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Keeping Clear Skin Despite Hormones

This post has been sponsored by Cetaphil®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As a mom, you are the last person on your list of people to take care of. And a lot of the time, that means cleaning care. Through the crazy hormones that babies bring, keeping your skin under control is tough. Lots of trial and error went into regulating my clear skin during birth and the months to follow. Thankfully, I found Cetaphil® after my first pregnancy and it was consistent in keeping my skin in check by removing the bad oils and keeping the good.

keeping clearn skin despite hormones

I’m not strict about my pampering routine, but I do make sure to do a mask and my nails every couple weeks. It’s a fun thing to do with my 5-year-old now, so it’s win-win for both of us!

Self Care Must Haves

  1. Giant Headband
  2. Cetaphil® Daily Facial Cleanser
  3. Clay or Charcoal Mask
  4. Essential Oil Serum
  5. Nail Polish with Glitter

For my combination skin, I use Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser from Walmart in the morning when getting ready and at night before bed. Because their cleanser is designed for normal to oily skin, it cleans away the surface oils but retains my skin’s natural oils.

keeping clearn skin despite hormones
keeping clearn skin despite hormones

To try out the Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser or any other Cetaphil product, click here for $2 off your purchase.

Keeping Clear Skin Despite Hormones

For our self-care Saturdays, my daughter and I wash our faces with Cetaphil and warm water before patting it dry. We apply a mask liberally while making funny faces in the mirror. Cartoons are a must while we wait for the masks to dry as we paint our toes with bright pinks and purples and lots of glitter. I’m teaching her the art of multitasking at a very young age. We are now ready to take on the day with confidence in our skin and our toes!

keeping clearn skin despite hormones

As a high-schooler, I was recommended Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser for my combination skin. It worked wonders then, and it’s still my first choice for removing excess oil.

Now, it’s super easy to add Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser to my grocery pick-up when I order from Walmart Grocery. It’s pretty much the best invention ever for Moms with little kids. No more being “mean mom” and saying NO to everything they want to buy.

I’d love to hear what kind of ways you add self care into your routine. Is self cleaning low on your list with little ones, too? What do you do in the way of keeping your skin clear despite hormones? Do know that, as they get older, showering becomes more frequent again.

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Goldfish Swim School Review After 6 Months

**This post is sponsored by Goldfish Swim School, though all opinions are my own.

Goldfish Swim School Review- My five year old and one year old have been taking swim lessons at Goldfish Swim School for six months. I wanted to share our experience with swim lessons because they’ve been such a positive asset to our lives.

Goldfish Swim School practices Heart Health month February DIY Mama

Our five year old daughter has taken a few swim lessons off and on since she was about six months old. She has always been happy to swim and go under water but we worried about her safety if she were to ever fall in the deep end or a lake. Drowning can take seconds and we want to prepare our daughters to save themselves.

Sophia started out happy to play around at swim lessons but soon learned that she was actually learning how to swim and be confident in herself.
Goldfish Swim School said it perfectly:

By taking swimming lessons at Goldfish Swim School, kids learn even more skills that are important in school as well. Like what? Waiting for their turn, being patient, following directions, comprehension, listening to teachers, and even more!

Great Skills for School

Our daughter now knows that when she’s in swim lessons it’s a time to be patient, respectful of her teacher and other students and be a good listener. She has felt so proud each time she gets a ribbon showing she’s mastered a new skill. She hangs them on a cork board we have at home as little reminders of her swimming journey.

Goldfish-Baby-Swim-Lesson

We do the same for Lilly although she has no idea what’s going on most of the time! She has definitely improved from six months ago. She started at six months of age and was kind of just there. Now she’s happily kicking and paddling through the pool. She can listen to instructions when the teacher says to put the balls in the box! I will continue to keep Lilly in swim lessons each week until she’s (at least) mastered rolling over when she falls in. Consistency is key with swimming lessons because they can forget so quickly at this young age.

Goldfish Swim School Review

Overall, I give Goldfish Swim School an A+ on teaching my girls how to be confident in the water. We have been happy with all of the staff, the ease of switching around lesson times and the facilities are amazing. If you’re considering signing up for lessons, ask me any questions you might have! You can also check out the FAQ I’ve gotten here.

Goldfish Swim School has a Back-to-School Membership offer going on now through October 1st:

Offer includes:

6 months of swim lessons
4 casual lessons
Free family swim passes for 6 months
Goggles
Towel
Pricing: $529

Stop by the Goldfish Swim School front desk at Carmel or Fishers to learn more.

Related Posts:

When Should My Baby Start Swim Lessons
Choosing the Right Activities for Your Kids

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How is My Baby One?

Lilly just turned one. Being a parent is full of bittersweet moments and realizing my last baby is no longer a baby is a tough one. With all the hustle and bustle of life, a second child’s milestones can easily be overlooked. I don’t want that to happen in our family and so I will always make a big deal out of them! Even if it is a small party with close friends and family, I always want my girls to feel loved.

