Because I Have To.

So.  As the title implies, I’m writing this post because I have to.  Why do I have to?  Because I haven’t.  Duh.

I haven’t written anything in some time, and not because my life is void of activity or events, but because I’m terrible at follow through.  There.  I said it.

Also, I have to say (since I like to be honest here) my confidence has been seriously lacking as of late.  There is something to be said about putting yourself out there and hoping people like who you are.

“But you shouldn’t care if people like who you are!  Just be you!  You are special!”  That’s what we’ve been told growing up, isn’t it?

But goodness, it’s so much harder than that.

I don’t know who I am most days, or how to be sure of myself.  I (as I’ve mentioned before) struggle so much with the concept of making adult friends.  And I know I’m not alone.  There are many people who feel this way.  And especially after having kids, all of a sudden you turn into this MOM-BOT that only says things like “Sit down!”  or “Nice hands!”  and you go by names like “Mrs.  So-and-so”  or “So-and-So’s Mom”  and you’re all “Wait!  I used to by my own person!”.

Add to that mix the fact that my humor is, um, a little off brand to the mom world, and things just get even MORE awkward.  I can’t express to you the amount of times I’ve made a joke, just to have people’s eyes glaze over and their jaws slack a little.

I guess the point of this post (besides me once again complaining about how I don’t know how to life) is that I’m in the process of barreling through this weird, awkward second puberty I’ve found myself in.  Thirty is the new twelve.

So if you find yourself feeling similarly, at least know you aren’t alone.

That’s all.

Itovi, Utovi, We all, umm, tovi 

So I had posted on Facebook some time ago that my Itovi had arrived.  

What the heck is an “Itovi”?

Well I’m going to tell you what it is and what it ISN’T. 

 itovi

There it is, in all it’s tiny glory.  
The Itovi is a personal scanner. Sounds pretty sci-fi, right?  And in so many ways, it kind of is. 

The Itovi uses a technology called “Bioimpedance” to tell us about our own bodies and health. Bioimpedance is the same technology used in most of the fitness trackers people are using these days. Basically, tiny frequencies of electricity are used to bounce around and report back on what is happening in your body. That’s probably the least scientific way to explain this, but Google. Just. Google. 

So after a scan that roughly takes about two and half minutes, you get a read out that looks something like this:

 

So, the read out you see is actually from Pixie’s most recent scan.  Now if you’re like my dad, you’re probably looking at this wondering what any of this means.  As you can see, of the 273 bio points scanned, 72 of them can use improvement. Now this information is based off of so many variables: sleep, stress, diet, exercise, water intake, and so on. 

What this scanner doesn’t do, is diagnose.  I am not a doctor and I’m not going to tell you that you have small pox, or the measles, or whatever else.   

But this scan shows me that based off of this readout, Pixie would have the most beneficial results using Petitgrain. It gives the Young Living description of each suggested oil or supplement and nothing more. So now what? 

Now, I would take this information and research Petitgrain on my own. Knowing what it assists with and what benefits it has leads me to a plan of action as far as how I would use this oil on Pixie. And that’s the gist. 

Do you need extra knowledge of oils to use the scanner?  Not necessarily, but it certainly helps fill in some of the gaps here.  I’ve been more or less running the scan and then providing each person with a full break down or “oil map” letting them know the nitty gritty details. 

Overall, it’s an amazing tool that offers the most customized results possible. Regrets?  None. 

I will say, the results we’ve seen have made tremendous sense when considering our various health concerns. I even eliminated one of the supplements I’ve been taking for a few days (totally intentional, not because I’m lazy. Ha!) and low and behold, there it was in my next scan. Voo doo!  Or, even better, science!  So cool. 

If you’re interested in getting scanned and are local to me here in beautiful New Jersey, let me know!  Or if you’d like to look into getting an Itovi for yourself, or just want more information because I’m a terrible science teacher, visit www.itovi.com

I think it goes without saying, I’ve received no compensation or product for this post (seriously, no one would pay for this). I just wanted to share how excited I was over this new gadget! 

