9 Home Remedies For Seasonal Allergies

Source: Pixabay

The faucet turned on at 5am. My nose started running and has not stopped all day. This is the time when “if it's growing, I'm a'blowin'” with seasonal allergies. I'm far from alone. 26 million Americans suffer from seasonal allergies (source). And the symptoms aren't just a an inconvenience. Studies have shown that during ragweed season, those of us who suffer experience physical and mental fatigue, making concentration hard and increasing irritability. We're prone to sadness and are up to 14 times more likely to experience migraines than those who don't have allergies. 

... “if it's growing, I'm a'blowin'” with seasonal allergies...

Mine flare up anytime the wind blows or we have wet weather. My 9-year old's have been acting up the last few weeks, but just in the morning. Sure, we could take over-the-counter medicines, but I noticed last year that Children's Claritin made my daughter CRANKY, and, honestly, I'd rather go with natural measures to control our allergy symptoms. Here's what I'm doing and what you might try if you're fighting seasonal allergies, too. (Please note that I am NOT a medical professional. This is just stuff that works for me and my family.)

1. Keep the windows shut. Yes, it's gorgeous out. Yes, it's cool. But open windows mean pollen sweeping through my house and my car. I'd rather run the air conditioner a little longer and keep allergens out.
   
   
2. Wash your hair or at least wipe it down with a baby wipe. Pollen gets all over your hair and transfers to your pillow at night. Wiping some of the residue out of your hair before bed can help control your nighttime sneezies.
   
   
3. Use a Neti pot or saline nasal solutions. Both will get the irritants out of your nose. Just be careful to use pure saline solutions – those with antihistamines can make you drowsy and cause other unwanted side effects. Besides, pure saline is far cheaper than the medicated stuff.
   
   
4. Take a few teaspoons or tablespoons of raw, local honey. Note: do not give babies under 12 months old since honey can contain the spores of a bacterium called Clostridium botulinum, which causes infant botulism. Since Lily is 9, we just put the honey in our tea.
   
   
5.  

   Add some spice to your food. Cinnamon supposedly eases breathing and hot spices will get the mucus flowing and get those allergens out of your body. Something as simple as adding red pepper to your pizza can be helpful.
   
   
6. Drink more water, tea and seltzer. Staying hydrated helps thin secretions so they're easier for your body to get rid of and helps with that dry, scratchy feeling. 
   
   
7. Eucalyptus and lavender oils. I put either one or the other on our pillows at night. The lavender calms us down and helps us breathe better while the eucalyptus stops our coughing. 
   
   
8. A cold compress on itchy eyes feels good and washing your eyes out with cool, clean water also washes the pollen out of them. 
   
   
9. Hyland's Complete Allergy 4 Kids is a homeopathic allergy formula for children and it's been working for Lily. It doesn't make her drowsy, works within 20 minutes of her taking it, and stops her nose from watering. 
   
   
   
   
   

Until the first frost comes or an asteroid wipes every bit of ragweed off the planet, I'll be dripping. Using the methods above will get me through the next few weeks. Here's to a ultra-brief allergy season!

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If you're interested, here are the links to the rest of the sources I used for this article.

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Thanks for reading!  

Why I WON'T Buy Back-To-School Clothes

Cry on, Kid.  Not happening.

In case you hadn't noticed, the ads for back-to-school clothing are in full swing on TV. Some of them are pretty aggressive, telling kids the “must-haves” they need to look good come September.  The commercials insinuate that the success of your whole school year is determined by what you are or are not wearing.  My daughter is taking more copious notes than she'll ever take any semester and even the Teen is occasionally looking up from his iPad to catch a glimpse of the latest fashions.

They can look all they want. Diva can plead with and eventually scream at me to take her shopping until she turns blue. I do not buy back-to-school clothes. Here's why:

1. My kids have plenty of nice tops and shorts to wear. They don't need any new clothes. At least yet. 
   
   
2. Their clothes have not been placed neatly in their drawers as I've asked them numerous times to do. Garments are strewn all over the kids' rooms, hanging from drawers, littering the floor. Since my children are not taking care of the clothes they have, they do not deserve new ones. 
   
   
3. The weather is my part of the country is presently cool; too cold, in fact, to go to the pool this past week. It will stay cool through the next few weeks and go back up into the high 90s just AFTER Labor Day. That means any of the woolen/corduroy/heavy-cotton garments currently being sold will be too warm for the kids to wear, probably for many weeks.
   
   
4. They are both due for growth spurts sometime between September 1^st and October 15^th. I'm not kidding. It happens every year and is most prominent in The Boy. The sweatpants that fit him perfectly in early September look like knickers by mid-October. And the shorts that looked great on Diva that first day of school will be inappropriately short a mere few weeks later.
   
   
5. She especially will be influenced by peer pressure and change her mind about what she wants after she sees what her richer friends are wearing. So even if I bought clothes now, she'd want different ones after the first week of teaching ends.

Now don't get me wrong: I'm not depriving my kids of new clothes. But there's a massive difference between WANTING a new wardrobe versus NEEDING one. Do I want them to be social pariahs? No. But as I said, they have nice clothes, fashionable clothes, ones they chose in the Spring after their last growth spurts. I'm not asking my daughter to wear saddle shoes and poodle skirts or my son to wear cardigans. My brood will get new attire when the time is right and I decide, not a bunch of marketing executives circling my kids like sharks pressuring them to pressure ME to buy the latest merchandise. “Must-haves?” I know what my kids must have and when. Not advertisers. 