Johnson's at Walgreens

When Sophia was little, she was always happy. Always smiling in photos and such a joy to take with me on adventures. When we were thinking about having another baby I very clearly remember thinking ‘we shouldn’t have another baby because they won’t be as good as Sophia.’

I know! But, that’s my pessimistic brain.

A bit over a year later and I laugh at that though. Lilly is every bit as happy as Sophia and is such a joy in our lives. The bond that she has with each of us is so heartwarming. I can already see the differences in relationships.

Her family

She knows that her sister will always be there for her when she falls down and will always make her laugh even when she wants to be sad. Her sister will always be there to share her treats and play with her outside.

She knows her Daddy will always be there for late night snuggles and movie watching. He will be there for her to climb over and twirl with. She knows he will be there to play music and read with.
He will be there for her.

She knows Mommy will be the one to give her kisses all over her face and tummy and toes. She’ll be there to sing her to sleep and have dance parties with. She’ll be there to bathe her, clothe her, feed her, teach her, hug her and all the other wonderful things that comes with being her mom.

I am so thankful we didn’t listen to my pessimistic brain. I can’t imagine life without Lilly and our adventures have just begun.

If you want to see how similar Lilly and Sophia were at age 1 go here.

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Unicorn and Fairy Camp at Line + Form Atelier

This post has been sponsored by Line + Form Atelier. All thoughts are opinions are my own.

Unicorn and Fairy Camp at Line + Form Atelier: What five year old doesn’t love fairies and unicorns? When I saw my favorite art studio was doing summer camps AND they included fairies and unicorns I couldn’t not sign up.

Line + Form Atelier

Line + Form Atelier is an art studio for all ages that focuses on the process of making art. I was always frustrated growing up because I wasn’t ‘good at art’ with my first try. I would quickly give up and go on to the next thing.

I’m still learning that art is about the process not the outcome. Personally, I love Fran’s classes because I am comfortable to try new art techniques in a safe learning environment. My art never turns out how I envision it but I am always happy that I’ve created something and it often sparks an interest to create more!

Photo Credit: Fran Samarripa
Photo Credit: Fran Samarripa

The Camp

I was hooked as soon as I read the description on Line + Form’s website:

Watch the studio transform into a world of magic and enchantment during this whimsical summer camp! Unicorns, Fairies, Elves and Gnomes are all invited to join in our week of wonder. Campers will create delightful pieces of art such as nature wands, flower crowns, potions, fairy/gnome dwellings out of wood and moss, and much more! 

Line + Form Atelier

Timing could not have been better because we’d just had a staycation in Hendricks Co. to check out their fairy trail. We were in major fairy garden mode from all the inspiration so creating her own fairy garden in camp was heaven.

Our daughter loved creating her own personal fairy garden and was so excited to tell us all about the process each day. She was able to use lots of different art mediums throughout the week that she hadn’t experienced before. Her favorite parts about camp were making friends and the surprise visits from the unicorn and fairies.

Photo Credit: Fran Samarripa
Photo Credit: Fran Samarripa

I was really impressed by everything Fran got accomplished during the week. She has half day or full day options and Sophia said she was very glad to go to full day because she was excited to get to be with her friends longer each day. There are so many wonderful camps each summer and classes for ages 18 months-12 years, and adults ages 18+.

Be sure to follow along with Line + Form Atelier’s new journey as they’re moving to a larger, more central location in Indianapolis! You can also listen to the awesome background behind the creator of Line + Form, Fran
Samarripa in this Open Door Studio podcast.

Photo Credit: Fran Samarripa

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Strawberry Lemonade with Fresh Picked Strawberries

It’s strawberry picking season in the midwest and each year we head out and pick until we can’t carry anymore. There is a cute farm (Spencer Farms) near us where you can pick strawberries and blueberries in the summer and dig up mums in the fall. We love going there to support them and their fruit is the best around!

Strawberry Lemonade

We use the strawberries for lots of different recipes. Sophia’s favorite is to put them on her pancakes and my favorite is to make a strawberry rhubarb pie. This year we tried a new recipe we got from Sprouts Cooking School– Strawberry Lemonade. It was a really fun recipe to do with Sophia (5) because she’s always asking for ‘pink lemolade’ at restaurants and was surprised at how real strawberry lemonade tastes!

Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups water
• 1 16 oz package strawberries, diced

Instructions

Add lemon juice and sugar in a pitcher and stir until sugar dissolves. Add water and strawberries and stir to combine.

strawberry lemonade with fresh picked strawberries

Kid Friendly

Sophia was able to do this entire process by using a wavy chopper and a lemon squeezer. She’s been on a baking kick ever since she took her Baking with Barbie class at Sprouts several months ago. They made fresh squeezed lemonade and she couldn’t get enough of it’s tart taste. Ever since she’s been excited to bake new recipes and even picked out a cook book with her gift card money at the book store. In a few weeks she’ll get to do a full week of baking with Sprouts at their Once Upon a Time summer camp!

If you’re looking for another recipe with fresh berries, last year I made an amazing Mulberry Cheesecake for Father’s Day!

strawberry picking

Related Posts:

Kids Cooking Class at Sprouts
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