A radiant mother

I hope all who celebrate had an absolute wonderful Mother’s Day. Being a mother is such a tough job and all of us moms deserve to be acknowledged on all days but especially today! I wanted to share with everyone tonight a wonderful product line from the company Radiantly you. Haven’t heard of it? I hadn’t either until some research I’d performed just recently. Now as a mother, I try to do my best to keep the house clean, make delicious meals for my family, take care of laundry.. And do basically everything. I usually don’t fail when it’s time for my upkeep but I have to say with these radiantly you products it has made my life a bit easier in ALL areas! Let’s get started with some products I can’t live without.

What are we looking at? The best cleaner ever! I use this delicious lemon invigorating smelling cleaner on EVERYTHING. It says counter cleaner, since this is an all NATURAL cleaner I use it to clean all counters, TOYS (that’s a big deal to me), floors when mopping, tv screens, carpets anywhere you can think of. Have you tried natural cleaners but saw over a dozen chemicals anyway? I am a mother who cleans the house while my kids are home, I hate it smelling like stinky ammonia or bleach. Now as you can see the actual cleaner comes in the small concentrate bottle, and you pour it in the larger bottle with water! The smell is absolutely delicious, lemon is always a favorite in my home. Just as a little before and after, here is my sink.
Dirty before

Literally after a quick spray and wipe this is my sink after

If you let the product soak up in the major problem areas for a couple of minutes and then wipe clean you will see an even bigger difference 🙂

Instead of me cleaning the bathrooms with horrible bleaches and tile cleaners I have switched over. Why? Honestly, it wasn’t because it was all natural.. It was because I felt horrible kicking my kids out of the bathroom while I cleaned in fears of them getting sick from inhaling the smell. After bleaching the bathrooms I would have such an intense headache followed by nausea, I needed an alternative. I personally use the tub scrub and bleach together to clean the shower, toilet, bathtubs and grout in the bathrooms. The smell is light, they contain few but all natural and safe ingredients. If your kids are anything like mine they want to help, at least with these products they can without having the worry!

This is a must in my home, I have two toddlers, both have asthma and do get the regular average cold or allergies. This decongestant is amazing and highly recommended by me for children and adults. Once again it has no chemicals, all natural products, smells great and is safe for children with asthma! If you are a mother of children with asthma you know how dangerous certain chemical menthol products can be. I apply this natural decongestant to my children’s chest area, nape (back of neck), and their backs. For my husband and I we apply in the same area… The smell doesn’t stay the same, as time progresses it actually takes on a sweeter smell with a hint of natural vanilla. This is a must if you have allergies, breathing issues or are prone to colds etc.

What is healing calendula balm? Good question, the answer is in the name of the product. It is a soft all natural healing balm to be used anywhere, and I mean anywhere on the body. If you are like me, I have rough spots on my body.. Elbows, knees, back of knees and once in awhile I get eczema in certain areas and this is the best and only treatment. I have tried other products such as aquaphor, or other ” all natural” treatments to find they are still filled with chemicals I cannot even pronounce. This has only a few ingredients, all natural and can be used for anywhere on the body, even on babies :). Here is a picture of how it looks when out on a spot, and how it looks directly after!

Silky smooth and not oily, dries fast but keeps your body hydrated.

This lavender bud sugar scrub is a favorite of mine, they all kind of are seriously but this is something I use a lot. I use just wonderful sugar scrub on my face, hands, body, and during a shower. I exfoliate with this weekly and what a difference in my skin. The lavender is so soothing and makes this scrub such a treat! Once you start using this and following it with the calendula balm your skin will feel amazing. I personally exfoliate in the shower in the evenings, put on calendula balm in certain areas and go to sleep. I wake up softer than a baby!

like I said earlier, the calendula balm is nice for problem areas especially after a sweet sugar scrub. What about the rest of your body? This amazing body butter is perfect for the rest of your body. This specific smell is amazing, when I put it on after my shower I feel like I have been dipped into a delicious chocolate bath. I feel silky smooth.
My evening regimen as far as showering and after care helps me sleep restfully at night and wake up silky in the morning. These creams are all natural, only have a handful of ingredients which you can read and understand because it truly is all natural and you see results!!

