Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

As my family has moved toward more natural living and chemical free products, I have looked into so many products. We have used at least unscented/free and clear type laundry detergents since my oldest was a baby because she had such sensitive skin, but even those have stuff I don't want on my family's clothes now that I've gained more knowledge about chemical exposure. I toyed with the idea of making my own, but some of the recipes I found were so complicated, and a lot of them still had ingredients I didn't really like!  I finally decided to just go for it. I had seen this recipe on Bren Did, but thought I would simplify it a little here for those who are interested in making their own! I first made this recipe in December of 2015 and JUST used up the last of my batch this week! How crazy is that?! For a family of 6 who does around 5-7 loads of laundry per week and used cloth diapers for part of that time, I cannot believe it lasted us so long!

 

On the flip side I was nervous I wouldn't like it and be stuck with a huge batch. No worries though. This detergent is awesome! It packs tons of power in a small scoop and is so gentle on our clothes and skin! Here is the recipe if you are interested in making a batch for your family! 

1 box super washing soda (3 lbs. 7 oz.) 4 lbs. baking soda 4 bars fragrance free castile soap 3 lbs oxiclean FREE or BABY (regular oxiclean does not rate well on the EWG scale!) 

To make:  Grab a large container and start mixing everything together. I like to put a little of each ingredient in, then stir it up, then repeat until I've used it all up. For the castile soap bars, I use a hand cheese grater and grate into small shreds, then mix in with the rest of the ingredients! Overall, it takes less than an hour to make-a small price to pay for laundry detergent that will last for over a year! 

Our Favorite Chemical Free Products For Kids

Switching to chemical free products/a chemical free home can be quite the process. It can take quite awhile to get where you are aiming to be. There is a lot to learn, a lot to research, new products to buy and try, or even to make yourself, and lots of trial and error. It takes time, but it is so worth doing.  When my oldest was a baby, she had a battle with eczema early on that led us to a dermatologist and quickly led to us eliminating pretty much all fragrance from our products. At first it was just her things. We started using the "natural" soaps and shampoos the dermatologist gave us (which I laugh at now, because they were still completely filled with chemicals, just more expensive and fragrance free...) on her, but noticed she would still have breakouts from being snuggled up to an adult whose clothes had been washed in regular detergent. Crazy. So we quickly eliminated all of that from our home and never looked back. 

Several years later is when I really started looking into chemical exposure, carcinogens in the home, and what we are putting on our bodies. It is absolutely insane. It makes me sad how it is just completely normal for us to use products filled with literal garbage, and no one bats an eye because we don't know better! Well, now I know, and am so glad we've made the effort to switch out all of our products for the last 2 years or so. It has taken some time to find what works for each person in our family, and to test out products, but we have found some natural products that we really love! These are all products that our family actually uses, that I have found to be affordable (remember, what is considered affordable for a more natural product is usually still going to be quite a bit more than you'd pay for a conventional product, but I feel that the products we have found and use don't break the bank), and that we truly love! (One more quick note: I love using the EWG skin deep website and app to check products. Not all products are on there, so when I really want to know about something, I create my own report. I typically aim to have a score of 2 or under for the products we use.)

Body Wash: Alaffia EveryDay Shea Moisturizing Body Wash in vanilla mint (I bought at a local store for around $10.)  This stuff smells sooooo insanely good! It kind of smells like a junior mint. It is really creamy and the bottle that we got is enormous. We have been using it for probably 6+ months for 6 people and have hardly made a dent in it. One pump on a loofah goes a LONG way. I really like having a lather when I use body wash, so that is an important factor for me and the kids to consider when testing out natural body washes (some hardly lather at all). For $10 I would say that this product is a great value! I love that I only need one bottle of body wash in the shower for our entire family as opposed to buying kids/baby/adult products because of
"natural" factor. 

Shampoo: Fresh Monster Kids 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner in coconut This stuff also smells really good, has a great lather, and is a 2 on the SkinDeep site. I love that I can buy it at Target online (free shipping with a redcard= effortless shopping!) and again, it is a more affordable natural option. My 2 daughters have been using this for 8 months and we still have about 1/4 of the bottle left. So, under $7 for 2 kids (one with hair almost to her waist) to use for about a year is really not too bad at all!

