Some Exciting Things

This weekend we once again had very little on the docket, yet we still made it decently exciting.  Ok exciting is a bit of an exaggeration but oh well.

1. On Friday, the weather was nice! I mean it was only like 58 degrees but the sun is warm here! And after weeks of really cold weather, 58 degrees felt like summer. So off to the park we went. We were outside pretty much all day and it was glorious.

2. Our cars became Colorado residents. We've rocked our Nebraska plates for 5 months here but now our cars can feel like they fit in. And now we can struggle to find our vehicles in parking lots. It's not necessary for military members to change their plates everywhere they go but for us, it's kinda fun.  Our tags were about to expire on both cars so we decided to just get Colorado plates. We have quite the collection going so far: Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, and now we'll have Colorado plates. Oh and the Minnesota Gophers beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers!!! That was added excitement to that day!

3. The kids got their first taste of The Cheesecake Factory. And now Brady wants to go back weekly. I feel ya bud, I feel ya. I had a giftcard for my birthday to use so we made a trip to Denver for dinner and CHEESECAKE (duh). This was the toasted marshmallow s'mores cheesecake and it was AHH-MAZING. My mouth is drooling just thinking about it. Brian dislikes very few things but cheesecake is one of them. More for us!

4. We went to Santa Land. We were at the mall and there was the tiniest line for Santa. Possibly because it's not even Thanksgiving yet? Entirely possible. I remember last year it being over an hour wait for every Santa we encountered so we just went for it. 

Brady did awesome. He had a long convo with Santa about wanting Thomas trains and being a good boy.  Layla, terrified of Santa but was willing to sit on this bench to smile for a picture but once the flashes were finished screamed, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!"  She did, however, as we were leaving, say "SANTA! SANTA! I WANT PRINCESSES!" We have a breakfast with Santa coming up in December on base and we're hoping Layla will sit on his lap for a cute picture. We'll see.

No fears sitting with a reindeer on a bench though! No fears!

5. It snowed. Again. Remember that beautiful weather on Friday? Yeah well out of nowhere today, it snowed. This Colorado weather, it's odd.

6. We put up our Christmas trees. Yeah, so that snow and Santa visit? Totally got us into the Christmas mood. And believe you me, we are not just bypassing Thanksgiving. I adore Thanksgiving in all of it's yummy goodness and we will be celebrating with gusto on Thursday but there's just something soothing about Christmas trees and lights.  And we were motivated to do it today so we just went with it. 

Why I Do This

Since I've talked about this somewhat in past posts, I wanted to share why I do this thing called doTERRA. I got into doTERRA essential oils about 2 months ago. I knew that cold and flu season was approaching and honestly I was dreading months and months of sickness upon sickness. I'd been hearing a lot about essential oils and was really curious as to what they were. I met a lady in my neighborhood and she went over with me what essential oils were and how to use them.  I ordered a kit, got the oils in the mail, and were super overwhelmed and basically had no clue how to use them.  We had a wellness consult, I held a class at my house, and slowly I started to get why people use essential oils and started using them myself. And now I'm sharing them with others.

Honestly I could go on forever and tell you how many positive things it's done for our family. I'd like to share some of these with you and if you have any questions about essential oils, I would be happy to talk with you about them!

1. Improved my anxiety. I suffer from anxiety. It's not something I regularly shout from the rooftops but I do suffer from it. I realize now that I've always been an anxious person. I was the young kid terrified of robbers sneaking in on Christmas rather than being excited about Santa. I was the kid who couldn't sleep because I was afraid our house would burn down. My anxieties now come from having children. I worry about something happening to myself or Brian, I worry about my children, I get nervous in big box stores from the lighting, I am just in general an anxious person. But honestly since I've started using Lemon in my water every morning, diffusing and applying Balance and Serenity to my feet, my anxiety has improved so much. I would say that I'm anxious now maybe 1 day out of 10 vs about 7 days out of 10 before.

