Controlling Asthma Naturally Update - What Works for Me

When we moved from Oregon to Colorado 2 years ago, one of the first things I noticed was that my asthma started acting up.  Switching to Real Food years ago had gotten it under control for about 3 years without prescription meds, but when we got here, the humidity, pollen, whatever, made it really flare up again.

Especially during the spring and fall, even if I didn't have "classic" allergy symptoms like runny nose or itchy eyes, I would have shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and all the old asthma symptoms returned with a vengeance!

So, as I shared 2 years ago, I've been exploring different natural options to control my asthma without prescription medications.  

Here is what works for me:

1. A foundation of healthy fats. 
   
   They keep me full and drastically reduce blood-sugar swings.  By healthy, I mean fats from real foods, like butter, coconut oil, lard, olive oil, fatty fish.  I absolutely avoid ALL cheap, processed oils like canola, soy, vegetable, sunflower, etc.  These oils come from factories, not food!



2. Plenty of (safe) starches and carbs. 
   
   For me, this means potatoes, white rice, sweet potatoes, starchy/carby vegetables, and occasional non-gluten grains.  If I don't eat them, I don't feel full, and I have low energy.  But I make sure I eat them with plenty of fat, or else they do spike my blood sugar.
    
3. Avoiding (most) gluten.
   
   Some people do fine with a little wheat.  I generally don't, and many other asthmatics are in the same boat.  If I eat it, I have asthma symptoms, period.  I still occasionally do, like in social settings where it would be rude or awkward to refuse (after all, it doesn't make me hurt...just wheeze), or on a special occasion, like my kid's birthday cake (give me a break, those bean cakes on Pinterest are NOT good enough to give to guests).  I have noticed that good sourdough white bread bothers me the least of all wheat products, so if we do have wheat, we try to have it in that form.
4. Avoiding pasteurized dairy.  
   
   We still drink raw milk and eat yogurt, cheese, kefir, and sour cream with no problems.  Also, I have no trouble at all with pasteurized heavy whipping cream - I drink it in my tea every morning.  But milk from the store is out, as are ice cream, hot cocoa mixes, etc.  If I do have to eat these things, or just really, really need a little scoop of ice cream to make me feel human, I try to eat it with some raw milk or fermented dairy to help it digest more easily.  For me, this is almost as big a trigger as gluten.
    
5. Plenty of Fat Soluble Vitamins. 
   
   We take Cod Liver Oil somewhat regularly (a molecularly distilled type with synthetic Vitamins A and D added), eat high-vitamin foods like egg yolks, liver and oily fish, and I've started taking a D3 supplement.  I know some experts are against supplementing, but, honestly, I just can't feed my kids sardines at every meal when we go to a play date and they are offered PB&J's.  We already eat weird food, I don't want them to have complexes.  So we supplement a little bit to help cover those dietary gaps that come from being socially graceful.  For me, I've noticed a pretty big improvement in my asthma since adding in the Vitamin D supplement.
    
6. Good Bacteria.  
   
   I try pretty hard to eat something fermented every day, whether that is yogurt or kombucha or homemade fermented veggies or Bubbie's pickles, or whatever.  Also, we spend a TON of time outside playing in the dirt, working in the garden, petting the filthy dog even after he swims in the muddy pond, mucking the chicken coop, and we are NOT fastidious about washing our hands.  My 1-year-old has eaten more dirt than I thought possible this summer.  Permaculture has reminded me (sorry, I had to throw in at least one reference to it), that the microbial health of the soil is what supports the health of plants, and in turn, of bugs and larger animals that eat those plants.  The closer we are to our healthy soil, eating produce from it and exposing ourselves directly to it, I think the healthier we will be.
7. Careful Exercise.
   
   When I was younger and had time to jog, I noticed that regular running helped my asthma stay under control.  Basically, if my cardiovascular health was good, then "normal" life exercise didn't make me breath hard, so didn't bother me.  However, going for an hour run everyday made me tired and really made one of my hips hurt.  So my exercise now consists of working hard around the yard, doing jobs around the house, hefting kids/feed bags/tools around, and doing body-weight exercise like squats, push-ups, core, and yoga poses.  And if I feel like sprinting after my kids, dashing up to the garage to grab a shovel, or flying down a particularly tempting hill, I go for it.  When I listen to my body and run when it feels like running, I get some great sprints in, I have no trouble with my asthma, plus I enjoy every minute!  I feel invigorated and think, "I love sprinting places!" instead of feeling like a dead dog and thinking "Jogging is necessary torture."  Mark Sisson's 5 Essential Movements and Primal Blueprint Fitness E-book gave me a good start, although I take it more easy than he suggests, since I'm still nursing and notice a milk shortage when I overdo it.
    
8. Natural Remedies.
   
   I will preface this by saying, I still use my albuterol (rescue inhaler) occasionally, sometimes in the thick of allergy season when working in the garden or if I have a bad cold.  Also, if I have eaten dairy or wheat, I tend to be wheezy by evening.  Breathing is important, not something to mess around with, and you don't want to end up in the emergency room or morgue, so don't hesitate to take action if you (or your kid!) are about to asphyxiate!  However, when I'm just feeling a little wheezy or tight in my lungs, I often try some natural remedies instead of reaching for the inhaler.  A hot shower with plenty of steam helps relax my lungs.  Also, if I have annoying wheezing and can't sleep, but it's not bad enough to really cause distress, often a cup of hot tea helps ease the wheezing enough for me to drift off.  Along with that, eating cold foods sometimes makes wheezing worse, so I try to avoid that if I'm having a rough time of it.  I have heard everything from garlic to ginger to turmeric to lemon juice can help ease symptoms, but if you are eating tons of trigger foods and filling your body with inflammation-causing crud, a spoonful of turmeric is not an adequate long-term solution!  These remedies work best if you are already doing the hard work of changing your diet and improving your health.

A Little More Background About How I Got Here:

I considered putting myself on the GAPS diet, which is a gut-healing regimen that basically (as I understand it) tries to repair micro-holes in the large intestine by only allowing foods which digest in the small intestine.  This means most starchy foods are eliminated, like grains, uncultured/pasteurized dairy, most beans, all refined sugar.  And probiotics are gradually introduced, so that good bacteria can replace bad bacteria in the gut, further healing any damage.

