Of Lavender and Peppermint

A few days ago my 5yo daughter (dd for short) came to me with what appeared to be a significant headache. She was crying and clearly in pain. It seemed to me that it came on suddenly, but she told me it had been hurting for a bit. I think it being near bedtime and her being tired exacerbated it. My first inclination was to give her a dose of Motrin, which I did, yet it was no easy task as she resists liquid medicines. A few minutes later as dd lay on the couch emitting random crys of pain it occurred to me that perhaps an essential oil concoction might help her. I pulled out my book (The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood) and turned to the section on headaches. I selected the "General Headache" recipe to try. I mixed 3 drops of lavender oil, 1 drop of peppermint oil, and about 1 drop of coconut oil. (The book called for a drop of vegetable oil, but I substituted coconut instead.) I massaged it on her temples and at the base of her skull at the hairline as the book directed. I did not massage for long as she was not fond of it. The results made me take notice. Within 5 minutes she was obviously feeling better. The whining from discomfort had stopped. I put her to bed as it was her bedtime, but very soon thereafter she came out looking for her baby doll. Any signs of a headache and discomfort were ... gone. In my experience, Motrin does not work that quickly.

I have used the combination of oils also found in the book to relieve a migraine headache that was accompanied by intestinal discomfort. I had recalled reading about a 'gastric headache' that Worwood attributes to eating the wrong foods and decided to try the book's suggestion. My sweet husband helped me out as I was rather incapacitated. He mixed 1 drop of peppermint oil with a teaspoon of honey in warm water and brought it to me to sip. He then mixed 1 drop of Rosemary, 2 drops of Peppermint, and 1 drop of Lavender together and put a drop or two of the mixture on a tissue for me to inhale. (The book calls for inhaling 1 drop on a tissue, or massaging back of the neck with 1 drop, or putting 3 drops in a steam inhaler.) Within 30 minutes I was almost totally back to normal. It sure beat letting the migraine run it's course!

I have used lavender oil myself recently to relieve skin irritation and burns from cooking. The book by Worwood tells of a chemist(I think a perfume maker) who burned himself in the lab and immersed his hand in lavender oil as it was the only liquid close by. He thus discovered that lavender oil aids in the healing of burns.

Another thing that aids in the healing of burns is Xango- a supplement I have taken for years. It's a juice one can take internally, or apply externally. It's a fabulous anti-inflammatory. I have not used it much externally except for my son's acne (amazing results especially when combined with ingesting it) and burns. Earlier this week I decided to test it out on my foot. Feet, actually.

I have different issues going on with each foot- but the root of both I believe to be inflammation. ( I have a suspected neuroma in one foot and pain and tightening from the heel to inside of my arch on the other.) I have been massaging my feet and experimenting with placing a cotton ball soaked with Xango on the inflamed parts of my foot once or twice a day while sitting. I have been very surprised at the results. I have noticed a rather dramatic improvement in how my feet feel immediately after I'm finished sitting and letting the Xango soak in as compared to when I first sat down.

Inner Workings

It has been a whirlwind week here. I've not gone anywhere, really. I've pretty much only gone shopping for necessities- like food. The children kept saying there was nothing to eat around these parts, so I decided to humor them. :)

I have spent the week organizing my abode. It has been kind of odd- in a nice way. :) The odd part comes in the fact that I'm not going through things as I'm packing boxes and preparing for a move. Packing boxes has been my stand-by way of organizing/thinning out items. You see - our family's move into this house was our 15th move in 15 years- all averaged out. I could like not moving. :) In a few months we'll have lived here longer than we've lived anywhere since we've been married. We've been married for nearly 18 years.

My foray into all crevices of the house began with an innocuous event. Free bunk beds. I like free. I really like free. What a blessing and an answer to prayer! They were immediately designated for the boys room as it is the smaller of the 2 children's rooms. But- work had to be done. To set up the bunks I had to remove the mattress our 7yo was sleeping on and the captains bed our 17yo has had for eons. The captain's bed moved to the girl's room for our 14 yo as we needed more drawer space for the girls...and as an extra blessing to me- dd cannot shove all manner of things (or anything!) under her bed. :) This thrills me to no end!

