Category Archives: Essential Oils

Oily kids for the win

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I love how much using essential oils with our wonders has empowered them to tackle both their physical and emotional struggles on their own without having to rely on medications.  The other cute part is how passionate they have become in sharing with others and helping me “teach.”

​​(WonderBOy sharing how he’s packing his keychain for school – heart eye emoji for days)
Want in on this action? I have a few rollerballs and spray goodies left over from a craft fair a few weeks back. If you know a new mama that could benefit from some of these, please message me and I’ll hand them over for a discounted price than what we sold them for previously. PS lots of people have raved to me about the tushy spray. Get one while they last!

on my “why”….

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I’ve had a few people ask me lately about all of the different things I do and how busy/hard-working I must be….so I thought I would share a little bit about my very intentional purposes in CHOOSING (because I don’t like the term “too busy”) what I engage in and the amazing people I get to engage WITH along the way.

As a counselor, I am in love with the concept and reality of each person having a story. Stories that involve relationships, ups and downs, milestones and miseries, and everything in between. And the more I learned about and experienced these stories first hand or through my profession, I became obsessed intrigued by the stigma around all things “hard” in those stories. We, as Americans, have a really hard time talking about our struggles…..as if those struggles = failure. The stigma around mental health in particular is one that I am passionate about. Both in my field of counseling, but also in my newer passion of natural wellness through essential oils – I am driven to break down these walls and invite people to openly share struggles with ALL steps of their journey. We are usually fairly open about physical ailments, but the relational, mental, and emotional struggles have an entire set of different “social norms” that hurt us by keeping them hidden.

Mamas, in particular, have a hard time sharing struggles. It is all too easy to compare ourselves to the perfect Instagram Mamas and Pinterest inspiration and feel like we’re never doing enough. Along with that comes anxiety, depression and insecurities about our everyday lives. But by sharing those struggles with others, it opens up the opportunity to welcome and receive SUPPORT and help for those very struggles. And the ripple effect is that others feel open and honest in sharing their struggles too (the biggest way to combat social stigma is by sharing about your own – easier said than done of course).

So this is why I do what I do….bringing stories out of the dark and into the light, stepping out of my comfort zone to involve myself in others’ struggles to hopefully be helpful (or sometimes just to be available, no action needed), and every once in a while, empowering kids and parents with tools they might need to relieve even just a fraction of a struggle…..victory and miracle achieved.Feel free to follow along on my RootedWELL Instagram page – right now there’s a super cute video of WonderBOY filling up his oils keychain for school (melt my heart). All things family wellness posted there…..

March favorites

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Here are a few things that I am pretty darn excited about this month (hint: there will be absolutely no SNOW included):

Facebook articles that confirm my parenting (and coaching) beliefs – Love this one by a Stanford dean. We love our kiddos and want the best for them but by high school they need to start experiencing the hard stuff and finding their own solutions to practice before they are truly on their own!

Canon all-in-one printer – can’t wait to print photos on this highly-recommended printer. My last HP all-in-one was seriously the most amazing printer and I had it for a good 10 years so I have been mourning it’s loss for a while. A little trip to Best Buy last weekend connected me with a lovely salesman that highly recommended this one. Happy day!

Oily Vinyl Kit Club – Elizabeth and Amy have teamed up to produce and create vinyls for your DIY rollerballs and sprays to use around your house or gift to friends and family. Here is a sneak peek of April’s vinyl kit:

Pinterest husband -a  few side by side comparisons of my pin to his finished product.  We are very self-aware to know that a renovation or house building project would be the end of us so this little arrangement of my sharing a picture and him building works out perfectly. He’s so lucky he has me to keep him busy on his days off. ?(still need to add hooks and a cozy cushion)

On my side gig…

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Although I wasn’t even considering DoTerra as a business when I first started using their amazing essential oils – what has grown from just sharing my excitement with friends and family has grown into a beautiful network of mamas, teachers, entrepreneurs, and generally awesome people that I love spending time with!

I get to leave my house every once in a while, sit around tables and living rooms, enjoy some cocktails and appetizers, meet amazing women working their butts off to keep their families happy and healthy….and then educate and empower them to make over their whole lives with natural wellness products.

