Mommin' It Up!

February 4, 2015February 3, 2015

Plant Therapy Essential Oils KidSafe Giveaway

So as Emily mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve recently become enamored with essential oils. Actually, I’ve been using tea tree oil for acne and as an antiseptic for about 18 months now, and I love what it’s been doing for me, so just this past fall I delved in further to see what other oils had to offer. The very first tea tree oil I bought was from a family-owned company called Plant Therapy, and when I started buying more oils I decided to look into what else they had to offer.

It is at this point I guess I should say, I’m not selling anything! Plant Therapy is not a multi-level-marketing company. I’ve bought some of oils from MLM companies and they work great. But I’m not really interested in getting into business, so like I said, I decided to check into what Plant Therapy had to offer.

They have a LOT to offer. And I bought a lot. Like, a lot. Let’s just say they had a really awesome month-long sale in December and I took full advantage.

And I love EVERYTHING! With the help of essential oils I’ve been sleeping a lot better, and sleep has been a nearly 11-year struggle for me.

But enough about me, what I am really excited about is that Plant Therapy makes affordable essential oils that are safe to use on my kids. They are appropriately called – KidSafe Synergies. There are 20 – 20! – different synergies that are safe for kid issues. Plant Therapy sent me 3 to review for this post, and I already owned 3, because as I may have mentioned, I love Plant Therapy’s products!

The KidSafe Synergies I already owned are:

A+ Attention, Nighty Night, and Calming the Child. I use A+ Attention on Jonah before speech therapy when I really want him to focus. I got Nighty Night because after he started preschool this fall, he started to have trouble calming down at bedtime and he would keep Joshua awake (they share a room) – it works great to get him settled! And I got Calming the Child to help him in the mornings. Jonah is usually a happy kiddo, but on school days he has to get up at 6:30 and he is never happy about it -(wonder where he got that from??). It’s often a struggle to get him to the breakfast table in a timely manner without a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth! Until I started using Calming the Child, that is. I put it on the back of his neck while he’s still snuggling on the couch while Bobby is making breakfast, and since I’ve started using it, he’s gone to the table willingly and without a fight. I’m not even kidding you!

The KidSafe synergies that I got to review are: Germ Destroyer, Immune Boom, and Tummy All Better. I think the reasons I selected these should be fairly obvious! Sophie in particular gets car sick, so I’ve diluted some Tummy All Better in some carrier oil and put it in a roller bottle to keep in my purse for those occasions. I got a chance to try out Germ Destroyer and Immune Boom on Joshua over the weekend when he had a headache and slightly elevated temp (99.2). I diluted the oils and applied them to his feet a few times over the course of the day and also diffused them into the air while he was playing Minecraft – and he never came down with anything. So I would say that was a pretty good trial run!

What really jazzes me about these KidSafe Synergies (ages 2-10) are that the were formulated for Plant Therapy by aromatherapy expert Robert Tisserand – Google him, he’s THE expert! Pretty exciting stuff! I knew when I got into oils, I didn’t want to play fast and loose with them when it came to my kids. So I did my research, and these KidSafe Synergies are what I feel comfortable using on them. PLUS they are great for adults, too – you just always know that they are safe for your kids.

Ok, so! Let’s get to the giveaway! I am giving away a 10ml bottle of Germ Fighter, Immune Boom, and Tummy All Better! Whee! And if you’re totes excited about ordering some Plant Therapy goodies for your family, you can go ahead and do that and save 10% with coupon code momminitup10 through February 19th! Plant Therapy has great prices and the KidSafe Synergies start at $7.99 so don’t worry about sticker shock!

One of you lucky ducks is going to win all three of these great KidSafe oils mentioned above. Here’s how to enter:

1) Leave me a comment letting me know which Plant Therapy KidSafe Synergy you are most interested in for your family.

2) For an extra optional entry, visit Plant Therapy’s Facebook page and come back here and leave me a comment letting me know you did.

3) For another extra optional entry, leave me a third comment telling me what Plant Therapy oil you’d most be interested in for yourself.

So just to be clear, you can earn up to three entries, but you have to leave a separate comment for each. One winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday February 10 at 6pm EST.

Good LUCK!!

January 5, 2015January 4, 2015

Happy New Year! Let’s Torture Ourselves

In an effort to make my life one big cliche (and keep Emily rolling her eyes at me pretty much constantly), today, yes the first Monday of the new year, I am starting a cleanse. No dairy, no sugar, no lots of other things but since I can’t eat wheat anyway, dairy and sugar are the MOST painful things – basically everything I love and hold dear I cannot have for 10 days. WAAAAAHHHH! Crazy, right? I mean, I have zero self-control. So. This should be fun.

EXCEPT, I’ve done it before. Are you shocked? I have. And I lived to tell about it. It was sometime last year, I can’t even exactly remember when, but I did the cleanse, I DIDN’T EVEN CHEAT, and I survived. The thing I missed the most was my sugary, liquid-poison coffee creamer. Oh man. I might cry just thinking about it! I wish I would have had an extra helping yesterday!!

I should probably be even more cliche and say the reason I am doing this cleanse is because I want to “get healthy” but that would be a bold-faced LIE. Or a bald-faced lie even. Probably both. The truth is, I am doing this cleanse because NONE OF MY PANTS FIT. It has taken me over two years, but I have finally gained back every last pound of the 12 ell bees I lost when I quit eating wheat. That’s right, I’m here to prove that you can eat gluten-free and still be fat! Thanks, Mountain Dew! Just kidding, I know I’m not fat. BUT I AM SQUEEEEEZING myself into my pants in a MOST UNCOMFORTABLE manner which in case you didn’t comprehend from my use of ALL CAPS is extremely uncool.

That’s right, people. Vanity rules.

So.

Cleanse.

No sugar. No dairy. No amazing creamer or sugary lattes. No Mountain Dew or Chewy Sweet Tarts. No cheese sticks, Sonic slushies, or delicious chocolatey gluten-free cereal.

Oh man. I feel sorry for my kids.

If you need me I’ll be huddled in the corner pretending a carrot stick is a pixie stick.

Wish me luck!

November 13, 2014November 25, 2014

I have found a way to be crunchy AND shiny #winning

Disclosure: I’m proud to partner with CVS/pharmacy for this “radiance – Shine Inside and Out” campaign. I am being sponsored to help lead this campaign, but all opinions expressed are my own, and all product claims or program details shared should be verified at CVS.com or with the appropriate manufacturers.

How many times have I written recently that I’m trying to be a little more “crunchy”? It is totally a recurring theme in my life right now. As I mentioned, I’m trying to eat natural, organic foods more. And I’ve also blabbed about how I’m using natural face wash and I’ve delved into essential oils – I use tea tree oil almost every day and I love what it does for my hair, skin, and aches and pains. Of course, I’m also still gluten-free. Now you guys know I’ve always been, um, A LITTLE concerned with how I look on the outside. Ha ha. I’ve never had any trouble finding the right products to help me SHINE on the outside! But for the last few months, I’ve also been concerned with how I feel related to what I’ve got going on inside. I want to shine there, too!

If you’ve been reading this blog for ANY length of time, then you also know I have a third concern: how much is all this gonna cost me? 🙂 Just because I’m crunchy doesn’t mean I’m not ~~cheap~~ frugal! So I’ve definitely been conscious of price as I’ve been working toward meeting my new health goals.

Happily, my fa-vor-ite drugstore CVS just recently came out with a new line of vitamins and supplements – CVS Radiance Platinum, that not only have what I want and need to be healthy, they have ingredients you can trust, and they are 100% preservative-free and include gluten-free and non-GMO options! And because of the CVS ExtraCare program, I can always save with great sales, ExtraBucks Rewards, and of course earning 2% back on e-v-e-r-y purchase! So I can start taking vitamins and supplements that help me meet my health goals without breaking the bank!

One of the first things I wanted to add to my health routine was a probiotic. The past year I started the kids on probiotics and it made all the difference in the world in their health. Last year Sophie only got sick once (ear infection) and Joshua didn’t miss any days of school at all – perfect attendance! Before probiotics, we picked up EVERY stomach virus ever. Remember that? It was terrible. Between the two of them the kids missed like 16 days of school one quarter. Insanity! Since probiotics did such great things for the kids immune health, I wanted to get on them myself. But price was a factor, and so was the ingredients. Happily, as I mentioned, I didn’t have to worry about what’s in the Radiance Platinum Probiotic.

Here’s a little tweet from CVS about the Radiance Platinum line. I couldn’t say it any better myself!

In addition to the probiotic, I’ve also been using the Radiance Platinum Melatonin to help me get to sleep at night, and the Women’s Multivitamin to make sure I get everything I need to feel great and be healthy. Like Vitamin D, for instance – I never get enough this time of year, and my kids’ doctor actually said we pretty much never get enough from the sun in Ohio year-round, soooo…anyway – the Women’s Multivitamin has it ALL, and honest to goodness I have noticed a difference in my energy since I started taking it, even with my new job and getting up at 5:45 every morning. Perhaps that’s because this is the first vitamin I’ve ever taken that is certified organic and non-GMO!

Ooh and also? Guess what else is part of the Radiance Platinum line? TEA TREE OIL! Yay! Mama’s favorite oily remedy, now available at my favorite store.

As you can see, I am pretty excited about this line – and even more excited to give some of it away in a prize pack along with a $25 CVS gift card!! To enter all you have to do is check out the CVS Radiance Platinum line and tell me which item you’re most interested in trying. One winner will be chosen at random on November 20th at 6pm EST. Good luck and happy shining!