WATCH THE CLOCK TO DETERMINE YOUR HEALTH

Mama Sweet: This Mama Sweet is another amazing acupuncture discovery that will help everyone. For months, my right hip bone has hurt incessantly. I have not been able to walk, run or lay on it without pain. After many other doctor visits, I decided to address it with my acupuncturist. She asked about my sleep habits. Like every busy Mama, I use those late night quiet hours to make magic happen for my entire family. However, my acupuncturist detailed that our bodies repair themselves in this hourly order: 11pm-1am-gall bladder, 1am-3am-liver, 3am-5am-lungs. If you deprive yourself from these hours of rest, your body can not completely repair itself. In addition, if you find yourself waking up during those particular hours every night, it is a signal that there is an imbalance in that area of your body. For those of you who were following my blog last winter, I realized all of my girls' asthma attacks were between 3am-5am. I find it fascinating! I've been forcing myself to get to bed at 10pm and my hip no longer hurts. (The pain was located on the gall bladder channel of energy.) It was such a simple change to make such a significant difference in my body. This has been such sweet information for my tired body and I hope it can help many more tired mamas out there!

Mama Sour: This month marks my mom's 3rd Angel Birthday. It's shocking to realize how quickly time passes. I am so humbled by the people who have come into my life and have filled the empty spaces in my heart. On her actual Angel Birthday, I had one friend surprise me after my yoga class with coffee in the lobby and another tie balloons to my car to celebrate her Angel Birthday. I have three Fairy Godmothers (who were my mama's best friends) who watch over me and a Mother in Law who treats me like her own daughter. Friends have become more like sisters and I feel so touched by the love I feel from all of them. I am now finding that everyone in my life "mothers" me in different ways. Some provide parenting tips while others bring over food. I am so grateful for this mama love and will continue to pass it on. I miss my own Mama everyday but today I wish her the happiest of Angel Birthdays!

GET YOUR DAILY VITAMIN D THROUGH YOUR PALMS

I imagine some of you thought that I gave up my blog for Lent but alas I did not. I've just been doing some soul-searching on how to move forward with this heartfelt project. Many of you inspired me to keep going with your words of support and appreciation for the ideas I have shared. Thank you!! This sweet and sour mama is ready to write!


Mama Sweet: I was at the acupuncturist trying to find my own mama balance and health. It's been the best thing I could have done for myself and I recommend it to everyone! She told me that the palm of your hand is a central acupuncture point and the absolute best way to absorb your Vitamin D. She advised me to lay my palms flat up toward the sky and let the sun absorb for 15 minutes. It protects your face and absorbs this essential vitamin much more effectively. So Mamas, palms up when you're watching the kids during their sporting events and get your Vitamin D! Your body will thank you for it!

Mama Sour: It is spring which means it is time for the sex-ed talk at school. In the younger grades, they talk about safety and inappropriate touching and how to be assertive in those situations. As I have mentioned before, I took a Kidpower seminar and they teach you to act out scenarios with your children so they are prepared in every situation. Their rules include: Make it light; keep it fun; don't put your fears on them. That being said, the girls and I played the stranger game in the car one day. I asked them what you say if a stranger offers you a lollipop to get in his car. The girls screamed, "No!" I ran the whole gamut of textbook questions from mama and daddy getting into an accident to petting the puppy. Then, I tried to add funny things too which brought laughter to the whole car. “What if a stranger asked you if you wanted some brussel spouts?” Then, they started asking me questions, "Mama, what if a stranger offered you a coffee to get into his car?" It was hilarious! I then took my turn to scream,” No!" It was such a great way to practice our safety rules without frightening anyone. Such a sour topic but I feel so much better that my girls are aware and prepared. I also pray they never need to test it out!

DON'T FORGET YOUR PLEASE AND THANK YOUS!

MAMA SWEET: My six year old loves the Rainbow Magic Fairy book series and has now started writing her own collection of fairy books. It is so sweet to see her imagination come to life. Last night at bedtime, instead of picking a published book to read, she asked if I could read her books as her bedtime story. She was bursting with pride as I read each volume to her. After finishing all five books, I told her how proud I was of her and gave her the biggest hug. It was so sweet to admire her work, build her confidence and self-esteem and spend that time together. There is nothing sweeter than our bedtime story time!

MAMA SOUR: Manners are incredibly important to our whole family. Sometimes, I feel like I am a broken record in reminding my children to use them. As frustrating and sour as that can be, it is all worth it when I see them display politeness and grace to those around us. Some of the best wedding advice I received was from my favorite aunt. She told me and my husband to “always remember our ‘please’ and ‘thank yous.’” Back then when we were blurred by our newly wedded bliss, I thought that advice seemed so strange. Certainly, I would always remember those simple polite words. However, in the ever so hectic moments of our days, I realize how quickly we can bark commands to move our herd out the door for a timely arrival. I remind myself as I am shouting, "Hurry! Hurry!" to thank my husband for helping us or laugh at myself when I yell, “Can you get this...please?" It sets an example for the girls that everyone must have nice manners but it also softens my heart and reminds me that these manic times are memories being made.

