DIY Soy Candles
Saturday, December 31, 2016
A simple candle recipe that's great for gift giving!
Yes, I know the holidays are over, but I had to share this soy candle recipe that I made as a last minute gift for our neighbor. It's super easy, inexpensive, and if you love candles, like myself (before kiddos), you can make some for yourself.
Ingredients
-Microwavable Soy Wax
-Mason Jars or Tumblers
-Old Microwavable Bowl
-Candle Wicks
-Wooden Dowels
-glue stick (optional)
-Essential Oils (optional)
Directions
1. Put some newspaper down to keep any wax from dripping on the surface.
2. Pour soy flakes into microwavable bowl. Set time for 90 seconds to 2 minutes for every 8oz of wax melted.
3. Check wax and stir. Continue to microwave every 30 seconds until wax is fully melted.
4. Place wick in center. You may need some glue to help secure the wick to the center and a wooden dowel (I used a grill skewer) to keep it upright.
5. Pour wax into jar or tumbler. Add desired amount of essential oil to wax (wait until wax has cooled a bit, but still in liquid form before adding oil. The heat will cause the scent to lose potency). I used DoTerra Serenity, which is like a lavender blend, and DoTerra Breathe, which is like a peppermint blend, as my scents for these candles. Save some wax for the end.
6. Let wax cool for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then use toothpick to poke holes around the wick, about 4 cm deep, to let air escape. Then remelt remaining wax and pour over holes until the surface of the candle if flat.
7. Continue to let wax cool for 4-6 hours, then trim wick to 1/4" if needed.
And Voila! You have a beautiful scented candle. If you choose to make them for gifts, I bought these tags (Similar here) from Target for $3 and used them to write a "name" for the candle that resembled the scent.
Happy Gifting!
Snapshots: Traditions
Friday, December 30, 2016
When I was growing up during the holidays, my parents and I used to spend our Christmas' in Charleston, South Carolina. It was my parent's hometown and a lot of my dad's family still resided there. All the family would come together. There would be lots of food, crab cracks, gift exchanging, and lots and lots of laughter. There were some years where us kids would put on talent shows for the family. Eventually, we started spending Christmas at home, but there was still the dinners, the laughter, the games...just on a smaller scale. These traditions were what I looked forward to the most during Christmas. Yes, I loved getting presents, but nothing beats having family around.
These are the things I want my kids to look forward to during the holidays. I want them to have memories like I did and continue to have as the years pass. As the years come, I would love to do more and make more memories. Maybe getting around to an Advent calendar too.
These are the things I want my kids to look forward to during the holidays. I want them to have memories like I did and continue to have as the years pass. As the years come, I would love to do more and make more memories. Maybe getting around to an Advent calendar too.
What are some of your favorite family traditions?
Three months of Gideon
Monday, December 19, 2016
I definitely dropped the ball on giving
an update on Gideon since he was born. I guess it's true when
they say the second child does get the short end of the stick!
they say the second child does get the short end of the stick!
One
month was definitely a trial and error month. While I was waiting for
my milk to come in, we supplemented a little bit because he lost 1 pound
while in the hospital. During that time, he would spit up a lot, which
wasn't unusual for c-section babies. Then there were those times where
it seemed to be too much spit up to the point where it didn't seem
normal. So I took it upon myself to try a dairy-free formula because I
was thinking it was a possible allergy to the formula we were using. He
seemed to keep the milk down better, but I didn't worry about it because
I was able to breastfeed at this point.
Well,
the spitting up started back again...I mean, projectile type spit up.
Even though he was classified as a "happy spitter" there were times
where it seemed as though he was irritable and in pain. I informed his
doctor of my observations and we ended up testing his stool to see if
there was an allergy/sensitivity that was causing Gideon to spit up.
Sure enough...he has a dairy allergy.
Normally
I would opt to switch to formula because there is no way I could give
up dairy. I mean...no milk chocolate, no ice cream, no cheese, not even
certain barbecue sauces. Yes, I know there are alternatives, but do they
really even taste good? On the other hand, I made a pact to myself that
I was going to breastfeed Gids longer than I breastfed Norah, which
would be longer than 5 months. Not too mention, formula expense is not
in our budget right now, so I have to make the free milk, the good milk!
In a future post, I'll share some of my favorite dairy-free products
and provide a list of non-dairy free items.
Since
the transition to dairy-free, Gids would still spit up, but it's not as
much and would be more from him being so full. He ate every 2 hours and
would wake at least twice during the night. He is such a happy baby
overall and he smiles all the time, which Norah didn't do until she was
about 3 months old.
Then here comes three months! Total ladies man! If you call him handsome or cute, his smile would make you blush! He's so full of coos and cackles this month. He loves to watch Norah play and be all in his face. He likes the mamaroo, which he wasn't a big fan of when he was a baby. Too bad he won't be able to use it for too much longer. He still sleeps through the night, but may not go down until close to midnight. When I had Norah, I was implementing a bedtime routine closer to her two month birthday. I've started giving him his bath at night with his last feeding around 8:30pm- 9pm. Some times it works, other times it doesn't, but I will continue to implement this until he gets the hang of it.
Nursing throughout the whole pregnancy has been a breeze. My problem is just carving out time to pump! When I'm at home, I normally wouldn't pump because I would be EBF, but at work it can be a bit tricky because my days are so unpredictable. On average, Gids eats every 2-3 hours. Once he was about 2 months old, he skipped the overnight feeding. If I did have to supplement especially if I ate something with dairy, I used Nutramigen for his feedings.
Happy Quarter of a year Gids!
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