My baby's poor skin!!!!!

I swear Treyden has one of the worse cases of eczema I have ever seen. We have tried everything from aloe to some organic stuff I found in the baby aisle and even prescription strength Hydrocortisone but it just keeps reappearing.

I've seen his pediatrician multiples times regarding this and even asked to see a dermatologist and/or allergist thinking it might be a food allergy that could be causing it. This has been an on-going thing for Trey and I, so I figured I'd share some of my experience with eczema treatments.
 


Cortisone 1%:  It's over the counter and you probably have some in your first aid kit. When Treyden was a few months old a friend recommended this to me.  It worked like a charm, I would lather it on his skin and the ugly red patch would be gone within the hour. Little did I know (even tho I probably should have-considering I've completed 4 years of pharmacy school) that cortisone thins your skin out and can also change the color of your skin. If you must, apply a thin layer over the affected area once or twice a day considering how bad the eczema is for 3-5 days. I would try to avoid the face because it does thin your skin and can also make your skin darker/lighter.

Hydrolatum: This is also over the counter but you have to special order it at the pharmacy. This stuff is thick. If you're not into the greasy ointment-y feeling on your skin from lotions, this is not for you (I LOVE that feeling) The hydrolatum is about $7 for a huge tub, and it lasts a long time as well. I love how my sons skin feels after the hydrolatum is absorbed in their skin, so this is really good for moisture. As for treating/reducing the eczema not so much. It hydrated Trey's eczema prone spots so he didn't scratch it as much but it did not go away from just applying the hydrolatum.

Aloe: the actual aloe plant. My brothers friend recommended this to me. I know aloe is good for sunburns and all but I never thought about applying it to help eczema. I guess it cools the skin down so it doesn't feel as itchy. Anyways, his friend swore by it. My mom has an aloe tree at home so I just broke off a leaf and applied straight to Trey's cleaned skin. It didn't do anything. Maybe I didn't use it long enough but it seemed like such a hassle to carry around an aloe plant in my purse esp when it pusses everywhere and starts to turn yellow. No go for me but doesn't hurt to try.

Aquaphor: Like the hydrolatum, this has super greasy feeling as well. It can be found over the counter in the lotion aisle. There's also a baby Aquaphor that you can find in the baby aisle. I love the little tubes that they come in so I always have some on hand. Aquaphor can be used for numerous things- my father was diagnosed with lung cancer 4 years ago and they used the Aquaphor for the radiation burns that he would get. It really does do wonders with healing. I actually use it for diaper rashes and works a lot better than Desitin or any other zinc oxide cream/ointments. As for eczema, it never got rid of the redness but it did hydrate Treyden's skin for the time time being. I would choose Hydrolatum over Aquaphor for moisture and softness- and Aquaphor over Hydrolatum for convenience.

999 ointment: My mom found this in the Chinese herbal store. I'm pretty sure its a steroid but I don't read Chinese so I wouldn't be able to tell you. It comes in a red and white tube and is fairly cheap. I believe around $3-$4 a tube. It worked for a little bit but I'm kind of iffy to recommend it since I have no idea what's in it. I has a menthol smell to it so I can just imagine that it might sting a little when applied to the eczema prone areas.

Cerave: This is what I'm currently using on Treyden's skin. It comes in a 12 oz jar and was recommended by doctors at the Children's Hospital in Boston. It's on the pricey side- $22 per jar. I'm already on my second jar and it's only been about a month. I only apply it to the problem spots now but I can put it on as much and as often as I would like without having to worry about future side effects. Also its a cream so it doesn't leave the greasy/sticky feeling on my son's skin. I had his eczema completely gone within 3-4 days of using the Cerave around the clock.

I guess that's about it. Besides from the other Babyganics lotion for eczema I bought at Walgreens, all the other lotions were pretty much that.. lotion. Let me know if you have any other questions or if you have other brands you would recommend. I'd love to hear from you!

"WHEEL" you be my Valentines? tutorial DIY

HOW CUTE ARE THESE?!

  

I bought a 5 pack of Hot Wheels at Walmart for $4.95 +tax and had everything else on hand. 

Items needed:

-toy cars
-"filler" candy (optional)- I used M&Ms and Hershey Kisses
-stapler
-cardstock
-glue/ adhesive
-paper cutter --> scissors & ruler if you don't have one
-markers
-clear cookie/candy mold bags (I used 6inch x 3.75inch bags)

PREP your supplies 

1) Make your labels. If your computer savy and can print labels I would go for it. As for me,  I am computer illiterate so I had to hand make/write all of mines out.  You'll need at least 2 different card stock (one for the "base" and one to write the actual written tag on) Additional cardstock can be used for layering and decorating. 

**BASE**
The base piece of paper will be folded and is used to cover/conseal the opening of your cellophane bag. Cut base paper into a 4 inch x 3.75 inch rectangles and fold in half so that it will be 2 inch x 3.75 inch.

--If you used a different size bag, you'll need to cut one side the same size as the width of the cellophane bag. In my case I cut mines to 3.75 inches. The other side of  your base will depend on how big you want your tag to be- remember this will be folded in half for a front side and a back side. So if you want a tag that's 3 inch x 3.75 inch, you would cut 6 inch x 3.75 inch.

**WRITTEN TAG**
 There is no right or wrong way in doing this.  I cut 1.75 inch x 3.5 inch white card stock because I wanted to keep mines simple and layered it over some striped card stock. You can use stickers, glitter, die cuts, ribbons puffy paint, even computer graphics to personalize your tag. I just used plain ole permanent markers.

