Current Web Readings

Make Your Own Herbal First Aid Kit

Donna's Square Foot Gardening
REALLY good set of videos on SFG!

How To Build a Square Foot Garden by frugal dad
I LOVED his irrigation system! I had not seen this before. Truly worth a looksee!

Current Web Readings

Herbal Tea Recipe

Overnight Buckwheat Pancakes
JJ can have these!! :D

Handmade Holidays Felt Fairy House
Could be for birthday too. And what is so great, is this would be easy for the kids to make, so you can have them help and make it into a fairy party and these are the favors!

Bee Keeping
Believe it or not, I have wanted to do this for quite a while. Scared of bee stings (and JJ's possible allergies to bees) now keep me from it. BUT, there is no reason he could not make hives and sell them when he gets older!!! :D

What you NEED to know about soy and hexane...

Current Web Readings

Bug Farm
A cool game where you are a beneficial bug in your garden. How cool is this? Can I just say I want one?! :D

Plump Stocking
A bit late for Christmas, but not for those after Christmas sales in order to stuff next year's stocking!

Best Books For Girls: 20 Books She Has Loved
From one of my favorite blogs

Can Beans Cure Morning Sickeness??

No Poo Hard Water Epiphny
for those who did not have the wonderful results most of us have with no poo, this read is for you. Tells you what to try if you have hard water.

Homemade Deodorant
Oh this looks SO sweet. I so need to make me some of this!!!

Hairstyles from Yesteryear
Tutorials on beautiful hairstyles. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Doing a little happy dance right now!

Current Web Readings

A New Way To Darn Socks
This is AWESOME!!! :D

October is Scrap Busting Month at Sew Mama Sew

Herbal Roots
This is a GREAT Herbal Magazine for children!!! :D LOVE IT! Wish I could afford a subscription!

Historical Paper Doll Sets

Bento Box Lunch Caddy
Remember my Bento Box adoration?? Well one of my FAVORITE crochet sites (Crochet Liberation Front) has a GREAT FREE online magazine (called Crochet Uncut) and this month is has a MOST ADORABLE pattern for Bento Boxes!!! :D WOOHOO!!!

How To Make Scratch Off Lottery tickets
This is AWESOME!! What a great reward for a job well done - you know, where the kids go above and beyond! :D Give 'em a scratch off ticket with some sort of prize: ice cream with mom or dad, a trip to the $1 store, a toothbrush, a book from Goodwill, etc.

Current Web Readings

Granny Med
LOL! Cute name for home remedies and natural cures. I so wish I had learned more from my great-grandmother while she was still alive.

Health 911
FREE information about using herbs to heal. I will admit that I still like Herb Mentor better, but only because I can actually ask questions and get specific. Not to mention all the FREE stuff there. :) You do have to pay for membership, but it has been totally worth it for us. All the medical bills I avoid! :D

<Herb Reference
Free online herbal reference.

Making Books With Children
FUN and free ideas for making books with children. Can be books or mini-books for lapbooking.

Healing Hernia Naturally Without Surgery

I LOVE how my beloved and I complement each other. And that is also true of google searches. LOL!! Because we both think differently, we use different words for our searches. And while his search only came up with one, very dismal hope for avoiding surgery with an inguinal hernia, my search came up with several. :)

However, because of complications with my beloved's hernia (it is a repeat hernia from when he was born (if that tells you anything about how STRESSED my beloved is about everything :) ).

I know this is way off from what this blog is about, but I also use this blog to FIND stuff that I know I researched. (That is the GREAT thing about Blogger blogs, that search bar in the upper left hand corner wil search ONLY the blog you are currently reading, so if you were to search right now, you would search only my blog!) :) LOL! So this is here to help me remember and maybe, just maybe, it can help someone else out there (husband or wife who is searching for her husband).

http://ehealthforum.com/health/topic43624.html
REALLY GOOD STUFF from PEOPLE who have healed their own hernias
If you can only read one page, this one is GOOD!!

http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/21/129.cfm
Also talks about reflexology (the site above does too)

http://www.falconblanco.com/health/hernia.htm
Some guy's journey/diary through healing his own hernia

http://bulkherbstore.blogspot.com/2008/11/inguinal-hernia-natural-healing.html
Natural Healing Info on inguinal hernia

http://www.morphemeremedies.com/homeremedies_hernia.htm
Says NOT to put heat on area. Hmmm... Maybe we try a cold comfrey poultice??
(Comfrey is known as the "knitting" herb. It is used to repair skin cuts as well as heal broken bones.)

http://www.groin-hernia.com/
Scroll down – says healable and to avoid surgery unless in pain

http://www.myhomeremedies.com/topic.cgi?topicid=100
I will need to research this herb mentioned – sounds like it could be helpful

They Brought Him

I have always thought it interesting the gifts the wise men (notice I did not say THREE wise men, because while there were three gifts, the Bible never actually say HOW MANY MEN there are) chose to give Jesus. There was great meaning behind each gift! Each of the three gifts represented an aspect of who Jesus is and what His mission was to fulfill.

