MY SNAKE OILS.

don't you judge me. i am a hippie, i can't help it.

 

i really wanted to find out more because I'd been having a hard time with anxiety - couldn't breathe in a deep breath, lots of stress etc. and henry wasn't sleeping at night and having weird bloody noses.

 

i didn't want to go on any meds for anxiety and i needed to do something with henry and his sleeping, so that's basically why i started looking into my voodoo oils. there are a few people that i love that use them and aren't weirdos, so i didn't feel totally strange about the whole thing.

 

so i started researching. i "took" a facebook class and learned about the oils in the starter kit and what they can be used for. and then i researched more online about the different companies and whatnot. young living is the company that the ladies i love use, and has the best/most pure oils/reviews/etc.

 

i decided to do the kit, because it comes with 11 oils and a diffuser. so i did it and LOVE IT SO MUCH OH MY GOSH YES I DO. i love my snake oils.

 

on myself, i use daily:

joy (mood lifter/balancer, happy oil)

valor (anxiety, confidence builder, smells like freaking blueberries)

stress away (duh)

peace & calming

peppermint (energy in the afternoon, headaches)

citrus fresh (calming, mental clarity, smells incredible)

i have had a super annoying cough. RC broke up the nasty and I'm finally over it with no cough medicines.

i also sometimes have canker sores on my stupid tongue (too much sugar) and the tea tree oil helped immediately. gone. amazing.                                                                       

 

on henry, daily:

cedarwood (focus, mood stabilizer)

stress away (around the 5pm hour)

valor (at night to help with sleep, chills him out)

lavender (helps him sleep better than anything else)

frankincense and lemon (on his spine to help him stop coughing)

RC (on his chest to break up the mucus - this stuff is incredible)

 

on hallie, daily:

cedarwood on her hair part (helps hair to grow!)

peace & calming (to help her chill/sleep)

valor and joy (in the morning before school)

panaway (on her wrist, to help with pain)

headache blend (to help with her headaches)

lavender (for eczema)

 

on dave, when he lets me:

anything - he's pretty good about letting me slather him with crap. i will use panaway on his sore spots, i used tea tree oil on a rash on his ankle (cleared it right up!), and whatever else i want. he is good to me.

 

i love that i can use oils on my kids without worrying about side effects from meds. i have no issues with medicine at ALL, and use it whenever needed, but if i can stop something or help with oils, I'm doing it. i love my oils.

 

they can help with so many things! cholesterol, kidney stones, eczema, ear infections, burns, scars, wrinkles, sore/strep throat, everything. I'm totally sold, because even if one doesn't work for something, it's not HURTING anything, ya know?  no side effects!

 

so if you smell something when i come near, it's just my oil :) i am a weirdo, yes.

 

okay, that's all.

 

 

 

STATE OF THE HENRY ADDRESS.

so, henry.

 

writing out the whole story so far for the sake of my memory...

 

because i already have a hard time remembering when it really started....

 

as a baby:

• he would nurse and then barf everything all over me. that was really fun. 
• he refused to take a bottle. we tried every kind possible. it was nuts. he would go all day at Irma's without eating anything and then nurse all night when he got home. it took him a few days, but he finally accepted the bottle. we called it "bottle bootcamp."
• he gagged and choked on babyfood. i remember trying to make him homemade babyfood - peas, avocado, etc. he choked and puked it up. he did okay on some, but generally hated eating.
• at one year, they told us to stop giving him a bottle with formula, that he needed to be on all milk. I'm still mad about this. he would not drink milk, and would not drink out of a sippy cup.
• finally found a sippy cup that he would drink from, but he refused to drink milk. only water, and that continues to this day. no milk, no juice, nothing.
• he was an early babbler - said mama, dada, papa, etc. so proud.

as a toddler:

