Survivor: Newborn Edition

Tomorrow my little baby turns 7 weeks. Seven weeks since his harrowing arrival and the start of our new normal.

We've survived these weeks, sometimes by the skin of our teeth.

We've had a visit from grandma that didn't go quite as expected, the loss of a very dear friend, and our first "Wonder Week".

Lemme 'splain:

We Lose Moriah

On Monday December 1st, the world at large and certainly our church family and dear friends the Nelsons lost their daughter Moriah due to several complications of an infection in her heart. This little girl was special not only to her family (of course!) but to her church family and to a wider sphere of folks who had been personally touched by her life and joy and infectious smile, whether in person or through their family blog - Moments with Moriah.

There are a thousand eloquent ways I could eulogize Moriah, but shock, grief and sleep deprivation combine to render me simply heart-sick and not eloquent at all. I share a mother's horror with my friend Victoria at losing a child, empathy with her son Jadon who is only 10 days older than my own son, and simply sadness at the loss of a beautiful little friend.

Pastor's kids and Nelson kids

We will miss you, Moriah. I had a dream the other night that this beautiful seven year old with a dark curly mop of hair walked up to me and started to talk to me. I knew it was you in your heavenly form and even in my dream I burst into happy tears. Until we meet again, dear girl!

My first time holding our friend Moriah. xoxo

Our family was very grief-stricken and also stressed as my husband attempted to plan a fitting memorial for Moriah, we lost much sleep with newborn Archer, and my mother-in-law came to visit, all at the same time.

Grandma Judy Comes to Visit

In my heart-sickness, I could not summon the courage to try and explain to my three year old what had happened and why everyone was so sad. This is a mistake I keep making. My son is quite sensitive and can tell when something is wrong. So when we don't tell him what it is, he concludes that it could be ANYTHING or EVERYTHING and acts out accordingly. My poor mother-in-law got to see his very worst behavior as he attempted to find his way through the week with a new little brother, a mysterious event, and a strange visitor all vied for his parent's attention. 

Eventually, they had some bonding time, making sugar cookies and sewing a Christmas stocking for the baby.

She's an amazing, loving and creative grandma and I'm glad there were some good moments in amidst the chaos before she had to go back home to Colorado.

We Enter the Wonder Week

After grandma left we went to visit the Nelson family and sweet Victoria, in the midst of her grief, was asking me about life with Archer. She asked how often I was feeding him, inquiring, "Every hour? Hour and a half?" 

I, appalled, shook my head and said, "Oh no, every three hours and even longer sometimes in the night!" 

I should have covered my infant's ears or found some wood on which to knock, because it seems at that very moment, Archer embarked upon his first Wonder Week!

If you don't know about Wonder Weeks, and you have a baby of a year or less, drop whatever you are doing (presumably reading this blog), and click on the link above. Insight into the mental and developmental leaps your child makes in their first year will help you become significantly less bewildered the next time your sweet kiddo turns into a screamy, whiny mess for a whole week or two for seemingly no reason.

So, after a week of non-stop feeding, fussing or sleeping anytime but nighttime, we now have a new and improved Archer. He is beginning to smile and be much more alert for longer periods between little baby snoozes. He definitely looks bigger, too, as we moved him into his 0-3 month clothes from the newborn stuff.

We survived and even found time to have a little fun. I'll leave you with our first series of mama/baby happy snaps and an idea for spiced cider made with essential oils, courtesy of doTERRA!

Technically NOT a selfie, as there is another person in the shot. Right?

Essential Oil Spiced Cider

Single serving: 

8oz high quality apple juice, warmed

2 drops doTERRA Cassia oil

1 drop doTERRA Clove oil

*You might even get crazy and add a little Wild Orange but be careful with the oils, respecting that they have a strong flavor, as well as therapeutic benefit, and shouldn't be ingested without proper consideration. 

May that warm, sweet treat get you through any wonder week you may be experiencing. Until next time!

The New Normal?

