Bettime Routine with Young Living

Hey Y'all,

We are incorporating a new bedtime routine (starting tonight), and I thought you might like to know about it too.  All of us fall asleep easily, and 4 out of the 5 of us stay asleep all night.  Well, 3 out of the 5 of us.  The one that wakes up also makes sure that I am awake too.  Why?  She wants to nurse...still...all-night-long.  Seriously!  She doesn't need it, and neither do I, so we are switching things up a bit. 

Normally, before bedtime everyone gets pajamas on, brushes their teeth with Thieves toothpaste, we diffuse Peace & Calming oil blend and after prayers and songs it is off to dream land.  Great huh?  But then, tiny tot wakes up in about 2 hours, then about 1-2 hours for the rest of the night.  Ugg. 

Guess what I ordered for my Essential Rewards order this month?  That's right, a new bedtime oil routine...well, an addition to our bedtime routine for tiny tot.  We are adding Sleepylze and maybe even Tranquil.  Yup, just a tiny bit of Sleepylze on the bottom of her big toe and on her chest just before bed. If I need an added oomph I will also do a tiny drop of Tranquil on the bottom of the big toe.  Pray for sweet dreams tonight, for all of us :)

Need oils?  Go sign up today by clicking HERE.  Feel free to use my number of 1069772 when you join.

*Note: these statements have not been approved by the FDA and in no way are they meant to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any disease.  Please contact your licensed physician for any medical issues.

Enter with Caution

If you have ever had children, raised children, baby sat children or maybe even been a child; then you know that potty training can be tricky.  It may even involve tears (and I don't mean from the child).  So, it was with trepidation, and maybe a little fear, that I decide to start potty training my 22-month old. 

Why was I scared?  What could be so bad about this?  After all, my first two potty trained pretty easily!  My oldest completely trained at 18-months old, but had some serious digression problems at age 2 when she ingested artificial food color.  That became a year long nightmare, but this is a story for another time. 

Then, my second child was really easy!  I didn't even have to train him, but rather big sister did all the training.  Little siblings want to be just like their older siblings; so it worked.  Easy peasy, done and done.

Now I have child number three.  She wanted to start using the potty around 18-months, but I simply was not ready to conquer this task.  She could talk and communicate well (to me at least), but I felt like she might not be ready to tell me BEFORE she need to go, so I kept stalling.  Now, at 22-months, I decided that I was ready to be done with diapers (cloth or otherwise). 

If the first two were so easy, why the fear with the third...especially since she has been ready for 4 months?  Well...I told her for about 3 days before we started that we were going to start using the potty.  Her answer, "NO!"  Simply, loud and adamant..."NO!"  If you know her, you know that she is strong willed.  It is her way or the highway (or so she thinks).  I seriously was in no way ready to clean messes up all day long, so yes, fear.  But, when the day came to train she hopped up on the potty and tried.  All day long she tried.  No success, but no major failure either.  Day two started and when I put her on the potty I quickly realized that I was distracting her, so I acted like I needed to go get something and stepped just outside the door where she couldn't see me, but I could hear her.  The Flood Gates Opened!  Seriously, she used the potty and has been doing it successfully ever since!  She has rarely had an accident and is wearing big girl underwear all day (even staying dry all night, but I still have a diaper on her just in case).  We are on day 5 or 6 and I would say that she is a potty champion!  Proud Momma moment :)  I am thinking that in the next few weeks she will be completely accident free and maybe even diaper free at night! 

Now we just need to work on getting her to sleep through the night - lol.  Hey, there's an oil for that! 

Becoming A Super Hero

My son just had another birthday.  He is growing up.  Actually, he is a superhero in training, which is a good thing because that is what he wants to be when he grows up.  And I fully expect him to fulfill his dreams!  He is heroic, compassionate, mindful, protective, daring, outgoing and many other 'heroly' characteristics.  But, he is not just a hero in the flesh; he is also a hero of the faith!

