I Heart Naps...

In this house, a good nap is pretty much a cure-all for a day quickly going down the drain...which today certainly was. Kids were sent to rooms, toys were taken away, potty training efforts were strained {to be super nice about it}, mamas were yelling, babies were crying...you get the not-so-pretty picture. But usually those days can be attributed to plain old lack of good sleep. Nap time comes just shy of my locking myself in the bathroom. And then there's calm...quiet time...space & rest...and then a new beginning. Then I get my kids back. And they get their nice mama back. And we have another chance at a really great day. And usually, that's just what we have.

Sorry I didn't pick the winner of this month's give-away today {as I had promised}. I will shoot for tomorrow.

Raindrops On Roses...

{ ...or any three things that you would love to wrap up really pretty and send off to a fellow blogger.} Signups for the third annual Favorite Things Swap are under way...and you only have until Friday to get in on the action. Here's the 411: you sign up, you'll be emailed your swap partners info., you send out a minimum of three great little gifts {handmade, vintage, new, what-ev}, and a sweet little package will come to you also. Doesn't it sound all very old fashioned pen-pal-ish? I love it! So...rush right over to Kelly's blog, get the official details, and sign up!

Total. Lack. Of. Focus...

I'm off in ten different directions today...and not in a good way. My soul just cannot get settled: too much on the to-do list, too much on the wish list, tired but too antsy to sleep, just want to run off and play with my camera but know that I'm too scattered to get any good shots...

I'm going to try and zen-out for a bit this afternoon while Maya nurses/sleeps in my arms: listening to indie soulful girl songs, sipping coffee, reading. Hopefully {crossing fingers} that will be enough to sort-of rally all the random half-a*$#d ambitions I have into one common goal.

Wish me luck...oh, and happy Sunday to you!

Worth Noting...

I'm a huge fan of Burt's Bees products. {I know that technically they're competition, but...} I've been using their products for years and probably they were a source of inspiration to start making my own natural bath & body products. Anywho...while flipping through my latest 'Body & Soul' mag, I found a little Burt's Bees take-along card with synthetic ingredients to avoid. SINCE our skin is our body's largest organ and SINCE everything you put on your skin goes into your body and SINCE I'm a big advocate for more natural body care products, I thought I would pass along the info. Read the list then take a look at what kinds of yukkies are lurking in your current products.

Cleansers

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Sodium Laureth Sulfate

Sodium Myreth Sulfate

Petrochemicals

Petroleum

Mineral Oil

Paraffin

Preservatives

Parabens (all of them)

DMDM Hydantoin

Chemical Sunscreens

Oxybenzone

Avobenzone

Octinoxate

Moisturizers

Propylene Glycol

Butylene Glycol

Polyisobutene

P.S. I've recently tried the Burt's Bees shampoos, conditioners, and bubble baths and am loving them.

June Soap Notes & GIVE-AWAY!!!

I can hardly believe that summer is upon us. As I age, I can feel the dramatic passing
of time in an almost palpable way. It seems that almost as soon as I say that
we should do {insert any idea here} this summer, it’s all over and time for
school and schedules to begin again. Since I have yet to find a way to slow the
passage of time, I’m taking extra measures to mindfully enter summer and
therefore not let it pass before my eyes.

I believe in the immeasurable power of setting intentions: stating purposes, plans, and hopes in an effort to drive actions towards goals. For instance, if I wake and blindly enter my day as just one like the rest, it most likely will be just like the ones that have come before. But if I wake and
take a few moments to assess what my hopes and visions for that day are, my actions and efforts will be geared towards those specific wishes and therefore I’ll have a better chance at a fulfilling day. I propose that we set those same kinds of intentions for our summer so that we have the best chance of living it fully. {If it’s not summer where you live, these same principles can be applied to any given season or span of time}

I would like to clarify here that by ~intentions~ I do not mean ~expectations~. Due to the unpredictable nature of life, expecting anything often leads to disappointment, then to judgment. These intentions need to be semi-general in nature, flexible in delivery, and more about ethereal outcomes. For example, stating that you’d like to have beautiful landscaping by the end of the summer is an expectation that you’ll have lots of time and resources to devote to working
outside. Then, if after all your hard work, your landscaping doesn’t live up to your visions, you may feel disappointed and unhappy with yourself. However, if your intentions were to spend enjoyable time working in your garden and to plant some things that you’ll be able to take
pleasure in for years to come, most likely you’ll make gardening a priority in your life and you’ll enjoy the relaxed state in which you can work because there’s no added expectation of perfection or completion in the end. Since the true goal of your intention was doing something that brings you joy, you’ll have achieved your goals and you’ll feel good about your efforts.

Do I have you deep in thought over your hearts true and pure desires for summer? Good! Here are my personal intentions:

To enjoy the freshness and vitality of
the season

To encourage my children to cherish
the simple treasures all around us

To fill my body and our house with goodness
and wholesomeness

To fully utilize the freedom of the
season

To teach my children as much as I can

So there they are; pretty general and non-specific yet meaningful enough to guide my actions. I have ideas and wishes for how I’d like to accomplish these goals but they might change and they are not as important as my reasons for doing them. Now it’s your turn: Get ready, set your intentions, and go forth!

