This is what happened when I went live in a Facebook group that had over 11,000 people in it...

This is what happened when I went live in a Facebook group that had over 11,000 people in it...
Guess what I did the other day?!

Me – the one who used to panic even at the thought of talking to more than 10 people at once, me - the one who used to feel like passing out just holding a microphone…I went LIVE in a Facebook group that had 11.500 people in it!!

It was AWESOME!!  I had waited for this opportunity for months, and I knew that doing it was important for me and for my business. Last Monday I put make up on for the first time in weeks and had a consultative meeting (that streamed live on facebook) with a business strategist.  

The centre of my universe are my boys – I love kids, and for a decade my last two businesses were centred around teaching children (first, infant sign language, and then STEM using LEGO® bricks).  Yet still, I couldn’t see how my love of kids aligned with my love of essential oils, and my new passion of toxin-free living.  

Sometimes the answer to something that puzzles you is so close, that you just can’t see it! After chatting to this lady for a few short minutes I began to see everything falling, slightly chaotically, into place!! I suddenly saw, with great conviction, how much I could offer ‘my people’. I began to finally see the wood for the trees! 

Here are those people that I think I can help…

💜Those that want to lead a healthier lifestyle, but don’t know where to start.
💜Those that might be on a budget and want advice on making simple changes that are affordable.
💜Those that want an easy button to embrace a cleaner life style while keeping kids included, invested and interested?
💜Those with babies and toddlers that are sleep deprived and frustrated – I would love to begin sharing about infant sign language again!
💜And also those parents with slightly older kids that want to empower them to make healthy choices and smart decisions for themselves, like I have done with my boys.  

I want to help you take the puzzle out of achieving family wellness, and I want to make it fun and playful too!

How my kids made me some toilet cleaner... all by themselves!

How my kids made me some toilet cleaner... all by themselves!
Having the kiddos home, and still needing to do all the things that used to get done in their absence, means that at times we need to get creative with our time.
 
One of the things that you may have gathered is that I am now a firm believer in removing as many toxins as we can from our homes.   There are so many frightening chemicals in the majority of household cleaners and the effects they have on our bodies (and our mental health) are even more terrifying! 
 
So, seeing as I don’t use the stinky blue stuff in my toilets anymore, I have started making my own toilet bombs.  They are like bath bombs, but for cleaning the loo – they even fizz and bubble! It is so satisfying to watch.  
 
This time I decided that I would get the children to help me – it counted for family time, outside time, and it ticked a chore off my massive ‘to do’ list. Win, win, win!
 
They are so simple and fun to make as well.  The boys, though reluctant at first, had a great time and they even let me take pictures of them! Oh, and they completed the whole activity without bickering too!! 


 
Here is the recipe we used (one that came directly from Young Living):
 
Toilet Bowl Cleaner 
 
YIELD: approximately 20 tablets
 
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • 1/2 cup citric acid
  • 1/2 cup corn starch
  • 4 teaspoons water
  • 2 teaspoons Thieves, Lemon, Citrus Fresh or Tea Tree (about 40 drops)
  • 3 teaspoons of V-6 vegetable oil complex
  • Ice cube tray or candy mold
 
Directions
 
In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix evenly.
 
In a separate small bowl, combine water, essential oils and V-6 vegetable oil complex.
 
Pour liquids into the large bowl and whisk together until combined.
 
Use mixture to fill ice cube tray or candy mold about three fourths full.  If mixture expands, gently repack into the mold.
 
Let sit overnight to dry.  When dry, pop tablets out and store in a glass jar.
 
When needed, put a tablet in the toilet bowl to help clean and deodorize. Let tablet sit in bowl for 20-30 minutes to fizz and dissolve.  Once dissolved, flush.
 
NOTE: This recipe is not recommended for toilet tanks.
 

The oil that defies gravity and teaches us patience!

