Top Supplements for health and happiness

For a while I've been trying to compile a list of my top supplements.  After much deliberation, this is what I've narrowed it down to.  This is, of course, only what I've found works for our family, and may not be the best choices for your specific health issues.  I'll try to list links so that you can get more information, should you desire.

1) Things that aid digestion.  If you aren't digesting your food well, then you aren't absorbing your food well either, which means you aren't getting your nutrients to nourish and heal your body, and then a myriad of problems can arise.  Poor immunity, poor coping skills, allergies, leaky gut, cancer...you name it.  There are several ways to approach this.

   a) digestive bitters- these help stimulate digestive juices to help your body digest better on its own.  Some brand names are Urban Moonshine and Mountain Meadow Herbs Liver Glow (II for kids/nursing/pregnancy).  Our James has used the LiverGlowII for a couple years now (off and on, as we take breaks), and his liver is doing better than it ever has and his eczema is gone.  Ingredients like milk thistle and dandelion are in them, and they strengthen and cleanse the liver at the same time, while providing minerals.

   b) digestive enzymes- there are complete books written on enzymes, but basically they help your body break down food when it is unable to on its own (most commonly due to stress which lowers our body's natural ways of working).  There are many good brands, here's the one our Naturopath recommends( Pure)   Look for both plant, animal and Betaine HCl for optimal digestion.  

   c) diluted HCl- this is just diluted stomach acid itself, and by using it, your body will produce more of its own as well as help your food digest better also.  Low stomach acid is usually caused by stress also. Have you ever not felt like eating when you're under heavy stress?  That's why.  Constant low grade stress does the same thing on a long-term basis.  If you suffer from heartburn, this would be what you want.  Typically heartburn is your body pumping out continually (instead of just at mealtime) HCl because the levels are too low, not too high (as most would believe).  The only reasons not to take HCl is if you are on corticosteroids (eg. Prednisone) and/or anti-inflammatory NSAIDS (eg. Motrin) as both of these type of drugs irritate the stomach lining already, and the added acid can cause ulcers.  We give this to a couple kids and they are less ditzy and can think/learn more clearly when they take it.  Our Naturopath says that kids can heal themselves by just adding this to their diet.  I haven't seen healing yet, but I have seen happier kids who are able to focus (and less digestive issues) and that is nice for everyone around!

2) Things that replace the bad bacteria with good.  Most of us have either been on antibiotics at least once in our life (or like me- many, many times ever since my bouts with tonsillitis as a small child, or my husband who was born via C-section and then had strep many times as a child).   Anyhow, our gut flora is pretty much nil.  Other ways we destroy our gut flora. 

   a)  Probiotics-  things like kefir, kombucha, kimchi, raw sauerkraut and probiotic pills will all help.  This is a lifestyle change, not just a one-time-eat-some-yogurt-because-you-were-on-antibiotics type deal.  Add these things in when you can, and slowly incorporate them more and more.  Kefir can now be bought at Walmart and WinCo.  Kimchi is at WinCo, raw sauerkraut or pickles (Bubbie's) are at most grocery stores too (in the refrigerated section).  If your store doesn't carry these items, email/call them and ask them too.  Or learn to make your own.  Wellness Mama (my favorite health blog) has instructions for most.

   b)  Prebiotics- these I have not taken myself, but have family members benefit from them.  These help the probiotics work better, and help replace bad bacteria with good.  These are not as common as probiotics, but just as important.  Mountain Meadow Herbs  also carries them.

3) Greens, greens, greens.  I don't know anyone who lives in this day and age who eats enough greens.   So, supplementing is crucial.  These help nourish our bodies, provide fiber to move things through our system, detoxify chemicals/medications, provide oxygen to our cells all of which help prevent disease.  They are the most nutrient dense vegetables, in yet they taste the worst so we rarely eat them, right?  Here's a few more reasons to eat greens.  My favorite is of course Green Vibrance.

   a) green vegetables-Whether you buy them and make juice or smoothies, steam or roast, or simply buy a green powder or capsule to take, try to do what it takes to get more green vegetables into your diet.

   b) green seaweeds- this consists of spirulina, kelp, dulse, chlorella, etc.  These are full of minerals and also full of green which can really benefit the body.  Most of them also benefit the thyroid, which is low in many people these days.  Even if the Dr. says yours is fine, that often means that it is in "normal range", not in optimal range.  Check the numbers and see if yours is in the top 25% of the range, rather than just within normal.  According to my Naturopathic Dr., people don't feel good unless their numbers are in that top range.  Chlorophyll is not a seaweed, but another great green for deodorizing the body and flushing out toxins and oxygenating your cells.

4) Essential fatty acids (EFAs)- this is all those good oils we hear about which do all kinds of things.

These EFAs are necessary for the following processes:

• Formation of healthy cell membranes 
• Proper development and functioning of the brain and nervous system
• Proper thyroid and adrenal activity
• Hormone production
• Regulation of blood pressure, liver function, immune and inflammatory responses
• Regulation of blood clotting: Omega-6 FAs encourage blood clot formation, whereas Omega-3 oil reduces clotting. The ideal is to achieve a balance between omega-6 and omega-3 FAs
• Crucial for the transport and breakdown of cholesterol
• Support healthy skin and hair
  (source)

Fish oils, flax oils, nut oils, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, real butter, chia/hemp seeds, cod liver oil, fat from grassfed beef/pasture raised chicken, etc.  Avoid anything hydrogenated, or chemically altered or heat treated (for shelf life), and you should be fine.  After decades of low-fat mantra, it's time to replenish all those good oils and fats again.

Interestingly, it seems that many gluten sensitivities can be traced to a lack of good essential fatty acids.  Sometimes the person isn't getting enough EFAs, but often it is because their body isn't breaking down the ones they are getting (refer to my #1 above).  Adding digestive enzymes can help the body heal the fatty acid deficiency and the gluten sensitivity in the process.  Yay!  

5) Calcium/magnesium/phosphorus/boron/vitamin D- although magnesium is the one often lacking the most, all of these minerals and vitamins work together for healthy teeth and bones.  You need all of them together for your body to be able to utilize them effectively.  Soda sucks the first three out of bones and teeth as it is so acidic that your body needs 32x more of them to replace what you drank.  Yikes!  Growing babies is hard on teeth and bones too.  Celeste has been teething lately, and it's made my own teeth ache (she's nursing way more), and they ache even if I only eat a bit of sugar.  I've been upping my intake of these vitamins, because I really don't need (or want) teeth problems if I can avoid it.  The brand that works best for me is Nature's Sunshine Skeletal Strength and it has calming and digestive helps in it too.  Here's a good article on how these all work together and the importance of them.  The book The Magnesium Miracle is good too.

