6 DIY's We Want To Try

     Happy September my people:)

This is my favorite month of the year, and I am so excited to watch the seasons change from Summer to Fall here at our home in Utah. We've been visiting Utah for many years for work and to visit family and such, and the Fall was always the most magical time of year here. 

     Now that the older kiddies are in school, our family has settled into a pretty good routine and rhythm, and our favorite part of that is after the kids come home and we're able to jump into activities altogether once again. We like to write up a big list for each season of the things that we'd all love to do together, and then we either plan loosely what we'll do each week or we might pick an activity on the spot. 

     Lately, it's been hot enough that we have to wait till early evening to do any outdoor activities, so we've been exploring my pinterest to find random and fun DIY's that we can do, especially without having to go buy any supplies:) Here is a list of 6 fun projects that we want to try creating this week!

1. DIY Earring Stand - 

2. Hanging Copper Hat Rack

3. Hanging Organiser 

4. Wooden Poloriod Gift Set

5. DIY God's Eyes

6. Herb Drying Rack

     Aren't those projects so cute?? I absolutely love seeing the focus and determination on my children's faces when they are creating, and that incredible gleam in their eyes when they excitedly call us over to admire their progress. My favorite part of the process though has might be when they announce their work and produce it from behind their backs with a grand flourish, then shyly grin and/or giggle as we express our surprise and gratitude for such priceless treasures:)

     That love of making and creating was instilled in me growing up, and nurturing it in my own kiddies has been a sweet experience. 

     I hope you can take some time to create this month in whatever way helps you feel most alive, and if you have kiddies than I hope you can pull them into that mindset with you! I'd also love for you to share any favorite hobbies or activities you like to do on your own or with your family to help inspire the rest of us, and I hope this post has maybe inspired you a little as well.

     Have a beautiful week ahead!

xoxo

♡ F O U R ♡

Photos by Adrianna Joy Photography

Jumper and blouse by Hum Stitchery for Salt & Honey Market

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      I'm so obsessed with this little lady! Evie's actual birthday was about a week ago, but we celebrated her through the whole month of June and even into July!:) Birthday month is one of our favorite traditions in our home that we've been doing for a few years now, mostly because we have just one birthday a month, we started extending birth-DAYS and increasing all the fun over their whole birthday month! We have multiple celebrations so different friends and family members can be there, we give the birthday child extra special treatment, we give little surprises throughout the month, and every fun activity we do is in honor of them that month. It drags out the excitement and the joy so much more than if it was just on one day, and the kids think it's the best thing in the world.

          To our little Evie-girl,

     I can't believe you're 4 years old! You've been through so much in your little lifetime without even realizing it, but you also don't know the amazing impact your sweet smile and little red curls (and your eyebrows:)) have had on so many, most of all on me. You were my comfort before you were born, giving me little kicks right when I was feeling so lost and alone, and you brought so much clarity and perspective to our family when you were finally born (2 and 1/2 weeks late), and the light and love you exude every day since are a testament to me that our efforts to have a love-centered home are succeeding. 

     You are SO smart and tough, SO kind, SO beautiful, and you bring SO much joy and endless smiles to anyone and everyone who comes in contact with you (although we do need to work on stranger danger). You make us all so proud baby girl! 

      

         Happy Happy Birthday my sweet Evelyn ♡♡

                Love Mama

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#LoveTheChange

Hey gang! Thanks so much for stopping by:)

      With Father's Day coming up soon and dads already being celebrated in different ways I thought it'd be the perfect time to partner with Pampers in sharing about an awesome new initiative they're doing to support all the hands-on dads out there!

      Gender roles are changing, and in this day in age with so many stay-at-home moms picking up side-hustles and earning money for their families (blogging, essential oils, photography, makeup, press-on nails, etc, etc, ) more and more fathers are sharing in greater responsibilities with the home and children, with many choosing to stay at home full-time(when it's right for their family). We love the change and so does Pampers, that's why with only 1 in 10 men's restrooms being equipt with changing tables, Pampers is partnering with Koala Kare to provide 5,000 changing tables for men's restrooms by 2021, so more dads and babies can #LoveTheChange together when they're out and about! 

