All about ON GAURD!

I would like to spotlight an oil and some of its other products doTERRA has to offer. Please visit my intro to oils blog post if you haven't read it already. Then from there i have a top 10 blog post as well!

As always you can find all our products on my site and can email from the site as well for info on how to order and get started w/ doTERRA!

Support immune function with ON GAURD products! My family and I have personally used each and everyone of these products i am spolighting. They are amazing. At first the smell was so different i didnt like it much- Clove, Cinnimon, Eucalyptus and a few other oils make up this blend. Now that i am used to it and we use it daily its not bad at all. It was just different at first.

Lets start off with the Blend ON GAURD this comes in a 15ml bottle (about 240 drops) and is a blend of Clove, Cinnimon, Eucalyptus, Wild Orange, and rosemary. This blend supports healthy immune funtion. It is also safe to use on counters for cleaning or to clear the air of germs by diffusing. This blend is safe for aromatic use, topical use and internal use. You can take in capsules to fight off a cold. Personally i rub on the bottoms of the familys feet and diffuse into the air when something is going around. I avoided the flu 2x this winter while the kids got it...i thank my on gaurd for this! This retails for $43, which is MUCH cheaper than multiple visits to a doctors office for prescriptions and such!




Next we have the ON GAURD protection throat drops. These are strong! But will kick a sore throat to the curb....(ok i am prly not as funny as i think, but i try!) These drops are made w/ organic brown rice syrup and oranic cane juice. They defend against pathogenic microbes of the mouth and throat. It also helps soothe and calm sore throats.







This next product is at each sink in our house! Its the awesome foaming hand wash. It lasts awhile too. We all know washing your hands often help to stop the spread of germs and using this wash w/ the ON GAURD in it make sure the bad stuff is killed! I suggest getting the 2 pack and wash...it gives you 2 soap pumps that are refillable and 1 16oz bottle of wash.







And last but not least ON GAURD Toothpaste!!! My favorite part about this product is that is is FLOURIDE FREE!!! See here why i think flouride free is the best way to go. With this product you will protect against  germs and pothegens all while reducing plauqe and whitening teeth with gentle polishing agents. The  unique flavor of cinnamon w/ xylitol leaves your mouth and toothbrush fresh and clean!



I hope you enjoyed learning a bit how to ward off sickness and such with our amazing line of ON GAURD products. If you follow the link to my site it does have prices...but if you buy things in a kit and become a member you get a very good discount! As always we have an amazing compensation plan that i will spolight soon!

Thank you for reading and i appreciate any and all feedback! My goal is to help people thru doTERRA!

Family Closet UPDATE!

If you missed our blog on our new Family Closet, go here and catch up ;)

Now that you know about our weekend project, the family closet we can go on. It has been almost 2 weeks and so far i am loving our new set up. And i actually just today finished organizing the kid's bedrooms since we now have more space to work with!

The laundry that holds down the couch is rarely there, and the hangers arent getting out of control around the house...yet! We have a pretty good system on getting ready for bed. And going up/downs stairs for your outfits is not a bad thing ;) Move it Move it MOVE IT! I actually enjoy folding/hanging laundry since i know i can hang it up and it will look at nice and neat once again! I am acutally doing laundry more consistantly and havent had the dreaded PILE up after a week or so!

Now onto the childrens rooms! Cullen and Myra share a room and they both are in cribs. We also have a changing table and used to have 2 dressers (can you say cramped!). Now the room is much more open and less "stuff" in there.  I am using the closet to hang up clothes the children (all) will grow into this summer. I will rotate down into the family closet once they fit. I also have 4 sterilite totes that the stuff they grow OUT of can go into. So we can pass down to the next sibling.

And just because she is so cute, miss Myra supposed to be asleep in her crib (yeah right! she never takes naps, just plays for 2 hrs in there!)

And onto the Big Kid's room! They have a nice bunkbed set that we got from WALMART, cheapest i could find and such a great price! Love it, sturdy and looks nice too. We kept the dresser in this room since it is such a nice dresser. Everyones pajama's go in this dresser. I think i have a drawer just for superhero gear too....HEY! i am the mom of superman/green lantern/Batman/Spiderman and even Wonderwoman. So they need their space too! Anyways this opened up a bunch of space in Chloie's closet! I put all the bags/blankets and extra sheets in those handy totes uptop. Thank you Micheals 70% off clearance! It just looks better when its organized i think! I moved their bookself into the closet to open up the room more. Also in the closet is her barbie doll house and barbie toys. I dont allow those in the playroom since they have small peices. All other toys are in our lovely playroom!

And there you have it! Our end result! I love it and hope the kids and I can keep up our great work on being organized and clutter free! I cannot wait until our mega garage sale this spring!!!!!!!!

