On my mind...

I have a short movie for you all to watch today. The topic has been on my mind a lot lately and I feel like I need to do my part to share this information. It's about bottled water. Yup, bottled water. That's what has me all worked up lately. If you think I'm crazy, watch this movie and then see if you feel the same way.

Now do you see why those little 8oz water bottles make me want to scream?

Now, I completely agree with avoiding bottled water, but where I'm not 100% on board with her is with the whole drinking straight tap water thing. Do you know what they put in tap water?! It varies depending on where you live, but I avoid it. We filter our water at home, and bring it with us in reusable bottles. It really doesn't take much time, and you are really doing something great for the planet! 

So, what do you think? Are you ready to ditch the bottled water?

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?

Cloth Diaper LOVE Giveaway

Today I have a really fun giveaway that all you fellow crunchy (and even not so crunchy) moms (or dads) are going to love! BabyKicks is giving away a Valentines themed cloth diaper bundle right now. Check out the goodies and how you can enter below. Also, if you want to see what I think about my BabyKicks diapers checkout my review here. Good luck!

Disclaimer: I am a BabyKicks Ambassador. I receive products and compensation in exchange for promoting their wonderful products. All opinions, ideas and cute little fluffy bums are property of Sunshine Praises and can not be altered in any manner. This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram, Facebook or any other social media outlet.

Welcome to the #BabyKicksLOVE Valentine's Instagram Giveaway

This fun and unique giveaway is designed to let us show how hot our passion burns for fluffy cloth diapered buns on Instagram. Help us spread the cloth diaper love in photos!

Entries are fun and simple! All you have to do is add a daily picture of your favorite cloth diaper or accessory based on that days theme, then come back here and put the link in the daily entry option. Make sure you use the hashtag #BabyKicksLOVE and tag @BabyKicksOrganic in the description.

The Details

• Your Instagram profile must be public for us to verify your picture.
• You DO NOT have to own a BabyKicks diaper or purchase one to participate.
• You can post one picture or ten. Whatever your heart desires.
• We would love you to follow @SunshinePraises & @Shull2319 and tag us in your photos.
• Spread the love farther by using the hashtag #clothdiapers

Pictures can be posted daily using the following themes! Feel free to get creative. Use digital stickers, text and clip art. I love the apps Instacollage, A Beautiful Mess and Photogrid. (Have other suggestions? Leave them in the comments.) Do whatever you want to show your #BabyKicksLOVE

The Prize

One lucky reader will win a Valentine's themed prize pack from BabyKicks. You will recieve the super rare (they only made these for one month) PINK Fitted Diaper, a RED Basic Pocket Diaper and a Multi Pack of Red/Pink/Ivory Washies.

Enter Here

Entry-Form

We can't wait to see all your #BabyKicksLOVE photos!

Baby Kicks diaper review

So, most of you know by now that I'm pretty crunchy. So, I'm sure it doesn't surprise you to know that I use cloth diapers with Sage. We have been doing it since day one, and it's been pretty great! It's something I find pretty important, so of course I want to share that with you!

I recently had the opportunity to review a BabyKicks diaper and am excited to tell you about it. It is a  One Size Premium Pocket Diaper in the limited edition 'Outfoxed' print. It fits babies from 7-40 pounds which is great since this little boy is growing faster than I can stand! It has a super soft bamboo velour inner lining that seems like it would be so comfy on the bum! I thought it would lose some of that softness after the wash, but it didn't at all. It came with a super absorbent and trim hemp insert and also a stay dry liner in case you wanted to use that too.

Something a little different about theses diapers is the front stuff pocket. I didn't think it would matter too much having it in the front instead of the back, but I really like it in the front! It makes it really easy to adjust the absorbency by folding the insert over in the front, to double it up where it needs to be.

The Baby Kicks pocket diaper also has side snaps. To me, this seems to just change the look more than anything, which is kind of fun because you see more of the pattern in the front.

The last thing that is pretty different about these diapers is the fleece leg gussets.  When I first saw these I thought 'Wow, that looks soft, but how is that not going to leak?!' Well, it doesn't. Don't ask me how, but it's pretty awesome.

Here are some pictures of Sage showing of his diaper, fancy hair and all!

Over all I really like this diaper. It fit's his chubby little body well, and doesn't leave any red marks on his chunky thighs. It fits pretty trim too, which is great for trying to get jeans up over that fluffy butt! Plus it's a super cute diaper! Even Daddy thinks it's pretty cool!

If you want to check out this diaper (it comes in other colors and a fun elephant print too!) head on over to the Baby Kicks site.

Sewing projects for the baby boy

Since I've been itching to sew something, but haven't quite gotten the time yet, I've just been collecting ideas! Since they are pretty fun I thought I'd share them too!