May you, dear reader,  always be able to resist the temptation of marketers...

Thanks for reading! 

How To Make A Voodoo Doll And Why I Let My 8-Year Old Make One

If you follow me on Twitter (and please do: https://twitter.com/IsItHotInHereMM), you know that recently, my 8-year old said she wanted to make a voodoo doll. She got the idea from some dumb ass Disney show. At first, I was a little concerned that she wanted to make one of ME (aka "She Who Yells A Lot"), but as it turned out, the victim is her brother. Whew! So why him? “Payback, Mom, payback,” she said. Among the list of his transgressions: 1) He tackled her the other day when they were wrestling 2) Last YEAR, he tackled her on the beach. She had her mouth open and wound up eating sand (Lesson: Always close your mouth when wrestling with your brother.). She's PISSED at him, big time. So I let her make the voodoo doll. Was I in my right mind? Yes, and here's why:

While voodoo dolls are associated with evil, they're actually meant to gain influence over whomever you're making the doll about. Diva is 8; her brother is almost 14. She weighs maybe 45 pounds; he's heavier and taller. She is jealous of him and the privileges he gets because of his age. If making a voodoo doll makes her feel better, I'm all for it. 

Here's how we made it:

1. We took an old shirt the Teen had outgrown. The doll is more “powerful” if you use a personal item from the victim.
2. I drew and made a template out of cardboard. I did it freehand, but free templates can be found here: http://www.allcrafts.net/dolls.htm.
3. She cut the material out using the template.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Since Diva did not want to sew, we used a glue gun to glue the two pieces together, leaving a hole for stuffing.
5. This particular doll will not be washed, so I used part of a plastic grocery bag to stuff it; then she glued the hole shut.
   
   
   
   
   
6. She then used markers to color the doll so that it looks like her brother. Note the red sweatshirt that the kid wears, no matter what the weather. On 100 degree days, he STILL wears the shirt outside.
   
   
   
   
   

Diva was giddy at the prospect of having influence over her brother while he had decided, quite kindly, to play along with the premise of the doll. He was at a friend's house while the doll was being created, but my daughter still took great pleasure at making the doll do a split, stand on it's head, etc. When we went to pick Junior up, she asked if he'd done the split or felt anything weird. He answered that yes, he inexplicably HAD done a split and had had a headache just at the precise moment when she was playing with the doll. “MOMMY, IT WORKS,” she yelled.

Because I helped her make the doll, I explained that it won't work all the time, which gives us some wiggle room when she wants her brother to do things he just can't be bothered to do. When she finds out the truth, my explanation will be that I wanted to see her to see what a wonderful creation she was capable of making and that I just wanted her to have fun. My sense is that she's going to become bored with the doll pretty quickly. In fact, as I write this, neither she nor I know where the dang thing is.

It's hard enough being a little sister. If making a voodoo doll empowers her, makes her feel better, then I'm happy for my daughter. More power to her! 

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Please check back in with me soon!  Oh, and check out my boards on Pinterest at  http://www.pinterest.com/isithotinheremm.

Travel Anxiety – 8 Ways To Help Your Child Deal With Going Away

 

 

A psychologist friend and I were talking about how her Summer is going. “I'm seeing a lot of kids with Travel Anxiety,” she said. Apparently, some kids get nervous about going on family vacations, even though the prospect is exciting and promises a fun time. It makes sense. Children may react to change and that includes leaving familiar surroundings to find adventure elsewhere. And even though his/her loved ones will be there, the process of traveling, whether by land or by sea, may prove stressful. So with plenty of Summer still ahead, how can you lessen Travel Anxiety in your child?

1. Get your kid involved in the vacation planning. If possible, allow them a voice in the destination. If that's not feasible, give them some say in the itinerary of things you'll do while you're away. Having some control over what they'll be doing, perhaps something as simple as going to a park with swings, etc., may help with the powerlessness they feel by the prospect of leaving their familiar environment. 
   
   
2. If you're going to a hotel, show them photos on the hotel's website of what their room might look like. Seeing where they're going to be so they can picture themselves in a new place can help lessen nervousness.  
   
   
    
   
   
3. Let them vent and help the child problem solve. Discuss with them what they might be afraid of. You can reassure them that, yes, there are bathrooms on the plane and that there are, in fact, french fries aplenty in South Dakota. If they want to take a stuffed animal on vacation, let them, although you may need to stipulate how large the animal can be. 
   
   
4. Build physical activities into your vacation and let your child know that you'll be doing them. Walking, bike riding, hiking, and playing ball on the beach are all great tension-reducing things that will benefit your child mentally, as well as physically. 
   
   
    
5. Give your child some stress-busting tools. Positive self-talk, for example,  mentally repeating a phrase such as “I'm a big kid, I'm can do this, and I am calm,” while breathing deeply may help. And speaking of breathing, one technique Diva and I use is called Visualize The Flower. We picture a rose, which can be any color, slowly opening. We breathe deep as we describe to each other what the flower looks like (my daughter favors a tie-die rose), how it's unfolding, and what it smells like (sometimes cotton candy is the fragrance). The breathing bonds and calms us both down; it's especially good for when you're stuck in traffic or when the plane is taking off.
   