So, in honor of my son and his superhero dream:

Review - Ecco Bella Makeup

So, I have written this review 4 different times (actually 5 now), and for some reason it simply crashes on me.  My first write up was the best, and my second one was pretty good too.  But now?  Now?  Now I am just trying to get this out there to you!  You can let me know in the comments if it was worth the read.

On to the review.

I have been wearing my Ecco Bella  makeup for several weeks now, and I love it more each time I use it!  I was nervous to try it out because in the past I had a negative reaction to anything new I tried.  I had pretty much stopped wearing makeup all together and barely anything to special occasions; always dreading the inevitable itching that would follow for days afterward.  Well, this time I had allergy testing results that helped me choose the non-toxic makeup brand and items for me.  Woo Hoo!

Although there are several non-toxic, all natural, organic makeup companies out there, Ecco Bella was the only one I could find that didn't contain Thyme, White Rice, Honey, Coffee, Grape Seed and Annatto...my personal avoid allergen list.

First of all, none of the Ecco Bella makeup products I received had that odd 'makeup' smell that some brands contain.  These were pretty much odorless or had a light 'all natural' floral scent (there are no fragrances or perfumes in this makeup).  That is HUGE for me.  Also, the colors are absolutely beautiful, and that can be difficult to achieve with all plant based colors (especially when avoiding coffee and annatto as colorants).

When my box arrived each item was individually wrapped like little presents awaiting to be opened!  Fun; kind of like a miniature makeup party!

Here is everything freshly opened and ready to be explored.

The foundation is light weight and a little goes a long way.  Just use a dab on your finger tips and blend, blend, blend.  This allows your natural skin to show through, but evens out your skin tone.

The concealer, which goes on under the liquid foundation, is a little thicker and almost 'sticky', but not in a bad way.  Just a few tiny dabs under the eyes or in a trouble spot is all that is needed, then simply blend and apply the liquid foundation over it.  Easy peasy.  My only 'dislike', if you could call it that, is that the concealer tub is identical to the lipstick tube.  I would like them to be a different color or style to easily choose the correct one without having to read the label or open it.

Having said that, here is the lipstick.  I LOVE the color.  It goes on smooth and has great coverage.  After experiencing this lipstick I now want every color (well, every color that would look good on me).  And Ecco Bella has quite a selection of colors to choose from.  Now this makes me want the moisturizing lipstick they offer too!

Tuscany Rose

Now, I am a lip gloss girl.  I always have been, but I don't like them to be sticky or have a fragrance or flavor.  Ecco Bella only has 4 to choose from, but after experiencing the one I ordered I want all 4 - he, he, he!  Sheer but with a punch of perfect color.  Great alone or over your lipstick.  Bonus: the lip gloss tube has a mirror for easy application anywhere.

Now on to a really fun product...the eye shadow and powdered eyeliner.  I have always liked a powdered eyeliner that can be applied wet or dry, and Ecco Bella does not disappoint.  I was only able to get one color of each, and feel pretty one-dimensional when applying them, but I can tell they will look really nice when I can add to my collection.  Seriously, a TENY TINY little bit is all you need.  These colors are very dramatic and have great coverage.  I want a wide variety of these :)  Single or double compact with mirror sold separately, and shadows/liners can be added and refilled as needed.

Eye Shadow

Powdered Eyeliner

That is what I have, and I look forward to getting the mascara, pencil eye liner, more shadows and powdered liners, lip liner and the moisturizing lipstick in the future.

And Then You Discover Allergies!

If you have been with me very long you know that I am all about health, non-toxic, all natural, organic, chemical-free home...and on and on!  Actually, this lifestyle seems to be the current fad, but I was a 'crunchy Momma' way before it was cool.  I received the blank stares and was called crazy behind my back (or in front of my face), but today...this is a 'cool' and 'mainstream' lifestyle!  Go Me...now I don't have to look so hard to find what I need and what is good for my family!

