Something is so wrong. 

Really wrong. 

My house is clean. Like I had to try really hard to figure out chores for my kids today. 

It's not possible. Have I finally figured out a system that works?

Well if I did, you all need to know about it. 

I'm sure you've seen your friends on facebook checking out Tidy Up on Netflix or reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. Did you roll your eyes? Me too. Hard too. Like could see my brain. Like a book is going to help me figure out my life and get it organized. PAAALEEEAASSEEE

Well, I gave it and tried to listen to the book and almost went to sleep out of boredom. So when it came on Netflix I was like yeah, no. 

You guessed it, I gave in again. Watched one episode and was hooked. I started with my clothes and purged SO MUCH. So much that it was embarassing that one person could have so much and have no idea. 

Then I moved on to my office. Then to my kids' rooms. Bathroom and so on. 

When I tell you that I've run out things to get done in my house before my day was over, I'm not lying to you. I actually had time where I had no idea what to do with myself. 

With 6 people in the house, there's always laundry to do, but as far as having to spend hours everyday on the house...NOT HAPPENING anymore. 

Seriously, check out Tidy Up on Netflix if you're a watcher or check out the book (you can get it here https://amzn.to/2FF9tKj) if you are a reader. 

It will seriously change your outlook on everything that you have and everything that you choose to buy in the future!

Have you guys heard the news??? The Young Living Starter Collection has improved!!!  12 oils, 1 diffuser, Thieves Cleaner, Thieves Purifier, NingXia Packets and a lifetime of goodness!!

In 2014 the starter collection included two oily unicorns, Valor and Peace & Calming. Guess what?! THEY ARE BACK!!

And the price only increased $5....Those two oils are just under $100 alone. Starter collection price is $165 and the beginning to great things for you and your family!!

So why the starter collection?

Check it out in the image below!

Want in on this goodness? Follow this link...https://bit.ly/2QG6nb2

If you had parents like mine, you were polite to everyone. If you weren't, you were in some serious trouble. 

So a thought hit me yesterday while checking out at our local mini mart. I walked up, said Hi How are you? She responded with good and you? I said great. She said good, thanks. She immediately was like, no...that doesn't make sense. Haha. I said girl, me all the time. 

So the more I thought about how many times I say something like that the more I laughed. We call it being socially awkward. When in reality, we are just programmed by our scary parents to be super polite. So politeness comes out of our mouth even when it doesn't make sense in the conversation itself. 

Like when your waiter or waitress says enjoy your meal and you say you too. Like they have time to eat. 

So the next time you say something like this, just say sorry, my parents beat me as a child if I wasn't polite. Problem solved. 

Ashley

Well hello everyone. Of course the stranger I'm talking about in the title of this is me. I fell off the wagon. After you get to know me (or if you already do) you will know that I fall off of things a lot. However, this year is going to be different!! How you ask? With one word. 

Yeah, one word. It's going to shape my entire 2019!! My word for the year is Consistency. Lord knows that is my biggest fight! I suck at it to put it frankly. With 4 kids, 1 husband, 1 dog, 1 cat, and 1 fish....it's really easy to just let things be. It's also super easy to get motivated for the new year and then a week in (or a day in) the motivation is gone. Goals disappear and we fall back into the same routine. 

So, instead of setting up your new year with goals, set your year up with a word. Just one. One word you struggle with and want to improve. It can literally be anything. Don't make this hard people. If you struggle...I seriously advice you to pick up a copy of Jon Gordon's book called...One Word That Will Change Your Life. (You can find your own copy here https://amzn.to/2M2dw3S). It is a great read (as are all of his books, so you really should get them all). 

So to continue with my word of the year, consistency, I've decided to stay consistent with this blog. So here are some things you can expect from me in the future:

1. Realness. I will complain about being a mother and I will also complain about my girls. Just know that I wouldn't change a thing, but let's face it, it's not easy. Those who make it seem easy just hide it better than others. 

2. Oily Talk. I will talk about Young Living, their products, their organizations, and testimonies. It's my job, it's what I do and it's one of the money things I love. 

3. Sports Photography. During the in season, I am a photographer of ATV, Quad, Trikes, etc. My husband races and this year, 2 of our girls will be jumping on that as well. Summer is super busy for us and we love it. 

4. Non Filtered Sarcasm. I am a sarcastic, unfiltered, real talk kind of mom. There will be adult words, adult content, sales, suggestions, my favorites...on and on. So please know this before you decide to jump on my bandwagon.  Although, I really hope you stay. 

