beginning again.

Well hello there. It’s been a while.

When I first started blogging I had every intention of blogging at least once a week if not more! I had every intention of sharing my life with you in real time like Olivia at To The Heights or Jessica at Domesticated Dutch-ish. I had every intention of doing more, sharing more, being more.

But alas, here comes the age old excuse that “life got in the way.” I don’t particularly like that saying because life never really gets in the way it just keeps going. Since my last blog, I’ve had my second baby, celebrated Christmas, my oldest broke her arm, I turned 25, celebrated Easter and had my first baby turn 2 (all I that order). Life kept going.

  

Then I started thinking about my blog. I had that nagging urge that I needed to write again. I wanted to write again. I wanted to have that outlet again; so here I am.

Trying to figure out what I wanted to write about was challenging. For anyone who has ever started a blog I’m sure it’s one of the most daunting things. Where do I start? What do I say? Will anyone read or care about what I care about?

Then it hit me. I’ve said it previously. I wanted to do more, to say more, to be more. I think we all come at life with the best of intentions. We all want to be the best at what we do.

In my case I want to be the best wife and mom I can be, but I know I fail all the time. My house is dirty, my kids need baths, I have dishes piled in my sink, my bed isn’t made, the laundry needs put away, and so on and so forth.

And then I see Pinterest. Seriously, where do these women come from? Where do they find the time to sew these perfect outfits, bake the perfect cupcakes, have the perfect most nutritious meal on the table when their husband gets home, their house perfectly decorated and spotless. And then there’s me – uh my kid had chicken nuggets and fruit snacks for lunch because it wasn’t worth the battle and I vacuumed while she sobbed the entire time. (Fear of the vacuum is another story all together.)

The more I thought about it, the more I realize I do that to myself a lot. I compare myself to other people I see before I even realize I’m doing it. My kids don’t care that my house is a mess. My husband doesn’t care if we have hamburgers for dinner because it was the easiest thing to make.

So why do I put all this pressure on myself to be the next  great baker or an iron chef or Martha Stewart? Because our society tells us it’s what we should do? Because I’m a product of my culture? Because the world has told me my entire life I need to do things a certain way, buy specific things, look certain way, or be rich in order to be happy?

Thats bullshit.

I don’t think the world would honestly know what happy was if it hit they square between the eyes.

I don’t need to be the best baker, or cook, or skinniest mom on the block, or even the richest. My riches aren’t monetary. Mine are the smiles And giggles of my beautiful baby girls. Mine are in the love my husband shows me every day. Mine are in my beautiful Catholic faith that lets me know I’m always forgiven and can try again.

Happiness is choice. Happiness is contagious. I choose to be happy. I choose to cherish the time I have. I choose to be the best possible wife and mom I can. If I fail, I’ll do better tomorrow. I promise.

essential oils.

I want to first of all apologize to anyone who has been missing my blog 😉

We had 2 different grandparent visits and then a bout with double ear infections and then a runny nose from you know where.

Dealing with the sickies and germs that have been floating around has led me to the topic of essential oils. Now, before I go any further, I don’t consider myself a “crunchy mom” but I do have some crunchy tendencies. Essential oils being one of them.

A year ago, I asked my husband for a kit of essential oils for Christmas. I was/am apart of this amazing group of women on facebook and I kept seeing posts or questions about these miraculous oils. I decided to do some research. I found two companies that were most reputable among the oily community, so I thought why not? I’m not going to get into the logistics of company versus company because chances are, if you’ve ever looked at essential oils, you know which ones I’m talking about.

You can make that decision for yourself.

Growing up I had never heard about essential oils. I had absolutely no idea what they were when I asked for them as a Christmas present, I just wanted to try something new and more natural for my family.

Essential oils are not some fancy new trend (like I thought)-they’ve been around for thousands of years dating all the way back to ancient times. They are even referenced in the bible numerous times.