      Working primarily online like we do, we meet and interact with many other husband and wife teams like ours that work together to balance and juggle the home and kids and business, which we think is awesome! Even though we know that it's not what every home wants or can manage, it often seems so natural and common for us that we're usually surprised whenever people ask if Richard is going to 'babysit' the kids while I go to a conference, or when Richard is asked what he does for work but not me. We're proud to tell them that we work from home together, even though mothers are often shamed for choosing to work and dads are guilted for being at home. It's time to recognize the change and celebrate it:)

      It's time to give dads credit for being dads, and not babysitters.


      It's time to celebrate dads being able to spend more time with their children, and we love that Pampers is giving so much to advocate for just that. Personally, I think it's funny to hear about all the creative places Richard's had to change the babies diaper when he's out running errands or doing activities with all the kids, but it'd be pretty great if it wasn't necessary don't you think?

      

     Richard does most of the diaper changing around here, but he never complains and just says that it's a special bonding time for them.lol It's always a challenge to keep Alice from getting distracted and from emptying every wipe pack she can find. It's really her favorite thing in the world, so I loved capturing a bit of that in these photos and in the short video that you can watch on my IG stories. I really appreciate that he has a different activity for each of the children that they just can't wait to do with him whenever they get the chance. 

      

      In wrapping up I'd love to hear of any special dad/child bonding moments you'd care to share? I personally have fond memories of my dad brushing my hair before bed that always make me smile:)

      Take care, and have a great rest of your week!

5 Tips to Encourage Healthy Habits in Children

This post is sponsored by Burt's Bees Toothpaste

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            Hi loves! Thanks so much for visiting today.

     I’ve been getting an extra influx of parenting questions lately (which I love) and this post is hopefully going to answer a bunch of those all in one go! Being a mom is my favorite thing in the world, and sharing pieces of my motherhood journey here with you guys in all it’s big full chaotic goofy messy glory is really rewarding and inspirational for me, and I appreciate your support and feedback and friendship more than I can say. 

     So today I’m writing directly to you parents who have expressed a lack of inspiration or motivation when it comes to encouraging your children towards healthier habits and activities.

     I’m also happy to share that this post is in partnership with Burt’s Bees, who recently launched their new line of toothpaste! I’ve relied on and trusted products from Burt’s Bees since long before I started having children, so I was excited about trying this new daily staple for myself, and it’s become just that! I'd never been happy with the simpler ingredient options before, so we mostly thought we were out of luck and didn't put much thought into it. It took a company that I've loved and trusted for nearly 15 years to help us easily make the jump towards the best possible oral care for us and the kids, and we're pretty happy about it. I knew right away that I'd love it and the kids are more excited about brushing their teeth than ever! Lydia and Evie love the great fruity flavor in the kids' formula - it makes them want to brush! Alice will definitely be using the toothpaste as well once she hits the 2-year mark!

They have three formulas for adults that focus each on whitening, enamel care, and freshness. They also have two kids formulas - both adults and kids have fluoride and fluoride-free options giving you the freedom to choose! 

In True Burt's Bees fashion, their toothpaste is made with simple and effective ingredients that really work, and without any artificial flavors, sweeteners, plastic microbeads, etc. Everything you want in your toothpaster and nothing that you don't:) It's available now at Target so be sure to check it out for you and your family!

5 Tips to Encourage Healthy Habits in Children

#1: Teach by example.

I don’t know about all children of course, but my kids (and most others I know) love to be wherever their parents are, ‘helping’ with whatever they’re doing at all hours of the day. Utilizing this excitement to be with you is why this is my number one tip, because, in order to show your children what making healthy choices looks like, you have to make healthier choices. Win-win! You’re becoming your best and making better health-conscious decisions for yourself in order to be that role model for your children, and it really pays off big time.

