All Natural Cough Medicine

 

I began making homemade cough syrup in April of this year. My girl got a nasty cough that she couldn't kick and with my attempts to do all things natural, sought out a natural fix for the crud. These ingredients below are all organic and made the perfect blend that can coat the throat and keep a cough at bay for a while. 

Ingredients:

2 cups water

8 fresh thyme or sage sprigs (we use thyme)

Ginger (1 full root)

1 lemon

1 cup local honey

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

 

Directions:

Before you start, juice the lemon. For best results, roll firmly on the counter to loosen up the juice & cut top to bottom into strips to juice. 

Cut ginger root into slices & measure the remaining ingredients.

Simmer water, thyme & ginger until reduced by half. Allow it to cool to warm *not hot* steeping herbs. Strain and return tea to pan. Pour in lemon juice, honey & cayenne pepper. Stir in honey until it is dissolved. Keep in airtight jar and store in fridge for best results.

This time, my batch was to make three jars as seen, to hopefully get my family of four through sick season. 

You can take a tablespoon at a time, as needed. The benefit of having a natural cough medicine is being able to take several doses a day without fear of liver damage from overdose, as there is no pharmaceutical medicine in this. 

Big Berkey=Love

My family made the switch this week to a Berkey Water filtration system and we couldn't be more thrilled. Just a few of the perks are no need for electricity, no costly installation & no tools required except some elbow grease. 

The water is THE BEST. No exaggeration. It's hard to find words for the taste. It has such a pure, untampered taste. My family is over the moon having this water readily available. Our system is a 2.25 gallon water filtration system. We filled it as of Wednesday late night and as of Sunday morning we had finished it. We typically fill our Stanley 30 oz cups a few times a day. It has drastically increased our water intake, as well as easing our minds as to what we are consuming on a daily basis.

Our system came with two of the black Berkey element BB9-2 filters, which filter out or drastically reduce over 250 contaminants that could be present in freshwater sources, including your tap water. Below is the picture of our system once I got it set up on our counter. I have since ordered a stainless steel spigot for the system, as I am trying to get away from any plastics I can. I have included the links for the system with filters and links below. If you are interested in filtering your water to get the purest possible for your family, check them out. You won't regret it.

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CYW3EVO/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_5E4XW22KESSX7TQK5BE6?linkCode=ml1&tag=amandachastai-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06Y1XHQCQ/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_VZZH5M6YW5Y0GPTAZF1Y?linkCode=ml1&tag=amandachastai-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BWIWYBW/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_9TPTJK2T6FYEHH9M7JJZ?linkCode=ml2&tag=amandachastai-20&th=1

Life Lately

 Life with two teens(basically already there with the girl child) is absolute chaos lately. 

I thought when my kids were babies that things would settle down. Diapers, bottles, sleeping the equivalent of a few, choppy naps per day to survive. 

Then, toddlerhood came around. Yo Gabba Gabba and all things Pixar on a continuous loop day in and day out. ALL the chicken nuggies and mac and cheese, spaghetti, and chocolate milk. Time spent outdoors chasing goats & dogs, swinging and playing with friends at the local parks.

Then, we started school. We began 2K with Kade learning basics, sight words, colors and whatnot. Then we got down to business in 4K. Kyleigh was thrust into the routine of a school day at an earlier age, and due to our freedom with third option homeschooling in SC, she began school "a year earlier" than most kids with a late November birthday. We also began adding more activities. Kyleigh started tumble and cheer at age 2, while Kade started drums and soccer at age 4.

Middle School. We got here in the blink of an eye. So many tears during this transition stage. Mostly from me. That was a hard pill to swallow. That my tiny baby boy started middle school. It was an extra jab when my baby girl joined the ranks. Both kids jumped from tumble and competition cheer and soccer into competitive swim. Having them in one place several days a week added a smidge of chaos, but actually reduced some of my driving due to cutting down the opposite directions. My baby girl is still in middle school. Her social calendar tends to be more full than her activities are. She is still determined that she will grow up to be a Vet, as her love of animals has only intensified. She has also joined her brother in being a part of the praise team for the youth group, singing. 

But....

High School. Saying that I am a mom of a freshman in high school is the most awkward thing. I feel like I held him for so long he'd never walk. And now here we are, finishing up his education and we've done every single day of it at home thus far, Praise God. It is so bittersweet to be here. I never imagined I'd be SO proud of a human, who is now nearly driving and nearly an adult. The dedication my boy gives to his schoolwork, drumming and the intense swim schedule he has are something to be reckoned with. The next few years will fly by, as I've seen they tend to do. But I'm so thankful to have a front row spot to soak it all up.