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Sunday, July 20, 2014

The blissful land of sleep...

I've written countless times about the wonderful qualities of essential oils in regard to sleep - and sleep was the number one reason I bought oils in the first place. However, I have recently been awed yet again by the powerful properties of these little bottles of goodness.

From the very first time we started using oils in November, the sleep in our family has dramatically improved. Our 5 year old went from waking up and waking us up 2-3 times a night to waking up/waking us up once a night...to waking up once a night and quietly (without waking us) coming into his little cot bed in our room...to occasionally sleeping all the way through the night...to the current miracle of SLEEPING ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE NIGHT FOR 9 STRAIGHT NIGHTS!!! Can you tell I'm excited?!

But my excitement doesn't stop there! Not only has our little guy been sleeping beautifully, I have also started sleeping so well that for the last several nights I have not woken up even once during the night (a phenomenon that has not happened for over 8 years!). I have been going to sleep without any problem and sleeping like an absolute log until my alarm goes off. What a difference sleep makes!

Now you're probably wondering what the trick is so I will share what we do (it's crazy simple!) in our house and hope it's helpful to you too! There is something magical about getting consistently good sleep and we are reaping the benefits of that after many years of waiting! Thank you Jesus for essential oils!!


  • We love our sleep oils and have many of them! I like to use different oils throughout the week - don't know if that makes a big difference but we don't use the same sleep oils every night. There's no real order...I just like to switch it up. So, our favorite sleepytime oils are Peace and Calming, Cedarwood, Tranquil and Citrus Fresh. I apply a couple drops of oil to the back of the neck, bottoms of feet and on the temples.
  • And I diffuse oils during the night. Since we only have one diffuser, I rotate it between rooms throughout the week so no one gets it every night. I usually put about 6 drops of oil in the diffuser- sleep oil and then sometimes lemon or thieves for some added immunity boosting. 
That's it! the results have been incredible and we are feeling great around here!! Happy snoozing!

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Glimpses of Summer...

I can hardly believe that it's mid-July and our summer is quickly flying by! Thought I would highlight a couple things we've been up to. I took the boys blackberry picking last week at Red Barn Farm up in Weston. There weren't many blackberries ripe enough to pick but we got a few and had a great time. A we were searching for ripe berries, we found a beautiful surprise - hanging from a low branch of one of the blackberry bushes, we found a Robin's nest full of bright blue eggs. The boys were so excited to see it so close. Since the ripe berries were few, the boys gobbled them up in a fruit salad at home and that was the end of them! A great summer morning activity. I love making memories with my boys...especially during the beautifully warm days of summer.



 On the 4th of July, I was trying to think of something fun and out-of -the-ordinary to do with the boys and my clever mom suggested buying shaving cream. What a crazy great idea! We hung out outside and they had the best time spraying shaving cream all over themselves and the driveway, mixing it with chalk to make paint and overall having a ball being messy!

We have been frequenting the pool a LOT these days. It is such a treat to go when  Daddy gets off work. On Friday night we took the boys to the water park and then headed over to Zona Rosa for their concert on the square (an event we didn't know about until this week!). I packed a picnic and we listened to the mediocre and very loud music but had a blast. We then treated the boys to vegan frozen yogurt at Yogurtini. Such a wonderful family night! These things make me smile and remind me of how very blessed we are!

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Essential Oils in Gardening...Tower Garden Growth...Rain Barrel Watering...

Just a quick gardening post as the morning is fresh in my mind and before I get busy doing other things!
 My tower gardens are exploding with growth this year - my deck looks like a forest! I have been harvesting curly kale, purple kale, dinosaur kale, lettuce, zucchini, spinach, and broccoli these days...I can hardly keep up with how much produce I am bringing in each day. It is lovely!! Fresh, deck-grown veggies make me smile...a lot!!


I have had a problem with little green caterpillars this year - I believe they are cabbage worms and they love to munch on broccoli and kale. Thankfully I have been able to save my plants and really haven't lost much other than a few kale leaves. When I discovered the problem, I did have to spend some time pulling them off my plants.In addition, I started spraying my plants with a combination of Lemongrass, Peppermint, and Purification mixed in a bottle with water (I did about 5 drops of each for a 10 oz bottle). In the morning before the sun is hot and bright, I spray my gardens and I am no longer having the issue of worms (other than the occasional stray one I find). The oils do not kill the creatures but they prevent more eggs from being laid and thus eventually cures the problem for the most part. I am so happy with this natural combo of Young Living oils!!!

Finally, we recently purchased a rain barrel and got it installed. We had a very big storm the other night and after the storm, our 45 gallon barrel was full! I was able to go out and water all of my fruit trees this morning with our rain barrel bounty!

Summer at it's finest:-)