2. We haven't gotten sick. Brady's been in preschool now for over 2 months.  This time last year, the kids had probably gotten at least 3 colds already.  Now we diffuse On Guard daily, I apply it the kids feet (diluted with a carrier oil), and if I feel a sickness brewing I'll add it to my water and gargle it.We did get a little sickness a month ago but we nipped it the second I saw runny noses and the kids literally were only sick for 1 or 2 days and it was nothing.  I had a stomachache the other week too and after adding DigestZen and Peppermint to my water I was no longer going to the bathroom and honestly just felt so much better almost instantly.

3. It's helped with muscle and joint pain. Brian was a huge skeptic in the beginning. He kept calling them my "hippie oils" and wasn't really sure why I was using them. Until he hurt his knee playing flag football and was ready to try some of the oils on himself. I put Deep Blue on his knee and the pain went away almost instantly. He continues to use it whenever he has pain and it really helps him. He is no longer a skeptic. ;)

4. It's helped Brady at school. We had a ton of visitors our first couple of months here. The kids loved having each and every person visit. But Brady, my sensitive soul, he had a hard time saying goodbye to everyone and would miss them for days and days after they left. That sadness and stress from that would play out at preschool. He would start crying when he needed help, he would have a hard time controlling his emotions, and would get frustrated easily. After talking to his teachers and realizing this was probably his way of expressing stress I thought, duh, I need to try the oils on him. So before preschool, every morning I put diluted Balance and Serenity(aka Liquid Xanax) and sometimes Lavender too on his feet and that day and every day since, his teacher has said that he's been an absolute joy again and has had nothing but good days since. It's hard to believe that that's a coincidence. 

5. It's given me a purpose. I love, love being a stay at home mom but sometimes I just feel like I'm not using my talents and skills I felt I once had. Sometimes I just want more. To be more than just a mommy and a wife.  I realized my last semester in college that I wanted nothing to do with the psychology degree I was about to obtain. That same semester I took a couple of pharmacy classes and I left wishing I had gone on a pharmacy route in college. Now I feel like I'm sort of doing that. I'm learning so much about how our bodies respond to different things and so much about natural approaches to health care. Now I'm working with people and I'm helping them improve their wellness. I'm teaching classes, I'm learning more about how our bodies work, and I'm doing something I genuinely enjoy doing.  And like I've said in previous posts, I have been anti Direct Sales big time for a long time.  But this is different. doTERRA is more about helping people than earning a buck. I can't say enough good things about the company and the people I work with. They just genuinely care about helping people. I also wouldn't be a part of something I didn't think worked. And I wouldn't use these oils on my kids if I didn't think that they were safe.

I could go way more into depth about what essential oils are exactly, the ways to use them, etc but I'll spare you all of the details for those who have zero interest. But please, don't hesitate to contact me if you want to learn more. They seriously can help with so many disorders and problems: acne, colic, crohn's, depression, diabetes, fevers, headaches, high blood pressure,  insect bites, insomnia, morning sickness, psoriasis, sore throats, and so many more.  

**And just to be clear, doTERRA does not prevent, treat, or cure diseases. It simply helps promote wellness. And please don't think I'm promoting not going to the doctor, this is just a great first step rather than rushing right to the doctor's office.**

And if you want to check out the products at all, check out my website: http://www.mydoterra.com/rachelrossoils/

My Little Diva, My Little Girl

Growing up I always knew I wanted a little girl. A sweet little girl to dress up, take to dance class, go shopping with, and just to love. We were so, so blessed 2 and a half years ago to have gotten this sweet little one.

She was the easiest,

calmest, happiest little baby ever.

And then she turned 2. Oh my, Layla Bean you are one in a million. And now that you've been here 2 and a half years now (on Nov 15th to be exact) I just have to document all that you are right now. Just so I can go back and laugh and say "Oh wow, so glad things are so much easier with her now." Ha, I can hope, right?

Layla, my little girl, you are:

STRONG  I was worried with you having an older brother that he'd walk all over you. Not you, oh no, You sure can hold your own. And you have no problem letting anyone know that they've wronged you.

CREATIVE You come up with the silliest games and ideas, I love it.

