Catching Up....

Whew, I feel like I've been playing catch up ever since heading out of town for Easter weekend. We still haven't caught up on laundry, and our house is only about 70% clean. Thankfully, we caught up a little and managed to clear some boxes out of the house this weekend, and maybe, just maybe, we can fully catch up sometime this week! 

So today, I'm catching y'all up! Just on what's been going on.... some life.... oil goodies... and a little more thrown in! 

While DJ and I were on our "date night" Easter weekend, we went in to Home Goods. My parents have the best Home Goods in their town! I had been looking for pillows for our couch, but couldn't find any locally, and I found exactly what I had been looking for! Now our sofa is comfy and perfect for settling in for a movie night! 

Last week, Megan was learning about Community Helpers and had a visit from a fire truck! I was able to sneak out and watch while her class was listening to the firemen and touring the truck. 

Oh, this girl.... Addy Pearl is keeping us on our toes right now. We're working on breaking her thumb sucking habit (again) and I think it turned her in to a little monster last week at preschool. She had bad reports every single day that she wasn't nice to her friends, and then she decided to paint her shirt blue. She also "painted" her fingernails with marker. Let's just say there have been lots of time outs and some grounding in our house this last week! 

Gretchen is loving her Wellie Wisher rain boots! Unfortunately, the ones the Easter Bunny brought for her sisters were too small, and I'm praying they won't be a pain to return because they're so sweet! 

So bathing suit season is right around the corner.... yikes! I've been working out about 3-4 days a week, but I'm also using the Slique supplements from Young Living. The little packet contains 4 supplements with essential oils that help curb your appetite. The slique essence is a liquid that you add to your water (I add one drop per day) and it helps to curb sugar cravings. 

So..... embarrassing, but earlier this week, I realized that I had forgotten to put on my deodorant in the morning! And, I didn't realize it until about 4 pm! Whoops! Thankfully, I had a roller bottle of coconut oil and joy essential oil, so I just applied it to my pits and was good for the rest of the day! Essential Oils sure do come in handy sometime! 

This week, I ran 2 miles on the elliptical and did some work out videos from Instagram. If you're needing some work out inspiration, check out @amandaraines_fit on Instagram! 

Adalyn has been wearing her little smiley face diffuser bracelet this week! 

She chose Peace & Calming one day, and then Stress Away another day. But whoops- I was pretty much out of Stress Away, so she barely got a drop on her little bracelet! 

These meme came up on Facebook this week, and it's exactly how I felt last week! Life was busy!

It rained the entire day on Friday, was freezing cold... we came home and I curled up on the sofa, we ordered pizza, and then we watched Matilda. (Gretchen read the book 4 times over Easter weekend.)

On Saturday, I was up early because I knew that we were going to have a busy day! I went to the gym, and then came home to run a Live Your Passion Rally online for my oil members! And then around noon, DJ and I met his video students at Flying Tee for golf and lunch. We had the best time! His students get along great, and they've made his job so much easier! We're so thankful that they help out every season!

And, did you hear- Earth Day was Saturday! And, I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Earth Day than to begin a journey in to toxin free living! You can grab a Premium Starter Kit and receive $20.00 cash back from me through Wednesday! I'd be ecstatic to help you on your journey! 

The starter kit contains a diffuser of your choice, 11 essential oils, which will support all of your body's systems including respiratory, dietary, muscular, and your skin! We've really enjoyed replacing our toxin products like candles, plug ins, dryer sheets, and face wash with the starter kit! 

Okay, so I feel all caught up here in the blog world- yay!

I plan on being back Wednesday and will be working on sticking to a 3 day a week blogging schedule again! 

3 Things.....

Every once in a while, I like to catch up and share 3 things that are going on with each of us! I love being able to look back and see what we're doing, enjoying, and just what is making life go around right now!

~Gretchen~

Gretchen is our girly girl! She just turned 9 in January and is still loving school :)

1. She's reading on a 7th grade reading level! She absolutely loves to read! She will read a chapter book in a day, and then turn around and read it again! She read Matilda 4 times this weekend! 

2. She loves to watch American Girl videos on You Tube. She's obsessed. I'm not sure what it is with kids and You Tube, but all of the girls love watching videos. 

3. She's asked several times to take piano lessons! So, we're considering it, and I'm trying to find an instructor and see what if we'll need to buy a keyboard. 

~Megan~

1. Megan has thrived in school this year! She has mastered almost all of her 1st grade sight words, and is beginning to read the "I Can Read" books. 

2. She is still baby doll obsessed. She absolutely loves being a "little mommy".

3. She is thriving in gymnastics! She's tumbling all over the place. She can do a somersault, back bend, front walk over (with help) and she constantly spins around the low bars at recess. 

~Adalyn~

1. This is the girl that's going to keep me on my toe's. Earlier this week, I picked her up and she had colored on her fingernails with marker, and painted her shirt blue. 

2. She is back to sucking her thumb, and her daddy is working once again to break her from the habit! 

3. She loves wearing her shoes on the wrong feet. She says that it helps her stand up straight. Every time we tell her to change her shoes, she just tells us that she knows, and she doesn't seem to mind.

~DJ and myself~

1. Life has been busy lately! We are finally finished with spring football practice, which means that DJ is getting home at almost a normal time, and he's able to help me run the girls around, or catch up at home, and man I sure do appreciate the help right now!

2. I'm nearing the end of the school year and working on finding the motivation and the time to complete evaluations and holding IEP meetings.

3. This weekend we are taking DJ's video students to Top Golf and I can't wait for a little day date, with a whole bunch of college students!

So, that's a few things about what's going on right now! Just a little bit of life :)

Easter Weekend

So, I took a little blogging break. We decided last minute Friday to head out of town and we were already way behind with our house and life, and being away, has put us even further behind. So, I'm working on playing catch up.

Settle in with a cozy blanket and a cup of coffee because this is a long one.

#sorrynotsorry

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Friday morning, I was talking to my mom while the girls and I were on our way to school. We were discussing our Easter weekend plans, and she told me that both her and my stepdad's family were planning on being at their house for Easter Sunday. 

 We honestly had no intentions of going out of town for Eater weekend..... I was behind on laundry, the house is a mess, and I was looking forward to a low key, relaxing weekend with a few Easter traditions mixed in. But, when my mom told me our family members that were coming, I felt a longing to go home. 

So, I called DJ (who had Adalyn with him at work that day) and he agreed that we could go! Which meant that we had to make sure we could kennel our dog, get the big girls picked up from school, pack for 5 people.... all while I had to sit in a late afternoon meeting that was running even later! 

Once I made it home, I scrambled to finish up the packing and we were in the car a little after 5 and on our way to Arkansas! The girls were pumped to see their Gee and PawPaw again! 

Since we hadn't taken the girls to see the Easter Bunny yet, we decided that we would go on Saturday. Thankfully, there's a new Bass Pro in Little Rock, so we headed there! 

Did you know that Bass Pro gives you a free photo for Christmas and Easter? We got there early, because I knew the line would be outrageous, and DJ stood in line while my sister in law and I took the girls to see the aquarium, and to wander through the store! 

We checked out the fish, played with the toys, took a bathroom break, explored the boats, and finally it was time for the line to move! 

Just hanging out with a grizzly bear at Bass Pro :) 

The girls took a while to figure out exactly where they wanted to sit! Adalyn refused to sit on Mr. EB's lap. 

Did you know that Bass Pro gives you a free photo for Christmas and Easter? We always have pictures made here for that reason! 

After we had pictures taken, we headed to the fire station to see my brother. My sister in law had to drop something off to him, and he let us explore the fire trucks! 

He even took Amelia, myself, and Megan on a ride around the block! 

Megan was afraid that he would turn on the sirens and that it would be very loud! 

Just hanging out at the fire station! 

All of the girls took a turn sitting in the driver seat. Uncle Matthew told them that the drivers had the windows rolled down and stuck their arm out of the window. 

And then we all had popsicles! 

Addy refused to sit on the fire truck, but the big girls did!

As soon as we got home, we had lunch and the girls played for a bit before it was time to dye eggs!

While my mom was baking, I set up the table so we could dye eggs. I love getting to dye eggs with the girls, and this year, it was so orderly! I feel like every year it's just such a big mess, but they did a great job this year! 

I set all of the cups in the middle and divided the eggs among each of the girls. I also gave each of them a large spoon, and they were only given one cup at a time. 

They waited patiently for their egg to color, and then were able to choose another color. They let me help them get the eggs out and we put them in a carton to dry. That evening, they decorated the eggs with stickers. We so do not get fancy with our egg dying. 

Once the eggs were finished, the little girls headed to my brother's house to play, Gretchen decided to stay and bake with my mom and I took a nap! 

And then, DJ and I went on a date night while my mom watched the girls!

We found ourselves at Best Buy, TJ Max, and then we headed to dinner. 

I decided to go low-cal and order fish, because I knew I'd be eating my weight in goodies on Easter!

Once we got home, we finished tucking the girls in and then got their Easter baskets together!

Each of the girls received a pair of Wellie Wisher rainboots from American Girl, and two pairs of knee socks. They all received a chocolate bunny, peeps, a movie, and a Matilda Jane outfit. They also received a little sequin bunny purse and a leather diffuser bracelet. 

Sunday morning the girls were up bright and early! I made them stay in their bedroom and watch a cartoon until 7, and then it was time to check out their baskets! 

Two of the girls were pumped! 

One, not so much! 

We ordered their diffuser bracelets from this shop.

We headed to church and attempted a quick photo before heading in. 

And, once we got home, we took a few more photos! 

It's never easy settling in for a family photograph!

After torturing the girls with pictures, we let them change and we headed inside for lunch.

 My stepdad's aunt was there, and she took to Adalyn right away! Honestly, many of our extended family members have never met our girls or it's been years since they've seen them! It was really neat watching generations come together. 

 Once lunch was over, we gathered for our egg hunt! 

 The Easter bunny never hides our eggs. For as long as I can remember, we would dye eggs and leave them in our baskets. On Easter, we would head to my aunt's house, gather all of the eggs, and the older cousins would go hide them in the yard for us to find. And, we still do that today!

 It was a mad dash to get out the door! 

We had real eggs, fake eggs, plastic eggs, and prize eggs! 

After all of the eggs had been collected, everyone checked out what they received! The prize eggs held bracelets, some money, and candy. 

 And then my mom gathered all of the kids around and gave each of them a fe M&M's. She used the M&M's to explain a little bit about Easter. 

We stayed at my parent's house until around 4. We visited, the kids played, and eventually we knew we would need to head home. 

It's safe to say that Easter wore them out! The little girls slept for half of our trip, while Gretchen read! And, we made it home without having to stop for a bathroom break! Which was the first time ever! 

We had a fabulous Easter! I'm so thankful that we headed home. Our family is so blessed. It was wonderful to see everyone.