June Specials

Essential oils have become apart of our daily routine.

We wake up, Grapefruit or Lemon in our water.
NingXia Red after water.

Diffuse something summery smelling since the sun is refusing to shine in Colorado.
Use a cleaner made with Thieves on the counters and floors.
Stress Away on the back of my neck because I'm cleaning up after girls (and husband) non stop.

Peppermint on tummies that are feeling a bit queasy.

Thieves on the bottom of the girls' feet before leaving the house to keep germs away.

Lavender in the bath tub.
SleepyIze on the girls' feet before bed.
Diffuse Lavender while they sleep.

PanAway and a Lavender/coconut oil mixture on Tim's feet (he works 12 hour days on concrete). This addition to his evening helps him fall asleep fast and have fresh feet for the next day (it's also a nice ten minutes for just us).

Purification on my face, thank you red spots.
Frankincense and Lemon in my lotion for my face and neck.
Thieves and Lemon "tea" to help ease a sore throat.
Lavender on my jaw to help with clenching my teeth.

There are several work from home businesses that are using Facebook to acquire business and team members. I myself sell Pampered Chef and I'm fairly certain there is no way I would still be a consultant if it were not for social media.

But for me, Young Living Essential Oils are different. They are a way to change your day and life for the better. A way to have a day without chemicals. Would I like to make a profit, sure, who wouldn't? My goal is to pay for the oils that we are using as a family with the checks that I receive from Young Living. My hope is for each and every one of my family members and friends to have the ability to try essential oils. To turn to oils instead of the medicine cabinet that is full of chemicals and dyes.

For the month of June I would like to make it easier for my followers to purchase a starter kit. The Premium Starter Kit starts at $150 but there is the added expense of tax and shipping. If you are one of the first two purchasers this month I will reimburse you for your tax and shipping costs. Or you may choose to receive a FREE bottle of R.C. oil.

If you are in need of more information about Essential Oils please visit my Young Living Essential Oils page. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

What's in a name?

What's in a name? For an A-type blogger, apparently a lot. A few days back I purchased my own domain name for my blog. So long, ".blogspot," and good riddance. It was quite liberating to have a domain name and now a much more professional looking blog. My domain cost me $12. The updates to my page have all been free and completed with some helpful hints from a friend and Pinterest.

If I'm being completely honest there are days that I find myself jealous of those who have, "more." There were times that I was tempted to purchase a template for my page. However, when I sit back and look at how I am able to accomplish things with little to no money it makes me thankful for my clearance rack personality, thanks mom and Auntie Liz! I would like to think that this is also appreciated by my husband. By being aware and sparing when I spend money on extras it is a small way to show him I appreciate how hard he works for our family.

So, here it is, the not so grand reveal of my new website/blog. The pages are updated and I hope to add more pages soon. Enjoy!

Pictures always make a post better. Even if it's a little blurry and the small child is less than thrilled (she's been a real pistol since turning one folks). Even grumpy and angry looking she is still adorable! 

Cleaning Day

I love to have things clean. Not to be mistaken with the statement, "I love to clean." The two are different, very different. My cleaning day was planned. We were going to have an outing, laundry would be done, the house would be clean and dinner would be ready when my husband got home. Or so I thought. That's about the time my sweet baby decided to un-swallow all of her milk, all over the carpet. Three times.

An amazing friend came to the rescue and took Karoline for me. I put Alexandra in the carrier and used the carpet cleaner on our upstairs carpets. The carpets were cleaned and the laundry was going by 7:30 a.m., no harm no foul. I even had clean carpets.

I thought for sure our "un-swallow" episode was a one time ordeal. We went to Costco. We came home covered in more un-swallowed milk. A huge thank you to the grandma who stepped in to be our grandma and grabbed tons of napkins and willingly helped us with our mess.

We headed to see our pediatrician since sweet baby had yet to have a wet diaper. A not so quick trip later we had a diagnosis that most likely pointed to a stomach bug. Alexandra was given a prescription for an anti-nausea medicine. We dropped off her prescription and I just could not bring myself to pick it up. I do not feel right about giving my baby such a strong medicine. In my opinion, if she were to need this medicine then she would need more extensive care.

