Oh yeah, I have a blog!

Don't know exactly where I've been for the last year and a half?  

Yeah, me either. 

Life just got busy.  Lots of babies, phone calls, text messages, emails, new business ventures, and home and family life all jumbled into a day. 

I have learned much more about using essential oils than with my last post.  All I can say about that is, I'll never be without them if possible.  DiGize alone has saved me from countless painful days and nights.  

Recent May and June babies:

Adalie:  a little bit of a travel so I stayed put even though mama wasn't very far along when I arrived. Sweet labor and birth of a perfect third child for this family.

Elliana:  also a bit of travel for this first time mom but stepmom of several.  She was so calm and her husband so attentive.  He had only experienced hospital births before and commented on how calm everything was.  

Hank:  an hour drive for this one too.  When I arrived mom was about 4 cm so I left to run out for a quick bite of lunch.  Dad ran to the grocery store.  A frantic text message from this third time mom had me running to get back and I caught this baby boy about 10 minutes after my arrival there.

Penelope:  adorable baby girl right in my own hometown (love those!) to a mother of two little boys.  Perfect birth surrounded by her husband, mother and sister.

Joy:  Another hometown birth to a set of first time parents.  Kind of a long labor for her but she remained solid and calm.  Sweet water birth of this little girl.

Wyatt:  This little one was born in the hospital because mama lived about 75 minutes away and my very laid back backup doc wasn't a convenient option for her.  Her backup needed to get this 42 week baby here before he left for vacation, so that's the way they chose to go.  He is healthy and adorable.

Tristan:  This baby boy had me pushing the speed limit at 1 AM to arrive before he did to his first time parents.  They only live about 25 minutes away so tucking that bit of info away for the next baby :)

Waiting on two more June babies to arrive and hoping their chose separate birthdays :)

Using Essential Oils: Peppermint

I have been into natural and alternative medicine for quite a while but I admit that the whole essential oil information has been a mystery to me--until recently.  I have an acquaintance who regularly was posting information about how to use them to effectively deal with many common complaints for health.  It started to attract my attention and I wanted to try some for myself.  About that time I noticed this particular company (Young Living) was offering an incentive to "sign up" as a distributor by allowing you a $40 credit once you placed your initial order so it seemed like a good time to invest in some good everyday oils and be able to order at distributor prices instead of retail prices.

So I have been experimenting.  With my credit, I ordered a home diffuser and I'll have to tell you I am HOOKED on using it!  I always keep a candle going in my office during clinic days so it seemed like a great idea to simply diffuse essential oils there that would have a positive effect on my office atmosphere (and health!).  But I am using it in my bedroom at night.  It offers a little "white noise" as it humidifies the room slightly and diffusing either a wonderful smelling scent or something more therapeutic.  I have found myself sleeping more soundly and longer, a side effect I did not expect.
The scent I enjoy the most at night is a Young Living blend called "Peace and Calming".

I tend to have multiple digestive issues.  The other day I experienced multiple trips to the bathroom with my tummy upset and decided to try the benefits of simple peppermint essential oil.  Rubbed it on my belly and the diarrhea immediately STOPPED.  No more even since then.

So, I thought I might share over several posts some uses for a few of the most common essential oils.  The first is peppermint.

Peppermint can be dropped directly into some water or tea to simply enjoy the flavor but the digestive benefits are many.  You can mix it with a good quality carrier oil (coconut is excellent) and apply to the skin.  It can be diffused are inhaled directly and will stimulate alertness and improve concentration (think exams, mental tasks, staying awake)  It can trigger a sensation of fullness after meals (think diet!).

Peppermint rubbed directly or diluted with a carrier oil onto the soles of the feet can lower a fever.  Great for children.

Rubbed on the temples, forehead and back of the neck, it can help a headache go away.

It can replace Tums, Prilosec and other antacids when taken internally or rubbed over the stomach.

It helps with nausea, travel sickness and morning sickness.

It is anti-inflammatory so can be instrumental in helping with arthritis and tendonitis.

It can help with congestion (nasal or chest)

You can make a homemade VapoRub by combining 1 heaping Tablespoon of coconut oil with 3 drops of eucalyptus oil, 3 drops of lemon oil and 3 drops of peppermint oil.