All righty; as you’ve come to expect, it’s GIVE-AWAY TIME!!!! Up for grabs this month are some handmade goodies to help you savor the season: a bar of our new Apricot Pear Soap, a set of four Summer Harvest Postcards, & the handmade bookmark featured at the top of this page. All you have to do to enter is comment on this post {or email me} and tell me one of your intentions for summer. I will announce the winner on June 30^th.

Holy Moly...

Where have I been????

Well...picking strawberries, baptising Maya, seeing Up...at the movies...all of us, yard sale-ing, library reading, evening walking, peek-a-booing with Maya, Daddy's Day gift making, soap wrapping, speech giving, promoting wellness, taking oh-so-many photos, strawberry shortcake making, picnicking in the car, wildflower picking...

So with all this summer time, care-free fun going on, I just haven't had the focus to write. Tomorrow {maybe...hopefully} I will post this month's Soap Notes along with a GIVE-AWAY!!!
ttfn!

Loganberry Lovin'...

Conceptualization to realization is often a long, long time in the soap world. Especially in my mommy-to-three soap world. I get an idea, I shop around for supplies, I wait for said supplies to arrive in the mail, I wait for an opportunity to make the soap, and wait, and wait. Then I make the soap {yea!} but then I have to wait four weeks for the soap to cure. So, in the meantime, I make accompaniments for the soap and take pictures, edit pictures, love the pictures. But being the big presentational effect lover that I am, I make myself wait until all is ready, wrapped, and photographed before I allow myself share the whole kitten-caboodle with the world.

So, let's just say I've been very eager for a very long time to share this particular collection with you all! So hop over to the shop and check it out!

Library Day...

So...things were getting a bit hectic around here. Three kiddos {one of which being a nursing-loving newborn} means just a ton of stuff to do all the time and never enough time to get it done. Getting them dressed, making their meals, doing piggy-tails, cleaning their clothes, picking up just so you can find their bed so you can put them to sleep so you can go get a shower or eat a quick meal...I imagine that you're getting the picture here. Needless to say that, although there's still been a lot of fun times in the house, there hasn't been a lot of family fun/relax/taking a load off time which I find to be essential for overall family health and well-being. But here's the really crazy part...our house was still a complete disaster and Brent and I were still pretty busy...even though we didn't stop working...at all. So, do I hire a baby sitter and get some time to clean my house or do I hire a cleaning lady and hang out with my kids? Yes, you're absolutely right...I hire a great girl to clean my house, declare Wednesday "library day" and spend the better part of the day out running around with my three lovely ladies. And I do mean lovely! I adore spending time with them. I love hearing what they think about things and learning about how they process it all. I don't know what I'd do without those little in-between moments with them.

So, off we went to the library where we picked up our first collection of the summer including one of my childhood favs {Shel Silversteins, where the sidewalk ends}, a few about princesses {of course}, and a couple that were just so pretty to look at. Seriously, take a look at these illustrations...gorgeous!

We had a blast! And my house is so clean and good smelling! I totally made the right decision!

The Graduate...

Yes, that's right. My first born will now officially be a Kindergartner. It's been a little hard for me to swallow. Of course this was a pretty big sign that Rayne is growing up {mighty quickly} right before my eyes. But there have been smaller signs of it all over the place. Like how independent she is. She hardly needs me to help her with basic needs anymore. And more often than not, she's helping me to help everyone else. In fact, the other day she even made her own sandwich for lunch.

There's absolutely no baby left in her looks at all anymore. She has a little girl face and hair and oh-my-goodness those cute little girl legs. Her walk and talk are that of a little girl. She makes up great stories and has some great ideas...and some not-so-great. She's smart and witty. We are often found cracking up at one of her funny comments.

So I should not have been so caught off guard by this monumental sign of her growing up...but I was. Maybe it will cushion me for the blow of her fifth birthday coming in a couple of months or for her {gasp} first day of full day Kindergarten. Yeah right, who am I kidding...I'm going to be a puddle!

{Oh, and for a little salt in this Mama's wound: this weekend, my dog turned 10 and Maya hit three months...oh yes, I'm feeling all sorts of sentimental}

Happy Monday, sniffle, sniffle!

Pssst...

Wanted to give you a head's up that there's a fun little GIVEaway going on over at Boho Girl's place! And there's also a coupon code for the month of June. You shoould definately pop over and say hello and leave a kiss {you'll see what I mean}! Go on now...

New Items...

Now available in the shop:

Please Bug Off Natural Bug Repellent 8 oz.

Lime Tangerine Foaming Hand Cleanser 8.5 oz.

Just a Peek...

I wanted to give you a little behind-the-scenes teaser of some new products that are headed for the shop super soon! As soon as I can finish up some photo editing, we'll be on our way. {Maya hasn't been all that willing to give me up lately so things are moving along pretty slowly} But let's just say that over the next couple of weeks you'll be seeing new soaps, scrubs, AND lip balm! Crazy!