Let's Talk Anxiety and Finding Calm

Photo Credit of Awesome Takes Practice located on Google

So I have anxiety. I have had it for quite some time, however I never really noticed it until I got pregnant with the small human. About 2 or three months into my pregnancy, I started having panic attacks, and the thought of having to do something made me freak out. At first I thought it was just my hormones.... has to be right ? I was growing a baby, so why wouldn't I be losing it? I thought it would go away. Well I was wrong, it only got worse as my pregnancy progressed. I was constantly on edge about EVERYTHING! My biggest stress was the constant fear of having another miscarriage. So every time the small human went to long without moving the anxiety and fear set it. Then the world would tell me how to be a mom, and life and everything else compiled. I would overthink everything. Including taking a shower. Yes folks that is right I had to seriously talk myself into a shower and be able to stay in the water long enough to actually take a shower. Then I thought it would go away after the baby was born....Again God smiled and said nope. So now here I am three years later, with anxiety, I know as long as I stay in my routine, I am fine. I like monotony. It really is not a bad thing. 

I have been asked how I keep my anxiety under control like I do and while I appear calm on the outside, I am losing my crap on the inside. Sleep and coffee is what I tell everyone. However there is so much more than just sleep and coffee that plays in it. I have my happy place. Which is with my husband and I am snuggled up under my blanket. I have always looked into a weighted blanket, and usually they are advertised for Autism and to aid in sleep. But Someone told me to check it out to help with my anxiety. 

Photo credit to SensaCalm

So here I am partnered with SensaCalm to put it to the test.  You can create your own custom blanket, Which I recommend! The ordering process was slightly different for me but I did a mock run through of the exact blanket I got so I could check out the ordering process. So first and foremost, when you are ordering DO NOT ORDER YOUR BLANKET TO FIT YOUR BED!!! You must order the blanket to fit

yourself. The blankets are made to fit the person not the bed! So when I go to order one for the tall child, I will have to order a different size and weight for her. she is like a foot small than me and 200 pounds lighter. So we do not need a 25 lb full size blanket for her. Anyhow, Start by selecting your Fabric to begin the ordering process. They have a huge variety of fabrics for everyone of all ages. Everything from Mickey, Hulk down to the flowers on blue that you will find on my blanket! Then you go through select everything you want. Order and enjoy. 

photo credit to Sensacalm

SensaCalm all started with one woman. Donna Chambers. Until 2008 Donna had never heard of a weighted blanket. When her grandson was Diagnosed with Autism, it was then that she had heard about these therapy blankets. After trying to find a weighted blanket for her grandson, and being disappointed in what she was finding. So she decided she would make one. With the help of a friend, and some trial and error, they did it. And thus Sensa Calm was born! All of their blankets are high quality, made right here in the US. They do offer more than just Sensory Blankets. They offer Weighted Wraps,  Lap pads, As well as Toys, Lotions, Oils, Vests and SO MUCH MORE.

Here is the run down of my experience with the blanket. I have found I am sleeping much deeper. So I am more well rested in the morning. The first few weeks I had the blanket, I had all three kids in the house, I was working 55 hours a week, and I was a mess. So When I started to melt down I would just go to bed. I curled up with my blanket and just calmed down. But I really could not put it to the test until I was without it. 

Enter the Arizona Trip. Me and the small human where set to board a plane on July 2nd, fly 1400 miles away and stay for eight days. Now don't get me wrong, This trip was something we both needed. I am so grateful to have been able to take it. I am especially grateful to my family for helping make that happen. However I was about to be well out of my routine.  I literally over thought everything on the morning of our flight.  Which of course triggers an anxiety attack. So here we go. By the end of day I had hit my monthly quote of anxiety attacks. I just wanted my blanket and my husband and both of which where back in northern Idaho... I made due. The remainder of my trip was fairly well enjoyed, I spent the much needed time with my family and my adoptive family, But at night I was tossing and turning, I was staying up so much later than normal, and of course the anxiety. So when I returned home, The first thing I did was snuggle down with my blanket!  Almost instantly I was ready to sleep and good heavens did I sleep. I slept so deep and peacefully. The same thing the next night. 

