DIY Cough/sore throat syrup!

We had a snow day from a storm that blew in last week. In March! Oh, Michigan weather is wonderful. On the snow day my eldest started to have a little cough. I listened to her lungs and they still sounded pretty clear so I figured she would be okay. The next morning when we started to get around for school her cough got a lot worse. She also had a sore throat.

Hmmm whats a mama to do? Especially since we didn't have any cough syrup. I decided it was bad enough to warrant a stay at home. If you know me, you know I don't like missing school or even work. Well, when I did have to do those activities. The same applies to my children, I do not keep them home for little things. So after making that hard decision I decided that I was going to make my own cough/sore throat syrup. I have no qualms about giving my little ones cough syrup that is from a store, I do that too since part of my medical assisting training was for dosing. I know a lot of people don't like to though. I didn't have any children's cough medicine and was without car. If I had both since this is natural ingredients that you (maybe not you personally, but a person) could eat on a daily basis, I would personally do both! 

I looked around on the internet for ingredients that I had on hand. I decided on honey first. I will list it out with bullets because I love using bullets:

• Honey is wonderful at soothing a sore throat. Not to mention honey helps defeat bacteria with its great antibacterial fighting skills and its a natural decongestant. Plus, its sweet so it will make it go down better. Honey is in!
• Apple cider vinegar also has great antibacterial fighting skills, and because of the acidity level not much germs can stick around. I have heard of it getting rid of cough, sore throat, and nasal blockage. Not to mention its kind of a cure all for a range of things. Apple cider vinegar is in!
• Cinnamon is next! I looked up on WebMD (I love that site) and it said that studies have found cinnamon to be an awesome antioxidant, it also has antibacterial fighting skills, and it can lessen inflammation. Cinnamon is in!
• I have heard of putting in chilli powder for a decongestant, that will clear you right up! I wanted to know what else it could do and if it was worth putting in my cough/cold remedy. After looking at about 10 websites about it I found out that chili peppers have capsaicin in them which acts like a decongestant, it expels the yucks, and it is a pain reliever. The pain reliever part alone is worth it, so chilli powder is in!
• Ginger is next. I have used ginger for an upset tummy before but I swear I heard of other uses for it. After looking around it didn't look to promising. It does have anti-inflammatory properties but a lot of sites said that there wasn't enough information about it beating a cold. I decided to use it anyways.

So we have honey, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, chilli powder, and ginger. I would have also put in lemons but I didn't have any so next time I make it I will use those. So I decided to use a half tablespoon of honey, then put in a little less than tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I put in about 1/4teaspoon of cinnamon, and what I would call a big pinch of both the ginger and chili powder. Here is me using the ¼ teaspoon to show how much of the chili powder and ginger I put in.

After tasting it I decided a dab more honey never hurt anything and it might make it easier to go down. I tried to mix more or less of the ingredients but this mixture seems to be the best. It is for a single dose and it makes about two big spoonfuls. I tried to make a tea, that was the worst experience with my daughter! I say make it so it can go down quickly because even though it taste better than cold medications, its not something that I would call mmm-mmm good. Here is what it looks like all mixed up in my orange bowl!

I did both heated and cold. I think heated is better because of the warmth. I gave her my first mixture around 7am (along with mulit-vitamin gummies) and decided about every 4 hours. I had to improve the mixture twice. For a couple hours the sore throat was still there and she still coughed but it was a little less.

At around 9am I decided to try the tea formula and she drank it, unwillingly I might add. She said her sore throat was gone and her coughs were a lot less frequent. So after the tea was a no go I just gave it to her after I mixed it. It was still “really yucky” but she took the two big spoonfuls without the drama. I did that around 1ish and her sore throat was still gone, along with her only coughing every once in a blue moon. Her last dose was around 6pm and was she was fine for the night. By the end of it she really didn't want to have anymore of it. Through the next couple of days I decided to just mix a big spoonful of honey with the cinnamon and the chili powder. I used a lot less chili powder only a pinch or so but it still helped her out a lot.

Okay so now we know how to make it I just wanted to add a little bit. If your pregnant, doctors worry about miscarriages while using ginger. I personally would leave it out even though its such a small dose. Another thing is if the cough is persistent for more than 7 days call a doctor. It could be a sign of more serious problems. With a sore throat, what I do is I look in the throat for little white (or yellow) spots. If nothing seems to be helping it, you have a fever over 101 degrees, your tonsils and/or lymph nodes are swollen, and you see those white spots then please go to the doctor. It could be strep throat and that does need antibiotics to get rid of. I had to do a project on strep throat and it could turn into scarlet fever and rheumatic fever.

