Organic Bug Spray

I have been so excited to make my own mosquito repellant (henceforth forever referred to as the more common term “bug spray”), and I finally got all the ingredients together! Now, I’ve been scouring pinterest for diy bug sprays for years, and there are approximately 24,386 of them. And I’ve probably pinned 13,207 of those. But as with all pinterest finds, how do you choose one that will really work? Enter my go-to for all things natural: my favorite blog, Wellness Mama. A quick search of her site turned up a post with multiple spray options. But you know I like to keep things simple, so I went with the essential oil bug spray recipe and changed it up very slightly. And since I already had the oils, all I needed to buy was witch hazel and distilled water!

Ok, so did you know that organic witch hazel is a thing?! Because I didn’t. Until I was browsing around the Vitamin Shoppe and found some! Now, if you’re on a budget or don’t really care about organic witch hazel, by all means go with the drug store kind for less than $2. The problem I found with that was that the ingredients list went something like this: 2% witch hazel, 98% other ingredients. And the “other ingredients” weren’t listed anywhere. So, I went with the $10 organic one. Call me a witch hazel snob, I guess.

Besides being a snob, I’m also an Amazon junkie, and their Subscribe & Save monthly delivery service is life, so naturally I am signed up to get a six pack of essential oils dropped off at my door once a month. It has lavender, eucalyptus, tea tree, orange, lemongrass, and mint. I normally just use them in a diffuser or for cleaning, but thought I’d give them a try in the bug spray. Let me just say here, this particular brand of oils works great for my purposes, but do your research if you plan on using topically or even ingesting (if you’re into that sort of thing).

I picked up a gallon of distilled water at the grocery store (again, if you’re thrifty you can just boil water and let it cool before using), and a cheap 12 oz. spray bottle at the Dollar General, and got to work.

 

4 oz distilled water

4 oz witch hazel

1 tablespoon rubbing alcohol

10-20 drops each of eucalyptus, lemongrass, mint, tea tree, and lavender oils

 

Shake it up and spray!

 

How easy is that? You can add more oils if you prefer a stronger scent. I definitely added more than the original recipe called for because I like my bug spray to dominate the world! You can also double the recipe if you have a bigger bottle. Before you ask, I’m not sure how long it lasts after you make it. I’ve been using this on my whole family this summer, but I’m pretty sure peppermint oil isn’t recommended for babies or children under a certain age (2, I believe), but you could just leave that out if you need to use it on babies (although check the safety of the other oils on children just to be safe). I did just get some rosemary and citronella oil that I plan to try out, too!

Try the recipe and let me know your results!

 

 

 

 

Cheesecake Fat Bombs

Fat fasting. What is it? To me, it’s a one or two day reset button to get back to my keto eating after falling off the wagon. I’m human. Sometimes I get tired of not eating crackers. Sometimes I go on vacation and don’t plan very well. Sometimes my baby’s great-grandmother visits from Japan and makes 1,000 donuts. Whatever the excuse (because that’s what it is, an excuse), I know the best thing I can do to get back to my keto life is a fat fast.

My fat fast go-to: cheesecake fat bombs! I can make these delicious little morsels of fat in about five minutes, and it’s so easy to change the flavor up if you’re in a different mood. Today’s choice: pumpkin spice cheesecake. Yuuuuummmmm!

Ingredients

1 softened stick unsalted butter

1 softened bar cream cheese (I used Philadelphia, but I’m not sure it matters)

⅔ cup Pyure bakeable stevia

¼ tsp pure vanilla

A bunch of pumpkin spice

 

Dump all the ingredients in a bowl and blend with mixer. Then drop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper and freeze. I freeze until firm, then transfer to a covered bowl in the fridge for storage.

I don’t measure the drops, but I can usually get about 25 of these. For a fast, I’ll eat about 20 of these in a day (and nothing else).

Macros: 64 calories/6.4g fat/.4g carbs/.6g protein (will vary based on specific add-ins and size).

 

These are also perfect snacks for a regular keto day! Enjoy!

Summertime Madness

I’m getting ready to sign Greyson up for violin lessons. She’s also registered for Vacation Bible School for one week this summer, cooking camp another week, and I’m trying to figure out which date of swim lessons works for us. On top of that, we’re going on our first family vacation since Bell was born (unless I’ve managed to block it from my memory) and I’ve written the girls a daily schedule to include trips to the pool, the movie theater, and the library. I’m getting anxiety just thinking about it.

 

 

So it brings me to this...how much is too much? I know the summer should be for relaxing and having fun and just enjoying being a kid (all of which I completely agree with and appreciate). But I also know that my oldest girls need to practice telling time and counting money before second grade starts. And neither of them can swim (I’d like to personally demand that every swim teacher who has swindled me out of hefty fees every summer for the past five year be fired immediately), so they have to take swim lessons this year. And they enjoy VBS (besides, who am I to stifle their spiritual journey), and what kid wouldn’t love to take a cooking class? And the violin is a skill I think will have lasting effects on her development (and maybe help her get into a good college in the future). I should mention, Reagan is not doing violin (not for lack of begging, but I don’t think it’s a good fit for her), and she chose magic camp instead of cooking, plus she’ll continue twice weekly speech therapy. Everything else they’re doing together, as usual.

 

 

So when will they get to do regular kid things? Don’t worry, I’ve built that into the schedule. There will be time for reading, and chores, and a mandatory outside play time (sometimes I have to force them). And if we want to skip a library story time one week, we will. I’m confident that my tendency to be less than motivated to remove myself from the couch will carry over into the summer and we will actually follow through on approximately 40% of our planned activities. Cheers to slacker moms everywhere! May you know them, may you love them, may you be them. Pass the wine and cancel that playdate.

 

Strict Keto

Today starts my super strict lose body fat because we’re going to Florida in seven weeks and my kids will want to get in the public pool keto diet! And yes, I’m the type that likes to start a diet on a random day--on a Tuesday,on the 17th day of the month, whatever. Who says you have to wait until a Monday or the first of the month to change your life?! Not me.

My Running Comeback!

I have decided to run a marathon! A whole 26.2 miles. For fun.

I've always said I had zero desire to run a marathon. Who wants to run for that many hours straight? Who can run for that many hours straight? And then I had the third child that I had always said I wouldn't have. And since we're just breaking all sorts of self-imposed rules, why not break the running rule, too?

Cochlear Implants: Part 1

Life is hectic. In the past five months we've gotten a new puppy, packed up and moved into a new house, had a birthday party in unpacked new house, buried the puppy after an unfortunate incident with a poisonous frog, had a baby, gotten a new puppy, celebrated Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Happy Heart Day, and Valentine's Day. We like to jump headfirst into things, apparently.

Low Carb Bread

You know what happens when you have a baby? The last thing in the world you feel like doing is blogging. But I feel like I'm finally starting to get back in the swing of things. And it only took three months! I've started running again, trying to get back my pre-baby body. And, although I haven't been writing about it, I have been posting pictures of my low-carb, keto friendly meals on instagram. It's so much faster.