I Plead My Case…

Ok.  Here I am.  I have defeated the nasty cold that was plaguing my life, and now I need to be semi-productive.  

If you saw my Facebook post, you saw I’ve received my long-awaited Itovi scanner.  It.  Is.  Awesome.  I will be writing a post allllllll about that once I’ve had a little more time to use it and get a better feel for it.  

But today, I want to talk about something I’m dreading.  DREADING.

In a couple of weeks, I am turning 30.  

Folks, I am not qualified to turn 30.  I’m not.  And if anyone tries to use the phrase “dirty 30”, I’m punching them right in the face.  NO.  I don’t need to feel old and dirty.  That is mean, rude, and just uncalled for.  Keep that to yourself. 

Now, there was a dark point in my life where I never imagined even making it to 30.  I didn’t even think I’d make it to 20.  Things were dark and sad, and for a while, I gave up.  Until I found out I was pregnant with Slugger.  I really believe that boy saved my life.  

But anyway.  Here I am now.  And I have to say, I thought things would be so different sitting where I am.  I thought I’d have figured things out and have a good idea of who I am.  I haven’t.  I don’t.  

I have no idea how to make friends.  None.  I thought it was hard as a kid, but seriously, as an adult, I feel like you can’t just walk up to someone and say  “Do you want to be my friend now?”  Frowned upon.  I think.  I don’t know because, again, I don’t know how to make friends in adult world.  

I still feel absolutely stupid when talking to an authority figure.  Teachers aren’t people.  I have friends who grew up to be teachers, and yet, I can’t see them as people.  I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing.  Heaven forbid I get asked about why my kid’s homework isn’t done.  I immediately get transported back to the fifth grade and start worrying that someone is going to call my parents.  Except I AM the parent.  And I want to shout at these people “I’m not qualified for this!” 

My house doesn’t look like a picture from Better Homes and Gardens.  It looks more like a progress picture from an episode of Hoarders.  Somewhere in between realizing there is a problem and finishing the clean up.  That’s where we are.  It’s livable, but just barely.  You can sit on my couch, but only after I move several small animals, four barbies, a play vacuum, and some blankets.  The closest I get to fancy is the fact that I have a curio cabinet.  That has things strategically placed in front of it to keep out tiny people.  Classy.  

Then there’s me.  I imagined myself, coming upon 30 and looking the best I ever have.  You know, like Stacy London from What Not to Wear, just younger.  The reality?  I have no idea how to dress this body.  This body that has mutated strangely after having two kids.  The body that I just assumed would slim down in my 20’s (because everyone is hot in their 20’s.  That’s what sitcoms have taught us) but instead just ballooned.  When I put on jeans, it just accentuates my mom pooch.  So I stick to yoga pants, because they seem to hide most things.  I’m still wearing the same sweatshirts from high school, although where they used to be oversized and comfy, now they JUST fit. But as least they fit, right?  

I still have no idea what to do with this stuff on my head people call hair. I’m alway in awe of the perfectly coiffed ladies.  How do they get their hair to do that?  Do they have a hair and make up team at home?  Am I just that incompetent?  Who was supposed to teach me this dark art?  What the hell?  So many questions!  At least I’ve mastered the messy bun.  That’s still a thing, right?

I’m working on a new philosophy that women who always have their nails done also have their life together.  So naturally, if I just keep my nails looking nice, the rest will fall into place.  I’m pretty sure this is fool proof.  I’ll get back to you on this.  

So, I rest my case.  This year, I will not be turning 30.  I have more than proven I am not qualified, nor do I have the life experiences necessary to carry out the act of turning 30.  Except for the kids part.  I guess theres’s that.  But still.  Not qualified.  

And you can’t make me.  

I’m here! I’m here!

I have been missing for a while!  

I haven’t run away screaming (yet), I’ve just put so many, many things on my plate and I’m trying to keep myself focused and organized on all of them.  I know, I’m funny.

