In-Flu...a diet??

I had food poisoning a couple weeks ago, after eating some apparently toxic pizza.  It was not a pleasant experience, of which I am sure many of you are aware.  As I was laying on the bathroom floor, freezing cold and sweating buckets, I had this crazy thought:  'This sucks but at least I'll lose a couple pounds and wake up with a flat stomach'.

Call it sick-brain talking.  Call it delusional.  Call it whatever you want, but don't deny that you haven't thought it yourself.  I'm actually pretty impressed that I was lucid enough to have purposely thought that little bit of genius.

Now that cold and flu season are imminent, people are rushing out all over the place to get shot up with the flu du jour, getting stocked on medicines and fluids and all.  Getting flu shots is totally a personal preference, and though I can site a zillion articles about why flu shots are bad, it's my opinion and a touchy subject and I really don't feel like getting into it.  My family doesn't get them.  Period.

Naturally (no pun intended) we do other things like diet, supplement, exercise, etc. to make sure we have healthy immune systems and when something does come our way we fight it and treat it, and drink our Performance (Shaklee's version of Gatorade), let it run its course, and if anything were to get out of hand there's the urgent care department at the docs office.  We eat good and take our vitamins and probiotics like good little anti-flu shot folks, but no matter what we do, germs will continue to float around like crazy.  Especially for those with kids in school with their sticky hands all touching everything all the time, precautions must be taken.  Hand washing is obviously important, using tissues and your coughing corner, cleaning and disinfecting your surfaces constantly (and safely!), etc. etc.  More common sense stuff that everyone knows.  Or should know.  If you don't, you've got problems.

Considering the candy-binge holiday that is in our very recent history, let me tell you a little tidbit about sugar and your immune system.  They don't get along.  You know how people say Vitamin C helps when you have a cold or flu cause it boosts your immune system?  Then they reach for the orange juice and all their problems are solved, right?  Wrong.  Vitamin C is good, yes.  But do me a favor and stay away from fruit juices.  Why?  Cause sugar puts your immune system right to sleep.  There have been studies done, so I'm not just making this up, specifically with orange juice, that prove this.  So just do yourself a favor and skip the juice, try a Vitamin C supplement and call it a day.

No matter what precautions we take, there is still always the chance that we can (will) contract the flu and spend a minimum of 24 hours barfing and shitting our guts out, not eating anything, laying in bed sweating and being gross and stinky and feeling like poo.

But honestly...how many of you have had the thought that if your kids DO bring home the flu (again) this year and you spend a couple days taking care of them and ultimately yourself doing the above mentioned activities...at least you'll lose a couple pounds?! 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in any saying that you should purposely go out and get yourself on the flu-diet.  That's just dumb.  But let's look at the bright side.  Hey, there's always a bright side!  There's always an honest side too, so don't try and tell me that its a crazy thought that you'd never even consider.  You know you've thought it.

So good luck, ya'll.  Yeah, I said ya'll.  Whether you get the flu this year or you dodge the bullet, whether you get it or just don't...take care of yourselves!!  And if you want a REAL weight loss program, let me know!

Finger Lickin' Good, Ya'll

How many times have you been driving down the road or sitting at a stoplight, minding your innocent little business, and happen to sneak a glance at the person next to you just to find that they are knuckle deep in their nose?  Sometimes you even get to witness the follow-thru...you know what I'm talking about.  Grown, supposedly mature, adults eating boogers.  GROSS.

Obviously kids do it.  Sooo many kids do it!  I was inspired to write this blog the other day by my little friend Jacob, who finds the inside of his nose positively irresistible.  Thank you Jacob!  He's lucky he's one of those super cute angel-face kids, cause he can totally pull off getting caught picking.

We all see people picking their noses all the time, don't we.  Sometimes we even get to make commentary.  Like when we were standing in line for the ferris wheel and the kid in front of us turned around so we would have the privilege of watching his booger show.  After he stuck his finger in his mouth, making full eye contact the whole time, my husband innocently asked 'Was that good?'.  Well?!  Don't you wonder what keeps the booger eaters coming back for more?