I feel like we need more real moms next door to come out of the wood works and admit that life is not all rainbows and unicorns in motherhood. It's stupid hard and frustrating and the duties suck sometimes. If we shared our difficulties, our nervous breakdowns and how much we hate doing laundry, and how our kids are sometimes assholes (and that's okay), we would feel less alone and more normal (not the setting on the dryer...I HATE LAUNDRY!!!

Until next time friends. 

Ashley

Soooo, school is starting soon. Most parents are over the moon excited to send their kids to school and get back on a routine. If you homeschool, this means your summer vacation is over too! However, that being said, I'm excited for school to start as well. We need routine for this family of 6 to not lose their sanity completely. Mind you, I said completely. Every mom and dad has lost at least a portion of their sanity. It's a happy time though.

So this school year we are heading back to K12 (OHVA for Ohio peeps) and I don't think I could be more relieved. This year I'm introducing the last two of my clan into the routine of schooling. Please send wine and chocolate! I have no idea how crazy this is going to be, but I'm ready! (Insert annoying Spongebob song here) 

I will have a 6th grader, 4th grader, Kindergartener and a Pre-K kid this year. I need that k12 support to help me get used to having all 4 girls in school. That voice constantly reminding me that I can't skip this day because it's too hard and that attendance that pushes me to do it!

Not to mention, my older girls used k12 when we started our homeschooling journey (haters, please stop here and leave, If you have an issue with me using e-school and calling it homeschooling, go away with your negativity. I am schooling at home....homeschooling) . They got an amazing start and made it easier when we transitioned to traditional homeschooling. So I wanted that start for my younger two as well. 

Anywho, now that there will be 4 kids in school and 2 of them requiring non-stop support from me....time is going to be tight! I work from home as an essential oil educator, a sports photographer through the summer, AND I will be homeschooling 4 kids. Sorry about the broken record, I guess I'm just trying to come to terms that my babies are all old enough to be in school. Talk about a wake up call. Time goes SOOO fast and even though we are told that....it is still shocking when we see it...amiright? 

So what are you doing to get ready for another year (or your first year) of school? I want to hear from Public School moms, E-Schooling moms, Traditional Homeschooling moms, Unschooling moms, and any other moms out there!

Are you celebrating? Crying? Stressed? 

If you are homeschooling (any form) what does your room look like? Post it up on FB with #Igotthis so we can see different ways!!

Also, my oily people....what oils are a must in your school rooms? 

For us it's Geneyus, Motivation and Surrender! 

Until next time my friends....

Why is it that we expect our kids to walk away feeling confident in their intellegence when we give them a score of average on testing? When I took my SATs, I got an "average" score. I walked away from that feeling normal, like I could never do anything spectacular. Yet here I am killing it!! When we teach our kids that there is a below average, average, and above average....they will never see themselves as anything more than that. That's sad. To me, its down right heart breaking. 

Why not give the score without a title attached to it! Like, hey, you did an awesome job and you are bound for great things!! We should be teaching our children that anything is possible and that they can accomplish anything they work hard for. Could you imagine how awesome the future would be for us if we just worked on letting people feel good about themselves and not tearing them down? 

I leave you with this thought, the next time your kid brings home an "average" grade, celebrate the heck out of it and them! It will go further than you think. 

Can we just stop? Please? We are losing great relationships with family and friends over a difference in opinions! To all those protesting...how about turning that energy to doing something that will really make a difference. Like handing out food and blankets to the homeless and poor. Even volunteering at your local shelters. You can make a difference that way! Standing there with signs saying things like "Trump's not our president" isn't doing anything. I will also add that if you are a citizen of the United States...he is in fact, your president. You need to start praying for him. Praying that God gives him guidence and strength. Hoping he fails...that's not helping you or anyone else. We can have different opinions and still get along and disagree with love. 

homeschooling has forced me to get my kids to express their opinions on things. When they are different than mine, I let them know that it's great to have different opinons. It's all about how you share them and discuss them. When you berate someone because of their beliefs, you are no better than all the hate going on in the world already. Stop adding to it!

On a positive note! I have the most amazing aha moment to share with everyone. The stress of the election and all the posts on facebook has absolutely torn me down. Straight to my soul. To deal, I grabbed my Young Living Stress Away (Check out how you can get a hold of that beauty by contacting me!) and applied it....heavily. It hurts to see so many that were upset by how much hate was in the world and now they are just adding to it. It makes no sense to me. 

On an ending note, teach your children love and you can watch the world change for the better. Don't pass on hatred, pass on how to change the world. 

