Tincture-ing

I happen to be a messy cook and a messy herbalist. :) You will not find any nice/awesome/"it took me two hours to get this photo" pictures here. This is real life. I don't have time for that!

My herb happenings

I have a friend in town who has resparked my interest in all things herbal.

So far, I've made some lotion and some black drawing salve (to pull out splinters/spider venom/glass/basically anything you want pulled out of your skin).

We decided to start a little herb club, with just the two of us. :) We meet once a month, learn about an herb and make something together. Last month was the drawing salve. This month we are making cough drops for the winter (two different kinds) and so far on the list we want to make dit dow ja (muscles/bruising-which requires buying vodka-gasp! Haha it's to be used externally-see D&C 89 for the proper use of alcohol: to wash our bodies!), she wants to make calendula salve, which I'll be making in Utah too, and we are planning out the rest of our herbal adventures this Thursday.

I decided to start some tinctures for this winter. The first is what I'm calling "The get better tincture" it should be pretty calming/maybe even sleepy tincture-echinacea (for the cold/flu/immunity booster), raspberry leaf (same, and all the beneficial minerals and vitamins), rosehips (vitamin c, among other exciting things), chamomile (to calm), catnip (calming/upset stomach).

The second tincture is with elderberries... And only elderberries. It is smaller, but it will probably only be used if we get the flu.

I'm planning to make an 'herbal day-quil' for J. He has to work, he needs energy and something to actually HELP the sickness, not just boost his energy enough to get him through the day (although, I'm hoping this tincture does do that too). It will have astragalus (need to order-this I'm hoping boosts him), mint (clean sinuses), elderberry, raspberry leaf, rosehips.

What an exciting summer! It feels good to once again be prepared for winter and have things in my cabinet to help my family.

My little guru

He chants all day long. It is the cutest thing ever.

Meditating Children

"I think we pay too little attention to the value of meditation; a principle of devotion... Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord." David O. McKay

We started meditating/listening to meditation mantra music a couple months ago.  We recently started listening to something together (the kids and me) at some point during our mornings together.

When we do this our days go so smoothly. Rico even comments throughout the day, "Mom, this is a really nice day." They love learning the different hand movements.

Deddy's favorite mantra to sing is Long Time Sun .  Rico's varies. At the moment he loves By Thy Grace. They chant it throughout the day together.  At one point it repeats "Allah, Jehova, Rama, Sa ta na ma" Yesterday, Deddy chanted ALL DAY LONG "jehova, grandma." It was hilarious. They love to watch that particular video. So grandma's, if you were feeling extra love, it was from him.  :)

Rico says it makes his body feel better. I know what he means. I have more patience and understanding. I know that with praising God you can totally transform. I think meditation and chanting mantras while praising God elevates your entire being.  Our house is functioning better than it ever has.  

I found one that you do for your children: to remember the divine spirits that they are and to help them turn to God. It is beautiful.

Just give it a try! Try meditating to one of these for a week and see if there are any changes.

If you are worried that meditation and Christianity cannot co-exist, I invite you to study your scriptures and pray about it.  Psalms 5:1, Psalms 19:14. There are SO many more.

For those who need healing. 

I am loving this one. It helps with communication and brings you into balance. It is supposedly the "base" mantra for all other mantras. I especially love that video because she teaches you how to do the hand movements (I think called the mudra). And her voice is beautiful.

If you go to spirit voyage website and search the mantras you can find the translation and meanings. 

“Meditation centered upon divine realities is the very essence and soul of prayer. It is the silent reaching of the soul towards the Eternal. More petitionary prayer without meditation is a body without a soul, and is powerless to lift the mind and heart above sin and affliction.” James Allen, As a Man Thinketh, Vol. 2.

Our Parenting Style

I wrote this on my private blog awhile after Rico (our first) was born.  Maybe it will help a new mother out there!

While I was pregnant I researched a lot of different things:
*midwifery
*interventions
*healthy eating for pregnant women
*common problems/how to prevent them
*birth
*labor
*aftercare of the newborn
*vaccinating while pregnant
*natural remedies for common ailments
*pregnancy testing, including Rho Gham, blood sugar, group b strep

...the list goes on and on...

