Mary Poppins DOES Exist, y'all!

Ok, whoever said Mary Poppins was a mythological creature hasn't met Mackenzie.

We have never had to select a babysitter (they just say "nanny" up here in the PNW). We have been abundantly blessed by friends offering to babysit or having a sweet teenager be nearby from day one. I will FOREVER be abundantly grateful for those couples & gals who have loved on our sweet girl. I sit here nearly in tears thinking about how blessed we have been....and thinking about how much I miss those people!

When we moved here, my "job" (I run my own business from my home...full time) didn't stop, but ODG's preschool days did. In our town, preschools don't exist {or they were full} for kids younger than 3 and not potty trained...she does not meet either of those criteria. After a week of being here and meeting some other working momma's, I was directed to a job board for our local university. Insert divine forces, a whole lotta prayer, & a whole lotta faith for this lady!

I posted the "job" for a part time nanny (remember, this is what they call babysitters up here....I'm not that fancy, folks) and this gal emailed me almost immediately! Very professional, great resume, and cute photo...which I hadn't ask for, but perk! I got several more emails and none matched up to her, but I selected 3 girls to have interviews with. As fitting, this girl is who I had my first interview with. She was too good to be true. I didn't want to go on with the other interviews, but I needed to. Needless to say, she made the cut and we invited her to our home to meet ODG. We had two girls come over to meet ODG and would you believe she was the only one who got on the floor and interacted with ODG? CRAZY...well, at least in my mind...I've cared for children since I was 13 and couldn't imagine not playing with the child immediately upon an interview like this!

Anywho, she got the job. and SHE is Mackenzie...our real life Mary Poppins! She has been a LIFE saver! She has entered my house in all sorts of situations {and we've only known her a month}....let's see....Abbey pee on the floor with baby doll bathed in it, dishes piled high to the ceiling, our small little downstairs powder room COVERED in unfolded clean clothes that I was frantically trying on for a party, and ODG bare-bottomed and throwing a FIT because she didn't want to go potty! Days like these I have come home to clean dishes/dishwasher loaded, floor cleaned, clothes folded, and ODG calm and happy...which makes for one calm & happy momma right here!

Not only does she do all those amazing things, but she takes ODG on adventures! They go to the beach & discover crabs and climb on tree stumps, visit the pet store to look at bunnies & fish, have donut & hot chocolate dates, and paint pottery, just to name a few!

Discovering sea shells & crabs

Mackenzie is getting a little puffer fish for her aquarium soon and ODG has mastered the puffer fish look :)

ODG is absolutely smitten with Mackenzie's sweet friend, Mr. Nathan...she told me Mr. Nathan was her best friend! 

We are so thankful for our real-life Mary Poppins, Ms. Kenzie! 

And to end with a thought provoking quote as we prepare to remember the death & resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, from ODG:

"Jesus comes to my house and plays with me and when I was a baby, Jesus holded me like a little baby."

It came...

I knew it would come, I just didn't know it would come like this or when it would come.

I first want to preface this post. I am not whining. I am not complaining. I'm not even wishing we hadn't done this. I'm not looking for pitty. I'm not looking for "I told you so's." I'm just sharing my mind. Getting it off my chest, so to speak. Those who have moved away from "home" before know this feeling...and knowing I'm not alone, nor the first person to move away from "home", helps me. But so does venting :)

Today it hit me that I miss home. That's part of the problem...I think. When I'm talking to people I say "back home" often. If the saying "home is where the heart is" is true, then I've obviously left my heart in Texas. The problem? It's really not in Texas, it's physically in Washington. I am LOVING it here. I am loving the people I have met, the parks we have visited, my new favorite coffee shop. Seriously, I love it.

But what happened today made me miss my friends & neighbors who were our extended family, I miss CCDC friends who were also more like family than I could've ever imagined. I miss being able to have some one to talk to and now have to worry about the time difference.

I feel like I have been on such a rush moving here. Meeting new people, enjoying our new town, making a new home. Each & every moment has been a blessing. But, today, when things got real, I missed Texas. I'm making a commitment to not call it home anymore...starting now. Washington is home. The place where I make meals, play games with ODG, enjoy movies with Hubby at night...that is home now.

Vent over. I am home now. But I am still, and always will be, a Texas girl, because...."You can take the girl outta Texas, but you can't take the Texas outta the girl" ;-)

Family movie night snuggles with ODG

Who knows what movie we watched?