Helps with bad breath.

Who knew a little peppermint could do so much?  I don't recommend purchasing inferior quality essential oils, but investing in oils that are therapeutic food grade quality with a proven reputation.  This is one of the reasons I only use Young Living.

Here is a short news video featuring a diffuser used in the workplace and how it is affecting people there:

This one is a story on Fox News about a group of women who experienced the health benefits of Young Living essential oils:

A Family Christmas

I got to spend Christmas with most of my family this year....

Always a risky business when you are a busy midwife.  Last year, the timing didn't go so well.

This year, all but one of my December clients had already delivered and I just had one due Dec 21st.  We decided to schedule our family dinner on December 23.  I tried to plan for the "what ifs" by purchasing an already baked spiral sliced ham and I had both daughters plan to bring a side dish and a dessert.  That way, even if I wasn't there to cook or serve, no one would starve at least.

But the phone didn't ring and dinner and our gift exchange went on without a hitch.  YAY!

Ham, broccoli, brown rice, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato muffins, cream corn, pumpkin pie, apple pie, poke cake and pound cake.  I don't think anyone went away hungry.

I got to enjoy watching the grandchildren open and play with the toys I had picked out for them each.  Daughters, son in laws and son all got to open gifts too.

Lots of joy all around!

The stocking were hung.....OK, on a bookshelf.  We don't have a  chimney.

Table set in anticipation of our gang

Three of the guys, enjoying the evening.

Kate and her new dollhouse

Daughter Erin and her family

Noah digging through his stocking

Olivia

Lucy and Kate making a joyful noise

No tree this year, unless you count this mylar monstrosity! 

We hardly EVER get all of us together for a picture!  Our family, sans spouses and grandchildren.

Bureaucratic nightmares

So three years ago, before we moved to Atlanta, I was up here visiting with our daughters and staying with Erin in Decatur.  I had been downtown to her office and was headed back to her home.  Erin had written down instructions to get to her house and I had my trusty GPS.  I was on Freedom PARKWAY but between being unfamiliar with the area, and trying to decipher the written instructions and the GPS instructions, I was very distracted and also realized I should have been in the right hand lane but couldn't change lanes due to the flow of traffic.  Also, everyone was throwing on brakes because there was a traffic "sting" going on and one of the officers motioned me to move over to the emergency lane.

Apparently, I was traveling in a 35MPH area and I was going 47.  (Who would have thought on a street called Freedom Parkway?)  My hubby had also forgotten to put our most current insurance card in my car which meant I did not have my current proof of insurance.  So, we paid the speeding fine and our insurance company provided the current proof of insurance.  Case closed.  Right?

Wrong.

THREE YEARS later, I got a notice from the DMV that my license would be suspended this coming Friday if I did not resolve the issue of the ticket for driving without insurance.

So we contacted the insurance company and got paperwork to prove we had coverage during that period of time and I had to show up at traffic court on Tuesday.  I arrive at 7 AM and found a two hour parking spot on the street right across from the courthouse.  Score!  I put in the parking space number in the machine and charged my debit card for two hours of parking ($4) and went to stand in line to see the clerk.  Heavy security and I read a sign about things like mace being confiscated and remember that I have both pepper spray and hollow point bullets in my pocketbook.  Back to the car to unload my dangerous weapons and back inside again.  Make it through security and up to a window and the clerk assigns me to courtroom 6D.  I head upstairs and wait 35 more minutes for that courtroom to open and head in.  Listen to instructions, get my piece of paper to decide if I am pleading innocent, guilty or NOLO.  I have no idea which one to choose.  Yes, I didn't have the proof on me at the time, but I DID have insurance.  Dilemma.

I finally get my turn to appear before the judge and he looks on his little computer screen and says I was assigned to courtroom 6C, not D and rudely sends me on my way.   I scurry off to C and find they are already in full swing.  I sit for 5 hours until after lunch, listening to everything from DUI and reckless driving convictions to absolute silence, to the judge talking to the bailiff about a laundry discussion he has been having with his wife.  Oh joy.  Finally after almost everyone else has cleared the courtroom, the DA asks why I'm there and I show him my papers.  He looks me up in the computer.  They have no record of my paying the speeding fine or providing proof of insurance.  We paid by money order and Tom did not keep the receipt.  He decides I have an honest face and he wipes the board clean and stands up for me in front of the judge.  The judge sends me back downstairs to the clerk to get a release letter so I can take it to the DMV.