I have had such a wonderful experience with the blanket, and the company as a whole! If you know someone or you yourself needs a blanket like this in your life, I highly encourage you to test it out!

You can order your blanket on there site https://www.sensacalm.com/

Check out SensaCalm on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

** this post is not a paid post. all of the opinions thoughts and words are my own. As always I encourage my readers to the product for themselves and formulate their own thoughts and opinions. SensaCalm did Sponsor this review and provided me with a blanket free of charge to facilitate this review** 

Finding Me Time with Yardley Soaps!

I love me time! I get a glass of wine, I run a hot bath, with some essential oils. I get my face mask on and I grab my kindle. I really do enjoy my me time. This is my escape, I am a mom, I have not one, not two but three kids. While I love the crap outta of my kids and my husband I still need my time. Who doesn't?? Even dads need it too, however I don't think a soak in the tub and some wine is their idea of me time. I have a wide variety of bath products but one of my favorite is Yardley! They have a huge selection of products. From their botanical bath collection, body washes and hand soaps. I was sent three bars of soap to sample and review and I am here to share them with you! I received Creamy Coconut, English Lavender, and Oatmeal and Almond. I am always fond of Oatmeal and Almond. Anything with almond is almost a guarantee for me. Coconut is great too, but out of this bunch English Lavender is my favorite! All three bars have a light subtle scent. But heavens do they smell good! They moisturize like no ones business. Its almost like you are washing with lotion. These are affordable as well! I have even found them on occasion at a few dollar stores! You can go to their site http://yardleylondon.com/ and see where you can purchase close to you. While you are at it go check out their facebook! 

** I was provided these samples free of charge in exchange for my honest and true opinions. I was not coerced into saying anything. I always encourage my readers to check out each product and develop their own opinions! 

Hooray Heroes

You remember when you where a kid, how your name was on a pencil, or a key chain, and even those little license plates for your bike?? Yea I don't because my name was never on that stuff. EVER!! For some reason Tia was never on the list. So I knew when we chose our sons name his likely would not be on the list of stuff like that either. So I always try to get him stuff personalized to him. Actually I do it for all three of our kids! While our daughters have more traditional names, and we almost always find their names on the souvenirs at theme parks, their brother is not so lucky. So when I come across companies like these I fall in love! So Today I am going to tell you about Hooray Heroes! 

This company is really amazing, not only do you get to personalize the book with your child's name you can pick the story, how the characters look so Unless you design it, no two books are the same.  We chose the book When X Grows Up. These books start at just $24.00, and they have more than just one type of book. In collab with Hooray Heroes we chose When X Grows Up. Now please be aware in order to secure my sons identity, I have edited these photos so that his name is not present. When we got this book we both loved it! He loved it because he was the star of the show and I loved it because it was so neat to see something I created like this come to life. This is something that will be a treasure for our little man for years to come! These books are great for Baby Showers, First Birthdays, Fifth Birthdays, Christmas, whatever it be! These will fit the bill! The ordering process is a breeze, the hardest part is choosing what you want of the story line! ok the second hardest part. The real hard part is the dedication. The front page is left blank for you to write a special note. You can either use one of their pre written messages or create your own. I did a bit of both. Seeing the note and the story line before me, I will admit I was in tears. X could not understand why I was crying, he kept saying mommy okay.  I have to say if you are looking for a keepsake this is the way to go! They have free US Shipping. From the time I placed the order, it took about a week to print and ship so it was fast and the shipping itself was only a few days! You can start your ordering process here!! Oh and let them gift wrap it too! 

 

Silverwood and all its fun

Last week we went and visited Silverwood. Just a few miles from outside of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho you will find this fun filled theme park. It appears small, it is anything but small so bring your walking shoes and your bathing suits. Did I mention this is a water park too? While the water park is only open a few times a year, the theme park is all year round.  First Off, I recommend purchasing two day tickets. While you can complete both parks in one day, I suggest the two days so you can really see and do it all. I am going to take you through our day and give you my full review on both parks. boulder beach is just as large as the theme park with just as much fun! This is not your ordinary pool.