A Day in the LIfe of a 2 1/2 year old

I have several friends who write blogs who have written "A Day in the Life" posts, but I don't think I've done one since ODG (Our Darling Girl, if you're new to the blog) was an infant...and honestly, I can't even remember if I really did it or if I just thought about it!

Since we are beginning to feel settled in our new town, I thought I'd share a little about our day. Some days are more exciting than others, but today was just an average day, and I like average!

~9:00am {we slept in WAY late this morning} I got up to get dressed to go on a walk outside on this gorgeous, sunny day!

~9:30am ODG finally wakes up, we do our morning routine (play in the crib for a few minutes, diaper change, get dressed)

~10:00am ODG ate 2 scrambled eggs, 1 bite of beef bacon, and 1 whole gluten free blueberry waffle. I ate 2 scrambled eggs with a little bit of cheddar cheese and 2 strips of beef bacon. We both took our vitamins :)

Yes, she does have 3 choices of drink in the morning (juice a friend gave her that we've hung onto for 3 days, coconut milk, and water in her princess cup)

~11:00am After breakfast, ODG requested a dance party. We had a blast! I love dance parties with my sweet toddler!

~11:15am We headed out the door to go to the park...only to realize Daddy had forgotten to finish putting the carseat back together {it had been washed} last night. So while we got that taken care of, ODG talked to "Thump, the Cat" {our neighbor's cat who takes care of the mice} and played on our playground!

"Thump, the Cat" as ODG calls him

Playing on our playground outside our front door

~11:45am We finally finished fixing the carseat issue and decided we better grab lunch before heading to the park!

~12:45pm On to the park! 

Ready to go for a short walk before playing on the playground. She is happy to have her new snack tray attachment for her stroller!

This is the view at the park we went to. It's a lake named after our county, which I assume was named after an Native American tribe...I should probably research that :)

~2:30pm We made it home from the park and it's time for nap time...I decided to catch some Zzzz's while ODG napped, too, after I did a little cleaning up down stairs!

~4:45pm We woke up from naptime and are ready to enjoy the gorgeous day when Daddy gets home from work. He just got a new bike so he was riding home from work for the first time. Our community is very bicycle friendly and we're excited for this opportunity to save money on gas & car insurance! 

~5:30pm I had planned on making Spaghetti Squash & Rotisserie Chicken, but since it was so gorgeous outside we just wanted to get to another park ASAP, so we stopped at a local bakery/sandwich shop for dinner. ODG got a turkey & cheese sandwich, which she devoured, and I got a grilled veggie sandwich with pesto-goat cheese spread...YUM! 

ODG telling Daddy about her cheese. Hubby wasn't hungry, so naturally he got a cinnamon roll for dinner ;)

Towards the end of dinner, ODG decided it was time for another dance party, so she began singing and dancing to one of her favorite CCDC chapel songs, Stand on the Rock!

~6:45pm We headed to our FAVORITE park! It is right on the bay, has a great walking trail/boardwalk, and beach area...as well as the best coffee shop in the area! Hubby got some coffee to stay warm and ODG & I headed to the beach for some "sand castle building" with a gorgeous sunset backdrop!

Her hair was all over the place because I forgot her bow ;)

~8:00pm We headed home and Hubby bathed ODG so I could type up this post. Before she headed upstairs I asked about her day...I typically like to ask what her favorite part of the day is and LOVE hearing the things she remembers :)

~9:00pm Now she is all clean and ready for bed in her Minnie Mouse robe and night gown. On sunny days & bath days we tend to stay up later. Her normal bedtime is 8-8:30pm :) 

She was saying cheese with a mouth full of oranges (her bedtime snack)

P.S. Before we go upstairs, ODG decided she should sing "Herman the Warm"....thanks for that one, Ms. Mindy...she hasn't quite got all the words down ;) 

If you have done a "Day In the Life" post, share the link! I'd love to read what your life looks like!

So, what do you do?

I have been asked this question many times over the last few weeks. Mostly because I'm meeting new people and that's a natural question to ask, but others have asked me this in the form of "Now that y'all have moved, what are you going to do for work?" {side note :: when we moved, I left one of the most amazing places I've ever worked...I taught preschool literacy to 3 & 4 year olds}

I get SO excited to be asked this question now and even more excited to answer this question because, y'all, I love my job!!

