A new kind of addiction.... And a new kind of dealing

Welcome to the first oily blogHOP!

We are so excited to have you here.

 

Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for little bottles of lemon as you read through the blog posts. At the end tally them up and you can enter a fun giveaway to win the Gentle Babies book by Debra Raybern, a total must have for Mom's with little ones.

 

If you have gone the whole way around the blog and found your way back here, go to http://www.theoilycrunchymama.com/blog/2014/8/28/lets-talk-allergies 

to enter the number of lemon bottles you counted on the whole blogHOP.

 

Entries will be accepted until 9AM (PST) on 8/29 winner will be selected at random on Sept 1st!

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Why essential oils Stephannie? For me... I relate to much of life through my senses. Smells particularly make me feel all kinds of things. Peppermint reminds me of cold winter mornings, cinnamon and spices reminds me of making applesauce with my mom, spearmint sends me back to hanging out with my girlfriends chewing gum in the car. 

For those who haven't heard yet I'm a recovering addict who works a strong 12 step program. The first time I went to my sponsors house she was steaming lavender essential oil and her house immediately felt comfortable and safe.  Since that meeting my stepwork book and journal have been heavily scented with lavender. Every time I open that book to do step work whether I'm at home or backpacking in the mountains I still smell lavendar and I'm immediately at peace like that first moment I walked into her home. It reminds me of a very personal and vulnerable night spent making a big decision with another human being- I wanted recovery. I wanted life. I wanted to feel again. 

Since that evening I have played around with the use of oils on my own skin for anxiety relief and head aches. I have successfully stopped taking my SSRI anxiety meds after 16 years and while those withdrawls were somethig else on my emotions, having my bottle of oils helped me manage the side effects. My son who is sensory sensitive has his own little bottle he rubs on his feet and hands as a method of comfort. Particularly when he's away from home it brings him a "sense" of security.

 (See what I did there)

When I saw a friend posting about all the smells from above and diffusing them in her house I felt like I needed to give it a go. I needed to see if this was something I could get into. I received my kit 3 days ago and it's basically been like a science experiment up in here. I'm having way too much fun walking down memory lane with all the smells I wrote about above and learning all I can about how to use these oils to keep my family healthy. 

My new addiction is oil. And now I'm a dealer of the goods. There will be no pressure from me to buy anything or sign up for anything. I'm doing this because I believe as a "smeller" of the world it was meant for me to experience. However, if you want to see what it's all about I'm here to help you make the right purchase for your specific needs. 

Because this post is part of a blog hop I invite you to visit this next blog to get more great ideas on how to use these amazing oils. At the bottom of this blog will be another and eventually you will make a full circle back here! Happy learning! 

http://www.theoilycrunchymama.com/blog

Here's to new beginnings with nostalgic smells! 

https://www.youngliving.com/signup/?site=US&sponsorid=2004929&enrollerid=2004929

Hey, I'm THAT mom!

This is my response to the recent blog titled "don't be that mom" .... I'm disappointed and once again ashamed of the lack of support we as moms feel from each other at times. I read that blog with high hopes. I saw that obviously staged photo of the joyous jumping mom and the sullen group of kids standing next to her. I believe I actually felt joy for that mom and perhaps a smidge looked forward to that moment of my own coming in just a couple of weeks. But then I read the article. The joy killing article about how we aren't supposed to be THAT mom. What the what?!?! Once again someone got a hold of an idea and used it to shame the hell out of all the moms out there who are doing the happy dance to celebrate the end of summer. 

Remember this commercial?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fwcYbo7pjto

Me too. I remember laughing until tears were coming out of my eyeballs. My kids were pretty little at that time and I didn't fully grasp that concept but it was still freaking hilarious. I have this motto in life; If they make a movie, write a book or feature it on a tv series (today I include and add commercials) it must be real. It must mean I'm not the only one who has felt that way and quite honestly that's the best dam feeling in the world isn't it? To know you aren't alone in your awkward feelings. To feel less shame knowing you relate to something someone else has experienced felt or understood? YES! I live for those moments.

As it pertains to going back to school this was my first summer as a stay at home mom. It was everything I imagined. There was chaos, joy, tears, fighting, eye rolling, arguing, activities, boredom, too much tv, not enough me time and the house was a disaster. All of that happened by noon on day 2 of summer & that meant a shit ton more time of life needed to happen. I loved just about every minute of this summer with my kids. Ok, fine maybe not every moment.  But as it's winding down it's really easy for me to look backwards and see how much fun it actually was. But you know what else.... I'm so happy that in 1 week, 6 days and 9 hours all 5 of those munchkins will be tucked into their desks under the authority and love of their new teachers. And you know what else... They know it too. They know it because they feel the same way. When I told my 7 year old school was just under 2 weeks away he said these exact words "I'm so happy and excited I could cry right now"!!!! Me too buddy. Me too.

In school there is routine, bed time, regular chores, hot lunches and scheduled snacks, friends, the absence of parents breathing down their little tan sun kissed necks, activities, less tv, and did I mention routine. Kids and parents alike thrive off of that routine. We need school to be back in session so that by winter break we all miss each other and can handle another round of "OMG our mom isn't working and is trying to run this house like Pinterest and Activities on caffeine mania". Having the kids at school means I can fill my pinterest board with the next round of ideas and have just enough amnesia to think they will do it willingly, without eye rolling and joy in their hearts that I am home for them. 

