Thieves Essential Oil Blend

Hi friends! It’s October, which means it’s quite possibly the most beautiful month of the year, in every area, colors, smells, temperature, etc. It doesn’t get much better than October. It does also mean the start of cold and flu season. This past month friends around me have already dealt with hand, foot and mouth disease and possibly strep. So… this post we are going to focus on THIEVES! Most of you probably know how amazing Thieves is but in case you don’t, or in case you’ve forgotten…, I’m going to remind you!

So what kinda name is Thieves for an essential oil? Well, let’s start with a bit of a history lesson.

While there are a few versions of the story they all center around one event, the Bubonic Plague. It is said that, during that time, four thieves went from house to house to rob those who had succumbed to the illness. After the thieves were captured and tried for their acts of robbery, a judge offered leniency if they would share how they were able to be around those afflicted long and often enough to rob them but not be affected by the illness. It’s interesting to note here that, during this time of the plague striking Europe, physicians were seen wearing long black robes, wide brimmed hats, and masks that appeared to have a beak. The reason for doing this is that the masks were said to have contained a combination of herbs, spices, and essential oils that the physicians would breathe in order to keep themselves safe from those afflicted with the illness. Their long black robes were also said to be doused in a similar fragrant concoction and current research continues to build upon this theory. Pretty cool, right?

Thieves essential oil

Thieves is a powerful combination of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary essential oils for an aromatic blend that fills any space with a rich, spicy aroma. Thieves is one of Young Living’s most popular products.  There is a whole product line using this oil blend.  Everything from Laundry Detergent to Hand Soap.  It is a great way to go chemical free in your home while still protecting your family from the “icky’s.”

Thieves put to the test

So Weber State University conducted a study in 1997.  The results showed Thieves Oil to have a 99.96% success rate against airborne bacteria.  The bacteria cultures were exposed in an enclosed area and the Thieves Essential Oils blend was infused into the space.  Within 10 minutes of exposure there was a reduction of:

82% in Micrococcus luteus (bacteria found in water, soil, dust & air)
96% in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (sepsis)
44% in Staphylococcus aureus (staph)

Amazing, right?!?  Diffuse this blend in your home everyday to keep your air “fresh.”

How to Purchase

The Thieves oil blend is included in Young Living’s Essential Oil Starter Kit!  This kit gives you a diffuser and 11 oils to play with to get your chemical free journey started.  To purchase click below and follow the prompts. By choosing the Membership option it will give you the best pricing and you will get to stock up on the most popular oils and a diffuser for a discounted price!

And for the month of October you will get a free bottle of Oregano oil with your starter kit purchase!!

 

Toddler Antics

Kids make you insane.

Not necessarily in that gibbering, banging-your-head-against-the-walls, strait-jacket kind of insane (well, maybe in small doses), but in the way that it warps the way you look at the world. The world a parent lives in is not the same world that a normal human lives in. We see things that are invisible to most people. We do things that make normal people scratch their heads in wonder. Our heads are constantly filled with bizarre fuzzy maths that would make the physics department at MIT weep. We tie ourselves in knots to make the world livable for ourselves and the future humans we are tasked with raising to adulthood.

Here are just a few of the strange behaviors that have become totally commonplace for my husband and myself since having a “tiny human.”