I sell all three Scentsy family brands! I am officially a full-time work at home mom {WAHM for short}. I get to experience the best of both worlds -- being at home to be the best mom I can be to ODG + making an income that helps our family work towards living a debt free life! Back in May 2012, I posted on my business blog about Why I Do What I Do. The reason hasn't changed, it just continues to evolve into specific needs for our family and here is my story :)

My Scentsy journey began a little different than most, but very similar to all. I would say it began serendipitously through seeing a friend post on Facebook about this new business she had started. I’ve heard the direct sales gig before - sell a product, convince others to sell it, make some money. Not for me. And that was the end of that. 

Fast forward 6 months or so…just a month before I was to graduate from college, I realized the job market was slim. I was newly married and my husband was working as a bank teller providing just enough for us to scrape by. I realized really quickly that I was going to end up in a job that did not fulfill my desires or use my gifts appropriately, yet again.  

On Monday, November 15, 2010, the administrative assistant at the school where I was student teaching had recently joined Scentsy as a consultant. She brought these containers of smelly wax (I felt like there were a 100), catalogs, and order forms up to school. I had seen a warmer used in a classroom, so I understood the basic workings of the Scentsy system of a small lightbulb melting wax in a lid, but that was the extent of my experience with the product. I began smelling these containers and scent after scent I just couldn’t get enough! I was amazed by the variety of warmers, the warranty provided with each warmer, and the vast spectrum of scents & warmer styles available!  

I took a catalog home to my new husband. Going back to my fear of not finding a job where I was truly happy, we began looking at the affordable way to start our own Scentsy business. We began to research the company - find out how old it was, where it was located, what the company income was like (to make sure it was a stable investment) - and discuss how Scentsy could be a blessing for our family! That night on November 17, 2010, we decided I would join as a consultant. Three years later, that was one of the best decisions we made early on in our marriage, and by far the best $99 ever spent!  

My original goal with Scentsy was to make enough in commissions each month to pay for a tank of gas. Very quickly, that goal grew. A month after joining Scentsy, we found out we were expecting our first child (Our Darling Girl). My goals quickly changed to making enough money to save for our daughter’s arrival. Due to Scentsy, we have been able to keep calm when electric bills were higher than our budget allowed or buy groceries when doctor’s expenses overwhelmed us. I have now been using my Scentsy income to pay for my daughter’s preschool tuition, and we have even bigger goals of living a debt-free life, purchasing a home, and eventually living mostly on the income Scentsy provides! 

Scentsy is not just warmers and wax anymore. About 2 years ago, Scentsy added to their family. They did something unheard of in the direct selling industry. Scentsy "birthed" Velata and Grace Adele, but kept them all under the same "roof" of Scentsy, Inc. So now, any consultant can sell and recruit for all or any of the three brands, without dividing the company or the consultants! {not all consultants choose to sell all three brands - you get to choose} May sound confusing, but really, it is so simple and I'd love to explain it more if you comment or email me!

I choose Scentsy for many reasons. I choose Scentsy because it allows me to be a full-time mom. I choose Scentsy because it brings me JOY to get to know others and bless others with the opportunity of owning their own business. I am an extremely social person and thrive off of relations and Scentsy allows me to build relationships I probably wouldn't have been able to build without Scentsy being the catalyst. I choose Scentsy because some of my closest friendships have been formed or deepened through Scentsy in some way or another. I choose Scentsy because it allows me to feel useful when it comes to our family finances. I choose Scentsy because it began with humble leaders with a humbling story - the leaders have not changed and the company just gets better. If you have never heard of Scentsy, or never heard the history of Scentsy, I hope you'll watch and enjoy this video.

My desire with this post is not to convince you to buy a product, or host a party, or even start your own business. My job isn't about convincing anyone. My job is about sharing a product that I truly believe will enliven your spirit and inspire your soul. My job is about blessing other men & women with the opportunity to make a living by having fun. My true desire with this post is to be transparent and allow you a deeper peak inside of my life :) Welcome to my life...this Texas girl in Washington :)

I choose Scentsy because it allows me to put my family first and that makes me happy. What do you have in your life that makes you happy?

St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

St. Patrick's Day has never been anything special for me...until I had a toddler! We were on FaceTime with my mom last night and she asked what we were doing to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and my answer was something along the lines of "I guess have a normal Monday." And then she threw out the idea of making green play dough....so green play dough it is!

