All American Hand Poured Soy "Farm Fresh" Candles from Comfort Chickens Homestead

This post was originally part of the Red, White, and Blue Giveaway Hop.

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What home isn't complete without a good smelling candle? Am I right?

In my journey of a more natural (and frugal) lifestyle, one of the first products that I ditched were scents. So many products available today are just ridden with chemicals and unnatural properties, and as a new mama I just didn't want any of that to be inhaled by my newborn daughter. I dumped my smelly wall inserts (you know the kind) and even put away my beloved perfume for only special occasions. I switched to all natural soaps and other skin care because I knew that with all of the skin on skin contact that I'd have with my children that I didn't want them to get "second hand" exposure of indoor pollutants. So for the last 2 years, my home has been without a candle. And that made me really sad.

Then by chance I met Candice, who is married to an old friend from college, and we shared an interest in keeping backyard chickens. As we got to know each other better, she shared her passion of candle making with me and my flame was rekindled (ok ok, yea that pun was totally intended!). She quickly mailed me a pair of candles - MacIntosh Apple and Vanilla - and I gave them a try. I also learned that soy candles emit much less toxic chemicals than paraffin candles, so this eased my worries about indoor pollutants with my children.

Before I get into what I thought about the candles, here's a little note from Candice...

Inspired by God, country lifestyle, and chickens, I set to work in 2013 hand crafting my own candles. 

After much testing, I finally found the perfect combination of wax, fragrance oils, and wicks! From there Comfort Chickens Homestead was born. And the rest is history!

All Comfort Chickens Homestead candles are made from 100% soy wax, a much cleaner burning wax then paraffin. Paraffin is a petroleum byproduct, and can cause heavy black soot when burning. Soy wax is a renewable resource, and burns much cleaner. The soy wax used in CCH candles is made in the USA with crops grown from our very own farmers, is made with pure soybean oil (100% vegetable), is natural and biodegradable, and is GMO free! It doesn't get any better than that! CCH candles also burn with two cotton wicks for a clean burn.

As for scent, all fragrance oils are carefully selected and tested to make sure they smell good and burn strong. The scent you smell when the candle isn't lit is called a cold throw. The scent you smell when the candle is lit is called a hot throw. Comfort Chickens Homestead candles have the best of both!

Each candle is lovingly hand poured into a real mason jar (Kerr to be exact: jar, lid, and rim made in the USA), and then delivered to its final destination. Once it is done burning, the scent sticker can easily be removed and the wicks taken out so the jar can be reused to make your favorite jam! The lid can also be reused as it has a magnet attached to the back of it. Display your children's drawings, your shopping list, or your to-do list for the house on your fridge!

I hope you enjoy your "Farm Fresh Candles" from Comfort Chickens Homestead! It is an honor to fill up your house with delicious and tasty aromas! And as for me, I think I will go relax with my chickens now. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you soon!

Isn't she sweet? This lady truly puts in a labor of love into these candles and I think it really shines though (ok, another candle pun..when am I going to stop?).

She mentioned hot and cold throw - yes, these candles smell so good whether they are lit or not! It doesn't take long at all for the scent to make its way throughout your home. When I lit the vanilla candle, after 5 minutes my kitchen smelled like I was baking something and my husband came down quickly to investigate! In less than an hour my entire home smelled delicious.

I'm finding that these candles are true to all the work that Candice puts into them. The scents are spot on (MacIntosh apples happen to be my favorite and that candle gets my mouth watering!), they don't leave a sooty residue and the wax melts down nicely without you having to push it down the sides of the jar. Unlike many other home-made candles that I've tried before, the scents do not smell synthetic and you'd think they are the real thing. It's just plain awesome to have my entire house smell like MacIntosh apples, if you ask me!

Want to win a set of candles of your own? In honor of Independence Day and the fact that these candles are proudly made in the USA with American ingredients (right down to the soy, which Candice made absolute sure was grown by our farmers in order to support our economy), Comfort Chickens Homestead is offering one Pierogie Mama winner 3 candles (the winner gets to choose their scents). Just check out the giveaway widget below for entry options and details!

This giveaway is over. Thanks to all who entered!

Disclosure: I received product in exchange for my honest review. I love these candles!

Extraordinary Daughters

What is your most treasured moment with your children? That one memory that stands out above all others?