There are many things I love about the idea of the GAPS diet:

• It is all real food.  Made in your own kitchen.  
• It emphasizes healthy fats (saturated from pastured animals).
• It uses traditional cooking methods, like long simmering of bones to make nutrient-rich broth.
• It eliminates many of the "problem foods" that I had noticed were aggravating to my asthma, like pasteurized milk and wheat.

However, since the GAPS diet has been so widely used in the past few years, I started finding many testimonials from people who had tried it and had issues with it.  According to these people, it really is amazing at doing what it claims - improving those "Leak Gut Syndrome" symptoms.  But it can also lead to fatigue, thyroid issues, and low body temperatures for some people.  In particular, one of my favorite bloggers, Sarah at Nourished and Nurtured, recorded her family's GAPS journey in detail.  She eventually decided that if she could do it over again, she would not have started the GAPS diet with her family, partly because of the problems it caused, and partly because it is just so much work for what it accomplishes.  

So, my next question was, "If not GAPS, then what?"  I gradually stumbled across Matt Stone and Chris Kresser and their "revolutionary" advice to listen to your body, experiment, and see what works for you and what your body is really craving (from more carbs to more sleep to less exercise!).  I also have really enjoyed the Perfect Health Diet, which is kind of a Paleo spin-off (like Chris Kresser) that encourages eating plenty of "safe starches."

So, that's the run-down of what has helped me, every day, to control my asthma naturally, without prescription medicine.  I still keep a rescue inhaler handy, but I have been able to avoid using preventative prescription medicines for 5 years now and counting!

Note: I'm not a doctor or nutritionist or anything licensed.  Please don't interpret my personal experiences to be medical advice, and check with your doctor before discontinuing any medicine, blah blah blah legal jargon.

Do you know anyone who suffers from asthma?  Have they had any luck trying to control it with natural methods?  What has been helpful for them?  Leave a comment and share your experiences and thoughts!

Posted at Small Footprint Friday and Fat Tuesday

Homemade Elderberry Syrup for Cold and Flu

Problem: 

Most over-the-counter cold and flu medicines are for "kids 6 and older" or "4 and older," and the only thing I found at my local drugstore for children 1 and over was honey "cough syrup."  Really, that's all it was.  Honey and water, and preservatives.  "Hmm," I thought, "Thanks, but no thanks, I seem to recall having honey at home in my kitchen..."

Solution:

So what is a concerned mother to do when her whole posse of kids who are NOT "6 and older" is in the midst of cold and flu season?  Why, make Elderberry Syrup, of course!

Elderberry, traditionally called "the country person's medicine chest," has been used medicinally since ancient times.  It contains anti-inflammatory anthocyanins, compounds which can help relieve nasal or chest congestion.  But its real claim to fame is in fighting the flu.  In studies done in Israel in 1993 and 1996, an Elderberry remedy was proven 99% effective at fighting flu viruses.  And honey (the other main ingredient in the syrup) has been proven just as effective of a cough suppressant as dextromethorphan (which is in most over-the-counter cough syrups).

I say "make" elderberry syrup, not "buy," because 4 ounces of this stuff will set you back more than $12 at my local store.  Plus, it may contain delightful additions like Xantham Gum and "mango, raspberry and cherry flavors."  What?  Do I really need mango flavor added to my kid's berry syrup?  

So, instead of paying over $12 for 4 ounces, I made 32 ounces of elderberry syrup for about $5.  

For the discount-savvy among us, that's like a sale sign that says, "93% OFF!"  

Plus, my version contains only water, elderberry juice, and honey.

Here is the recipe, as adapted from the version at Modern Alternative Mama:

(Note!  This is only for children OVER 1 year old!*)

Homemade Elderberry Syrup

Ingredients:

4 cups water

1 cup dried elderberries

1 cup honey (I used 1/2 raw and 1/2 normal)

Directions:

1. Combine dried elderberries and water in a saucepan. 

2. Heat to a boil over medium heat, and boil for 2-3 minutes. 

3. Turn off heat and let steep for an additional 10-15 minutes.  

4. Strain out berries, and allow remaining juice to cool to room temperature (or at least less than 118 degrees if you want the honey to stay "raw"!), and then stir honey into elderberry juice. 

5. Store in quart size container in the refrigerator.  According to the expert, this will keep in the fridge for a month or two (the honey acts as a natural preservative).

So, where do you get dried elderberries?  Well, apparently, there are some on a bush up the road from my house if you want to swing by in early August...  yeah, I didn't get mine there either (I didn't know what they were used for in August).  I got mine on Amazon because Mountain Rose Herbs was sold out.  Apparently, I'm not the only one interested in making elderberry syrup!  

My elderberries came in a lovely 1 lb. package.

1 cup is about a quarter of the package, so I should be able to make syrup 3 more times from this batch.

Since it's not a good idea to give honey to baby Euclid, I made him a separate batch with no honey, and froze it in ice cube trays so I can defrost it a week at a time or so.  

*A word about the age restriction: Even if you boil the honey in the syrup instead of adding it later, you should not give this stuff to babies under 1.  Honey can contain botulism spores, which an infant's stomach is not equipped to deal with.  Boiling is notoriously ineffective against botulism spores (hence the need for pressure canning some items at extra-high temps), so your open saucepan on the stove won't kill the suckers.  Maybe there is a safe temperature to pressure cook honey at to make this safe for babies, but I don't know, don't want to risk it, and since Euclid will be force-fed this stuff with a syringe anyway, I don't care if it is not super sweet (it's not horrible without honey, just has a shorter shelf life). 

Posted at Simple Lives Thursday and Real Food Fridays

De-Stinking (Part 2) - How to Make Your House Smell Good - Naturally

Sharing my natural fragrance spray the other day (and preparing for more holiday visitors!) has gotten me thinking about how my home smells.  The turkey and pumpkin pie scents have faded since Thanksgiving, but the dog, husband, kids, and their accompanying odors, are still around...