I’ve gained a love and a passion for exercise and healthier eating and meditation, etc, because I have felt the difference in my day-to-day as a mom of so many little ones, but I also really have to stay active constantly in order to take care of them all well. Our lives will change when we’re teaching our children how to do a jumping jack or how to choose ripe fruit, and don’t forget to call them over whenever you can to include them in your health and fitness choices. For instance, let them help you cook and talk about the ingredients and what they do for your body. Always let them know when you’re going to the gym or out for a run and explain what you’ll be doing and how it’s good for your body. Let them join you whenever possible! They love asking questions and they love learning, and they love copying and finding out ways that they’re just like you:)

#2: Treat self-care as a privilege and not a chore.

       Something that I’ve always felt was important is to never make personal chores into something negative. I didn’t want them to associate things like saying their affirmations or brushing their teeth with work that they wanted to avoid, so while it can be a fine line, try to never send them off to brush their teeth (for instance) with a stern voice or an upset tone, but instead always try to keep it positive. If you have chore charts, maybe consider not having consequences for unfinished chores, but lots of extra positive reinforcement for chores completed. Brushing our teeth in particular is something that everyone associates as a fun and happy activity around here, partly because we always turn it into a group experience with lots of jokes and giggling, partly because we always have a happy and encouraging attitude around it, and partly because they have fun toothbrushes and yummy toothpaste from Burt’s Bees! Haha 

      

#3: Have the Good - Better - Best conversation often.

       One approach we’ve taken from the beginning with the kids is teaching them about moderation and what I’ve called the Good-Better-Best method, instead of teaching them that certain foods being all bad or all good for you. And they’re learning! It’s really important to me that my kids have a healthy relationship to food, and that they are never scared of any food to the point of feeling guilty about eating it. I want them to think of food as fuel for their bodies, and that what they put into their bodies effects how their bodies will work (like putting the wrong fuel into a car), but we also love teaching them that food is delicious and fun to make and experiment with and that it makes life wonderful! So instead of teaching them that foods like candy and soda and doughnuts are bad for them, we just teach them that there are many other options that are better. 

Pulling tip #1 into this, teaching them by example is so powerful here too. Let them see you making the little decisions every day, like deciding to make a smoothie instead of pulling out the ice cream, and explain to them that ice cream isn’t horrible and bad for you so much as the smoothie is just better for your body. Give them little quizzes to help them think about it and tell you what is a better choice over something.  

#4: Limit electronic/screen use.

       This can be a pretty personal thing and everyone has different rules and needs for electronics in their home, so I won’t go into rules or absolutes too much. I will say though that I believe keeping electronic use to a minimum with children especially (adults too, but we’re talking kids right now) keeps their minds sharper and more creative, and makes for happier, healthier kids overall. We do have some educational games on the iPad and some that are purely just for fun that the kids take turns playing here and there and I definitely see the benefit in occasional use, but we keep it super minimal. 

       As for TV use, we always had our family TV right in the living room up until about 2015 when we moved into our last house in Idaho when we had 5 kids in five years. I realized how much I was running the TV throughout the day as a babysitter, and when we moved across town and inherited my grandpa's big old farmhouse table from my parents, I decided that we’d not even put a TV on the main floor at all and instead we schedule special family movie night once in a while instead. The result was a massive surge of outside play and curiosity and sweet interaction with and creativity in all of the children. We also decided to get rid of all their toys not long after (and that’s a whole other post for another time), but without the TV and other electronics freezing them in their tracks and turning them into zombies, they started reading like crazy and coloring on that big old table every chance they could get, and their little minds have done amazing things in al that time! Remember, TV and electronics aren’t bad by any means (and as we work online we do try to teach how good they can be:)), but yes, there are better things to be doing much of the time! :)

#5: Incorporate healthy choices into your daily routine, and have fun!

