My Bathroom Resembles My Kitchen

Lately my bathroom counter has begun to look more like my kitchen counter. My latest beauty products are made with things you could eat, but they also make great skin care products.

{Facial cleanser for oily skin}

Yes, even oily skin can be cleansed with oil. The right combo of oils can actually help balance your natural oil production instead of stripping it.
Grapeseed oil and sunflower oil contain omega-6 and omega-3 which are antioxidants and good for inflammation. Castor oil is a very powerful oil that lifts away oil, dirt, and makeup - too much can leave your skin too dry.

{Facial toner}
Witch hazel cleans and exfoliates; tea tree oil has antibacterial properties.

{Face and body moisturizer}
Vitamin E oil promotes the production of collagen and elastin and is good for inflammation, reducing the appearance of aging, stretch marks, and acne scars; grapeseed oil and safflower oil are lightweight, fast-absorbing oils which are great for naturally oily skin that needs light moisture. Olive oil would be a better choice for those with dry skin.

{Sugar scrub}

Thanks to my friend Jen, this is a wonderful concoction!
Sugar, sunflower oil, lavendar essential oil. This stuff smells amazing and it leaves my skin so soft. This sugar scrub is gentle enough to use on face and body.

And thanks to my SIL, Heather, who gave me the book Green Beauty. It's a wonderful resource. In this book the author writes about the harms of certain chemicals regularly used in beauty products and gives great detail about the benefits of common natural ingredients and how to mix them and use them.

I'm still struggling to find the perfect natural hair care products. I've used a few and have been dissappointed. Maybe one day I'll happen upon the perfect recipe.

For Sale

We've got a few items around our house for sale. We've been starting some early (or late) Spring cleaning - or maybe its nesting. But I'm hoping to sale a few items that take up extra space and use that money toward the purchase of these beauties:

For sale...

1. ProForm 1200 treadmill

2. Small TV (maybe 16") and DVD player (both were used with the treadmill)

3. Graco highchair - White with dark blue and green seat cover, reclining seat, height adjustable, removable dishwasher-safe tray

If you are interested in any of these items we can work you up a really good deal. Really, I'd just love for you to remove them from my house.

Difficult Days Ahead

Last night BJ's mom's husband, Doug, passed away suddenly from a heart attack. He will be greatly missed. Lily and Schaeffer LOVED to visit Doug. He was just a big kid at heart and would always find fun things for the kids to do when we visited - make pillow forts on the floor, explore the backyard and flower gardens, and all sorts of things to keep them busy. We will miss Doug and I know Nana Kaye will experience a long period of grief as Doug was such a wonderful husband, helper, provider, and so much more to her. Please pray for Nana Kaye.

As a side note, and not nearly as devestating as the news about Doug, I learned this morning that my pre-term labor (FFN) test came back positive. That means I will need to really take it easy, focus on resting as much as possible (not necessarily bed rest at this point), drink lots of fluids to stay well hydrated, and take Brethine when the contractions start up. Of course, I went through all of this with Griffin and he made it to 39 weeks - completely full term and healthy. All of these measures are precautionary.

We would welcome your prayers for our family this week as we will be facing some difficult days ahead.

It's Elementary

A huge pet peeve of mine is grammatical ignorance. I can understand and overlook an occasional typo. Everyone has a moment. I am not going to pretend to be the grammar expert, but I cringe at the misuse of the words "I" and "me" in a sentence. Isn't this one of those grammar rules we all learned in first grade? Okay, maybe it's more like 5th grade, but as adults, that gives us quite a few years of practice to ace this rule. I have read countless blogs over the past few weeks that have contained errors around the use of I and me. (No worries, none of the offenders are Phaneroo followers because you guys are totally brilliant!) For the rest of the blogging community out there, let's review an easy way to remember how to properly use I and me:

Correct uses:
I went to the park.
He went to the park with me.
He and I went to the park.

Incorrect uses:
Me and him went to the park.
(Remove him, which by the way is also incorrect, and the sentence would read like this: "Me went to the park." Silly, right?)
He went to the park with Sue and I.
(Remove Sue and the sentence would read like this: "He went to the park with I." Again, very silly.)

So to all the bloggers out there, let's all promise to review our grammar rules; and, at the very least, get this one right. It's elementary, my dear Watson. Elementary.

Farmhouses for Your Viewing Pleasure

Here are a few farmhouses in and around our area. Enjoy!

(Photos not taken by me.)


{Sevierville} This one is really a Victorian, but everyone knows that a Victorian is simply a hardworking Farmhouse all dolled up with a dress and makeup.


{Friendsville} This one is a Bungalow, but since the Farmhouse came first, the Bungalow takes a lot of inspiration from its predecessor.


{Corryton} This one is a Farmhouse cottage, just plain and simple cute. This one is my favorite!

Contraction City: Prayers Needed

I fear the contractions have already begun. I experienced pre-term labor with Griffin starting at 28 weeks. Luckily he stayed in the oven until full term at 39 weeks. I believe it was all the prayers that kept him safe and healthy. I ask for your prayers again. I have not contacted Dr. B's office yet because the contractions are not in regular intervals (like every 5 or 7 minutes) and because I'm stubborn and don't want a trip to the hospital. But, I have noticed a marked difference since Sunday afternoon. Over the course of this week I've had days with few contractions followed by a day of continuous contractions. Today is one of those continuous contractions days. At my appointment and ultrasound on Friday, I was experiencing very few contractions. But they have definitely picked up every day since Sunday. If things continue as they are through the night and a large part of tomorrow, I will be calling Dr. B for instructions on next steps. Thanks for your prayers.

Things Have Changed

Since Lily was born 5 1/2 years ago, things have changed in the baby gadget world. As I've been browsing through Target.com looking at a few baby necessities I'll need for Baby Four, I've come across a few additional things that I may need to consider for her.

1. Breathable crib bumper - This is new on the market since Lily. When she was born, the big, fluffy, custom-designed crib bumpers were all the rage. I never thought those were practical because I wondered how you could cram them into the washing machine once your sweet angel spewed all over it. Then, I noticed the "professionals" were advising against crib bumpers altogether to decrease the chance of SIDS. I never thought that was practical either since my babies would probably end up with a limb stuck through the crib bars, or worse, lose a paci and scream out for me to come find it at 3 a.m. The breathable crib bumper looks like an awesome compromise and one I might consider.

2. BPA-free bottles - Thank goodness Lily never took a bottle because now I'd be fretting over the cancer-causing particles I pumped into her little body if she did. Schaeffer was the only one who took a bottle, but luckily we quickly purchased a few BPA-free Avent bottles for him after I had already used the cancer-causing Dr. Brown's bottles for a few months. I will need to upgrade to these wide neck Dr. Brown's bottles since Dr. Brown's are my favorite.

3. Infant car seat - Things have changed so much in the car seat industry since Lily's birth. Now all car seats are equipped with three different seat securing devices: the car's seat belt, Latch, and tether. Our old infant carrier is only compatible with one, the car's seat belt. In the event that the car's seat belt were to fail in a crash, the other two securing devices would be backup. In addition, almost all car seats now come with EPS foam which is better for impact absorption. Again, this might be another important new purchase to consider for Baby Four. Our old infant seat is Graco so I may look at replacing it with this one.

It's funny how just a little while ago I posted about how I didn't need a single thing for Baby Four except a 2-3 years' supply of Pampers. Well, I guess things have changed...