photo slacker

Maybe it's this whole three kids thing. Maybe it's having one really "difficult" three year old. Maybe it's just plain ol' laziness. But I have not been taking pictures lately. I just forget. And when I do remember, I don't feel like going all the way upstairs to get the camera. Yep, that's just laziness.

But I do have a few pictures of my sweet, crazy kids.

Pater Pan and Tinkerbell (they are flying here in case you were wondering).

Playing in the rain and SUPER excited about it. There was also some serious signing going on. 

Zeke getting smothered loved on.

My beautiful baby girl loving the water.

Noah giving me his best smile. He's a keeper for sure. 

Brotherly love. 

Love her. 

Well, that is better than no pictures. But I do need to make a much better effort to take pictures. Let's see if that happens or not...

homemade summer favorites

Today is the day. My essential oils and glass bottles were all ordered and have made their way to my house. Our day is wide open and I have no excuses.

I have been wanting to make homemade sunscreen, insect repellent, and hand sanitizer for a while now. Given my extreme tendency to procrastinate, it has been on the "to do" list for quite some time. It's actually sort of sad considering that it took me a little less than 10 minutes to make all three.

 Note: all items are easier to tackle when a cute assistant is involved.

First on the list...sunblock. This one was super easy. There are 2 ingredients; coconut oil and Helichrysum.

To make sunblock:
Mix about 2 oz of coconut oil (other options are olive oil or sesame oil) with 12 drops of Helichrysum into a glass spray bottle. Apply every 2 hours and after getting wet.

Another recipe you may want to try is found here.


Next up, bug spray.

I had fun with this one. There are several great oils that can be used as an insect repellent. I used four that I knew would not only keep the bugs away, but would also smell yummy.

To make bug spray:
Mix about 2 oz coconut oil (or water) and 10 drops each of Lavender, Lemongrass, Peppermint, and TerraShield into a glass spray bottle. 
For a list of different oils and what insects they repel, click here.


And finally, hand sanitizer.

To make hand sanitizer:
Fill a 2oz glass spray bottle half way with water. Add 1t aloe vera gel, 4-5 drops of vitamin E oil, and 15 drops of OnGuard essential oil. Fill the remaining bottle with water and shake. Spray away! 
(recipe source)
  

A few notes:

• I use and recommend Doterra oils.  They are AMAZING! We have had wonderful success using them for everything from headaches to diaper rash and from sunburn to colds and flu.  
• Always use glass bottles. The essential oils cause plastics to break down...great for your body, not so great when put in plastic containers. 
• I used OnGuard for the hand sanitizer because it has anti-fungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. Click here to read other ways it can be used. OnGuard is one of my absolute favorite essential oils!