The ripple effect of all of this fun networking is that I make enough money to make a big impact on our family’s ability to create awesome memories and enjoy experiences together. My hubby and I decided last year to combine his overtime paychecks and all of my DoTerra earnings in order to save for the Disney cruise we gifted the kiddos with last Christmas. We are so excited for this family trip of a lifetime AND extra excited that we didn’t have to sacrifice household expenses to make it happen (especially with our surprise house buying adventure – that might not have been possible if we hadn’t been saving!).I am super grateful for my mentors, Amy and Jodi, for supporting me throughout this journey and I love love love ALL of my oily tribe that are having great experiences with the oils and having some fun right along with that. Hearing their stories of how the oils are positively impacting so many emotional and physical ailments in their home makes my heart incredibly happy and increases my passion for getting this information out into the world!!!

A few links to how I use essential oils in my home:
OIls for Mama
Oils for Hubby
Oils for Kiddos

I’m always happy to share more about the business side of DoTerra if you’re interested. It doesn’t take any inventory or extra costs to start sharing so many people experiment to see what they can do in a short period of time and then take it from there! (Please excuse a little sales pitch very now and again here and on my FB – I’m too excited to keep it myself!)

Snippets of daily life

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My weekend consisted of lots of down time, extra big mugs of coffee and dowsing myself in this amazing Hope oil. Although I know many people think our life is go, go, go…..in reality our weekends are intentionally bare for us all to recharge and connect before the workweek/schoolweek begins again. I know this might change once WonderBOY starts getting into more sports so I am appreciating every relaxing moment of this season.Speaking of relaxing moments, this photo is in response to my prompt, “you must eat two bites of cauliflower before moving on with your day”….avoidance tactic of choice today? WB takes a 3 hour nap. Parents are so mean…..until he realized that the same cauliflower tastes kinda gross 3 hours later.
Sometimes, self-care means escaping to the mall to get storage bins from Target and coming home 2 hours later with some new shoes. Also, trying to ONLY get one item from Target is like eating one red vine from the Costco sized red vine bucket… simply impossible.
With some heightened emotions around our house for a number of reasons, I am loving giving both Wonders this teeny tiny box and letting them choose what they need to calm down and move on. Aromatherapy and kids is such a magical combination due to their heightened amygdala response to stimuli – if you haven’t tried it yet with kiddos, I highly recommend (and can point you to a good starting spot if you’d like – message me if you want more details).Sharing each step of our big moving adventure (more details to come soon) with the kiddos has been so very exciting! It’s amazing some of their misconceptions and confusion around moving for a positive reason and with ALL of our stuff. Their past experiences with moving involve mostly negative situations, new parental figures and relationships, and according to them, with only the amount of possessions they can fit in a backpack. WonderGIRL and I have bonded over pinning many many pictures of potential room decor ideas – this color combination is currently in the lead!!!

Giveaway time!!!

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These two products have been monumental in some of my personal development and growth towards contentment and peace with the daily chaos of our lives. I would love to share them with my readers as I really appreciate you tagging along on this journey with me and all of the supportive comments and love you have blessed me with throughout this past year. Please see the end of this post for details on how to enter.The Fringe Hours by Jessica Turner (and accompanying journal) will help you transform your thinking from “I don’t have time for that!!!” into “I can use my time more wisely” with amazing insights and challenging questions. It’s my favorite gift to give to all the hard-working mamas in my life and I hope you will appreciate it as well!

Most of you know how much essential oils have transformed our families’ lives in the past year (sorry for all the oil posts and pictures). Not only with giving me the ability to create our own cleaning products, but also to impact our emotional health and well-being. These emotional aromatherapy oils are my favorite to put into rollerballs (as you see here) and to add to our home diffusers for boosts throughout the day. I am excited to give this set away to a lucky reader who could also benefit from using them!

To enter, please follow my new IG account called ROOTEDWELL (click link, then “follow”) for nuggets of knowledge and inspiration on building your own family’s wellness. Then leave a comment either on the blog post or on Facebook suggesting a topic you would like to read about on the blog sometime in the next few months OR what’s been your fave post so far.  Any and ALL suggestions and feedback welcome. This Friday, Aug. 19th, my little Wonders will pick out names and I will send you your goodies ASAP!

Again, thank you for reading throughout this past year….although your feedback is not the primary reason I am keeping up the blog, I do appreciate the support and engagement that it has brought about in our family’s rollercoaster of a journey.

A few things I’m loving….

