Essential Oils

I'm not a Green Peace person. I'm not a Save the World person. I'm not even a Recycle person....although I have found that plastic grocery bags are the best for throwing away dirty diapers so I do save those. But in the past few years I've gradually moved away from cleaning with chemicals. I hate the smell of bleach more than most any other smell so I figure if it's that strong for me I can only imagine how the boys feel. I've learned that vinegar and hydrogen peroxide are awesome cleaning agents so if you were to open up my "chemical" cupboard you'd only find window cleaning solution and Resolve. Another thing I'm going more "organic" with is how I treat the boys medically. Yes, medicines are sometimes needed (and appreciated) but there are a lot of times that they are just a bandaid. My new favorite thing is doTerra essential oils. I've found that they work well for the body and as cleaning agents. In fact, some- such as lavender-can be used for both! Easton has been sick this week AGAIN (!) with a stomach bug. Yesterday my friend offered me a chance to use her Digestzen oil, which aids in stomach issues. After 2 days of nonstop cleaning up after Easton I was willing to give anything a try. I applied it on his stomach in the early afternoon. By around 4:30 he was starting to act more like his normal self.....and that was the end of his stomach bug. He went to bed happy, woke up happy, has been eating...and keeping it all in!! I can't say enough about essential oils and I'm so thankful that I have access to them here in LA and in CA.

Memorial Day

A year ago Memorial Day, we packed up our earthly possessions and moved cross country. (Another blog for another time) So it was nice to see P enjoy Memorial Day this year. He had a lot of Father/Son time between a fishing derby, watching a movie, going fishing and spending time in the pool. Here are a few of the fun moments.....

So Many Blogs Wrapped Into One

Since Rob took P to his first fishing derby this morning and E is asleep, I have a lot of time to write. Hold on and sit back because I've got insomnia these days, leading me to think about several blogs.....

So In Love
Around this time of year I get nostalgic as Rob and I approach our wedding anniversary. I take time to reflect on the things that made me fall in love with him in the first place. Over the course of time some of those things have changed or dwindled, but I find myself falling in love with him for different reasons these days (like when he comes in from a hard day of work and immediately swoops the boys up to play with them). Some of the reasons I fell in love with him....

* He treated me like a princess every day, like I was the most important person on the face of the Earth.
* He wrote me heartfelt, thought out love notes on a regular basis.
* Not a month would go by where he didn't send me flowers just because.
* He ALWAYS opened EVERY door for me.
* I couldn't say I wanted something because he'd immediately buy it for me.
* He would come to Sacto regularly, even on little sleep, to spend time with me, my parents and my friends, wanting to be part of my world.
* He'd take care of me, especially if something was broken. He'd either fix it himself or take care of all the details to have it fixed.
* He was a spiritual leader, (wearing a suit to church was important to him), reading the Bible with me, leading us in prayer together.
* He'd make me laugh so hard, but was there when I needed a shoulder to cry on.
* He cooked me meals and/or cake on occasion.
* He listened to me and was sympathetic to my situation, even if it wasn't important to him.

There are more reasons but the ones above are what really made me fall head over heels for him.
I remember when we were dating, we'd go for LONG drives just for the "fun" of it. I'm not a "riding in the car just because" kind of person. But, now looking back on it, I wish I would've enjoyed those times more. Just the two of us, with nowhere to go and no responsibilities to get us back home (i.e. dogs, kids). After getting married, we'd have Thursday date nights where we'd take turns picking what we did. I should remember these times more often, not just once a year. Marriage is hard but there are reasons people fall in love and it's important to not lose light of them.

