Happy Weekend all! We’re already off to a busy start with a 16 mile run for Chris and Farmer’s Market for the rest of us. Bellingham is located on the water, up in the tippy top point of Washington state. We have a gorgeous marina that Jamisen loves to explore. This last time, we got lucky and met a boat just coming back from Alaska and the boat captain (Hi Captain Dwight!) shared some fresh Alaska salmon that he had smoked on the boat. What a treat! We are going to go back with a care package of handmade soap for him tomorrow.
Jamisen remains a happy, ebullient kitchen helper. Here he’s helping to make buckwheat pancakes for breakfast but is helpful with everything that we cook. He especially was thrilled to talk me into chocolate cupcakes on Friday for after he ate his breakfast. He’s such a little skinny guy that I don’t mind giving him extra calories but I wish it was in the form of something besides simple sugars and carbs.
He is also finding his creative voice and making up adorable stories every day. They’re generally an amalgamation of true plus a little bit of his storyboooks coming to light. In the photo above, he’s wearing a tutu and has proclaimed himself a ‘Princess Race Car Driver.’ With all the books in our house, there is only one book that talks about princesses but he clearly likes and remembers the concept.
Lily is happy to share her tutus. She was very blessed with hand-me-downs and generous gifts (thanks Dimi and Kayla! PS If you’re into essential oils, Kayla’s take on the FDA letter to DoTerra and Young Living Essential Oils is a must-read). Lily and Jamisen have been playing much much better lately. The jealousy that Jamisen exhibited early on seems to be waning and he views her more as a partner in crime and also someone to protect. I’m getting a glimpse into what our family life can be – less chaos, more love.
Lily now has a whopping 5 teeth and remains ridiculously happy and easy going. She has dropped her morning nap and is down to 1 long nap per day. The words she can say now are “Mama”, “Apple”, “Blueberry”, “Fish” and she really tries to say “More” but typically ends up signing it.
Workwise, things have been amazingly busy (thank you for all the pre-holiday business! I love that you’re planning ahead!). My Mastermind Group (which includes Erin Baker, Sarah Rothenbuhler, Lynn Guiliani, Heather Othmer, and Jody Bergsma) did an all-day business retreat where we focused on topics around work-life balance and the art of thriving (we’re using these masterclass notes to guide our discussion and reading). It’s almost time to do our vision boards for the year so we’re being intentional about our priorities and goals. Several of us in the group have young children and are asking the question: “How much is enough?” “What really matters?” in relation to growing a business while strengthening our families.
I’ve also been making a ton (!) of soap as I test new products, keep up on the latest trends and techniques and try to pioneer a few new ideas. I’ve been playing a lot more with essential oils and experimenting with palm free recipes – though I will say that my current favorite recipe does contain palm. It will eventually hit the blog; it’s a recipe made with Meadowfoam Oil. I’ve been experimenting with the same recipe, just changing the ratios of Meadowfoam in percentages from 3% all the way up to 23% and then doing “lather-off” tests. I’ve also been playing a lot with shaving balms and potassium cocoate in the hopes of coming up with a rich shaving balm. Keep your eyes peeled on the blog over the next few months for those recipes and more.
Now, I’m off to a birthday party with the kiddos and a car full of balloons =) Bring on the sugar!
AM…I just googled “hidden veggie recipes.” Ya just gotta get sneaky crafty. 😉
Great eye-opening post by Kayla. I need to tell my out-of-state niece about this. If I remember correctly, my sis-in-law, her mother, was telling me she was a doTerra reseller as a side job.
Hi Patricia!
Just to let you know, this comment got filtered and we just now found it. Sorry for the delay! We’re still getting adjusted to our new blog design.
Also, I’m so glad you like the post! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Love your site! I just taught a cp class using your milk and honey recipe and everyone loved it. I have a couple questions. Is there a way to import recipes from your blog into the Brambleberry app? If so, can you explain? If not, can you have your brilliant IT department make it possible? ;0)
Second, there is a gorgeous tan swirly bar of soap on your natural/organic page. Is there a recipe for that anywhere? Or even a vague description of what it is?
Hi Manda,
Ah, yes, that’s the Oatmeal, Milky & Honey bar that we sell in the premade bases section: https://www.brambleberry.com/Cold-Process-Soap-C144.aspx
It’s a basic in the top swirl with oats in it. Here’s the basics on how to do an in the pot swirl: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/in-the-pot-swirling/
I love the idea of importing recipes into the app from the blog. I’ll put that on the list for sure. We’re doing a pretty major app revision right now so are knee deep in it.
=) A-M
Thanks!
I love your blog & find it incredibly positive & informative, looking forward to read more about your experiments 🙂
Thank you Pooja. I’ve been fascinated by the lathering differences in the different superfats. It’s been quite an experiment.
Can’t wait for my recipes, Ann Marie! Love Bramble Berry! Your children are gorgeous and precious!
Can’t wait for more wonderful recipes, Ann Marie! Love Bramble Berry!
I love creating them – I am so lucky to have this great community to do fun things like that with =)
You probably know about this resource, but in case you don’t it might help you find cupcake alternatives for that cute red headed boy of yours (he is getting so big!)
http://www.cookusinterruptus.com
Cynthia Lair, Professor at Bastyr’s School of Nutrition also has some great books, such as Feeding The Whole Family.
http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Whole-Family-Recipes-Children/dp/157061525X#
You probably know about this resource, but in case you don’t it might help you find cupcake alternatives for that cute red headed boy of yours (he is getting so big!)
http://www.cookusinterruptus.com
Cynthia Lair, Professor at Bastyr’s School of Nutrition also has some great books, such as Feeding The Whole Family.
http://www.amazon.com/Feeding-Whole-Family-Recipes-Children/dp/157061525X#
Hi Brenda,
Thank you for those suggestions! I’m having the worst time getting anything besides simple carbs and dairy (yogurt, string cheese) into our sweet boy.
When he was little, I fed him all sorts of kale and spinach concoctions but since he’s turned 3, he suddenly seems to have quite the aversion to them! =)
I’ve got both of those windows open right now to read the second I’m done with the blog tonight. Thank you! =)
A-M
Thanks for sharing your super busy life it is so fun to read about you and your kids they are adorable! I did read the Do Terra letter interesting, melt and pour is a cosmetic??? Well enjoy the rest of your weekend can not wait to order my super big wish list!
Hi Kristie –
Thanks for reading. Yes, the kiddos are adorable but man, I am tired by the end of the day =)
The entire Do Terra/ Young Living set of letters was fascinating. I was most interested by the fact that the FDA seemed to be holding the companies responsible for statements their resellers were making.
It will be interesting to see how that progresses. Some of the claims that were being made were egregious.
A-M