When it rains...

Last week was a doozie of a week. It's kind of comical now what all happened, but at the time, it was not. I am praying that this week will be a better week (how can it not be?!). 

So, just for memories sake, I'm going to list all the crazy things that happened. I know when my children are older, it will be fun to look back and laugh.

Two weeks ago I completely forgot about the children's chiropractic appointment. It was supposed to be on Thursday morning and it didn't even cross my mind until Sunday. All last week I meant to call and apologize for missing the appointment, but I forgot. Every.single.day. Yes, we will be making cookies as a peace offering for our dear chiropractor.

Jacob and I were cleaning out our utility room and noticed dryer lint all over the place. Turns out the dryer vent was clogged. Fixing it was not nearly as easy as it should've been. 

I was hurrying to fix Jacob a sandwich for him to eat on the road while going to youth orchestra. I opened the refrigerator and a glass 9x13 Pyrex dish with freshly made granola bars in it fell out and completely shattered. It took me at least 30 minutes to get up the slivers of glass from every crevice of the kitchen.

I haven't been making Jacob a big breakfast much the last few weeks because Ava is waking up and needing to eat right at the time I would be cooking. So he's been having cold cereal most mornings. One morning Ava was up earlier and finished in time for me to make an omelet for Jacob. I got it all ready and then realized he was running late and would actually be home between teaching to eat breakfast a little later. Warmed over omelets are not the same. FAIL.

After the omelet fail, I made muffins for the kid's breakfast and was out of regular cooking spray. I have a Misto thingy where you put oil in and pump it up, but I've found that it doesn't work great for baking bread or muffins. Well, it's all I had, so I spent like 3 minutes pumping and spraying the muffin pan. When I tipped the pan over to dump the muffins out, the tops and insides fell out and all the bottoms stuck in the pan.

Our water heater went out on Wednesday, but we didn't really realize it until Thursday. Jacob was able to get a new water heater right before Lowes closed on Thursday night. He installed it, but late that night figured out he needed some other parts. He went between teaching Friday morning to get the parts and thought he got it all fixed. I waited a couple hours and then checked to see if there was hot water (I was dying for a shower by this point). The "hot" water was ice cold. Jacob was gone until late afternoon and I had errands that had to be done in the afternoon. After waiting awhile longer, I washed my hair in the sink. My brain was basically frozen by the time I finished. Ahhh!! 

While the kids and I were out running errands Friday afternoon, a rock was slung up off the road and cracked the windshield. I kept thinking when is this crazy week going to END! Ha. We got home with just enough time for me to make a pizza for the kids supper and change clothes before Jacob and I left for a dinner party. In the meantime, Jacob had gotten the water heater fixed, but of course I didn't have enough time for a shower. Ugh! 

So, I'm rushing around making a pizza and a glass jar fell out of the cabinet and broke the glass bowl I was mixing the pizza dough up in. For the SECOND time in a matter of a couple days, I was cleaning glass shards off my kitchen floor and counters. By the time I got it cleaned up, I didn't have enough time to mix up another pizza. While I changed clothes, Jacob ran to Chick-Fil-A to get some supper for the kids. 

Our babysitter watched the three older kids and Jacob and I took Ava with us. Miss Ava did not want to sit quietly (or sleep) and listen to various people talk at the dinner, so I spent my evening tip-toeing around an echoing antique building trying to keep her quiet. If I had known that the dinner was with important financial donors for one of the youth orchestras Jacob conducts, I probably wouldn't have taken her, but um, that vital piece of information wasn't mentioned to me. 

By the time I finally got to take a shower, I realized that the water pressure is nothing compared to what it was before the water heater was replaced. Jacob thinks he knows what the problem is, it's just a matter of finding the time to fix it. 

All this along with Asher and Ava waking up way earlier than normal in the mornings and many, many training moments throughout the days, just made it a tough week. I'm thankful that this week is going better. God is faithful!

I'm sure many of you mamas can relate to days/weeks of everything seeming to go wrong. Hopefully we can all look back and laugh at all the mishaps and praise God that tomorrow is a new day. :)

weekend snapshots.