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Since I gave up wine for my 30-day detox cleanse, I’ve been missing my glass of red wine each night. I’ve been finding some comfort (and some relief from bloating) with this little “tea” I concocted:
1 cup apple cider
2 tbl. apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 drop on guard or cinnamon 
I’ve been disliking my bathroom counter top lately so I asked my crafty husband to do a reclaimed wood shelf and I am loving a little farmhouse feel in our very newly built (aka very vanilla) house.
As a Mother’s Day present to my Mother-in-Law Lori, I crafted a special planner with small pictures of her family members on their birthdays. I liked the idea so much that I used it to decorate my new planner and I love peeking through all the months and seeing so many smiling faces that I love so much.
My new favorite app straight from Shark Tank…..Felt! This app has amazingly cute card designs but then you can customize them and add your own handwriting (using your touch screen) for a handmade look. Plus, I only pay $5 per month and get to send 3 cards as part of the subscription plan (which I already used in the first day I had the app – oops).And just because I love how my little WonderBOY texts – a screen shot between him and Scott. I’m not sure what I was “letting him do because he is cute” but whatever it is, I am fully guilty of and for his exact reasons…..I better work on that before he uses that excuse for more than just staying up an extra 5 minutes or eating popcorn in the living room.

Adulting….

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adulting imageSometimes little flashes of realization come over me….and even though I’m 33 and fully a real-life adult, I still get weirded out by the fact that I’m ACTUALLY an adult. And this year particularly, I feel like I’ve made some big very minor adult life changes in my life…..and I’m not even talking about parenting because I still kind of feel like I’m my 16 year old self, babysitting my baby brothers in the summertime where laying selfishly in the kiddie pool sunbathing while they splashed around and squirted each other with squirt guns constituted “responsible caregiving”.

Real Estate stalking – 
I’ve been getting the itch for a bigger yard, some more space to play, an office, and a new neighborhood. Although we don’t plan on moving any time soon, it is pretty fun to peruse houses online AND watch an excessive amount of Fixer Upper on Netflix. I remember when we first laid eyes on our current home and I thought “we are so going to be here for the rest of our lives” (blame that on some newlywed Cinderella hormones I think). Especially adding two not-so-little kiddos into the mix here, I have changed my vision of a dream house. So if you know of any amazing gems out in the county (Scott says no Lynden), please send them my way!

Supplements – 
How come Mrs. Scanes or Mr. Adams didn’t talk about supplements in high school health or home economics? I have just started taking some supplements and I have felt a big difference in my energy levels and in the health of my skin and nails. And then when I ask other people about supplements and as it turns out, many of you have been taking supplements for years like it’s just a thing. So now I’m in the cool kids club….which isn’t that cool because it basically means your body can no longer handle life on its own and needs you to pump extra shmutza into it so it can operate properly. Lovely.
*Stay tuned for a future post when me and the hubby undertake a 30 day cleanse/detox which we start in one week. My first one ever and I don’t plan on liking it.*

Skincare – 
I have always gotten compliments on my nice healthy hair and skin….and I always downplayed that because I really didn’t do much to make it that way. I barely wash my hair or style it even and I was still using the same makeup and cleanser as I did in middle school. And now I’m wishing that I had relished in those nice compliments because my face is exploding with weird blemishes and gray hairs are just seriously popping out everywhere. Since I’m not a big fan of getting my hair done and colored, I decided that I could exert some sort of control over my skincare routines. When I received my first products to target this area, I had to do some serious googling about what toner even does and when it gets put on, but now I’m into it and loving the results. Each night after I apply my toner, moisturizing serum, and moisturizer, I feel like I just left the spa! I also got some magical Rose essential oil as an incentive prize and when I apply some of that….things just magically disappear and even out. Love that!

My lovely Grandma told me once that I would always envision myself as a 21 year old….and that no matter how old I got or what I looked like, when I pictured myself inside my head it would be my 21 year old self. Good thing I was so fashionable at 21…..oh wait.
21 year old - editNewsies hat + hoop earrings = all the rage in ’03. Happy adulting everyone!!!!

