My Favorite Herbal Remedies - Part 2

One of newest finds is Mullein.  It is GREAT for coughs and respiratory problems - even pulmonary diseases!  I encourage you to Google it and do your own research, but write up on The Bulk Herb Stores website pretty much sums it up for me - "Not only does it loosen mucus and expel it out of the body but it also calms spasms, is a natural painkiller and helps to reduce swelling in the glandular system."  I have also read that it is good for asthma sufferers and those who tend to have bronchial spasms. I use it in my garlic oil ear drops too as it reduces swelling in the glandular system and is a natural painkiller.

I have made tea out of it, but you have to strain it very, very well and it has fuzzy hairs from the leaves that can irritate your throat.  I like to mix mine in with some peppermint or throw it in with my Double-E Immune Booster tea.  I start coughing in late November and usually don't stop until May or June.  It seems it may be triggered by a cold, but then triggers asthma.  Then the spring allergies come and I am toast!  I am working on different ideas and plans to try and not have this happen every year, but Mullein has become my great friend.  I have made it into a tincture, but I didn't like the pure glycerine base.  Way too sweet for me.  It take several weeks to make a new tincture, so I made it into a cough medicine this time.  I found several similar directions online but decided to go with the directions that I found on here The Bulk Herb Store site.  It works well and beats the heck out of taking Mucinex - less expensive too!  I am currently working on a theory that my respiratory problems may all have something to do with a gluten allergy... I am still in denial as I don't want that to be the case, but it certainly seems logical right now. 

Then I found an old San Francisco Herb & Natural Food Co. catalog and found lots of Mullein options in there too.  I went to their website and did a search for Mullein to see what was available to me and was excited to see that I don't have to make my own tincture if I don't want to.  I can buy it from them!

I am actually getting a large order ready with them.  I had forgotten what great prices they have on herbs, spices, teas and essential oils.  They even have some of their herb encapsulated and sell capsules so you can do it yourself.  I am excited to use some of their products.  One of our favorite hard-to-find spices is Chipotle.  It is pretty expensive when I do find it, and found it on their site for $7.75 for a whole pound!  They even have a Chipotle Salsa seasoning blend that I think I may try out.

I am a tea fanatic and can't wait to try some of their teas... Plus, I am in need of some more essential oils and their prices seem great!  :o)

Getting Organized

I absolutely LOVE organizational tools!  I use Microsoft Outlook for my calendar, email, tasks, etc., but find that I am limited to do everything the way that I would like.  I think I finally found my answer!!!  I dream of having my calendar and my phone all synced with the rest of my families calendars and phones.  I also dream of being able to use text messages as reminders for my kids daily, weekly, monthly chores.  So imagine how excited I was when I opened up Cozi.  I received a link for it through Fly Lady.  I also love Fly Lady and they have an application for Fly Lady too!?  This is just way too good to be true...  Best of all - it's FREE!

 I can have my family calendar, to do lists, Fly Lady lists, shopping lists, family journal and so much more all in one place.  I can sync it with Outlook and even access it from my phone.  I can have texts sent to my kids with their chores AND I can print them out their daily lists.  Plus there are so many great articles on topics such as balance, finances, dinner ideas, health, house and home, etc... Can you tell I am SUPER excited!  I can't wait...

So check out Cozi and see if it is something that your family can benefit from too!

My Favorite Hebal Remedies - Part 1

I have a few herbal/home remedies that are the ones that I go back to over and over again and I wanted to keep sharing them with you today.  First is my ear infection remedy... Kyle and I both have the tiniest ear canals of anyone if our household.  We also have had WAY more ear infections and ear issues than anyone in our house.  I grew up with my fair share of infections and so did Kyle.  I heard about a herbal/home remedy one day on the radio and decided to give it a shot!  We use garlic oil drops infused with Mullien. I used to buy these drops at the health food store, but now I just make our own.  You can find them online at Amazon or Azure Standard.  I just warm them up in a cup of hot water and put a few drops in the affected ear.  After that I put a little cotton in and keep my head tilted for a while.  I do this 3-4 times a day along with an onion treatment for pain for about five days or until I feel like it is gone.  Using these methods I have been able to get through an infection without antibiotics every time for the last 14 years.

