Grilled quesadillas

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Carrot silverware napkin

So I have been meaning to do this post since Cheyenne's bunny birthday party, I have been putting it off since the pictures are so terrible.  My plan was to get more orange napkins and green plastic silverware and re-do it. Eight months later and I haven't even bothered to put it on my shopping list.

So here is the post, crappy pictures and all.  Maybe one day I'll re-do the pictures.  I wouldn't count on it though.

Step 1.

Step 2.

 Step 3. Notice how one side of the pipe is way longer.

Step 4. Cut the long pipe cleaner and wrap it around the remaining bit.

 

 Tada!

Wet wrapping your face for treating eczema

You may have seen my post on wet wraps for eczema.  This is the same thing just for your face.

1. Take a bath or shower.  Must be at least 15 minutes long.  If you shower let water run over your face as much as possible.  If you take a bath put a wet rag over your face or just splash your face a lot.  The splash method works best for children.  Don't use any soap in the bath til the very end because you don't want to be soaking in the soap.  Make sure your soap is scent and dye free.

2. Use eczema cream where you have eczema and either Vanicream or Aquaphor where you don't have eczema.  Do not layer them.

3. Bribe your model with popsicle.  I'm using Harlee for this even though she has no eczema because she is older and therefore more bribe-able. 

 4.  Wet your wrap with clean warm water.  This is what I got for this example, which would work just fine but something bigger and more cottonish would be better.

 5. Wrap around the forehead.

6. Then around the nose, a simple twist makes it fit nice around the eyes.

7. Around the chin.  Never ever around the neck.

8. Up around the head and back down around the chin.

As you can see, at this point she is wondering if a popsicle is enough payment for this.

9. There you have it!

That's a wrap!

Leave the wrap on til it's dry or 1-2 hours.

I  wish my wrap was longer so I could of gone over it more times.  A thicker wet layer will stay moist longer than my single layer.  Also, if I had more to work with I would of wrapped both higher and lower on the forehead.  You can also wrap around the upper lip by doing a twist or folding it over to avoid covering up the mouth.  For older children and adults you could cover the mouth to get a more fuller coverage around the lips.  I DO NOT recommend covering the mouth of young children.

That's it! Happy wrapping.

Also, if you or your child has extreme eczema please see a doctor.  You can get prescription creams that will work better and eczema can also be a side effect of food allergies and this needs proper attention.


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Unicorn braids on little girls

I love unicorn braids.  I just wish Cheyenne's hair was long enough to also have unicorn braids. Oh well, here is six ideas to get the unicorn braid in your little darlings hair.

Three cheese tortellini pasta salad

This is my people pleasing salad. I make it for BBQs and family gatherings.  Best of all it's super easy to make.

Ingredients:
one package frozen three cheese tortellini (the dry ones are not even close to being as good!)
one head broccoli chopped
two large tomatoes chopped
one large can of olives sliced
lots of Italian dressing 

1. Cook tortellini according to package directions.
2. Stir in broccoli, tomatoes, and olives.
3. Saturate with Italian dressing.
4. Cover and refrigerate 2-24 hours. It's fantastic after its first chilled but it's best if you wait 24 hours and let the Italian dressing soak into everything.
5. Bring to your next pot luck event.
6. Take compliments graciously.

Summer learning with sidewalk chalk

Here is my latest scheme to get Harlee to practice her letters. I write it and draw up a master piece to go with it and she comes along and does the same.  She doesn't think she is learning and her master pieces are better than mine.   She is such a smart little stinker!

Happy Birth Mother's Day

Today is a little known holiday. It's birth mother day.  Always the Saturday before Mother's Day, always left (mostly) unnoticed. I think it should be made just as important as Mother's Day.  After all many mothers couldn't celebrate Mother's Day without birth mothers.

Here's a shout out to birth mother's all over the world.  Your sacrifice to put your children above yourselves has created many happy families and has given countless children a better life.  And when children have better lives we are all winners.

Happy Birth Mother's Day!

Wet wraps for eczema

I'm ashamed to admit I have been putting off this post for so long.  It's one thing  I could post that could potentially help people more than just about anything else I could write.  Someone emailed me about the National Jewish hospital and was thinking about taking her little one there.  When she told me about how her child scratched and itched and was in pain I felt ridiculous for not doing this sooner.  So here is to all the kiddos out there who shouldn't have to scratch so much.

