The perfect candle ambience for any room!

 

These candles are what I was looking for. Ambience that’s safe, rechargeable and on a timer with other settings.  The remote let’s you set various timers. Once you select 2, 4 hours etc they come back on at the same time every day.  They do have a red glow when in charging mode but as soon as they’re charged that fades. The candles look so realistic. The flames are amazing. And they’re a nice warm glow. I previously had other candles but I like them in every evening and they ate through batteries. These are the solution!

Get the perfect candle set here

 #rechargeablecandles #electriccandles #candlelightambience #tvcandlelight

Conflicted…. We feel this so often don’t we moms?

 No pictures or recs tonight. Just alone with my thoughts since hubby went to sleep early to get one more morning of hunting in before season closes. 

This year has been such a harsh commitment to the feelings we, moms, get as we parent our kids through life.  The conflicted feelings because we’re proud of a kid for something and because they’re kids they make a mistake and maybe get in trouble at school or something and so we’re disappointed all at the same time. Or maybe it’s one kid seems to be in a healthy relationship while another just ended one and they’re broken hearted?  When these times come, and there seems to be many times this year, I feel so confused.  Not literally. I mean I know what’s going on and with who but I think it’s hard for my nervous system to gauge my feelings and regulate me. Almost like you feel frozen because you don’t know exactly what to do or where to go next.  Not even sure that makes sense but it’s the best I can describe.  

I know as they all grow into adults I’m going to have so many more times like this. I’m going to have to find a better way to deal so I don’t have the emotional drain of the fear and pain I feel for them.  I mean who doesn’t. When your child has another one break their heart it’s like it’s yours.  They are my heart.  I can feel their sadness through my heart and my whole being and I’m having to learn to separate myself from it so they can encounter and experience life and get through the same that we did but what you want is to reach out and hug them. But what I’ve found, especially with boys, is that they don’t really want you to. 

So I’ll do the one thing I know a mom can do. I’ll pray!

The best healthy fat

 

We have really embraced the avocado in this house. We love them on almost any sandwich we eat among other things. They’re so creamy you can, at the very least, minimize how much mayo you use. We also eat them on sushi bake and fish tacos etc. So so good and so healthy.  We also are starting to add flax seed (more than we were), chia seeds and turmeric to more dishes. Watching what we eat so we can keep at healthy weights and cholesterol.  Getting my numbers down is a like a game for me. I’m trying to NOT have to go on meds one day, if at all possible. 

#rocktheavacado #healthybudget #eatrich

Best laptop case EVAH!

 Get case now

This laptop sleeve literally last 5 years through my college kid. Not a lot survives his hard usage. Great buy!

Best brand for affordable sound!

 

Soundcore and Anker….two of my favorite brands and now they’ve merged for this awesome product. I have so many products by these companies and when I do shop I ALWAYS give them a buy. 

Check these out

#affiliate

Epsolay!

 Stay tuned for the progress I try to make when I get back on Epsolay next week. 

This way , we can see if the previous improvement was a fluke or not. I was seeing real results or what felt like them on Epsolay. When I go back on it I’ll be able to see if it was just coincidence since the azelaic acid was not kind to my rosacea. 

#rosaceatreatment #epsolay #azelaicacid #clearface

Great employment opportunity for teen

 

Your kid needs some extra money?  You want a house cleaner but don’t want to commit to all year cleanings and fees?  Pay the kid?  You will be able to more easily speak to your teen about what they don’t do or do well. They’ll learn even more responsibility while earning money and no one has to drive them anywhere.  Win win! #moneysavingtips #collegesavings #summeremployment

Clear your pool in 1 day!

 

Pools can be so fun but they do require some work. 

Can you pay someone to take care of it?  Yes! 

But why?! It costs several hundred a month, here, for them to dip a strip in and maybe drop some chemicals in without looking at some important things. I have learned that your numbers can look in range but if your CSI/LSI isn’t good your will wreck your pool and your equipment. All of the numbers you typically test for, in addition to the pool temperature, is used to calculate CSI/LSI. These numbers tell if your pool could go corrosive or scaling. Neither is what you want.  Strips don’t test for this and it’s doubtful most pool places do that when they drop a quick strip in. I’m sure there are some. 

I have to say I was a little shocked it was so cloudy when I rolled back the solar cover but we had had a storm and it knocked a lot of oak pollen into the pool and the skimmer has been filling up with it quickly. SO, you can either try to clean the pollen off your winter cover and hope the waters not warming up enough to grow algae underneath or open it and clean these things a couple times a day. 

But know there’s hope for your cloudy pool. If your chemicals are in check then check the filters and skimmers. Clean, clean, clean. 

Looks like I’ll be running the pump more while these oaks are dropping so much dust pollen. Lol

#poolmaintenance #moneysavingtips #diypoolmaintenance  #learntodothingsyourself

Be the difference!

 

I know I know. It’s scary to let you middle schooler contact a teacher with a question or to check into something. But I promise if you’re there to guide them with some of the basic verbiage they’ll be doing it on their own by high school and it will #1 be one less thing on your to do list and #2 be an important lesson in life in how to handle things and begin communicating. I ONLY get involved if it’s something that either shouldn’t involve a child in the communication due to the nature or does not get resolved with the child’s attempt. These lessons last a lifetime and watching them blossom into respectful, responsible adults will be worth it. #parentingishard #nolazyparenting #teachkidsresponsibility

Do you just feel sad when the kids are sick?