6) Bone broth and gelatin- bone broth has gelatin in it, both which help heal and nourish the body.  Because our society eats mostly muscle meats, we are severely lacking in collagen and minerals and amino acids for healing most ailments.   Bone broth can heal a leaky gut, overcome food intolerances and allergies, improve joint health, reduce cellulite and boost the immune system.  Slow simmering bone-in meat is one way to do this easily, and then making gravy from the drippings or using broth for soup.  Here's a good article about the benefits of bone broth.  You can learn to make your own, or now you can even buy it premade.

Although often health solutions can start at home; nutritionists and Naturopathic Dr.'s are needed also to pinpoint problems if they are more deep rooted and not easily solvable.  This website below is my favorite for at-home things you can do to improve your health.  She has easy tests to do to help determine different things, how to make healing foods and such.  Below is a screen shot of her healing food list which we strive to do when we can.  Sometimes food isn't enough to heal, and supplements are needed to boost health (in specific areas) before the food can heal (we've found this true in our house).  

http://heal-thyself.ning.com/

Here's Wellness Mama's list of supplements she recommends also.  I wrote my own list without looking at hers, but they ended up pretty similar.

Any that I forgot??

Mommy Nerves

The other day it occurred to me, that I just ain't what I used to be.  I mean, I already knew this, considering I am turning 40 this year.  And though I'm okay with getting older (and hopefully wiser) and more gray hair (it's somehow multiplying at an exponential rate), what I don't like is how my nerves just don't handle things like they used to.

My 5 babies have not been easy on my body, and I supplement accordingly to try to accommodate the lacks, one of which is B vitamins in large doses.  This lack has created in me occasional anxiety which I have never experienced before.  There has been two times when my anxiety actually got the better of me and I felt very out of control (although this was nothing compared to what some people deal with due to anxiety).  This was when venturing into new territory where I had never tread before.  One was playing the piano for a wedding (I will not say yes to that again!) and the other was when I had to call our wonderful midwife when we were first considering a home birth.  I had anxiety before calling her and then it was even worse on the day of our first appointment.  And then she called and cancelled because of a birth and had to reschedule.  Akk.  Even more waiting.  Thankfully both situations ended positively, but I don't care to relive the anxious moments.

This past year I have been put in 3 new situations which also caused me stress in a way that I never thought I would feel stress.  One was butchering chickens last summer.  I felt like I could only observe and learn, and then next time maybe I'll venture forth and actually help out.  Between watching 9 kids and making meals for company, my brain was maxed out already.  Learning something new was not in my capabilities that day.  But, now that I've seen the process, I feel like if we ever do meat chickens again, I will be an asset to the production line.

The next was flying with 5 kids and tackling Disneyland.  Talk about mom anxiety there.  Losing a kid.  Forgetting a kid.  Kids acting up on the plane.  Needing a bathroom and not being able to find one.  Hunger/new food struggles eating in different places (thankfully that wasn't high on the list as our kids are pretty good eaters). 

Elise and Isaac pouting at California Adventure because their tamales were too spicy.  Thankfully they ate the beans and rice and the rest of us got to enjoy their delicious tamales!

Thankfully that trip all went well, although meandering through a crowd of probably 20,000 in the dark with a group of 13 was rather stressful at the end of the busy day.  It tipped me over into "freak out" mindset and the "I have to get out of here right now or I'll lose it" flight or fight kicked in.  As soon as we were out of the crowds of people and back under the streetlights I was fine, but it as tense for a bit there!

Then just this past weekend my cousin Janine and her family invited us to go fishing in the ocean in their new boat.  I did enjoy the whole adventure, but felt again that I'd better just observe everything before getting too involved.  It would have been great fun to catch a fish, but with our 3 little ones who were not feeling well (they fell asleep thankfully), I felt it was all I could handle to just stay calm and stay seated and at the end of the day get home in one piece!

The older boys did great, but I pictured many "worst case scenarios" in my mind, most of which were possible but highly unlikely.  I tried to think back to when I just had myself to worry about, and I generally knew what my limitations were (in the same type of scenarios).  With kids you never know what they're thinking and what they'll try, which is a big part of what makes being a parent so stressful.  Some kids are risk takers, some play it safe.  Some have poor judgement (often due to inexperience), some have excellent judgement but are fearful and/or klutzy.  It's so hard to know when to let them spread their wings and when the parental authority must take over and we must be wise for them.

I try really hard not to turn into my mother (whom I love dearly, but who worries far too much), in yet I know it's probably quite unavoidable also.  With my nerves getting worse over time, and our boys getting more daring, I'm sure the worst is yet to come!  I'm not really sure how to avoid it and how to embrace it gracefully.

Another aspect is letting my own fears rub off on my kids.  I have unreasonable fears of horses, beetles, and ocean beaches (random sneaker waves + 5 kids = not much fun, ever), and a few more that I can't think of right now.  When we were in Santa Monica, CA this spring, I did want to try to go to the beach there.  I took 3 of the kids down (Greg despises beaches even more than me and offered to stay at the car with the other 2 kids since they didn't want to come) to the beach and after about 5 minutes, my nerves had had enough.  Done.  Time to go.  I keep trying to get braver, but the image of little Luke when he was 3 getting washed away from me, and his little body rolling in the waves just resurfaces and I can't get past it.  I wonder then if I really do need to get past it or if it's there for my future benefit.  Like horses. I have no desire to ever get past my fear of horses.   I can't see how I'll ever need to ride a horse again in my life.  Or hitch one to a cart or buggy (unless I convert to Amish, haha).  And Greg is thankful for how much money we'll save by never having to own a horse (he actually prayed for a wife who wouldn't love horses, because so many women get so obsessed with them).  Well, he got one!

The 3 brave ones

I do remember meeting a lady whose brother had drowned when she was a child. Because of that experience, she was so fearful of water that she never had her own children learn to swim and they felt she had done them a great disservice.  I do think it would have been wiser for her to ensure her kids learned to swim, rather than avoid the water due to fear.  So, I do wonder again, where does balance lie?

