o: quick oily announcement!

i'm practically falling asleep but i just saw a post on the apothecary society (a YL no pressure, no sales-talk business group.....message me to get added)  that one of the beloved eo collections will be back in stock.  since i've been using these oils they have only been in stock once, and that was only for a few days.  luckily i was able to get my hands on a set.  at the time they were only sold in the collection (which i loved, but it can get pricey that way).  anyways, starting MONDAY APRIL 27, the oils in the kidscents collection (minus the bite buster) will be sold individually.  i personally love the snifflease oil the best.  i just used it on my nephew tonight whose nose was a faucet and it immediately stopped the boogs. 

what's awesome about these oils is that they were designed specifically for kids so they are safe and don't need to be diluted before applying to skin.  they can also be diffused.  

oils used to make each blend:

• GeneYus – Sacred Frankincense, Blue Cypress, Cedarwood, Melissa, Blue Spruce, Palo Santo, Galbanum, Bergamot, Myrrh, Sandalwood, Geranium, Rosewood, Ylang Ylang, Hyssop, Black Spruce, Rose
• Bite Buster – Idaho tansy, Citronella, Palo Santo
• TummyGize – Spearmint, Peppermint, Tangerine, Fennel, Anise, Ginger, Cardamom
• Owie – Idaho balsam fir, Tea tree, Helichrysum, Elemi, Cistus, Hinoki, Clove
• SniffleEase – Eucalyptus blue, Palo santo, Lavender, Dorado azul, Ravintsara, Myrtle, Eucalyptus globulus, Marjoram, Pine, Eucalyptus citriodora, Cypress, Eucalyptus radiata, Black spruce, Peppermint
• SleepyIze – Lavender, Geranium, Roman chamomile, Tangerine, Bergamot, Sacred Frankincense, Valerian, Rue

here's the official announcement text that was posted:

BACK IN STOCK (soon):
We are excited to announce that KidScents® oils will be sold individually* beginning April 27! These safe, pure alternatives are carefully formulated to help your children through the common ups and downs of childhood:
• TummyGize™, Item No. 5305- $12.75
• SniffleEase™, Item No. 5306- $17.75
• SleepyIze™, Item No. 5307- $16.75
• Owie™, Item No. 5308- $30.75
• GeneYus™, Item No. 5310- $43.75
(^^^^those are wholesale prices)

*Purchase of each blend is limited to one each per account per month. Bite Buster™ will not be available for individual sale.

here's some more info on the specific kidscents oil called geneyus.  it's amazing for focus....great for school-aged kids.  obviously contact me if you aren't a wholesale member and i can get you hooked up with these oils at a discounted price!

f/k: coming up with titles is the hardest part about a blog post.

things have been busy.  and sometimes i feel like i have a little too much on my plate but i love all the things i am doing.  being a wife, a mom of 2, an oil educator and distributor, and then finding time to do other side projects is tough.  but through it all i feel so blessed!

i have a new love for the lifestyle that is erin condren life planners. i used to spend hours upon hours and hundreds of dollars making scrapbooks.  sadly, after getting married i completely stopped that and when i get the itch to start, the idea of going back to the beginning and "catching up" is way too overwhelming and i say...no way. an ec planner is basically a planner meets a scrapbook.  you choose to dress it up as much as you want.  win win! i get to organize my busy life and have fun doing so!  there's some really cool fb groups for ec lovers and i'm learning a lot and enjoying it.  if you wanna check the planners out, go here.  next on my list is a phone case :)

ok so tonight's post is gonna be food and kids.  and kids and food.

first of all, come on. look how cute these silly little swingers are. 

its hard to tell from the picture, but he was sleeping like this. lol!

dinner time.  here's a few meals and even an easy breakfast oatmeal thingy.


first picture is a french dip sandwich using tri tip. mouth-watering.  i added pepperoncini's and some swiss cheese. make sure to use a good kaiser roll too.  i would suggest cutting down the rosemary a little bit.  recipe here.  the sweet potato fries and spicy mayo can be found here.

next up, bacon wrapped scallops with cajun cream sauce and bacon-cheddar risotto.  don't even bother with this one unless you have some serious uninterrupted time.  the scallops were easy but the sauce took a bit of time and work. and if you've ever made risotto you know its ridiculously demanding.  i wouldn't make the risotto again.  it was way too rich, i could barely get through a few bites.  scallops (recipe) i will def do again though, and the sauce really was delicious.   risotto can be found here.

