Weekend tidbits and a little garlic

A little crafting going on these days...

Almost done J's messenger bag.  Just have to sew in the lining and voila!  She'll have a sweet little bag to carry her treasures around.  Of course, it's almost impossible to keep things secret around here, so she knows she's getting a messenger bag.  I haven't shown her the final product though.  Last night I stayed up late pinning the lining to the outer bag... which leaves everything inside out.  Which means she can't see the bag itself, only the lining and even that is inside out.  Anyhow, best I can do under the circumstances.  Can't wait to show it off!

The kids made safety pin angels this weekend.  They strung beads onto safety pins, and then onto wires to shape into angels.  A sweet craft, but perhaps a bit much for little hands.  At least so I thought until yesterday when M brought me a whole bunch of safety pins he had strung with beads all by himself unbeknownst to me.  Basically they just needed to be strung on the wire and tied up.  Awesome!  I love being surprised like that!  (Although I think M surprised himself just as much...)

As for yarn crafting, that's kind of an ongoing given.  I am working on a few more hats right now and I hope to share them later this week.  Of course, I am hoping to share finished products by then, but who knows what will pop up in the meantime, so I'll leave it open.  :)

Oh dear, the laundry is piling up a bit and I can start to see the little mountain from where I sit.  As usual, it's not so much dirty clothes, just the clean clothes waiting to be folded.

And of course, illness is still our companion.  This time it's residual nightly coughing and an ear infection for baby.  It was painful for her, but we went the natural route this time and she is doing much better.  (We were so thankful that our doctor was supportive of this course.)  Her treatment was quite helpful in getting her comfortable especially for sleep time.  Nothing fancy: warm, garlic-infused olive oil drops for her ear, saline rinses for her nose, and managing her fever and pain with ibuprofen or acetaminophen.  And I have to say, she's a champ this girl of ours.  Didn't even flinch when we give her the saline drops up her nose.  Same with the ear drops.  I think the oil drops actually helped with the pain, but what do I know.  Regardless, she seems to be back to normal in less than 24 hours.

I am a huge fan of the more natural, herbal remedies whenever possible.  This recipe for the ear drops is pretty basic and really easy to make.  I usually make a fresh batch each day and administer it ever 4 hours or so along with tylenol.  She acts a little weird after I've put it in, but 5 minutes later she's a different baby - definitely happier.  And the healing time seems so fast - ours lasted for about 24 hours.  If you ever have a child with an ear infection, I would really encourage you to try this out.  (Just don't use it on a child with a perforated eardrum.)  Both olive oil and garlic are antiviral and antibacterial (amongst many other things!) so they're perfect for the job.  All this being said, I should also mention that I am no doctor, so please make sure to check with your doc beforehand.  

GARLIC-INFUSED OLIVE OIL EAR DROPS

2 cloves garlic,
4 Tbsp olive oil

Chop and then mash garlic so that it's crushed thoroughly.  Place in a small glass jar or cup and pour olive oil over it.  Allow it to steep for about 15 minutes.  Strain mixture through a clean cotton cloth scrap into another glass jar.  Warm gently by placing glass jar in a cup of hot water for a few minutes.  Test on inner wrist before administering.  Should be just slightly warm, not hot.  Gently administer a drop in the affected ear every so often to help with discomfort and swelling.



Joining Nicole and friends for this week's Keep Calm Craft On.