1. Normal people can drink out of cups, but we can’t. If we have a glass of some beverage, and we leave that beverage unattended for even fifteen seconds, then that beverage will end up spilled on the couch, the carpet, or possibly the ceiling. The fact that we have a cat plays in here, too, because our cat cannot abide an upright glass. So instead we drink out of bottles with lids, all the time, until the kid is asleep and the cat is preoccupied with grooming itself for the 10th time.
2. Normal people lock the bathroom door, but we don’t. I don’t even close the door all the way; I just rest it lightly against the frame. For some reason, the kid never wants my attention so much as when I’m trying to do my business.  And here comes that mental math I mentioned: I can lock the door (which will keep him out) or simply close it,  but then I have to suffer the slings and arrows of a tireless banging on the door to the chorus of “MAMA!? MAMA!?” Or, I can give him easy access, and put up with the lesser indignity of relieving myself in front of the tiny human while listening to him prattle on. (Generally, the prattle wins out over the banging on the door.)
3. Normal people can drive and listen to a song of their choosing, but we can’t. As soon as we put the car in reverse it starts.  “oh oh” song.  Or “Disney” music.  If I don’t play it I deal with the endless whining.  And when I do play it I have the battle of getting my sweet child to not ask to have the song repeated a gazillion times.  EACH song that comes on the tiny human wants to hear again. And again. Such fun.
4. Normal people check the thermostat maybe once or twice a day, but I have to check it more often. This makes me crazy, because the thermostat is not a thing that changes on its own, and I feel like an insane person looking at it as often as I do. But little kids love pushing buttons, both the metaphorical and the literal. Seriously, he had somehow managed to turn on the heat while it was 95 degrees out the other day. Luckily, I caught it before the house or any of us combusted from the heat. Because I check the thermostat more often than your dad does. Every time I walk past the thing, I check it.
5. Normal people know what “no” means, but we don’t. The word “no” means nothing in our house. For two reasons. First of all, it obviously means nothing to our child. We both say it and say it, but the little human keeps asking or doing the thing that had us saying “no” in the first place, so we clearly haven’t taught the meaning of this simplest of words properly. Then, there’s that thing that happens, you know, where you say a word over and over and over in rapid succession and, like a soggy Cheerio, it just kind of disintegrates in your mind? Like the syllables and the letters come apart and the meaning just evaporates? Where do words come from, anyway? What’s a language, for that matter? How are we even able to communicate at all?

There are more, but I have to go check the thermostat.

When the Kid Goes Back to Daycare….

Me at 7 months pregnant

” of course I’ll come back to work after maternity leave, ill be going mad at home” 

Me at 3 months from birth of child on returning to work

“Back to work? but I’ll miss everything, first steps, words,  .. And after paying child care I’ll be earning Ramen Noodles.. so whats the point?” 

But, my personality requires me to need some adult conversation .. and not just from my husband. Plus I prefer our bank account to be positive not negative so off to work I went and off to daycare my son went.  It went OK for a while. But as I talked about in a previous post, I pulled him and he stayed home with grandma.  It was great and at the time was the best thing for him.

But he is getting older now and more active.  Preschool is less than a year away. And as an only child I want him to understand that there is a word called “share” and yes you have to….

So a month ago he started daycare again.  New place.  New people.  A highly regarded place that I had been trying for 8 months to get him into.  I knew there would be an adjustment but man, separation anxiety is real and really hard to deal with.  The crying….I had to force myself to walk away on drop off’s and I would get into my car and be on the verge of tears that I was messing my kid up for life.  And then in the evenings when we picked him up he would come running to us faster than a cheetah after their dinner and would clutch onto us for dear life less we got the idea to leave him there…..and again the mom guilt would chime in big time.

But this week it is finally starting to get better.  He is adjusting.  The place we have him at is great and he will learn so much there.  He is starting to like it and the teachers are telling us he is doing so well.

But man, this past month has been hard.  When you have a kid they should come with a warning sticker that says “Buckle up buttercup.  The ride has just started and there WILL be bumps in the road.  And vomit every once in a while. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Gluten Free Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes

My son turned 2 years old last week. Everyone warns you the time goes fast and they are right.  I was looking at his baby pictures this past weekend and just couldn’t believe how much he has grown! Where did my baby go!?

Mom, I just want to touch the fire.  Please? Why are you blowing the fire out? I wanted to touch it! This was my son during the “birthday song”.

 

So this past weekend we threw a birthday party for him to celebrate. We made TWO cupcake recipes. Banana Cream Pie and Black Forest Cupcakes.  Here is the recipe for Gluten Free Banana Cream Pie.  Yummy and decadent, yet surprisingly easy since we used a boxed cake mix! (Betty Crocker to the rescue.  Awesome gluten free mixes). We finished this with homemade whipped cream frosting and chocolate “B” letters.

They turned out delicious! Try it and see for yourself!

Banana Cream Pie Gluten Free Cupcakes

Ingredients 

Cake:

• 1 – 15oz box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• ¼ cup water
• 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup) softened
• 2 teaspoons of gluten-free vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 small bananas  (3/4 cup diced or smashed)

Pudding:

• 1 cup milk
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ Tbsp butter

Frosting:

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 packet (0.25 oz) plain gelatin
• 3 Tbsp cold water
• ¼-3/4 cup of powdered sugar – to taste
• ¼ -1 tsp of almond extract – to taste
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Prepare muffin baking pan with liners.
3. Cream butter until smooth with electric mixer.
4. Add eggs one at a time and mix.
5. Add vanilla extract, bananas, sour cream, and water.  Mix to combine.
6. Add Gluten Free Cake Mix to the wet batter and blend with electric mixer until combined.
7. Pour batter into liners (about ¾ full)
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean
9. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack

Pudding:

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk.
2. Add sugar and cornstarch whisking vigorously until combined and smooth.
3. Continue to whisk until mixture becomes thick.
4. Add butter and vanilla extract and mix to combine.
5. Allow to cool.

