Jacques Cartier Kindle E-book Review

I recently purchased the book, Jacques Cartier (Brave Explorers Every Child Should Know) by Karla Akins.  I purchased the Kindle edition, although I don't have a Kindle.  Turns out you can use your computer to read Kindle books!  

As a homeschooling mama of 4, I am always looking for educational resources that will excite my kids.  When they take their history book to bed to read at night, I count that as a win!  This is one of those books that will engage them, entertain them and educate them.  

One of the things I really liked about this book was the fact that certain, less familiar, words are highlighted and can be clicked on.  You are then taken to a website where you receive an explanation and possibly a picture.  This is a great resource for children who may ordinarily just skip over the word.  Now they can easily access the information to educate them even further.  

This was not my first purchase through Knowledge Quest.  I have purchased from them several times in the past and my kids thoroughly enjoy the books we have purchased through them.  I love their MapTrek series and this past year my kids did the USA geography course (The Star-Spangled State Book).  A page or so a day and they are learning, not only the location of their states, but history about each one.  

I would definitely urge all homeschoolers to check out Knowledge Quest's education materials. 

Here's a link to their website:  http://www.knowledgequestmaps.com/

How to improve the taste of MMS.

For those of you who do not receive updates from Jim Humble, founder of MMS, I thought you might like to hear the latest on how to get past the taste of MMS.  Here's what he had to say most recently.

"Overcoming the bad taste of MMS and making it more effective.

Some of us cannot stand the bad taste, and thus many have given up trying to be healthy by using MMS. However, it has been found that the bad taste is mostly due to the pH of the solution. By adjusting the pH just a couple of notches the bad taste disappears. It is a delicate adjustment but you can do it. And an amazing thing is, this pH adjustment makes the MMS more effective.

When the MMS has the proper pH it travels through the stomach into the intestines more easily as the stomach doesn't have to generate certain fluids to change it thus allowing it to retain more of its power that it would otherwise lose in the journey. From the intestines it can be taken to unhealthy parts of the body by the blood in a more powerful condition.

To make MMS that overcomes the unpleasant taste for Protocol 1000 using 3 drops per hour for 8 hours, use either a one quart or a 1 liter glass or plastic container. Mark it so it has 8 equal parts which would actually equal about 4 ounces per marked part. While the container is still clean and dry add 24 drops of MMS and 24 drops of citric acid (50% citric acid). Wait 20 seconds exactly, and then add the water to the top mark, a full quart or liter.

TO CHANGE THE TASTE OF REGULAR MMS: Use baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate). Add 1/8th teaspoon of baking soda. You should buy a set of measuring spoons that has a 1/8th teaspoon in the set. This is the amount needed to change the taste. If you are making a drink for protocol 2000 at more drops per hour than three, add 1/3 of a 1/8th teaspoon measure for each additional drop, no more. So that would mean if you are doing a 6 drops dose per hour you would only be using two 1/8th teaspoon measures or 1/4th teaspoon measure total. (Developed by Dr. Ron Neer. He can be contacted at h2oairwateramericas.com.)"

I just gave it a try, actually very skeptical about it really working.  Low and behold, it worked!  I gave my 7 year old a dose for some inflammation in her gum (just pulled a tooth) and she drink it straight!  I then took some myself and sure enough, no bad taste, no gagging.  

You can find all of the MMS protocols here: MMS Protocols

For a printable version of the information found above, click here: Printable Version

Saying goodbye to an old friend

See that cute little guy right there?  That little guy is, well, was, Buddy.  Buddy came to us back in 2002.  It's actually kind of a funny story.  My neighbor found him running around in the middle of a busy street.  He stopped, picked him up and brought him home.  Problem was, my neigbor had 2 female dogs and the little guy he brought home wasn't fixed.  So everyday, looking out my office window (I worked from home), I would see the little Yorkie just sitting in the backyard.  I began to feel sorry for the little guy and one day, after my neighbor had left for work, I snuck over and got him and brought him back to my house.  I gave him a bath (he was pretty stinky) and observed how he interacted with the kids.  We called him "Little Buddy".  Then in the afternoon, before my neighbor returned home, I would sneak back over and put him back.  This went on for some time but then the little guy began sitting at the fence, staring straight into my office window, barking for me to come get him...EVERY night.   They would call him to come in and he would pretend he didn't hear them.  I knew my gig was about to be up, so I got up my nerve and went to call on the neighbors.  I told them that the kids loved him and that we would be happy to give him a home.  They happily gave him into our care and that is where he stayed until this past August.  I asked what they were calling him and they said, "We were just calling him Buddy."  So, Buddy it was.  A couple winters ago (the winter of the big snow), we started noticing that maybe Buddy was losing his mind a little.  He would bark for us to come get him upstairs (he liked to be upstairs where it was quiet but had fallen coming down the stairs and refused to come down on his own now), we would let him out and then he would stand there on the front porch, sometimes for 10 minutes, like he couldn't remember why he wanted to go out.  It was when he started going to the bathroom in the house that we knew it was time.  He had NEVER pottied in the house and you could just tell that it really bothered him when it happened (we didn't fuss at him because we knew he couldn't help it).  So, I set a date and I did it.  He was 13 years old (actually the vet estimated his age as 3-5 when we got him so he was 12-14, we always just went with the middle).  It was a rainy, miserable day, but all the better to hide my tears, right?  We went to the vet's office and then we brought him home in his little bed and buried him in the woods behind our house.  I still see him sometimes (no, I don't believe in ghosts, just my mind seeing what it's used to seeing).  I'll turn the corner of our driveway and think I see his little self trucking it down the road.  I still hesitate before I put the recliner down, because we accidentally shut him in it once.  It's hard.  These little lives become a part of ours and even though you know it's for the best and that they can't live forever, you just don't want to say goodbye.