Well, I've got a lot to say but not much time to say it in, since I have a sleeping sickie 3 year old and a ready-to-wake-up-and-eat newborn waiting in the wings. Not to mention packing for my new family of four for a trip out to the mountains for Thanksgiving. (Talk about intimidation, but I'll get to that in a second!)

Family Transitions

My delightful custom designed birth announcement, courtesy of PIY Invites 

Nobody ever told me that the hardest part of transitioning from a family of three to a family of four might not be the newborn or the sleepless nights or even wrangling two kids into the car to go anywhere... In our case, it is my dear, sweet, emotional three year old that is having a bit of a time adjusting. He loves the baby and is sweet with him and kisses him and asks questions about everything. But you can tell that he feels precarious a lot of the time and needs extra love.

I knew it was normal and tried to head it off with all kinds of big brother talk, "enough love for everyone" talk, extra hugs and snuggles and one on one time and verbal affirmations and the whole enchilada. But my big boy is a sensitive creature who is easily thrown off and takes awhile to get back on track. So I feel that much of the first three weeks of the baby's life have been putting out fires with the big one. The baby pretty much sleeps, poops and eats just like he's supposed to, so that's been fairly easy!

At least someone in this house is calm...

Then Illness Strikes...
I feel like a lot of this year from spring on has been dealing with illness of some kind or another. I call it the "preschool tax", since my son started preschool this year and obviously then started getting sick a lot more often!

Last night was a special brand because I came home to the 3 yo screaming in pain because his ear hurt, working himself up into a snotting, coughing, panicking mess. My husband in desperation used Children's Tylenol, which I am always secretly disappointed to have to resort to, since I'm such a hippie mama with my essential oils and such.

But last night the Tylenol was administered in my absence and there was still screaming and panicking going on. So I grabbed my oils and got to work. Oregano for the ear ache (I put one drop in my hand and smeared it behind his ears since he wouldn't let me stick a cotton ball in his ear). Eucalyptus for the cough and snot (diluted in coconut oil and smeared on back and chest and neck). A bath in the middle of the night with three drops of a Calming Blend (Serenity) for the panicking. After much panicking and many tears, we all finally slept in some fashion or another.

This morning we woke up and he says his ear doesn't hurt. At all. We went from screaming pain and panic to nothing. Praise Jesus! Still some coughing and a little snot. Fever developed sometime in the night which probably helped to kill whatever was causing the earache. So I let the fever go for a bit but then decided to do a drop each of Peppermint and Lavender in coconut oil for the fever. He fell promptly to sleep on the couch and is currently sleeping off whatever remains of this illness, hopefully just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving. Yay for oils!

Poor buddy. 

Packing for Thanksgiving
So in the midst of all this chaos, I started to get really intimidated about packing for our three night stay up in Amador County for Thanksgiving. Newborns require a lot of stuff. So do three-year-olds. And then there's the grown ups! I started to think up brilliant ways to procrastinate until I remembered this wondrous little app that I discovered a few months back called PackPoint. 

As advertised, it practically packs your bags for you: it dials in your location (for weather), number of nights staying, whether you have a baby or kids, what activities you might be doing (hiking? fancy dinner? beach?) and pumps out a rather intuitive packing list for you! It's AMAZING. They're not even paying me to say that.

So I'm going to go and do my packing now that I've got the list done for me and still two kids sleeping! =) Looking forward to many beautiful vineyard vistas like this one:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and GOOD HEALTH to all!

Breaking the Silence

Hello readers!!

I left off with a series on essential oils and a promise of more good things...and then there was radio silence.

You know how bad/trying/life-changing things happen in threes? Yeah, I've had one of those kind of months in April. As the Fresh Prince so eloquently put it, "my life got flip-turned upside-down."

One of the exciting things I can share with you from the past month, which many of you will already know, is that we are expecting another little one at the end of this year!

You can't really make much out, but there's a strong little heartbeat there!

So that's pretty fantastic. I read a lot about essential oils and pregnancy. Many sources warn against using them at all in the first trimester, and there are definitely a few you should avoid altogether, as they cause uterine contractions or what-have-you. We wouldn't want that until right at the very end! However, since I have pretty much forsworn any OTC medications, I have been using my oils a bit, diluting them appropriately for pregnancy, especially for a lot of the tummy upset and nausea that comes along with first trimester.

