Essential Oils EVERY mom needs

Many of you know that I started selling Young Living Oils recently. I can honestly say that I didn't do it for the money but just because I LOVE their oils. Being a family of 6, we tend to see our share of colds and viruses and to be honest with you, I am not a fan of antibiotics (for more than one reason). So we have had to treat these illnesses a bit different...with essential oils AND homeopathy (but that is for another post). We also use them in our laundry, household cleaners, bathes, on "boo boos", and for just about anything! The reason I am hooked on YL oils is because they are 1. organic, 2. therapeutic grade oils, 3. you can ingest them, and 4. they are the most deliciously smelling oils I have ever smelt!

Being new to the world of essential oils, I feel I am constantly looking up a new use for my oils. My friends have questioned what would be the best for their families. Some just know nothing about oils other than they smell good. That being said, I figured I would put together a few lists of oils that might interest y'all. For starters, I am going to focus on those oils every mom should have around. Just so you know...this is just my opinion!

The Mom Cabinet:

Lavender: You can use it for just about anything!

• Put it on cuts or scraped knees to alleviate pain.
• Helps those babies sleep better (and mama). Put a few drops in a spray bottle and spray on sheets.
  
• Feels great to massage into your neck after a loooonnnggg day/night
• Calms ear pain (don't put it in the ear). Rub behind the ear during ear infections.
• Put a few drops in the tub and relax.
• Put a few drops in your laundry detergent.
  

Peppermint: You always need to dilute this a carrier oil

• Holly headache! Rub some into your temples to help with headaches.
• Put a few drops in water for an afternoon pick me up.
• Place a few drops in the tub (with lavender) to help clear up a stuffy nose
• Have a sore throat or mussel ache. Rub some on the inflamed area to help with pain.
• Put a few drops in your humidifier at night to help with colds.
• Good for digestion!
  

Thieves: The everything oil

• You should totally read about thieves here. It is so interesting.
• Have a cold, virus, infection? Lather up your feet with thieves oil before bed. You will feel better in the morning.
• Clean just about anything with it. It has an antimicrobial component to it.
• Put some on your wrist and smell like Christmas :) The kids will come running.
• Ingest some to help build your immune system! Seriously!
  

Lemon: Think clean

• Put a few drops in water for an afternoon wake up call.
• Place some drops in your homemade cleaner for a fresh smell
• Use in recipes that call for lemon juice
• Although I haven't use it for this yet, it can be massaged into skin to improve circulation.

Eucalyptus: Vicks anyone?

• Arthritis, bronchitis, cold sores, colds, coughing, fever, flu, poor circulation, sinusitis are a few of the things it helps with.
• If your kid has a cold (or you) put some in your humidifier.
  
• Rub some (diluted) on your chest before bed!
  

Dinner time!!

If you haven't seen a theme here yet, you haven't been reading for long. I like to save money. Seriously! I HATE spending money on useless things. Grocery's being one of them...and, as I have said before, I make a weekly menu followed by a grocery list. Just in case you were short on ideas for this week, here is what we will be eating at the Riedl household this week!

Monday~ Salsa Cube Steak, baked broccoli

Tuesday~Easy chicken stir fry with rice (I added chicken)

Wednesday~Chicken parm with salad

Thursday~Marinated baked pork chops with baked carrots and rice

Friday~Sweet and sour chicken with fried rice

Saturday~ Out

Sunday~ Steak fajitas with baked nachos


Lunch:
PB&J
turkey/cheese rolls
apples with peanut butter and veggies
egg salad
tuna fish
smoothies


Grocery list:
frozen strawberries
sauce
chicken
pork chops
cheese (2 packs)
spinach
apples (2 bags)
bananas
mayo
ketchup
milk
eggs
tortillas
carrots
frozen mixed veggies
oats
one kids snack item

Cooper's 5th birthday party

I was given the task of creating a Wild Kratts birthday party for Cooper this year. Not only did he want the Wild Kratts (if you have never watched them, you should..they are pretty cool), he wanted the Wild Kratts to visit the polar bears. Stumped, I searched the internet in hopes to find some answers. I came across a few sites with examples of "creature power suits" but it seemed like all of the parties happened in the summer. What games could be played inside? How in the world were we going to pull this off?

Well, we did and I think it went pretty well. The creature power suits were only a piece of felt folded in half with a hole for the neck cut out. I then glued the paw print on them.

After the kids wore them, we then had to "activate" them by putting our "polar bear disks" on the paw print (just printed out a picture of a polar bear and glued it on a circle which was worn as a necklace). This enabled the kids to be "become the polar bears". I found this cute little print out of a polar bear mask which the kids put on and we traveled to Antarctica to visit the polar bears. Cooper and I hung polar bear facts on the wall and we took turns playing throw the snowball in the ice berg. After that, we had a good old fashion snowball fight with crumbled up paper. As cheesy as it sounds, it turned out pretty good.

Good bags consisted of polar bear ring pops, snowflake pencils, snowflake stickers, compasses, mini polar bears, and of course some gum.

And I couldn't forget the cake...how easy was that?

My big 5 year old had a fantastic day and I am so glad we were able to pull off his "big idea"!

Papers everywhere

I don't know about you but I find that we accumulate a lot of papers...

And I.HATE.PAPERS!

So, what do you do with all of those beautiful pieces of priceless artwork and school work?

