Better Than The Son of Poseidon

           I love to read, and I'm getting to explore that even more now that my kids are into books beyond picture driven ones. The most recent series that I've delved into is the "Percy Jackson" series (I really have a huge list to pick from after all the Facebook chatter from this post.) If you're familiar with them, you know that they are based on Greek mythology and that the main character's father is Poseidon...the mythological "god of the sea". I've enjoyed the series and just finished reading the fourth book in the "Heroes of Olympus" series (which I was slightly disappointed with because of views expressed on a couple of topics, but I am looking at it as an opportunity for dialogue about personal beliefs vs. author beliefs). Half-pint LOVES this series, and I have had to put some serious effort into staying ahead of her. After all, I'm the one who borrowed them from the library. I should get to read them first. I am also previewing Jill Savage and Kathy Koch's new book "No More Perfect Kids", which makes for an interesting contrast between fiction for kids and non-fiction about kids.  Everytime I turn around, Half-pint has her nose in the next book. She can be quiet on the couch for hours just reading. I have to admit I'm a touch jealous. I get about ten uninterrupted seconds during the day. Ok. That's a slight exaggeration. However, I did have to literally lock myself in the bathroom one afternoon for five minutes,  so I could could coherently introduce myself to the launch team for Jill and Kathy's book (after two failed attempts in the kitchen with children swirling around my legs and clinging to arms).

            One of the best things about the Percy Jackson series is seeing which "god" each character has as their mother or father. Over the course of the book, you watch the characters discover what powers they have as a result of their "parentage". We were sitting in church a couple of weeks ago, listening to a series on spiritual gifts, when I realized what a perfect intro these books could serve to this topic for them. I asked the girls if they'd ever thought about how they are a child of the one, true God. Just like the characters from these books, they're endowed with gifts from the Holy Spirit when they accept Jesus into their hearts (see 1 Cor. 12:7-11, Romans 12:3-8, and 1 Pet. 4:9-11). When I was young, my parents gave me a test that help me see what gifts I had been given; so I contacted the church we've been attending to see if they had something similar for the girls to take. I read in the book "The Treasure Principle" by Pam Farrell that taking a spiritual gift test around the age of 8 or 9 is great because that's typically an age where we are more "ourselves" and less influenced by others. This has been on my to-do list for a while (Mary, age 11, was four when I read this book). The girls took the test today and were all smiles with the results. (Let me know in the comments below, or e-mail me if you'd like the test we used.) 

          One of my favorite chapters so far from the other book I'm reading ("No More Perfect Kids") is entitled "Who Am I?"- one of the main questions all kids ask themselves (along with every other adult on the planet). It talks about how we can be identified by what we do (like our interests or scholastic achievements) or who we are. I love the idea it gives for affirming you child using a three pronged approach.  First,  you identify the good quality and share this with your child. Next, you give an example of when you saw them displaying this quality. Finally,  you tell them why this is important.  I've used this technique several times this past week on each of our kids (except for Mr. Blue Eyes...one year olds hardly stay still long enough to read a book let alone listen to an affirmation), and they really have responded to it. 

          Here's how it played out yesterday with Half-pint: I told her 1) how I noticed that she was hard-working and showed initiative 2) specifically when I asked for help loading the recyclables in the van. She had a positive up-beat attitude and didn't complain that she was doing more work than her siblings (even though she ended up making more trips than her sister), and she even thought ahead to run down our lane and open the gate. I had asked for her help, so we could get to story time at the library in time. Opening the gate let us exit the property more efficiently (and we were on time for the FIRST time!). I told her 3) this is important because when she gets older her employer or family will appreciate having someone they can depend on to get the job done and to go the extra mile. A strong work ethic is a great asset to any job. 

           I could tell she was really listening to me when I complimented her because when we left the house later in the day (this time for AWANA) she ran all the way down the lane to open the gate for me again without any request from me. The three pronged affirmation worked with my three year old just as well. Her big, brown eyes twinkled when I complimented her on the way she quickly responded to my request this past week. I told it's important to know I can count on her to listen and obey.

          Does this technique work for adults too? I like your enthusiasm to help your kids by considering buying "No More Perfect Kids", but also the patient way you're waiting for the release. This is important because if you wait to purchase it the week of March 14, you'll get $100 worth of freebies. How'd I do?

           In the meantime, try some affirmations and consider giving your kids a test they can pass, helping them realize who they really are: A uniquely gifted child of the "One, True King"...which is way better than being a son of Poseidon. 