       Overall we have pretty consistent days around here, but things are always kinda flexible at the same time. For the things that we try to always accomplish or get done though as a family, I want my kids to see that those are things that are good for our bodies and our minds. Those things that we make sure and do every single day (or as close as we can get it) are the things that are going to keep us strong and healthy in body and mind and heart. I challenge you to take a minute and write down staples in your day as a family. Your list might include things like ‘wake up early, eat breakfast together, wash face, brush teeth, go for an afternoon walk, have family prayer,’ etc etc. For just about everything on my list I can count on these three little tots hanging on my legs for.haha But my point is that no matter what your day might look like, I encourage you to write next to it if it’s good for your mind or for your body or for your heart/soul, even if it’s in a roundabout way. Then I want you to share that with your kids over the next week! Try to include at least one thing (if not many things) for each category into your every day, and then when you’re eating breakfast together, talk about what you’re eating and how it’s important for your bodies. When you’re brushing their hair, talk about how the vitamins in the fruit they ate help their hair grow shiny and long, and how the sunshine that put those little freckles on their faces. When you’re on a little walk after school, tell them about the different muscles and bones they’re using to climb, and on and on. It might sound like a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding to whittle down the staples in our day to be beneficial in some way, and talking about the reasoning behind it all will come more naturally than you think.

     Well, that’s it for now, and if you have a minute I’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to share any thoughts you have or favorite tips for integrating healthier choices with your family, and if you’ve tried the new Burt’s Bees toothpaste please let us know what you think! You can get it all over, but I buy ours from Target - and I highly recommend :)

     Take care loves,

Quick Links:

Kid's Burt's Bees Toothpaste

Burt's Bees Purely White Toothpaste

We have some exciting news!

       We have a little announcement we'd like to make…. our little family is moving to Utah!

       This feels like big huge news for our family in some ways, but also like pretty small news in others. On one hand, I’ve lived in Idaho for the last thirteen years or so and have so many dear friends and special places that are close to my heart. On the other hand, Utah has been like our second home all this time, not to mention that Richard lived here on and off since about 2005 until he left everything to come to Idaho, so the move isn’t completely full of change and newness like it might be under other circumstances.

       I also know there are tons of you that will be surprised only because you thought my family already lived in Utah! haha Everytime I would meet one of you in Idaho you thought I was visiting, and I would explain that it was because we’ve spent SO much of our lives here(Utah) between all the work/blogging events and collaborations, visits to all of my family and friends that live here, Martin’s old school friends, and now many of Richard’s friends (and family too) since he lived here for so long. We just know that after years of commuting here oftentimes week-after-week that it’s time to make it official, and we really couldn’t be more excited!

        It’s been nearly 10 years now since my late-husband Martin and I started our lives together, and after we were married and moved into our first house we felt pretty fortunate to be able to stay in southern Idaho right near both his and my parents, mostly because that’s a pretty rare thing for new young couples, especially when I was just starting college.

        We’ve always felt very led in our decision making, and as much as we loved our friends and neighbors in Idaho, we loved talking often about all of the fun new places our lives might take us. It was just a few years later when what had begun as my little online journal started becoming a bigger source of income that he and I started talking seriously about the different areas of Utah that would make work and adventure so much easier.

After he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2015 and it looked like we were going to pursue chemotherapy at The Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake, we were once again looking for homes there and trying to decide if it was the right time to move. We were given a prognosis of just a few months left for him to live, and he wanted to make sure I was near my closest family and also many supportive friends that would be able to help me move forward with our five young children once he was gone. We ultimately decided that he should start immunotherapy in Mexico and that we should stay in Idaho for the time being, but we still knew that we needed to at least leave the neighborhood where we were living. 

        We very quickly found the house that we’ve lived in for the last 3 ½ years or so, and that home has been good to us, so leaving it has been bitter-sweet. Leaving the house where he passed away is bitter-sweet. I received a lot of advice after he passed away that I should move away from the home we'd shared and the place where he'd died, but I'm glad we stayed for as long as we did.

These photos were taken by our wonderful friend Adrianna Webb and don't really have 

much to do with us moving, but I figured that there's still plenty of snow on the 

ground and Harry Potter pajamas are always appropriate, so why not?! haha

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       We feel so much excitement for the bright future ahead, but Idaho will always be such a special place to our family and to me especially. It’s where all my sweetest years with Martin were spent as well as the hardest years of my life. It’s where our three homes are, where our children were all born, and the bench where Martin proposed to me. It’ll always have my favorite sushi restaurant and the Thai place where the owner knows our order. It’s also where I held his hand and watched him pass away, and it’s where his body is buried.

