what i'm loving this weekend.

i'm loving.... 

family walks  (in their pjs) and baking in the kitchen (see their little oatmeal cranberry muffins in their hands? and on lu's face?)

post nap kisses and long afternoon naps. ( both boys napped 3plus hours yesterday afternoon! sweetness)

early morning running (first time doing 5miles in a couple months and it felt pretty darn good! especially adding in a couple hills! slowly getting back on track with my runs)

discovering different ways of using my essential oils (lavender for sleep) diffusing peace and calming before naps lemon for fresh air and thieves to kill off germs

via image and more about essential oils here if you're interested @ simply essential mom  

 (*i'm trying something new for our family. I'm so sick of sickness and over the counter meds as well as prescribed medicine such as antibiotics (which don't get me started on antiobiotics! We have a love/hate relationship) and steroid breathing treatments...while this is something new I am trying for my family I am in no way advertising! I am simply sharing something that we are embarking on right now. I'll keep ya'll updated as our EO journey continues. I'm hopeful that it may have helpful solutions for our family. EO's have many different uses and we are starting out slowly and don't worry, we are researching and being safe about how we use them. But-if you have questions feel free to ask)

                                                          all purpose natural cleaner recipe

and lastly, green cleaning discoveries. I wish I had discovered this simple and easy environmental friendly cleaning solution years ago!!! Does it get any easier? Baking soda. Vinegar. and putting in a couple drops of my essential oils (lemon and thieves and lavender) and wallaaaa! SAFE and CHEAP (i had all the ingredients already in the house!) No longer am I worried about toxic cleaning solutions in our house plus I'm saving money by using things we already have. How great it feels to know that I'm no longer exposing the boys to toxic chemicals! I must admit I'm pretty gosh darn excited about this latest cleaning discovery of mine-and for all those who know me-you know how much I adore cleaning!! Let's just say dave has heard not much else this weekend ;)

So it has been a restful weekend. I'm officially out of last week's sickness funk and feeling hopeful. Caleb's cough is gone and lucas' nose is drying up-I don't want to speak too soon but after some much needed rest this weekend they seem to be on the mend (as for D, he caught their cold) but thankfully I'm still standing and just tending to my boys this weekend!

** Do you have any natural cleaning remedies or otherwise that work for your family? If so-please share! I'm interested to know :)

And please do excuse my rave about natural cleaning and EO's, sometimes my excitement just bubbles right on over and out everywhere!

Have I mentioned how much I love weekends? Family Time is my favorite. And so is Sunday morning church with two little boys. (most of the time!)My favorite moment today, was when C and L, both sat side by side on the church bench, quietly reading their bible story books (I found some great ones to add to our collection at the dollar store awhile back-go figure!) Lucas watches Caleb and then tries so hard to follow suit and it is just the sweetest. It was a heart melt moment for sure, especially since not every week is a good week. Most the time it feels like Lucas is squirmy the worm and Caleb is crabby the crab! bahaha. But when a friend who has five handsome little boys who are so well behaved tells me after church how well behaved our boys are and asks how we get Lucas to sit so good? Well, it kinda makes a mama's heart feel proud! Especially since I am constantly in awe of their family and how well behaved her boys are!! I love raising our little Catholic boys and pray over them daily as they grow that they may Love the Lord with all their heart! One last sweet moment I want to always remember; before church Caleb was signing the alleluia with his guitar. And then we heard him singing along at church (which he normally never does at church, only at home) Lucas was singing along too and kept holding his hands together every time we would say 'Amen'. Well, I just love it and I love their sweet childlike faith. They are so teachable at this age and I love how they soak up everything like a sponge! I pray we always fill them up with His Goodness! 

Hope you're having a good weekend as well!!

oldie but a goodie ;)

friday serenade

from our week.

 

i was serenaded this morning (caleb sang. lucas strummed). it made for a happy friday.

train rides around the house (i don't know where they come up with this stuff...stroller as a trailer and balloon as decoration?) 

 nature walk to target (stay close little brother)

 boy version of hugs and cuddles ;)

 

smoothie slurping and magazine reading moment.  

 just hanging. (pretend boat ride and stories read from the three year old)

 

good moments from the week.

lots of playtime with nowhere to go, no one to see. walks around the neighborhood. cuddles and kisses.