Wednesday, my mom had had to take Kaylee in for the same reason.  Kaylee was my grandmother's dog.  My grandmother passed away 2 years ago this past July.  My mom and I promised my grandmother that we would take good care of Kaylee.  She began having some bathroom issues months ago but we just chalked it up to stress, because my mom leaves on weekends to work on a volunteer building project, and my sister was keeping her.  But recently, she started getting that look in her eye, like she didn't know where she was or what was going on.  Sometimes, she wouldn't respond to her name.  Wednesday, she lay in her bed unresponsive, after having just gone to the bathroom in her bed.   So, it was time.  It wasn't fair to keep her around just because she was the last living memory of Grandma.  So Mom took her in, and now she lays in the woods next to Buddy.  She was 13 years old.

We are so thankful for the joy they brought to our lives, the silly things they did to make us laugh, the times they lay beside us and licked our tears and the companionship they gave so willingly when we needed it most.  We will miss them but they will live on in our memories and the pictures and stories we tell.

Senior is no more...or...Killing a chicken to eat

I honestly never thought I would be writing this when we began this chicken endeavor.  I truly thought all my chickens would live to a ripe old age and die a natural death at which time we would bury them in the woods and say goodbye.  However, reality set in and you realize that you can't just keep feeding these chickens for 15 (!?! did you know chickens could live 15+ years) years and not get anything in return.  At least not and continue to eat ourselves.  So after having hatched out 9 roosters this year, we began talking ourselves and the kids into the fact that they had to go.  We continually spoke of how much better it is to eat a chicken that has had a good life, been well taken care of and loved and fed healthy foods than that stuff you get at the store.  We spoke of how this is a "farm" (of sorts) and how each member has to contribute and this is the roosters way of contributing (because believe me, our poor hens don't need but one of them contributing in the other way).  We said these things, repeatedly, but we didn't feel these things.  We were just trying to convince ourselves.  Don't get me wrong, I do believe that stuff but let's be honest here...we are just not killers.  We weren't made that way.  We love, we nurture, we enjoy...we do NOT kill.  Do you know the lengths we have gone to to save baby squirrels, birds and racoons?  Many a person would say, "There's enough of them there things in this world, just let 'em die."  That's not us.  We love this earth and we love the little gifts we've been given and we feel it is our obligation to take care of them the best we can.  Even so, we killed a chicken.  It was horrible.  It was nauseating.  It was horrible (did I say that already?  Well, it can't be said enough, as far as I am concerned).  We are out of the chicken killing business.  I couldn't eat it (I say "it" but we have referred to the dead chicken as him since his demise...such as, "I need to put Senior in the freezer."  "Can you go get Senior out of the freezer?"  "Senior is on the cooker."  "I think I am going to have to put Senior in the crockpot."  "He's getting tender now.")  I couldn't eat him.  I know, I know, all the blah, blah, blah, loved, healthy food, blah, blah blah.  I don't care.  I had a relationship with that bird and just the thought nauseated me.  I have made sure not to develop relationships with the baby roosters we hatched out this year.  I think I could eat them, but not if my husband kills them.  There's just something about it.  He was traumatized by "doing" Senior and I guess it's the whole "one flesh" thing but if he's killing, I'm not eating.  So we are going to have to figure something out in that regard, work out a deal with someone because I would love to see a return on my investment (chicken feed is not cheap!) but it's got to be on my terms!  So long Senior.  It was good while it lasted!

In Memory of Rooster Cogburn "Senior".  12/31/11

MMS bath for chicken injuries

Aretha, our little black Silkie, with Dusty, our Comet

A few weeks ago we decided to head out for a little stroll in our woods.  As we started up our little path, we just happened to see our little black Silkie, Aretha, hiding under a fallen tree.  My son went to pick her up and immediately noticed a horrible smell.  Upon further examination, we noticed that she had two major wounds on each side of her back that had began to rot.  I prepared the kids for the worst (she's a favorite around here) and headed inside with her.  We ran her a warm bath, activated 30 drops of MMS, mixed it with her bath water and began pouring the warm MMS water over her wounds.  She was still quite spunky, which was a good sign, but enjoyed her warm soak.  After examining the wounds, we believe they came from one of our young roosters attempting to mate her and due to their large size and her small size, their claws just basically ripped her flesh off.  All the roosters are separated now so this won't be happening again as we have 3 little Silkie ladies on the premises now (2 are actually 1/2 Silkie, 1/2 Rhode Island Red, if you can imagine that combo, but they are tiny like Aretha).  Back to the story, we took her out bundled her in a towel and held her by the fire to warm her up.  We also fed her some warm oatmeal with a little fruit mixed in.  She gobbled it up.  We gave her a dose of colloidal silver internally and put her in a tub.  She stayed inside for 3 days and was more than ready to get back outside by the time we put her out.  Based on the way she smelled, we were really surprised that she recovered so quickly.  We honestly thought we were going to lose her but are sure glad we didn't!