My 11 year old did mutter under his breath recently " I just wish you still worked" as we were leaving the house singing camp songs I learned as a child. Just kidding, I was screaming at the kids because no one was listening and when we got to the park I sat in the car on my phone the whole time because why??? Because I needed a freaking break.

So cheers... to the kids and to the moms who like me are "Being THAT mom" and welcoming back the school year with open arms, and admittadly a few tears in our eyes to see those pesky little rug rats growing up. Wipe those tears and go collapse on the couch Moms & dads! DO IT! You earned that summer badge of honor. WE ARE SURVIVORS! 

And to "THAT" mom who got ragged on, girl you are my hero. My kids would never stand still for that picture. SELFIE!!!!!

How will I ever have fun again?

9 months ago I asked myself and even my husband that very question. I assumed at that point I was only having fun if I was drunk. I didn't call it drunk of course, I called it having a beer and I did it often. I pre partied the pre party to the pre party so that by the time the party started it was a real party. And by the time the party was over ... Well I don't remember that really. 

I got sober because my drunk turned out to not be funny or very much fun to the people around me.

After pouting around the house sober for the entire month of December I decided to give this fun thing a go. I was hell bent on faking it, I decided to use my new eyes with my same heart and find the fun in this new life. Moms, sisters, friends, aunts & people I knew did it every day. People who were "normies" and people who were addicts in recovery shared all their fun sober stories all the time. 

Mostly people didn't call them 

"sober stories"... Just stories. 

That's the thing about recovery - if you pay attention you learn really quick that you aren't special. Well YOU are special, but there's nothing special about your story. As I heard this message over and over, that other people felt like fun was out of the question once sober. I szarted to realize that MY story in fact was not very special, and maybe it was possible to have fun sober stories like all the others.

To mark my 9 months of a life I was so sure I would not have any fun living, I'm sharing with you some of my greatest moments of being dead wrong. I have laughed harder than I knew I could, louder and more obnoxiously than I knew possible, and that smile on my face  Is 100% genuine -100% of the time it's there. I now have the gift of feeling all the feelings. Sometimes that down right sucks, but the good times are better than anything imaginable because all of those feelings are real. 

1-I played in the snow with my kids. We were stuck in our house for 3 days and had serious cabin fever. We all almost killed each other and I felt every feeling in the book those three days. But when I saw the fun my kids had outside in the snow and decided to join them without an excuse to have a warm liquored up drink... I just laughed. I threw snow at them until there was a lot of crying and we had to go in. 

2- I went to my besties 40th birthday. I didn't drink. I gave her a lap dance. Oh it was embarrassing for her but you know what it wasn't???? Me falling all over the place not realizing it was time to stop a long time ago. 

 

3- I went away for my anniversary and melted chocolate all over the bed. Troy and I laughed hysterically and hid from the maids because we were sure they'd think one of us had pooped. So. Much. Laughing. Plus it beats getting drunk and actually pooping the bed. I'm not saying I've done that... I'm just saying that day could have come right?! 

 

4- I went on huge scary rides and laughed so hard I screamed and cried from the rush and excitement. This was a day that I will never ever forget ever. Ever. My stomach hurt from laughing so hard. 

 

5- I went to an entire girls weekend sober. Not only was I sober but these 8 incredible women who I refer to as "normies", went sober with me. It was more important for them to have my company than for me to cancel because I wasn't ready to be around alcohol yet. One of these ladies hadn't even met me yet. All of these ladies, whether I talk to them often or not are all my soul sisters now. They changed my life and my recovery during this weekend. They may never know the impact this experience and that group decision to make it a dry weekend had on me. 

 

6- I'm a party girl. So figuring out what to do on my birthday was going to be difficult. When I saw this run for a little niece of a friend with cancer that involved tu tus I knew it was meant for my crowd. So again with these incredible girlfriends and my husband all getting up early and running a beautiful 5k for a beautiful little girl. And tu tus!!!!!

 

7- I went backpacking and camping for the first time ever alcohol free.  Drum roll please... I really liked it. It was hard work hiking in with all those extra pounds on my back and my super durpy dog who tried to jump off the side of the mountain after every bug and animal in site. At the end of the trail when I'd normally have a cold one or 7, my reward was rest, stepwork and a lot of peaceful amazing conversation with my love in a freaking meadow.  (Which of course included so much laughing.) 

8- I ran a relay! This was my 5th overnight relay and the first where I didn't down a beer or 4 after any of my 3 legs that added up to 17 miles or in between when I needed sleep. Nope folks... This is genuine tired Stephie juice passed out from just plain running. I used this picture to show off my sense of humor these days. I could have picked the ones of me running, laughing and looking bad ass but this is the story of how much fun I'm having. So this seemed more fitting.

 

There were so many more experiences that I had this last 9 months. So much time spent alone, with my love, creating tighter bonds with my kids, nurturing amazing relationships with girlfriends and making new friends. Taking on a new job and many new projects within that job. Taking care of my mind, body & spirit thru stepwork, exercise and creating a relationship and plan with 

an incredible Doctor.

 When it gets hard, and it still does,  I just look back at the distance I've come 

rather than forward to see how much there is to go. 

Here's a short video of more of these moments. Yes that's Kanye West singing in the background. This song has a special dorky place in my heart.  http://flipagram.com/f/GKzp2Sae1K

A wise sole who has been in recovery for several years told me recently

 "It gets easier. And the rewards 

get more magical.

 The challenges are never what you expect. 

But the opportunity to squeeze two life stories

 into one walk on this earth is priceless."  

This is my motto. This is my truth. 

And this is how I am living my best life while having a shit ton of fun!