Here are a few articles on the meaning of the three gifts for those who don't already know:
Meaning Behind The Gifts of the Wise Men
Meaning Behind The Gifts of the Magi

Now that I am learning about essential oils, I am learning that Frankincense and Myrrh are known for the peacefulness and joy they bring. How WONDERFUL!!! JESUS BRINGS US PEACE AND JOY!!! How wonderfully fascinating!!!

I find it fascinating that now that I am learning about the essential oils that they STILL fit as gifts to Our King!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Today's Doings

I have been sick in bed today. This meant that the children watched educational and "Jesus" videos. AA also read the Bible to us. And they all had time to play on the computer, "something educational and not just fun please" I asked them. I am so glad my girls understand sign language, because my voice was nil for most of the day.

This allowed me to spend several hours on the computer doing research and learning from a sweet friend of mine who is an encyclopedia of knowledge (and is so kind to answer all my questions, even when it is the bazillionth time I have asked it)!

The tea I mentioned yesterday worked SO WELL on JJ. There is also a runny nose cure that really worked too. It has been WONDERFUL! The runny nose cure was more palatable than the decoction. I will now be keeping sage on in stock in my pantry!

We are watching a fun Christmas movie, The Bishop's Wife (old time black and white original, not the remake) tonight for our pizza (well, tonight it was soup because of all the illness here) movie night.

I have forgotten to have the girls start grateful/thanksgiving journals. I really want them to start that, and I want to start that myself too.
So because I am truly thankful, three things I am thankful for:
My children's health. Even though they get sick every now and then, they have always gotten better. Some children have deadly diseases that have no cure.
My friend, Brenda who is an inspiration and encouragement to me.
My mom. I miss her so much. I love her so much. And I am so very thankful for all she has done for and continues to do for me and my family.

Proverbs With The Children - Today's Doings

I think it was Large Family Logistics where I first learned of reading the Proverbs of the Day to the children during their naptime. They have a yahoo list which sends out reminders like Flylady, but these are godly oriented for keeping the children and home. I have TRULY been enjoying the reminders!!! :)

I had heard of doing a proverb a day where there are 31 proverbs and 30/31 days in the month so read the corresponding chapter to the corresponding date. But I had never thought of doing this with the children. I cannot tell you the difference it is making in my children! It is so wonderful, right before naps/quiet time, to see each of the children get their Bible to follow along. They ask questions (today was what does THAT mean, talking about Proverbs 22). And God always speaks to my heart during this time. And I share with the children what God is teaching me PERSONALLY and how the word is for THEM personally.

Today I had music playing in the background. It was instrumental. When Jingle Bells came on, JJ (only 2 1/2yr now mind you) started singing! "Unggle Ells, Uggle Ells, Unggle Ells..." over and over again. It was the CUTEST thing! And I was TOTALLY impressed by his ability to recognize the song (as it was instrumental). Honestly, I would never have known what he was singing if the song wasn't playing in the background.

As far as schooling, we got nothing done today. :( Well, I guess that is not totally true as we did watch some Signing Time videos we checked out from the library. They learned some new signs. But with JJ and EE both being sick and AA just having gotten over being sick, I was busy today. And the kids were busy coughing and sleeping. :)

I have learned that you can put tea tree oil in a diffuser to help purify the air (good to do when there is sickness in the house). And gargling with apple cider vinegar will help kill strep in the throat. I have learned that sage is good for cold/flu and respiratory illnesses. And here is hoping that the decoction I am making will help JJ.

Current Web Readings

Those of you lucky (yes, I said LUCKY) enough to live near a kudzu plant, here are a few links that might be of interest to you:
Kudzu - the new biodiseal fuel
Article including how to make kudzu root starch
The Book of Kudzu
You Tube Video How to Make Kudzu Blossom Jelly
Kudzu World

I need to remember to check this out:
Mallowmallow Smores (that was an old lin, this is the new link - to ANYONE reading. I am unable to find a copy of his book for sale ANYWHERE! Can you help me find a copy?