Frosting:

1. Place water in small pot and sprinkle with gelatin. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.  Whisk the gelatin and water in the pot and heat on low whisking until the gelatin is dissolved.  Remove from heat.
2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk the whipping cream on medium high speed until in starts to thicken.
3. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond extract.  Whisk and taste.  Some people like their frostings sweet and others less sweet.  I provided a rough range for the powdered sugar and almond to allow you to tweak the recipe to your liking.
4. Continue to whisk at medium high speed until the cream begins to get fluffy.
5. Slowly add gelatin while whisking until incorporated.

Preparation:

1. Cut a small hole out of the middle of the cupcake.  Save the top of the cut out.
2. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of filling into each cupcake and replace top.
3. Finish with frosting.

Notes:

• Ripe bananas provide much better flavor.
• The gelatin allows the cupcake frosting to set up and stiffen.  This is a great trick for keeping your whipped cream frostings looking perfect.
• Refrigerating the cupcakes will allow the frosting to slightly stiffen and allow the frosting to look and behave a little like a buttercream frosting.

 

Acupuncture and Life Balance

Two days ago I got acupuncture again. I had gone 3 years ago to see if it would help my infertility and crazy hormone issues.  After 8 weeks of treatment I stopped going but got pregnant soon after.  Coincidence?  Maybe.  But I had never felt so “balanced” emotionally and physically and I am sure that helped get me pregnant.  And after 5 years of never getting that magic pregnancy line I sure wasn’t going to complain!

So when I developed Carpal Tunnel type pain during pregnancy and it still didn’t go away after birth and after trying wrist braces, exercises, rest, etc. I went to my acupuncture lady.   One treatment and the pain went away and never came back.  I so wish I would have seen her sooner instead of wasting so many months dealing with the pain.

Lately I feel like my hormones are all over the place again. My cycles are spacing apart.  My skin is crazy.  Ever since I gave birth I feel like I am one hormone away from losing it.  That or it is the lack of sleep and the fact that the bottom of my purse is now a garbage dump of half eaten goldfish crackers.  Either way I feel unsettled. Unbalanced.

So this week as I laid on a table with needles poking from every limb while trying to not think about that fact, I tried to meditate on why I am feeling so crazy lately. I remember feeling free and unstoppable.  Youth does that to you.  When you are 20 the responsibilities of adulthood feel so far away.  I didn’t think past that weekend.  That summer.  And what summers they were…..  But now? At 37 with all the responsibilities of job and home and never ending bills…..it is enough to just give in and say “this is it.”

And as a mom to a young toddler I feel like there are a lot of expectations that you are now supposed to be just a mom. Your dreams and ambitions go on the backburner.  Your life is their life.  Maybe it is my mom guilt that makes me perceive this but I am just trying to balance everything the best I can.  Being a mom is harder than I thought it would be.  You constantly feel like you are not doing enough yet feel pulled in every direction.  And as much as part of me would love to stay home all day with him the reality is I also like having a “life” outside of being a mom.  Of interacting with adults and knowing TV shows other than Bubble Guppies. I didn’t get a college degree just for the hell of it.  But since I graduated – 15 years ago! – I have yet to find my way, my calling.  These are the thoughts bouncing around my mind while I laid there.

I love this quote as it pretty much sums up what I need to do right now.

“Be Addicted to the Feeling of Having your Shit Together.”

Now if I could only figure out how. Maybe next week’s session will uncover that…..

All things in moderation…..

So last year I got in on the essential oil bandwagon. I love them.  I really do.  I now have things in my home like all natural laundry detergent and natural hand soap that have essential oils in it.  I have roller balls of essential oil blends that I wear as perfume or for help with everyday aches and pains. I have an awesome homemade muscle rub cream that I swear melts away my neck tension every night.  But I am also living modern life.  I am a working mom who eats things like Orange Chicken (so delicious) from Panda Express for lunch.  I let my son do things like drink water from the garden hose or eat day old cheerios off the floor.  I also still have a medicine cabinet filled with things like Tylenol and Claritin because you just never know when you will need them.

