My New Love~Essential Oils

So, I have started back at work over the last couple of months and posting to the blog has once again been put on the back burner. Now that I am a few days away from the end of my 8th year of teaching, I was able to find a little time to finally post about what has been going on with me lately.

Savi is quickly approaching the 6 month mark! So many milestones babies make in their 1st year, everyday is an adventure and everyday is so fun. I love being her mom, it is the greatest reward I have ever had. Her laugh lights up our world, and as long as she is happy, we are happy.

I wanted to share with you all my new love~doTERRA Essential Oils :) They are quickly changing my life and I am learning so much about healing and wellness. I have always been someone that is quick to pop 5-6 Advil's when I have a headache or it is that "time of the month." I have never had a problem taking medicine that is prescribed to me. Yet, when it came to my daughter, I started questioning things.

Savi has had a rough go every time she has gotten shots. It has taken a strong toll on her and us. When Savi was given her 4 month shots things were horrible. Her sleeping was off, she developed a cold, she was fussy...I wanted my happy-sleep all night-healthy baby back! After a week, I didn't know what else to do but reluctantly with the push of others, I took her to the doctor. We saw the nurse practitioner. She examined Savi and let me know that I just have a healthy baby, who is fussy! I was so mad, I wasted my time and money to take my daughter to the doctor for them to tell me, there is nothing we can do!

I want to soothe Savi naturally and safely. I hated the thought of "drugging" her with Tylenol every time I didn't know what to do, or letting her suffer, or cry it out. I had heard about essential oils and using lavender to help soothe and calm, but that was about all I knew. My neighbor hosted a class on doTERRA Essential Oils, and I attended open minded that this could be something to help me as a mom. Much to my surprise, it was much more than that. I found out that these oils were going to benefit my entire family and I was going to give this a try.

I began withe the FPK (Family Physicians Kit). This contains 10 basic doTERRA Essential Oils that will assist in basic family health and wellness. Between ordering the doTERRA Essential Oils and actually receiving them in the mail, Savi's allergies were out of control. It was spring time, early May and she was sneezing, coughing, and rubbing her eyes every time we walked outside. I hated seeing her so miserable. She loves walks and now just walking outside was putting her in pain. I did not want to take her to the doctor for me to hear, "She just needs to wait out the allergy season" or start pumping my little 4 month old with allergy meds.

So, as recommended, I used the oils to help relieve my daughters allergy symptoms. Since Savi is an infant, I had to also purchase FCO (Fractionated Coconut Oil) to use to dilute the oils for her. doTERRA Essential Oils are pure and come straight from plants, which makes them very strong. A little bit goes a long way and for infants and small children you need to dilute with a carrier oil, such as FCO. Anyway, I bought some roller bottles from www.aromatools.com and made Savi a lil allergy mixture.

doTERRA Allergy Relief and Prevention

Using a 10mL Roll-On Vial

• 15 Drops of Lemon
• 15 Drops of Peppermint
• 15 Drops of Lavender
• Top off with a carrier oil (I used FCO)

AMAZING! Savi's allergies were gone! I was beyond impressed and I still find it hard to believe. We love to go on family walks and I will roll the allergy blend on Savi's feet before our walk and not one sneeze or cough the entire hour long walk, even after the grass was freshly cut! After this experience I was instantly intrigued as to what else these oils could help me with!

So far, the oils have helped myself and my little family with allergies, sleep, headaches, body aches, insect protection and energy levels! I haven't even had them a month, I have so much to learn. I am so excited to see what else I can help my family and others with using essential oils. My journey with doTERRA Essential Oils has only begun. My husband is calling me a hippie and I have many family members that think I am crazy (I am embracing both of these haha!), but my baby is happy and healthy and no longer suffering from allergies! So I am one happy momma! My husband is even sneaking some oils here and there...slowing becoming a believer.

If you may be interested in trying out any oils, just let me know. I can order them for you, let you sample some or bring you along on the essential oil journey with me. Trust me, you will love them!

Visit my website to check them out! http://mydoterra.com/stacybauer

This is Savi and I on Mother's Day. We went on a hike through the woods at Powder Valley Nature Center. I put the trusty allergy blend on the bottom of Savi's feet and we had not one sneeze or cough!

 

Much love,

~Stacy

How to Date Your Spouse~ 7 Date Night Ideas

With Valentine's Day this Friday, I wanted to write a bit about dating your spouse. Yes, I have only been married a little under a year, but I have somewhat of an insight on dating my husband in this past year. I have also experienced a "healthy" marriage from my parents and my grandparents. These are both marriages that I try to learn from and use as a guide to keep my marriage healthy and interesting.

