Being Sick and Drinking Tea

Drinking "tea"

Stan B has had probably about 6 (or more) viruses so far this winter. Basically, he's been sick in some way since November. We seem to be in good health now (knock on wood). Kids under 4 (I think some say 6) are not supposed to take cough medicine because there is an ingredient in there that some children are unable to metabolize which would cause a fatal overdose (scary!) So, a cold with a cough lasts on for 12 days or so...and the cough lingers on for weeks after that. UGH. Because I hate seeing the Bear miserable I often look up alternatives for a youngin like him to take. I use a humidifier to help soothe his throat and sinuses while he sleeps at night. If he has congestion I put drops of tea tree oil and rosemary in his bathwater before bed. I made this natural vapor rub out of almond oil, rosemary oil, tea tree oil and beeswax that I rub on the bottom of his feet and chest before bed - this really helps with that horrible cough at night (it works on me too!) If he has head congestion a saline solution (that they sell premade in the children's section) that I squirt up his nose and then use the bulb to suck out the snot (Mike and I call this snorking..."Hey Stan B, let's snork your nose!") Lemon and honey are supposed to be good for soothing a sore throat so I mix that in with some warm water and put it in one of my mugs...Stan B LOVES drinking out of the grown up mug and he calls it "tea" because that's what I normally drink my tea out of. It's pretty darn cute:

tea from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

And here is a picture of him drinking "tea" and eating nori. He wouldn't eat his oatmeal this morning and he pointed at the shelf. I said, "crackers?" Noooo. "Cereal?" Noooo. "Pasta?" Noooo. "Nori?" Excitement noises...so, he had "tea" and nori for breakfast. Between that and really getting excited seeing the picture of the island Molokini on our calendar I swear he's my Tutu(Paternal Grandpa) reincarnated.