I grew up drinking diet soda like it was water. I bought extra strength Tylenol by the family size. I put very little thought into what I put in (or on) my body.
Then I had kids. Then my mom received her second cancer diagnosis. Then my dad passed away after battling lung cancer. You can't walk through those things without being changed.
Six years ago, I had a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old. I was tired. My 2-year-old gave me a run for my money and something just had to give. I noticed that his behavior seemed to get worse whenever he had dyes or lots of sugar. So, we cut those things out. As I researched, I realized the effects that processed foods were having on our bodies and decided I needed to try to do better there, too. So I gradually bought more real foods and less processed ones.
Next, I had to tackle bedtime. I'm not exaggerating when I say that our bedtime routine lasted over an hour. Even then my kids would come out of their rooms several times throughout the night. My grandmother was actually the first one to suggest to me that I try essential oils. I immediately told her that those things were hocus pocus but she (and the lack of sleep) eventually wore me down. I decided to try them. When I tell you that no one was more surprised than I when they actually worked, I truly mean NO ONE was more surprised than I.
Sleepy cream became my bedtime hero and I was hooked ever since.
Over the last six years I have slowly replaced a lot of the chemical-filled products in our home with more natural options. I'm far from perfect and even now I have products that I need to replace but I truly believe its progress over perfection. Pursuing wellness has become a passion of mine, hence why I have a whole section about it right here on my blog!
Now it’s time to tackle our food supply. That's a huge driving force behind our homestead. We want to be able to grow our own food. Harvest our own meat. We want to truly know where our food is coming from. I have a feeling that this will be another gradual process that will take much longer than we originally thought.
Progress over perfection.