Cheerio Fine Motor Skills

I stumbled upon this activity one winter day a few years ago on Pinterest and I love busting it out on days when it is cold and no fun and the kids are going crazy.

Today, life is happening.  We have work being done on the house, my husband is on conference calls non-stop, the bus didn’t pick up the kids, and there isn’t enough coffee to keep me sane.  And the girl is pulling everything out and climbing on me and clinging.

So, desperate times over here.  This activity never fails to give me 5-20 minutes of non-cling time.  Time that can be spent emptying the dishwasher, quietly drinking coffee, or blogging.

And you probably have the materials.

Here is what you need.

~Playdough
~ A stick of dried spaghetti
~ Cheerios

Take the play dough and make a base.  Stick the stick of spaghetti in.  Show your toddler how to put Cheerios on it.  Then show them how to take them off.  Break the stick in half.  Now you have two towers.

All of my kiddos love this activity!!  Enjoy!!!

Greek Yogurt Blueberry Muffins with Einkorn Flour

I have a serious love affair with these and need to share.  They are delicious, mostly healthy, and are super easy to make!

Einkorn Flour is an excellent flour to use if you are trying to minimize your gluten intake.  It is has a super low gluten content and is far easier to digest than modern wheat.  In addition to this, there are tons of vitamins and nutrients available in much greater concentrations as well!  And it is yum!  So boom, get yourself some einkorn stat!

Recipe:
3 cups einkorn flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
1/2 cup milk
10 tbls unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 cups of frozen or fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 425 and fill a muffin tin or two with liners.  It is only supposed to make 12 muffins, but mine made way more for some reason.

2. Sift 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In another bowl, combine yogurt, milk, and butter.

3.  In a 3rd bowl, whip eggs until they are a smooth yellow and add the sugar.  Beat on medium low speed for 1 minute and then high on 4 minutes.

4.  Fold the flour mixture gently into the egg until completely combined.  Gently stir the yogurt mixture in.  Then stir in the blueberries.

5.  Spoon the batter into cups, filling nearly to the top.

6.  Place muffins in the oven and reduce heat to 375.  Bake for 30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 15 minutes and then remove to  baking rack to completely cool.

7.  These will store for up to 3 days in an airtight container if they last longer than a day.  Which mine didn’t.  I suggest slathering the warm muffins with some good butter and enjoy them while reading a good book under some cozy blankets.

DIY Fall and Winter Mobile

It is getting nice and chilly here in Connecticut, so I get all nesty and need to do some homey things.  Crafting makes me crazy, so I always try to do something relatively uncomplicated and quick.  My little lady is home with me most days, so I also need something to keep her busy!  This incorporates scavenging for items outside and some fine motor skills like cutting, wrapping, etc…

Ok, so here we go.  Step one:  get yourself a toddler.  Laugh as she attempts to pluck pinecones.  Then do it yourself and discover, it really is hard.  Those suckers are sticky too.

We walked around my backyard and found a stick and some acorns and pinecones along with some pretty grasses.  Then we came inside and got to crafting.  I honestly just tied some jute and wound it around things while Carys played with the acorns and helped me cut the strings.  A bug popped out of a pinecone, so FYI on that situation.  Also, I don’t like to decorate with acorns because one year I tried and there was a maggot situation.  So I just use the tops.  I am sure there is some sort of Martha Stewart solution to this problem, but I am a bit scarred.  So no acorns, just tops.

Then I hung it up and admired my awesome pinterest craftiness.

And because I need to have everything smell yummy, I added some cinnamon bark essential oil to the pinecones and the jute.  Because yum and fall and stuff.  I will probably refresh this every few days or so!  Some others you could add:  nutmeg, pine, balsam fir, or Christmas Spirit.  Or even Black Spruce.  Go crazy!

I love decor that is multi-seasonal, so I will probably keep one up all winter!  Super easy!

Back to School with Young Living Essential Oils

It is THAT time of year you guys!  Back to School!!!  This year I am soooo torn about it – I have one entering first grade and another entering kindergarten and I am not sure whether I should celebrate or cry.  I will probably do both that first week – such an emotional time!!!

I am starting my back to school prep by making sure my essential oils are fully stocked for the school year…here is how I am planning on using my oils this year!  Kind of like a day in the life!  Fun!

