{pretty, funny, happy, real}: July 4th, 2013

I am joining Rosie at Like Mother, Like Daughter for the first time in, oh, maybe a year or so?  Seems like forever!

{Pretty}

We've enjoyed some pretty weather this week.  It has been nice, on a couple of occasions, to be able to keep the windows open and the air conditioner off throughout most of the day.  It's been nice to send the kids outside, too, without having them come in 15 minutes later panting that it's too hot outside, and why can't we just watch a video instead? I wish we could have some of that glorious weather today.  

It's raining.  A lot.

{funny}

Gemma sporting her brother's fake mustache is funny.

And Gemma falling asleep upside-down is pretty funny, too.  I hate flash photography, but my camera--no cheapie, by the way--takes really lousy indoor shots in low-light conditions.  Only the schoolroom has anything other than low-light conditions.

{happy}

Oh, yeah...this is happy to the extreme for the boys.  For me--not so much!  Uncle Cliff gathered up not only his 40 year-old Legos, but also those of a cousin who is now in college, and my boys are the happy beneficiaries of this beneficence.  So, what's another 8 lbs of Legos added to the 20 lbs of Legos we already have?  It means the Legos my need their own room soon.

{real}

Real as in real food.  We already are blessed to have our own milk, butter, yogurt, eggs, pork and we'll have beef, too, when our bull calves are up to weight, and I order my organic bulk goods from a food co-op.  Getting decent produce is still a problem. In our area, if you don't maintain a garden and don't belong to a CSA, you have little access to organic produce, and what there is is expensive.  We have 8 in our family, and produce is one of our main grocery expenditures.  Mainly we end up eating commercial produce, which I soak and/or wash the heck out of with a fruit and vegetable wash.  I found this handy little chart on Facebook, and I think I will print it out for my wallet:

And you may or may not already be familiar with this information, but here is a tip on reading produce labels to find out whether you produce is conventional, organic or genetically engineered (GMO):

Labels on fruits and vegetables have a 4 or 5 digit code.

If the label has 4 digits, it means that it was "conventionally grown, but not organic". If it has 5 digits, and begins with a 9, it means that the produce was organically grown.
A 5 digit code that begins with an 8 indicates that the produce was genetically modified.

My kids are all becoming active label-readers, and to me, that's a great accomplishment.  When kids will pass on a box of candy because it has Yellow 5 and Red 40, I feel like I've actually taught them something!

Hope you have a wonderful July 4th wherever you may be.  It's still raining here!

Oh, ick...do you drink Celestial Seasonings teas?

Apparently they tested really high for pesticides.  I only have their Sleepy Time Tea on the shelf--but no more; I'll make my own!

A few home remedies

We haven't had too bad a winter this year, health-wise.  Strangely enough, we tend to keep fairly well in the winter and get whammied with one cold after another in the spring.

Anyway, when the kids or I start to get the first bit of a sore throat or fits of sneezing, I go on the attack, as any cold that gets a foot in the door has the opportunity to run through eight people before fading out.  I don't cherish the prospect, and so I take a proactive approach.  First line of defense is Great Gobs of Vitamin C.  I use powdered vitamin C and stir it into orange juice, along with a packet of stevia for those who can't handle the tartness.  One teaspoon of the stuff is 5,000 mg of vitamin C, and I'll usually give the kids somewhere around 10-15,000 mg in a day.  Typically, I only get maybe 4,000 mg into Gemma, as she'll only take the chewables, and has a saturation point even with those.  If you can stand it, it is recommended that you take it to the point of "bowel intolerance", which means to the point where your tummy begins to rumble and get gassy and uncomfortable.  Back down at that point.

Much more pleasant is the second line of defense, which is Elderberry Echinacea Syrup.  At the first sign of a cold or flu, the recommended dose is 1-2 oz. 4 times a day.  I take it that the higher dose is for adults, and the lesser for children.  You can buy the rather pricey Sambucol, or you can make your own version.