I think this 'little man gown' from The Cottage Home is too cute!

and this whale plush is so fun!

As Sage is growing out of his clothes faster than I can stand, I've been wondering what to do with all the super cute onesies that he barely (if at all) wore. I found this the other day, and just might give it a try, it's a baby hat made out of onesies from The Sewing Rabbit

And because I'm a hoarder thrifty gal, and have lots of old shirts waiting to be turned into something cool, I thought this idea from Small Fry is fabulous!

So, durring nap time one of these days, when there isn't a pile of laundry to fold, or a sink of dishes to do, I will be making one of these... I really want to sew up a ring sling too! So many ideas, so little time!

Do you have any fun boy projects to share? There seem too be far less boy things out there compared to all the girly patterns!

A day in nature

This weekend was so nice! We pretty much are in a coastal climate, which stays cool for the most part, but we are a short drive from some really warm weather. I think this weekend you'd call it hot, not warm! We left our house and it was about 75 degrees, got into the hills and it was 101 at one point! It was kind of amazing! We like the heat, it's what we are used to!

Being 100 degrees we went looking for water and a chill place to hangout for the day, we found the best little spot!

It was so nice! I think it was more like 90 degrees down by the creek, so it was perfect!
We spent the day just lounging, enjoying nature, and we even got in a game of cribbage!

We found the cutest little frog who kinda hung out with us too! I was hoping to see him catch a bug or something, but he was just hanging out.

It was pretty nice just spending the day with this handsome guy!

And since it was Mother's Day, and I'm pretty much a mother now Matt got in a big belly shot of me! Beware, it's big! Oh, and in a bikini! Lol!

I can't believe that my belly has another month of growing to do!

On our way out {and while we were there} we noticed a ton of trash everywhere! Mostly beer bottles and cans left by a bunch of drunk idiots. I really don't get the whole 'leave your trash all over the place' thing! So, we decided to go around and pick up all the bottles and cans we could see... while still in my bikini too! 

 Made for a funny picture, a big preggo lady holding multiple beer cans! lol! But seriously, this was a pretty small spot we were at, and look at how much crap we picked up!

I'm sure none of you would leave such crap behind, but do me a favor and punch anyone you see doing this square in the face! You can tell them it's from me! We picked up what we could, but there was broken glass all over the place! It looked like people were intentionally throwing bottles into the creek! I really don't know what is wrong with people... I'm assuming they were dropped on their heads or something!

Anywho.... It got me thinking, if all of us awesome, un-douchy people spent a few minutes picking up what these morons leave behind wherever we are, it totally could make a difference. We probably spent about 5 minutes and made a big difference in this one spot. If I actually had gloves we could have done even more. {there are somethings I'm not touching with my bare hands!}

Even just picking up one thing on the street or on a trail here and there adds up! So think about it next time you see trash somewhere. It's not your responsibility to clean up after others, but it sets a good example, and maybe it will start a chain of good deeds! Who knows?!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend, and now week! I know I did, even on trash duty!

Gardening the Natural Way

So, we have been spending a whole lot of time in our garden lately. Digging and planting and weeding! One of our well meaning neighbors saw us hoeing and picking weeds and asked why we weren't spraying them with round-up...

When we told him that we preferred to not spray toxins in our yard, especially around the food we are growing, he just didn't understand. "It's so much easier to spray"..."It won't kill your plants"..."You don't need to do all that work"

We told him about the run off and that we just didn't want to use poisons in our yard. Then we explained that we use vinegar to kill the weeds that are left after we've gone though and 'weeded'.

He didn't seem to understand why we were doing it the way we are, but eventually just dropped it and went on his way.

After this encounter I noticed how many people in our neighborhood were out spraying round-up all over their yards! All around their plants, along their fences, in every crack in the sidewalk!

I was amazed!

Don't the know how BAD round-up is for EVERYTHING?! Their health, their pets, the rivers and our water sources! They must not, or they wouldn't be doing it. Or would they? Do they think that is their only option?...Yes, I was getting a little worked up on my drive through town!

So, now I'm here to share with all of you that plain white vinegar KILLS weeds! 

Weeds + Vinegar + Sun = Dead Weeds! It's that simple!

Let's weigh the facts:

ROUNDUP

Toxic Chenmicals

Kills your soil

Creates 'Super' weeds and bugs

Kills or mutates benifecial bugs in your yard

Not safe to use around kids or pets {I don't care what they might say!}

VINEGAR

It's completely natural and not toxic

 Kills the weeds

Does NOT hurt your soil

Safe to use anywhere!

Oh, and it's cheap!

Seems pretty clear to me! 

So, please give it a try next time you are fighting the weeds in your yard! It works, I swear!