So here I am, everyone is asleep. The house is only half clean. I'm going to have to completely start over. Call it OCD, call it whatever you want, it's going to have to happen. But, not tonight, and not tomorrow, we have plans. Maybe Monday. This was a day that I was forced to remember that days will not always go as I have them planned. I have to be okay with this and take the days as they come. I have to embrace and enjoy each day, because we are not promised tomorrow. I decided to scroll through Facebook before going to bed to try and unwind. I saw some happy posts, but some that broke my heart as well. I have friends who have sick family members, really sick. I have friends who have had to give their babies back to heaven. Friends who are not sure how they are going to pay for dinner at the end of the month. All of this in my little world. Outside of that little world there are unthinkable things that occur every day. There are people that pray to have my problems.

This post isn't meant to glorify my life. Perhaps a reminder, a reminder to be thankful and to give thanks. Next time try to catch yourself when start to get upset when your plans don't go as you had expected, I know I will certainly try to. My goal is to look for the diamonds in the rough. Thank you to everyone who supported us today. Your phone calls, texts, providing napkins and child care were much appreciated.

Alexandra: You're One!

Alexandra,

On the night before you turn one my mind is full of emotions and memories of where we were one year ago. We had already spent the day in the hospital. I'd walked halls relentlessly. Your dad had applied counter pressure until his hands were sore. I knew that if there was any way I was going to have the energy to have you the old fashion way I was going to need to sleep. After an epidural I was able to sleep a little. Who are we kidding, I don't even remember sleeping, why must the blood pressure cuff alarm go off every time you fall asleep? Furthermore, for the love of my veins, if you ever have another sibling I will not rest until my IV is in a location in which I can actually move my hand without excruciating pain!

Something special with the moon happened that night, far be it for me to remember what exactly, a blood moon, maybe? Morning came and my dream of the birth date of 4/14/14 for you slipped away.

Still no baby, but my doctor was present and we felt much more at ease about a repeat c-section.

8:52 a.m.: Your dad told me, "It's a ...a, GIRL!" You were a beautiful baby girl, 7 pounds, 15 oz and 19.5 inches long. I asked your dad if your name fit, he said it did. There you were, Alexandra Elizabeth Reed.

You were a calm baby, just like my pregnancy. You were and are beautiful. I was so happy to enjoy every moment of loving you.

Here we are, one year later. When I think about everything that we've done in the past year I am amazed. You taught me not to second guess my instincts. We survived food allergies, together. You were a driving force for our family to eat much more healthy than we already were. You gave us structure. You taught us patience. You slept by me, on me and in a carrier. You smiled whenever anyone smiled at you. My heart beams with joy as I watch you learn how to walk, play and be an adorable little person. I'm sorry that I'm not as sentimental as some and that you may not always have had on the cutest outfits or bows. There are so many creative things I had wanted to do that went out the window when life happened. You won't have a cute "smash" cake at your birthday party. However, you will always have my love, all of it. I am thankful and honored that I get to be your mom. I will strive to be the best one that I can be, for you. You are, and always will be, one of my most precious treasures.

I hope and pray that you are happy all the days of your life my little joy, my Alexandra Elizabeth. 

Love, 

Mom

A little first birthday photoshoot fun! 

I love you my sweet girl!

To the FDA

If I were to write a letter to the Food and Drug Administration it would look something like this...

The morning started out like any other. My two little girls were up, dressed and fed. We were in the time frame where there's not a lot I can get done before one of the girls needs me. I had turned to my computer to see what was going on in the world outside of our home. That was when I found this article about one mom's terrifying experience with food dyes effecting her daughter in a horrible way. I felt like my world (diet wise) was closing in on me. For the past six months I've been making a conscious effort to make healthy choices for my family. Somehow I had forgotten that there are food dyes to look out for. Feeling already sick to my stomach with this discovery I remembered something a friend had once said about, "caramel color." She had said, "It is a known carcinogen." At the time I don't think I had thought much of it and to be completely honest I didn't even know what a carcinogen was. Reading about the food dyes had it back on my mind.

car-cin-o-gen: noun, a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue.

There it is. Let me disclose, I'm not a doctor. I have no qualifications as a dietician or nutritionist. I'm not sure how you read that definition, but I took it as, should NOT be consumed by living tissue, a.k.a, humans.