The Feeling of Falling

           It happened again Tuesday morning.  I neglected to see the water from the melted snow (that refroze overnight) in our gravel driveway.  You know the pathetic person with their feet up in the air on the wet floor sign? That was what I looked like. Last week, I fell twice (once on ice outside, once in my kitchen) landing on the opposite side of my body. At least, I'm equally bruised. I have a history of clumsiness...and falling. I heard last week that the best way to prevent a fall is to waddle like a penguin. Clearly, I need to test this one out or invest in some whole body padding...my hips and elbows are taking a beating.
           History is one of my favorite subjects because I love understanding the "why" behind events (science is my next favorite subject). I felt a little stupid Tuesday that I hadn't seen the ice as I was scurrying around, trying to switch over car seats. When will I learn from my history to slow down, pay attention,  and waddle? The topic of this Thursday's Blog Hop (sponsored by Hearts at Home) is "Loving Your Feelings".
            Last week a local station did a promo for Valentine's Day that shed a new light on my marital relationship. A pastor was proudly announcing a newlywed couple for the first time as "two who became one". I smiled at the words, remembering my own delight at taking my hubby's name. However,  I rarely think of my hubby and I as being "one" nowadays. It's hard to feel connected to him when I have five very real distractions asking for my attention. He is Charles. I am Caroline.  He works full-time time out of the home.  I work full-time in the home. He enjoys beer. I prefer a glass of wine. He likes to fall asleep to the T.V. The sound of the T.V. makes it almost impossible for me to sleep. He loves to learn as he goes. I love to research an idea for years before hesitantly deciding I should still research it a little longer before trying anything new. There are so many ways that we are exact opposites, and yet we have beem declared "one" person.

            Mark 10:7-9 says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.'So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

             I always think about this verse in regards to physical intimacy,  but in reality the verse goes far deeper than that. When my hubby is hurting, do I hurt with him? When he rejoices, do I get excited too? When he has a problem, am I there to really listen? If we are really "one", shouldn't the answer to all three be "yes!"? Honestly it's easy  (but not right) for me to look at his problems as just that: "HIS" problems.  It's easy to say that because we have five children that it's just too hard to find time together and really share each other's burdens. Isn't this whole connecting thing important though? Even with lots of little ones?  Shouldn't they see the way you are to treat your spouse?

             Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up."

            We are married for a reason. He's supposed to help me up when I'm down,  and I'm supposed to help him up when he's down. How do I get my feelings to match up with the reality of our "oneness"?
          Sometimes,  it's just hard to know where to start. Rev. 2:3-5 talks about rediscovering your first love (who knew the Bible has advice on that??). It says to do what you did at first. When I was first dating Charles, I spent a LOT of time with him. We did things together. I learned what his favorite foods were. I paid attention to anything new on him all the way from clothes to a scratch on his arm. The past couple of weeks, I've tried to look back at our history and learn from it.

          We've both been more intentional about spending time together--like really intentional. We've spent hours talking on the weekends (sometimes with a sitter watching the kids and sometimes before the kids get up) and even started watching a movie on Sunday nights, just the two of us. I feel like I have a best friend again.  We've laughed a lot together and we've even talked through a couple of issues to resolve a thing or two. This is easier to do when you actually talk minus children, who are bound to interrupt every ten seconds. I have no shame in putting on an occasional movie to distract my children from interrupting us.

          Another thing that I've been doing a whole lot more of is praying for my hubby. Last week, he shared about an especially rough day. Instead of just seeing it as "his problem", I spent a day fasting and praying just for him. Even when I'm in a heated conversation,  it's amazing what a quick prayer can do. New ideas pop into my head. It calms me down so that I can communicate better. It's hard to be mad at someone that you're praying for. God always seems to gently point out what I should be doing differently or change altogether. 

            I've also been intentional about what I think about regarding my hubby.  When we were first dating, he had just as many annoying qualities about him, but I never noticed.  I was too focused on all the kind things he did for me and the way he made me feel. Charles has always been a generous man, but I've been dwelling on it a lot more lately. Two weeks ago, I dropped my smart phone, and he didn't even bat an eyelid at the substantial deductible we paid to get a new one. He gave all the girls a single long-stemmed rose for Valentine's Day, but I received two dozen! He wanted me to have enough to put them around the house wherever I wanted.  I put a big bunch next to a purchase of his that had initially annoyed me (just in case I was tempted to think grumpy thoughts). He's not just generous with money though. When it has been wet and slick out, he's left his Suburban to drive, so I can get around safely. (Maybe that is a generous money move considering the damage I've done to the van this winter.) What I've focused on has made me feel a lot happier about our relationship. I've had a new sensation of falling again, but unlike slipping it hasn't hurt. It's familiar...part of my history...I love the feeling of falling in love.