Morning:
I am planning on starting the day by diffusing lemon and peppermint as a nice invigorating wake up blend.  They are happy oils and work super well.  I always feel so much better when I start the day by diffusing.

Topically, I am going to apply the focus blend to the feet and necks of my little school-bound guys.  The oils in this are Cedarwood, Vetiver, and Lavender and work wonders for their focus at school!  If there is sickness present, I will switch up the blend and use my immunity booster roller consisting of thieves and lemon.

I am also going to make a bunch of mini hand sanitizers to keep in the car.  These are also thieves and lemon.

I may also grab some diffuser bracelets and put the focus blend on there so that they can have it accessible throughout the day.

For me, I plan on using Stress Away to keep me calm in the mornings.  Because, life.

After School:
I am going to start diffusing Brain Power or Geneyus before they get off the bus so that when they get home, we can jump right into homework mode.  I will re-apply the focus oils as well to give them additional support.  For older kiddos, you can also try rosemary!

Bath and Bedtime:
I am going to do lavender detox baths for the younger ones and am also going to make some lavender shower discs for the older guy.

I will also diffuse a combination of sleepy oils – Cedarwood, Lavender, and Peace and Calming as they get their PJs on.  I have diffusers in their rooms and each one will be filled and ready to go!  I also have a linen spray and a roller to put on their feet to encourage a restful night of sleep.

Immunity Boosting:
If there is sickness around school, I have my immune system boosters ready to go!  Thieves, lemon, and purification for general immune system support.  I also have Digize and Peppermint for digestive support and RC  for respiratory system support.  Bring it.  We are ready!

My oldest plays flag football and he gets occasional muscle aches, so I have Panaway ready to go for him in a roller.

So yeah, that is pretty much my game plan!  I have my oils on order that need a restock and now it is time to go shopping for school supplies, clothing, new shoes, etc…And wine.  Lots of wine.

Most of the oils I talk about here are available in the Premium Starter Kit!  Right now it is $10.00 for any new member or 10% off for any existing member (excluding the Aria diffuser and the Ningxia Kits).  This offer is valid until 08/31/2015.  Go and grab one now so that it arrives before school starts!!!

If you want to order your VERY own amazing kit that includes 11 of their most well-loved and most frequently used oils and a diffuser, some awesome samples, and a pretty amazing eHandbook, here is how to do it:

1. Click over to the sign-up page: https://www.youngliving.com/signup/?site=US&sponsorid=1842761&enrollerid=1842761

2. Select “Sign Up As: Young Living Wholesale Member” (this secures you the 24% off discount on all future orders)

3. The “Enroller ID” and “Sponsor ID” boxes should already be filled in for you. If they aren’t, fill in 1842761 in both spots.

4. Fill out your name, billing address, shipping address, and contact info. (The reason you are asked for your SSN is for tax purposes; if you make over $600/year selling Young Living products, you will receive a 1099 form in the mail, as is required by law. Young Living never shares this info with anyone, and you’re not obligated to sell anything if you do not want to. I promise I wouldn’t lead you astray here!)

5. Create your password and pin which you will use to log in to your account and order your oils.

6. Select your enrollment order. This is where you can specify which starter kit you would like. I recommend the Premium Kit with the Aroma Diffuser.

7. It will ask if you want to sign up for the Essential Rewards program. I recommend saying no to this for now.

8. Agree to Terms & Conditions

9. CONFIRM YOUR ORDER. Some folks miss this step and end up not fully checking out. To confirm, the tool will log you in and it will show you your order again and it will make you enter in your payment information again.