This year, I decided to take charge of the papers. Each kid was assigned a crate where all papers would go when they got home from school/church. After they showed off their creations and decided if one was valuable enough to be hung on the door, we put the rest of the papers in their crate. At the end of each month, I go through each crate and pull out extra special projects or things that show their progress level and put them in a folder. The folder if then labeled and placed in a bin in their closet. Last year, Kylie only had 2 folders (full) of projects that describe her year!

Before:
After:

I have found this to be a great way to deal with the "paper situation"!

Now if I can just come up with a system for the "other papers" we accumulate...hmmmm

SLACKER!

I am aware that I have been slacking in the writing department these days. But with 4 kids, things are a little crazy around here. That being said, I have a few minutes to myself so lets see if I can fill you in a little on our busy life.

1. Christmas was super fun! The kids were all allowed to ask Santa for 3 gifts (a need, a want, and something to share). It was great to watch them carefully decide what to ask for. They all ended up with a lot of "stuff" anyways but I have seen them play with almost everything they received.

2. Speaking of "stuff"...we seem to have a lot of it these days. No matter how hard I try to limit things coming into the house and how often I purge what we have, I am still struck by how much STUFF we have. With 4 kids, we seem to accumulate a lot! I do feel that I am pretty good about getting rid of unnecessary things but still feel overwhelmed every once in a while. Time to do some purging!!

3. Organization is on the "to-do" list these days. Although I am NOT pregnant, I have felt the "nesting" urge lately. Yes, I even organized my spice cabinet. Must have something to do with #2.

4. Kallen is growing up too fast!

5. Looks like we won't have to wear our hats/gloves in the house anymore! We decided to invest in a wood stove. I am super excited to get it put in and cannot wait to cuddle up next to it with a good book!! YAH!!!

6. We seem to be going through more food than usual. Must have something to do with having so many people eating! Think we may have to revisit the food budget again.

7. I am learning a lot these days about God. Stay tuned for future blog posts on that one.

8. Zach has been making some super awesome cutting boards! Love that he has discovered a new talent.
9. My time is up...must accomplish something before the kids wake up from nap!

Merry Christmas from the Riedl's

Merry Christmas!

Kylie: Kylie started 1st grade this fall and is doing great. She is in a multiage class which consists of both 1st and 2nd grade students and is eating it up. She is our little book worm and always has a book or two going at at time. Her report card was excellent to say the least and she is apparently a little social butterfly! At home, she loves dancing and doing many different arts and crafts. She is one little creative girl! Being the "big sister" suits her well as she loves playing and helping out with her siblings. This summer she was a huge help with the baby and continues to step in when mommy and daddy need some assistance. Kylie is such a kind hearted girl and we love watching her grow into the beautiful young lady God created her to be.

Cooper: Cooper started preschool two days a week this year and loves it. Every morning he asks if it is a preschool day. Although he has LOTS of energy, he is very well behaved at school and we have only heard positive things about him. He loves to write books and has a creative side as well. Overnight he decided to start writing his name and letters to everyone in the family. His new love is for building. Almost daily he asks to go over "to the shop" and build something. It is too cute to watch some days. And for all of you who know Cooper, he continues to melt our heart with his big blue eyes and sweet little voice. God has truly blessed us with a handsomely sweet little man (or big guy if you are talking with him).

Addison: Addy has grown up so much over the past year. We have entered the stage of "terrible twos" and they seemed to hit right around her birthday. She is one strong cookie and makes sure everyone knows what she wants. Even so, we have discovered a goofy side to her. Out of all of our kids, she seems to be the comedian. She likes to dance and sing in silly voices while making goofy faces. It is too cute to watch. She loves her baby dolls and has taken on a little mommy roll. You can usually find her feeding, changing or putting her baby to bed. At the end of the day, she just wants to cuddle and give kisses. What more could we ask for?

Kallen: We welcomed Kallen into our family this July! What an awesome addition he has been. He is such a happy baby and is always smiling. Just the mention of his name and he will flash a famous Kallen smile! We could just eat him up. His newest accomplishments are eating rice cereal and rolling over. He also started sleeping a lot better (which is more of an accomplishment for mommy). God blessed us with this little handsome man and we couldn't be more grateful!

Zach: Zach is still working at the bank which has worked out great for our family. He is right in town and able to bring Kylie to school each morning along with attend a lot of school functions. It's ideal to say the least. He has also started building furniture! Our house has been blessed with many new pieces and let me tell you, they are AWESOME. He would love to start selling some of his work and I am sure he will be pretty successful with this! That being said, golf wasn't a priority this summer and he didn't get to go out much. Being a family man has defiantly

put a dent in his golf game. He is hoping to get Cooper into golf so he can have a little golfing buddy!

Kara: Still staying home and loving that God has allowed us to live on one income. Each day, I think of how blessed we are and how God continues to bless us daily. To say the least, he surprised us with Mr. Kallen this year to add to our already large family. Wow...I am thankful! In my spare time (hahahahaha) I like to run, cook, and sew. This past November I was finally able to run in my first post baby 5K again. Hopefully this spring I will be able to get back into running more! I have dealt with a lot of illness over the past year as well and it looks as though my tonsils will be coming out the first of the year. Not looking forward to being down and out for a few weeks but am very grateful for family who will be helping out.

“ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-2, 14

Rudolf?