Life is so busy. I know every season of life has a different form of busyness. Right now, I feel like I'm just in the hardcore mom-of-littles kind of crazy - where your brain starts hurting from millions of questions, spit up is your perfume, your clothes wear out so fast because they must be washed after every wear since there is spit up or other substance on them, you are lonely (for adult conversation) even though you are constantly surrounded by needy little ones, and you love those little ones so much that when you get a chance to be alone, you miss them like crazy! 

Last Friday, I took the kids to my youngest brother's basketball game. It was so fun! The kids were great and my brother's team won. 

Levi potty trained two weeks ago! My mom has always said that boys are easier around age 3, so we just waited, especially since he wasn't interested at all. He caught on super fast and has had some random accidents, but overall is doing fabulous!

After dinner reading with Grandpa.

After dinner music by my brother-in-law. :)

So I made homemade bread and gave the kids sandwiches for supper one night (it was the night before the ball game, so we were trying to rush out the door) and I went to change Ava's diaper and came back to this. I guess a whole sandwich each wasn't enough. Ha.

My children have an obsession with taking pictures on my phone. I am always finding pictures like this whenever I leave my phone on the table. Btw, they have figured out the passcode twice.

Miss Ava is a little sweetie...well, she is now that I've found something that helps her tummy. She's been clearly uncomfortable after every feeding for awhile, but it got really bad about 2 weeks ago. I had ordered an essential oil blend, so when I got it, I immediately started applying it (diluted with coconut oil) onto Ava's tummy. Ever since, she has been sleeping well at night (she probably won't tonight, since I mentioned it. LOL), not spitting up nearly as much, and is just peaceful and calm. She will go some days without spitting up at all and then sometimes she'll spit up some. I am a very thankful mama!

It's moments like these that I want to remember in 20 years. How I love these little ones!

A Day in the Life of an Oiler.

(If you are visiting from Rooted Blessings, welcome!)

Woohoo! I'm so excited to participate in this series - A Day in the Life of an Oiler! I hope you will follow the links and enjoy learning how other mom's use their oils on a day to day basis.

First off, since many of you probably don't "know" me, I'm Kelly and this is my family: my amazing husband (he's a hard-working violin teacher, talented conductor and professional violinist) and our four rambunctious children, ages 4, 3, 22 months, and 10 weeks. I am a busy, busy mama! :) You can read more about me here. 

We started using Young Living oils in March of 2013. At first I ordered a few bottles here and there through my sister while I saved up to invest in the premium kit. Best investment ever! We have used our oils everything imaginable and have never been disappointed! 

Ok, so here's a look at a typical stay-at-home day in my life. The times are approximate. :)

4:30 am - Baby Girl (Ava) is up to eat and finishes just in time for me to drink part of my Lemon or Citrus Fresh water and go meet my Dad at the gym at 5:30 (going to the gym is hit and miss right now since Ava is still waking up between 4:30 and 5:30, but I try to make it a couple times each week.)

6:30 am - I'm home from the gym and finish my citrus water. After a nice hot shower I massage coconut oil and Lemon over areas of skin that can use some toning...um, basically my whole body thanks to 4 babes in 3 years, ha!

7:00 am - I make my husband an omelet for breakfast (he drinks lemon water in the morning too) and fix my cup of coffee. I love adding a drop of peppermint to my coffee for a special treat! Not only does it taste amazing, it also gives me an energy boost and clears my sinuses. Then I head into the living room and have my quiet time with the Lord. 

7:15-7:45 am - Jacob leaves for work, Ava wakes up and has a bottle and the three older children start waking up and joining me on the couch. We go ahead and read a Bible story and go over our memory verses (sometimes this happens after breakfast, just depending on the day.)

8:00 am - I start Christmas Spirit in the diffuser. It smells soooo good! Then I fix oatmeal for the kids and a bowl of granola for me. We all take our supplements (B vitamins, probiotics, cod liver oil, vitamin d and vitamin c), I empty the dishwasher, and get a frozen meal out to thaw for supper (I did a bunch of freezer cooking before Ava was born - best thing ever for busy mama's).

Since we are staying at home today, I don't put Thieves on everyone's feet like I would if we were headed out. Lily asks to have Joy on her wrists every morning and the boys usually pick Joy or Valor to put on.

9:00 am-11:00 am - Ava takes a nap, I start laundry, we do some preschool work and play legos.