 I also love that they have different scents to choose from. I will say that we also have their detangler and haven't liked it much. It is ok when I use it on their wet hair, but it makes me sneeze, which is weird. I feel like the scent makes my sinuses ache when I spray it, which is strange for a natural product. And when I spray it on their dry hair, it leaves a greasy residue which I can't stand. But, that brings me to the detangler that we DO love... Detangler: Shea Moisture Coconut & Hibiscus Kids Extra Moisturizing Detangler  I have had this for over a year for one of my littles who has kinky hair, and use it daily. One day when I got fed up with the other detangler I sprayed this on the girls as well, and it was AMAZING! I can honestly say it works well for ALL hair types. I've used it on 3 of my kids and myself....all different kinds of hair (kinky super tight curls, loose ringlet curls, wavy hair, and stick straight). It smells incredible, is affordable (again, I've had this bottle over a year and have been using it daily on 1 and on all 3 kids for about half that time), and is a 2 on the EWG scale. I use all Shea Moisture products on my Little with the tight curls and they all work amazingly well on that type of hair. 

Toothpaste: Jack n Jill Natural Toothpaste This one is a bit more expensive, but I have had a really hard time finding a good kids toothpaste without some ingredient I don't like. It seems everything we've tried so far has been pretty close, but would still have 1 or 2 things I didn't love. This meets my ingredient standards (scores a 1 on the EWG scale). We haven't had it for long so I can't say how long it'll last, but from the Amazon reviews it looks like it should last us quite awhile. I am a little over the top about oral health, so I'm willing to pay the price. 

Lotion: Alaffia Everyday Coconut Hair & Body Lotion in coconut strawberry (I bought at a local store, so I'm not 100% sure what I paid for it.) I actually have several Alaffia brand products for myself, too, and I don't know what it is about these products but it seems like they will just last forever! We hardly make a dent in them no matter how often we use them, so I love that! This lotion is really creamy and smells fruity which the kids love. It just feels really gentle and glides on their skin so nicely, leaves no residue and makes their skin super soft. 

So that's what we've been loving for our kiddo essentials! It truly has been trial and error, finding that some things I throw away most of a bottle because we don't like it/it doesn't work, but we have found some great gems here that we love! If you have made your way into chemical free products, what are some of your favorites for your kids? I love hearing recommendations from real people to see what actually works and is worth the price! 

How to Do Whole 30 on a Budget

When I decided to do another Whole 30, I knew that I had to do some things very differently. One of them had to be cost. My first whole 30 (whole 25, really) was last May and during that month, I went over double my grocery budget. Oops. I honestly didn't pay attention to the money portion of it at that time because I wasn't as concerned about it and didn't need to pinch pennies as closely then as I do now with the adoption. This time, doubling my normal grocery bill was not an option for me, and I knew I could do it without going over, so here is how I did! 

This first tip is going to save the most money but is going to be the most unpopular amongst the whole 30 community. I skipped buying grass fed and organic meat.  In some regions it may not be that much more, but here it is about double the price for grass fed beef, and sometimes up to 4 times as much for organic chicken. No wonder I went so far over my budget last time! We also eat so many eggs-usually at least 5 dozen a week. I would love to be able to afford all free range, organic eggs, but that would put us at $25 a week JUST on eggs. Again, I know this isn't what the program would recommend, but if you are really looking at doing whole 30 on a budget and can't afford these things, it will make a huge difference in price. 

The next thing I did was snack less. Technically on whole 30, they don't really like you to snack at all, but sometimes it is inevitable. Last time, I still snacked quite a bit and whole 30 compliant snacks aren't going to be cheap. A bag of nuts is anywhere from $6-$12 a bag or more. A Larabar is $1.50. If you are eating that stuff every day, you might be looking at an extra $20 or more a week just in snacks. 
Something else that I think really helped was to make simple meals. Last time, I didn't make super intricate meals, but I did try out a few new things that needed new ingredients. So I would be buying an $8 bag of arrowroot powder just to use 1/2 a cup from it and never use it again. Silly. Sticking to more simple meals (meat, fat and produce) can really help cut down some of those costs. 

