So Long Antibiotics!

I was recently turned on to the idea of using natural remedies to treat certain common ailments. Let me give you a brief history... I have partial hearing loss from the number of times my eardrum ruptured due to middle ear infections when I was younger. I had chronic infections... which had nothing to do with my surroundings or my care, just the way my ear canal was shaped. It's something most people grow out of. My last ear infection was at the age of 15, I believe. Most of the six of us kids had the same issue. I can still remember how nasty the medicine tasted and how awful the pain was. Fast forward to the last couple years: My first born had a horrible first year and a half of life due to inheriting the curvy ear canals. He was on a new antibiotic every other month. If you have ever administered medicines such as Augmentin or Omnicef or the generics of either, you know what I am talking about when I mention the side affects like diarrhea that result in diaper rash. It becomes a ten-day long, three times a day, nightmare!
I was not at all surprised when Ezra came along and we started the whole process again. The poor thing! In his first year he has been on some sort of antibiotic on and off for the last six months, at least! He is very uncooperative too. I have ended up with medicine spit back in my face on numerous occasions and as bad as it sounds, I've even let him choke it down just so he takes it.
After too many sleepless nights I googled natural remedies for our situation. One particular method consisted of using warm extra virgin olive oil to ease the pain. I tried it, but it didn't clear the infection, because there was still a fever. After complaining to my mom about the validity of what I read online she turned to a friend who uses a different method and swears by it: equal parts 100 proof vodka and apple cider vinegar, mixed in a dropper. You lay the child (or adult)on their side and fill the ear canal with this solution and let it sit for a full minute. Then as that side drains onto a towel in your lap, you do the other side. You still have to be consistent and treat them a couple times a day for a little more than a week. And, your child will smell like an alcoholic spoiled apple but I'm telling you, TRY IT! This woman said that she treats all 10 of her children this way and in 10 or 15 years she has never seen it not work. Some of these kids have never even had to feel the pain of an ear infection. If her kids cough for more than two day she starts treating their ears and it subsides. Even children who were weeks from having dangerous tube surgery have been treated successfully and not had to have surgery.
I wish I had known about this sooner! Once I started mentioning it to family and friends I was amazed at how many people had heard of it or knew someone that used it. Why didn't I know about it?!? It would have saved me lots of money for one, and a whole lot of sleepless nights, not to mention my sanity and the stress it caused for my children. My little Ezra will be one next week and he has not slept through the night until I started this treatment for his latest ear episode. He has even been taking consistent naps and I can just lay him down, awake, and he'll just fall asleep. His personality has changed too! He's SO HAPPY! He's always been a good baby, but I can seriously see a dramatic change in him.
So there's to my new found treatment and a better way of life for our family! And if you're curious about it and would like to try it for yourself, we've got plenty of vodka and would love to share! LOL!

Ketchup! (ha-ha)

I have a whole lot to write about and very little time in which to document our weekend's experiences so I'm forced to use bullet points. I promise I will come back later and add detail if you want the full effect!

• I dropped Chris off at the airport Friday morning so he could go to D.C



• Plane was delayed- got free ticket to use later



• Boys and I fend for ourselves



• Neighbors, Brad and Jessica leave for Hawaii



• We get to babysit their saltwater tank



• Had to take dinner to a friend Friday night



• Made huge mess in kitchen



• Fed the fish



• Saturday- our anniversary



• Fed the fish



• Went shopping with the boys



• Ezra pokes grandpa in the eye- quick trip to Urgent Care



• Came home and fed the fish



• Sunday morning Kleven fakes sick -misses daddy too much



• Fed the fish



• The nursery at church was CRAZY insane



• Dad/G-pa's Birthday dinner @ 4- showed up late & Kleven slept through dinner



• Took a walk to the wash to look for rabbits



• Came home and fed the fish



• Monday morning-go to feed fish, kick a paint can out of the yard



• Made green scrambled eggs for St. P-day



• Kendyl comes over- wants to know what happened to the van



• Someone dumped a gallon of beige paint down the back of the van



• Got angry- Called police



• Spent two and a half hours cleaning van with pressure washer



• Actually we watched Uncle Tyler use the pressure washer



• Kleven played with his big animals while we cleaned the car



• Went to lunch



• Came home, animals were gone from yard



• Got angry again




• Boys and I wear Green in honor of St. Patty's Day!

• Pick up Kendyl and go to Target - retail therapy-spent $1

• Ready to pick up Chris at 9:30, flight got delayed until after 10

• Finally pick him up and go home to feed the fish

• Get up Tuesday and go feed the fish

• Tried to get some projects finished in the garage

• Made a trip into "town" for some jewelry components

• Found 2 new dresses for church as well

• Stopped at g-ma and g-pa's and went for a walk to the wash to look for rabbits

• Came home and fed the fish

• Neighbors come home from Hawaii at 2 in the morning and see suspicious persons in front of our house (I was told there were four people. Two on bikes and a male and female walking. All dressed in black. Two of them were wearing black hooded sweatshirts so you couldn't see their faces. Brad and Jessica turned onto our street right as one of the bikers was on our driveway)

• Don't have to go feed the fish

• Paint out in the garage all afternoon

• Kleven pees his pants FOUR times

• He will not take a nap

• He goes to Kari's to play with Slade

• On the way to Kari's I spot familiar objects in another neighbors garage

• Neighbor kids' friend (14 years old?!?) confesses to stealing Kleven's animals

• Animals are RESCUED

• Garage projects get moved into the living room so the van can go in for the night

• Chris and Brad want to sleep out on the driveway with their guns


• Not gonna happen!

Happy Anniversary!

We got to celebrate early this year since Chris had to go out of town for business. He gets to spend the weekend in Washington, D.C. where we went on our honeymoon! We dropped the boys off with my parents on Thursday afternoon and went to get massages. We went to dinner at Benihana's and then did a little shopping. Once we were home for the night it was all about laundry and packing for his trip. He even set up a web-cam so the boys and I could see him while he's gone. Here's the Reader's Digest version of "our story": Chris and I were married FIVE years ago on March 15th 2003. We dated for a year and got engaged halfway through. If you ask Chris, he'll tell you we met online. If you ask me, it was a coincidence that we were RE-introduced online but we had actually been present at the same social events and shared friends years before. :) I knew I was going to marry Chris as soon as I climbed on the back of his motorcycle on our first date. I thought I was going crazy in my head because I kept telling myself "this is the guy I'm going to marry!" He had the nerve to kiss me on that first date too ~ which only reaffirmed my crazy thoughts. He was a motorcycle riding, lead singer in a band, and a full time student. (just the kind of guy you can't wait to take home to meet your dad)
Every day I am reminded of how grateful I am to have him for a husband! Here's my top five reasons I love him:
1. He's my best friend and confidante.
2. Life is never boring with him.
3. We can laugh together until we cry.
4. He's an amazing example in many ways to me, our boys and everyone around him.
5. If he can handle having ME for a wife he MUST be a one-of-a-kind guy!
I love you babe! Have a safe trip!

Happy Birthday Baby Carson!

Here's my sweet heart baby brother... he's 14 yeasrs old today! I can't believe it! He's such a good kid, an awsome uncle and a great shoulder massage giver! Happy Birthday Carson! We love you!

(I promise I will find a more up to date photo!)

Another Quirky Kleven Moment

We were watching "The Ringer" with our neighbors. Kleven must have been paying more attention than we thought. He came walking casually out of his room like this:

If you're unfamiliar with the movie, click here: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/the_ringer/