Well, off to bed so that my nerves are as healthy as they can be for this stage of life tomorrow.  A certain baby in our house has about 4 teeth coming through today, and possibly 4 more on the way, so her nerves can use all the help they can get too.  Nutritional yeast, B vitamins, calcium/magnesium for teeth health and calming...coming up! This seems elementary but our Naturopath says that babies only have as much vitamins as their moms give them (if nursing), so if they aren't coping well, it's because they don't have enough vitamins to cope with.  Makes sense but amid the crying and whining, I often forget to ensure it.

What do you do to keep your sanity, patience, nerves calm and keep an overall sense of well-being?

Interesting Conversation

One of the things I also became better at in all my jobs was communication, because I always dealt with the public.  I still am horrible at expressing feelings and sharing intimate thoughts, but thankfully I have a husband who is much better at it than I am, so we do all right.  When I was single I used to pray, "Please don't let me marry someone who I'll have to babysit in a crowd."  Kind of a minor detail, but knowing how I struggle myself in social situations, having a husband as quiet and awkward as I was would be not very fun.  Greg is about the most well-rounded crowd person I know, so my prayer was answered much better than I ever could have imagined.  God does things like that, doesn't He?

Today the kids started swimming lessons again, so it is always interesting to see who will be there, and if anyone I know will have their kids in the same session as us (it's a Kalama deal, so only Kalama people).  Last year I knew no other parents in our session, so made it my personal challenge to visit with a different parent each day and get to know them.  It was hard.  Very hard.  But, I did it, and this year it paid off because one of the same moms is back and we visited freely again today.  She also had her boys in wrestling so we had chatted a bit then too.  A small town is great for this kind of stuff.  Although I doubt we'll become dearest friends, having connections with people is always a blessing.  You never know when you'll need them, or they'll need you.

It also got me to thinking about what to talk to strangers about.  I don't have any pat answers, but usually asking people about their family or their jobs will get them talking.  When I used to work at the hospital, I would ask the older people about their families and they loved to talk about them.  A few things I learned when I asked those questions, was something for us all to heed.  Older people often talk of regrets from the past also.  Older women most often regretted not having more children.  "We know now that it would have worked out" they would say.  They talked of how their kids never came to visit, or the only child they had lived so far away.  Older men most often regretted not spending enough time with their families.  "I wish I knew my kids when they were growing up.  I was too busy working all the time to buy them stuff, that I didn't have time left to spend with them."  Of course this wasn't always a choice, when work was scarce and there were bills to pay.  But many of these men told of furnishing pools and tennis courts and yet never getting to play with their kids in them.  It really reinforced to me to teach my own children to plan on caring for the elderly.  Whether family or friends, there will always be a lonely person that needs our love and care.

With the younger working crew, I would ask what people did for a living.  I found it fascinating why different people chose different professions, and whether or not they liked them or not.  I learned about many jobs that I never even knew existed.  One time I asked a man what he did for a living and the conversation went something like this,

Me: So what do you do for a living?

Him: I work in a XXX book store.

Me: (it came out of my mouth before I had time to censor it) Doesn't your conscience bother you?

Him: I don't read the books, I just sell them. 

Me: Well, you are aiding and abetting that business.

Him: Yes, I guess you're right.  I think I'm going to have to find a new job.

Oh, dear.  Never know what we get ourselves into, hey?  You win some, you lose some.

With young parents, they usually love to brag about their kids.  Often if you feel awkward talking to an adult, if you break the ice with their child, it'll result in a conversation.  A compliment is always appreciated, or even just thanks for a kind gesture.  And a smile always wins also.

At my very first job at A & W, my boss would make me go and ask the customers how their food was.  I was too shy to even do that.  I hated it.  Then at my second job, as a lifeguard, the girl who was supposed to teach the water aerobics class got into a car accident on her way to work and I was stuck teaching the class on my 2nd day of work.  Here I had only witnessed water aerobics once (on my first day) and I was supposed to teach it.  The original girl never came back to work, so I began teaching it every day.  Have you ever tried to teach something in a loud swimming pool with a bunch (+\-30) of older ladies splashing and chatting around who don't have their hearing aids in?  It required much yelling.  Ugh.  So, that's when I officially learned to talk.

Recently Greg was talking with my brother-in-law Alex, and it was mentioned that we owe it to each other to keep a conversation interesting.  What do you think?  True?  Do you ever look at the art of conversation that way?  Alex and Greg are always up for interesting conversation, so they agreed, of course.  Now how to do that?  Hmm...I still have much to learn.

Mundane Monday

This is just a random post day.  So many thoughts flutter around in my brain and sometimes writing it down helps me to sort them out.  

Keeping track of all my home cultures has me trying to remember what I'm supposed to be doing when, but also excites me because it makes me realize how far we've come on our health journey.  Right now we have 6 different "brews" going.  Greg is making some homemade ginger ale; and I make water kefir, milk kefir, kombucha, raw sauerkraut and sourdough.  As I type, I'm listening to a podcast from Wellness Mama  that is really good for learning more about kombucha.  I make it because I know it's good for us, but didn't really know about all the health benefits and variations to making it.  Exciting!

(the closest thing to a quote from her I could find)

Gardening is sure a love/hate relationship.  If I had $1000(or more) to spend on mulch, wood chips, compost and plants; I'd love gardening.  That's what I like to tell myself anyways.  I really do enjoy the snippets of gardening I when I do get out there, but I get so used to my daily routines that I totally forget to weed, check on plants, water and all those sorts of important things.  My house also goes to pot (in a worse way than the normal disarray we might find it in) whenever I am outside for an extended period of time.  Like 1 hour or so.  I did just write a big note on my white board to remind myself to get out every morning to check on all my plants.   We'll see if that really happens.  I'm also reading a book right now called The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer by Joel Salatin and it's so inspiring.  My brother Jordan got us into reading his stuff, and it makes SO much sense.  Our "farm" may be small, but I know we can make some things happen.  We just have to figure out how.  His books are humorous and eye-opening at the same time.  This TED talk of him excellent also.  I love all the big words he uses, many of which I don't even know what they mean.  Here's a few quotes of his:

Part of our farming included getting more chickens.  The 3 oldest kids used their birthday money to buy them, and will hopefully have enough eggs to sell them and make some profits.  Greg wants them to really start saving money, so they needed a way to actually make some cash.  They'd love to spend any and all dollars on Legos; but we (G & I) don't feel that feeding that obsession would be healthy in any way.  Obsessions should be curbed and contained rather than encouraged, right?  So, we got 20 baby chicks (6 Leghorns, 6 Amerucanas, 6 Gold Sex Links, and 2 Cuckoo Marans).  Isaac got a Standard Bronze turkey so that he wouldn't feel left out, and he named his turkey Mickey (of course).  He has told us he will call him Mickey when he's small and Turkey when he gets big (he's still not too sure about eating him someday although he is trying to get used to the idea).  After the kids came in one day and Elise announced that one of her chicks had pooped on her hand, Isaac said, "Mickey never would poop on anyone's hand!"  Apparently his turkey is phenomenally trained and superiorly intelligent compared to those foolish chickens, that's for sure!   So cute.

