So, you’re wondering what I got in my Altoids Tins? This particular one came from the one who loves green — which explains the green highlighter used to write my treasured “Gift Tag.”

He even borrowed a little ingenuity from this Origami Master Brother to make an “envelope” that was a shirt — without a tie, because this one is for a girl.

Inside were little scraps of paper… because, “You’re a writer, Mom.” Of course.

Also included was a bottle of Grapefruit Essential Oils… OK, he didn’t actually make this part of the gift — but we’ll let it slide for thoughtfulness. Grapefruit is my favorite scent. After each of my babies, I suffered from a medium case of the Baby Blues. I found the care I needed in an Aromatherapy Apothecary store, where the essential oils are kept behind a counter — like pills in a drug store — not in little bottles you pick yourself. You tell the girls in the store your “problem” and they mix a concoction for you — dry skin, acne, anxiety, depression, wrinkles, labor pains, back ache — you name it, there’s an essential oil remedy for you. They girls there study plants, and they have tomes of research to aid them in creating your remedy. The whole experience is quite charming.

Every year, my husband walks into that store at Christmas time, and asks for “Susie’s card,” and buys me a selection from that list. (You can do this to0, and use one of my many remedies they have already built for me — for you — they’re timeless!). My index card, dates back to 1996, with handwritten notes on all of the remedies they have made for me. Many of the remedies are listed in the above paragraph.

I love the ancient wisdom in these essential oils that have been around for centuries.

For the Postpartum Blues, the essential oils called for are Grapefruit, Rose (quite expensive — so just a drop) myrrh and Frankincense. I’ve always liked the fact that the 3 kings brought Jesus a gift of Frankincense and Myrrh — and that’s what goes into the Postpartum Blend. I wonder, if that gift was really for Mary, to ease her stress for all that she had to deal with at that time — giving birth in a barn, feeding shepherds, and eventually fleeing because Herod was out to kill all the babies.

Notice that I call the Postpartum remedy “care.” The aromatherapy gave me a means to care for myself at that critical time when I learned how to find my balance each time our family grew. (How would I manage the grocery store — the library? One in a sling, one in the cart, and one by my side holding my hand… and then the fourth.)

I dropped this postpartum essential oil blend into a mason jar, full of Epsom Salts and and equal amount of olive oil, and packed it in my bag to go to the hospital. After birth, when I was able to take my first shower, in the hospital, I took the jar, unscrewed the lid, and slathered the salt scrub all over my body. Smelled wonderful. The citrus smell from the grapefruit was always so uplifting. Then, I showered as usual, and the scent would linger.

I would use that scrub every day, as long as the scrub lasted. It was my ritual. This was my way of caring for myself at a time when so many others, much more helpless, needed me.  Occasionally, I will have a bottle made for me when I want to remember how lucky I was to have these babies.

When my son complains his head is itchy, I don’t, after years of watching him go through this, automatically assume he has head lice. After I do a check, with a flashlight and a magnifying glass to make sure there are no eggs, I tell him it’s dandruff again.

“Oh no, please not the vinegar!”

We’ve tried everything: vinegar, tea tree oil, olive oil and almonds. Nothing works. Every autumn, just when we’re turning on the heat to warm up the house, my son starts scratching his head, and we pull out the old tried-and-true solutions from Grandma’s cabinet. Nothing seems to work. Vinegar burns his eyes. Olive oil is impossible to wash out of his hair, and tea tree oil seems to have a minimal effect.

After a trip to the pediatrician’s office, we learned that dandruff has nothing to do with how infrequently or frequently he washes his hair. I once thought maybe he washed it too much.

The problem has more to do with the natural process of the way we shed skin cells. He seems to shed more than the rest of us. Skin cells that grow and die off too fast are the cause of dandruff. Doctors aren’t sure, but they have identified the fungus Malassezia globosa, which is present in most people but to excess in dandruff sufferers. Amazingly, this fungus lives on the scalp of most healthy adults without causing any problems. Sometimes its numbers grow out of control, and it feeds on the oil made by hair follicles. This causes irritation, which can lead to an increase in skin cell shedding.

