Summer Bucket List

We are down to our final days of school! I mean, back in April, I was pretty sure that this day would never arrive, and now it's here, and I'm about to have a 3rd grader and a kindergartner! That's just crazy to me! But, before we get all nostalgic about the upcomings in August, let's talk about summer!!!! It's my favorite time of the year!

Every year, I sit down and write out a bucket list for summer! Sort of a little to-do list, and ways for us to have tons of fun! Last summer we were moving, so our plan was to just survive! But, this summer, I want to travel and go and see and do. I also want us to have late nights and lazy days!!!

So, here we go, our summer bucket list! 

 ~Head to the pool. A lot.

~ Buy ice cream from the ice cream truck.

~ Go to the Oklahoma City Zoo.

~ Visit the aquarium.

~ Go on a hike.

~Visit a waterfall.

~ Take Gretchen to the Presidential Library in Little Rock.

~ Buy snow cones.

~ Shoot fire works.

~ Head to the lake.

~ Try to get Gretchen up on skis. (Her daddy would be so proud.)

~ Catch fireflies.

~ Go to a drive in movie. 

~ Have a Girls Night Out to see Me Before You, and a GNO to Pinot's Palette. 

~ Take Gretchen to St. Louis.

~Visit the City Museum in St. Louis.

~ Spend a weekend in Branson.

~ Silver Dollar City

~ Climb a mountain. 

~ Spend a day at the water park. 

~ Have a pajama day.

~ Have an arts & crafts day.

~ Help Megan to learn her Kindergarten sight words.

~ Brush up on Gretchen's spelling skills. 

~ Host a Flamingo party for Addy's birthday

~ Join the library reading program

~ Visit the library. 

~ Eat from the food trucks

~ Head to a baseball game. 

~ Play at a splash pad. 

~ Sidewalk Chalk Paint

~ Make an American Girl doll craft

~ Lots of baking.

~ Explore Oklahoma more!

~ Blow bubbles

~ Have a pillow fight.

~Make a fort. 

~ Have a campout

~ Make smores. 

~ Ride bikes. 

~ Try a new restaurant. 

~ Family movie night. 

~ Stay up late. 

What items are on your summer bucket list???

Weekend Wrap-Up: Wednesday Edition

Last week, DJ was gone to his CSVA Convention and the girls and I were left flying solo. We wrapped up our week with a little girls night out! Now, if you know me at all then you know that I have to choose a restaurant. In fact, I am so indecisive, that DJ once took me to a Culvert's because I couldn't make up my mind. While I appreciate this teaching moment, it's not at all helpful when my three girls are just as indecisive as I am. Except, actually they're not and then all wanted either Carls Jr, or Chick-Fil-A........ gag me. We finally settled on McAlister's Deli. 

Each girl chose their kid's meal- and a big shout out, because when you dine in with them, their kids meals are just $.99 which basically means I need to be eating there every time we go out to eat. 

The girls were a bit hyper and made a huge mess, and I was thankful to have a stash of baby wipes in my purse so I could clean them up and wipe up the table. Although I looked very apologetically at the young waitress who was probably going to have to clean our mess. 

I mean, I really do try. 

So after our McAlister's excursion, we headed to Marble Slab to hype them up some more on ice cream. Addy had vanilla with sprinkles, Gretchen chose some blue rainbow color, and I can't even remember what Megan had. Most importantly, I had chocolate peanut butter with peanut butter cups mixed in- but only a size small. 

The amount of fun we had lasted way in to the night because even though it was past their bedtime when we finally made it home, they didn't fall asleep until well past 9, and I just could not adult any more, so I crawled in bed and watched t.v. and read a book. I profusely apologized to DJ that our house was a disaster zone when he arrived home on Friday. 

Gretchen was chosen to eat lunch with our school principal on Friday. We have a word of the week at school, and if you show that character trait, then your teacher chooses you to eat lunch with the principal! Gretchen was chosen for the word compassion, and I'm not sure there's a better character trait to have! 

I love that she's compassionate to her friends at school and shows them that she loves them and she cares.

I had a staff meeting Friday afternoon, so I picked up Adalyn while DJ picked up the big girls. Since Addy and I arrived home early, we headed outside to play. 

And then I finished reading my 2nd book this month.

Since I hadn't adulted during the week, I knew it was time to kick my rear in gear on Saturday. I did so much laundry, cleaned two bathrooms, tubs and showers, cleaned out my closet, dusted my bedroom and vacuumed the floors. I mean, I literally cleaned all day long. 

While I was inside cleaning, the girls had their American Girl dolls outside. The girls literally spent the entire day playing outside! It was heavenly! 

Sunday morning DJ let me sleep in - thank you babe! And we were out the door for church. The girls insisted on a Sunday morning photo before we headed to the mall and out to lunch. 

Once we got home, this girl refused a nap, and I had some serious sewing to do. Thankfully, she was cheered up with Tarzan and fruit snacks. 