I have been loving the new aromatherapy course I’m taking, but I had NO IDEA it was so involved.  Like, learning about things that I didn’t even know were words let alone concepts I should understand.  It’s deep, involved stuff.  The fact that I’m still marching through it only proves to myself that this is something I’m passionate about.  And that’s a good thing.  A time consuming, stressful, good thing.  So I apologize that this course has taken me away from you, but it’s only so I have more knowledge to impart and more ways to help spread oily goodness.  (Mind out of the gutter, you know what I mean.)

I’m completely in the infancy stages of this course and have already learned a crazy amount of things.  Things that can actually be applied to my daily life.  Which is probably a “duh” concept for other people, but the skeptic in me still lingers in a corner telling me how crazy this all is and that there’s no way any of this is legit.  

Insert science here.  So, so much science, you guys.  

After a heaping helping of science, I started to rethink the oils we were using for Slugger.  Lately, he has been struggling again in school.  Part of this struggle is completely psychosomatic in the respect that because we took him off his medicine (about two months ago), Slugger equates this to being able to act inappropriately and blame it on the lack of medicine.  The fault in his logic?  The behavior he’s exhibiting would never have been controlled by the medicine in the first place.  We’ve once again had to have the conversation about why faking symptoms to receive unneeded medicine is a bad thing.  It’s a work in progress. 

The other part of his struggle is attributed to a complete lack of focus.  Rather than the stereotypical ADHD behaivior (i.e. Hyperactivity), Slugger has been almost retreating into his own head rather than working in class.  He literally sits at his desk and stares into space.  For the entire class.   Work isn’t getting done.  At all.

So again, I started to rethink his oil regimen.  I was originally approaching things based off Slugger’s behaivior at home, rather than his work ethic and I think that’s where I tripped myself up.  The behaivior at home is completely different than at school.  At home he’s loud and defiant.  So naturally, I gravitated towards oils that would promote a calming, focused effect.  The problem here is that kid’s with ADHD typically respond better to stimulants.  So no wonder Slugger was zoning out in school.  I was giving him the polar opposite of what he needed.  

After thinking all this through, I immediately made up a roller of the Clarity blend.  This blend is great for supporting cognitive function, but the best part?  The oils in the blend all tend to have an energizing effect.  A STIMULATING effect.  Bingo.  

Two days later, Slugger’s teacher was raving about how he was a totally different kid in class.  He is focused and alert.  He isn’t responding with anger when asked to make corrections.  He is applying his roller of Clarity about 3 times during the school day and it seems to be giving him the boost he needs.   

Thank God.

We just got our bottle of Mindwise in as well, so I have been giving that to Slugger daily to help things along.  I have to say, I’ve been taking it as well, and it is DELICIOUS. I definitely think we need to give it sometime to judge the results. But let’s put it this way, taste is a bonus.  Slugger takes NOTHING in liquid form, but once we got passed the initial taste, he was onboard.  Win.  

So that’s where we are right now.  Onward and upward.  And hopefully more blog posts. 

I’m trying.  

Hair We Go Again…

 
Welcome back to another edition of I need a better camera Hair We Go!  Today we were a little pressed for time, so I thought we would try a tutorial I’ve seen floating around for a while.  Some people call it “faking a long ponytail” or “the double pony tail trick”.  What ever makes you happy.  

Being that Pixie has such curly hair, her hair often looks a lot shorter than it really is.  You wet that head and her hair goes down between her shoulder blades, but once it dries, it’s more like a bob.  Regardless, I’d kill for her curls.  Typically, her ponty tails are tiny, curly and adorable.  I’ve actually had people ask if I curl her hair.  I should have really taken a picture of a typical Pixie pony so I could show you, but I’m a terrible blogger and who has forethought these days?  

So any way, let me show you how it turned out. 

   
 I need to start by pointing out the obvious, that weird part on the side of her head makes me crazy!  If I had more time, I would definitely play around with it and see if I couldn’t get rid of that obvious part that screams “Secret ponytail isn’t so secret!”  I had tried this hairstyle on myself and ran into the same problem.  I definitely think it has a lot to do with my lack of hair skills.  

