essential oils

Preparing for Cold and Flu Season Naturally

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preparing for cold and flu season naturally

Photo Credit HERE

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So, cold and flu season is almost here!  Obviously I hope none of us get sick, because well … that just isn’t fun!

Obviously there is no way to ensure your family doesn’t get sick, however, there are ways to boost everyone’s immune systems naturally to help ward off illness and lessen the blow when it happens!

We will be:

Will these things keep our family 100% well?  Maybe not, but that isn’t their job.  Combined with healthy foods and other natural lifestyle changes the above list definitely helps with overall health and wellbeing.  When you take care of the internal systems- the gut namely- the rest will take care of itself.

Gut health is so important- if you are having problems in the way of symptoms (think eczema, body aches, migraines, rashes, upset stomach,) look at the diet and gut health first.

Not all bodies are created equally, and not all foods are either.  

In case we do come down with illnesses, I will have my essential oils on hand, and my homemade cough medicine ready to go!  I also want to look into making some elderberry syrup and cough drops- that is on my “to try” list.

What will you do this fall and winter to care for your family?

 

**Disclaimer- This is not medical advice, and is only for information purposes. These are protocols that work for my family, which I feel very comfortable using, and have educated myself about using.  Please talk to your doctor, and only do what you are comfortable with for your family.  God bless!

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Replenishing Homemade Skin Cream Recipe {quick & easy}

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In trying to avoid overuse of steroids and other interventions that can cause lasting effects (and be less effective the more we use them),  I have a go-to skin cream we make at home for general wounds.

Eczema Before
It is a salve with coconut oil, bentonite clay, comfrey oil and essentials oils-frankincense, lavender, tea tree. 5+years ago a lady in a natural group helped me make this recipe based off her husband’s recommendation, who was an herbalist. During a case of noro virus, my then 18mo son poopied in his sleep overnight, and I didn’t know it. The next morning his bottom was literally blistered and the skin was peeling. It was horrible!

After applying this cream that morning, the skin started healing and regenerating the same day. Within 2 days he was 85% better; there was new skin covering his entire bottom, no scabbing, no scarring, and even better? When applied in a thick layer it protected his bottom when he had to wear a diaper. (Mostly he laid on me for 3 days, sans diaper, but when he needed to sleep in his bed, which he preferred, or wanted to sit in the floor, he needed a diaper.)

This cream is amazing!

So when I saw my 8yo daughter’s hands this past week, covered in eczema, I knew what we needed to use.

Usually eczema can be traced to the gut-leaky gut to be exact- due to poor gut balance/health. However, in this case I believe it is atopic-too much hand washing, cold, dry air, and not enough moisturizing.

We are going to use homeopathy constitutions based on her particular eczema, and this cream, in hopes it will heal from the inside out, and stay gone for good. Steroid creams and prescriptions don’t work on the root cause of eczema, they sometimes quiet the symptoms without addressing the root cause of the illness/ailment to begin with.

Here is what you need to mix up for the cream:

  1. 1 cup organic coconut oil
  2. .5 cup bentonite clay
  3. 2tsp of comfrey oil
  4. 10-15 drops each: frankincense oil, lavender oil, tea tree oil (I use Young Living)
  5. Whip it up in an electric mixer for a thicker, creamier consistency. But mixing with a spatula will do, too. Store in an airtight container. That’s it!

We use this for cuts, scrapes, diaper rash, and other minor skin uh-ohs. I usually keep it in the toddler’s dresser basket, since she needs it the most! haha

I also love Young Living’s Animal Scents cream. We use this for everything, too. When we travel I throw this in my bag, and keep my homemade stuff at home. I do not sell oils from my personal stash at retail cost(plus tax and shipping), but you can sign up to receive your oils at a 24% discount, including discounted shipping, with no monthly obligation. (I do place monthly orders for our family, because I like to save my points for bigger purchases at the end of the year, but you do NOT have to do a monthly order to get the discount.)

 

I you have dry, cracked skin this winter, try this homemade skin cream! (and come back to let me know how it worked for you.)

