Halfway to Granola Mom

I'm into natural stuff. Also drive-thru's. I'm a little bit tree hugger, a little bit... rock n' roll? Meaning sometimes, I just roll with it. As in... roll into the Chick Fil A drive-thru. I'm sorry, but sometimes you can't go into Mother's Market and get an organic quinoa salad. Sometimes its 92 degrees out and you don't want to get out of the van. I'm here to say that is OK. I'm a mom of two young boys, and I'm learning every day on this motherhood journey. If you're somewhat crunchy, but a little half-baked, you'll understand!

I have two young boys. One is three and a half. In a blink, he was no longer a baby. Now I'm already looking at his baby photos in disbelief. I also have a 9-month-old. I am both in awe of his ever-growing self and sweet curiosity about the world around him... and somewhat annoyed that I can't even set him down in the bathroom so I can pee, because he'll instantly grab his brother's potty seat, the plunger, and the toilet scrubber in two seconds flat. And pop them all into his sweet little drooling mouth.

I'm into natural things. When my oldest was little, I discovered Hyland's products. I like to use those natural products when my kids are sick with colds. I've learned that a fever is your body's natural way of warding off illness and that it's okay and even good for kids to have fevers when they are sick (as long as the fever doesn't go too high). I've learned that you don't need to treat your child by shoving Tylenol down their throat as soon as their temperature creeps up slightly above 98.6. (Don't worry, if my older one's temperature is 103 or more, I do give him something to bring it down. So please don't send me hate mail. (For babies, a fever is 100.4 degrees or higher. For more information on fevers, I suggest consulting another source, as this is a mostly tongue-in-cheek post, not actual recommendations from a professional). Did you know that putting vinegar pads on the feet of your baby can bring his or her temperature down? I learned that one from my mother-in-law (along with a lot of other tricks and tips).

I also use natural essential oils sometimes. I have a diffuser that was gifted to me, and oils that were mostly gifted to me as well. I also bought an oil and have some samples from a friend who sells them. But just when you think you're doing the right thing (putting oils on your children when they're sick and diffusing them throughout the house), someone will come along and tell you otherwise. Oh, did you know that essential oils are actually bad for some children and can actually make them sick? Here's a link to a blog all about how one mother found out that essential oils are bad! But then someone else says, essential oils used in a hospital got rid of MRSA (staph infection). WOW! See, they work wonders, plus they're natural!!! Is your head spinning, yet? I know mine is..

I'm new to a lot of things. I grew up going through a lot of drive-thru's. We liked our Wendy's and our Carl's Jr. My little brother's nickname for a long time was "Famous Matthew" because of how he liked his cheeseburger prepared. We knew my little brother was having chicken nuggets a bit too much when the gal in the drive through window said "See you tomorrow!" one day as we pulled away with our lunch.

Since then, I've come a long way, but sometimes I still need an In N Out cheeseburger or a Chick Fil A sandwich. And I'm not going to pretend otherwise. However, I am open to learning new things and I am on a journey with feeding my family healthy food and learning what it means to be a leader for them in the nutritional realm. I buy organic fruits and vegetables. I know there's a such thing as the "dirty dozen". I haven't memorized the list yet but I can tell you it exists and I can google it if I need to when I'm in the produce section at Sprouts. Unashamed.

My kids came down with colds recently. Don't judge. Everyone gets sick sometimes (well, I'm told that if you eat 250% organic, eat your kale, don't consume any sugar whatsoever and keep your body completely pH balanced, you will never get sick another day in your life. But like I said, I'm not there yet). Anyhow, keep in mind that our family had not been sick for several months prior to this. We were doing pretty well. Until my kids came down with runny noses, my throat got scratch as well, and then the next day came the full on congestion for us all, the headaches (me), and the sore throat that felt like it was on fire (husband). Now, we all have lingering coughs, but thankfully we are on the mend. Ok, back to what I was saying... our cousin told me to feed my kids organic chicken broth in a sippy cup. She advised that I should give the baby some organic pink Himalayan salt to season the broth. I do not have such salt. I have the blue container with the cute little girl wearing a yellow dress that's a little too short, with an umbrella. It's all I've ever known... but anyhow. (Note to self: Get Himayalan salt. Also, move to the Himalayas and don't tell anyone.... Ok just kidding, just kidding).

But seriously. So I give my children the chicken broth. And I'm pleased because it seems like this should really help their cold get better and they'll be on the mend soon because of this little healthy remedy. But then it's brought to my attention that I could have made homemade chicken broth. This would apparently require me to boil two whole chickens for a couple of days? I don't even know. I haven't read up on exactly how to do it yet. But apparently, it's a very time intensive process. Which is fine. It is totally doable and I am planning on doing it someday, but I'm just not at the place yet where I have the energy to purchase two whole chickens and boil them for two days. THEN, it comes to my attention that I could buy chicken feet and put those into a boiling pot of healthy goodness for my family to consume. Indeed, the gelatin from the chicken feet is supposed to be spectacular for you. Well, I am not one to shy away from doing dirty work. I have been called squeamish in the past, but I wouldn't say I was a total wimp. Maybe it was because I was not feeling well and was also dealing with fussy, sick children and a baby who was cutting teeth at the same time. But when I heard about boiling chicken feet, I just found that disgusting. I'm not saying I won't do it. I'm just saying that it's not gonna be today. How expensive are chicken feet, anyway? What's next, frog legs? Snails? I know our great-grandmother's probably had it way worse. I'm sure they strangled chickens in their backyard and made homemade butter and milked cows and everything was 100% organic. But you know what? I'm just not there, yet. If you're there and you're doing it, good for you, and I'd love to hear all about it when I'm ready.

I'm halfway there. I'll see you on the other side.