What's Wrong with Her Face?!?

You tend to be a lot more relaxed with your second kid.  A lot.  So Wednesday night seemed like a great time for Lucy (she turns 1 on Christmas) to try TWO new foods at once.  I know, I know - you're supposed to only try one new food for a week and then add another.  But whatever.  Second kid.  So she got corn and chicken for the first time Wednesday night.  Both organic.  She was doing really well with the few little bites I gave her, so I gave her a second little pile.  Then I noticed the area right around her mouth was turning red.  I made note of it, thought maybe she had been rubbing it or teething and moved on - continued making the rest of dinner, putting dishes in the dishwasher, feeding Ellis, starting a load of laundry, answering work emails....ya know, multi-tasking mommy stuff.  I looked at her again, and thought "maybe that's spreading" but wasn't sure.  I kept being busy, then Jade walked in door and exclaimed "What's wrong with her face?!?".  Now Jade is usually my barometer for when to freak out.  He is always so calm and cool and collected.  And also, he's a guy, so they don't always notice the details.  But when he immediately saw it and freaked out, I knew I wasn't imagining the spreading redness.  I took her food away, which made her mad.  As soon as she stopped eating, it spread very quickly over her entire face and white welts began to appear.  She was getting fussy and clawing at her face.  Eeek!  I grabbed my Lavender while calling the doctor's answering service. 

While I waited for the nurse to call back, I rubbed the lavender over the welts and posted a question in my oily Facebook group asking for oily recommendations.  A few mommies answered right way (love my oily friends) and then the nurse called back.  Jade was getting ready to run to the store for Benadryl - this half-a-hippie doesn't have any over the counter meds in the house anymore but I was scared and ready to give her whatever she needed.  But then the nurse said NO Benadryl for kids under the age of 6 and told us unless she was severe (swollen lips, gagging, excessive drooling, trouble breathing), then all we could do was push fluids, give her a bath and watch for signs of severe distress.   Um, OK - oils it is then!  I'm not waiting for this to get worse!

Jade took her upstairs for a bath and I gathered the oils my oily friends had suggested.   Funny that everything they suggested made total sense and I realized I already knew what they were saying. I also have several resource books I could have referenced.  But in the moment of crisis (OMG is my baby having anaphylaxis), you forget everything you know.  This is why I'm an HR lady and not a paramedic or ER doctor.

Of course, if this ever happens to you, CALL YOUR DOCTOR.  I am not a doctor (I might have already mentioned that), this is just what we did after they basically told us there was nothing we could do but watch and wait.  I am not a watcher and waiter.  I'm a doer!  So I did my oily thing and she was totally back to normal within an hour. 

Lavender - I applied just 1 drop spread around her cheeks where the redness and welts were.

Frankincense - I applied to the bottom of her feet because when in doubt - FRANK! Frank is your friend! 

Copaiba - I layered this over the frankincense; it has anti-inflammatory effects.  For you science nerds, Copaiba contains the highest amounts of beta caryophyllene (55 percent) of any known essential oil.  Beta-caryophyllene is a sesquiterpene widely distributed in essential oils of various plants. Several biological activities are attributed to beta-caryophyllene, such as anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and local anaesthetic activities

Purification - I applied to her spine; this a a blend of oils with purifying and cleansing properties and my intention was to use it to draw the toxin (allergen) from her system.


Maybe it was the bath, maybe it was the fluids, maybe it was the oils, or maybe a combo of all three that helped her. Either way, I am so thankful I have these amazing oils to use. When you're told there's nothing you can do, that's not always true - you can use oils!

I applied all of these oils "neat", which means straight out of the bottle. Dilution with a carrier oil like coconut or olive oil is usually recommended for babies, but Lucy has been oily since birth and I know what she can tolerate.

Whew - no more corn for this little cutie for a while!

 

 

 

To read more about these oils or order them, click here.
To get oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

 

 

Too Fat for the Funeral Dress

This post could be sad - but I'm going for funny. 

My dad died 8 years ago.  That sucked. And the holidays are hard and maybe we've gotten used to his absence, but it's not easier.  "They" (whoever they are) say it gets easier with time.  They lie.  You just get used to the giant whole in your heart, in your family, at the dinner table. 

So anyways, I was getting ready for my company holiday party last weekend and trying on all the dressy dresses in my closet.  Which are few these days - we don't go anywhere fancy or dressy anymore.  The few dresses I do have are from weddings I've been to or been in.  I had about 3 dresses I was trying to decide between but none were doing it for me.  However, in the back of my closet, there was another dress.  One that's been in a dry cleaning bag for about 8 years.  I've moved it, in that dry cleaning bag, from house to house.  I've moved 6 times since I wore that dress.  And it's moved with me, always getting tucked back to it's rightful place in the back of the closet, not to be worn.  I never wanted to wear it again, but I couldn't get rid of it either. 

So this dress - it's the dress I wore to my dad's funeral.  When I got the call my dad had been in an accident, I flew home to Dallas from Atlanta not knowing I was coming home to be told he had died.  My family spared me traveling alone having been just told that, so they told me when I landed.  My brother in law Patrick told me when he picked me up at the airport in my brother Nick's car.  I'm still not sure why he was driving Nick's car.  I remember I punched and kicked the dashboard - sorry Nick.  He took me to my sister's and his house where I slept fitfully in my niece's bed hugging a picture of my niece and my dad that had been framed and on her dresser for while.  She still has that framed picture on her dresser and when I go to their house and see it, I think of that night.

The following days we dealt with all kinds of horrible logistical things you deal with with someone dies.  And for me that meant shopping for funeral clothes because I flew home not knowing I would be attending my dad's funeral.  I found a dress the perfect shade of  UPS-brown (he had worked at UPS for forever) and some cute chunky heels to match.  My sister and I got necklaces with ruby-colored stones because his favorite color was burgundy and his motorcycle's name was "Ruby".  I looked pretty good and felt confident about standing in front of a bajillion people to deliver my eulogy.  It was standing room only at the church, even when waiting for the service to start in the family room, you could hear the fullness.  I looked out the window and the parking lot was PACKED!  I started to get sooooo nervous.  I decided I should go to the restroom one last time, even though I didn't really need to go, before marching into the church.  So I snuck out into the hall and into the ladies' room.  As I'm in the stall, a voice comes from the next stall and says "cute shoes".  I knew that voice.  It was Amy, my best friend for so many years.  We busted out of the stalls and hugged and cried and laughed at the kismet.  She too lived in Atlanta and flew in for this.  I hadn't seen her yet and it seemed like divine intervention was at work telling us both to go to the restroom at that exact moment, even though I didn't need to go and she had to make her way through a sea of people, so Amy could provide a little levity and tell me my shoes were cute and I looked good.  I'll always remember that. 

