I don't want to turn 30.

So I know I should try to be all cool about turning 30 and getting older

like Oprah or Ann Curry or some fellow bloggers

but the truth is, I'm not excited about it at all.

Just like I'm not excited about my scrunchy stomach skin

that doesn't want to go away after popping out baby #3.

I mean, does that EVER go away??

Nope. Cause I'm 30 now. Bam. You're welcome.

I guess I'm just sad to say goodbye to my 20's.

They were pretty good to me.

Not only did I get a college degree,

marry "the one" and have my 3 babies in my 20's (wow, that's crazy...)

but I became the woman I am - inside and out.

I finally started to like who I was and the way I looked.

Which is something I haven't gotten to enjoy like some of you

that have been beautiful since 14.

When we were kids 30 was "so old" you know?

And now I'm here.

And I'm thinking...hmmm...I thought things would be different 

by the time I reached this ripe old age...

It's hard not to compare lives to others.

As women, we all do it (one of our fatal flaws).

But I've finally gotten to the point where I've realized

there's always going to be someone who is prettier than you,
YOUNGER than you,
more fashionable, more successful, in better shape, has more money, more talent,
more wisdom, more freedom, a better house, whatever, fill in the blank.
 But like I said here no one can have or do it all.
And I can honestly say that even though I'm not
where I thought I'd be when I turned 30
I'm still happy, extremely blessed and confidant in who God has made me.
I don't have it all, that's for sure
but I do have the things that really matter in this life and I couldn't be more grateful.

{Embracin' the camera. Post pool. With no makeup.}

My little sister's guy friend was shocked when she told him
I was 11 years older than her.
"What!? She's 30!? I thought she was only like 27 or something!"
He is now my new favorite person.
And I will definitely be pullin' for him. ;)

birthday wish list.

With the impending arrival of my 30th birthday lurking just around the corner

I thought I would share a fun little birthday wish list like I did last year.
Click the photos for the link.

I've had my eye on this beautiful hobnail pitcher from anthropologie
since I first stepped foot in the store.
I admire and lovingly caress it each time I see it.
Yes, I'm still talking about a glass pitcher...

How cute is this mason jar dispenser from Pottery Barn??
I need a new one and am waiting for this one to go on sale...more on sale that is.

 The earrings above and bracelet below are both from the Noonday Collection.
I first heard of this awesome company last year and these are the 2 items
I added to my mental wish list.

And the finale...

Our 7 year old computer has been dying a slow and painful death.

It's time to say goodbye...

...and hand it down to our children where it will endure even more abuse.

You thought I was going to be merciful to the poor thing didn't you? ;)

Anyway, I would LOVE an imac...my husband on the other hand...

not a huge fan of apple. I know. I don't know what's wrong with him either.

He especially doesn't like the price

so I doubt we will be getting such a beautiful piece of machinery.

...then again, I did end up getting last year's big ticket item. ;)

what we do when we're sick.

People ask me all the time about my family's health care choices

and more specifically, what we do when we're sick.

Most of my friends know how passionate I am about homeopathic health care 

and probably roll their eyes at me on a regular basis. :) 

But I honestly view the care of our bodies {God's temple} as part of our spirititual walk 

because God made them, wants us to take care of them, 

and I believe he created and gave us the tools we need in order to do that.

Those tools being our {incredible} immune systems and all kinds of other natural elements.

I also believe that introducing lots of synthetic medications and foods 

is really damaging to our bodies and should be done as rarely as possible.

I mentioned that I've been sick the past week or so and I think that has led right into allergies.
And I think my younger two chillins are suffering as well.

Anyway, a friend of mine just asked me again what I was doing since I hadn't gone to the doctor

and been "diagnosed" and her friend had some similar symptoms and possibly had strep.

 I've probably had strep before and I may have had it last week (when I didn't have a voice for a week)

but maybe not. Who knows. To me it doesn't really matter.

 I'm feeling better now, I have my voice back and the way I look at it, 

my immune system is just that much stronger now. 

