1.What made you initially decide to start using oils? I initially decided because my son Brian was continually getting sick and I felt like I needed something else to support his immune system. I heard wonderful things about Thieves and started using it on him immediately and saw it was helping. I’ve always had trouble sleeping so I then wanted to try something natural that would help support me sleep and started diffusing in our room at night and again felt the benefits. Once I saw how well these two things worked I started using oils for more physical and emotional support and haven’t looked back!
2. Any tips you can give for redoing your kitchen? We’re getting ready to do ours, and could use any advice on how to live through it? Obviously set a budget and know that it most likely will go over so you might want to add in some buffer just in case. Use the internet as your inspiration, you can search #’s on instagram and look at pictures on Pinterest to find you’re inspo. Then with your husband, partner, friend or family member fine tune what you like about each of those inspiration images and put it all together to create your own vision of what you want your kitchen to be. I recommend having a professional or someone you know that’s really good at space and design help you with the initial drawings. Give yourself grace with the timeline. In my experience, contractors rarely are done by the time they estimated to be done so don’t have too rigid of expectations there. Then in terms of living through it, I’d suggest setting up a temporary kitchen in your home, use a downstairs bath as your “sink” and keep a bin of snacks for the kids. Use an instant pot so you can still have delicious dinners and a wine subscription wouldn’t hurt either lol.
3. Are your kids picky eaters? Any suggestions for getting kids to eat more veggies? Brian is an incredibly picky eater, possibly the worst out there. I continually put veggies in front of him though so he knows it’s a must have good group in our house. We discovered that he prefers raw veggies over cooked and that he likes to dip them in oil and vinegar. So I would suggest to keep trying and eventually they will try it out and learn what they like.
4. What’s your favorite area in your home? Can we get a tour? Hands down my favorite space in our house is our new kitchen and yes I am working on a video home tour in the next month or so. Stay tuned!
5. As great as it is being available for your family, do you ever feel as though you are always “on call” with no set start or end time (with your job)? There is a plus side to just leave the office behind at the end of the day. 100% yes. It’s part of my 2019 intentions to set more boundaries with work. I do feel as though I am working really hard now to hopefully set us up for a financially secure future. I can see the big picture and so while I do work a lot of hours right now I hope it pays off for us in the future. But like I said definitely and intention for this year to be less “on call”.
6. How does your family i.e. mother, father, brother help you and support your family and working life? Do you count on family or friends? I feel very fortunate to live in the same town as my parents, brother and cousins. The biggest support they give me is emotional support. Family is #1 for me so we spend a ton of time together which includes Sunday dinners together or just a stop by my parent’s house after school with the kids. That’s the stuff that fills my heart. We typically use babysitters when we go out because I want my parents to relax and enjoy their time with the kids, but anyone would of course help us if we needed it.
7. What are your favorite things to do to unwind when you’re finally alone? Going to the gym is actually relaxing for me, it’s something I can do for myself and I feel so good after. I also recently started taking baths at night and I really enjoy it. I have lavender bath bombs I will use and then add 5-10 drops of frankincense essential oil and I will just sit and close my eyes and it’s heaven. As a couple Brian and I enjoy watching TV together on the couch after the kids go to bed which is a great way to unwind and catch up with each other on our days. I know it can be hard but I try to make a priority to have some relaxation time as I find I am a better mom/wife/blogger for it.
8. What are your go to outfit picks for a weekend in NYC in the frigid winter cold? My priority is to be as warm as possible so likely wearing as many layers as possible. Right now it would definitely include my Uggs, jeans a sweater and my Abercrombie parka, gloves and a hat.
9. What does a typical day/week look like for you and your cute fam? I usually wake up around 7am and start making coffee in my new favorite coffee pot. Then I hear little feet coming down the stairs and we will start to make breakfast and will get the kids to help especially if I am making pancakes. Then they are back upstairs getting dressed and ready for school and we are out the door. I start working as soon as we get home from school drop off and I will work until I have to pick them up at 3pm. After school I try to take them to do something active like an indoor trampoline park or to Chelsea Piers which has a lot of activity rooms for kids or we will go visit my mom. Brian has soccer 1x a week and Grace has dance 1x a week so we are usually pretty busy until we get home and I start cooking dinner. We try to always eat as a family together around 6/6:30, then the kids play until bath time around 7:15-7:30. busy until dinner around 6/6:30 we try to have dinner together as much as we can. after dinner we play and start baths by 7:15/7:30 and then they are in bed reading and 8:30 is lights out. We are on a pretty jam packed schedule and it’s such a routine for us now that I try to maximize all the time I have to focus on work so I can get it all done and then be present with the kid’s once they are out of school.
10. What advice do you have for a newly married couple as far as things to do/accomplish/etc before stepping into parenthood (if we were blessed to be able to have a family eventually)? We’ve been together nearly 11 years before recently eloping and this feels like a new chapter. You and big Brian seem like you have it figured out! Travel, travel travel. Sleep in, enjoy each other’s company, hang out with friends, take up a new hobby, find an activity you like to do together like hiking or taking a class together. Go out to eat if you like to do that. Just have fun with each other, be present and relax as much as you can because once you have kids (if you decide to) for the rest of your life you will have someone at your feet 🙂
Thanks to everyone who submitted questions! I really love doing these so if your question didn’t get answered this week check my Instagram for the next round. Hope you all have a great weekend!