Homeschooling Option??

So lately, I have been thinking about homeschooling my son. I have been going back and forth between this conflict and I can't seem to find a reason to put my child in the public school system!!! I have encountered many home schooled people in my college career and they all seem normal and very sociable. That is the one thing I was concerned about when I was first thinking of this. 

Recently I have been seeing and hearing on the news that children are taking heroine packets to their preschool and taking marijuana candies to class and getting high. WHY WOULD I WANT MY CHILD AROUND THAT!!??? I don't. It seems almost impossible to avoid those issues if you put your child in the public school system. Yes, this does mean I want to shelter my child from heroine packets showing up on his desk. Does that make me a bad mom? HECK NO! I'm going to teach about all these things but I don't want my child to be approached with that awful drug and being asked if he wants to have some. Is my child actually safe going to public school? I dont think so. We hear about kids bringing guns to school all the time and that makes me nervous. My child shouldn't have to have a short life because some other child decided to be selfish and stupid. 

What if my child learns at a different pace then the rest of the kids in his class? What if he excels or is a slow learner? He will be punished for not conforming to the norm and be held back and feel embarrassed. Why would I want my child to go through that? Yes, normal schooling gives children an opportunity to socialize and become what society wants them to be. But if I put my child in extracurricular activities, they are getting socialized. I want them to focus on school and not the cute girl sitting next to him. 

Clearly, we can all see my point of view here. The more I write about this, the more I know my decision to homeschool is better for my children and myself. We will see what the future holds for us!!

 I do however want to know your thoughts on this matter!  :) 

Young Mom's

Okay all..I have been very annoyed recently with young moms and how they are portraying themselves on Social Media outlets. I am a young mom (heck I'm only 20) with a 2 year old son and I cannot imagine my life without him or my husband. I couldn't see my life going anywhere until I found out I was expecting and my husband asked me to marry him! I turned my life around FOR MY CHILD'S SAKE!

I see mom's around the same age as me, going out and drinking WAY to much then they need to be, smoking marijuana with their friends, and being completely selfish. I'm sorry to be blunt but what you are doing is SELFISH! I'm not saying don't go out and have some time to yourself (because every mom should have that time!) But I am saying, be responsible. If you are out drinking and you decide that you want to drive home and you get in an accident and die..who is there to take care of your child? Who is going to be there for your child when they graduate high school or college or get married? It's not going to be you. Because you decided to be completely selfish and put your needs before your childs.

You decided to bring a child into this world. You decided to take a difficult road. You decided to carry a diaper bag instead of a Coach purse. Don't complain about how awful your life is with your child because eventually they will feel your resentment towards them and they will start to resent you. I gave up my social life to take on this incredible blessing of a NEW and IMPROVED life!! And I couldn't be happier!! :)

I usually don't rant...but this is something I feel strongly about!! :)

I would love comments!! ::) <3

Until Next Time... :)
Much Love

Emergency Car Kit!

So on one of my LONG drives to school, I was thinking of how I can make sure my family is fully prepared in any situation, whether that be an emergency or non-emergency. 

I started thinking about all the seasons and what kind of tragedies come with every season we see. I finally got to winter and was imagining the worst!!

I was thinking of crazy snow storms with visibility next to impossible. I was not okay with this thought so I started wondering, "what could I do to make myself more prepared if I get in this awful situation?"

THEN IT CAME TO ME!

Yes! It is amazing!! (Except I mislabeled and said tub not kit!!) Anyway, I went to Hobby Lobby and got a little tub for like $7 and went to town when I got home!!

I was stuffing everything I could possibly think of that I would need in any emergency!

This is what I put in there:

~Waters (enough for each person in the family

~3 protein bars (just in case we are stuck and hungry!)

~Band aids

~Vaseline (who knows, your lips might be chapped!)

~Bags (just in case we got sick children)

~Flashlight & Batteries

~Sippy Cup (Just in case I forgot one!)

~A book (so my child doesn't get bored!!)

