Stop the glorification of busy

Sometimes I feel like I need to report to the people around me about everything I'm doing in my life.  And I know I'm not not alone.  In fact almost every conversation I have with a friend from school, church or my community involves some sort of rundown about all things were all racing around doing.  And it's good stuff: tutoring, sports, music lessons, scouts, church activities, service projects... Really good stuff.  But when and more importantly how do we draw the line?  And do we even want to?  I mean we all know drugs, teen sex, pornography and a life of crime or indolence are lurking around pretty much every corner.  Curtis and I have always believed that keeping kids busy does loads to keep them out of trouble, not to mention that extracurriculars play a huge role on college applications.  So we know there's a place for all this busyness... But seriously when is enough enough?
I am loving yoga these days.  It is definitely my favorite exercise right now.  It helps that my teacher is inspiring and funny and keeps us on our toes with her music choices (Vinyasa to Eminem anyone?)  She reminds me to breathe fully and live in the present moment.  It's disturbing how often I find myself racing around getting all my stuff done and I will stop and realize I haven't had a full inhale in hours!  It doesn't help that I feel pressure all around me to provide evidence that I was a productive human each day.  (I guess kids that are fed and clean aren't enough :O). But I'm realizing that it is so important to take time each day to pray and breathe and meditate.  And to slow down, eat a quiet meal and just be still. (Psalm 46:10)
It was so powerful to watch our little caterpillars turn into Monarchs recently.  I mean I've read about it a million times and watched videos, etc... But I cannot tell you how special it has been to watch it up close and personal.  And I'm invested.  I mean last night I was digging up a milkweed plant in my yard to bring inside for the almost fully grown caterpillars we have inside right now.  I was just too nervous to put them outside because it got really cold this weekend.  I love these little critters. 

 We also keep waking up to these massive spider webs in the backyard.  They are usually gone by midmorning. 

 We took a trip to the Alligator park with our Cub Scout Pack recently and went on a night hike.  Scary right?!  But the sunset was so beautiful.  And nobody got eaten.  :) 

Nature always helps me to slow down and remember what matters.  Oh but forget what I said about being less busy.  Before this post was even completed I had signed Daniel up for Destination Imagination Club and agreed to let all the boys play a winter sport.  Crazinesss here we come!

Oils and garlic and herb tea and Vicks

Isaac woke up with a fever yesterday. When Isaac feels bad he feels REALLY bad. Poor little guy has been curled up on the couch for the better part of two days. Ibuprofen perks him up a bit but mostly he's just feeling rotten. I read somewhere that pedatricians are very dissatisfied generally with their jobs because so often there is really nothing they can do for their patients. Parents bring their sick kids in but really they just need to wait it out. I think parents are frustrated in the same way. I hate watching my little ones suffer and I want to do somthing! My mom, sisters and friends have all given me wonderful ideas for dealing with sick kiddos. Curtis calls it my "voo-doo magic." I can't say for sure that all these remedies work all the time, but I know they're not harmful and it is comforting to do something!!

So, step 1 of fighting off illness involves garlic. I chop up 2 or 3 cloves and warm them on a little piece of foil in the oven until they smell fragrant (5 min or so). Then I put the garlic in a baby sock and safety pin it to the inside of sick kiddos shirt. That way it is right against their chest and they can breathe it in. IMO the reason for the myth about garlic and vampires is because garlic is SUPER powerful and so it would follow that garlic is your best bet in warding off blood-suckers. My mom actually sucks on a piece of raw garlic when she's not feeling well and swears by it. Sometimes I will chop up several cloves and saute them with olive oil and then eat them on a piece of toast with soup. It's yummy and a great way kill the bacteria, virus, fungi or whatever else is ailing you.

I am also hyper about hydration when my kids are sick. Water, water and more water. If they really refuse I add some Gatorade powder to it. Herbal tea is another great way to get liquids down and the warmth feels so good on a sore throat. I love Herbal remedy's "Throat Coat." It really soothes but my kids don't love it. So for them I just make some kind of orange or raspberry tea sweetened with OJ concentrate and honey.

Another stand by is essential oils- especially when my kids were younger and got sick more often. I don't know if it's placebo at work- all I can say is I love them. My sister got me interested in them years ago and now I just smell oregano or peppermint oil and start to feel better right away. My kids love them too. I rub them on their feet and sometimes back or chest if they are having trouble breathing. Same for Vicks Vapor Rub.

I keep offering foods like brothy soup and oranges. As long as they are not puking everything up I try to get them to eat good things. Sugar and dairy should be avoided like the plague because sugar weakens the immune system and dairy just makes more mucus. As for traditional meds, I try to avoid pain meds if possible but will give ibuprofen or tylenol if the kiddo is miserable. I've also read that zinc can help early on so I have some of those "Cold Eeze" lozenges around.

Oh and I don't do this every time. Sometimes I am bad mommy and preoccupied with other things so I drag my sick kids around on errands and buy them foods like McDonalds. But today... is not that day.