Have you seen the massive wall of "air care" products at retail stores these days?  Unfortunately, many of these products are just fragrances or perfumes (many of them synthetic, or petroleum based) that cover up smells, but don't do anything to remove them.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather eliminate odors altogether.

If you'd like to freshen up your home, see if any of these tried-and-tested ideas might help you freshen up your home:

• Go straight to the source.  Fix that under-sink leak that makes the kitchen smell like mildew.  Think about a dehumidifier if your whole home is damp and musty.  Take out the trash!  Quickly! 
• If you have carpets and rugs, vacuum and dust frequently.  Especially if you have pets, the more often you vacuum, the less dander, pet hair, and pet skin cells will collect and get ground into carpet, upholstery, and other soft surfaces.
• Address any pet issues that may be causing unpleasant odors.  Sometimes (not always), pets smell bad because they have some type of underlying issue that you may not know about, like skin irritation,  skin infection, or reaction to something in their diet.  Many pets smell better when they are on a more natural, low-grain diet, or if coconut oil or omega-3's are added to their diets.  
• Open the windows when the weather is nice.  
• Try setting stinky items outside in direct sunshine if you can't wash them (like the unwashable insert to a dog bed).  Sunlight is a fantastic natural deodorizer.  (Be careful about things with bright colors - sunlight can do some bleaching to colors, too!)
• If you are lucky enough to have hard surface floors, choose rugs that are easy to wash, or clean rugs and set them out in the fresh air regularly.
• Instead of reaching for expensive packaged "odor eliminator" sprays, start with common natural cleaners you may already have on hand, like baking soda, vinegar, borax, or lemon juice.
• Baking soda: sprinkle over carpets, upholstery, mattresses, rub in, leave a few minutes, then vacuum up.
• Vinegar: great for hard surfaces, and also often works to spot-treat carpets (I've even had success deodorizing puppy puddles with hot water and vinegar).
• Borax: can be sprinkled/vacuumed like baking soda on soft surfaces.  Also perfect in the laundry to get urine smell out of fabrics - particularly synthetics, like polyester toddler pajamas.
• Really stubborn smells may call for more serious products.  Try a natural enzymatic odor eliminator like Nature's Miracle or BioKleen.  
• If you do choose to use a "cover up" scent to help your home smell good, try a natural alternative rather than chemical-laden sprays or scented paraffin candles.  You can make your own natural fragrance spray, clean with citrus-infused natural products for a fresh scent, or just make sure something delicious is baking when guests arrive!

What do you do to keep your home smelling clean and fresh?  Share your best tips in the comments below.

Posted at Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, WFMW, Waste Not, Want Not Wednesday

Rethinking Composting

Apparently, having a baby changes things...shocking, I know.  I am finally giving in and searching Craigslist for one of those big, black plastic compost tumblers.  Turns out, I am not likely to actually take my compost scraps to the heap in the garden when I have to balance a baby on the other hip and hike all the way out there.

So I am streamlining and putting the compost bin right by the chicken coop (just outside the back door...and already part of my daily routine).  This way, when I take scraps out to the chickens, I can toss things that they won't eat (like that lettuce that had been decaying in the back of the fridge for who knows how long?) right in the compost.  Hooray!  However, having an open heap of decaying stuff right by the back door sounds like a fantastic way to invite disaster in the form of rodents and the dog, hence the quest for one of those compost tumber dealies.  Anyway, I've been brushing up on my composting how-to the last few days.

Composting might be one of my all-time favorite ideas.  Is there anything better than taking discarded yard waste and kitchen scraps, and turning them into rich, black garden gold?  Talk about trash to treasure!  You are taking things that would otherwise end up in the garbage, and transforming them into something you would otherwise have to buy!


The modern composting phenomenon began in the early 1900's, but it gained wide popularity in the 60's when modern organic farming methods were all the rage.  The organic gardening movement was a reaction to the increasing industrialization and commercialization of farming, especially the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.  But it would be crazy to say that composting was "invented" during this time.  It has been occurring naturally since the earth began!  However, the early "organic" gardeners gave us some very convenient guidelines to stick to to ensure composting success.

So, just how do you turn your trash into treasure?  Here are some keys to successful compost:

Brown vs. Green:  No, this is not a team competition.  We're talking "brown matter" and "green matter," the two groups of ingredients for compost.  Ideally, you want to shoot for a 50-50 mix of brown and green to make sure your compost has the right elements to heat up, decompose, and benefit your garden.  Here's a breakdown of each category:

   Brown Matter (which absorbs water and adds Carbon) includes:

• yellow or dried leaves and other fibrous, dry yard waste (you probably want to avoid weeds with seeds, which can hang around in your compost if it doesn't heat up enough, and then be spread throughout your garden)
• paper (shredded)
• sawdust
• straw

   Green Matter (which provides moisture and adds Nitrogen) includes:

• fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen (you can also throw in coffee grounds and tea bags!)
• green grass, leaves, or yard clippings (again, avoid any weeds that have seeded)
• composted manure

If your Brown vs. Green ratio is not exactly 50-50, don't panic.  An overly-brown compost pile will take longer to decompose, and will do so at a lower temperature, and an overly-green compost pile will finish the job quickly at a higher temp.  We're just shooting for approximately half-and-half.

Moisture: The rule of thumb for compost is that it should be about as damp as a wrung-out sponge.  You probably don't want to actually grab and squeeze it to test it, so just estimate.   :)  In dry weather, you may have to water your compost, and if it's very wet,  you'll probably want to turn it extra-frequently to help it dry out a little.  Which leads us to...

Air:  Oxygen is the catalyst for the composting chemical reactions we want.  Yes, your compost can also decompose anaerobically, or "without air", but it will be stinky, slimy, and gooey in the process.  Think leftovers in the fridge too long.  To keep your compost aerobic ("with air"), you want to turn it (stir it up) regularly.  To be honest, some people recommend turning your compost every few days, and some say they turn it once...ever, and it still works out.  If you want the fastest composting possible, though, you will want to turn it often.  