Maybe they know something we don't.  (Besides how boogers taste).

There's a certain doctor in Austria, a lung specialist, who believes that nose-picking and booger-eating will actually strengthen the immune system.  Let me restate that.  There's an actual medical doctor who thinks that eating boogers is a GOOD IDEA.  The idea is that all the little germs and bacteria that get hung up by the cilia and mucous in our noses, then picked out and eaten, actually works as a sort of probiotic for us, creating antibodies and helping fight off whatever is out there trying to slip past the gooey gates.

Who woulda thought?  Eating boogers is potentially a healthy(ish) habit?  I don't know...

If I see you totally digging and subsequently eating what you find, 

is it still considered a healthy habit 

if I barf on you?  

I doubt it.  I get the logic, I admit it makes sense.  But still, can't we just break the nose picking habit early and all buy Shaklee probiotics instead?!  Really, I will happily supply the world...

There's an actual scientific name for nose picking, it's rhinotillexis.  And compulsive nose-picking is rhinotillexomania.  There's even a latin word for booger-eating!  You know you want to know what it is.  It's automucophagy.  Hey, I totally understand that inquiring minds want to know, so I will oblige.

Here in The Land of Cheese, the first day of school countdown clock is about to hit blastoff.  With the inception of the new school year comes a whole slew of new germs for our kids to bring home to us poor, innocent parents.  Our families pass around colds, flu, viruses, heck even warts, that we've picked up while we are out and about.  Kids are obviously infamous for germ-transfer, especially the younger ones who are still perfecting the art of the 'coughing corner'.  What's that, you ask?  Um, hello?  The inside of your elbow, where all well-placed coughs and sneezes go!  Feel free to take notes here, folks.

So, what's a concerned parent to do to fight off all these germy germs?  There's the obvious hand-washing, disinfecting (with only safe, non-toxic cleaners of course), or using your coughing corner to not needlessly spread sickness around.  But needless to say, there are always some germs that get by even the most diligent hand-washing, mouth-covering, non-bare-surface-touching germophobe.  So, how about fighting them better from the inside, too? Our immune systems are a hugely important part of the body, and when sickness abounds we must strengthen ourselves to fight off the ones that get by.

Don't worry, I'm not going to suggest eating a few boogers.  You can do what you want, but don't expect me to shake your hand.  Obviously there are a lot of things we can do to help ourselves that does not include automucophagy.  There are a lot less gross things we can do, I should say.  Obviously eating right is the first one.  Some kids would not agree...they might actually prefer boogers to vegetables.  If that's not really an option you'd like them explore, literally, keep reading.

Did you know that refined sugar actually suppresses the immune system?  Ya.  It does.  So stop consuming so much.  Certainly taking a daily multi-vitamin (or one for kids), a probiotic, eating lots of lean protein, getting lots of sleep, regular exercise, and living in a clean environment are all ideal. There is plenty of help for cold and flu season!

So come on, folks.  Let's get to work.  There are a LOT of nose-pickers out there!  So when you see them...give them my number! 

Gettin' Schooled

Ahhh...four of my favorite words are floating around constantly in conversations, commercials, even sales flyers - Back To School Time.  Just typing and reading it gives me warm fuzzy feelings.  Our district doesn't start until September 1, so we are still a week and a half away.  That's ok though, it's good.  I have 8 more days (not counting weekends) to enjoy some last minute summer activities and having my kids home with me all day.  But who's counting?

This summer has been great though it sure went fast, but all in all I give it four stars.  We did some traveling, celebrated the wedding of my husband's brother, spent time at the beach, my kids played with their friends, etc. etc.  What more can you ask for?  Only that eventually school will start again...and it will.  It is upon us, in a mere 8 days.  8...more...days...

