Free Gift With Purchase

Hi friends and readers! Hope you had a great weekend. Just a quick Monday morning post to let everyone know about a fun end-of-month promotion I have going on with Beautycounter.  I have 5 deluxe samples of our Protect All Over SPF 30 sunscreen ready be sent to the next 5 people who place an order in the month of June.  No minimum order amount required and this is for new and existing clients!  Get your order in today! bit.ly/rswanBC

#Lovewins

I know that I should leave well enough alone, but I can’t seem to do that. Today is a day I am proud to be an American and a day that will go down in the history books of this country.  Today the Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is legal nationwide.  This is huge. I keep tearing up with every article I read and every picture I see of a marriage license being handed out today. How wonderful that this group of Americans now has the same rights as everyone else. The right to be by their loved one’s side when they are sick in the hospital. The right to enjoy tax benefits afforded only to married people. The right to be equal in the eyes of the law. Oh joyous day.

While most of my Facebook news feed has been filled with rainbow flags and praise for this decision, I couldn’t help but read some of the comments out there by those who oppose this step in history. The hate they are spreading is saddening. And I just do not understand. I cannot comprehend how two men marrying or two women marrying affect anyone else in any way.  My life will continue as it has before. But my friend from law school can now marry his boyfriend. My coworker’s marriage that had to take place in NYC will now be recognized in Georgia. And many other gay friends can now marry whomever they choose.  Isn’t this a good thing?

The hate that is being voiced pushes me farther and farther away from religion. I don’t want to be associated with people who can’t see how hurtful these words are to others. The Christians who are speaking out against this decision are putting up a wall for those of us on the fence. We haven’t been sure we wanted to belong anyway, and your words are making it clear that we don’t. My God loves all. End of story. 

I saw one comment that said God loves all; he just hates the sin. What a disheartening message to homosexuals everywhere. You are still loved by God, but your entire way of living is wrong and God hates it. I cannot for the life of me understand this rationale. If one of my children is gay, I want them to grow up knowing they are wholly and without question loved. Every part of them and every aspect of them. If my son decides to marry another man, I want to rejoice at his wedding and will beam with pride as only a mother does at her child’s wedding. I don’t want my boys to ever feel less than. And I’m proud that our country is moving in the direction to lift up all homosexuals and their families. But I am truly sadden by how much hate is floating out there in this world. I just don’t see what people are scared of.

Love is all that matters. Love is all there is.

Love wins.

Reforming the Cosmetics Industry

One of the reasons I joined Beautycounter was because I fell in love with the movement. The company's mission is to get safe products in the hands of everyone and part of that mission is effecting change in the industry by pushing to reform the 77 year old federal law regulating the industry.  The United States only bans 11 ingredients whereas the European Union bans close to 1400. So ingredients that have been linked to health problems are allowed in our products.  The products you put on yourself and your family every day, day after day.  Beautycounter has proven that you can have high-performing, luxurious products made without harmful ingredients. So we hope others will follow suit.

It was 77 years ago today (that's 1938 y'all!) that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law our weak cosmetics regulations.  So it’s only fitting that today Beautycounter has decided to announce our position on the newly introduced cosmetics reform bill in the U.S. Senate.  Please take a few minutes to read our stance here: Help Us Reform the Cosmetics Industry

What if everyone sent two emails today to their U.S. senators? Things can and will change—but only with your help.  I sent my two emails to the two Georgia senators - won't you join me?

Sleeping Through the Night

Julian turns two in a month and two days. Surely he should be sleeping consistently through the night at this point. But he's not. I know it's my fault that the night wakings continue, but I just cannot handle his cry. He has a raspy voice to begin with and so his screams in the middle of the night are heart wrenching. So I go to him.

I get him out of bed clutching Wubba, his lovey. We go get him "new water" from the sink, at his request. And then we sit in the rocker and cuddle under blue blanket.  I am usually oh so tired during these cuddles. And he falls back asleep within a few minutes. I know he doesn't need me in the middle of the night, but I like sitting with him in the dark room. I like putting my cheek on his soft head of blonde hair.  I like smelling his shampoo and talking quietly to him in the night.

I realize this needs to stop. We both need full nights of sleep. But I just can't do it.

Lip Gloss Love & a Giveaway

I try not to fill the blog with too much Beautycounter stuff, but today I have to post about a new product we just launched, because I am OBSESSED with it!  If you've known me for a while, you know that I usually carry lip gloss with me wherever I go. I love a glossy lip. And that is why I am so pumped to share Beautycounter's new Lip Gloss!

Our lip gloss comes in three shades - Peony, a true pink; Buff, a light nude; and Sienna, a warm, brown-berry.  I adore the Peony and the Buff.  And the husband loves the Buff on me (and I'm referring to the lip gloss....) so ladies, don't shy away from the nude color!

Our lip gloss is SAFE because: Some lip glosses are made with butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT, a toluene-based preservative and fragrance ingredient that is linked to cancer and organ toxicity. BHT is on our Never List.

You can get your Lip Gloss here: Beautycounter Lip Gloss

I have a feeling this will be a HOT product, so don't wait! Last week we launched our Protect Stick Sunscreen SPF 30 and sold out of 10,000 units in 48 hours!  So if this is a product you want, go get one today! (And let me know if you want to be added to the wait list for the Protect Stick Sunscreen!)

And one lucky Nesting Swans reader will get a Lip Gloss in the color of your choice as a gift from me!  To enter, just leave a comment below and let me know what your favorite makeup product is or why safe products are important to you! Entries will be open until midnight tomorrow June 9th!

Good luck!

My Girls

I

I have a hard time recommending law school to people. I was generally miserable for the first year and never loved the academic side of it.  But I wouldn't trade in my three years in Athens for the world because I met some of the most incredible people who are still a huge part of my life.  And this weekend I am going to see three of them.

Our kids are going to get to play together. We're going to make new memories. We're going to laugh and knowing me, I'll cry at some point.

I love these girls. They are like sisters to me. And I can't wait to see them!

PS, I really had some AWFUL haircuts along the way.

#Boymom

A part of me probably hoped for a girl when I was pregnant with Julian. I mean, I think it's natural to want to experience raising one of each. I wasn't disappointed when I was told we were having another boy. I was probably a little relieved. I was used to raising a boy and had more or less figured out how to do that. And little boys love their mommas!

This morning, as I watched my two silly boys run around the house together, I was struck with how lucky I am to have two boys and that they have each other. I'm sure they'd have a great relationship if one were a boy and the other a girl, but there's something special about having two boys. They get each other. And it brings so much joy to this momma's heart to watch them really start to play together.

Julian mimics everything Lukas does and says these days. He follows L around and repeats his sentences. He wants to do whatever his big brother is doing. And Lukas is mostly happy to have his little mini-me trailing behind him all day.

I'm excited to watch their relationship unfold over the years. I know there will be fights. I know there will be even more rough-housing than there already is between them. But I also hope there will continue to be deep love and connection. And laughter. These two fill our home with laughter and it is the sweetest sound I have ever heard.