The one this week I wanted to focus on with dating your spouse and keeping it healthy is to date each other. Jake and I are newleyweds with a 7 week old baby and we have still made it a point to carve out a few hours a week to have a "date night." I will say we are super fortunate that we have 2 amazing moms that will always watch our daughter for us, and plenty other family members or friends that would be more than willing to watch her and love on her.

With that said, here are a few date night ideas. We live in St. Louis, so I have tagged some local places we have enjoyed and the deals that they may have. For this post I will share my Top 7 Date Nights. We have done our best to make most of these dates around $25-50. Which I would consider reasonable for dinner, maybe a drink or two, and a possible activity.

~7 Date Night Ideas~

#1 ~At Home Beer or Wine Dinner Pairing~

Last Valentine's Day, Jake and I were engaged and about a month away from our wedding. So, we were buying items for the wedding, paying and planning for our honeymoon, and just low on cash. I wanted our one and only Valentines Day as an engaged couple to be special, but financially reasonable. So many restaurants have V Day specials that cost $100 and up per couple. I am sure they are amazing, but not in our budget this year. Jake is an avid craft beer lover, so I decided to plan a 4 course dinner with beer pairings. I went to a liquor store that sold individual beers and bought 8 different beers. This way, he could pick what beer he wanted and we got to try all kinds of different beers for a low cost. Each beer was $1.50-$3.00 each. The total dinner cost under $50 and we had a 4 course meal, 4 beers each, and I got a chance to pull out the fancy dinnerware I was dying to use.

This is the menu I made for last years Valentine's Day.

#2 ~Visit a Local Brewery~

Like I said, Jake loves craft beer. So, we enjoy visiting the local breweries here in St. Louis. It's fun to taste the beers with a tasting menu or beer flight. I have certainly surprised myself and my palate on my new love for darker beers like stouts and porters. St. Louis has some amazing local craft breweries and their beer and food is very reasonable. A few of our favorites are 4 Hands, Six Row, Urban Chestnut, and Civil Life Brewery. We also enjoy our closest craft brewery, Trailhead on main street in St. Charles. Trailhead has an amazing happy hour, check them out for some great deals.

#3 ~Coed Sports Clubs~

Jake and I met playing sand volleyball through the St. Louis Sports and Social Club. This group organizes different coed activities all year that you can participate in. In the spring and summer they have sand volleyball and kickball. In the fall and winter they organize bowling and bags/corn hole . We have only participated in the sand volleyball and bag leagues, but we love it. It's also a great way to meet new people and socialize with other adults, together, for a night. Our sand volleyball group has been fortunate enough to win our league a few times as well. What's better for a marriage than coming together on a team and WINNING...multiple times :)

 

Our sand volleyball team, winning the Spring session in 2013.

#4 ~Cicero's Beer School~
Cicero's is located on The Loop in St. Louis. It is an italian restaurant and bar that also has live music and hosts a little thing called Beer School. Best part, Beer School is FREE! Thats right it is free to attend and you get free beer. Don't let the "school" aspect of Beer School fool you, you really do learn and most people take notes during the class. Cicero's brings in a different craft brewery each week from all over the United States. We have even met the developer and creator of Blue Moon, which I thought was pretty cool :) Beer school is offered every Wednesday at 5:30pm and 7:00pm. It happens right in the middle of happy hour, so you can get great deals on food as well. It's great time, and if you or your spouse enjoys learning about the science of how beer in made, you should make Wednesday your next date night.

#5 ~Bowling~
We get coupons in the mail weekly for deals on bowling. Bowling is a great date night activity. You are able to do something physical with each other, with a bit of competition. It is also an activity  that can be done year round, rain or shine, -10 degrees or over 100 degrees, you can have a great comfortable time bowling. Bowling is also a great activity for just you and your spouse or to add other couples into the mix. We enjoy the Brunswick Zone in St. Peters. There are always coupons and deals, you have a waiter to order drinks and food from, and later at night they have cosmic bowling.

#6 ~Groupon & Living Social Deals~
Become a member of Groupon or Living Social. There are always so many great new ideas on these two sites. We have tried new restaurants, gotten tickets to shows, bought massage and pedicures, and even discovered new little hot spots that we now enjoy going to regularly.