Time: This really depends on the factors above.  Compost can be ready to use in the garden anywhere from 2-3 weeks (in a specially made compost-maker that you turn every other day) to 8-10 weeks in a normal heap on the ground that is turned every week.  If your compost is too brown or too dry, it can take much, much longer (picture a pile of straw...way too brown, way too dry, sticks around for a long, long time)

If you combine these elements, you will be well on your way to successful compost.  There are, however, a few things that can set you back:

Don'ts:  

• Don't compost dog, cat, or human manure, as it may spread disease (chicken manure is great, though!)
• Don't compost animal products (like meat, fat, and bones), which will most likely attract all kinds of pests to your heap!

Whether you choose to make a heap of compost out in the yard, build a bin for your compost, or even purchase a commercial compost bin, you will be on your way to reducing your trash and increasing your garden's health!  Happy composting!

If you'd like some more information, here are a few of the most helpful resources I've found:

• In-depth compost guide for beginners (actually an Australian government publication)
• Composting Connection website
• Chemistry lesson on composting from Washington State University

Do you recycle or compost?  Leave a comment below and tell us your thoughts about it.

Posted at Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, WFMW, Barn Hop, and Waste Not, Want Not Wednesday

Fun with White Flour

We have some flour in the cupboard that's been feeling pretty ignored lately.  Yeah, all the super motivational healthy eating people say that you should always clear all the junk food out of your house when you are dedicated to eating healthfully.  But I always have to wonder: do they go to potlucks?  Do they have normal-eating friends over?  What do they serve them?  

Confession: I am not opposed to whipping up a batch of normal chocolate chip cookies when when we have a house full of guests.  I am not going to convince them that they should join me in my food insanity by serving them nasty coconut flour cookies (and, sorry, I still haven't found a grain-free cookie that is anywhere near delicious).  We don't use white flour regularly for our own family meals.  But it is not like I'll be hanging out one evening, craving something sweet, and think, "Hey, I'll just go have a spoonful of flour," so I consider this a pretty safe staple to have around the house in case I need to make something quick and cheap for someone else.

Side Note: This activity, when used with toddlers, WILL make a mess, unless you hover over your children the whole time.

Side Note #2: Did you know (I only found out a year or two ago), that people with Celiac disease can sometimes have reactions to gluten that just touches their skin, or that they breath?  Scary stuff!  

We poured just enough flour into a pan to coat the bottom.  I made it thick enough so the kids could smooth it out into a layer to "erase" the marks they made in it.

Little Miss Euler basically just smashed the flour around, and made a few little shapes.  My personal favorite, "I'm going to draw a rainbow for Daddy!  A black rainbow..."

 But Einstein was really focused on smoothing it out, then drawing and writing in it.  We practiced all our letters that we've learned so far, and he was way more interested in the process than usual.  He is not a huge fan of messy hands, so we started out using the eraser end of a pencil to write.  Then, once he saw how much fun Miss Euler was having, he joined in the chaos, and they both ended up basically coated in flour from the waist up.

Even Baby Euclid got in on the action (he is going through a not-putting-stuff-in-his-mouth-that-much phase right now, so I was okay with him playing this way).

There may also be homemade play-dough in our future, to help the rest of the flour not feel so neglected.  I also have a box of whole wheat penne in the cupboard that's just begging to be made into some kind of pasta craft.

If you've ever started eating differently, did you purge the kitchen of all junk food first?  Do you serve different kinds of foods to guest, or at potlucks, than you and your family eat everyday?

Afternoon in the Orchard

Isn't that so pretty?  I took the kids plum and apple picking yesterday afternoon.

Just joking, here's what our basket coming up from the orchard really looked like:

Our successful trip to the orchard (about 50 yards away) required 3 blankets, 3 stuffed animals, 2 balls, 1 toddler shirt (for the stuffed dolly), and...oh yeah, the kids, too.  So we piled it all in the laundry basket (not the kids), trekked to the orchard, laid the blankets out on the grass for baby/toddlers to relax on, played "bounce the balls in the extra blanket" while I picked fruit, and then piled it all back in, on top of 20 lbs. of fruit!

Success.  And a good time was had by all.

Posted at Simple Lives Thursday

A Very Slimy Disappointment

This is a gross post...just to warn you.  Well, not that gross, I am just a huge wimp.

Slugs.  We have lots of them in Oregon.  We had none in Colorado where we used to live.  They are huge (like 8 inches long) and gross, and they crawl all over the back of our house by the hose spigot and leave slimy trails on the back wall.

According to permaculture (sustainable gardening) wisdom, I should not think, "I have too many slugs."  I should think instead, "I must not have enough ducks."

Ducks apparently love slugs.  We don't have ducks.

We have chickens.  Chickens are supposed to like slugs too.  But only little slugs.

Mine are not little.

Google searching tells me that chickens will eat even large slugs if you train the chickens by cutting up the slugs first.

I have spent about the last 4 months wondering if I could cut up a slug.  Even thinking about it gave me the heeby-jeebies.  I shudder just a little when I even see the little suckers lurking there, all quiet and slimy by the spigot.  I told you I'm a huge wimp.

Well, morning is the time for slug hunting, and it is also when the chickens expect me to come out and check on them and bring whatever scraps we have from last night's dinner.

This is how incredibly squeemish I am.

Some potential victims, lurking near the hose spigot on our back wall.

He does not know what horrors await him.

The chickens think I'm bringing something good.

I tried giving it to them whole, hoping maybe they were just rare chickens who loved large slugs.  No good (There it is at the very bottom.  Notice the chickens totally avoiding it).

Don't worry, at this point, I realized that it is impossible to cut a slug with kitchen shears and hold a camera at the same time without slug-sliming the camera.

I chopped that slug (apparently slugs are mostly water inside... there was a lot more dripping than I expected).  I scattered those slug pieces.  It was kind of horrifying (I kept telling myself, "It's just a piece of meat, it's like cutting raw chicken.  Oh, that's ironic, sorry, girls...")

Those darn chickens won't touch it.

And my husband wouldn't let me tell him any of the gory details over breakfast, so I am telling you.