My dress looks like this, but with short sleeves and a sash belt,

so not really like this, but you get the idea

 

 

Back to present day and getting ready for my holiday party.  I decided enough was enough.  That dress was just a dress and it didn't hold any power.  It was a cute dress and it was OK to wear it again...and what better time to wear than for a happy, fun party rather than a sad event.  So I mustered up my courage and I didn't cry.  Not even a little.  I was excited.   I was going to wear this dress and maybe even carry a little of my dad with me that night to the party.  He always loved a party. 

And then it didn't fit.  I even had Jade help me try to zip it, but nope.  Turns outs falling in love, getting married and having 2 kids made me fat.  OK, not fat.  But fatter than I was when I wore this dress 8 years ago.  Dammit.  Sorry dad - no party for you. 

I'll guess I'll start working out in attempt to squeeze back into that damn dress.  I hate working out.  And I'm lazy.  I'm mostly happy with my body.  I mean, I'd like to lose a little (who wouldn't) but otherwise OK with how things have settled after babies.  But now this damn dress won't fit and because of my dad loving to go to parties, I need to wear it again. 

I'm also going to be adding Grapefruit essential oil to my water because research shows it's a natural appetite suppressant and I need to stop eating half pans of peppermint oil-infused rice crispy treats for dinner.  Even though that's like eating cereal for dinner and they are delicious. 

To read more about these oils or order them, click here.
To get oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Church Makes Me Cry

I went to church today and lightening didn't strike. 

Most people in my life don't know about me what I'm about to write about.  Actually I can count on one hand how many people know my feelings on this topic - Sister, Brother, Mom, Jade, Jorie.

Here's the deal - I have been struggling for YEARS with faith/religion/Christianity/etc.  I've been on this believer/non-believer continuum swinging back and forth for more than 15 years.  I grew up in church.  Went to church camp.  Believed.  Sang.  Read the Bible.  All of it.  My entire extended family is super religous.  Pastors, y'all!  But about 15 years ago, my logical, common sense, science believing self had a hard time wrapping my head around a dude walking on water, a virgin getting pregnant and the concept of heaven.  It didn't make sense.  None of it.  I mean, if all Christians are honest, that stuff sounds totally bananas.  But they have faith - so it's not.  It's not totally bananas. 

Organized religion harboring criminals and crazy, hypocritical church people I knew didn't help.  I was already on the non-believer end of the continuum when my dad died.  And that little situation pushed me over the edge.  People would say things like "he's in a better place"  and I was like "fuck that".  My dad was young and healthy and living a beautiful life.  He didn't NEED a better place.  He was in a pretty damn good place right here with us.  I didn't really believe in heaven, maybe an afterlife of sorts, but heaven was not what I called it.  Either way, he didn't need it.  Maybe people that are sick and dying an awful death need a better place.  But my dad didn't and should've still been with us.  I still feel this way.

I haven't attended a church service since then (until today!!!) and before that I only stepped foot in a church for Christmas Eve service with my mom, or for a funeral or wedding.  And when I did go, it made me cry, which confused me more.  Why was I crying?  What was I feeling that made me so emotional?  Was there some hidden believer deep inside wanting out?   Nah - virgins DO NOT magically get pregnant and it is scientifically impossible to walk on water.  

I had always prayed, but not really to anyone in particular...to the universe, I guess.  And I always liked the music part of church even though in recent years the music is often what made me cry.  I also always respected others' faith.  I was actually jealous of it.  I wanted to be able to just blindly believe and sing and commune with other believers.  I want to so boldly and confidently believe in heaven .  I mean, that place sounds amazing.  But my common sense tells me we are biological specimens - a collection of cells.  We live and then we die.  That's it. 

So fast forward to me and Jade having kids.  He grew up in the church and wants to take our kids to church.  I wasn't opposed to the idea, although I DO NOT think you have to take your kids to church to teach them to be kind, loving, good citizens of the planet.  Anyways, I have mostly ignored this and he's let it go.  Until today.  Last night he said, "I want to go to church tomorrow and take the girls".  So we went.  I was pensive.  Nervous.  Terrified of leaving Ellis in a nursery with people I don't know.  I oiled myself up (see below) and we went, we left Ellis in the care of some sweet lady and took our seats in the church with Lucy, in the back row in case she lost her cool.  And I immediately got tears in my eays but choked it back and nobody saw. 

Admittedly, I only picked up a few bits of what the pastor was saying between my mind swirling around the fact that I was there and Lucy fidgeting.  But one line I did hear was God is there for the believers and the non-believers alike.  Wait, what did he say?  Is this dude in my head?  And why do I have a lump in my throat and feel like crying again?  Whatever, he probably says that every week.  And then he was talking about preparing for Christmas and that it annoys him when people say "Keep the Christ in Christmas because you literally can't have Christmas without Christ - it's his birthday for crying out loud.  Those that celebrate without Christ are just celebrating a -mas of nothing".   That resonated with me - a mass of nothing.  Hum....something to think about.  Then they sang Amazing Grace.  At this point Lucy was restless so I was standing behind our row of chairs at the back, swaying back and forth with Lucy.  And dang it if that Amazing Grace didn't make me cry.  What is this - the crying? 

So that's my church story.  I'm gonna go back.  I'm a work in progress and something about this crying is making me curious. 


The oils I used this morning to pump myself up were:

Motivation™ - Motivation is a blend of Roman chamomile, spruce, ylang ylang, and lavender  that helps enable a person to surmount fear and procrastination while stimulating feelings of action and accomplishment. It enhances the ability to move forward in a positive direction.

Valor® - Valor is an empowering combination of therapeutic-grade essential oils (Spruce, rosewood, blue tansy and frankincense in a base of coconut oil) that works with both the physical and spiritual aspects of the body to increase feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem in the face of adversity. Renowned for its strengthening qualities, Valor enhances an individual's internal resources. It has also been found to help energy alignment in the body.