Hadriness Zone Changes
A video showing how the hardiness zones have CHANGED (yes, your zone might not be what it was ten years ago).

Create A Thankfulness Calendar for November
I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I just wish I had read about it sooner. But there is no time like the present to start! Maybe even continue it all the way to Christmas! I know that sometimes in the hustle of the holiday it is hard to take time to rest in Him and give thanks! :)

Current Web Readings

Handcrafted Christmas: Signs
OK, yes, I LOVE Monica's blog! She always has great stuff on there. I have been enjoying her Handcrafted Christmas series, but REALLY liked her one on signs. SHE IS SO CREATIVE!

The Woman's Guide to herbal Medicine
This book is AMAZING! It is hailed by most in the herbal community as a must have resource. Sadly, it has been out of print. But the author has put the whole book online FOR FREE! WOO HOO!!! Go and grab it while you can!!! :)

Three Sisters Garden
We recently ate a meal called Three Sisters. It was corn, squash and beans. Add maple syrup and walnuts and YUMMO! So I tried to find the recipe online and instead found a new way of gardening! This is SO NEAT! I love the lessons as well as the how to save seeds to replant the following year.

Happy Hearts Homeschool Library
YES, you CAN homeschool for FREE! This homeschooling mom is AMAZING! She finds the BEST books that are FREE online that can be used for homeschooling! She even has categories so you can search!! WOW OH WOW!! This is a MUST have resource for the frugal homeschooling mom like me!!! :) I have already put this into my RSS feed reader!!

Making It On One Income
I am so LOVING this new blog!! (Well, new to ME!) This post is EXCELLENT and has some ideas I had not thought of before!

Tea Bag Rockets

7 steps to reducing TV time
GREAT ideas and links!

Herbal Chicken Stock

Well, I did it!! After talking about chicken tortilla soup, I had to do it!

So here is what I did.

We roasted the chicken (a la Alton Brown).

We took everything he had us cut out (minus all the guts, I just could not bring myself to do anything with them at this time - I hope to get over my fear of the innards soon as I know I want to waste as little as possible), plus all the bones (which my husband lovingly took all the meat off for us to eat that night) and the drippings from the pan.

We then added carrot chunks, celery chunks (with leaves), onion chunks (with skin). Then we followed a recipe for Healthy Herbal Chicken Stock which will help us fight off colds and flu this winter season. They call it a tonic. :)

We have the CD Training Our Daughters To Be Keepers At Home (TOD-KAH). I have created a section for teaching on Herbs and this recipe is going right in there. I have also changed the books we will be using to teach her as I do not have the Sue Gregg books, nor do I want to get them. I have PLENTY of other books just as good that we will be using instead. PLUS, they will be getting hands on training in most of that now and while they are young. :)

The stock simmered all night long! Then in the morning, I made the condensed cream of chicken soup and used some to make the chicken tortilla soup for lunch and froze the rest of the herbal chicken stock and cream of chicken soup. Which is 8 cups of stock (which honestly is about two soups worth for our family), and about 3 cans worth of the cream of chicken soup.

Which brings me to a question. How do you freeze liquids without using plastic? Everything out there I read said to use freezer bags. I am hoping to move away from those. (Although with the success of using cereal bags around the freezer bags I am really happy and liking the ease of freezer bags, especially for things like frozen veggies.) But with soups I would really like to use something NON-plastic. Can I use canning jars? Anyone with any advice?

Update on No Poo

This is the glass jar I keep our vinegar rinse in. It is calendula flowers, rosemary and chamomile flowers in apple cider vinegar (redheads can add rose hips instead of rosemary). I keep it here steeping in the windowsill which gets plenty of sun. :)  I drain out some, straining the herbs, into the pouring container (pictured below).  I got this container for a quarter at a garage sale. :) It takes 4 weeks to steep till done, but I continue to let it steep until it is completely gone. I will start another one when this one is half done.

I mentioned a while back about our No Poo adventure. I thought I would give an update.

First of all, you need to know that I used to have the THICKEST hair on earth. I began losing it by the handfuls after my second was born and I tried everything to get my hair to stop falling out. Nothing worked. Well this no poo thing is WORKING! My hair is still falling out a little bit, but not by the handfuls anymore!! :) In fact it feels a little bit thicker than normal!!!

I have also noticed that my hair is nice and soft and smooth. Even Brian commented on how soft my hair was. I used to have to add lots of stuff in order for my hair to feel soft. It was always frizzy and flyaway. Lately it has been much easier to manage.

