Tuesday, July 19, 2016

How to get all the toys in a McDonald's Happy Meal set...... without buying Happy Meals!

My kids (and my husband and I too) LOVED The Secret Life of Pets movie. McDonald's happy meals currently have little miniature stuffed animals as the 'toy' in the meal, and they are adorable!
I took the kids to McDonalds and they were loving the Secret Life of Pets toys and wanting to go back again to get more. Sorry kids, we're not eating that many happy meals to get all of the toys in the set. So..... my husband came up with an awesome alternative . . . he found the whole set on eBay for around $23, which is much less than buying that many Happy Meals.
So . . . the next time your kids want the whole set of a happy meal toy set, check eBay! You're welcome ;)

Friday, July 8, 2016

Lemongrass essential oil - Mom fail!

So I read that lemongrass essential oil can work as a mosquito repellent. Mosquitos LOVE me so I was excited to use this oil as a repellent. About 6 months ago, I dabbed some on myself before I went to an outdoor mountain bbq, and I had zero mosquito bites - hooray! So this year, my family and I were out watching fireworks on the 4th of July and we could see mosquitos flying about. I put the oil on myself .... and my kids. I was fine, but a minute later, my kids were screaming and saying that their skin was burning. I felt terrible!
Our neighbor (who's front yard we were in) invited us in and I remembered that water won't work to get the oil off (because water and oil separates), but olive oil will work to dilute the oil. So, my neighbors and I dabbed olive oil on my kids (you could see where I had dabbed the essential oil) and within a minute my kids were both calmed down and fine. I'm so glad that worked and that we were still able to stay out and see the fireworks (I was initially thinking we would have to leave and go bathe the kids).
Lesson learned..... kids skin is so much more sensitive than adults skin is. Essential oils are amazing, and potent, so remember to always, always, always DILUTE the oils with a carrier oil (like fractionated coconut oil or olive oil) BEFORE applying to kids' skin. But there is good news.........none of us had mosquito bites that night, so the lemongrass oil really does work!