10. Wait for the mailman to arrive! This step is will be agonizing.

Oh, and
11. Please friend me on Facebook so that I can add you to some exclusive fun oily Facebook groups! : )

Honey Sweetened Strawberry Jam

Oh boy – every year for the past 3 years I have made this and it is a labor of love for sure, but totally worth every single second.  I typically make massive batches of this lovely jam – the yield this year was 40 half pints with 4 quarter pints for gift giving (I am super selective about who receives this jam and stingy apparently).  Last year we made 35 half pints and it got us through the entire year. Because I was making this myself, I wanted the sugar content to be minimal.  Strawberries are so sweet by themselves – no need to sugar them up.  Most conventional recipes have crazy amounts of sugar.  For example, the Ball recipe calls for something like 4 cups of sugar for every 4 cups of fruit.  Ummm.  No.  Just no.  The reason for the high sugar content is to get the fruit to gel properly.  But I found a way around this. Enter Pomona Pectin.  I love this stuff.  It allows for me to make a delicious jam using a minimal amount of sugar or no sugar.  You can use stevia, but my preference is local raw honey.  Yum.  I found mine at a local health food store, but you can grab some on amazon (http://amzn.to/1QTlrjh).  So crucial to this jam.  I also follow their recipe. You ready?  Let’s get our jam on! Preparation: First step is to grab your strawberries.  We picked our own and got a super amazing discount from a local farm.  Try for organic if possible.  These aren’t, but the farm uses organic methods and I prefer buying local. Next, wash the strawberries.  I filled up my sink with water and added some vinegar and  a few drops of lemon essential oil for extra power.  Then I let them soak for about 10-15 minutes, rinsed them off, and allowed them to dry on towels. Then I began the insanely long process of removing the hulls.  In prior years, I just sliced them off, but for Christmas, I received a super handy device called the Stem Gem (grab yours here: http://amzn.to/1JnBlhN) and it made removing the hulls so easy.  And a little fun. Now is the part where you gather alll of the stuff you are going to need for this canning process.  Since I make the jam in massive batches, I need to be well prepared.  Here is a mostly complete list of what you will need: – Jars with their rims, and unused lids.  I prefer the half pint size. – Pomona Pectin – Strawberries, obvi. – Sweetener of choice – I use honey, but you can use sugar, stevia, etc… – One large pot – One saucepan – One smaller pot – A ton of super clean dishtowels Optional, but nice to have – Funnel – Ladle – Jar grabber thingy (not sure of the technical name) – Magnetic lid grabber thingy (again, technical name unknown) You can get all of these in a nice canning set.  I love mine!  http://amzn.to/1LzypPo Now that you have all of your stuff gathered, I recommend filling your canning pot (the big one) with water and getting it boiling.  Also fill up a small pot with water and get it boiling as well.  As the water is heating, I wash all of the jars, lids and rims and then fill up the jars with hot water and let them sit.  I then place the rims and lids into the smaller pot and wait for it to boil.  Once it boils, I turn down the heat and let them sit in hot water until I am ready for them. Sanitize all of the implements.  All of them.  Cleanliness is so important here and throughout the entire process.  I know this sounds like a LOT of prep work and a little intimidating.  But it gets easier and so worth it for the end results.  Plus, I don’t cook.  So if I can do it, anyone can do it. Anyway.   Now that everything is sanitized, you need to start making the calcium water, which is what enables you to use a super low amount of sugar.  Such a hard process.  Not sure if you all will be able to follow.  Take a half cup of water and put it in a lidded container.  Add 1/2tsp of the calcium stuff supplied in your pectin box.  Shake.  Phew.  Place in refrigerator until you are ready to use it. Ok, now that all of that hard prep work is done, you can get started with the process… Making your Jam: Step 1:  Mash your berries.  I use a super low tech method of this, which is to take a 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup and dump a bunch of berries in there and then mash them with a potato ricer.  There is probably a faster more appliance based method, but this is what I do.  I look at it like an arm workout.  Halfway through, I pre-heat the saucepan on low.  You want 4 cups total of mashed fruit. Step 2:  Add the mashed berries to the saucepan and add 2 tsp of the calcium mixture. Stir.  While you are waiting for this to boil, stir together your sweetener with your pectin.  You can use anywhere from 1/2c – 1c of honey or 3/4c to 2c sugar.  I do the lowest I can, so 1/2 c honey.  Add 2 tsp of the pectin to the sweetener and stir. Step 3:  Once the berries start boiling, add the sweetener and honey mixture to the saucepan and stir it up vigorously for 1-2 minutes and allow this to come to a boil.  Once it does, remove from heat.  While I am waiting for the berries to boil, I am prepping my jars – making sure that the hot water has been dumped out (jars may need to be re-filled with hot water throughout the process if you are doing more than one batch), the lids and rims are dried and ready to go, and the funnel is in place. Step 4:  Fill the jars to 1/4″ from the top.  Wipe the rims clean and screw on the 2 piece lids.  Tighten. Step 5:  Place the jars in boiling water making sure the tops are covered.  Allow the water to come back up to a boil and then set your timer for 10 minutes (add 1 min. more for every 1000ft above sea level).  Remove from heat and listen for the glorious sound of popping lids.  If a lid doesn’t pop, don’t stress, just eat that one right away. This jam will keep for a year unopened or 3 weeks once opened. These instructions came directly from the Pomona Pectin insert included!  If you just follow that, you will be good to go!