Suffice to say, DigestZen has been my VERY best friend. A few of the other oils I haven't been able to use simply because I've all the sudden become horribly sensitive to smells (thanks little fetus!). Hopefully one day that will subside and I won't associate those smells with feeling ill! 

Besides fostering new life, there have been many, many changes with work and family. Adjusting to them all while nauseous and exhausted has been no picnic, honestly. I don't remember being this tired the first time around...then again, I didn't have a toddler to care for then, either! However, as long as everyone is healthy and relatively happy, I'm a happy camper. And they are! 

And another thing, today is my 30th birthday! That's a hard one to believe. But a good note to end on. I think my husband and I will go have a classic mini golf/arcade date tonight while our little one is looked after by my awesome family. 

Here's hoping I'll be able to shake this first trimester nausea cloud soon and get back to writing more here!

How Lemon Changed My Life - The End of a Series

So I didn't reckon on the fact that when I decided to chronicle "head to toe" how essential oils have made a difference in my life, that I actually don't have a lot of experiences with them from my thighs on down. I mean, besides the fact that you can apply oils (diluted or neat, depending on the correct indication) to the bottoms of your feet for quick absorption, the only thing I've done is use some Deep Blue to get some cramps out of my legs. (Yes, it worked, and quickly too!)


So instead of making stuff up for the legs and feet (you're welcome!), I thought I would give a bit of a grab bag with how I've incorporated oils into the way I live my life from day to day now!

Two big ways I've incorporated oils into my routine is in cleaning and cooking. This might start to sound crazy, but stay with me!

Photo Credit: Leigh-Anne Eagerton, painting via Compfight cc

I have to be honest and say that, in the beginning of this adventure, "green cleaning" was really the last thing on my list of reasons why I wanted to try essential oils. I was perfectly happy with my Method Grapefruit spray and my Windex, thankyouverymuch. I thought it seemed like a waste of money to pour precious oils into a spray bottle and go to town all over my counters. But once I got my hands on some of the oils, I really couldn't wait to try them everywhere and in every way! 

Now, dōTERRA actually has some products specially formulated for cleaning, such as the OnGuard cleaning concentrate. However, I have found it effective to simply put 1-3 drops of oil in a smallish squirt bottle from Dollar Tree and use that on my countertops, range top, bathroom counters, kitchen and bath fixtures, and my glass shower doors. I used Lemon because I like the clean scent and I know it is antiseptic, anti-fungal, and antiviral. The other reason I like to use lemon is that it is one of the least expensive oils that dōTERRA sells. Remember this cool post from Stockpiling Moms about the "price-per-drop"? Talk about good value for money...I'm cleaning half the rooms in my house with a $1 squirt bottle full of water and 12 cents worth of oil!! And the VERY best part of all is, I could spray this stuff on my face to combat oiliness, I could spray it on my dinner if I didn't have a lemon, and yes, my son could get his hands on it and drink the whole lot and the only thing that would happen is that he would smell lemony-fresh!! You cannot say that about a spray bottle of bleach or other store-bought household cleaner! (Would I actually do all those things? Maybe. OK fine, yes. Yes, I have.) 

That's all well and good, but...does it WORK? I mean, water is cheap and I could just put that in a spray bottle, too. I decided to test out my lemon cleaner on my range top the other day. It had baked-on grease and general gross-ness that a range top gets from a few days of cooking and not cleaning it (whoops). I sprayed my mixture on, waited about 20 seconds (yeah, I'm not too patient) and started wiping. I was shocked at how quickly that stuff cut through the grease! There was no streakiness, no grimy residue, nothing. Then I though to myself, self? What is the grimiest thing in your kitchen? I remembered how the top of our coffee maker has that gnarly grease that you just can't wipe up ever and it collects dust and gets even grosser and you just ignore it because it seems impossible to clean...and I decided to spray on some lemon water. Guess what? Clean as a whistle. No joke. I just wish I had thought to take a before and after photo! I couldn't have been more pleased! 