James has finally found some books he enjoys.  He went to a Ramona Quimby play with some friends (thanks, Janine) and that inspired him to pick up some Beverly Cleary books.  We then got some from the library and he's been reading up a storm.  Normally this boy can only be found reading cartoons (Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield, TinTin, Smurfs, etc.) and I've tried to get him interested in many different books to no avail.  He's read 3 books in the last week, which is way more than I can usually get him to read in a month, maybe even a year.  I recall being the same way, so I understand it.  There's no point in reading a mediocre book.  I realize now as an adult that much of the reason I didn't read too much when I was young was that I enjoy non-fiction way more than fiction (but I didn't know that then).  And all books geared for teenage girls are fiction.  I have never been one to read to escape reality (I never felt I had anything to escape) so most books were just too uninteresting.  Now that I'm an adult, I realize that my area of interest in the book department is real life.  It's not that I didn't like reading, but more that I just hadn't found the kinds of books I liked.  I'm not much into biographies these days either, but more learning-for-life style books.  What a relief! 

That's all for today.  Lots more thoughts, but it's time to get back outside...and maybe grill some burgers.  I'm sure loving this summery weather these days!

Prayer on life's journey

It seems like at different times, different subjects of our faith come to the forefront, while others drift into the background.  Lately (as in the last 6 months or so), prayer has been on my mind and heart on so many days and in so many ways.  I feel entirely inadequate in the prayer department, and although  deep down, I know it's great power, I often feel supressed by the lack of direction and answers seen from it.  So, what to do...

Pray about it.  Yep, that's what I've done.  For answers, I randomly ended up with a book from the library on prayer and fasting (completely unintentional, since I thought the book Toxic Relief was on detoxification) and have had numerous conversations with people on the effects of prayer and fasting in their life.  We even had a Bible Study where we delved into it, as well as reading in the Bible itself about it.   

Then we moved some furniture in our house, and some how a book called Handle With Prayer fell out of somewhere and kept knocking around the house until I picked it up and started to read.  It was exactly what I had been needing.  It turns out that Greg's folks gave it to him for Christmas in 1993, and he's never even read it (sadly, he admits).  So, it's been living somewhere in our house since 2003 when we got married, in yet I've never seen it before.  It had to be a God thing.

Like all books (that aren't Scripture themselves), I read through it and took the gems and got rid of the rest.  And there were lots of gems to glean.  Here's what I took away~

-Prayer can really unveil the hidden parts of life.  The parts where we think we're in control, but really we're not.  If our prayers line up with Scripture, we can know that God hears and will answer our prayers (the opposite would be selfish, worldly, rebellious prayers where we seek our own way rather than God's).

-Prayer can also be the primary way God wants to talk to us.  Not through books, friends, counselors, etc.  Wisdom from above is wisdom from Himself.

-God wants us to pray with authority.  Not with passiveness, not with skepticism, but with pure hearts, knowing His will (from reading the Bible), with pure motives and with a persistent faithfulness by the consistency of our prayers (not to lose hope or interest if we don't see results).  Claim what has already been bought and paid for by Christ on the cross at Calvary.

-Fasting.  This is still an area I don't know a lot about yet.  I know it works, and I know there are many Scriptures to back up fasting in terms of answers to prayer.  I just haven't done it myself, so can't vouch for answers in my own life.  Fasting does bring us closer to hearing God's voice (digesting food takes up 60% of our energy each day so when we eliminate that, we can hear much better), and when we hear His voice better, we can know what we are to do more clearly.  It is also good for bringing to light sins that we may be unaware of so that we can deal with them and put them away.  On a totally physical level, fasting clears our bodies as well so that we can begin anew.  The book I mentioned above is a good Biblical resource if you feel this would be something necessary to enhance your prayer life.

-Burden of prayer for others.  If we feel this burden, we need to act on it.  How can God's will be accomplished if His servants are too busy for Him?  We often never know how our prayers affect others, nor how we were sustained through someone else's prayers.  What a neat blessing that is!  There is also an immense responsibilty for being willing to share a prayer burden.  Are we really willing to do what it takes to fulfill His will through prayer?  To allow Him to use us to His full potential?  Wow, it's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?

-How we should pray.  We first must have a right relationship with Him.  The Psalmist wrote, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18).   This means that our prayer also should be for The Lord to reveal any sin in our hearts that we may deal with it and put it away.  What freedom that brings in the process.  We should also be specific in our prayers.  God is willing to meet huge requests, as well as tiny ones.  Don't be afraid to tell your Father everything.  Don't doubt whether He cares or not.  He does!  Evaluate your motives.  All of our life's prayers and directions should glorify our Father in heaven.  Give Him glory in your requests and give Him glory in His answers.

-Why prayers go unanswered.  Usually it's a yes, no or wait.  Are we willing to take those answers?  Other times, there are unresolved issues/sins that we have not dealt with.  (1 Peter 3:1-7) If our relationships aren't right with friends and families, how can they be right with God?  (As much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Romans 12:8).  Sometimes we are stingy with our prayers also.  We may be scared to pray for what we really need/want.  Just as God has promised to meet all of our needs, we can pray confidently that He will do so in our best interest.  God wants to cleanse us of all impurities, hurts and disappointments, so let's let Him.  Late obedience is disobedience.  If we know what we are to do, in yet fail to do it, it is one and the same (think of raising kids and how often this happens).

-How to pray in God's will.  This is a common question, but has pretty clear answers.  By reading the Bible, we can know what His will is.  If we are praying for the saving of someone's soul, we do not need to add "if it be Thy will".  We know it's His will that all would be saved (Luke 19:10, John 3:16, 2 Pet 3:9).  Sometimes we aren't sure of God's will, so we put out a fleece (as Gideon did).  Sometimes we may need this for reassurance that God is hearing us, but most often it is a lack of faith in trusting God is who He says He is.  Praying for wisdom over a certain situation would be a better way to go, rather than making bargains with God to see if He'll do what you want Him to do.