Favorite Things – Essential Oil and Lemondropper Swag

I love accessories, especially when it comes to essential oils (OMG, so many tiny things and who doesn’t love cute tiny things???) and I am super proud to be a member of the Lemondroppers team for Young Living, the most successful and supportive team in Young Living history.  Seriously, these ladies are amazing and they are a fierce tribe of awesome.  I honestly think that these are all super fun things to give to members of your downline or uplines when they reach different ranks!  Or just for yourself, because, darn it, you deserve pretty things.

Here are some recent favorite things I have received!

Essential Oil Travel Bag
I realized how necessary this was when I went on two trips in the past month and put my oils into my super fancy purse and prayed that they didn’t break and leak all over said super fancy purse.  One of my team members recommended these and ohmygoshyouguys.  They are the cutest ever!!

Follow them on instagram for cute new pattern announcements and buy from their store right here!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/NTxExcessBaggageCo

Alex and Ani Bracelet
A super amazing and sweet member of my downline sent this to me as a surprise and I cried so many happy tears.  I love it.  I put it on this morning in all of my pj and unwashed hair glory and instantly felt awesome.  So thank you to Jen for this little circle of happy.

It is called Zest for Life and 20% of the purchase price is donated to Alex’s Lemonade Stand.  The accompanying text states:

Tart and vibrant, the lemon has ancient roots and possesses a distinct flavor with a bold, cheerful color.  Its fresh citrus scent is associated with cleansing, symbolic of an opportunity to make a change.  This charm is a reminder that when life hands you lemons, you have the power to take positive action, sweeten the situation, and make lemonade.  The power to create a desirable outcome is always within reach.

I love this and it rings true for our team so much!

Lemondropper Coffee Mug
In love with this one.  I bought this for myself because, coffee is essential and having awesome mugs to drink it out of just makes it taste that much better!  You can buy this through the lemondropper swag shop along with tons of other goodies.  I bought a cute little tank top too, but see the Alex and Ani post above for reasons you aren’t seeing me wearing that (quick refresher: unwashed hair).

So that is it!  I will do a few of these, but I thought these were all super cute and made me happy and I just needed to share and go buy yourself some cute stuff now.

Skincare

Let’s talk skincare, specifically, let’s talk about how I turned my pretty awful skin into pretty awesome skin within two weeks.  Yup.  2 freaking weeks.

My skin has been a disaster for 10 years.  At least.  I remember crying at my wedding because of breakouts and asking the photographer if he could fix it.  As a photographer myself, I know how irritating this is, but I was devastated.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars were spent on this sad skin of mine.  Add in melasma from three pregnancies, summers spent as a lifeguard, scars from particularly awful breakouts and it is a disaster.  Now, it isn’t perfect now.  I am working on lightening my scars and melasma, but being without a single pimple isn’t something I have been able to say since college.

So what did I do?  It has been a process.  I started doing oil cleansing about a year ago.  Sounds scary and stuff, but it is wonderful.  I ditched the cleansers, toners, spot treatments, serums, day creams, night creams, astringents, masks, and all the stuff I had tried and that had failed me miserably.  Next I made my own toner using honey and peppermint essential oil.  The final step, which I just added two weeks ago was consistently applying rose ointment, frankincense, and tea tree oil after cleansing.  Today I added geranium in to amp it up a bit and hope this helps with the texture and tone of my skin.

I am thrilled!  I actually leave the house, without makeup (I KNOW.  THE SCARIEST EVER.) and while I don’t look my best, it isn’t horror inducing.  Last month, this wouldn’t have been a consideration.  My husband actually noticed how clear and nice my skin was and wondered if I had makeup on (I didn’t).