They has a large grassy area with plenty of beach chairs were you can spread out! The kids could not wait to get in the water, We almost had to glue them down to make them sit and stay so I could get a few pictures.
My favorite attraction at boulder beach is the Lazy river. This is always a favorite of mine anywhere you go, however this one has a swim up bar. You can purchase both alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. So grab yourself a tube, a margarita and relax!

Be sure not to fall asleep though! You may wake up with a face full of water from one of the mini water falls on the lazy river. If you want to just let the kids run wild this is the perfect spot for you!
Our son was not to crazy about the polliwog park, however it is simply because he does not like water falling on his head. He would rather submerge his head in the water than to have it fall on him. He did like the slides. at least after I coaxed him down the first one. He was not sure what to do with a slide that had water.  Personally I  enjoyed the polliwog park and wish my son would have enjoyed it a bit more. Hopefully next year will be better. This small park withing boulder beach is meant specifically for small children, they have water slides, water cannons, mushroom waterfalls and so much for your little ones to do! There are three different slides for kids who are slightly older to choose from, and there are little mini slides for your polliwogs.
The favorite attraction for our daughters and my husband was the larger water slides. They went crazy over them. They where so excited insisting I go on one with the. I have a fear of open water slides, So I only went on one. I do however Enjoy them if they are closed slides. I however only completed one slide, because by the time I got to the bottom I was starving. I needed some grub.

While Silverwood has tons of places to eat, They are popular for one food and I believe you will find it in every restaurant available there!  They are about 6.00 for a basket of strips and fries. You get three large chicken strips so it is not a waste of money. My husband was the only one who could complete his meal. The batter is light and crispy, and both the fries and chicken strip breading is seasoned just perfectly! This is one of the best chicken strip meals I have had in a long time! It is also really fulfilling. We did not get to eat dinner until around 11 pm and this def. tied us over. While you are at Silverwood I really recommend the Chicken Strips! This is where you will get the most bang for your buck!

Now I am going to get to the actual theme park, flume rides ( log rides) roller coasters, a carousel and a train that takes a ride around the entire theme park. My biggest fear was not the roller coasters, but having to wait in line only to be turned away because I was too big to ride. If you follow my social media you will know I am not a small woman. While I embrace who I am, being turned away from a ride because you are to big is embarrassing. At the beginning of the day we where told to go to the info booth and get a courtesy pass, this courtesy pass allows those who can not wait in line, to skip the line. We went on the Timber terror, and while I could not ride my daughters had a blast. it was slightly terrifying, but they did enjoy it! The thing that gets me is that it was not my weight that stopped me. It was my hips. Most coasters I have seen are a bench type seat. However this bench type seat had a divider bar in it... So my hips would not fit. I unfortunately could not ride any of the coasters, because if the seat set up was not like this, It was an over the shoulder restraint. Which I know wont work. But again that is okay, my kids and husband still had a blast themselves. As far as little kids they have plenty of rides for the smaller humans, such as these planes. They have a carousel, and a ferris wheel, and just so much to do, however I am going to end this post off with the Train ride! 

So my suggestion for the train, DO NOT WAIT! Take this first. The train ride has stunts and a little water. Plus if you want to take pictures or video you will need to do it early so you can actually see it! After a certain time they do not do some of the stunts because it becomes unsafe for the guests and cast members.  I had an absolute blast on the train. They walked by and where saying something about how some explorers went missing how they hoped we would all return safely. I did not realize the woman was standing next to me, when I told D2 that I hope we all come back too. She started talking to me, well for those that know me when I am put on the spot, especially in front of those that I do not know, I laugh. I do not even make actual sentences I just laugh. She starts to ask my husband if I have been drinking and making a little joke out of it. All in good fun though. I did not mind.  At the end of the ride, I got to wear a giant sombrero and shake some maracas as we all sand along with the music. It was really a lot of fun! I have never seen my husband and kids laugh so much. This really made the entire trip worth it!