11:30 am-12:30 pm - Ava is up to eat again and we have reading time while I feed her. She sits in the bumbo and older three color at the table while I switch the laundry and fix lunch. After lunch we read a few chapters of The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook. 

1:00 pm-3:00 pm - All four children go down for naps (the youngest two) and rests (the older two). I do some cleaning/dishes/laundry, reminding children that it's quiet time, and check my email and facebook. I start Thieves in the diffuser in the bonus room where Jacob teaches violin lessons in the afternoon. Ava is up to eat and then seems a little gassy so I rub diluted lemon on her belly. Works like a charm!

3:30 pm-4:15pm - I pop supper in the oven and put some laundry away. The kids have a snack and then go out in the sunroom to jump on the rebounder. Some issue comes up between the boys and one of them gets hit on the head by the other one. I apply Lavender and Purification along with ice and the bleeding stops quickly. Thankfully no stitches are needed!

4:30pm-4:45 pm - I use some Valor on my wrists to help me get through the rest of the day (don't mind the tape on the bottle...kiddos. ha!). It smells wonderful and gives me strength to deal with settling arguments and the seemingly-constant training that children the ages of mine need. The kids watch an episode of Daniel Tiger while I finish getting supper ready. Jacob has his supper and then leaves to conduct youth orchestra rehearsals. Ava is up from her nap and ready to eat again.

5:30 pm-6:30 pm - The children and I have supper, play a little, read some books, and clean up the toys.

7:00 pm-7:30 pm - I get the kids jammies on, then we do our nightly oil routine - all four get Thieves (immunity) on their feet and Peace and Calming (sleep) on their spines and Levi gets Lemon on a swollen lymph gland (it's draining and much smaller than it was!) and Purification around his ears to keep them clear of fluid.

8:00 pm-10:30 pm - Ava eats again and then goes down for the night. I put a little boy back into bed several times while I work on loading the dishwasher and making Ava's formula for the next day. Then wipe down the kitchen counters and table with amazing Thieves cleaner - it is the best non-toxic cleaner and I use it on everything! I do some computer work and catch up on facebook until Jacob gets home. We hang out a little bit before getting ready for bed. 

11:00 pm - Jacob and I both put Thieves on our feet before bed and I use Deep Relief across my shoulders where I tend to get tension. Just as I'm getting in bed Asher wakes up and says his teeth are hurting (he has two coming in right now). I give him teething tablets and rub diluted Thieves on his gums. Finally I crawl into bed and sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. :)

So there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this peek into our lives. If you'd like to learn more about these wonderful oils, click here to learn more or contact the person who introduced you to "A Day in the Life of an Oiler" blogger series!

Next up (tomorrow morning at 7:00 am) is Shannon @ For the Mommas. 

Be sure to check out all 20 posts in "A Day In the Life of an Oiler" blogger series!

Snapshots.

Sweet sleeping babes.

1 month old.

Lily got to go with Grammie and Aunt Elizabeth to see Daddy play in The Nutcracker.

Enjoying a youth orchestra Christmas concert.

Baking Christmas cookies.

Snuggle time.

Sweet girl!

These children love to be with their Daddy!

Late night snuggles.

On Thursday I will be joining a cool series called A Day in the Life of an Oily Blogger! I'm excited to share how my family uses our essential oils throughout the day. :)

Christmas crafts.

We had lots of fun doing crafty stuff before Christmas. We made snowflakes. I thought the kids would be able to make little cuts with their scissors, but they didn't really "get it," so I made the snowflakes and they unfolded them. Lily and Levi just loved seeing how each flake was different.

One day we made cotton ball snowmen. It was so fun for the kids to glue on the cotton balls and then "decorate" them with scraps of felt.

(getting a picture of the finished product and everyone looking at the camera was pretty much impossible. everyone is just doing their own thing. ha!)

We made wreaths out of paper plates. My kids love doing anything with glue, so they were all about glueing decorations onto their wreaths. We hung them on their bedroom and the bathroom doors.

So I have a question for you mamas with littles. Do you keep all the crafty projects your children do or do you throw them away? I hate junk/clutter, but I love the little projects so I have myself a dilemma. Would love to hear what you do!

Starting the year out with a bang.