What can you learn from your history?  What do you do to love your marital feelings? I'd love to hear your comments below and learn from you.

To learn more about how other moms are loving their feelings, click here to see other blogs.

Watch Out I'm Going to Puke

           My stomach began churning as I quickly rummaged back and forth between my handfuls of bags, my purse, and my coat pockets. Then I began to panic, whispering, "I probably just put them in my pants pocket for some strange reason." More shuffling of my full arms and more rummaging...my stomach began to hurt even worse. I realized at that moment I had forgetten to "lock the door with the keys". This is the fail safe method to prevent things like this from happening. As I walked around the van, I knew what I'd see. There were the keys sitting in the ignition. I was headed to the train station to pick up my mother-in-law, but I had made a quick stop at Wal-Mart because the train would be thirty minutes late. My mind raced and I had that sick feeling in my stomach deepen, it's worse than the flu for someone like me. I had done something stupid.
           I wish it was an occasional thing, but my flawed humanity gets in the way of perfection day after day. A couple Saturdays ago, I had walked out of my kitchen to give the hens compost scraps. I turned on the stove burner, leaving a timer set for eight minutes...just long enough to get my milk up to 180°F for the yogurt. I had plenty of time...I thought. I came in to see our dog Harley looking back and forth at our flaming hand towel on the stove and me, as if to say, "Ma, this don't smell right!" You guessed it--I had the wrong burner on (this happened to me before with Pyrex). Stupid. My stomach felt like making a deposit that day too. The following day, the fire department visited us when a fierce wind kicked up a burning ember while we were burning trash in a barrel. Fire spreads fast on the prairie, but no real damage happened that day because we made the call as soon as we felt we couldn't control the fire. I could tell something major was wrong when my hubby was yelling "Poop!" in German repeatedly. (What was up with all the fire at our house?!)
           Life makes me feel dumb, and I am forever pointing out mistakes to myself.  I have to be intentional about dwelling on the good stuff too. Both of these things were small things. They were easily fixed by some roadside assistance and a glass of water (respectively...I don't think the water would've helped with the locked van) Then, there are moments when I think about my parenting and really feel tempted to feel sick. Watch out I might just puke. What kind of damage am I doing to my kids each time I yell at them or forget to follow through by picking up the dirty clothes for them? Will they remember our homeschooling years as pure drudgery or remember the fun we had? It's just as important to see when a situation is out of control in our parenting as it is with burning grass. Remember the verse in Proverbs about self-contol being better than conquering a city?
          I'm previewing a book called "No More Perfect Kids", and what I love about it is that it has tools for me to fix what is wrong (along with some pointers on things I should be doing differently). I'm the only one that expects perfection from myself.  Everyone else knows how messed up I am because they are too. Last week, I decided to try a technique the book recommended by having my kids write (or say--for the younger set) 15-20 "I am..." statements.  It a way to assess how negatively or positively they feel about themselves and what is important to them. Honestly,  even doing this scared me a little. Do I really want to know how much I've messed up my kids?? It ended up being very reassuring.  I was amazed by how many positive things they had to say about themselves.  If they hadn't though, wouldn't it be better to know about it now then finding out in thirty years from now when it was affecting their families and marriages?
            Lots of people (including my internal naysayer) can point out what I'm doing wrong, but who will help me fix it? The authors of this book, Jill Savage and Dr. Kathy Koch, want to help you. If you want to get this book (your kids will thank you), please wait till the week of March 14-22. If you do, you'll get a whole bunch of freebies valued at $100. I'll keep giving you some good tid-bits that I'm reading, and you can order "No More Perfect Moms" to read if you missed it. It was released last year and is fabulous as well.
         In the meantime, relax, let go of your hurting stomach, and know that only God is perfect. You can thank God that at least you didn't lock you keys in your van or set your house/yard on fire.

Gluten-Free Humble Cake

          As my new friend drove up to our house for our first playdate,  I was tempted to throw the crumbly failure into the compost bucket and let the chickens enjoy it. What started as a simple attempt to do something kind for a friend that suspected gluten sensitivities threatened to turn into a humiliating moment for me. I am not a master chef or anything,  but I consider myself a decent baker (let's not talk about the time I made the healthiest pumpkin pie ever--I forgot the sugar). I LOVE baking! Just take one look at my flourless chocolate cake, and you can see it was a flop. My nursing-room buddy from church was coming over to our house and had let me know that her daughter was celebrating a birthday. She also shared that they were looking at going gluten-free because of some health issues with her kids. 