When I decided to start this website last summer it was to be an outlet for me to write about my new role as a mom and explore this new world of essential oils I was excited about. It was also a creative outlet for me as I grieved the sudden loss of my mom last summer.  And over the past year I have been feeling more comfortable in everything. My son is going to be two in a few weeks and I still love my essential oils.  I also can think about my mom now without dissolving into a pile of grief.  It has been a good year.

But….

There are so many fanatics out there on both the essential oil AND motherhood front.   Sometimes I want to shout, “REALLY?  You really did power yoga, cooked an organic breakfast AND magically healed your sick child from one application of essential oils all before 9 AM?”

The reality of life is that sometimes you feel like super mom and other days you just survive till the kids go to bed. Essential oils have supported my family in an amazing way this year and I love them.  But I also will still take my child to the doctor if he gets really sick.

It is called moderation people. In the end, we are all just trying to make the best decisions for our family while trying to fulfill our dreams and ambitions at the same time.

Now excuse me as I get my 3rd cup of coffee for the day.  It is Friday after all and I am running on fumes at this point.  Moderation in the caffeine department can start tomorrow…

Chopsticks and Toddlers

So last night we went out to dinner with some friends. Bryce was extra fidgety.  He wouldn’t sit in the highchair, wouldn’t sit in the booster, nor would he sit on our laps.  Thankfully we had a booth and he happily sat between us for the meal.  But not while sitting still.  Up and down, to and fro he went.  I tried everything to distract him.  Ipad? No.  Toys?  No.  Knife?  Yes. Wait, knife?!  Grab that from him! Ugh…

Finally I spied chopsticks sitting on the table and gave them to him. That worked.  For one minute. Until he decided to throw them at the older couple behind us.  Mortified, I apologized.  The guy, apparently a grandfather or at least a kid lover, came over to our table and gave Bryce his chopsticks back.  He bent over to his level, and smiled big for Bryce while saying hi little man.  Bryce, being the ham he is, loved the attention and started clapping and laughing, bringing even more attention our way. Soon three tables around us were clapping along with Bryce!  The rest of the meal Bryce happily clutched the chopsticks and never threw them again.

As a parent I will admit I do not keep calm during the storm. I am the parent that worries what others think, feel like I never can keep my kid behaved, and am anxious as soon as we leave the house.

Last night reminded me that most people at one point were in our shoes. That maybe, instead of seeing an out of control rambunctious toddler, they see a sweet almost 2 year old enjoying his time out with his parents and finding everything about the experience thrilling, including chopsticks being flung and then returned by a sweet couple.

This stage of life….it’s hard.  But it also has the most rewards.  Lesson learned.  At least until the next outing….

 

When Toddler Angst Strikes

Am I the only parent with a toddler who goes crazy when a parent is out of town on business? Brian has been gone since Monday and Bryce is progressively getting worse each day. He is fussier, clingier and not sleeping well at night. Last night he started screaming in his crib and would only fall back asleep when I put him in bed with me.  The weird part is when Brian facetime’s us Bryce refuses to talk to him! He sees it is daddy and walks away.  Like he is mad that daddy is not here so is giving him a hard time.

Brian comes home late tonight so hope Bryce will be back to his normal self soon. This morning he woke up at 5:00 AM and just wouldn’t settle back down.  So I will be drinking copious amounts of coffee today and just hope to get through.  I am grateful that it is at least Friday!

Here are photos of us from earlier in the week. His toothy grin is just precious.

The Language of Parents

Here are examples of things I say to other parents and then what I actually mean. The best part is that most people understand that I am talking about the long version without me actually saying it.  Anyone relate out there?

What I say: I’m trying to potty train my kid but we are not there yet.

What I mean: My son pooped in the shower the other week and recently peed on my freshly cleaned carpet.  He thinks an actual toilet should be where his toys are stored and has completely disassembled his “practice” potty. I am fine with using diapers.  What size do they go up to again?

What I say:  I am sorry I can’t go there today, my kid might fall asleep in the car on the way back.