So here we go, how I revolutionized my skin using natural non-toxic and chemical-free ingredients that cost a fraction of those products promising (but not delivering) amazing clear skin.

Oil Cleansing
Yep, cleaning your skin with oil.  Sounds so wrong, but it is oh so right.  The theory behind oil cleansing is that like dissolves like.  So what you are doing is taking the dirty oil that is on your face and replacing it with clean oil.  I don’t know the full science behind it, but just trust me, it is pretty awesome.  No need to use a separate eye makeup remover either.  It is fast and effective and feels lovely.  For a more in-depth look at oil cleansing, google “Crunchy Betty Oil Cleansing Method” which explains it so much better than I can and breaks down which oils and ratios are best for your skin type.

Ingredients:
Castor oil
Jojoba oil
Frankincense essential oil
Lavender essential oil
I use a 4 oz glass container and make a big batch.  For 4 oz, I use 5 drops each of the essential oils.  I chose frankincense and lavender for their great skin properties.
Washcloths.  Lots of them.

Directions:
Fill the 4oz jar 2/3 of the way with castor oil.
Fill it up the rest of the way with jojoba oil.
Add your essential oils.
Shake to combine.

I do this at night when I am not exhausted and lazy.  I turn on my faucet and get the water nice and hot and soak my washcloth.  I then take about a quarter size amount the oil mixture and put it right on my face and rub it around all over for about 2 minutes or so.  Then I grab the nice hottish washcloth and place it over my face for a mini steam session for about 20 seconds and then wipe the oil off.  If I don’t have time, I just wipe off and skip the steam part.  And then I let it dry a bit before moving on to…

Peppermint, Lavender, and Honey Facial Toner
I love this mixture.  The peppermint is invigorating and the lavender adds some skin rejuvenating properties.  you can add whatever oils you love for your skin though.  Honey is wonderful for your skin and is anti-bacterial as well.  ACV because it is an awesome natural pH balancer.  This is super fast and easy to make.

Ingredients:
4oz glass spray bottle
1 tbs honey
1/3 c warm water
1/4 c ACV
1 c water
5 drops peppermint and 5 drops lavender essential oils

Directions:
Combine heated water and honey.  Add other stuff.  Put in bottles – this makes about 2 1/2 bottles worth.  Shake prior to each use.  I apply with a cotton round because I can’t spray it right on my face.  I don’t know why, but it makes me crazy.  Now you are ready for the final step…

Rose Ointment with the “Skinny” Oils
I just bought Rose Ointment from Young Living and LOVE it.  So much.  If you don’t have this, that is fine.  You can use hempseed oil or any other oil that your skin loves.  The “Skinny” oils I use are:

Frankincense
Geranium
Tea Tree Oil

I just got geranium so you don’t HAVE to use that, but it is an excellent addition to this regimen.  My skin responded well to just using frankincense and tea tree, but I wanted to add the geranium to see how much better I can get it.  Really, you can’t beat these three oils in terms of revitalizing your skin.

I don’t pre-mix this because it is just so easy to apply.  I take about a dime size amount of rose ointment and add one drop each of frankincense, tea tree, and geranium and then massage into my skin, being careful to avoid my eyes.  I love it.  My skin is so smooth after doing this.

In the mornings, I follow the same regimen except I switch out the oil cleansing and use just plain honey.  Yep.  I rub sticky honey all over my face and love it.  Try it.  Additionally, I try to drink a TON of water to keep my skin nice and hydrated.  I fail miserably many days, but I think if I get better at being consistent, my skin will continue to improve.

*A note about oils. Buying quality oils MATTERS people. If you are going the non-toxic, chemical-free route, make sure that you are using oils that are of the best purity. We use Young Living and wouldn’t do any other brand because they have a wonderful Seed To Seal promise. Read more about it here: http://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/seed-to-seal

Additionally, I send over a fabulous ehandbook from The Happy Oils to help you on your journey and have a huge support team available to assist you in your journey and answer questions!