Does anyone know how to get chickens to eat slugs?  Also, does anyone know if slugs carry any weird diseases that can't be removed from kitchen shears by basic sterilization methods?


Posted at Frugal Days Sustainable Ways

New Chicken Run! Quality Craftsmanship

My husband finished the chicken run!  Our poor little hens can now run around outside, munch the grass, and feel the sun on their feathers.

You can kind of see the little door from the coop to the run.  The gateway from chicken hell to chicken heaven.

 The kids and chickens have been getting some extra exercise the last few days.  I think it is good for the chickens to be chased a little to help them stay in shape and learn to run from predators... right?

You may notice the lovely 4x4's and sturdy gate.  My husband's doing.  He loves building stuff, and his family did some ranching/farming when he was growing up, so it comes pretty easily to him.  He made this run to last.  

Sometimes it's hard for me to allow him to invest the time and/or money to do things right the first time.  I love spending as little as possible on everything I do, but I am gradually learning (partly because of being married to this particular man) that in many cases, you really do get what you pay for.

I don't mean organic rice cakes that come in at $15.00/lb. 

I mean the $30 cast-iron skillet that will still be in great shape in 300 years, rather than the $5.00 Teflon cheapo that you will have to toss next year.

In our disposable society, where many of us shop just for entertainment, sometimes it's much harder to purchase a high-quality product than a cheap one.

When do you think it's worth it to spend a little more and get a high-quality product, and when do you like to save and pay the bare minimum?

Posted at Barn Hop

Learning Play for Preschoolers

The other day I told you a little (or a lot...) about how we are working on Einstein's preschool skills at home this year in preparation for kindergarten (at home or at school) next year.  

We are insanely relaxed in our daily schedule (especially during the summer, and especially since the baby was born), so right now we're focusing less on the content of what we learn and more on the process of doing some specific activities at more set times during the day.  

Most of these activities are way too easy for Einstein (4) and just about right for Miss Euler (2 1/2), but this way Einstein can feel like he's helping out.  Also, Einstein has a much more cautious, deliberate personality, and when he's being introduced to something new, he needs to feel successful or he gets discouraged and either gives up or starts goofing around.  So having some easier things to do right now are helping build his confidence, I think, and just helping him enjoy the routine of learning in a slightly more structured way.  

I've been finding fantastic ideas for activities in many places.  While I don't necessarily agree with every aspect of the Montessori method, there are a ton of very hands-on "Montessori" learning ideas out there, and we've been using a few of them.  I've enjoyed Montessori Home-School (monthome.com) because it has a ton of ideas (with pictures!) of activities.  Many of the activities require special equipment (much of it homemade), but we've gleaned a few great ideas that can be easily prepared with items commonly found around the house.  Here are just a few:

Using different sized spoons, ladles, and strainers to scoop small beads out of a bowl of water

Eating with chopsticks (no tofu here, though).  This one was pretty tricky and quickly devolved into just poking the cheese with the chopstick like a skewer.

We do practice the alphabet with these magnets, but we've also been playing "what's metallic in our house?"

And I've been finding magnets all over the place...

I was having so much fun with this one that I forgot to take pictures, but we tested various objects' buoyancy in water, then talked about where to "graph" them on our picture.  This one made me SO excited for when the kids are old enough for "real" graphing... I'm so nerdy.

This is a little hard to see, but we set up a dish washing station on some chairs and the kids helped me wash some things.  I'm not sure why I never thought of this before, but they loved it and it was genuinely helpful.

 

Okay, this is my secret shame.  I discovered this beast out in my husband's office and splurged on laminating sleeves (they are quite pricey).  So I am being careful to conserve my laminating resources...

This is what the laminating is for.  This particular set is from Confessions of a Homeschooler's free Pre-K Letter of the Week series.  We have been using dry-erase markers that we already had, but then the only thing that gets the marker off is a "magic eraser" type thing.  Apparently, wet-erase markers (like for overhead projectors) come off with just water, so I'll have to see whether new markers or a continuous supply of magic erasers is less pricey.  Einstein LOVES this (we have some number and letter ones, too), and he is much more willing to try these than he is with pencils or crayons on normal paper, for whatever reason.  Miss Euler loves the markers, but she is still more interested in doodling on the backs than in tracing.

I am probably learning just as much as the kids right now, trying to figure out what to do, how much to expect, what works best for each kid (and for me), and when to just relax and go play in the garden (most of the time!).

Posted at WFMW

Preschooling at Home and Our Evolving Philosophy

The last few weeks have been the beginning of our experiment on more structured home-based learning for 4-year-old Einstein.

My oldest kiddo turned 4 in August.  Most of his little same-age friends and relatives are off to preschool.  But we live in the middle of nowhere.  And we are... um,  not exactly swimming in cash (there is no public preschool here).  I know, lots of parents probably sacrifice, scrape, and save to put their kiddos in preschool, but driving 40 miles round trip 3 times a week to take said 4-year-old to a private preschool is just not going to happen this year.  With average preschool costs around $11.00/class, plus gas, we'd be looking at almost $60.00 a week, or $240.00 a month.  Whew.  It adds up fast.  Next year, when Einstein is 5, we may "red shirt" him and kill our budget to put him in preschool, but I'm quite sure he'll be ready to just start kindergarten... if that's what we decide to do.

This year is a blessing in disguise for us, as we aren't really obligated to do anything special regarding Einstein's education, but he is so teachable and eager to learn that we can accomplish a ton while experimenting with what works for us.  Heck, we could just plop him in front of the TV, do nothing, and then put him in preschool next year so somebody else can prepare him for kindergarten.  Obviously, that is not what we are going to do, but it is kind of comforting to me that even if I am the worst teacher in the world, and he doesn't learn a thing this whole year (or even forgets a lot of what he knows!), he will probably still be on par with many kids his age.

Instead, we are embracing this year as a glorious chance to learn, experiment, maybe flop, and try again as we figure out what works to "homeschool" Einstein (and Miss Euler, who is only 2, but who thinks she needs to do everything alongside her brother).  We can see how this year goes, then decide if we want to put him in the local public kindergarten, start kindergarten at home, or do another year of some type of preschooling.