Another one that people like to use in cleaning is OnGuard. Good for protecting against illness, and it smells divine (cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, rosemary and wild orange). 

Now, on to cooking! 

Photo Credit: ArtMind etcetera via Compfight cc

I never, ever thought about this when trying out essential oils. If green cleaning was last on my list, cooking didn't even enter into my consciousness! However, I have found it yet another fun way to incorporate oils into the life of my family. Also, it works great in a pinch when you don't have certain ingredients on hand!

Remember, there are some that caution against taking oils internally without the approval of a licensed aromatherapist or other health care professional. I'm going rogue on this. Another thing to remember if you do join me in cooking with oils is that heat can mess with the benefits of the oils, so the best time to add them is towards the end of whatever process you are doing. This blog is purposed to educate and entertain, not to prescribe or give medical advice. =) OK, disclaimer over. 

The main ones I've used so far are lemon and oregano in food and OnGuard in a very delicious chai-like drink that I will introduce to you in a minute. 

Oregano essential oil, as I've mentioned before, is quite potent and very strong-tasting in its pure, essential state. Therefore, when using it in cooking, measurements call for a "toothpick" of oregano, which literally means to stick the end of a toothpick in the vial and then use that to swirl in your food. Don't even put a whole drop in there to start with! I used two drops for a whole batch of homemade spaghetti sauce, and I probably could have made do with just one. That's eight cents' worth, if we're still counting price-per-drop. 

Lemon essential oil was great one night when we had three frozen fish filets in the freezer and not much else. I decided to make foil packets with olive oil, salt, pepper, and barely-hanging-in-there thyme sprigs, and put them in the oven. The best thing for a plain fish recipe is fresh lemon, and I was fresh out. So, lemon essential oil to the rescue! My husband thought I did a great job and even asked, "Where'd you get the lemon from?" Mua ha ha. 

dōTERRA sells Basil, Ginger, Black Pepper, Wild Orange, Grapefruit, Rosemary, and Thyme, in addition to the essential oils I've mentioned. I can only imagine that there's a plethora of ways to use oils in cooking and baking. I've even tasted some dōTERRA Lavender brownies...delicious!

I'll leave you with a delicious drink recipe that I read over at a great blog called Venison For Dinner. She makes a mean "London Fog" with black tea, raw honey, milk and OnGuard. It tastes so similar to chai but is so easy to make at home (in about three minutes) AND boosts your immune system! I have been drinking one as often as I can...watching my OnGuard bottle get emptier and emptier in the process! Ha ha. Worth it. If I'm going to protect my immune system, it might as well be delicious and caffeinated. =)

Don't forget to join my raffle for a Free dōTERRA Introductory Kit before it ends! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for joining me on this journey and putting up with my endless oil rants. I hope you learned something new and maybe, just maybe, I've planted the seeds for a whole new way of looking at caring for your family and your home. One last plug for Preferred Membership (for $10 lifetime membership you can save 20% on everything you buy from dōTERRA...no monthly minimum and no recurring fees) and I'll leave you alone. =) 

There are so many avenues for you to learn more about essential oils (either dōTERRA-specific or just generally) , and I hope that your interest has been piqued sufficiently to spur you on. You can follow my Healthy Living Pinterest board to share some of the great stuff I've been learning and will continue to learn. 

I'm hoping to have some new great posts and series for you soon. Until then, Godspeed and Good Health to you all. 

Trust Your Gut - Essential Oils for the Tummy and more...

Thanks for continuing to join me on this journey! Writing this Health Series has been quite fun for me, and I hope y'all are learning as much as I am!

Today we're moving on to the tummy and reproductive regions (didn't want to put that in the title! ha!)- this one has been really important for me! It's actually one of the biggest ways I wanted to "test" the efficacy of essential oils, and I must admit, I have NOT been disappointed! 