All in all, this hair style is stupid easy and incredible satisfying.  Pixie’s ponytail has easily doubled in length and looks great (aside from that PART!).  I would absolutely do this with my own hair as well.  I would show you, but taking pictures of the back of my own head was super difficult and no one wants to see the lame attempt I made.  

So success!  

Here’s a simple tutorial from makeup.com so you can try on your own!

http://www.makeup.com/two-ponytail-trick
Let me know what you think! 

Ahhhh, Valentine’s Day…

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and I can’t help but realize, like every other area of my life, Valentine’s Day has changed drastically since having children.  

Allow me to demonstrate:

BK (before kids):  

You get super excited when you glimpse at your calendar (filled with lots of fun, grown up-like events) and notice that Valentine’s Day is coming up!  Oh for soothe! (Or something.). You can’t wait to spend the day with your love and relish in how much you enjoy each other’s company.  It’s going to be so much fun!

AK (after kids):

Oh hell.  Valentine’s Day is like, three days away!  You didn’t notice between the school meetings and play dates.  But there it is.  Did you pick up Valentines yet for the class?  How many kids are in the class?  Are they doing that this year?  Is there a class party you have to show up to?  Your kid doesn’t know either.  Awesome.  Did you discuss any plans with your other half?  Are you getting each other anything this year?  Why are there holidays?  Aren’t regular days enough?

BK:

DAYS before, you start the grooming process for the big day.  You’re waxing and shaving various areas.  You need to make sure you have that certain perfume that drives him crazy.  What are you going to wear?  Whatever.  You’ll get an entirely new outfit.  It’s a special occasion after all!  You make an appointment for the salon that morning so your mani, pedi, and hair look amazing.  You smile to yourself while trying out different make up looks in the mirror and wonder if life could be any sweeter.  

AF:

Valentine’s Day.  Like, the actual day of.  Is everyone bathed?  Have they at least bathed recently?  Did you brush your hair and teeth this morning?  Better make sure you do that.  You don’t have to shave. Gweneth Paltrow said so.  

BK:

You’ve picked out the most amazing gift for your other half!  It’s wrapped like in belongs in a window display and you are dying, DYING to give it to them.  They’re going to be so excited.  And you know how great they are at giving gifts too.  What is it this year?  Diamonds?  A new car with a bow on it?  Your own ISLAND!?  Who knows?  You don’t!  AH!  You love love!

AK:

You hand your significant other the generic box of chocolates you remembered to pick up at the last minute.  They might have thanked you, but you can’t hear them over the sounds of children asking to try some of YOUR chocolate, even though they definitely got their own.  You turn your back for a minute, and that giant gaudy heart you received is filled only with wrappers.  Magical.  

BK:

You’re in the car, listening to Boys II Men, and gazing longingly at each other.  Your love surprised you by getting reservation months in advance to some swanky, dark little restaurant that charges illegal organs for a main course.  But it’s ok,  what else do you have to spend money on?  You hold hands across the table, while sharing a dessert and staring into the dark pools of each other’s eyes.  This is so great.  

AK:

You head to whatever chain restaraunt that  isn’t completely swamped with people.  You still have to wait an eternity to get seated.  If you have to tell the kids to stop hitting each other one more time…oh thank God, the table is ready.  You go through the the regular dinner time motions (begging people to eat, negotiating, threatening, listening to conversations entirely based around video games and tv shows you don’t even understand) all while feeling SUPER conscious of the fact that everyone in your immediate vicinity is childless.  And annoyed with you.  In fact, your pretty sure that one couple left before their drinks even came to the table.  Whatever.  Jerks.  

BK:

You finish dinner and race home to the…main event.  

I don’t feel like that needs further explanation.  

AK:

You finally manage to get everyone into the car and wonder if these little heathans will ever sleep tonight after the copious amounts of candy they ate.  Once you get home and make sure everyone is dreaming sweetly, you pass out promptly on the couch.  If you’re lucky, you aren’t snoring.  (You aren’t lucky.)

And I know what some of you are thinking: “Why not get someone to watch the kids?”

