Update on Life, Natural Pinkeye Remedy, Stress, and Tuna/Salmon Salad Recipe

Hello strangers!  Sorry I've gone MIA again.  I've entered a time in my life where stress has reared its ugly head and I'm trying really hard to find the balance amidst it all.  I've taken on a few too many projects, and I think all these projects would work out a lot better if I were tackling them about a decade later.  Because let's face it, taking on personal projects is reeaaaalllyyy hard to do when you have two small children to take care of.  Or for me it is, anyway.  I'm not a very maternal person, believe it or not, so honestly I think of all the stressors in my life, parenting is the hardest and the one getting to me the most.

Other than that, business has been BOOMING.  I have some amazing clients that I am soooo so grateful for.  One major thing I need to do business-wise is learn how to schedule time for my secretary (a.k.a. me), my bookkeeper (a.k.a. me), and my cleaning lady (a.k.a. me).  Sometimes I feel like all I have is a massage therapist on staff, as my files are piling up, my birthday coupons are weeks overdue to be sent out, and dust bunnies are nesting in my corners.  It's overwhelming I tell you!  Though, like I said, I am so grateful that this is the problem I have, being so busy.  It's definitely a good problem.

I've been doing an alternative market once a month too, which has been going very well.  I spend a the day (and some of the day before if I time it right) baking some of the recipes you find on this blog, as well as making pre-mixed packages of my paleo tortillas, cookies, and pancakes.  That evening I sell them at Market on Main in Red Bud, and I've gotten a lot of great feedback from my customers!  It's been very fun and rewarding, yet takes a lot of thought and planning making sure I get the ingredients I need as well as figuring up prices for my items.

Another project I've taken on is a 5k.  This idea started towards the end of last year when Justin and I were talking about the year a member of our community created a "Pay It Forward" run, which was an unofficial 5k that happened once a month, and she'd choose a different charity to donate to each time.  We'd donate whatever we felt like, she'd tell us the route, we'd take a group picture, and off we'd go.  Justin and I tried to make it to each one, and that was the year both of us were in our best shape.  We wanted to try to get back into running again, so I said how about we try to recreate the idea of the Pay it Forward run?  Not long after, Terri Liefer and I were talking about her new charity, Love Abby, in honor of her step daughter who's life was taken too early by a drunk driver.  The charity donates items to foster children in the local area, as well as homeless and women's shelters.  She said if I had any fundraiser ideas to let her know, so that's when I told her about my thoughts about a 5k.  It took off from there!  We're going to try to meet once or twice a month from April to October, and each time we'll collect items to donate to the Love Abby charity.

Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew?  The first run is next Saturday, the 16th, and the only thing I have done is a 3.5 mile route planned out.  I intend to create a 5 mile route for bikers and more advanced runners, and a 1 mile route for walkers or novice runners.  I need to print maps, run copies of the printed maps, and create markers to put along the routes to direct people who don't do well with maps (or I'll just have to tell people to deal with it, ha).  But, at this point in time, I'm going to keep the routes the same each time.  So the next times, I wont have to think as much.  Just show up.

In amongst all this I'm still trying to keep my family eating healthy, manage the mundane tasks of homeownership like bills and cleaning and planning for the next projects we want to tackle with this new house, and raise these two lovely yet demanding children.  I've had to keep Harlee's karate schedule straight in my head, which I've screwed up a few times, and Elliot is at an age where I simply can't take him anywhere lest I go insane.  He refuses to talk at his ripe age of 20 months old (I could have full conversations with Harlee at this age), and lets me know with an adamant shake of the head that he's uninterested in vocally communicating with me, thank you very much.  And instead cries or whines or yells to communicate.  I'm so over it.

Natural Pink Eye Remedy

On top of all that, this has been the year of the pink eye at our house.  UGH it's relentless!!  What is up with that??  In case you're interested, I've cured it naturally every time.  But it seems like once I get rid of it, only three weeks later one of them will either bring another case home from school or daycare.  It's soooooooo contagious.  To treat it I put colloidal silver in their drinks, which is a natural antibiotic.  It's silver particles suspended in water, and bacteria cannot live on silver, and silver kills bacteria on contact.  I'm still working on researching how exactly that works, but I've known about it for decades and you can see it in action if you host a Norwex party.  I found this article, for starters, if you want to look into it yourself.  Anyway, I continue that a couple times a day until symptoms are gone. I follow up with lots of probiotics (I just break a capsule into their drinks), as you want to keep that beneficial bacteria thriving in your gut - that's what makes up most of your immune system!  I also use homeopathic eyedrops (they need to contain Euphrasia) 3-4 times a day until symptoms are gone.  Believe it or not, you can get these eyedrops at Walmart.  I've had it beat in no more than 3 days each time, usually it's gone within a day and a half.  If you choose to treat pink eye naturally in your own home, the rules according to our doctor are to wait 24 hours after symptoms have cleared up before returning to school or daycare.  I'm currently dealing with it again - Harlee brought it home from school and I had it kicked in a day and a half, but of course he shared it with Elliot, and I am still treating that.  That then messes up the schedule, as they have to stay home from school and daycare, which only adds to my stress with having to reschedule clients and find back-up to watch the boys (my mom has been a lifesaver).

So, that's where I am in life.  Not to mention it's getting nice out, so we've begun gardening, we've got lots of chickens, and we're getting ready to start landscaping and spend some tax return money on cabinets for our home office/mudroom (and hopefully get a little more organization into our lives).

Stress

One of these days (or weeks or months) I'm going to write a decent article about the effects of stress on our well-being.  Because I am totally experiencing that first-hand.  I've maintained a workout schedule, which amazes me to no end, yet I've been noticing the scale creeping up little by little.  Not cool! Especially after all the hard work I've put in to get it down!  I've been eating as healthy as I can, but I believe the stress in my life has thrown off some of my hormone production/transportation, as I've noticed with other symptoms going on.  I've been super bloated, feeling feeling fatigued during the day, I have a really hard time getting up out of bed in the morning, I'm craving junk food, my brain isn't firing on all cylinders, and I've been increasingly crabby despite the supplements I'm taking that I've always had success with.  I decided to start a mild cleanse.  I purchased a 14-day herbal cleanse kit from our local health store which basically contains two different herbal supplements to help detox your organs as well as a fiber supplement to help flush everything out.  I'm trying to focus on eating healthy during these two weeks as well as exercise regularly like I have been.  I'm on day 3 and already my fatigue is gone!  I actually got up with Justin at 5:30 this morning and did some basic stretching and yoga poses to start my day.  It felt really good!  Usually right about now I'd be ready to crawl back to bed for a nap and I'm still going strong!  I really hope I'm onto something!

It's almost time to pick up Harlee from school.  But before I wrap this up, I wanted to share a recipe with you, since it's been a long time since I've done that.  It's a tuna or salmon salad that I've made similar to my favorite chicken salad.  I've made it a few times both ways and it's been delicious every time!  I like to scoop some onto a bed of mixed salad greens and just eat it like that.  So good!

That's all for now, it was great to finally get to write again!  I miss this!  Hope you've been well, and I look forward to writing again!

Tuna or Salmon Salad

Sorry, can't come up with a more clever name.  It's got a lot of goodies in it!

2 cans tuna or 1 can salmon
1 boiled egg, chopped
1/4 cup real mayonnaise
1 tsp mustard (whichever kind you like)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2-1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 small yellow onion, finely diced
handful of dried berries
handful of chopped pecans or walnuts
(I didn't measure the berries or nuts - just put however much you like in there, or omit completely)

Mix ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Enjoy!

