August Young Living Order

Each month, we place an order from Young Living that arrives right on our doorstep! I love that it saves me a trip to Target or a million different stores, and I'm no longer wasting time in store aisles reading ingredient labels. 

Here's what I ordered this month: 

Thyme Vitality was free, and I ordered a new blush color. When Young Living released make up a few years ago, I was pumped because finding truly clean makeup had been super hard for me. 

These three oils were free for helping friends enroll with starter kits last month! I'm so thankful for all of my friends that trust me to help them get started with Young Living. 

Gretchen and I are obsessed with these vitality drops. The grapefruit/bergamot is my favorite, but she really loves the lavender/lemonade. I ordered a 3 pack in June and we went through them SO fast! Just by adding a drop in our water, makes us drink so much more water, and they're pumped full of electrolytes, so they're perfect for the hot Summer days! 

I haven't been to the doctor to confirm, but I was talking to a friend about how tired I had been feeling, and she asked if my thyroid was sluggish. After hearing all of my symptoms, she told me that I needed to take a thyroid supplement and suggested one from Amazon. I ordered it and immediately started taking it when it arrived, and y'all, I've felt a huge difference in my energy levels. Where I use to want to crash early in the evenings, there are some nights, where I still have a ton of energy at 10 pm. Anyway, I realized that Young Living had a thyroid supplement too, so I ordered this one to try. 

I ordered DJ a small bottle of his body wash to keep in his locker at work. 

And his shave cream. 

I started using Young Living's Bloom skincare line in June, and I've seen a huge difference! I still have plenty of step 2 and 3, but I needed more face wash, so I was able to order it. 

Young Living released a liquid foundation in June, but I've used their powder for years. I am currently using the liquid, but I like to have the powder foundation on hand for quick touch ups. 

Oh friend. The Unwind supplement has been a game changer for Gretchen and Megan. Both of them take a while for their minds to settle down before bed, and this supplement has been a huge help! It contains magnesium and essential oils, and it taste similar to grape bubblegum in my opinion, but it's a watermelon flavor..... anyway, it helps them fall asleep and stay asleep! I've even taken it a few times and I sleep SO hard when I've used it. 

All of these goodies were free this month, and I can't wait to incorporate them in to our dishes!

To grab your own starter kit of oils and become a member, click here. 

Strawberry Banana Bread Muffins

You know those times when you go to the grocery store and buy bananas and your kids eat them up so fast? Why does that not happen every time you buy bananas? For this very reason, I don't buy bananas often. The last time I bought them, which was just a few weeks ago, the girls gobbled them up so fast. So, I bought some last week when I was at Costco, and they were just sitting there already turning brown. Sigh. 

Since the bananas weren't going to be eaten, in their original form, I made banana bread.... with strawberries! Yum! 

This recipe isn't the healthiest. Sorry friends. This is a family recipe from a family cookbook, but it is oh so easy and the muffins (or bread) always turn out beautifully and so tasty. 

Mix 1 c. sugar, 1/2 c. oil,  and 2 eggs

Add 3 over-ripe bananas. You can mash these ahead of time, but I feel like they mash well in my mixer, so I skip that step.

Next, add 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1 3/4 c. flour. 

For a boost of flavor, I added 2 drops of Nutmeg Vitality essential oil, and Cinnamon Bark Vitality. You can add in the spices or the oils. 

Mix it all together. 

Now, you can add in nuts, chocolate chips, or bake it as is. I really love adding in strawberries! Especially if we have strawberries that need to be eaten, which doesn't happen often. Strawberries are typically gone from our house within a day, and for some reason, the girls weren't chowing down like they usually do. 

You'll want to chop at least 1/2 c. of strawberries. 

Add in to your mixture and mix for a few seconds. 

Scoop in to muffin tins or a loaf pan. I love our square muffin tin from Pampered Chef. I use this pan all the time- mini meat loafs, brownies, muffins.... this pan gets a lot of use in our house! 

Bake 350 degrees fro 25 minutes. If you're baking in a larger loaf pan, you'll want to cook for an hour. 