   
6. Reward your child for being brave.  I go to our local dollar store and stock up on trinkets to reinforce good behavior.
   
   
    
   
   
7. Make sure your child stays hydrated and sticks to normal bedtime routines. Being tired and thirsty only contributes to stress. 
   
   
8. Remind them that once vacation ends, they'll be back in their own warm, comfy bed with stories to tell their friends.

Vacations are fun, but they can be unnerving, especially for children who are powerless over routines and destinations. Yes, you're busy packing and organizing, but helping your child deal with Travel Anxiety ahead of time will help everyone have a better time.

Oh, and Travel Anxiety isn't limited to kids.  If you, personally, have Trip Anxiety, click on this article  for some great tips on how to deal with travel.

Book Review: The Doctors Book Of Home Remedies For Children

Last week was one of those roller coaster mothering weeks I dread. Diva was sent home from school because she had a wonky tummy and a headache. A gymnastics competition was coming up, so I wasn't surprised, figuring she was just nervous, especially since she was bouncing around after school. Low and behold, that night she was lethargic and running a 102 degree temperature. The up-and-down symptoms persisted for two days with the fever breaking and a sore throat beginning. With our insurance rates having skyrocketed, I don't rush to the doctor every time a kid is sick, but I really wasn't sure what to do. Once the fever breaks, should I send her to school even if her throat is sore? If she's feeling better at night, do I send her to gymnastics' practice? Should I bit the bullet and take her to the doctor?


Enter a book I had bought years ago: The Doctors Book Of Home Remedies For Children from the editors of Prevention Magazine Health Books. I'd purchased this book on clearance from Barnes and Noble and have taken it out many times since. Obviously, as the title says, this is a medical-based book, not a purely holistic one. It does not shirk from recommending over-the-counter medicine or going to the doctor when things look serious. What it does do, however, is give parents some practical guidance as to easy home remedies that doctors recommend.


It advocates simple, non-medicinal treatments that even I, someone who thought she knew a lot about home remedies, found surprising. For example:

• Lollipops and ice cream are great for soothing sore throats.
  
• Antiperspirants, when applied to a bee sting, relieve the pain and itching.
  
• Flat cola calms a queasy stomach.
  
• Using a wet teabag to help with the discomfort of cold sores.
  
• Making a paste of baking soda and water to help with sunburn.
  

Despite it's medical slant, I love the fact that the authors often caution against using over-the-counter medicines, explaining why they don't work. And the sections entitled “When To See The Doctor” alert you what to look for and when, specifically, you might want to at least call the doctor.


I eventually took Diva to the doctor to test for strep (which was negative), but the book reminded me that putting a straw in her liquids made them easier to drink and that giving her orange juice was a big no-no for sore throats (too acidic).


Will this be the only medical reference book you'll need? No, but it's a great one to have on your bookshelf for learning more about the symptoms your kid presents and how much you can do on your own. I recommend it for people with small children, although the authors do tackle behavior problems exhibited by older kids like complications from ear piercing, TV addiction, and video game addiction. I'm happy I bought it and you will be, too.


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Thanks for reading! Please check back in with me and don't forget to visit me at The Geek Parent (www.thegeekparent.com).

My Child - The Subcontractor

 
We are always harping on the kids to clean their rooms, but a few months ago, my son came up with a win-win-win solution:  he paid his sister to do it.  She, who will clean any room BUT her own, was thrilled.  She is the best organizer in the house and takes great pride in her skills.  She's meticulous and will spend hours getting a room just-so.  She's also motivated by money.

Junior, in a stroke of genius, channeled her skills and desire for compensation and offered her the grand sum of $1 to take over the much-dreaded chore.  Diva spent three hours one weekend, organizing his closet, putting his laundry away, making his bed, and taking care of the display of his many sports trophies.  She then took great satisfaction in showing off the finished product not only to Junior, but to Mom and Dad.  After realizing how much work she'd put into the room, we convinced him to up the ante to $2.

Again, the result was multitude:

- The Boy got a clean room and his parents off his back.
- Diva was kept busy for several hours doing something constructive.
- She earned money, on her own.
- Her self-esteem was boosted when she displayed the wonderful result.

He used this technique during the Winter to get his little sister to shovel snow, vacuum, and help tame the mess in the garage.  I want to be upset by his laziness, but am too proud of his ingenuity to make an issue of it.  The other element that keeps me quiet is the fact that Diva benefits from this arrangement so much.  The only problem is that he underpays her, so I wind up acting as the "union" and arguing on her behalf, for a decent wage.

The ability to think outside the box is an important one.  A few years ago, my son started his own dog walking business and did quite well.  He also earns a salary umpiring for Little League in my town.  I see the makings of a real businessman.  And to think, his first employee was his little sister!

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Thanks for reading!  Please tune back in tomorrow when I'll post again. 

Three "Do Not Miss" FREE Apps

My Samsung Confuse, errr..Infuse, died the other day without so much as a whimper or a cough. That was fine because I was ready for an upgrade anyway. I wanted the Samsung Galaxy Note 3, but settled for the Note 2 because it was much cheaper. Anyway, while I'm still in the trial period of the phone, I thought I'd try out some new (for me) apps from Google Play Store. For my reviews of child-related apps, please visit www.thegeekparent.com. Note: one of the ways I choose my apps is based on what permissions the manufacturers ask the user to give. For more information on why you MUST care, visit http://thegeekparent.com/is-installing-that-app-compromising-your-privacy.