My 10 year old loves to set up his own diffuser in the evenings before bed.  Last week I got my Essential Rewards order and I was very excited to finally be adding vetiver to my essential oil collection.  Here is a video of my son using vetiver for the first time.  His comments cracked me up – this oil defies gravity and makes you more patient… I think I NEED lots of this oil!!



He did eventually get a drop out of the bottle and he added 2 drops of lavender to it.  It smelt so amazing that I diffused the same at my bedtime (it did cross my mind that the reason this oil is known to support restful sleep is because you get so sleepy waiting for the drop to emerge)!  It is recommended that you add the vetiver oil to a carrier oil before adding it to the diffuser, or like my friend suggested, you can tuck it in your bra or pocket to warm it up a little first.

To learn more about this wonderful oil there is a recent post on Young Living’s blog; 8 Reasons You Should Be Using Vetiver. 

First published July 9, 2018

I gave my kids liquid courage!

I gave my kids liquid courage!

My children were beyond upset with me for 2 full days early this summer and all because I made them sign up to join the swim team. According to them, this was a huge problem because:
a) They were too old to join for the first time at age 10 and 8
b) All the other kids had been swimming since they were 5 (not true).
c) They didn’t want to get up early (but, they are up early weekends and holidays anyway!).
d)  They had never had formal swimming lessons/training of any kind (my valiant efforts didn’t count).

I was presented with that fairly impressive (and convincing) list of reasons why they SHOULDN’T join.  In the end, my reason “Because I SAID SO” was the final word.  I knew in my heart of hearts, that they would enjoy it and I also saw potential in them as swimmers.  Getting them to their first practice (a full 2 weeks after the season had started) was not fun, at all!  They were both understandably nervous (secretly, I was too) but I knew there was help.  It was to be found in the contents of a little brown glass bottle, with a deep purple label.  All it took was 1 drop rubbed on the bottom of their feet and a pep-talk and they did it – they had no idea what was going on; they were completely uncoordinated during the land exercises and equally awkward in the water, but they joined in and I was so proud of them!

Two weeks later and it turns out they love swimming and they are pretty good at it!  They enjoyed the practices, but then we had the hurdle of getting them prepared for the actual race meet.  The entire day of their first competitive meet they were both extremely anxious and complaining that every organ in their stressed-out little bodies was malfunctioning, any excuse to be excused!  An hour before the meet they started to completely unravel and there were plenty of tears and lots of pleading – they were begging me not to make them swim.  It was heartbreaking to see them so nervous, so it was Valor® to the rescue again.  Here is a video of my youngest less than an hour after the theatrics; he was excited, happy and full of confidence! It was amazing!



Lucky for me (and you, as I have a tendency to babble when I’m excited about something), Young Living featured Valor® on their site today and they have written a very informative post that you can read here.  I am certain that I will mention Valor® again because it is such a versatile and well loved oil, but I wanted to share with you how just a couple of drops of this amazing blue oil saved the summer for my family!  Yes, I put the oil on a little pedestal to take its picture! 🙂

First published July 4, 2018

SOL 'S.O.S."

SOL 'S.O.S."
It’s that time of year again! For anyone with a child in 3rd grade or beyond – you know what I’m talking about!! It is S.O.L time (and for those not in the U.S., that means it is time to test the children and make sure they meet the ‘Standards of Learning’ for their grade).  My eldest had his first test of the year on Wednesday and as luck would have it I received a bottle of Kidscents GeneYus on Tuesday evening!

GeneYus was specially formulated to support focus during school work, reading, exams, projects or any other time that children need to concentrate and be grounded.  This prediluted blend contains 16 essential oils and can be applied to the back of the neck, wrists and temples.  10 year old boys are pretty ‘cool’ these days so I made him a 2ml roller bottle with 15 drops of the GeneYus oil and fractionated coconut oil – I then raided MY own LEGO®  minifigure collection (true love and generosity in play) and heated up my trusty glue gun.  Not even the most discerning 4th grader would deny that a hot pink LEGO® mohawk-topped roller was pretty darn ‘awesome’!

*I hope he did well!

First published May 16, 2018