My son has a beautiful, thick head of hair. So I’ve always hesitated to move to dandruff shampoos, fearing it would dry his hair out. Apparently, according to research from the people at Head & Shoulders, these are the concerns of 84% of surveyed scalp issue sufferers (and their mothers!)

So, Head & Shoulders sent us a sample to try. They have combined the effectiveness of their HydraZinc formula to alleviate these conditions so that my son’s hair stays smooth, flake free, and itch-free. Plus, the new Head & Shoulders collection goes one step further than vinegar by giving us a fresh scent of nature-inspired fragrances, including almond oil, eucalyptus and aloe vera.

The result? The itching is down, and my son’s hair still looks fabulously thick and shiny. He’s not complaining, and that’s a beautiful thing. So now that the weather is turning colder, I’m sure you, or someone in your house, is in need of some change in their hair care routine.

How do you change your beauty routine in the colder winter season from the warmer seasons? Leave me a comment to be entered for a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card from BlogHer.

The Official Rules are available here.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/21/11 – 12/22/11

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Want more great tips for winter hair care? Check out the newest “Looking Your Best” post in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com.

Two out of four is pretty darn good. I didn’t even serve them a kale shake yet (because mine is gone before they’ve had a chance to taste it– and they are grossed out by the look of it.) This method, “frying kale” tastes so good!!!

You can wipe that vision in your head of a vat of oil… I only use a tablespoon — if that much oil. I tried making Kale Chips — you know, baking them in the oven. Although I could never really “master” that method. For me, it works better, I seem to have more control, when I use the stove top.

My boys can entirely wipe out a head of kale in just a few minutes now. Can’t make it fast enough!

First, why all the fuss? Kale, one of the dark green leafy vegetables is a great source of  vitamin K, the B-vitamin folic acid, and betas carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the liver. They are full of powerful antioxidants that protect us from cancer, cardio-vascular disease. Plus, a better source of calcium than diary products — because kale is loaded in magnesium.

Plus… it tastes so gooooood! Espcially when prepared this way.

Kale Chips: The Method

Spread olive oil and your preferred seasonings (we’re fine with just plan old sea salt) all over a pan —  just enough to coat it. (Butter might be a nice addition too.) Then, I lay the freshly washed kale all over the pan. Yes, it’s bumpy and they stick up… but a slow, low heat takes care of that.

Turn the pan onto a low flame, and just leave it. There is a variety of Kale that I have grown from seed, and that you can find at Whole Foods called Lacinato Kale (a.k.a. Dino Kale).

This one cooks up the nicest, but don’t fret if you can only find curly Kale… it will do just fine, if you are patient.

Keep the heat low, as you don’t want to char your kale. Soon the leaves will crisp up… then you can flip it. The whole process, depending upon how much water is in your kale, takes 15-25 minutes.

I just start a batch while I’m in the kitchen doing something else, and before I know it, the kale is done, and the kids are walking by the stove — two of them — asking if it’s cool enough to eat. Because this never makes it to the table as a side dish. Fried kale is gobbled before I even get the kale down to a respectable cool. If I did, I’d store them up and keep them like potato chips.

A review to the best yoga DVDs for beginners and beyond. There are two secrets to maintaining a strong at-home yoga practice.

• Find a good teacher and learn the basics. Let the instructor guide you, and put you in the right position so you can “feel” what each pose is supposed to do to your body.
• Have a wide variety of yoga DVDs to choose from. This keeps you from getting bored, and ensures that you always have access to a yoga routine that meets your needs of the day.

So, here’s the list of the best yoga DVDs. Click on the picture of each DVD to go directly to the Amazon.com page.