Can't believe I could find a photo of a normal person's tummy! 
Photo Credit: ~*Leah*~ via Compfight cc

Since I was a teenager, I've struggled with stomach issues from food. After nearly every meal, I'd have some sort of stomach upset or even (ugh) gassiness...the painful kind. This was horrifying on first dates, but just sort of terrible in general. I'd learned to live with it because I didn't think there was much I could do, as I refused to avoid "gassy" foods. (I'm sorry but life without beans and garlic is not worth living, so forget it!)

So, as I said, this was my big test for oils. I knew that Peppermint is supposed to soothe the tummy (I'd previously tried mint tea, to some success), and dōTERRA has a proprietary blend called DigestZen that I was particularly eager to try!

My method of application was two drops in about 24 ounces of water (shake it up!) and I sipped on that during and after meals. If I forgot to do that and was faced with an already-upset stomach, I would dilute a few drops in fractionated coconut oil (you can use any pure vegetable oil) and rub it on my sad tum-tum. I was pretty shocked with how effective both of these were. I have done DigestZen and Peppermint in my drinking water, but mostly DigestZen topically, since I didn't need the cooling power of peppermint on my skin!

And now, let's move on to the lady problems. 

Cute, cuddly uterus. For more fun stuffed toys, go to iheartguts.com

Thankfully, I've outgrown the very painful period cramps. They used to be so bad as a teenager that I would literally pass out in the bathroom. You can imagine my mother's horror in finding me like that! 

However, with advanced age has come a new fun challenge: a fun little thing the Germans call "mittelschmertz". It's translated "middle pain" and it's basically ovulation pain. It's helpful for knowing approximately when I'm ovulating, but other than that, it pretty much is horrible. So much so that I've just been taking OTC pain meds when I feel the ol' ovaries start tingling. 

But once I got my oils, I wanted to see if there was a natural solution to my natural problem! Indeed, there is. Although it seems like it wouldn't work for this purpose, DigestZen comes to the rescue again! A few drops diluted with a carrier oil, I put it right on the site of the pain, and YES - in a few minutes it was gone! GONE! It's hard for me to type this because I hate these too good to be true stories. But gals...would I lie to you about ovaries? I don't need to take synthetic meds for this problem now! Huzzah!!

Happy Guts!!

Did you know that you can get Peppermint and DigestZen in the Family Physician Kit from dōTERRA? And did you also know that you can get every single thing you ever buy from dōTERRA at 20% off? For a $10 lifetime fee (one time, never again) you can become a Preferred Member! No minimums, no hidden fees. Go to my site and find the "Join" link in the top right hand corner. Click "Preferred Member" and you can look through the application before you finalize anything or pay any money. 

My friend Holly is doing a very honest review of her adventures with dōTERRA on her blog. Stop by and say hi, especially if you're a VERY HARD SKEPTIC like she is. ;)

PS One more thing: I found this super-helpful blog post from StockpilingMoms via Pinterest that tells you the "price per drop" of each oil that dōTERRA sells. When you break it down and understand that you're using one or two drops (usually) per application, the oils seem much less expensive than perhaps they do initially. You might follow my "Healthy Living" Pinterest board while you're checking it out. 

I'll be back soon as we move on down the body!

This information is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to prescribe, treat, prevent, or diagnose any disease or condition. This information is simply the personal experience and opinion of one very satisfied small-time blogger!

Breathe Easy - Essential Oils for the Chest and Back

Essential Oils Head to Toe - The CHEST & BACK

Thanks for sticking with me on this one, people! Or if you're just joining us, welcome. This is the fifth in a health series about my experiences with essential oils and oil blends. If you're interested, you can go back and read the Intro post, and the ones about the FACE, HEAD and NECK. Or you can continue on to today's topic, the CHEST and BACK!!

Now, in the previous post I let you know about the yucky cold or bug of some kind that infected our family for a few days. Sorry to say that my little one (2.5 years old) got it too (boo!). I had already been putting OnGuard Protective Blend on the bottoms of his feet every day, because he goes to a friend's house four days a week who watches him while I go to work. She's got three kids and knowing what germ factories kids can be (cute ones!), I didn't want mine to be Agent Zero for some horrible disease that would spread to her brood. Alas, it got us anyway. The great thing is that she uses OnGuard, too, so besides a short coughing stint, none of her kids got sick from mine. 