Gingerbread Play Dough

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I have been looking at a lot of different crafts for the kids and I to do together.  I came across a recipe for salt dough, which is a homemade play dough.  I had planned on trying it, then today my mom sent me a similar recipe, but there were two differences: 1) her recipe was for GINGERBREAD play dough and 2) it used fewer ingredients than the recipe I had.

Gingerbread Salt Dough
You will need:
  • 1c flour
  • 1/2c salt
  • cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, etc to desired smell/color
  • 2tsp cream of tartar
  • 1c water
  • 1tsp veg oil
  • essential oils of your choosing

Just as in baking, mix all your dry ingredients together- the flour, salt, cream of tartar, and spices.  The spices are just for a great gingerbread smell and color.
In a separate bowl, mix the water and oil
Add water-oil mixture with your dry ingredients in a small/med pan.
Cook mixture over low/med heat for about 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.  WARNING-it becomes thick quickly.
You will know it’s done when it starts to pull away from the sides and bottom of the pan.
When it’s done, knead on the counter until it is nice and smooth.
*don’t forget the cookie cutters and rolling pin!*

This is the best and easiest play dough recipe I have found.  When the holidays are over, exclude the seasonings and add regular food coloring for year-round fun!

——————
(Original post Dec 2011)
Here is Lady (15 months old) playing with play dough for the first time:

 She was really only interested in the cookie cutters at first .. and yes she arranged them in size order?
” Hrm .. maybe I will touch it a little”
She did not like the texture of the dough at the beginning.

 

More with the cookie cutters ..

 

Then I made her name out of the play dough and she liked it!  Her favorite letter from her name is “i,” so she enjoyed playing with the “ball” on the “i.”  When I spell her name out loud, it goes something like this:
Me- “l, e, x
her- “I!!  I!!! I!!! I!”
Me-E
her- “LEXIE!”

It’s a lot of fun!  So, our first go at play dough was a success.  There were a few snacking attempts, but overall she did really well!  This has made me less fearful of doing more crafts and activities with her, for sure!

Try it out with your little one!

What are some of your children’s favorite activities, crafts, etc to pass the time and learn?

Validation- Why You Don’t Need It

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It is everywhere- parenting advice, opinions, ideas, philosophies.

  • To homeschool or not
  • To sleep train or not
  • To feed them a SAD (standard american diet) diet or not
  • To breastfeed or not
  • To give battery and flashing toys or not
  • To cloth diaper or not
  • To use essential oils or not
  • To free range or not
  • To go organic only or not
  • and the list. goes. on.

You get the point.  Everyone has an opinion, including my husband and I.

But I don’t need to make YOU feel bad about your decision, in order to validate mine.

“VALIDATE- the action of making or declaring something legally or officially acceptable.”

I am in a mommy group on FB, which is generally very supportive, and open.  The mamas in there all come from different backgrounds but we all have one thing in common: we believe sleep is healthy and important for baby, and we want what is best for our children, even when family and friends don’t understand why we make the decisions we do.

This mama posted last week about a friend commenting that (paraphrasing here): Your baby is really happy, and not to alarm you, but a baby that is happy all the time can be a sign of mental health issues.

Um- EXCUSE ME?!

First, there is no data anywhere in the world that supports that statement.

But also, the mama making this statement had a fussy child that was generally making people (his mother included) miserable at a party because he was so unsatisfied.

She was only trying to validate her child’s behavior by making a mama with a healthy, happy baby feel bad.

Y’all, that’s not okay!

First of all, not only are all children different (my son for instance was a cranky, miserable baby and toddler.  It was just his disposition), but there is no reason to make any mama question her perfectly healthy, happy baby.

People all around will say things to make you question YOUR happiness and decisions- your marriage, your relationship with God, your decision to homestead, your decision to private school your children, your decision to vaccinate or select vaccinate or not vaccinate your children, where you live, what you do for a living, what activities your kids are in.

Heck, I see people tearing others down for how they raise and train their DOGS in a LGD group.

I get it.  I know it hurts and it is frustrating when it happens- family makes snide remarks, people you love question your decisions when they have never done any research that would regard the well being of your family.