I think the last thing I was more conscious of this time was to buy seasonally. I know a lot of people already try to do this, and I do it somewhat (i.e. I don't buy $7 containers of strawberries in the winter.) but last time I just bought what I found in recipes and what sounded good. You are going to pay a lot more for a spaghetti squash in the spring than you would in the fall. That's just how it is! Buy seasonally, and you will keep your produce prices lower.  
I am thrilled to have kept my whole 30 on budget this time around and I honestly can't believe it is already over! The month just FLEW by! Any other tips for eating whole 30, or eating clean on a budget? 

How I'm Doing This Whole 30 Differently

Last May I did a whole 30 with my husband, which was really a whole 25. After that, I swore I would never do another one. Mainly because once I stopped it, I couldn't stop eating all the junk I couldn't have on whole 30, which completely defeats the purpose of it. I felt so deprived during it that I spent the next few months making up for what I didn't eat that month. A month or so ago, when I brought up the idea of doing another one, I knew immediately that there were several things I would do differently this time around to make it more sustainable and less miserable for me. So far, it has gone much more smoothly this time around-physically, emotionally, in terms of food, everything! So here is what I am doing differently:  Planning out dinner for the whole month I always meal plan. Usually I do it for a week at a time instead of a month because that just works out better for our family. I don't usually know what we will be doing in 2 or 3 weeks. Last whole 30 was no exception, but by about half way through I was running out of ideas, nothing sounded good, etc. This time, I took a few weeks before I started, compiled all of my favorite recipes from last time and looked for a few new ones to fill in the blanks and made a spread sheet. I came up with 15 days worth of dinners and then planned to just repeat them for the second half. Eating the same thing every week, I may get sick of it, but only twice a month is fine for me. So far this has worked out SO well. I put in all the ingredients I would need, so each week I go and make my grocery list and I'm all set. Easy!

Eating the same thing for breakfast for a week at a time One of the worst things last time was that I got SO sick of eggs. I hated everything about eggs because I ate them so much and didn't do a good job of planning ahead for breakfast. If I didn't plan anything, I ended up eating scrambled eggs. This time, I knew that would happen again so I decided to eat the same thing every day for a week for breakfast and that way as I'm starting to get sick of it, I'll move to something else. I can make up a quiche and eat on it for the whole week, or I can dice potatoes for potatoes o'brien to cook each morning. It has been really easy and so far I am not sick of breakfast. Not trying to make whole 30 versions of something ...for the most part. I did make a whole 30 compliant mayo so I could make deviled eggs and egg salad and that has been good. But last time I would try this intricate, complicated recipe and it would be a total flop. Like zucchini fritters. Just no. It didn't work at all. This time I decided to not even try with that and just stick to not trying to go out of my way to make something with expensive ingredients that I don't have and will never use again. 

Snacking less Last time, I didn't snack a TON, but I kind of depended on a little snack to get me through the day and night. I think I never mentally got over feeling like I needed something to eat when I was doing this. I have still snacked a bit this round, but only when I am actually hungry and not just feel like eating to eat or out of boredom. Having balanced meals As I started getting into a food boredom phase last time, I turned to Larabars, nuts, snacks, fruit, etc. to get me through. This turned out really bad because I would eat a Larabar for breakfast since nothing else sounded good, but then I'd be hungry again an hour later and would eat a little something else and so on. I also noticed that when I didn't eat a well balanced meal I would be hungry a lot sooner, so this time I am really aiming to have enough protein and healthy fat at each meal along with produce of course. 

Not dwelling on what I can't have Last time I think this really set me back. I was constantly thinking about the food I wanted to be eating but couldn't. Mentally this hurt me because all I wanted to do was eat that food instead of the healthy food I could have. This time, I didn't necessarily set out to not do this, but I realized a few days into it when my husband pointed out how well it was going this time that I had been doing that and now I have aimed to continue. Instead of dwelling on the buns my family is having on their hamburgers, I just enjoy the bun-less burger I am having instead. It has been a game changer to switch my mindset in this way!  So far, this whole 30 has gone a lot better than my first one and I am hoping it stays that way. I really think I have some stomach issues that are food related and I am guessing the culprit is either dairy or gluten so it will be interested to completely clear my system out and reintroduce and see what happens! I am anxious to continue learning more about how I can fuel my body well and that is something I couldn't say last time. Last time I was anxious to get my hands on donuts and pizza again! 

