The One About the Cat

I spend most of my days searching the corners of my brain for creativity that will satisfy the NEVER-ENDING request from my daughter to, "Tell me a story, Mommy!" Sometimes we take breaks from the world of fantasy but both my husband and I decided it's easier to just intersperse our conversations with flights of fancy than it is to say no. When I run out of fairytale-style stories, I just throw a few real life stories into the mix. That's where today's story originates.

As some of you know, I grew up in a full house. Five girls, mom, grandma (two different ones at different times), dad, a slew of friends (welcome any time), plus a dog (girl) and cat (girl - oops! - kittens) made for a lot of fun, craziness and - *ahem* - DRAMA at our house. We were also known for constantly running late, which my mom always tried to make up for by driving like a bat out of *somewhere hot* pretty much all the time.

  Not the actual wagon - but you get the idea...

One morning, as we raced to grade school in our super cool yellow Country Squire station wagon with the fake wood sticker on the sides (embarrassingly named by my mother the "Rotten Banana"), we found ourselves getting lots of attention. As you can imagine, riding in this amazing vehicle did not usually fill us with feelings of coolness but on this particular day, people waved and smiled as we passed. We waved and smiled back as my mom (skillfully?) careened down the road toward the light that marked the halfway point to school. There, to mom's chagrin, we had to stop for a red light. We stopped next to a firetruck, which captured our attention, of course. To our delight, the firemen not only noticed us, they also waved and smiled at us.

Then, we realized they weren't just waving at us. They were gesturing - excitedly - toward the back of our bus-length swagger wagon and out-right LAUGHING at us! We looked toward the back of our car - and saw OUR CAT clinging (for dear life) to a tiny ridge on the outside of the side window. For over a mile, she'd managed to hang on, despite mom's Dale Earnhardt Jr. imitation. Mom then demonstrated her less frequently used skill of pulling over gently and we carefully rescued our poor, traumatized cat from her perch. Needless to say, we did not make it to school on time but we definitely had a good excuse!

This is one of my daughter's favorite stories - and it always makes me laugh to remember how we were so excited that those firefighters were waving back at us. We thought we were so cool - and they were just trying to save a life!

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The Voracious Appetites of Toddlers (and Preschoolers)

Lately, it seems like I'm spending all my time cooking or preparing food for my kids. Part of this is my choice since pretty much everything we eat is homemade. It takes time to prepare real, nutrient rich food! But in the last few weeks, my kiddos seem to have gotten a lot more hungry. So, I've been trying to find ways to get more calories in them while still keeping to our healthy lifestyle. My biggest challenge is actually balancing all the fruit and veggies they eat with, um, more "bulky" food. We've had a few days lately where they clearly had waaaayyy too much fiber in their diet. Hopefully, I'll get it figured out soon!

Here's how a typical day goes for us. Need I say...Everything is either organic or grown naturally and locally as often as possible? :)

Breakfast
Eggs, toast and some kind of fruit like an apple or banana.
or
Steel cut oatmeal (no sugar - they prefer a little salt and butter) with raisins
or
Plain organic yogurt with honey

Snack
Green smoothie - usually involves apple, pear, banana, frozen mango or strawberries and LOTS of spinach. We use water as the liquid and no sweetener. The fruit is super sweet and it tastes awesome!

Lunch
PBJ sandwiches
or
Homemade pizza (with a lot of veggies and goat cheese)
or
Cheese quesadillas.
or
Cut up veggies, goat cheese and other finger foods

Snack
Usually more fruit of some kind but sometimes special "cookies" that involve mainly oats, honey, eggs, veggies like carrots and zucchini, apples, raisins, nuts etc.
or popcorn with trail mix stuff

Dinner
Amazing stuff made by my husband - lots of veggies with meat or lentils.

When I write it out, it sounds like so much food. But, they only eat a little of everything and they DO-NOT-STOP-GOING all day! Plus, I believe in teaching them to listen to their bodies when it comes to food. I refuse either to force them to eat everything on their plates or to refuse them food when they're truly hungry. That said, I'm not into wasting food - so if they don't finish everything and they're full, I'll put their leftovers in the fridge for a later snack. Also, if my oldest is too "full" to finish veggies, she definitely doesn't get dessert - even though it's usually made with fruit.

Anybody have other healthy snack ideas for growing munchers? Please share!

Allergies

Allergies. Ugh. Thoughts of itching nose and face, headaches, swollen and sore throat fill my mind at the very mention of the word.

In my early twenties, I had such severe allergies, they'd morph into sinus infections four or five times a year. My GP and the two ENT's I visited didn't help me beyond the prescriptions they wrote for allergy meds and antibiotics. Their inability to educate me pushed me to start asking questions. These questions were the catalyst that led me to my current passion for organic living and a gentler approach to everyday maladies.

Without further ado, here's what's worked for me. Remember, these changes didn't happen in one week or even one year but several years.

1. Eliminate chemical cleaners from the house. Yes, I mean no bleach.Vinegar, baking soda and good old hot soap and water work great for cleaning.

2. Remove fabrics that harbor dust from the house - like carpet, un-washable drapes and pillow covers, goose down pillows and comforters. We have tile and wood in our house and all my fabrics are washable.

3. Pay close attention to soaps/fragrances and makeup that touch the skin. We use unscented laundry soap and shampoo. I wear minimal makeup and the ingredients in it are edible - like olive oil and fruit extracts.

4. Eliminate foods like citrus, dairy, wheat, sugar and caffeine during allergy season and then add them back in one at a time over a few weeks time to see if any of them seem to exacerbate symptoms. My big triggers were dairy and citrus and I don't consume either during my worst allergy times.

5. Try homeopathic remedies. My Naturopathic doctor prescribed one for me that looked like pollen and it worked!

6. Try local raw honey. The idea is that honey contains local pollens that build the body's immunity to allergens.

7. Try Nettle (Urtica Dioca) infusion (a strong tea) and my symptoms definitely subside if I drink it regularly. While one can buy herbs in capsule form, my personal preference is to make a tea, infusion or tincture with them. It's an acquired taste and I always add peppermint to mine.

8. Flush daily with a netipot. Keep your sinuses moist and "dusted".

As usual, I want to clarify that I'm not a doctor or herbalist and this information is not intended to diagnose or cure any diseases. It's meant for informational purposes only and I encourage you to do your research and consult with an herbalist or Naturopathic doctor for more information about herbs - especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition or if you are taking any medication. That said, the reason I love herbs is that they are usually far more gentle on our bodies than over the counter prescriptions and remind our bodies how they are supposed to work! 

Try some of these and breathe the air without fear of sneezing!!!

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