EMOTIONAL Like uber emotional. I have no doubt in my mind that women are more emotional by nature. You cry at the drop of a hat, you cry when you do something wrong and are punished for it, you cry if someone looks at you the wrong way, you cry if we don't let you say Amen at the dinner table when you when you deem the perfect time,  you cry if someone that isn't Daddy or I tell you no, you are an emotional little woman. 

GIRLY You love anything girly. Sunglasses, necklaces, high heels. And man oh man do you want boobies. You love to tell people that one day you're going to have boobies, you compare the gorillas at the zoo to your boobies, you like to ask people if they have boobies, it never ends. 

BRAVE  You fed those big ol giraffes the other day at the zoo and you were so, so proud of yourself. You're getting braver and braver by the day!  Now we just have to conquer those scary monsters.

CARING You have such a tender heart and are always making sure we're ok. And if someone is crying, you're the first person to dry their tears and say "Talk to me, it's ok."

LOVING  You sure love your brother. And you sure take care of those baby dolls like they're your children. Only please don't put your real children in the garage.

FUNNY I just love your little voice and when you say outrageous things followed by, "JUST KIDDING!"  It's a good thing you're cute, kid, it's a good thing you're cute.

SASSY  You do this thing called your sassy walk. Sometimes people even comment on your sassy swagger. Oh and the fact that you wear sunglasses in a restaurant and outside on a snowy night.

DETERMINED  You know what you want and you're going to get it. Including all of those toys in the Christmas toy ad. Good luck with that. I have people comment in public how determined you are and how it's going to serve you well in the future. Not great for me right now but I can only hope you are as half as determined as an adult as you are now. You'll certainly get what you want. I pray for your future husband.

PRINCESSY Not really a word but it's definitely a word that describes you. I wondered how little girls got so into princesses and I still don't really know how you did, but you're obsessed! I think it was after you turned 2 you really discovered them and you haven't looked back since. You are quite convinced that you are, in fact, a princess.

STUBBORN Holy moly, woman are you stubborn. Getting you dressed every morning is a struggle and a half. Your underwear has to be "like a princess", your shirt has to be a "princess shirt", your pants you would like to be pink every day, your socks have to be just right, and your shoes have to be of your choosing.  

DIVA  You are all girl, all princess, all diva.

You are all of those things wrapped up in 1 little tiny body. We love you to the moon and back and even on those hard days when your daddy and I just have to laugh with how ridiculous you can be, we absolutely love how special our little girl is. And we are so, so terrified for the teenage years. 

Stuff and Things 11/13

So I'm not quite sure how it's already Thursday. This 'ol blog has really gotten the short stick lately. Since it's Thursday and I have a ton of random things to share, thought I'd participate in this fun Stuff and Things link up. So here goes nothin'!

1. We had a pretty low key weekend and it was much needed. I worked at a craft fair all day Saturday and on Sunday we went on a family hike to the Palmer Lake Trail Loop. I saw the upcoming forecast and knew that if we wanted to do another family hike anytime in the near future, this was probably the day to do it. The kids usually really enjoy hiking and it's a great way for us all to exercise, spend time together, and see Colorado. So we went for it. Never mind the fact that the kids got 7 hours of sleep the night before (I heard them playing ring around the rosy in the hallway at 12 am, what are you doing?!?!). Soo they pretty much  whined and complained almost the entire hike and needed to eat every 20 minutes/climb on a rock/stare at a tree but we did it and it was memorable! And note to self, try and skip the "somewhat steep hikes" because they're probably writing this after living in Colorado for awhile and if steep is mentioned in the description, it's probably pretty steep.

2. I've been really busy selling doTERRA's essential oils. It's been fun teaching classes, working one on one with people, and working at craft fairs sharing information. As I said before, I have always shied away big time from direct sales, but essential oils actually help and are a great all natural aid. I have so many personal stories of how they've helped prevent colds or lessen the severity of them, helped with behavior issues for the kids, helped with pain, taken away stomachaches, helped with headaches, helped with sleep issues, and I could go on and on forever. I'll be writing in the next few weeks some posts on how I use them and what they're all about. But you should really try them. 