DJ grilled steaks for dinner and then took us out for ice cream. I guess the girls had heard the ice cream truck Sunday afternoon, but it didn't come down our street, so he saved the day by promising to take them out. 

This is what one looks like after a hard day of playing outside! She was a little mess. And mom fail, but we skipped bath night because we got home late! Thankfully, we only have a few more days of this school thing and then it won't matter because- summer!!! 

Thanks DJ for taking us out!!!!!

So, that about sums up our weekend. I mean, it wasn't anything glamorous. Just a lot of adulting on my part, and playing on the kids part. And, 3 more days of school.

#wecandothis

Friday Favorites..... On a Tuesday

So last week completely got away on me. DJ was out of town for his CSVA convention and the girls and I were flying solo. We had dance lessons, gymanstics, school & work, and since the end of the year is wrapping down I am trying to finish everything that I procrastinated on! So, needless to say, I had no time to get this post published for Friday. And then I had high hopes that I would sit down Sunday night and get this post published for Monday, but I was working on Megan's birthday shirt. So, here we are.... Tuesday..... sharing my Friday Favorites! 

I typically link up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci, but I'm sure by now their link-up is closed! And I'm doing this post more for my records than anything else!

Let's get to it! 

On Thursday May 5th, Gretchen had her dance recital rehearsal. There was a fiasco with their costumes and the ones they had ordered didn't arrive, but thankfully, their studio owner is a pro, and was able to get back up costumes just in time! But, a part of me wonders what her real costume would have looked like! Anytime Gretchen has a recital, we have to doll her up in make up, and always  makes me flash forward to 16 year old Gretchen. 

Saturday the 7th was her actual recital day. I tried to get a few pictures of her before we went in, but the sun was way too bright for her!

And then another in the dressing room.

We aren't allowed to take pictures or video during the recital, so I have nothing from when she was on stage, but I took a few after I picked her up backstage. 

Her daddy, sisters, and I brought her flowers, and Gee sent her some too!

Gretchen with our little friend Lyla. 

And Gretchen with Lyla's big brother, Connor. I told DJ this picture was going to be displayed at their wedding someday- ha! 

Once we arrived home, we took a few more photos, even though the sun was still crazy bright! 

Addy wanted in too. 

This little girl has my heart. 

And, all of my girls! 

You can click here to ready my weekend wrap up from the rest of that weekend. 

Monday morning, DJ left bright and early for Cincinatti and his convention. 

Each day, we were later and later, and I had to have my breakfast at work. 

Addy Pearl helped me make french toast for dinner. The girls and I look forward to when DJ's away so we can have breakfast for dinner! 

And then this came up on my time hop from when Gretchen was a year old and my mom and grandma came to Indiana to visit us. My grandma isn't doing well right now, but this right here is how I want to remember her. She was always so elegant and she loved spoiling Gretchen. She also loved making us homemade rolls, which is what Gretchen is snacking on in the pic. I sure am going to miss this lady. 

One morning, I was behind this car, and I thought "wow, you overachiever you". And then I realized I'd probably be bragging too if I was this motivated and accomplished. For the record, I'm not. My two mile runs are satisfying enough for me right now. 

Gretchen comes to my office every day after school. She asked one afternoon to watch American Girl doll videos on YouTube, an I obliged. I love having this time with just her every day. 

And when we got home we found a box of Albanese candy that nana had sent us! We were super excited! PS, that's the world's largest bag of gummy bears! 

And I made chicken salad one evening, so I would have lunch over the next several days. I'm sure Addy Pearl is disappointed it's not cookies! 

Addy Pearl insisted on driving us to school one morning. 

And Megan's preschool is having an ABC countdown and last Thursday was "team" day, so she wore her favorite "team" cheerleading outfit. However, she wasn't exceptionally happy because she had slipped when getting out of the car. 

But she was happy that we were bracelet buddies!

HPA Goes Oily: What Else Do I Need?

Happy Thursday friends! I'm not sure about y'all, but I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the weekend! We've survived a crazy week and we only have 6 more days of school left, and I'm counting down!!!!!

If you've been reading my blog for some time now, you know that I'm addicted to my essential oils! 

And, I thought I'd share today what you'll want to have on hand after you dive in and purchase your Premium Starter Kit! Your kit comes with a diffuser of your choice, and diffusing is an amazing way to benefit from essential oils, but there are other ways too!

First up, you'll want to have several roller bottles on hand. You can find these here. I use roller bottles to dillute my essential oils and to make my own roller bottle blends. When looking for a roller bottle to use, you'll want to make sure they're glass, and preferably with a metal roller ball on the top. Essential oils do not mix well with plastic and they don't like light! So keep your roller bottles either cobalt blue or grab a brown/amber option. 

Because it's spring time, and I want to enjoy being outside, I mix up lemon, lavender, and peppermint in a roller bottle, and then I fill the rest with a liquid carrier oil, and just roll it on each morning!

I also use my roller bottles for my DIY perfume. I have either Stress Away or Joy in a bottle dilluted with coconut oil, and I roll it on my wrist, behind my ears, and over my heart. 