           I thought this would be the perfect chance to try a recipe for "Flourless Chocolate Cake". She told me not to go to any trouble; but since Mr. Blue Eyes woke up when it was time to run that morning, I decided to try.  The recipe called for a spring-form pan, but I don't have one. I was inspired in the middle of the night to use my flan pans, and I decided it would be perfect! Surely, it was God who brought this to mind, so I could make the perfect cake to go along with the perfect friendship. I could fill the little well on top with freshly whipped cream and maybe use a cherry or strawberry for garnish. As I scraped the cake out of the cooled flan pan, I remembered something about parchment paper...apparantly it was more important than I remembered. 

          Little Carrie let out an empathetic "Aww!" when she saw how disappointed I was. Then, I took a deep breath, said a prayer, and did something I never do...I tasted my flopped cake attempt. My mom is forever telling me not to worry about what something looks like. She says, "If it tastes good, who cares?" Well, things like my pride do. I tasted a crumb and then another. It tasted really good. Even Carrie and Grace were asking for more. I decided to serve it despite the appearances. 

           I am forever struggling with remembering that my worth is not defined by my performance or my appearnce,  but only by what God thinks of me. If I learned anything from Jill Savage's book "No More Perfect Moms", it was that being real and flawed was the way to a more authentic and happy existence.  It paves the way for others to relax and let go of their "perfection infection" as Jill puts it. (Did you know she is coming out with a new book called "No More Perfect Kids" co-authored by Kathy Koch? Guess who's on the launch team, reading a sneak preview right now??) I'd thought of the book a lot and it's advice on choosing to take the first step towards other moms and being a "there you are person" instead of waiting for someone else to make the first step. Last week, I copied and put all my favorite gluten-free recipes in a binder for my new friend. I've had dear friends in the past who've changed their lifestyles for allergies and sensitivities,  and I've seen how overwhelming it can be to get started. I thought this could help my new friend, but maybe I'd look a little over eager for friendship. I took a chance at looking dumb, and she said she really liked it. She asked Mary if she knew "How cool your mom is?" Thankfully, Mary just smiled instead of contradicting her.

           We had an awesome playdate. Everyone really liked the cake, including the birthday girl (who talked her reluctant little sister into trying some). Click here for the recipe in case you want to try it (and own a spring-form pan). I thought my friend would leave around eleven thirty, but instead we chatted so much that they stayed well past one. I found out that we have lots to talk about, like essential oils and homeschooling.

Maybe God had given me the idea for the flan pan...to give me a slice of humble pie (cake)...and the gift of an authentic friendship. 

What's your favorite gluten-free recipe or web-site? I'd love to pass it on to my friend!

Life in a Cozy House

          One of my goals this year is to find a "home" for all of our things. We've moved two years in a row plus had a baby, so I haven't been nearly as organized (or as clean--thus my dust bunnies post) as I would like. One of the greatest challenges of this goal is that we have downsized from our last house. I consider this a "cozy" house (my hubby, Charles, always laughs when I say that). How cozy is it? Our home is approximately 1200 square feet. Although it is smaller than our last home, we have wonderful closets with built-in organizers (plus a two car garage along with a single stall detached garage) for storing things. I was a huge fan of Tetris growing up, so this just means taking a little time to figure out what fits where. Inevitably,  some things may not make the cut and get donated; but our house is more than enough. Although it has three bedrooms (by realtor standards), all our other homes had three bedrooms as well. This house has a completely finished basement with rooms that may not have closets in them, but still fit my bill as a "bedroom"since they have two entrances (it is a walk-out basement). Usable bedroom space is better here than our last two homes. Plus with 27 acres, we can always add on when and if we choose.
           Our kitchen is nice and large, but it doesn't have a spice rack built into the cupboards like our last house. When we moved in, I organized our spices in a drawer instead of the cupboard; and I love it! I was inspired when I saw a neighbor storing her spices in a drawer (and she lives in gigantic three story home). I'm a vertically challenged person (5' 2.5"), so I was forever grabbing a stool to reach the spices behind the first row. It was so hard seeing what was in the back that it consumed a lot of my time keeping it organized (and occasionally I accidentally bought a second spice when one was tucked back too far). You might enjoy trying this as well.
          I could organize room by room (which might make the most sense), but large projects overwhelm me. I still have more than a dozen skeins of yarn from a blanket project I started ten years ago.  Ahem! I've decided to tackle what bothers me most. This past weekend, Charles helped me reorganize our bedroom,  and every time I walk in I can't help but smile. Gratification!  Now, if I could just hide all that yarn that sneers at me every time I see it--maybe it needs to make friends with my dust bunnies.
            Whether you live in a mansion or a cottage, are you enjoying where you live? If not, I challenge you to look at the key for contentment: "for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want"... (Phil 4:11b-12)
          I recently read a post on one of my favorite blogs (Colorful Musings) about organizing meals that totally inspired me to rethink my meals. Do you live in a "cozy" home? What tip can you give me to inspire me? I learn so much from you and appreciate your input!