Yoga Shakti

If you want to invest in only one yoga DVD, this is the one. Shiva Rea, a yogi of international fame, created this beautiful DVD in India and the Maldive Islands. This innovative yoga DVD contains 4 complete practices, (with adjustments for beginner, intermediate and advanced). Plus, the DVD features a unique yoga matrix, a mistake-proof system that allows you to pick and choose your practice session to suit your time and needs. Out of the 7-days-per-week that I do yoga, I use this DVD for at least 4 of those days. The core of this vinyasa flow yoga DVD are the sun salutations, dancing warrior, forward bends, lunges, hip openers and twists. Also includes pranayama (breathing exercises) and meditation. And you can set options for music only, or music with instruction. Music is Indian-New Age — soothing and great to listen to.
Power Yoga: Total Body Workout:
Rodney Yee, who has been a teacher of yoga for over two decades, created this 60-minute vinyasa flow yoga DVD as a workout to build your core through balance and strength. Beautiful scenery along the Hawaii coastline, this yoga DVD helps you detoxify your body by building heat while integrating body, mind and spirit. You can customize this DVD for beginner, intermediate and advanced.
Baron Baptiste: Journey into Power:
This video will quickly help you build your core and stamina. Baptiste gives very detailed, accurate instructions on placement, noting which fingers of your hand need to be pressing, and which toes should be pushing. Baptiste is an excellent yoga teacher, and this 45-minute vinyasa flow will build strength, while creating a reservoir of calm within yourself.
Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond:
Kundalini Yoga awakens the kundalini energy that is coiled int he base of your spine through sound, movement and breath. The goal is to move this energy up through the chakras of your body. Ana Brett & Ravi Singh, the creators of this DVD, claim Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and the Red Hot Chile Peppers as their clients. This DVD includes two 25 minute sets which can be done by themselves, for a quick, invigorating workout, or, if you have more time, you can do both together. Also includes the ‘Five Tibetans,’ exercises to keep you flexible, energetic and youthful.
A.M. and P.M. Yoga for Beginners
This two disc yoga DVD set is designed for busy days when you need to feel calm and centered. Although this video is aimed at beginners, the experienced yoga practitioner will be able to modify the poses to create the level of workout needed. However, at all levels, this beautifully-filmed Yoga DVD is designed to rejuvenate and calm the mind. I use the 20-minute A.M. yoga workout to help me build a solid foundation for the rest of the day. This very gentle workout energizes the body, and reminds you of the connection between mind and body. The P.M. session is, what Rodney calls, “a gift.” The gift of relaxation. He guides you through stretches, standing poses, and forward bends to help you feel calm and revitalized. I often am asleep before the DVD is over.

