76 Free Things to Do with Kids

Here is another great (and Free!) e-book for you! This one will come in handy with the up coming school vacations, or for all you moms with kids home all day.

  76 Free Things to Do with Kids: A Real Mom's Guide is free until Sunday, so go and get it now, and pull it out on a rainy day.  Or a not so rainy day.

Sage is getting to the age where going and doing things is fun for all of us, so I am excited about this one!

What are your favorite free things to do with your kids?

Through the eyes of a one year old

Being a mom means that every day I get to see the world from a new point of view.

That rock is really more like a mountain, and it needs to be climbed.

Crayon to paper is a magical thing, and can cause an ear to ear grin.

Food always tastes better when it comes form someone else's bowl.

The vacuum is terrifying. So is the blowdryer.

Books can be read over and over... and over and over, and still be fascinating.

Kisses make everything better.

There is always a beat to dance to, you just have to listen.

It's amazing the things you see everyday that you might not have even noticed without a little one with 'new' eyes to show them to you. I am so gratefl for this amazing perspective.

International Day of Happiness

Kind of funny that we need to declare a day to be happy, but it is always good to stop and appreciate the things that make you happy.

So, what is something that makes happy?

My number one thing that always makes me happy is this little man

That little face brightens every part of my day. Just look at that smile... pure happiness.

Today I am going to make sure and capture all the things that make me happy and share them with the world through instagram.  That is the point of the day, to remind others of what really matters in life.

Join me, and help inspire others to find their happiness by sharing your pictures with the world. Make sure to tag your photos with #happinessday so we can all see what makes you happy!

If you want to see what I share today, make sure to follow me on instagram. My username is AmerynMarie. Want us to checkout what you are sharing? Leave your username in the comments.

Now go out and enjoy your day, and remember to capture all the things that bring you joy!

Using Essential Oils: Lavender

I recently have found the wonderful world of essential oils. I had used them before, but thought only to sprinkle a few drops in my bath to make it smell good. I had no idea what they really could do for you.
When Sage was born my mom brought some oils for me to try, since then I have been hooked! I want to start sharing them with everyone, because they really work!
I want to start with the oil that I thought I wouldn't like at all, and was very hesitant to try it... Lavender oil. Yeah, I didn't want to try lavender oil. I never liked the smell of anything lavender and thought that using it would leave me with nothing but a headache. Well, I was wrong... very wrong!

It turns out Lavender oil is awesome! I've used it for tons of things like:

Headaches! Yes, what I thought would give me a headache actually made it go away! I rubbed one drop of lavender with one drop of peppermint on my forehead and neck and my headache was gone in ten minutes!

Skin irritation. I have used it both for myself when my face is not so happy, and on Sage when his bum gets a bit red.

To calm and help sleep. A few drops in your bath or on your pillow or even rub some on the bottom of your feet before bed, seems to help you drift to sleep. I have even used some on Sage when he was having a rough time getting to sleep.

Some other uses that I haven't tried yet:
Calming a bee sting or bug bite
Easing motion sickness
Sooth a sunburn
To help a restless or agitated child calm down
It works to calm dogs too!

So, those are some of the great benefits of lavender oil. I'm sure there are many more, and I look forward to discovering them all.

Want to give it a try? Click here to get a bottle for yourself. Yes, it is my site, and I do benefit if you buy some, but I wouldn't be sharing this if I didn't think it was awesome!

So, which oils have you tried? Or are curious about?

Our amazing Thanksgiving!

Our thanksgiving was simply amazing! It was so warm and beautiful, I don't think I've ever seen such a nice Thanksgiving day. We started off the day with some very amazing very out of season strawberry picking. {this is why it pays to know your farmers!} Sage was loving it! We let him pick some strawberries, and play in the dirt,,, he got a mouthful of both, plus a little bit of the strawberry plant too. He spit it all out, but it was funny seeing him 'eat' a strawberry.

We took a quick little jaunt up the creek after we left the farm. The colors of the leaves were so pretty. We found a massive wild grape plant that was climbing all the trees around it. Sage was loving this too! He definitely takes after his daddy and his love of nature already!

We had and early-ish dinner outside since the weather was cooperating so nicely. Everything was AMAZING! The menu was simple and delicious. There ended up only being a few of us, so we had leftovers for days! Which was a good thing, since it was all so tasty!

Although Sage didn't get to try any of the food this year, it didn't stop him from checking it all out! He had his fingers in anything he could reach! 