Shooting at the Walls of Heartache

          ..."Bang! Bang!"   Do you know the next line of this song by Patty Smyth? It has to do with my word for this year. A few years ago, I started asking God for a word for the year. I hadn't really thought about it till the end of this year when our pastor brought it up.  On New Year's Day, I found myself running on our treadmill in our basement asking God for the word. Pretty quickly the word "warrior" came into my head. "Wow!" I thought. "That's way cooler than some of the other words I had in the past (the year I had "perseverance" was a very challenging one)." In my head, I started singing "Shooting at the walls of heartache...Bang! Bang! I am the warrior." The next thought that came in my head was "What an arrogant word! I can't tell anyone this!?" The truth is I am not a warrior. I have felt defeated and broken. Remember my post "Frozen". I had a harder time writing that than any post to date. I literally froze. I thought that maybe God wants to make me into a warrior this year, and that's what it meant. I usually pick a verse to go with it, so I did a search for "warrior" on Bible Gateway. All I turned up were lots of verses about God being a warrior (and others being warriors). None of them spoke of God promising to turn a person into one.  I've really felt like I'm in the battle of my life especially this fall, so I don't think God is saying "Caroline,  you are a warrior." Otherwise,  I'd already be victorious.  I believe I will be victorious but not because I'm some heroic person.  I can't do this alone.

I can't do it at all.

              I need someone to fight for me. This last week, I read Exodus 33:13 in the Amplified version; and it practically jumped off the page at me. It says, "Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You [progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, perceiving and recognizing and understanding more strongly and clearly] and that I may find favor in Your sight. And [Lord, do] consider that this nation is Your people." This was a request Moses made to God, and all week long this has been my request to God. I want God to go to battle on my behalf for what I cannot do on my own.
          I looked back at the search again while I was writing this post. I didn't see half the verses the first time for some reason. I saw a couple of verses that caught my attention. I read Proverbs 16:32 and felt a twinge of guilt over my failures in the patience department. "Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city." As many people have pointed out the "fruits of the Spirit" like "self-control" are something evidenced in our life because we have the Holy Spirit living in us. What better way to request his fruit than to asking Him to guide us and show us His way? I'm not going to feel guilty about that verse, but I will memorize it to use the next time I get into a power struggle with my little tyrant. ("Think, patience, Caroline, not war!")

The verse that most testifies to what I think this year's word should mean is this verse: Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” As I ask God for His favor this year to know Him better and in a deeper way, I can almost hear Him singing, "Shooting at the walls of heartache...Bang! Bang! I am the Warrior!"

What is your word/verse for the year? I'd love to have you leave a comment...

Basil Toes?!

