Rainbow 1st Birthday Party

Our baby girl is 1!! While her birthday was a little bittersweet for me, her party was full of pure happiness. She had been a little fussy throughout the day, very out of character for her, but as soon as guests started showing up she was ready to party. I have been planning a rainbow birthday party since Harrison and Brooke were babies, but it never seemed right for any of my kids' birthdays until this one. Our sweet, happy rainbow baby was the perfect fit for a rainbow party.

We kept decorations minimal but carried the rainbow theme into the food. Rainbow pizza, rainbow roll ups, rainbow fruit tray, rainbow pasta salad, and of course rainbow desserts. 

She went face first into her smash cake but was really more interested in the crazy kids running around her. She was so excited to see all her cousins and just wanted to play, play, play. It was a great last first birthday party.

This ornery one agreed it was a great time.

Birthday Crown - Little Blue Olive

Cake - Sassie Cakes

Balloon Garland - Amazon

High Chair - Boon Flair

Streamers - Amazon

Rainbow Plates - Target

Penelope Jo - 6 and 7 Months

Baby girl is 7 and a half months already. Say what?! I have been slacking big time when it comes to keeping up on her monthly posts. Monthly pictures? Easy! Blog posts? Not so much. So much has changed over the last couple months. She's basically a full size little person now. She's sitting up, eating all the food, and so close to crawling. She's also putting 12 hour days at work, demanding to sleep in our bed all night, and basically is glued to me 24/7.

Let's start with food. We have skipped purees and are going the baby led weaning route. Basically we just give her whatever we're eating and let her play with her food. If some of it makes it into her mouth, great. If not, she's having fun getting to enjoy textures. She is to the point where she can tolerate limited amounts of dairy, so that is a relief. We haven't introduced nuts yet, but plan to this weekend. We want to introduce both peanuts and tree nuts to her before 8 months, so both of our next weekends will include nut butter of some form. We are being extra cautious after our experience with Scarlett. Along with eating solids has come the fun of sink baths. She is a BIG fan.

She started reliably sitting up around 6.5 months. That's also right around when she started doing the backwards scoot. She's now up to full on hands and knees rocking, which means crawling is right around the corner. I would ideally like her to wait another month before she starts crawling, but I know that won't happen. She loves her exersaucer, jumperoo, and sit n stand piano. The piano especially, but I think mostly because it's new to her. Her favorite toys to play with are anything that's not actually a toy. Measuring cups, pens, hangers, Tuppperware, Harrison's dirty sock. And true to teething baby fashion, everything goes in her mouth, even Harry's dirty socks.

She sprouted her 2 bottom teeth between her 6th and 7th month, and has held steady there. I think 3 more teeth will be coming any day now though. She is wearing 9 or 12 months clothing, and even 12-18 month pjs. At her 6 month appointment she weighed 19lbs 4oz and was 27" long. Rocking those 90th+ percentiles just like her big siblings did.

The biggest change for her came by way of my business. Since she's still not willing to take a bottle (I'm working on getting her to take a sippy cup), she has been getting to come to work with me a lot. Like all day every day. It's not been great for her night time sleep, but has made for 3 really solid naps in the pack and play. Turns out hanging out with dogs all day is exhausting. She has the most laid back disposition and has been so happy hanging out with me and a bunch of loud and playful pups every day. As exhausting as it is taking her to work with me every day, I'm glad she's up for tagging along and that I'm not missing out on this time with her.

I can already tell what her 8th and 9th month are going to look like. Lots of work, lots of dogs, and not much else. I have a feeling crawling will happen while she is working with me every day and I'm thankful walking is still a ways off. I thought we'd be spending lots of time at the lake and pool, but those are going to have to wait for late summer. I am very much looking forward to her first dip in the lake. She loved the water park we went to for Harrison and Brooke's birthday, so I think she'll be a fan of the lake. While the last month and the coming months may not look how I expected them to, I'm soaking up every minute of time with her and enjoying all of the sweetness that is our Penelope Jo.

National Infertility Awareness Week

This week is National Infertility Awareness Week. This Sunday also marks the one your anniversary of Baby E’s due date. I think it’s fitting that the two will always be intertwined. Even though we are past the days of injections, ultrasounds, lab work, and invasive procedures, we are constantly reminded of what it took us to get here. We have friends who still struggle with infertility everyday. Our phones give us reminders that 4 years ago we were in cycle for Scarlett and Clark. Or that 8 years ago I was having a saline sonogram done. Or that E’s due date anniversary is in 2 days. Even without the visual reminders, our history of infertility is always in my mind just below the surface.

We are fortunate to have positive memories of our days battling infertility. Yes there was pain, yes there was loss, yes it was hard on us and our marriage, but we made it out with 5 beautiful children. Not everyone is that lucky. Not everyone has success. IVF is not a guarantee for a child. Adoption is not a guarantee for a child. For many people medical procedures and private adoption aren’t even an option. It cost us over $30,000 to build our family, and that was with insurance for 2 cycles. Those costs are on the low end, by the way. Some couples have to pay $30,000 or more for a single cycle. I will never regret spending that money because it brought us the children we have today, but it’s ridiculous that it costs so much to pursue medical care for treating infertility. Domestic adoption can be just as expensive and there’s no guarantee you’ll end up with a baby.

