Burn Baby Burn.

I always keep miniature tea bags in the freezer....they are super handy for healing elements - bloody lip, surgical wounds, burns etc....I highly encourage all parents to do this. They've come in handy for me on more than one occasion!

I also always keep honey on hand. Mostly because it's delicious, and like tea bags it has very medicinal qualities. Local honey also helps with allergies and all kinds of stuff.

So today when Fisher burnt his thumb and aloe vera gel, burn spray and other chemical remedies failed to bring him relief, I created the ultimate home burn relief.

So for all the moms with tiny humans I thought I would share!

Homemade Burn Remedy
1 dampened tea bag - mine are caffeinated black tea but any natural tea will work
Honey
Gauze

Apply a generous dollop of honey to the damp tea bag and apply directly to the burn. You can wrap light gauze around it to hold it in place.

I wrapped a chilled wash cloth around the whole thing instead so it wouldn't get too sticky and it would provide a little extra relief.

You can change it out every 4 hours or so.

The best part is that both tea bags and honey are natural burn relief agents on their own, so of you have one or the other it should still provide relief.

*Disclaimer. I am not a medical professional I just share what I have found that worked for my family. Don't take my two cents as anything more than that. Use common sense.

Also, I am not knocking chemical based medical remedies - in fact I use them! Especially after working out and my muscles are in need of some serious Bengay action.

However, I am finding that as we lead a more natural lifestyle there are home remedies out there that are overlooked and underestimated that actually work BETTER.

Follow me on Twitter @JackNFishersMom

Reflecting & Resolutions

Reflecting & Resolutions…

Tis that time again when I vow I will blog like I am supposed to, when New Year’s Resolutions are being made, and when we all realize that we probably shouldn’t have had that second slice of pie at Christmas dinner…It happens.

Well what a year you were 2012…you brought happiness and sorrow, life and death, and lots of Ben and Jerry’s. I survived and made it through in one piece although there were times where I literally thought I was going to crumble. Hell, I am always up for a challenge so bring on 2013, I say!

As for my New Year’s Resolutions…I thoroughly suck at making them, but I do have a few that have spawned from my life lessons of this past year.

1.      I will be a better mother. I will say yes more to my children and no more to the things around me. I will be a champion for their dreams and needs and I will make sure that I am available to them whenever they need me.

2.      I will be one hot Mama! I plan on getting on the healthier track and being an example for my children…Plus I’d like to get down a couple of dress sizes ;)

3.      I will be the wife I should be. I will make sure every day my husband knows how much he means to me.

Those are the bigger resolutions, of course there are the smaller ones like not eating as much junk food, looking both ways before crossing the street…you know…those kind.

Now I guess it is time for reflecting on my 2012…

My mother passed away. It just feels so unreal still and it’s very hard. I don’t care what anyone says to me, it has not gotten easier, I think it just becomes this strange ‘normal’ that I can’t describe. I miss her so much every day, and there have been several of those days when I needed to pick up the phone and call her and ask if the hot dogs in my fridge are still good, or if I should worry when one of the kids is running a 101.0 fever. Then of course I realize I can’t, and it’s a very bittersweet moment, because ultimately…I know the answers to those questions, because she taught me. She showed me how to be a good wife and mother and housekeeper, although that last one is still really hard for me to do with a full time job, three kids, a husband and a dog…but I’m getting there. She knew I would always need her, and so she knew she was teaching me the things I would need to know and remember. And while it didn’t seem like it when she was here, I was learning and remembering them, although not being able to physically hear her reassurance, I know she is here with me each and every day doing just that.

Ok. –insert ugly cry, deep breath, and recuperation here-

Happy time! We had Miles Parker! The newest addition to the Price Brigade! He is 6 months old now, good gravy, and he is a hoot. He’s cutting teeth and rolling over, and sitting up and just absorbing his world around him. It’s amazing. On the kid note, Fisher turned two, Jack turned seven, Badger turned one, and Sean and I turned Old. J We realized this when we went to the movies and to dinner when we had an all-night babysitter and then decided at like 9:00 to go pick up our kids and come home.