Elderberry Echinacea Syrup

1/2 cup dried organic elderberries (look online--they are not hard to find) or 1 cup fresh
2 Tbsp dried echinacea root
1 Tbsp dried ginger root or 2 Tbsp minced fresh
about 4" of cinnamon stick
3 cups water
3/4 cups raw honey

Put everything but the honey in a pot and simmer gently stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes, at which time the liquid will be reduced by about half.  Let it cool somewhat, and then strain the liquid through cheesecloth, squeezing out as much liquid as possible.While it is still quite warm, stir in the honey until it is thoroughly mixed in.  Pour into a clean jar and cool; refrigerate until needed.  Our favorite way to have a dose is to put it in a mug and add boiling water to make a "tea".

Another quick mixture for nipping things in the bud supposedly also works as a cough remedy, but I have yet to try it as such.

2 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp raw honey
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cayenne
4 Tbsp water

Shake everything together in a jar and keep in the fridge.  When you feel a sore throat, take a nice, big tablespoon full.  It will burn in your ears, but you will very likely wake up the next day without the sore throat.

Although I generally keep the comments closed during Lent, I will publish any favorite home remedies you may wish to add to this post.  What's your favorite?

Three days left! Fight Monsanto!

Please join the fight and donate whatever you can manage to Millions Against Monsanto.  They are trying to raise a million dollars by May 26th in order to receive a matching grant.  The money will be used to support California Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act, a citizens ballot initiative and other state GMO labeling campaigns.

Please take a moment to read this one-page article from Dr. Mercola's newsletter so as to get some idea of just how devious Monsanto is and how very dangerous GMOs are to our health.  As of yet, and thanks to the muscle of Monsanto, genetically modified foods do not require labeling.  Let's change that.

You can donate right here.

The high cost of good health...

My recent order from vitacost.com

Lent--and spring--are naturally good times for taking stock of things and cleaning house.  We tidy garden beds, wash windows, air bedding and dust the cobwebs from the corners.  Some of us find it a good time to unclutter our homes and sheds, drop off things at Goodwill and the dump, have yard sales.

It is a good time to rid ourselves of bad habits and try to establish good ones.  For Catholics, it is a time to grow closer to God by growing in virtue and rooting out vice.  A time to break our attachments to anything that stands between us and our Creator.

It is also a good time to develop better health habits.  That can be challenging with a large family.  One pays a premium for whole, organic, unadulterated food.  You would think that living in the country as we do that it would be easier to find real food, but it isn't.  The really big farmer's markets are in the larger cities, and so are the natural, whole foods markets.  You would think that the local Mennonite communities would be a good source for organic produce, but guess what: some of them use chemical pesticides.

We avoid GMOs, MSG and high fructose corn syrup.  We have cut back our sugar consumption.  We don't use things with artificial sweeteners.

We do have the advantage of having raised our own grass-fed beef, although our cow hasn't produced a bull calf in years, and our meat is running low at this point.  We have raw milk, from which we make our yogurt and butter.  We wonderful, orange-yolked eggs from our free-range chickens (who free-range all over my porch and sometimes into the road, where they meet untimely ends!)  What we lack is a decent garden and a local source for staples.  So I buy organic veggies at Wal-Mart, pay the extra for any non-GMO products I can find, and just buy regular produce, washing it all thoroughly with Fit Fruit and Vegetable Wash.  I have to limit my kids to two pieces of fruit each a day, and even with that limit, that's about 400 pieces of fruit a month!  Yes, we really, really, really need fruit trees.

I try to boost the nutrition of our food by sneaking in ground flax seed, nutritional yeast, and wheat germ.  I am still looking for a cheap way to get Omega-3 into the older kids.  The capsules are huge, and the gummies are pricey, and the emulsified cod liver oil I give to the little kids would get really expensive, too, if I gave it to the older kids.  We'd go through a bottle a week, which isn't feasible on our budget.

This mix, along with alfalfa, is my "blood-cleansing" spring tonic.  Warm, it tastes a bit like peppermint and lawn clippings, but sweetened with honey and iced it is quite good.