Literally the day after he was born I realized I hadn't read one thing on breastfeeding, how many wet diapers a new born should have per day, how much do they sleep, what are the common milestones and when do babies usually reach them. I guess I had figured that I would "just figure it out" or "it would just come naturally." I have come to realize I am not as much of a "natural" mother as I thought I was going to be. Yes, I do know when to nurse, when he needs to sleep and so on, but that has taken months. During the first few months I didn't really quite know when he needed to nap or go down for the night. People would say things like "Looks like Mom knows best" when in reality I felt basically lost. I started praying for guidance. I prayed for quite a while to know how we were supposed to raise our son.

We have received a lot of advice on how to raise him. The most often given is to just let him cry. Put him down in bed at night and let him cry. If he's playing and starts crying, let him cry for awhile before you get him so he "knows" that sometimes he just has to wait. When he was two weeks old, after trying this a few times, I broke down crying wondering why I wasn't allowed to hold this completely innocent baby who just wanted to be held and kissed and cuddled. It was then that I realized that maybe that kind of parenting wasn't for us. J didn't like it either but since we had been told, mostly by our parents that that was the way to parent, we did it.

We have come to realize that times are different. Crying-it-out may work for some families, but it is not a one size fits all parenting style. How could our loving Heavenly Father  send us to Earth and expect all babies to obey this rule. We all started out as different intelligences and having different constitutions. Why would this somehow change once we reached Earth?

Our baby is a high-need baby. There, I've said it. He likes to nurse every 2-3 hours, if he doesn't he whines and gets mad at me. He likes to nap a few times a day and when I am a little late on nap time, he fusses and sometimes refuses to go down. If he really starts to cry and we don't give him what he needs the cry gets louder. He won't stop, like I've read tons of stories of babies doing--he.won't.stop.crying. He likes to sleep with us. If he's in his crib, he'll last for a little bit, but sleeps much longer and better when he's snuggled next to us. He likes to be worn in a wrap. He wants to be held almost constantly  and to save my arms and sanity, we've adopted the wrap. He loves watching when I make food, clean or just wander around. He loves going on walks in the wrap and looking at the birds. He likes playing with people. Yes, he can play by himself but will "last" much longer on the ground playing if someone is sitting with him, as I am now--he is not a self soother. He is intense. He is unpredictable and can be draining. 

Now, to some we may seem to be spoiling him by wearing him a few hours a day and letting him sleep in the wrap, rocking him to sleep, sleeping with him, letting him nurse, for the most part, when he wants to. But, every child born is different and all have different levels of needs. Some babies can roll around all day and be held enough to feed and be rocked to sleep. Some don't need to be rocked to sleep. Some babies are like mine. They crave the attachment of mom and dad. They NEED to be held and nursed often. I feel like he doesn't feel secure without it. 

The Baby Book has saved my mind from exploding in frustration and confusion in wondering what it is that Rico wants. I have struggled in knowing how much I'm supposed to hold him; how I'm supposed to get the house clean to my standards and wondering if a schedule would be better for our family. 

So, after praying for quite a while and reading a lot of different things on parenting and babies and needs/wants I finally gave in to Dr. Sears. It was a huge relief when I opened this text-book like book and started reading about high-need babies. How to get him to sleep better and that co-sleeping actually has scientific backing--mothers breath out enough carbon dioxide to stimulate a new-born's breathing. There is also proof that wearing a baby does not make him spoiled and that the idea of spoiling a baby is ridiculous. Rico was inside of me for 9 months getting every bit of nourishment and love from me and that doesn't stop when the cord is cut. He is a baby. A BABY. He is not an adult, or a tween or a child, he is a baby. He needs his diaper changed, needs to be fed constantly (especially with breastmilk) and most importantly he needs to be nurtured. Mothers are the best nurtures. I am very glad that I did not give in to the advice that was given and listened to the promptings of the Holy Ghost who was pointing me in the direction of how best to care for my son. The best part about this parenting style is that it fits us. It can be easily adapted as Rico grows and as we have more children. 