A Crushed Soul
Parenting is my number one job. Do I do it right? Most days I do okay, some days I do great and other days are epic fails. Lately, P and I have been butting heads which isn't fun for me or him. Unfortunately, I am one of those "speak before thinking" kind of people. I hurt people WAY MORE often than I'd like and most of the time I don't realize I do it. My boys (Rob included) usually get the brunt of my tongue lashings. The other day P crawled onto my lap and said, "Last night I prayed that I would have a good day today so you wouldn't yell at me again." Talk about a stab right in the heart, the worst kind of wake-up call to a parent! His simple statement made me step back and realize that I need to be more tender hearted because I don't want to crush my young boys' spirits and I only get one chance to raise my boys. They both love life so much and I don't want to be the one that is always getting on them, making life miserable. I want to be an encourager, a source of gentle parenting. Even if they aren't the best at something I don't want to be quick with my words, putting them down. (An example is that P does these blood curdling screams for no reason and I'm quick to say, "Stop screaming like a little girl!"). Now I don't want to "sissify" my boys but I think there's a line between correcting behavior, teaching them right from wrong and crushing them with constant "Can't you do this right?", "I've told you 10 times so you should know better by now." Parenting is challenging. Some days I go to bed, beating myself for the way I did or didn't parent that day. But it's a trial and error process, one I hope to continue getting better at with every passing day because sticks and stones may break their bones but words will hurt way worse.

Cancer Sucks
I feel like my life is surrounded by cancer these days. So many people are being diagnosed and/or treated for it. When I was in Cali, I found out that one of my good college friends now has Stage 4 spinal cancer, with a 3-6mos life expectancy. She had first been diagnosed with breast cancer when she delivered her son 3 years ago. For the first year of HIS life, she was being treated for cancer. She had been in remission but then went to see her doctor when her hips and back kept giving her problems. They naively thought it was an alignment problem that would get better with some physical therapy. So, imagine their shock and surprise, to find out that she now has spinal cancer! The saddest part is that she has a 3 yr old son who really doesn't know his mom without the word "cancer" attached to her and, if God doesn't provide a miracle, he won't have any memories of his young mom. Her daughter is 6 yrs old and probably won't have a lot of memories of her mom that don't include dr visits or stays in the hospital or losing her hair. My heart breaks over and over for this sweet friend, a young mom, who has so much life ahead of her. IF you're a praying person please pray for my friend, Jen, and her husband JD and their kids, Daniel and Abby. After being in the hospital for 22 days, she got to come home for the weekend. The family was hoping that she'd feel up to visiting some of her favorite places in San Diego this weekend before starting her next round of chemo on Tuesday. They have a long road ahead of them, regardless of the outcome, so any prayers would be appreciated!

This is her, in the hospital, the day after she got her most recent diagnosis.

Moments and Memories
The other day P started a conversation by saying, "Remember when Mimi watched Easton so you and Daddy could take me to bull riding?" That got us talking about all the fun things he's done in his young life. I started with the big stuff....SeaWorld, San Francisco, the circus, trips he's taken....and then I asked him if he could think of the favorite stuff he's done. For 35-40 mins he listed all the things he's loved doing and you know what? Very few of them included the "big things". His favorites included hiking with me and Rob to "King of the Mountain", going swimming with my mom at "Gee's hotel", getting frozen yogurt on hot days, going to multiple zoos, swinging in my parents' backyard for hours, climbing trees, camping, playing with various friends, a sleepover at Shay and Cahlie's (When Easton was born), Nick's football games, exploring at Bower's mansion. It made me realize that he doesn't have to do the big, expensive things to have fun (Although he and I are both dying to go to Disneyland/world before it loses the excitement for him!!). For him, the things he enjoys the most are moments spent together. Moments as a family, moments where we aren't distracted with technology, moments where he can learn and explore and just be a kid. I'm thankful for his reminder of the important things because it's times like this morning when he and I witnessed a brand new baby bird (which was still a little slimy) test its wings and fly that are special. Those are the moments that matter the most!