Like death and taxes, sort of... every year it comes time for school supply shopping.  This is an especially joyous occasion for the children.  After a season of freedom and fun in the sun, there is nothing they would prefer to do than the combination of thinking about school starting and shopping.  It's quite the dynamic duo, don't you think?

    Shopping
+  Going back to school
=  Not very fun for anyone

Every year we get the good old supply list to follow and shop till every item on the list is accounted for;  ziplocs (2 sizes), pencil boxes, non-marking gym shoes, dry erase markers (low-odor only!), 3-prong 2-pocket folders in 4 different colors (plastic lasts longer!), etc.  One of the items that appears on the list every year that really burns my ass is those pesky wet wipes.  I've had lists that called out specific brand names of disinfecting wipes, though to the school's credit in the last couple years the brand names have been left off.

I've spent enough time at the school in past years to see that most parents are still supplying the classrooms with disinfecting wipes, and I've spied with my own two eyes a teacher lining up the kids and handing them each their own Lysol wipe to wipe their hands with.  Gah!!

Some time ago while researching this whole issue, a friend of mine contacted Clorox regarding their products being on school supply lists, and the correct usage of disinfecting wipes specifically in a school setting.  Clorox responded (in writing, no less) that the correct usage of a disinfecting wipe is thus:  Wipe once with a clean wipe to remove any actual, visible dirt and discard that wipe;  Get a fresh wipe and re-wipe the same surface to disinfect.  For anyone not counting, that's a two-wipe process.  Clorox went on to say that their wipes should only be used while wearing protective gloves, and are ONLY for use by adults.  That's adults, not children. 

Since he started kindergarten my son has only been taking wipes to school that have been approved by ME.  (I've done my homework and I'd like to think I'm some what of an authority on the subject, so this isn't just based on my opinions or what I'd like to sell you.)  I've informed all of the teachers that either of my children have had that they are not allowed to touch any of those toxic disinfecting wipes...it is bad enough that they are used by other children, and on the desks after school hours and the kids are touching the residue and breathing in the fumes all day long.  But, as one parent I can only do so much to protect my own children when they are in a group setting.  Without seeming like that crazy mom whose kids live in a bubble, anyway.

Some time ago, I watched part of a documentary or news show about a woman who refused to touch anything without having a disinfecting wipe in her hand first.  She'd even grab her mail with a wipe!  It was so out of control that a doctor told her that within the next five years she would most likely be diagnosed with some sort of cancer, as well as numerous other potential health problems that come from absorbing toxic chemicals, specifically through the skin. I searched long and hard for the specific article, but could not find it.  Rest assured, there are a lot of crazies out there with similar problems.  Just Google it if you want to read more.

What I'm saying here folks, is that if we ALL supply our schools with safer alternatives then ALL our children will be in a healthier environment for 8 hours a day.  Chemical exposure and fumes can be responsible for a lot of different problems like attention and behavior, and in schools any interruption in the learning process is very unwelcome.  So why are these chemicals still allowed in schools?  There was an experiment done with some children and a handwriting test.  Tested before and after inhaling chlorine bleach fumes, the children showed serious effects from the fumes that our kids most likely breathe in every day at school.  One child tested wasn't even capable of writing his own name after exposure.  Is this what we want for OUR children?  I think not.

Naturally I'm going to recommend Shaklee's H2 wipes, because I know they are safe and proven.  They are non-toxic, biodegradable, and pH balanced to the skin.  Shaklee's Germ Off wipes are the safest disinfecting wipe on the market, and are also biodegradable.  My kids will be taking one container of each with them to school on the first day...with their names written on the top and instructions to the teacher that these are the ONLY wipes my children are allowed to use.