I have always been better about making sure my kids are getting what they need than watching what I do for myself.  I tend to skip meals, forget my vitamins, fail to drink enough water and sleep too little.  But I am trying to make a new start this spring.  I am 48 years old, my youngest child is two, and my five year-old has ADHD.  We are in the process of building a new "patch o' dirt" and the plans include a large garden, fruit trees, bees, and livestock.  I need all the help I can get.  If the cost of eating well is high, I'l tell you now that I can't afford to be unwell or lacking energy.

I shop the best prices for supplements, and decide what is most important in our diet (or out of it), and do the best I can.  I don't obsess about it if the kids eat candy now and then, or if they have a soda when we've been out all day.  I don't think the occasional drink of Kool-Aid, which I generally think of only as dye for wool and play dough, will kill them.  But I don't allow it to become a habit.

Ultimately, our lives are in God's hands.  We have so many factors which remain beyond our control:  things in our environment, genetic factors, exposure to germs, and so forth.  Ultimately, we have to place ourselves in the hands of our Creator and trust in Him.

Arsenal for kids' colds

As I am sitting here, I am listening to the odd cough and sneeze coming from a few of my six children.  Colds are never pleasant, but they are even less so in a large family, where it seems to take three weeks for a virus to work its way through the ranks--just in time for the one who had it first to pick up the next round of illness and pass it on.

There isn't much you can do.  Limit contact with others, keep antibacterial wipes in the van and hand sanitizer in your purse and use them diligently, remind the kids to wash hands, try to limit sugar and get enough vitamin C and D3...but inevitably a germ will infiltrate.

When the colds strike, I have certain things I rely on.  I make lots of tea, decaffeinated green tea and black tea, for it's antioxidant properties.  When there is a cough involved, I really really love Stash's Ginger Lemon Tea--with a good bit of honey (in the summer I love to make iced tea using green tea and this one together).  The combination is a good one, and I also slice peeled ginger root and put it in a jar and cover it with warmed raw honey.  Just let it sit for 12 hours and then you can put it in the fridge.  A spoonful of this works on coughs at least as well as the cough medicines I have used for the children.

Homemade chicken noodle soup with a good bit of garlic is very good for mucous membranes and loosens the mucous.  For myself, I love garlic capsules.  I take vitamin C, garlic capsules and zinc at the first onset of a cold, and I can't tell you how many times I've routed the foe with that combination.  Just be aware that zinc on an empty stomach can make you violently ill, so take it either with a meal, or just before going to bed.

Unfortunately, it is hard to get those things--other than the vitamin C--into little ones.  I do have zinc drops, but they are so very horribly bitter that I can never use a full dose for the children; instead, I try to slip a few drops into undiluted white grape juice (which is sooo sweet!) or in pretty syrupy chocolate milk.  Garlic just has to be added to foods.

We use GSE here every day for sterilizing our milking equipment.  It doesn't need to be rinsed off and has health benefits, so it is what we use to wipe down cutting boards, counters, baby toys and high chairs.  I have put a drop or two in my juice when fighting a cold, and I can't tell you whether or not it has done me good, because I always use multiple things when attacking a cold, but I do know people swear by it.

One unconventional thing I have done for keeping colds at bay is using hydrogen peroxide in the ears.  Let it remain in the ear for half a minute or so, then do the other ear.  My sister uses this a lot more than I do, and she says it has kept her free from many a developing cold.  Just use it at the first sign of a cold; better yet, do it weekly and you will have the added benefit of very clean ear canals (my ENT doctor recommends this for cleaning your ears).

Anyway, here's hoping that you have little need for any of these remedies this winter!

Homeopathy--alternative medicine or New Age nonsense?

I was recently reading a book on the New Age and came across the information that homeopathy has "occult" connections.  This, apparently, from the fact that the founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, believed that all illness was basically an imbalance in what he referred to as the "vital force".  In fact, homeopathy is among the therapies listed in the pontifical document, Jesus Christ, Bearer of the Water of Life, along with polarity massage, crystal and psychic healing and reincarnation therapies.  Of course, chiropractic, herbal medicine and 12-Step programs are also mentioned, leading me to believe that the paragraph in question does not condemn every one of these practices outright, but only means to point out, in relating care of the body to New Age practices, that the New Age makes use of many of these. 