The Barkan Method: Hot Yoga
Here on DVD is Barkhan Method Hot Yoga sequence, which is a bit different than Bikram’s Hota Yoga Method.  This detailed instructional DVD set allows you to work on the postures at home, and is idea for daily practice. This DVD has a very nice feature:  You can reference a posture by clicking the select button on your remote, and it will take you to a tutorial that will examine this posture in fuller detail.  When finished, you hit select to go right back where you were.
Yoga for Stress Relief (With The Dalai Lama):
Need I say more? Barbara Benagh, the creator, has practiced and taught yoga for nearly 35 years, and opened the famed Yoga Studio on Beacon Hill in 1980. This DVD includes a 30-minute lecture of the Dalai Lama teaching “how to meditate.” The advantage of this DVD is that Barbra has created flexibility, offering a 20 or 90-minute workout, with the ability to tailor the workout to match your individual needs of the day — such as hip openers, or breath work. Truly, a unique yoga DVD, the sessions include: neck, shoulder and back issues; lower back tension; mood uplift; anxiety relief; and stomach and digestion issues. Whether you are new to yoga or not, any the 20 yoga sessions will satisfy.
Bryan Kest Power Yoga Complete Collection:
Bryan is nice to watch. But there’s a lot more to this yoga DVD than beautiful bodies. Kest teaches yoga classes in Santa Monica, California to the stars. So, you can experience what the stars do with this strength-building 3-volume set. Volume 1, Energize; Volume 2, Tone; and Volume 3, sweat. Volume 1 is designed for beginners, as each challenging pose is followed by rest. Volume 2, Tone, you hold the stretches and poses for a longer period, but Kest still gives you opportunities to rest if you need to. If you’re an advanced yogi, you will still find enough here to challenge you. In Volume 3, you build sweat with back-to-back sun salutations, and solid balance poses to help you build strength. Despite all the hard work you’re doing, this Yoga DVD is soothing, and Kest offers gentle reminders to push yourself, yet stay true to your own practice, regardless of what is going on around you. A powerful Yoga DVD, that makes you very grateful for Shavasana (relaxation).
Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss:Deluxe DVD Edition:
For some, the goal of any exercise is weight loss. But why not combine this goal, with a way to relieve stress and connect your mind, body and spirit? Suzanne Deason, the creator, and other instructors lead you through a series of asanas (poses) that will be easy for beginners, and experienced yogi practitioners. Detailed instructions are throughly covered, and gives you 4 options for modifying. This is a 45-minute program that will help you get up and move, and create a solid sense of well-being.
Shiva Rea – Creative Core Abs:
To Shiva, the abs are “our physical center, and our inner fire.” Yogi’s say, the abs are the spot of our physical, emotional and spiritual selves. Think about where you feel it when you hear some bad news — hits you right in the center. In this DVD, Shiva takes you through 3 different programs, that range from 7 to 20 minutes, with precise metaphors to take you into the pain that will bring you a solid core.The 3 sessions provide enough variety to keep things from being mundane, and the beautiful scenery and music help too.
Seane Corn – Vinyasa Flow Yoga – Uniting Movement And Breath A very good yoga DVD for beginners, Seane is passionate about yoga, and builds her instruction every step of the way around pranayama (breathing) and asanas (poses) working together.

Have you taken a look at the new “plate” that replaces our “food guide pyramid?” This plate is now the official USDA’s new food guide recommendation. The vegetable spot is now the biggest spot – taking up twice the space of the protein and carb spot!- the spots that typically hold most of our meal.

Visuals are great teachers — and I love this plate, for its immediate visual power in helping me teach the boys define a healthy meal. (Who eats by a pyramid, anyway?)

Country Crock® has invited me to re-create one of our family dinners to take advantage of these new dietary guidelines using one of their products. “Why?” I asked myself. “How could Country Crock Spread fit into my goal to create a healthy meal for my family?”

To find out, I did some checking. Take a look at the latest USDA food guide recommendations. In addition to more vegetables, there is helpful information about fats. Fats and oils are part of a healthful diet, but it is the type of fat makes a difference to health and the total amount of fat is important for balancing calorie intake. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend between 20-35% of daily calories from fat, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils. Experts advise that most Americans need to decrease their intakes of saturated and trans fats so consumers should look for products with reduced levels of saturated fat and zero trans fat per serving – like butter. My “go-to” fat when I want a deep, rich flavor.

Soft spreads are typically made with a blend of vegetable oils like soybean, canola, and olive. These vegetable oils are low in saturated fat, contain no cholesterol and are rich in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats compared with animal fats, such as butter and lard.

Country Crock Spreads are made with a blend of nutritious oils like soybean and canola, and are a great way to get your daily intake of “better for you” fats.

So, armed with information, I took the kids with me to the grocery store, and explained that I was buying something new from the dairy aisle. I grabbed the tub, and the boys were quick to notice that the same label on the Country Crock Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil sitting in my cart matched a square box of the Country Crock Spreadable Sticks. “Can we try that too?” they asked. So, we had the sticks and the spread. Next, we set to work to re-create one of our family favorite dinners that uses lots of vegetables.