Chemical Free Diaper Rash Cream {With Essential Oils}

My oldest daughter has really sensitive skin and lots of allergies, so ever since she was a baby, we have had to be careful about what we put on her skin. After talking with the dermatologist we switched to all fragrance free and really gentle cleansers, soaps, lotions, detergents...everything. But the more I've educated myself on chemicals, the more I have realized that those "gentle" products still have harmful and harsh chemicals in them! She is long since potty trained, but my youngest daughter came down with a bad diaper rash a couple of weeks ago out of the blue. This was the perfect opportunity for me to whip up some all natural diaper rash cream and try it out! I had these little jars from the Target dollar spot waiting in my bathroom closet and wasn't sure what to do with them, and when this happened, I knew exactly how to use one! 

What you'll need: Glass container of some sort Coconut oil Essential oils (I used Young Living brand for this cream)    *Lavender    *Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea tree oil) Spoon for scooping and mixing  First, take about 1/2 cup of organic, unrefined coconut oil and scoop it into your glass container.  Microwave the oil for about 30 seconds-1 minute until it is a liquid. Add 10 drops of lavender essential oil, and 5-7 drops of melaleuca essential oil and stir to combine with coconut oil.  Pop in the freezer for about 10 minutes to solidify the cream again. That's it! It took me 2 minutes and I had everything I needed on hand. 

So, the biggest question is does it work? I waited to write this blog post until I knew for sure. The answer is yes!  This was the kind of rash that was angry red (no bumps or anything) and my daughter was crying out in pain with real tears when I would change her diaper. Saddest thing ever. I made up this cream and put it on her before bed that night (just a small scoop on my fingers-probably about a quarter sized amount). The next morning when she woke up, she still had some redness, but she didn't complain or cry out AT ALL when I changed her. I continued to use it each time I changed her diaper that day and by the end of the day it was completely gone and back to normal! I'll never use desitin again!  Why does it work?!  Lavender essential oil is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial. It is also very soothing and gentle on the skin. (Smells great, too!)  Melaleuca is also anti-microbial, anti-viral and anti-septic and has potent healing properties.  Coconut oil is a natural moisturizer that is also an antimicrobial agent. Put all 3 together and you have yourself a powerful, all natural healing cream!  Luckily for me, my daughter has been potty training for the last few weeks and so we are out of diapers for now! I guess I will save the rest for when the new baby comes!  Cost for making this yourself:  $1.43 for 1/2 cup of coconut oil (I use Aldi brand)  .90 for lavender oil (Young Living)  .50 for melaleuca oil (Young Living )

----- $2.83 for 4 oz. of homemade, all natural diaper cream  (This is a 48% savings from Desitin and would be even more for "all natural" ointments!)  A little bit goes a long way so I expect this ONE batch would probably last throughout the diaper era for a kiddo!  Have you tried a DIY diaper cream before? 

All Natural Face Washing Routine {With Coconut Oil + Honey}

Several years ago, a few friends and I were discussing some more natural approaches to things and talking about chemicals and other things. I mentioned something about us being "crunchy" and one of my friends had never heard that term used before (Hi Megan!!). (If you haven't either, it is used to describe people who are really into natural things or kind of "hippie" if you will). Once we explained it, she laughed and said "well, I guess we are kind of chewy then!" Not quite crunchy, but still more than most people. So for years I've always thought of myself as a little bit "chewy". Maybe crispy is more accurate. This post is about to go full on crunchy though, guys. Don't say I didn't warn you. 

I honestly don't have any idea how I first heard about this, but I have been keeping my eyes open to more natural products and am always looking for affordable options! When I first read about washing your face with honey, I thought it was a little bizarre but I figured I would give it a try. Without researching it at all, I did it that night and let me tell you...my face was the SOFTEST it had ever been. Smelled so good, too!  Time went on and I researched it a little bit more to find out if it is actually good for your skin and here are a few main points I thought I'd pass on to you before talking about the actual process:

• You need to use RAW honey. Not just the plain ole stuff from the grocery store-needs to be raw and local if possible. 
• Honey has antibacterial properties in it when it is raw and not processed, which obviously makes it great for cleansing your skin.
• It balances your skin because it doesn't strip it of its natural oils. It cleans but still leaves the natural oils your skin needs, which is ideal. 
• It won't remove your makeup, which is where the coconut oil comes in. 

