Show & Tell Tuesday

So today's Show & Tell Tuesday is all about your Personal Style! I thought for a moment about what personal style meant to me, and this quote by Coco Chanel, was perfection. 

There was a time and place that I tried to emulate other's style and fashion choices, and now I just prefer my own. As I've gotten older, I feel more comfortable in my own skin and in my fashion choices, rather than trying to conform to some stereotypical mold. That is what makes women beautiful- those of us that are comfortable in our own skin. 

A few things that are my must-have every day fashions:

Bracelets. Lots and Lots of bracelets. I've never been a huge necklace person, so I make up for it by stacking the bracelets on. My favorites are Rustic Cuff, and Stella & Dot. The Renegade Bracelet goes with everything, 

My go-to earrings are from Nickel & Suede. I almost always wear my gold pair. 

But, I also wear my snow-leopard earrings a lot too!

As far as necklaces- I wear my Signature Bar Necklace every single day, and sometimes I layer it with the Rebel Pendant. 

As far as my every day wear, I'm definitely a jeans, booties/wedges, scarf, cardigan kind of girl. I'm all about layering. 

A typical winter outfit. 

And then transitioning in to Spring.

And then in to late Spring. 

I also love shirts with some detailing, like this lace shirt from Sashy Pants. 

I love wearing simple t-shirts and then adding some flair with a kimono or wrap, jewelry, and a pop of color. 

In the summer time, I prefer dresses that are flowy in shape. 

And dresses that have some cute detail. 

And I try to buy pieces that can transition through multiple seasons. Like this dress that is lightweight enough to wear in the early summer months, in the fall, and then in the winter when layered with leggings. 

So, that's about it- my personal style..... super casual, super comfy, lots of layers, and then adding in details with my jewelry!

You can go here to see some of my other style posts. And, follow me on Pinterest for a few of my favorite fashion looks. 

Weekend Wrap Up~ Mother's Day

I hope you all had a fabulous Mother's day weekend! After work on Friday, I was ready to come home and start celebrating! We let the girls play outside for a little bit, and then I came in, ordered pizza for dinner, and layed on the couch while everyone else was outside, and it was pretty fabulous! 

I mean, what mom doesn't want to have some time just to herself????

Saturday morning, we went to Gretchen's dance recital (more on that to come later in the week) and then we loaded the girls in the car for a trip to Arkansas to surprise my mom for Mother's day!

Shh!!! No one tell her that we are coming!!!!! 

She was rather shocked when we walked through her door four hours later!

Before we left town we stopped at the gas station near our house so DJ could grab a drink and a snack. We were parked right beside the post office truck, and I just knew that my Mother's day gift was on that truck! It was due to arrive on Friday, but it was delayed. We seriously sat in the parking lot for a few more minutes until the post lady came out. We asked her if she was about to deliver to our neighborhood and she let us know that she didn't deliver in our neighborhood, but that our lady should be there! So, we tracked her down, and she was super sweet enough to give us our mail since we were heading out of town!

I had my gift, but my husband wouldn't let me open it! 

Once we arrived at my mom's house, we ate dinner, and the girls played croquet in the back yard. 

Gee showed them how it was played. 

Gretchen was still wearing her ballet tights and her finale outfit!

And recital hair and make up! Ha! She was talking to her pawpaw, and was obviously shocked about something he was telling her! 

After baths, it was bed time. Meggie and Yaya had a little sleepover, with her new puppy. 

Sunday morning, we woke up to Mother's day! My brother brought home doughnuts so we wouldn't have to cook breakfast. 

And look at this picture he found of us from when we were tiny tots! 

I took a walk down memory lane, remembering my very first mother's day. We were in St. Louis for DJ's CSVA convention, and my parents met us there for the weekend. We went to brunch, and Miss Gretchen was just 3 1/2 months old. I'm so thankful this girl made me a momma! 

Since my mother didn't know we were coming down for the weekend I kept asking her what she had planned for Mother's day. She was adamant that she wanted to go to church since she hadn't been in several weeks. She had either been working, or taking care of my grandmother, who is not doing very well right now. My stepfather also had back surgery, so my mom has been a full time nurse for the last several months. 

I knew, that now more than ever we needed to be in church with my mom on Sunday morning. 

And to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of her church. It's just very different from the contemporary church that we attend, but her preacher had a fabulous message about putting Jesus and Other's before Yourself (JOY) and what that means in Death and Life, which was just very timely for what we are dealing with at home. 