I ransacked the refrigerator. Soy sauce, mind you we had the wheat free kind to accommodate my youngest daughters food allergies, CARAMEL COLOR. Trash. BBQ sauce: CARAMEL COLOR. Trash. I turned to our pantry next. I'm thankful that I didn't find too many items with dyes or caramel color. However, there was one that really upset me. Oatmeal: CARAMEL COLOR. Why?! Why does oatmeal need to be a different color? Why can't it be the color that it is naturally This is the oatmeal that I was eating daily while pregnant, the oatmeal I feed my 2 year old. I was thankful that the gluten free oatmeal that Alexandra and I have been eating as of late does not contain the color.

I moved on to the bathroom in search of labels that contained caramel color or food dyes. Toothpaste: blue dye. I turned to the medicine cabinet, some of the medicines we had contained red or blue dyes. I picked up my prenatal vitamins and looked at the ingredients. Yellow, blue and red dye, all present. All in the vitamin that I have been taking daily for the last five years. The vitamin that I made sure I took, even if all else failed nutritionally, while I was pregnant. I'm mad. Why does my vitamin, something that is supposed to be a healthy choice, contain this?

I'm thankful that food dyes, in excessive amounts, are consumed with rarity in our home. Thanks to this new discovery I'm hoping to eliminate them and caramel color completely from our diets. But this doesn't answer my questions, why do they exist?

There are laws in our country keeping us safe (for example: wear your seatbelt). Why is the FDA not keeping our food safe? I know that we all have a choice in what we eat. As a busy mom I would hope that I could grab a box of, what is commonly perceived as "healthy," oatmeal and feed it to my children without worrying about hidden poison. Hidden poison that's everywhere. There are high levels of arsenic in rice. Chicken is being injected with steroids. Gluten is not necessary but yet it contaminates so many foods.

How do you combat all of this, and that's not even the half of it? Organic options are expensive. I am thankful to have the luxury to purchase the organic food our family has recently converted to. But, to be completely honest, I hate spending extra money. I hate that going out and about means that I have to bring all of our food with us. Finding organic options when eating out are few and far between. And even though organic options exist we still are leaving our food, a basic necessity of life, in the hands of someone else. At this point if moving to Alaska and living on a homestead to provide our own meats and produce were an option I would strongly consider it.

I felt like I was being a bit drastic as I made all these realization and trips to my trash can to discard foods containing dyes and caramel color. I decided to look and see what I could find as far as what foods we have in our country that are not sold in other countries. I found a list of 10 foods that are typically banned from other countries. Please look at number five as it relates directly to this specific topic.  According to this article I found on FoxNews, "Not all coloring agents are harmful, but some, including blue #1, and 2, yellow #5 and 6, and red #40, have raised specific health concerns, after research showed they can cause behavioral problems, cancer, birth defects, and other health problems in laboratory animals," (The Daily Meal, All Things Food and Drink). Remember the prenatal vitamins I mentioned? They contain yellow #6, red #40 and blue #1. Fabulous. I told all of this to my husband and he said, "It's like it's a conspiracy." For me, a light bulb had just been turned on. It really is like a conspiracy. If you can't afford organic produce or you simply don't know what a carcinogen is (me), then you continue to consume these things daily.

In writing this I have no intention to make any other person feel badly about not eliminating these things from their pantry or diet. Six months ago I wouldn't have even given this a second thought. But, here I am, wondering how am I supposed to fix this problem for my family? My family of two little girls and a husband who, genetically, need to not be eating anything that can pollute their bodies. I am in the process of finding alternatives. As I thought I was about done with this post I was looking at the box of rice cereal I was giving my daughters as finger food. The key ingredient to the one dessert I've been able to eat with all of our food allergies. Three letters stood out to me on the ingredients list, BTA. I snatched up the computer and referred back to the list of ten foods typically not allowed in other countries. Sure enough, there it was, number ten on the list. My sweet baby girls, I've been feeding them poison, everything I've been giving them has something in it that they shouldn't be having.