James Jones has a wonderful, spiritual, scientific and scriptural parenting program. We plan on using it when Rico is old enough to start understanding different concepts. He believes that the first two years are a time of nurture. Babies need to feel secure. They need to feel that they are worth something and that their parents can be trusted and that people are basically good. I have been wondering, if I fail at the first two years, will he believe me when I tell him The Church is true? Will he believe me when I tell him that his father in Heaven loves him and wants to be with him for eternity? That only in temples can sacred ordinances be performed to seal families for time and all eternity? If his trust starts building at birth, have a done a good job so far? 

I believe that how we parent from the time our baby is born throughout the rest of their lives matter. I want Rico and our other children to know we are telling the truth when we say The Book of Mormon is true and I know this because I have prayed about it. I know that if your father and I and you keep the commandments and do what The Lord wants us to do we will be together forever and have worlds without number. 

Now, I don't think our parents did a bad job. Actually I'd say they did a great job. I am saying that now there are different resources and points of view and we are trying one out because the other one wasn't working for the three of us.

So, yes. I have a high-need baby. He is in no way a bad baby. He has different needs and I think J and I are finally figuring out those needs and caring for him in the way he needs to be cared for. If it weren't for J's support with every aspect of our parenting style, it would not work. He has a tremendous capacity to understand things that I don't and to explain things over and over until I comprehend. This parenting style makes sense to us and it's "working" like it should.

Upcoming Womens Conference

I am planning to go to the upcoming Womens Conference this Saturday.

Is anyone else? I have a friend who isn't and isn't too thrilled about it. She thinks it must be in response to the recent happenings of some women in the church in the last year.

I hope they'll inform us as to why this is being started and why 8 year olds and up are invited to attend (why not just young women and relief society?). I feel that our one women's conference in September is enough-and I haven't ever wondered why there wasn't one in spring. I wonder if this one is going to be any different and if not, why do we need two?

Any other opinions out there? ? ?

Standing while Montessori-ing

My friend sent me a post about boys,  and their energy level. If you haven't heard or experienced it.... it's high!  Rico is also a spirited boy (which deserves its own post).

Anyway, I have read post after post, and seen countless pictures of little boys sitting and doing their work. Am I missing something? Do these mom's (or dad's) snap the photo at the precise moment?  Are these boys sitting nicely for long periods of time?  If not, where are the posts about it?

I'm putting it on the world wide web for all to read: MY SON WON'T SIT STILL. He needs to move his body. Asking him to pay attention while sitting quietly and reverently is almost painful for him (except at church). OK, not painful, but near impossible. And then....he acts bored. He starts saying "no" and "I don't know" even though he can and we are doing something really fun that he should say "yes" to. 

Today, I had a brilliant idea (it happens once in awhile). He was matching the names of colors. He was starting to wiggle and starting to look bored. I said "run around the couch." "Run back the other way." I high fived him every time he went around.  Then I handed him another name; he matched it quickly and then stared at me with his perfect grin.  I told him to run again. He ran,  high fived and went back the other way.  Matched quickly again and kept going.  He finished quickly and asked before we went up for his nap when he would get do it again. Success.

I need reminders. My son needs to move his body. He focuses better with an outlet for his energy. He needs to sing,  dance, pretend, imagine, jump. This does not mean anything is wrong with him.

On the contrary: he is interesting, lively, lovely, entertaining, energetic, dramatic, caring and smart. He has eyes you can't lie to. And ears you can't lie to. He remembers everything. 

My son won't sit still for nomenclature cards. But if he's running, he'll do them faster than me!

Prepping the Activity

I am not the best at prepping for an activity.  This is something I'm trying to work on.  Activities always go better if I'm not scrambling.  I'm calmer, they are too and usually we have fun. 

Below are a couple of activities I had set for the boys.  The clothespins were for Deddy.  Geometric shapes with toothpicks for Rico. 

Fevers

What about fevers?

"And there were some who died with fevers, which at some seasons of the year were very frequent in the land—but not so much so with fevers, because of the excellent qualities of the many plants and roots which God had prepared to remove the cause of diseases, to which men were subject by the nature of the climate-" Alma 46:40

I love that we have a scriptural reference for a specific illness.  I love the Book of Mormon. 