I have no doubt that anise seed is good for digestion, or that ginger alleviates nausea.  These remedies have been around practically forever, and are well established.  In Germany, where I grew up, many herbal remedies are available at the Apotheken (pharmacies), and doctors frequently prescribe a natural remedy before moving on to conventional medicine.  My grandmother took Baldrian (valerian root) for her nerves, and it was available just about anywhere.

Again, I know many people who have obtained great relief from chiropractic care, including Bret, whose back and neck were badly messed up after being rear-ended in a minor accident.  I do not doubt that a chiropractor can be helpful, although I tend to stifle a smirk of disbelief when claims are made that chiropractic can do everything from cure chronic ear infections to clearing up acne.  And if your chiropractor starts a session by moving over your prone body with a crystal pendulum, it is time to find a new chiropractor!

On to my experience with homeopathy.  Even though I went through a period in my life before my conversion where I was fairly deep into the occult and New Age, I pretty much drew the line after herbalism when it came to health.  I never gave much credence to such things as crystals, aromatherapy, Rolfing (I still need to look that one up--sounds really goofy) and what not.  I'm not one for esoteric cures. 

I first came across homeopathy when my firstborn was a teething baby, and I found a recommendation for Hyland's Teething Tablets in a parenting magazine.  They were (are) available at Wal-Mart.  Not exactly the neighborhood Occult Paraphernalia shop.  Unlike herbal remedies, which I could not use on an infant for fear of overdosing or causing an allergic reaction, these tablets were safe for babies.  And they worked!  And homeopathic chamomile seemed to soothe an agitated and over-tired infant to sleep.  So I bought a little case with remedies for some of the most common ailments--digestive troubles, diarrhea, sleeplessness, bruises and bumps, insect stings and so forth, and over the past 10 years or so, I have been happy with the results. 

I have noticed that some things work better than others.  We haven't had much success with the tablets when it comes to cold symptoms or allergies, although the homeopathic cough medicine does help for a couple of hours at a time.  And I can say right off that I use the tablets very little myself, as little things such as mint in one's toothpaste and caffeine can interfere with the medicine.  I have used Hyland's Nerve Tonic, and it does seem to help somewhat. 

Which raises the question, is the effect a placebo effect?  Are my nerves calmed because I read the words "Nerve Tonic" on the label and my nerves obey the suggestion?  Well, I would have to say no, as most of the time we use these remedies on children who are very young.  Arsenicum Album seems to do the trick on diarrhea for all my kids.  And Nux Vomica seems to quell queasiness.  And this winter I administered homeopathic Belladonna for a sudden-onset fever, and behold, Gemma's fever went away! 

But now for the caveat:  I would never treat any dangerous symptoms with homeopathy.  With a fever, I will try the mildest cure first (and one can get no milder than homeopathy), but if that doesn't work in a given time, I am running for the acetaminophen!  I would never use homeopathy to treat any serious health condition.  I use it for those daily little pains and ailments that come inevitably in a house full of children.  For tummy-aches, head-aches, growing pains and ear-aches; for queasiness, gas, bee stings and tempers.  And they work most of the time.  And the best part about it is that the remedies are so harmless that when Dominic sees me giving a dose to his brother and says, "I have a tummy ache, too," I can safely pop a tablet into his mouth, knowing that if does no good, at least it will do no harm. 

I know nothing of this "vital force" business, and I don't know how or why homeopathy seems to work for us.  I am too easily bored by scientific explanations of things (as my kids can bear witness to my "Because-that's-the-way-God-made-it-and-if-you-care-to-look-it-up-you-can" answers to their scientific questions).  I only know that God is the power behind all healing, whether it be chamomile tea, homeopathy or chemotherapy, and unless the Catholic Church condemns it outright, I will continue to use it. 

In looking for some Catholic perspective to support my view, I found this very thorough--almost exhaustive--blog post by someone who had even more to say on the topic than I.  You can also find articles to support an opposing view.