And you can do that, but let’s face it, you’re just going to spend the whole time talking about how much you miss them.  

Update:  I’m Lazy

Seriously though.  I can’t seem to get my butt in gear this week.  I’ve had about 2039840293784 things on the agenda and maybe accomplished, oh, 3 of them.  Anyone else?

Anyway, I figured since I didn’t tackle any of the big things I’ve had planned from this blog so far this week, I’d at least stop by with a little update.  

As I mentioned before, we took Slugger off his meds a little over a month ago now.  There have been some changes, and I thought this was as good a place as any to think them out and put them on “paper”.  Plus, you know, I like you guys.  

So the pros:

I have heard more genuine laughter from Slugger the last couple of weeks than I’ve heard in a while.  Like goofy, belly laughs.  

We’ve been able to joke around a little, which is hard sometimes because he is SO literal.  Like, sarcasm.  I embrace it.  He doesn’t understand sarcasm and gets really upset with me some times.  Whoops.  

BIggest pro?  No more meds.  Duh.

The Cons:

There is really only one HUGE con.  Slugger seems to think that because he isn’t on his medication anymore he now has free reign to act like a fool.  And I don’t mean the goofy stated above.  I mean blatant disrespect and disregard for everyone around him.  More so than the usual.  Now, how do I know this isn’t a side effect?  Well, his meds were for his FOCUS.  Not BEHAVIOR.  

So I have a feeling, in his head, he thinks that he can blame any and all indiscretions on the fact that we are no longer medicating him, when in fact, the issues we are having are completely unrelated.  Ahhhh, kids.  They’re great.

But on another note, we finally got our new oil blend in and I’m hoping this at least assists in Slugger’s anger issues.  I will say, I made the mistake of diffusing it during homework time yesterday.  Never. Again.  Talk about letting the flood gates open.  We are going to have to use this one with caution.  So there’s that. 

I’m super excited because we are going to be trying a supplement for Slugger next month.  Even though his go to blend, Brain Power, seems to be working well for him (when he feels like actually doing work!) I figured the added boost of a supplement couldn’t hurt.  I’ll be trying it as well because, ummm, who couldn’t use some assistance with their continuities function, am I right?  More on that though when it comes in.  

Any way, I’m going to go try to be productive.  Then I can actually present something interesting to you folks.  So hang in there.  It’s coming.  I think. Maybe.  

Hair We Go 

I thought it would be fun to showcase a serious lack of ability I have.  Dealing with hair.  I’m awful.  I’m the person who can French braid my own hair, but heaven forbid you ask me to recreate it on some one else’s head.  I just cannot.  

Pixie has always been a very strong willed child when it comes to her sense of fashion, and I’m not surprised this included her hair as well.  She will dictate exactly what she wants done (or not done) to her hair.  Typically we get a lot of “I need Elsa hair today.”  So I thought it would be fun to switch it up.  

Pixie and I sat down and started looking through some hair styles, because I knew damn well I wasn’t touching her head with out her pre approving the hairstyle we were attempting.  So today, she picked the infamous Lady Gaga hair bow.  Seems simple enough, right?

I found a pretty simple tutorial here:

http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/hairstyles/time/5-10mins/lady-gaga-hair-bow-video-hairstyles/
Cutegirlhairstyles.com 

Pixie should just live there.  

But anyway, this is what we started out with:

  
Pardon my depressing back drop and lack of natural light, but it’s about 18 degrees out and we weren’t taking this show outside.  So as you can see, I wet Pixie’s hair a little before we started.  This is usually necessary anyway, because she has the curliest, wispiest, baby hair.  It’s beautiful when it’s down and allowed to dry naturally.  I would kill for her hair.  Except for the fact that it is nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get up.  It just flies everywhere.  

So before I reveal our attempt, I should clarify that I really took about 10 minutes on this.  Maybe I could have done better given more time, but find a four year old, start messing with their hair and see how happy they are after a few minutes.  Spoiler alert:  they don’t like it.  

