Cod Liver Oil–eew.

I cannot escape it.  It is everywhere.  So far I’ve nearly puked three times.  In the last hour.  Why?  Because I had the great idea to give my kids cod liver oil this afternoon.

First off, this is a great idea–one YOU should do, too. I’ll get to that in a minute…it’s just more fun to be dramatic about how much I feel like puking right now.  And the real problem today is that I gave it to them in the afternoon.  This stuff takes time to wear off of their lips and breath!  When I give it at night, I didn’t realize this was the case.  Lesson learned.

Of course I had to be the model mother and take my teaspoon, too.  I nearly puked right then and there despite the fact that I drank water from a straw at the exact same time. I am extremely sensitive to scents, textures, etc. I have a well-honed culinary palette.  :o)   Plus, some oil dribbled to the outside of the bottle and it is all over my hands.  Two rounds of soap and it’s still there.  The best I could do was mask it with scented lotion.  Not sure if that was a good idea yet or not.  No one else had any problem with it at all except Samson.  He splattered it out of his mouth  .2 seconds after it entered.  Come to think of it, maybe that’s why I cannot get rid of the smell…it’s probably on my shirt (mom juice, that is).  (Ok, now that the shirt is gone we’ll see if I can manage any better. Ha!) And the funniest…er, worst thing is that I have some insane compulsion to keep smelling my hands to check if the smell is still there.  No doubt this added to the nausea.  I even stop typing this post from time to time to sniff my hands.  Seriously, I wish I could stop.  My main prayer at this point is that I do not begin burping.  OMG, the thought of that makes me almost puke.

I may have taken my last dose of this stuff for awhile but here’s the real deal:  This stuff is loaded with Vitamin D and has a proven ability to strengthen our immune systems and increase our overall health. For some time I have been in a suspended state of discontentment with protocol immunizations and medications for my family at every sign of sickness but not really knowing what to do about it or even where to start. And I’m not a health-food nut…….yet.  It is a process.  You know, like losing weight.  Some days I’m into the idea and other days I’d rather have McDonald’s french fries.  Maybe some day I’ll be skinny and maybe someday I’ll be a health-food nut.  We’ll see.

Meanwhile, I’m convinced that there are some simple things I can do as the nurturer of the family to boost our immune systems and increase my family’s overall health.  This particular post was so inspiring to me that I loaded the kids up and trekked 20 minutes to Whole Foods!  It was just what I needed.  A short-ish list with simple things I can do starting right now.  From there I spent about 90 minutes hopping from link to link to link.  And speaking of links…here is another reference for what to do for sickness in your house completely void of medication.  I subscribe to these blogs (along with a “few” others :o) and get a lot of mileage out of what they share as I begin leaning in a new direction concerning health and healthcare for our family.

By the way, cod liver oil also comes in capsules.  It’s on my shopping list–as of today.  –Jen

UPDATE: 30 minutes has passed since I wrote this.  I just went to the mailbox only to discover that a book has arrived (that I won at  Keeper of the Home).  It is called:  Healthy Homemaking:   One Step at a Time. A 52 week jouney of baby steps to help you move towards more natural, nutritious and sustainable living. Are you kidding me, right now?  Seriously.