This little set is a great starter kit. Click here to find it! It's perfect since it contains smaller dram bottles for on-the go, and the spray bottle is perfection! I use our smaller spray bottles to make my girls a tangle spray, and if you're in to making your own lotions or soaps, then that pump bottle is the way to go. A lot of oily people start to make their own products once they begin researching and discovering harmful ingredients in our store-bought brands, so having a glass starter kit like this one would be great to have on hand! 

These glass spray bottles are also a must have! You can find them here. I use these to mix my own homemade cleaning solutions. A long time ago we said good-bye to conventional cleaners, and I started making my own. Young Living has an amazing Thieves cleaner, that lasts forever, and I mix it in one of these spray bottles and use it all over the house. Bahtrooms- check, Showers- check, Kitchen- check, Windows- check, check. I use my other bottle for a DIY wood furniture polish. You can find my recipe in this post. 

Coconut oil is something else you'll want to have on hand when using essential oils. You can find this brand here. Because essential oils are super powerful, you'll want to dilute them when you use them. You dilute oils using a carrier oil such as coconut oil. Plus, I use coconut oil to make my sleepy cream and my DIY face wash. 

If you're wanting to DIY with your skin care, then you'll also want to grab this bottle of Witch Hazel. Add a drop of witch hazel and a drop of Frankincense to a cotton pad for a toner. You can head here to read why Witch Hazel should be in every home! 

If you're a bath person, or you tend to work out a lot, then I'd suggest picking up a bag of Epsom salt. You can mix epsom salt with baking soda and your choice of essential oils and you'll have an amazing detox bath!  

Young Living released their Vitality line in February. These oils are labeled for and identified by the FDA as GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) and can be ingested, should you choose to do so. Because essential oils can literally eat away at the chemicals, in plastic, then you'll want to find a glass water bottle to use. 

If you are pregnant or you already have kids, then I'd highly recommend the Gentle Babies book that you can find here. It contains all sorts of information about how to use essential oils on yourself, your baby and child, and which oils you might want to stay away from! 

And finally, the first book that I purchased after my purchasing my PSK, was the Essential Oils pocket reference guide, that you can find here. This book talks you through the history of essential oils, each individual oil and it's uses, and then it talks about each oil blend and how to use them. It is amazing, and sort of an essential oil Bible! 

Whew, that's a lot! Who's overwhelmed???? My best advice, that I tell everyone when they get started is to take it slow! Get one book and get a carrier oil. Then start using and diffusing. Once you're getting use to those oils and you've read through your book, then you'll feel more comfortable expanding and branching out. Once I felt more comfortable, I decided to focus on one part of my house and go from there. The bathroom, cleaning, laundry, skin care. 

If you'd like to learn more about essential oils, leave me a comment below, shoot me an email, or head here. 

Stranded..... with Books

I'm linking up with Erika and Shay for their monthly link up series......STRANDED! Each month we blog about which three things we would take with us on a deserted island, 

And today is all about books!!!!

And, I'm not sure about you, but narrowing down three books is crazy hard!!!! Well, my first two books were no-brainers, but choosing the third was a little more difficult! 

So first up, I'd take my Bible. I mean, it's kind of an obvious choice. Granted, I'm not fabulous about doing Bible studies right now, but I can imagine that if I'm on a deserted island that I'd have a lot of time on my hands, and I could read my Bible when I'm feeling down or needing to be motivated and inspired. And who knows, it may teach me how to build an ark!

And, I knew that right away I would need some sort of Survival Guide, because I have no idea how to execute any sort of survival method despite the numerous episodes of Naked and Afraid I have watched. From what I can tell, this one is actually a kids survival guide, but I'm sure it will do just fine. 

Knowing what book I would take next was a more difficult choice. Once I've read a book, I can't seem to read it again. If I know exactly what's going to happen, then I just can't read it over. Now, if it were a movie, I could watch that a million times over, but I just can't read the same book twice. And, I love reading, but since I'm a work-outside of the home, mom of three, I don't seem to have much time to read unless we are traveling. However, I'm on my second book this month, so there's that! 

I just finished reading Me Before You and I may be a little late to the game, but I only picked it up after a friend had shared the movie preview for the book. The preview looked amazing, and I knew I needed to read the book before I go see the movie. Me Before You was painfully slow the first few chapters, but once I dug in to the book and got lost in the characters and story, I couldn't put the book down! I finished it in a matter of three days, and I felt my heart pull in many different directions. So, maybe since I've already read this book, and I can't read the same book twice, then I'd have to choose 

After You is the sequel to Me Before You. 

The book, Me Before You, includes the first chapter of After You, and when I finished it, I tried to read the first few pages, but I just could not. Maybe it's slow going in the beginning, just like Me Before You was, or maybe I just felt that I needed some time to digest what I had just read. Regardless, I know that after I do finish it that I would probably use the pages to keep my fire going- you know, since I'm on a deserted island and all.