Aside from the financial burden of infertility, there are many physical and emotional hardships. While I didn’t love IVF, because who wants to give themselves injections 3 times per day, I also didn’t hate it. I was fortunate to respond well to the medication and not end up with any complications. We had text book retrievals and transfers. Again, not everyone is that lucky. Poor response to medications, over response to medications, Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, canceled cycles, procedure complications. It’s scary when you really think about what all it entails. Going through my surgery history after dealing with infertility is almost laughable. Before infertility, 1 surgery. After infertility, 7 surgeries. Yes 3 of those are c-sections, but let’s be honest, if it weren’t for IVF we wouldn’t have 2 sets of twins and more than likely wouldn’t have needed c-sections.

The emotional toll is in my opinion the hardest part of infertility. There is such a stigma surrounding infertility. This stigma causes feelings of shame in many infertile couples. Even as someone who has been very open about our battle with infertility, I often found myself hesitant to tell strangers that we have 2 sets of twins because then the questions start. Most of the time people are well meaning, but often times they’re just nosey and rude. Even well meaning loved ones often times don’t know what to say and end up making hurtful comments. As much as you might think your story about “your friend’s Aunt Becky who finally got pregnant once she relaxed while on vacation in Italy,” is going to help reassure someone, it’s not. The best thing you can say to someone battling infertility is, “I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m here if you need me.” I promise they’re already going through enough emotional turmoil. The last thing you want to do as their friend is add to that by making a comment that may upset them. I cried when my sister told me she was pregnant. I cried when my best friend told me she was pregnant. It’s not that I wasn’t happy for them, because I was ecstatic for both of them, but I also had to process my heartache, longing, and even jealously that it still hadn’t happened for us and we didn’t know if it ever would. Those feelings I experienced are a part of me now and don’t disappear just because we’ve had our successes.

It took us 13 years to get pregnant on our own. If we wouldn’t have been able to afford treatment, that would’ve been 156 months of disappointment after disappointment. Quite possibly the best decision I’ve made for my mental sanity when it comes to infertility was deciding to have my fallopian tubes removed. Not just tied, but removed so there’s no physical way for us to get pregnant on our own. I think I would still be wondering every month if “maybe we might be pregnant,” if we hadn’t totally taken that option off the table. Even though we know we are done having kids, that end of month hoping has been such a part of who I am for so long that I don’t think I would’ve been able to get past it without knowing it’s a physical impossibility.

This has very much turned into a long and rambling post, but this is where my mind has taken me as I think back on our journey and on the journey of those who are still in the thick of it. One day the stigma will be gone and adoption or infertility benefits will be available to everyone. We are not there yet, and until we are, and even after we are, it’s important to share our stories of struggle and loss as we build our families. We are 1 in 8. 

Essential Oil FAQ and Favorite Oily Accessories

We recently started using Young Living essential oils and they have become such an integral part of our day. I love how they help support our family and I especially love how Young Living is helping us get toxic products out of our home. We use oils for sleep support, teething support, immune support, emotional support, seasonal support, the list goes on and on. Plus, our house smells fabulous and a lot less like dog. (Love you Jules, not so much your dirty dog smell)

On top of loving the oils and the chemical free products we get for our home, I also love the Young Living company and the community that I've discovered since starting oils. I want everyone to experience not only how the products can benefit you, but also how the community will positively affect your life. I want to share a little FAQ and also some of my favorite products that help me use my oils to the fullest.

What do we use oils for? For just about everything!! Whether you are looking for oils to help you sleep, for natural immune system support, for energy, for focus, for relaxation, for your kids, for natural alternatives to cleaning products, the list is endless, there is an oil for that!! And you will learn along the way, there aren’t hard set rules, but part of joining our oils team is that you get access to the most amazing resources & our private Facebook community.


Why Young Living? YL has an unmatched Seed to Seal process to guarantee the purity & potency of every oil. Each batch of oils is rigorously tested in house for therapeutic viability & they are so confident in their products that you can actually visit the farms & participate in the harvest/distillation process.

How do we use oils? You can diffuse them (you get a diffuser in your starter kit!) which is great for making your house smell great, helping your babies or kids relax at night for bed, getting rid of unwanted odors in the house & more, you can apply topically (some require a carrier oil like coconut oil, you’ll learn all about that later!), you can make rollerball combos, creams, sprays, and just about anything!!

How will I learn how to use my kit? You’ll get plenty of reading material with your kit, but as mentioned above, you’ll get access to our exclusive Facebook community full of amazing resources like how to use each oil in your kit, which oils to avoid around kids or while pregnant/nursing, and all of the dilution ratios for individual oils. We have classes, books, live Facebook hangouts & search functionality that will help you navigate through any questions you might have. Plus, I'll be there to help you every step of the way.

