Essential Oils: Lavender

I'm kind of new to the essential oil craze, my first experience being with lavender. I say "kind of" because I've actually been using lavender oil for a couple of years, but only picked up a few of the other oils in the last few months. My first experience with lavender oil happened when I was pregnant with Cameron. I had been to baseball game with my family, and despite being sufficiently lathered with sun screen, was burnt to a not so nice shade of lobster. I tried putting every sunburn remedy I've herd of or googled on my skin. I killed and entire aloe plant, lathered on yogurt, bathed in buttermilk, sprayed on stinky sprays, and picked up a few other drug store concoctions. I would find relief for a few minutes, then back to pain. A couple of days after acquiring the burn I was at an evening church service where someone said, "I've got an oil for that." She gave me a small bottle and I proceeded to sprinkle way to much of it on the red areas.  Ahh, relief. I was sure the pain would be back soon, but I was pain free for the rest of the night. The next morning I it was sensitive to the touch, but I wasn't exactly in pain anymore. The skin was still red, but didn't hurt.

I spent several hours that day searching the town for more lavender oil with no luck (I now know you can find it in the health and beauty aids sections of Whole Foods, Giant Eagle, and Raisin Rack). The friend that had allowed me to use her oil actually sold oils through doterra, I would come to find that several of the women in my church did so at the time. I ordered a bottle, I didn't want to chance ever getting a sun burn again without it.

It sat in my cabinet for a few weeks, then I came across a diaper wipes solution recipe to use with cloth diapers. So, when Cameron was born I started using it in my wipes. A few months later I was given a suggestion to use it for diaper rash. I developed a rash on my arm and decided to see what would happen if I put some of lavender oil on it. Soon it was time for another bottle of this miracle oil. This was the point I decided google what else this oil could do. I went through the second bottle much, much quicker than the first. I was loving the oil, but at about $30 for 1/2 an ounce... well, I had to either find it cheaper or stop using it so much. I was using a little over one of those 1/2 ounce bottles at a time.

I had been using lavender oil for about a year. This was about the time I put some on a friend's son that was staying at our house for a few days. He had developed a rash that was responding to nothing and had been to the doctor several times. My friend was amazed at how well the oil worked and actually knew where to get 4 ounces of it (in a different brand) for the price I had spent on 1/2 an ounce. I have to say I was amazed when her MUCH cheaper her oil was and it worked just as well as my doterra. Don't get wrong, I love my doterra selling friends & want to support their businesses, but 8X the price is just a little more than I can logically do on a regular basis.

With my current pregnancy (update: DO NOT USE LAVENDER OIL WHILE PREGNANT! See warning below) I actually crave the smell of lavender oil. I've found putting it on my feet before I go to bed at night is the only way I can get more than a couple of hours sleep at a time at this point. Last night I slept a miraculous 6 hours.

I purchased a few more oils when winter respiratory nastiness entered our home this year and being pregnant, there isn't much that is safe to treat those bugs with. I now generally purchase the NOW brand of essential oils from amazon. A 4 ounce bottle of lavender oil runs around the $20 mark. Some of the other essential oils our family has tried are eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, and tea tree. I've liked them all. I've ordered and am waiting for frankincense, clary sage, and geranium oils to come in.

***Important warning: After having Ember, I found I had postpartum pre-eclampsia (total nightmare).  Using lavender oil while pregnant can hide pre-eclampsia by reducing it's symptoms. This is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! DO NOT USE LAVENDER OIL WHILE PREGNANT!
Check out the post on
Essential Oils: Cleaning and Sanitizing Spray (here)
Essential Oils: Eucalyptus (here)

Episencial Bubble Bath Review

Product: Episencial Sweet Dreams Bubble Bath

What I paid: Nothing, but it retails for $9

Where I got it: I recieved this for free when agreeing to host a Healthy Child Party at www.healthychild.org You can purchase it on the Episencial.com

What I like: It is made with organic products and the even the bottle is earth friendly. My kids have ubber sensitive skin so I'm really reluctant to try anything out on them. This is free from additives and other icky stuff that could bother their skin though and it really doesn't have a sent. So I thought it was worth a try. The bubbles lasted a really long time also. Cameron and Anara tried it out together and since this was the first bubble bath either of them have ever had, they stayed in for long while. We re-warmed the water twice and there were still bubbles to be played with.

Could it be better: Love it how it is.

Do I recommend: Yep, in fact I 'm about to buy some more. I realize it's a bit more pricey than other bubble baths out there, but I really haven't seen another brand I would consider trying on my kids.

Walk Through Baby Gate Review

Regelo Easy Step Metal Walk Through Baby Gate

Product: Regelo Easy Step Metal Walk Through Baby Gate

What I paid: $31.50

Where I got it: Amazon.com

What I like: -The latch is easy to manipulate, my 6 year old daughter could easily do it.

Could it be better: Oh yes, way better. This is my 3rd child and I spent a good deal of time working in childcare so I've used a far share of baby gates. This and one other run a tie in being my least favorite. The other however at least will keep your toddler out of where you don't want them to be. This one comes with little cup things that are to be screwed into the wall then tension is used to hold the gate into the cups. That being done, my son could knock it over easy at 12 months old, which is when this was purchased. -The gate relies on tension to hold it in place, however the same tension is used to adjust the spot where the gate closes. Too much tension and the gate won't close, to little and it won't close or stay up. - The gate door opening is not wide enough.  Even very slim people would go through gate and have to turn sideways. This generally ended up in them bumping the gate, knocking it over, and me having to put it up again.

Do I recommend: No

Little update:
We have now moved to an older home where the doorways are a wee bit smaller. I have found that the gate works rather well in the smaller doorways. The doors I have used it in have all been between 29'' and 33''. So, if that fits the spot you need a gate in AND you never plan on wanting/needing it elsewhere, then it is a decent little gate. I don't think it would work well on a door past 33 inches.

IXL For Math Review

Product: IXL.com

What I pay: $9.95 a month

Where to get it: on their website linked here and above

What I like: -I mostly like that Anara actually begs to do math on a regular basis. Really, I have to make her not do math and move on to other subjects. Days (like Sundays) when math isn't even on the agenda she ask to do math. -Also, if your child misses a problem the program shows them how to do it properly. -I like that the company emails you with updates on your child's progress. -I like the parent side of the program where you can check on how much time your child has spent doing math and each lesson. This part is actually really cool, the photo attached to this post is a screen shot of part of the parent report. It gives you information on how many problems were missed, time a lesson took, percentage of time they have spent on different subject matter (like addition and fractions). This information is presented in both list form and graph forms. I really look forward to printing out the parent section at the end of the year and adding it to Anara's math binder. -If you are worried about covering everything that would be covered in public school in your area, there is a portion of IXL that lines up what they do with your area's standards be it state or country.

Could it be better: -One feature I like and don't like is that when your child misses a problem an extra problem is added. What I like is that your child still has a chance to achieve a 100 on the lesson, however this can make the lesson go on forever and if your child is working independently it can take a while before you realize how many they have missed. -I think it would also be nice if there was some sort of video that could be watched to demonstrate how problems in each lesson are done. This isn't a big deal in 1st grade, but the program goes up to the Algebra level. I'm sure there are problems in that section I would have a hard time explaining. Also, it's hard to know exactly how difficult the problems will become in each lesson so explain how to do each lesson can be hit or miss.

How we found and use it: Last year while Anara attended public 1/2 day kindergarten, her school used it as and enrichment resource and Anara really enjoyed using it. I have a list of all of the lessons for first grade printed in my planner binder. I use this list to plan which manipulatives and activities we are going to do outside of IXL for math. Each day for math I either have Anara work with a manipulative or do an IXL lesson or 2. Sometimes she does both. It really depends on her energy level and desire to work for the day.

Do I recommend it: Definitely,  since it's a monthly subscription fee, I would have stopped using it months ago if we didn't love it.

Action Bible Devotional Review

This is my very first review, but I've decided to try out a few. So, here goes...

Product: The Action Bible Devotional by Jeremy V. Jones

What I Paid: $11

Where I Got Mine: Sam's Club

What I like: My hubby and kids are big fans of comics, so getting my kids into this study is no problem. We are only a little into it, but so far the lessons at the end of the story seem to be adaptable to many different age levels. My 13 and 6 year olds both are able to get something from the lessons. I've only known about the Action Bible itself for a short time, but I haven't seen a kid (or adult) yet that hasn't found the illustrations and format of the Bible very cool and engaging.

Could It Be Better: 1- The devotional is divided up into 'weeks' instead of just 'lessons.' Not a huge deal, but my 6 year old does like point this out at the start of every lesson. I don't feel like there is enough here to do a weekly lesson for say a Sunday school class or other type of kids ministry. This really feels more like a home study which is generally done daily, not weekly. 2- The stories are pulled right out of The Action Bible. I would have rather seen a book of just lessons to go along with all of the stories inside The Action Bible instead of a selection of 52 of the stories pulled out and given lessons to. It feels like a bit of a waste of paper. 3- I would prefer the devotionals to go story by story through The Action Bible. There are 215 stories in The Action Bible. I would happily purchase 4 devotionals to get a lesson for each story in the Bible. 4- Give me a game or some kind of movement. The lessons are good, don't get me wrong, but my kids have grown to expect some kind of movement with their Bible study.

Do I recommend it: YES!!! I can be little a critical of Bible studies in general. This one hits the mark of what I and my family need it to be. Captivating, enlightening, and thought provoking are the top words that come to when I think of what I like in a kids Bible study. This devotional is definitely those things.