My precious little germ factory, filthy as usual.

However, we're here to talk about the CHEST, so that was just an introduction to say that once he was already sick and stuffy and coughing and congested, I loved the relief it gave him when I slathered his chest, neck and upper back in dōTERRA's Breathe Respiratory blend. I do a drop or two of Breathe and about a teaspoon or so of Fractionated Coconut oil to dilute it, since my little guy is small. I believe the general rule is one drop pure oil to 1 tsp carrier oil when the child is under six years old, and even more diluted for babies. I have used it on myself with a carrier oil too, simply so I could spread it over a larger portion of my body. It is very akin to a topical salve or ointment you would usually use for a cough, but without all the extra additives or carriers. You can find ingredients and other uses at everythingessential.me, which is an invaluable online resource that I highly recommend whether you're just starting out or you just are curious to learn more about these oils. 

Another top seller for doTERRA is Deep Blue. I'll start this one off by saying that my husband does CrossFit, so he is my main guinea pig with this one, as it is supposed to work really well on joint and muscle pain. It is a lovely rub and feels quite amazing on, due to the peppermint and wintergreen it contains. My husband said it felt nice on and of course loved the back rub that came with it. I asked him to reciprocate with an upper back rub as I had been suffering from super-tight muscles to the point of pain in my upper back and neck. He gave me a nice short massage and it eased it a bit, then I watched some "Breaking Bad" and went to bed. The next morning I woke up with no pain, but was so pain-free that I didn't even notice it until the next evening!! Haha. Last night we had a toddler in our bed, so I have a major crick in my neck this morning. Cannot wait to get some Deep Blue on that crick and banish it for the day!

Today's Chest "Believe it or Not" story is about Clary Sage, an oil which I have not gotten my hands on myself...yet! I've heard it is miraculous for "lady problems" and that while it cannot make your breasts grow...it CAN tighten and firm them. What natural breasts don't need a little of that after awhile, amiright?! Hey, no shame in trying! ;) Read about it on LiveStrong.com. 

PS Remember, if you have specific questions about oils, leave me a comment and I will tell you what I know! And as always, there's my site if you're ready to purchase some oils for yourself to try them out. A reminder that you can sign up for the Preferred Member program and get 20% off everything you buy from doTERRA for just a $10 one-time lifetime membership fee! To find out more, leave me a comment. Thanks!

This information is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to prescribe, treat, prevent, or diagnose any disease or condition. This information is simply the personal experience and opinion of one very satisfied small-time blogger!

Health Series: Essential Oils Head to Toe - NECK

If you're just joining me, then welcome! Be sure to check back on the earlier posts in the series: Intro, Face, and Head. If you're feeling overwhelmed and have lots of questions, I tried to stop and answer a few burning ones yesterday in "But How Do I USE It, And Other Oily Problems". There's a surprise at the end of that article, if you haven't checked it out. =)

Here we've now arrived at the NECK. This has definitely been my problem area for the past week and it is driving me crazy! I couldn't figure out whether I had allergies or if I was coming down with something else like tonsillitis.

A nice artistic look down someone's throat! 
Photo Credit: Lil' Pete // www.FAO2.co.uk via Compfight cc

I'm going to be honest and admit that I have not experienced any immediate relief with oils and the THROAT such as I had with my headaches or my skin. I think this is possibly because it is difficult to pinpoint exactly what is going on (since I'm not a doctor!) and therefore how to treat it. I've been haphazardly trying this and that based on symptoms, and I know I have a lot to learn about taking oils preventatively as well as habitually for better health. 

I think in the past week I have tried everything from Frankincense and Oregano to OnGuard and Peppermint in an effort to help cleanse myself of whatever this yucky illness is. Certain times I have felt relief in my sore throat but sometimes I haven't. I've also been concocting a "tea" made with hot water, a couple drops of Lemon and OnGuard, and sweetened with raw honey to help soothe the throat. It is definitely delicious and feels really nice on my throat as it goes down. I have felt a certain relief from that mix, so I've done it a few times. I am still hopeful I can kick this thing in the metaphorical butt one way or another!