The recipe I decided to try is herbed shrimp pasta, with a side of popped cherry tomatoes, and corn on the cob. Thank goodness for relatives who are loaded with generous relatives who give us vegetables.

Imagine. Grilled Shrimp, without the melted butter.

We are. This time, we’re changing it up a bit with “healthy oils” instead of butter. This recipe is loaded with vitamins, nuts and vegetables, and heart-healthy seafood. The great thing about this recipe is that it takes advantage of all of those vitamin-loaded herbs that are over-abundant in gardens and farmers’ markets right now. (Go get some!)
Here’s the recipe adapted forCountry Crock products:

First step is to create your vegetable “butter,” which is almost like pesto. For this, I used 2 cups of Country Crock® Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil.

Pesto Butter Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup nasturtium leaves (or use arugula as a substitute)
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup shelled pistachios (The kids can do this for you!)
• 8 ounces of bow tie pasta

Shrimp Marinade Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup Country Crock® Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 pounds fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a large bowl, stir together the garlic, Country Crock Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper. Add shrimp to the bowl, and stir until evenly coated. Cover, and refrigerate, along with the pesto butter, for 30 minutes to 1 hour, stirring once or twice.

Meanwhile, boil bow-tie pasta until al-dente.

Grilling the Shrimp

The best way to grill shrimp is to thread them onto skewers. Preheat grill for medium heat. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp on preheated grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque. Toss pasta with pesto and shrimp and serve.

CORN ON  THE GRILL

For the corn, simply soak the corn, in the husks, in a bucket of water for at least four hours – -I’ve done it for 15 minutes, and that’s fine too. Then, place corn, still in the husks, on grill grate, beside the shrimp. Cook for 15 minutes. Let the husks cool, and peel off – you’ll probably need oven mitts, and an adult should do this.

The kids grabbed the Country Crock Spreadable Sticks and went to town buttering their corn. They definitely liked the Country Crock Spreadable Sticks… and it is healthier than butter.

POPPED CHERRY TOMATOES

For the popped cherry tomatoes, sauté cherry tomatoes in Country Crock Spreadable Butter with Canola Oil with basil and salt, until tomatoes begin to split.

The Results!?

My husband is the only one who ate the tomatoes, everyone ate the corn (it was so sweet), and the kids loved the pasta. I could only get one son to try the shrimp… something about peeling off the skin. I bit my tongue, and tried not to make a big deal about it. At least they were eating “green pasta” and corn.

NOW YOUR TURN

Try any of these recipes and let me know how good, and easy this is! Each reader who posts a comment will be automatically entered into a random drawing for a chance to win $100 Cooking.com gift card toward the purchase of the cooking utensils needed to make these dishes. Enter between August 24 – September 30th, 2011. More chances to win can be found on the Blogher Roundup Page here.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this posted

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form

of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random
draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Visit the official rules here.

BlogHer and Knorr sent me a package of Knorr’s new Homestyle Concentrated Kitchen Stock to see if I could come up with a new recipe. Of course, simply because it’s summer, all I could think of was… flowers. If you’re looking for a way to introduce these nutrition-packed Daylily blooms to your family’s plate, this is the recipe to try.

If you can start thinking of the Daylily (Hemerocallis Fulvaas) as a delicate vegetable, you’ll be able to resist the urge to tear the “weed” out for over taking your garden. Not only does this flower taste delicious, the daylily flower provides more vitamin C than green beans,

2 grams of protein, and 3,000 IUS of Vitamin A. (See chart below for nutritional information.) The flavor is delicate and mild, and it’s much easier to get my kids to eat a Daylily than a Brussels sprout any day.

Last summer, we fried our daylilies — and we couldn’t fry them fast enough for the kids. When we made stuffed zucchini blossoms, we stuffed daylilies in place of the zucchini blossoms when we ran out. This year, because the flower is so abundant, and I can’t resist its flower-power nutrition, I’m incorporating the flowers into salads and pasta. This week, I added daylilies to my mushroom pasta recipe (my comfort food) and found the pan empty before I could have my own second helping.  This recipe is sooooo good, and so quick to make.