I am loving how it is so far, thats not to say things cant change...if i find a way to make things easier...i am going to go for it! It works great for now! Thanks Z for supporting my crazy ideas!

10 Essential Oils every family needs!

In case you missed my intro to oils post, go HERE :)

Now that you are up to speed on EO's (somewhat!) I can go on!!!

This post is a straight forward post about the top 10 oils every house should have. I personally have all of them and have used all of them on the kids/Z and I.


LAVENDER
Common uses
* Burns
*Calm and relieve stress
*Cuts and wounds
*Depression
*Earache
*Insomnia

All things Calming
*Diffuse in the room for anxiety
*Apply topically to soothe irratated skin and lips
*Massage on back or bottoms of feet to help sleep better
*Apply topically for stings



LEMON
Common uses
*Disinfect surfaces
*Dissolves synthetics in the body
*Gout
*Insect Repellent
*Sore Throat

Clean and Refreshen
*Diffuse in a room to uplift mood
*Put a few drops on a rag for cleaning
*Put a drop in water and drink
*Apply to grease stains before washing

PEPPERMINT 
Common Uses
*Allergies/Asthma
*Fever
*Cold/Flu season
*Headaches
*Indigestion
*Menstrual Problems

Cool and Invigorate
*Use w/ lemon in water as a mouth rinse
*Inhale deeply to increase alertness
*Add to spray bottle to mist body when overheated 
*Apply to neck and forehead w/ lavender for headaches

MELALEUCA 
Common uses
*Acne
*Cold and flu season
*Ear Infection
*Exzema/Psoriasis
*Immune Support
*Skin disorders

First aid for the skin
*Apply to blemishes and rashes
*Use w/ shampoo and conditioner
*Apply to feet and toenails after showering for athletes foot

OREGANO  
Common uses
*Athletes Foot
*Colds and Flu
*Immune system support
*Infections
*Warts
*Yeast infections

Natural Immune Support
*Take several drops in a capsule for immune support
*Dilute and apply to feet as a natural defense
*Use internally in a cleansing regimen for GI health

FRANKINCENSE
Common uses 
*Arthritis
*Cold and Flu season
*Headache
*Immune Strengthener
*Inflammation
*Seizures

How to use
*use to clean and dress minor cuts and sores
*Apply to neck and forehead w/ lavender and peppermint for stress and headaches
*Use aromatically and topically to help lift mood and awareness

 DEEP BLUE 
Common uses 
*Muscle Pain
*Arthritic Pain
*Inflammation
*Joint Pain
*Sprains

Muscle and Joint support
*Apply to tired, achey joints
*Rub on Muscles before and after exercise to reduce discomfort
*Use w/ carrier oil for a therapeutic deep-tissue massage


BREATHE *PERSONAL FAVE 
Common uses
*Allergies
*Asthma
*Bronchitis
*Cold and Flu
*Cough
*RSV

Respiratory Support
*Apply topically to chest and neck to clear the lungs and sinuses
*Diffuse at bedtime for more restful sleep
*Apply to chest or bottom of feet for seasonal respiratory


DIGESTZEN *PERSONAL FAVE
Common uses
*Constipation
*Diarrhea
*Indigestion
*Stomachache
*IBS or Acid Reflux


Digestive Support
*Rub on stomach to ease digestive discomfort, nausea or motion sickness
*Take at meals to help healthy digestion
*Apply to bottom of feet of children to help ease digestive issues


ON GAURD *PERSONAL FAVE
Common uses
*common uses
*Sore throat
*Swine Flu
*Viruses
*Weak Immune system


Natural Defense
*Dilute and gargle morning and night
*Take several drops in capsule for added immune support
*Dilute in a spray bottle to clean community surfaces
*Diffuse in a room to eliminate airborne pathogens

 
 Follow this link to my trusty website!
 

An Intro to doTERRA EO's

Essential Oils, what is that? Most people i have talked to do not know what essential oils are or how to use them. Alot of people think biblical times or hippie's. I had some interesting thoughts when i sat in on my first doTERRA class as well. But as i sat there listening, smelling and feeling these amazing oils i knew i needed to learn about them and teach people how awesome they are. I wanted to help people with medical problems, behavioural problems and to learn how to treat things at home. We do not believe in rushing to the doctor for most things....hardly anything really (not even to have babies!). So to have these oils in my home ready to use on myself, husband and children was very exciting to know that i have the power to help them with out turning to medicine!

doTERRA is a fairly new company and based out of Utah. This company is exploding! People want to treat their problems with out relying on drugs. They also want to share this with everyone around them. That's how i felt when i signed on. I have the power to help w/ my children being cranky, upset tummy's, warts, colds,  fevers and a whole list of other things! Every time i see a mom with her children i want to run to her and share doTERRA with her. Its such an awesome company. Of course its a great business as well, i am just learning the possibilities i have for my family and I thru earning here at doTERRA.