I can only hope that more and more parents see the big picture and supply our schools (and our HOMES for that matter) with the safest, non-toxic cleaning products possible.  So many people are still under the impression that if it's available at the grocery store, it must be safe.  This is so far from the truth, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I think about how misinformed the American public is.  Chemical companies don't care if they are poisoning you, folks.  And neither does the FDA.  Not sure if I can say who said this, but here is the quote anyway:  "People assume that it’s on the shelf it’s been tested, it’s safe. And you can’t make that assumption all the time. You can’t. Not with the regulatory framework we have in place."  Read the full article here, and more here, and a bunch about children's health here.

Sorry to burst your bubble.

We need to protect our own.  Start NOW.


P.S.  For those of you who cry on the first day of school...buck up, huh?!  Wipe your tears...it's not like they won't be back in 8 hours.  Enjoy!

Hot MAHMA!!

I've been a stay-at-home mom for over 7 years.  Sometimes I question my sanity, but mostly I am just glad that I'm here.  For us there have been some challenges financially, but we've made it this far.  Actually, in general we are all lucky that we've made it this far, because there are days...oh, there are days where everyone better just count their blessings that they lived through it...

As a SAHM I cook, clean, schedule, run taxi service, decorate, undecorate, bathe people, clothe people, treat what ails them, etc. etc. whatever.  It's what I do and it takes me all day.  Even though I worked for almost two years after the boy was born, I still can't imagine how the moms out there who have full-time jobs get everything done on top of working.  Kudos to you, ladies!

One of the things I've done over the years is try and make (or save) money anywhere I can to help our family finances.  I could probably dedicate another whole blog to my home business mis-adventures.  I've watched kids, done Tupperware, ebay, crafting, couponing on a massive scale, etc. I have to laugh when I think of how many ads in newspapers I've seen for work from home jobs that are total scams, or internet sites about how you can make jillions of dollars by following their simple system...just spend $500 on their package to learn how!  Assemble crafts at home for $350 a week, or stuff envelopes, or something equally too good to be true.  Be a secret shopper! Or internet jury!  It was fun, but none of these things lasted very long or made enough money, though I do still find myself selling stuff on ebay just cause I like it, and I've got a listing on Amazon, too. 

When the boy was in kindergarten three years ago,  I discovered Shaklee.  Since I was already using green and non-toxic products and trying to make money from home, it seemed like a perfect fit.  I got the business presentation, tried a couple of the cleaning products, and I was IN.  The difference between this stuff and the 'green' products I was using from the grocery store is like night and day.  I used to pay $4.79 for a very popular brand of non-toxic cleaner that didn't really work all that well.  Then I moved to paying $2.79 for a different, yet equally popular brand of so-called green cleaner which worked better, but that I later found out was 'green-washed'.  Then I tried Shaklee's all-purpose cleaner to the tune of about 10 cents a bottle, and it cleaned circles around the other stuff while at the same time being green and non-toxic and cheap and just freaking all-around lovely.  By the way, YES I said 10 CENTS per bottle.

Since I became a Project MAHMA mom and been working my business part-time with one or both kids at home, and I've been making a decent amount of extra money.  Now that both of my kids are in school full-time (GOD BLESS whoever created all-day kindergarten) I need to justify my presence at home all day a little more heavily, so I've revised my plan and created my goals.  Three years later, my Shaklee business is on fire, I'm still at home, and I'm significantly contributing to our household finances.  Maybe not full-time corporate job $$ yet, but it will be, and it won't take me too much longer to get there either.  At this point, I don't intend to EVER go back to work.  And at the rate I'm going I won't have to.

Some people really love their jobs that they do outside of their homes.  Some people don't.  I've never been good at taking orders or doing what other people wanted me to and I can't honestly say that looking back on any of the jobs I've had that I was ever a very good employee.  But I am my own best employee, now! 

I'm my own boss too.  I'm really good at it and I'm a pretty darn cool boss if I may say so myself.  You can ask my kids how good I am at bossing them around, they'll tell you.  Heck, if the kids aren't home all day for me to boss around, who else am I going to tell what to do?

Now, somebody go make me a reuben!!