I know some think that's a bit extreme but I believe in building up our immunity 

rather than tearing it down and I believe it truly makes us stronger 

and able to fight off more common viruses, 

sometimes without us even knowing they've been introduced into our systems.

So I thought I'd share some "remedies" that I was given all growing up

and now it's what I do for my own family.

I would also like to add that my family is pretty healthy to begin with.

My dad is a chiropractor so we get treated regularly

and research shows that having your spine {which houses your nervous system}

properly aligned can help your body stay healthier all around.
Even baby "Jida" gets treated. :)
All my babies are checked shortly after birth

because their poor little necks and spines go through a lot during delivery.

Jia's been great but needed her first "real" adjustment just last week.

She mad screamed - not cried - at my dad.

It was pretty funny. :)

We also have chosen to not vaccinate.

I know this is an EXTREMELY controversial subject

and one I take very seriously and do what I can to continue to educate myself

on both sides of the spectrum.

My dad chose to stop vaccinating his children in the 80's when I had 

what ended up being my final reaction to a scheduled immunization.

Anyway, that's a story in itself,

but Jeff and have done our own research and have made the same decision

for our children.

The reason I mention this is to go back to the strength of our immune systems.
We fight stuff off naturally rather than artificially

and never have the viruses directly injected into our systems as with vaccines.

SO.

Long intro.

When we start to feel sick or are already sick

this is what we do...

1. When we have sore throats, colds, coughs etc.

hot tea with lemon and honey is great.

2. Yep that's breastmilk.

Us mamas call it liquid gold but breastmilk is also like Jesus juice.

Seriously. It cures EVERYTHING.

We have used it for pink eye - like put it IN THE EYE people.

 When I was nursing Jett I even gave some to Jaymin in a sippy cup

when he was really sick one time.

I brought him the cup and watched and waited...

He took a swig and said, "is this chocolate milk mom?"

Then he slammed it down and asked for more, ha!

I've also read that breastmilk can cure baby acne, eczema, all kinds of things!

3. Honey also has a lot of healing properties.

Be sure to get pure RAW honey which I believe means it hasn't been boiled

therefore it still contains those natural properties.

I've also heard that eating honey that was made in your area

can help with local allergies. You know, since the bees make the honey from local flowers/plants.

4. Dr. Tichenor's antiseptic mouthwash.

Man I hated this stuff as a kid.

My dad would make us gargle with it for sore throats.

And now I force myself to do it. ;)

It's extremely concentrated and must be diluted and it tastes terrible but it works.

We also keep it on hand for canker sores.

5. Alka Seltzer Gold.

I did a post on this when I was preggo.

It works great for heartburn and indigestion.

One time I thought I was going to have to take my husband to the emergency room

because he was in so much stomach pain after our dinner date.

I thought his appendix was bursting or something!

He told me to keep heading to my parent's house {to pick up our kids}

and when we got there my dad made him drink some and within in 20 minutes

his pains subsided and he couldn't believe it.

6. Vitamin C - boosts the immune system.

We take it regularly and take extra when we're sick.

7. Garlic.

Garlic also supports the immune system.
We eat a ton of it anyway but always take garlic capsules

when we start to feel sick or are sick already.

I think the garlic oil capsules are more effective but this is what I had on hand.

8. My prenatal vitamins.

This is just a really good brand that my dad recommends.

I should be taking them while nursing but I forget a lot.

When I'm sick I make sure to take them just for the extra nutrients and boost.

9. Probiotics.

Yay! Something we do that has finally become mainstream!

Most people know about and take probiotics these days.

If you don't, they're just a healthy bacteria.

Most viruses start in the gut so taking probiotics can help the body fight them off where they originated.

Not shown here is a "cocktail" my husband and I sometimes make

consisting of orange juice and pomegranate juice.

Orange for the vitamin C and pomegranate for the antioxidants.

Blueberries are also high in antioxidants.

There's also a peppermint pictured.

Peppermint can sooth upset tummies.

Jett went through a period of time as a baby

when he would have tummy aches every single night.

I would make a calming tea (like chamomile), dissolve a peppermint in it

and put it in a bottle for him.

I had kinda forgotten that this kiddo has had digestive issues

since day one of solid foods. :(

So there ya go.