What is an essential oil-
Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. Essential oils are non water-based phytochemicals made up of volatile organic compounds. Although they are fat soluble, they do not include fatty lipids or acids found in vegetable and animal oils. Essential oils are very clean, almost crisp, to the touch and are immediately absorbed by the skin. Pure, unadulterated essential oils are translucent and range in color from crystal clear to deep blue. They are gently and skillfully distilled from plants that have been patiently harvested at the perfect moment by experienced growers from around the world for ideal extract composition and efficacy. Experienced essential oil users will immediately recognize dōTERRA's superior quality standard for naturally safe, purely effective therapeutic-grade essential oils.

How to use an Essential Oil-
There are 3 ways you can use an EO. You can use it topically, aromatically and ingest them.

First to use Topically you can put a couple drops in the palm of your hand and rub wherever you need to. Peppermint is great rubbed on your belly for upset tummy's. It is also great to bring down fevers applied often to the back/neck area. For children you may want to use a carrier oil such as Coconut Oil or even EVOO. I like to put citrus bliss in my palm then rub on my neck. It is total mood lifter, my make me happy and awake oil!

Aromatically is great for using on the whole family at once. Or using on your husband when he doesn't want them on, but you think he needs them! ;) You would use a diffuser and put a few drops in w/ some water and turn on! This is super great for OnGaurd which kills bacteria and viruses in the air. Also its good to diffuse lavender at nap/bed time for the babes!

And to ingest, sounds weird right? But really its ok w/ doTERRA oils there are no additives or preservatives...they are only 100% what they say they are so lavender is only lavender grown in a natural place, not some field off the highway. I suggest ingesting Lemon EO daily. This cleans out your major organs which we do need regularly. I drink DigestZen when i am going to eat foods w/ alot of dairy (PIZZA) and it helps so that i do not get tummy trouble later that night. It also helps w/ reflux and heartburn. You just put a couple drops of whatever oil in your water then drink. I personally don't like the taste of digestzen (black licorice) but it works so good i just shoot it down ;)

This is such a long post and i haven't even touched on what the potentials are from these oils! I will suggest for a starter pack for the oils. It contains Lavender, Lemon and Peppermint. These 3 oils would be able to help with so many things.

Lemon- Good for detox of your major organs, helps sore throats, disinfects surfaces, and more!

Peppermint- Upset tummy's, digestive issues, headaches, fevers and wards off colds!

Lavender- Soothe, relaxes, cuts, scrapes, bruises and more!

 I hope you have enjoyed learning a little bout the power of these oils. I love them and am amazed at how well they work. Its best to experience the oils first  hand. But if you cant reading about testimonies is the  next best thing. I would love to email/talk or show you or anyone you know the oils. These oils are for everyone...

I will spotlight some of the different oils to go  more in depth of what oil can help with what. It is so exciting to learn. Here is my website for you to explore!

Thank you for reading!


Also, its pronounced doTERRA (doe-terra) :) Long O!

Cloth Diapers...oh yes i use(d) them!

The purpose of this blog post is share about Cloth Diapering. I have alot of people PM me or talk to me about them. Wondering how/why is it really cheaper? Do you have to swish in the toilet? Do you have to use pins? Isnt it harder? I also have people that are genuinely interested in doing it w/ their children. And i have writing back i swear a book to people LOL i am hoping to condense it down to a blog post i can just share if someone ask's about it. And if you cloth diaper and have these same kinds of questions, share away this blog!

Cheapest diaper around, The Prefold (think of us when we were kids) that is what i use! They are super cheap and quick drying in the dryer (this is important!) I have about 30 infant sized prefolds. You need covers for them i would say 4-6 for a each size (nb, sm, md, lg). There is also 4 sizes of prefolds- Premie, Infant, Premium and Toddler(huge) You will also need what is called a Snappi for prefolds or pins....either work well i have used both. Snappis are easier and safer.

So the Prefold route would be:
(this is a well known company)
30ish Infant Pf's (1 Month-6'ish Months)
24 Premium PF's ( 6 months- 2yrs)


Onto Covers:
( bummis are great covers as well as thirsties)
6xs covers
4 small covers
4 Med covers
4 Large covers
That would take care of your diaper needs for a long time!!! Probably the whole time baby is in diapers...you may need a few more here and there...but this is the "basic Stash"

Now there are also
Pocket Diapers- it is a cover that you stuff a prefold or shaped instert into ( i dont like to pull out the icky prefold to get it out of diaper!)

Fitteds- I have a few of these and love them. They are just like a pamper except you snap them on and need a cover for them. The owner of Bumstoppers is a friend and makes high quality diapers, Becky you ROCK!