GET THEM TO EAT THEIR VEGGIES WITH A RAINBOW PLACEMAT

Mama Sweet: I made yams last night in the Crock pot. It was amazing. I poked them with a fork, wrapped them in aluminum foil and cooked them on high for 4 hours. They were hot and ready for us when we returned home from swim class. My six year old sat down and had this euphoric look on her face as she ate her yams and said, "Hmmmm, I love yams." I always love cooking for compliments; however, it was much sweeter that she was so happy over eating something so healthy. I credit their love of healthy fruit and veggies to our Laminated Rainbow Placemat. The girls drew their own rainbows on construction paper and then I laminated them (Anytime I can use my laminator or label maker is my own personal sweet!). They eat off of their placemats and use a dry erase marker to check off their color once it’s been eaten. It is fun for them to brainstorm and choose which fruit or vegetable they want to eat and I love that they are growing accustomed to so many different foods. We also play the food rainbow game. Someone will choose a color in the rainbow and everyone has to list all of the foods they can think of that are that color. It is such a fun, sweet family game!

Mama Sour: One of the symptoms of my girls' flu was a really terrible and sour stomach ache. My 6 year old was crying in the night that her tummy hurt so badly that she could not sleep. So, I tried healing her by making some herbal peppermint tea. She drank it and instantly started burping and felt better within minutes. I had never given her peppermint tea before (and quite honestly was surprised to find it in my pantry) but I will continue to use this trick every time the girls come down with a belly bug.

YIN CHIAO YOURSELF- THE TRICK TO STAYING HEALTHY

Mama Sweet: Both of my girls have had week long 104 fevers. It has been a long two weeks but a fantastic winter compared to last year's sickly season so I will take my "sweets" where I can! At one point, I started to feel sick. An acupuncturist once told me that the exact moment you begin to get sick is the moment where you are standing there and all of a sudden start to feel dizzy and you catch yourself and shake it off. I had that moment and then about 30 minutes later I started to feel a bit achy. I couldn't believe I actually recognized the moment he had described. He shared this fact with me because there is a Chinese herb called Yin Chiao (that is sold at Whole Foods) that helps "prevent" you from getting sick if you take it at that precise moment. Chinese medicine believes that illness moves from the outside inward into your body. It often travels through the back of your neck which is why it is so important to wear a scarf in the wintertime. This herb helps "push out" any germs so that they do not settle into your body and ultimately make you sick. So, I yin chiao'd myself and felt great and never actually came down with the flu. As a mother of two who is always caring for my household, it was one of the sweetest things I could have done for myself.

Mama Sour: My poor girls have had to endure many of my well-intentioned remedies. They are always willing to partake because I am certainly not above bribing them with a treat if they consume whatever healing concoction I have devised. Here is an amazing balancing recipe that my girls have come to know as the "pizza drink." It tastes like a spicy pizza and is so great to help alkaline your body and keep you healthy.

1 cup of organic tomato juice
Juice from one full lemon
One clove of garlic, minced
One stalk of celery, chopped

Blend the above ingredients in a smoothie maker/blender and drink. It may taste a bit sour but is an amazing drink that is refreshing and will help you stay healthy if you take it when you are caring for sick children.

SLOW THAT FEVER DOWN WITH LEMONS

Mama Sweet: My 6 year old had the day off and we were planning to go on a date while her sister was in preschool. Each day after school, she would get in the car and countdown, "Mama, only 2 more days left until our date!" We were both so excited for our alone time. As you will read below, our little sister got terribly ill which derailed our date plans. However, I promised that as an alternate date, she and I would put on our sweats and grab a hot chocolate in the morning while Daddy was getting ready for work. I had been up all night with my sick daughter and was awoken at 6:30am to my 1st grader already dressed and ready saying, "Mama, I'm ready for our date!" That sweet moment just warmed my soul. As exhausted as I was, I happily put on my clothes and she and I enjoyed a wonderfully quick and special hot chocolate/coffee date. I realized how special this PHIL time was for both of us. She was so happy. We both felt so connected all day, even when most of my attention was given to her sick sister. It was the sweetest coffee I've ever enjoyed!