But who validates your decisions?

Not friends.

Not family.

Not co workers or people in a FB group.

Jesus.

If I know our decisions sit well with my husband, myself, and God, that is all we need.  We don’t need to answer to strangers or acquaintances.

We certainly don’t need to let words, fueled by jealousy, uncertainty, & a lack of understanding, make us doubt ourselves or what the Lord has called us to do.

Do not let the enemy work through other’s words to make you question yourself.

But who validates your decisions? Not friends. Not family. Not co workers or people in a FB group. Jesus.

Let’s each other up in Christ, support, and encourage others.

Not tear each other down to validate our own choices.

Let the Lord be your foundation, because no one’s words can move that.

 

 

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Essential Oils: Thieves Oil {52 weeks of favorites}

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I finally figured out what my “52 weeks of favorites” will be! ESSENTIAL OILS! Woo hoo! If you’re looking for essential oils to buy try Jojoba by rouh.

Before we hit up the doctor or try prescriptions, I always try something from home first.

Our #1 go to is pure, therapeutic grade essential oils.

Real quick, I want to let you know that any brand can put the words “pure, therapeutic grade” on their products. These terms are not mandated by the FDA. However, I can tell you, Young Living brand is the only one that sets itself to the highest of standards in all areas of essential oils with its Seed to Seal guarantee. Here is a great explanation from a seasoned EO user:

“Call the customer service dept of any other company, and ask where their Peppermint was grown, distilled, what the chemical properties are, how long it is distilled, how many lbs of material they use to get 8 oz of oil, etc. You can actually find all these things out from Young Living but NO other company offers the same ability because no other company actually has their hands in the entire process. Because essential oils are not regulated by the FDA, absolutely every company can say, 100% pure therapeutic grade, that term doesn’t mean anything. It’s self defined. Because the other companies do not grow their own plants, they purchase from a third party broker and so they have no way of knowing for SURE if the oil was virgin soil, if the plant was sprayed with pesticides, and the list goes on. YL defines what they mean and they give a Seed to Seal guarantee.”

That gives me the peace of mind and satisfaction that what I am putting on and in my family’s bodies are safe.

I can’t even begin to tell you what a blessing Young Living essential oils have been to our family.

I guess I can start with Thieves oil, that is where my EO experience began. My uncle gave me a bottle when I was working in child care, and was constantly sick almost 10 year ago. I placed a few cotton balls in a small bottle, and put a few drops of thieves in. I would take the lid off and breathe in the oil throughout the day.

In 2012 during flu season, Max was a brand new baby and Lexie was in Mother’s Day Out twice a week. She had about 10 other kids in her class. One day I picked her up from school with the dreaded news- 3 kids in her class and their siblings had been confirmed to have the flu. Before the week was over several other children had the flu as well. Lexie, praise the Lord, escaped the flu. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that the essential oils for colds I was using helped my family. Thieves was one of those oils.

This oil blend is beyond amazing. I use it on my children’s feet during cold and flu season to support their immune systems. I have also applied a tiny bit (diluted) to my son’s teething gums. Thieves is considered a “hot” oil, and should typically be diluted with a carrier oil (like coconut or olive oil) before placing on skin, especially on children. I make up a small bottle of diluted thieves and olive oil, 4:1 and keep it in both the kids’ rooms to have on hand.

When we flew during the holidays to see family, I applied thieves to the kids’ feet before our flights, and also on the base of their spines.

I also diffuse it in our home- diffusing allows the tiny particles to spread through the air.

If I could put a bottle of thieves oil in all my friends and family members homes, I would!

I can’t wait to share some of my other favorite oils with you all!

If you are interested in how you can purchase Young Living oils at wholesale price, with NO strings attached, let me know. I am a wholesale buyer for my family, and you can get your oils at 24% off the retail cost. Email me at: QuietInTheChaos at gmail dot com (no spaces) if you would like more info! You can also sign up on their website, using my member number: 1555405

See this article: essential oils kill super bug (MRSA) from BBC.

I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. It is for informational purposes only.

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