I made yet another misstep in my big oil adventure the other day and decided to put two drops of diluted Peppermint oil on the back of my neck in an effort to help my sore throat, which I thought might be coming from seasonal allergies. That in itself was a good idea. The fact that I decided to do this right before bed was a terrible idea...Peppermint is quite refreshing and the back of my neck was delightfully tingly for about an hour and I felt rather awake and energized when I really needed to be sleeping!

So, I've been trying to use it as a pick-me-up in the morning, along with a little whiff of a citrus (Orange, Grapefruit or Lemon, depending on my mood). A couple drops of that stuff diluted (with fractionated coconut oil or another our vegetable oil) on the back of the neck is great to wake up to!

I've read a lot of directives that say to tap a drop or two of a certain oil at the base of the neck for relief from myriad complaints, so I know it is a powerful place. If you have more experience with a certain oil used on the neck or throat, please leave a message in the comments! I look forward to hearing from you.

**UPDATE** Here's your too-good-to-be-true story for this post. I finally got my Veggie Caps in the mail and was able to take some Oregano internally. By the time I woke up the next morning, I was feeling absolutely 100% better from that yucky sore throat and cold I mentioned (and though he was loathe to admit it, so was my skeptical husband!) So next time I am feeling all cold and sinus-y, I know exactly where I will turn. Three drops dōTERRA Oregano in a Veggie Cap, three times a day. Maybe even a drop of Frankincense, just for good measure. Miraculous! What I've later learned is that OnGuard is more protective (use it to avoid getting sick), while Oregano is gonna get in there and kill a bug that you already have very effectively. 

(As a disclaimer, I will again repeat that many aromatherapy books and students would say that it isn't necessary to take the oils internally and they warn against it unless it has been prescribed by a professional. So I totally went rogue on the internal thing. Please do research if you wish to try it for yourself!)

 Thanks for joining me! Next, we move on to the CHEST!

PS I just learned something that can save you lots of money, my readers! I'm so sorry I never knew this before, but hopefully it will help some of you to take the plunge and get started with a few oils of your own! For a $10 lifetime membership fee (as in, you'll never pay it again), you can become a Preferred Member through my site, which saves you 20% on everything you buy from dōTERRA! If you would like to know more about this, you can leave me a comment. If you add a personal e-mail where you can be reached in your comment (if we're not friends on FB, where I can also be reached) I will not publish it. It goes through moderation first, but I can use it to contact you if you like. 

This information is for educational purposes only, and is not intended to prescribe, treat, prevent, or diagnose any disease or condition. This information is simply the personal experience and opinion of one very satisfied small-time blogger!

But How Do I USE It, & Other Oily Problems

I'm taking a break from the Essential Oils Head to Toe series today to address some big issues and questions I've seen and heard from you, dear readers! I feel like some of these are big enough concerns that it won't matter what I say until they are addressed! 

Regarding essential oils: 

"Are they safe?" 

"Are they effective?"

"I'm overwhelmed with the uses. I just want someone to tell me what each one does."

and my favorite, "Why are they so expensive?"

Photo Credit: Marco Bellucci via Compfight cc

Let me start out by saying once again that I am not a doctor. I am not an aromatherapist. I am not licensed or certified in any way. This is my blog and my opinion and I hope you are helped but that you are spurred on to do more research and learn more about essential oils yourself. I honestly don't care what brand you land on, as long as they are safe and effective and support the health of your family! Again, I write about dōTERRA because it is what I know so far. But are they the only brand to offer quality? I'm sure not. Do your research. 

ARE THEY SAFE?

Most essential oils are safe and free from nasty side effects if used properly. Many people will say never to ingest them, while some say it is very effective and totally fine. As with other medicine, you need to pay attention to dosage, purity, and correct application. I found this article from the University of Minnesota to be clear, concise, and very helpful. 