If you want to order your VERY own amazing kit that includes 11 of their most well-loved and most frequently used oils and a diffuser, and a bunch of other awesome goodies here is how to do it:

1. Click over to the sign-up page: https://www.youngliving.com/signup/?site=US&sponsorid=1842761&enrollerid=1842761

2. Select “Sign Up As: Young Living Wholesale Member” (this secures you the 24% off discount on all future orders)

3. The “Enroller ID” and “Sponsor ID” boxes should already be filled in for you. If they aren’t, fill in 1842761 in both spots.

4. Fill out your name, billing address, shipping address, and contact info. (The reason you are asked for your SSN is for tax purposes; if you make over $600/year selling Young Living products, you will receive a 1099 form in the mail, as is required by law. Young Living never shares this info with anyone, and you’re not obligated to sell anything if you do not want to. I promise I wouldn’t lead you astray here!)

5. Create your password and pin which you will use to log in to your account and order your oils.

6. Select your enrollment order. This is where you can specify which starter kit you would like. I recommend the Premium Kit with the Aroma Diffuser.

7. It will ask if you want to sign up for the Essential Rewards program. I recommend saying no to this for now.

8. Agree to Terms & Conditions

9. CONFIRM YOUR ORDER. Some folks miss this step and end up not fully checking out. To confirm, the tool will log you in and it will show you your order again and it will make you enter in your payment information again.

10. Wait for the mailman to arrive! This step is will be agonizing.

Oh, and
11. Please friend me on Facebook so that I can add you to some fun oily Facebook groups! : )

BooBoo Be Gone!

A Guest Post from Melissa…

I so look forward to summer. I can’t wait for lazy days, trips to the beach, bike rides and late nights roasting marshmallows. My family and I love being outdoors, but with that comes something I dread, my littles getting skinned knees, cuts, scrapes,and bruises. Sometimes those come with rights of passage, like learning how to ride a bike, but many times it’s just because they were running and they tripped over their own feet! Those are the times as a mom that I could just put them in a bubble.

I try to be brave for them and tell them it’s going to be ok, while I’m cleaning it out, putting some salve on it, bandaging it then giving them boo boo kisses, but many times I’m holding back the tears too. Sometimes, applying the salve causes even more tears! “It stings mommy, blow on it!” is what I’ve heard using some of the OTC stuff I’ve bought. So when I found a recipe to make my own healing salve I jumped at the opportunity. My littles LOVE oils, like their momma and it’s one more thing that I can make with all the best ingredients and I can ditch the OTC stuff. You can even let them apply it, unlike its store counterpart, and sometimes that can help turn the tears into smiles.

Cheers to a great summer with less tears and better healing booboos!

Directions:
1/4 cup of coconut oil
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 tbsp beeswax
Put in a measuring cup and place in a pan of boiling water. Stir until melted. Let it sit for 2 minutes and add oils.
20 drops of Lavender Essential Oil
12 drops of Frankincense Essential Oil
10 drops of Lemon Essential Oil
8 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil
Mix well and pour into a sterilized 4oz. jar!

*A note about oils. Buying quality oils MATTERS people. If you are going the non-toxic, chemical-free route, make sure that you are using oils that are of the best purity. We use Young Living and wouldn’t do any other brand because they have a wonderful Seed To Seal promise. Read more about it here:

http://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/seed-to-seal

Additionally, we send over a fabulous ehandbook from The Happy Oils to help you on your journey and have a huge support team available to assist you in your journey and answer questions!

The best news of all is that ALL 4 of these oils are included in the Premium Starter Kit!!!  Super fun!

If you want to order your VERY own amazing kit that includes 11 of their most well-loved and most frequently used oils and a diffuser, here is how to do it:

Click over to the sign-up page: https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?site=US&sponsorid=2723451&enrollerid=2723451 and grab a Premium starter kit for yourself!

Erin’s Sleepytime Routine

A Guest Post from Erin…

One size does not always fit all.

My son has never been an excellent sleeper. We have had our share of ups and downs and tried pretty much anything that I found on Google as a trick to get him to sleep (within reason of course). I saw a friend post about how oils had helped her and her daughter sleep and started doing my own research. I looked on Pinterest and at the company websites and reviews for pretty much all of the oil companies and decided on Young Living. The purity of their oils and the Seed to Seal process really made me comfortable knowing that I was using such great quality oils from a company who would never compromise quality.

