...and we're back!

Hey y'all! It's been awhile, and I'm so sorry about that! But I'm back, and with some great changes and plans! 

First, the big news is that we have moved into a house! For our family, this is a huge life change, as Scott and I have been married almost 14 years, and spent that entire time in 2 different apartments. This will, over the next month or so, change my ability to keep up here by allowing me  a bit more time to myself, because Baby Duck will be able to move out of our bed into his crib in his own room! I'm both excited and nervous about this process, and will be sharing the plan as well as the actual experience! 

So, with this new life in our new home come new crunchy opportunities! We are planning our first foray into organic gardening, probably with a few veggies and some herbs this summer! I can't wait, and Ladybug Girl is very excited too! She's been promised a watering can and some flowers of her very own. 

I've also ditched all my conventional cleaning supplies (except my Clorox wipes. I needed those!), and it feels really good. I'll be sharing soon my personal schedule for keeping the housework done without sacrificing sanity or quality time with the babies! 

I've got lots on the horizon to share with you, and I hope you'll join the discussion too! 

Vlog: Honest Beauty January Bundle

Well, my bundle came:

Here are the swatch photos I promised: 

Sheer Lip Crayon in Blossom Kiss

Demi-Matte Lip Crayon in Melon Kiss

Cream blush in Truly Teasing

Luminizing powders: 

Dusk Reflection

Dawn Reflection

Midnight Reflection

I'm super thrilled with the products yet again! I probably won't get a new Bundle till March, but I have plenty of fun products to enjoy in the meantime! 

If you want to experience Honest Beauty for yourself, Click here!

Here are my other Honest Beauty Vlogs so far:

Honest Beauty Skincare 

Honest Beauty Complexion Products

Honest Beauty Color Line 

Vlog: Honest Company Supplements

Since we are all caught up on my new obsession, Honest Beauty, I'm shifting my Vlogging attention to reviewing/discussing Honest Company's original lines, starting with the Health and Wellness products.

In addition to what I've talked about here, this line includes men's, kids, and women's vitamins, adult immunity defense, and baby DHA. 

Also worth noting is the baby feeding line that includes Honest Company formula and gear for both breastfeeding and bottle feeding. I haven't used any of this, but I'll tell you right now that if I were to buy formula, it would be this formula. 

Ready to check it out? click here.

Coming soon: Vlogs on...

Honest Diapering

Honest Personal care

Honest Cleaning

And much more. 

Vlog: Honest Beauty Color Line

Here's my review of the initial line of Honest Beauty Color products:

As promised, here are swatches! 

Sheer Lip crayons: (top to bottom) chestnut kiss, rose kiss, petal kiss, raspberry kiss, coral kiss.

Demi-Matte Lip crayons: (top to bottom) strawberry kiss, mulberry kiss 

And

Lip gloss: inspired kiss, creative kiss

Eye Trios/liners:

Top left: Truly Magnetic Heather Mauve

Top right: Truly Effortless Soft Sand

Bottom Left: Truly Warm Sable Brown

Bottom right: truly gold, truly cocoa, truly purple 

Cream blush: Truly Thrilling, Truly Teasing

I'll swatch all three luminizing powders in my next Beauty Vlog, when I review my newest bundle! 

Again, here's the link to shop and subscribe to get your own bundle!

And, here are the links to the previous videos in this series: 

Honest Beauty Skincare

Honest Beauty Complexion Products

Vlog: Honest Beauty Complexion products

Welcome to another of my series of Honest Beauty reviews! Here's the Video:

And here are the products I mentioned: 

Honest Beauty: 

Everything Primer

Everything Cream Foundation (I wear Sand and Camel)

Concealer Duo (I wear Balanced Beige) 

On Amazon:

Tarte Airbrush Finish Brush

Beautyblender - Original Beauty Blender

To shop or set up your own bundle: Honest Beauty

In case you missed the previous video in this series: 

Honest Beauty Skincare

Homemade Baby Food-Isn't that a lot of work?

Well, making your own baby food is certainly more time consuming than, say, buying it at the store, but really, it can be quick and easy.

I made all of Ladybug's baby food, though she didn't eat it for very long, and I'm making all of Baby Duck's too. How much time it takes and how much work and money you have to put into it is dependent on your methods and the quality of your ingredients. 

My sister started, and I help run with her, a baby food making Facebook group you can join, and if you join us, you'll find a warm community with lots of conversation and tips and support. Here, though, I'll give you a quick and dirty rundown of my top tips for getting started. 

Organic can make a difference! I know it costs more, but I think about the pesticides that are sprayed on our food, and I don't want to risk the negative effects on myself if I can help it, let alone my sweet littles. If you can't afford to buy everything organic, here's a tip! Focus on the Dirty Dozen, the Environmental Working Group's list of the current worst offenders. This list changes, so check here.. As of now, the list is:

You'll also see the Clean Fifteen there- those are the cleanest fruits and veggies- the ones you don't need to bother buying organic! Bonus! 