I think the only time any of my children have ever had any antibiotics

was when Jett had a very severe eye infection when he was a really little baby.

It went from ok to horrible in about 12 hours

and we didn't want to mess with damaging his eyesight or possibly

causing a brain infection.

I hope this info is helpful!

I'm definitely not going to pretend that I know everything about the human body

and homeopathic health care. This is just what I've been taught or what I've read myself

but I love learning more about both subjects 

and making the best decisions I can for me and my family. :)

father's day camping.

So my husband wanted to go camping again this year for Father's Day.

With a broken rib.

And our 4 month old baby.

And rain in the forecast.

I mentioned these things...subtly...but he still wanted to go.

So I said, "Ok. Happy father's day. This is your gift. ...no seriously."
Cause let's face it. Camping is 90% work and 10% play with 3 small children.

We went to Truman Lake this time in Clinton, MO

and got to our campsite around lunchtime on Saturday.

And this is the first time I notice Jaymin's shoes.
He told me he was "two face" at home and I laughed and said "good one".
Apparently he wanted to be two face all weekend long.

It was super hot when we got there but our friends had a nice setup with plenty of shade.
But Jetty still needed a little help keeping cool. ;)

After lunch we all went out on the boat.
And I took Jia.
Just call me "mother of the year". ;)

Aaaand wanting to keep that title I let my 2 year old go tubing with our friend Brandon.

And apparently it is a Hatfield family tradition to be stormed on

every. time. we camp.

So after dinner we watched the clouds roll in and braced ourselves.
We didn't end up having a ton of wind and rain but the thunder and lighting
sounded like it was splitting the earth in two.

 But somehow the boys managed to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Even with their air mattress deflating during the night.

Jeff and I slept pretty poorly

(broken rib + air mattress = no bueno) oh yeah, and we forgot pillows

 and we kept checking on the boys to make sure they weren't being suffocated

by the deflated air mattress.
And really, even light rain on a nylon tent sounds like golf ball sized hail.

 But we survived!

And we didn't go home or check in to the Bucksaw "Resort"!
And baby girl slept great!

We made breakfast, the boys went fishing and we took the boat out one more time

and then packed up and headed home, dirty and exhausted.
That's probably my favorite thing about camping...

The shower and good night sleep afterwards! :)

Happy Father's Day Jeffrey Scott!
You are the only man I would camp for!

Love you. :)

The truth is.

Life is hard right now.

It's busy but not exciting. It's messy but not fun.
It's going too fast but the days drag.

I've been sick this week and it's brought me down a bit.

I'm not used to being sick for more than 3 days tops.

But not getting the rest you need slows down the healing process.

Remember getting sick as a kid and you got to go to bed

and your mom would bring you 7Up & tylenol?

Now you don't even get a nap.

There's no sick days for mamas.

My home feels too small and its closing in on me.

It's ugly and cluttered and dirty.

Despite my efforts to clean, organize, and decorate.

And those things make a type A, anal control freak like myself about lose it.

My kids are just kids but the constant needs, demands,

and messes are draining.

Money is tight. Money is always tight.

And that gets old. Really really old.

And ever since having child number 3

I've realized I can't do it all.

{A big time bummer for a personality like mine.}

I can't have a clean house

perfectly toned body

manicured fingers and toes

trendy outfit everyday

well behaved children

clean laundry

computer time

home cooked dinners

a social life

craft time

do fun activities with my kids

nurse my baby every 3 hrs

decorate my house

help support my family

serve in my church

and shower.

Something has to give.

I mean there literally are not enough hours in the day.

My house is usually messier than I like.

My nails are NEVER manicured

(& when I get a pedicure once a year it only lasts about a week

due to tripping on toys left on the floor,

and my children stepping on my toes

and running the shopping cart or stroller over them).
I NEVER have enough craft & computer time

(but really, is there ever "enough"? :) ).

I don't see my friends as much as I'd like.

I don't get enough dates with my husband.

I could go on and on.

And here's the thing... 

I have great kids.

They're sweet and funny and smart.

They're not any harder than any one else's.

My boys are busy. Very very busy. But most are.

And they're some of the nastiest humans I've ever met

but I'm guessing that's pretty normal too.

And I get to stay home with them

{and I realize what a blessing that is}

because my husband has a good job and works hard to provide for us.

I have a home. I have a car. I have a healthy family.

Huge blessings. I know that. But life is still hard sometimes.

Am I allowed to feel that way? Sometimes I don't think so.

Especially when there's women in Africa struggling to feed their children.

Women in India who have to worship God underground.

Women in America who can't conceive.

{mother's day - trying to get a picture with my 3 children}

I used to think super women existed.

And I wanted to be one of them.

Now I know that if someone appears to be super mom

its usually just a facade.

Not that they're necessarily putting on a front.

Just that it means not every area of their life is perfect.

It can't be.

Somewhere has to be lacking.

Cause no one can do it all.

No matter what they say, blog, or act like.

So if I don't want to miss my baby girl's smiles

and Jettison's hugs

and Jaymin's {neverending} inquiries

I have to slow down 

and be okay with the crumbs on the rug,

the dishes in the sink, the unanswered emails,

the fact that I'm still in my gym clothes at 5 o'clock.

All of it.

They, it, life

won't be like this forever.

Someday I'll vacuum once a month.

Someday I'll go to the gym every day cause I'll need something to do.

Someday I'll get to look in the mirror every single morning.

Someday I'll have my own business doing what I love.

Someday I'll have a house.

But I don't want to live for somedays.

I want to live for today.

Even if its hard.

I gotta get through the rain

and try to find the rays of sunshine in every day.

I don't consider myself a glass half empty kind of gal
but for some reason, at the end of the day,
all I can see are the things I didn't accomplish.
Whatever I got done is never good enough.
There's always one more thing I didn't get to.
But I think I need to change my way of thinking.

So this is what I did accomplish today:

my children are all alive
I made breakfast, lunch & dinner
 I nursed Jia 5 times
I worked out
got some sun
tended & cleaned up Jett's nose bleeds
cleaned my kitchen
made some money for my fam
I kissed Jia & squeezed her thighs
I showered
I wrote a blog post

Of course there were other glamorous things taking place,
such as diaper changes and dressing squirmy children,
but this is what I'm considering my "big" accomplishments of the day. ;)

So this is me proclaiming my imperfection.

Admitting I'm not super woman.

You know it.
I know it.
God definitely knows it.

 So when you see me hacking in the grocery store

in my gym clothes and no makeup

yelling at my children and using coupons

you won't be so heartbroken. ;)

Jia's nursery.

I'm going to do something I almost never do.

Post something before its finished.

But really, it's pretty much there.

There are 2 things missing from Jia's room and both are out of my hands.

And I'm tired of waiting. :)

You can check out my pinterest board here to see how I got started

and where I got all my ideas.

So, without further ado, here is my precious baby girl's room...

We painted the walls the perfect shade of peach.

I love how warm and girly it is without being outright PINK.

This is my handprint when I was 5 years old.

My mom just recently gave it to me and I went right home and hung it in Jia's room. :)

I had Jaymin (5) put his hand on it and its hilarious to see his fingers overlap the edges. :)

This is now the crib that all 3 of my babes have slept in.
That beautiful crocheted blanket is from a sweet woman in our church

who makes them for all the new babies.

She is a very busy woman. :)

 I made the mobile by spray painting a wire frame from Hobby Lobby,

punching out butterflies from scrapbook paper I had on hand and

then sewing them together and tying to the frame.

I'm not gonna lie.

This project took FOREVER.

And then my child destroyed it.

Shortly after hanging it, and catching Jett's eye apparently,

he was being way too quiet and I found him in Jia's room

ripping it to shreds after pulling it out of the ceiling.

I almost cried.

Okay, I cussed and then almost cried.

My sweet hubby and I spent an evening untangling and fixing it.

I love how it looks but it is seriously a pain.

But I just couldn't buy one of these and then still have to assemble it.