 Sad?  Helpless?  Wanting to snuggle them regardless of their age?  Our sweet J (14) has had a cough for 6 straight weeks. Started with a cold and never went away.  Took him to his doctor last week and she’s thinking since his lungs sound okay it could be his allergies but he’s had walking pneumonia last year so it could be that again.  He has been so tired. But he gets up at 5 am 4 days a week for footfall workouts and then practices right after school for track until 430pm plus track meets. He was already on daily Claritin so she switched him to Zyrtec and added Flonase and a daily saline rinse in the shower after track to get anything he breathed in out.  It didn’t work. The cough has gotten wetter so today she put him on antibiotics as discussed and he will miss weights the rest of the week to get some extra rest. 

I knew he needed this but wow.  How much?  Poor guy fell asleep at 7 tonight. We got him moved to his room at 830 and he is sleeping straight through. I think he definitely needs a rest.  

Hopefully he’s good to go for his track meet tomorrow?

Our babies are always our babies. 

Best way to watch television!

 

We’ve been using Amazon Firesticks for 7 years. 

When we moved and got reliable, high speed fiber internet I was so excited. This finally meant we could get rid of having satellite service.  We don’t have access to cable at all and never have so that’s not an option. We were stuck with satellite. 

But 7 years ago we bought our first Fire Stick. We’re up to 4k now. We even have the outdoor tvs hooked up. They’re fantastic!  We can change up what we want to subscribe to and totally control our spend. I always look for Black Friday deals for a spare fire stick AND for streaming deals.  We’ve gotten Peacock for a year for $20 this way. So worth it. 

Seriously worth it to have streaming if you can and control what you watch and spend!

Fire Stick on Amazon

Pool opening 2023

 

This is our third season, 2nd pool opening and first pool opening by ourselves. We got everything power washed (losing battle with the pollen until June but whatever), pool filled, cleaned up, leaves cleaned up from under the deck, everything for the pool plumbing back together and chemical in balance.  It did take a day or two to get the salt levels up enough for the salt water generator to make chlorine but it’s been going on it’s own and now instead of an ugly gray winter cover I can see pretty turquoise water. I’m not wasting money using the heat pump yet.  We will let the sun do it’s job for a bit and then when the nights aren’t in the 40s anymore we will fire that up and swim. 

I can go into pool care over time  I’ve learned a lot about the different levels to keep everything at to have a well maintained salt water pool.  Right now my CSI is at .06 so it’s great.  I am only messing with individual levels when the CSI is in jeopardy.  Alkalinity, PH, CYA or calcium alone is never what you focus on  it’s a combination that matters that makes it corrosive or scale forming.  Neither are good.  If you want to keep your pool balanced I suggest the Pool Math app  it’s fantastic for tracking your numbers and calculating CSI for you  

#poolcare #patiocleanup #springcleaning #poolopening #readyforsummer

Solar cover reel with tow

 May still tweak the straps some because solar covers are not cut square and definitely don’t lay square but this work makes taking it off and on so much easier.  #poolcoverbudget #moneysavingtips #poolstuff

New look

 

I’ll share more in a video of this whole idea but it started with a large round table taking up too much space under our deck and everyone ended up getting separated when we had a gathering. So some research and brainstorming was done to create this and come within the budget we set for this long term solution. 

I LOVE it!

#patiofurniture #patiodecor #patiodesignideas #outdoorgatherings

Versatile Easter gifts for older kids

 

Do you want simple, inexpensive Easter gifts for older kids?  This is what we do.  After the youngest was old enough to understand, so just a few years ago, I bought these cute little tins from Hobby Lobby. I simply get each kid a gift card to their favorite drink or eating place and put a little candy in there. It’s easy and stress free and you can do gift cards for as little or as much and you can afford and reuse the tins every year. And they leave them on the counter until the candy is gone yet they look super cute in them making them not annoy me. Lol. #inexpensiveeastergifts #easterforolderkids #moneysavingtips

Ambience lighting??

 

You are gonna love this combo.  Share this with someone else who might too. 

Combine these awesome USB powered fairly lights in cool white or warm white (mine are warm) with a cute little 2 foot tall indoor palm from @nearlynaturalfloral . Stick the pot of the palm in a woven cover and it’s perfect for livening up my living room and the lights at night are pretty and soothing.  The best part is you add in the @kasasmarthome Kasa smart plug to plug the usb into and you can schedule them to come on whenever you want or you can turn them on from your phone. I have tons of Kasa products and this is ONE of them for sure!  And if you’re anything like me and can’t keep a plant alive these plants are well worth it. 

Check out the links to these items in my Pinterest above ⬆️⬆️⬆️

The Nearly Natural palm I have is no longer there but this one is on sale and a little bigger and probably the same price I paid 3 years sago!  It’s a steal!

Here are the usb fairy lights  I have them in warm for inside and cool white for my Christmas decor outside  

I have tons of Kasa products but here are the smart plug minis so you can create a schedule or just turn things off and on with your phone.  Great for so many things.  And they make outdoor plugs like Wi-Fi outdoor plug which I have a couple of  never worry about leaving lights on again!

#fairylights #pluginfairylights #nearlynaturalfloral  #kasasmartdevices  #kasasmartplugmini #moneysavingtips

Parenting with the goal of self sufficiency

 

This is our goal. Not just self sufficiency from us but to be able to just do so much for themselves and know when to hire if you have to. We teach them household maintenance. I’ve taught my girls how to fix a sink, wire an outlet, switch or plug.  Today the  work was outside work so J was ready. He helped me out with a lot of things and learned how to run a power washer. I think he ended up liking it. Lol. But it was one less thing I had to do and now he knows one more thing.