What I mean: If my kid falls asleep for even 5 blocks on the way back, we will get home and I will be exhausted from whatever outing we just had but he will want to run around the neighborhood, and I will turn into crazy mommy.

What I say:  I’m sorry I can’t go out tonight. It’s been a long day with the kid. He got up at 5AM

What I mean: At 5AM I was woken up in a way that is inhuman. My son was screaming for us in his crib and wanted up. I then proceeded to attempt to make breakfast while son is running circles around me and the cat is going nuts because I haven’t given her food.  Breakfast ends up taking 30 minutes of rushing around grabbing food and drinks and cleaning up the ones that spilled and I didn’t get to even drink a cup of coffee. When I head out the door for work, I will have felt as if I worked a full 8 hour day and feel relieved that I get to go to my job which, to me, seems like a break since I can use the restroom at some point with no one screaming at me. After I get home, make dinner, do something that looks like a cross between eating and waiting tables, clean the house, bath the kid, brush his teeth, put PJ’s on him, read stories and wrangle him into bed, I then start the laundry and see it is already 9PM.  I’m now so tired my eye balls are stuck looking at the wall so I technically I cannot make it to my car and safely drive.  Have fun without me.

What I say: I have decided to “free range parent” with sleep training

What I mean:  I am too exhausted at night to deal with his screaming so I do whatever  it takes to get him to sleep.  You want to sleep with mommy and daddy tonight? Fine.  Just try to keep your feet out of my face.  You need driven around the block because you decide you just don’t want to fall asleep any other way tonight? I’ll get the keys.  Rock you to sleep while you hoard all 10 of your blankets around you because you suddenly decide one blanket is just not good enough? Fine.  I am learning that as a parent getting them to sleep is more important then how it happens. Because once they are asleep for the night you finally can sleep!

What I Say: We are getting a date night this Saturday.  I’m so excited

What I mean: Besides a “to do” list and talk about the kid, my husband and I haven’t had a real conversation in weeks.  Nor have we been able to sit at the same table and eat a hot meal without getting up 10 times each.  We haven’t seen a movie in over a year and we most likely will stay out too late and have to pay the babysitter overtime. When we come home we will feel like we took a vacation since we actually got to leave the house and relax while doing it.

Toddler Life

I vaguely remember my life pre-child.  Sleeping in, drinking hot cups of coffee, eating hot food while watching a TV channel other than Disney Jr.  Heck I think I even have memories of being able to read more than two pages of a book before passing out in exhaustion! Or talking to my husband about something other than our child, bills or our ever growing to do list around the house.

Parenthood is wonderful. It is also exhausting. We have entered the tantrum stage and I swear he knows to throw one just when they are least welcome.  Middle of aisle five at the grocery store because I wouldn’t let him climb the store shelves? Of course.  Out at the park because we need to leave? A given. Before or after his bath because he hates transitions? Why not.  And trying to put a diaper on him lately is like wrangling a snake.  He hates it and won’t sit still. He won’t use a potty either so wrangling him it is. I have taken to whatever distraction necessary to change his diaper.  Want to play with mommy’s phone? No, OK, how about this Ipad? No? OK, here are a pair of scissors…..ugh of course those would peak your interest….

 

Because wrapping paper apparently makes the best cape EVER

 

 

We have had to remove EVERY bar stool from our kitchen because he has become fixated with climbing them and then onto the kitchen counters. Which that alone is bad but then he proceeds to throw everything off the counters onto the floor, which in turn makes me a hysterical mess….it has not been a pretty sight at times in the Thomas household lately.

He is already fascinated with how things work and wants to fix everything.

 

 

But when the going is good it is amazingly beautiful.  He loves to cuddle up on our laps now with his blankets and will just turn around randomly to give us a hug.  I melt every time he does that.  His mental capacity to figure things out is growing leaps and bounds everyday. He is talking more.  Understanding more.  He understands what we say so much now that we have started spelling out words we don’t want him to hear. The problem with that is mom is NOT a great speller, apparently….

He has a slight blanket hoarding problem

 

He will be 22 months in a few days. Almost two years old.  I am continually grateful that he has come into my life and even though we have a lot of the these crazy days in our house currently, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  If you are in the thick of toddler life like me, remember you are not alone.  And people tell me there is this thing coming up in a few years  where the kid goes to this place for the whole day and you get the house to yourself. It is free and they are taken care of by a whole team of people. I hear it is called school…..