When my babies had fevers, the routine didn't change.  I gave them milk and lots of snuggles. 

When they were a little older, just to help them sleep (very rarely) we would give them some acetaminophen.  Sometimes we still do this.  Deddy is a restless sleeper when he's sick and this seems to help him rest more easily. 

I am with the group of people that believes fevers really aren't a bad thing (most of the time).  They are alerting the body that it is time to rest and that there is an infection or waste of some kind that is trying to be eliminated. 

Making sure kids are going to the bathroom seems to help fevers.  Constipation keeps the waste in the body.  If kids are old enough to take pills, using Dr Christophers lower bowel formula will quickly remedy a constipated person.  :)  For younger kids, a catnip enema if you are really concerned.  Make up a glass of catnip tea, proceed with the enema... near or in the bathroom/tub.  Raspberry tea keeps things moving, so will a smoothie with some extra greens and fiber (we use flax seed if we need any extra).

If you feel the fever is too high or you are at all worried, a natural fever reducer is a catnip bath.  I have used this once with Rico and once with Deddy and it helped quickly.  Catnip and Chamomile are great before bed.  I fill up a bowl of water, steep the herbs and add to the bath water. Yarrow tea is another excellent fever tea.

I rely on the fever to help rid the body of excess toxins, bacteria or viruses.  So, usually I don't try to bring it down.  I use herbs to help the body when needed. 

Wintertime Illnesses

Sick Deddy

There are a few standards in our house for when we get sick.  They differ depending on the sickness and my "feeling" at the time.  I always like to say a prayer to know how best to help my family and I feel like I am usually drawn to one or several of the methods below:

Colloidal Silver: some people think silver is a crock.  It works for us.  My niece contracted hand, foot, mouth disease and was over at our house just before being diagnosed.  We all took silver liberally and none of us contracted it.  Sometimes all a sore throat needs is a little bit of this and the cold never progresses.

Elderberry tincture: great for sore throats, strep, colds, flu. Antiviral and antibacterial-it is a great remedy. 

Kyolic: this is a very concentrated garlic product-supposedly odorless (I can smell it a little).  We prefer the liquid form: it is easily hidden in juice or tea.  This can even be taken as a maintenance measure.  You can find this among the garlic products in the health food section. 

Echinacea tea: antiviral/antibacterial, This been had been studied scientifically and is proven to shorten the length of the flu. It tastes amazing and my kids like it even without honey.

Raspberry Leaf Tea: this is my "go-to." Sore throat, cold, flu, fever.  This tea is also antiviral and antibacterial,  contains many minerals and vitamins, including calcium, and we drink a lot of it in our house.  J and I prefer this tea cold. 

I never sweeten tea with sugar.  We almost always use honey or nothing at all.  I have given my kids tea from the time they drink liquids other than my milk and I think because of that they rarely turn it down. 

Dr. Christopher says to be wise in how you offer tea to children and they'll learn to like it.  I know this isn't true for all people-J being one of those who still doesn't like tea-but even he has come to appreciate it.

Learning to care for myself and my family has been rewarding.  I love being able to help our bodies "help themselves."

Detoxing After a Trip

We love cheese. 

We don't use cheese or other dairy while we are at home. 

When we travel, we eat cheese...sometimes a lot of it.

This Christmas vacation we had our fair share of cheese.  My favorite veggie sandwich from a bakery called Simply Divine in Logan owned by a Belgian man.  With radishes, spinach, carrots, jalapeno jelly, olives, onions and cheese, it is wonderful!  Pizza, mashed potatoes full of yummy cream cheese, 7 layer dip, soft cheese balls, more veggie sandwiches, treats...the list goes on.

Anyway, as you can see, we do "splurge" while on vacation.  By the time we go home we are more than ready to eat normally again and our bodies are done with the stress (aka bloating).