Mama Sour: My 4 year old has been incredibly sick this week. Overall, we've had a much healthier winter this year because my girls enjoy a smoothie each morning packed with Vitamin C, Vitamin D, fish oil, and probiotics. With such strengthened immune systems, I was not quite prepared for a simple ear infection to wreak such havoc on our household. Not only has my daughter been living with onion earmuffs on her ears and has been chamomile camping three times a day but she has not been able to break this 104.5 fever. It has been awful. She is on antibiotics and Motrin. One of the several times her fever spiked, I wanted to put her in a cool bath. As you can imagine, that was not her preferred choice of activities. So in my Sweet and Sour Mama fashion, I asked her if she wanted to catch bubbles. I used our California Baby Overtired and Cranky organic bubble bath and challenged her to several bubble competitions. The event schedule included:

• Catching Bubbles
• Building Bubble Snowman on top of the water
• Creating Bubble Caterpillars across the water
• Bubble Wand Hide-n-seek
• Bubble Basketball with the addition of a bowl to the bath

It took over an hour to lower her temperature while in that tepid bath. The best part was that I still had to coerce her out because she was having so much fun. While in the bath, I decided to approach her fever from the western and homeopathic medicine worlds since Motrin alone was not working. I gave her a full dose of Motrin and also gave her three pellets of the Belladonna remedy every 15 minutes for one hour. After combining my worlds of medicine, I was finally able to lower her fever. Not only was the bubble blowing fun for all but the act of blowing the bubbles forced oxygen in her lungs which also helped lower her fever. Who knew baby bubbles could serve such a medicinal purpose?

Many of you have tried my ideas and have been surprisingly delighted with their results. I will bank on those past successes as I present this seemingly outrageous suggestion. :) Another great way to slow the progression of a fever (especially when you are in between the minimum medicine hour requirements) is to create lemon socks*. Cut a lemon in half and place each half onto the arch of the foot (flat side of lemon on arch) and place socks over it. The lemon helps disperse the heat away from the body's core and to the extremities so that the fever is more effective at its job. This will not eliminate a fever but it will slow the spiking process down because the heat is less intense. If you have a child that has febrile seizures or want to keep your child’s fever from spiking too high, this is one more option to add to that stressful time. It has no medicine interactions and can be used while you are waiting for everything else to work. Lemons are definitely sour but I was so grateful for them today.

* This suggestion came from the Lillipoh holistic wellness guide sponsored by the Wellness Nurses of the Los Angeles Alliance for Childhood

CANDLE: THE PERFECT BEDTIME RITUAL

Mama Sweet: Both of my girls are practicing yoga at their schools. As a yogini, I have loved listening to the simplified names and descriptions of each new pose that they bring home. We practice our yoga together and it has been such a bonding experience for all of us. My preschooler has been taught that bringing her hands to her heart center is called "candle." She holds her prayer hands in the middle of her chest and blows out her flame. I have now incorporated her candle practice into our bedtime ritual. They get into bed and I have them each blow their candles out three times with long, slow breaths. It helps relax and quiet them before drifting off to sleep. One night, they were particularly hyper at bedtime and were not so settled after their candle practice. So, I took a battery operated tea light, turned it on and placed it at the foot of their beds. I told them to watch their candles and think happy thoughts. They were asleep in seconds! Their focus on the flame transferred their energy from trying to stay awake to relaxing their bodies. It has become a great addition to my bag of tricks! Our candle practice has become a new sweet for our whole family!

Mama Sour: This week has been a tough week. I pride myself on keeping my kids well nourished and well rested each night so we keep meltdowns to a minimum. This week, the transition from car to house has been awful. I have forgotten snacks on several occasions which, in turn, left my girls crying and throwing tantrums in our driveway every afternoon. (This, by the way, leaves me in total bewilderment because when my car is actually driving down our street, everyone is happy and singing along to their favorite song on the radio. It is only upon parking, that the driveway downward spiral begins.) Why is it that I am so excited to get into my house after being gone all day and they choose this time to revolt? Wouldn't you think the allure of all of the toys, comfortable non-uniform clothes and food would be enticing enough for them to want to go inside? No. One evening after swim class, I tried all sorts of Sweet and Sour Mama tricks. I made a ball gown out of her swim towel so she could parade in the house; I offered a piggyback ride inside and even resorted to bribing her with her favorite crackers if she would just go inside. Alas, I was defeated on all accounts. I had to leave my 4 1/2 year old screaming on the driveway for a full two minutes. After I figured the neighborhood was tired of hearing her scream, I had to walk outside and pick her up and carry her into the house, kicking and screaming- while feeling like an awesome mama. Within seconds of being inside, she was laughing and happy as could be. It was so sour and the sign that my kiddies needed a change of pace. When all of my silly shenanigans fail to succeed, it is back to basics- food and rest and a clean slate for next week.