In the mean time, around 9 AM I realized my car has been parked in the two hour zone long enough I'm going to be out of time and I ask the bailiff if I can leave and go put more money in the machine.  He says yes, so I run back down and across the street to find a ticket already on my windshield.  I grab it and when I went to renew the funds I realize that I input the wrong parking space number the first time (hey, it was dark people!) so that was probably why I got a ticket.  New two hours paid for and I run back upstairs.  When I'm back in the courtroom I started thinking about the fact that it was a two hour limit and I might be ticketed again for staying longer than two hours.  I wonder if they might even tow my car away.  That would be such a great ending to an already poopy day.

So I call my hubby and he ran into the courtroom and got my keys with the intent of moving my car to one of the all day parking garages downtown.  I have a keyless entry system so didn't need my keys back.  When he went downstairs he talked to a lady at the window who deals with parking tickets and she told him I couldn't be ticketed twice for the same violation and just to leave my car right where it was and for me to bring her my ticket when I departed and she would take care of it.

Best thing I had heard all day.  I brought her my receipts and she wrote off my ticket.  :)

So I head to the DMV.  There is a line wrapped around the inside of the building with about 40 people in it.  There are two waiting rooms full of people who have already been through the line and are waiting their turn to be seen.  This does not bode well.  I waited for TWO SOLID HOURS before finally being called up to a window.  When I handed her my paperwork, she told me they only gave me a release on the speeding ticket but NOT the one I really needed for the proof of insurance charge.

Seriously?

A full day down the drain.  I missed three postpartum momma visits and a dentist appointment.  Very late afternoon I still tried to get at least two of them knocked out.

I didn't get home until after 11 PM that night.

So yesterday, I called the clerk back and she printed out the RIGHT paperwork and Tom picked it up.

So today is round two with the DMV.

Wish me luck.

Holidays are here!

I both love and dread the holidays.  I love the prospect of seeing my family but the ever pending threat of mommas going into labor to interrupt those precious times looms large.  Seems we can never time things just right.

We did get to have some Thanksgiving time this year though.  Missed seeing Erin and her family because they traveled down to Thomasville and spent 6 days down there, but Kayla invited us to her house for a Thanksgiving Eve meal together and that was special.  It was her first time making a turkey and I think she did pretty good!

Olivia and Kate await the good food

Family gathered around the table

Olivia

Nana and Olivia

Nana, Kayla and Olivia

Micah the youngest grandchild

Gluten free, dairy free pumpkin pie

My sweet potato casserole

Then on actual Thanksgiving Day we got to spend some time with friends from "back home" as they came up to see a few of their children and grandchildren.  Doug and Janine Taylor.  Doug is a physical therapist who was involved in a devastating car accident several months ago.  He almost lost his life but his wife never lost faith in a healing Father!  Doug still has a few miracles left to go but it is amazing he is here among us still!

Doug and Janine at the Marriott lobby, where we went to try and find an open Starbucks only to be disappointed  :(

The beautiful fountain outside, which looks a bit like a spaceship lit up at night.

Cabin Retreat

I got to spend about 24 hours this past weekend at a beautiful mountain home about 2 hours north of me.  I haven't driven in that direction for many years.  Who knew there was such beauty so close by?

Woods beside the house

A relaxing view of the mountains

Lucy, Wesley, Erin and Ian

Three generations

Wesley and Lucy

Don't you just love this smile?

Playing on the screened in porch--sweet Lucy

My bedroom had a folksy cabin theme--loved it!

Living area in patriotic colors-lake cabin theme.

It was a restful time.  No agenda, just rest and enjoying the company of family and beautiful scenery.  The drive up there was gorgeous with winding roads, fall foliage, quaint little towns with lots of antique stores and pumpkin patches.

And no one went into labor!

They are so grand!

Because I love sharing about my grandchildren!

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