Rhubarb crumble slice



Delicious! Yum looking at it is making me think I might have to make some more today.
From here. You should make it.
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And on a not-so-sweet note. I shouldn't really be talking about food and snotty noses in the same post, but any advice on remedies for coughing, yucky-nosed children? What do you do when your kids are sick? And up for hours in the night coughing and gagging? Any snippets of advice would be very joyfully received. Especially if they might help us all get a wee bit more shut-eye tonight.
xx
Happy weekending everyone.

13 comments

Lise said...

A spoonful of honey to calm the cough. Steamy bathroom if desperate. Wishing you some good sleep tonight!

Donna T said...

Hi Hanna, my only suggestion apart from the spoonful of honey to sooth things is I find putting a pillow under the mattress so that they are a little more upright does help them with their coughing. All the best and my get well wishes are there for you all. Take care and enjoy the long weekend. xx

Rachel said...

This is a list of tips and tricks I wrote out for a friend whose baby was going through a bad case of the snots, so some of it may not apply, but I am all about the kitchen cures!

1. Garlic feet. Take a sliver of garlic and tape/plaster it between the big toe and the next one down. Do this to both feet and put socks over the top. Leave overnight. The skin can get a bit red, peel or blister, but this is normal and doesn’t appear to cause any grief, and you can end up with a baby with garlic breath in the morning. Repeat the next night if needed. This is mainly for coughs, but garlic is great for just about everything. Make sure you always choose quality organic local garlic over the cheap Chinese stuff. Some people recommend the use of Vicks on the feet, but as this is a petroleum based product I tend to steer clear.

2. Lemon baths. When running your evening bath (we have one every night as part of the bedtime routine) submerge a whole lemon. Cut in half under the water so none of the goodness escapes. Anthroposophical teachings would say that you want to capture the essence of the lemon, or some such woo woo rambles (I may diss them, but they sure know how to heal). Use a fork to scrape the sides to get the zest out then smush the lemon on the floor of the bath to get all the juice out. Leave in while you bathe your baby.

3. Snot suckers. There is nothing hippy about these inventions, and I praise whoever came up with the idea, because sucking snot the old fashioned way is repulsive. Get one at the pharmacy immediately for your sick kit if you don't have one already.

4. Onion plate. Place half an onion on a plate in the room of your child to suck up all the illness floating around. I would not recommend cooking with this onion later. Chuck it out.

5. Steam box. Take an old ice cream container cut some little holes in the lid. Fill with hot water and some eucalypt oil, put the lid back on and place by the head of the cot to provide a sleeping steam. You can just use a bowl, but I am inclined to kick it over during the night...

6. Breathing rag. Take a strip of old fabric just long enough to leave a little tail when knotted around a bar in the cot and douse the ends with eucalypt for another ongoing sleep decongestant option. Obviously you need to take care with the length of the tail, but you aren’t stupid, right?

7. Rescue Remedy. Some parents have a thing for Pamol, I have a thing Rescue Remedy. If you are feeling your arm reach for the pharmaceuticals refrain and give the RR a chance to work its magic.

8. Chamomile tea. Distressed and ill babies makes me not so happy, so to help myself out I make a pot of cham. I also leave the lid off the pot and hold M over the steam for a couple of minutes so she can chill too, as well as enjoying the decongestant properties of chamomile.

9. Bed prop. I try and raise the head of her mattress just fractionally to help reduce the snot pooling and waking her. I just fold a woollen blanket under the mattress.

ps, I love your blog and now I have to go and make that slice it looks so good!

Mrs Knight said...

"Weleda Catarrh cream" its like a mild and natural vicks. helps to relieve blocked sinuses.

Stacey said...

My Mama is a Naturopath and has a wonderful homeobotamical remedy for coughs and colds that works amazingly! It get rid of the cold and coughs faster than they arrived. See if you can find a naturopath locally who works with homeobotanicals. Otherwise, I can pass on her details. She can courier.

Mee said...

You could always ask your mum :). Chopped onion, drizzle over honey and leave till the onion juices run. Teaspoon the syrup into the cherubs. Transfer Factor spray- really does work for coughs.Have used it meself this week.Worth the cost IMO.

Raggedy Sana said...

Feel for you, we had 5 nights of this recently, sound exactly the same. Load of great advice you've had already... I would say though if you trying the garlic, put it between 2 pairs of socks as blistered feet are not nice :) I dont know how old your kids are, but I ended up getting good old fashioned buttercup syrup for mine and it got them through the night nicely. If kids are well enough during the day, as mine were, a trip to the beach and some good sea air can work wonders too. Good luck, snuggle up and doze when you all can xx

allison said...

Our child health nurse recommends cutting an onion in half and placing half near the bed of a night as it helps to open the airways. My sister-in-law and a friend both say it worked.

Anna said...

Sage and Thyme tea for croupy cough. It tastes pleasantly medicinal, and always helps.

Cut&Alter said...

What a load of great advice you've received - and we need it all too this week. I would have only mentioned the honey and extra pillows!!! It sounds like the cut onion on a plate is a common one so we'll try that tonight too!! Hope you had a better night last night. Just to let you know there's a little award for you over on my blog. Please don't fell you have to do it but would love to know 10 more things about you and get some new reading in the process! x

gardenmama said...

We just steam the bathroom up with hot water running in the shower with the door shut and sit in the bathroom and breathe in the steam and try to blow our noses as much as we can. And drink lots of orange juice.
I hope your family is in full health soon! xoxo

Ana said...

Is that Louise cake??? *drool*

I second the extra pillows/propping up advice.

Otherwise for tummy bugs - vomiting or diarrhea a strict diet of only plain toast, plain steamed rice, bananas or stewed apple (applesauce) stops this amazingly quickly!

For sore throats we almost always get the older kids to gargle pineapple juice - it has natural antibodies that numb the pain apparently (I got this advice from a naturopath)
OR if your children like mints, a nice strong mint can help too - clear things up a little :)
(And they're lollies so your kids will think they've scored!)

molly said...

Poor babes. You know, my middle mister (5) woke up the other day barking like a seal, terrible, wracking coughs, out of the blue. On a whim, I made him up a batch of my own cold tea, minus the ginger (hot water, lemon, honey, cooled to warm). He's been inhaling it. Not sure if it speeds things along, but it turned his droop into a smile, anyway. Best to you all.