I have decided I am going to start setting up to sell some party supplies out of my house. Some things i will be selling are: Cupcake Toppers, Bunting Signs, Cake Toppers, Bags of Confetti,… More
Home Remedies For The Common Cold That Actually Worked (Kid Friendly)
Hello everyone! I have been battling with trying to keep my little family healthy. I know I’m not alone in this so I thought I would share some of my findings with all of the home remedies I found on Pinterest.
I have tried just about all of them and only a handful of them gave me any results at all… some of the results were very short term and in my opinion not worth it for my kids to feel icky again in a few mins.
So in my household we try to stay away from prescription and over the counter medicines. We like to go the all natural homeopathic way.
Since my daughter started Kindergarten we haven’t been able to all be 100% well in our household. I also babysit my 3 year old niece during the week so she gets added in the mix poor girl.
Well long story short I am always looking for little sick hacks to help my little family feel better.
Some of the things that I have tried even if I have thought some are too crazy to work…I have tried them just to be sure. I didn’t want to just assume.
There are a few that everyone has heard of:
Lemon and Honey Tea
Vicks Vaporub (I use The Honest Company Brand)
Cool Mist Humidifier (I use my diffuser since it is so big It works the same)
Those are the basics.
What I have tried:
All of the above obviously…
Black Elderberry Pills (adults that can swallow pills)
Elderberry Gummies(for kids)
A slice of onion on the feet with socks on while you sleep
A slice of potato on the feet with socks on while you sleep
Diffuser with Eucalyptus or Thieves essential oils in it
Pineapple or Pineapple juice to help cough
Marshmallows for sore throat
Spoonful of Raw Honey (natural cough syrup)(No honey for babies under a year old because of the risk of Botulism)
Pressing tongue to the roof of your mouth and finger between your eyebrows for 20 seconds
Detox Bath With Eucalyptus and/or Thieves Essential Oils and Epsom Salts
Ok Now down to the Details….
My Personal Favorites Are the Lemon and Honey Tea, The Diffuser with Eucalyptus in it, And The Vaporub. These 3 are tried and true work well for me and my family. They don’t make us well in 5 seconds but I feel better with these remedies. The lemon and Honey Tea helps my throat not be so sore and the warmth of the tea feels soothing on my throat. I always seem to be able to breath a little better after drinking some. The diffuser at night while we sleep with the Eucalyptus in it lets me and the kids get more sleep there is less coughing through the night. And The Real MVP here I truly believe in is to put the Vaporub on the bottoms of my kids’ feet at night with socks on, and I add some to there chest and back. They sleep so soundly with this it is truly amazing how well this works!
So for the other nitty gritties I tried some did work for us but I had a hard time with some of them because of my kids.
The Elderberry pills and gummies are supposed to be taken if someone around you is sick ( if you have been exposed) or right when you start feeling like you make be getting sick. I started taking these when my son developed his cough. I would take them with breakfast and with dinner. My Best Friend swears by them. But Unfortunately a week Later… I am sick with what my son had. So I’m not sure how i feel about these. I have been doing some research and I think I might try to make my won Elderberry Syrup from Scratch and that might be more Effective.
The Slice of Onion or Potato on the feet at night with socks on. A lot of people swear that this works and what is supposed to happen is with the slice on your feet while you sleep it is supposed to draw out all the toxins from your body and in the morning it is supposed to be black. We tried both of these on separate nights and the onion just became wilty(just like the one i left out in the room just so I knew it wasn’t just from sitting out overnight) and the onion was pretty similar just wilty looking. No black on either of them. Another mom from my daughters school told me about these and said that when she used it on her kids they turned black. To each there own.
My Diffuser which i have linked the exact one that I use. I fill it with water to the fill line and add out 12 drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil to the Water. I face it where the steam goes directly on the one of us that needs it. I see a definite improvement on how my kids breath and how much coughing happens at night with it on. I used thieves 2 times before the Eucalyptus but I ran out of thieves and my husband told me that the thieves was too strong of a smell for him to sleep with. I recommend the thieves more for a warm bath.