Feel free to copy/paste below:

What You'll Need:

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil

2 eggs

 3 mashed bananas

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 3/4 c. flour

Optional Add Ins:

2 drops Nutmeg Vitality or a dash of Nutmeg Spice

2 drops Cinnamon Bark Vitality or a dash of Cinnamon

1 c. nuts

1/2-1 c. chocolate chips

1/2-1 c. strawberries or other berries of your choice

Mix in order given. Bake in loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or in muffin pan for 25 minutes. 

Remove from pan and cool.

Bonus: You can freeze these and re-heat, but we gobble these up really fast! 

 

Home School

I'm sure you know by now that we decided to home school the girls this year. 

As of the end of July, we were planning on sending the girls back to public school, but our school system decided to hold virtual school for 3 weeks and then start in person September 8th. We knew that virtual school would be difficult with both DJ and myself working, and we didn't have a lot of options as to who would watch the girls or even help them. Virtual school last Spring didn't take us long at all and there weren't required times of day to be online. Heading in to the Fall, this was going to heavily change for our district. Gretchen would have to be online off and on from 8-3, as well as complete any assignments. The little girls would have certain times of the day to be online as well. Honestly, it completely stressed me out and I felt our best option would be for me to take several days off and DJ and I to completely re-work our work schedules. We also had the unknown of if school would actually start in person on September 8th. 

Then, if we did send our kids in person, they would be in masks all day. Many of their friends were not returning to in person learning and opting for the distant learning option. It broke my heart that their friends wouldn't be there. I also felt like the school experience would be quiet different and not healthy for the girls mentally or emotionally. 

So, I started talking to DJ about homeschooling. We watched some videos from other families that home school and learned that it could work around our schedule, without the pressure of falling in line with what the public school expects. We also loved the possibility of traveling more on the weekends in the Spring since we have the camper now. 

Thankfully, home school laws in Texas are pretty relaxed, and I only had to send a written notice to their schools letting them know we were withdrawing to home school. After that, I found a curriculum to use with the girls and we're pretty much off and running. 

We are using Easy Peasy All In One Home School with Gretchen. It's a free online program from a parent that home schooled 6 kiddos. She put all of her curriculum online and it's divided in to subjects and each day. Gretchen is taking language arts, reading, ancient history, Spanish, Bible, pre-algebra, p.e., music, and thinking. 

Personally, I think she could drop a few classes and be fine- I'd prefer her to focus on core classes, but she thought the others would be fun, and her electives are only once a week, except Spanish and Bible. 

We are using some mixed curriculum with Megan right now. I had several friends recommend The Good and The Beautiful, but, all of her leveled workbooks are sold out or unavailable. They have some free resources, but I am hoping that within a few weeks her language arts and reading will become available. Her leveled math through them won't be available until at least December. 

So, we are working through a few workbooks that I purchased from Costco that we are really enjoying. I also purchased two math work books from Abeka , and we just started those last week. 

If I can't get a hold of her language arts and reading soon, then we will start supplementing with Easy Peasy for her as well. 

Adalyn is also using a few workbooks from Costco. We were able to purchase her reading/language arts from The Good and Beautiful, so we have started on that with her. Right now, her math is out of stock, but thankfully, the Costco workbooks are perfect right now to get her back in to the swing of things. 

My main goal for right now, is that we just do something each day. I'm really working on Gretchen becoming independent and focusing  on her math skills. She's a great reader and writer. She loves to learn and soaks up anything she can. I would say that we're struggling some with math and simple mistakes, and we're working a lot on her being able to work with me and learn from mistakes- both mine and hers. 

I just want Addy to love learning. She has never been a big fan of school. She just wants to play and have fun, so I really have to use a lot of positive reinforcement with her and make it as fun as possible. I have to somewhat trick her in to learning and make it her idea. She also does really well if she can choose something to work for. So, she earns pom poms that she can trade in for rewards or she'll say "I'm working for your phone" or "I'm working for mochi" At this point, I don't care what she works for as long as she does the work. She's stronger in math than she is in reading, so I'm really wanting to focus on reading with her. Sight words, spelling, grammar, writing, and then adding and subtracting and other math skills.

She really wanted to go to school this year- because she's super social. I've read a lot about 'unschooling' which is basically just following your child's interests, so we're trying some of that with her while incorporating some workbook time each day. Right now, she's doing about an hour a day and we will slowly increase that as she starts to tolerate more. 

