Young Living Oils

Don't know if you know this or not, but this past year, I started selling Young Living Oils.  I started mainly because I wanted the oils and couldn't get them unless I decided to be an independent distrubtor.  PLUS, they are the BEST essential oils there are!  Seriously!  I have learned so much about essential oils since starting this journey and want to share all these awesome things with everyone else.  So here is my October newsletter...If you want to be added to my newsletter, please leave a comment with your email address so I can put you on.

Happy Fall,

With the cold months approaching, we are all gearing up for cold and flu season.  I don't know about you but I tend to be a bit of a "germaphobe" at times.  When the first kid starts sniffing, I automatically start to panic...pull out my Essential Oil Handbook and call my homeopathic doctor.  That being said, I am going to try to prevent this panic BEFORE it starts this year.  What am I going to do you ask...

1.  I use Thieves cleaner on everything!  A. chemicals give me a serious headache. B. It makes my house smell DELICIOUS and C. It disinfects like the best of them WITHOUT the chemicals.  I bought one bottle in March and have only used a quarter of it thus far...this stuff lasts forever. 

2.  Speaking of thieves products, I also use thieves essential oil in my laundry to kill off any remaining germs that may be lingering on my children's clothing. You can also put a few drops in a diffuser or a small pot of boiling water to kill airborne germs. You can also use, lavender oil, Melaleuca, purification, or patchouli.

3.  Thieves hand sanitizer...A MUST THIS FALL AND WINTER!  I think I may purchase a TON of this stuff because I hate the smell of regular hand sanitizer and I cringe and what chemicals lurk in them. 


Now...what do we do when we actually get sick?  Stay tuned as I will explain in detail what essential oils we use and how to use them. 

Thanks for your support!

Kara

MIA

I know, I know...I have been MISSING!!!  You ask why???  4 kids...that is all I need to say about that. 

Anyways, now that 2 of them are in school, I guess I should start posting again! 

Enjoy!

She's 3 today

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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!