Let's take a moment and appreciate all the diapers that have passed through this house.....Okay that's enough. 10 years people. That's how long I've been buying and changing diapers. NO MORE!! All 4 kids are doing their thing on the potty. No diapers...that is something that seemed so far away and unreachable. Yet here we are. My littlest is only 2 1/2. Not one of my others were potty trained that soon. I credit potty training both toddles at the same time. Team work is dream work!! I'm still wiping butts...but atleast it's not smooshed.

Okay, moving on from the icky mom stuff. Let's talk working from home. I just recently got a job with Amazon working from home doing customer service. I start the 23rd. Let me lay out my day. I get up at 6:30am, get my kids ready for school, teach them (we homeschool), lay toddles down for a nap, and start work at 2pm and work until 1:30am. Then repeat. Am I absolutely out of my mind? I pray that I can do this and help provide even more monetary support for my family. I love doing my oils and that brings in good money. This will bring in even more. Paying off my credit card and putting dents in other debt we carry will be so amazingly helpful!!

How in the world did I get old enough to have a 10 year old? My oldest will be 10 in January and I'm not sure I'm old enough for that. It's so hard to believe that my first born baby will be in the 2 digits!! However, when she speaks....that two digit attitude comes out. Like for real. You'd think she was 16! "It's not fair that I have to put clothes away!" Really. Really kid. You think that's what's not fair? Wait until you have to do ALL the chores yourself and work. Then tell me what's not fair! My dream when I grow up is to be able to go to her house, wake her up at 3am, tell her I'm thirsty and that I lost my blanket. Then eat all her food, leave all her lights on, and walk out the door....and leave it open! Those are goals people...

We just celebrated a birthday. My 3rd born just turned 4. I can't believe how fast time goes. Everyone tells you that it will go fast, but man, until it happens, you have no idea what they are talking about! In a couple of months my oldest will be 10. I don't feel like I"m even close to old enough to have a kid in the double digits. I always thought you had to be old to have a 10 year old...guess not.

On another note, all 4 of my girls are out of diapers!! Hallelujeah!! I never thought I'd be at that time in my life when I wasn't changing diapers. Almost 10 years of that crap (Literally) and I'm finally free of diapers!! It's the most freeing feeling EVER!! I feel like a party is definitely the thing to do here. Who doesn't love when their kids can crap in the toilet? 

I am currently listening to The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks. This book....genius! Within the first 20 minutes of listening to it I was transformed. From someone who set limitations for myself to breaking through the fake limitations I've set for myself. He talks about how back in the day they put a limit on the cars at 30mph. They feared that the body couldn't survive at any speed higher and would blow up. Some coureageous people decided they were going to break through that limit. Guess what....they didn't explode. Limits...they just hold you back. So I've promised myself that there will be no more limits. No more excuses. Just progess and motivation. Weren't we taught at a young age that we would be able to be anything we wanted to be? What happened to that confidence? Limits....they happened. Go back to that youthful thinking and be anything you want to be. Do what you want to do that will help you get to where you want to be. Find your happiness and know that you can be happy and have a happy life if you just allow yourself to do so!!

The world we live in has turned to violence to solve all their problems. The happenings in Dallas are awful and it doesn't fix anything. All it does is create more hate. More hate for races, police, and any other thing people can find. And what is their answer to it all? Killing innocent people. Are there bad people. Yep. Are all the people like those people all bad? NO! I just can't fathom how these people think. Do they think they are going to kill off an entire group of people? It's just not going to happen. Hitler did that....he convinced people that Jews were bad. That's what these people are trying to do. It's just not going to work. Police lives matter. Black lives matter. Gay lives matter. Kid lives matter. Mom lives matter. Sick lives matter. EVERYONE"S LIFE MATTERS!!!!! Why can't people see that. When you kill someone...you are killing someone's mother, father, brother, sister, grandmother, grandfather, etc. What if that happene to you? My guess...you'd want instant revenge on whoever was responsible....do you see the irony here? You aren't fixing anything...you're making this world worse. 

Pray with me,

Dear heavenly Father, Please be with all those affected by this thoughtless tragedy. Be with the families who have to go on without their loved one and carry them through these impossible times. Steady the heands of the doctors who are caring for the wounded officers still fighting for their lives. Give courage to the officers who remain to continue to stand for what they believe in and instill in them your love. In Jesus' name...Amen

Dallas police, and all other precincts, need your prayers. They need to know that you stand with them and support all the times they put their lives in great danger. Dallas police were rushing into danger to protect those that were protesting against them. What does that tell you?