I make my garlic ear drops by heating up 1/2 cup of olive oil with three cloves of peeled garlic, chopped.  I also add in a tablespoon of dried Mullein leaves.  I mix it all up and let it simmer for about 20 minutes on the stove.  After 20 minutes I removed it from the heat and just let it sit to cool down to room temperature.  After that I strain the oil mixture, so that I remove all debris from the oil.  I use a yogurt strainer that I picked up at a yard sale, but you could use a coffee filter if you don't have something with a fine mesh to strain with.  I pour the oil in a brown glass bottle with a dropper.  I just happen to have several of these bottles in different sizes.  You can find them online at Container and Packaging Supply for like $.75 each.  They are very handy to have on hand!!!  I store my drops in a cool, dark, dry cabinet for two years.  After that I make a new ones...

The onion treatment that I use is great!  If you don't smell like a deli after the garlic drops, you will after the onion!  So apparently onion has great pain relieving properties.  I take an onion and cut it in half - leaving the skins on.  Then I place half of it, cut side down, in a bowl and pop it in the microwave for 45 seconds.  After 45 seconds the onion jucices should start excreting from the onion.  Once it cools down, but is still warm - I put the cut side of the onion on the affected ear.  It feels soooo good and is sooooo soothing!  I like to leave it on for 15 minutes.  When you have little ones that isn't always possible.  Any time is better than no time...  :o)

I started using these remedies when my boys were just little guys and didn't ever have a problem with them not wanted to do it.  They knew that it makes them feel better and were always willing.  I would just have them lay on the couch and watch a video during a treatment.

I also believe in chiropractic care, and there was one time when Kyle's infection just didn't seem to be going away.  I decided to bring him in to our chiropractor for an adjustment.  That did the trick!  Kyle hadn't slept in several nights. After the adjustment he fell asleep on the way home, and was great from that point on.

We use garlic for so many things!!!  Garlic is amazing in my book.  It is the cure-all for just about anything...  You can find so many articles online as to the benefit of garlic.  An article published in No Greater Joy several years ago was, and still is my favorite!  We have used garlic to treat Kyle this past year when he had a strange, unexplained stomach illness.  He had horrible stomach pain, diarrhea after eating ANYTHING.  After three weeks of a very bland diet and not seeing any results, we started to get very concerned.  He was already down 25 lbs and had already been in the emergency room for dehydration.  He didn't even want to drink as it cause stomach pains.  He had been tested for all the common parasites and bacterias... nothing!  They said it could take months to pinpoint the problem and referred us to a specialist.  The specialist was so back logged that it was going to be eight weeks before he could get in.

I decided to look for answers the way I always have in the past.  I dug in and started looking into parasites, bacterias and herbs.  I was pretty sure he must have had a parasite as his symptoms seems to fit that the best.  However, I was looking for some way of treating him for both.  Garlic was the answer!!!  One of the articles that I read was from a lab technician for a pharmaceutical company.  They were curious as to what they had heard about garlic.  So they took two petri dishes, each with the same strain of streptococcus in it.  They chopped a clove of garlic and put it in one dish.  The other dish they put the recommended antibiotic in it.  They came back several days later to find the dish with the garlic completely free of the bacteria.  The other dish, treated with the antibiotic, was only reduced by 30%.  Sign me up!!!