Did you know that some of the best products can still cause you problems?  That is a lesson I have been learning.  Yes, I already knew this, but more recently I have had to take a step back and reevaluate what products I am putting on my skin (the largest organ of your body) to make sure that I am doing what is best for me.  Why?  If what I am using is so non-toxic and natural and wonderful for me then why reevaluate?  One word....Allergies!?!?!?!?!?



My skin and I have been in a battle toward health.  With each of my pregnancies I have broken out into a skin rash (the immune system can change during pregnancy and reveal dormant underlying conditions; like allergies).  My first pregnancy the rash was only on one body part and lasted about 3 months.  With my second pregnancy the rash was on my right hand and looked like a flesh eating disease!!!  That rash lasted 1-year.  With my third, and most recent, pregnancy the rash has been all over my body and we are going on a 2-year battle now.  It is considerably better now than it was, and hardly noticeable to the random onlooker, but I still itch and scratch.  Per my natural doctors orders I have competed several colon cleanses, an amazing candida and anti fungal diet, an anti-histamine diet, and several liver and gallbladder flushes.  All of these really helped a TON in the healing process and took me from feeling terribly ill and having horribly itchy rashes everywhere to feeling really great and having a few lightly itchy rashes.  So, the next step was allergy testing.  My results were interesting considering that the items that I came back allergic to are items that I eat weekly, if not daily.

Also, these items are not only in my diet, but in most of my vegan and all natural skin care products (shampoo, face wash, soap, lotion and makeup!).  Yikes!!  I need something natural, so the search was on.  I was able to keep my toothpaste, soap, face wash and face moisturizer (all Young Living products) but had to change my shampoo, lotion and makeup.  The shampoo and lotions were also Young Living and I highly recommend them if you are not allergic to the ingredients.

What was I allergic to that made me make a change?

1. Honey
2. Coffee
3. White Rice
4. Aluminum - this one is in the water - YIKES!  So consider a water shower filter, drinking water filter...
5. Thyme
6. Grape Seed Oil
7. Annatto
8. Nectarine

In the vegan, organic, all-natural world of makeup Thyme, Coffee, Rice and Grape Seed Oil is EVERYWHERE!!!!  And sometimes annatto, nectarine and aluminum (avoid aluminum at all cost anyway...this stuff is crazy!)

So the search was on!!!!  I found a great shampoo and conditioner at my local health food store, and switched to simple oils (like almond and jojoba oil) for my 'lotion' on my legs and body.

But the makeup, OH...the makeup!  Yikes!!!  This was a more difficult task.  I had been using a makeup that had AMAZINGLY simple and wonderful ingredients, but thyme and rice were in everything, and coffee was often used as a coloring agent!  Boo for me :(

I searched and searched.  Many of the organic, vegan, all natural and organic makeups had the thyme and rice.  And the ones that didn't have my allergen concerns were EXPENSIVE!  But finally, I stumbled across Ecco Bella.  As far as the makeup line ingredients go (not the skin care, body care or other washes and moisturizers...they have some of my allergen concerns), they are a thumbs up!  As a plus, Ecco Bella's products are gluten-free and dairy-free too!!!

So, I have placed an order and as soon as it arrives I will try it out, take pictures and do a review for you!  I have also become an affiliate where you can order through my link!  The cost is the same for you no matter how you order, but ordering through my link in the green Ecco Bella banner below will help me out.  Woo Hoo!  

Here are some images of what they offer!I used their free makeup consultation to help me with my colors! 





 
 

 

My Choices:

Cover Up (concealer): Beige
Liquid Foundation: Light Beige
Eye shadow: Deep Taupe
Powder Eye Liner: Eggplant
Lipstick: Tuscany Rose
Lip Gloss: Passion

Stay Tuned for unpacking the Ecco Bella Haul, pictures and review!  I hope this makeup works for me :)

Need oils?  Go sign up today by clicking HERE.  Feel free to use my number of 1069772 when you join.