Daylilies With Mushrooms and Creamy Pasta

Serves 4:
Total Cook & Prep Time, 25 minutes.
Level: Easy
Wow Factor: OFF THE CHARTS!!!

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces angel hair pasta
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups mixed fresh mushrooms, sliced (oyster, shiitake, cemini, Portobello.) 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tub Knorr Homestyle Stock, added to 3.5 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 2 cups daylily blossoms.
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ lemon, juiced

Brush off any dirt from the mushrooms with a paper towel. Slice the mushrooms thinly.

Drown your daylilies in a bowl of salt water to remove any dirt and bugs. Drain on paper towels, and chop.

Heat oil and butter in a skillet, and I like to give the mushroom a head start and add them to the skillet first.

Cook these at a medium-high flame, cooking four minutes, stirring to toss them once. Add the daylilies, (I know… weird to be adding such delicate things to your skillet… but you’ll be glad you did) minced garlic,

salt, pepper and red pepper. Cook mixture together for four more minutes, or until garlic and mushrooms have a golden color.

At this point… I have to stop myself from picking up the fork and eating the entire contents of the skillet…

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente, 3-5 minutes. Drain, and set aside.

Turn off the heat to the skillet, and slowly begin to add the stock, and stir. (A trick my Grandma taught me to prevent “lumps” in the sauce.) Knorr has created a new stock in a concentrated package, made with herbs and vegetables — simmering already done, compliments of Knorr, so it’s pumped with homestyle aroma and flavor. This means, this meal is a quick and easy pantry meal — no need to call the pizza delivery man to deliver a box — Knorr makes it easy to get the home-cooked taste and nutrition, quick.

Each tub makes 3.5 cups of broth. Just pop open the lid, add water, and stir. Turn back on the heat, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes, or until the sauce thickens.

Toss sauce with cooked pasta, stir in lemon juice and basil,

and grate fresh Parmesan cheese over individual servings.

YUM!

Daylily Nutrition (per 100g)

• Calories 42
• Protein 2g
• Fat .4g
• Calcium 87mg
• Phosphorus 176mg
• Iron 1.2mg
• Sodium 24mg
• Potassium 170mg
• Vitamin A 3,000 I.U.
• Thiamin .16mg
• Riboflavin .21mg
• Niacin .8mg
• Vitamin C 88mg

My first “mommy I’m sick call” came yesterday while I was in the checkout line in the grocery store. (Same exact place I was standing two years ago when I received another sick call.)

I pulled out a tube of these “sugar pills,”  Boiron Oscillococcinum, which, yes they do taste like sugar — but are full of something more mysteriously powerful. Without fail these little pills seem to eliminate the flu within 20 minutes of swallowing. So, the two of us cuddled on the sofa, and I was reminded again the importance of family, and how blessed we are to have each other to lean on. (If you’re family life is feeling out of balance with all the school and hectic schedules, check out the family with the super powers, ABC’s No Ordinary Family. Leave me a comment about what your ideal super power would be.)

Here’s what it looks like, for all of you who keep asking me — and I don’t know how to pronounce it or spell it. Just look for this box.

And yes, it’s at the grocery store, Wal-Greens and CVS with the cold medicines, and the flu stuff.

No, this is not a review, I don’t get this stuff for free, and I’m not being paid. And, and yes, go see a doctor, of course. But this is our first line of defense, and usually eliminates the need to see a doc.

I was so happy I picked up an extra box last night when the same symptoms visited me! Here is my entire self- imposed flu-fighting arsenal. By all means, and for heaven’s sake, check with your doctor.

As if having the frogs around wasn’t enough, they came with an accompaniment. Poison Ivy.

