Thursday, July 12, 2012

The amazing and wonderful drug called Arnica!

Arnica Gel Twin Pack from drugstore.com
I have found that a lot of people do not know about this miracle wonder drug called Arnica. It's AMAZING. And it's not really a drug, but more a herb that has been formulated into gels, lotions and capsules. It helps when you have a sprain, a bruise and/or muscle soreness. (Some people swear by it for their arthritis, but since I don't have that problem yet, I cannot attest to it).
 
I use it when my bebe's fall and hit their head -- rub the Arnica on the spot and the bruising is minimal and hardly any, if any at all, swelling. This is a godsend when you have toddlers learning to walk, ride a bike or a scooter. They fall and you put Arnica on the spot and poof! Boo-boo all gone! I use it for sore muscles after exercising and we have used it for broken fingers and toes.

We first learned of Arnica when my husband broke two of his fingers playing basketball right before we went on a trip to Mexico. His entire hand swelled up and he was in a ton of pain. The doctor didn't do much more than tape his fingers together and give him some Ibuprofen for the pain. My neighbor, who is from Guatemala, suggested that we put Arnica on his fingers to reduce the swelling and the pain. We were very skeptical, but decided to try it anyway. It was like magic! His fingers almost immediately reduced in size, which in turn, reduced his pain. We were hooked!

The next time we used it was after our then 4 yr old bonked his head HARD on his new bed frame. Pottery Barn used to sell this cute looking bed frame that had low head and foot boards - you could sleep at either end or use it as a day bed. They stopped making it and I'm sure it's because so many kids bonked their heads on the headboard as they lay down to sleep. He hit his head so hard that it was indented where he hit it. I immediately grabbed the arnica and rubbed it in A LOT. There was no goose egg (nor did he have a concussion) and barely a bruise when we got up the next morning. A miracle cure!

When a friend sprained her calf muscle she was given arnica tablets to ingest as well as the gel to rub on her leg. It helped her as well.

I could keep going but I'll stop. But I wanted to share another of my most favorite things in the world. If you don't have Arnica as part of your first aid kit I highly recommend that you add it - quickly! It's amazing. That said, I don't recommend just using this and skipping the doctor's office for more serious bumps and bruises. But if you bump into your desk often and give yourself a nice bruise on your thigh -- arnica will help you. Don't ask how I know this one.... :)

Oh, and one more thing, you need to use it soon after you first bruise for this to really work well. The longer you wait to use it (I'm talking days here, not minutes) the better it will work on your bruise. My neighbor just borrowed my Arnica gel for her daughter who hit her head on the pool swimming. She had a huge goose egg growing on her forehead right before our eyes. We were at a pool party and after we all got home later that evening I ran over my tube of Arnica (she didn't know about it either) and told her to rub it on her goose egg. Well, she told me just today how helpful that was and how her goose egg is barely even there now.

I'm telling you - I have a bunch of these examples. I'll really stop now. Seriously. But I just LOVE it and I want to share it with the world! Ha...ha!

Hope you enjoy.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Okay, so lately I'm obsessed with blogs that have to do with learning and education. I find it fascinating all the different ways there are to learn. I love learning new ways to teach my kiddos about a subject.

My last post was about spelling and Charlotte's Web. Loved it. (Although, I can't get my kids to do the spelling part much - but that's okay.) We did read the entire book and then we watched the movie for Family Movie Night. My kids enjoyed that a lot, as did I. My daughter, however, wants us to redo the ending of the book and make it a happier ending so I guess that is our next project. Lol.

Today, however, I came upon this post from Not Just Cute (a really great blog about early learners, btw). I really appreciated it. As someone who hears a lot about how people don't like flashcards, but not ever hearing a different way to teach it instead, I appreciate how she lists different ways to teach your children colors, counting and sight words without using flashcards.

Here is the link - http://notjustcute.com/2012/07/11/do-you-use-flashcards/#

And even better she mentions one of my favorite children songs by Hap Palmer, "Marching Around the Alphabet." If you haven't heard of Hap Palmer you are missing out! He's the greatest. My older kiddos have loved his dvd's and songs AND now my bebe loves him too! I am constantly singing "I can put my clothes on by myself" while my kids get dressed (and not - it kinda sticks in my head for days sometimes, but that's another post). I love love love his song, "What A Miracle." It's so sweet. I found this YouTube video, but it's not the same as what you find on the DVD. However, it's such a sweet song that I want to share it with you all.




Hap Palmer DVD - I've had to buy two copies now since we wore the first one out!
Lately, I feel like I'm learning so much about learning that it's crazy. I am considering going back to school to get my masters in education so that I can really study teaching and learning. But we'll see. Now that I have an almost 1 yr old plus two older -- my time has become very limited. Maybe in a few more years. Until then I'm learning from reading blogs from retired teachers turned full time moms turned full time bloggers. Lucky me!

Hope you all enjoy!
- Katie

Joshua Tree

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