So Kyle started taking as much garlic as he could.  Raw was better, but anything was great!  He had soup with minced garlic, eggs, potatoes, rice, etc.  Anything he ate had garlic in it.  He would even take a small glass of water with a spoonful of chopped garlic, and just chug it.  What an AMAZING difference that made!  After one day he was feeling soooo much better.  After two days he was able to eat a wider variety of foods.  After four days he felt 97% better!  That was last March and he is still doing great.  :o)

Look around... read your own articles on Garlic.  You will be amazed...  :o)

Parenting for the New Year

I have recently discovered a great new website with a wonderful blog on it full of new articles for me to read on my favorite subjects - Home and Family!  Jill Savage's blog, Helping Mom's Keep Their Hearts at Home.  This morning I went to the blog and looked at the all the entries on parenting.  I found some really great posts including one on teaching your kids the difference between things we have to do, things we get to do and things we want to do!  I also really like the whole cell phone contract idea... maybe we will have to come up with some other contracts?

She also has a some wonderful books out, and I already have a cart full!  I can't wait to read some of these books.  Some of them looks like possible Parenting Teens bible study material...  :o)

Check her site out... Perfect reading material to get ready and focused for the 40 Day Family Love Dare that we are starting on January 5th!

Retail Therapy

Heading out to get some end of the year deals today!  I have lots of great coupons and ideas to share with you.  If you head over to Kohls they have 70-80% sales right now.  Plus, if you print out this coupon you can save even more with an additional 20% off all sale, regular and even clearance-priced merchandise!  I also found a coupon from JCPenney.  Theirs is $15 off of $75 or $10 off of $50.  I plan on going out and looking for a new jacket and flannel sheets sets for all the boys beds.  These will all be on clearance now.

The after Christmas shopping that I do is usually a little later than immediately after Christmas.  I don't NEED much and usually still find some really great items once they mark them down 75-80% off.  There is still plenty of wrapping paper, wire edge ribbon, bows, tissue paper, etc. during that time.  I also like looking for all the holiday scented Airwick and Glade oil refills.  They are usually marked down 50% and I always have a coupon to add.  Target has the holiday flavored creamers marked down and paired with a coupon you can get them for as low as $.25!  You can find those printable coupons and find even more deals at the Crazy Coupon Lady's site.

Of course my favorite stop will be Bath and Body Works!  They are currently having their annual clearance sale of up to 75% off online and in the stores.  I love to stock of the year at this sale. I put away lots of goodies for gifts for future birthdays, housewarmings, etc.  I love their products and can't wait to see what I will find this year.  JUST FOUND THIS TODAY (12/31/10)... A coupon for $10 off your purchase of $40 or more!  Wish I had this yesterday...

Lots of great deals you just have to start looking...  :o)

I am off to get some shopping done.  I will let you know if I find anything new...

Using Herbs

I have been enjoying the benefits of using herbs in our family for over 15 years now.  I enjoy being able to find something that is far better for your body, something that God created, rather than the typical over the counter stuff.  I am talking about using herbs to help boost your immune system and heal your body.  My anthem these years has been that our bodies do have the ability to heal themselves if under the right conditions.  Adding the right herbs usually does the trick!

I have pretty much raised all three of my sons on herbs and because of this they have each only been on antibiotics 2-3 times in their whole life!!  This is a huge benefit, because if they ever do need antibiotics for something serious the antibiotics should work just fine.  Since they haven't been using them their whole life they are not immune to their healing properties. 

My favorite place to shop for herbs and get information is the Bulk Herb Store.  Their website is the most informative and least confusing of any that I have ever seen.  They have great articles with instructions on how to safely use herbs.  They also sell combination of herbs that are premixed.  I use these to make teas and tinctures.  To make the teas I have a coffee pot that is reserved for tea only.  For 12 cups I use a coffee scoop and put in 3-4 scoops of the dried herbs and brew.  So yummy!!!  One of the most used mixes that we use is the Double-E Immune Booster.  I use this as a tea mostly, but if I am on the run then I use a tincture that I made from the dried herbs.  Instructions on how to make tinctures and other remedies can also be found on their site.

I have many posts planned for this week on my favorite remedies and how I use them.  In the meantime check out all the articles at the Bulk Herb Store...