~Diapers and wipes

I also have a big blanket in my car which you should ALWAYS have with you just in case! 

Honestly this little tub makes me feel a lot better when traveling out in the snow! You never know what can happen, and I want to be the most prepared as I can be! Not only for myself, but for my family :) 

Transitioning From a Crib to a Toddler Bed

I was always dreading this day when my son was first born! First, it meant that my little baby boy would be growing up right before my eyes, and second, more sleepless nights for me toting him back to bed!!  I wanted to wait until the last possible second to put him into a toddler bed because I knew it was going to be tough! But as soon as he started crawling out of his crib and hurting himself, I knew it was time!!

Soon I realized it wasn't going to be THAT bad!

My hubby and I removed the side of B's crib and put a railing (one from Target) on the side so he would learn to not roll out of bed. The first week was awful!! B would come walking out of his room all the time and my hubby and I would walk him back to his room until he finally stayed there!

After a while, I finally got a gate so he would learn that he has to stay in his room when it is nap time or bed time. This helped a lot, but he would still open the door and say "Dada? Mama?" SOOOOO it was still a little hard. 

I even posted a status on my Facebook asking mothers WHAT TO DO WITH B!!!

I got many responses until my cousin told me to simply change the door knob....WAS IT REALLY THAT EASY??? yes. My son's room had a handle instead of a knob and so he could easily flick the door open. As soon as we put that new door knob on, BAM, he stayed in his room without opening the door!!!! 

After we thought our problems were done with and he would be a perfect angel and all the sudden start sleeping in his bed, B started something else.

He would fall asleep on the floor, in his closet, in front of his door, and on his rocking chair. 

NOT HIS BED!!!

So my hubby and I pondered this and thought, do we keep moving him back to his bed? Or do we let him figure out that his bed is more comfy? Well, I wasn't a fan of just leaving B on the ground sleeping, so I would go into his room around 10 P.M., when my husband and I go to bed, and I would put him back in his bed. 

Well, my hubby didn't think this was the best thing for him. He though B would be reliant on us to put him in bed and not himself. So one night we tested this, (All the 1st borns are the guinea pigs for parents!!), and B found his way back to his OWN BED!! 

We have kept this up for about a week and now he knows to stay in his bed!!!!

PHEWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so relieved we finally found a suitable solution for my little man :) 

His schedule is back on track and he is starting to get back to normal now!!

My advice for transitioning your toddler, do what you feel is best!! People can tell you soooo many different ways on how to train your child, but ultimately, it's up to YOU AND ONLY YOU!

 Never give up because you have a few sleepless nights, cause I promise you will!!! Just know that what your doing is best for your child :) 

Much love my friends :) <3

Essential Oils

DoTerra Essential Oils are the best investment I have ever made. 

I have never been the person to run to the medicine cabinet and get an Advil when my head hurts, or take antibiotics when I have a cold. I have always let my body work through the problems itself. 

When I got pregnant, I never took a Tylenol for my head aches or any medicine other than my prenatal vitamins to help me get through a cold. I was NOT about to put medicine in my body that is not supposed to be there. 

A few months ago my cousin invited me to her essential oils party and I decided to see what it was all about!! And I am SO GLAD i did!!

DoTerra Essential Oils are amazing. I use them constantly on myself and my family. They are safe enough to use on children and they will never have side effects if used correctly. 

I use essential oils for things such as head aches, digestion issues, diaper rash (for my little man!) and also for aching muscles. When I used my oils on my son for his diaper rash, I noticed an improvement within a few hours! Compared to desitin or any other diaper rash cream, my oils worked so fast and gave him relief quickly!! 

I also use my essential oils for cleaning purposes. I hate spraying chemicals I'm my home and breathe them in as soon as I start cleaning. I don't want to put harsh chemicals in my home so I use my Lemon Essential Oil and it works just as good as pledge. It smells amazing and it leaves my table, and granite counter tops absolutely amazingly clean! 