My Cheyenner Nanners has eczema.  Lots of it, all over her darling little body.  The annoying thing about eczema is that you can't heal it.  You can make it go away, but it's just in hiding.  Your skin can be baby butt smooth, but the eczema is still there waiting to flare up.

There are zillions of things that can cause eczema flares.  Stress, sickness, weather changes, fragrances, food allergies, dust mites, or pet dander, just for a start.

The most effective way to make eczema go into hiding (as I like to call it), is with wet wraps.  Wet wraps are time consuming but very easy and from what I hear, most kids don't mind it at all. Cheyenne sure doesn't.

Here is what you will need: 2 pairs of pajamas,  1 small towel, 2-4 pairs of knee high socks, Vanicream or Aquaphor and your eczema creams.  National Jewish Hospital recommends the Vanicream. I personally saw better results with the Aquaphor.  The eczema creams I have are prescription but you can get over the counter ones. Prescription ones are stronger and will work faster.

I recommend going to a doctor for your eczema to get the prescriptions that are right for you or your child.  Also, eczema can be a side effect from food allergies so it is very important that you look into this.

Instead of pajamas you could use long johns or anything light weight and tight fitting and a pair of something looser such as sweat pants and a sweat shirt.  If you have eczema on your neck make sure the tight layer is a turtle neck.

Once you have all your stuff together, take a bath.  Soak and play for a minimum of 15 minutes. A towel around the shoulders will get water to soak all into the upper back and shoulders.  For older children and adults, a shower will do just as well as a bath.  A shower also needs to be a minimum of 15 minutes.  In severe cases stay in the water for up to 30 minutes.

Don't use any soap in the bath til the very end. You don't want to be soaking in the soap.  Make sure your soap is sent and dye free. 

After you get out of the tub pat the skin with a towel. The goal is to not be dripping wet and also too keep as much water on you as possible.  Put the eczema creams where you have eczema and the Vanicream or Aquaphor everywhere else,  do not layer them.

Next you need to soak the tight pajamas and two pairs of the socks in warm water. If you use soap in the bath do not use the bath water to get em wet. You can put the socks on first or the pajamas.  Doesn't matter.  Cheyenne likes socks on second so she can do sock puppets.

See what I mean about the turtle neck for neck eczema?

Now layer your looser pair of pajamas and a dry pair of knee high socks on the arms and legs.  I like using footie pajamas cause then you don't need the second pair of socks on the feet.  All you have left is one hour of sock puppet shows.  Stay in this get up for up to two hours but a minimum of one hour.

The fabulous thing about wet wraps is that you don't have to do all of that if you don't have whole body eczema.  Just wet wrap the parts that do have it.  Just make sure you have a light weight tight fitting wet layer followed by a medium weight looser dry layer (and your creams and lotions). 

We currenlty use wet wraps less than once a month.  You can use them 3 times a day if you need to.  This heals eczema very quickly.  I have seen children who have eczema so badly that they look like they have black eyes and within 5 days it is 95% gone!

A big thank you to National Jewish Health for teaching this to me.  It has saved my Nanners from countless sleepless nights scratching til she bleeds.  If you have a kiddo with food allergies and or eczema, the eczema and allergy program is a Godsend!  Read about our experience in the program here and our allergy testing results here.

Up next:  How to wet wrap your face.

May is National Foster Care Awareness Month

 I just read that everyday there is 400,000 kids in foster care.  Wowzers! That's a lot.

This is the month we remember all the precious children and teens in foster care who need and deserve love.

This is the month we are thankful for all the foster parents.  The ones who love infants.  The ones who love older children.  The ones who love special needs children.  The ones who love sibling groups and keep them together.

Those who adopt from foster care will always have a special place in my heart.  Nothing like giving a child a forever home, with forever parents and forever love.

I can't think of anything more tragic than a teen who is 'aged-out'. They are called legal orphans and they have the rest of their lives ahead of them with no one to help guide them.  No parents to give them advice.  No parents to spend holidays with.  No one to call on Mother's Day or Father's Day.  No one to love them unconditionally when they fall, and no one to be proud of them when they succeed.

The system has failed them. America has failed them. We have failed them.  Many of these legal orphans put themselves up for adoption, just so they have somewhere to go on Christmas break, just to have someone to call Mom and someone to call Dad.

Thankfully, God calls many people to adopt from foster care. Thankfully, God calls people to adopt adults.

Is God calling you or someone you know?