Breastfeeding: A Love-Hate Relationship

While I'm on the subject of TMI (did you read my last post about yeast infections? lovely...) and now that my breastfeeding days have drawn to a close, I've decided to talk about it.  I want to share my honesty, as well as personal advice for other BF mamas.  If you're a hardcore breastfeeding advocate, you may not like this post a whole lot, but I encourage you to read it regardless.

I want to talk both about the emotional aspects and the physical aspects of breastfeeding.  I'll start with physical.  I don't know enough about it to give much in-depth advice, believe it or not, but I'll cover what I do know here, so if I miss something you'd like more information about then get in touch with a lactation counselor, or check out La Leche League either online or find your local group, or KellyMom.com has good info too.

Breastfeeding has, thankfully, been easy for me.  Which is why I haven't done a whole lot of research on it - it's just something that came naturally.  I can imagine how devastating it must be for moms who can't or who struggle - it seems as though their emotions somewhat match the emotions I had after my c-section with Harlee and I was left feeling broken and defective.  You feel like you failed yourself and you failed your child and everyone looks at you as a failure.  I honestly don't believe ALL women can do it.  Difficulty is something women faced throughout history.  Ever heard of a wet nurse?  She's a breastfeeding mom who nurses the child of a mom who couldn't do it.  I don't know what the reasons are for not being able to, but if you're one of those women, it's okay.  You're not defective.  Of the women who were unsuccessful, however, I do believe a lot of them could have done it with a proper support team and the proper information provided to them.  Which is another reason to get in touch with a lactation counselor or La Leche League.  If you're relying on a breastfeeding class provided by your hospital, you're probably not going to get a whole lot, sorry.

Like I said, I've had a pretty smooth breastfeeding experience.  With Harlee I didn't have much of a clientele built up at work so I was able to leave him for short periods of time with my mom or grandma and come back to feed him without needing to pump in between.  I'd still pump just to make sure I was producing extra in the event I did need to leave him longer, but otherwise this set-up worked well.

Breastfeeding is a supply-and-demand kind of thing.  If there isn't a demand, your body will supply less and less.  If there's more of a demand, your body will do what it can to keep up, provided you're well hydrated, healthy, and other factors like stress or illness or medication don't hinder you.  Nursing the baby directly produces more than just strictly pumping, too.

When both my boys were born, I felt like I was producing enough to keep up with quadruplets.  It was crazy.  Within a month or so it regulated, though, and I wasn't feeling constantly engorged nor was I drowning them every time they ate.

With Elliot I was at work a lot more than I was with Harlee, so I pumped more regularly.  It's definitely been a different experience.  I had to make sure I scheduled time between every two-three clients to sit and pump so I could keep my supply up.

I noticed when I started working out a lot more intensely that my supply seemed to start waning, and I was getting a bit nervous about it.  Then one day at personal training I got a charley horse in my leg and I suddenly remembered I had been forgetting to take my salt sole in the morning!  I started taking it again and that day and all the days following my milk supply increased more and more too - I'm definitely thinking there's a connection!  Yet another amazing benefit of balanced trace minerals in the body...

More Ways to Increase Supply

Salt Sole, which I mentioned above.

Fennel essential oil, which I used with success.  I diluted it with coconut oil and rubbed it on topically.

Mother's Milk tea is also a good option, but I'm not an avid tea drinker enough to be able to say whether I think that works for me or not.  It's worked for other moms though.

Fenugreek supplements are another good option, which is the primary component of the mother's milk tea.  I can't speak from personal experience, but I do know a few moms who took this with success.

How To Decrease Supply 

Peppermint essential oil.  It works like a charm.  I'll share the story about my final days of breastfeeding Elliot below, but basically the last couple days I was feeling slightly engorged as my body was still trying to keep up with night feedings, which weren't happening anymore.  I diluted some peppermint oil with coconut oil and rubbed it on where it was the sorest, and within minutes I was feeling relief.  That stuff will dry you up, so if you don't want that, then avoid it.

The Good...

Breastfeeding has some incredible health benefits for you and your child, and gives them such a great start to life.  There's no way I, personally, would have chosen not to do it.  You're passing along your antibodies to support your baby's developing immune system, as well as providing them with complete nutrition and beneficial fats, carbohydrates, and proteins to help them grow and develop.  There are a lot of good formulas on the market, but nothing holds a candle to the power of real breastmilk.

If you do need a good formula, I recommend Nature's One Baby's Only Organic Formula. A friend of mine told me about it, which she used for her baby, and I looked into it myself.  They promote it as a toddler formula because they encourage breastfeeding for the first year, but according to the company it can be used for infants and babies.  I really think this is one of the best products out there.  Please don't just feed your baby anything if you find you can't breastfeed.  That first year of their life is SO important as they develop, so nourishing them properly is HUGE.  Food is medicine, people.  I will say that over and over and over.  Feed your new developing baby the best, and give them the best start in life that you can.  They're fully dependent on you for that.

The Bad...

Now let's talk about the emotional aspect.  Sometimes (or most times) I can totally see why people choose not too.

'Cause at the same time as it's wonderful, it also kinda sucks.

This is just my personal opinion about it.  Not everyone thinks it sucks.  A lot of people absolutely LOVE it.  And I did have a lot of moments when I held my sweet little guy, feeding him with the nourishment that I produced, that MY body made for him, and was mystified by that bond and how incredible this experience actually is.  It's pretty amazing when you think about it. But that was only hit or miss in the comfort of my home.

There's still mixed feelings out there on the subject of nursing in public, and I like to respect the fact that it does make some people uncomfortable, so I'd either try to do it in private or I'd cover up (unless we're friends or relatives, in which case get over it :-)).  So that meant when my baby was hungry, I was either sitting all alone with him in an out-of-sight area feeling completely secluded and anti-social, or I'd be covered up and he's hot and uncomfortable and can't eat steadily and ends up causing me discomfort and then he's crabby and then I'm crabby and it just goes downhill from there.  Can't really win.

Then there's my husband, who meant well, but seemed to think that any time Harlee or Elliot was cranky or fussy that I should "give him some boob" (yeah that's the kind of crude language we use, don't judge! :-)).  Which means I'm expected to stop what I'm doing to see if that's what he really does want, and then I'm enslaved to the couch or wherever I happen to land with him.  And I feed on demand, I feel that's best when they're that little, I don't really believe you can "schedule" a baby with something like this.  But that makes things unpredictable.  Sometimes he eats all the time.  Sometimes not.  Do I have time to start laundry or dishes without getting interrupted? Can I have my friends over to work out without having to stop to take a nurse break? Can we go out to eat as a family and I can actually sit and enjoy a meal from beginning to end without at some point having a baby attached to me?

"Oh but it's such a beautiful bonding experience," they say.  "They're so precious, and what a miracle to be able to feed your baby with your own body, what amazing creatures we are!" they say.

Yeah yeah, I just said that a few paragraphs ago.  And yes, I would usually agree with that.  Like going to bed at night and all is quiet and he really is just so precious and we are bonding.  Or when I don't have things to do that I don't want interrupted. Or we're not out in public and I'm not distracted with the thought of "am I offending anyone?"

Once Harlee was on solids, I went down to only nursing him at home - at naptime, right before bed, if he'd wake up in the middle of the night, and first thing in the morning.  It was great, but there were moments when it was more of a nuisance.  And sure, I hear all the statistics of how we're supposed to nurse our babies until at least two, but I'm sorry, there ain't no way :-|.