 

#7 ~Dessert~
Go ahead and have a normal dinner at home with your fmaily. In order to save some time and money just take an hour or two to go somewhere have have dessert, just the two of you. Our favorite place for this is in Cottleville, MO at VB Chocolate Bar. VB's has great choclate drinks like an spiked milkshake or a classic malt. This is a great place, small and intament, lovely outdoor fire pits, and homemade truffles that are melt in your mouth good. Other places we have tried are Bailey's Chocolate Bar in Lafayette Square and Cyrano's in Webster Groves.

For the most part, just making time for each other is always treasured time, especally when you have children. As far as I am concerned, if I don't have to plan it and my husband actually went out of his way to plan a special night for us...its a great start to a great date night. A lot of our date nights we plan together and base them on places and cuisine we enjoy. But, if your spouse is thoughtful enough to plan a night or even few hours away for you, that is all the difference. When I don't have to worry about getting a sitter and where we will go, who's car has gas, and all those typical organization things, I am a happy lady. I hope that these ideas can help spark up a date night for a few couples. Whether your date night is this Friday on Valentine's Day, or any other day of the week, make an effort to date your spouse. Date nights make you a happy wife, husband, mom, or dad. Dating your spouse just keeps that connection and bond between the two of you strong.

Much love,
~Stacy
 

Confessions of a First Time Mom #1

I decided to write this post the morning after my 31st birthday. This was my first birthday as a wife and mom. This birthday was...well...different. I thought I would take a minute to explain why it was different and how I came to an overwhelming realization that my life, including this birthday, was never going to be the same. 

Let me start by saying I have always wanted to be a mom. I have known since I was a kid, no matter what, I was going to be a mom. I never knew how my mommy journey was going to start, but whether I was going to foster, adopt, or have my own children...I was destined to be a mom. So, as soon as my husband and I got married, I wanted to try for children right away. We got lucky, and got pregnant sooner than expected, we were blessed with a "honeymoon baby." I was beyond excited, it seemed to good to be true!

The entire pregnancy, it's about you and the baby. People ask you daily how you are feeling? You visit the doctor so many times and they want to make sure you and baby are healthy. Ultimately everyone is concerned about you. Some days the attention is too much to take, and others you are offended that someone didn't ask about you or the baby. People also like to tell you how much life will change and how nothing will ever be the same. I would just think to myself, of course it will be different we will have a baby. I don't think anyone could prepare me for how different it was going to be.

Like I said before, I decided to write this blog post the day after my birthday, because my birthday was not what I expected. I am big on birthdays, I love celebrating them. I love celebrating family birthdays, friends birthdays, and mostly mine :) I mean, I have already started a secret Pinterest board planning my 6 week olds first birthday if that explains anything.

The things is, the day was overall great! I went to lunch with my best friend and my mom. I went shopping, this was not fun because I still have a long way to go in the baby weight department. My mom helped watch Savi while I got ready for dinner, and my family took me out to dinner where we had a great time. The thing was throughout the whole day, it never really was about me. My entire thought process was about my daughter.

For 31 years, my birthdays have always been about me. This may sound selfish, but I have amazing friends and family that do the best job making my day AMAZING! Well, as much as anyone could have made my day about me, my world revolved around my daughter. I no longer felt special, I just felt like Savanna's mom. She needed me all day. Whether I had to nurse her, change her diaper (she pooped all over me on my bday :) I guess it was her present to me), or soothe her to sleep. Everything about "My Day" was about her. This was hard to take at first. Every other day, I was ok with my world revolving around my daughter, I love it that way. Yet, on my birthday, I guess I expected different...

Overall, the overwhelming realization I came to is that I am striving so hard to be so many things, a wife, daughter, friend, sister, teacher...but before every role in my life comes my daughter. I had dreamed of being a mom for so long, it is now that time, and it is time that I embrace it. I never expected to feel the way I did on my birthday, but I am sure it is a feeling other first-time moms have as well. Am I right? Are there other mom's out there that have felt this way?

Life has changed. Life is rewarding. Life is messy. Life is different. Life is me as a wife and mother and it is more of a joy and blessing than I could have ever imagined. People were right, life has changed, it will never be the same...Life is better, so much better!

Much Love,
~Stacy

 

Baby Girl Nursery~A room to grow with

Before we even tried having a baby, I was already planning our future baby's nursery. I had a Pinterest board all set up titled "The New Someday" (since my wedding Pinterest board was already titled "Someday"). On the board I had so many favorites, but I knew if we were having a girl, I was going with a turquoise and purple color scheme. More specifically, I fell in LOVE with this bit of inspiration...

 

 

Check out this blog, "Home by Hiedi" it was my inspiration and she has some beautiful rooms and ideas to help inspire people to make your house a home.

