Many Adventures of Dr. Mom
Over time, I'm coming to realize that modern medicine, while great, is not the answer to everything. Join me as we learn new ways for helping our families!
Tuesday, March 13
Garlic, how I love you!
This next remedy couldn't be simpler. Whenever we get respiratory illnesses, all we do is take a clove of garlic, peel it, and cut off a little slice. Then we take the cut clove and rub the juice over the soles of our feet. Apparently, the things we rub into the soles of our feet are very quickly absorbed into the blood stream, so when we use things like garlic or essential oils, this is one of the first places we use them. When we try the garlic trick early in an illness (within the first day or so of showing symptoms), the duration and severity of the illness goes way down--a 7-10 day cold is totally gone in 2-3 days, at least for us.
One of the best experiences I've had with this was shortly after we brought our new baby home from the NICU. She was born with double pneumonia, and her doctor told us that because she'd had such a serious respiratory illness so early in life, she was likely to have a lot more trouble with such illnesses throughout her childhood. Well, we have 3 other kids (all under age 7), and with that many little kids, it's hard to avoid getting sick for very long. Sure enough, within a few weeks of bringing her home, one of us caught a cold and started sharing it. I was so worried that she'd get it and we'd wind up having to take her in that I preemptively started rubbing garlic on her feet at night. I know she came down with it because she started sounding congested; over the next 3 days I had to suction her nose 4 or 5 times, but on the fourth day, her breathing went totally back to normal. No screaming fits, no fever, no serious difficulty breathing--just a couple more boogers than usual.
Ah garlic, how I love you!
Wednesday, June 29
Homemade natural window and surface cleaner!
Here's what you'll need:
2-3 Tbsp. vinegar (ammonia works too, but you only need one or the other)
1/2 c. Rubbing alcohol
1 squirt dish soap
20 drops lemon e.o. (or more to smell)
20 drops orange e.o. (or more to smell)
water
a 24 oz. (or so) spray bottle
Just pour your liquid ingredients into your spray bottle and give it a good shake. Easy as can be!
And now you may actually enjoy cleaning. :)
Sunday, June 12
All-natural Ear Infection Remedy
All you'll need is fresh garlic, olive oil, and a dropper.
Now, to treat an ear infection.
Tuesday, November 4
What have I done with my life?
Tuesday, October 14
Earthquake Cake--Natural Disasters Never Tasted So Good!
This recipe is for a really fun cake called "Earthquake Cake." I think it's named that for the super-bumpy texture it has once it's baked. I baked it for a book club meeting and served it again at a church function, and everyone loved it! So without further ado, here's the REALLY SIMPLE recipe.
Earthquake Cake1 c. flaked coconut
1 c. chocolate chips
1 c. nuts (I used pecans, the recipe calls for walnuts)
1 box German chocolate cake mix (and whatever the mix calls for)
1 8-oz. package cream
cheese (room temperature)
2-1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 stick butter or margarine (also room temperature)
1 tsp. vanilla
Sprinkle coconut, chocolate chips, and nuts on the bottom of a greased 9x13" pan. Follow direction
s on box of cake mix to prepare batter. Pour batter over the chocolate chipmixture. For cream cheese filling, beat the cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Add powdered sugar about 1/2 c. at a time and beat until creamy. Add vanilla and mix thoroughly. Drop
cream cheese mixture by heaping spoonfulls over cake batter. Swirl the cream cheese through the cake using a knife. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until cake is set and cream cheese isn't too gooey. (I actually baked mine f
or more than 40 minutes, but the recipe said 30-40, so maybe my oven is just slow.)
Thursday, October 9
Super Easy Cookie Idea
Sunday, August 17
The Plan of Salvation
I've been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints my whole life. From the time I was 3 I've been taught the Plan of Salvation. This is what we call God's plan for us. We believe that before we came to Earth, we existed as spirits with our Father in Heaven. He told us of His plan for us to come to earth, receive bodies, and be tested. He told us that He would send us a Savior, even Jesus Christ, who would pay the price of our sins; thus if we lived righteously and repented of our sins, we could be forgiven and return to our Father's presence to live for eternity with our families. Because there must be opposition in all things, there was another plan brought forth by our brother Lucifer. He had a plan that would ensure that everyone would return, but it required us to forfeit our agency. At that point in our premortal existence, God the Father allowed us to choose: agency with the possibility of not being able to return to our Father's presence, or no agency. We know what happened--those who chose Lucifer's plan were cast out, Lucifer became Satan, and the hosts that followed him became devils to persuade men to be miserable as they are. Those who chose the Father's plan were sent to Earth, to receive bodies and be tested.
We believe that this mortal existence is a time for us to be tested. We believe that there are certain things we must accomplish in this life in order for us to return to God's presence: we must be baptized and make certain covenants (or promises) in the temple. When we die, we are sent to a spirit world, which is divided into two sections: spirit paradise, where dwell those who led righteous lives, and spirit prison, where dwell those who were wicked. We believe that those in the spirit world are continuously striving to teach the true gospel, watch over the living, and rest from mortal cares as we prepare for the next step, which is resurrection and judgment. At this point, following judgment, we believe we are sent to one of four places: the celestial kingdom, which is where God the Father dwells, the terrestial kingdom, which is where good people who have not accepted the true gospel or temple covenants go, and the telestial kingdom, which is where those who refused to repent or lived wicked lives go. The fourth place is called outer darkness, and is reserved for only the vilest of sinners.
I know this is a lot to take in, and it's only a basic summary of this truly glorious plan, but as I've pondered on life and death this week, it's been on my mind a lot. It's tragic when children die. It doesn't seem right that someone so innocent and pure would have to leave this earth so early, and leaving us with broken hearts as we lose so many opportunities and miss the lost person so terribly. What a comfort it is to know, though, that there IS life after this! Not only that, but if we are sealed together as families in the temple, those lost children, mothers, fathers, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. will be ours again! In the Kingdom of God, we WILL be families again. So even though we still have to live out the rest of our mortal lives without the beloved lost member, we have all of eternity to celebrate a joyful reunion. And I KNOW that eternity will be a lot longer than we're here on earth. To me it's comforting to know that death is not the end--merely the beginning of a much grander existence, free from hurt, pain, tiredness, sin... and what could be better than that?
If there were one thing I could tell everyone I know, it would be that our Savior lives. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of everyone who has ever lived on this earth, and that if we will but accept his atonement, live righteously, and repent of the inevitable mistakes, we will be blessed beyond any mortal imagination. I am so thankful that I have been sealed to my family. I know that when we leave this mortal stage, we will still be a family.
And that is good news.
For more information on the LDS (or Mormon) church, visit www.mormon.org, or www.lds.org