I Don't Like You Mr. Fishy Face: Homemade Saline Solution

O Sovereign LORD, you are God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.  

2 Samuel 7:28

 

 What do you get when you mix two sickies, a movie on an IPad, a feeding pump running Pedialyte, a suction machine, and an adaptive chair used for propping? 

  A Sick day on the homestead. 

  Yep, you guessed it, Gussy is in the sick loop. It finally hit us, no matter how secluded we tried to stay the ick found us. God is good, though, Amen? For now, we are home and Gussy, amazingly, is doing quite well. We are having to suction him quite often compared to normal and night time Oxygen Sats were a bit beastly last night. We still made it through the night without oxygen, though! Praise God! After a whole bunch of suctioning (which equals a whole bunch of throwing up) his sats stabilized and all was well in the Gussy department.  

  Ellie, poor sweet Ellie. She is the one that has been hit hardest. She's croupy, snotty, and down right miserable. Somehow the rest of us have nothing much going on...Yet. 

  You know, there are some slight perks to having a kiddo like Gussy. When someone in the house gets hit with major ick, you can pretty much bet money that I am set up as good as any nurses station around. You need medical supplies, I am your lady! Also, My dear sweet Jenny's kiddos think I'm super cool because they got oxygen cannulas and 60 CC syringes to play doctor with in their Christmas box. I know, I'm stellar, right?

  Onto the perks...

  I happen to have a nebulizer and extra masks in my supplies so I was able to make a homemade saline solution for Ellie. Worked wonders! 

  One problem. She HATED it. Down right "mad at Mama" moment.

  So, if you use this solution in your own nebulizer at home and have a kiddo who is not fond of it, I have the perfect solution for you. Ninjas. Ninjas will help you keep a mask on your little one's face. Problem solved. 

  After a good solid air kick and elaborate story about how the saline is just like a really cool Ninja running into her chest to kick all the bad guys, she wasn't thrilled, but sat nicely willing to let them do their business.  We then proceeded to cough, blow, cough, blow, to wipe away all the icky bad guys (snot) that the Ninjas (Saline) were kicking out.

  See? Ninjas really can save the world from bad guys. 

Homemade Saline Solution:

1 cup water (preferably filtered)

1 tsp. Salt. 

Boil down water  for about 10 minutes to reduce impurities. Add salt. Stir. let cool. Nebulize about a teaspoon full at a time. 

 

  

  We are now ready to fight the warrior's fight and get back to this fun stuff....

  Yeah, you guessed it, I shamelessly looked for a spot to throw this picture in because it's so dang cute. That's how I roll.

Living in His Mercy,

Melissa

Valentine's Day on the Homestead

"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit."

~Proverbs 15:13~ 

Happy Valentine's Day! Yes, it's a commercialized money grabber, but it can be a fun, non  expensive time to circle around your family in joy. We don't buy the commercial cards, gifts, and toys most years but I do use this day as an opportunity to let my family know how much I love them with some fun activities.  We've been working extra hard lately preparing our property to be a fertile and working piece of land. Our days have looked something like this...School, work, sleep, school, work, sleep, school, work, sleep.

Today we get to learn about who St. Valentine was and have us some fun!  This fun starts out with a bag of that beauty up top. Waffles, with a twist!

Throw is a little pink somethin'...

And Voila' 

Pink Waffles in the makin'! 

And yes, take note of that fever reducer in the background. Yep, also how we roll.

That is how we turn this....

Into this....

And, needless to say, the troops approve.

Then on to Valentines fun to send off to the family....

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works

~Hebrews 10:24~

And there you have it, fun days on the homestead.  We'll end the night with some pink cookies and Spaghetti. Inexpensive memory making!

While I got ya, can I ask you to pray for us?  Poor little Ellie-Anne is the one requiring the "fever be gone" on the counter. She has woken up three nights in a row with a nasty croupy cough and high fevers. It is likely that RSV has finally found us. I keep expecting to wake up in the night to Gussy unable to breathe and ready for the hospital. 

Thus far this is still my morning view...

Do take note of that beautiful 99 on the monitor. Everyone, Gussy included, has a runny nose and a slight cough. Our prayer is that it stays like this and Ellie-Annie gets to feeling better soon.  

God is Good! 

Suppose the Devil has figured it out by now that, no matter what, that will remain on our lips?  I love the verse that my Sister in Law, Dellaina, brought up when I said this to her...

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Job 13:15

It's funny how an event like the birth of our Gussy can forever change what makes you fall before God in prayer and trusting. If you would have told me before Gussy was born that every little illness that enters our home requires us to see the great mercies Our Lord gives us each day, it would have been difficult to understand. Praise God for His mercies!!

Thank you for praying with us!

So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

~John 16:22~ 

Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

~Psalm 33:22~

Living in His Mercy,

Melissa  

Time Savin' Mama: Freezer Waffles

With Pregnancies progressing, babies to nurse, schooling to be done, and meals to prepare, how many of us Mama folk couldn't use time saving tips? I am a time cruncher I like to get all my chores done in the most productive way possible so I do all sorts of shortcut work to help cut down on time when I'm feeling tired or overwhelmed with my day.

One of the things I do that my family loves and saves a ton of time in the long run is what I call "waffle weeks". My whole family enjoys it and when I'm feeling icky from being pregnant my husband has a yummy breakfast he can pop in the microwave or toaster before work! Plus, even the children can "make waffles" if need be.

What you'll need

10 lbs pancake/waffle mix. I buy mine as the cost is pretty similar and it's just one thing I like to do easy.
Waffle iron
Wax paper
Freezer
Gallon size baggies

How to do it

Now there is a reason that I call it "waffle week" and not just waffle day etc. starting Monday morning I get a large mixing bowl and make enough batter to fill it. I heat up my waffle iron and start making waffles. I will make make them until it is all gone. We eat as they are prepared and with the remaining I stack them on a cookie sheet dividing the layers with wax paper.

After which I put them in the freezer until the next morning.

The next morning I bag up the frozen waffles and start all over again. I do this all week until the mix is gone. By the end of the week we have a good supply of ready to heat waffles for whenever breakfast needs to be fast or someone (A.K.A. Mama) doesn't feel particularly keen on making breakfast quite yet.

Happy Waffle Making!

31 Days to Clean E-book!

From the moment I saw this e-book I was super excited about it! I love practical help books! Here is a fabulous opportunity to pick up this e-book for free! But you better hurry! It ends at midnight tonight (EST)!!

I have yet to read something from Sarah Mae that I didn't love so hurry and get your copy! Even if you don't get a free copy I will be blogging a review of the book after I read it and I'm sure it will be worth the $4.99 to buy your own copy! 

Head on over to "Like a Warm Cup of Coffee" Now and get all the details!