Last week we had a virus in the house. Tuesday through Thursday it made it's way to each person except our precious baby Ava. Praise God she was spared! I believe it was by all the prayers offered on her behalf, the gift of donated breastmilk from a dear friend, and the regular application of Thieves essential oil (that stuff is amazing!).

Thankfully it was not a stomach virus. It was more like fever, chills, aches and coughs. We are still getting over the cough, but are definitely nearly well! It is not fun to have three sick little ones (plus a baby) and mama and daddy sick too. Everyone mostly wanted to rest, and surprisingly the children were in such sweet moods. ha.

Levi had the lightest case, but he was so sweet to be quiet and read while the others rested.

Miss Ava was a happy little girl through it all. She is a ray of sunshine!

This was about all the smile sweet Lily could muster on her 4th birthday! Bless her heart! It stinks to be sick on your birthday. We had to cancel Lily and Levi's birthday party as well as miss my family's traditional New Years Day dinner. 

I've been feeling so behind and blah. I'm praying that this week will be the week of accomplishment and renewed vision for me. We still have junk from Christmas scattered around, but thankfully we did get the decorations down the day after Christmas, so I don't have to deal with that now.

Jacob was in the middle of putting a new tub surround in our main bathroom when he got sick, so that project was put on hold until today. I think he should be able to finish the painting tomorrow. Then hopefully he can finish up a few odds and ends in the sunroom before he starts back teaching next week. With a crazy schedule like his, we can really only work on house projects during summer break and Christmas break. I'm so excited about getting the bathroom done! It's a project that's needed to be done since we bought the house 5 years ago!

Lately.

(this picture is not meant to imply that Ava is an unhappy baby...it just goes well with what I'm about to say)

My days have been non-stop busy the last few weeks. We've had our ups and downs. Some days I've felt like the only thing I accomplished was keeping my children alive. I'm not joking. Some days I've felt so productive and like "wow, maybe I can do this!"

Um, yeah! So unfortunately most days have been rough. Add postpartum emotions to the normal craziness of having 4 children 3 and under and you've got a mama who basically becomes a puddle of tears over the smallest thing and feels like the ultimate mom failure when her sons have to sleep in their clothes because they have no clean jammies. 

I really don't think I've ever been more thankful that God gives those good days (good moments, good parts-of-days) sprinkled throughout the hard ones. I'm thankful that He gives grace and strength abundantly when I feel like I just. can't. do. it. 

Ava is a serious little girl.

These boys. Oh, these boys. Asher has started climbing out of his crib. He apparently is pretty good at it because he's never hurt himself, but it scares me to death! We are going to move him to the toddler bed and Levi to a twin bed as soon as we can get a twin mattress. 

The other night, Jacob was gone and I hurriedly put the older children to bed a little early because Ava needed to eat. Lily went straight to sleep but the boys were being loud and obviously not ready to go to sleep, so I told them they could come play quietly until I was done feeding Ava. They were pretty rambunctious (we had cleaned up everything off the floor, so you can see they did some mess-making) until I told them Daddy was on his way home. Then they jumped up on the couch with a book and read quietly together until he got home. Little stinkers! :)

Last week, Levi was being naughty and I sent him to his "time-out chair" in his room to wait for me to come talk to him. Well, when I went to go in his room, I found that he'd locked he and Asher in the room. I got the little stick key thing and tried to get the door open, but I couldn't. I started to panic. Jacob was about 40 minutes away teaching for the day. I could hear the boys up on their dresser so I told them to get down and play legos. Thankfully they obeyed! :) 

After trying unsuccessfully to get the door opened, I called Jacob's dad who works about a minute from our house. He was so sweet to drop what he was doing and come (after finding a few tools that he thought he might need). He was able to get the door open very quickly...using the "key"...then he taught me how to unlock the door. Ha! We found the boys playing legos sweetly. Notice the time out chair. LOL

An older sibling wanted to share. :)

Play dough!

Lily wanted to see how Ava would fit in her doll cradle :)

Most of this post was written last week. Praise God, this week has been a bit better. Levi had his final post-op appointment yesterday and the doctor is very pleased with how he has healed and how his eyes look! That is a huge blessing!

Nehemiah 8:10

For the JOY of the Lord is your strength.