After church, we made sure to get some pictures. It seems that we never have pictures of the girls with my mom, because my mom is always doing what she does best- serving others. 

These four girls right here love their Gee. 

And I'm so thankful for these little girls that call me mom. 

My brother and I with my mom- and can you spot Addy Pearl's feet? She refused to leave her Gee's side, so we had to hide her so we could have a picture of just the three of us!

And finally one of my brother and I with our girls. 

The next few hours of mother's day were the hardest hours that I have had to endure, but they'll be etched in my memory from now until forever. In August, my grandmother made the decision that she needed to move in with my mom. Since then her health has been slowly declining, as she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease about a year ago. She is beginning to have more bad days than good days, and we know that in time, she will go to be with the Lord in Heaven. I do not handle death and dying well, and I prefer to separate myself because it's just easier. It's also helped that we live further away, and we haven't had to deal with the rapid decline of my grandmother. I figured that when we saw her in April that it may be one of the last times that I saw her. We took a photo of myself with the girls, and my grandmother and it's one that I'll treasure. She told me to never post it online -ha! Anyway, as she began to decline more over this past week, I knew that I needed to head to Arkansas to alleviate some of my mom's stress, and to say good-bye to my grandmother. I sat with her Saturday night, saw her Sunday morning before church, and then again Sunday afternoon. While Saturday was one of her "good" days, Sunday was not. It was really hard knowing that we would have to leave and that it is most likely the very last time that I will see her alive, and that it's the very last time that I will be able to tell her that I love her, and hug and kiss her. When you're faced with that moment, it's one that you never want to end. I never wanted Sunday to be the last time. 

As the afternoon grew later, I knew that we needed to say our good-byes and head home. I am so thankful that I was able to spend those final few hours with her. It was hard, oh, it was so hard. I brought each girl in one by one and cried as I knew they would be hugging their great-grandmother for the very last time, and those words she spoke to each of them will forever be etched in my memory. And they're words that I want the girls to know, and I'm sharing them here, because I'll likely never get around to writing them down for each of them. 

To Megan, whom I brought in first- she apologized that she was sick and that she was sorry she couldn't cook for her. She told Megan that when she gets better, they'll go shopping and she'll cook for her. I asked Megan what she wanted her great-grandmother to cook her, and she thought before saying "Cupcakes!" Grandma told us to let her know next time, in advance, when we were coming and she would make cupcakes for Megan. 

Now, see, if it were me, I would have requested bread pudding or her homemade fried pies, but Megan isn't wise enough to know that these are my grandmother's very best treats. 

I brought in Adalyn next, and Addy was a little shy seeing my grandma lay there in the bed. But she told Adalyn how big and pretty she is! She gave Addy kisses. 

Finally I brought in Gretchen, and she told Gretchen of how she use to rock her as a baby, and how I had never wanted grandma to rock her too much so as not to spoil her, but that she did anyway, and that when she did, she always told Gretchen how much she loved her. They exchanged kisses, and then I was left to say my final good-byes to her. 

Oh, there were so many tears, but I know that soon, we'll be rejoicing that grandma is in heaven, and while we will be sad here on Earth, as Christians, we will rejoice that she is with her heavenly Father and those that have gone before her. I have so many memories that I want to just place in a little bottle and just hold it tight for the rest of my life. In time, I'll share those memories and stories with my girls, and while they probably won't remember their great-grandmother, they'll have our memories and her scrumptious homemade roll recipe! 

And, I got to thinking- my mom and I were together on my very first Mother's day, and I was able to be with her on her Mother's very last Mother's day. 

May Resolutions Update

Happy Cinco DeMayo! 

I'm still scratching my head and wondering how it's already May and that we have 11, yes ELEVEN days of school left! I mean, that's pretty fabulous news! 

So, at the beginning of the year, I set out with several resolutions for 2016, and each month, I'm documenting my progress and sometimes lack thereof. But, I also want to keep myself real and accountable, and I knew this would be a super good way for me to do that, and also to remotivate myself each month!

I received an email last week from Jon Acuff- have y'all heard of him? He's an author and motivational speaker, and developed the 30 days of Hustle program. He wrote in that post, about how people have already given up on their New Years Resolutions and that by May, we're all like "it's May- the year is almost half way over, and it's too late to start now!" (I'm obviously paraphrasing a bit!) But, his point was that it's never to late to start (or re-start) something that you've set your mind to. Thus, his 30 Days of Hustle program. He also said in that post, that this best month to work on your goals, is that month! And, it's common to give up on your goals, but who says we have to be common?