But hey, what can I say. We were meant to be parents, clearly.

Those are just a few of the things that happened in my 2012. There was SO much more that will come up as true hilarity and sadness and randomness in future blogs…which! Oh yeah, I forgot, my 4^th New Year’s Resolution…I will actively blog, for my mom. She LOVED reading my writing and I promised her that I would keep it up. So. I. Will.

Remember everyone – if you aren’t following me already on Twitter, YOU SHOULD BE @JackNFisherMom.

In the words of PhillyD “Love yo faces!”

Extra! Extra! Blog All About It!

So…once again, in true Ashley fashion – I have failed to keep up with blogging on a consistent basis. *Sigh* I know, I know. BUT…in my defense, since the last blog I posted before "Chicken Sandwich." A LOT of stuff has happened, I mean a lot a lot. And not just, “Oh I started doing this, and Fisher did this,” but BIG things. So where do I start…

Let’s see…we moved back to Bentonville, I left my job at Lindsey and started a new chapter with Sam’s Club, we found out I was pregnant, moved into the house I grew up in, Sean legally adopted Jack, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, my grandfather remarried and moved away, and we just recently added baby Miles to the crowd two weeks and 5 days ago!

Oh and we got a dog. Badger.

-Insert overly dramatic inhale here-

A lot to take in right? I didn’t really realize HOW much had happened in the past year until I put pen to paper.

Don’t fret – each of these monumental life events will get their own blog explaining everything into further detail…but for now I have three little boys that require my attention :)

Remember if you aren’t already following me on Twitter – do so now! @JackNFishersMom

Did I Win the Lottery?! No!

So Fishstick goes to daycare, and I LOVE his daycare. I love the girls that work there, and it’s just awesome…It’s reasonably priced so I can’t complain, and I really would recommend it to friends. My sister on the other hand…got the short end of this stick apparently. Her youngest son started “pre-school” this morning along with about 3 million other kids…but apparently he is starting a school that either A) has absolutely NO money or B) Has absolutely NO idea what they’re doing…I personally think it’s probably both.

Now, before I tell you why I think this school is out of their effing mind, I just want to say that, we are in a really piss-poor economy, IN CASE YOU WERE UNAWARE. So for those of us who weren’t born with silver spoons in our mouths, or have procreated to the point of poverty, we just can’t afford to drop $1,000 green slips on SCHOOL SUPPLIES!

Yes, SCHOOL SUPPLIES. Crayons, glue, scissors…the usual. Or at least it used to be. When I bought school supplies this year for Jack, my 1^st grader, I only spent a grand total of $130.00 bucks, give or take a little, and that included about 6 new outfits, new tennis shoes, new flip flops, a back pack AND a lunch box!

I am about to show you something that will shock the living daylights out of you…This is my nephews PRE-SCHOOL, school supply list. Now of course I have added in my own little quips and comments to make it funnier, but on a serious note – this thing is re-freaking-donkulous.

·         Two bottles Elmer’s Glue – Because 1 Glue Won’t Do!

·         1 Pair scissors

·         1 pkg. loose leaf multi colored construction paper

·         2 pkg. white copy paper – Are they learning to FAX??

·         1 pkg. 8 washable markers

·         1 pkg. 8 Jumbo or Chubby crayons – Do I DARE make a ‘chubby crayon joke’ There’s just too many to choose from really, so I’ll pass J

·         1 pkg. 3 or 4 Play-Doh NO Rose Art – Um, excuse me? Are you trying to be fancy when you let 9 different children stick they’re booger and peanut butter covered hands into the modeling clay?

·         Glue Sticks – Wait…didn’t I just buy liquid glue?! Yes, yes I did!

·         Water color or finger paint

·         Paint smock – Why yes Timmy, Daddy’s old Hooter’s T-shirt will make a PERFECT paint smock! Great idea.

·         Bag of play sand – Wtf. Who was the half-wit who came up with the idea to bag up sand and sell it?! You know he did not come up with that game plan sober.

·         Tooth brush – Because apparently as parents, we are incapable of making our children brush their teeth at home…what were WE thinking??