I was able to go to the grocery store by myself yesterday and take my time reading labels. I found a few organic cereals that did not contain BTA or BHA. My goal is to not purchase any of the ten foods on that list for my family. But, what happens when my kids go to school and their school lunch contains these things? Or they go to a birthday party and eat a cupcake with colored frosting? I am very well versed in the saying, "Everything in moderation." But, no. Just NO. In the past I used this saying as a crutch for making me feel better when I fell short in preparing healthy meals. A little bit of poison is still poison.

Food and drug administration, I'm mad. I'm mad because despite my best efforts, I'm still human. Hot dogs, food dyes and caramel color still make it to my family. My goal is to eliminate all of these things and not purchase them. But, they are easy and they are EVERYWHERE. What do I do when my children see candy at the store or need a snack when we are away from home? We live in an amazing country where we have freedom of choice. I am having the hardest time wrapping my mind around the concept that these food choices are even available. There has to be another way, doesn't there? There must be, some healthy options do exist. I applaud the companies that are doing what's right and using natural ingredients, the ones that aren't modifying foods at all. I hope one day that all companies follow in their footsteps. In the mean time, I encourage each and every one of my family members and friends who have stuck out yet another one of my, "bad food posts," to reassess. This month I plan to read every label before I purchase anything. If there's something I'm not sure about I will look it up. If there's something I can't pronounce, I won't buy it. My ultimate goal is to try 30 days of no processed foods. We as a family are getting there, slowly. With summer around the corner I feel like eating "real food," is going to be a bit easier to jump start. I know this won't always be an option but I hope and pray that for us it will soon be our new normal. For now we will stick to food that has no dyes, no artificial color, no caramel color, no preservatives (this one of the hardest to avoid for us as it seems to be in so many meats) and is made of all ingredients we can pronounce. We have a choice. We can keep our bodies fueled with real food if we make it a priority.

Sincerely,

A mom who is trying.



For my friends and family: I wanted to share a list with you of foods that had caramel color, dyes, or preservatives that were in our house that I was surprised by. I will list the food and options I've found that don't have them.

Quaker Oatmeal instant packets (caramel color)  --->Chex gluten-free does not!
Soy Sauce (so many have caramel color) --->Gluten free section you can find one without wheat or caramel color
BBQ Sauce (too many to list have caramel color) --->Stubbs Brand does not have it
Yogurt-certain flavored brands (caramel color) --->Organic yogurt
Honey Bunches of Oats (caramel color) --->Organic cereals
Rice Crisipies (BTA) --->Organic cereals
Pretzels (caramel color and preservatives) --->Organic pretzels
Ginger Ale (caramel color) ---> Sparkling water with cranberry juice (this was one of my favorites growing up)
Hand soaps/body wash/shampoo/toothpaste --->Young Living Essential Oil alternatives

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Oils: How to Get Started

A few months ago two of my lovely friends were talking about essential oils. We got together and all made bath salts from their oils. I didn't think much of it but the seed was planted. I wanted to learn more and get some of these oils!

I have made a few posts on Facebook about Young Living Essential Oils. I thought it was time To write an overview on how oils can be used and what your options are to buy them.

First and foremost I want to say that I recommend Young Living Essential Oils over other brands and any that you can find at a health food store for several reasons. Young Living Essential Oils has established itself over the years as the premier manufacturer of the highest quality essential oils. Young Living is proud to set the standard for essential oil purity and authenticity by carefully monitoring the production of our oils through our unique Seed to Seal® process. From the time the seed is sourced until the oil is sealed in the bottle, we apply the most rigorous quality controls possible to ensure that you are receiving essential oils exactly the way nature intended. This being said we only offer oils that are the highest quality. If the crop does not meet our standards, we simply do not carry those oils and try again.

You may be thinking, "That's all wonderful, but what are Essential Oils used for and how do I use them?" This link leads to a video to answers these questions. In my family we are exploring the use of oils instead of turning to our medicine cabinet. We put them on topically and diffuse them. I've even added drops of lavender to our girls bath water to help aid in calming them down at night.

Next step, how can I purchase the oils? There are several options for purchasing essential oils. You can purchase as a retail customer and buy just what you need, one item at a time.