I know I may risk getting judged for saying that, and I understand because I honestly used to judge people who wouldn't even TRY breastfeeding - I mean I know it's hard but it's sooooo good for your child.  But then a friend of mine voluntarily quit breastfeeding her daughter between 3-5 months (I can't quite remember the actual age).  She was stressed out with pumping at work, trying to balance it with her schedule, and maxed out.  It changed my outlook.  She shouldn't be expected to just suck it up because she's doing what's best for her child - no, in fact, finding ways to reduce stress in her life was what was best for her child, and if it meant breastfeeding had to go, then maybe it was better for her daughter to be on formula than stressed-out breastmilk.  I felt she was doing the right thing.  And I looked at the situation with a more open mind from there on out.

I'd still find myself placing a little judgement on people who didn't even try though.  Until I talked to a few more people and learned that they were just looking ahead realistically - it just wouldn't fit in their work schedule and made more sense if they just didn't even start, rather than risk stressing themselves out over it by trying to make it work.  I believe it's important for babies to have moms with as little stress as they can manage, and being a mom is so stressful it's ridiculous anyway (in my opinion), so I support moms when they recognize stress factors and do what they can to eliminate them.

And now, since being more of a working mom with Elliot than I was with Harlee, I totally saw breastfeeding as being a stressor more so than a joy.

Why didn't I stay at home more, since I have the liberty of making my own schedule?  Because I love my job and wanted to be there.  Being at home too much makes me crazy, which takes us back to the topic of stressed-out moms.  I took two months off after having Elliot.  I was definitely feeling a bit crazed by the end of it.  I wanted to be back in my own familiar environment, doing what I love, and feeling more connected to ME, which happens to be at work.  Some women are cut out to stay at home with their kids, and have the patience for it.  I am not one of those women.

Breastfeeding made me feel confined.  It made me feel stifled.  I don't do well in those kinds of situations.  

Drawing to a Close

I'm proud that I did it.  And I'm grateful that I could do it.  But I was also glad to be done, both times.  Harlee officially stopped nursing at 18 months, and I was glad to be done.  He conveniently started sleeping straight through the night at that point too... interestingly enough...  Elliot actually seemed to prefer solid food over breastmilk, and around 10 months old he started refusing bottles or cups of it when he was with babysitters.  I nursed him inconsistently until he was a year old, then went down to just naptime, bedtime, middle of the night, and upon waking in the morning.  Soon naptime phased out, then a couple of times when I was out late for whatever reason and Justin put him to bed, the bedtime feeding phased out.  He's now 15 months old and I'm no longer nursing him at all, and he's actually sleeping through the night now in his own bed.

The first two nights in a row of this, I started getting slightly engorged, as my body was still used to producing enough to feed him every night.  I was almost tempted to nurse him one last time, as the realization set in that this is it.  I'm done.  I'll never nurse a baby again.  I'll never cradle him in my arms and feed him the nourishment that I made myself, to help him grow, or to comfort him if he's upset.  He's a big boy now.

This was a slightly bittersweet feeling...  As I guess all ends of chapters are.  But definitely more sweet than bitter.  I didn't nurse him one last time.  I like that the relationship ended without me knowing it.  I rubbed the peppermint oil on, and moved forward.

Enjoying his "special" chocolate milk

I do have a lot of expressed milk stored up, which I give him occasionally mixed with almond milk and sometimes a little Barlean's Greens Chocolate Silk (he really doesn't like it plain, trust me, he gets really mad and makes horrible faces), so he's still getting something, but I'm free of the "shackles" that I felt breastfeeding was more often than not.   My stress levels are lower, I feel more like myself, more "normal", which makes me a happier person, and that, in my opinion, is what's most important for my kids.  I have no problem with breastfeeding for as long as you want.  I do have a problem with moms judging other moms about it.  And I do encourage moms to do what makes them the happiest, because that, ultimately, is what's best for their children.  This is how I personally feel about it, and I just wanted to be honest with you, and let you know it's okay to feel however it is you feel about it.  Do what you need to do to make you happy, and your kids will benefit from that.  And that's what makes you a great mom.

Natural First Aid Kit and Homemade Toothpaste (And Fire Ant Rescue Salve...)

Now that's an odd title... But, interestingly enough, it's true!

I've been eager to write this article but I couldn't remember the exact recipe for my toothpaste, which I wanted to share with you, so I had to make another one up and make sure I got it right.

We took a family vacation to Myrtle Beach the last week in July and drove down in two days.  We had an awesome time - the boys loved the beach, we got some good quality family time in, everyone did great in the car, and we got to tour a really neat cave on our way back.  As for personal experiences, I was pretty tickled with the fact that this was quite possibly the only vacation I came back from that I didn't weigh more than I did when I left.  I packed coolers with lots of healthy foods (turkey, lettuce for wraps, pickles, carrots with homemade ranch dip, fresh cherries, etc.) and we stopped at rest areas to eat lunch on our way there.  This also helped us save money too since we didn't have to eat at so many restaurants.  I also skipped breakfast on some days to help prevent me from consuming too many calories on days that I knew weren't going to be as healthy, and I did notice I felt pretty good those days.  Check out my last article about Intermittent Fasting for more information on that.

Before we left I packed my natural first aid kit.  The only item from a typical Western pharmacopeia was ibuprofen, which we fortunately did not need.  I tried to think of everything we might need as far as common ailments go, and I think I did pretty well.

Natural First Aid Kit

I know I've written about this before but I've added to it and changed some things.  Here's my original post about a traveling first aid kit, but now that I'm no longer with Young Living I've changed a few things (there were a few YL oils in the first one).  Here's what I brought on this vacation:

Olive Leaf Extract: It's a preventive measure, it strengthens the immune system to help fight off something you may have already caught or are dealing with, the health benefits are endless.  This is our go-to whenever we come down with something.

Papaya Enzyme: Great for indigestion and settling an upset stomach.  They're chewable, taste waaaaay better than Tums, and are safer for you too.  Harlee loves them, we call them "tummy candy".

Arnica 30X or 200C: Homeopathic remedy for muscle aches and pains.  Definitely necessary if someone falls or hurts themselves.

Ipecacuanha 30X: Homeopathic remedy for nausea and vomiting.  Don’t wanna be doing that on vacation!  Settles the stomach and keeps ya going!

Nux Vomica 30X: Another homeopathic remedy for stomach upset, especially from overeating.  We all know that happens on vacation.

Chamomilla 30X: A very calming homeopathic remedy.  I wasn't sure how the boys, especially Elliot, would adjust to sleeping in a new environment and being away from home so this was good to have on hand.  Luckily we didn't need it.

Homeopathic Eardrops and Eyedrops

Coconut Oil: To mix with the EOs listed below:

Lavender EO: Still one of my favorite essential oils due to its versatility.  Calming and soothing to the nerves to help with sleep, very healing for bumps and bruises or burns, can work as a bug repellant, and takes the itch out of bug bites.  It's also a natural antihistamine, so it's great for allergies too!

Tea Tree EO: This is a great disinfectant while being safe for kids (most EOs are not safe for little kids, please be aware of that).  So it's my go-to for wound cleaning and healing.

Peppermint EO: In case Mom or Dad get indigestion.  Peppermint is not safe for little kids, we use papaya tablets if Harlee gets a tummy ache, or a homeopathic remedy for Elliot.