So the captain's bed moved to the girls room. Mine and my husband's dressers moved to the boys room, and we were able to ditch the inefficient dresser our 7yo had. (I loved the old dresser/desk combo- but I loved it much more before ds took a scalpel from older ds's dissection kit to it. ~sigh~ ) My dh had the brilliant idea to give the boys our dressers and buy ourselves dressers we liked and that better reflected our taste. Since I was dealing with beds and clothing in the boys room and mine- I decided why stop there? I moved onto the cabinet where the boys store all manner of personal items. After measuring the boys cabinet I took a trip to Wal-Mart and found plastic storage bins (that all matched in lid color and shape!) to allow for more efficient storage compared to the few bins they already had. I made sure to buy bins that all have hinged lids so the lids could always be found. :) I love the results!

Getting things organized and cleaned out in the boys room was such a treat I decided- why stop there? On I went to the 3 hall closets, the 2 entry closets, and all of the kitchen drawers. Somewhere in the midst of this I also organized every.single book we have. Replacing the dressers in my room necessitated the removal of a bookcase (Yay! More clutter banished!) in order for the new dressers to fit. I had to order new curriculum for next year for the younger children which required space ...and all the books were a disaster anyways.

And then... then there was the matter my desk. ~sigh~ It took 2 days- but it is now cleaner and more organized than it's been since the baby (who is now 1.5 yo) arrived. I feel invigorated! A cluttered house and desk make for a cluttered mind. I'm beginning to think I was more 'snowed under' with the arrival of our 5th child than I realized. The fog is beginning to lift! I see sunshine peeking through! And it's lovely. :)

A few Easter shots. The photos in this post loaded in reverse order. A good thing to know!

Yes- it's an Easter egg hunt at our church, and yes...it's a Halloween bucket you see. This is what happens when Mom has no clue where any Easter item currently resides and has been gone the week prior to Easter.

As if that would make any difference. :)

Here is T. in her newly aquired pose- arms crossed. It is properly interpreted as follows: "I'll do it myself!"

The amazing ways God works...

A little over a week ago I was at home continuing about my daily routine much as I am doing now. Just taking one day at a time- trying to keep up on laundry, feeding the family, and all the other daily chores that can become monotonous. I then received an e-mail one morning sent very late the previous night by my parents. My uncle, who was well advanced in age and had been ailing, had passed away.

It was very important to me to be at the funeral for my aunt's sake as she has cared for and loved me and my family so faithfully over the years. My aunt has been a continual presence in my life ever since I can remember and she has been ever present in the life of my children and husband- never failing even once to send a birthday card to any one of us.

I put in a call to my father-in-law inquiring if he might by chance have a spare frequent flier ticket that he would be willing to pass on to me thus allowing me (and my under 2yo daughter) to fly to the funeral. I was in luck as he said he did have one and graciously gave it to me. The first of several blessings.

No more than 2 days later I was to fly with my daughter T. My husband drove us with our other 2 young children in tow 3 hours to the airport and dropped us off about 7AM. Just after my daughter and I had cleared security I saw one of the car seats that becomes a stroller and thought how cool they are...then... I panicked. I had forgotten the car seat in the van and my husband had taken off already for the return home! I called him and after a nerve-wrecking half hour or so I retrieved the car seat from him and sprinted towards security...again. I was very fortunate to make it through quickly enough to allow just enough time to grab some food to take aboard the flight. The 1st flight was not crowded and I was thrilled to have a row to ourselves as T had never flown before...and I was tired. :)

From Houston our flight to LAX was to be full. They announced that it was to be a totally full flight- and I inwardly groaned. Since it is impossible to exit a tin can hurtling 100's of miles an hour at 35,000 feet or more- I was praying for seat-mates who would tolerate T. well. Just as I finished sending up the bullet prayer a gentleman asked if I minded if he sat in the aisle seat. Then a woman came and sat in the middle seat...for about 2 seconds and then she moved. Then the crew announced that we were departing. But what had happened to the full flight with several on 'standby'? I did not know nor did I care- T had her own seat! I was ecstatic! Later upon passing us by- a flight attendant remarked that I had lucked out because 2 people had decided to take a later flight. Our seat-mate turned out to be quite pleasant and helped to entertain T. when needed. It was fantastic. The Lord heard my plea and answered above and beyond what I had hoped for.

Upon landing I was picked up by a good friend I had not seen since we left NYC. She now lived in L.A. with her husband and was expecting her 1st child. We stayed the night with her and it was a joy to visit and meet her husband and see where she lived. They then graciously drove me to where my uncle's funeral was- which was a couple hours drive.

I had not seen my family for about 3 years and they had not met T. While the funeral was a sober and sad event, it had the silver lining of not only seeing my aunt and immediate family- but of rooming with and visiting a lot with my cousin whom I had not seen in years. It was such a blessing and a joy getting to know her on a much deeper level and to talk into the wee hours!

The day after the funeral another friend of mine, Angi, who just happened to be in L.A. picked me up from the funeral location and drove me back (another couple of hours) to where she was staying with a friend of hers. She had 'put out there' that it might work out for me to be a second driver for her on her return trip home to Mississippi. I decided to take her up on the offer which as she tells really wound up being a big help to her. I spent one day running around L.A. with her and her 2 son's as her eldest son had some appointments on their final day in CA. The next morning we loaded up in her car and began driving home.

It took two days to travel from L.A. to my house with 2 moms, a 15yo, a 2yo and a 1.5yo in tow. It got a bit wild at times. :) It got a bit crazy- but it was all good. It was exhausting, but well worth it for the experience... and the company.

I am still in total awe at how the Lord took mourning and turned it into joy by reuniting old friends, allowing new bonds with family, and even throwing in some crazy adventure all out of the simple desire to be present and minister to my aunt at a time of great sorrow.

The Lord is good...all the time.

Facebook | The Art of Rondall Reynoso

Facebook | The Art of Rondall Reynoso

Here is a link to my husband's new Facebook fan page. :)

And then there was one.

Tooth, that is.

I had been thinking I needed to get a photo of my baby boy, M, (who happens to be 7) before he lost his two front teeth that have been loosening. I did a wiggle test and figured I had enough time to get my camera back from having the sensors cleaned. I lost that gamble.

We were at church tonight. I was in the service, my husband, R, was with said 7yo on the playground. Suddenly I find myself being summoned to the foyer by my husband while hearing whimpering from the foyer I believe to be emanating from my son. As I exit the sanctuary I see my baby sitting on a chair, crying, with a wad of paper towels up to his mouth. Poor R did not know that his 2 front teeth were loose already, neither did he realize how far back his two permanent bottom teeth had grown in. (He'll need braces in a few years for the crowding.) So R was pretty concerned.

We went about the motions of ice, tylenol, etc. We were even fortunate to get input from a dentist via phone who said it will look much worse tomorrow. Greeeat.

It turns out that M had jumped down from the top of the spiral slide and when his feet hit the mulch they slid out from under him at which time his mouth connected with the side of the plastic slide. The tooth that was the loosest came out due to the trauma and the other tooth is now considerably less firm. It is not a pretty sight. After the shock that included body shakes and a consult with a nurse who was present wore off and we were home M decided that the other tooth needed to come out as well.

The child apparently does not understand that mom is not ready for not even one much less BOTH front baby teeth to be gone. For with the dispensing of the baby teeth he will become an official "big" kid. ~sigh~

This just goes to show- if you have an idea for a picture that includes an intact boy- move quickly for boys will be boys.

Yay! No more Magnolia trees!!!

Can you see me jumping up and down in delight??

You might wonder what, exactly, I have against Magnolia trees. Well- nothing really. I think they are beautiful trees. I come from a part of the country where they are not common. I love how they are different than the types of trees I grew up seeing. I enjoy looking at them. But...

..I do not enjoy seeing them right out my front window. Right on the veritable edge of my property. Right UP the street...being located where the wind blows down the street and past them...onto my driveway and into my front yard. Thus the magnolia trees as beautiful as they were...were my nemesis.

Oh we have trees in our yard. A few pine trees and a huge oak. But the litter from those evergreen trees pales in comparison to the constant deluge from the magnolias. There were also quite skillful at evading the mulching blades.

So I am rubbing my hands in glee!! My blower will be happy as well. Not to mention my 17yo son. :)