Mom to Mom Network

Posted in: dinner, recipes, snacks on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at at 4:40 PM 5 comments    

My girls are sick...again. My youngest (16 mo.) seems to get a runny nose with a cough every 2-4 weeks, no joke. Even though I've tried numerous methods for easing her cough so she (and the rest of us) can sleep, I still forget to try some of them again the next time. I recently asked friends on a Facebook post what their methods were for easing coughs and here are some of their replies and my comments in parenthesis:

-Put Vicks (or store brand) vapor rub on their feet and put socks on (this does seem to help)
-Ibuprofen or Motrin (this is usually used for pain relief, but maybe it would help)
-Benadryl (again, I'm not sure about this, but it could reduce inflammation)
-Bring the baby into the bathroom and run a hot shower for the steam
-Elevating the head of the crib by placing a folded blanket or flat pillow under the mattress
-Saline spray in the nose (You can make your own or buy it at the drugstore. It definitely helps reduce sinus infections)
-Teaspoon of honey or honey in warm water for kids over 1 (I use a natural cough syrup that has honey in it)
-A humidifier, preferably one that has a place to put in liquid Vicks
-Over the counter cough syrup for kids (some still do it in spite of FDA warnings, which they think stem mostly from too many people overdosing their kids-scary)

Do you have any other methods that have worked for you?

Posted in: colds, cough, Illness on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at at 2:43 PM 2 comments    

So, I'm trying to get better at meal planning for several reasons including saving money, being more organized and shopping less. There are so many areas of being a homemaker that I feel like such a newbie in. This is one of them. Last month, I planned out meals for the the last 3 weeks of the month and did 4 hours of shopping for those meals in two days. For the rest of the month, I pretty much only had to pick up a couple things here and there, which kept me out of the stores for the most part. This is good for three reasons: I spend less money, it saves time and I don't have to drag my kids to the store one or more times per week.

So, now I'm taking this to a new level and trying to plan out the whole month of February. My dilemma is do I comparison shop, gather coupons, etc. and hit multiple stores or do I just stick with my main stops: Trader Joe's, Costco, Safeway and the produce stand. I tried the whole coupon bit a few months ago and felt like I was spending more time and money buying stuff I didn't really need (and being in the stores too often) than saving money. Part of the dilemma is that money is tight and comparison shopping or checking out discount grocery stores might be worth the financial savings...or it might not. Quality is also important to me and often, the better quality items are found at Costco, TJs and a local upscale market for produce. I'd appreciate any input.

Posted in: coupons, grocery shopping, meal planning on Monday, February 1, 2010 at at 11:30 AM 1 comments