Germ Fighter EO blend (Plant Therapy, it's equivalent to Thieves or OnGuard): A powerful immune system booster and helps ward off illness.  Not safe for kids, though if we're dealing with something severe I'll dilute it with a good amount of coconut oil and put it on their feet or back.  It helps, but I only use it sparingly and usually as a last resort.  It's got some powerful oils in it and should be used with caution.

Aloe Vera Gel: For sunburns

Natural Sunscreen: I used Blue Lizard, and I'll probably write about sunscreen one of these days, as the conventional stuff just isn't good for you and could potentially cause you just as much skin cancer as too much sun exposure could.

And Homemade Toothpaste.  Which would originally have been put in a personal care category but it made it to the natural first aid kit list because it pretty much saved the day.

Homemade Toothpaste

First of all, why did I make my own toothpaste?  Well, I've decided it's best to save the answer to this for the next post, because it's a topic in and of itself covering a lot of different areas from fluoride to plastic to carcinogenic (cancer-causing) substances.  Lots of stuff I don't want in my mouth, or in my family's.

Please take the time to read that post when I get it published.

Homemade toothpaste is pretty easy to make!

Here's my recipe:

1/4 cup coconut oil (I used refined because I don't really care for the flavor of coconut in toothpaste)
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Bentonite clay
1/4 tsp colloidal silver
1 packet stevia powder
~5 drops of pure spearmint essential oil (I don't get caught up in the hype of the multi-level marketing EO companies.  Young Living and DoTerra are just fine, but I'm happy going the more inexpensive route and ordering from Plant Therapy.  Mountain Rose Herbs is another company I've heard good things about too, but there are plenty more out there to choose from.  Keep an open mind when it comes to EOs!)

I mix all that together in a small mason jar and either dip into it with my brush or use a pallet knife (or Elliot's spoon) to scoop some on.  I love how clean my teeth feel when I use it too - it's fabulous!

What's the Bentonite clay for?  Well, it's a mild abrasive, so it's great for scrubbing the teeth and gums and whitening teeth, but it's also a very absorbent clay.  It has the ability to attract and absorb toxins in the body, including fluoride and heavy metals, and allow them to either pass through the digestive system if you take it internally (look for calcium bentonite clay for that purpose).  I'll fill you in on the benefits of taking bentonite clay internally in a later post.  But absorbing toxins in the mouth is definitely a good thing!

And what about the colloidal silver?  Bacteria can't live on silver, and silver in turn kills bacteria it comes in contact with.  Ever heard of Norwex cleaning supplies?  Their cloths and products have silver woven into the fibers, which allows you to clean contaminated surfaces just with water, no chemicals!  It's great to use as a natural antibiotic when you're sick, and I definitely like adding it to my toothpaste both to keep bacteria from living in it, and to kill the bacteria in my mouth.  Win-win!

Why is this in my first aid kit?

So on our second day of travel, we stopped at a rest area in South Carolina for lunch.  Harlee wanted to try to climb a tree, and just as he stepped at the base of the tree, he started SCREAMING.  It was awful, but we couldn't figure out what the problem was.  Justin picked him up and we immediately both saw quite a few ants all over his foot.  We both started brushing and swatting them away, all the while Harlee was clearly in a lot of pain (he wouldn't stop screaming and we were attracting a lot of attention from passers-by).  Luckily I had Elliot strapped in his stroller so I didn't have to worry about him wandering off.  I carried Harlee back to the car where I fortunately had my first aid kit in an easily accessible location.  He was still crying quite a bit, but had at least calmed down enough for me to figure out what to do.  I asked him what the pain felt like, if it was a burning pain or stinging pain, and he said it burned.  I was thinking all along that I was pretty sure these were fire ants.  I immediately put a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil on his foot with some coconut oil.  Lavender is good for burns and insect bites, and it's also very healing.  Tea tree is disinfectant, so I put that on there to be safe.  I also rubbed some aloe gel on his foot as well, just in case that helped with the burning.  He was still crying, but he said it was starting to feel a little better.  But I guess another burst of pain kicked in because he started screaming and kicking again, and that's when I saw my homemade toothpaste.  A lightbulb went off - it's got everything in it!  The coconut oil is healing and soothing, the baking soda is neutralizing for stings and burns, and the bentonite clay draws out toxins.  I started slathering it on his foot like it was going out of style, and that's when he finally relaxed.

After rubbing some oils on, before my lightbulb moment

I got him buckled into his car seat, transferred the first aid kit to the front seat with me, Justin had already buckled Elliot in and ready to go, and we hit the road.  Harlee did start complaining that it was burning again about five minutes or so down the road, so I slathered on some more toothpaste and a little lavender oil, and he relaxed again.

Left: you can see the bumps have gone down.  Right: Slathered with toothpaste

He fell asleep, and when he woke up he said it didn't hurt anymore, and he never mentioned it again for the rest of the trip.  I did look up information about fire ants, and I'm pretty much 99.9% certain that's what got him.  They're pretty prevalent in the south east, they attack anything that steps on their nest, and they don't stop stinging until you get them off of you.  The pain burns too, like he described.  Ugh, poor Harlee...

The next day at the hotel - bumps are still there, but he said they didn't hurt!

Apis is now added to my first aid kit, which is a homeopathic remedy for stings and swelling, and the toothpaste is coming with me anytime we travel from now on, not just for oral hygiene, but for any potential cases like that fire ant attack too!  Hopefully we never need it again, but thank goodness it was there.  And thank goodness I thought to use it!

Remember That Post About Essential Oils I Had to Take Down?

I guess I left you guys hanging, didn't I?  I had to take down my post about essential oil safety and the fact that I switched companies because I got in trouble for writing it.  I think I said I'd repost it *soon*, but obviously that never happened, as that was months ago.

Well, a lot has happened and a lot has changed since that last post.  I did switch essential oils companies.  And then I switched again.  I haven't posted this story yet mostly because I didn't want to offend the people I left in the company I had switched to.  But I have to speak my mind and get my voice heard.  I feel this information is important and needs to be circulated, and I can't hide it from you in fear of possibly upsetting some people.

I wasn't going to name any names, but since I am no longer affiliated with anyone, I guess I can't get in trouble for naming names.  So as most of you know, I started out with Young Living Essential Oils.  I was told they were 100% safe.  I was told to ONLY use Young Living because they're the ONLY true Therapeutic Grade essential oils.  And that means they're 100% pure, undiluted, unadulterated, additive-free, and therefore safe to put anywhere and everywhere on anyone anytime - even internally.  Drink up!  There were very few cautions and limitations, and since they're 100% natural, YL followers and customers are led to believe they're 100% safe.


Before I get too much farther, here's a really good article about what essential oils actually are, how and why they work, and why there needs to be more awareness on safety:  http://essentialoilblogging.com/2014/01/14/can-essential-oils-be-ingested/

If you don't want to read the whole article, here's what I found to be the important stuff:

Essential oils are composed of dozens of naturally-occurring chemical constituents. Each oil has a unique mix of constituents, although some constituents occur in many essential oils. Linalool, for example, is one of the major constituents of lavender oil and coriander oil, but it is a minor constituent of about 200 other essential oils.

Essential oils have one, two or occasionally three major constituents (about 20-90% of the oil), a few minor constituents (1-19%,) and many, many trace constituents (less than 1%). Sometimes minor or trace constituents still can have a significant effect on the body but most of the effects of an essential oil are attributed to its major constituents. These effects are now being revealed by published scientific research. Some plants of the same species can have major differences in constituents. These are called ‘chemotypes’ and are named after the largest constituent in the plant. Rosemary oil, for example, may be a pinene chemotype, a cineole chemotype, or a camphor chemotype. The majority of commercially available essential oils don’t have these variations however, most of the effects of an essential oil are attributed to its major constituents. ...

