~Remember, we are not health care professionals! Please check with your doctor before taking our advice.  Hannah was recently diagnosed with parotiditis, which is only one of many things that could be wrong if your jaw is swollen or sore.~ I (Hannah) have had an ongoing problem with both of my parotid glands (salivary glands) for almost two years now. I have found that there is not very much information about this

Since I wear skirts/dresses a lot, many friends ask me what I do in the winter to stay warm in them.  It is true that dresses can be really cold!  What can you do? We’re not saying that every lady has to wear dresses all the time but that they should do what the Lord is leading their family to do.  If you do choose to wear them, hopefully here are some tips that will help. Hannah:  Under my skirts, I like

Several cheap, healthy veggies start with “C”, and 3 of the 4 are so easy to cut into sticks and dip in ranch dressing:carrots celery cucumbers cabbageOther cheap healthy foods:raw spinach  (Buy it in a bag, and your salad is almost made!) oatmeal apples oranges bananas sometimes pears potatoes eggs zucchini dried beans (cooked of course!) easy homemade oil and vinegar dressingRaw foods are sup

I have a child who is dyslexic and has ADHD. Two books that have really helped me are: Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World: Unlocking the Potential of Your Add Child by Jeffrey Freed and Laurie Parsons and Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Sally Shaywitz (also for anybody with reading difficulties) Dr. Shaywitz suggests going back over the more difficult phonics concepts such as prefixes, suffixes, dipthongs,

If you are just beginning potty training, see the list at the bottom of the email.  You can do it!! I have used “she” many times in this post because some of the info came from an old email I wrote to a friend who was potty training a girl.  Please switch out the pronouns as needed!  :O) I had trouble training many of my kids in this area, and I feel like it may have been because I was too worried a

Here are some more links on free and cheap stuff: http://coupons.com http://hip2save.com http://frugallivingnw.com I also found out that the register rewards you get from Walgreens expire in about 2 weeks after you get them.  So if you don’t want the free or cheap stuff advertised that week and you need to use your register rewards, just buy milk or epsom salts or something.  (Did you know epsom salts are p

I’d like my kids to eat more whole grains because they’re more healthy, right? But I’m not sure how to do it. Whole grains are great!  They protect against cancer, colds, constipation, and have a great taste.  People who have trouble eating wheat sometimes tolerate it better if it’s whole.  If you don’t like the taste of some whole grain products, try some others. Buy whole grai

I have been blessed with friends who have shown me how to get free items at various stores (Thanks Iarmila and Naomi!!).  But Walgreen’s is by far the easiest and least complicated place to get free merchandise that is actually practical and usable. All you do is go to Walgreen’s and look at the front page of their ad.  They outline several products you can get for free!  Ask for help finding the ite

-typed by Hannah Face Cream 1/4 tsp Grapefruit Seed Extract 1/4 cup Water 1/2 Olive Oil 1/2 cup Aloe Vera Mix all ingredients well in a jar. (I use a salad dressing container). Pour apprx. 2 Tbsp on a slightly damp rag and and gently rub all over your face twice a day. Sometimes I wipe it off later if I am going somewhere, because it makes your face really oily looking, but it really works well! You may also be int

My kids always used to get sick from going to Sunday School, and our whole family passed the germs around, sometimes more than once!  At the very first sign of sickness (or before!), try giving your child vitamin C, garlic, elderberry, or all of the above.  Also you might consider starting a “Family Sunday School” at your church.  Right now all of us go to the same room every Sunday for Bible Study