Helping Kenya and Basa Body Review

Most of you have probably seen the ChipIn widget on my sidebar. What exactly is it for???? Let me tell you.

Yehu.org works with Basa Body and Coast Coconut Farms to help women in Africa work to support their families and get out of poverty. This company is "for the poor, run by the poor." To read more about this process, go here. Mom It Forward and 12for12k are currently running this fund raiser to help out Yehu.org, thereby helping Moms and families in Kenya to become self reliant.

I was one of the lucky people that got to test the Basa Body products. I have to admit, I was a little nervous when this cute little package showed up at my door. I knew I had to try it and write a review on it. What if I didn't like it? What would I write? Well, I can assure you, that didn't happen!


First of all, look at this soap. Could it be any prettier? And if you could smell it...Mmmmm! It lathers up nicely, it rinses away easily. I really like it!

Next, I tried the Basa Body Natural Coconut Oil Lotion. It has a nice light fresh smell I noticed right away. It's a great every day lotion--not too thick or greasy.

Then there's the Basa Body Stick. This is the heavier stuff. It works great for drier skin like knees and heels. My son has really dry hands. His knuckles get so dry that they crack and bleed. I have tried all kinds of stuff on him and most of them sting really bad and he gets mad at me. He lets me put this on him without complaint. It helps give his hands moisture and it never stings him at all. Love it!


These Basa Body products all have organic virgin coconut oil and they are 100% natural without any artificial ingredients. I think that's awesome! They also donate 10% of their profits back to Kenya.


They have a Mother's Day Kiss Me pack right now where you get two of the soaps (in two different yummy scents) and one each of the lotion and body stick for $29.99. Between now and May 12, you can use the promotion code "momitforward" to receive an additonal 10% off the Kiss Me pack purchase. Also, anyone that purchases any Basa Body or Coast Coconut Farms product by May 12 will automatically be entered into a giveaway and will have the chance to win one of three prizes: 1) a $250 Disney Gift Card, 2) a $150 amazon.com gift card, and 3) a $100 Target gift card. You will also be entered if you make a cash donation of $20 or more.

Easter Weekend

We had a very busy and exciting Easter weekend.

Friday night, we colored a bunch of eggs with the kids. They loved it and had a great time. Sadly, I didn't think to take any pictures. The kids did a great job and we only cracked a few of the eggs.

Parson, my oldest baby, was baptized on Saturday. It was wonderful. He is such a good boy and I am so very proud of him.


After, we had a big family dinner.

After that, we had a huge egg hunt. We usually do it outside, but the weather here hasn't been that great, so we did it inside. It turned out really well. The kids loved it!


It was funny to watch my girls. Abbie caught on right away to the whole "hunt" idea and was picking things up right and left. She was getting so upset that the eggs were falling out of her bucket because it was too full.


Ellie, on the other hand, wanted to open each and every egg that she picked up. It took some coaxing to get her to keep going.


And as soon as it was over, she plopped herself down right in the middle of the floor and enjoyed the contents of many eggs.


We had a wonderful day on Easter sunday, as well. The Easter bunny came and brought the kids some great stuff. Everyone was happy.:)

Hope yours was great as well!

Encouragement

Matt and I have been playing on a coed soccer team the past few months. My kids don't get to come to very many of the games, because they are usually too late. They have come to a few, though. When they do get to come, I am yelled at every few minutes, "Mom!" (wave). Once while I was sitting out, Joshua came over by me and said, "Mom. You're losing. But you're still really good, and I still love you." My favorite, though, is when he gives me a thumbs up and winks at me. I get this a lot lately at soccer and at home. It cracks me up. And I love it.

Vent and Puppets

First of all, thanks everyone for your concern and well wishes for my girls and their awful mouth sores. As an update, Ellie (who was in the picture) is doing SO much better. Her sores are mostly gone and she is eating and acting like herself again. Abbie is in the middle of it and is hating life. Can I just tell you, this has got to be one of the most vicious viruses ever. If I make it through the next week I will consider it a victory. I am so tired of sick, miserable kids! Especially when (like I said in my last post) there's absolutely nothing I can do about it! Holding them and rocking them just isn't cutting it. And I know I am looking at this all wrong--I should be glad I'm the one they come to--but why, oh why, can't daddy be good enough? Why does mommy have to do EVERYTHING?! Matt tries to help and the girls will not let him! And by evening time, I am so frazzled and headached with all the whining and crying that I need a break!