So here is what you do. 

1. Get a small scoop of coconut oil (I use unrefined, organic) and rub it all over your face to remove your makeup. Swab it over your (closed) eyes if you have eye makeup on. Personally, I take a cotton ball to wipe the eye makeup off before rinsing.

2. Rinse your coconut oiled face off under warm water or with a wash cloth. 

3. Squeeze about a nickle sized amount of raw honey into your wet hands and rub all over your face like you would with regular face wash.

4. Rinse! Make sure you get it all off or your face will be sticky later. 

5. Apply a small amount of coconut oil on your dried face for moisturizer. I really just use a tiny amount...

When I first posted about doing this on Facebook, the most common thing I had people saying was how sticky it must be. If you get your hands and face wet first, it isn't sticky at all. It glides right over your skin! I can honestly say my skin has never been so soft or looked so healthy since I have stared this regimen. I had been using coconut oil as a moisturizer for a little while and it was always really soft doing that, but the honey has taken it to a whole new level! 

So what do you think? Are you chewy/crispy/crunchy enough to switch to honey and coconut oil?! It's so affordable, too! 

6 Tips for Drinking More Water

Are you drinking enough water?  I have been moderating a health & fitness group for moms for over a year, and I have been consistently shocked at how few people are drinking enough water! Not just within this group, but just people in general! I'm sure Americans in general. Or the world in general even.  I think we've all heard the "Drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day" rule, but I have read a lot of things lately supporting other numbers. I think the most common one that I have heard is that you need half your body weight in water per day. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need 75 oz. of water per day. Personally, I like this "theory" more, because people of different sizes have different dietary needs. Of course, how active you are, where you live, if you're pregnant or nursing, health conditions, etc. all affect how much water you need to take in daily, but I think this is a good rule of thumb.  Anyway, enough about how much you need. Let's talk about how to get it in! 

I personally love water, so it is not often a challenge for me to get enough. Days where I don't get enough are typically days where I am off my normal-ish schedule. If we are traveling, or I have been out and about all day, etc. I am often just not thinking about water those days if I don't make a point to drink it, so I can understand how people can consistently not be getting enough. I can always tell when I am not hydrated enough though. Once I do have a drink of water, I could drink a whole bottle at once. My body feels heavier, I am more tired, my head feels a little fuzzy or sometimes I even get a headache. So I like to make sure I (and everyone else!) am getting enough water daily. 
Add something to it.  If you don't like the taste of water (I have never understood that one--it doesn't taste like anything to me, but I hear this all the time!), or you are just bored with it, try adding something to it. Lemon, lime, berries, or essential oils (I use Young Living--glass container only) are all good options to mix up the flavor! There are tons of "recipes" on Pinterest for different kinds of infused waters. 

Change the temperature. During my second pregnancy, I acquired a taste for icy cold things! I looooved ice cold water and milk. Actually, with my first pregnancy, room temperature water literally made me throw up. I could not drink it without getting sick. But with my second pregnancy, I just craved cold stuff and even after she was born, I really loved ice water. Sometimes now, if I am bored with water, I just ice it up and call it good. I think this can go the other way too--try warming it up and adding a little honey or peppermint to it! Get a cute bottle or cup.  This should be my number one tip. Guys, I think I have a drink container problem. I just love them. They're all so cute and I feel like you can't actually have too many cute cups, right?! Mugs, tumblers, mason jars, water bottles...go getcha one! It'll make you want to drink more, I promise. Also, if you ever need a good gift idea for me....I'm just sayin'. This is not even close to half my stash of favorites.