Here we go:

94 Seconds – In this category word game, you are given one category and one letter to use to discover a word. For example, you're asked to find a mammal that starts with the letter C or a car company that starts with the letter T. Four different jokers are available to aid in finding the right answer or set higher scores. It's a fun game that certainly taught me a few things (who knew that zouk was a fast tempo carnival style of music originating from the Caribbean islands – 94 Seconds gave me the word and then I looked it up). I like the fact that I can race against the clock or play in a more relaxed mode. If you're tired of the standard Boggle and Scrabble-types of word games, this is certainly worth a try.


LifeHacker Reader – For some reason, my beloved news feeder, Newshog, no longer carries one of my favorite websites, LifeHacker (www.lifehacker.com). I was dissatisfied by the permissions required of the direct LifeHacker app, so I found this wonderful fan-made, unofficial app for the tech and lifestyle blog I enjoy so much. Thank goodness, because I was really missing those valuable life hacks!


Paper Artist – This was already installed on the phone, but it is available from the Play Store and Diva and I are having oodles of fun with it. Turn any photo into a work of art using different styles of paper and various techniques including pen and pencil, markers, newsprint, pastels, etc. which you can save or share with friends. Above is a photo that Diva took of our cat and which my daughter altered in a matter of seconds; I then uploaded it to the cloud and emailed it to some friends. Paper Artist is amazingly easy to do and a nice diversion when you don't feel like playing a game. Plus, it does things I could NEVER do (i.e. pencil sketch a portrait of Cosy). This is a great app!


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Please check back in with me in a day or so for some tips on how to beat those damn ATM fees which are absolutely disgusting. Pardon me while I calm down....

Come on Spring!

The Lazy Mom's 10 Best Fixes For Kitchen “Oops”

Your kids probably hear a smoke alarm and head for the exits. Mine, if it's around 6PM, head for the dinner table. Yep, I have burned yet ANOTHER dinner. My mishaps in the kitchen are legendary. My husband calls it the House of Horrors and my kids are afraid to invite friends to dinner.

I have made almost every mistake in the book and know how to lie about...errrr...fix most of them. Allow me to share with you my 10 best fixes for kitchen mishaps:

1. Problem - The food is cooking unevenly in your oven.
   Solution – Do the Bread Test. After many years of my food burning, I finally performed the “Bread Test” on my oven and in my toaster oven. I arranged bread slices so that they covered the middle oven rack and then baked them at 350° for about 15 minutes. Then I checked to see which pieces were browner than the others. Since I now know that the front of my oven runs hotter than the rear, I set a second timer when I'm baking to remind myself to rotate anything in the oven accordingly.
   
   
2. Problem – Food is soggy and doesn't brown when I cook on top of the stove.
   Solution – Give it some space! I tended to overcrowd French Toast, meat, etc. so I'd be done cooking faster. This didn't give the moisture in the food time to escape. Now I cook in batches. Yes, it takes more time, but it also looks better and no one says “ewwwww” when it gets to the table.
   
   
3. Problem – The smoke alarm is going off a LOT and I had to open the windows in the dead of winter to let the smoke out of the kitchen.
   Solution – Lower the heat. Again, in an effort to get my keister out of the kitchen, I was cooking things at a too high a temperature. Once I lowered the heat, the Fire Department stopped making nightly visits.
   
   
4. Problem – Mushy pasta. This is especially embarrassing and wastes times when your kids are Carb Loading and only eating pasta.
   Solution – Make sure your water is actively boiling, not just bubbling a little, before you add theAlso, use a big pot and lots of water. Pasta needs to expand and breathe. In addition, I set the timer for one minute less than the box indicates because pasta continues to boil even after you take it off the heat until you douse it with cool water. If I want to skip running it under water, sometimes I'll add cold tomato sauce and toss it. The cold sauce stops the pasta from getting any softer and the pasta's heat warms up the sauce.
   noodles.
   
   
5. Problem – The bread coating didn't stick to the meat.
   Solution – Cover each piece in flour, then dredge in egg and follow through with bread crumbs. Also, making the cutlets ahead of time and refrigerating them for about 30 minutes before cooking helps. Lastly, pre-heat the pan before putting the meat in.
   
   
   
6. Problem – My veggies stick to the pan and turned out mushy.
   Solution – Preheat the pan for a minute or two before adding oil or butter. The exception to this is if you're using a non-stick pan because non-stick pans release fumes into the air when they're heated up while they're empty.

7. Problem – The meat didn't cook evenly.
   Solution – First, do the Bread Test before you cook another dish in your oven or toaster oven! Then, make sure you bring the meat to room temperature after taking it out of the fridge for at least 10 minutes before you cook it (source: www.cookinglight.com); if it's a roast or thick cut of meat, you may need to bring it out 15 to 30 minutes before cooking.
   
   
8. Problem – Dried turkey burgers that resemble hockey pucks and make your kid's braces hurt when he chews them.
   Solution – Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pound of turkey meat before you cook it. I'll also add some onion soup mix for extra flavor.
   