The Great Lunch Debate

I pack my kids lunches for school about half the time.  The other days they buy it at school.  There is a marked difference between what I pack and what the school serves.  We have a large selection of lunch boxes with characters, and thermoses and flip-straw cups.  Some days the school menu is just too good to pass up, so they buy it.  It's ok.  Everything in moderation.

I get the same complaints almost every 'cold-lunch' day; 'why can't we have white bread?', 'I want Capri Sun!', 'why do you buy such weird stuff?'.  But when I'm packing, they get what I give them and that's that.  I get pretty consistent resistance from the boy no matter what I'm serving, breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He has actually said 'No thanks mom, I don't really like food'. On the opposite side of the spectrum, my beebs (the girl) is quite compliant and will eat just about anything.

Amazingly, both of my kids now have said to me recently that they don't like hot lunch at school, the food is gross, and probably hydrogenated.  Yes, they actually said that!  Hallelujah!  Have they really been listening to me all along? They know the difference between a healthy lunch from home and the processed slop they serve the kids under the guise of 'healthy'!  Hot lunch at school sure is convenient, but I can pack lunches, and I certainly won't cry about not having to spend that money - if both kids buy lunch, it's almost $5 a day! 

It's interesting to me that a school lunch program considers processed butts-n-beaks chicken nuggets a healthy choice because they are 'breaded in whole grains'.  Really?  Whole grains, huh?  Right-o, it must be health food!  I mean, do they seriously consider french fries a vegetable?! Actually, ya. They do.  This is a perfect example of why supplementing their (and our) diets with vitamins is so important.  The food they serve through these programs is nutritionally insufficient, as is much of the food available to all of us.  Modern mass production of food is not good for the nutritional content of that food...things are not the same as they were 50 years ago! 

It's certainly no secret that many school lunch programs in this country are lacking in so many ways.  The USDA guidelines are out of date and you know, I'm thinking that the organization as a whole could use an enema.  Back when the guidelines were created - over a hundred years ago - malnutrition was the epidemic, not the obesity epidemic we face today.  The current USDA guidelines also served the purpose of a marketing strategy to get people to support the agricultural industries.  The industries might have needed the help back then, but I dare say they are a little more stable these days.  Naturally the dairy and meat industries don't want you to decrease your consumption of their products, no matter how unhealthy it is for you or what doctors and scientists say are the correct amounts.  It's a conspiracy, I tell you!  Jamie Oliver, help us! 

So, I ask the kids what kind of stuff I can pick up at the store to pack in their lunches, with 'healthy' being the underlying theme.  I'm looking for some ideas of a couple different fruits, some sort of sandwich fixins, maybe veggies and dip, you know...veggie-tofu stir-fry in the thermos - ok, that last one may be getting a bit carried away, but I'm so excited about the kids volunteering to make healthier choices that my expectation meter is going through the roof.

The beebs tells me she doesn't care, as long as she can put it in her new Dora lunchbox.  Wait...she wants to take her lunch because she wants healthier food, right?  She really gets bent out of shape when something is hydrogenated, I mean, she's literally cried over Oreos so it couldn't possibly be just the lunchbox.

The boy says, 'I want a lunch like ______'s !'

Well  now ______'s mom is a nurse, so of course I do a little internal jump for joy.  A nurse knows about good nutrition, right?!  I stand riveted, with a smile plastered on my face....

'His mom packs him a Slim Jim, a Ho-ho, a Hi-C juice box, and a piece of candy for dessert.  I want that.'

Despite the questionable source for this information, my eyes roll back in my head, I go to my happy place and imagine that I end our conversation like this:

'Listen boy, you'll eat what I give you and you'll LIKE IT.  I don't want to hear how the ass clowns at your lunch table make fun of you cause you're the only one eating brown bread, or the juice in your juice box is partly vegetables.  Some day you'll thank me for not feeding you a pile of crap that rots your guts, makes you fat and gives you cancer!  Now beat it, or I'll show you where you can put your Ho-hos!'

