyone, let alone EVERYONE, but I’m doing it anyway. My weight is something I’d rather not talk about so here goes nothin’. A few days ago, I started on what we in the essential oils world call the “weight loss trio.” It’s a combination of peppermint, lemon and grapefruit ingested each day. Now before I go any further, I need to SHOUT out that it is NOT safe to ingest all oils and that the oils I’m using are specific to Young Living. Please (really, please) don’t do this with essential oils purchased at your local health food store. Thank you.  I’ve avoided trying this as long as possible because I firmly believe that we should be accepting of our bodies no matter their shape and size. I believe that what your body looks like on the outside in no way changes the value of the person on the inside. That being said, I still want to lose a few pounds.

 

I’m not one to follow the scale too closely, and I take into consideration that I’ve had twins (like two babies in my belly at the same time), I’m type 1 diabetic, I have a ton of scar tissue build up on my stomach because of the amount of insulin injections I’ve taken, etc., etc. I guess the point I’m trying to make here is that I’m not looking to be in next year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.  I’m looking for my jeans to fit a little bit looser. I’m looking to feel my best both physically and mentally.

I’m not going to bore you too much with the whole “it’s a lifestyle” thing, but know that I do believe this. I know that diets don’t work. I know that in order for any changes to stick around, there HAS to be a shift in the way one lives their life. Just for the record, I exercise and I eat in moderation. I get the recommended servings of fruit and veggies every day and I also indulge in birthday cake. There are two HUGE sheet cakes in my fridge from the girls’ birthday last weekend which is why cake came to mind almost immediately. Anyway, I think that’s all I have to say about that. We all know there has to be a lifestyle change for long-term results with weight loss whether we want to admit it or not.

 

Moving right along. My biggest fear about trying this is that it isn’t going to work. That it won’t do anything and I will be sitting here having shared this with you all and have nothing to show for it. For whatever reason (I’m seriously not sure why as of now) I’m sharing anyway. I’ve watched it work for many so maybe that’s why I’m putting it all out there today. I don’t know.  I’ll keep you all posted on my progress and if anyone would like to join me on this journey, I welcome your company! Let’s get it done!

Dear Body

This was written by a friend and SO worth the repost. It's wisdom I wish I'd had much earlier in my life. Happy to have it now though. Thank you, Mariah, for letting me share.

Dear Body,

Thank you for being so good to me. For taking care of me, and helping me to function and being strong when I need it most. We've been through a lot together so far; pain, doubt, surprises, and unexpected changes. But all the while, you've been everything I've ever asked of you. You are beautiful. Not because you are the way the world wants you to be, but because you are unique to me and nothing less. You carry scars of battle, motherhood, time, and my occasional lag in upkeep. You've been so patient and steadfast, and unwaveringly loyal, and I love you. I love you so much. Thank you.

-Mariah Secrest Thomas

Broke into Someone's Car the Other Day, or Tried to Anyway

A couple of months ago when this happened I was driving a black Honda Pilot. Total mom car and there are lots of them out there. Ran into Home Depot to grab a couple of things, paid and the girls and I headed out to the parking lot.

We walked up to our car, I started looking for the keys. This is never easy as my purse is more like a duffel bag and a messy one at that. Finally find the keys and push the unlock button several times. By now the girls are getting impatient and start doing what any kid does in this situation: kicking the tires, drawing pictures in the dirt caked on the doors and incessantly pulling the door handle in effort to get the damn thing open. I mean OVER and OVER and OVER again. I finally deem the key battery dead and proceed to jam my keys in the driver's side lock. That's weird, it doesn't fit right. So what do I do? Try again. And again. Yup, one more time. I know what you're thinking; apple didn't fall too far from the tree. It isn't until now that I actually look inside the car.  It's. Not. My. Car.

