With three little girls in tow and a fourth on the way, Amanda Pahls recognizes that spare time is becoming an increasingly rare commodity in her home. To make sure that she and her little ones stay happy and healthy, she’s chosen to simplify her daily routines by incorporating natural products into everything from bathtime to bedtime. Below, we chatted with Amanda about the challenges of motherhood, which are well worth it when she watches her daughters show kindness and love to others. She also shared her go-to dinner with us, and, based on the sounds of her perfected-over-7-years guac, you’d be lucky to snag a seat at Amanda’s dining room table any night of the week.

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What are the daily rituals that keep you grounded when things get chaotic?
My most special ritual: coffee, but for real, it’s spending time with our daughters, watching them play with one another, and spending the evenings with my husband—these are the little things that keep me sane. I enjoy wearing and diffusing essential oils in our home throughout the day and using them to help with everything from needing a little grounding to an energy boost.

Tea or coffee?
I actually love both! I enjoy homemade iced americanos most days, but my husband makes THE BEST honey and earl grey tea lattes!!

How has becoming a mom changed your outlook on the products you use for your children, your home and yourself?
Before I had children, I didn’t really think about the quality of the products I used. I got whatever was cheap and easy, but after getting pregnant with our first daughter, I became a lot more conscious about what I was putting on my body. This lead to not only wanting to use products that were better for me physically, but I started wanting to use products that supported companies I could really stand behind as well. We have 3 daughters under the age of 5 and are expecting our 4th daughter any day now. That being said, spare time is becoming much less spare :)️ I want to use products that are high quality, crafted with care, convenient and not very time-consuming.

Go-to dinner?
Homemade street tacos are basically a love language in our home! Grilled veggies, slow cooked high quality meats, vegetable slaws, my husband’s delicious homemade tortilla chips and a guacamole that I’ve spent the last 7 years perfecting! Our family loves this meal and it’s one of the best ways to get our daughters to consume lots of delicious vegetables and spices!

What object/space in your home is most special to you?
Our dining room table is probably my most-loved object in our home. We spend so much of our time in our dining room. Baking with my daughters, making essential oil play dohs, making arts and crafts, home-education, eating meals with dear friends and as a family, coffee and great conversation with my husband…all of these things take place sitting at our dining room table. These moments I will truly cherish forever.

Hardest part of being a mom?
Man, the challenges of motherhood continue to surprise me. The emotional challenges are probably more difficult than the physical demands of motherhood for me. Mom-guilt, fear, feeling unqualified…these are a few things I battle constantly as a mother. Sometimes I stay up at night going over our day and thinking of all of the better ways I could have reacted to my daughters and different situations or more productive ways I could have spent my time with them and taking care of our home. Then I remember how much I love our daughters and how much they love me and I tell myself I will do better then next day. And some days I do, and some days I don’t. You need a lot of grace and forgiveness as a mother, but it is truly the most wonderful thing I have ever known.

Best part of being a mom?
So many things I truly cherish about motherhood. Watching our daughters learn something new, seeing them show kindness to others, hearing them say, “I love you”, and knowing they’re learning these things from my husband and I. It’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever experienced. Sometimes I just watch them play and wonder how I got so lucky to get to mother these sweet little ladies!

Favourite essential oil and why?
Do I have to choose just one?! I love so many for so many reasons! If I could only have one oil it would probably be lavender for its versatility. However, I love citrus oils, peppermint, bergamot, cedarwood, and so many delicious blends made up of these oils!

How do you weave essential oil products into your day?
We’ve started using essential oils from morning to night. Frankincense in my facial moisturizers, diffusing oils throughout our home, using them in homemade play dohs, using them on myself and our daughters for energizing, calming and grounding purposes. I use essential oils in our baths, as perfume, in specialized rollerballs, in homemade cleaners, homemade toothpaste, homemade hair and beard oils, chapsticks, body balms and other homemade things my husband and I make and use in our home.

Favorite quote?
It’s not a famous quote, but more of a philosophy or a conviction a friend shared with me: ending our ‘to do’ lists with “and do these things with a happy heart.” So often we do things because we have to with a frustrated or ungrateful attitude. I’m trying to remember, from laundry and dishes to errands and deadlines, to accomplish the tasks I have before me with a happy and grateful heart. I don’t always succeed at this, but I’m trying to be much more intentional about it as we go about our days. I want to model gratefulness and joy to our daughters, and reminding myself to do the little things with a happy heart is a way to model just that.

 

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