• not a big eater
• very focused on tractors, making tractor noises ALL.THE.TIME.
• not a big talker. said a few words, but no two-word sentences.
• at three years, we started "feeding therapy" with cheri fraker in springfield. trips to springfield, mostly parent coaching, and a focus on food chaining. his bite was under developed, muscles around his lips under developed, but his swallowed looked good. given "chewies" to help his bite (he wouldn't touch) and told to use sippy cups with straws to develop the muscles around his mouth (which we did and it helped). the food chaining increased the offerings...chicken nuggets grew to popcorn shrimp, fries grew to tater tots, etc, but no real food breakthroughs. we are still struggling with eating.
• very much a no pressure eating environment. we present the food, and he either eats it or doesn't. can choose to eat all of one thing and none of the other, or all of it. whatever he wants, as long as he is eating. he is a selective eater, NOT a picky eater. he is literally afraid to eat things that he doesn't believe are safe. he will not even try anything new, period. and if the choice is to eat what's on the plate or not eat at all, he won't eat at all. will literally starve himself. so we give him safe foods that we know he will eat, and try to build up new foods one at a time. super fun.
• the appointments in springfield were proving to be a little bit too much time/money for the payoff. we asked for a speech/ot evaluation here in Jacksonville. hen now sees jill trone for speech therapy and anita fox for ot.
• the ot is to build up his gross and fine motor skills. also to deal with some mild sensory issues, transitions, etc. his core is pretty weak, but we're seeing lots of progress there.
• speech therapy is great. his speech has really improved.
• hopefully he will put on weight. he only weights 26 pounds, so pretty tiny.
• started him on omega-3/dha supplement (barleans omega swirl), probiotic (culturelle kid's chewable) and he is on a gummy d3 vitamin, but we will move to a d3, b-12, etc multi-vitamin when those run out.
• started using cedarwood essential oil on the back of his neck to help with focus, will start with vetiver pretty soon. also use valor (on hallie too!) to help with confidence, focus, etc. i love my oils :)

so that leads us to now. we are seeing HUGE progress in this tiny boy. the food is still an issue, but he has started eating larger quantities (of crap toddler food, but whatever!), which is great. he initiates the food, asks for more, etc. it's awesome. speech has improved a ton. his core is still pretty weak, but we're working on that. his sensory issues have faded a ton. he still hates transitions, but he accepts them and moves on with minimal grouching.

 

he is super smart. can spell his name, mommy, daddy, papa and nana. can sing his ABCs and count to 30 (skipping 13 & 14, every time). his fine motor skills need work, but he can now write an H, and works the ipad like it's his j-o-b. he is obsessed with the ipad. obsessed. we have to limit his screen time, or he would be on there all the freaking time.

 

potty training is still a thing. he will be dry all day long, go potty anytime you take him, and is starting to tell us when he needs to go. pooping is another issue. he struggles with constipation, especially after starting to eat more food. poor buddy. just can't win!

 

so there it is! henry!

 

 

THAT ONE TME...

i got bangs.

 we had a bald eagle in front of our house.

 dave made a salad for dinner.

 henry got sick and fell asleep in my bed.

 henry stayed sick and fell asleep on the couch.

 we had this crazy amazing sunset.

 the girls helped me volunteer at a local bridal expo.

there.

 

all caught up?

CHRISTMAS CATCHUP.

another year, another visit to santa.

 another year, another visit to the nutcracker ballet! this time we went with our friends, the dichsens.

christmas had the potential to really suck this year, but it really was fine. mom and red came to us this year, which was a huge help. we got to do our Christmas with them at our house, and they got to see hallie in henry in the church christmas program - it was such a great weekend.

 

 

 

and i was soooo glad that Christmas program was over. i was stressed beyond belief, but it turned out so cute. the kids in our church are hilarious, and there were some spectacular performances. king herod's death scene was pretty incredible. hallie was superb as a narrator and henry was a fabulous chicken.

 

we went to church on christmas eve and then to Lucille's for dinner and gifts. it was hard, but manageable, and i think there was only one, tiny breakdown. gifts at barb's afterward was harder, but i think it will get easier over time. just being together is so important.

 

christmas morning was spent at home with my little family. normal breakfast of biscuits and gravy, eggs and...was that it? barb and lucille stopped by to check out the loot and then we headed for st. Louis for christmas with the chronister fam.

 

this was the first year at phil and kath's and i have to say...i missed being at dad's! they were wonderful hosts, and it was nice to not have to drive as far, but it just isn't the same as doing it at the farm.

 

we had tickets to see the trans siberian orchestra while we were in st. louis, so dave and i had a nice date the day after christmas while dad watched the kiddos at bev's house.

 

then it was off to home, and we had the rest of the weekend to hang out and get the house cleaned up before work.

 

it was such a nice, long break.