Also, I’m sure hair spray would help tremendously, but seeing as I don’t own any (like, this just shows, I DON’T do hair) we had to wing it.  

Alright.  The unveiling.

   
 
Tada!  It kind of resembels a bow?  Enough so that Pixie was happy with it.  I wish I could have gotten it higher on her head, but trying to see what I was doing and asking her repeatedly to stop moving her head may have prevented that.  Maybe.  

All in all, I think this was fairly easy would probably look great with a little effort thrown in.  Also curly hair isn’t your friend here.  When it came to bringing the ends over the bow to “tie” it, those little hairs just didn’t want to be tamed.  

She likes it and she’s happy.  So that’s what matters right?  

Tune in next time to see how badly I can screw it up again.  Well not this hair do.  A different one.  You get it.  

Hair we go!

The Nitty Gritty

Ok ladies and gents. I’ve already covered a little bit of how I got started with essential oils, so today I’d like to address a pretty big WHY that gets asked about often.  I’ve had more than a few people ask me why I use Young Living specifically.

“Aren’t they expensive?”

“Aren’t they a multi-level marketing company?”

“Can’t I just get some oils at the grocery store?”

Let me explain. Just. Let. Me.

I know a lot of people are immediately turned off by multi-level marketing. You immediately think of pushy sales people, trying to recruit every single person they ever said hello to, making up lies like “Oh my goodness! I finally have an opening on my team and I think you’d be perfect for it!” We all know that’s not true. We all know they could sign up 24 people a day if they wanted. If they could find willing participants.

I had all these thoughts at first as well. Trust me. I had failed once selling a certain cosmetic line that may sound like Hairy Fey. And I won’t lie when I say I felt a little dirty try to pander something that I didn’t really believe in. I liked their product, but did I really feel like it was the best out there? No. Certainly not. And this is why I bowed out gracefully and a little more poor than when I started.

So again, I wasn’t thrilled.

Now, here is where a little research got me over that hump.

I knew pretty instantly that I wanted a distributor account. I knew that if I was going to do this, I wanted it to “be a thing” and I wanted to be dedicated. And I wanted a discount. (Of course). Now this is typically how other companies suck you in. You want a discount, but you have to spend $30348028520 on product a month to keep your account. (Maybe a SLIGHT exaggeration.) And you HAVE to be “working the business”. So. Much. Pressure. And if you don’t have a large social circle willing to spend money, you’re buying a ridiculous amount of product that you just don’t need and can’t use. It’s a waste.

With Young Living, you only need to spend $50 A YEAR to keep your account active after purchasing your starter kit. And there’s no business unless you want to sell. You just have an account, with a discount. No pressure. No one yelling “Sell, sell, sell!”

After learning this, I raised an eyebrow, took a mental note, probably nodded and said “Hmmm”.

But there’s more.

Young Living has been in business for 22 years. They are largely responsible for the introduction of essential oils to the American public. I think it goes without saying that after 22 years, they must be doing a thing or two right. And they are.

Young Living prides themselves in something they call “Seed to Seal”. What the heck is that, right? Well, allow me.

Young Living owns all their own farms and crops. Everything they sell to public has been handled strictly by them through that entire process. From the moment they plant the seed into the ground to the moment they put the oil in the bottle and label it, no one else has their hands in their oils. This ensures they are pure and have not been tampered with. Their crops are grown organically so you can ensure that you aren’t slathering yourself in pesticides along with your lavender. They cold press and steam distill everything themselves to ensure they get the best quality oil out of each plant.

In fact, this is part of the reason the cost is higher than the bottles you might find on Amazon or in your local grocery store. Young Living is so committed to the quality of their oils, that only about 30% of their crops actually get bottled as essential oil. Anything that isn’t up to par is used as fertilizer and natural insect repellant for their crops. Call me crazy, but this is a HUGE selling point for me. I want to know I’m getting quality. I want to know what I’m using. I want to know that everything has been done the best way possible with no harmful chemicals before I start using anything on my family.

The coolest part? As a distributor, you can actually go to the farms yourself and help with the process. Nothing to hide. I like that.