I have tried making play dough in the past and both times (or all three times...can't remember how many times), and this recipe was SO EASY!

According to ODG, this is our house with a garage, Papa's airplane with wings, and Abbey barking

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup salt
2 tablespoons cream of tartar
food coloring

Directions:

• Pour water in a saucepan. Add oil, flour, salt, and cream of tartar and stir well. Add food coloring.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the dough forms into a ball and is no longer sticky. **TIP** As you're "cooking" the dough, it will go through different stages where it may be smooth, then chunky, then crumbly, but keep stirring and scraping the bottom  and it will eventually form a dough ball and will pull away from the sides (this takes 4-5 minutes or so). 
• Remove dough from pan and place on wax paper to cool. 
• When it is cool enough to touch, kneed the dough until it is completely smooth {if it is cool enough, let the kids help!} 

What fun things did y'all do to celebrate St. Patrick's Day {with our without kids}?

ODG *hearts* ELF

When Hubby accepted the job up here in the Pacific Northwest, we knew only 2 other people/families in the entire state....one on the far opposite side of the state that I haven't seen since I was 16 years old (maybe even younger?) but have kept in contact thanks to Facebook, and one who lived about an hour away. Even just knowing that two people I loved lived on the same side of the country was comforting, so when my sweet friend who lives on an island about an hour away showed interest in regularly getting together, I was THRILLED! We really do love the "F" family {I haven't really asked approval if I could mention them on the blog, so I'll keep them all anonymous for now :)} and are so grateful for their love & friendship and help getting us up here!

Did I mention how much ODG (Our Darling Girl) loves their little ELF?? Well...here are just a few pictures from the past few weeks...you decide for yourself...

ELF eating dinner while ODG holds him....because what 14 month old doesn't want to be held by a 2 1/2 year old while eating??

Oh, ya know, just watching "Boom Boom" in ODG language, or Veggietales to the rest of us

ODG holding ELF on the plasma car like daddy holds her :)

I'm pretty sure this was just a random moment where ODG "attacked" ELF with a giant hug and we naturally pulled out the phone to take pictures!

I'm absolutely certain there will be many more ODG < 3 ELF moments, so y'all be sure to stick around!

The Ides of March

Ok, I'll be completely honest. I remember learning about The Ides of March back in high school and I can't remember a single silly thing about it other than it's March 15...or I think it is at least!

Needless to say, we celebrated the day with attending the our town's St. Patrick's Day Parade! This is apparently the best parade in the area, so I was determined to go, rain or shine!

I'm so glad we went...right as we got out of the car to start walking to our spot, it started blowing cold rain on us, but we pushed through! Found a nice little spot under an awning & got comfortable. We were right in front of a new floral shop so it smelled LOVELY!

Thankfully, moments before the parade, the rain subsided and the sun poked through just a little bit! While we were waiting, a mother & daughter dressed up in green & gold from head to tow were passing out gold chocolate coins to bystanders. I know we're not supposed to take candy from strangers, but it was a parade, people! The mom asked if she could give it to ODG (our darling girl), which I thought was really respectful, and I of course said yes. ODG was SO THRILLED with her gold coin! She ate it later on as the parade was passing by.

Unfortunately, that's about all the pictures I got of the parade. I was taking Instagram video {follow me at 512smellme}, but Hubby was too busy enjoying the parade himself to snap any pictures on his phone, and of course we didn't have the real camera :) ODG's favorite part was waving to the numerous fire engines in the parade - every town within a 20 mile radius of ours had their fire station represented. ODG had a cute little "beauty queen" wave going on...I wish I could've snapped a picture, but I was holding her and couldn't get a good angle. It was precious & completely uncoached, I promise! 

After the parade, we bought a new stroller **YAY Christmas gifts!!** that I absolutely cannot wait to take on the trails around here, and went shopping for Hubby a new bike so we can save money on gas & car maintenance by him riding his bike to work {very common around here}. Both of these shopping trips were spurred on by the gorgeous weather we experienced last week...I'm told this is what it's like (plus about 10-15 degrees) come April-September -- I.CAN'T.WAIT!

The day the Lady Bears won the Big XII Championship! Sic 'em!!

Enjoying the sunny day at a beach!

Sunset that night - our view from our table at dinner {this picture was actually taken behind a window!}

The next day our view from a different park! 

 Now that Hubby has started work we are settling into a normal routine! Until next time...