I read on Pinterest about Pineapple or Pineapple Juice being a natural way to help with sore throat and cough. Both of my kids love Pineapple so I bought a fresh one from Costco and cut it up. I didn’t see a huge difference in there coughs to be honest but they ate the Pineapple up 🙂
Now for the Marshmallows helping with sore throats. This one i doubted but after reading more about it I decided to try it with the kids. I just gave them a large Marshmallow that I had in my cupboard leftover from our smores night we had. The powder coating on the outside of the marshmallow helped to coat my kids’ throats and It was easy to get them to eat. It didn’t last too long and if they drank water it went away. So its more of a temporary fix.
The spoonful of Honey is good even if you arent sick. I give it to myself and my kids(Not for kids under 1 year old because of the risk of botulism) for allergies. I found a 3 pack of Raw Honey at Costco in the organic section. The Honey seems to act as a Natural Syrup but needs to be taken a couple times a day.
Ok so this really worked for me. I read on Pinterest about pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth and placing your thumb between your eyebrows and applying pressure for 20 seconds and It will release your stuffed up swollen sinuses. It worked when i did it. Instant relief! I had the worst sinus headache from being so swollen yesterday and this helped a lot.
Apple Cider Vinegar…..I definitely have a love hate relationship with this stuff….The way that I take it is a spoonful straight. I usually chase it with something because it burns and tastes soooo gross. A lot of people add it to water with lemon and honey but I don’t like to drag out the icky taste and to me the lemon and honey doesn’t cover up the horrid taste…but this stuff WORKS! I can be horribly sick one day and the next be perfectly fine after taking this 2-3 times a day. I just have to muster up the courage to take it. I had a horrible sinus infection and instead of going to the doctors and getting antibiotics I took apple cider vinegar 2 times in 2 days and my sinus infection was gone!!! So if you are brave enough it is worth it. I don’t advise giving it to your kids. Take it first and you will understand lol.
Detox bath. i think this is a combination of the essential oils with the Epsom salts and the steam in the bathroom. My son needed some steam fro his breathing and this is what the advise nurse advised us to do. I had some thieves essential oil still and added about 3-4 drops while the tub was filling with warm water. The Epsom salts detox your body pulling out toxins, the essential oils help with his breathing as does the steam. Its a win win. My son loves baths too so i gave him a couple of toys and we hung-out in the bathroom for a lil while.
Alright so what do you think?
Is there something that you have tried that works?
Id love to try some of your ideas.
Fairy & Butterfly Party
Back last September i was asked to make a Fairy & Butterfly cake and smash cake for a friends daughter’s first birthday party. I had drawn out a few different ideas and i finally settled on the 2 designs that me and the client both agreed on. She wanted a cake to feed 30+ people so i went with a 2 tier cake made into a fairy house.
I used a Flower press kit with wilton fondant
These Fairy Figurines are even cuter than the ones I found.
Rapunzel Party (Old Post)
This post is from when my daughter turned 3, she had a tangled/Rapunzel themed party at our local park. I figured i would add this to my collection of parties i have done in the past. My daughter just had her 5th birthday in February so this cake and decorations were in my beginner stages of party planning/supplier. 
I made this Rapunzel tower from a fold up foam presentation board like this fold up foam board.
This is the cake I made for her party. I had the hardest time finding a small enough Rapunzel figurine to fit on the cake and not sink it. Rapunzel Figurine/Caketopper
These are the Icing Flowers I used on the cake. And I bought a cheap #3 from the dollar store and bejeweled it with flatback swarovski crystals and I used this glue .
I made these Rapunzel red velvet cake pops with these purple candy melts.
I used this free printable image from Pinterest for the tops tangled cake pop topper.
Thanx for checking out my blog and i hope its helpful if your making a Tangled cake 🙂
Im back & need advice
Hi all!