... There are some constituents in essential oils that can be toxic, irritating and sensitizing if the essential oil is used in large enough doses. Just because an essential oil is 100% pure and natural, does not mean that it cannot harm you. Harm from an essential oil is not always due to impurities or adulterations; more often it’s simply about the constituents it contains. This is not about purity; it’s about safety.

Another concern is the possible interaction between certain essential oils and certain medications (drug interactions). ... One of the known interactions is between essential oils containing methyl salicylate (Wintergreen & Sweet Birch) and blood-thinning medications. This combination can cause the blood to thin too much, leading to internal bleeding and bruising. This is one of the concerns [had] when recommending the ingestion of essential oils.

Hopefully this explains some of the importance of understanding essential oil safety.

Well, I'm pretty ashamed of myself for falling into the YL marketing hype head-first without doing any research.  I ALWAYS research before jumping into something.  Why was this any different?  Probably because their marketing scheme is pretty powerful.  In fact, I guarantee you that if you're with YL right now, you're probably getting upset, and you may close this blog and never read any further or ever open it again.  If you even made it this far at all.  That's fine.  I just hope you don't get hurt from misuse and blind faith.

I was sucked in.  And that scares me because I'm not one to get sucked into things that quickly.  I have to make sure it makes sense and all the angles line up first.  But, you live and you learn.  I had my incidents with them that finally led me to learn that it's not safe to use them anywhere and everywhere, and I wrote this post about essential oil safety to warn others from making the same mistakes.  I had learned about goDesana essential oils and was happy with their company because they promoted safe use.  They don't want people to use them internally because it's not safe and the oils are so concentrated that they can cause toxicity in the liver and other organs.  GoDesana's oils were just as pure as the others, only they don't try to coin their own terms like Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade or Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil (which the FDA doesn't even regulate, those are actually terms made up by their respective companies and they don't mean anything - "therapeutic grade" isn't a real term).  They're just USDA Organic or wild-harvested, plain and simple.  I was happy, they seemed to work great, signing up was free, so I went ahead and joined.

I wrote a post about having switched companies and why, and within an hour or so of posting it I got a call from Young Living headquarters in Utah.  Yeah.  I didn't answer (I don't answer unknown numbers, especially out of state), and they left a message saying they needed to discuss my recent post and that they'd follow this message up with an email.  I waited for the email, and sure enough they were upset with me for "defaming" the Young Living name and for violating their non-competition policy (you can't be part of YL and another company at the same time - they're pretty hard core about their loyalty).  For the record, I don't think I "defamed" them - I actually said I feel they have good products, and I'll still say that, despite all that happened.  What I said was that I was disappointed in their lack of safety information, and had they been more clear and made sure their representatives had all the correct information, I could have avoided a lot of illness in my family.  What's wrong with that?  Anyway, their email said I needed to take down my blog post within a certain amount of time or they would take legal action.  So of course I went ahead and took the post down.  I did email them back and apologized, saying I was only trying to help prevent others from getting hurt due to lack of safety information, and that maybe they should be a little more clear about safety on their website and in their seminars.  The only response I got was "they'd look into it".  Yeah.  Anyway, I didn't leave goDesana, so they terminated my account with YL, and I am no longer affiliated with them.  I would have shut my account down anyway on my own but oh well.  I now have no qualms about telling you exactly what happened and naming names and all that jazz.  You can draw your own conclusions from all that.  (And if you want some more information, check out the links at the bottom of this post.)

So I was now only a GD customer and representative.  I will say, the whole time something didn't feel quite right, but I joined anyway since it was free to create an account (you have to spend $150 to join YL and get their starter kit).  I'd give it a try and see what came of it.

Well, I got caught up in spending the required BV in products every month to stay on the rewards program, and I was encouraged to build my downline so I could make commissions.  I wanted to take it slow, though.  But it was getting expensive, and taking it slow meant not making any money, only spending it.  And that's the second thing I'm ashamed of.  Getting caught in the money.  Luckily it wasn't so bad that I was trying to force these products on people, and I don't think I really did that while I was with YL (I hope not anyway).  I just believed in the product and wanted to be able to purchase them at "wholesale" and offer them to my clients at my office.  But I did get caught up in the excitement that I could possibly build a secondary income off of this.

Meanwhile, I got to talking to a friend of mine who doesn't want to deal with the Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) essential oil companies and buys her essential oils from a direct company.  She's used them for years with great results, and sees no difference in quality between them and the leading MLM companies.  Fortunately I was open-minded to the possibilities at this point, after my incident with YL.

The company she told me about is Plant Therapy.

I looked into them and first of all was BLOWN. AWAY. by the price difference.  Now, if I were still with YL, I would have scoffed at the prices and said, "Oh, they're certainly not pure with prices like that, the true therapeutic grade oils are more expensive - you get what you pay for!" And I would have stopped looking.

No, they're that inexpensive because they're not a multi-level marketing company.  They don't have commissions to pay out.  And they don't have anyone in their upline to send on a free cruise or win a free iPad.  When a company doesn't have to mess with that, they can shave quite a bit off the cost for consumers.  I can't believe I was blind to that before.

Do you realize that "wholesale" in a MLM company is actually still a 300-500% markup from the actual "wholesale" the company pays for?  I was throwing my money away while I was with MLM companies.  Well, no, I take that back.  Someone got to go on a free cruise.  I hope you enjoyed your cruise, whoever you are.

Anyway.  Aside from the price difference, it seemed like Plant Therapy had a pure, high quality oil, they consult with Robert Tisserand who has spent the majority of his life working to advance aromatherapy and using essential oils the best and safest ways possible and is highly respected in the aromatherapy world, they are very clear about the oils' origins and extraction methods, they have easy-to-understand information regarding safety, they have fantastic customer service with aromatherapists on call to answer your questions (aromatherapists who were actually trained by broad-spectrum aromatherapy schooling, not just trained by their company, like I know YL does), all the while not being a MLM company so you don't have to "sign up" and hand over your first born every month to remain a member.

This whole non-MLM thing was really resonating with me.  I mentioned before that something still didn't sit quite right with me when I joined goDesana - I believe that's it.  I didn't like spending my own money, or charging the public money, that only goes toward paying the commissions to the people in an upline.

So I talked to my friend some more about that whole topic, and she made some VERY good points that, honestly, I'm embarrassed to say I hadn't thought of myself.  First off, let me be clear: I am not opposed to MLM - I have lots of Thirty-One products and love them, I use Pampered Chef and love them, I bought Lia Sophia jewelry before their company closed up and still wear and enjoy their products, I can't get enough Norwex - and I don't mind spending the money to get a good item and know that I'm helping someone make a go of a "small business" opportunity.  Plus, I'll admit, I kinda like going to the parties (getting out of the house, seeing friends, eating food, drinking wine, who doesn't like that?).  However.  Those are all personal and home-use items.  The essential oils?  Those are healthcare.  They help ward off illnesses.  They help us recover from illnesses.  They boost the immune system, strengthen our emotional health, enhance the brain's function, disinfect wounds, heal burns, the list goes on and on.  And if not used properly, they can be very dangerous.  And yet here we have MLM companies selling them.  And the whole point of an MLM company is to sell sell sell to reach a broader spectrum of people, build downlines, and make more money.  I was irritated with YL for becoming too consumed by marketing and not the healthcare that the oils are - so, why should goDesana be any different?  I'm not saying it is (this is where I was afraid I'd offend someone - so I will say that honestly at this point in time I don't feel they are just out to get your money, however, it is a very young company), but that's what MLM is.  And that's the funny feeling I was getting.  And the point my friend made was: aren't these MLM essential oil companies doing the exact same thing the pharmaceutical industry is doing?  Pushing and selling healthcare products on the public to make more money?