Frogs like to live in the tall grassy weeds, and there, unbeknownst to my son, was a big bed of Poison Ivy. He had marched right though the weeds, and there was not one spot of his body that didn’t hold some welt of the inflamed itches. I mean everywhere. Even his ears.

His eyes were soon swelled (not shut) and his itching was relentless.

But yet, there is a cure, and I must feel compelled to share this — because I can’t stand to see kids suffer. I did not get this stuff for free, (I wish! The stuff is expensive.) This is not a review. Zanfel Poison Ivy Cream is a Poison Ivy, (or Poison Oak or Sumac) soap that will eliminate the posion — not just the itches. The sooner you treat it, obviously, the better. But even my son’s poison, which had been growing for about 4 days, was curable… just took several applications. This stuff is a soap, but it comes in a tube, and squeezes out like lotion… kind of weird. Would have preferred it was a bar of soap. And, this stuff is quite expensive… $30 for a tube of the stuff, but considering what a visit to the doctor would have cost, combined with potential steroid shots, we came out pretty easy.

The hardest part was figuring out how to apply the stuff… very specific instructions.

1) Get a shower and get all wet.

2) Squeeze out EXACTLY 1.5 inches of Zanfel (there is a ruler enclosed in the packaging) and rub this stuff in your hands for 3 minutes with water to create a lather.

3) Rub the soap onto the affected areas.

4) Leave soap on until the itching stops. Which, for my son, was quite complicated… because he had different stages of the poision, so when one area felt like it was “cured,” and he would jump in the shower to wash it off, he suddenly remembered there was another spot that still itched. So, we had to do this several times before we got him all settled.

Then, he was happily, again, comforatble in his own skin.

Out of necessity, I’ve built a better mouse trap — fruit fly trap. My fruit flies are just too darn smart to fall into a simple glass of wine and drown. Mine, instead, simply walk along the edge of the glass picking up enough juice from their feet to satisfy them before flying off to mate somewhere else, and increase my population of drain flies. I had to do something. With the combination of warm weather and watermelon around here, I’ve been inundated with flying pests. Technically, I don’t actually have fruit flies — I have drain flies. These have little red eyes, and are harder to catch with a slap of your hand than the slower moving cousins, fruit flies.

My solution is cruel, but effective. I simply sprinkle Boric Acid Powder or Diatomaceous Earth around the rim of the wine bottle where the poison is picked up on the fruit fly, and eventually kills the fly. I’ll even add a slip of a banana into the bottle just to ensure the bottle has enough “odor of fruit” to attract the flies.

Like I said. Cruel.
But effective.

Here’s my post on how to get rid of fruit flies with a do-it-yourself fruit fly trap.

Get rid of fruit flies easily with this 6-step method to zap a fruit fly: Remember, to keep the fruit flies away, you’ll also need to clean the drains.

• Your bait is apple cider vinegar, a banana, bread (they like yeast), or red wine — or even a few drops of left over beer, (if there is such a thing).
• Pour your bait into a bottle with a narrow neck. A Corona Beer bottle is perfect. Because, fruit flies tend to be picky, as you have learned by now. A Cuervo beer bottle can work too.
• Now, take some liquid dish soap, honey or vegetable oil and rub it around the top of the bottle opening, along the insides down into the jar.
• The fruit flies fly in, and even if they do hover around the top of the liquid, they slippery soap makes it impossible for them to make their way out of the jar.
• Check your bottle. After a few hours, microwave the entire bottle to kill any eggs they might have dropped.
• Continue until fruit flies are non existent.

This is the fruit fly trap you’ve (I’ve) been looking for. The ultimate death trap for fruit flies. And yes, Mom was right; you can catch more flies with honey. And yes, the fruit fly is breeding, living and laying eggs in your drains. There’s no doubt that the fruit fly is smart. Most fruit flies will figure a way out of the trap we’ve set for them. But I’ve out-witted them. You really won’t have to spend a dime on this trap, as you already have the stuff in your pantry. Plus, I have some expert advice from Asapest.com.