Ok, so we’ve covered why they’re a little pricier than others. And though I’m ok with paying for quality, maybe you aren’t. And hey, that’s cool. I don’t know if I get it, but you do you. The cool thing here is that there are definitely incentives for having an account with Young Living that off set some of the costs. There is a monthly auto ship program called “Essential Rewards”. You voluntarily sign up and can cancel at anytime while still keeping your account open. You get a shipment each month (that you choose and edit as you see fit) and you get a percentage of that order back in points to use on product. There are also monthly promotions for free product if you spend over a certain amount. And need I repeat, this is without having to “do the business”. This is just for having an account. That’s all.

Young Living also has the largest inventory and variety of oils because of their farms located all over the world. They offer more single oils and blends than any other company on the market. And because they’re pure, you’ll never see “fragrance oils”. Fragrance oils are just that. For smelling. No health benefits. In some cases they’re synthetic and manufactured to smell like what you think a plant SHOULD smell like. No thank you.

Now the easiest way to see why I’ve chosen Young Living? Buy a bottle of, say, lemon. Then buy a bottle of lemon from somewhere else. Any where else. I’m that confidant. Not only will they not smell the same, but I can almost guarantee you will not the same benefits from the other company’s bottle as you do from the bottle of Young Living. Prove me wrong.

Also if you’d like more info on the “Seed to Seal” process, check this out.

https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/discover/seed-to-seal

Pretty cool stuff.

I hope I’ve maybe answered some questions. If there’s anything I left out, or you’d like to know more about, please leave a comment below.

Also! Don’t forget about the Thieves Household Cleaner giveaway! Information for that is posted in the “Out With the Old’ post. Let me give you free things!! Enter!

Out With the Old…

Ok. So I have to admit that when I sat down to plan this post, I didn’t think I had much to work with. I wanted to talk about the changes taking place in our home and honestly only thought there were two or three things that I had to cover.   I started by making a list of all the products I had “replaced” over the last couple of months and was shocked with what was in front of me.

Let me start by saying, I’m the type of person who hates anything that involves more than one step. I am lazy. So, so lazy. If you had approached me and said something along the lines of “Do you have any idea what is in X, Y, and Z?!  You need to find alternatives for all of those!” I would have rolled my eyes, made a “pshhht” sound, and told you that’s exhausting. So suffice to say, I’m not here to preach. I’m not her to tell you what you need to do.  But know this, if I can get rid of these things and substitute healthier things without even trying, imagine what I could do if I WASN’T so lazy!

So in all its glory, here is my list.  This isn’t even the ENTIRE list. I had to leave somethings off because I don’t need the FDA handing me my rear end. Anyway. Here it is.

I have replaced:

Shaving cream

Shampoo

Conditioner

Laundry detergent

Fabric softener

Dryer sheets

Most every single cleaning product

Deodorant

Face cleanser

Soap

Moisturizer

Air fresheners

Perfume

And that my friends is the list.

Some of you are probably terrified about how the nasty sponge comes into play. And if you don’t know about the nasty sponge, go like my Facebook fan page, you false friend, you. I mean, please?

Now. Let’s start there since it’s as good as any place.

thieves household cleaner
I have been using the Thieves Household Cleaner for a couple of months. No more bleach. No more windex. No more anything. Just the Thieves cleaner.  Now the novelty here, aside from the fact that I love the smell, is that this bottle is super concentrated. I use one capful in a 16 ounce spray bottle. That’s it. This will last me forever.

I used to believe the only way to clean my shower was to slowly kill myself with bleach.  I would finish scrubbing and my lungs would be on fire from the fumes.  Not anymore. This cleaner is all natural and plant based. I wish I had thought to take a before and after, but I didn’t.

Which leads to the sponge.