My head spins, and as I fade into unconsciousness I hear a dreamy sounding, 'yes, Mommy I'll eat it.  I love it, Mommy, it's yummy!  Can I have more green vegetables please, Mommy, they're my favorite.....'

Cheer up, baby chick!

This post is pretty personal and a bit of a testimonial, but will also hopefully serve as a ray of hope to some folks out there who deal with mood disorders or behavioral issues, whether in themselves or their family or friends.

My son recently turned 9.  He's a great kid, smart, very social, active in Taekwondo.  He is mine, I own him, and I love him to pieces.  I don't care how 'cool' he is...I will grab him and kiss him and squeeze the daylights out of him any time I please.  That's my boy.  My first, my oldest, my son.  Any parent knows what I'm talking about, you will do anything for your kids!

From the time he was a baby we knew we were in for a heck of ride - he has always been strong-willed.  At first it may seem an undesirable quality, especially in a small child, but strong-willed can be good!  If cultivated correctly, he can turn into one determined, confident, knows-what-he-wants-and-does-what-it-takes-to-get-it adult.  But recently he has seemed...out of sorts.  Honestly, he's been a miserable shit.  Moping around, being nasty with a bad attitude, seemingly upset or angry all the time.  I've had a hard time even talking to him because he's immediately defensive and angry.  This has not made for very pleasant family time!  I want my happy little boy back.

I've done a lot of thinking and worrying about him.  Should we see a counselor?  Is there something 'wrong' with him?  What am I doing wrong as a parent?  OMG, should he be medicated?  Maybe I'm not strict enough.  Maybe I'm TOO strict.  Could it be diet or allergies?  Do we not give him enough attention?  WTF is his PROBLEM?!?! 

As you may know, I am very health conscious and do what I can here at home with natural remedies first.  Naturally the first thing I think of is food allergies.  Maybe there's something he is eating that makes him act out.  It's certainly not unheard of!  (Food coloring is a big offender when it comes to behavior).  Over the past couple years I have cut the artificially colored, flavored and processed foods down to very little here at home.  No cow's milk, no meat with 'added hormones', etc.  Naturally, it's hard to control what goes on at the school lunch table or at friend's houses or where ever, but we do our best where we live and spend most of our time.  Unfortunately, this hasn't helped a whole lot with his attitude.   

Being a Shaklee distributor, I've learned so much about what supplements do what for you, and what happens when you're deficient.  One of the first things you learn is that B vitamins are your 'happy pill'.  Sounds good! Bottoms up, boy!  (And husband, and mother, and sister, and...kidding, kidding!)  So I've been giving the child a single B Complex tablet every morning with his breakfast, along with another Shaklee product called Moodlift Complex.  Moodlift contains St. John's Wort along with a proprietary blend that helps the St. John's Wort be more effective.

We've been doing this for a week now, and the difference is AMAZING.  He wakes up in the morning joking and energetic.  I've been communicating with his teacher by email all this week, and she has said that the boy is much more focused and on task at school all day. When he comes home from school he actually speaks to me and tells me how his day was!  He is agreeable and hasn't been nearly as argumentative as before.  The negativity is not completely gone, but it is so far in the background that if I was not overly conscious of it I'm not sure I would realize it was there.

I guess my point here is sometimes a little bit of the right stuff can make all the difference in the world.  Nutrition is such a huge part of our lives, and so many people don't realize how important it is and how it affects SO MUCH of what we do.  Too many times people resort to heavy medications to 'fix' a behavior that could easily be remedied by changes in diet or by supplementing a deficiency.  Not all cases of course...there are many children that need the heavier stuff on a daily basis, and there's nothing wrong with that.  Simple solutions aren't always going to work for everyone, I'm not trying to say they are.  But if you've been feeling down, don't run to the doc and get a prescription for Zoloft.  Try a natural remedy first - diet, fitness and nutrition.  You might be surprised!