 

the harder moments...

another round of colds, breathing treatments for c (thankfully catching it earlier this time stopped it before he was on the cusp of not breathing well) short naps and long nights.  drippy, red rimmed noses, and inside playing rainy days.

 

well i think it is safe to safe as hard as i try not to be-i'm in my yearly february winter funk.

working everyday after having three days off last week has been an adjustment this week. i'm counting down till march when hopefully i'll be down to 3x a week instead of 5. i'm trying so hard to be okay with working 5x a week-but let's be honest here. i'm totally not!! bahaha. it feels like too much even if it is only a 3 hr session everyday. i've only ever worked two days a week since having the boys(4-7pm) and five days? well it is a lot for me! i'm just counting my days till march in all honesty. not that dave and the boys need me or anything, they are doing fine with their boy bonding time:)

 

i'm also hoping with the coming of spring colds will subside, although allergies hit us and allergy breathing troubles start up with caleb :(..

 

i'm thankful that although the boys have been sick we've had some relaxing home days. Not having OT this week brings its own challenges for caleb and his self regulation, but looking on the positive side it is nice to not have to rush our mornings.

 

i'm just feeling sort of blah!! but i'm trying and that's what matters right? :)

 

we've had plenty of really sweet and good moments this week, mixed in with...well, salty tears and what comes with bad colds...short naps and even longer nights!

 

i want my boys to be healthy again, in the meantime God is continuing to strengthen my patience with His Strength!

 

this has been my little mantra all week!! it helps me to remember that while everything feels so out of control in my life right now; the boys and their sickness, caleb and his sensory struggles, work challenges, even motherhood and being a wife, they've just been hard for me this week. really hard!! it's just been-one of those weeks. but I know that while I may feel completely out of control-that's all right! and that is how it should be so that I can hand over all my struggles and worries and lift them up to God. He's got everything under His Control and he's going to use all things for His Glory.

 

Romans 8:28

and we know that God causes ALL things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.

 

Matthew 11:28

Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.

 

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and I am helped.  

 

 Happy Weekend ;)

 

 

sweet surprises.

{both boys are sick.again.with colds.} and while I want to just curl up into a ball until all this sickness is over...I smile instead, cause I have the precious moments of Sunday to hold onto this week-Sunday, was perfect. We surprised my sister by taking the boys to slo so they could see her (she and my mom had a day planned in Solvang while their boys watched the Superbowl; but my mom took her on a lil slo detour without her realizing. It was the perfect surprise) I'm gonna carry Sunday with me all week :) It was just exactly what I needed! A little girl time with my mom and sis with the loves of my life (aka my boys). Here are pics from our day.

 Surprise!

lucas trying to launch himself into the duck pond. caleb trying to hold him back.

 

 nani trying to escape the ducks.

notice lu is having to be 'held' back from the ducks while c and auntie are at a very safe distance. lol

 let our slo adventure begin ;)

 (lucas prefers walking independently. aka. no hand hold.(see him trying to run off in the pic below?)

 i love brother hand holds.

 even more than brothers in blue jeans. (when did caleb's legs get so long and lean?)

 having two lil walkers/runners...so.much.fun.

 the fountain adventure.

 they are very interested in those pennies auntie is trying to find

 she ran out...so nani tried to sneak her hand in the cold water for some more! yeah, they were pretty fascinated with the whole penny in fountain thing in case you didn't notice the intent look on both their faces.

 the sun. the trees. the water. the mission. slo. sunday. family day. perfect bottle it up moment!

 oh the denims. love.

 i tell ya, lucas would have been swimming with those ducks if we had let him!

 

 caleb edged closer...but wouldn't let go of lu's hand...just to be sure that lucas didn't go diving with those ducks!

 c and his protector.

 oh ducks.

 until we see each other again slo. you will always remain one of my most favorite places to be with the ones I love.

 

gonna keep thinking joy-filled thoughts as we start out our week sick again.

 

 

funny thing is our orignal plans were to see my best friend and her family sunday (they live in slo) but then lucas had a cold-we didn't want to spread our germs! I was so bummed out that we decided let's just go to slo anyway-it evolved into a surprise meet up with my mom and sis. I'm ever so thankful an emergency meet up can happen in two hours if ever I need it! Which I so desperately did!!

It really wasn't the happiest of mondays being that i have two sick little guys! But it was a beautiful sunday. So here's hoping you had a beautiful weekend!!