Here is how I detox my family.  It differs in the summer slightly-keep in mind I have a 3yr old, 2 yr old, a 28yr old, and I am nursing-so a full out detox is only available for one person in the house, and I just don't take the extra time for him, so he does what we do...for the most part:

*A day of rest. No school, no major cleaning.  Laundry, books, preparing and eating better food and sleep.
*Spinach (or any green your body can handle) smoothie
*Light breakfast (usually for us that is toast)
*Raspberry tea-for everyone (except the nursing baby who gets the benefits from my milk)
*Hearty bean soup for lunch (onions, spinach/kale, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, some spice and veg broth)
*Healthy dinner

J also drinks some Yogi peach detox tea, or stress relief tea. 

When we get home and get back into our regular routine, everyone's bodies respond pretty quickly and we are back to normal in a few days. 

If you need a more intense detox, see Dr. Christopher's 3-Day-Cleanse. 

Asleep (and sick!) after a full week of eating:

The Children

Matthew 19:14 "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 18:3 "And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Mosiah 3: 16-19 " And even if it were possible that little children could sin they could not be saved; but I say unto you they are blessed; for behold, as in Adam, or by nature, they fall, even so the blood of Christ atoneth for their sins. And moreover, I say unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For behold he judgeth, and his judgment is just; and the infant perisheth not that dieth in his infancy; but men drink damnation to their own souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, in and through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

My children are forever teaching me the importance and truthfulness of these scriptures.  They forgive me daily (if not hourly, somedays) and are patient in their attempts at trying new things and in waiting for me to become a better mother.  Their innocence and faith inspires me to try harder...and to yell less.

Preschool at Home

I need to come up with a new term.  Rico isn't doing preschool, because we don't plan to send him to a school.  So, do I just say homeschool? 

Anyway, we started homeschooling in September.  I got excited about it because Adrienne mentioned she was going to start and I realized I wanted to be in the habit before the baby came.  This turned out to be a smart move.  Although we are taking things slowly since Little Miss was born, Rico is constantly asking if we will be doing school.  It's nice that he WANTS to do school and he is also always asking what we will be learning next.  

So far we have learned (and I do me we because I have re-learned almost everything besides the name of the Earth... Ok, slight exaggeration,  but only slight):
The continents, the oceans,  land vs water, vegetation - trees-shrubs-flowers, people of different cultures including - Guatemala - France - Australia, rockets, satellites, planets, stars, sun/time, moon and now we are on the human body and we are starting with our bones. 

Keep in mind,  he is only three and a half and the lessons can only be so deep.   Right now he loves memorization games/songs and he loves pictures and art.  He also loves sensorial activities. 

With a new baby,  there is only so much I can handle and at this stage her needs change quickly every day so our main focus is bonding and taking care of her. 

Questions

Since there are two of your who read the blog...is there anything you would like me to post about?  Questions you want direction on?

The Birth of Little Miss

Her birth was wonderful.  It was the most relaxing and calm labor and birth I've had so far. Please note that I did not say least painful or shortest. 

I had contractions for a couple of weeks leading up to her birth.  They were sporadic and didn't ever get progressively closer or longer.  I was pretty tired after a couple of near sleepless nights.  We went to the pumpkin patch and when we got there I thought how funny it would be if we rode in the tractor that pulled you to the patch and I went into labor.  That is exactly what happened.  All the bumps triggered something in her and she decided it was time to come out. 

They were so mild that I didn't pay too close attention to them.  When I called J on the way home to tell him he dismissed it.  It had happened too many times before.  I ended up on the phone while the boys napped that afternoon and so I didn't get a chance to nap. 

J had piano that night and after we hung out and I think we may have watched something but now I don't remember.  I was hoping that if it was really labor that I would be able to sleep until about one and then wake up and have her about 6.  Not too much to hope for.

I did wake up at 1 and noticed they were still there but was able to go back to sleep until about 2:30.  I laid in bed for a little bit then I decided that I could either get up and see if movement would stop them or speed them up.  If they stopped, I could go back to sleep.  If they sped up I could have her soon!