Megan has just really made me happy through the start of this journey. She's anxious and ready to get started and she rarely complains. School in Oklahoma was wonderful for Megan. She had amazing teachers and wonderful friends. When we moved to Texas, she had great teachers, but she went in to her shell more and didn't take a lot at school and didn't make a lot of friends. Thankfully, she has made friends in our neighborhood and at gymnastics, but I don't think she felt comfortable AT school. 

Even though her curriculum hasn't arrived, we're focusing a lot on math skills for her. She has started spelling and some grammar, and she's reading each day. We will also focus on hand writing, because she is sloppy and rushes through her work. 

This year, she'll do a big research project on the state of Texas, and she loves arts and outer space, so I'm hoping to incorporate it when we can. 

I literally have zero expectations for our journey. I just want the girls to enjoy themselves and to learn along the way. We're not spending 4 hours a day on school work. Gretchen's school days are longer because she is older and has a lot of classes. Right now, she takes about 4 hours to get everything done. Megan and Addy have about 1 hour each day, and again, we'll slowly build that up. 

DJ and I have decided that if this doesn't work, we can send our girls back to school. We are literally taking this a few weeks at a time.

So, that's where we are. I am definitely not an expert, but my goal is to always be open and transparent and share what our family learns. I've shared a lot on Instagram and Facebook, and I'll share here along the way too. I have found that the home school community is SO helpful. There are so many facebook groups, curiculums, and anything you'd need out there. I am SO thankful to all of my friends that have let me ask them questions. They have been so helpful and patient. 

We are making this work for us, and each day will look different, and I think that's where I'm finding the beauty of it all. We do covet your prayers though as we all do our best in our current situations. 

 

Life Lately: August

August has been keeping us busy! It always does.... DJ is back to football and long hours during the day; I feel like I'm playing catch up at work; and all things back to school, which looks a lot different for us this year! We basically slingshot ourselves in to our typical August business. Here's a little look at what we've been up to. 

The girls have been back to gymnastics. Megan goes 3 nights a week, and Adalyn was going twice a week for some make up classes. The gym is basically our second home. 

I rearranged my furniture and then decided I didn't like it, so I've moved it yet again. 

Megan created a maskless Target and we were there for it. 

We did some shopping and she checked us out. After I shopped and took this picture, she changed in to a full on red outfit, and the girls shopped for a while! 

We made a girls trip to Arkansas! When the girls were younger, we use to try to get away to Arkansas during Fall football camp, but it's gotten harder as they've gone to school This year, we actually took off on the day they were suppose to start public school! 

I was so happy to see my momma on her birthday! 

And these cousins were so happy to see each other! We were having a surprise party for my brother (he turned 40) and they made him a big birthday banner. 

We went to the splash pad too. 

And then got hair cuts! Y'all, I love Addy's long hair, but girl does not let me do anything to it. No brushing, no bows, no clippies, no headbands. It breaks my heart. She just wanted it cut off, so that's what we did. 

She's so happy!

And that freckle face, blue eye, gaping hole smile just melts me. 

We celebrated my brother with a family get together and it was so good to see everyone and be together.

On Monday, we drove home from Arkansas and our poor little pup had had it. She was sick while we were at my mom's, and I'm not lying when I thought we were going to have to put her to sleep last week. DJ took her to the vet, they gave her some meds, and she is back to her old self. She's 14 (this month) and the vet said she's still very healthy! I know she's a pain (oh, the dog hair) but, we were all pretty sad when she was so miserable on Monday. 

So, that's a little look at our life lately! What's something fun your family did in August? 

Costco Haul

Hi friends, it's been a while!!! I didn't mean to stop blogging, but my Google Photo storage was full. I mean, I probably deleted 5,000 pictures and I still had no room. Sigh. I have a hard time letting go even though I have photos backed up on Facebook and Shutterfly, I just couldn't delete all of my google photos too. That basically led me in to a discussion with myself whether the 2.00 a month fee for google was worth it, so my pictures would be backed up and I could blog again. So, after I finally sucked it up and realized I could create zero more space, I paid the fee and we're back- yay! 

