DIY Recipe: Stress Away Epsom Salt Scrub

Oh how I love a new fun scrub to use! Not only do they smell amazing and are all natural. I love that I know what ingredients are going in to it, that it's eco friendly going back into the ground here at our homestead AND it relaxes me. 

Win win right?

Even better is when it's SO easy to make!

Ingredients:

2 Cups Coconut Oil

1 Cup Epsom Salt

20-30 drops of Essential Oil blend called "Stress Away" 

(20 -30 drops based on your preference)

*Mix it it all together in a large bowl and then store it in glass mason jars. I got these in the dollar section at Target. Love them! 

Tip: Once you've used up all the scrub just wash and re use the jars! 

Saves money and is re purposing :)

So why do I love Stress Away essential oil blend so much? Let me count the ways!

Long story short, I have anxiety while driving and was diagnosed with PTSD a year ago after an accident. I put stress away on behind my ears EVERY TIME I get in a car whether I'm driving or not and it has helped me so much. 

Also just as a Mama who homeschools and spends 90% of her time on our homestead with animals, lots of chores and responsibilities I really do love my small window I get each day to relax and take a "time out." So having things like this on hand (the espom salt scrub) is something that I enjoy having. 

Speaking of homestead with animals, we've had an influx in babies these past 2 weeks! All 4 of our female goats had TWINS within 8 days of each other. Yep you read that right.

Want to see some of the cuteness?

(Brand New, jut born a few minute prior to this picture)

My daughter snuggling one of the new goats. She told me she wishes they always stay this small.

I hear you Lily girl... I hear you. I sometimes wish you could stay this small too.

Oh you know, just a baby goat, in a diaper, on my lap, in my house. :swoons:

Meet Petra (the one Carson is holding), and Muffin (the one Lily is holding). Both are now officially animals of R&M Ranch. They will learn to take care of them and will be there new pets. Carson will be starting 4H in the fall and he's so excited!

So to sum it up, using an all natural scrub like this reduces my anxiety, helps heal my sore muscles from my workouts and life on a ranch, and it makes me smell good instead of .. well like a goat LOL.

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The life of a kid at R&M Ranch

One thing I get asked most often about our new homestead life is what do the kids do all day and do they like it? So here are a few things that the kids get to do here at R&M Ranch...

They help gather and collect eggs. Carson who's 5 also enjoys helping clean out the chicken and turkey pins on farm cleaning days. Lily has been known to crack a few eggs or two by "gently" setting them down. 

Tractor rides with Daddy. When Daddy is driving the tractor and working on the farm the world stops and these kids are in awe. They love watching him drive that tractor and bonus points when they get to actually ride on it with him.

They bring the goats banana peels, or greens from the scraps bowl in the kitchen. The goats especially enjoy those banana peels when batman brings it to them. 

They help plant things! Carson has big hopes for his first pumpkin patch. We're just hoping the seedlings last the summer so we can make that happen :)

When Grandpa and Daddy use an auger to bury stanchion polls you get to climb into said hole first.

Lily spends most of her days dressing herself to match her spunky personality, picking flowers and bouncing around like Tigger. We wouldn't have it any other way.

The kids are learning how to take care and be kind to all animals. Their favorite animal is the newest member of R&M Ranch... Bessie the cow :) Carson goes down and helps Grandma and Grandpa most mornings and evenings milk the cow and bring her food.

Impromptu dirt road runs while wearing jammies at sunset. 

Morning walks with Mommy. We try to at least walk the 1/2 mile loop around our Oak Grove each morning. We like to look for pretty birds, flowers and bugs (those aren't pretty).

There's also tire swinging with Bessie...

lots of dirt to mow...

And tractor driving to do...

At the end of each day the kids come inside to be washed up, I get to kiss their dirt smeared faces, put them in fresh jammies, and we get to sit around the table, pray and enjoy a meal together as a family. And I wouldn't have it any other way <3

With Love,

What I've learned about living off a dirt road...

We've been learning a lot in the 2 1/2 months we've lived out here.... How our Solar Panel system works, well pumps, how to conserve energy, the animals, what time of day we do what type of homestead chores, etc... It's been an adventure already and we are just scratching the surface! 

One thing I've come to realize is what goes into living off a dirt road. At first glance you wouldn't think much of it. But really it's been quiet the adjustment of living in our old condo surrounded by asphalt. 

Things I've learned living off a dirt road:

1. Sandals are no longer your "everyday shoe". It's muck boots, work boots are tennis shoes if you want to keep your feet from looking like pig pen. This was a big adjustment for me! As a Cali girl I practically live in sandals 11 out of the 12 months of the year. I've forgotten to change shoes a few times leaving the cabin and it always ends up like this.

2. Your Car will not stay clean. Gone are the days of getting the van washed and it looking pretty tell we get a random rain fall. The second you drive onto that dirt round. Bam, shows over.

3. The morning walks are so peaceful. Each morning the kids and I go on a 1/2 mile walk around our Oak Grove with the dogs. Hearing the dirt under their feet, seeing no buildings in sight and just God's beautiful country side is breath taking. I feel humbled and inspired each morning taking it all in. This is why we moved out here. To simplify, to reconnect and to give our kids a different kind of lifestyle.

