More accurately, I'd identify myself as an opportunist. So I like to look at the vast expanse of options and then kind of pick and choose, cafeteria style (which is totally cool when it's not in matters of morality isn't that fabulous?! There's no one right way to do this parenting thing.) what works best for our family.
So on a practical level what that looks like is lots of trips to the doctor's office for looks in ears, the occasional Z pack to dispatch Beelzebub's bronchitis, and bi-weekly chiropractic adjustments for the entire family. I guess you could call it modern, medically-eclectic parenting.
Gosh, so anyway, I think more of us are like this than not. I'd bet that lots of people are open to trying new things, especially if they're frustrated with a lack of results in their current routines.
When Steph offered to send me a starter kit of Young Living Essential Oils and a diffuser I was pumped, because I've picked up the occasional bottle of oregano oil at Whole Foods for ear infections, but I didn't actually know a whole lot about EOs, nor was I in love with the way their bedrooms smelled like the Olive Garden at last call when I used the stuff.
Enter Young Living oils. I was so excited when I cracked open the first bottle I pulled out of the box, lavender, and it smelled like...lavender.
I was even more excited when I added a few drops to some coconut oil and gave each little monster a back rub during a particularly heinous bedtime meltdown and suddenly...silence. Blissful silence. And 10 solid hours from every small member of the household.
For the last month or so I've been playing around with the oils, diffusing some, consuming others in glasses of water, and rubbing some on little necks and little (and not so little) feet.
My favorite oils so far, the ones that have actually wormed their way into our crazed daily life, are, in order of love: lavender, thieves, melaluca (tea tree), lemon, and peppermint.
Here's how we use them. The lavender, as I mentioned, helps to calm and soothe and put to sleep an anxious human, little or otherwise. It also makes an amazing bath for a pregnant mama.
I've been guzzling water spiked with thieves oil during this never ending flu season from hell, and the kids have been getting a drop of it rubbed into their feet day and night. I've also started spiking water with lemon oil for midmorning pick me up of the non-caffeineated variety (and it also helps to break up mucus during a cold or cough), and I love rubbing the peppermint oil directly into the skin at the point of origin of a headache. Or if I've overdone it at the gym. Or, ahem, thrown my neck out coughing.
Highly effective.
Finally, the embarrassing one, the melaluca. I have some gross runner's feet, even though I'm not really much of a runner anymore. But the elliptical and the stair master don't know that I'm not running, and so my feet still look...rough. I've tried every otc solution under the sun, but you know what's finally doing it for me? The tea tree oil. But it's this tea tree oil, specifically, and I think it's entirely to do with the high grade ("therapeutic," as YL calls it) of the oil I'm using. It's also miraculously effective for stinky little boy feet/shoes.
End embarrassing endorsement.
I've been trading emails and Facebook messages with Steph this month and gleaning her wisdom and practical suggestions for use, and while using oils was a little bit overwhelming to me at the beginning, I feel like I'm beginning to get the hang of it.
It's definitely not a magic fix; it takes diligent daily use to see results, but to me, that confirms their effectiveness; like good diet or exercise, you have to do it daily to make it work.
Steph has generously offered a free sample kit and intro booklet to anyone interested. Email here at Stephanie(dot)Weinert(at)Yahoo(dot)com and she'll hook you up.
(Incidentally, you should totally read her story. The her son's recovery from debilitating allergies is amazing.)
For those of you who already know you want to make the jump, she's offering a discount to Mama Needs Coffee readers right now. If anyone wants to try Young Living oils with the Premium Starter Kit (same one I have), they can sign up on Steph's website, and as extra gifts for my readers, she'll send you a free 24-page booklet "Essential Oils Starter Guide" and a $20 Amazon Gift card you can use towards purchasing more Essential Oils resources, or anything you want (offer expires February 28, 2015.)
You can purchase oils directly here: www.tinyurl.com/stephaniesYL.
Okay, finally, another giveaway! (Crazy, right? Two in one week.)
Steph has generously offered a 15ml bottle of cedar wood, her favorite EO, to one lucky winner. I read through the list of things Cedarwood oil is known for, and let's just say I'm sorry I can't win it myself: good for things like eczema, acne, skin issues, sleep (as in the best nights' sleep you've EVER had), psoriasis. urinary tract infections, cellulite, and the list goes on.
Pshaw, I don't need any cellulite help. Heh, heh... (thinking about rigging the rafflecopter.)
I'm interested to hear from you guys, are you already "oily?" Do you use this stuff for health? Do your kids run screaming from the smell of your greasy hands when you draw near? (One of mine does) Or do they scramble eagerly into your lap for their nightly "mawsawge?" (another one of mine does.)
I'm all ears. And they're mercifully clear, fyi. Thanks, recovering immune system.
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