All in all, it was a great day filled with friends, family and great food. What more could you ask for?

Lately...

This past week has been a little all over the place for me.

Last Friday I got an exciting call from my cousin telling me she is having a boy!
All day thoughts of our little ones playing together ran through my head.
Will we have two little boys running around? Or a girl and a boy just like her brother and I were!
Either way, the thoughts were so fun and exciting. Making me even more excited for this little one to come.

Later the same day I got another call from my dad, letting me know that my grandma who was in a bad car accident was not going to make it after all. They had been optimistic that she would recover despite her many injuries, but a cat scan revealed that her brain had pretty much shut down. They were taking her off support, and it was only a matter of time.

I knew for a few days before, that this was a possibility, but I don't think I really let it sink in. It has been about five years since I've seen her, and was really excited for her and my grandpa to come out this fall to visit us all and meet mine and my cousins new babies. I didn't want to think of that not happening.

It's crazy to think how quickly things change.

She passed away the next morning.

It has hit me little by little all week. Remembering little things here and there. How she taught me to use a sewing machine when I was just a little girl. The goofy songs she would sing. How no matter what, she was always happy.

I'm trying to stay positive, that's what she would want. It's hard, but I'm trying.

They say that new life makes losing life easier to understand... It really does. Not any less sad, but maybe easier. We are saying goodbye to a great lady, but getting the joy of new little ones to love immensely.

That is how I'm staying positive. Remembering the past and embracing the future. Being Happy.

via

She always did.

Christmas wrap up

I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas!
We did! We had a super low key week. It was really nice!
I started by making some cookies, to get in the spirit! I made the full o' sugar, fluffy frosting, all kinds of sprinkles kind for the neighbors, and then some super simple and delicious vegan sugar cookies for us! I can't say they were healthy, but at least WAY less bad for you!

Oh yeah, and they were woodland critters! So much fun! The moose was the a big hit!


The in-laws came out Christmas eve, and then we headed out to Morro Bay to visit some family on Christmas day. It was so nice to see everyone and just hangout. When we got there we walked into the yard and saw this...

An almost 20 foot tall snowman!!! Matt's uncle is a bit of a tinker-er and comes up with the craziest things! This pretty much made the night! Here's a close up.

Pretty neat! Of course we all had to take photos with him!
Here's the family...

and the whole group!

Pretty neat! Oh, and someone got a brand new cute as can be lab puppy! {No, it wasn't me, Lilly is enough for now!}

She was too cute! I of course had to get in some puppy snuggles and some of that puppy breath!

I think I could have let her eat my nose just to smell that!

We ended the night inspecting for a baby bump! lol! It wants to come out, and has started to pop, but isn't always there. It popped slightly, so we got a picture...

So, there's my Christmas present, a growing little peanut pushing out a little belly.
I'm good with that!

12-12-12... we did it!

Well, we managed to pull off our 12-12-12 picture! It pretty much went something like this:
Ugly sweaters + Perfect snow + The sun behaving wonderfully = Great pictures!

Here's the official picture!

Pretty fun, huh!?!

We got a posed one too.

I think everyone but us had real ugly sweaters, ours were some we made a few years back because we couldn't find any ugly enough! Lol!

It was super fun, and super cold! We left our house {where it was 70 degrees} got to the in-laws where it was about 50, and then went to the snow where it was hovering around 20! BBUUUUURRRRR!

Poor little nephew didn't like the cold snow too much! He did like the sleigh rides though!

He's so cute! Little stinker wouldn't wear his gloves though! His poor little hands were so cold!

Matt liked his sleigh ride too!

He was like a little kid!

and we even got to catch some snowflakes!

Such a fun day!

How did you spend your 12-12-12?

My that's an ugly sweater!

So you might remember from last year that Matt's family has been taking a picture every year since 01-01-01 on the fun dates, 02-02-02, 03-03-03... Well, this is the last year 12-12-12! I'm not totally sure what we are doing for the picture, but it sounds like it will be in the snow, and there will be ugly Christmas sweaters involved! I do have a stash that I've been acquiring over the years, but I need to find them! LOL! Plus I've wanted to add lights to one of my sweaters for a while now, which I bought, but again have to find!
Hopefully I can find it all by tomorrow, or I'll be hitting up some thrift stores on our way up! Since I couldn't find mine to show you, I found some on pinterest, they are pretty great!

Source: shop.thesweaterstore.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: mypartyshirt.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Source: amandahervey.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Reindeer spewing Christmas... love it!