Straws. During my first pregnancy (remember, the one where water made me throw up), besides adding lots and lots of ice first, I always drank from a straw. I don't know why, but I feel like when you are just sipping, it feels more like it is just giving you something to do instead of trying to get your water intake in. I remember sitting at my desk at work typing with both hands, and my camelbak bottle on the desk in front of me tipped and I was holding it with my teeth constantly sipping from it while I worked. LOL. Whatever it took...that baby did a number on me! I also feel like in social situations, you drink more from straws. Talking, sipping, talking sipping....it's mindless and you just keep doing it because its there.  Pre Pour. Pre pouring out all of your water for the day is a great way to make sure you are getting enough. I lose track so I don't actually keep track of how many oz I'm getting, I just know I get enough--UNLESS I pre pour them and then I know the exact amount. If you are consistently not getting enough water, try filling up some water bottles or a pitcher with how much you need for the day and make sure to drink it gone before the days end.  Pack it up.  When you leave the house, always take water with you. Always, always, always! If you're running errands, you won't be tempted to buy a pop or bottle of water at the check out if you have one in your purse or car. You will also stay hydrated when you're out doing whatever you're doing. This is where I struggle the most and I need to take my own words and get more consistent with this yesterday. 
Do you get enough water each day?  What are some other tips you might have for making sure your water intake is high enough? 

Essential Oils-Oily Testimonies

I shared the other day that we have started using Young Living oils and why, but today I really wanted to share some of the testimonies we have about using oils so far. For me, hearing what other people's successes had been was really helpful when we were trying to consider if oils were right for our family. Knowing what is tried and true for people I know and trust says a lot to me. Hopefully these testimonies I am going to share will.  Disclaimer: All of the opinions here are my own and my family's. I am not a doctor and am not trying to give medical advice. I am ONLY speaking about Young Living oils, which we use and trust, so please do your research and be sure that you are confident in whatever essential oils brand you are using. 

Frankincense for Scarring My oldest daughter has a large scar on her arm from a burn. When I first got my hands on frankincense, the scar was fairly new. I am guessing about a month old. It was still quite red and very new skin there. I started applying frankincense just one drop, once or twice a day and within a day or two I was noticing a difference. By 3 days, I was in shock! 

The photo speaks for itself. The photos are totally unedited, taken in the same exact place with the same lighting.  The scar has faded considerably since then. After a few weeks of using frank, I just kind of forgot to apply it and the scar had really faded by then. I need to be diligent about doing it again to see if I can get it all the way gone, but it is the same color as the rest of her skin now. This was the first "ok, maybe these things actually work" moment we had.  Thieves for the Flu Thieves is a great blend made by Young Living that has been university tested and proven to kill 99.99% of bacteria in the air. Needless to say, we diffuse it whenever we've been at yucky places like the doctor's office or play places, and I put it on my girls' feet before bed semi-frequently.  We went through a bout of not really using it and I had never applied it directly to myself, and I came down with the flu. I will just say that I haven't had the flu in a good long while, but whenever I used to get it, I would be out for the count for 5-7 days. I'm talking holed up in my bedroom, no one touch me for the entire week because I'm so achy and miserable. I woke up with what I knew was the flu, and started diffusing thieves immediately. I put it on the soles of my feet 2 or 3 times a day. The first day, my husband had to go to work, so I diffused it in my bedroom right next to the bed and put movies on for my girls so I could rest. I really didn't want them to get it so I was diligent about diffusing it constantly that day. The next day was pretty much the same, but my husband took the day off so the girls weren't around me. The 3 of them put it on their feet once or twice each day and I used it 2 or 3 times the second day as well, still diffusing constantly. The third day I woke up and was fine. I could not believe it! No one else in my family got it, even though my kids spent the entire first day with me. Hallelujah!!! 

Thieves and Lemon for a UTI It was literally a day or two after my kit first arrived and I really hadn't dug into them at all yet. I had a series of urinary tract infections after my 2nd daughter was born that I just couldn't kick. I was getting one about every month until I finally started on a probiotic and I hadn't had one since (over a year)! Well, if you have ever had one, you KNOW when it is coming on. I went to the bathroom and knew in that instant. I immediately thought of my oils, because I really didn't want to drag both of my kids to the urgent care waiting room to sit and then wait another 24 hours to have relief kick in. I knew a friend had used oils for her UTI but I wasn't sure which ones and how she used them so I texted her, but she didn't get right back to me. I googled online and read that lemon is good for removing toxins and kidney  function, so I dumped a bunch in my water and chugged. Once my friend texted me back (just an hour or two later), she told me that she did a drop of thieves in a spoonful of honey and had almost instant relief. I honestly didn't believe relief would come that quickly, so I downed the honey thieves combo (it will burn!), and then ate some coconut oil to get the taste out of my mouth haha. I kid you not, within 20 minutes the feeling was completely gone. I did it again the next day, just for good measure to make sure it was really gone and it was and never came back. 