And I knew at that moment my questions were answered.  That's why I felt funny about all those companies.  And contrarily what ignited my excitement about Plant Therapy.  But let me reiterate: at this point in time, goDesana is a great company!  And I was under some people who genuinely care about your health and safety about using the oils, and I don't believe making money off of them is their primary concern.  I can't speak for everyone in the company, but I feel confident that's the case for at least them.

So I had ordered some oils from Plant Therapy (and did not have to hand over my first born to do it), and they've been great!  Their Thieves equivalent "Germ Fighter" knocked out a fever blister right off the bat, lavender has soothed allergies, eucalyptus relieved sinus pressure, and tea tree oil has effectively cleaned wounds.  I was really pleased to see "Kid Safe" marked on some of the bottles, indicating that, when diluted, they're okay to use on kids.  Some oils are NOT okay to use on kids - please be aware of that!!  Don't put your child at risk simply because a representative from the oil company you are using said it's okay!  Anyway.  I was happy with my oils, happy with what I read about them, happy with the testimonials from my friend, and I got in touch with the company to get permission to sell them at my office.  They asked for a copy of my business license and that was that!  I now have Plant Therapy essential oils on my shelf at my office, and I feel great about it.  Their prices are VERY affordable (the Germ Fighter I mentioned is $7 for a 10mL bottle - Thieves is $35 "wholesale" for 15mL and has the exact same ingredients), and you get them for the same price at my office as you would if you ordered online.  And shipping is always free!  So I'm perfectly happy to supply you with good quality essential oils, or you're more than welcome to buy them from the website - nobody's getting any kickbacks, and nobody's going on a cruise.

Meanwhile, I'm sure I'll try out other oils - I'm not going to ONLY use Plant Therapy now.  I'm not going to allow myself to be that close-minded ever again.  But I'm happy with their oils and their team and their prices, so that's what I'm offering on my shelves.

And that's my story.  I'm glad I got away from the MLM thing before it sucked me in again.  I feel cleaner, lighter, and just overall better about this decision - I am able to use a good quality essential oil from a good quality company who isn't trying to focus on building teams and monopolizing the industry, and now I'm able to offer those same oils to my clients for amazingly affordable prices so that I can do what's most important to me - guide them on their natural healthcare journey safely and effectively.


Oh yeah, here's that link I mentioned earlier, if you can stomach it... it's pretty disturbing:  http://www.kidnurse.org/why-the-founder-of-one-of-the-largest-essential-oil-companies-should-go-back-to-jail/

Teething and Constipation

I can't seem to find time to post.  I'm sorry.  I miss writing, I really do.  However, my life has been consumed by work, family, and a teething baby.

Elliot has been an angry teething little monster.  Okay so he hasn't been THAT bad but still, he must have the world's lowest pain tolerance (which, I'll admit, he gets from his mother...) because cutting teeth is like the END of the WORLD.  He's not happy about it.  Drool, crying, fussy, chewing on everything, the whole nine yards.  And he wants constant attention.  It's frustrating, because I can't get much done when I'm holding a crabby baby all the time.  So, what does this natural mama do about teething?  Heck I don't know, this is kind of my first rodeo with that, Harlee handled it pretty well so I didn't have to bust out any tricks.

So this is what I've been doing with Mr. Elliot.  Aside from letting him chew on things and holding him and trying to comfort him constantly.

Hyland's Teething Tablets.  They've been fabulous - the babysitters have been thrilled with their effectiveness too.  They're homeopathic, too, so they won't have any scary adverse effects like Orajel which can cause your kid's mouth and throat to go numb.  Which does not sound like a good idea to me...

If it seemed really bad, and the teething tablets weren't cutting it, I'd switch to homeopathic arnica tablets, which is good for pain relief.  Followed by homeopathic chamomilla about 30 minutes to an hour later, which is good for soothing and calming.

But I was doing this stuff all. the. time.  So my next step was an amber teething necklace.  Amber is really fascinating - it contains a naturally-occurring substance called succinic acid that is released from the stone when heated, such as when in contact with body heat.  It's a natural pain-reliever (as well as providing many other benefits), which is why it helps ease the pain of teething.  Seems like he's been a much happier kid since he's been wearing it!

He looks like a little jungle baby with his camo diaper and amber beads!

It was also time to start thinking about solids.  Usually it's recommended to wait until after baby is 6 months of age, but Elliot was showing signs of being ready to delve into the world of solids.  Here are some signs that show readiness, taken from Kellymom.com:

• Baby can sit up well without support.
• Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
• Baby is ready and willing to chew.
• Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
• Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

He hit these marks at 5 and a half months, plus his first tooth broke through, and our naturopathic pediatrician agreed we could start trying solids.  So he got some homemade sweet potatoes and loved them.

He loved everything we gave him, especially bananas.  We've been trying all sorts of foods both homemade and store-bought, and he's been a happy little eater.  Then came some possible TMJ (jaw) issues, and nursing became a chore, as did bottle feeding.  He's got an appointment with the chiropractor to help sort that out tomorrow, but in the meantime he hasn't been nursing well.  Which led to his system getting a bit backed up.

He strained and strained and grunted and cried to poop, and when he finally did it was hard little rabbit poops that definitely showed I was right, he was backed up.  Sometimes he'd strain and grunt and push and nothing would come out at all.  Poor guy.

I've been limiting my use of essential oils, which I will explain why in a future post, so I tried bicycling his legs and rubbing his tummy.  I also tried homeopathic Nux Vomica.  I fed him some prunes too.  Nothing seemed to be getting things moving and I was getting concerned - having a backed-up digestive tract can cause some problems systemically and I did not want that!

Finally I remembered how effective reflexology can be.  I had even taken a class on it and got to see how beneficial it is.  I found a great video on YouTube for constipation in babies (here it is, check it out!) and followed the instructions.  He wasn't real happy about that - the thing with reflexology is that each point on your foot corresponds with an organ or part of your body.  If an organ or part of your body isn't functioning at its best, that corresponding point on your foot will hurt, or will also have little bumps or "grittiness" in the muscle tissue.  I rubbed his feet and he squirmed and cried (and I felt bad), but after I complete one circuit he farted!  I was impressed just by that, but shortly after I was impressed even more as I made another circuit around his feet and he grunted and pushed and finally made progress!  Off to change his diaper I went in total amazement.  I rubbed his feet again and he didn't cry as much - I guess it was feeling better.  I did that on and off throughout the day until finally his BMs were coming more frequently and normal-looking.  He pooped all day and didn't have to strain anymore at all.  Needless to say he was definitely a happy baby after that!  And I was a very impressed, happy mama!

Now here I am taking advantage of Elliot finally sleeping normally again, which was another benefit of all this - teething pain gone, tummy trouble resolved, all that good stuff.  Maybe, with any luck, I can get back to normal blogging!  (Ha ha ha...)