·         Tooth brush cap to cover ONLY the bristles not entire toothbrush – So what, the rest of the toothbrush isn’t afraid of the dark?

·         Kid’s Toothpaste – Again, my child has great dental hygiene and the idea of having a toothbrush in a classroom where kids are sick ALL THE TIME is a little strange to me…

·         Bottle of fun foam – This sounds like something you would buy at a sex store…Don’t tell me you didn’t imagine some oily-beau-hunk on the bottle in a silky pair of shorts…jusssst sayin…

·         Kleenex – Achoo.

·         Band-Aids – Ouchies. And if they think they are getting ones with Buzz-Lightyear and Charlie Brown on them they are SADLY mistaken…

·         Envelopes – For all those letter’s they’re going to be writing…IN DAYCARE.

·         Crib sheet – Fair enough.

·         1 pkg. of cotton balls or brown paper bags – I just hope this is for crafts, because the last time I tried to take off nail polish with a brown paper sack it didn’t turn out so well

·         Paper plates – Again with the frivolous killing of trees…jerks.

·         Magic erase cleaners – NOT regular erasers….MAGIC ones…for walls…

·         Clear contact paper – I wish I knew what this was so I could honestly come up with a witty response as to why it’s useless.

·         1 roll of colored duct tape – no silver! – Because let’s face it, only backwoods hillbillies use NORMAL colored duct tape that is $3.00 cheaper than hot pink duct tape with Hello Kitty’s face plastered on it

·         Pre-cut foam shapes or craft sticks – What in the hell is a craft stick? Is that the same thing as a Popsicle stick? Here Timmy, become a diabetic and eat these three boxes of discounted popsicles instead…I’m sure it’s cheaper and with Obama-Care you’ll get free insulin…It’s all good.

·         Colored feathers or pom-poms – Seriously?? Just…wow. If I see my colored feather I paid $4.00 for in some little kids hair I will flip out.

·         Googlie eyes – Presumably to use my glue to stick to my paper plates and call it a monster…I hope.

·         Self-stick Velcro – We all know non-stick Velcro just won’t work as well

·         1 bag of beads or buttons – Here, go pull the buttons off of all of grandpa’s pants, he doesn’t remember to button them anyways these days…

·         Crepe paper – I’d rather just eat crepes…oui oui!

·         1 pkg. of AA or D batteries – What in the hell was on this list that required batteries?! Nothing? Oh ok, good just wanted to make sure that my hard earned cheddar was going to something my kid would ACTUALLY use. Gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up.

·         1 disposable camera – I better be getting AWESOME pictures…approximately 27 of them to be exact, and I want the high gloss finish.

I actually went through and did a rough total of what all of this would cost plus sales tax, and I was well over $200 because not only do they have to buy THIS now, they have to buy it AGAIN in February! So I totaled this up and then multiplied it by 2. Ridculous.

Plus, not only does my sister have to buy all of this, but she also has to pay $100.00+ a week for the actual childcare, so what I want to know is what the hell that money is paying for!!!! And the kicker is this stuff doesn’t even stay specifically with HER child…it gets thrown into the box for the ENTIRE SCHOOL to use…No no no! Jeez people come on – you should be questioning what you are paying for, don’t just give away your hard earned money!

Do NOT get me wrong, I am all about my kids’ education and if the school told me I had to go out and buy them a $300.00 laptop because it would help them reach their goals, you’d better believe that I am right there in line buying that laptop. But when it comes to buying supplies for the teachers and the school as a whole, I am MORE than happy to donate a few extra packs of markers, or even some cotton balls here and there. And I can even understand everyone chipping in a package of dry erase markers, some Kleenex, and soap because I remember having to buy that stuff for our teachers. But being REQUIRED to spend $400 dollars twice a school year and then $100 dollars a week in order to stock up the daycares art supply box, I don’t freakin’ think so Pal!

I’m just saying, I have a huge respect for our Teachers and what they do, I just can’t afford to pick up the slack for the entire school…and we shouldn’t be asked to. We purchase these things for OUR children, for THEIR educational experience…not everyone else’s.

That is all.