You guys, that post totally re-motivated me in to remember how much of the year that we still have left! I don't want to look back in December, and think "wow, I wish I would have started sooner!" I want to start right now, every month, and even if I've failed- which you'll see that I have. That I'll be able to pick up right then and there and start all over again. 

So, here goes- my little recap of the month of April. 

1. Study Scripture: Once again, I'm failing miserably here. The other day, I did read one of the Bible studies on my Bible app, but that was about it. I'm hoping that this summer, when we're home every single day, that I can carve out intentional time and dive in to God's word. As always, the girls and I listen to Christian music radio in the car, and my prayer life is major intense right now.  I was thinking last Friday, in a rather defeated state of mind, that friends are super hard to come by in this time of my life. , and that's another story for another day, but this song popped in to my head, and I had to remember that I am loved, and that sometimes when I feel that other's aren't loving me, that I still need to be loving them in return. Spiritual music totally speaks to my heart. 

Fun fact: the lead singer from Stars Go Dim is also our worship pastor. 

2. Kick Toxins To the Curb: This month may have been a little more difficult in the food department. As I said before, I feel like we've been very successful at cutting out common toxic items in our home- from shampoo for the girls, body wash, laundry detergent, deodorant, dish soap, cleaning agents....... we don't burn candles, and we definitely do not use air fresheners and them smell of every day perfumes and scents now make me want to hurl and give me an instant headache. I am buying more organic products than I have before, but sometimes it's really hard to not grab a can of Cream of Chicken soup and cook a casserole that I'm craving. It's quite an adjustment cooking from scratch, or just eating grilled chicken and veggies. 

3. Exercise, Eat Healthy, Say Good-bye to Coke &Sugar.  So, just like last month, I've been using  my FitBit and most days I'm able to get  to 10,000 steps. And, for the last two weeks, I've been able to go on at least a 2 mile walk/jog/run three times a week, and I'm following it up with a Ningxia juice pouch. At the beginning of the year, I had committed to walking/running a total of 1,000 extra miles this year, and I haven't been counting and I've pretty much given up on reaching 1,000. I mean, I do have a lot of the year left- so I don't want to say never, but, I'm also being realistic! If I can just keep up with my evening runs, then I'll be happy! I'm doing fairly well giving up coke. I have been trying to either cut out coke or sugar each day. I can't do both, but if it's a "no coke" day, then I'll treat myself to a little something sweet, and if it's a "no sweets" day, then I may have a coke. I am finding myself turned off at sugary sweets- skittles, candy, things like that, but chocolate is still a weak spot. And, I am still super good about limiting my soda to only one glass when I do have one and I definitely don't have one every day.  I'm telling y'all, this area is a struggle and it always has been for me. 

4. Rock My YL Biz: I shared last month, that I hit the rank of Silver back in February! My team is growing and I have the goal of reaching Gold by the end of the year. But, I'm also remembering that I didn't start this business to make money! I decided to try the business side, because I found a company and a product that I 1,000% believe in, and I'm seeing first hand benefits for myself and my family. To me, that health and wellness by far exceed any amount of money I could ever make. Not only, that health and wellness for myself, but for my friends, my family, and everyone in between! 

5. Serve Others: In April, I was able to donate a  Young Living gift basket to the Tulsa Babywearing Organization. I loved being able to wear my babies in the Ergo, and even now, I still can wear Adalyn, and I'm all about the ease of babywearing. So, it was exciting to be able to donate to a cause that is near to my heart. And last week I church, I decided to volunteer in the children's program again. Last spring, I volunteered in the two year old classroom, and then they asked for volunteers to be yearly, and I didn't feel like I could make the commitment. When I walked in to church on Sunday and saw the sign up, I knew that I wanted to commit to serving again, and I was overjoyed when the newborn class wasn't full and there was still a spot for me to serve! I can think of nothing better than rocking brand new babies and giving moms a break on Sunday mornings! 

6. Take Time for Family & Say No: April was SO much fun! Our first two weekends were busy with birthday parties, but we went to a baseball game, explored a local Cherokee village, and had tons of time playing outside, going on walks, and being together. DJ and I also squeezed in a date night to the Carrie Underwood concert.  I have absolutely loved that time with my family! 

As far as "saying no", well, I am really good at telling my kids no, but I am NOT good at telling other people no! I tend to over commit, and then stress out, but I'm a people pleaser and I do not want to let anyone down. So, chances are, if you ask me to do it, I'll tell you yes! 

