A Handful of Honey

If your house is anything like ours, at least someone in the house has the slight to moderate sniffles.  We've been lucky to be pretty healthy this winter, but it's not uncommon for someone to wake up with a frog in their throat that goes away once it's loosened up.

So I thought I'd share one of our solutions...Lemon-Honey Tea.  (This isn't really tea, but I don't know what else to call it.)  It's great because the lemon provides needed vitamin C and the warm honey and water help loosen up their throat.  I also love it because it's easy "medicine" to give the kids when they feel like they need something...but it's totally natural and mostly just helps them feel loved and cared for.

Here's how to make it.  I fill a glass with about a cup of water.  Then I add honey until it's about 1/4 to 3/8 inch deep on the bottom.  Then I add a few squirts of lemon juice from the fridge (although fresh lemon juice would be even better if you've got it).  Then I heat it for 45 seconds to a minute.  If you end up making it too hot, you can always add a little more cold water.  I usually put it in a sippy cup because it's really sticky if it spills...and the kids are usually in a mood for a sippy if they've just woken up with a froggy throat anyway.

And as an added note, it's been found that a spoonful of honey can be even more effect than cough medicine for kids.

As your child is drinking their lemon-honey tea, a story on your lap is also perfect medicine...and here's the perfect one.

My aunt Cheryl is a teacher and occassionally send us books from her collection...just to be an awesome aunt.  She recently sent us Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae.  It's a cute little book about a bear and all the ways that love makes you feel.  Just what the doctor ordered...