Essential oils are ESSENTIAL in my family life :) We replaced many common household medicines with these oils and for a fraction of the cost!! :) 

If you would like to know more about DoTerra Essential Oils and how they work please visit my website:

http://www.mydoterra.com/jessievincelet/

If you would like to purchase any oils please contact me on my website and we can get you set up :) 

Couponing!!

If you know me then you know....

I LOVE TO COUPON!!!

I think couponing is the best possible way to save money! I used to just fly past the sale racks and not even care about saving $1.00 on shampoo and conditioner. That was until I realized my shopping habits were out of control and we needed to start cutting back. 

So I created my coupon book :) 

I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased a 3 ring notebook, and then a coupon organizer! It was probably $10 total! I started cutting the coupons I needed then made my grocery list based off of that. 

(I normally make a grocery list for 2 weeks of food!! PLAN YOUR MEALS!)

I only started taking 3 coupons to see if I could even save anything off of my grocery bill, and from then on, I was hooked!! 

Here are a few tips to help you begin couponing :) 

1. Cut a few coupons you know you need for example: toilet paper, soap, razors, etc..
2. Right down your weekly, or monthly budget for grocery shopping and STICK TO IT!
3. Just remember, you are saving money whether you take 3% off your tab or 100%. 
4. Take all your coupons to the store with you and if you see a sale and have a coupon for that item, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!!!! :) 

Since I have been doing this for a while now, I set up an excel spreadsheet that calculates my total grocery bill with coupon savings included! I take that shopping with me and make sure I have every single coupon I need. 

Our budget is very tight at home and I have to make sure that every dollar is stretched to it's limit. Couponing has really helped my family and gives us the opportunity to save for other things. I feel like I am contributing more when I save money for our family. Just remember, couponing is easy!! Once you start, I PROMISE you will be hooked :) 

Traveling With the Little One

My little man is now an international traveler!!

I was sooo worried about the trip right before we went, because I wasn't sure how he was going to be in the plane. 

So, in hopes of making this 4 hour plane ride the best it can be, I created an amazing thing...

A SURVIVAL BAG!!

This amazing survival bag really made a difference on the plane!

Let me tell you what I packed.

1. Diapers (of course!!)
2. Wipes
3. 3 books (little touch and feel ones)
4. 2 stuffed animals
5. PLENTY OF SNACKS
6. 1 blankly
7. coloring book with crayons

I loved every single one of these items I brought because it kept him entertained. He was a little annoyed that he couldn't walk around the plane...so that was the worst thing!!

So the plane ride there was kind of crazy! I was so anxious about the long ride and I think he knew that so he was panicked. So my advice, stay calm. Because your babies will know when you are stressed out :) 

The worst part of the flight was when we were descending. My little mans ears weren't popping and he was in pain!! He was screaming crying the entire way down and I couldn't do anything to help him. I felt so worthless...I tried giving him his sippy cup so he could pop his ears, he wouldn't take the sippy. I tried making him look up so it would open his ear canal, he didn't want to look up. So I was literally sitting there with him just trying to comfort him when he was in pain. Nothing I did was working!!

In a moment like this, I realized I didn't care if people were staring at me because of my screaming child, I didn't care that people were getting annoyed. It's not about them. My baby was hurting and I wanted to do everything I could to make HIM feel better, not THEM. 

He turned out to be very well behaved, until the end of the flight. He was very very tired and I couldn't get him to lay down and take a nap at all! Finally, my mother comes to the back of the plane and grabs him and forces him to lay his head on her shoulder and take a nap!! I was so relieved :) 

On the way home, he slept the entire time!! We had a late flight so when he got in the plane he passed out!! Even before we began to taxi out to the runway!! it was amazing!!

Don't be afraid of plane rides with the little ones! If they scream, WHO CARES!! If someone gives you  a dirty look because your child is crying, then forget they are there and focus on the issue!! 

Just remember to have that survival bag and you will be okay!!

Whatever the struggle that comes with traveling, know that you are not the only one that has gone through it :)