 

So, With this picture as my inspiration, I started searching and designing what would be the perfect nursery for our little girl. It was important to me that I decorated her room for her to grow with. I didn't want to have to change the decor in a few years, I wanted the room to still be fitting in 5 or 10 years (with a few modifications over the years). I was determined that the nursery not be too baby!

 

I started with the inspiration wall color from Lowes, Valspar "La Fonda Mirage." From there I searched Etsy for wall decals. I came across this adorable shop, "In An Instant Art" and just adored the design of a dandelion made of butterflies. A bonus was that it would include her name! I was able to pick the colors and customize the decal to add her middle name as well.

 

 

Below I took a few pics of the process I went through to put the wall decal up. It seriously was so easy! As you can see the decal came in different pieces. To be careful, I placed everything up on the wall and took a picture to make sure I had the placement correct. I started with the big pieces and then placed and added in the small butterflies. Everything peeled off and stuck to the wall so easily. I have already decided that when I order another wall decal, I will order from In An Instant Art!

 

 

I was loving how Savi's nursery was coming together. I tried to get things done on a limited budget as well. Her crib and changing table were given to us by a family memeber. There were a few bite marks on the railing so I created a rail gaurd to cover them up. A dear friend made the "S." She wrapped the cardboard letter she purchased from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft with lavendar tulle and added a few fabric flowers in the corner. This was given to me at one of my showers and I just love it on her door.

 



 

The grey glider was a gift, and the quilt on the glider is from Pottery Barn. Part of the original room inspiration from "Home by Heidi." She had this quilt in the inspiration room. The large chest we have in the nursery was originally purchased from Pottery Barn, but we got it for a steal of $40 off of Craigslist.

 

Overall, I really love the way Savi's room came together. Of course it is not completely finished. I would love to come up with a cute end table next to the glider. Right now, we are just borrowing a small table from my parents to use while I nurse Savi at night. I am also sure that as Savi gets older, she will make plenty of changes to her room as well. Some changes I may like, others I may not, but of course it is her room now :)

 

Much Love,

~Stacy

 



Gender Reveal Party~Bows or Beau?

As soon as Jake and I found out we were expecting, we both knew we wanted to find out the gender of our baby. I consider myself a "prepared person." So, if we were going to make the decision to find out the gender to our bundle of joy, then we would be prepared :) This was an easy decision for us, and with finding out the gender, came the "Gender Reveal Party."

Of course, we had to hear from many people how we shouln't find out and how "You are taking the surprise out of it!" and "I never found out, why are you!?!" Well, sorry to have informed people, but this baby was made by Jake and I, and I think we are the people that get to decide whether we found out or not...right!?!

Well, let me tell you, finding out the gender was so exciting! Then, telling all our loved ones at once was even more emtional and exciting! First, Jake and I decided to find out our baby's gender on our own at the ultrasound appointment. We both knew we couldn't wait any longer and we loved the idea of it being an intimate moment for just the two of us. Then, later that same day, we invited a bunch of family and friends over for a Gender Reveal Party to share our news.

I set up some decorations, going with a "Bows or Beau" theme and a little blue and pink. We bought 2 bunches of balloons, one pink and one blue. Of course I was routing pink and Jake blue, so we each decided to hold the color of the balloons we were routing for. With lots of friends and family in attendance we headed to the back yard to reveal our news. Holding the pink bunch of balloons tight, Jake let the blue bunch of balloons go. We were having a GIRL! Everyone, including Jake and I, were so excited and ready to start planning for a lil princess.

As you can see from above, our family and friends were split down the middle on their voting :)

 

I hope you all enjoy my "Gender Reaveal Party" post. Of course we have already welcomed our little girl, I just wanted to share an exciting event we planned on our journey to her arrival. I have many more events and projects that we completed while I was pregnant, so stay tuned.

 

Much Love,

~Stacy

Life with a Newborn

Since my first blog post, 4 months ago, things have been extremely crazy as always with us. Jake and I welcomed our daughter, Savanna Joyce. We are now a family of three and she has become our world. Its crazy how you can go from spending your Saturday nights with sushi, wine and friends to take out, a movie, and a baby. The best part is, we are totally okay with that! 

Meet our lil Savi...She was born December 19, 2013 at 7:20pm. Savi weighed 7lbs. 10oz. and was 21 1/2in. long...we are head over heels in LOVE!

