Trip to Disneyland

Get ready for an indulgent post with way too many pictures of  my cute child in Disneyland, taken with a crappy iphone.... just wanted to give full disclosure. In August, Lyla and I were lucky enough to spend a week with my mama and sissy in Newport Beach. It was a really great break that I needed it so bad. Living so far away from family is hard and moving again is even worse.

Newport is one of my favorite places to go. The weather is always wonderful and I also get to see my cool older brother and his gorgeous wife. They are always doing unique things around LA. When we were there they invited us to watch Casablanca in the Hollywood Cemetery and we also saw the Pageant of the Masters. If you have never been you need to go!

After our 8 hour flight to get to California Lyla immediately got off the plan and wanted to go to Disneyland. She reminded me that I told her, " We fly on the plane to see Ya ya and Rae Rae and then we go to Disneyland." Of course I didn't know she was going to take it literally!

Sadly, she had to wait a few days to go, but on the day of Disney she was primed and ready. We dressed her up in her favorite Princess dress and I had the whole day planned.

 

I was actually really glad that I looked through all the character and show times the night before. It made our day run so smoothly. We hardly had to wait in any lines ( mainly because we divided and conquered between my sister, mom, and I)  and even though it was HOT outside it was fun. Watching her greet each Princess was hilarious.  She would be talking in the line about the princess and then once it was her turn she would hide behind me and be shy. But with a little coaxing she sang a song for every princess.

We learned on the first day that Lyla does not like Pirates of the Caribbean. It really freaked her out and she hid her face the whole time. Afterword she said: " Mommy I like Yo Ho, but I HATE PIRATES!" As a result, she was freaked out by every ride. We literally had to force her on to Peter Pan and Winnie The Pooh. I almost took her on Pinocchio but when a worker heard me assuring her that the ride wasn't scary she said to us: "No, actually this ride is really scary she probably will hate it." So we avoided that one! 

Our second day my cute mother bought Lyla a few princess dresses and I became one of those "crazy moms" changes her kids clothes to match the princess picture.... yep.. it was pretty shameful. But Lyla was in Heaven so oh well! The greatest act of love and selflessness of the day was when my Dad waited in a 2 hour line for Lyla to see Elsa and Anna. It made her life.... yep... her life! The day before I refused to wait in the 3 hour line so I took lyla to the front and let her peek in the door to see them. However, when we walked away she look at me horrified and said: " No mom I want to meet Elsa and Anna." She cried and cried it was so sad. So I was very grateful for a sweet Grandpa.

Dreams really do come true.

With a little faith, trust, and pixie dust!

BreAnne Okoren

Difussing Essential Oils for Toddlers

One of my favorite things....
I want to start this blog by clarifying that this is NOT a sponsored post and  I do not sell for Do Terra. This blog shares my lifestyle and the things I create, do and use that bring me joy. Today I wanted to share one tool that I have really enjoyed and use a lot in my home and for my child. I am not one of those all knowing "essential oil Moms", but I am learning a lot about the benefits of using them over medications. Surprisingly, I found them to work very well. 

When we first moved into our rental a couple of months ago I was shocked by the air and smell of the old house. We spent a lot of time cleaning and airing it out, but it still didn't feel great. My Mom sent a couple of these oil diffusers to us to solve our problem. I used some Purify and Lemon essential oils in them and it made such a difference. I now use them all the time!

 During the day I will use some lemon and it really helps the house smell fresh and cheers me up! I love using Lavendar in Lyla's room at night to calm her. We were all sick last week and I was able to use Breathe and Serenity to help out. (By the way these cute dolls in the background were made by my friend Andrea, check them out here.)

Research has shown how diffusing oils in your home can: lift you mood, energize, relax, soothe, calm, and improve concentration.  I have even read of teachers using them in their classrooms during tests to calm students! Ok.... I am getting off the soap box.
 
What are some of your favorite ways to use essential oils?

Adventures in North Carolina

This was our very first Okoren Family Road Trip. I am not the biggest fan of long car rides, but I have always wanted to see the sights in North Carolina. Tyler just graduated with his Masters degree and had a month before work started, so we thought it was the perfect time to explore.

 We started off at Duke University which was so gorgeous. The grounds and buildings are unique and beautiful. I might even forgive Jabari Parker for choosing to play basketball there instead of BYU. We were lucky enough to have the Basketball building open to explore. Afterwords we visited the gardens and many fishes.
 

 Lyla is currently in a Princess loving phase of life. One of her favorites is Queen Else from Frozen. In order to make the trip more fun with her we tried to include princess sightings on all of our stops. For example, at Duke University Chapel we said it was the place where Elsa had her coronation ceremony. Naturally Lyla was in heaven after that. She said the songs all through the grounds of duke or "Elsa's House."

 Our next stop took us through the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains to Asheville, NC. We got there a little earlier than expected so we found a 100 foot natural water slide in the mountains and had a ball. Lyla didn't love it cause the water was too cold, but it was lots of fun!

 My mother is an interior designer so I have always had a great interest in touring homes. I've have wanted to see the Biltmore estate for a long time. I am happy to say that this mansion exceeded all of my expectations. Lyla loved seeing what she called "Rapunzel's House". It was very well designed and had a classic elegance about it. Learning about the history of the Vanderbilt family was also very enlightening. Definitely worth the trip and the money.

The town of Asheville is very charming and of course our trip full of lots of pillow fights. On our way out of Asheville we stopped at Chimney Rock State Park and did a great hike to a waterfall. We told Lyla we were going to see Pocahontas's house. 

 Our last stop was the beautiful town of Wilmington, NC. I have always wanted to see a preserved Victorian town and this one is incredible. The night we got there we walked down the pier and explored.  The next day we went on a long bike ride around the town and listened in on some of the Horse drawn carriage guided tours. I can see why Hollywood films so many movies here because the town is so breathtaking!

After our ride we went and got some of the very famous BRITS donuts on the pier. If you are ever in Wilmington you have to eat these donuts. They are life changing. The next morning we ate a good southern breakfast, visited a princess store, and drove a long way home. It was great family road trip and I look forward to many road trips to come.