WARM WEATHER!

We spent a lot of time outside this week because it's been a whopping average of 24 degrees! Okay, I don't exactly know the average, it's been hot though- yesterday was 25. I'm pretty sure we skipped spring! I AM NOT COMPLAINING THOUGH!

Last Monday, I texted Justin if he wanted to look for frogs for FHE, and I think he was more excited than Ella was because on the way home from work he made the extra trip to Walmart to purchase a "real" frog net (because apparently the dollar store one we have is "no good") Seriously, this guy doesn't often make extra trips on the way home from work, let alone to WALMART! Anyway, after supper, we gathered up some jars and nets (yes, even the dollar store one...) and went to a nearby ponddle (That's what I'm going to call those huge puddles that appear in the spring but aren't here for long...) to attempt to catch frogs that have been loudly singing everyday. We unfortunately didn't catch one because that ponddle was surprisingly DEEP! and I swear those frogs were mocking us as we had to turn back before the water rushed into the tops of our rubber boots. Justin and Ella did manage to catch a bug or two so it wasn't a complete unsuccessful excursion. The girls loved it that's for sure.

I also finally took the kid's bikes and scooters out and they've been riding those a lot. I'm going to attempt (again, for the third time) to teach Ella how to ride a bike.... I bought her a new helmet this week so maybe it will motivate her? We will see....

Justin had Friday off so he built some more garden boxes so we can start planting soon! And then we managed to get some spring cleaning done. And by "spring cleaning" I really mean "catch up with the housework" and also pack up the winter clothes. I really hope we don't have to bring those up until November now...

She was so excited to find some frogs

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Ella posing with her new helmet. Note the T-Rex fingers

Building one of the garden boxes

I love babywearing outside! Theo is knocked right out

And that's a wrap! (a week late...)

Last week, Justin and I completed the Whole30 challenge. For the most part, we were actually pretty "compliant." Was it hard? Heck yes. I found almost everything has some form of sugar added to it. I'm a snacker and  I have a huge sweet tooth so the lack of sugar was the hardest part for me. Popcorn became one of my best friends....

But we did eat lots of veggies and fruits and had fun exploring with different ways to cook. One night I even made butter chicken with grain-free naan bread! It was delicious!

One of my favourite things to make to accompany my lunches was cucumber and grape salad. Recipe: Cucumbers, grapes and then I squeezed orange juice on it. Oooh my, so fresh and perfect for summer!

A managed to get a quick pic of it once (before I gobbled it up) Although this pic looks like i was running out of ingredients haha

I also made some yummy cherry/date/nut bites. I tried to replicate these yummy snacks I found at Costco. I will make again so I can record the recipe. Oh ya, and Bulk Barn is like the WORST as well as BEST place to go when you're doing this challenge lol

So conclusion/outcome: Physically, I came out feeling better thats for sure. I slept better and I had, ahem, "regularity" (if you know what I mean...) I even had the desire to start working out so I've been participating in Beachbody's PiYo workouts for the past few weeks now. (Although, this week, I injured my foot so I've been resting for a bit but I'm excited to start up again tomorrow!)

Mentally, it was challenging! I craved them sweets that's for sugar, I mean, for sure.... and the temptations were everywhere... I mean EVERYWHERE!! The second day, we went to a birthday and Justin and I sat there watching everyone stuff their faces with scrumptious (looking) homemade cream filled red velvet cupcakes.

I feel like it was a lot of mental work to overcome those temptations. By the end it was a bit (a BIT) easier to pass up the offers for  cupcakes and cookies.

But now that I've added those things back into my diet, I can tell which foods my body doesn't like. For example, I ate a Caramilk bar the other day, and instantly I regretted it. I also think I have some sort of gluten sensitivity but I'll have to investigate that a little more deeply....

I'm proud of myself for taking this challenge and I've learned what I can achieve if I set my mind in the right place.

Canadian PSK (Premium Starter Kit) Diffuser Blends

When I first got the PSK, I was a bit overwhelmed with ALL the oils! (Seriously, there's 11 in there--SO MUCH TO CHOOSE FROM!)

However, over the past few months I've been able to play with the PSK oils a lot! (and others I've collected too) and I decided to make a nice little graphic (because.... hello! GRAPHICS!) to hopefully help new oily members see how much just this kit can help support their lives!

Please feel free to copy and share the image but please don't crop the logo!

So here it is: