A few things you should know about preteen boys

As I think about my my preteen years I am filled with anxiety. It's a scary road filled with unwanted body hair, odor, acne and one very unwelcome monthly guest. 

I took puberty hard! 

But I am now parenting a preteen boy and it is a different road into manhood. 

A road of pride and discovery.

So here is a few things you should know about preteen boys.

Body hair

Body hair is like brush strokes of paint on a beautiful piece of art. I can remember the very day the first chest hair was discovered. It was barely visible even inches away, with only a slight tint of brown. But it was magical and for days there was a shirtless preteen strutting his stuff around the house. 

Every hair is one step closer to a beard reminiscent of Duck Dynasty.

Acne

The first few pimples start to appear. My fear was that this might cause a lack in self confidence but I was quite wrong! Acne is like patriotically waiving the puberty flag while chanting, "I'm becoming a man right now,SEE!"  Because you simply can't go out in public shirtless to show off your ONE chest hair. Let me rephrase that....I would not LET him.

Body Odor

Let's just face it, odor (of any kind) for boys is like stand up comedy.

 It can entertain and impress all at the same time.

Body odor will come swiftly and with no warning. I remember the very night. Driving home from basketball practice, it hit me like a truck....No really, I nearly blacked out and ran into a truck! It will be one of the most (putrid) memorable smells of your life. But your preteen boy will wear it like a brand new cologne. 

Cologne De Puberte' anyone?

Eating and Sleeping

Eating and sleeping will become your preteen's new recreational sport and keeping a steady supply of food will become yours. Hello grocery store clerk. Why, yes I was just here yesterday and you might also see me again tomorrow.

Some mornings you might check in on your preteen just to see if they are breathing. Just like when they overslept as infants.

 Sleeping till noon will cause rapid hunger, so be prepared to throw some food at them upon waking. Muffins work well for this because they are soft and fluffy.

Parenting a preteen boy is never dull. Sometimes it's hard and other times easy. But it always helps to laugh along the way!

Blessings, Nicole

DIY warm avocado and coconut deep conditioning mask

This mask is amazing!

 You can whip it up in minutes. 

My hairstylist even commented on how shiny and soft my hair is! 

half an avocado

one egg

one Tbls. honey

two Tbls. coconut oil

I threw this concoction onto the blender till smooth, however you could certainly mix and mash it by hand.

Microwave till just warm. About 30 seconds in mine. 

Apply to dry hair and massage into scalp. Wrap into a bun. Leave on for at least 30 minutes, the longer the better!

Shampoo and condition as you regularly would.

I will never by deep conditioner again!!

Enjoy your shiny healthy locks!

Blessings, Nicole

DIY Coco Self Tanner

Left side is bare. Right side wearing coco self tanner.

Spring is here and that means I'm breaking out the shorts. Spring + shorts= white legs. And we all know tanning is not good for our skin. Well sadly to say, neither are self tanning products filled with chemicals. Here is the perfect solution!

Mix equal parts coco powder and coconut oil. It will be like a paste.

Massage into skin till absorbed. I've found massaging in circular motions is key! No streaks!

It's THAT EASY!

You will smell like a sweet coconut brownie, bonus!!!

Enjoy the golden glow and your skin will be happy too!

Blessings, Nicole

Turmeric and Honey Mask

Lately my bathroom is looking more and more like a kitchen pantry.

 I've been making my own beauty products for a while now and I'm so excited to share a few recipes I have added to my beauty routine. More posts to come!

Not only are these recipes effective, they are inexpensive and easy to make. You will probably have most the ingredients in your kitchen already! Honestly since I've been making my own natural skin care, my skin is so much better. I've been plagued with acne since I was a teen. My acne is sooooo much better!

The first recipe I will share is this amazing honey and turmeric mask.

Fist off, let me tell you the benefits of honey.

Honey has antibacterial properties which makes it the perfect acne treatment.

Honey is chalked full of antioxidants which slows down aging.

Honey is soothing and moisturizing, it will actually lock in moisture.

Now let me tell you about my new best friend Turmeric.

Turmeric is also full of antioxidants.

Turmeric is an antibacterial agent.

It is known to lighten discoloration and pigmentation in skin.

It also helps control oil production.

Two powerhouses for skin!!

My recipe:

1-2 tablespoons raw honey. Manuka honey is best. But raw will work well.

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric

Mix and apply to cleansed skin.

Leave on for 20 minutes then rinse with warm water.

My very best Derek Zoolander face!

A word of caution. Turmeric WILL stain! My finger nails turned yellow the fist time I applied the mask. I now use plastic gloves. But don't worry it will not stain your face. You will not look like an Oompa Lumpa I promise!

Your skin will feel incredibly soft immediately. And with weekly use you should see even more results!

So give it a try!

Blessings, Nicole

Check back in for more DIY beauty posts in the near future!

One week of green smoothies in minutes!

I don't know about you all but I do not get enough fruits and green veggies in my diet. Truth be told because I'm lazy. All the extra chopping and cooking. Not to mention when I buy in bulk it usually spoils before I have a chance to eat it. I can't stand throwing food away! All I see is dollar signs in the trash.

Also, I am not a breakfast eater. 

In addition to being lazy and not a breakfast eater I'm not a morning person. Man, I feel like I'm in confession!  Anyway...this usually causes me to force down a cereal bar or something else that has very little nutritional value. I needed to find a quick and easy way to get my fruits and greens with no effort in the morning. No mess, no spoiling food, no prep. 

Then I Pinned this: Henry Happened

GENIUS!!!!

But, I took it a step further. Because I'm lazy....remember?

So here's what I did.

I hit up Costco. If you aren't a Costco member try other bulk retailers like Sams Club or Savemart.

I bought all the above plus a package of clementines. I did not use the entire bag of anything. More for later!

I chose frozen fruit opposed to fresh because not only is it washed, pealed, and chopped its a great value!

This can certainly work well with fresh fruit as shown in the link above.

Next I divided my fruit into freezer bags. If you read my blog you know I don't measure. But I made enough in each bag for two servings. One for me and one for the hubs. Because a healthy hubs is a happy hubs!

Here is my estimated and educated guess (being that I am known as the smoothie queen in my house).

One banana (pealed and halved)

1/2 c. mixed berries

one large handful each strawberries and pineapple

1 c. mixed greens

two clementines

I changed up a few bags and made different combos. So we don't get stuck with the same thing every day.

Make sure you press out all the air and lay flat in the freezer. Unless you want a large clump of fruit to chip apart later.

To avoid freezer burn make sure to use up in a couple weeks. 

Here is the fun part.

Healthy add ins!

My personal favorites to mix and match.

Liquids: coconut water or milk, juice, almond milk, green tea, or plain ol' water.

Sweeteners: honey or stevia

Protein: protein powder, oatmeal, greek yogurt, peanut butter, or an egg if you're brave!

Oils: coconut, hemp, or flax

More great things: chia, kefir, or ground flax

Just make sure your add ins are only added when you blend.

I did the math and each serving ended up being around $0.50!

(After blending my estimated recipe above I found out this makes more like 3-4 large servings NOT 2! I here by renounce my crown! as smoothie queen!)

Boo Yah! Take that Jamba Juice!

Happy blending!

Blessings, Nicole

My Christmas Decor

Hello loves! It's been a while....

I've missed blogging so much! Real life has been my priority lately. You know a few little things like husband, kids, pets, house, etc. 

Speaking of real life. I have been enjoying it so much more since my surgery. I feel awesome! I simply can't thank everyone enough for praying and sending thoughts my way. Seriously, thank you!! It's been such a long hard road. Oh, my goodness so l-o-n-g. But I am SO good. God is SO good!

On that note, let's talk about CHRISTmas! 

My cousin and I made these adorb stockings.

 At first I wasn't sure we were capable, (okay I was pretty sure) but we finished them like sewing rock stars! I embellished them with buttons from my collection. The letter ornaments I found at Target.

My mother in law made this beautiful mesh wreath for me. 

Love it! Matches my tree perfectly.

We cut some paper snowflakes and simply hung them in the corner. 

Always fun to make these!

Thriftstore treasures I found in the early fall.

 Only $1 each!

And the tree! 

Yes, it's been up since mid November. I have no shame in pre-holiday decorating. 

Every ornament and trinket was either on uber clearance, thrifted, or homemade.

My mantle. 

The stars were thrifted and the branches were a last minute idea that came to me after pruning our large tree. I LOVE how simple and cute it turned out.

Blessings, Nicole

What I Wore...cozy fall outfit

Top Maurices, sweater thrifted, leggings thrifted, boots Frye Zappos.

This is my ideal cozy fall outfit.

 Leggings, boots, long top and sweater. 

It's kinda been my uniform lately, hence the lack of outfit posts.

Hope you all have a good week!

Blessings, Nicole