I walked around our room for awhile and then decided to walk up and down our stairs a few times (I wasn't counting--it seemed like a lot of times).  Then I walked around the living room and sang hymns while keeping and eye on the clock to time them.  They were coming about every 5 minutes.  I assumed this was the real thing and at about 4 I woke J up.  He was really excited.  We decided that the boys should probably leave because I wasn't sure how much longer I would be in labor.  Dad and Donna came over quickly and got the boys.  Deddy and Dad fell back asleep until 8.  Rico laid awake and eventually Donna decided it would be easier to just get up with him.  They ended up having a really fun day together and it was nice to focus on the new baby for a few hours.

The contractions stayed between 3 and 5 minutes and I asked J to stop telling me when they were coming because I didn't want to focus on that anymore.  Best thing I could have done!  Usually contractions continuously speed up and get longer.  These never did.  Once I reached the 3-5 minute mark, they stayed like that for the rest of the labor.  Really weird.  I'm glad I didn't watch the clock and I'm glad J never told me--I would have felt so discouraged. 

I labored in the bath for a little bit and that was nice but not the best place for me.  I laid against Jo for some pretty tough contractions and I think feeling his calmness helped me feel calmer.  It was also nice to sleep while resting against him.  Eventually I ended up standing beside the bed leaning over onto a pile of pillows while swaying my hips.  This was where I was for most of the rest of the labor.  J continuously put hot cloths on my back and that felt amazing.  He does so well with me during labor.  He does everything that I ask him to do and his presence is so calming. 

During transition I cried.  I did that with Deddy's birth.  I just cried to cry.  I couldn't tell where the tears were coming from but I kept hearing that it was transition and I was almost done.  I also had a very distinct thought that all the pain I was experiencing was completely worth it to bring one of Heavenly Father's daughters to the Earth.  There was no other person who would bring her to Earth and I know that it was part of the plan Heavenly Father has for me to raise her as my daughter and to provide a body for her.  I also had the very strong thought that Christ went through the atonement for me.  Not just for me, but for everyone.  But during labor, knowing that he thought that I was worth any pain and suffering was very consoling.  It made me feel loved and deeply grateful for His sacrifice and for the Plan of Salvation.

I moved to the end of the bed.  We had a shower curtain laid on the ground and I felt like I needed to lift my leg up and rest it on the bed during a couple of contractions.  I did that and then my water broke.  I felt like my body was starting to push and I had wanted to let it do it on its own until her head was out.  After a few small pushes during contractions I sat on the ground with my arms behind me and gave a push.  J said he could see her head and I asked if it would be out on the next one.  He answered no but that he could see it and that was a good sign!  I had the thought "her head will be out on the next one."  We waited and then during the next contraction I pushed her head out.  Right before the last contraction I felt her body rotate and I pushed her out.  At 10:02am she slid fast into J's hands and he handed her to me.  There was a very strong spirit in the room and we were both so happy she was safely here.  J gave her a blessing and that moment bonded us.  She started nursing immediately and about 40 minutes later my placenta delivered. 

Each time I give birth I receive a greater understanding of Heavenly Father's Plan for us.  I have been blessed to take part three times in creating bodies for his spirit children.  It is my privilege and responsibility to take care of them.  I also gain a greater understanding of the Atonement and of my worth to our Heavenly Parents.  I love the sealing covenant that J and I agreed to in the temple and I love the knowledge  that our sweet babies are sealed to us for time and all eternity.  They will be our children forever and our family can never be broken if we continue to keep our covenants. 

Linda K. Burton, Relief Society General President stated in this last conference, "Why was the Savior willing to keep His covenant with the Father and fulfill His divine mission to atone for the sins of the world?  It was His love for His Father and His love for us.  Why was the Father willing to allow His Only Begotten and perfect Son to suffer pain beyond description to bear the sins, heartaches, sicknesses, and infirmities of the world and all that is unfair in this life?  We find the answer in these words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”

'If we fully appreciated the many blessings which are ours through the redemption made for us, there is nothing that the Lord could ask of us that we would not anxiously and willingly do.'  According to this statement by President Joseph Fielding Smith, covenant keeping is one way to express our love for the incomprehensible, infinite Atonement of our Savior and Redeemer and the perfect love of our Father in Heaven."

We felt led to this birth by Heavenly Father.  We were helped through it because of the Atonement.  We followed very direct personal revelation and we have been blessed.