What should I get? A premium starter kit, which comes with 12 of the most commonly used oils + your diffuser (the desert mist is a great option), is the best value, & provides you with everything you need to get started. You’ll get over $400 worth of product for only $165.

Do you have to order more oils monthly or sell them? Nope! Your kit can be a one time purchase, but along with it comes a wholesale membership, which just means that should you decide to purchase oils in the future, you would get a 24% discount! You will also get a personal referral link should you ever decide that you want to share them, but neither is required.

Dropper Bottles / Square Roller Bottles / Jojoba Oil / Oil Bag / 

Diffusers / Owie Label / Round Rollers / Coconut Oil / Diffuser Bracelet

Amazon and Etsy are filled with great items to help you use your oils to the fullest. I could legit get lost scrolling through page after page of oil accessories.

If you want to get your Premium Starter Kit and sign up on my team, you can click here. If you want to know more, leave a comment or send me a message. I would love to talk with you about oils and chemical free products for your home and work. They are making positive changes in our life everyday, and I want that for everyone!

Any suggestions made on this blog are very specific to Young Living essential oils and should not be used with oils from another source. Statements made on this website about Young Living Essential Oils have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products and information are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Anyone suffering from disease or injury should consult with a physician. If you are currently on medication, please do not stop.

Penelope Jo - 5 Months

Our little chick is 5 months old! She proved time and time again this month how chill she really is. Her first road trip. 3 long days of being at work with me. Handling the time change like a boss. She truly is the easiest baby. (For the record I went back and read Scarlett and Clark's monthly update at this age, and I said the same thing about them. So this age is a pretty agreeable age for my kids, there's just only one of her. One baby is infinitely easier than two babies.)

She is still not a fan of the bottle, so anywhere I go, she goes. Hence her working her first part time job last week. It was exhausting for me to have her with me, but she was happy as could be to just hang out in her BECO while we watched 30 dogs each day.

I learned the hard way that she still can’t handle it if I eat too much dairy. After I ate a PZone she had an upset tummy and blood in her stool for a couple days. We also suffered through a few nights of terrible sleep as a result. No pizza for me anytime soon. We’ll also be holding off on dairy in her diet until she’s 7 or 8 months. She still nurses on demand every 2 or so hours depending on her naps.

Naps are still a mess with no rhyme or reason as to why any given nap is 30 minutes vs 3 hours. One day she’ll take 3 solid naps and the next day it’s 5 catnaps. Bedtime is consistently between 7-8pm. We started diffusing essential oils for her in our room at night, and that has helped tremendously with getting her to fall asleep in a timely manner. Sometimes she goes to sleep in her crib with no assistance from us and other nights I will rock her to sleep(a bad habit we picked up after I ate too much dairy and her stomach was in pain) before she’s out for the night. I enjoy rocking with her, but it’s much easier for everyone when she goes to sleep on her own. The biggest thing is she now gets to sleep within 20 minutes vs the 2 hour ordeal it had turned into. She usually sleeps until 3 or 4am before waking for milk and then she’s up for the day between 6:30-8am. 

Playtime is mostly on her play mat still. She loves it and is happy to stay there for long stretches of time. She is now rolling over from back to belly and belly to back, but she never stays far from her mat. She is grabbing onto her toys, usually just so she can move them to her mouth and chew on them. When she starts getting fussy on the floor she then ready to move into the Exersaucer. She is using it without any support which means its about time to get the Jumperoo out of the attic for her. She has figured out how to turn around in the Exersaucer and grab onto different toys, again so she can then put them in her mouth. Girl is constantly chewing on everything.

She is just the happiest baby. She loves giving out big smiles to everyone she sees. I am both wishing time would slow down and looking forward to her future. Everyday with her is bittersweet. Knowing it may be the last time we experience a first. We are loving every day with her and can't wait to see what the next month holds. Happy 5 Months, Penelope Jo!

One Piece Suits For That #MOMLIFE

Spring break started for us on Friday, and it has me feeling all the vacation and summertime feels. We don't ever go anywhere for spring break because it is one of the busiest weeks of the year for the daycare. I worked last week, which was seriously exhausting, and then am on call this week. So no beach time for us, but maybe a nice soak in the hot tub.

I am still in the process of losing the baby weight, but even if I had lost everything I wanted to lose weight wise, I would still be dubbing this the summer of the one piece swimsuit. There are so many cute one piece options that are nursing friendly while still helping to compress things in all the right places.

Gold Striped Halter / Rainbow One Piece / Floral Crochet One Piece / 

Color Block One Piece / Ruffle One Piece with Rickrack /  Asymmetrical One Piece

The gold striped halter suit is at the top of my list and is one I plan to purchase as soon as I loose another 10 lbs. It's a Ralph Lauren suit, and I have had great luck with their swimwear since having kids. The rainbow suit is by another favorite company, Rad Swim. They have tons of matching suits for moms and minis, which you know I love.

I know its still a couple months away, but I am ready for a mojitio while floating on a giant pink flamingo. The countdown to summer is on!