We all know I love Costco, and I love sharing my Costco haul's with y'all! So, we're kicking my blogging return off with our recent Costco haul. It's a lot of randoms because we were only low on a few things.

The girls love these gummy bears. I love that they don't have artificial dye in them :) DJ loves them too. I'll occasionally find him snacking on them after the girls have gone to bed. 

This sausage is yummy. You can slice it and throw it in your slow cooker, or bake it in the oven with a ton of veggies. The girls eat it up. 

I bought Gretchen this Ramen the last time I was at Costco, and she loves it. She'll fix it herself for lunches. I haven't tried it, but she eats it every day when we have it, so I'm guessing it's pretty darn good. 

And we all love their Chicken Cordon Bleu. It's seriously the best for a quick week night meal, which is basically all I've been cooking lately. 

Gee bought the girls Lemonade this Summer, so of course, they ask for it when we go to Costco too. They dilute it with water, so the two lasts us for a while, and since they're not going back to school I figured I'd grab lemonade over juice boxes. 

I bought these for DJ to take to work or eat on late nights when he gets home (and I haven't cooked; whoops) He enjoys them and Gretchen has even tried them too. DJ is a big cheesesteak sandwich guy, and I think it's gross, but you know, a little something for the hubby :). And yes, you just pop it in the microwave. 

Yum! Hands down, my favorite for a quick lunch or a side dish with Costco's Orange Chicken. Gretchen will heat up a bag for her lunch or if we're all out of what I usually take for lunch or if I'm running late, I'll grab a bag of fried rice and eat it at work. 

I haven't bought these in a while! I don't think I had found them the last few times I looked, but these are a great source of protein that I'll take for work with left over veggies, or I'll cut it up and eat the chicken in a wrap. Adalyn loves these too! 

I bought us Mochi the last time I went to Costco, so of course I had to buy it again. I love that it's just one piece, and the girls are satisfied and think it's a treat. In fact, Adalyn is doing her school work, and I'll let her choose what she's working for, and she's been telling me mochi! So, it's a perfect little "bribe" for after school. 

We love these cinnamon rolls.

Y'all, over the last few months we've had some bad chicken. It's been tough, hard to cut, and just not any good. Costcos' organic chicken is our favorite, but we've had a hard time finding it during COVID. Thankfully, it was in stock, so I grabbed a pack! 

Addy is our guac girl! I bought her these for lunches. 

Also, if you have these- can you freeze them? There's 16 and she's the only one that eats it, but I think she also forgets she has it as an option, so the 16 lasts forever.... I think if I could freeze them it would help them last longer but I also think the avacados might turn brownish if frozen? Someone help! 

The last time I was at Costco, I bought a Cilantro Lime Rice that we're now obsessed with, but they were sold out :( I figured this street corn would be yummy and it is! We buy Costco's Street Tacos, and I've heated up this corn as a side dish and it was good! I also ate it with one of the chicken patties for lunch and enjoyed it. So, this will now be in regular rotation. 

The girls love baby cucumbers.

Um, and we all love these. A bag doesn't last very long around here, so we usually grab two. ;)

I love these muffins. This is a typical breakfast for me on days that I work.... I'll usually grab a muffin, sausage, and fruit and heat it up when I get to work, or I eat Costco's little egg quiche's with one of these muffins. If you need something quick and good, these are perfect. 

The girls wanted to try these instead of the Costco applesauce, and both Megan and Adalyn said they were good. 

DJ's favorite body wash (second to Young Living's) is Every Man Jack. For the most part it's a "clean" brand, but does have fragrance in it. He goes through them pretty fast, so I bought this 3 pack as a back up, or he can take it to work and put in his locker. I just thought it was a good bye, so I grabbed it. 

Yum! And if your kiddo is picky, you can leave the sauce off, and they basically have chicken nuggets. 

Tiny tomatoes are a favorite treat around here. 

As are strawberries- yum! 

Megan asked for apples, so I was happy to find this organic Fuji apple brand. Fuji apples are my favorite ;) And the girls love them with peanut butter. 

So, there ya go, our most recent Costco Haul!!!!!

If you shop at Costco, share your finds in the comments!