I’ve seen fruit flies hover around the top of a wine glass, and mate, and then I have 2 million more fruit flies. They don’t drown. They have figured out a way to fly up through the tiny pin hole in saran wrap that was designed to trap them. I’ve watched them crawl around the outside the rim of a wine glass, knowing better than to fly in, because they’ll drown. The traps I set turn into breeding grounds for more fruit flies. I even sprinkled odorless Boric Acid Powder around their favorite resting spot, my bathroom mirror, and they crawl around it. Read more below for the how-to’s on this awesome fruit fly trap.

To keep them away, follow these tips from Asapest.

1. Clean the buildup from the lining and the surrounding areas of your drains. Use a long, wire drain brush – similar to a bottle- washing brush – to scrub inside the drain.
2. A bleach solution and nylon scrub brush can help eliminate the buildup around the edge of the drain.
3. One reason for shower and tub drain clogs is the hair that collects in traps (the curved portion of the drain that holds water). Try bending a thin wire hanger to pull out some of this hair. Put a hook on one end and pull out as much of the debris as possible.
4. You also can rent a snake, a device that winds through drain clogs using old-fashioned arm strength.
5. Once you’ve cleaned the drain of hair and buildup, try using a plunger to push any remaining debris through the trap and down the drain.
6. Instead of caustic cleaners, try keeping the lining of your drains clean a couple of different ways. First, I use an organic drain cleaner about three times a year to keep my sink drains and tub drains flowing smoothly. Try Bio-Clean which uses enzymes to break down the organic matter that lines and clogs drains.
7. Also, use a drain freshener of salt, baking soda and white vinegar weekly to keep scum from building up in drains. Pour a half- cup of salt, then a half-cup of baking soda followed by a cup of vinegar into the drain. Let the drain foam for as long as possible, even overnight, then flush with boiling water.

Every night I sprinkle baking soda down the kitchen sink. And, a little bit in the tray in the refrigerator underneath the ice and water dispenser.

To keep them away from bananas and tomatoes, I sprinkle baking soda on them as they sit on my counter, and wash it off right before eating.

You’ll see all the ladies carrying these glasses full of green/purple pulp, all over the elementary school drop-off. The giveaway is the napkin we carry in the other hand, to wipe off the inevitable green/purple mustache that accompanies this smoothie. We’re the moms that are a decade or two older than all the other moms, and this smoothie helps us keep up. Now, even the men are asking for the recipe, men like my husband who say, “That shake helps me bike 20 percent faster.” Before you read further, you must know that this smoothie tastes delicious. We like our smoothie.

We’re drinking kale shakes. Kale. A vegetable loaded with vitamins, with a taste that surprisingly gets erased in the presence of fruit. I promise.

Kale is considered to be a highly nutritious vegetable. Kale, as with broccoli, contains sulforaphane (particularly when chopped or minced RAW!!!), a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. It’s a powerful antioxidant. Kale is very high in beta carotene, vitamin K, vitamin C, lutein, zeaxanthin, and reasonably rich in calcium.

You can certainly buy all of those powered greens at the health food store, for big bucks, or you can get fresh greens, much more cheaply, with a fresh bag of kale. Kale. You can’t taste it. I promise.

The recipe came from a friend, who has a 90-year-old grandmother who drinks this every morning. “She looks great, and she’s full of energy.”  How does she do it? She “fills the blender cup all way to the top with greens.” No skimping. There is no “recipe,” simply fill your immersion blender with whatever fruit you have on hand. Some options:

• Whole peeled orange (for juice),
• frozen or fresh berries,
• banana,
• some moms swear by mangoes,
• melon,
• nuts (For protein. We’re skipping dairy in this shake, as kale has the calcium covered.)
• Ground flax seed. Optional, buy why not?
• Kale.

You really cannot taste the kale. (Did I say that already?) After a few gulps, you’ve had your greens for the day.