I will be doing a fabulous giveaway as my late Mother’s Day treat, I will choose a name (email) from one of my followers on my list an announce the winner in tomorrow’s post! Stay tuned and good luck. Also if you would like to purchase any of these or any additional products from this amazing all natural company please visit http://www.radiantlyyou.com/kristenindovino

Citrus medallion, let’s stay organized!

This evening I am more tired than any words could be used to describe it, if that makes any sense. I’m getting right to the giveaway winner. First let me remind me as said in the previous post if you do not reside in the areas specified just tell me if you want to cover shipping and if not I will go to the next person. If you do reside in the areas specified this whole gift is your free prize, shipping included! Pheagy1983 is the winner!!!! Make sure to comment the phrase to claim your prize. You have 24 hours to reply 🙂 congratulations on winning the prize… A citrus medallion cinch sac from thirty one!

OCD and organization made easy

So as a stay at home mom to two toddlers, and being married I have a very active lifestyle. I am always on the run, attending play dates, doing housework and I cannot stand extra stresses that come into my life. Now stress is inevitable to a point anyways. The best way for me to be stress free is to keep things as organized and tight knit as possible! I recently found a friend who was using some bags, I asked her questions, made some purchases and I’d like to show you how I stay organized in almost all areas of my life with bags!

First up:

What are we looking at? A genius idea! Hang up activity organizers. Now these can be used in many ways.. I’ve seen people hang them up in nurseries to be used for diapers etc. In my life with two active toddlers that like to stay busy the best place is the car. Now with these great organizers you can even put an iPad in the top right slot (usually we do for long trips). As you can see we store toys,crayons, and snacks. My boys love this and it also gives them a fun change of toys from the house.

Next up we have yet another organizer that I use for the car. This beauty is the flip top organizing bin.

This organizer has slots on the side of it that can be used for water bottles or crayons as well as mini card games for the car. Between two full size car seats those side mesh pockets are obviously not something I can utilize. We keep miscellaneous toys in the organizer that both boys are required to share or play together with, unlike the toys in their personal organizers which is for their own use. When we take long trips we fill the flip top organizer with snacks, juice boxes and magnetic puzzles. The neat thing about this is the top can flip over and be used as a coloring station, a table for food and drinks or a table to play board games on. The other thing I love is how this organizer doesn’t move with the car, why? It seatbelts into the car!

Now let’s move on to the last car organizer in my life, the pack n pull caddy

I hang this up as well on the back headrest and let it hang down. It has Velcro to open and close the flaps and a convenient Velcro slot in the middle to divide the two areas. Now on the right you can use if to put baby wipes and the left to store diapers. I personally don’t have use for that since I always have my diaper bag on me. The way the Cadmus family uses it is as a trash! I change my youngest diapers in the back of the car, I will put the dirty diapers in the big slot on the left and I will put all paper trash from all the snacks and drinks used in the other organizers on the right. Once we get to our destination which has a trash, I will empty it out and we can start new. I have no eliminated all trash on the floor, plus my boys love being my helpers by putting the trash in the special car caddy.

Who loves storage for the beach, soccer games for the kids, big picnics and things of the sort?

This big beautiful bag is FULLY insulated, has Aton of room, has a front pocket and came with bottle coolers. This bag is a must to bring to the beach, but I recently have used it for Easter. This Easter we celebrated at a friends house and I agreed to cook there meaning I had to bring tons of stuff over. This bag was perfect and kept all the food cold on the drive

The bag is totally full and has a long strap to war and smaller handles if you’d like too carry it. These bags are so lightweight so even when filled it does not weigh much.

Since I used that bag for food products, what would I use to carry all the drinks.. The pack and pour thermal!

This bag is great, especially if you have kids and do a lot of beach days or many picnics. If you look inside it can have 4 designated slots for bottles, OR, you can fold the flaps down and use it for a cooler of larger drinks or something else that needs to be kept cold. I have used it for drinks for play dates and sometimes to keep my taller Tupperware in. This is yet another fully insulated bag and has a nice convenient pocket In front for bottle openers, or silverware.

Now if you are doing the picnic scene and using the pack and pour thermal for drinks, you will need this perfect party set to keep your casserole dishes hot!

This is awesome! You can put a large casserole dish on the bottom, you can also store another dish on top and on the absolute very top is a small zipper opening which I use for dessert plates and napkins. Since this bag is insulated it keeps your dishes nice and hot (or cold) if that’s the type of dish you are using it for. It is a nice size, easy to carry, and has a great grip handle so you do to carry it unevenly.