To get some oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss

Bleach in the Baby's Bath Water?!? (Part 2)

A while back I blogged about bleach in the baby's bath water as a treatment for itchy skin related to eczema.  Since then, we've tried many potions, lotions and oils to relieve the itching, some with more success than others and we are still not doing the bleach thing.  As I wrote in the prior blog post, we know we are only treating the symptom when applying things on the skin.  We know the root cause for both kids is dairy and for our youngest, we are counting the days until we can get her off formula.  Yes, there are alternative formulas but we choose dairy induced eczema over soy based formula.  Her eczema is moderate - not awful - so we're comfortable with this choice, as is our pediatrician.  She agrees that a little itching is better than an overload of soy.  Our toddler is off dairy completely with the exception of the occasional cheese treat (she LOVES it), which she pays for with skin flare ups. 

After much trial and error, these are the things we have found work best to relieve flare ups:

 

"Animal Scents™ Ointment is blended with Melaleuca alternifolia and myrrh, two of nature's most powerful essential oils. It is a protective and soothing salve formulated for external use on animals. Typically used for minor skin irritations, cuts, and abrasions, the rich blend of ingredients is effective yet gentle and safe, so you can soothe your pets without using harmful chemicals or synthetic products." - from the YL website

You read that right - this was originally  formulated for animals.  But it is AMAZING and totally safe for people.  There are 11 different essential oils in this ointment along with mink oil and beeswax. I'll be honest, the smell takes some getting used it.  I think it's the mink oil.  It reminds me of when my dad used to oil my softball glove as a kid.  I use this on the really bad, rough, raw spots.   It already has Melaleuca alternifolia (also known as Tea Tree Oil), but sometimes I'll dab a little of that or Lavender on the skin and then "seal" it with the Animal Scents.  I rub it on thick and then cover with clothes.  Make sure to use clothes you don't care about as the mink oil may leave an oily stain. 

Homemade Oily Lotion:

For daily (sometimes several times a day) moisturizing, I made up a little concoction in a recycled baby food jar (you can use any glass jar) with a base of Organic Coconut Oil (a couple of tablespoons), a drizzle of Vitamin E oil (get from Amazon) and about 10-15 drops each of Frankincense, Lavender, Melaleuca A. and Palmarosa.  I actually made this as my daily face cream and was loving the results but had not considered using it on the kids until I was mid-diaper change one day with Lucy and noticed how dry her skin was.  My Animal Scents was upstairs so I grabbed by face cream and it made a huge difference.  If you are allergic to coconut oil, you can use any oil as a base (grapeseed, sweet almond, olive, etc.).  I just like the lotion-like consistency of coconut oil. If using a more liquid base, you could use a roller bottle or spray bottle for ease of application .

 

 To read more about these or order them, click here.


DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Happy Retirement, Dad!

My dad's best friend Dennis retired this week.  And I cried.  I cried because I was so happy for him and his wife.  But I also cried because I was jealous.  Not that I wasn't retiring - I am much too young for that :).  But jealous that my dad never got to.  Jealousy isn't pretty, but I'm owning it.

If you're new here,  you can read here and here about my dad's untimely departure. 

I talked about my dad's friendship with Dennis when I spoke at his funeral.  They were like "peas and carrots" I said,  "they just go together".  They started working at UPS around the same time.  They both married young and had kids and worked hard and stayed married when so many were divorcing.  They played softball with their buddies in short 80's shorts and rode Harley's together. They probably drank too much beer and and got into some trouble along the way too.  Dennis was the brother my dad never had.  He was super tall to my dad's average/short height but they both sported mustaches.  Dennis was a little more country, more of a hunter, and more religious.  But they balanced each other and we all became extended family.  And they both wore UPS brown for more years than they didn't. 

When my dad died, I of course cried for us kids losing our father, I cried for my mom losing her partner,  I cried for my nanny losing her son, I cried for the guys traveling with my dad for what they witnessed and I cried for Dennis losing his best friend.  I've also always wondered how Dennis felt about not being with my dad on that fateful trip.  They usually went on motorcycle trips together but Dennis wasn't on this one.

Anyways, Dennis retired from UPS this week.  He deserves this so much.  He has worked loyally for so long and it's his turn to kick back and enjoy life.  His wife posted a throw back picture on Facebook of Dennis in his UPS browns  and I loved it.  And I cried.  I cried happy tears for them and I cried sad and jealous tears for my mom and dad.  Although Dennis and my dad looked nothing alike, the picture reminded me so much of my dad.  I'm sad and pissed that my dad never got to retire - to kick back and enjoy life.

But that's the way the cookie crumbled.  Stupid deer.

So I'm saying "Happy Retirement, Dad!" - if you hadn't already, I'm guessing you'd be retiring today along with Dennis.   I'm going to sit in my driveway tonight with the girls dressed up while trick-or-trreaters come by and have a beer instead of sitting in your driveway and having a beer with you to celebrate.  Cheers!

This picture is when my niece Maddie was about the age my daughter Ellis is now.  Maddie is 14 now.  Dad was driving through Tyler (where my sister lived at the time) and pulled over to see Maddie.  I guess the truck scared her and Dad was making pouty faces with her. 

Random Rants

I haven't blogged in a while.  Life - ya know?  Busy is an understatement.  I keep ideas for blog entries on my phone.  When a brilliant idea hits me, I make a note in my phone because lack of sleep guarantees I will not remember if I don't write it down.  Lately, all my notes are not conducive to an entire blog entry, so here are my random rants in no particular order:

• I'm pretty sure the profile of serial killers and terrorists includes using single ply toilet paper.  I'm fairly certain world peace could be achieved by distributing 2-ply paper to all earthlings.  I accidentally bought some single ply recently.  The frugal side of me said we'd just deal with it until it ran out.  The spoiled side of me (also known as Jade) said "no we won't".  I'm glad the spoiled side of me put his foot down.

• The seat recline feature should be removed from all airplane seats.  Especially for the jerk faces sitting in the exit row or economy comfort seats.  You have more leg room dude - WHY DO YOU NEED TO LAY IN MY LAP AS WELL?!?!  Y'all, I seriously almost made a scene on a plane recently, however my hippie/zen/oily self refrained.  But seriously, it's not cool when I can't even open my laptop on my lap tray because you are leaning so far back. 

