Flat Easy Cheese

I miss my cheese cutter. I think it was a gift from a credit union that we inherited years ago. I loved it. When Emily was little she would ask for "ice cold flat easy cheese". She didn't like big chunks of cheese but thinly sliced cheese. Over the years we have tried different fancy cheese slicers but we always seem to go back to the trusty bank cheese cutter which produced thin slices the easiest and the safest. This past year while slicing cheese my favorite slicer broke. Handle just fell apart. No more flat easy cheese.

I haven't found a replacement. I make due with different knives. A couple of days ago while slicing cheese, I slipped and the curved knife gave my thumb a puncture wound. Ouch it hurt!

Bugged by the blood and pain that was getting in the way of preparations of lunch, I dripped a drop of Frankincense to stop the bleeding and then a drop of Lavender to help lessen the pain and covered it with a band aid - aaahhh, relief. Yalla (My nick name for Yaw and Ella) requested ketchup with their grilled cheese. Little did they know how close it was to being garnished with some other red stuff.

The last couple of days I have made sure to douse a cotton ball secured with a band aid with different oils that I know have aided in my quick recovery. Purify, Melaleuca, and On Guard have been my choice.

Clean counters

I have a slab of carrera marble that we keep on our kitchen counter and use as a cutting and prep surface. I love it. I wish all my counters were done in this marble. One day.
I am embarrassed to admit that I neglect to clean underneath this marble. Gross huh. Let me justify myself, it is really heavy and doesn't move so easily so I forget. I did happen to lift it up today and noticed that it really needed to be cleaned and sanitized.
I keep a small squirt bottle underneath my kitchen sink that has water and a few drops of 'Purify' in it. Purify is an oil blend of lemon, lime, pine, citronella, melaleuca, and cilantro. It smells so clean.
This is what I used today to make me feel better about the underside of my marble slab. So there you have it. Use it on all your counters.

Respiratory

Brigham has had a couple of rough nights. Hard to know if it is the MPS or if he has caught a bug of some sort. Turned on the oxygen night before last to help him out. Relied heavily on my oils. How? Put Eucalyptus and Breathe in diffuser. Rubbed Breathe on his chest. Gave him mulitple breathing treatments while he was sleeping by putting either Eucalyptus or Breathe on my palm and while cupping my hand I hold it in front of the flow of his breathing. Added Peppermint and Lemon to a glass of water and had him sip that when possible. Even put a drop of Breathe on his pillow by his mouth. Last night seemed a bit better. He is such a fighter.

1st Dr. Mom class

I had my first Dr. Mom class at my house this week. My great brother Rob was the one who did the presentation for me. I invited a bunch of my neighbors. Some of them even came. I hope they learned something new. I genuinely want people to gain the same knowledge that I have learned about essential oils. I don't want to be thought of as someone who is just trying to sell them something. I honestly feel so empowered by knowing that I can do something about me and my family's health. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for our great doctors over the years that have blessed us, however, I am also grateful that I am becoming more independent and that now doctors are not my first option. I hope to start doing these classes on a regular basis.

It has been over a month since I last posted on my Ella. Probably a good idea to give an update on what happened. Last post, she was pretty sick. Kept consistent with Lemon, Oregano, Melaleuca on the bottom of her feet. She got better. Eyes cleared up.

Ella's update

Ella slept peacefully last night. She seemed better this morning. No fever. So excited to think we got rid of whatever was ailing her and so quickly. Well, pre-mature excitement. This afternoon her other eye turned bad. She climbed in bed and slept for 2 hours before dinner. Sleep is good. It is the best time when your body can heal. I will give her another day or so on the oils.
Ella has lots of bruises on her legs. Typical when you are an active 4 year old. RR says it spooks him. Have to admit that I thought twice about it too. I guess that is normal when you are parents whom have already had a child who has battled cancer. You learn to never say never. She will be okay.

Ella's Fever

Ella woke up around 3am with a burning fever and gooby eye (looks like pink eye). She was very upset and I think hallucinating. Instead of automatically reaching for the tylenol to put out her fever I decided to try my oils.
Ella is my strong willed 4 year old on any given day, so adding 'feeling miserable' to the mix, doesn't make for a cooperative little girl. I knew the hardest part would be getting the oils on her. I also knew she wouldn't take any tylenol so I had to try.
She agreed to let me rub her back. I knew that I wanted to get Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Lemon on her to help cool her fever but also knew that the icy sensation might bug her. I had read that Basil, Rosemary, Melaleuca, Frankincense and Clove are other oils that can be used for fever. So I decided to start with some of these less icy ones first. She seemed to tolerate me applying them to her spine. Eventually I tried the more icy oils and she complained a bit so I used some coconut oil to help difuse them and she was fine. When she seemed more settled I was able to rub these oils on the bottom of her feet. Within 15 minutes or so her fever broke. She did awake a couple hours later with fever again so I lathered her up and once again she settled and fever cooled. I had also patted a tiny bit of Melalueca with coconut oil around her eye area being careful not to get it too close to the eye.
This morning after her bath I put more oils on the bottom of her feet adding Oregano to the mix. She seemed fine all day until late afternoon when I noticed her slowing down and by early evening her fever had returned and now she is complaining that her throat hurts. I lathered her feet up again and she allowed a wet cool towell to be placed on her head. I also got her to sip lemon water. I know she is fighting something.
She is now sleeping. Hopefully she has a more peaceful night.

Oils in Africa!

I have been home from Africa for about a week now. So grateful that I was able to bring our new son home with me. It was quite the experience. I need to take a week to blog about it. See my other blog: goodmorningsister.blogspot.com.
Before I left for Africa I had to get a bunch of vaccinations. Some were required and the rest highly recommended. Many expressed concerns that I was going to get some funky disease. I stocked up on my oils and felt safe. I put them in a clear ziplock bag and had no problem getting them through security at the airport.
I used my oils everyday while I was there. My dear friends benefited as well. We used On Guard as a disinfectant on our hands all day long. Peppermint was used to help with tickle coughs and to freshen breath. DigestZen was a favorite in helping irritable stomachs and bowels. Oregano, Lemon and Melaleuca was put in a capsule and digested to kill anything that might be a bug. Lavendar and Vetiver were used for calming. Terra Shield was used to repell the insects especially when we ventured to the dense jungle. Breathe and Eucalyptus were used to help Yaw and Kwasi with respiratory issues caused by air conditioned cars that they were unaccustomed to. Geranium, Frankincense, Myrhh, and Melalueca were used for new facial surprises. It was a very stressful trip with a lot to accomplish. One morning out of the blue my knee collapsed. I literally could not walk. From the knee cap down was useless. If I tried to put weight on it I would have excruciating pain and no support. A mighty prayer was offered by my friend Jex and then I slathered the knee area with Mryhh, Frankincense, Cypress, Helichrysum, and White Fir throughout the day. I ended up being able to limp around and by night was back to normal. Who knows what happened.
Moral of this story. Don't leave home without them.