I loved how simple they are. I’m able to combat most ailments with just a single drop. Headaches, sore muscles, immune boosters, sore throats, and even ingrown toenails (gross I know). When you’re using essential oils I can only recommend using a high quality therapeutic grade essential oil.

If you’re interested in learning more about them or wanting to purchase a high quality essential oil, please contact me. I’d be happy to help in any way that I can. They’re something I love and use on a daily basis and as a mom why wouldn’t I pass on something so great!

Liebster Award.

Thank you to Stacy from My Life is a Comedy Show for God for the Liebster award!

First off, What is the Liebster award? After searching google I found out that “The Liebster Award is passed around the blogging community to those who have fewer than 200 followers. This is simply a way of getting to know each other! “

1. What’s one thing you do really well?

Listen. I think there are a handful of things I’m good at but I think I’m a really great listener.

2. What’s your favorite blog post you’ve written (include link)? 

    Definitely Abundant Love.

3. What is one blog post or article by another writer that has stuck with you for a long time (include link)?

    Anything Olivia writes at To The Heights, I love reading. But most recently it was her article on Mommy Wars.

4. Are you a “cat person” or a “dog person”?

   I’m allergic to cats so I think that automatically makes be a dog person. Then again, I’m allergic to most dogs too, so I’m a hypoallergenic dog person.

5. Show us your favorite internet meme or cartoon.

These are actually dish towels from Nordstrom, but they’re my favorite thing I’ve seen in a while!

6.  Do you subscribe to any publications?

   No, magazine subscriptions are too expensive for something that you read once and then throw away.

7. If your house was on fire, and you had time to grab ONE object to save (assume all other people and pets are already out safely), what would it be?

   Honestly, my phone. I know, I know. But it has every one of the pictures I’ve ever taken of my baby. Yes I should have the up in the “cloud” but I’m not going to buy extra “cloud” storage to store pictures. I might grab my external hard drive too. I did just put most of my phone pictures on there.

8. Are there any kids’ toys that you suspect you might enjoy playing with as much as/more than the kids?

Not yet. She just started coloring so it might be time to get some coloring books and I do love watching her make decisions on colors. She also loves books and I love reading them to her.

9. What kind of candy will you be handing out for Halloween?

   Miniature Kit Kats (because its what this preggo mama is craving)

10. Have you ever seen or experienced something you suspect was supernatural?

    Mass.

Part of this award is to award it to more bloggers.

I’m awarding this to:

Annie at This Northern Belle

Olivia at To the Heights

I really like the questions I got from Stacy so you two can go ahead and answer the same questions that I did.
God bless!

a beginning.

For the longest time I have wanted to start a blog. Now, if you’re anything like me, I follow some great blogs about some fantastic women and it was a bit of a daunting task when I started to really think about it. Would anyone really care what I had to say? Would they be interested in what I’m interested in? Would I be able to hold myself accountable and continue writing? Would anyone other than my mom or sister read more than one entry? So this is the beginning. This is the leap of faith.

First off let me start by introducing myself. I am Chelsea and I’m a Catholic wife and mother. I was born and raised in beautiful Colorado, went to a small Catholic college in Ohio, studied abroad in Gaming, Austria (where I met my wonderful husband) and have somehow ended up in “The Great State of Texas.” I’m not sure I’ve figured that one out yet, but I’m working on it!

Like I said, I have a wonderful husband. He is most of the things I’m not: handy around the house, adventurous, street and book smart, selfless, and extremely handsome.

Being young and Catholic we took to heart the words “Be fruitful and multiply,” which is where this precious Gem came from. She was born on April 13, 2013 and our world has been turned upside down ever since. She is the best thing that has ever happened to us. She loves Minnie Mouse, Moose, cookies, and spaghetti.

And her little sister should be arriving sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I’ll be able to bombard you with adorable pictures of her too!

I am a SAHM (stay at home mom) and I love everything about my life. Yes, some days are harder than others, but I’m 31 weeks pregnant chasing an 18 month old around all day. I wouldn’t change anything. The adventure is just beginning and I’m so excited to see where it goes.