• I posted on Facebook recently about our scare with Lucy choking on a foreign object and presumably swallowing it.  Don't even get me started on my utter disdain for Dell Children's Hospital here in Austin.  I know they do amazing things for very sick kids.  I have a friend who had to experience the unthinkable with her baby and only has great things to say about Dell even though her outcome was tragic.  However, we've been to the ER there 4 times (FOUR TIMES!) in the two years we've been parents.  None of those trips were good experiences.  First, there's always a ridiculous wait. Like 4-6 hours is our average.  Second, you are scrutinized like a child abuser - they ask you the same questions over and over.  Twenty different people rotate through your room asking you to repeat your story and asking condescending questions.  I get it, there are people that beat their babies.  They should be taken out back and shot.  They are the worst scum of the earth, those people that hurt kids.  But I'm not one of them.  Dehydration while sick (Ellis' last trip) or swallowing a foreign object hardly seem like abuse scenarios.  Grrr.  Anyways.   This most recent trip included major scare tactics and unnecessarily freaking me the heck out about Lucy's prognosis.  I know there is a certain degree of CYA going on, but for the love!  This is my baby.  Making me think surgery was necessary when it so clearly was not is not cool.  Anesthesia is no joke for anyone, especially a baby.  And had I not pushed back, questioned them and self-advocated, we most likely would have had the surgery

• Our new neighbors are not nice people. They recently taped a rude letter to our front door. The Scorpio in me immediately typed out a venomous response and shared it with my friends. That made me feel better. My letter was good y'all. Put those old, crotchety boogers in their place. If you've known me for long, you know how much I love writing a letter. I'm pretty good with words when I've been wronged. But I haven't given it to them. I'm taking a lesson from my sister here. She recently got her feelings hurt by someone that should know better and didn't respond. SHE DIDN'T RESPOND. AT ALL. That is so not like me and so hard for me to consider. But I'm trying. It is taking every oil in my arsenal of feel good, happy hippie oils to not respond. A week passed and I considered watering my response down. Another few days have passed and I think I'm over it. So I will not give them a letter. As my sister said, "I'm zen damn it!" If it kills me, I will be zen. But I might print out a picture of a big middle finger and tape it in my kitchen window that faces their kitchen window.  

. 

That's all for now. 

Oh yea, this page is supposed to be oily.  Go like my oily FB page  - click here. 

Stupid Motorcycle, Stupid Deer.

My dad gave me this lock when I moved away to Atlanta all by myself 9 years ago.  And then he died exactly one year later in an accident - 8 years ago today.  That sucked. Stupid motorcycle, stupid deer. 

He gave it to me to lock my U-Haul truck so nobody would steal all of my worldly processions - which weren't much considering I was freshly divorced and in my twenties.  I basically had a U-Haul full of clothes, shoes and dishes.  But it's all I had and he wanted to help me protect it.  He was like that, always looking out for those he cared about, always thinking of things I never did.  Like locking my U-Haul.  Stupid motorcycle, stupid deer. 
 
My dad had this lock practically FOREVER.  The code on it is the phone number from his childhood - 4076.  I will always remember this number because it was my grandparents phone number my whole life until my Nanny finally moved out of that house just a few years ago.  Since he died, I have cherished this lock.  He held it with his hands.  He set the code.  He protected his things for many, many years with it and then gave it to me to protect my things.  To protect me.   Stupid motorcycle, stupid deer.  

The last several years Jade and I have used this lock to lock our backyard gate to keep the creepers out.  When we moved this week, the lock broke.  And I cried.  I'm crying as I type this.  It's just a lock, but it's so much more.  Stupid motorcycle, stupid deer.  

When I hear the Dixie Chicks song "Wide Open Spaces", I always think of moving to Atlanta and Dad giving me that lock. I'm a parent now, and can imagine his and my mom's fret and feeling of helplessness as I drove off.  Him insisting on putting that lock on my U-Haul just before I drove away at 5:00 in the morning must have been his way, the only way really, of protecting me on this new journey.

Wide Open Spaces
Who doesn't know what I'm talking about
Who's never left home, who's never struck out
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone

This was me - I was striking out on my own for the first time. And my foundation of stone was my family. My mom and dad always supported me.  

Many precede and many will follow
A young girl's dreams no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out west
But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed

So I was going east, not west. But same concept. I had no idea what was in store for me - a job I still have 9 years later and Jade! Jade was there waiting for me!

She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes

I did need a new start and new faces and I did make mistakes. I did not know the high stakes. Had I known that first year in Atlanta would be the last year of my dad's life, I would have stayed. I would have spent more Sundays in the driveway drinking beer with my dad and listening to music.   But since we can't know the future, I left and I spent lots of time doing insignificant things away from my family.  I will always have regret about being gone for the last year of his life.  Stupid motorcycle, stupid deer.
.....
As her folks drive away, her dad yells, "Check the oil!"
.....

"Check the oil!"  Dad was always checking the oil in my car.  Even when I was grown he did that.  He checked the oil, he washed the cars, he fixed things and he protected us.  He loved us. 

Stupid motorcycle, stupid deer.

I do not struggle with grief or depression. I mean, sometimes I have an unexpected meltdown at really awkward moments, but from day to day I'm OK. It's been 8 years. Time makes it easier. It does not remove the sting of the loss, but you learn to live with the sting. You learn to live with that hole in your heart.

I think you do whatever it takes to get through the day when you experience loss. Often times that means using anti-depressants and other medications. If you're on those the rest of your life, then so be it. Again, do whatever it takes. But there are other options. Oily options.

Oils for Grief and Depression:
Here is an amazing testimony on weaning from anti-depressants and using oils in the starter kit. 


To read more about these oils or order them, click here.
To get oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.







 

When to Start Your Infant on Solids

When should you start feeding your infant solids?  Hint - it's not at 4 months old.

This is not a forum for debate or judgment, simply an informative piece about when to start feeding your infant solids based on the NEWEST guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other creditable sources.  I do not judge you if you started earlier or later.  To each their own. 


From kellymom.com  (not me, another cool chick named Kelly):

Health experts and breastfeeding experts agree that it’s best to wait until your baby is around six months old before offering any food other than breast milk. There has been a large amount of research on this, and most health organizations have updated their recommendations to agree with current research. Unfortunately, many health care providers and written materials are not up to date in what they are advising parents.  Following are just a few of the organizations that recommend that all babies be exclusively breastfed (no cereal, juice or any other foods) for the first 6 months of life (not the first 4-6 months):

World Health Organization

UNICEF

American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Family Physicians

Australian National Health and Medical Research Council

Health Canada

~

Ugh - so why do so many pediatricians push you to feed your infant solids at 4 months?  There are lots of myths out there about when to start solids. Go with your gut - it's your kid.  You get to make the choices, just know that there is evidence out there that waiting until 6 months has many benefits.