It's such a huge, multi-faceted decision, and I'm so thankful that we can take it all one year at a time.

Spoiler alert: the rest of this post contains rambling and word vomit.  Read at your own risk.

There are many things I love about the idea of homeschooling, like learning academic skills alongside practical skills and through everyday life, and avoiding the homogenizing "everyone learns the same stuff so they can get into a good college so they can join the rat race and buy a house in the suburbs" mentality.  Even some of the popular "cons" of homeschooling don't bother me too much - true, my kids might not have instant friend material thrust upon them, like in a normal school, but there is something to be said for learning to cultivate friendships even when it's not convenient, instead of just automatically being friends with whichever kid sits next to you on the school bus.  Also, I know some homeschooling mothers worry that they will have a hard time teaching math and science, which many women are not as comfortable with.  I can hardly wait to help my kids with their math and science homework, though, and I dream of the day my kids understand equations, variables, and x-and y- axes, so that worry is not applicable here!

But that doesn't mean we are giving up on public school.  It has a few advantages that quickly come to mind.  For one, it is, well, free.  And homeschooling is not.  Pricey curriculum, music lessons, field trips, equipment...the homeschooling costs may add up quickly, especially when the kids are older.  Also, there are just a few things that are really hard to do successfully with a small family.  Like play football.  Or sing in a choir.  This nerdy mom personally loved school (well, the being in class, learning part, not the chaotic, profanity-filled hallways at passing period part), and I thrived on the competition in my classes.  Sure, it was fun to learn, but it was even more fun to have a standing rivalry in each class, competing for high scores on tests or for 1st chair in band.  My husband pretty much hated the classroom part of grade school, but enjoyed sports and the social aspects.

There's also the homeschooling elephant in the room: religion.  I try to keep this blog mostly quiet on this touchy topic (isn't food touchy enough?), but my family is very God-focused, very passionate about loving people the way Jesus did, and quite socially conservative (like teetotalers, no cussing or spaghetti-strap shirts conservative).  Part of me would really love to keep my precious children in my safe, cozy, home bubble forever, where they would think that "crap" is a pretty bad word, that shoving the dog out of our way is the epitome of domestic violence, that chocolate is the world's only addictive substance, and that all kids get their Christmas gifts in homemade mangers instead of stockings (Santa who?).  But if my main goal in parenting is to equip my children to embrace God's love, and then to love like Jesus, the safe bubble of ignorance has to burst at some point.  Does it have to burst at the tender age of 5?  I don't know.  But I do know that I don't want to render my children incapable of loving the world by failing to allow them to experience it in a small way while they are still under my care and protection.  So if we do decide to homeschool, there will have to be some intentional bubble-bursting as the kids grow and mature.  I will not let my kids be the 16-year-olds who don't know what hip hop is (although by then, it'll be some weird new music and hip hop will be on the oldies station) and who think Darwin is probably Satan's brother (let's not open that can of worms!  And yes, the pun in this post's title was completely intentional).  To borrow, expand, and ruin a divine metaphor, I don't want my kids catching smallpox, but I want to equip them to doctor the sick, not the healthy.

Whew, that got a little heavy.  The point is, we don't know what we want to do for the rest of our childrens' lives.  But I've been having a fantastic time teaching the kids some pre-k skills at home.  Tune in tomorrow (or whenever I get around to it) for waaaay less rambling, some pictures of my new-found laminating addiction, and some pretty fun ideas of things we've been doing at home that the kids LOVE that are helping us make time for intentional learning!

Baking Soda Strikes Again!

Having kids was a powerful motivator for me to switch from using "normal" cleaning products to using all natural, homemade cleaning products.

For example, instead of Windex (or variations thereon) for cleaning mirrors and windows, I've discovered that vinegar and water works just fine.

Instead of Lysol concentrate for mopping and general purpose cleaning, I just use the same old vinegar/water/sometimes a dab of dish soap for messy jobs combination.

My house doesn't smell "clean" the way it used to after cleaning.  I also don't get headaches after cleaning anymore, so I'm gonna go ahead and say the "clean" smell is something I can live without.  Are my windows really dirty enough to need ammonia?  Is my kitchen floor really dirty enough to need antibacterial cleansers (okay, maybe it's crazy dirty, but the minute it's clean, it's gonna get walked on again anyway, so what's the point...) that are probably breeding super strains of Lysol-resistant bacteria?  I don't think so.

  

Now, after I clean, my house smells like, well, nothing.  Or maybe it has a slight vinegar smell for a few minutes.

But there is one thing that I am having trouble giving up: Comet.  I was raised to always clean my toilets with Comet, and it's a little bit hard to not do what you were taught your entire childhood.  So I hold my breath, swish quickly (with the kids out of the room), and flush the stuff before the smell can waft through the house. 

I also learned from my time working in a commercial kitchen that Comet is white Formica's best friend.  Even dreaded mustard stains, or rings from pitchers of orange punch yield to the mighty power of Comet.

Time for an experiment.

Beet stain on counter.

Not coming off with regular dish soap and scrubbing.

Comet?

No!  Baking Soda!

It took a little more scrubbing than would have been necessary with Comet, but the stain is gone. 

Gone!

And I don't have bleach smell lingering in my kitchen.

What natural products do you use in your home?  Is there anything you use habitually that you'd like to exchange for something more natural, but you have trouble giving up?  How would you make the switch to using more natural products, all at once, or a gradually?

Posted at Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Lives Thursday and WFMW

Julie and Julia

Last night, after making my family a thoroughly extravagant meal of shrimp (on sale, and local!  I love living in Oregon) and green beans, I indulged my inner lazy mom.

I made some grain-free brownies (and somehow limited myself to only two tiny squares, because I wanted the baby to actually sleep later after nursing...but they were SO good), watched the first half of Julie and Julia, snuggled the baby, and yelled across the kitchen at the kids to stop strangling each other with scarves.

Really (the strangling with scarves part, I mean.  It really happened).

