Healthy Home Remedies for this Winter

I feel like I need to start this off by saying I am only a mom to four. I am not a professional holistic advisor or doctor. However, again, I am a mom to four. A mom of four who hates taking her kids to the doctors where every other sick person will be sure to visit that same day. I learned early on with my first born my doctors really didn't do anything for my son's cold other than advising Tylenol and motrin. Fun times. As each baby came along and we began to put in our fair share of sleepless nights with sick little ones we also began a more clean and healthier lifestyle. And that didn't just mean changing the contents of our fridge and pantry but also our medicine cabinet. I'd like to share some things we use as a family that have helped us stay home from the doctors a whole lot (in fact, other than my two middle children's febrile seizures, I can't really remember a time we took them to the doctors for anything but a well visit).

Let's begin with our tea drawer-- so many wonderful choices but these are our three favorites! The Tummy relief is great for my son who has a miserable time with stomach bugs or anyone who is feeling queasy. We like the breathe easy and cold relief straight up-- no sugar (more on that later) and maybe a tiny bit of raw honey for some of the kids. These normally give you relief for about two hours and then I just brew another cup. We have been using these for about a year and the kids will say, "I'm stuffy-- can I have some tea?" Love that they associate the tea with relief! I love the kids versions and my husband prefers the adult breathe easily-- but both are very helpful!

My dear friend T just told me about elderberry syrup last month and it is amazing!! I have the kid version which can be used with children as young as 1 (hooray!!!) and the kids love it! They call it the berry medicine and we just used this and some rub on a recent cold and they made it through beautifully and so much faster compared with over the counter cold meds. The adult version is also very berry tasting but works wonders. It does cost about 10-20 dollars a bottle, but before you choke on sticker shock remember a bottle of cold meds. is about 7 dollars, a visit to a doctors office even more, antibiotics another couple of bucks and so on. Plus, the relief felt was much faster, and enjoyable if that makes sense. There were no weird side affects-- no medicine colored with dye-- it just works wonders! I am so happy my sweet friend shared this with me and I plan on never running out because it is that awesome!

Ahhh badger rub. This is our favorite product and I try to send it to people in get well packages with some tea. We have been using this for a good two or three years now and each tin lasts about a year for a family of 6-- so yes, it costs 10 dollars but it is worth every penny. We rub it on our chests for colds and stuffiness and also on our feet. Yes, we rub it on our feet at night and wear socks. And it works wonders! We actually like this so much we have become "badger tin" addicts as my husband calls it and keep our nightstand loaded with all sorts of their aromatherapy products.

Plagued by ear infections? Even stuffy noses? Garlic oil stinks to high heaven-- and then some-- but despite its odor, it works super well! I had heard reports about it for awhile and finally bit the bullet a few months ago and added it to our "medicine" cabinet. About two months ago we had perhaps the entrovirus-- just a nasty cold and we used this and some other oils and were cleared up super fast! The immediate difference when we switched from cold meds to oils and natural remedies while battling this cold was amazing! We felt better-- we didn't feel all drugged up-- but like our bodies were fighting the colds better equipped then before. I don't know if I am putting it into words well enough, but trust me, you will feel better about feeling better!

This is such a simple free thing to do-- drink water and leave the sugar behind. Sugar just feeds any illness and water flushes it out. Do you want to feed a virus or get rid of it? Make educated beverage choices and this can aid you greatly in battling a cold or flu.

We are only just beginning to get into oils and so I won't mention any here other than the garlic oil; however, they are worth a look in to and it is well worth your time to explore all the benefits and usages.

Lastly, don't eat crap foods. But even people who eat well still catch a cold so decide now what you want to fill your home with-- more drugs or holistic remedies? Again, these are not the opinion of an expert-- just a mom. Just a mom who has found that these things truly work and work so much better compared to what we had been using. So, you tell me: what do you use? What do you think is worth a try?

Naturally Curing a Cold

Last week I woke up with a tickle in my throat. It was just little and I assumed I had maybe talked to much or strained my voice. However, by the next day, the tickle had grown into a full blown sore throat. Frankly, just between you and I, I don't have a whole lot of time to be down with a cold. I also didnt feel like dragging myself and four kids to the doctors for a prescription and diagnosis. So, I had some kids cold tea on hand and I made a big mug of it and added some nice raw honey. I sipped on it for about a half an hour and my throat felt so much better! A few hours later when the tickle returned, I made more tea and by the next day I felt great. The only bummer is, I had already shared my germs and that coupled with quite the rainy day meant that my poor little babies all got mommy's sore throat as well.

I headed back to the store and loaded up on more tea, some honey, and some natural rub sort of like Vick's vapor rub (but much better). I got Just For Kids Organic Throat Coat Tea for my littles and a Seasonal Sampler for my hubby and I. The sampler included Echinacea Plus which helps build the immune system up. I thought that might be nice for him as he was the last to succumb to the sore throat. I didnt get raw honey but just regular organic honey. I knew I'd be making several cups over the next few days and it's just faster and easier to add in. Please, Please, please do NOT add sugar to your tea! Sugar creates a breeding grown for germs and colds to grow, so you could do more harm than good. I also got some nursing tea by Yogi and have yet to try it as we have been drinking all the other varieties, but I'm excited for that one as well!

The first thing we did was go upstairs and rub the natural vapor rub all over their cute little feet. Then some on their chests and lastly we put some snuggly socks on.

Then we went downstairs carefully walking on our tippy toes and all piled on the couch where they sipped their tea which by this time was cool enough for their little mouths. While they sipped, I read a chapter or two from our latest read aloud, Autumn with the Moodys by Sarah Maxwell. By this time they were feeling better and we followed up with more rub and tea over the next 24-36 hours and now they just have a bit of a cough. I consider the cough to be good as it loosens up the phlegm and will soon remove it from their bodies. I also gave them lots of fruit-- especially blueberries which are full of antioxidants and all sorts of good vitamins. So you see, you can naturally treat your colds. You dont need a ton of antibiotics and cold meds to do so. Stock up on some tea, honey, and rub before hand and you'll be well prepared!