We actually waited until 7 months with both of our kids to introduce solids.  We intended to start at 6 months, but travel delayed our start for both of them.  And guess what, they didn't starve.  We also do not feed our kids rice cereal.  It has zero nutritional value and have you tasted that junk?  Gross!  We do a variation on what's called "Baby Led Weaning".  You can read about it here and here.  Basically, you offer small bites of real foods (we started with banana, avocado, steamed sweet potatoes) that they can "chew" with their gums.   I do still use some (organic) baby food for convenience and ease.  This combination approach works for us. 

Whatever you do, invest in some bigger bibs and prepare for a disgusting change in your kid's poop.

Ellis "chewing" on dried mango at 7 months with zero teeth - and not much more hair.

To get some oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.


  

Tackling Torticollis

This is a long one but stay with me - cute pictures at the end.

Lucy is 7 months now - and perfect and beautiful and sitting up and really, really close to crawling.  Of course we always thought she was perfect.   She was born with torticollis, which we didn't discover until she was 2 months old.  We were in the trenches with a newborn and a 13 month old - it was all we could do to survive one day to the next.  The #1 goal was keeping babies alive, so we totally missed seeing that Lucy always laid her head to the same side.  I mean, don't all newborns lay their head to the side most of the time?  Anyways, the pediatrician's nurse practitioner caught it at her 2 month well check and pointed out some asymmetry in her face and head as a result.  WHAT - my baby had a crooked face?!?   Damn.  She recommend we "keep an eye on it", do lots more tummy time and "we'll talk more at the 4 month well check".  We didn't see the doctor on that visit but we had seen this nurse practitioner before and I liked her and trusted her.  But I'm not really the passive type (no, really :) ), so waiting 2 more months to address this was not gonna happen.  I went home and used Dr. Google to first learn what the heck torticollis was and then figure out a plan of action. 

Our Game Plan:

• Oils!  I asked the members of my oily facebook group for any testimonies or experiences and several mommies recommended Valor.  It's a blend that contains spruce, rosewood, blue tansy and frankincense in a base of coconut oil.  Young Living calls this blend "Valor" because this is the same blend of oils Roman soldiers used in ancient times when going to battle.  It's original intent was to  "increase feelings of strength, courage, and self-esteem in the face of adversity" (from the YL website).  Over time, people have come to realize that this blend of oils is great for so many more things as well- sleep, snoring, achy muscles and stiff necks.  STIFF NECKS - BINGO!  Valor was in the starter kit I got over a year ago and I had plenty left.  It's already in a base of coconut oil, so I didn't feel the need to dilute it for Lucy.  I put some in a roller bottle (ordered mine from Amazon) for ease of application and swiped her neck as often as I could remember.  With every application, I would also give her a little massage.  I noticed she would relax her shoulders a bit and her neck was less tense and drawn up.
• NOTE:  I only use Young Living oils on my kids - especially on my newborn.  I trust the Seed to Seal process and that everything they say is in the bottle, is in fact in the bottle and that it's the ONLY stuff in the bottle - no additives or synthetic materials.
• Physical Therapy - This is the most common recommendation you'll find on Dr. Goggle.  I called around and found some therapy places that specialized in kids and booked a consultation.  They basically did everything Dr. Google said they would and gave us some "exercises" to do at home.  We dutifully booked weekly appointments for the foreseeable future.  But over time we came to realize they weren't doing much more than the exercises we were doing at home so we eventually quit going.  Not to mention the $60 per visit ($240 per month) was a hit to the wallet we were happy to reclaim. 
• Chiropractor -  Yes, I took my 2 month old to the chiropractor.  I used to think they were quacks until one changed my life forever after a freak hair blow drying accident (I know, it takes a special kind of clumsy to injure yourself blow drying your hair).  Ever since that "accident" my neck will sometimes revert back to what my husband affectionately calls my "hump neck".  It hurts bad, gets swollen (hence the hump neck term) and sort of paralyzes my movement.  That's when I go to the chiropractor and get fixed up in a jiffy.  Lots of the moms in my crunchy mom groups solely use chiros for their kids since main steam doctors make us crunchy moms feel like losers.  So when I read that chiro care was a protocol for torticollis, I didn't hesitate.  My husband was skeptical - he didn't want Lucy getting "cracked" or her neck getting whipped around like you envision when you think chiropractic adjustment.  But infant adjustments are NOTHING like adult adjustments.  They are very gentle and slight.  You could almost think the chiro isn't actually doing anything because he's barely touching her.  But I believe this had the biggest impact on improving her torticollis.  We went weekly and he even adjusted Ellis to help with teething, which in turn helped her sleep better.  I love our chiro!
• Helmet - a lot of the Dr. Google research talked about using corrective helmets to address the asymmetry issues caused by them holding their soft head in the same direction all the time.  This was one route I wanted to avoid at all costs.  No way were we getting a helmet.  No sir, not gonna happen.  Well, I have to learn this lesson over and over, but never say never.  As time went on, both the physical therapist and the chiro were suggesting it.  We were kicking the torticollis' butt, but all oils, PT and chiro adjustments in the world were not going to fix her crooked face.  So I scheduled the consultation with a big wall up - I was still not 100% convinced.  At the consultation, they took all these crazy pictures with pantyhose on Lucy's head (controlling her crazy hair) and when they showed them to us, it was very eye opening.  Holy cow, she was so wonky.  How had we not seen this?  I cried and felt like a huge failure for letting this happen.  After seeing the pictures, it really stood out to me when looking at her and now that's all I could see.  Ugh, OK.  I'll take your stupid helmet.  It was crazy expensive and insurance only covered part of it.  But how could we let her walk through life all wonky like that.  We got the helmet on May 5th and graduated from the stupid thing this week.  I love it for what it did for her but hate it for the pain in the butt that it was.  She had to stay in it 23 hours a day (one hour out for bath and hair drying).  It made it awkward to hold her and uncomfortable to snuggle her but it was a necessary evil.  Also, you can decorate it really cute!

So there it is.  This is how we choose to tackle torticollis and a wonky head.  We are very pleased with the results.  If I had to do it again, I would do most of it the same way (except the not noticing it part of course) - maybe we would quit the PT sooner because for us, it didn't seem to be helping all that much.  But these were our choices as parents.  Please seek your own research, medical advice and go with your gut.  We love our pediatrician's office, but doctors and nurses don't always know everything.  Don't wait for someone else to take action for you - be your own advocate...or your kid's advocate.   If we had waited another 2 months as suggested by our pediatrician's nurse practitioner, correcting her head shape would have taken a lot longer as her cranial bones wold have been harder and more difficult to manipulate. 