What's that? You're tired of my whining? Yeah, I kind of went off there, didn't I? (Can you hear the fiddle in the background?)

Well, on a more positive note, I did something fun and somewhat crafty with my kids today. Joshua asked if I would help him make some paper bag puppets. I ended up helping him make a few and the girls helped make some, too.


I can't even tell you how long it's been since I've made, or even seen, a paper bag puppet. But it was fun. And the kids loved it! And it provided hours of entertainment. I'm sure there are much better templates available out there, but we just crafted our own--nothing too fancy.


When's the last time you made paper bag puppets?

Miserable!! (Graphic Photo Warning)

I hate cold sores. It's the worst when small kids are so sick and sad and you can't do a darned thing for them. It's such a horrible, helpless feeling. Luckily the fever has let up, unfortunately my baby girl still looks like this...

Ugly, nasty, mean, miserable cold sore. What'd she ever do to you?
Go away, go away, don't come back another day!!

Photo Story Friday--Birthday!!

It's hard to believe that my kids are growing up. Hard to believe that my first little baby is eight!! My sweet, shy, heart of liquid gold, Parson turned eight on Saturday.

We celebrated with his friends and had a Star Wars party. It was a lot of fun! We played a few Star Wars games. I think the highlight of the party was making lightsabers for all of the kids. With the help of my friend Google, I found this awesome, easy, and even cheap way to make personalized lightsabers for each of the kids.


I made him a Star Wars cake. I know I am no professional (by any stretch of the word!) but I have to say, it turned out SO much better than last year's cake. And he thought it was cool, so that's what matters.


Later we celebrated with family. We had a pizza party. For this party cake, I decided to make a trifle. It was my first ever attempt, and it was awesome. It was easy, and everyone LOVED it! I think I will definitely be making it again. Especially for feeding a large group. I found it on my Betty Crocker ipod app. I just made it in my punch bowl and it was perfect.


All in all, we had an AWESOME day! Thanks everyone!

Happy Birthday Parson, I love you!!

You Asked...I answer!

Melissa asked:

What is your favorite breakfast food? I think I would have to say french toast. Yum. Yet I hardly ever have it. My husband makes awesome breakfast burritos, too.

If you were trapped on a deserted island, what 3 things would you bring? My family, as much food as possible, and a lighter? I have no idea.

What is your favorite 80's song? Well, I have to say I like quite a few 80's songs. When I was a kid, we rocked out to "Wham!" I remember we had the VHS tape of some of their music videos and we would sing and dance. One of them was filmed in the dark and they were all wearing glow in the dark outfits (Jitterbug). Let me tell you, it was awesome. I also remember in pretty good detail the video for "Last Christmas" and "Careless Whisper." And I still like a lot of those ones! (My husband thinks I'm crazy!)

Rachael asked:

If you could go anywhere in the world, money wasn't an issue, where would you go and why? I would probably go to Taiwan or Hong Kong. My husband lived in Taiwan for 2 years (mission) and I would love to take him back there. He always wanted to go to Hong Kong, too.

Sarah asked:

What is your favorite photo of your family? Post it... I am pretty picky when it comes to family photos and I am hardly ever satisfied. Is it too much to ask that everyone be looking in the direction of the camera? And that they smile? I take a lot of pictures, but don't feel like I get a lot of cooperation from my family. Therefore, I don't really have a favorite. I don't really have one that I love. I guess until I can figure out how to decently photoshop, I will probably never get that "perfect" picture. Here is our most recent family picture. It was a spur of the moment thing, so our clothing colors are all over the place!


Melissa asked:

What has been your favorite vacation location? Growing up, my family did some pretty fun vacations. The one we did almost every year was Lake Powell. That will always be a special place for my family--we have so many memories there--some good, some bad. So, I think Lake Powell is definitely a favorite.
In December, 2007, we went to Hawaii and I would have to say that is a favorite as well. We loved it and definitely want to go back some day.