           As a child, I always thought my parents were a little nutty when it came to medical issues. They always preferred natural cures over seeking a doctor's advice. Time and perspective can change a lot. Now, I'm a parent with five kids to make medical decisions for; and I've repented over and over for the labels I put on my parents. Turns out I'm a little nutty just like them. I wouldn't say I never seek medical advice. I do, but sometimes doctors don't have the answers I need.
          Half-pint was my first child to be diagnosed with "colic" at 12 weeks of age after being treated for an ear infection and acid reflux.  Her ears cleared up over night; and after several weeks, the reflux medication still did nothing to help the agony she was in. She screamed on into the wee hours of the morning.  Nothing seemed to help. She slept during the day...a LOT. I already had Mary who went to bed every night at 7pm and woke up at 7:03am on the dot. I was exhausted from staying up late with Half-pint and getting up with a fully-charged Mary. I did research, and read books on getting your baby to sleep better. I started eliminating milk from my evening meals, and it helped a little. I read that Iron in multivitamins can make some babies cranky, so I took that out. Half-pint started going to bed at 9 or 10pm, but she was still up every two hours after that. After five months of this, I didn't feel like a human being anymore...much less a good mama. Then, a friend made a suggestion that saved my sanity.  She asked, "Would you consider a chiropractor?" I had seen a chiropractor as a child but taking an infant seemed extreme. However,  I was desperate.  Long story short, a week later Half-pint was sleeping 8 hour stretches at night. A month later, she was going as long as 12 hours without waking me up. We did make the decision to take her to a chiropractor trained specifically for adjusting children, after having some reservations about our initial chiropractor. We have been very happy with the results. When child #3, 4, and 5 were born, they were also adjusted a few months after birth...as soon as they started showing signs of distress (and keeping me up at night for more than a week).
        A little nutty? Maybe, but it works. I still take my kids for well child visits to our pediatrician; and if I suspect strep throat, they still get swabbed. This past December,  we saw our pediatrician a lot. Mr. Blue Eyes, our 11 month old had his first ear infection and ended up with pneumonia after that. I learned several nurse's names at the practice by heart. Two weeks ago, Mr. Blue Eyes started showing signs of something bothering him. Maybe his ears were bothering him, maybe it was a headache from a tumble,  maybe it was more teeth coming in. I really dreaded it being his ears because I knew they'd put him on more antibiotics. After his second round of antibiotics in December (the first for an ear infection and the second for pneumonia), he had horrible diarrhea.  It was so bad that during the middle of the night he went through seven diapers in two hours. His skin was so raw that he screamed when I changed him. It was AWFUL! I'm not a fan of Desitin (the first non-active ingredient is BHA--a preservative and known carcinogen), but I was desperate for him to have some relief. Even that seemed to be no match for this evil skin-destroying condition.  My "nutty" mom was visiting and suggested using Sovereign Silver on a cotton ball as the final pat on his tushie before the diaper ointment. Crazy as it sounds silver has natural healing properties; and after the second application, he stopped screaming. I ditched the Desitin and slathered on my usual favorite ointment after the colloidal silver: Rosebud (or "Rosebutt" as Gracie calls it). Two days later he was no longer raw, despite having four days left on antibiotics.
           Needless to say, I really, really did not want to go on another round of antibiotics. (We do probiotics in between rounds of antibiotics to help replenish the good bacteria.) After a few days, I really suspected his ears more. I took him to our chiropractor for an adjustment, and she casually asked if we had any basil oil. Ok. This next part is going to seem strange, but desperate times call for desperate measures.  I ended up buying some essential basil oil. My chiropractor assured me that she'd used it before both on herself and her kids for ear problems with great success. She said within a couple of hours she felt much better...and even a full blown infection would disappear after two days of using the oil. Here's what I was to do: put three drops of oil on cotton balls, stick it in his ear, and leave it there for 15 min. She recommended doing this three or four times a day. How do you keep something in an 11 month old's ears for 15 minutes? Well, you put on your baby proof winter hat over the cotton balls to hold them in place and create "the hat 'o basil". The smell is really strong-- obnoxious even! Everyone complained about it. Oddly enough, that night (a few hours later) he was jabbering away...normal baby stuff...
except that he hadn't jabbered like that in at least a week. That night he finally slept too. By the next morning,  Half-pint had seen enough to volunteer to try it too. Her ears had been popping a lot and she was having a hard time hearing because of extra fluid.   She felt a lot better. Her ears popped a lot, and then stopped. She said she could hear better as well. At this point, I wasn't feeling so "nutty" anymore. After a couple days, I stopped using it for him. No signs of infection. Interesting. My chiropractor said the basil essential oil was also good for any infection.  If her family felt sick, she said she'd just rub a couple drops on the feet at night; and in the morning, they'd be right as rain. A couple days later, Carrie said she didn't feel good. We put drops in Shea butter to dilute it a little (it's really concentrated and can cause skin irritation,  although the chiropractor said the feet usually aren't too sensitive) and smeared it all over her feet. We joked that the baby had "basil ears" for two days, so now we joked that Carrie had "basil toes". She felt better too. This past weekend,  when the baby started getting a warm forehead and cold hands and feet (nooo!!), we gave him basil toes as well. One nap and a  few hours later, he seemed back to normal.
           I wouldn't tell you all this, if it didn't work so well. I know it sounds crazy. One vial of oil costs less than one co-pay for a doctor's visit. So far we've only used maybe a tenth of a bottle. I might be a little "nutty", but this just makes scents.

What have you found that helps you and your family to stay healthy?