It was glorious (the brownies and movie, I mean, not the strangling.  Whew, this is getting complicated).

Shrimp, chocolate, a movie about the love of butter, and abdication of my motherly duties, all in one night.

I learned a little bit about French cooking, and reconfirmed my suspicion that if I wanted to be a world-changing blogger, I should've started in 2002, not 2011.  Ha.

Overheard in a Real Food House

While 4 year old Einstein and 2 year old Euler play with cups in the bathtub,

"Is your kombucha ready yet?"
"No, mines is not ready yet.  Is yours ready yet?"
"Yes, my kombucha is all ready."

I had to intervene before they started gulping down the bath water.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the beach the other weekend, playing in the beautiful fine sand,
"Mommy, this sand looks like sugar!  Sugar is for making kombucha."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At least twice a week, Einstein asks whether he can eat "those yellow flowers in the lawn that you can eat the the flowers, and the leaves, and the roots."  He means dandelions, and he apparently remembers eating dandelion greens quite vividly, although it was over a year ago.  One of the many joys of a non-pesticide-laden lawn.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was amused the other day when we were naming food items in a big picture book of "everyday" words.  One page was all fruits and vegetables, and the facing page was all meats, eggs, dairy, bread, cookies, spaghetti, ice cream, etc.  The kids did great on the fruits and veggies page, except for the usual melon vs. lemon confusion and beets vs. radishes (round, red root veggies...).  But usually rather know-it-all Einstein looked at me with a totally blank face when I asked him to point to a roll.  '

"Mommy, what is a roll?"

Ahh, these kids are so screwed up.

I love it.

If you have kids in your life, how do you see your food values echoed in their lives?  

Posted at Fat Tuesday

The Fastest Way to Put a Pillowcase On a Pillow

Okay, this is random, but you need to know about it.  Really.  If you don't already know about it, you will thank me someday, I promise, in the middle of the night when your child (or dog or cat?) has just thrown up on his/her pillow and you are changing their sheets.

In light of my recent post about potty-training, I thought I should share that I have been changing more bed sheets than normal lately.  It would drive me crazy to put the pillowcases on the pillows... except!

When I was in college, 2 of my 3 roommates were nursing majors, and the 3rd's mother was an RN.  I was the only one who didn't make my bed with hospital corners.  But those girls taught me this very valuable skill.  In fact, they practiced it for me, so they could pass their tests!  Up 'til then, I always just grabbed a pillow, shoved one end in the pillowcase, and shook and smashed the darn thing until it was in the case.  But my roommates informed me that this was truly barbaric.

If anyone knows how to change a pillowcase, a nurse does.  These ladies failed their "bed making" test if they shook the pillow even once while putting it in the pillowcase.  They convinced me.

I am pleased to present you with my first ever feature-length (just kidding) blog video!  Woo-hoo!  Or just read the text underneath the video.  Also, please know that I do not always sound like Rachel Ray.  I had a lovely case of bronchitis while videoing this.

Here are the crucial steps:

1. Hold up closed end of pillow case.
2. With your right hand, grab the middle of the closed end of the pillow case.
3. Shove your right hand out through the open end and grab the middle of the end of your pillow.
4. Hold on tight to that pillow!
5. And "peel" the pillowcase down over the pillow.  

After your first attempt, you will see how you can position your hand along the closed end of the pillowcase so it is perfectly lined up with the seam on the end of the pillow.  This way, you won't have to squirm the pillow around inside to line it up right in the case.

This may sound like a waste of time, or something that really won't help at all or save you any time.  But try it.  Give it a chance.  It truly saves me time and saves me pillow-shaking frustration!

Do you have any goofy, life-changing secrets around your home?  What do you do to save a few seconds on every-day tasks?

Posted at WFMW

Frugal Cloth Diapering Update

Children grow, families change, and cloth diapering needs evolve!  Two years ago, when I described my frugal cloth diapering system as one of the cheapest and simplest methods around, I didn't know what I'd know now...

That I was totally right!

 Or, more accurately, headed in the right direction.

Now, on baby #3, I wouldn't diaper any other way.  We still have all our trusty pre-fold diapers from Green Mountain Diapers that I bought for Einstein 4 years ago.  They are going strong, still sturdy and white (thanks to bleaching in the sunshine, not to impeccable washing skills).

We also use our old cheap-o Prorap Classic diaper covers, which look exactly like they did the day we bought them.  Clean, white, velcro intact.  I am usually careful to pull these out of the wash if I tumble dry my diapers, which I think has helped them last so nicely for so long.

So, what's the update to our system, you ask?

Well, it's not a very eco-friendly one, I'm afraid.  But it's been a huge sanity-saver, and little baby Euclid's bottom sure thanks me for it.

We have added a thin fleece liner to the diapering routine.  Specifically, the Bummis Reusable Fleece Liner.  I know, I know, why in the world would I adulterate a beautiful cotton-on-skin set-up by adding a petroleum-based synthetic fabric to the mix?

Because my Euclid hated my cotton-on-skin set-up.  I was sure it was just my imagination.  I was sure the sweet voice of reason at Green Mountain Diapers who assured customers that "babies don't really mind the feeling of wet cotton as long as they are changed promptly" was right, and I was wrong.  After all, Einstein and Miss Euler didn't have any problem with how I diapered them.

But no.  Every baby is different, and my current one is quite insistent that any wet cotton touching his skin is cause for immediate panic and loud screaming.

So the Fleece Liner, it is.  The fleece doesn't add any absorbency to the diaper, which is fine, but it is hydrophobic, and feels "dry" against baby's skin, while allowing the liquid to pass through and be absorbed by the cotton.

Basically, the upshot is that with this new set-up, I can actually go an hour between diaper changes instead of 15 minutes, like before.  So worth it.

Now, if you by chance have taken a look at this particular product and thought, "What a waste of money, it is just a fleece rectangle.  Why not just go to the fabric store and buy a yard of fleece to make your own?" I entirely sympathize with your sentiment.  But trips to the fabric store are not a part of our normal routine, I was unsure of the quality of fleece I would find, while Bummis are certified BPA, pthyalate, and lead free, and I am not very good with scissors.