-Ask God for a specific Scripture for whatever you're dealing with that you can meditate on while you're in a season of prayer about a specific issue.  This is a tangible way we can know God's will as well as reaffirm His presence.  The more we saturate our minds with His Word, the more we can know His will over our lives.  He also knows our hearts and often when we don't know what or how to pray, He can pray for us (or those others who have a burden of prayer for us).

-Don't be afraid to ask for prayers from others.  For specific prayers (you don't have to get into details, but make them specific enough that the people know in what direction they are to be praying).  And don't be afraid to ask others how you can pray for them.  It's kind of awkward at first, but turns into such a blessing after a while.  This is how true Godly friendships form- through prayer together, through accountability, through vulnerability, through waging life's battles together and coming out victorious against Satan and his devices.

Anything to add?  I know there's still plenty to learn!

Philippians 4:6  ...but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

What I learned while working in the ER

I'm sure you all know by now that I once worked in the Emergency Room at 3 different hospitals.  From the time I was 15 when I went on a long road trip from Alberta to Minnesota to our church convention with a lady who was an ER nurse, I was intrigued.  She worked at a busy downtown Vancouver, B.C. hospital and I quizzed her relentlessly about her job on that trip.  There was only one problem.  I had declared that of all the jobs there were out there, a nurse was something I was NOT going to do.  I had been a candy striper at a hospital in Portland, OR the summer I was 14 while I was staying down here for the summer (my aunt worked at the same hospital, in the very next room, in fact).  I had thought all the old people were so slow and boring.  Who would want to take care of them all day?  

Anyhow, 10 years later, I signed up for LPN school since my other job had ended for the summer and I needed something to do.  A different aunt worked at the local community college and told me about a pilot LPN course being offered and the signups were the next day.  Akk!  I didn't even know what an LPN was.  Oh well.  I went to the testing and recall asking the girl next to me, "What's this test even about?  Science?  English?  Math?"  It turned out to be all three of those as well as an essay about why I wanted to be a nurse.  Well, I have to admit that my essay was all made up stories, because as we all know by now, I didn't want to be a nurse.  Instead, God wanted me there and orchestrated everything perfectly and I started college right away (the next week or so, if I remember right).

It all went fine until I had to take care of the old people in the nursing home.  I would cry on my way to clinicals and I would cry on my way home (because I felt so bad for them- so sick and lonely).  I would stumble through endless small talk with people who didn't talk back.  I would spoon feed dear old ladies who didn't know their own names anymore.  I still didn't know what I was doing there, but kept on doing it.  

We then moved our clinicals to acute care, where we got to go to the operating room and see surgeries and take care of the post-op people.  Now, this was getting better.  We got to bandage wounds, teach people about their surgery and help them heal and go home.  I started to love it.  And the more time I spent at the hospital, the more comfortable I got making small talk with so many strangers.  

When I graduated, I got a job as a float nurse in the Red Deer Regional Hospital, so I got to work on all the floors except maternity (no interest anyhow), pediatrics (no interest there either), ICU and ER.  Occasionally I would get sent down to the other floors if they were short staffed, but since the ER did not hire LPNs, I figured my chance of ever working there was nil.  Like totally 0%.

But, then something changed.  Somebody, somewhere decided that the ER needed Orthopedic Technicians to handle all the bone stuff.  And in Alberta, Ortho Techs are specialized LPNs.  I ran down as soon as I heard about it and let the manager know that I was very interested and applied for the job (and the specialized training) that day.  I was hired (much to the dismay of many RNs there who did not want us there- they were rather possessive of their ER) and loved that job.  I had to work extra hard to win the approval of several snarky RNs, but eventually they changed their minds.  They loved us (there were 3 of us hired).

Work was hard.  12 hour shifts and most days we'd see between 150-250 patients in a day.  I worked in the fast track area, which had 17 patients at a time, with constant turnover.  My sister said I'd be rattling off blood pressures and pulses in my sleep all night long.  I could barely climb the 5 stairs into my apartment when I'd get home.  But, I loved it.  This was where I was meant to be.  I loved fixing people up and sending them home.  I was not meant to be a long term care kind of nurse.  Or even a medical floor nurse.  I loved the broken bones and sutures most of all.

I worked there for 2 years before my friend (and now sis-in-law) Reidun and I moved to Alaska.  I then was not certified anymore (Alaska didn't recognize my license), so got a job as an Ward Clerk (secretary) and then ER tech in the local hospital in Palmer.  It was only 11 beds, but because we covered such a huge land area, we got all kinds of emergencies.  I loved it there as well.

When we got married, I got a job also as an ER tech at our local hospital in Mesa, AZ and worked there 2 more years until the week before Luke was born.  Mesa had totally different demographics than either of the other hospitals, because the median age was 76.  Yep, half of our patients were older than 76.  Lots of strokes, heart attacks, flu bugs, and pneumonia and plain old death was what we took care of.  Oh, here were those old people again!  By this time I was maturing and appreciated them much more, learning all kinds of wisdom from my time with them.  I still am not a long term care nurse kind of person, but do enjoy taking care of the elderly for short term spurts.

There are many people would would encourage their girls to "reach for the stars" in terms of a career.  That the only way for success is for many years of school and to have a degree to show.  The other extreme encourages girls to stay at home until they marry, whatever age that may be.  I feel both extremes are not practical nor healthy in the long term (although both may be the right thing for a small percentage of girls).  For me, God blessed me for many years by providing a way to minister to others, a decent paycheck and a flexible schedule that perfectly fit with my personality.  I was also completely ready to become a mom when the time was right and gave up my job quite nicely and have never looked back when it was time to turn life's page.  Trade school is so much cheaper and more practical for the majority of people, and avoids much of the pop psychology that universities are notoriously known for.  

By now it's been almost exactly 10 years since I quit my job at the last hospital, so I'm recalling the information that is still swimming around in my head.  My previous jobs really have helped me have a better marriage (better communication, less hurt feelings, more give & take), be a better parent (wisdom in "normal" children, recognizing abnormal, trusting my instincts) and be a more compassionate friend (patience in distress, calmness, compassion, better communication).  I value the vast number of skills I learned, as well as the various thousands of patients and coworkers that I met and interacted with over my 5 years in the ER and 3 years on the regular nursing floors before that.

Here's what I recall learning, in no particular order:

-how to swaddle and hold a kid down (for stitches or other procedures)

-the dangers of hormonal birth control/IUDs (blood clots, miscarriage, unintended pregnancy, IUD dislodging and perforating bowel, unintentional abortion). As a tech, I had to be a chaperone for any female issues where a male Dr. was in the room and saw this way more than I care to recall

-when a cut needs stitches and when super glue will do

-how to drain a smashed fingernail (red hot paper clip to melt the nail)

-what to look for in a head injury (vomiting once is normal, more than once is not, pupil dilation, etc.)