Together in 2016 – 3 month check-in

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I ran across this online gem of an article this weekend while scrolling Facebook and I absolutely fell in love with the message and the phrase “a cycle of nourishment” when describing friendships and networks among women. My 2016 OLW is “together” so naturally, I found it helpful as I read through it to reflect on one of my goals to meaningfully connect with women outside of my family 3 months in…..

doterra women

One of my main goals to ensure wellness for myself this year was to intentionally plan (and follow-through with) connecting with other people outside of my home. One of the ways I have been successful with this is through my side gig that I have grown to love so much. When I first began, I was pretty adamant to not do the business side and to only benefit from the percentage off the products….but now, connecting with other mamas and families to encourage their physical and emotional wellness is often the highlight of my weeks. Not only do I rely on my essential oils to keep myself and my family in a good brain space, but when I reach out and serve others through this way, I consider that another form of self-care for myself. I get to be creative, social, AND earn a little side money for my family – what an amazing deal for all of us!

The image above accurately depicts this great company and how instead of competing with others on our team, we are helping each other reach their goals and reaping benefits of others’ compassion and creative efforts. So far with minimal effort, I have been able to completely pay for my kiddos to participate in their extra-curricular activities (those get expensive right???) and contribute to our vacation fund. Stay tuned for some re-caps from our Spring Break Train-cation we embarked on this week….a new adventure for TBD!

Are you interested in learning more about connecting with others and learning about how these essential oils can makeover your own family, body, or home? Message me for details on upcoming classes (I will be hosting one each month at my home) or we can meet up 1-on-1 to chat more. Feel free to drop your name and email address here if you want 2 emails per month (at the most) outlining our upcoming classes and specials.

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Happy Spring break everyone – I hope you are enjoying whatever “TOGETHER” time YOU are getting with loved ones with this week.

Daily oils – Husband edition

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Welcome to Day 3 of how Team Brave Dinosaurs are using little vials of awesomeness to keep us healthy and happy without using any toxic products and chemicals! Today, I will discuss how I got my husband hooked on their true worth in our household. Of course, he was skeptical to spend a chunk of change on a starter kit without fully knowing how they would work but a few experiments later and he was ready to purchase a few more products just for him!

If interested, please go back and read how I personally use these oils as a busy mama and how we help our school-age children get through their daily lives.

Allergy relief –
Scott has always struggled with allergies throughout the different seasons in the Pacific Northwest. Once I had him inhaling the trio of Peppermint, Lavender, and Lemon out of his own hands, he became a huge fan. He felt instant relief but then what happened weeks down the road was that he didn’t have as many symptoms as often just from regular use. He has also used the Digestive Blend to alleviate sinus congestion right on his nose.

Snoring/sleep relief –
Each night, we put a blend of Thyme, Frankincense, and Respiratory Blend in our bedroom diffuser and place it right on Scott’s bedstand. It has significantly decreased his snoring, although sometimes it does not make it go away all together (no magic wand here). Scott would also say that he has a more restful night’s sleep since starting this protocol.

Daddy confidence –
Although this is not a specific recipe or use, I believe that Scott enjoys being able to offer oils as a solution to some of the children’s “owies” (both physical and emotional ones). He is also not a big fan of getting to the doctor (or spending money on doctors visits), so being able to help some ailments with the oils has been a game-changer for our family.

DIY Natural Cleaning solutions –
I am very spoiled in that Scott does a large portion of the cleaning and upkeep of our household. I would like to say that it’s primarily due to his schedule and having more time to do it, but really I am just extremely messy (and sometimes lazy) and he can’t stand the clutter I often leave in my wake. We haven’t spent any money on cleaners since last May when I received my first oils in the mail and love the added cleaning power they add to natural cleaning recipes. If you are interested in those recipes and other DIY cleaner tips and tricks, check out this post. Our essential oils team will also be hosting two different classes in March about natural cleaning solutions, so if you are interested in that, please message me and I will get you the details!IMG_2692.JPG(see above picture for the obvious excitement ahead of us in our marriage with essential oils)

If you have read enough to dive in and empower yourself with everything you will need to keep your family healthy and sane, head to my oils website to sign up. Under the “join and save” tab, you just enter some personal information, pick your favorite starter kit, and within a week’s time, you will have products in your hot little hands to start playing with. Plus, February is an awesome time to join with the option of getting $100 in free oils just for signing up this month. Message me with any questions and as always, no pressure here….I just want to spread the information and true power I feel with these to as many people as I can to help their family grow and thrive just like mine!

Also, if you aren’t ready to dive in yet but want me to come teach a class for you and some friends, I’m totally available to do that too – just message me and we’ll go from there!!