...big things happening

__________ Monday friends! (you can fill in the blank b/c you never know with Mondays lol.)  I have been MIA the last week or so because life determined that I be, and also because I have been busy with a new venture I am going to be tackling. I am so excited. In January I did a post about goals I wanted to set for this year...not resolutions. To me, a resolution is a promise you make all too soon and then hardly ever keep it. A goal however is something that you aspire to, something that you have hopes of achieving but without the added pressure that making a resolution brings. 

one of my goals this year was to focus more on myself, and doing things that make me happy. and that's not to say that I am an un happy person. I am not! I have a great life, friends and family. But if I have learned anything after having kids, it is that ME time is so important and you don't realize that until you don't get to have it. Something that makes me happy is sharing my LOVE of chemical free living. I love introducing people to essential oils and how I use them in my home. I love showing people affordable ways to cut the junk out of daily life. After months and months of jotting down ideas, giving people samples, and experimenting I have decided what I want to do. 

 yes!!! "mama made" all natural products for home and body love:) this has been something that I have been contemplating for months. there is a lot that goes into starting a little bizz like this and of course I have to make sure I follow rules and regs before I launch it, but the more I thought and the more I think, the more I realize this is something that will make ME happy. I already am!! Even just coming up with a name was enough to get me glowing. I know there are many other "businesses" big and small like this out there now, and I do not have plans for world domination haha, but I am an advocate for shopping locally. I feel like doing something like this in my little community could be a great thing. There are many that have asked me to make them things, and many I already have...so the interest for products like this seems high enough. Not to mention I have many SAHM friends who do hobbies and things on the side. I think they would relate to what I am feeling and what I want to do/why I want to do it. 

for the last week I have been trying to narrow down which items I will make first. I obviously dont want to spend too much money right off the bat b/c then there is not much point to this. Slowly I have been building up my ingredient stash so that I can begin. I don't however want to make too much too soon, b/c I want these items to be as fresh as possible for when they are to be listed for sale. My wheels have been turning for so long. I am going to start small and am hoping to open up an Etsy shop withing the next few months. Instagram will be my go to for the time being. Just have to make sure everything is legal and ready to go before I launch the shop.

what will I be including you ask? well let me tell ya !! the plans are for "body love & home love" products.

bath salts, body scrubs, bar soaps, bath bombs, body butters/creams, hand creams, lip balms/salves, foot scrubs, milk baths, roller bottle blends, foaming hand wash, all purpose cleaning sprays, diffuser bombs, etc...and the only ingredients I will be using will be all natural/organic. Nothing with additives, or chemicals. Hence "naturali nourished." And yes, I realize the spelling is incorrect...but I wanted to make it unique, and to be honest...I kinda hate capitol letters anyways.

wish me luck on this new adventure. It is a small idea but one that this mama is truly excited about. Updates to come!!

xo

...few things

good afternoon! It has been a little bit busy here in ole CT, but my littlest one is down for his nap finally and the other kiddo is having some iPad time in the living room. (Yes he is allowed a little bit of iPad time on days where he has been going easy on mama...he has 3 apps and they are all educational...no judging! sometimes its the only way I can get a minute lol) 

anyways, just a couple fun things I wanted to share. Starting with what I THINK is going to be this mamas new hobby. You all know that our dream is to buy a home with enough land that we can be a bit more self sufficient. Bigger garden, more animals, etc...Well, we can only do so much on the property we have now. For the time being I have to find little ways to do more things myself and spend less money. I decided to put my oils to a new use & on Monday, I experimented with making my own soap! This may not sound at all exciting to anyone else lol but for me, well I cant contain it. 

in our house we only use real, natural goats milk soaps. My hubs has reactions to the store bought soaps and for as long as we have been together its been goats milk all the way. If anyone else uses these types of soap, you know they do not come cheap. My mother in law usually stocks us up. She purchases them from her co op in Maine and send them to us. Which we LOVE since it saves us money. For my first batch, I made Peppermint Soap. I bought Shea and Goats milk so I could make a few different batches. (this was GM)  I love experimenting! 

i bought the mold and the soap base for cheap off Amazon. I started with a SUPER simple recipe since I am indeed a beginner. As you can see in the photo I did not fill the molds up all the way b/c I wanted to stretch the soaps. I only bought 4lbs total and this was 1/2 a pound. Check out the "EO Recipes I Love" tab for directions on how to make this soap!!

i used a bar last night in the shower and I think it is great!!! The peppermint is not over powering and the soap made a great lather and was very moisturizing! The next batches coming will be with lavender, and then an oatmeal honey!!

to add to my excitement over the idea of making my own natural soaps, I decided to order supplies to make my own lip balm!!! The stuff will be here today and I am literally like a kid in a candy shop!! or maybe an Etsy shop?? now wouldn't that be fun!!! We will see!

the other thing I wanted to share was that I was selected by Green Moms Meet (again, thank you!) for a sampling group. The product they are sending me is called the NeliMed Naspira Nasal-Oral Aspirator. It is a (get ready) mucous suction device for little ones. You suck from one end while the other is up the nose!! Yes this sounds so disgusting and there is another product like it on the market which I swore Id never go that far. However, this past winter was horrible on my littles and my baby ended up in the ER and testing positive for RSV. He was so clogged up with mucous that he could barely breath. It was very scary and I have no desire to go through that again. The doctors and even some friends told me these are the best things going. There is a filter so that anything sucked up does not come close to the mouth. Which is great b/c no doubt I'd throw up. 

i saw this as a sampling opportunity and applied. Of course my kids are finally over all the sickness, but at least I will have this on hand should it happen again. They are including a lot of other goodies with this sampling which I will share when it arrives. If you have experience with these...please do share!! Seriously, I've been dealing with puke, poop and pee for years now...whats a little mucous suck? hahaha;)

 (hope youre keeping your lunch down;)

have a great day!

xo

saturday share: "Generation Good"

good afternoon! I thought that today I would share something that I have been a part of for a while. Now for the last year or so I have gotten more into making my own products using essential oils. I absolutely love doing it in fact. But I still also love my Seventh Generation products. I like to use both my own concoctions as well as products they have to offer. We use everything from paper towels, to toilet paper, dish soap, sprays, hand soap and diapers in our house. I have been a faithful consumer for the last 8 years or so. There are somethings you just can't say good bye too. Eventually I will buy less b/c we will save money in the long run making our own products, not to mention everything in my own products are 100% organic.

HOWEVER....back to the point of post: if you are a fan of SG like me you should check out their website and sign up for Generation Good. I have gotten to do so many things by doing this. I get coupons mailed to me every now and then which is always great, and there are "missions" and surveys you can do to gain points which qualify you for all sorts of neat things. I was picked to review SG laundry detergents for example, they sent me a free container of detergent and all i had to do was try it and write an honest review on it. Which I did here on my blog. I've gotten samples among samples in the mail to try...I have been sent reusable shopping bags just for being a part of GG. It's really great! They have great articles on natural living, healthy recipes, and things we can do to help take care of our planet. It's a wonderful resource.

this was sent to me a few weeks ago...free & clear detergent samples

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/generationgood

Check out the link above to learn more!!

Xo