Now that our picnic/potluck time has come to an end where do we go from here? Well our Saturdays are jam packed with soccer practice and games, to beach afterwards, out for a meal then home. For me that requires a lot of bags so my stress level stays down, the name of this game is keep natalie stress free so I can be am active patient mommy! Let’s take a look at this amazing new April special duffle bag. This is the wonderful pro duffle bag.

take a look at this thing, and my favorite part is the camo color combo it. Ones in. Perfect for taking the kids to soccer with, this can obviously be used for the gym too! Let’s take a look at these awesome features.,

This amazing side opening can be used for those yucky shoes after running in the soccer field (or the stinky towel you used to wipe off that sweat with in the gym).

This bag is large inside, equipped with pockets and slots inside and out. The outer pocket we keep the shin guards, and socks in. We keep the cleats in the side opening and inside we keep uniforms, soccer balls, and any other
paperwork needed for our busy saturday mornings on the field.

Since I do have a younger son who isn’t ready to play soccer, although he doesn’t agree, we need a busy bag for him. We use the zip top organizing utility tote to keep the baby’s toys in. We always keep snacks and water bottles in it too for our little soccer player when he gets a break.

The side mesh pockets can hold a regular sized water bottle. We use two outer pockets for water bottle and the other two for string cheese and cereal bars. Inside you can see it is very spacious and we put in iPads, mini toys cell phones, action figures, a blanket to sit on as well as some Mickey Mouse toys since they are my youngest’ favorite.

Speaking of disney characters as a favorite toy, we go to disney world ALOT. It’s easy when you live only 2 hours away from the happiest place on earth. For me the mommy I have a lot of toiletries that are a must have on the trip. I use the deluxe beauty bag to keep everything in.

This has a lot of pockets to keep makeup, face towels, face wash, shampoo and conditioner, must have lotions and a hair iron. The outer thin zip locket I use to store makeup wipes so I don’t use the interior space. Inside I put my hair iron, makeup and toiletries. Since these bags are used for organization thirty one threw in this wonderful package to keep your liquids in.

I love labels, I hated when I put the lotion in my hair thinking it was conditioner. I haven’t had that problem since I actually use labels now!

Since were on the vacation topic, I personally hate walking around with a huge purse or even bigger diaper bag just to walk thru and amusement park or just around the hotel. For me using the cinch sac is a must! It’s super lightweight, very durable and easy to carry around. Plus having the zipper in the front makes for more storage like the must have lipgloss and hand sanitizer for mommy.

As for the inside, I throw in some diapers, a package of wipes, change of clothes and a couple of snacks. Now I can be on my way without having to lug around a huge heavy diaper bag! For me.. This simple little bag is a must have!

Going on vacation and not going to disney but hitting the beach? This very versatile pro tote is perfect. This bag has so many areas to help you stay organized I plan on using It for more than beach day! Let’s take a look.

Made like the pro duffle, this has many spots for all different items. The side slot can be used for a clean or dirty towel, but for me that’s where I put all the wet yucky sandy bathing suits that need to be washed. The front area can be used for a clean sheet or towel (or yoga mat). Inside has the most convenient area for jewelry. I know when I’m at the beach I am always wearing too many “don’t get me wet or I’ll be ruined” items. The little strap holder has a designated area for earrings, and can be used to slide your rings, watches and any other jewels onto by opening it with the snap button. The inside of this bag has a lot of room for any additional sheets, towels, changes of clothes.. Or for this mommy, beach toys!

Now that I’ve showed you some of these just have goodies I use in my life to keep me stress free and organized I’d love for you all to maybe try some of these bags and make your life easier! Let me help one of you out by doing a giveaway! There is a stipulation, you must reside within the 48 continuous states. If you are the randomly chosen giveaway winner and you do not reside in those areas, if you would like to pay for shipping I won’t mind sending you the gift. Winner will be announced tomorrow evening in the blog. Winner MUST comment on the blog thread saying, “I love thirty one and I won”

The winner will win one of the above mentioned bags in a citrus medallion print! All active followers will instantly be put in for the random giveaway raffle.
If you can’t live without these bags you can go to
Www.mythirtyone.com/31fortiffany which is where I purchased all of mine! Good luck followers 🙂