I have been one busy momma lately! I have had countless Parties to plan and cakes to make on top of daily life plus some. I miss writing!
I just found out yesterday I will be an aunt x2 more! I’m so excited! Babies= cakes, gender reveal parties to plan, baby showers to plan, and more! I can’t wait. I’ve already been making new Pinterest boards with ideas! Does anyone have any cute ideas I can run by the mommies to be?
I need some advice on what some other stay at home parents do to make some income from home. i already do Ibotta, Reciept Hog, surveys, but I’m curious if anyone uses affiliate links and generates any income. I would like to start helping my husband out with some costs. I already babysit my niece 4-5 days a week but I don’t make much. does anyone have any recommendations? have the affiliate links worked for you? I still feel so new in blogging and I haven’t figured everything out yet. I’m open to some suggestions of things i can do from home while babysitting 3 kids.
I’m so thankful for all my readers and I’m thankful that some of you like to comment and give me some tips and advice 🙂
Bulk Post of Some of the Cakes I Have Made Recently
It has been awhile since i last posted. I have been one busy mama! I have been asked by alot of froends and family for my blog site so they can see some of the cakes I have made. So this post will be pictures mostly 🙂
Emoji cake, cake pops, and cupcakes:
I made this going away to airforce bootcamp cake for my brother in law:
The dinosaur cake I made for my sons 2nd Birthday party:
The dark tower (book version) cake that I made for my other brother in law for his 22nd birthday:
The alice in ONE derland smash cake and sheet cake that I made for a friends babies 1st birthday party:
These last 2 are the 2 cakes I made fpr my husband 1 for his party at his families house and the other for his surprise party I threw for him:
Which one is your favorite out of all of my cakes?
Thank you for checking out my blog 💗
Lets Get To Know Eachother!
So I thought it would be fun to do one of those survey/question things all the high school kids use to do on myspace and facebook! (Wow myspace…Im old!) I would like for you to fill this out in the comments! I love learning about people and I promise I will read all of them! Its fun for me!
Here is my All About Me:
1. Full Name: Becky Smith. Well technically Im supposed to be Becky Weeks. But I never officially cahnged my name when I got married.
2. Age and birthday: I am 28 and I was Born November 26th
3. Hometown: Born in Carmichael CA. Grew up in North Highlands/Sacramento CA until my sophmore year of high school when I moved with my mom to Placerville CA and I lived there for 6 years. So I consider all of these my hometown. They all have special places for me.
4. Hair color: As of 2 days ago I went a little crazy. Normally my hair is a dark burgundy/purple color. But…. I colored my hairva dark brown almost black and bleached in a few highlights that turned orange…I just left it until I have time to add some more highlights and tone it lol. So its a work in progress.
5. Eye color: Blue but my eyes change colors. Sometimes they are bright blue, grey blue, or teal.
6. Height: I am 5’9″
7. Best friends: Holly James & Caitlyn Goebel
8. Favorite color: Teal
9. Pets: None. I love animals but my house is too small and its just too much for me with 2 kids.
10. Dream job: Owning my own bakery and making cakes and cookies all day.
11. Favorite subject: Art I love being crwative and making things.
12. Lucky number: 7 just like my momma
13. Hobbies: Teaching my kids, blogging, creating things, baking, and trying to find ways to keep a positive mind.
14. Favorite book: I dont have a favorite due to not being able to read much but I am part of a Young Married Couples Group and we are reading a book called “What did you expect?” By Paul David Tripp. I like it alot and it has helped my husband and I become closer.
15. Favorite movie: oh boy I have so many. Im a sucker for romantic comedies, chick flicks and just normal comedies. I like to laugh.
16. Favorite sport: Basketball
17. Favorite band/artist: Im liking Bruno Mars’ new album rught now.
18. Favorite food: Tacos!! I love Tacos & Pizza…. which is so unhealthy but I still love them lol.
19. Favorite season: Fall or Summer. I HATE spring with a passion because I am allergic to everything that blooms in spring ugh… I am miserable during spring, Its been this way my entire life. And winter is rough im not a fan of being cold.