   
9. Problem – My lasagna turned out petrified on the edges.
   Solution – Spread the sauce all around the noodles, especially to the edges of the pan, before cooking them to add moisture and cover with foil until the last 15 minutes of cooking.
   
   
10. Problem – Diva really wants hard-boiled eggs, but the package says they're no longer fresh.
    Solution – I know that sometimes eggs last longer than their expired date. According to the website The Kitchn (www.thekitchn.com), here's how you can tell how fresh eggs are:
    

• Place an egg in a bowl of water.
  
• If it lies on its side at the bottom, it's very fresh.
  
• If it lies upright on the bottom, it's still okay to eat but either eat it today or hard boil it.
  
• If it floats to the top, discard it.

Cooking doesn't come easy for me, so I've had to adapt and learn. It's getting easier as the kids get older because I'm able to take more time in the kitchen, but mishaps still occur. Fortunately, the above tips have saved me countless times. I hope they do the same for you!


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Thanks to my cooking, I've learned a few things about masking the odor of burned food in the house. Please check back in with me this weekend when I'll share my favorite tips for getting your house to smell nice, even when you've, um, cremated dinner. Ta-ta!

Photo Source (except for the photo above of my cat): Wikimedia Commons (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

5 Tips For Making Winter Easier (Yes, It IS Possible)

 
It's 30 degrees outside. You may think that's cold, but compared to the one digit numbers this area of the U.S. has been having, it's bikini weather! In fact, for the first time in several days, my son can actually wait for the school bus without my fearing that his nose or other body parts will turn gray and fall off. Still, Winter is not going anywhere, so I thought I share with you some ideas for keeping warm and safe for the rest of this chilly season. Note: I am not a scientist or any kind of expert. The tips I'm about to share have worked for me and my hope is that they'll either work for you.  Here we go!


To Melt Ice – I am not a fan of commercial ice melts ever since my dog repeatedly wound up limping after walking on sidewalks that had been coated with the stuff; in addition, I understand that it's quite environmentally unfriendly. So when confronted with dangerous, icy steps, I sprinkle a handful or two of either Kosher salt or even table salt, if that's all I have, on the steps. Both will melt ice pretty quickly, although too much can't be good for grass or pavements either. I've also used cheap, generic kitty litter and carry a bag of it in the trunk of my car. Kitty litter won't melt anything, but it will provide traction. It will also make a big mess when you bring it in on your shoes, so keep a towel or rag rug in your entrance area and, once the ice melts, sweep the litter away. Alternatively, you can use some old sand from the kids' sandbox. If you want to cut down on the amount of salt you're using, mix it with the litter or sand. Now there are a lot of recipes for homemade deicers on the web, but for more information on which ones actuallywork, visit The Mother Nature Network here: http://www.mnn.com/family/protection-safety/stories/homemade-driveway-deicers-we-tested-it.


To Keep Your Car Doors From Freezing – Last year when I dropped Diva off at school one morning, we discovered that the door on her side of the car wouldn't open. Arrgh!  She had to get out on the traffic-side of the car while I got out and made sure she was okay.   I vowed that that would never happen again, so before the snow and ice come, I spray some non-stick cooking spray or WD-40 on a paper towel and wipe it around the seal of the doors. The oils in those products stop the water from melting into the rubber. Don't spray either around the door because if they drip, they can stain the interior of your vehicle.


De-Icing A Lock – I carry hand sanitizer on my key chain and if my car door lock ices over, I merely rub a bit on the key and lock.  It works like a charm!   Just make sure you're using a product with at least 60% alcohol which is the active ingredient that melts the ice.


Conditioning Your Shovel – Periodically I spray WD-40 on my shovels. It keeps gloppy snow from staying on the shovel (and me from cussing out the snow). 


Trunk Essentials - I mentioned that I carry kitty litter in my car in the Winter for traction. Also in my car are:

• small water bottles.  They'll thaw much faster than a jug of water.
  
• an ice scraper with attached snow brush
  
• protein bars
  
• toilet paper (you never know when you'll need it)
  
• paper towels
  
• safety flares
  
• coloring books and crayons.  Even a bored Teen will use these if you break down for more than an hour.
  
• jumper cables
  
• extra clothes for the kids and me
  
• a shovel.  Pick up a child's snow shovel at Home Depot, although in a pinch I've used a dust pan.
  
• sandwich bags. Place these over your gloves if you have to dig out in the snow and they'll keep your hands even warmer.
  
• a lightweight sled with a handle. Scoff if you want, but if I need to get help, I cannot carry my daughter through the snow. I'd rather pull her. Plus, having a sled makes an emergency situation seem more like an adventure than a crisis.
  
• a blanket
  
• a flashlight and spare batteries. Why a flashlight when I have my cellphone on me at all times? Because in case of emergency, I'll need that phone to make calls, not for use as a light source.
  

You've see it before - my $10 Target phone charger.  It also doubles as a flashlight.  Love it!

And, of course, I always have my emergency car charger fully charged on my key chain at all times. For more information on car essentials, read this article from Life Hacker at http://lifehacker.com/30-essential-things-you-should-keep-in-your-car-1263514115.

Do you have any tips you'd like to share? Please comment below!


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Most of us, including me, are looking to lose weight after indulging a bit during the Holidays (Diva's comment was, "Mommy, please don't turn into a hippo again."  Gotta love that kid!).  Please check back in a day or two for some weight loss ideas that actually working for me, aka The Mom Without Willpower.


