I have two of these soft essential oil carrying cases. I actually found it in the Plant Therapy Bargain Bin.  Right now they are offering 20% off the Bargain Bin with code CHEERS at check out!

Currently find this Soft Carrying Case for 16 2.5mL-30mL bottles for only $6.36 and FREE shipping with code CHEERS!  It fits all my bottles, including roll-ons!

There are also some fun oils in the Bargain Bin as well.

Plant Therapy has become one of my favorite websites for essential oils, so check out the rest of the items they have available.  Shipping is always free.

Well, last week didn’t go as planned.  My youngest ended up being diagnosed with the flu and my husband got sick as well.  We had plan to go to Dollywood for a few days with the family, cousins, and my mom, but instead the older 4 kids and I took off with Grandma for just 1 night.  Definitely wish we had a longer time there, but maybe another time.

The week ahead, I hope brings more health and less germs!  We plan to stay home most of the week, except for candlelight service at church.  Here’s what we are making this week:

Monday: Beef Enchiladas 

Tuesday: Cheese tray, veggie tray, salami, spinach dip, and other snacks

Wednesday: Ham, mac and cheese, rolls, green beans

Thursday: Black bean burritos

Friday: Dinner Out

Saturday: Brats, veggies

Sunday: Grilled Sandwiches, soup

Amazon has some great deals on scarves thanks to this awesome 50% Off coupon! Many of them can arrive before Christmas if you order soon with prime!  Check out these deals – 

Women’s Fashion Scarves – $14.99 – click the 50% off coupon – final cost is just $7.50!  24 different prints at this price!

Women’s Blanket Scarves – $16.99 – click the 50% off coupon – final cost is just $8.50!  10 different prints at this price!

Wow!  Right now on Jane.com you can grab Girls Muk Luks Matilda Boots for only $13.99 shipped!  These are available in 6 different colors and sizes 12-3 in girls!

Cute & fashionable knit upper features adorable button accents. Soft faux fur lining keeps little feet cozy warm. Wipe with a damp cloth to clean, no bleach, lay flat to dry.

I’m trying to not barricade my family indoors, especially now that my youngest has been diagnosed with flu B.  My kids are involved in various activities and church groups.  In our circles, we currently have friends with the stomach bug, flu, friends with strep, and friends with respiratory infections.  It’s the rough time of year when so many people get sick.  With a large family, it can take a while for things to cycle through.  Over the years, I have come up with a few ways to help keep my sanity when the kids get sick.  With my personality, I feel so much better when we are prepared for things that life throws our way.

 

Stomach Virus:

First off, I dread stomach bugs.  We had one when kid #4 was a baby that knocked our family out  for over 2 weeks!  It was brutal and everyone was so sick for several days each.  I’ve taken to keeping a stockpile of gatorade, crackers, applesauce, and gingerale on hand just to be prepared at all times.  During that illness, I was also sick and had so many sick littles that I wasn’t able to get to the store, so I always stay prepared now.

We carry gallon size ziplock bags in our cars so that way if someone gets car sick or something strikes suddenly, it’s easy to zip up and toss at the next trash can.  If you’ve ever cleaned a mess out of a carseat, you know how awful that can be.  This is a game changer!  I like to keep disposable vomit bags in the house so I don’t have to clean up bowls or trash cans or the toilet.  These just twist and toss.  So much easier than having a mess everywhere and helps prevent spreading of the virus.

 

Flu:

For the flu, we keep lots of lysol and bleach spray stocked so at any moment we can clean without having to run to the store.  At the first sign of anything, I also switch out the hand towels in the bathroom with paper towels.  We have found that this simple thing has helped keep viruses from spreading.  When someone is sick, multiple times a day, I will go through the house and spray things down with lysol or bleach.

Oscillococcinum is kept on hand for use when needed.  Elderberry spray and vitamin C is doled out every morning during flu season around here as well.  I like the elderberry spray because I can just line the kids up and spray everyone.  It tastes like raisins so no one complains.

Whoever has the flu or stomach bug gets isolated to one area of the house and assigned one bathroom.  No one else other than mom or dad are allowed to be around that child.

Strep:

 

I can’t always run a kid right to the doctor with every sore throat, so thankfully we are able to grab strep test kits off of Amazon.  They are fairly reasonably priced and work great!  I’ve confirmed strep with one of my children with this test kit, made an appointment and doctor confirms!  It has also save us from going when it was just a sore throat.

Lice:

One thing that we have fortunately been spared from this far is lice.  I’ve heard so many horror stories from other large families that have dealt with it, so we try to be proactive.  We use Rosemary Repel from Fairy Tales when we are around large groups of kids or when the kids are involved in plays and such.  Anything where everyone is close together and fixing hair.  So far, so good!

Final Thoughts:

These are things that we keep on hand at our house to try and keep the family healthy.  Of course, please check with your doctor to make sure these suggestions are right for your family.

Handwashing and staying home when sick is the best way to prevent spreading germs or catching viruses.  Lysol works well, but doesn’t get every virus, so using bleach or hydrogen peroxide to clean is important for our family.

Wipe down everything!  Remotes, buttons on the garage door clicker, washing machine controls, fridge handles, iPads and other devices.  Anything that can’t be wiped down, put in the sun for a few days.  Spray the couch with lysol if the fabric allows.  Change sheets.  Throw away toothbrushes.

In addition, when we are around large groups of people, we will come home, shower and change clothes, put our clothes right into the wash, and then spray lysol in the car.  Maybe this is overkill, but any illness can knock our family of 7 out for weeks by the time it’s done.  We’ve been there and it’s not fun.  

Also keep in mind that many times, you are still contagious with a virus even when you feel better. Don’t let your guard down too soon!

Do you have any tips or suggestions on how you keep your family healthy?

Today only, you can buy 2 roll-ons from Plant Therapy and get 1 free!  That’s a fantastic deal to stock up on oils for this flu and cold season.  Simply use code MERRY17 to score the deal.

Free shipping on all orders, too!

 

You can currently score 10 pairs of select women’s underwear from Aerie for only $30.  Then use code SD2019 and the price will drop to just $25 for all 10 pairs!  Regularly $12.50 each, so this is a huge deal!  Shipping is free as well!

To get the deal, simply add 10 pairs of select women’s underwear from Aerie to your cart and use code SD2019.  Final Cost – $25 shipped!

This deal ends 12/23!

For a limited time, Target.com has Cat & Jack Toddler pajamas for as low as $5!  They are also offering FREE shipping on orders and these will ship in time to receive for Christmas!  There are 6 styles to choose from at this price and sizes are 12 months – 5T.

 

 

What an incredibly busy weekend we had!  So much fun, though!  Ended up with our littlest guy having a fever that he’s still working to break.  Here’s to hoping it doesn’t spread throughout the family.  The week ahead has plans but depending on how everyone is feeling, we may end up doing nothing.  Here’s our tentative meal plan for the week:

Monday: Veggies

Tuesday: Lasagna

Wednesday: Dinner out

Thursday: Dinner out

Friday: Eggs, bacon, biscuits

Saturday: Chicken and brown rice soup

Sunday: Fajita Chicken casserole

 

Today only, Cents of Style is offering 50% Off site wide, including sale items!  Simply head on over, make your selections, and use code HALFOFF at checkout.  Even better, they have free shipping on any size order!  Here are some deals you might be interested in:

Be the Good Hoodies – $39.95, or just $19.98 shipped after code HALFOFF!  7 colors to choose from!

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Also check out the blanket scarves for only $12.48 shipped after code HALFOFF!