20. Favorite music genre:I would say Pop because I like to dance with my kids.
21. Single or taken: I am Taken. Im married to my hubby since 2012.
22. Want kids: I have 2 kids. My daughter is now 4 and my son is almost 2.
23: Snapchat: beckobee
24. Zodiac sign :Sagittarius
25. Last drank: My morning coffee.
26. Cat or dog: I love them both but I have to say Dogs because Im allergic to cats 😦
27. Favorite animal: Dogs & Giraffs
28. Apple or samsung: Never had a samsung so Id say Im an apple girl.
I cant wait to read your answers and get to know you guys!
Have a great day everyone!
Throw Back To My Daughters 2nd Birthday Party! Elmo Themed!
I decided I would share some of the other Birthday parties I had made diy things for. My daughters 2nd Birthday we had planned to go to chuck e cheese due to the weather being bad. But when we arrived at chuck e cheese it was so crowded due to the weather it just wasn’t going to happen so we decided to have everyone venture across the street to the round table pizza. It worked out perfect nobody was there so we were able to use the party room.
So anyways I made an Elmo cake with abc/123 sugar cookie on it. (This is one of my first decorated cakes I had done). Its pretty simple and I enjoyed making it. 
This is her and her bff (daddy). This is one of my favorite pictures 💗.
30 Day Abs & Butt Challenge
30-day-ab-butt-challenge I’ve been in this funk lately with how my body looks since I had my son. 2 babies later and I’ve lost the weight from both babies but I seriously need/want to tone my saggy belly! I hate looking in the mirror at myself. ..and I can only imagine what my husband thinks lol. So what I have been doing is researching the most common exercises to help tone down my stomach and help lift my butt…that I don’t have so I guess I should say “grow my butt”?? lol.
Well anyways I have took it upon myself to create a FREE 30 Day Ab & Butt Challenge Printable to share with everyone. I plan to start it tomorrow morning! The reason I chose to make it a printable is because I like to have a physical list/calendar that I can mark the day off after I do it as a motivation to try and do the entire thing. I know from experience how hard it is to finish a 30 day regimen. lol.
This is my first time making a printable so I would really like some feedback on if I even did it right lol. I hope I did…I learned from a Pinterest tutorial lol.
If you use it let me know if you saw any results and if you like it 🙂 enjoy!
Lisa Frank Birthday Party
My daughter just turned 4! When i asked her what kind of party she wanted she said unicorns and mermaids. So we went shopping. While shopping i showed her some Lisa Frank items i had found and boom she was hooked!
Alot of the stuff for the party i made myself since i have so much extra time on my hands (haha) …but im not gunna lie i absolutely love and have a passion for party planning and diy crafting! Pinterest and me are very close friends lol.
This is my big 4 year old. I made her shirt for her. Its just a simple iron on that i printed out from my computer. Iron on transfer papers (printer friendly) & i bought her plain white shirt here Plain white long sleeve shirt .
I made a rainbow glitter unicorn piñata from all my amazon boxes i had accumulated, white tissue paper from the dollar store, some silver glitter, cardstock paper, gluegun with glue, and some glitter tulle i bought at hobby lobby. It was alot of work for the kids to just destroy it, but like i said i enjoy making this stuff so i was fine with it 😁
I also made some mini unicorn piñatas from some cereal box cardboard, tissue paper from the dollar tree, cardstock, glitter, and some small gems i had from a previous project(for the eyes) i cut a hole under the tail (on the butt) and stuffed them with skittles so the unicorn would poop skittles! Lol the kids loved it and so did the adults 😂
Now my cake turned out pretty cute i was pretty impressed! I made a french vanilla cake with buttercream frosting. I dyed each cake layer with rainbow tiedye(5 layers). I covered the cake with White fondant and I bought some Food coloring pens to colors the fondant facial features i made for the face. The horn is a lollipop i bought at the dollar store which was too tall but i went with it anyways lol. 
