Herbal Throat Spray + the Best Medicine...

With the holidays often comes scratchy throats and runny noses.....I'm not sure if it's the travelling, the added stress, or just all that 'togetherness' that brings it on.  Or maybe you picked up something funky just from being underneath the mistletoe at the wrong time!

No matter...around here, we try to tackle it with an ounce of prevention first, and then treat it with some natural remedies if that doesn't work.

Want more natural remedies?  Check out Simple Kitchen Fixes, a booklet about how to use herbs everyday and Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs.

DIY Herbal Throat Spray

• 2 Tbsp raw honey (Please remember that honey should not be given to children under a year old.)
• 1 Tbsp warm water
• 1/8 tsp peppermint extract (or 1 drop peppermint essential oil)
• 2 oz glass spray bottle
• 2 Tbsp total of herbal tincture – optional : see more details below

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.  Pour into glass spray bottle.
2. Spray into back of mouth, as needed. 
• If sore throat persists for more than a week, contact a doctor.
• When made with tinctures, this throat spray will last for months.  Store in refrigerator to lengthen life.

In addition to your base, you can add one of these herbs to your spray :

• Echinacea – helps to boost immune system
• Thyme – go-to respiratory herb, for bronchitis or infection
• Elderberry –  an antiviral which also protects against flu
• Ashwaganda – helps the body cope with stressors
• Astragalus – helps with stress and boosts immune system
• Lemon Balm – antiviral that protects against cold sores
• Ginger – warming antibiotic

Check each herb beforehand to make sure that it’s not contraindicated for your personal health.

Looking for more simple ideas?  Check out the Homesteading & Homemaking Bundle!  It includes twenty-four tutorials with background information for anyone who is interested in homemaking and homesteading. Topics are broken down into:  In the Kitchen – Fall & Winter;  In the Kitchen – Spring & Summer; Around the Homestead – Inside;  and Around the Homestead – Outside

The Best Medicine

We've all read it in Reader's Digest -- laughter truly is the best medicine!  Tickle your funny bone today with this "Mom's Letter to Santa."

Dear Santa:

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned, and cuddled my two children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground and figured out how to attach nine patches onto my daughter's girl scout sash with staples and a glue gun.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

• I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache after a day of chasing kids (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't flap in the breeze but are strong enough to carry a screaming toddler out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.
• I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.
• If you're hauling big ticket items this year, I'd like a car with fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
• On the practical side, I could use a talking daughter doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with one potty-trained toddler, two kids who don't fight, and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.
• I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.
• And please don't forget the Playdoh Travel Pack, the hottest stocking stuffer this year for mothers of
• preschoolers. It comes in three fluorescent colors and is guaranteed to crumble on any carpet making the In-laws' house seem just like mine.
• If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container. 
• If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season.
• Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.
• It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family; or if my toddler didn't look so cute sneaking downstairs to eat contraband ice cream in his pajamas at midnight.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door.

I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the chimney and come in and dry off by the fire so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours always,

Mom

PS - One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

~Written by unknown Mom~

.....and a little snowman humor!