Breakthrough and Breakout

This may not seem like a big deal to you but Easton's had 2 breakthroughs this week and they've been a big deal to ME. The first one is that he's making his way into 18mos clothes. The reason this is a big deal is that I was ecstatic that he was my little "chunky monkey" until he was 6mos old....and we moved here. I don't know if it was the stress of the move on my milk supply or him starting to be mobile but he went from the 50th percentile in weight to barely in the 25th percentile. While we were in CA this last time my mom got him to start liking milk, something I haven't been able to do in the past 4 months. (She's a miracle worker with babies/kids!) So, between eating like a linebacker and drinking milk, he's starting to put more weight back on. The other breakthrough is at the dinner table. Every night we sit down as a family to eat. Before we begin our family meal, we hold hands and say the blessing. Since Easton was big enough to sit in a highchair I've offered my hand for him to hold during the blessing. But he's refused or has put food in my hand to share with me every time I've held my hand out to him. A few nights ago, P started saying the dinner blessing and I hadn't even offered my hand to Easton. I heard him grunting next to me so I peeked and saw that he was holding his hand out to me. It melted my heart! Now, if I forget to offer my hand, he's quick to let me know. It reminds me of the verse in Proverbs...."Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." (22:6)
It'd be great if I could end this with another cute story from my older son but, even if you find it cute, that will not be the case. A few nights ago he got mad at me during bathtime. I told him to go to bed early and he wouldn't get his story time or nightly Bible devotions. After getting the boys in bed, I sat on the couch and turned on the TV. I heard a faint knock at the front door a few minutes later, which threw me off because no one comes over once it starts getting dark. I got up and looked out the front door blinds. No one was at my eye level but when I looked down I saw blue monkey PJs....Preston! He had snuck out his bedroom window but then had closed it so no snakes could get in, only to find he had no way to get back in the house. I was so disappointed in him because he doesn't do things like that. He doesn't test the boundaries. He doesn't take his anger out on us. Until now. I hope it's not a regular occurrence because my biggest fear, as a parent, is losing one of my children in one way or another.
Hopefully we'll have more breakthroughs and no more breakouts!

Vacation Memories

There are two types of vacationers. There are the people that relax the entire vacation, reading/watching TV and sleeping. Then there are the people that make the most of every vacation minute by cramming as much stuff into the time as possible. My family is the latter type. Then there are also two kinds of vacations. There are the vacations where you think, "This is a nice time." Or there are the vacations where you think, "Wow! That was such a fun vacation full of many good memories." So this vacation to see my parents, not only did we cram it with fun stuff but it was also one of the best vacations I've had....full of lots of laughter and fun memories. We went to the zoo, did the Komen's walk in memory of my Nana, went fishing, spent a few days in NV, got Easton's first haircut, celebrated my mom's birthday. and so much more! Here are some of the pictures I took but I had 2 different camera so these are the pictures from only one camera.....

 

 

 

Home Means Nevada

I don't know how many states have state songs but Nevada does. Whenever I go back to visit I get nostalgic and quietly sing, "Home means Nevada to me." The few times I've visited since moving away makes me miss different things. It goes without saying that my friends are at the top of the "I Miss" list. This time I also realized we don't have any restaurants in LA where the waiters know us and our orders, not to mention ask about our lives. I also miss the small town feel, knowing I can be across town within 15 minutes. I miss our old pastor, Pastor Joe. He's such a warm, caring guy with dynamic sermons and a hilarious sense of humor. I miss looking out the window and seeing snow capped mountains almost year round. I miss all the concerts and shows that came to town, making it easy to have a fun date night. When Rob worked for the local power company, to me the guys he worked with became more like family than co-workers. We would get together to celebrate birthdays, wedding engagements, retirements... The guys would help each other when needed and would text/talk on the phone even after working together all day. One of the things I miss the most is the outdoors life. I loved that there were walking and/or hiking trails everywhere and beautiful places to camp. I also loved the mild weather that made it easy to be outdoors all the time.
Now, Southern folks, before you get all defensive let me finish by saying that I don't hate LA the way I did the first 6 months I lived there. In fact it's grown on me. We now have more of a social life, which has helped tremendously! I also love Spring in the South. It's always been my favorite season (along with Fall) but I like how in the South you get to watch the trees and flowers blossom into beautiful scenery all around you. I love the food (and apparently it likes me as well since I'm at my heaviest weight!) and have loved learning new recipes. I love ODBC and the family it has become to us. One of the things I love the most is our neighborhood! I love that there are kids everywhere for the boys to play with. I love that the neighbors watch out for each other, taking time to step outside and chat for hours on end. I love that there's a pond that provides us with fresh fish several times a week (I've learned that Rob's grilled bass is the best!).
I guess there's pros and cons no matter where you live. Home is where the heart is!