Lemon for Crayon Removal Oh, your kids don't color on the walls? Just mine? I can't even remember how it happened, but we were getting ready to go on a bike ride. My younger daughter drew a nice little piece on the wall between the bathroom and garage and I remembered someone telling me lemon removed it, so I put some on a cotton ball and scrubbed away. I won't say it was the easiest thing ever to get off...I had to put some elbow grease into it. But we have stark white walls and it was red crayon and you can't even tell it was there now, so.... Lemon for Cleaning I had burned some potato soup into a pot. It was bad. Really bad. At first, there were chunks of potato stuck to the pot that I couldn't even get off. I soaked it for a day, then scraped and scraped and scraped and soaked for another day and was left with the photo on the left. My husband suggested I try using lemon, but I was basically out. I shook the bottle for all it was worth and got 2 measly drops out, soaked it for a few more hours with the lemon oil in there and voila! 

Lavender for Restful Sleep One night, not too long after we started using oils, my husband was out of town. Because this kind of thing would only happen when he's gone. So my older daughter wakes up in the night, like an hour after I went to bed, of course, and I cannot get her back to sleep. This has never happened before. She's not sick, nothing is wrong, she just woke up and can't get to sleep. After probably about 2 hours of going back in every 15 minutes because she called me or I could hear her singing (she shares a room with her sister, and I didn't want TWO kids up at 3 a.m.), I finally brought her into my bed. Still couldn't sleep. Finally, out of nowhere, I remembered lavender! I took her potty and then brought her back to bed and applied a drop on the bottom of each foot. Within 10 minutes she was out like a light for the rest of the night!  Thieves Toothpaste Last spring, I had to have oral surgery. About 9 years ago, I passed out at a water park and knocked one of my teeth out. I had a bunch of surgeries back then to put an implant in, and all was well until last year. I had noticed it was swollen there but not painful. I asked my dentist and they said it was fine. 6 months later, the next time I was there it was the same so I asked again and they did a little more digging and determined it was probably infected and sent me to a periodontist. He looked at it and agreed it was probably infected but there was no way to know unless they cut it open. I'll spare you all the disgusting details, but basically there was an infection because the bone there was wearing away so they took care of the infection, grafted in bone and brought my gums back together. While they were healing, the stitches split and there was a hole in my gum tissue. He said it should hopefully come back together on its own and it took awhile but it mostly did. When I went for a recheck after 2 months I think, he said it wasn't healing the way he wanted and if it didn't improve, he would have to do the surgery all over again. The surgery was painful and miserable and the recovery was pretty bad as well. I really wanted to avoid doing it again so I thought the thieves toothpaste may help. I started using it and I wish I had a picture. The gum tissue there after 2 months was still discolored and bruised looking. I started using the thieves toothpaste after about 4 months and used it for probably 1 1/2 months before my re-check. At the re-check he said it looked well and the color was what he wanted to see and I wouldn't need surgery again! I had stopped using the antibiotic mouthwash he gave me and was ONLY using thieves toothpaste. I had just added in the thieves mouthwash right before that appointment. 

We have definitely used our oils for more than just these things, but these have been our hugest and best testimonies when it comes to our oils. We have only been using them a few months and I already don't know how we ever lived without them!  What is your favorite oil and do you have any good oil testimonies?! 

Essential Oils-Why We Took the Plunge

I'm sure that you have heard at least mention of essential oils sometime in this past year. They seem to be booming with popularity, and our family recently jumped on the bandwagon as well.