          

        Richard and I plan on taking the family back often to visit the landmarks that are so special to us, the relatives that we’re close to there, and of course to see all of our friends and neighbors that are so much a part of our family. All of the people that carried us during those impossible years especially will always stay in our hearts. All of the adopted grandparents that read the kids stories before bed and that brought us dinner over and over again. The friends that drove across town at 2am to sit with me while I broke completely, that held my hand when the coroner came to take his body, that sat on the roof on the fourth of July and cried with me, and on and on. I love feeling like that whole life from beginning to now is all secure and safe in a little town in Idaho, and that now we have a wonderful chance for a fresh start.

The kids were elated and then jumping with joy at the mention of a move to Utah, and they started rattling off people and places that we love visiting here and how we could see them all the time! They have nearly 20 little cousins here that they love to visit, and the idea of living right near them was mind blowing I think.haha Ellie especially was thrilled, because before we’d made the decision official, she had suggested that a move might be really good for our family and good for her in particular. Naturally, she thought Richard and I had just taken her advice and she was elated at the prospect that she was responsible for all the fresh new excitement.haha 

        Overall we've been pretty caught up in unpacking and painting and such since our first trip down and have sort of lost track of time, but every day has been filled with fun experiences and family scooter rides and already SO many visits with people we love and have missed. It feels like a dream to be so close to so much, living in a such a populated area, while also living right in the mountains with gorgeous scenery all around and so many trails to explore, etc. Richard actually found our home on a solo visit, and we both knew it was the one almost immediately. He's been so excited about the potential we have here and has already taken the kids out on so many little adventures. He has always loved being as active as possible outdoors, and that lifestyle will be able to be much more fulfilled here. 

Well, I’ve gone into way more detail than I thought I would in this post, but feel free to ask any questions you may still have in the comments and I’ll get to them in the next post! All-in-all it’s just pretty incredible how things work out sometimes, and already we’re amazed to see how our family is thriving in our new home. We’re still just a reasonably short drive away from our old stomping grounds, and we’re back and forth quite a bit still as we wrap up affairs and such there, but it’s already making such a difference with work and family time, and the kids especially are making so many friends(and getting more party invites than they know what to do with) and doing so well in school, it’s so sweet to see.

A big thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and encouraging, and helpful in the packing and moving so far, it means the world to us! We feel like we’re taking all the best things and relationships with us, while also being able to leave everything negative behind, and I have to smile a little to know that Martin’s close by constantly and is excited to see that our family is moving along the path that he and I dreamed about all those years ago. 

        Thanks so much for reading, and cheers to the future!

Cold weather days call for fun Family Activities

     Today's post is a fun one and a pretty quick read, and it includes a 

kinda fascinating experiment that the kids and I did together!

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     Thanks so much for being here! For those that don't know, I'm 27-years-old and my 6 kiddies are 8, 7, 6, 5, 3, and 8 months. Life is always moving fast and a little upside-down and backward too for sure, but every day that I'm faced with new hurdles to get over, I am also hitting milestones with my gang that I treasure so much, so it all evens out! That being said, there are so many things we use every day that can either make our mothering easier or harder depending on how well they work for us. I've been through a whole lot of products in my years as a mom of 6 and I love sharing my favorites with you guys, so I'm happy to be partnering with Pampers Pure again (as a die-hard fan and member of the #puretribe) to show why they rock in a fun little experiment by the kids!

          First, a little back-story:

     For the last year or so, the older girls have been asking to do everything with me all day long, and it's truly been SO sweet. There are days when I need quiet and time to focus for sure, but I love teaching them and learning from them simultaneously, and when they ask questions that I don't know the answer to, it's really fun to figure it out together as a team. This is one of the bitter-sweet milestones; having them really talk about growing up and chasing dreams and having families

     Today's post comes from a conversation the other day when I was teaching Ellie about diaper changing. She asked why we use only Pampers Pure diapers and wipes over all the other kinds of diapers. I explained to her that they were extra soft and made with simple and pure materials that were gentle on the baby's bums, and that they didn't have lots of potentially dangerous ingredients. I also talked about blowouts and how other diapers don't protect as well from leaking, and how the Pampers Pure diapers absorb really well. She asked why anyone would want to put the other 'bad' diapers on their kid's bums instead of using Pampers, and I had to laugh a little at such a cute question. I had to just explain how we all do the best we can as parents with the information we have, which is why we love to talk about good things as often as we can! 