7. Be Debt Free: I'm happy to report that I was able to pay more toward the credit cards and savings account this past month than I have in a long time! It felt good to pay toward things, put money aside, and still feel like I was okay with buying extras!  

Like, a few new dresses! 

8. Finish House Projects: Right now, I'm feeling pretty good about our house projects! The front yard is finished, dining room- check, kitchen- check, office- check, Gretchen's room- check, Megan's room- check...... However, I still need to buy curtains for our master bedroom, and we need new chairs for the living room and a coffee table. I have finally decided that I did not need an end table, which I had been struggling with, but I figured that if I went with a coffee table, that an end table wasn't needed. But, I have no idea what sort of coffee table that I want! Wood, glass, an ottoman...... there are too many options! I also told myself that this summer, we needed to complete Adalyn's big girl bedroom, so I'm debating on if we want to tackle that project which will include painting, putting up her big girl bed, and figuring out how to decorate it and what theme to use. I'm leaning toward ballerina's, because she loves her ballet baby, and then I've thought about horses because she loves those too! We also have Megan's old quilt which is floral and a little shabby chic, but the more I think about it, the more I don't want to use it. Just as I think we're finishing up, new projects pop up! 

So, that about wraps up how I'm doing on my goals for the year! Remember, if you created goals for yourself, don't give up! We still have 36 weeks left this year! 

Teacher Appreciation & Mothers Day Gift Ideas

We have Teacher Appreciation Week this week, and I spent Sunday night putting together some gifts for all of our fabulous teachers! Gretchen and Megan both have the same "theme" but Addy's school has days that are different. So, I did what I could do, and went with the days that were the most similar and I put together a few gifts for the week. 

So, here's what each day's "gift" was suppose to be:

Monday- Adalyn school- a picture or a note saying what you appreciate about your teacher.

Big Girls- Favorite Drink. 

Tuesday- All of the girls had a school supply day. I purchased sharpies, glue, and sticky notes for Adalyn's teacher, Gretchen's teacher received sticky notes, pencils, and glue sticks, Megan's teachers received masking tape & cardstock. 

Wednesday-Addy's school- favorite drink, Big Girls- Snack Day. I ended up just doing a snack day theme for all of the teachers! I figured Addy's teacher wouldn't mind getting some candy to go with all of the drink's she'll be receiving too!

Thursday- Thankfully, all of the theme was for a flower, or favorite scent. 

I decided to come up with a little oily gift for all of the teacher's for this day. I found these little flower clip ons a few weeks ago at Target. They're made out of a really thin wood, and they came in a variety of colors! I paired each flower with Citrus Fresh oil from Young Living. The flowers can clip on to their computer, desk, or in their car and they can add a few drops of the Citrus Fresh oil, and the flower acts as a little diffuser. 

Friday- Gift Card Day! And, Addy's school has a super hero day. 

I also wanted to do a little extra for the entire staff. 

Sunday night, I made a big batch of oil infused bath salts. I mixed together epsom salt, baking soda, and lavender oil, and put in individual bags with a little instruction sheet. 

For Megan and Gretchen's school, I made three roller bottles using Young Living oils. 

Stress Away, Head Tension, and Happy Happy Joy Joy. 

I figured that teachers needed something to ease them through a stressful day, or a little something to relieve head tension, and for a particularly rough day- some Happy Happy Joy Joy- made with Joy essential oil. 

And, since Mother's day is right around the corner, I thought I'd share a few Mother Day gift ideas for any of you last minute shoppers! 

I am in love with this Kendra Scott necklace. It's available in a variety of colors, and I just think it's a timeless little necklace. 

You all know by now that I'm a huge fan of Rustic Cuff. I think this bracelet would be adorable for Mother's Day. Obviously, I'm a huge fan of jewelry for Mother's day!

If you're on a budget, these little ring dishes from Anthropologie, are super cute. (And, they'd be a super cute teacher gift too!)

These little jewelry boxes from Nordstrom are also a cute gift idea! I love anything with a monogram. 

And, if you're mom is a bit on the crunch side (like me) then consider getting her an oil collection from Young Living! 

And right now, I'm offering $25.00 back to you through May 5th- so you'll be able to purchase over night shipping!!!! Just head to Young Living, and register as a wholesale member. Choose the starter kit of your choice, and pay for the overnight shipping! Feel free to add some extra goodies for yourself! After that, I'll send you a $25.00 reimbursement! 

Your mom will be sleeping better, feeling better, and looking better and you'll be her favorite child! Her starter kit will come with a diffuser (my personal favorite is the dewdrop!), and 11 different essential oils. 