Before this summer, I knew a few people that used Young Living (when I talk about oils for the rest of this post, I am referring to Young Living brand), but knew NOTHING about them. Didn't know what they did, what they were used for, really even what they were. As I continued seeing them pop up on Instagram and would read about them on blogs, and hear of more friends starting to use them, my interest grew. I was invited to an essential oils class probably around May or June of this year and decided to go see what all the hype was about. Before I left, my husband made me promise not to buy anything. I was just going for info!  At the class, friends shared testimonies, we talked about what the oils were and how they worked, and got to sample the oils that come in the starter kit. I was pretty interested but wanted to continue researching them and of course, talk to my husband about them.  At the class that night, the friend who was hosting it let me borrow her bottle of Frankincense (one of the more expensive oils) to use on my daughter's arm where she had a burn scar. This was so nice of her because it allowed us to kind of "try before we buy" and also for my husband to see oils in action. I will just say that it worked very well, but I am going to do a separate post on some oil testimonies so I will save that story for then.  We continued to be interested but not quite ready to take the plunge and spend the money. A month or two later, I was invited to another class, this time at a coffee shop. I thought this would be a great opportunity to take my husband along and let him hear more about it. Personally, hearing people's stories do more for me than the scientific stuff. I love hearing testimonies about what kinds of things work, etc. but my husband is the opposite and wants to understand how and why they work. This was perfect because he read in a book they had there about all of the science behind it and that was what sold him.  We left that class basically in agreement that we were going to buy them, but wanted to save up for the kit first.  See, our oldest daughter has had some health issues. I don't want to make them to be a bigger deal than they are, but it has been somewhat stressful at times. She has a very severe peanut allergy to begin with. On top of that, she has dealt with eczema and some breathing issues. They have all seemed to go hand in hand when I have researched causes, treatments and more natural ways to control it all. We have to be very gentle with her skin, using only natural soaps, detergents, etc. Starting last year, she got sick and in the middle of the night was wheezing and gasping for air. We brought her into our bed and were very nervous. The next morning, we took her to the doctor and they started her on a nebulizer and steroid. It was just a cold but the breathing stuff got out of control fast. This happened again and again, every time she would get sick. After the second time, we bought a nebulizer and albuterol, so we could start treatments at the first sign of illness, but we still ended up in the doctor's getting on a steroid treatment as well.

 Finally, this summer, probably sometime between the two classes I attended, she came down with a random illness, cold, something. She seemed pretty fine and I didn't think much of it. It was the 2nd or 3rd time it had happened in about a month so I thought maybe she had a seasonal allergy. I was having a small group with ladies at my house and she came into the room and laid down on me, feeling very warm and was completely lethargic, not even lifting her head or really talking to me. One of the women encouraged me that maybe I should take her to the doctor, but I just really thought she had an allergy and we had been doing the Neb, so she would be fine. After about another hour it became apparent that she was getting worse. She was wheezing and practically asleep sitting up. The woman offered to watch my other daughter and I called and got an appointment not at our regular office because they were booked, but across town. She drifted in and out of sleep on the ride but I knew something was wrong. When we got there, the first thing they did was test her oxygen level, like always. The doctor came back in and said that her oxygen was lower while awake than she wanted to see it when she was sleeping and that was of course concerning, because then what could it drop to when she slept?! They did a breathing treatment and retested it only to have it go up about 1. She sent us to the hospital for an overnight stay. Luckily they were able to get it under control and she only had to stay one night, but having your not even 3 year old be that sick and in the hospital is very scary. 

All that to say, I knew that if I COULD try something else to help aid in her health, boosting her immune system and keeping her well, I wanted to try. We figured that with how much we pay in co-pays and prescriptions each time she goes to the doctor (which was pretty much monthly or more at that point), the starter kit was not that big of an investment. Especially if it helped keep her out of the hospital--we JUST finished paying off that bill last week...hallelujah!  We decided at that point that we were interested enough and wanted to see what oils could do for our family. We are both very conscious about health and really trying to change the ways we are eating and products we are using and such so we thought these would be right up our alley.  We have been using oils for probably about 4 months or so now and LOVING them. They are great for so much, from getting crayon off of a wall to congestion. From allergies to cleaning my floors. I have heard people say that there is an oil for everything, and I really believe that is true! We have found our go-to oils pretty quickly (Thieves blend, lavender, lemon, peppermint and purification are our favorites and most used), but I can see how you could truly be finding new oils all the time!  I am excited to start sharing a bit more about oils here and there. I will be back soon to talk about some of the ways we have used them and seen them work. I am also really wanting to try making some of my own products using oils, but I'm guessing I won't get around to that until at least the turn of the year.  Do you use oils or have you considered them before?
What is your favorite essential oil?