Homemade love.

Lately our main source of income has been - doTERRA oils and the items I make with them. Are we there yet financially, no? Are we getting there? We must be because that is the only response we have from anyone in regards to work at the moment. My Best Deodorant Ever, and Almost Your Grandmother's Laundry Detergent are a hit - thank god! I just finished a batch. This is the time of year when my coconut oil does not work with me! But it is done. Ready for sale, now just to find a way to get there. Darn cars!!!

Handwork warms the soul!

So today as I was checking in on Facebook, I did my usual - messaged my doTERRA folks, checked in with my Waldorf peeps. Took a look around while I was waiting for answers. When I decided to watch something a friend had posted. I am not sure why. I  only saw it for a second, but I turned it off and immediately felt terrible. A woman high as a kite - a mess. I used to live in NYC where things like this were commonplace daily. I would ride the train home and watch people nodding out across from me. Wow - do I now live in a bubble. I am EXTREMELY sensitive, and that was a reminder of how thankful I am that I made such a drastic, difficult life change. There are days I miss NYC so much, and when I moved there I need the chaos and felt safe there. But not now. Now the trees make me feel safe, and so do the stars, the sounds of nature. Granted my nature now is drastically different then it was before I moved to the big city! And I am now exactly where I want to be.
I immersed myself back into some crafting and I feel lighter again! This really brought me a clear message of how much handwork and gardening feeds the soul. It grounds us and brings us peace.
It is Waldorf Swap madness time of year and I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I just finished a wet felted gnome house, and feel compelled to make 20 more. I just want to scream from the rooftops,  "feeling lost, lonely and empty? get your wool on!!!!" Check out my work!

Farm, Family and Frankincense.

Big changes are undergoing on so many levels. Where to start? First off we moved to a FARM!! This  is a big step in fulfilling our dream. It was a truly bumpy road to get here, with so much more work ahead - but we are here! And we are so happy! The children are acclimating, and as I hoped their constant requests for media have begun to melt into nature and their imaginary worlds. Today we made maps and talked about history. Instead of whining I was greeted with excitement and requests for pouches to carry their map scrolls. Fastened from paper, tape and yarn the boys spent hours on adventure. And my creativity turned up a notch!
As hard as it has been to get here and despite the struggles we may still have, oh how it is worth it when I see my boys so full of life.
We made a worm bin and yummy carrot, sweet potato ginger soup. Everyone including our dog enjoyed it's heavenly taste as we watched a gorgeous pink sunset.
This past weekend we hosted our homeschool group for a Michaelmas celebration. How fulfilling to have so many wonderful happy faces! Our group performed the Kite play on the porch of our log cabin. It was glorious!
Financially the change from successful breadwinner to SAHM with multiple side projects has been extremely trying, but the change in behavior from my oldest was necessary. I had not slept in years and it was terrible. People may not understand, but soon when we have untangled ourselves through extreme simplification and I can clearly and honestly talk through it - I know I will be filled with joy from our journey.
We are putting our hands in the ground on a large scale! We have chickens coming in almost daily to begin our egg CSA, bees will arrive and with a little funding this dream will transform into brilliant reality.
What a test of trust on so many levels!
I have my small business making homemade items - laundry detergent, deodorant and more. The profit is teeny but it gives me some pride and has paid for gas when we had no resources! I know it will grow!!!
My doTERRA business is building as well. Everyday I want to give up and I am greeted by so many reasons not to. We have changed our health and we are so close to changing our finances with it. There are so many reasons to keep going. I like keeping this blog about my life, but doTERRA grows a bit more daily and it is important to share. Daily we use the Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint protocol on my LO's feet. We have been able to stop using Benadryl regularly. This is a godsend for us. I broke a bottle   of Frankincense (heartbreaking!) but the smell is with me all the time - cleansing and clearing and reminding me of our rightness on this path.

The peace that comes with chaos.

Our homeschooling/ unschooling journey has certainly been a test of patience, self confidence and ultimately trust.
It has taken us a long time, but we have finally found our rhythm and how beautiful it is. It is not always boxed, it requires going back to start sometimes, but wow, for the first time I truly see it and feel it and love.
Take for instanvce my child's refusal to poay attention to lessons, I was ready to crumble. Flash forward and I have a friend handling one main lesson a week and he is jumping out of his seat to help others. He says he can't read, but I caught him reading. There is such beauty in what we know. We have had group ups and downs, we have sang together, refused to sing together, come home and sang the things we refused to sing together for hours. We have wrestled with demons. We have faltered and stood back up. We have gone through great challenges, but when I look at what we have accomplished I am overjoyed. I am so lucky, so blessed. I have the best circle of humans far and wide.

Kittens!

Today we relocated a feral Mama Cat and her little kittens away from a very busy road. It was a huge test of patience. Especially with two little boys who wanted to cuddle with them. The Mama had let me pet her and kept giving me cues that she was ready to have them moved. After moving them one little rascal was certainly driving her crazy and reminded me of the bittersweet last days of nursing - that "oh my god I can't do this anymore"mixed with "ooh my cute little nugget how can I ever stop!" They are safely in my garage for the time being, and it has been amazing how creating a place of balance and peace is what attracts them closer to you when they are afraid. Well that...and a piece of string :).

6 year old foot woes.

My 6 year old has had problems with his feet since birth. He has shortened achilles tendons from toe walking, which give him terrible leg pain at night, he also has additional toe issues  from wearing shoes on the wrong feet. Something he got such great joy from in kindergarten. And athlete's foot.

Now I know this is an overall sign of candida issues, that need to be dealt with internally, but I do want to jump for joy in regards to the topical solution we just made. Two nights ago, he got out of the bath tub and his hands and both feet, were completely covered with scaly, pealing skin. I have been using the doTerra Oils and quickly made a solution of 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 6 drops of Melaleuca, 3 drops of Oregano, 3 drops of Lavender. I applied it before bed. The next morning his hands and 1 foot were 100% clear, and one foot was 65% better. I applied more and it was gone. Woot! He was having so much discomfort from it and the oils saved the day.

Going with the flow!

Sometimes life gives you pause and you are forced to wait. Excruciatingly, forever seeming waiting for change. You want to race out and chase down the answer and beat it down until it comes into fruition. Meanwhile you are so wrapped up, your children suffer, your spouse suffers, but none more than you as you wring your hands desperately for things to just show up  - show up already!
Meanwhile the universe is staring down at you in disbelief - screaming what are you talking about? You said you wanted more time at home, time to spend with your children, time to focus on alternative projects, etc, etc, etc.
Huh, you think? Yeah I said that, but I also said I wanted a million dollars, a new car and sunny weather so that my freedom would taste super sweet. And also I need all these things right now by the way.
Hmm. And within you at that moment two roads diverge. One is to stay in this place wringing your hands, pushing and pushing becoming more frustrated with each breath and pulling farther and farther away from the balance point you are so desperately working towards or to take a long, deep step backwards, along with a deep breath inwards and sigh. Release all that fear and just pause. It is not perfect, you falter, but you bring yourself back. And soon you find yourself playing with your children, knitting - whoa!, reading, and letting go. It is painful at times but nowhere near what it was when you lived in the anxiety. Everyday it becomes more peaceful, you listen to the guide within, you are not as confused, and the choices become easier, joyful even.
You step outside and see the beauty around you and realize THIS IS WHERE I AM SUPPOSED TO BE. I am learning in this quiet moment. And for a moment once again you feel a tiny poke of fear, but this time the fear does not spiral down into a a never ending cycle downwards. Instead it rests, is honored and comforted. And all of a sudden you realize that PAUSE IS A GIFT.