And, if you order by May 5th, then you can grab these products at an extra 10% off! If you already have a Young Living account, then I'd encourage you to grab them while they're on sale!

So, there you have it! A few gift ideas for your child's teacher, your mom, or even yourself! Tell me, what are you wanting for Mother's day???

Weekend Wrap-Up: Where Did The Weekend Go?

Oh boy, this weekend sure did get away from me! We were busy marking off to-do lists and just enjoying each other's company. I spent most of the weekend reading, and letting the girls play outside with bits of our checklist getting marked off!

Last week, Megan's preschool had a school bus come so all of the 4 year olds could get prepared for kindergarten and riding a bus to school! Obviously, Megan was so excited about being on a bus, and if she's anything like her sister, she'll ask me every single day why she can't ride a bus to her school. 

Thursday night, Gretchen finished up her ballet lesson while Megan started gymnastics. Gretchen told me she was hungry, so we headed up to Subway so she could have a cookie, and we chatted all about her day. 

Friday morning, the little girls crawled in our bed to watch Mickey Mouse before getting ready for school. 

And Friday was just a bum day. Gretchen was suppose to have a field trip, which was cancelled because of rain, and was planning on taking the day off to go with her. I just couldn't pull myself together, and ended up throwing on a school t-shirt and dragging my birks out of the closet. Back in high school, I begged my mom to buy me a pair of birkenstocks, and it's probably the best purchase my mom has ever made, since I can still wear them. I don't wear them often, but every once in a while, they're just what I need.

Since I had planned on taking some time off Friday, I was bummed that I had to work instead. And then I figured, I might as well take a half personal day and get some cleaning and projects finished at home. After my recess duty was over, I headed to Target, and then grabbed lunch on my way home. 

I diffused Highest Potential to get my rear in gear and blasted some country music through the house. 

Two hours later, I was in full cleaning swing, and my living room looked like this. I decided to move furniture around, dust the window sills, the entire living room, and I swept and vacuumed everywhere. If you know me, then you know that I could vacuum every single day if I had the time, and having a clean house is my jam. It just makes my entire life feel organized. 

I made rounds of picking the girls up from school and then I dropped Megan off at a friend's house to sleep over, and a friend and I headed out to eat. I was so thankful when DJ suggested that I have a girls night! It was raining and we ended up getting drenched, but we had dinner in our downtown and ate at a restaurant that I hadn't been to before. 

Saturday morning, I made pancakes with Young Living's Eikorn flour. You can read more about why we're switching to Eikorn in this post. 

And, I had planned on having an oil event this weekend but everyone was so busy! I had already ordered cookies, so we all enjoyed a sweet treat from OK Cookie Momster. 

Saturday morning, I picked Megan up from her sleep over and we went to the nursery and picked up flowers for my planter. 

My planter use to be a rusted black, but it needed a fresh coat of spray paint, so I picked out this turquoise color and painted the planter and it's stand last weekend. Megan helped me plant all of the flowers. 

And then the girls asked to have a picnic outside. The ice cream truck even came by, which made their day. 

While the girls were eating, I was painting. My stepfather made Adalyn a doll bed for Christmas, and made her a step stool. (All of the girls have one) but he didn't get around to painting either of them, so I picked out a bright fun color and got them both finished this weekend.

We spent most of Saturday playing outside. And then I picked up Gretchen's friend for a sleep over. We made individual pizza's and the girls watched Cinderella and snacked on popcorn and M&M's. 

Sunday morning, we all headed to church. By some miraculous event, we were actually early! Addy Pearl was the only one available for our Happy Sunday picture! Her dress was Gretchen's, and I just love it. It's pretty exciting to see each of your daughter's in the other's outfits, and to remember when they all wore that dress. 

And just for fun, here's one of Gretchen:

After church, we dropped Gretchen's friend off and then headed home for lunch and naps. I finished a hat for Megan's preschool teacher. 

The edges will eventually fray and be shaggy.

And then I worked on a few more shirts for our babysitter and the kids in her classroom.

Addy woke up, but she wasn't really feeling up to doing much: 

She layed on the floor for 30 minutes or so, and then I finally put away my sewing. She perked up and after a change of clothes and some fruit snacks, she played outside with her sisters for the rest of the day. 

DJ grilled steaks, I cleaned up the kitchen, we tucked the girls in, and then I worked on some teacher appreciation gifts, which I'll share with you later this week!

And that my friends is how I lost track of the weekend and skipped posting for Monday!