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.