Stay warm, people!

A Lazy Mom's Guide To Winter Decorating

 
My daughter and I put the Christmas decorations away this weekend. Funny how it takes three hours to put all that stuff up and about 20 minutes to rip it down! Anyway, the house looks much cleaner without all that cutesie-Christmas stuff cluttering up the place, but Diva and I are feeling a little sad. The tree was just so darned bright and pretty! We've, therefore, decided to put up some very minimalistic Winter decorations befitting this lazy mom.  There are only a few of them because 1) I don't need extra stuff to dust 2) my daughter and her friends like to touch everything 3) if I put up more than a few decorations, I'll forget to put them away and I detest finding Winter stuff out during the summer 4) I don't need reminders that there's 2 feet of snow outside with a wind chill of -23 degrees.

These decorations have a relatively long duration since they'll stay out until just before Easter.  I don't adorn the house for Valentine's Day (am I the only one who equates red Valentine's lights in the window with the Police song “Roxanne” and, thus, prostitution?) or St. Paddy's Day. In addition, my Winter things will look nice with the few Chinese New Year pieces Diva and I will be making to display in a few weeks.  (Stay tuned to this blog for instructions and/or links on making Chinese New Year decorations.)

Igor, The Clearance Snowman

The first item we dug out of the attic was Igor, a stuffed snowman I purchased on clearance from Michael's a few years ago. As much as Diva wanted this guy out during Christmas, I felt that that would lessen this guy's novelty value as a Winter decoration. Tip: this week and the next few will yield mega discounts on what retailers deem as “Christmas” decor. Think outside the box. Snow people and snowflakes are more Winter than Christmas.

My pride and joy, Helga

The next decoration we take out is Helga, a snow lady I made a few years ago when I was snowed in with the kids during one of the Northeast's many blizzards or “Nor'Easters” as the media now call them. I had had NO alone time and needed a craft that would keep them both busy, so I went to the recycling bin and grabbed a dishwasher detergent bottle, some newspaper, and a bunch of gauze leftover from a Halloween costume that never was (the concept of Mommy as a mummy was great, but scared Diva when I started to wrap myself). We made a gooey, oooey, delightful paste out of flour and as we wrapped the bottle, with the head made out of a ball of paper, realized that this creation could only be a snow person. Diva's desire to make a snow lady won out over Junior's desire for a traditional, male snowman. A few days later, when the model was dry, I grabbed a few buttons, skewers from the kitchen, and voila! Helga was born! She summers in the hot attic and because of that, the glue holding her arms on tends to melt, so every year or two I wind up re-gluing her arms on, otherwise, she's proven quite sturdy. Sometimes we'll even hang a decoration or two from her arm.  For more paper mache crafts, visit dltk-kids.com (http://www.dltk-kids.com/type/papermache.htm).  

Paper snowflakes are a staple in my house, especially since Diva learned how to make them. Her preschool teacher meticulously cut lovely, intricate ones but since I am spastic, I could never figure out how to do it until we watched this YouTube video a few times: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTnxZSL5IJw. We've now made snowflakes out of basic computer paper as well as paper towels, coffee filters, and rice paper, which works the best. The lacy creations adorn our window and are so low-budget that if the cat decimates them, as she's methodically doing, I don't care.

Filling a vase with greenery from outside is also nice. Sometimes Diva and I will gather a few sprigs of pine and place them in a vase. If the vase is clear and we can find pine cones, we'll add those to the arrangement as well,  Spraying the branches with a little diluted lemon juice compromises the pine smell, but keeps the cat away. Another tip: greenery or even bare sticks from outside add a “natural” touch to the house, plus they're cheap and easy to use. If you can't find pine cones outside, head over to your local craft store where you should be able to find them.

Leaving up Winter-themed Christmas cards is the ultimate in low-budget decorating.  I purged our Christmas cards, throwing away pictures of Santa and the Nativity,  and we now have a line of doves and snow scenes running along a doorway.  You could even slip a few in some cheap frames for easy-peasy wall or table art.

Another clearance find

Lastly, since we were missing the light of the Christmas tree, I made this sweet little snowman out of a candy container I bought on sale a few years ago. I simply cut holes in the back for the plug of the, again, clearance lights I bought.


Okay, so I'm no Martha Stewart; still, I do want my house to look nice in the Winter. Just a few, simple pieces achieves that without any great expenditure of cash.  For more great, frugal, seasonal decorating ideas, visit:

• ProFlowers.com (http://www.proflowers.com/guide/cheap-decoration-ideas-for-christmas-winter-wonderland) – Who knew you could find cheap decorating ideas here, but they've got some good ones!
• BuzzFeed.com (http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/40-diy-home-decor-ideas-that-arent-just-for-chris) – Some of these look to be a bit more time-consuming than I'd like, but some of the Winter ornaments look intriguing.
  
• MyWeddingFavors (http://myweddingfavors.hubpages.com/hub/The-Slow-Faster-and-Fastest-Ways-To-Make-Scented-Pine-Cones) – This site lists easy and slightly harder ways to make scented pine cones that will make you feel as if you're in a pine forest. Alternatively, you could just dab some pine cones with pine-scented oil, but the ones from this website might last longer.

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Please check back in with me in a day or two for a a few recipes for do-it-yourself ice melt and some tips on how to make surviving the Winter easier.