Here she is right before the helmet images.  I did not see at the time that her cheeks were totally different and wonky.  She looked totally perfect to me.

Crazy imaging process

Decorated

Going through the airport, getting lots of stares. Ellis' giant purple bow headband

was a nice balance to the helmet. 

To read more about these oils or order them, click here.
To get oily tips and tricks, go like my Facebook page Oily Living.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Outting Myself: This Hippie Feeds Her Baby Formula!

There - it's out.  Now I can stop feeling guilty.  Or not.  Does the mom-guilt ever really go away? 


I BELIEVE in breastfeeding.  It's best for baby and mom.  There are so very many good things about it- bonding, nourishing baby with nature's best food, boosting baby's immunity and establishing a healthy gut, mom burning calories and losing baby weight more quickly and it's free.  And perhaps the best thing (other than the health benefits) is the convenience - no bottles to prepare when you leave the house and no bottles no wash. 


I breastfed Ellis for a little over 6 months.  Many women set the goal to do it for 6 months but my goal was one year.  And then I got pregnant again when she was just 4 months old.  No biggie - lots of women breastfeed through pregnancy and I planned to as well.  Ellis' nanny at the time (Becca) was doing it and made it look so easy.  I mean, she was younger than me and seemed to have some secret source of energy (she was also pregnant and watched several kids all day) but I could totally do it.  Or so I thought. 


Me and pregnancy - we're not friends.  At all.  I get sick. Soooooo sick.  Food becomes the enemy.  I was powering through because Ellis was depending on me but I felt like death warmed over morning, noon and night.  And no way was I going to give her formula.  I was in the beginning of my hippie journey and this was one of the basics - you breastfeed your baby!  Formula is the enemy.  Becca was doing it and I wanted to be a breastfeeding badass like her!  All the crunchy mommy groups I had just become a part of advocated for breastfeeding and offered a great support group but almost made me feel inferior for even considering formula in my darkest sickest hours hovering over the toilet so I kept breastfeeding  As time went on, I could pump next to nothing, Ellis was fussing to eat more and more and her wet diapers became more infrequent.  Day 1 mommy stuff includes tracking poops and pees.  They literally give you a chart to track this at the hospital, and although you stop charting it on paper you never really give up tracking your kids' bathroom habits.  So when I noticed she was urinating less, it was time to suck it up and let my dream of breastfeeding for one year go.  She was 6 months and I was 2 months pregnant.  I know I made the right decision because when I stopped nursing her, there was no process of "drying my milk" or engorgement.   No leaking, no pain, no nothing.  My body was done and was not producing milk. 


I researched the heck out of formulas.  As a burgeoning hippie,  I knew I wanted organic and found this article that helped me make my decision on which one I'd use. 




Fast forward 8 months - Lucy Bell is 2 months old and I have to have surgery.  No problem.  I researched, asked doctors, lactation consultants and other moms and found it was safe to breastfeed her ASAP after the surgery - that the anesthesia and pain meds would not impact her.  Surgery itself was easy peasy, but the recovery was two weeks of pure hell.  Y'all, I cried for my mommy to stay longer than originally planned - it was bad!  Ohhh the pain.  I did breastfeed Lucy between naps and writhing around in pain but she was having a reaction to the meds.  So I tried no meds one day and OH MY GAWD I thought I was dying.  The meds were making her have explosive diaper situations but I physically could not get by without them.  She got a nasty diaper rash and was miserable.  Two months was definitely less than my 1 year goal for breastfeeding but after many tears, I decided it was time to switch her to formula.  Her and I were both miserable, I was exhausted, in pain and pitifully puny.  Again, my body was d-o-n-e!




So there it is - my TWO stories of NOT achieving my breastfeeding goals.  But you know what, we're all happy and healthy.  We as moms do the best we can.  We fret and stress and cry and worry that every choice we make will impact our kids for the rest of their lives.  And that we'll be judged for messing them up or making the wrong choices.  I especially felt like a failure because of my new-found hippiedom and the online groups I was a part of made me feel the need to stay in the closet about formula feeding. I'm over that now. 


Happy Breastfeeding or Formula Feeding - whatever works for you!




Oils For Breastfeeding:
KellyMom (not me) is a great resource for all things breastfeeding related.   You can search here for things like oversupply, thrush, mastitis, pumping, weaning, etc. 


Fennel - apply topically on breasts avoiding nipple to INCREASE supply; be careful to avoid engorgement
Peppermint - apply topically on breasts avoiding nipple to DECREASE supply; use only if you are blessed with an over abundant supply or weaning


 

To read more about these oils or order them, click here.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Notice to Vacate

The last few weeks have been crazy stressful.  Work is bananas, travel with babies, weddings, baby showers and always laundry, laundry, laundry.  And then more laundry.  And dishes. 


If we are friends, you may remember that we sold our home 48 hours after listing it 4th of July weekend last year.  Ellis was 8 months old, I was 4 months pregnant and we had to move.  Quick.  We found a rental home we actually really liked and settled in and waited for Lucy to arrive.  I just finished hanging curtains after 11 months of living here - I've been kinda busy.  We decided to go ahead and rent for another year because the market in Austin is a seller's market - prices are soaring and we'd prefer to buy low - not high.  Also, who wants to move with 2 small babies.  We were just getting ready to renew our lease when we got home from our trip visiting my sister in Denver and found a notice on our door stating that our lease is not getting renewed and we need to be out in 30 days.  What the What!?! 

So it seems we will be homeless in 30 days.  Ahhhhhhh! 


If you need me, I'll be hovering over my laptop looking for a place to live.

I'm not sure what oils are good for being homeless, but for the associated stress I will be using a full arsenal. 

Oils I Will Use for Stress:
Lime - I love diffusing lime.  It smells like vacation and margaritas
Orange - Another great option for diffusing - very relaxing to me.
Lavender - reminds me a spas and I could use a spa day right now (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Peace & Calming - to do just what is says - help me calm the heck down! (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Stress Away-  this blend smells like vacation as well and I want to pretend to be anywhere but packing my house!  (included in Premium Starter Kit)


To read more about these or order them, click here.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Flying With Babies is a Beating

We went to Atlanta Memorial Day weekend. We were long overdue - we hadn't been in a year. Jade's family lives there, as does his best friend whose twins will be 1 this month and we hadn't met them. We felt awful about not having met them, but by the time our schedules allowed us time to go, I was in my third trimester with Lucy and couldn't fly. Anyways, we finally went and had a great time. We LOVED seeing everyone - especially those little twin nuggets Holden and Preston.