Eloise:
6lb 12oz 19 1/2 inches
Total Labor: 24 hours
Pushing time: 3 Pushes

General Conference

This is the time of year that I always look forward to. We get to spend the weekend as a family listening to the prophet and other leaders of the church (including apostles, seventies, and the women leaders in the church).Yes, we do have a living prophet on the Earth today!

It is a time to renew our commitment to Christ and to find answers to questions that have been plaguing us for the past 6 months.  I always love conference and this year Rico is old enough to somewhat pay attention to it. We are going to have pictures of the leaders and different activities or treats for each speaker. We are also thinking of having key words for each session (such as Jesus, Holy Ghost, President Monson, etc) and if Rico hears the word he can get a special treat. Anyway, the possibilities are numerous and I'm excited to make conference fun for him.  I'm also excited to feel calm and be directed for the next 6 months.

Conference should be broadcast on one of the regular television channels. The sessions are Saturday and Sunday from 10am-12pm and 2pm-4pm.  You can also listen and watch it live here in 16 different languages:
http://www.lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng

If you miss it, you can watch it later or read the talks!

Concentrating with Scissors

I have been wanting to let Rico use scissors for awhile now but time is passing by quickly and getting filled with other things. This morning the opportunity arose and we went for it. I think a couple of more times of practicing and he will do great; not that he did badly this time.  I was reading about allowing the child to concentrate and to not interrupt, which was a reminder i needed.

Wintertime Indoor Fun

What's Your Herb?

I think that everyone (probably) has a "sister/brother" herb.  What I mean is this:  that there is an herb that was meant for your body.  Maybe it "speaks" to you in a way. 

I don't hear my herbs talking to me.  But I do feel a closeness/greater appreciation for a few herbs in particular.  Comfrey, yarrow, mint but my favorite by far is red raspberry leaf.

This is a wonderful woman's herb.  It tones the uterus, helps to regulate hormones, cleans your blood, is anti-viral and anti-bacterial, and prepares your body for a baby.  I have also read that it can help prevent miscarriage and prepare your body to get pregnant.  It gives menstrual support and also helps with menstrual cramps.  It gives the body much needed iron (in the assimilable form).  It also has a lot of calcium.  It tastes almost exactly like black tea.  This could be part of the reason that I love it SO MUCH.  Since joining the church I haven't had any tea, but once I tasted real raspberry leaf tea, I haven't gone back.  I drink about a quart a day during pregnancy.  And I try to drink a couple of quarts per week while not pregnant to support my milk supply but also just to give myself extra help.  This tea has also been said to help with stretch marks.  My boys drink this early on in life (about a year old) and love to drink this tea.  I think because it is stronger than other herbs (chamomile, etc) the other teas are even easier for them to like.  Please do not confuse raspberry leaf tea with raspberry zinger tea.  NOT the same thing. 

This is not just a woman's herb!  It can help regulate men's hormones.  You read that right!  It also helps during colds and flus.  When you are sick and don't want to eat, go on a raspberry tea "diet" and your cold (I believe) will be shortened dramatically.  Upset stomach?  Raspberry tea.  Canker sores?  Raspberry tea.  Morning Sickness?  Raspberry tea.  Diahrrea?  Raspberry tea.  Inflammation? Raspberry tea.

Do you see where I'm going with this?  This herb is so incredible.  I have read that it can help expel mucus in respiratory illnesses.  Help fevers, sore throats....it goes on and on!

To deny that herbs and flowers are only for food or for looks is denying what Heavenly Father and Mother have given us on this earth.  I DO believe that the Lord has given us what we need to heal ourselves on the Earth.  (Yes, I do think the medical establishment was inspired in some procedures)  I think on the whole,  the Earth can more than provide for the health of our families. 

Do you feel like you have an herb that seems to "call" to you?  One that you use more than others?  Why?  If you don't know, I suggest praying.  Each time I need to use an herb, prayer seems to help me decide if I am choosing the correct herb.  And, hopefully this is obvious, I always re-read uses of the herbs before using them. 

Eating at Snack Time

Please excuse the hair.