-fluid replacement ways/amounts with the flu (give 15 mL every 15 minutes)

-how common miscarriage is (1/3 of all pregnancies end in miscarriage)

-what alcohol/drugs/mental illness look like in their not-so-glamorous forms

-when and how to treat a fever (no treatment until 102*F or 38.5*C)

-the best doctors are not the ones that order tons of tests, the best ones use signs and symptoms for diagnosis (one of the best Dr.'s I worked with was from South Africa and said that 90%+ diagnosis should be from signs and symptoms).  Most testing is only for confirmation or proof in case of lawsuits.  Sadly, too many people think that diagnosis should come from expensive testing.

-vulnerability at its peak

-nervous breakdowns and what they look (and don't look) like

-mass disaster (tornado in Alberta, more below)

-CPR and what it really looks like, how effective it is, and how often you have to do it especially when you live in a retirement city (Mesa, AZ)

-Dr.'s don't know it all...always do your own research too

-when in doubt, get a second opinion

-suicide and various attempts (don't ever use Tylenol...it won't kill you and will just permanently damage your liver to make your life worse than ever)

-half of an ER Dr.'s salary goes to malpractice insurance.  Remember that next time you think they make too much money.  Half.

Situations that still stand out in my memory over this many years:

-Super glue should not be confused with Visine.  Ever.

-Hot wax dropped on a toddlers face from a mom waxing her legs.  And both parents fighting and blaming themselves for not watching her closely.

-Exotic romantic encounters often end embarrassingly.  I won't say more, but they do provide humor for ER staff.

-Drunk diabetics are a bad deal.  This guy had poor circulation and then was walking around barefoot and cut his foot almost off because he couldn't feel it when he stepped on a broken beer bottle.  He even cut it right through the bones and still didn't even know it.  Blood, blood and more blood.

-Severe asthma in a child that no one could get intubated.  Scary, scary...with her identical twin sister and dad in the family room praying and praying for her, and the huge relief when she came back healthy a few days later after recovering from her attack.

-Esophageal varices (bleeding sores of the esophagus typically from alcohol) & religion.  A man came in who was a closet alcoholic and a Jehovah's Witness with severe bleeding in his esophagus.  His pastor encouraged him to keep refusing all blood products (as true to their religion), but as soon as the pastor left, the patient requested them (knowing that he would die without them, considering the amount of blood lost through his severe bleeding).  It was interesting to see what happens when push comes to shove.

-Alcoholism.  The damage to physical bodies, lives (drunk driving), families, homes...not worth the risk).

-Death of a child.  I only witnessed 2 in all my years, but they are forever embedded in my mind and heart- one was the son of one of our Dr.'s who passed out on the playground at school (he had a known heart condition) and passed away peacefully.  The other was a 3 year old boy in Alaska who died from dehydration from the flu.  His parents failed to bring him in until it was almost too late, due to sexual and physical abuse in the home (as witnessed by his little body when we were working on trying to resusitate him).  We worked on him for a full 2 hours (which is much longer than normal) because of the enormity of the whole situation.  His parents were completely distraught and flailing around and screaming on the floor, and his siblings had to be confiscated due to the obvious signs of abuse (this was the only time CPS was ever called in all my years working), and then we had to wrap up that poor little dead body that endured more pain than any child should ever, ever have to endure.  It still brings tears to my eyes and pain in my heart when I think back to that situation.  I could hardly even take care of any children (other than minor injuries) after that for the rest of my years working as I would just get totally weak and lose my focus.  Drowning in children was also very common in Arizona, which is why we'll never have a pool at our house.

-Head/neck injuries from trampolines are the most common cause of quadriplegics in children.  Which is why we will never own one of them either, fun as they are.  Also, quad/4-wheelers cause so much injury and death in children because any Joe without any skill, agility or strength can ride them.  To quote another ER nurse, "quads kill kids, dirt bikes break their limbs".  Dirt bikes are so much lighter and require actual skill to ride that they are a much better choice.  Sorry to my own kids for the lack of pleasure toys we'll ever own!

-Tornado.  A massive tornado went through a 500 space RV park near Red Deer, AB the week after I started my first ER job.  70 people were killed and if I remember right, we triaged and treated about 200 people that evening.  It was a totally eery, phenomenal experience.  The hospital disaster plan worked amazingly well, and everything ran smoothly.  The way the community came together was wonderful as well.   

-IV practice.  When I lived in Alaska, the ER techs start the IVs.  To get practice, they would let me practice on the drunks that the police had found and brought in for sobering up (can't leave them on the streets in such cold weather, so we got them).  Lots of practice on a Friday or Saturday night!

-Suicide.  We saw many attempts and many deaths. The one that stands out the most was when a man hung himself on Father's Day, and his wife and daughter found him.  So sad.  Drug deaths were also hard especially when the family was unaware of a drug problem.

-When a husband/wife won't die.  We saw this various times when either (a) a spouse would try to kill off their husband/wife by overmedicating them intentionally or (b) when a patient wanted treatment to live and their husband/wife would not want treatment causing them to die.  Sad situations where usually someone wanted a life insurance claim.

-When stomach cramps=having a baby.  The awkwardness of not knowing you're pregnant and you think you have the flu when in fact you are having a baby.  And how to tell your boyfriend (who is not the father, by the way) who is sleeping in the car...

-A man with a head injury who wouldn't stop rambling off to everyone and anyone how amazing his wife is.  Apparently he was a super quiet guy who never said that type of thing.  To anyone.  Not even his wife. She was loving hearing it all!

-When you wear a down (feather) coat and your car stalls on the railroad tracks and you get hit by the train and then you miraculously are still alive and they take you to the ER on a spine board and wherever you go, a trail of feathers follows you.  Good chuckles like that make the hard job worthwhile.

-When you go to the ER for yet another ovarian cyst after many (7+) years of infertility and pain, and when they do an ultrasound the first thing to show up on the screen is a 5-months-along size kicking baby.  And you get see him/her wiggling about.  And it isn't a cyst after all.  And there's not a dry eye in the room. And it's the week before Christmas.  And life is just amazingly beautiful!