4. Foot Prints: You can see all walks of life's foot prints and who's been on your road. Animals, Humans.. The kids love seeing the little foot prints on our morning walk and guessing what kind of animal it was that left it. 

5. It doesn't hurt as much when you fall. The kids used to play outside on the asphalt outside our condo and when they fell, the boo boo's weren't pretty. When you fall on dirt, it doesn't leave as much of a mark. How's that for glass half full? LOL

Our way of life out here is much different than the one we had just a few short months ago. Soon I plan to blog a "day of the life" type post so I can share more. One thing for sure is we are so happy out here. There are things that are more difficult out here or luxuries we might not have anymore (by bye less than 35 minute trip to walmart). But we've traded those days for watching the sunrise come over the mountain top and listening to the roster crow. We've traded it for rolling hills, impromptu golf cart rides through our woods and evening camp fires. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

New Beginning's: Our Moving Weekend

"When we pray, God hears more than we say, answers more than we ask, gives more than we imagine in his own time and in his own way."

I can't believe we already moved almost 3 weeks ago. Where is the time going? We started off our weekend celebrating Carson's 5th birthday. I can't believe our sweet sunshine boy is FIVE years old! We asked him what he wanted to do that day and he said he wanted to go up to the new house, so that's just what we did!

This kids built a giant hot wheels track on the porch while we unloaded and got some moving done. Not our typical birthday celebration kinda day, but he was happy!

In the afternoon we had a big surprise for him...

 His very own tractor!! He was a "tiny" bit excited to say the least. Driving it around is now one of his favorite things to do here during the day.

We ended the day signing him happy birthday and eating some delicious cake that Grandma made. He said it was his best birthday ever <3

The next day was moving day! We were incredibly grateful to see our family at our door that morning to help us make the big move out to the country. Thank you Jesus! And thank you family!

Saturday April 16th marked day 1 of building our forever home on R&M Ranch. We are tired, have lots of work ahead of us but are incredibly thankful for this opportunity God has blessed us with and excited for what the future holds. Thank you to all our family who helped us move and have come out to see us. We love you and appreciate you!❤️

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Colossians 2:6-7 ESV 

Stay tuned for more updates! :)

Getting Back on the Wagon - It's a Choice.

For those of you that know me personally or have been following my pics on social media know my family and I just moved from the city to the country side. We up rooted our family from a townhome with no yard to 38 acres of Homestead. Some would say extreme (including me, lol) but we also say it's an adventure! We are very excited to create our forever home on this land and make it something for our kids to grow up on full of memories and life experiences.

Tonight's blog isn't about that though, it's about the choice we can make to recommit and get back on the wagon. 

I will admit right here and now that Jenny, the coach, the one that works out daily, eats clean has fallen off course. These past couple weeks have been lots of moving, repairs, getting our house ready to sell, escrow, packing, more packing, etc. Our routine has been off and it's been hard for me to stick with my current program 22 Min Hard Corp and give it the best effort that I want too give it. We still have lots of work a head of us as we are preparing to build our new house, adjusting to living in a cabin, repairs on the land, and so on. I could keep eating sporadic meals and slice of pizza because it's convenient, or I can make the choice to begin again and get back on the wagon.

I don't mean "band wagon" I mean lacing those shoes back up, getting my meal prep on and jumping back into a routine again. 

Life can be messy, we have seasons, chapters and events in our life that can take us off course from our goals. That's a reality. But we have a choice whether or not we are going to let that get us back into old unhealthy habits or not. 

When I became a coach I promised myself that I wouldn't just show the "high light reel" of a healthy lifestyle. I wanted to be candid, and share the whole story, not just the "after pics". So here it is, my public pledge that I am officially "back on the wagon" and ready to rock this 8 week round of 22 Min Hard Corp. 

Are you ready to get back on the wagon with your healthy lifestyle changes? Here are 5 things you can do starting right now to get back on track.

1. Calendar/Schedule out your workouts. What ever program you are following print out a copy of that calendar (you can find them in pdf form on your Beachbody On Demand or type/write out your own) and post it on your fridge. Each day you will check off that workout once it's been done. This will help keep you motivated because you'll feel accomplished each time you get to check off another box.

2. Meal Prep Time! Pick a day each week as your designated meal prep day. For my family it's Sunday afternoons. I'm able to prep out lunches and snacks for the whole week ahead. You can read how I go about this HERE

3. Drink your Shakeology everyday. Seriously this stuff is my jam. It's delicious, tastes like a chocolate milkshake but I'm really getting a ton of super foods, probiotics, protein, my daily vitamin, energy boost (bye bye afternoon coffee fix) and it curbs my sweet tooth. Need I say more?

4. Accountability Partner/Group: I run challenge groups because I know from personal experience how beneficial they are to this journey. I became a coach because I fell in love with the aspect of a challenge group. You get daily accountability, inspiration, motivation and you make friends that are there right along side you cheering you on.

5. Consistency. Sounds easy enough right? Whether you were on point with your eating all day or not, you show up again tomorrow and put your best effort in again. And again and again. this isn't a quick fix. This is a lifestyle change. 

I hope these 5 tips will help you get back on the wagon as you start to work towards those health and fitness goals you've set for yourself! I would LOVE to be that person in the corner for you helping you stay accountable, inspired and excited to reach your goals. 

If you are ready to do this fill out the items below and let's get to moving together! :)

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