3. The weather here has been NUTSO! Monday it was 65 and sunny so we took a trip to a new park because I knew what kind of weather was coming. Within an hour that day it cooled down by 45 degrees, the winds got crazy high (we lost our grill cover and our garbage can flew all the way down the street kind of crazy winds), and it snowed.

And then this was the lovely weather this morning. I mean I know cold growing up in Minnesota but what is this?! It's November!!  I had heard the winters aren't horrible in Colorado..umm I'm not getting the best first impression!

4. We spent Veteran's Day the best way: together. It was just so nice to actually have him home this year. Brady had preschool that morning and although the weather was frigid and snowy we trekked out to enjoy a meal together at California Pizza Kitchen. 

Thumbs up all around!

5. We've been stuck inside a lot lately. Today was a snow day for Brady because of the cold temperatures so we had another day at home. We bundled up and ventured out to Target because the fridge was getting a little bare. But otherwise we've been staying in our pjs, doing crafts, playing, watching movies...

and working on our Christmas lists. Because it's such a hard decision when you're 2...so many princess toys, so little time to circle them all.

The End of Visitor Season

Welp, it looks like visitor season has come to an end here. We had visitors many weekends in July, August, September, and October and our last visitor for awhile was here this past weekend: Brian's parents from Minnesota.  We do have visitors coming for Christmas (my parents) but that's not for 7 weeks.

Thursday night after naptimes we went to our favorite restaurant and the kids were so, so happy their Nana and Papa were in town!

Friday (Halloween) morning was FREEZING. I know I touched on it in my Halloween post, but here's a couple more pictures from the pumpkin patch.

Friday night was Halloween and Trick or Treating.

Saturday morning we were all pretty exhausted and just hung around the house.

Saturday afternoon Brian and his parents went to the All Colorado Beer Festival.  To say they tried a couple of beers would be a great understatement. Needless to say they came home pretty silly and it was a very early night for them! Thank goodness Nana went with and babysat them! ;)

Sunday morning we decided it was time for a hike! So why not just climb a mountain?

There were so many sheer drop-offs I was on the verge of a panic attack. Which everyone loved to tease me by hanging by the edge.

It was a beautiful hike though with so many wonderful views.

BE CAREFUL NANA!!

We made a little pit stop where Layla announced she was hungry (shocker) and Brady announced he had to poop. Oh joy. So Papa and Brian took him up this steep hill to take a dump. All of a sudden we hear this scream, hear laughter, and then silence.  Finally they made their way back down and Brady has 1 shoe.  Apparently they had Brady poop over the side of the mountain but not only did his poop go tumbling down the side, but so did his shoe and Papa's water bottle. After bringing Brady down to safety Papa climbed the steep side of the mountain to grab Brady's shoe.  Thank goodness I didn't see how steep that way because I would have for sure been an anxious mess.

Layla taking a snack break while Brady took a poop break. 

We got the shoe and then tried to make it to the top.

Things got real steep.

And Layla got real hungry again.

This is me TERRIFIED!  I wanted to crawl I was so scared of how high up we were and how far you could fall down. I think having the kids with made it that much worse. As you can see no one else thought it was a big deal. I'm happy to take the wimp title of the group. We decided to let the boys go ahead.

You could see Seven Falls down there.

The view from the top was pretty great, I'll take their word for it.

"You can see for miles and miles and miles. I see my house!"

We finally met back up together and a nice hiking couple took our pictures.

Yep it was starting to be meltdown time!

After all of our hard work we headed to Old Colorado City for some yummy lunch at Bon Ton's.

And we definitely deserved ice cream too so there was a stop there.

Later that night Brian and I snuck out for a little date night. We're classy: beer and wings.

Monday we kept it pretty low key. It started to snow so we had to go outside and eat the falling snow with our tongues. Later after Brian got home we headed up to Denver to take them to the airport. It was another wonderful visit!  I'm just thankful we didn't lose anyone off the mountain!

We're going to have our first pretty low-key weekend in a long while.  I'm working a craft fair all day tomorrow and we may do one more family hike before the weather turns frigid next week. Have a great weekend everyone! :)