I made some Lisa frank inspired cookies with my well loved sugar cookie recipe and frosting recipe 😉
For all the goodie bag goodies/party favor goodies I bought here are the amazon links i used to order:
Unicorn cookie cutter
Over 600 lisa frank stickers
Party set
Party hats 8ct
Play packs(I had found them in packs of 6 but i cant find that link now)
Party plates, napkins, cups & silverware
Unicorn sticker (not lisa frank but we decorated some blank thank you cards from the dollar section at target with these)
How I Side Hustle
I see all kinds of pins on Pinterest about how Stay at Home moms make money from home. A lot of the jobs you need to have a degree to do…well I don’t so a lot of those options haven’t panned out too well for me. So Instead i have found small ways to make some side money that add up.And all of these are apps on my phone that I can just casually do while holding my babies. And the BEST PART IS THEY ARE ALL FREE APPS! (Keep in mind I have an iphone so im not sure how these will work for any other phone, but its worth checking out!)
- Inbox Dollars: I answer surveys and I signed up to read emails and get paid. This takes some time to do but if you do a little a day it begins to add up quick.
2.ibotta: I use this app a lot. What I do is I look up the stores I plan to go shop at the day of. I check to see if there are any items I need that are being featured on ibotta. If i buy any of the items then when I get home i will scan the items and take a picture of the receipt and get paid for that shopping trip.
Check out Ibotta to get cash back! Use my referral code, k9shaw, and you can earn an extra $10. Sign up at https://ibotta.com/r/k9shaw
3.Safeway: I shop at Safeway alot because my Husband likes there produce and meat quality. There “Just for u” app lets you pick out coupons for items you buy and add them to your card from the app so that when you use your Safeway card the coupons are automatically used on your purchase.
4. Retail Me Not: I mostly use this app at Bath and Body Works, because I buy there hand soaps for both my bathrooms and my kitchen. Kind of addicted… Retail me Not has coupons for alot of stores. You can use the coupons online or in store depending on the coupon.
5. Cartwheel by Target: This one is pretty popular and alot of people know about it. I check my list and what is on my cartwheel app before going and always save about $10 minimum. If you don’t know what it is, Its an app for target that gives you discounts like coupons and you pull up the bar code on the app at checkout to get the coupons from the app that you have chosen.
6.ThredUP: So since i have 2 young kids, This app is kind of amazing! I go on it and request a clean up bag. they ship me a preaddressed bag that I send back free full of my kids’ clothes they have grown out of along with mine of my husbands stuff too. They have a list of brands and types of clothes you can send in to get paid from them. After they have received the bag of clothes you can choose to buy more things from there site, or you can cash out to your paypal.
Check out thredUP, the web’s largest selection of like-new designer looks at up to 90% off retail. It’s also the easiest way to clean out your closet by ordering a Clean Out Kit. Use my link for $10 off!
Use thsi code to sign up and get $10 free( which makes your cleanout bag free👍🏻)
http://www.thredup.com/r/KMITZM
Update: Thredup now charges to send you a bag to fill 😦 so I dont use thsi as much die to not making as much a profit.
7. Poshmark: This is similar to the ThredUp but instead you post pictures and people buy from you, they pay the shipping and you get a prepaid shipping label emailed to you to print out to ship the item.
Join me on Poshmark, the #1 app to buy & sell fashion. Shop 5,000+ brands at up to 70% off! Sign up with code GLGDL to save $5: https://bnc.lt/focc/mqvhkz8naB
8. RecieptHog: I love this app its super easy to earn rewards/coins that can be redeemed for amazon giftcards, paypal cash, or magazine subscriptions. With this app you scan your reciepts from just about anywhere and they give you coins or you can spin a wheel to win prizes.
So far these are the only apps I have found that are non time consuming at one time and that actually add up. 🙂
Day By Day SAHM 