My grey hair (I have been doing rosemary infusions as well as rosemary infused apple cider vinegar) is also not as coarse as it usually is. It is normally VERY coarse and wirey (is that a word?). But since going no poo, my grey hair is not only not as wirey (a comment made by my beloved, so it is not just me), but it has also reduced in numbers! I would say that the hair that was grey has been reduced by about 30%!! And that is only after one month!!! :)

I am unsure if the grey will ever completely be covered/blended back into my hair, but even to just reduce it naturally is WONDERFUL!

I also stopped shampooing my 2nd daughter's hair. I have noticed that her hair no longer gets tangles!! I am going to start doing the other girl's hair with the apple cider vinegar rinse and see if they have the same results!

A quick link on all your could ever want to know about going no poo.

This is the pouring container I use for the vinegar rinse. After straining the herbal rinse into the jar (see how LITTLE is in there?), I add hot water (which comes out from the tap as I am waiting for the water to get hot enough, I probably should use filtered water, but I am not too particular). Because my hair is oily, I use a 1:4 part ratio (one part rinse, 4 parts hot water). For the girls it is a 1:6 ratio. I also got this container at a garage sale for a quarter! :) The book is Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss (GOOD STUFF!). I got it FREE through Paperback Swap! It is my bathtub reading material.  And notice the box in the back? I got that in an online swap!! :) It is full of fun bath frills for me to be able to relax. :)

Lemon Balm - Help With Allergies AND hyper active kids

Lemon Balm Leaf Steeping in the French Press God Blessed us with!

My daughter (EE) has pretty bad environmental allergies that came out of no where this year. A friend on the local homeschool group told me about Lemon Balm. She used to have to take Clartin if she planned to survive the day, but since drinking lemon balm tea, she has not had to take a single Clartin pill!!

Fill a pot of water 3/4 full and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add enough Lemon Balm Leaf to cover the bottom, and then some. Cover and steep a minimum of 20 minutes. The longer you steep the more nutrients are drawn from the herb. Dip into and serve in cups throughout the day. Of course by the end of the day, you have more of an infusion than a tea because the herb has steeped for so long (which is a good thing, it means more nutrients)! :)

We add local honey as local honey is really good to help with environmental allergies. EE has to have a minimum of 3 cups (one with each meal) or she still has sneezing and itchy nose/eyes. But as long as she drinks her three cups, there are no signs of allergies whatsoever! :)

We had been on the lookout for a french press to help with the tea. I had been asking at garage sales for three weeks. Either they were not selling theirs OR it had just sold. I never gave up though and believed if God wanted us to have one, He would provide one. 

Well, a couple weeks ago, I asked at another garage sale. He was talking about how I need to look for a certain brand because it is the best. He was so thankful he had bought one because the one he had previously bought was not very good and did not work very well. I told him that I was on the lookout for one for herbs to help my daughter with her allergies and if he might be interested, since he isn't using the other one, getting rid of it. He went it, brought it out, and when I asked how much, he said just take it! FREE!!! I could not believe it. And while it may not work well with coffee, it works WONDERFULLY well with herbs!!!! :)

Shortly after we started giving EE the tea, we noticed an added benefit. You see, while EE is not ADHD, she can get pretty hyper at times and lose self-control quite easily. We noticed that she was much calmer and able to regain control of her self much more often since starting the tea! Turns out that is because lemon balm leaf has a calming effect!!!

It is perfectly safe for children, and even recommended for infants who need calming.

So what better, and more fun way, to get some lemon balm into the kids than with popsicles!!
Pictorial How To Make Lemon Balm Popsicles

I hope you enjoy the benefits as much as we have!

Going No-Poo

Sounds funny, I know. I am such a kid. I smirk every time I hear that term. And yet, I have seen the benefit of going no-poo. Well, at least pooing a lot less.

SO what in the world am I talking about??

Shampooing your hair. Or I guess I should say NOT shampooing your hair. I have gone to shampooing VERY little and while your hair does have this ... phase it goes through, once you get through the phase, it is like the other side of the rainbow!! My hair is looking and feeling so GREAT!

I recently read in Aromatherapy by Valerie Cooksley, that a strong rosemary infusion can cover gray hair in brown/dark hair. WOOHOO! I can hardly wait to see the results. I will let you know.