However, there's another way. For those of us who love a bargain this is the best bet. You can choose to be a wholesale member. Think of this step as purchasing a membership to SAMs club or CostCo. This membership allows you to purchase any and all of your oils at a wholesale price for life. If you choose to sign up you will notice that your social security number is asked for. This is for tax purposes only. Should you choose to sell Young Living Essential Oils as a distributor and you make more than $600/year then you will receive a 1099 form for tax purposes. As a wholesale member you will pay wholesale pricing from here on out, 24% off. There is no monthly obligation. To maintain your ability to purchase oils at the wholesale pricing a purchase of $50 must be made, yearly, that's right, yearly!

Retail Customer:

• Do not have to purchase a starter kit
• Pay full retail

Wholesale Customer:

• Have to purchase a starter kit
• 24% off retail for life
• NO auto-ship/yearly fees
• NO obligation to sell/promote, however if you choose to you have the opportunity to do so

There are several starter kits available through Young Living wholesale membership. The best value is the Premium Starter Kit. It comes with $329 worth of products for $150, that's over 50% off! The kit comes with everything you need to get started: 11, 5ml bottles of the most commonly used oils, a diffuser, a roller ball top, 10 popular oil samples and 2 Ningxia Red samples. and samples/pamphlets explaining them all. 

The Basic Plus Kit is the same as the Premium Starter Kit, except for the Everyday Essential oils. The only actual bottle of oil you get aside from the samples is the Citrus Fresh. Most people get this one if they are wanting a diffuser and the wholesale pricing but do not care about the 10 everyday essential oils. This kit is $75.

The Basic Starter Kit is everything in the Basic Plus excluding the Diffuser. This kit is $40. This kit is most commonly purchased by those who are just looking for the 24% off life time retail pricing.

I personally have chosen to be a Young Living Essential Oil distributor. This is because I want to share the amazing transformation that oils are having on my family. However, I am not out to take your money. Please read this carefully: After you select your kit you may want to click the circle that says, "No thank you" to the essential rewards program. If you find that you are loving essential oils and want to sign up to get this monthly shipment then you can do that at a later time. There is a rewards program and by doing this monthly order you will earn free products. For me personally, I'm not ready to make that financial commitment at this time. As my wish list continues to grow it may be in my near future. However, I felt it was important to get my kit and begin using it before making that choice. You can add it at any time.

To anyone interested, please let me know if you have any other questions. I am still new to this and will be more than happy to find the answer to any questions you may have!

Child Like Faith

What a day. I feel like the only way I'm every going to be able to sleep is to write, and write quickly. I'm sorry for any typos or grammatical errors. My mind is spinning and this has to come out.

Our morning started like any other. The girls and I got up, we had breakfast and we went to wake up daddy. Karoline excitedly ran into the bathroom to get her hair brush and then there was a thud. The kind of thud that you know is bad. At the time I was making sure Alexandra was not crawling off the bed. Instinctively I pushed her over so she could not crawl off before her dad could get to her. Not the best move on my part, but it did the job.

I rushed to Karoline and picked her up, I knew she hurt herself. When I pulled her off my shoulder to look at her face she was bleeding from her mouth. A quick scan of her teeth and I was assured that it wasn't a missing tooth. She had either bit or the impact caused her lip/check to split on the bottom right inside of her mouth. My first thought was stitches. Tim didn't think it was that bad. So, we waited for her to calm down. I put Alexandra down for a nap. While I was doing so Tim got a few more glances and thought we might need a stitch or two after all. I decided to call her pediatricians office. The nurses were very helpful and informed us that because of the location of the cut/hole there really wasn't much that stitches would help.

Laying down and resting after giving us a good scare.

Fast forward a bit. Alexandra is down for her afternoon nap and Tim has left for work. Now I finally get a clear view of her cut/hole and I'm a bit baffled. First of all, let me say that this morning the sight of Karoline's blood invoked an emotion in me that I hadn't experienced before. Then looking at her cut it was back. I didn't necessarily feel like I had failed her, but I was disappointed in the fact that she got hurt. I turned to a group of my mama friends and also sent the pictures to be seen by my elementary school nurse. Both had the same opinion, any possible stitches would cause more trauma than was necessary. But at least now I had the reassurance.