Out into the -25 temps I go to pick up Diva! Ta-ta!

10 Indoor Activities To Do With Kids

(Please Note: The website Bloggy Moms lists writing prompts with challenges to write about the topics listed. The prompts are interesting and fun, so I've accepted the January Blog Dare and will periodically be responding to them, starting today. My Product Reviews & Tips will always appear first so that you can read those first in case you'd rather not peruse further.)

Photo courtesy of Carol Capozzi 

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This is proving to be a snowy Winter, therefore, I have been incarcerated, errr in, with the kids quite a bit. Prying their eyes from video is always an Olympic challenge so I've been reaching into my Mom's Bag Of Tricks to find indoor activities that will keep them busy. The Teen is usually happy playing his clarinet or reading a book, but keeping the very active Diva (8 years old) has been difficult.



Here are some activities that have worked for me and will, hopefully, work for you:

1. Bring the snowy fun inside. Just because it's cold outside, doesn't mean the snow has to stay there! I grab a big ol' lasagna dish and fill it with snow. The fun begins with building snowy creatures, then we move into painting the snow using food coloring and watercolors. After that, we use the snow to build “snow castles” and finish by pouring the melted snow into the plants. This kept Diva busy for about 2 hours yesterday!
    
   

   

   Fill a pan.

   
   

   

   Diva's snowpuppies & snowlady.

   
   

   

   Diluted food coloring & even watercolors work well for paints.

   

   She achieved a pseudo Monet technique.

   
   
   
2. Marshmallow Toss and Marshmallow Building. Note: the Toss is better in a room with washable floors or put a plastic coating, like an old shower curtain, down on the floor because this can get a bit sticky. Throw marshmallows to see who can get them the furthest. For Marshmallow Building, use them to build towers. You can use spaghetti, skewers, or toothpicks to help connect them. Who can build the tallest before it falls down?
   
3. Have a scavenger hunt (here's the link to a previous post I wrote in which I outlined how: http://isithotinheremmm.blogspot.com/2013/12/10-activity-ideas-for-xmas-eve-or.html ).
   
4. Discover what's magnetic.  Give your kid a magnet and let him/her discover what in the house is magnetic. Furniture handles, doorknobs, hooks, some jewelry are all candidates. If you're really ambitious, you can then discuss the principles of magnets, etc.
   
5. Reinvent their bedrooms. Who doesn't like to re-do their rooms?  This project is all about making them happier, plus, it might get them to clean their room. Invite your kids to think outside the box and help them redecorate their rooms using objects in the house. How can they gain more storage? Can they section their room into a “reading nook” or “fashion table”? What can they do to make their room better fit their needs?
   
6. Build a tent. My daughter LOVES to do this! Grab some old blankets and sheets and let the kids build a “Kids Only” zone. With any luck, they'll stay in it for a bit.
   
7. Pay the older kids to babysit the younger ones. It'll give you an hour or two of peace and keep everyone occupied.
   
8. String popcorn. Let the kids string some popcorn for the outdoor critters and hang the “garland” over a bush or in a tree.
   
9. Play I Spy. Someone picks a color, shape, or item and then says "I spy something..." The other players have to guess what the lead player spies in the room.
   
10. Have a Crazy Outfit Fashion Show. Grab a box of winter garb and other pieces of clothing. See who can come up with the craziest outfit.
    

Got any more suggestion? Add them in the Comments section!


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Today's writing prompt is “I've been here all night” and maybe twice monthly the “here” is Diva's room. She's a big nighttime cuddler and if I'm wiped, her warm blankets and soft pillows are too much to resist; I sail right off into dreamland. She encourages this by setting her noise machine to “ocean,” a sound she knows I love. Often I'll feel a gentle “thump” on the bed, meaning the feline has joined us; this is also a signal of caution since Cosy likes to nip or play with any toe that finds its way out from under the covers. My husband rarely objects to my overnighters with our daughter because I am far from a sound sleeper. Hot flashes regularly wake me at about 2AM and I've been known to flip like a salmon spawning. Diva sleeps soundly and doesn't mind my restlessness. When I wake in the early morning hours, I listen to her rhythmic breathing and whisper a heartfelt “thank you” to the Universe for giving me this special child.


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Check back in with me in a day or so. The Christmas tree is down and we've decorated for the Winter. I'll show you a simple, but really neat craft I made a few years ago using a leftover dish detergent bottle.


Stay warm!

3 Fantastic Product Reviews (Some Of THE BEST PRESENTS We Received For Christmas)

(Please Note: The website Bloggy Moms lists writing prompts with challenges for bloggers to write about various subjects. The prompts are interesting and fun, so I've accepted the January Blog Dare and will periodically be responding to them, though not today. My Product Reviews & Tips will always appear first so that you can read those first in case you'd rather not peruse further.)

Christmas yielded some incredibly amusing and useful presents this year and I feel compelled to share my three favorite items with you. They're not in any particular order because all are being used heavily thus far. The items are: 

A Re-Usable Travel Coffee Mug – I drink a lot of coffee and tea in the Winter and was always using those Styrofoam “To-Go” cups so I could bring hot beverages in the car. (BTW, I recently realized that those cups are really sippy cups for adults. It was yet another DUH moment in my life...) Styrofoam cups aren't good for the environment and they can be a little pricey, even if you buy them at Costco. A few weeks ago, I noticed the cup below in my local grocery store, bought it for myself, and have been using it daily ever since. It's ceramic, so it's easy to clean, dishwasher safe, and the rubber top (not pictured) doesn't get grungy like some others do. I think it cost about $6 and has been worth every penny!