BUT let me explain the headache that is traveling with 2 under 2:

• You have to be prepared for anything - flight delays, meltdowns, diaper blowouts, and the list of possibilities goes on and on and on.  This means you basically have to pack EVERYTHING you own and carry half of it with you on the plane
• We are too poor to buy 2 babies their own seat, so they both fly in our laps.  Ya know, in those seats that have soooooo much extra space.  This means we're both miserable and grumpy when we get to the destination. 
• And we can't sit together on the same row (only one lap child per row) so we piss off people on TWO rows instead of one.  Actually when you consider the people in the rows in front of us, make that 4 rows that hate us instead of 2.  We have to sit across the aisle from each other, trading babies back and forth in an attempt to keep them both happy and quiet
• It's a weird feeling to be both pitied and hated by everyone around you
• Toddlers hate being confined, so I walk up and down the aisle letting her stretch her legs until the flight attendant makes us go back to our seat, at which time Ellis loses her mind.  As if we weren't already having enough fun, now she's pissed and screaming and making me sweat
• As for oils, I learned my lesson last time and will keep my oils closer/easier to reach on the flight this time.  I intended to use them but couldn't reach them in the diaper bag that was so full and shoved under the seat while I had a baby in my lap.  Not sure yet how I'll do it, but thinking maybe keeping them in my pocket will work.  I will also apply some oils BEFORE we board the plane this time and wear a great diffuser necklace given to me by Jill Wade that I can make Ellis smell. 

It should be noted that I wanted to punch the flight attendant in her perky little lips when she asks in her perky little voice "Something to drink?".  Oh sure, I'll have a soda and some peanuts while I wrestle this pissed off toddler, attempting to keep her from kicking the chair in front of us, punching the guy next to me or dropping the iPad I'm using to keep her distracted.  I'm failing at all of these things, so let's go ahead and add a beverage in to the mix so I can spill it all over me and her and the guy next to me.  Let's just skip that and how about you just open up one of those little alcohol bottles and pour it down my throat.  Get one for my husband too.  And everyone around us. 

Then after the flight, you have to install carseats in the rental car, but first you have to decide if you want to take yours with you or rent them.  Taking them is a pain and nearly impossible to lug them around with two suitcases and 2 babies.  Renting them is gross and expensive.  This is a no win situation.

Now you're where you're going....where do the babies sleep when you get to your family's/friend's house?  Are there cribs available?  Pack-n-plays?  We need to make a grocery store run for food, diapers and anything else we didn't bring/forgot.   What about swim diapers?  And baths? And highchairs? And stairs - oh my god the stairs.

You guys, this just scratches the surface.  And we're doing it all again on Sunday to go visit my sister. 

WARNING:  People of Austin - if you are on the 8:40 am flight Sunday morning to Denver, I apologize in advance.  You've been alerted.


Oils I Will Travel With:
I want to take ALL of my oils, but will attempt to be reasonable and just take the following....
Peppermint- I don't go anywhere without peppermint - I use for headaches, sinus issues, fevers, upset tummies (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Thieves - applied to all of our feet to combat airport and airplane germs  (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Lavender - for Lucy's raging diaper rash and to calm Ellis down on the plane (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Peace & Calming - to do just what is says - calm the babies and help with interrupted sleep schedules (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Lemon-  I use as a non-toxic cleaner and I drink it in my water daily to detoxify (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Stress Away-  this blend smells like vacation and I have a feeling I'll need it!  (included in Premium Starter Kit)





To read more about these or order them, click here.

DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Bleach in the Baby's Bath Water? Um, Nope!

You read that right - my doctor mentioned it and I've read a bit about it since. Both of my girls have eczema. We've conquered Ellis' (mostly) by removing milk from her diet. Just water and occasional juice for her. We're still working on Lucy.

I took the girls in to see their pediatrician Tuesday after having that nasty flu-like virus to check weights and have another set of eyes look them over. I also wanted to chat about a few other things, one of which was Lucy's eczema. Now my pedi knows I'm kinda crunchy. And she's totally awesome about it. She still talks about traditional approaches (which by the way are not traditional - they are modern but I'll have a whole 'nother post on this in the future) but understands I'm probably gonna go the hippie route. Anyways, when talking about finding the root cause of Lucy's eczema and treating the symptoms, she brought up the bleach treatment. She told me I could add a capful of bleach in her bath water to kill the bacteria on her skin and relieve her eczema. You can imagine the look on my face. BATHE MY BABY IN BLEACH? ARE YOU BANANAS? I'd rather use a steroid cream, which is saying something because I refuse to use a steroid cream on my babies. She said she knew I wouldn't go for it but wanted to give me all the options. She was right. We also found a little spot on Lucy's neck (just over where she has a cyst under her skin) that was infected due to her immune system being compromised while sick. It was red and had a little puss pocket. Gross! The doc recommended antibiotic cream for 3 days but you and I both know I went oily (tip below) and cleared it up in 2 applications!

So when I left there, I of course did my very official Google research about the bleach bath and apparently this is a thing. And no judgment to those that went this route. We all do what we think is best for our kids. I'm sure if desperate enough, and I had tried everything else and just wanted to provide relief to my baby, I might try it. But I'm not there yet so we'll continue down the root cause discovery path and see what we can find.

I'm not a doctor, but please know that eczema has a root cause and whether you bleach your baby, use a steroid cream or go oily, you're not solving the problem. You're helping with the symptom, but not fixing the problem. If your doc is not helpful, find a good chiropractor, allergist, naturalist or age-appropriate dietician to help you.
 

On a different note - my mom came to help with the sick babies last week and now she's super sick! Good news is she has some oils - I just need to get her to use them.

And our nanny started feeling crummy too but she started oiling right away and never got the full blown deal - YEAH!




Oils I've Used This Week:
Melrose, Lemon & Lavender - diluted with coconut oil and used on Lucy's bad eczema spots (Lavender & Lemon included in Premium Starter Kit)
Lavender - neat (straight out of the bottle) all around my eyes to combat allergies(never put oils in your eyes)
Melrose - diluted with coconut oil and applied directly to infected spot on Lucy's neck
Thieves - diluted and applied to everyone's feet and spine to keep everyone well after beating that virus from last week. (included in Premium Starter Kit)

To read more about these or order them, click here.


DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Baptized by Barf

This week was a doozie! I was baptized into full motherdom. And by baptized, I mean COVERED in baby barf!

When Jade went to get Ellis up Wednesday morning (I was already gone for work), she had barfed all over her crib. She continued to throw up all morning, so I came home after lunch to relieve the nanny - we do not pay her nearly enough to deal with barf. I had the nanny oiling her up all morning - hitting it hard every 30 minutes. I stopped on my way home and got a very non-hippie remedy: Pedialyte. Some of the hippie pages I follow have recipes to make your own non-evil, non-GMO version, but I didn't have time for that. I've also read that homemade bone broth is great in these situations. Again - no time for that. She was already 6 hours in to Barfarama 2014 and I needed to keep her hydrated.

Skip ahead several hours and just know that the barfing never stopped. She couldn't even keep down the tiniest sips of water or Pedialyte. And no pee diapers for over 6 hours. In infants, this is when you go for help, but they (the nurse's line) told me a toddler could go 12 hours with no pee before you need to freak out. At this point Ellis had barfed ALL DAY and had several bouts of diarrhea, but no pee. She was starving and begging to eat so I made her some rice and gave her some apple sauce (BRAT diet). She ate some, not tons, and she seemed to perk up. She even played for a bit after her bath. I thought "hell yeah, we turned the corner on this"! Then I laid on the floor in the playroom and she crawled on me and fell asleep with her head on my chest, literally laying completely on me. I hated that my sweet girl was sick, but it had been months since she had sat still long enough for me to love on her, let alone get these kind of snuggles. I was laying there on the floor with my first born asleep on my chest, relishing the snuggles and togetherness.

We laid there with her sleeping and me loving being her mommy for about 30 minutes until she picked her head up, looked me straight in the eyes and barfed all over me. All over my chest and my face. It went running down the back of my neck, in to my hair, down my shirt (front and back) and as she kept throwing up, a la Exorcist, she moved down my body and soaked my shorts and feet. A thin layer of slimy apple sauce and whole rice was covering me, the boppy pillow I had been laying on, and the floor. Ellis was untouched, of course.

I got cleaned up and offered her some water and some Pedilyte, but she wasn't interested. She fell back to sleep and slept hard. I called the nurse line again and they said if she went 12 hours without urinating, to take her to the ER as that would be considered dehydration. I set the alarm for the middle of the night and checked her diaper. No pee. Damn it! I loaded her up, noticing she was slightly warm, and headed off to Dell Children's ER. When we arrived about 30 minutes later, she was on fire! The fever had spiked quickly.

Long story short - we waited 4 hours to be seen and Dell is disgusting! They didn't do much and sent us home with no fluids and she still hadn't urinated in 17 hours. We got home about 8:00 Thursday morning and Ellis was lethargic but had stopped throwing up, the fever was slowly going down and she finally peed. The doc at Dell told us this virus going around included 2-4 days of vomiting, followed by 2-4 days of diarrhea and then fever. We did all of that in 24 hours and I totally attribute that to my hippy oils! We hit it early and often and oiled Lucy up too. We had hoped Lucy would avoid the whole thing, but she started with the diarrhea on Saturday (no vomiting) and we're working on the fever now. She seems to have a much milder version of the virus than Ellis had and again, I totally attribute this to the oils!

Shout out to my mom for coming in town to help with Barfarama 2014! And babysitting the babies so we could have a date night!

Lessons learned: make and freeze some hippie pedialyte and homemade bone broth and find an alternative to Dell Children's ER.


Oils I've Used This Week:
Thieves - diluted and applied to everyone's feet and spine to combat virus. (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Pizza Spray (Oregano and Thyme diluted) on spine; both are highly anti-viral and anti-bacterial
R.C. - on chest for coughs
Di-Gize - applied on tummies for upset tummy
Purification - diffused to clean the air (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Peppermint - diluted and applied to feet for fever (included in Premium Starter Kit)
Thieves Household Cleaner - I basically cleaned my house from top to bottom with this. I love it because it's non-toxic and smells awesome. I used it on hard surfaces, carpet, pack-n-play - EVERYWHERE!

To read more about these or order them, click here.


DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.

Half-a-Hippie: Post #1

So here it is - my inaugural post for Half-a-Hippie. There's some other (much older) content on here that I was going to delete but I decided to keep it. Mostly because I don't have time to deal with it. Anyways...welcome.

A Few Things To Note:
1. I'm a perfectionist and a people pleaser. I come across as tough, but my feelings get hurt very easily. Please don't hurt my feelings.

2. I'm really opinionated and it takes every ounce of self control I can muster to keep my opinions to myself. Sometimes I fail, so you'll get to read about them here.

3. The perfectionist in me tries really hard to spell check and use proper grammar, but I'm busy. And tired. I have a full-time job, a husband that blessed me with 2 kids under two and a little side gig I'm working on. Forgive me a grammar mistake here and their.

See how I did that...see what I did there? The perfectionist in me can't stand that I just purposefully made a grammar mistake. But I'm going to leave it to prove a point.

4. I am fiercely loyal. If you were mean to someone I care about, you're dead to me. A few have overcome this, but not many. That's the Scorpio in me.

5. It's really driving me crazy to leave that "their" up there on #3.



Part of my mission here is to share my half-a-hippie ways. I call myself "half a hippie" because I haven't gone full on crunchy, hippy. I still use a microwave and I do not make my own butter. Yet. I'm just kinda crunchy for now. And this all just started when I got pregnant with my first child. I became more concerned with what I was putting in her body and those concerns led me down a new path. I'm learning as I go and I have a long ways to go! A large part of my hippie ways includes using Young Living essential oils for health and wellness, so I'll end every post with "Oils I've Used Today".


Oils I've Used Today:
Orange - Added 2 drops in my water because it tastes good and boosts my energy
Lavender - I swiped it across my 18 month old's brow bone several times for watery, allergy eyes and used it on an annoying scrape on my knuckle to promote healing
Lavender, Lemon & Peppermint - known as the "allergy bomb", I diffused this in the play room to help both babies with allergies
R.C. - this is a special blend of 10 oils created by Young Living. I've been diffusing and applying it to both babies for a cough and cold they picked up on vacation.



DISCLAIMER: This page promotes ONLY Young Living brand essential oils. I am not a doctor and I am not diagnosing, recommending treatment or offering cures for ailments or illnesses. These are my personal experiences in using Young Living Essential Oils with my family. YLEO are pure, therapeutic grade oils and the only oils I would use in the ways that I discuss.