Over all Silverwood will certainly be a park we visit again! We are already planning next years trip! We really did enjoy it. From all five of us, we want to send a huge thank you to Silverwood for inviting us to enjoy your wonderful paradise!

https://www.silverwoodthemepark.com/

** Our admission to Silverwood and Boulder Beach was free of charge in exchange for my honest and true opinions. I always encourage my readers to try everything I review for themselves as our opinions may vary. I was not paid or coerced into saying anything that I did say. **

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Lets Wine about it....

With all the hub bub and commotion of life all I want at the end of my long day is a glass of wine.... But I do not really want to go to the store after work and buy a bottle of wine. So whats a girl to do? Wine about it?? Nope, that is not an option.

But check this out, a monthly subscription wine service... oh yea! I am talking a wine club, delivered once a month to your door...
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4 bottles a month, personalized to your liking, each bottle starting at at least 13 dollars a piece..

The best part of all of this ?? Get started right here right now and you will save $22 this month!

So what are you waiting for ??


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Label Daddy Love

I am a label fiend. There I said it! I love to label things! I can not deny it, it is who I am. So recently I did a collab with Label Daddy and I scored some sweet reusable write on labels. This way I can customize them for anything in the house. My stuff, The three childrens things and the husbands belongings. I got Write on- wipe off labels and some chalk labels. So as you can imagine being a label fiend I have gone on a bit of a labeling spree....

The first thing I took these wonderful write on wipe off labels to my mismatched  kitchen jars. 

 and then I thought to myself me and the small human are getting ready to head to Arizona soon... So why not label everything that will go in mine and the small humans carry on.... including my laptop and charger for it. So when I bought the little three ounce bottles for lotion and shampoo, it came with these sad excuse for labels. So Label Daddy to the rescue! Then my labeling addiction went to the little things, like the cup i take to work everyday. Now I work by myself but this cup goes with me pretty much everywhere. I have to say Label Daddy is where it is at if you need labels. And they do so much more than labels. they have things like towels, bags and wall Decals too! Return Address Labels too!

** These labels where provided to me by Label Daddy in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I was not coerced into saying the above. These are my own words and thoughts. I always encourage my readers to try them an formulate their own opinion. 

True Citrus

A while ago you seen my post for the True Citrus Sweepstakes right??? if not go check it out now. Anyhow the point of this post is to share with you their amazing products! In my house we love Juice and water and Tea. But getting my kids to drink water sometimes can be rough. Especially my little one. He loves his juice. So Water Enhancers, because sometimes he just needs to lay off of the juice. 

Now the trick is to find a water enhancer that I can trust. I need one that is not loaded up with sugar or a billion other things that I can not trust. So what do I do. Recently True Citrus sent me almost all of their products and I am in love!! Low Calorie, and not loaded with sugars or even fake sugars, just pure crystallized flavor. We love it! True Citrus scent me one of all of there products including the spices for cooking!  The first thing I tried as soon as I opened the box was the watermelon flavor! I loved it. My husband was not to keen on it but he did like the other flavors. My favorite of all of them has def. been True Orange Mango!  As far as the Salt free cooking spices I love the Orange Ginger! This gives some new flavor when I make chicken! You can taste a slight hint of Ginger, with more of the orange zest! It is simply delicious. It  does not need to marinade for a while, I just sprinkle it on the chicken and then pop it in the oven and go! I love to use the Lime, Cilantro & Garlic and the Lemon Pepper one when I am making Tacos or Burritos! This is delicious. Just a hint of the spices that you want when you make mexican food! As far as the drink mixes, I always keep a few on me. I stick a bunch of them in my lunch box and i am sure to keep a few in my purse. So when I go to a restaurant I almost always order a water. But being a former waitress, I hate asking for lemon. Especially if all I get is a water with my meal. Thanks to True Citrus I can just use a couple of lemon packets.  Just mix it in with my water and boom! True natural lemon flavor and none of the unnecessary stuff with it! 

**These are my own personal opinions I was not compensated in money for this review. I was however provided the products to test and review. I always encourage my readers to try the products for themselves.