Bloom

This is probably my favorite time of the year. All the trees around here are full of blooms right now. Everywhere you look there are white and pink and even bright fushia flowers. It's so beautiful! Plus, it always reminds me of when me and Matt first started dating.

The other day it was quite gusty out, and I found myself in a 'snow' storm of blossoms. I full on giggled like a little kid and stuck out my hands like I was catching snowflakes. It was pretty great!

With all the new growth and blooms everywhere, I felt inspired to give the blog a fresh look too! A little spring cleaning and some fun new colors. I may need to do some more tweaking, so don't mind if something looks wonky for a bit. It's just me  moving things around. 

So, what do you think? I'm loving the brighter 'spring' colors right now.  

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?

The Vintage Honey Teething Necklace

I've got to tell you guys about the greatest thing I've found in a while.
Teething necklaces! And I'm not talking about the ones you see all the babies wearing now (although, those are pretty great too) I'm talking about super cute ones that YOU get to wear, and your baby gets to chomp on, without worry of it breaking or scratching them.

The Vintage Honey Shop sent me a ridiculously cute necklace to test out, and I just LOVE it! First off they chose the perfect color for me, I'm not sure if they are mind readers or what, but it's exactly what I would've picked myself! It's a grey, cream and yellow damask... perfection.

After admiring the perfect print for a while, I tied it on and Sage instantly grabbed a hold and gave it a thorough inspection. He then chewed on it for a few minutes... it worked. He was chomping on something other than the straps of the carrier or my hair! Woot!

So, he liked it, which was important, but was I going to like wearing it? I already had on of those silicone teething necklaces, which I did like, but it was sometimes a pain to wear... literally, it would stick to my hair and that really isn't much fun. But, The Vintage Honey teething necklace ties on with a soft ribbon, so no hair pulling at all. Plus, because it tied on I could adjust the length to fit perfectly. I also really like how light weight it is. I hardly notice that I'm wearing it most of the time. (unless there is a 21 pound baby pulling at the other end of it)

The other great thing about the necklace is it doesn't necessarily look like a 'teething' necklace. I've had people tell me how cute my necklace is, and then a few minutes later (when Sage is chomping away) go 'OH! Is that made for him to chew?! That's so awesome!' So, I guess it could just be a necklace, but it's great that it's both!

Did I mention that they package it up so stinking cute?! I felt like I was opening a birthday present or something. This would be such a sweet thing to have sent to an expecting or new mom as a gift. It would make her day, and everyday after that, because she will probably wear it all the time!... I do!

So, if you are a mom, or know someone that is I highly recommend checking out The Vintage Honey Shop. They have tons of necklaces on their site, and some of them are even organic! Plus they make bracelets and nursing scarfs (which really you could wear anytime too) that are just as cute as the necklaces.

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!