Life is too short

Why is it that it takes a tragedy for us to realize that life is short? I'm sure you've heard the saying before, you don't know what you've got till it's gone. But I just found this:

I think that is absolutely true. We never think about losing things or people, and then when we do, we're in shock. Then we start thinking about how life is short. We hug our loved ones a little tighter, start telling them we love them every second we get.

A few days ago I got a call from a family member and it started out by her saying "I have some bad news." I immediately knew what she was going to say next, but it still didn't prepare me for it. I had no idea who she was talking about when she said those words, but the second she said who it was, I was just in shock. I would have been shocked no matter who it was.

It definitely got me thinking about how life is way too short and tomorrow is never promised to us. I know it may be a little morbid to even think this, but it could be the end for any one of us at any moment. So let go of those regrets, those grudges, those things holding you back from living your life to the fullest. The most important thing in our lives needs to be family and friends. Reach out to that brother, sister, mother, father, whoever it is, that you haven't talked to in a while. You never know when you'll lose them for good.

I think the saddest part about this tragedy is the fact that 3 of my cousins are now without a father. My heart is breaking for them and I can't imagine what they must be going through right now.

So now tomorrow when my hubby gets home from work, me, him, the kiddos, and my mom are headed up to my aunt's house. This will be the 6th time that me and the kiddos have seen her this year but this time it isn't for a happy occasion. There will be lots of tears shed this weekend and lots of hugs given.

Pinterest Round Up

I'm going to start doing a post each week with things I found the previous week on Pinterest. So here we go...

I'm going to be doing a bunch of crock pot meals this week since we have stuff going on every night this week. So this is a new recipe I'm going to try. It looks really good!!!

This looks like a fun activity to do with Big E so I'm going to print it out and see how she does with it!

 I'm not sure if I mentioned it before, but I have become obsessed with avocados recently, so I'm looking forward to finding some new ways to eat them! The cucumber tomato avocado salad looks really good! I think I'll try that one first!

Moana Fever!!

Moana is officially the new Frozen in our house, are we the only one out there? Both of my kids, but mostly Big E, are obsessed with this movie!!

She asks to watch Moana almost daily! And she loves the songs so much that she asks to listen to them every time we get in the car!! But you know what, I don't mind one bit! I love the songs, especially "Where You Are" and "How Far I'll Go". The one day Big E was actually singing some of "How Far I'll Go" without the song playing!

Besides the songs, I love the story line in this movie. It isn't the typical "princess falls in love with prince" story like in a lot of other Disney movies. Moana isn't even a princess at all, she's the chief's daughter. She is independent and strong. We need more movies like this for our little girls (and boys) to watch so I'm so glad Disney came out with a movie like Moana.

If you haven't seen Moana yet, I highly recommend it!! If you have Netflix, you can watch it there!!!

Mr. Independent

Recently I've been noticing how independent Little E is becoming. No longer is he a tiny little baby that needs me almost 24/7. Now he's walking and running all over the place! It makes some things easier, like going to the park. Although we haven't done that in a while, I expect the next time we go to be a lot easier than it has been in the past. One thing that is different is that I no longer need a stroller or carrier for Little E. Now that he is walking, I can just let him run around the playground.

It also makes things at home a little easier. Now that Big E and Little E are playing together, I can go upstairs to put wash away and they are okay downstairs for a little bit. This is actually the only way I can get the wash put away. I'm doing a lot better at getting wash from the washer, to the dryer, and put away all in the same day!

It is just so crazy that I have a 3 year old and 1 year old!! They definitely keep me busy!! But I am so glad to be done with the newborn stage. Don't get me wrong, I loved the newborn stage and all the snuggles that came with it!! But I'm so glad to be getting more sleep at night and not being as attached to Little E as I was when he was still breastfeeding. But now he's gonna make us go broke with all the eating of regular food he's doing, haha!! Every time we go to McDonald's, we have to order the kiddos a Mighty Kids Meal that comes with 6 chicken nuggets instead of 4. Just wait until Little E is big enough to eat his own kids meal...I feel like that day will be here very soon!

Potty Training Update

I am proud to say that Big E is doing very well when it comes to going number 1 in the potty!! She hasn't had a wet accident in a while now! Now going number 2 in the potty...that still isn't happening. But I'm alright with that because we are still saving a ton of money by not having her in diapers all the time. We only put diapers on her twice a day now, at naptime and bedtime.

When we are out in public she does very well going to the bathroom on a regular size toilet so I'm going to put the potty chair away and have her go potty on the regular toilet. My husband got a toilet seat that has a child insert so she is going to start using that. We also found a step at a thrift store that goes around the toilet so she can use that to climb up on the potty. It will be so nice when she is independent and can go potty completely on her own!!

I'm hoping that Little E will be a little easier when it comes to potty training. My husband will be able to help out a little more with Little E than he did with Big E cause they have the same hardware. So that will make it nice!!

What is the best piece of potty training advice that you got from someone that you think every parent needs to know?

Let's get ready for Fall!

Back to school time is happening now and fall is just around the corner so it's time to start thinking about how we can keep ourselves and our kids from getting sick! This should always be a priority but I'll admit that I've been slacking a bit this summer. There aren't usually that many things going around during summertime but that doesn't mean that our immune system takes a break, so why should we?

One thing like to do every morning is apply my kids' wellness roller on the bottoms of their feet. The best time to do this is right when they sit down for breakfast because then it gives the oils some time to absorb into their skin rather than wiping off right away if they were to start walking as soon as I apply them. The roller I apply is 5 drops of Thieves and the rest of the bottle filled with fractionated coconut oil. Thieves vitality is great for the immune system! I love to add a drop to my water. Some people don't like the taste of it because they say it is too spicy for them, but I don't mind it one bit. Thieves is a blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary. 

Thieves is also great to diffuse! And because of the oils that make up this blend, it has a great fall scent to it! I need to start making a habit of making sure to diffuse this oil every single day so we can get the benefits of this amazing oil. One way to do this is to fill the diffuser before going to bed at night so then all I have to do the next morning is turn it on.

I also love using Thieves to clean! The Thieves Household cleaner is great!! One cap full of this to 16 ounces of water in a glass spray bottle, and you've got yourself an amazing all-purpose cleaner without all the chemicals that other cleaners have. I can use this around my kids and accidentally spray it on them (true story) and its 100% okay because there is nothing in it that is going to harm them.

Because the Thieves products that Young Living has are so popular, they've created a whole starter kit that gives you a bunch of products to get started with! This bundle is $160, a $41 savings, and gets you a wholesale membership with Young Living! What are you most looking forward to this fall?

It's Friday once again

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all had a great week. Our week was pretty uneventful. We didn't have too much planned. Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting for all week! We are going to my husband's aunt's house and are spending the day and night with them! They live about an hour away and we don't get to see them that often so it will be nice to catch up with them. They also have a pool so I'm hoping the weather is nice!! Both Big E and Little E love the water!!

I think in a few months, Big E won't need me to have both hands on her constantly while in the pool, so I should be able to take both kiddos swimming at the Y. We don't go swimming there as often as I said we would when we got the membership. So right now, I'm planning a day next week where we go one morning. It is nice having the child watch not only so I can go to Zumba while my hubby golfs once a week, but so that I can put Little E there while I take Big E swimming. I also would like to go as a family of 4 every now and then so we can all enjoy some swimming time together!

Here are some pictures from our week. I'm off to do some wash and get packed for our mini vacation!!