It's so awesome to be able to help my kids naturally.  I helped get his little system moving again without using any drugs.  I helped relieve his teething pain without any conventional pain-killers.  I was able to tap into resources of plant-based medicine - the original medicine - and ancient wisdom to help heal my kid.  That's a really awesome feeling.  I hope this inspires you to do the same!

Happy Baby!

A Day in the Life of Jami: Thanksgiving, Viruses, Earaches, and Preventive Health Care

Sooo it's been nearly a month since I've posted.  I've wanted to, trust me, but finding the time to has been next to impossible.  I got both the boys in bed right now without passing out myself, though, so here I am.  I'm going to catch up.  I've got so much catching up to do I don't even know where to start...

In fact, I have so much to say, I think I'll break this post into two parts.  The first on being an update on life, the second one being my Paleo Thanksgiving.

So, first of all, I can say that this fall/entering into winter has not been kind to us.  We've been sick enough, and I'm sick of it!  Okay so it could be worse - Harlee is the only one who got sick this month, the rest of us are hanging in there.  But we've all had our turns!  Wednesday Harlee woke up in the middle of the night/early morning with a 101 fever and a headache.  We put a cold washcloth on his head and rubbed a bit of peppermint oil on his temples and within minutes he said his head felt better and he went back to sleep.  The next morning the fever was still there, so I gave him a FluGuard tablet (homeopathic remedy) but wasn't real sure if that would do the trick - usually those homeopathic remedies have to be used right at the first sign of symptoms.  I made up a remedy cocktail blend in his juice for him consisting of:
Childlife Multi Vitamin & Mineral
Childlife First Defense
Colloidal Silver

He will not take chewable vitamins.  I've tried all kinds, he won't do it.  So I've turned to liquids and I've been thrilled with the Childlife brand.  This was my first time trying the colloidal silver, though.  Silver is naturally antibacterial.  It's pretty amazing, really.  Have you ever heard of the Norwex cleaning products?  Their cloths have silver imbedded into the fibers.  I had a Norwex party a couple weeks ago - she smeared raw chicken on my counter.  Yeah.  Then swabbed it with a sanitation test swab from the health department to show it was, of course, unsanitary.  Then wiped it down with the cloth - no chemicals, just wet with water - and then swabbed it again: sanitary.  Amazing.  So colloidal silver is silver particles suspended in water, so you can get those same antibacterial affects internally.

I went to work and instructed Justin to dilute some oregano oil and rub it on his chest and rub Thieves oil on the soles of his feet.

On my lunch break I ran over to the Healthy Nut and bought some liquid Olive Leaf Extract (seriously everyone needs to own this stuff (though I prefer capsule form) - it's so amazing) to add to Harlee's juice and boost his system even more.

Justin and I started taking more olive leaf extract ourselves, along with Young Living's Inner Defense capsules, added to our regular daily supplements (which includes Juice Plus).  So far we've been in the clear!

Well, either it was a short-lived virus, or all the stuff I gave Harlee worked, because by evening he was all better and the next morning he was ready for Thanksgiving!

It snowed Wednesday, so I snapped a picture of our winter wonderland ♥

We went to my parents' house for an afternoon meal.  I stuffed myself like I do every year...

I was feeling crafty!

Dad and Harlee selfie

Opa and Elliot

Oma and Elliot

No tryptophan crash for us!!

Then Justin had to go to work :-P.  Yeah, gotta love his line of work.  He's a boilermaker, and basically the hall calls him whenever jobs come available and he can either take them or turn them down.  So a job came up this weekend, Thursday through Sunday, night shift, and it's kinda hard to turn that down with that kind of pay soooo he packed up the leftovers and headed out.  Same thing the next day - had dinner with his stepdad's family and headed out again.

Made one for Grandma and Papa too

Harlee playing with Cousin Claire and Uncle Kirk

He discovered the carrot cake...

Elliot getting some love from Grandma and Great-Grandma

Chilling with Great-Grandpa

By the way, Justin is prone to sinus infections and he seems to get one almost every time he starts a new job on nights.  He was hacking and carrying on Friday morning so I loaded him up with even more olive leaf extract, vitamin C, and inner defense.  I also diffused Thieves oil in the bedroom while he slept.  The hacking has since subsided and there are no signs of a sinus infection.  Horray!
 
My friend Rachael came over to keep me company Friday night, which is always fun!  Saturday my friend Kim celebrated her 30th birthday and annual chicken soup gathering, which was conveniently moved to the afternoon so Justin got to go, although it was only for a short while.  I could have blogged that night... The boys both passed out and I honestly thought about sitting down to write but found The DaVinci Code on tv and decided to watch that instead because I love that movie.

I was determined to write tonight, though.  Today (Sunday, which is now yesterday to you readers) was a rather productive day.  Justin came home around 9am and went to bed, I dropped Harlee off with Grandma, and Elliot and I went to town to pick up a few things for dinner that night.  I decided to have Paleo Thanksgiving with Rachael and Cassie after our Sunday workout, and I was super excited!  Picked up Harlee and headed back home where I managed to get a few loads of laundry done, cleaned the bathrooms, swept and mopped the floors, got all the dishes loaded in the dishwasher, vacuumed the rug, tidied up Harlee's playroom, PLUS got the chicken marinading, peeled and cut up a butternut squash, trimmed and prepped green beans, got my vegan pumpkin "cheese"cake started, all while being mom to a 3-year-old who needs help going potty, needs a toy fixed, needs the channel changed, etc., etc., AND a 4-month-old who happens to have the remains of an earache and wants to be held constantly.

How the heck I pulled all that off I have no idea.  But I got pretty much all of that done before Justin woke up at 2:30.

Earache - yeah, not fun.  Elliot had been a bit fussy for a few days and then I noticed he was rubbing his fist on his ear.  I poked around it and he fussed some more, so I put a homeopathic earache drop in it and he settled down right away.  Got him in to see our pediatric chiropractor and she looked in his ear and confirmed that yes, it was a bit red in there.  I started rubbing lavender oil around his ear (not in it - don't do that) and kept up with the homeopathic drops as well as adding in homeopathic Pulsatilla.  Within a couple days he was back to himself again and caught up on sleep.  Then I guess it must have crept back in because he was back to fussing this morning (which, again, to you readers was yesterday morning) and rubbing his ear again.  This time I texted the chiropractor and asked what else I could do and she said put a little breastmilk in his ear.  I had heard of that before... and I had heard of it actually working... so what's the harm?  I'd give it a try.  I syringed a little in his ear from what I had pumped the other day, diluted some Thieves oil and rubbed it around his ear and on the bottoms of his feet, and he was pretty content after that.  I let him play on the floor while I got a few things done (see list above), then when he fussed again I'd hold him, put lavender around his ear, and he'd fall asleep, which is when I continued on with the above list.

Cassie was kind enough to bring over a bottle of wine this evening.  As I recap my day I am amazed that I completely forgot to pop it open and toast my productivity and the fact that my sanity is still in tact...  How did I forget about it??  Crazy.

Unfortunately Rachael wasn't feeling well so she backed out, but Cassie came over with her two kids and we got in a somewhat successful workout!  By somewhat I mean we had to take a break for her son to go potty and for me to call Santa because my son was NOT behaving.  Not sure what his deal was my holy moley he was crabby.  So I got Santa on the phone and told him to put Harlee on the naughty list.  I thought that would work better than it did... no, Harlee continued on with his meltdown so we continued on with our workout and let him be.  With Elliot being fussy with his ear and wanting to be held constantly, we incorporated him into our workout and did:

5 Rounds
20 squats holding Elliot
10 burpees
10 lunges each leg holding Elliot
10 deadlifts (90lbs)


Basically we passed him back and forth - she held him and did squats while I did burpees, I held him and did lunges while she did deadlifts, so on and so forth.  All that up and down motion must have been pretty soothing to him because it lulled him to sleep, which worked perfectly - at the end of the workout I transferred him to his swing and we got on with dinner!