As a single woman I probably would have been able to duck out of this without anyone noticing. Sadly, the girls and I are nothing short of a circus sideshow and I'm pretty sure every last person in that parking lot knew EXACTLY what was going on. Likely long before we did. Fortunately, I don't beat myself up over these things. The girls and I just laughed really, really hard as we did the walk of shame to the black Honda Pilot two rows over.

Holy Crap...My Kids are Almost 5!!!

Taken just a couple weeks ago.

I know, I know kids get older, time goes by soooooo fast. But seriously, MY kids are getting older and MY time is going by soooooo fast! This Saturday the girls will be five. Like just months away from kindergarten, losing teeth, dating, driving, graduating. I may be getting a little bit carried away but for some reason I kinda always pictured a perpetual state of "little kidness." Scientific term, no joke. I knew they wouldn't be babies forever (AND THANK GOD FOR THAT!!!!) but I never really imagined the part where they turned into independent, self-sufficient five year olds. As everyone says, they truly do grow up so fast.

I did just get back from a vacation sans children, which has been known to cause post trip infatuation. For example, Ava spilled her milk, not once, but TWICE at dinner the night I got home and I laughed both times. Laughed. Any mom will agree that one spilled milk is annoying, but tolerable, though two spilled milks at one sitting, no less, is enough to drive you insane. Having said that and assessing the weight of post trip infatuation, in the last week I have fallen in love with my kids all over again. And the beautiful thing is that this keeps happening.
 

Ava's first photo. 3/22/09

Sophie's first photo. 3/22/09

I remember wandering through Target pushing my double stroller with babies that could barely hold their own heads. Random passerby's would say things like, "it gets so much better." I didn't believe them because in that moment it was as good as I thought it could possibly get. I was already in heaven. You know what though, they were right. Each year gets SO much better. I fall more and more in love with my girls and I can honestly say that the last five years have been the best five of my life. I'll draw this to an end before I get too sappy, just one final thought. If each year thus far has been so much better than the last, and history is the best predictor of the future, I expect that I have many more fabulous years ahead. I am so incredibly lucky to have my little girls and cannot wait to see what our future together holds. 

What a difference five years can make (Ava, L, Sophie, R.)

 

 

 

 

Here's the Truth (with Pictures to Prove it)!

I just got off the phone with my dear friend who is losing her mind.  Not because she is mentally unstable, quite the opposite really, her head is screwed on tightly to those shoulders. But because she has three kids, works (a lot) and is battling with the fact that in order to keep all the balls from dropping, somthing's gotta give. I so get this, I am right there with ya!

So, here's the truth: SOMETHING DOES HAVE TO GIVE. And for me, in this moment, that something is my house. It is trashed, you guys. Like morning after a rager, trashed. But instead of beer bottles and solo cups, it's littered with toys, dishes and dirty clothes. For whatever reason, I'm feeling especially strong today and not worrying about what "they" might think. Who are "they" anyway? So, without further ado, the proof:

That's my kitchen. Yup.

Those, there, dirty dishes...and LOTS of them.

Oh, yeah, that's my living room. Kinda regretting my pillow obsession right about now, as pillows in my house seem to prefer the floor to the couch.

 

Now that is my suitcase. Still nicely PACKED from our trip to Mexico. We've been back for five days.

 

And, finally, the piece de resistance: the girls' room. No explanation necessary.

 

 

I'm not doing this to air my "dirty laundry" so to speak, but rather to shatter the impression that all things must be perfect. Balls drop. Today, I'm embracing the drop and in so doing, hopefully, some of you moms out there can do the same. Enjoy!

Return from Paradise

I know, I say this all the time, but FOR REAL I want to blog more. I want to do this regularly. For one, I love to write. It’s always been cathartic for me and I rarely do it anymore. For two, recently moved, like FAR from friends and family, and I want a way (other than Facebook) to keep everyone abreast to what’s going on with me and mine. I love fb, but no one in my immediate family is on it. So here we go.