As far as purity is concerned, unfortunately we don't all have a mass spectrometer in our living room to test these things ourselves. And honestly, even if one did appear I'd have no idea how to use it. ;)

Ummmmmm...

So it comes down to finding a brand you trust. 

BUT, I found this from a blog called CrunchyBetty.com: 

"To test your essential oil to see how “pure” it is, put a single drop of it on a piece of construction paper. If it evaporates quickly and leaves no noticeable ring, it is pure. If you have a ring left, then it is likely diluted by the manufacturer with an oil of some sort (this test will not work for myrrh, patchouli, and absolutes)."

So there's that. 

ARE THEY EFFECTIVE?
If you Google the phrase "essential oils didn't work for me", you'll have trouble finding articles, I've found. Essential oils are nature's medicine cabinet, what mankind has been using for time immemorial (in one form or another, maybe not in little glass vials!) to heal our bodies and minds. 

In my estimation, what some people find frustrating (including myself, as you'll read in subsequent posts) is finding the thing that works for you. The trouble is, we're all different and more importantly, the root of every health problem we have is not the same! So this is indeed a challenge that you will face if you decide to ditch common pharmaceutical solutions to everyday problems. However, I have found certain things to be greatly effective, so that has given me hope and kept me going!

JUST TELL ME WHAT EACH OIL DOES!
I think the frustration here I felt at first too. It's like, "What do you mean lemon can be used to combat oiliness on my face but also can be used to clean my countertops?! Just tell me which thing to do and I'll do it!!"

And lists like "101 Uses for Lavender, Lemon & Peppermint" can seem wonderful at first, but quickly grow overwhelming!

What I want you to hear loud and clear in this section is that each oil has multiple properties, which is why it can have multiple uses. Let's take Lavender as an example. When I think of the scent of lavender, the first two words I think of are "clean" and "calming". And indeed, you will find that Lavender essential oil is a mood-lifter and as well as cleaner and disinfectant! 

This is because Lavender has Anti-Depressive, Anti-Spasmodic, Antiseptic and Analgesic properties. So YES, it is as good for calming a burn on your skin as it is for calming your kid before bed. 

Photo Credit: J.G. Damlow via Compfight cc I feel calmer already...

Maybe the better place to start is an ailment or problem you're trying to solve and then finding out what oils work for that instead of trying to discern each and every use of the hundreds of essential oils available on the market. For instance, I have a headache, or I am depressed, or I want to clean my house with natural substances, etc... Just a suggestion to tone down the info dump!!

OK BUT WHY ARE THEY SO EXPENSIVE?
This is a favorite of mine. It took me an entire year to get over how expensive these oils seemed to me. It took me a bout with cancer (my husband's) and the hospital bills that brought (even with insurance) to realize the value of health. 

If you know me, I'm like one of the cheapest people you will ever meet. But all the sudden I'm dropping what, in my mind, is serious cash on little bottles of oil! 

1. You have to pay for quality. This is your body we're talking about and your health. If you're using them therapeutically, you need the good stuff. If you're using it for cleaning or for perfume, then sure...go for the less expensive stuff and you don't really worry too much. 

2. It is super-concentrated. It takes a lot to make a little vial. Like 100 POUNDs of lavender to make a pound of oil. I haven't seen 100 pounds of lavender, but I imagine it's a lot! Some are harder to find, harder to grow, harder to process, etc, etc. However, the good news is that a little goes a long way! Again, one DROP of peppermint is equal to 28 cups of peppermint tea!

3. The price-per-drop is actually not bad. When you think that a "dose" of oils usually involves no more than a drop or two, the perspective changes. And since some of these oils seem to work for nearly everything (I'm looking at you, Frankincense!), you really only need a few oils to start with. And for me, I think about how many OTC drugs I'm no longer buying (and hopefully will never have to!), and it starts to seem like a pretty good deal. 

I HOPE I HAVEN'T LOST YOU!!
If you're still with me, here's a prize to be won. 

Enter the raffle to win! I'll announce the winner at the end of the Head to Toe series! And as always, if you are interested in purchasing some for yourself, you can visit my site. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway