Creative time for me can mean a lot of different things. It can be time spent doing product photos, making Love Catchers & Dreamcatchers for the shop, colouring in one of my many adult colouring books, or craft time with Sam. No matter what I’m doing with my creative time, it’s a part of my sanity-saving self care. Honestly, creative care is something we really value & encourage in our little family for each other. Which is why I decided it could use a complimentary oil diffuser recipe.
When I first started this oils journey, just over a year ago, I was mainly interested in using my diffuser. Slowly I started getting into topical applications for various remedies, in particular hormone balancing & sore muscles. A little citrus oils in my cooking. Then it was roll-ons and all sorts of DIY bath & beauty items. And now… I’ve dived into the world of veggie capsules for ingestion..
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When busy moms finally get a babysitter lined up and a date with hubby all planned, it feels so good to take a few minutes to do a little something special for yourself. For me, that usually means, putting on makeup, which I rarely wear anymore. I previously shared my basic morning skin care routine. Now I’d like to show you some of the products that I treat myself to for date nights!
Sometimes I diffuse certain essential oils because I want to enjoy a particular smell in the house. Other times I diffuse oils to serve a particular purpose. Much of the diffuser time at the beginning of January was spent on Thieves and Purification Oils, to help clear the house of all the icky germs that had taken up residence (hello, stomach flu & sneezy colds).
But one day, I realized I needed to get back to diffusing oils for self care (not just germ care). This is the recipe I came up with to help calm my mama anger & impatience and increase overall optimism. Let’s face it, we can get dragged down listening the the news reports, grow weary trying to see the good side to things, and then our patience gets tested over & over by those little ones who are trying to feel out boundaries. So ya, self care love in the diffuser is helpful to have going.
*That adorable essential oils pouch is from fellow maker Lesley of The Ellebee Tree. It’s perfect for packing some of your favourite oils for travel, weekends away or if you’re a hardcore oils mama, goes into your purse daily.
Today I’ve got three great essential oil roll-on recipes to share: PMS Wellness {to help balance emotions}, Winter Wellness {to help boost immune systems}, and Chill Out {to, obviously, help you chill & relax}. Once again, all these recipes are courtesy of my generous oils friend, Jan DuMontier.
Honesty. Authenticity. Voice. Three things I’ve been trying to get more “real” about over the past few years.
More real honesty. In my feelings to myself & others.
More real authenticity. In how I share our lives, the whole rounded story, good & bad & faith led.
More real voice. In who I am & want to be. Connecting with that voice & trying to live it out.
So let me be more real with you. This week marks the 5th anniversary of my oldest brother’s death. This week I started a grief support program because I’ve finally realized I am grieving many losses (brother, mother, unborn babies & loss of my uterus). And I can’t keep going until I learn to walk with all of this a bit better. And that means talking about it.
I’m taking my mental health much more serious these days. I switch got flipped a few weeks ago while taking my antidepressants & I’ve realized how much darkness I was living in for years.
So. Today, I’m not okay. But I will be.
Let’s be clear. I’m not one of those wonderful folks who lives their life around smoothies. I don’t own a special blender or juicer {although sometimes I dream of having one}. I don’t have a pile of fresh ingredients set aside in the fridge to blend & consume every day. And I don’t have a list of powders/proteins/seeds/stuff that I add. I DO however enjoy smoothies. Simple fruit smoothies, with a dash of veg here & there, and lately a drop of oil.
Today I’m sharing my very basic, very natural, morning routine. It’s a no fuss approach, with a dash of self-care, for busy mamas.
An alternate title might be Taking the road less traveled, even if you really don’t want to, because that’s what it feels like my hubby and I are doing.
We started this journey to have a family over six years ago. In that time, I’ve had a highly invasive abdominal myomectomy, two miscarriages and one rough c-section resulting, finally, in a healthy baby boy. Truly, we are blessed with our little Sammy, but we’ve longed for so very much more.
Maybe you follow along my life adventures on Instagram or Facebook, but for those that just read along here, I wanted to give you a quick update. Our lives exploded two weeks ago, when my father & I had to take my mom into the ER because of severe, unbearable pain in her back (a new area where her cancer had spread). After a very long night in the ER, she was admitted to an Intensive Palliative Care Unit and remains there now. Her condition has declined dramatically since then. It has turned our world upside down, to say the least.