Next time you have a sore throat or a cough, try this out! Please tell me how it worked for you!!!

Disclaimer* 

I am not a doctor and this blog should not be taken instead of the advice of a doctor. Always consult with your doctor before trying any medications. Even/especially homemade ones. 

Now its time for window and mirror cleaning! How fun!

So to go with the cleaning theme that I started with the last post I decided to show you my dirty mirror. I figured I already showed you my dirty tub so why not! I'm not sure if you can see it well in this picture but here it is! It has a ton of toothpaste spatters. We like to get close and personal while brushing our teeth:

Yes, I take my pics with my tablet. Lol I love that thing! Okay so now I want to tell you how I easily clean my mirrors and windows. I use rubbing alcohol and a coffee filter. That's it! Its cheaper and it leaves no streaks on your window! Plus doing it my way you would know exactly what you are using. So lets compare the price: It can be up to $5 for windex, for rubbing alcohol I have found it for $1.45. What I do is I just put it right on the coffee filter and use it to clean it window. You could also put it in a spray bottle but the way I do it works for me:

Now here is a lovely picture of me cleaning my window. Don't mind the swollen hands. I do miss my wedding rings though!                                                                                                                            

Seriously, start cleaning windows with coffee filters and you wont go back! The alcohol smells, well, like rubbing alcohol. I'm pregnant and it doesn't really bother me but again I am used to that smell from when I did medical assisting. The smell goes away immediately too. I used one coffee filter to clean this mirror. It is about a foot long by maybe a foot and a half tall. I can't find my measuring tape so that is not an exact measurement. More like an I'm a girl and really bad at measuring, estimate. Needless to say its a small mirror. Here is the finished product. No streaks and all shiny!

My husband and I got a Keurig from my father-in-law for our wedding and had a ton of coffee filters left so now they are going to something useful, plus coffee filters are cheap! Another tip for coffee filters is to use them as paper towels on your stainless steel appliances. I used to do this as a teenager when I worked at McDonalds and it makes them shine! There ya go, now you have something new to try! :-)

DIY Tub cleaner!

Anyone sick of the cold yet? Us Michiganders are really wishing for warm weather right about now! With the thought of spring on my mind, and less favorable spring cleaning, I thought I would write about some DIY cleaners that I have tried. I am almost 8 months pregnant so all if not mostly natural is a must for me! Also I like to make my own cleaners so I know exactly whats in them!

My husband and I are in the process of buying our first house! It is such an exciting time for our family. With that said, that means I have to deep clean our apartment. That, my friends, is not so much fun! Especially since I am horrible with cleaning anyways so I always have a bunch of stuck on gunk that I need to clean off. 

For my first post, I thought I would post about an awesome DIY tub cleaner that I had saw on facebook and heard great things about it from one of my friends. I, of course, had to try it and I love it! Plus, I cannot use the commercial tub cleaners. They upset my asthma and are horrible if your pregnant! This is seriously the best tub cleaner I have ever used. Want to know how I make it? Water, dawn dish soap, and white vinegar. Seriously, that's it! So first I will show you a picture of my tub. Please don't judge! I am not lying when I say I am the worst at cleaning, ask my husband. So here is my lovely apartments tub:

So those dark spots on the right side, yeah that's not a shadow. Well, it's mostly not a shadow. That is scum! Yucky right? Now the first thing I do is run out to the dollar store and buy a spray bottle. Did I mention I love dollar stores? Whoever thought "I am going to open this store and make everything a dollar," is a genius! Well anyways, back onto the cleaner. Then I gather my supplies.

I grab my cleaning bottle and I fill it 1/4 of a way with Dawn dish soap. A lot of people say to use the blue kind. I did that at first but then I found the green apple kind and fell in love! It smells so good and to me personally it helps a lot with the smell of the vinegar. Then I fill it to the halfway point with vinegar and gently swirl to mix. Some people say to heat the vinegar but I personally don't and it works just fine. Here are the two mixed:

After it is filled halfway I fill the rest of it with water and swirl again carefully to make it all mixed together. Don't shake! It will sud like crazy and make sure to add the water slowly! Here it what the finished product looks like:

So after it is all mixed together and made I go in and I spray/drench my shower in the solution. I let it sit for an hour and then I use my little scrubbie brush and clean out the tub. I don't even have to scrub, its pretty much just wiping and the scum comes right off! Its amazing! Here is the after picture:

Also a great idea I saw was to put the solution right in the scrubbie brush. I rather spray it around as my main method of application. If I have a little bit left in the bottle I like to put it in the scrubbie brush and add a little more dish soap! Seriously, go out and try it!