Lessons from Mom

Since it was recently Mother's Day, I was thinking about what the most important things that my Mom taught me were.  I was putting it all together with some other thoughts from a book I recently read called What Your Childhood Memories Say About You (by Kevin Leman).  In my memories, I have very few of my Mom.  Like hardly any at all.   In yet I know she was there for me every day growing up, and that much of who I am was shaped by the things she instilled into me.

I tried to find a picture from when my Mom was about my age.  Here she is probably at about 37, since I look to be about 12.

The one memory that stands out above all all the rest was when I was in 5th grade.  Our class was going camping for our field trip, and we had to choose groups of who we wanted in our tents.  This was quite exciting to get to go camping with our friends and get to stay together in a tent by ourselves.  The freedom!  The thrill of being without parents! (although my parents did come along as chaperones)  Anyhow, when I came home from school to tell my Mom about it, she asked, "Do all the girls have a tent to stay in?  Is anyone left out?"  I sheepishly replied that Samantha (the geeky new girl) didn't.  Mom told me that the next day I would go back to school and ask Samantha to stay with me and my friends in our tent.  I was mortified.  I know that I cried and begged her not to make me do this.  Oh, the humiliation!  But, she was firm and said that if I didn't do it, she would come to school and ask her herself.  Now, that would have been even worse, so I did as she told me and asked Samantha to join me and my friends in our tent.

We then (at school) had heard that Samantha's grandma was coming along as a chaperone also.  I remember making jokes (I maybe didn't make them up myself, but participated in joking about it) about her grandma in her wheelchair and laughing hysterically.  When the camping trip finally came, Samantha's grandma was there with her truck and camper and was maybe like 50 years old.  When it poured down rain, everyone else in the class was stuck in their soaking wet tents and our tent of girls was warm and dry, drinking hot cocoa and eating popcorn by the furnace in Samantha's grandma's camper.

That was a really profound lifelong lesson for me, because I learned that doing the right thing will reap blessings (not always in the way you even anticipate), and actually spending time with people will help you get to know them for who they really are.  I remember Samantha's grandma calling us her friends and feeling guilty about what we'd said behind her back.  

Samantha left our school shortly after, so we weren't able to get to be close friends.  I recently learned as an adult that she (and her sister) were living with their grandparents at that time because her parents' were getting divorced and so I think about how hard that must have been for her.  To have to move to a new home and new school and then have kids make fun of her for really no reason except that she was new.  How horrible kids can be.   I wish I had stood up for her more and had done so sooner.

Anyhow, further on through my growing years, my Mom always made sure we welcomed the newcomers or outcasts or underdogs.  Whether at church or school or on vacation, she always made sure we "made others feel welcome".  Even those cute 20 year old Finn boys that were working for my Dad.  Ugh.  She made shy little me (15) go out and visit with them when I would have rather clipped my toenails.  Or the exchange students at school that no one wanted to be friends with (what a horrible torture to send your kids overseas when they can't even speak English).  She'd always say, "How would you like it if you were the newcomer?"

I have now been the newcomer many times.  And for an introvert like myself, it's not very fun, unless someone steps out and makes you feel welcome.  I'm still not very good at reaching out myself, but I still try.

Because those words of Mom still echo in my head, "How would you like it if you were the newcomer?  Go and make them feel welcome!"  And now I tell my own kids the very same thing (and they roll their eyes and pretend they didn't hear me).

Me rock rappelling on that same camping trip at age 10.  I was the first kid in the class to try it.  Everyone else was too scared, but once I went, then others did.

Next stage, next moves

One thing that I am excited (and very nervous) about is the kids growing older and entering the next stages.  Recently three different times I've had a long drive with just the 2 older boys and we've had such good visits.  I guess because there are usually the little kids around, it's hard to get past just the ordinary talk that goes on in a day.  I try to bring up specific subjects that I want to cover with them or answer questions at meal times, but it seems that these sporatic unplanned conversations prove much more fruitful.  One of my cousins recently mentioned that she has always loved it when her kids hit about 8 years old, because then you can start having real conversations with them and seeing their true personalities developing.  I have to agree, although I'm just starting this stage so am not sure of the end results yet!

Another great time I've found for talking is when the kids are in bed and the lights are out.  Kids just seem to open up and share whatever is on their mind so we can talk things through.  In daylight hours, this just doesn't happen.  This is hard to accomplish when you have a baby that nurses all evening, so I'm relieved when I can get back to spending a bit of time with the older kids at night now that she's not so needy.  We also let one kid stay up "late" on the weekend nights to get some alone time with Dad and Mom, but usually deep conversations don't happen at that time.

So then I've also wondered how to ensure I'm covering the "needed" bases for each age group as well as how to cover specific potentially awkward subjects, so I have been reading a few books to give me some insight.  It seems that most potentially hazardous subjects should be covered between the ages of 10-12.  This is when the child is old enough to understand the moral, emotional, & physical aspects of the different topics, but before the hormones kick in to alter their views on them (possibly younger for girls, depending on their maturity).  And physical maturity does not equal emotional maturity.  A 10 year old is still a 10 year old.  This is where parental influence is of utmost importance.  Lots of talking and lots of listening time.  Most kids will have their views for their whole teenage years solidified by the time they are 12, which is why it's important to cover these subjects before you think you have to, rather than after the fact.  Also, for any of these subjects, you likely would rather the kids hear the information from you rather than the tweaked versions that they may hear from their friends.  This also gives the opportunity to share your Biblical moral input on the subject rather than just "the facts".  Most often, the first introduction a kid has to any subject will be the one that sticks the longest (for good or for bad).  

Judging your child's personality comes into play as well.  Since our oldest is pretty quiet, approaching these subjects alone with him makes him rather awkward.  Having his younger quizzical brother along has helped open up much more discussion, as well as making some of the difficult subjects easier to tackle, even though younger brother is a bit young for some of the topics yet.  

Sauna time has proven to be a good time for me to talk to our daughter about some of the issues that she'll face with modesty, privacy vs. openness, body image, etc.  I tend to be more open than many Chrisitan families are about all the body image stuff, just from my life guarding and nursing and sauna-taking back ground.  To me, a body is a body.  Everyone has one.  No need to flaunt it, but no need to hide it either (within reason of course- during swimming, in locker rooms, etc.). Kind of a mix between the European freedom and common sense.  Not dressing to attract attention or accentuate ourselves, but not dressing to hide or be ashamed either.  It's definitely a fine line of judgement, but thankfully we have many years to teach this lifetime skill.

Along with the Meg Meeker books I've already listed in previous posts, these are the other two books I read recently.  Passport2Purity is a complete curriculum that also comes highly recommended for the 12+ kids.  Any more books/materials you can recommend?  Or ways to approach these important matters?  