And I think I'm a little obsessed with "DIY"...
{Jia's 1 week photos. :)}

For the banner I printed off her name and used it as a stencil for fabric and HeatNBond.

Then stitched the little pennants over pink cording.

Simple and love. :)

This little cabinet was mine and before that it was my great grandma's.

I've been hanging onto it for years

hoping to one day use it in my own daughter's room.

And here we are. :)

It was stained a dark brown but I really wanted it to have a more whimsical feel,

so I spray painted it green - a new favorite shade!

And...of course...distressed it a bit.

This sweet little silver cup was a gift from Jia's great grandma, Granny Lucy.
It's engraved with her name and birthday. :)
oval frame - antique store find, painted & distressed.
fabric hoops - holding my current favorite fabrics.
photo frames - hobby lobby, spray painted and

holding maternity & newborn photos, both of which were taken in this very room. Love that. :)
The lamp stand is from Jett's nursery (& Jay's before that)
and I used those awesome sticky lamp shades to make this ruffle shade.
I'm kind of obsessed with coral right now.
Coral pants, coral nail polish, coral makeup.
And apparently I think it's necessary for Jia to have multiple coral colored headbands.
Sheesh.

Originally the blue scrolly frame was going to be for Jia's hairbows

but I've made all headbands for her and just got tired of clipping them to it.

It works great as a picture & memory holder too

so I use this iron butterfly basket thing for headbands.

I've had it for years and just spray painted it yellow.

Remember when I posted Jett's room

and said, if I have a girl someday I'll reuse the dresser and just change out the knobs?

Well, there ya go.

The rocking chair that was a gift from Jeff's parents when Jay was on the way.

And handmade pillows.

The ruffle one - simple, easy.

The yo-yo one - simple, but took many many evenings
in front of the tv watching Jersey Shore Dateline to complete.

But I'm pretty much in love with it so it was worth it.

And then the owl...

These are things that I do that make my friends shake their heads at me...

So...I saw a cute owl pillow I liked, sketched out my own pattern,

used my ol' pal HeatNBond again and there you have it. :)

It was actually less time consuming than the yo-yos. :)

Don't get excited.
This is not hanging in Jia's room...yet.
Isn't it GORG??
This is like the main inspiration for her room.
I really wanted it for the wall behind her rocking chair
so I bought the pattern and have been attempting embroidery.
I love hand stitching, always have, but I seriously don't know how to embroider!
The included directions show you how to do each stitch but yeah...whatever.
So. This is the first missing item.
It's going to take me SO long to finish it, it really will be a labor of love,
but I think it will be a really neat keepsake for her...if I could just get past the letter A...

And the final item needed is this rug I ordered from Urban Outfitters...

It should be here, oh, by the times she's 18 and moving out.

This room has been such a fun project for me.

Sometimes I still can't believe I have a little girl.

I really thought I'd be raising a brood of all boys.

But God must have thought I'd explode if I didn't release some feminine creative energy. :)

And I've definitely been able to do that. Now its time for some smaller projects.

...oh wait, she is going to have a 1st birthday party in about 8 months... ;)

her first date.

I love the concept of father/daughter dances.

Dads teaching their daughters how they should be treated by men.

Instilling that in girls now so when they reach dating age

they have high expectations and standards that they stick to.

And its never too early to start, right?... :)

Jia Rose attended her first dance this past Saturday.

And her handsome date even wore his pink shirt for the occasion. :)

 I'm in love with her.

 And him. :)

Jia's such a squirmy thing these days

so I usually have to settle for slightly blurry photos.

(And she's rolling over!)

And those hands are constantly in her mouth.

I'm worried she's already trying to get teeth!
Her dress was a shower gift from my dear friend
and was just perfect for the occasion.
And of course her mama had to make sure she was properly accessorized. ;)

I am absolutely in love with all the adorable baby shoes & booties

that are all over etsy, especially these,

but just can't justify the expense for something she'll grow out of in 5 minutes.

So...I improvise. ;)

I bought these on etsy for $8,

replaced the buttons with pearls, snipped of the crocheted flowers

and added my own.

And walla.

A similar effect.

(Have I mentioned I'm having a blast?)