Skip forward a bit more. It's after bath time and I'm getting the girls in their pajamas. Karoline tells me that she loves her sister. I tell her that that's a good thing. Especially since Alexandra will always be her sister, even in heaven. This is when she responds to me, "I'm going to stay home with daddy and you and sister are going to heaven and get to be with Jesus." Even now as I type it it gives me chills. My immediate response was to hug her and cry. She quickly told me, "Don't do that (cry)," she doesn't like to see people upset.

I got the girls into bed and sent Tim a text message of what she said. I got my house hold chores taken care of and jumped into the shower. I stood there and just stood some more. I had two thoughts. The first being, with her saying that I realized that there is nothing better in this world than being a parent and in the future I would definitely consider having more children. Having more kids is something we have talked about and joked about but really there have been no iron clad, "Yes, I'm ok (more than ok) with having more children," talks. I felt like that was an interesting revelation to come from Karoline's profound statement.

The second thought I had was one that brought a smile to my face. When Karoline said that Alexandra and I would go to heaven I was not scared for her and I. I knew that if what Karoline said had any meaning or truth to it that Alexandra and I would be set, golden, in the Kingdom of Heaven. What made me cry and hug Karoline was the thought of her not having her mom and sister here with her. I was sad at the thought of Tim and Karoline having to go through life missing us.

As a baby I was baptized Catholic. Growing up we didn't go to church every Sunday and I did not have a Christian education. My parents gave my brother and I the freedom to come to our beliefs on our own. We did go to church from time to time and there were bibles in our home and if we ever asked a question we were certainly given an answer. One of the best things my parents taught me was to be a good person, surround myself with good people and to always have an open mind.

There were some key players in my life that led me to my faith. An amazing friend and her family who are the very definition (in my mind at least) of a family of faith. Girls who were the "cool" kids but were also accepting, nice and had faith backgrounds who later became friends, best friends. A friend who came back into my life when I went to school in Fort Collins who introduced me to Iasis church. The church where I first raised my hand (I wish I knew what date that was) in front of everyone to symbolically show that I choose to be a Christ follower (fun side note, Karoline Christelle means, "Free man, Christ follower). An amazing husband who is so rock solid in his foundation and love for Christ that there is no doubt in his heart and soul that the one true King and Kingdom of Heaven await us.

All of these amazing people have helped me to learn, and my parents paved the way for me to come to this on my own. I have written blogs about taking time to learn more and read more from my bible. I have expressed my faith and I've made it known that I follow Christ. But in my mind there was always a question, one that nagged at me. One that I tried to hide from God even though I knew full well that he knew my thoughts before I even thought them, if he was real. If it all was real. I doubted myself and my faith but didn't want to admit it. Did I believe well enough, strong enough? Was I doing it right? Are my heart AND mind in the right place? Do I really believe. I think I do, I surly hope I do, I want to be in heaven and I want all of the people that I love to be there too. I want them to believe. But, do I really?

Then, my sweet two and a half year old said what she said tonight. And in her voice when she said the word, "get," my heart knew. "You get to be in heaven with Jesus." My immediate reaction to be sad for Karoline and Tim gave me my answers. I do believe, I believe with all my heart. In knowing what I know there was/is no reason for me to be sad or scared for Alexandra and myself.

Who knows if what Karoline said was what she meant to say. But I do know she has a grasp on heaven and Jesus. Just a quick example, last week my parent's had to put our childhood dog down. I explained to Karoline that Emilee was in heaven with Jesus. Her response, "Oh good, she'll like it there." She knows heaven is all things good and that Jesus is love. When she said that Alexandra and I would be in heaven she was not afraid. Not my sweet loving girl. No, she was matter of fact and spoke what came to her mind. However, she is still two and a half.

For me Karoline's statement served a purpose. A reason for me to openly express my heart, my insecurities and now my extreme JOY in knowing that I do believe the "right" way and "strong" enough. I'm so glad that she said what she said so that I can share this with all of you. I think the correct phrase is, "I am young in my faith." I do know one thing for sure, my heart is full with the love of Jesus. My hope and prayer tonight is that the ones I love who have read this will share their hearts with me so that we can learn and grow together. That I will be able to give my children the best gift I can give them, to know the love that Jesus has for them and heaven awaits them because He paid for our sins.