 

i've really been wanting to get some veggies and herbs planted but just didn't see how i would find the time to prepare the garden and then maintain it.  i don't have a green thumb by any means.  i've only planted things once and i'd say only half of them were able to thrive and produce.  i really wanna learn more though, who wants to teach me?  well jon prepped the soil and bought me just a few things to plant. so we shall see!  my little helper was pulling weeds and finding worms. lol, gross. all that hard work deserved a soak in the hot tub. SOOO love having this!! we've gone in almost every night.  such a great way to relax after a long day.  

next recipe is a salmon one.  i love me some salmon.  and clearly i'm on a huge spicy mayo/cream sauce sorta kick because this is the third recipe that involves sriracha in the last week.  it even has a homemade teriyaki sauce that i was excited about. paired with some parmesan zuchinni and corn and some rice and you've got yourself a pretty yummy, balanced meal.   salmon is here, zuchinni is here.  sidenote: all of these recipes on on my pinterest boards.  :)

i kinda randomly came across this last recipe on pinterest and figured it looked good and easy.  i prepped it all and then forgot to eat it the next morning.  so i brought it to a play group to have for lunch but never got to it. and then i forgot it at my friends house. BA! so i can't tell you how it tasted. i bet it was good! nice to have on hand too for a quick breakfast.  i didn't have chia seeds so i used flax seed instead.  add some granola and banana and strawberries the next morning. mmmm. gonna have to try this one again. 

here's a cute baby to end the night.  e was excited that mama got carrot seed oil in the mail because now he will have homemade, chemical free sunscreen :)

o: anxiety.

i know i've touched on this before in a few posts but i'm gonna really break it down for those who struggle with anxiety like i do. 

after having makena and going through a really hard time with colic, acid reflux, milk protein allergies and breastfeeding struggles.....not to mention the fact that she was my first baby.....i started experiencing pretty constant feelings of overwhelming nervousness and worry.  for a while i just figured that this is what happens after you have kids.  its a whole new world and takes some time to adjust to it and figure it out.  i've always naturally been a worrier so these feelings weren't necessarily new, they were just getting stronger and stronger and started to effect my every day.  even when things started calming down and becoming easier, my anxiety remained.  i started feeling pretty alone in this struggle because anxiety is something jon absolutely did not understand.  if you know him, you know that he is the most optimistic, positive person in the world. i'm so thankful he is this way because he balances me, but it made it very difficult to feel understood as my anxiety increased. 

i finally came to terms with what was happening so i decided to see a doctor about it.  he started me off on a very small dose of zoloft just to see how it worked.  after a few weeks it started to "take the edge off" but it was only barely helping.  i went back to the doctor and he upped my dosage.  i found that 50mg worked for me.  i stayed on zoloft all the way up until we decided to start trying for baby #2.  the meds definitely did help with my anxiety but unfortunately there were side effects that came with them.  that sucked.  and then when i had to wean off before trying to get pregnant, that REALLY sucked.  i did it slowly (over the course of a month) but still, it was not a fun process.  i was getting constant dizzy spells that literally lasted all day.  from the time i woke up to the time i went to bed.  eventually all of the meds were out of my system and things were fine.

we got pregnant super fast.  i actually had my second miscarriage (very early) but was able to get pregnant quickly after that.  with my diastasis recti (that's a whole different post, different day) and giant babies, this pregnancy was miserable.  not good for the anxiety.  it made for a very long 9 months (just ask jon).

i knew i needed to be back on zoloft immediately after elias was born.  i chose it with makena because its safe while nursing so i had my doctor start me on it the day i gave birth lol.  he put me back on 50mg and after a few weeks i felt like it was helping a little but not like it used to.  we increased my dosage to 75mg (ugh).  it's weird, when i was adding those extra 25mg to my daily pills it was a very difficult transition.  for a good 2-3 weeks my anxiety did not get better, it got much, much worse.  i even called because i was fearful something was wrong.  racing heart, panic attacks, etc.  i decided to push through it and after a few more weeks it finally balanced out a bit. 

but this christmas, one of my best friends sooz told me about peace and calming EO (i mentioned this story in my original oil post).  after trying it and falling in love, i was determined to try and wean off of my anxiety meds.  i knew it would take time and i wasn't about to start until i knew i was gonna be all in with the idea.  i waited until i was able to try some other anxiety oils and learn more. 