Guardians of Purity by Julie Hiramire

A Chicken's Guide to Talking Turkey with Your Kids About Sex by Kevin Leman, PhD.

Celeste turns 1

On Valentine's Day, Celeste turned 1.  I love that milestone.  The first year is always pretty hard, so turning 1 means that things calm down a bit in the attention department (giving baby attention, that is).  Baby is more independent (able to soothe/entertain herself) a bit more on car trips, in the grocery store, in church and other places where it can get stressful if a baby is crying.  And we get kind of tired of staying home so much that first year because we're either too tired to do anything, or we don't want to venture more than an hour from home due to the car seat/crying business.  Going to Portland is a big deal when you have a baby that cries the whole way both directions.  So, turning 1 is huge.

Celeste has been quite a climber.  She's up on the chairs (and hence, the table) often, and loves digging in stuff too.  She loves her Dada and is often heard yelling though the house, "Daaaaaa!"  Even if she only hears the back door slam, she'll run over there, sure that it is Dada coming in/home.  Mom is great too, just not as exciting as Dad! 

 For her birthday, we happened to be in Arizona on our trip, so she got some black bottom cupcakes to try out.  Super yum!  And then we flew home on her actual day, so the kids kept telling her, "You're lucky, you get a Disneyland and a plane ride for your birthday!"  I don't think she appreciated our efforts!  Haha!

 This one is in the Arizona desert when we were hiking.  She was trying so hard to drink out of that water bottle, although she didn't really know how.  Cutie pie!

 This one is in our hotel at Disneyland.  I love how her hair floufs up like that.

 This is from her 1 year pictures I tried to take.  But, she wouldn't smile no matter what, so this is what we got.  The Easter one below is better.

 I have a picture of each of the kids at about this age sitting in the dishwasher.  They just love it, so I let them each sit there once.  Just once.  

Easter Sunday 

Birthday girl again.

Isaac turns 3

Now, this little guy turned 3 last September, but I kept forgetting to write about him.  He is our little entertainer, and has us all wrapped around his little grubby finger!  Isaac loves anything red or with Mickey Mouse associated with it, and has a hard time deciding if he's a big boy or a little boy.  We've told him it's okay to be a big boy sometimes, and a little boy at others.  He loves to try to keep up with the older kids, but he just doesn't have the capabilities yet in some areas.  He did get his own scooter last fall, so has been busy on that whenever he can, as well as getting to be an expert on his bike too.  The training wheels are still on, but likely could come off any time now.

 He's been quite sad that he has to wait until September for his birthday, as all of the other kids have spring birthdays.  That waiting just takes for-ever!  He also loves it when I read to him, especially the Eloise Wilkin classic "Little Timmy" (I insert his name instead of Timmy and he smiles from cover to cover).  He loves building things (Legos, Tinkertoys) and playing with toy cars and building equipment.  Lately he's been loving all his farm implements and needs a bull from Wilco (the farm store) to go with his cows and calves.  I'm thinking a trip to Grandpa's farm may be on the wish list for this summer as well.

 He tells us plenty of stories every day, most of which we can barely understand due to his lack of consonants.  (He's starting speech therapy this week, so hopefully we won't miss out on so many of his thoughts because they are just so cute!)  He loves mushrooms and so he gladly eats all of his sibling's for them and they're quite happy to let him.

Isaac is also quite scared of dogs, but is working on getting braver.  On the weekend we were at some friends' house and there was an old dog there and he actually petted it.  Yay!  Hopefully the days of Jughead leaping into Archie's arms when he sees Big Ethel kind of fears are winding down. That's the picture I get in my head when he sees a dog!

One of the cute things he said (of many, most of which I can't remember) was when one of the older kids was getting a Fisherman's Friend cough drop.  He wanted one and I told him, "Oh, you wouldn't like them, they're nasty."   He replied in a crying whine, "But I love nasty!"  Needless to say, he got one to try and ate it down quite proudly.  

Lately, he's been on a necktie kick.  He even clips one on his pajamas at night to sleep with it on too.  As Greg was helping him one night, the tie broke and Isaac was heartbroken.  The next day Greg was running some errands and picked up a new shirt/tie for him and oh, did we have a happy boy.  He wore them for the next few days until I wouldn't let him anymore for they were so dirty.  He even slipped on some freshly mown grass in it, so I had some deep stain treating to do!  But, the stains came out and he was back to wearing his new shirt and tie again.  What a cutie!  I feel so blessed to be his mommy! 

Homemade Italian or Ranch Dressing

We're ranch dressing lovers in this family, and since titanium dioxide (and others) aren't ingredients that we care to ingest if we don't have to, I embarked on a homemade ranch recipe.  I had quite a few un-successes (since a certain husband is a Hidden Valley type of guy) with flavor and also texture on my homemade versions of ranch.  I knew it could be done, as I have tasted fabulous homemade ranch that different friends have made.  After years of trying, tweaking, dumping and shaking; I'll share our version.

First you make the spice mix.  Store it in a jar and then use it for Italian seasoning, Italian dressing or Ranch.  It works great for any of them.

Italian Spice Mix (like Good Seasons- 2 T. = 1 package)
2 T. (each) garlic powder, onion powder, parsley
4 T. oregano, salt
2 t. pepper, basil
1/2 t. thyme, celery salt
~Mix all together and store in a jar.

This mixture is yummy on chicken, as a meatloaf seasoning, in spaghetti, in pizza crust (with dough or the cauliflower one), on my Greek tacos, and more.

Italian Dressing
1/4 c. white vinegar
2/3 c. oil
2 T. water
2 T. Italian spice mix
~Shake all together in a jar.

Ranch Dressing
1 c. sour cream or yogurt (or mayo if you don't have those)
1 c. buttermilk or plain kefir
a bit of mayo (2-3 T.)
1 heaping teaspoon Italian spice mix
~Add all the ingredients to one of those ranch shakers (like Tupperware sells) or a jar with lid, and thin more if it's too thick.

It's best made the day before so that the flavors spread throughout, although we often make it right when we need it (as life these days goes!)  You can use more mayo than that if you want, but I've found if I don't use any mayo, then it gets all separated and yucky even if it's not gone bad.  You just want 2 c. in the end.  Adjust more or less spice mixture if you want.

Here's a link for a non-dairy homemade ranch that I've made also.  (You must let it sit 10 minutes as it says...ask me how I know!)  http://silk.com/recipes/ranch-dressing