I’m ashamed to say, I have never cleaned my oven. Never. It just didn’t cross my mind. So when it did finally cross my mind, it was the stuff of nightmares in there. Just. Terrible. And then another lightbulb went off and I thought “This is an awesome opportunity to show that I’m not crazy and this stuff works!”  So I busted out the Thieves Cleaner and some baking soda and went to town.

image
The before. Ugh.
image
Immediately after wiping down the door.

imageThe after. The little white specks were some cleaner that hadn’t wiped off yet. Deal. All in all, it came out much better than I expected it would! Win.

Looking at the rest of this list, you’d imagine I would be pretty stinky. Not so. I promise. If anything, I might just smell less.

I stopped using store bought shampoo and conditioner because my hair was suffering. Between my ridiculously hard water and the sulfate in the shampoos, my hair was so dry and unhappy it was literally trying to form dreadlocks. Which would be cool if I was even remotely confident enough for that journey, but I’m not. Nope.

So, I switched out my shampoo for some baking soda. I just use it on my scalp to get rid of any built up oils. Then I use apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, and lavender oil in a spray bottle all over to “condition” my hair. Finish with some argon oil on just the ends and brush through. Done and done. My hair is so much more manageable and has awesome texture that I was losing to frizz previously. And no, it doesn’t smell like vinegar when I’m done.

I’ve started making my own soap, which is pretty much a whole body soap, but it works wonders for my face. Seriously. Baby smooth. Goats milk soap base with some lavender, vetiver, patchouli, frankincense, tea tree, Roman Chammomile, and coconut oil.  I follow up with a moisturizer made with Shea butter, coconut oil, bees wax, frankincense, lavender, geranium, and tea tree. It’s a good time and I’m never looking back.

Now, the deodorant, that was not intentional. And I can’t say that I’ve replaced  it.   I just. Stopped. Using. It. I don’t know why or what happened, but I suddenly realized that it had been quite sometime since I’d used any. And I didn’t smell. Maybe my body naturally detoxed or something. No idea. Sorry I can’t be helpful there.

My laundry in another area that I’m super excited about. I switched from my usual detergent to the Thieves Laundry soap.


Thought it smells great in th bottle, it doesn’t contain any perfumes, so my clothes at left smelling like nothing. Which nothing is still clean. My hubs is a mechanic. If his clothes weren’t clean, you would definitely know. The beautiful thing about this laundry soap is that once again, it’s natural. Our previous detergent was causing my husband to break out in awful rashes anywhere his clothing rubbed. Not. Any. More.

I pair the laundry soap with my homemade fabric softener. I keep this bad boy in a mason jar and use it with my good old downy ball. It’s mostly white vinegar, with a tiny bit of alcohol, topped off with a few drops of Theives oil and Young Living’s Purification oil blend.  No crusty rough clothes here.

It then throw everything in the dryer with some woo dryer balls dabbed in whatever essential oil I feel like usin that day. And everything smells amazing.

Air fresheners have been replaced with oils. Perfume. Oils. Everything. Oils.

There’s a theme here.

If you’ve stuck with me through all this, I want to help you be excited about cleaning as well. What does this mean?  Well, you have options.

If you would like to purchase any of the oils or products mentioned, you can do so here:

https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start?sponsorid=2951260&enrollerid=2951260&isocountrycode=US&isolanguagecode=en&type=member

OR

If you use that link to purchase a Premimum Starter Kit (it’s awesome) I will send you a bottle of the Thieves Houseld Cleaner. Free.  I’m leaving this open until the end of January.

OR

GIVEAWAY!

Ok. Here it goes.

For each friend you send over to my Facebook fan page, you will earn one entry to win a bottle of the Thieves Cleaner. They have to like the page and leave a post letting me know you referred them. I’ll even be extra nice and throw an entry in for them as well.   You can also earn an extra entry by signing up for my newsletter using the newletter tab on the fanpage. Entries everywhere! I will leave this open until next Sunday, January 23rd.(Editing to say I’m and idiot. That is not next Sunday. It’s actually the following Saturday. More chances for everyone!) I don’t want you guys to wait forever. Waiting sucks.

So there you have it. If there’s anything in today’s post that you want to know more about, or maybe want the full recipe  for, leave a comment and I’ll make that happen!

Good luck!