Consider what's in season!  You're going to spend less and get tastier and more nutrient rich food when you buy as much of your produce as you can from what's currently in season. There are so many lists available online of what is available when, and I'd encourage you to look at what's in season local to you-because local is fresher-but here's a list to get you started:

Get the gear. Now, I have a Vitamix I use to make Baby Duck's food, but what I used for Ladybug's was this Ninja Master Prep and it was fantastic! I highly recommend the food processor bowl for baby food making. 

Another essential in my arsenal is ice cube trays. You can use these trays , or if you want something a bit nicer, this kit. Some mamas prefer silicone trays like these because the food pops out easier. These trays will allow you to make food in advance for a week or two at a time, or even longer. 

First foods. This is totally up to you, but I recommend masked avocado first, and follow with sweet potato after baby has tried that a few times. After those, I introduce veggies one at at time for three days, and then fruits. You're the mama, and really, other than no honey before they turn one (because botulism can develop), there's no hard and fast rules. 

Get cooking. How to cook the foods is up to you-steaming () veggies in many cases is a great way to keep the nutrients in, and you can use the water to thin the purée if needed, and my sister also likes to use the slow cooker(You can find lots of ideas and recipes in our Facebook group.)

Important note- not all babies are ready for solids at the same time, and that's perfectly okay! The AAP recommends babies are breastfed (or formula, no judgement!) exclusively until at least 6 mos, but not not all babies are ready for solids at that age. Neither of mine were! Just offer the food, and let them experience it as they are able. Keep it fun, and no stress, mamas! 

Happy baby food making! Please let me know if you have questions I can help with! 

Happy New Year! Here's what I'm aiming for in 2016!

Happy 2016 y'all! I hope you had a fantastic Christmas and that this new year finds you happy and healthy.

We've all set resolutions to immediately break them, and feel like a failure, so instead I'm goal setting this year-it's a journey, not something you can fail at, because it's ongoing. I'll share my plans and goals for 2016, and a few ideas on how to make your vida a bit crunchier. 

We are gonna eat cleaner! 

Look, food is one thing many people resolve to do better with, and it can be really hard, especially with little ones. My family definitely overdid sugar and under-ate on veggies this holiday season, so a definite focus this new year is getting things cleaned back up in the kitchen, and it doesn't have to be that hard. Here's how I do it: 

1. Define what you want to change. In our case, less sugar, more veggies and nutrient dense meals! 

2. Meal planning. Sit down with a calendar (I use this dry erase board) and plan your meals for the next week, two weeks, or a month. You can start with just dinners, or plan all three meals like I do. This will save you time (deciding what to make), money (you can shop for this menu, so you're not buying random food), and stress.

3. Groceries. You can make your list from the menu, and this can help you keep to the menu and not get distracted and derailed in the grocery store.

4. Meal prep. This one is particularly helpful if you are a working mama or have a bunch of kids. you carve out an hour or two once a week, look at your menu, and cook whatever you can to save time. Examples from this upcoming week for me: hard boil 2 dozen eggs, prep baby purees, set up breakfast bento boxes. (i'm using these containersfor my meal prep)

Those are some of the parts of my system to get and keep our family eating more REAL food in 2016. If you are feeling especially motivated you can also do a Whole30. It's an intense but rewarding month of eating only the most nutritive real foods. you can read all about it at whole9life.com.


I am going to get my fitness mojo back.
we often resolve to lose weight or exercise more, but that's not exactly what I mean here. I feel so much better on every level when I'm moving my body regularly and putting effort into getting fitter and stronger. I'm not talking about exercise as punishment, or trying to fit some societal standard of beauty. I want to feel good and strong and energetic, and reach new levels and goals in my abilities. Sure, I want this belly pooch traded for abs, but more than that I want the daily victories of overcoming obstacles and becoming my best self along the way.

1.Find what you love when it comes to fitness. Try a bunch of stuff and find what makes your soul sing. I am passionate about Spin, yoga, and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and I LOVE a good swim. 

2. Make it non-negotiable. I know time is hard to find when you're a mama, but I know in my case, exercise is like medicine, and I really suffer when I'm not making it a high priority. I have been less consistent as I've been recovering from an injury and it's taken a toll on not just my energy level, but my mental well being. It's so important, that, on any given day, if I work out, feed the children, and do school with Ladybug Girl, the day is considered a success. 

 I'll blog a bit about my fitness journey this year, and please feel free to reach out if you wanna talk about yours!

Our first Vlog: Honest Beauty Skincare and bundles (guest starring Baby Duck!)

Here is my/our very first video blog ever! (Baby Duck is teething and refused to nap, so he's my assistant on this.)  I'm talking about my love for all things Honest and reviewing Honest Beauty's skincare line. I talk a little bit about the subscription bundle system where you can get 3 products of your choice shipped to you for $50 at intervals of 4, 6, or 8 weeks- you can adjust this timing at any time. i forgot to mention also that you can add up to 5 more products to your bundle at a savings of 25% each. I love these products, the peace of mind knowing they are free of so many nasty ingredients, and the way my skin looks and feels.
 If you're interested in giving them a try, here's my referral link: Honest Beauty