Resentments, sushi and fun

Today I carried resentments, I actually carried one specific resentment towards one specific person ALL day. Now the night has come to an end, and I say to myself.. Wow I’ve been in a horrible mood all day, I’ve had negative thoughts and feelings weighing down on me all day and all that did was make a me screamy, inpatient mother to my children. All I can say is now I can relax, let it go, sleep on my action plan and tomorrow I will wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go! Now that my little rant/lecture is done let’s get on with the goodies! First off, I am a major sushi/Thai/Japanese LOVER. Tonight I had the most amazing appetizer roll there could possibly be, it is called a ruby roll. Inside this delicious refreshing roll is tuna, crab, masago and avocado rolled in cucumber with spicy ponzu. This is my new favorite sushi appetizer. Ken (my husband) and I are big sushi lovers, he would not enjoy this because of the cucumber but at least this is one roll I can be selfish in having. Moving on past the delicious sushi…ken and I are very goal oriented people, once we got married and had kids we worked on buying a house (which we have now been living in almost a year) and the very next thing on the list was buying a boat. That is a big financial obligation to take on especially after making your first major home purchase. After much talking, thinking, praying, and looking into finances we decided it was a good time to buy our 19ft bay liner, now why am I sharing this with you? The feeling of accomplishment you get after going after some of your dreams is amazing. I love that we can sit down, talk and go over what our goals and dreams are and work toward them together to make them happen.. Especially because it teaches our boys to go for what they want. I’m sure you’ve all heard of showing or expressing yourself through blogs, or basically showing off the actual goodies, what about lockets? I’ve never been into major statement jewelry or anything you can out together yourself but this truly is something I am loving. My friend excitedly showed me her new business adventure Origami owl when I went to her party, now I won’t lie… It was all cute and what not but I couldn’t see myself wearing it, until…
I saw her big jewelry bar as she called it. I recently made this because of our dream (ken and I)

To me this was the cutest thing! I got to pick out all of my charms even that back plate.. Let’s delve a little deeper into what exactly we have here. That adorable locket has some beautiful stones, and open and shuts with a strong magnetic closure

Once you open it you can put in your charms and if you choose to have a backplate

The complete nautical boat themed locked I showed you before is the locket I wear almost everyday, I’m proud of it, I made it and it actually isn’t just a piece of jewelry but i put it together to mean something! I always get so excited to share it when people ask me why I decided to put those specific charms in

Plus I love the long necklace I picked out to wear it on.
As most of you know I do love to cook and bake, so on my days where I don’t want to leave the kitchen scene,

this is what you’ll see dangling around my neck.. And speaking of dangle, to add some more pizzaz I add on a little

fun and cute dangle charm, which attaches by clasp.
These are just 2 of my most used lockets but I love how absolutely versatile they are!
Now that I showed you so fun stuff from origami owl, here is the information for my raffle giveaway!
I am raffling off this spring pack of origami owl charms :

They will come in a pouch and a origami owl takeout box! All of my active followers will instantly be added into the raffle. I will make a post tomorrow evening, after 9 to announce the winner! The winner must then comment on that blog post ” I WON” to receive the gift. I will then privately email you to get your information so I can ship this free gift to you!
If you are interested to see how these charms will look in one of origami owls lockets here’s a preview, remember the locket is NOT included in the giveaway.. Just the charms,

If any of you are interested in making a purchase for origami owl go to Erica’s personal site:
Airee.origamiowl.com and possibly be entered in any of her own personal giveaways!

Good luck to everyone, and stay tuned for the follow up posts!

Busy mornings and Strawberry butter

Good morning! On days like today where the boys and I have to run out of the house we all love to indulge in my homemade strawberry butter on toast or even better, a potato roll! I first tried strawberry butter at Mariposa (neiman Marcus) restaurant. I finally found a recipe and changed it a bit to my liking.
Let’s start with:
1/3 cup of powdered sugar
1 unsalted stick of softened butter
3 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh strawberries
Take all ingredients and use your mixer to beat all together. The result should look light pink, a creamy buttery texture with some bits of strawberry showing.

Make sure you refrigerate after using to enjoy over and over!
Now time to get these boys out of the house and to the dentist, wish us luck! Stay tuned tonight for a fun product review and a mini giveaway to my followers!