Throughout my pregnancy I did A LOT of research, I mean A LOT of research on what I would need to be the best mom and caregiver to our daughter. What I found I loved the most were lists of "Must Have" items from actual moms. I would search Pinterest and check many Mommy Blogs for what I may need. These list were extremely helpful. I plan to make a "Top 10 List of Must Haves" for any parent every month from Newborn to 1 year of age. So, I decided to come up with my own lists in order to help other mom's and just share what was working for me. SO...without further ado, here is my first Top 10, my "Top 10 Newborn Must Haves."

 

1. Little Tummies Gas Relief Drops~ These drops have helped us all sleep at night. Savi seems to get a lot of gas, hiccups, and belly aches. This stuff is AMAZING! Whenever we have given the drops to our daughter, within less than a minute she is calm and is able to peacefully fall asleep without pain.

2. Wubbanub Plush Pacifier~ At the hospital they give you the "soothie" pacifiers. This is the same pacifier used for the Wubbanub. I am a breastfeeding mom, so the nurses and many other people advised me not to give my daughter a pacifier, due to nipple confusion. I held off at the hospital, but once we got home, at some point it was the only thing that seemed to calm her down. So far, I have been able to nurse, give her a pacifier, and a bottle and I have had no problems with nipple confusion...but I will save that for another post. Any who, we love the Wubbanub because even at three weeks our daughter can start to hold it, its easy to find when it falls out of her mouth, and it stays in place on her chest when she gets a little lazy with it. We now have 2, just to be safe :)

3. Baby Einsteins Sea Dreams Soother~ This is attached to Savi's crib. It makes sounds and has lights that keep her entertained. Right now, she is still sleeping in our room. I have had her nap in her crib and just hang out while I do some laundry and she is fascinated with the Soother. She will watch it, kick and smile, and a few times she has even fallen asleep. I am sure that in a month or so when she is in her crib full time, it will become a bigger blessing.

4. Fisher-Price Deluxe Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper~ We use the Rock 'n Play Sleeper as our bassinet in our bedroom. This is the exact one we have. It has a vibrating feature on it, that I turn on at night to help soothe Savi to sleep. Its small and compact so it doesn't take up too much room. The Rock 'n Play Sleeper even folds down to take on the go!

5. Summer Infant Swaddle Me Blankets~ These blankets are great and so easy for swaddling your baby. I have gotten into the habit to only put Savi in these blankets at night. In my head I feel she will recognize the tighter swaddle as a sign to think "we sleep longer now" :) So, far it has worked and she has been sleeping up to 5 or 6 hours at night. We are aware this is not normal for a newborn, but the pediatrician said all was good, so we are happy.

6. Automatic Night Light~ This has come in handy so we are able to see our lil munchkin all hours of the night. Even though I have her bedside, its hard to tell if those little eyes are open or closed or where her mouth is to insert that pacifier at 3am when I am trying to soothe her back to sleep. This light stays plugged in and when the lights go out, the night light goes on. Its not to bright to disturb our sleeping, but bright enough to be helpful. We plan on moving the night light to her room, when we make the graduation step from our room to her own room.

7. Chicco KeyFit Infant Car Seat and Bases~ This was an easy choice item for us. I had heard great reviews from friends and family about the Chicco KeyFit system. So, when I found a complete Chicco KeyFit travel system on clearance half off at Target, I snatched it up! We have a base in each car and my mom even has one in her car. It makes life so much easier when I am running errands alone or with Jake. We simply snap the seat in and out of the base without any worries and we know she is safe. We took the car seat and bases to the Safety Check at our hospital to make sure everything was installed properly, this gave us even more peace of mind.

8. Boon Grass and Accessories~ I have the smaller Boon Grass on my counter top with a twig and flower attachment. This has made drying pump parts and bottles so much easier. It helps us keep all the parts in one place and it is mighty stylish if I do say so myself.

9. Graco Pack 'n Play Playard with Reversible Napper & Changer~ LOVE LOVE LOVE this item. We live in a 2 story home, so right now we keep the Pack 'n Play set up in our living room. The reversible napper and changer is used all day long as we are changing one million diapers :) I have also set a basket in it to keep extra items like diapers, wipes, Desitin, socks, burp cloths, and bibs. I am sure as Savi grows it will become a regular napping place as well. We will also bring it with us when we travel to the lake this summer. 

10. Boppy Waterproof Changing Pad Liners~ These liners are used at all our lil changing stations we have set up in the house. You would be surprised how many times a newborn pees while you are changing their diaper...hence these have been a must have! They are so easy to clean as well. I have just thrown them in the washer and dryer with all our other items and they look brand new.

I hope this first "real" mommy blog post is able to be helpful to someone out there. I am looking forward to sharing more adventures and tips as I continue this journey in mommy hood :)

Much Love,
~Stacy