Our Last Week At Home

It's hard to believe that this is my last week home with my little one. I go back to work next week. The 12 weeks at home has flown by, but I've enjoyed my time with Bennett. Although exhausting and sometimes trying, it has been a very memorable experience. I am so thankful that I was able to spend this time at home with him. I know many people are not able to take the time away from work and I am truly blessed to have been able to. Thank you to everyone who has hosted Thirty-One parties to help me generate some income while I have been off of work. I'm still looking for hostesses this summer so please email me or comment if you are interested.

This means Bennett will be headed to preschool next week. We visited his classroom and met his teachers last week. The children in his classroom already have backpacks at two years old! I am nervous how this first week will go. It's taken almost a month going 2x a week to church for him to get used to the nursery. Hopefully, this adjustment will go a little smoother since he is more settled. Either way I'm a nervous wreck. I know he will be fine and that it will help him learn, but it's bittersweet for me. He's gone through so many changes in these past few months; I have a lot of guilt for putting him through yet another big change.

   (These are the many reasons I love diffusing!)

Speaking of work, it will be very different when I return. One of my favorite co-workers won't be there and the building I work in is being renovated. It was being added onto when I left.  Now that the new edition is being finalized they have closed the first and third floors of the original building for renovation. Lucky me will get to work on the second floor in the midst of chaos and sawdust. So, guess what's coming to work with me? My Young Living Diffuser. And what essential oil will I be diffusing? Purification. Since my office has been closed up for 3 months it will need some purifying with all of the odors and gunk in the air. I guess that means I'm going to have to purchase another diffuser for home.          

(This is what my kit contained)

So, for those who have not heard of Young Living or essential oils, it is my new obsession. I wish I knew about essential oils (EO's) a long time ago. I recently attended a Young Living session where I learned a lot of about EO's and what they can replace in your medicine cabinet for your kiddos and pets, even household cleaning products. I am all about using less drugs and chemicals and a natural form of treatment instead. After some research, I decided to order the Premium Starter Kit. I found this to be the best deal as it gives me 11 EO's and the diffuser (along with some other stuff) and it allows me to purchase oils at the wholesale price versus retail. I've been using the oils for a week now                      
and I am hooked and love all the great things they have
done for our home, my health, my son, and my pups.
To all my friends with children and pets, EO's is a
wonderful alternative for OTC and prescription medicines.

These are the basic oils you receive in the kit. I used this chart to get started in how to apply them. I love how each oil has multiple uses. I've tried all of the oils except Valor. However, I have been doing research on how Valor can be used for pet anxiety, which both of my dogs have had a lot of anxiety lately. I've always hated giving them tranquilizers to calm them down so I'm excited for this alternative.Right now, my two favorite oils are Thieves (smells like cinnamon) and Frankincense. Thieves is antibacterial and antimicrobial so I love to diffuse it in our home and Bennett's room when he is feeling sickly or there is an illness going around. I've ordered this in a spray as well. I put it on the bottom of Bennett's feet to help boost his immune system too. Frankincense has been great for my skin. I have extremely oily skin and frankincense has helped clear it up. It also is getting rid of skin tags on myself and on our dog. Lavender is also in my top faves as it helps with bug bites and is a natural antihistamine. I'm ready to forgo the two prescriptions I have for allergies and try EO's. You can ingest the oils by adding them to your drink, food, or capsules in addition to diffusing them and using them topically.

I'm sure I'll post more about essential oils as I learn more. It's all so interesting to me how something taken from nature can be so beneficial and healthy. If you want to learn more you can check out some helpful websites: Dolf Cheng's Website or Baby Steps to Essential Oils . If you would like to order something let me know. I'd be happy to let you use my wholesale discount to try some oils out.

Enjoy your week. I know I'll be savoring every last bit of my last week of maternity leave.

First Mother's Day

Yes you are at the right blog. I've decided to do a blog makeover now that Bennett is home.

It's hard to believe that we celebrated our first Mother's Day as a family. It's also hard to believe that we've been together for almost 8 weeks. Time has gone by quickly, yet it feels like he's been home much longer.

Bennett finally got to meet family as my parents came down for a visit. He had a great time with them especially when he got to visit the aquarium and eat some yummy Korean food. We found a Korean grocery store in Dallas and bought some of Bennett's favorite Korean foods. It is great to be able to give him a taste of his birth culture right here in Texas. We also had excellent mandu and bipmibap as there is a Korean food court in the grocery store. We found out B LOVES pickled radishes and cabbage so we made sure to buy some before we left. It was great to see many Korean delicacies and to buy pastries from a Korean pastry shop. It reminded us of being back in Korea. However, the pastries were not as good as Paris Baguette (Pastry shop in Korea where there is one on every corner. We miss that place so much!)

As far as the transition goes, we could not have asked for a smoother adjustment period. We keep waiting for the grieving to hit, but it hasn't. He has had a very seamless transition to our home and family. We can only account this to his great foster family. Speaking of our foster family, a few weeks after we left Korea they received another foster child; a chubby 8 month old boy.  Please keep him in your prayers as he waits for his forever family. 

Although we have not had any transitional/adjustment issues we have had plenty of toddler issues. Bath time continues to get better, but tooth brushing has not been pleasant. He is a stubborn kiddo, but that's what we get. Lord knows we were both stubborn kids too. 

On another note, everyone tells you parenting is hard. This I know, but all the books and advice in the world don't prepare you for the emotional roller coaster that parenting can be. I had an idea of it, but it's different from reading a book to experiencing it first hand. I have never felt so much guilt and failure. It's hard not to blame yourself for every tantrum and parenting fail. There are days it's so exhausting and then I feel guilty for letting it all get to me. It's crazy that a two-year old can bring me to the brink of tears one minute and then to anger the next.  Alas, it's part of the parenting adventure, but one I wished people would chat about a little more. Before we brought Bennett home someone told me that it's okay to cry and to have regrets. There may be days that I regret becoming a parent and that it's normal to feel this way. These words have been of great comfort to me these past few months. No parent is perfect even though we all strive to be. Mistakes will be made and I need to learn to be okay with that.

In closing, this is the last week to shop our Thirty-One fundraiser. We are hosting this last fundraiser to make up for the funds we never received from our coffee fundraiser. Shop online: www.mythirtyone.com/duvall