Just checking to see if you are still reading with that last phrase...

Also, I was able to buy my liners on Amazon using gift cards redeemed from using Swagbucks.  So they were basically free.  And they came in the mail.  Fantastic.

So, this is what works for us.  As I mentioned before, we are cloth-diapering slackers who only do cloth at home, not around town.  So if you plan to cloth diaper on the go, there may be a better alternative for you (or maybe just an on-the-go alternative).  For example, my friend Laura uses some type of fleecy one-size all-in-one cloth diaper all the time for her little guy, and it is super compact and convenient in her diaper bag.  I don't know how sturdy it is, how well it will last in the long run, how well it cleans, whether she'll keep dealing with the poo smell in the wet bag once her baby is no longer exclusively breastfed, etc., but it is definitely more compact and portable on the go than my system would be.

If you are thinking about cloth diapering for the first time, or just looking for some alternatives or new ideas, I would really recommend checking out Green Mountain Diapers.  They have a huge variety of products and prices, and they have a ton of intelligent and experienced description about every single product on the site.  And I secretly wish I could afford their $60 merino wool diaper covers...

What's your take on cloth diapering?  Have you done it, or do you know anyone else who has?  What kind of diapers did you/they use?  Did they enjoy the process?

Posted at Simple Lives Thursday and Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways

Our Potty "Train"ing Progress

Once upon a time, when I was idealistic and motivated, I tried a 3-Day Potty Training method with my then 2-year-old (now 4-year-old) son, Einstein.  It was kind of a fiasco, and I would say we were definite failures (or drop-outs, maybe) at the method.  However, it was an excellent way to get my son interested and excited about the potty, and help start him off toward success.

Well, fast-forward almost 2 years, and Einstein is fully potty-trained (we still do a little more bedsheet washing than I would like, but he is also possibly the world's deepest sleeper).  Now we are on to little Miss Euler, who survived about 2 days of the 3-Day method before I just couldn't take it anymore.

This time around, hardest thing about the 3-Day method, in my opinion (at least the Lora Jensen version), is that you're not supposed to sit your kiddo on the potty at regular intervals, or keep asking them if they have to go.  Instead, you remind them to "tell me when you have to go potty," so they start to take ownership of the process and recognize their own body signals.

The "tell mommy" strategy was fantastic for Einstein.  It took all the pressure off him and gave him a special job to do.  But for Miss Euler, something about it just didn't click.  Instead of gradually increasing our success rate, like with Einstein, we just had one puddle after another, after another, with absolutely no change or improvement.

So we ditched that method.  We have to leave the house at some point.  I started making her sit and go every 2 hours (roughly), and before we left the house or went outside to play.

It worked great.

For #1 type incidents, that is.  But here we are, at 2 1/2, and we are still having trouble putting #2's in the potty.

So I am breaking cardinal rule #2 (no pun intended) of the 3-Day potty-training method.  We are using outright bribing.

A good friend with a little girl 2 weeks younger than Miss Euler had fantastic success with a Potty Train (like, and actual railroad train) chart she found, where you buy some little poster with train tracks on it, then scoot a little train picture along the track, forward for successes, and backward for accidents.  Every 5 tracks or so, there is a star, which means kiddo gets a reward.  Awesome!

We made one!

Our potty train...amazing artwork, I know.  

We are having a jolly old time, happily bribing my little girl to go poo in the potty.

And every time we have a little accident, I tell myself, "I am so thankful that my children are healthy and well-fed."

It helps.

Posted at WFMW

The Most Relaxing 10 Minutes of My Day

Birds chirping, a light breeze blowing, standing barefoot in the grass, with the diapers getting nicely bleached.  Not a bad 10 minutes' work.  Now if only I had a real clothesline...

Do you line dry your laundry or use a dryer?  What are your favorite reasons for using your chosen method?  Also, if you live in a damp/perpetually rainy climate, do you have any tips for line-drying during the rainy season?

Posted at Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Lives Thursday, Barn Hop

Keeping Chickens...Again

We once had chickens.  Then we moved to Oregon, boxed them up, and sold them on Craigslist (to mostly reputable buyers, I think?).

Once we settled in here in Oregon, we started thinking about chickens again.  There's just nothing as good as fresh eggs from your own hens!  We did wait a while, since I was vastly pregnant most of last fall/winter/spring, and I didn't want baby chicks to be forgotten when baby came.

But we bought 6 new chicks at the end of April, and they are close to laying eggs!

We thought for a long time about having a chicken tractor, since we have so much gorgeous grass for chickens to live on.  That is still the long-term plan, but for now, we are making do with what we have: an old woodshed in the backyard.

My husband got pretty excited about this building project and closed in half of the woodshed for the chickens.  He wanted it to be easy to access and clean, so he built a full-size door on the left, and a nesting box with hinged roof/lid on the right.  The next phase of the plan is a door in the left-hand wall that will go out to a large fenced area for the chickens to roam.  We like the idea of totally free-range chickens, but there are so many predators in our very rural area, that it doesn't seem like a good idea here.

The chickens have a 2-story house, with this little ramp leading up to the top (they usually just fly up, but it's cute, isn't it?)  Side note: does anyone have good ideas for keeping chickens from kicking litter into their water?  

These are the new girls: 2 black sex link, 2 yellow sex link, and two Americauna.

The next step, once the outdoor area is built, is figuring out whether/how to clip their wings so we don't have to build a roof over the whole enclosure (the only threat from above here is turkey vultures, which apparently only eat dead things...hopefully we won't have that problem!)

Our chicken-keeping is very much a work in progress.  Ideally, I'd love the chickens to be out on grass in the sunshine all the time (not that there's much alive on the ground during the summer here), and be able to eat all the grass, bugs, and worms they want.  But I think our chickens are still happier and healthier than the average factory-farmed hen.  We are moving in the right direction.

What do you think is the most important factor in raising chickens for healthy eggs?  If you have chickens, what kind of housing do you have for them, and what do they eat?

Posted at Barn Hop, Monday Mania, and Simple Lives Thursday