Most exciting news as of late, just took a fabulous trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. Stayed at the Grand Velas resort and it did not disappoint. Every year, assuming my hubbie meets certain sales goals, we get to go on a wonderful, company funded (even better, right?!?!?) vacation. Thank you, hubbie’s company, THANK YOU!!! Think Aruba, Puerto Rico, Bahamas. Anyway, this has been the most beautiful one to date.  

I'm terrible about taking pictures, just don't have time for that when I'm having so much fun! Here's what I did take though. These are of/from my patio. I'm guessing here, but I'd say it was at least 400sq feet. Beautiful.

 

All in all, awesome trip. Changing gears now that I'm back at home. That's all for now!



Essential Oils-For All That Have Asked

Okay, I’m apologizing in advance because this is going to be a long one. I have received a TON of interest in the Young Living oils that I’ve been posting about for the last couple of months on Facebook. The essential oils really have helped my family and me in a lot of different ways (I’ll share more about that in just a sec). I’ve been reluctant to share too much about my oil use as they seem a little “out there.” I know I’m from Boulder and all, but anyone who knows me will agree that I’m NOT a hippie! I do believe in western medicine and, frankly, would be dead without it…hello diabetes! That being said, I want to live a cleaner, healthier life and the oils have been a step in the right direction.

So before you read any further, here is my disclaimer:

I am a distributor of these oils. Phew (or as Ava would say, Pueff)…it’s out. Not sure I should throw that out there now because all of a sudden it seems like I’m trying to sell you on the oils. Here’s the deal, I’m not. I’m not trying to sell you anything, I’m simply telling my story for the MANY of you who have asked. So keep reading, I promise there is no sales pitch! My goal with this is to simply pay for the oils I use each month. I love them and use them, so why not??!!??!!

Anyway, here is my story. About nine months ago I was trying to juggle grad. school, raising babies (well toddlers, I guess) and a husband who was traveling a lot for work. Most days by about 2:00 I was feeling completely overwhelmed, stressed and anxious. I was struggling, but didn’t know what else I could do. This is when a friend of mine suggested I try using essential oils. I was seriously skeptical at first…you want me to do what with those oils? So I did some research and everything checked out.

I have to be completely honest, I did not get hooked right away. Not because the oils didn’t work, they did, but because Will and I found out a couple of weeks later that we were moving cross country and I became completely consumed with our relocation. I stashed my Young Living stuff into a box, not to be seen again until arriving in FL.

As you can imagine once we got here, as with any move, life was chaotic. Both the girls and I were stressed and it showed. Specifically, the girls decided that sleep was highly overrated and that 7:30 bedtime Mom and Dad we’re trying to enforce wasn’t happenin’! I battled them for several weeks before my dear friend stepped in and said, how ‘bout them oils. Okay, she really doesn’t talk like a cowboy, but you get the picture. So, here’s how it went.

First 20 (or so) nights in FL without oils: Girls 20, Mom 0.

Night 21 in FL with oils (specifically lavender and peace and calming): Girls 20, Mom 1. Assuming this was a fluke I was still skeptical.

Night 22: Girls 20, Mom 2.

Nights 23-however long we’ve been here, um, let’s just say Mom’s winning again!

Goes without saying, I’m a believer. Now anytime something comes up in our house I check to see what oil I can use before heading to the medicine cabinet.

 

Here’s what we use regularly:

Peppermint for headaches.

Lavender and peace and calming on the little ones at bedtime.

 

 

Stress Away to de-stress (obviously) valor to calm anxiety. And my favorite one of all, THIEVES!!!! My kids still haven’t gotten sick this year. HAVE. NOT. GOTTEN. SICK. I know I’m going to jinx this if I keep talking about it, but I have to share because it really sucks when your kids are sick. I also diffuse a lot. Lemon and peppermint, thieves and purification, the list goes on and on.

Okay, time to wrap it up. This is my story of essential oils. Thank you for reading this ridiculously long post and I hope that this answers some questions for those of you who reached out!