well i'm so proud and excited to say that i'm completely medication-free!  i started weaning about 2 months ago and did it VERY slowly.  i've figured out which oils work well for me.  i still have moments of anxiety but i know which oils to reach for.  no side effects, no chemicals.  its important that i start my day by applying my blends and then i can maintain throughout the day when need be.

everyone's body chemistry is different so i'm not gonna sit here and tell you these WILL absolutely work for you.  but i've figured out what works for me.  there are some that work better than others.

here's my daily anti-anxiety oil regimen:

-at some point in the morning i apply my "liquid xanax" to my wrists or over my heart.  this blend is made up of lavender, stress away, vetiver, valor and patchouli
-about halfway through the day i apply a drop or two of white angelica behind my ears or on my wrists
-during anxious moments i will roll some stress away, valor or peace & calming over my heart

i use different combinations of these oils (plus a few others) in my diffuser at night too to help me relax and fall asleep. 

i wanna make it clear that i'm aware this wean is still pretty new.  and even though i 100% believe in these oils, i would never let my pride stand in the way of admitting that the oils weren't cutting it.  if i need to go back on medication i will absolutely do so.  i need to be the best mom and wife i can be before i'm an oil lover.  but for the time being i'm just so glad to have found a natural solution. 

i share these personal stories because i know that i'm not alone.  i don't mind putting it all out there because if someone who is going through the same thing needs support or to not feel alone, i'm here.  i get it. xoxo

f/k: a little food, a little easter, a lot of pictures.

i was going to just post a few pictures of food and call it a day but then i kept scrolling through my photo library and kept adding and adding and adding.  sorry not sorry.

 

every now and then jon and i get nostalgic about our time in hawaii.  even though i never officially lived there, he did.  and visiting him multiple times and doing non-touristy, local kind of things made it feel like i was a resident for a bit.  i loved that phase in our life and our relationship so its fun to get a taste (literally) of that experience occasionally.  i may have even posted an ahi poke picture and recipe to my blog way back in the day but i don't feel like searching so i'm doing it again.  i used the recipe found here.  calls for way too much onion so i cut that in half and it was delicious.  made me feel like i was back on honolulu, stopping at the store to pick up my poke lunch and walking to the beach while jon was at work :) ahhhhhhhh memories.

i made this pork chop recipe on a whim one night.  it was pretty tasty, not mind-blowing but it did the job.  over some mashed potatoes would have been tasty because it makes a ton of gravy.  recipe is here.

moving right along.

we are so beyond blessed to once again be close to (some of) our family.  being in georgia and even redlands was tough but now we are only 45 minutes up the road from my parents, jon's dad and stepmom, and his sister and her family (as well as jon's aunts and uncles).  we get to spend so much more time with rachel and the boys.  so glad my kids will be growing up with at least a few of their cousins! something i didn't get which i would have LOVED.  the following pictures are from a pool day in temecula and a morning trip to sea world.  

 

below are a somewhat random collections of pictures taken in the last week.  we spent easter weekend at my parents house in san diego so we did our typical sushi deli 3 dinner (MOM!!! i just realized i left my leftovers at your house.  bring them wednesday plllllllease!!) <------i hope its safe to assume my mom reads my blog lol.  anyways, the picture of makena in the walker.  turned the corner to find her in it.  it was one of those incredibly difficult mom moments where you have to keep a straight face because she knows shes not supposed to go in there but all i wanted to do was crack up.  turkey burger pictures and homemade fries was our dinner tonight.  nom.

just because. look at the adoration!

oh come on. soooo sweet.

silly faced selfie.

you can tell she's waiting to see what my expression is gonna be.  i had to turn around and hold my phone behind me to take this picture because i was laughing.

we had fun doing an easter basket and egg hunt at di-da and pap-pap's house on saturday.  and i totally failed because the last picture is the only actual easter sunday picture i took.  no cute posed pictures of their kids in their adorable outfits.  no pictures with uncle jeff and auntie cindy.  fail.

i also got a chance to make some homemade foaming thieves hand soap.  ridiculously easy to do.  message me if you want the exact recipe.

one last thing.

**oil bonus** i'm feeling generous and just decided right now that for anyone who orders a premium starter oil kit from me this month and references this blog post, i'll send you a free goody bag with starter accessories.  i was planning on only giving these out for kit sales at my upcoming party but what the heck.  i love sharing the oily love.