Source: imgfave.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

And this, if you could actually wear this for a whole night then you are pretty awesome!

Source: craftster.org via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Well, I guess I better go start the hunt for those uglys! See you in a few days!
Have a great 12-12-12!!!

Catching up

Wow! Not only is it December, but it's a week in already! Craziness!
Also, I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving! Woops!
So, how was everyone's Thanksgiving? Mine was pretty great!
First off, we ended up spending a whole week up there, and got to visit a lot!
We had Thanksgiving at my aunts' house and a lot of my family were there.
I had my mom AND dad (that hardly happens) plus my in-laws and aunts, uncles, cousins!
There were a few people I wish could've been there, but it was pretty great!
We kicked off the night the right way...

 Like I said before, it's not Thanksgiving until you have  an olive on your finger!
The crazy thing about sticking olives on your fingers as an adult {ha, that's funny} is that they all break on your giant fingers! LOL! We made it work though!

Before we ate we all gathered around and my uncle Mark decided to take a day off from his usual 'talk forever and a day' thing and have everyone share what they were most thankful for.

That's him, the talker! LOL!

So we all went around the room, starting with the kids {I'm happy to say none of which was thankful for a toy or something like that!}

I was thankful to have all sides of my family together in the same spot, enjoying each others company.

Then when Matt shared what he was most thankful for, he got this reaction...

SHOCK and

OH MY GOD!!!

So, what was it?

He basically said "I'm thankful tonight for my family, but mostly thankful that I have all of your undivided attention, because...Ameryn's pregnant!"

The whole room went silent and then all at once lot's of screaming!

I just so happened to have the camera, so I tried to capture the moment.

What ended up happening was my mom tackling me and sobbing uncontrollably! Therefore after the 'shock' it was all blurry!

But, everyone was super excited and it really was a great way to tell everyone!

 My mom and me... she is excited, but still not wanting to be called grandma quite yet!

 Me, Matt and his parents who have been waiting for this since we got married!

 My aunt who is obviously so super excited!

And then there is this picture of my uncle and me...I apparently was so excited that I made this face! LOL!

Him and my mom get the most emotional award for the night! He was a wreck! I can't wait to see what happens when his own daughter tells him that she's pregnant!

So, there it is... that's whats happening in my life, in fact it's pretty much the only thing happening right now! BUT, I just hit 13 weeks, and am starting to feel much better! And, now that it's out and everyone knows, it feels so good! This was the hardest secret to keep...ever! I had to skirt around the subject too many times! I never lied, but never quite answered the question. Note to everyone, NEVER ask someone if they are pregnant! Unless they just dropped you like 10 hints, don't ask! If they are they will tell you when they are ready.

We are so excited and a little anxious to meet our little peanut! This is going to be such a crazy and eventful year! I can't wait!

Thinking about Thanksgiving

The past few years we have done Thanksgiving at the in-laws, which is great because my MIL can cook! Plus she makes most things vegan, so we can eat pretty much everything but the turkey! This year we are going to my aunts, which is going to be so much fun, but I feel like I should make something amazing and vegan to bring along. So, where do I turn? Pintrest of course! I have found tons of yummy things to try, I'm just not sure what to do yet. Here are my top picks so far.

Crispy Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Source: recipenewz.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Stuffed Mushroom Phyllo Roll

Source: ohsheglows.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Mushroom, Lentil, and Wild Rice Timbales

Source: blog.fatfreevegan.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Vegan Stuffed Mushrooms

Source: veganpiggy.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Vegan Harvest Pies

Source: vegandad.blogspot.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

But then there are amazing deserts too!

Like the classic:
Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Source: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Or this really fun:
Pumpkin Pie Tortilla Rolls

Source: sweetlittlebluebird.com via Ameryn Marie on Pinterest

Those I'd have to 'healthy' up a bit, but they are just too cute!

I'm sure I'll eat a whole lot of stuff {or stuffing} that I wouldn't normally eat everyday. And I'll probably be a little lax on the vegan thing and let some stuff slide. My uncles mom makes the BEST berry pie in the world, I bet it's not vegan, but I'm going to eat it anyway! LOL! A little butter won't kill me!

Anyone else trying something different this year? Or do you have to have the traditional Thanksgiving meal?

I know if I don't get mashed potatoes and stuffing, it's not Thanksgiving! And if I don't eat at least one olive off my finger it might as well have been just another Thursday.