My original order was the Premium Starter Kit along with Cedarwood, Valor, and Peace and Calming. The minute my order arrived I made the Sleepy time cream, roller bottle, and pillow spray. The first night using a blend of Lavender, Peace and Calming, Valor, and Cedarwood (recipes are posted in an earlier post) my son slept through the night! He slept soundly for about a month and then he got sick. The minute he got sick the oils did not seem to be as effective for sleep as they were. He was still going to bed easier, not having nightmares and sleeping more soundly but he was waking up in the middle of the night and would only go back to sleep if he was in our bed. I kept up with the routine diligently even though he was not sleeping thinking that maybe he would go back to his wonderful new sleep habits once he felt better. One night my husband suggested not using the oils to see how effective they really were. That night it took him over two hours to go to sleep and he woke up about 3 times and had a bad dream; the hubs now knows how well they work because that one night was enough for him to tell me to use my oils the next night!

I spoke with some of the other ladies in my oily group who suggested trying 1 oil at a time to see what worked for him since everyone responds differently to each oil and because you bodies needs can change over time and you may need to change up what you are using. I started with Cedarwood for a couple of nights and he was still waking up. I read though my Essential Oils desk reference and Gentle Babies book and decided to add in Gentle baby and Vetiver to our nighttime routine and he has slept soundly and through the night ever since!

My sleepy time routine is:
1 drop Cedarwood
1 drop gentle babies
2 drops carrier oil
I drop them in my hand, mix them around and rub on both feet.

In the diffuser I do 3 drops cedarwood and 2 drops Vetiver and run it on the 30 second intermittent setting in his room.

He is generally out without 15 minutes and wakes up happy and rested about 10-11 hours later ☺

What I have learned is that what works for one person may not work for another, don’t get discouraged. If something works and then all of a sudden stops working, don’t worry, it may be your body telling you that it needs something different. Oils have never let me down and I have always found something that has worked for my family needs. I truly believe it when someone tells me “don’t worry, there is an oil for that” because for my family 100% of the time there is!

So, to get started on your oily journey, I highly recommend the Premium Starter Kit which comes with 11 of the most versatile and used oils and make sure you add on Cedarwood and Vetiver!

Click over to the sign-up page: https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?isoCountryCode=US&sponsorid=2527762&enrollerid=2527762&type=member&isoLanguageCode=EN

Non-toxic Hair Detangling Spray

My little girl has a lot of hair and she hates when I brush it.  Apparently, just me though, since others are able to french braid her hair without issues.  I used to make my own using watered down conditioner or buy California baby.  But I was close to running out and didn’t feel like paying a ton of money for either organic conditioner or the commercial spray and did some research and found a few recipes that work.  I tried the easiest one and the one that didn’t require any refrigeration so it is shelf stable.

I added lemon and lavender essential oils to this for fragrance and for their happy and calming properties since she is is spicy thing.  She also has blonde hair and lemon will lighten it up and she smells delish.  Lavender is good for encouraging growth and scalp health.  You can also use chamomile, tea tree, or cedarwood.  But she is a girly little thing and these make us both happy.

Before posting this, I wanted to make sure it worked.  It had to actually detangle her hair, smell good, and not make her look like I just combed oil into her hair.  And it works beautifully!  I was hesitant about the smell of apple cider vinegar because when I initially applied it, she smelled like a salad bar.  But the smell faded quickly and we were left with the lovely lavender and lemon fragrances.  I can’t tell if it helped keep her calm, but because it works so nicely and is chemical free, I felt better.  Also, you all know I am in LOVE with ACV for my hair, so I figured it would be wonderful for hers as well.

Here we go, the ingredients:
4 oz spray bottle
ACV
1/2 tsp jojoba oil
Essential Oils – 20 drops total

Directions:  Fill up the spray bottle about a 1/4 of the way and add your oils – 20 drops total.  So for this one, I did 10 drops lemon and 10 drops lavender.  Shake it up.
Add jojoba oil.  Again, shake
Add water.  Shake.
Shake before using.  Spray and brush through hair.  Feel awesome because YOU made this.

To purchase your own fabulous essential oils (lemon and lavender are included in the amazing Premium Starter kit, which is basically like the holy grail of oil collections and great for beginners or people like me who are obsessed and need ALL THE OILS) follow this link!