What is your favorite time of year? Fall and Spring for sure!

Are You Serious asked:

If you could have any pick of vehicle what would it be? :) Funny you should ask, since we bought a new car last week! I was previously driving a Mazda MPV and it was honestly a great little van. It was very nice looking (sporty) and reliable. We never had a single problem with it. I simply wanted something bigger. I felt like we were a little cramped in it and the cargo space just wasn't cutting it for me and my double stroller! So we looked around (a lot!) and decided to go with a bigger size SUV. Aside from the gas mileage, it's perfect for us. So far, we love it!

Arizona asked:

Do you have a laptop or a desktop? Mac or PC? I use a laptop PC. My hubby bought it for me about a year ago and I love it! I've heard a lot of great things about Macs, too, but don't know very much about them.

Do all your kids have the same color eyes? (mine don't!!) They are all pretty similar but not exact.

Jaysi asked:

If you could only eat one food everyday for the rest of your life, what would it be? Oooooh, that's a tough one for me...I do like food...probably Mexican food. Yum!

If you had describe yourself as a color, what color would you be? Purple.

If you popped out another kid today...what would you name it? Oh my gosh, Jaysi! I have no idea!! I haven't thought about baby names in a very long time! I do like the name Myla for a girl. Maybe? I like Emery, too, but that would be too close to Ellie. I would have to think for a while on this one, though.

Jocasta asked:

If you could live anywhere where would it be? Honestly, the perfect place for me would only have to have two things: all of my family near, and a great job for my hubby. May sound stupid, but that equates my perfection. I think we could adapt to most things as long as we had those.

Who is your favorite movie star? I don't know that I have a favorite. I tend to like Jim Caviezel, because he looks a lot like my husband. I like Harrison Ford, Will Smith, Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock. I guess it just depends on the movie, more than the star for me. I recently saw "Confessions of a Shopoholic" and thought the lead actress was great (I don't know her name.)

If you could change anything about yourself what would it be? Probably my posture and the way I stand. I have major neck issues and I know I don't carry myself like I wish I could. I have actually stood in the mirror and tried to stand correctly and I think it's physically impossible.

Girly Twins asked:

What is your favorite thing about being a mom? Definitely when my kids accomplish something new and get so excited about it. Makes me so proud to watch the process of learning and achieving. Also the endless supply of hugs, kisses, smiles and laughs.

Straight To Your Heart asked:

Mac or PC? PC (I explained a little in Arizona's question.)

Listerine or Crest mouthwash? Listerine. Way back in Elementary school, my sister did a science project debating all of the different mouthwashes and their effectiveness. Listerine won. I don't know if that still holds true, but my mind always says "Listerine."

Snow or water ski? There was a time when I wouldn't have been able answer that question. However, it has been 10 years since I went snow skiing. Therefore, I would have to say water. Now might I pose a question: waterski or wakeboard? Hmmm...

Stephanie asked:

Describe your ideal date with your husband. I am not too picky here. A whole evening without children!! Dinner, maybe dancing (it's been a very long time since we've been any kind of dancing!) Something that my husband planned just for us. He did this on our recent trip to St. George and I had some very pleasant surprises that he had planned and arranged. I loved it!

If your tv only played one cartoon over and over, which one would you pick? Oh the torture!! I think I would lose my mind!! Maybe Super Why or Word World? That's a tough one.

Laurie asked:

So I was thinking about this today b/c I tend to daydream.. If you had money, I mean like Oprah type money is there anything material you could not live without? I am talking no answer as hubby, kids, food. Has to be material. Got me thinking that if I was in that situation I would MOVE!! But here is my problem. I love our home. I love the memories here, I love that no other person has lived here prior to us, and that my kids and pregnancies took place here, BUT I hate the climate. don't like being cold.. So is that crazy? My house. This house is what I need, but in another STATE! I am actually opposite of you! I love our location, but I could go for a bigger, newer house. We love where we're at, being in a culdesac, and all of our neighbors. I would definitely spring for a house with bigger bedrooms and a bigger kitchen. Nothing too outrageous, though. Oh, and I think if I were THAT rich, I would also buy a cleaning fairy. :)