Many parents would say that it's the first time they saw their child's face. Though I had unmedicated, natural births, I was so high on endorphins and coming down from the extremely focused experience of labor I have a very foggy memory of seeing both of my daughter's faces. Both times I was still very much "in the zone" and the flurry of excitement from everyone else was almost a distraction. Weird, right?

For both girls it has been the first time we shared a laugh together. The happiness that I've felt when that little being that I've been caring for, seemingly without any recognition or thanks, finally makes that connection with my eyes and we giggle with each other...totally priceless. I was lucky enough to actually capture that moment with Penny.

It's such an amazing coincidence that this video was taken almost exactly two years ago.

Isn't it awesome that we live in an era where things like that very special moment can get caught on camera or video? I can only imagine how cool it will be to bring these up again when my daughters are older and relive a few of these with them, and even bring them out again when they have their children.

What makes your kid extraordinary isn’t just the epic stuff. It’s the little things. The small moments that maybe only you see — and quietly celebrate every day. Share your love, hope and pride for your extraordinary kid by creating a personalized video that captures what makes them one-of-a-kind.  The Stanford Children’s Health website has a cute little app available where you can make a sweet video note for your kids - check out our video. It definitely made me tear up a couple times, not gonna lie.

Your kid is extraordinary. Show them how much you enjoy every moment together by creating a special video of your own!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Nuby Splash n’ Catch Bathtime Fishing Set review

Now that summer is officially here, we've started taking some of our bath toys out to the water table that I keep in the backyard. The Splash n’ Catch Bathtime Fishing Set from Nuby, is a new favorite for Penny.

This toy comes with a net and 4 sea creature weights to scoop up. They are able to be linked together or played with separately. 

What I like about this toy is that it plays well with others.. I can toss a bunch of other small objects (marbles, stones, etc) and she can work on scooping other things as well. 

Check out my other reviews of Nuby bath time toys:
Tub Time Turtle
Octopus Bath Time Toss
Fish Swoosh
Squid Squirter

The Nuby Splash n' Catch Bathtime Fishing set can be found on Amazon, Diapers.com, buybuyBaby, Cookie's Kids and Tuesday Morning. 

Make sure you follow along with Nuby on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to keep up with all the latest products and promotions!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I am writing this post as part of the NUBY Mommy Blogger Program.  I did not receive compensation for this post, although as part of the program I may receive items to sample or review.  All opinions are my own.

How to Survive When Your Spouse Travels (and you've got the kids)

When Adam took his new position this past October one of the unexpected aspects of his job has been increased travel time. As the "natural gas expert" for his company, he is expected to oversee many of the projects in this relatively new area of development within his company which means traveling every so often. Add on attending conventions and other events where he gains more knowledge and networks within his field and we've got a frequent flyer on our hands. I traveled every so often for my job when we were pre-kids and although it was sometimes difficult to be away from each other for short periods of time, nothing prepared us for how children would make the separation more challenging. Coordinating bed times, meal preparation and just plain getting support and a bit of a break are all affected when he has to travel for work. So how does one cope? Here are a few of my learned lessons and input from Pierogie Mama readers too!

1. Reconnect a few times per day. This can be via a phone call, face time, Skype, or even exchanging a few wordless picture texts. This helps the traveller know that you miss them, keeps them in the loop of your day and connects your kids with the parent that they miss.

2. Jenne says "adjust your expectations. It is not practical or healthy to expect to be able to do everything with only one person running the show." We all try to be strong when our spouse is gone, right? I know I certainly try to fill in all the roles I can when he's away. What I quickly learned is just how burned out and cranky I became with my kids and that there simply is no way that I could continue to run our lives as it is when both parents are home. So cut back, even for a short period of time, and give yourself some slack. So the laundry sits for a few extra days or meals aren't up to par. It'll be back to normal in a few days :)

3. Help the kids understand what the separation means within their development level. Penny recently watched the Pixar movie "Planes" and is very much enamored with Dusty. When we were dropping Adam off at the airport we told her that he's going on a ride on Dusty and that Dusty will bring him home soon. I also pulled out a large map and put a sticky note with a drawing of our home where we are, and a cartoon of Daddy at his destination. We'd also sit in the room where the map is when we call, and we'd talk about where we are and where Daddy is.

4. Sneak a few goodies into the traveler's bag. Their favorite snack, a note stuffed into a sock, a new magazine, or even have your children send off a prized possession knowing that it'll be home soon. Gretchen suggests "We prepare by sending notes and surprises with daddy and he tries to leave behind the same."

4. Find helping hands. I take myself and the kids down to my parents house during my husband's travel. The extra hands are great, and it gives the kids some grandparent time. I always make sure that I sneak in a late afternoon nap while both girls are distracted by Babcia and Vovo ;) If family isn't available for a visit, think about scheduling play dates where you meet at your house and your girlfriend watches the kids while you chat and catch up on chores or asking if you can drop the kids off with her for an hour or two while you give yourself a break.

5. Start a tradition. This can be going out for ice cream half way through the travel, a trip to the zoo, read a special book or end each evening with a light hearted movie. This helps give yourself and the kids something to look forward to during the period of separation. We're not looking to throw a party once your spouse walks out the door, but it does help ease a bit of the loneliness by giving yourself something fun and rewarding for all the extra responsibilities on your plate for this time. At the start and end of each nap and bedtime I tell Penny how many sleeps are left until Daddy comes home, and by the end of the trip she'll be asking me before I'd even mention it!

6. Maintain traditions and routines too; Amy says "My husband does the whole bedtime routine each night so we try to call him around then and my son will read my husband a story on face time." Adam typically reads Penny her bed time stories, so when he is away I pull out our special recordable book that plays him reading a special story to her.

Travel for work is not easy for families; whether it's deployment, consistent or inconsistent travel. Each scenario has it's own set of issues that the parent staying behind and the travelling parent have to navigate through - but the important thing is to recognize where the difficulty lies and how you two can work together as a team to solve the problem.

How do you make it through a business trip when your spouse is away? 

5 super mom tips

Being a true super mom is like finding the holy grail. I don't believe it's ever going to happen, but the internet is a wonderful place to learn about different ways of doing things, right? I definitely don't have it together, but some days the stars align and at the end of the day I feel like I've done it all in one fell swoop. Here's 5 of my tips on how to get your life in somewhat manageable, efficient order. ;) I'd love to hear your tips in the comments!

1. Identify your time wasters. Facebook, cell phone, etc. And strive to cut that in half and turn that time into something productive. Sure, time wasters tend to be our sanity savers too, but everything in moderation, right? You can start to figure these things out by keeping a time log for a few days and then work from there to see what can get cut out.

2. Shop online, and schedule subscriptions where you can. Diapers.com is your one stop shop for a ton of baby supply items - diapers, nursery, books, and you can even register there too. At Diapers.com you can take advantage of a $12 off discount on your first purchase of a case of Huggies diapers (use promocode wowhuggies). Plus get free shipping when you spend $49+. You can also schedule house hold item deliveries (such as tooth paste, paper towels) through Amazon.

3. Prepare meals ahead of time - fill the coffee machine the night before, soak oatmeal overnight, weekly meal planning, or try knocking out a ton of freezer meals all at one time. If at all possible, don't go grocery shopping at "peak hours" and try to shop once a week. (For those of you who are in baby-food making mode, keep an eye out for the near future of my Cuisinart Baby Food Maker review + giveaway! Click here to get inspiration on baby food recipes)

4. Cleaning schedule. Ugh. My arch nemesis. Now if you told my husband that I'm giving cleaning tips on my blog, he'd probably spit his coffee out in absolute disbelief. Yep, I'm a messy mom. Toys are rarely organized (usually thrown in a basket in the evening, if we're lucky), laundry tends to stay in a bin for a week before getting put away (unless its cloth diapers), and my broom is named Squirt (my dog). But we all aspire to grow and learn, don't we? My goal for the next couple months is to work out a functional cleaning schedule and keep to it - I'll fill you in if this becomes a reality. ;)

5. Save time on laundry - this will function along with your cleaning schedule. There's tons of ways to go about it; do a load a day, save all the laundry for one day, different sorting techniques or just dump it all in. Do you fold? I'm shamelessly admitting that if it doesn't get hung, it will probably be crumpled into a drawer. But hey, not folding saves you time, right? ;)

What other super mom tips can you share for being efficient with your time?

Disclosure: I'd like to thank Huggies for sponsoring my post today! All opinions expressed are my own.