AIO- these are just like a pamper you put it on and voila you dont need a cover. its a one piece diaper. I use these for the diaper bag. I suggest GroVia AIO's :) Also these are about $20 diaper new. so expensive. I have never paid new for mine. I by used or trade from used ones :)

Hybrid System- These you snap a liner into a shell and remove the liner when soiled and put in a new one.

You will also need a Wet bag, one for the diaper bag and one for a pail at home to keep the dirty's in. I wash my diapers every 3 days mostly....i toss all diapers and the wetbag right in the washer. They are not difficult to wash and your reg detergent works fine, you just need to use much less! I have heard Tide free and clear works very well. We of course use shaklee and have had no problems. I wash 1 cycle cold no detergent. then i follow w/ a hot hot double rinse wash then dry. I hang anything w/ velcro (covers).


There is a great online community that you can join and be sucked into the world of CD'ing...It can be overwhelming and alot of information. Diaperswappers.com


I also use a diapersprayer for the poops. And you do not need to rinse EBF poop at all, its watery and washes out. So you wouldnt need that until you introduce solids (7 months around here)


Also i bought most of my diapers used or seconds (slightly defective, but totally funcitonal). Hope this helps! I also want to add we always used disposables at night, we could never find the right combo for us. And currently i use sposie diapers for cullen since he hit 6 months and Myra is using cloth trainers or sposies too...You find what works for you at your time in life. With tyler i was hardcore 99%of the time, myra a little less and cullen even less! LOL Maybe once i have 1 in diapers i will go back to cloth. Who knows :)

Weekend Project

So last week while browsing around online (instead of doing laundry) i stumbled upon someones facebook post that talked about a Family Closet. Hmm.....what is that? So i typed up in my swag bucks search bar "family closet idea's" and BAM i got a ton of hits .....from moms that have done this...and they blogged about it. This POST HERE was such an inspiration to me and started my brainstorming process. I mean it is so smart!!! Why hadnt i thought of that?

A family closet is where you have all of your clothes in one room, not spread around the house in different rooms. And the best part you can make it ANY room you want to. If you have an extra room not being used or can re arrange to make part of a room open enough to build your dream Family Closet then DO IT! I didnt have an extra room ( with 4 kids HA!) sooo i went with another options that many moms have done. I decided to build my Family Closet in the laundry room! Zac and I have it split up i get the laundry side and he has a gym on his side. Well i had a table full of sewing stuff that i havent used in over 1 year, almost 2 years....(where to find the time!) So i went thru it all and cleared out a space. 

Now i first thought about building different shelfs and such and having hanging racks. I even went and talked w/ someone at Once Upon A Child to see if i could buy one of thier Z racks. Then went over to target to see what they had, love target! I found a small "z-rack" for MUCH cheaper, smaller, but thats ok. I used this for my lower pole and had Z install a bar from the celinig for the top rack of clothes. 

I decided to move Cullens whole dresser into the laundry room and keep all of his things in there...too little to hang up. And for the older 3 children i decided to hang everything except for pants/shorts and pajama's. We are keeping pajama's in a dresser upstairs where we get ready for bed. The boxes on top of the dressers are for each kid and contain thier socks/tights and unders.

And i didnt have near enough hangers so i had to go to shopko and buy over 100 hangers! Good thing they were 55% off :) This was after i bought the Salvation Army out of all thier hangers :) This will be so nice to just grab a hanger and hang up instead of folding, shoving into a basket and then taking upstairs to each room and putting away (sounds exhausting, doesnt it!). 

I am keeping all my stuff in my room still since i have a nice dresser and dont need the closet space for anything else. Zac already keeps his stuff down here in the laundry room, just on his side of the laundry room.

Here is my finished "Family Closet" i hope it inspires you! I sure love the idea of not keeping the couch weighted down by laundry and stuff being organized and put away. My hope is too keep the clutter down in the childrens room and have less "stuff" around. And who like actually "taking care" of laundry... not me, thats why it stays in a basket or the couch for some # of days ( we dont need to say how many!) Also this cost under $50 since all we needed to buy was the bottom rack and the hardware to hang a wooden pole.

Hope this inspires some to make a change that will simplify things!

We have a BLOG!

Welcome to our family blog! 

I would like to let you all know what i have planned for my blog. Of course i will have updates on Zac and I. And what everyone wants to read about....the KIDS. Lots of post about them i am sure. I also will include some on family fitness (this mostly will come from Z). Another goal i would like to obtain from my blog is to teach and share about our doTERRA essential oil experiences. I will do an intro post on  doTERRA and explain more about the company and what we provide. 

Sometimes i may write about things that are close to my heart. Things that effect my family...and straight up funny things too! I sometimes write about things that may offend or make people mad. That is not my intention and if you have made decisions for your family, thats great...i have the right to do so for mine as well! We all live and learn what we can.

I hope everyone who visits our blog will love it as much as we like sharing!