Cassie and I chatted about the whole Paleo thing, and our conversation gave me some ideas of what I can talk about here on the blog.  I started writing my ideas tonight, but it got so long I decided to write a separate post just for that topic!

So that's a wrap for this post.  Hope you learned something from my story about Harlee's bug and Elliot's earache!  Can't imagine rushing my kids to the doctor over things like that and possibly getting drugs to treat them.  Obviously that's necessary in some cases, but I feel like pharmaceuticals are way over-used in today's world.  Being able to treat my kids with natural remedies that don't cause harmful side-effects is definitely something I am very grateful for!

And on that note, hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

A Day in the Life of Jami: My Medicine Collection

So I was all excited about this new series... And now it's almost been a month and I haven't written another post in it.  That's what I get for being busy I guess.  I should try to schedule blogging into my day.  It can't be that hard, can it? I mean, I schedule my clients at certain times on certain days of the week, I schedule appointments for the family on my days off, I schedule working out every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday (and add in work-outs as the opportunities arise). That's just how things get done, it's scheduled in.  Aaaaand that's why my laundry piles up... Because I don't schedule it in... But we won't go there.

Justin got sick a couple days ago.  Pretty sure my mom shared it, because she had the same symptoms.  Nothing major like the virus we all got hit with awhile back, but still no fun.  He was tired and achy and whatever this was attacked the digestive system.  So that was no fun.  I got him taking homeopathic FluGuard, which I had never tried before so he was kinda my guinea pig with that one, he was taking shots of oregano (see his strep throat adventure to learn more about that), and I upped his olive leaf extract, vitamin c, and echinacea/goldenseal (good for the immune system - I should probably write a post about those). He also had a low sugar intake, as I've been trying my best to be more strict with Paleo cooking at home, and I know that helped.  Sugar weakens the immune system - it heightens your body's inflammatory response so it more or less steals all the attention from your immune system, which isn't good when you've got a bug or virus needing attention first.  I believe he recovered quicker than my mom did, and I'm fairly certain diet played a big role in that... But I pester my mom enough about needing to form clean eating habits so I won't drag it out here ;-).

In the meantime, I was diffusing Thieves oil all over the house, rubbing it on our feet each night, plus I made a cleaner in a spray bottle - I put half witch hazel and half hydrogen peroxide (I would have used rubbing alcohol but we seem to be out) with several drops of Thieves, Purification, and Oregano and sprayed it all over everything - the furniture, the bed and bedding, pillows, rugs, surfaces, everything.

All has been well.  Until Harlee and I got hit by allergies.  Our noses are like faucets, ugh it's awful.  My throat is getting scratchy because of the drainage too.  And speaking of sugar earlier, I've been bad and stole more than my fair share of Halloween candy... so I'm really not giving myself the best chance at recovering quickly.  Harlee's been good and drinking more water than juice, plus I rub RC and Raven oil blends on his chest and that seems to help clear him up.  I'm sitting here with a cup of hot jasmine green tea with honey and lemon oil.  It's my fourth cup this morning.  I've been using lavender around my nose, which seems to help but goodness gracious does it make me sleepy... I also rubbed oregano oil around my nose (diluted with coconut because it burns) to help dry things up, which also seems to help.  I'm trying to talk myself into gargling a bit of oregano oil in a shot of my tea, but I haven't done it yet.  It's horrible.  Well, it's horrible for like two minutes, then after the hellfire in your mouth and throat wears off it turns out to be a fantastic resolution to a sore throat.  And that's what I need right now.  It's getting past the hellfire part that has me stuck...

All this excitement made me decide this is a good opportunity to share my medicine drawer contents with you.  I also got several requests for that since I posted that picture of my special delivery on Facebook.  A couple weeks ago my iHerb order came in -  I swear I get way too excited about that.  I usually try to place a big bulk order every so often - all our vitamins, immune boosters, general supplements, etc.  Then when it arrives I feel like Christmas came early.

So in this box I got cod liver oil, which is a great source of Omaga-3s and DHA.  Oscillococcinum (don't ask me how to actually pronounce that) which is a great homeopathic remedy for the onset of the flu, as is the bottle of FluGuard, and after our recent bout of that I decided I should be armed in case we ever get hit again.  I also ordered some colloidal silver, which needs a post all its own.  It's a natural antibiotic, again, a great thing to have on hand in the event of a nasty virus.  There's a bottle of vitamin C, a few bottles of liquid vitamins for Harlee (he will not take chewables or gummies for some reason, so instead I put these in his cup of juice or whatever hes drinking and it's been working great.  There's also a bottle of Echinacea/Goldenseal for immune support and pau d' arco, which is also great for the immune system.

All this got added to my medicine drawer:

I'm super proud of this drawer.  It's so much easier to locate different things than it was when I used to have everything in a cabinet, but best of all it's becoming quite full with a great variety of remedies!  I've got my growing supply of essential oils in the bottom left corner (and that's not even all of them - my most frequently used ones are in the diaper bag), my most commonly used homeopathic remedies in the bottom right corner, then throughout the middle-right I've got a bunch of herbal remedies, vitamins, etc like olive leaf extract, vitamin c, echinacea, vitamin d, and so on.  I've got things in here in place of common conventional medicine cabinet items like papaya instead of Tums or Rollaids (and it works way better and tastes better, too), homeopathic eye drops and ear drops, and the multitude of essential oils play roles like lavender for wound healing (to replace Neosporin), peppermint for headaches (although we do have ibuprofen in there, that's the only conventional medicine we've got I think) and also for digestive upset for cases beyond the scope of papaya, Purification oil in place of anti-itch cream, the list goes on and on, and continues to grow as I learn more and find more!  In the back I've got replacement bottles of things like my Juice Plus and olive leaf extract and cod liver oil - basically the things I take daily as a supplement, plus the things I don't want to run out of like Harlee's vitamins and elderberry syrup, which I add in with his vitamins if it seems like he might be coming down with something or if he's been around other people who were sick.  I'm currently giving that to him with his vitamins.  The temporal thermometer is in there, a tub of coconut oil for diluting essential oils, and a bottle of witch hazel for mixing up cleaners, bug sprays, etc.  Oh I also have Little Remedies fever reducer, too, just in case.  Little Remedies seems like a good brand of products for conventional medicines without the conventional additives, so in the event of a high fever striking that my natural remedies aren't strong enough for, I've got a safe alternative.  Luckily we haven't really needed it though, as peppermint has always helped keep fevers from creeping up too high.

Ta da!  That's my collection so far!  I'll say it again, I'm quite proud of it.  It just makes me feel really good that I've got plenty of things to help us stay healthy or recover if we do get sick, while at the same time not pumping us full of harmful chemicals or risking the side effects of conventional drugs.  Justin's learning his way around the drawer too, which is great.  I'm so glad he's open to learning more about alternative medicine, and I've enjoyed watching his trust in it grow as everything we use continues to work.  We're definite in the same boat as parents - we want to keep our kids and ourselves healthy in the safest ways!

I should get back to work now - I'm off on Fridays so this is when I try to get things caught up like laundry, cleaning, and obviously blogging :) (which obviously doesn't always happen).  Have a great weekend!