     There was a lot more to our conversation, but in the end, we were excited to try a fun experiment of sorts on a couple diapers with all the other kids who wanted to participate too, and I'm excited to share how it went down!

      Setting it up:
- We started out by getting a diaper from another popular company in the 'clean' category in the same size as Evie is wearing in Pampers.
- We filled two identical cups with water and used a little blue food coloring to help us better watch what happened.
- We took the two diapers (one from Pampers Pure and one from the other company) and opened them up next to each other, being careful to treat them the same.

     Now for the fun part:
While John and Lydia help the two diapers open, Ellie and Sophie slowly poured the blue water onto both of the diapers at the same rate, and then I stepped in after a minute or two to do the last step! Placing a folded paper towel over both diapers, I pressed my hands down (pretty hard actually) onto both diapers equally for a few seconds, and that was it!

     Our whole family crowded around the table to see what had happened, and I was actually surprised at exactly how much more the Pampers diaper had locked away. As soon as I started pressing on them, the competing diaper immediately soaked the paper towel (you can see my very blue handprint on the left diaper above), while the Pampers diaper on the right barely let out a couple drops! You can see the indents of my hands from the pressure, and yet, almost no blue at all:)

     "WE WON!" John shouted jumping off his chair, and we all laughed.
Each kiddo wanted to take a turn pressing on the paper towels to see if the results would change, and then Sophie pointed out that while the competing diaper was very blue, that there was a kind of white layer inside the Pampers diaper over top the blue water that would seem to protect the baby's bum better than the other one. I also thought it was really neat that while the Pampers diaper didn't seem to swell more than a very slight amount after absorbing the water, the other diaper had swelled up to nearly tripled it's height, even with the water that the paper towels had taken out!

     All in all, we really did 'win' by choosing Pampers Pure with no compromising! hahaha 

     The kids are making lists of other little inside activities and experiments that they want to do together, and I'd love to hear your thoughts not only on the little test (and/or if you use and love Pampers Pure), but what other activities you love doing this time of year with or without your family? Thanks in advance!

           xoxo

Little Miss 5-year-old

All photographs by KATIE LYNN PHOTOGRAPHY 

||  Website  ||  Instagram  ||  

wearing: Lydia's whole outfit is from Target kids, and my dress is from Bohme

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     HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR LYDI-GIRL!
She had her birthday last week on the 6th, but the treats and gifts and special little family activities kept going for the rest of the week or so like they normally do, and she certainly deserved it!

I tell ya, I never knew that I could feel so much joy from simply watching another person experience it, but it's my greatest gift as a parent I think, and my heart was so happy seeing Lydia's excitement as she enjoyed every big and little thing we did to celebrate her and her big day.


                    Lydia,

     I never want to forget the shy smiles you always give and your little giggle that is almost too perfect to be real. The day you were born was a day I'll never forget. Even though you already had 3 older siblings, it felt like a fresh new beginning to for me as well to hold you in my arms and imagine who you would become as I watched you grow. My heart is forever coated in an extra layer of happiness because you are mine.

     You're the only baby I've ever had who has used the pouting lip, and you do it so well! haha It's hard to keep a straight face when I'm trying to explain or teach something very serious to you when you've made a mistake, but oh how I love teaching you and being taught by you. Yes, you teach ME! We do have our little struggles here and there, but no matter how sneaky you may be sometimes, you always have a pure and bright heart through it all, and everything in my life is sweeter because you are my daughter.

     You are precious in every way, you are a little ray of sunshine no matter the weather, and you are a wonderful little and big sister to your siblings. You're blessed to have your daddy in heaven watching over you, and a bonus daddy here at home who guides and protects you and loves you so so much.

     I can't wait to watch you this next year and see where you go, and I hope you'll let me hold your hand through it all. <3 and="" back="" darlin="" i="" little="" love="" moon="" nbsp="" p="" the="" to="" you="">
                    Love Mama