 


Spot-It – This game was about $7 on Amazon and I ordered it after reading the glowing reviews listed on the website. Still, I was a bit nervous when Diva opened it because she hadn't asked for it and sometimes what other people think of something falls flat with your kid. Fortunately, this did not. Spot-It is a card game for players ages 7 and up and can be played with two to eight players. The cards contain different symbols   ( hearts, a hand, an apple, etc.) and there is always one, and only one, matching symbol between any two cards in the game. Your job is to match a symbol on your card with the symbol on another card. Sounds simple, right? Well it is, but the symbols are different sizes which makes them less obvious; for this reason, you can be staring at your card for a good 30 seconds without realizing that the matching picture is right there in your hand! Spot-It is a game of observation which is oodles of fun.  We played the game with Nana on Christmas and even brought it on a recent trip. It's one of the few games that Teen and Diva will actually play together. I'll be buying several to give out as party presents this year.

WiiFit Plus – I asked for this for Christmas since I'm getting a bit bored with my current exercise equipment.  The kids and I have been playing the various games every day since. It comes with the WiiFit board and features different activities to help with balance, strength, etc. I'm not thrilled with the massive, round avatar it gave me based on my weight and because of that, I tend to give her the finger every time I see her, but most of the games themselves are a blast. Some can be played by all family members and we're informally competing in different games to see who can upset the others (I unexpectedly blew past Diva this morning when we participated in some hula-hoop activity – yeah me!). The first few times I played, I had to ask the Teen to help me set the system up, but finally got the knack of it.  WiiFit Plus also monitors your weight but you can set up a password so no one can see it when they play (THANK GOD!). One of the activities I'm really loving is the one where you can “go for a run.” The graphics distract me from the tedium of running and I set up my little trampoline (not included) in the den and pretend I'm running on the Wii course; it would be nice to be able to choose the “venue” where I'm running, but I can live with what it's showing me. This may be the most useful gift I've ever received. Thanks, Hubby!
 

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I so appreciate your visit! Please feel free to comment and be sure to check back in in a day or so when I'll share indoor activities you can do with your kids this Winter. We had a foot of snow in this area of the country last night and since I'm now snowed in with the young'uns, I'm brainstorming ways to keep Diva amused. I'll let you know how I fared...IF I do.....

The Teen's New Year's Eve Sleepover – Party Prep 101

A few weeks ago, Junior asked us for permission to have a New Year's Eve Sleepover. My first reaction was, “Good!” because I am quite aware that I'll only have a few more New Year's Eves with him before he prefers to go out with his friends. His dad and I also agreed because the boys been hanging with this year are a nice group of kids who tolerate assaults from Diva with kindness and patience. Plus, if it's within our power to make our son happy, we do it.


The norm for Junior's sleepovers is that the kids bring their laptops and spend most of their time playing on their computers. They do this every night anyway via Skype, so it's nice to see them having face-time whenever they can outside of school. “What can I do,” I asked, “to make this party extra-special since it is New Year's Eve?” My son thought about it for a second, which made me a little nervous because I thought he was going to ask that we take the entire party out for dinner (NOT!). “Mom, I'd like a Taco Bar,” he said. Interesting concept. We volleyed some ideas and here's what I'm picturing:


We'll do it, obviously, buffet-style. We'll start out with a basket containing hard taco shells and soft tortillas; the soft tortillas might be easier for our guests who have braces to eat. Then there will be individual dishes containing tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, sour cream, and black beans. Next in line will be two dishes containing seasoned ground beef and turkey, respectively. Lastly, I foresee a container of taco sauce and a large salad bowl on the side in case any kid actually wants to add some to his plate.


The bar will consist of Sprite (which is apparently the choice drink for this group), seltzer, and sparkling cider served in plastic champagne glasses (fancy!).


For dessert, we'll offer a Make-Your-Own-Sundae Bar which is easy thanks to those single-serve cups of half-chocolate, half-vanilla. The kids can spoon on, from little serving bowls, toppings such as nuts, M&Ms, smashed Butterfingers, and add whipped cream before pouring on chocolate syrup, if they want. The final bowls will consist of sprinkles and Maraschino cherries.

I thought about buying party hats and noisemakers, but then realized that these kids are too cool for hats and are noisy enough without the noisemakers. I'm thinking that penny whistles might allow them to make some noise at midnight without my ears ringing for days afterward.


The next day, the waffle maker will come in handy for obvious reasons, especially since the catch phrase for this group seems to be “I like waffles.” With any luck, our guests will be picked up by 11:30am on New Year's Day.


I know that future parties will get bigger and more expensive, so I'm cherishing the simplicity of this one and knowing that my son will be in the house having fun the last night of 2013. Junior will get very little sleep (the last time some of these kids slept over, they didn't go to bed until 4am) and start out the New Year happy, if tired. Yes, my son, you can have a sleepover. Let's make it the best one yet!


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Please check back in with me for my favorite New Year's Jokes. Why shouldn't 2013 go out with a laugh?!