I just did my first vinegar rinse and my hair feels so nice! I used apple cider vinegar as that is best for the hair, but it does smell strong. I read that adding a few drops of essential oil will help with that. It is VERY faint smell of vinegar. Next time I will remember to add the essential oil drops. :)

And to end, a quote from Rosemary Gladstar's Family Herbal (a MUST read):

Have you ever noticed how few people over 50 have shinny, healthy hair...? There are not many of them. Though it may be part of the natural aging process to lose some of your crowning glory, it is not a natural process for it to lose it's gleam and glow. What we often see if hair that hasn't weathered well. This lack of life is almost always due not to aging but to unhealthy practices of overwashing, blow-drying, and using chemical products such as sprays, perms and gels.

This is followed by some really good recipes for healthy herbal hair care. I have one of her vinegar hair rinses going right now. AA and I made it, and now we are just waiting for it to ... stew, I guess (for lack of a better word). She is so excited, and it was neat seeing her hands on with herbs and learning what was what wand what it is good for. :)

Recipes Using Lavender as Food!

I never knew you could cook using lavender, but I found a page with recipes for things like Lavender Ice Cream, Harvest Lavender Fudge and Lavender Lemonade. I thought of you Rebecca when I saw these!! :)

Lavender Recipes

Gardening Tip About Soil

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY OF THE COOKBOOK MORE WITH LESS. ENDS TOMORROW!

A neat tip that I learned on HerbMentor.com in their interview with Tammi Harting, author of Growing 101 Herbs That Heal:

If you have bad soil, before you start your garden, plant a spring crop of organic oats (this is pretty inexpensive). It is considered a green manure crop and is a GREAT way to rebuild the soil. Allow the oats to get 1 1/2 feet tall and then till them in with the rototiller. This adds a lot of good green matter to the soil.

In the winter, spread manure on and allow to soak in through winter. Dig up and turn up soil in the spring and plant.

This tip continues on from above, but is great for all gardening:

Fertilize once a month by topdressing starting in the spring using green organic material (like fresh grass clippings, fruit/veggie peels, etc.). Apply about 1/4 inch deep and rake in and around with hand rake. It will be absorbed through the watering and bring a lot of nutrition to the soil.

Soil MUST have organic material!

Although you want to put organic materials into the soil, one thing you don't want to put directly into the soil itself is brown organic material like straw or wood mulch. The brown organic material takes nitrogen and nutrition from the soil in order to break and down and compost it. It is better to use that on the top of he soil as a mulch to keep moisture in the ground. Brown materials are also great for composting, but don't turn them directly into the ground until they have completely composted in your composting bin.

Herbs Herbs Herbs!

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY OF THE COOKBOOK MORE WITH LESS. ENDS WEDNESDAY!

I recently got my kit from LearningHerbs.com and have been enjoying it as well as the $1 trial to HerbMentor.com.

LearningHerbs.com has two FREE e-courses that are actually really good and informative. ESPECIALLY for the beginner like me.

I paid more for my kit than the current price is. The DVD is EASY to understand and I am so excited about making my own salves and tinctures! You sign up on an email list to know when the kits are available. THERE IS NO OBLIGATION TO BUY when you sign up on the email list. BUT just by signing up, currently you get a free mp3 (they did not have that available when I signed up, but I have heard the mp3 and it is GOOD STUFF)! Then you get an email which will allow you to pre-buy the kit, which is what we did, or wait for the email to let you know the kit is now available (but if you do this they MIGHT be sold out as the only have a certain number they make each month).

Once you get your kit, you can sign up for a $1 trail of HerbMentor.com. Here you have access to the forums as well as lots of articles, videos and audio mp3's. Even some books!! They just released a cookbook that deals with wild herbs! WONDERFUL! The videos and the audios are downloadable, so you can keep them and have access to them even after the trial is over. And you can put them on your iPod so you can listen to them anywhere! :) The forums have been VERY helpful and the videos, while definitely home made, are VERY simple and informative! The audios are AWESOME! I have them on my iTunes and listen to them with the children. Everything you are able to download you are able to keep! Even if you cancel your subscription! :)

I have learned a lot from the whole site and will be renewing my subscription. Some things I have learned: how to make herb cookies, how to make dandelion fritters, how to make hand creams, how to make sleep pillow with PROPER herbs (not just lavender!), how to make infusions, and how to help JJ by getting bitters into his diet (yep, a personal question about JJ was answered and it was VERY helpful!).

We have used the free video lessons, the kit and the forum and videos for our homeschooling and it is so GREAT to be teaching the next generation about this lost art of using the herbs that God gave us!