ASSEMBLING your goody bags

Fill your goody bag. Put one car, a handful of Valentine M&Ms and 2 Hershey Kisses. If you don't want to give chocolates you can always leave just the toy car and proceed to the next step. Other options: shredded colored paper, gummy snacks, lollipops, raisins.. etc etc-- any small item would do, I would try not to do anything too big as you want the focal point to be the toy car. 

 

Fold the cellophane bag down to close and put the base over bag.  

Staple it down to hold. You can use one staple in the middle or one on each side. Try not to do it too low or to high, we'll hide the staple with the "written tag"

You'll want to "flat side" of the staple on the back of your bag, just because it looks prettier- So you might have to flip your bag around before you staple it. Look at my fancy staples!  :D 

 LASTLY: EMBELLISH!! I just glued the tag to cover the staples. HOW CUTE ARE THESE?!

Some word play that would go with your tag:

"WHEEL" you be my Valentines?
I "wheelie" like you.
I'm "wheelie" glad to know you
I'm "wheelie" glad we're friends
You make my heart RACE.

(If you can think of any others I would "wheelie" love to hear them!!-I had to!!)

THANKSGIVING OUTFITS 2011

Mason & Treyden next to a 20lb turkey

I know, I know it's not throwback Thursday but I had to work yesterday so deal ;D

Last Thanksgiving my 11 yr old cousin made these adorable outfits for my baby boys.  Talk about cute pictures!!

Head piece: colored construction paper, scissors, stapler, brown lunch bag (cut leaves and stapled it onto a brown strip that fit their head)
Vest: Brown lunch bag (cut arm hole, bottom and straight down front or back side for the opening, we cut little "ruffles" or ripples along the edge for some flare but you cant see it)

Price: We had everything on hand so we didn't have to buy anything.

my little family <3

**You can use glue gun if you like, if you use a stapler- remember to leave the stapled side out so it doesn't poke/hurt my baby's head.

Mason and Treyden with their grandparents <3 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                               

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!!!

IT's my birthday!!

Well, not anymore but my birthday recently just passed :D

I'm so excited because this year I received a Cricut Expressions 2 as a present from Kream!!!

I've always wanted one, but never could justify dropping $300.00 on a paper cutter-not including the cartridges that go for around $50-$60 retail. 

So in the scrapbooking mood, I went ahead and ordered myself an ATG gun thru amazon.com- a bit much?? I don't think so.

As I was saying, the CE2 requires cartridges to work so I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations or advice on it. I will mainly be using my CE2 for scrapbooking, parties and maybe card making.

Halloween 2012 LMFAO twin outfits

We won first prize & Most creative costume

My twins and I at a Halloween party.

LMFAOcostume:
Leggins: Walmart & Target (girls section $4 each)
Wigs: Amazon.com ($8 each)
Glasses: Walmart (party section pack of 6 for $1.25)- I punched the "shades" out, then cut a strip of cardstock and glued it a long the top of the frame. Then cut gold squares using scraps of gold ribbon I had laying around and glued them on for embellishment
Tanktops: Target (boys section pack of 5 white t-shirts $11.00)- I cut the arms off the t-shirts and painted a shuffle dude on one shirt and "I'M IN MIAMI BUDDY"on the other shirt, originally wording had the "B" word on it but wanted to keep it PG
Twin chains: Dollar Tree (Christmas tree gold garland $1)- I used cardstock to make the "pendants" and just hot glued it to the garland, I didn'e even use half of the garland that was provided

Shufflebot Head:
Box: DollarTree (free- just ask someone for an empty box)
Gold paint: Home Depot ($4.87-- Who knew you needed ID to buy spray paint?!)
Mouth covering: Old tights that had runs in them- I knew I saved them for a reason!
Eyes: 2 Red Solo Cups, Black Acrylic Paint and 2 bicycle lights (I had these items laying around the house)

Treyden

The wig takes a little getting used to

So does the glasses..

Treyden dancing

Close up of one of the shirts

Close up of the glasses

Mason

Toddler Play Group. DAY 1

on our way to our 1st play group!

I didn't know what to expect and I must admit was quite nervous. We got picked up by their school bus and the driver was actually really nice- he assembled both car seats in a matter of minutes and had us all buckled down and ready to go in no time. 

First game we played---PUZZLES!!!

 The boys were kind of shy when we first got into the classroom. They kind of clung to my pant legs and moved every minimal movement I was able to move. One of the group leaders brought out puzzles and they sat down and behaved for about 45 seconds LOL. I'm kidding, they weren't too bad.

don't let this smile fool you, he bites! lol

 I was actually surprised that Mason was so happy during the group play. He skipped his morning nap and I was almost positive that he was going to be fussy while we were there. I guess he was so tired that he kicked into his hyper mood- hey! works for me :D

sensory play

 They boys LOVED this sensory table- and I loved that I didn't have to clean up afterwards.

mingling :D

more twins !!

 Treyden has this thing about holding onto toys and other items for as long as he could- he had the shovel in his hand for practically the whole day and wouldn't give it up.

 

ballpitt

 They so owned this. Most of the kids were just sitting in the corner playing with a ball..

 My sons were jumping and diving into the balls and throwing balls everywhere.

They might as well done cannonballs into the ballpitt.

 OWNED!!

Yeah, they were in here for quite some time....

 Oops I dropped the camera as I was taking a picture

And then they discovered the slide.

Oh, how cute. lol

That just about wraps up my morning.

 Bus ride home. They both knocked out about 2 seconds after I took this picture. I thought they would nap a little bit longer once they got home, but no.

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SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN GOING TO GROUP PLAY:
-your going to group play, not the club: dress comfortably but be aware of what you are wearing. I thought I was being conservative by wearing a long sleeve flannel button up shirt to find out as I was putting on my seat belt (on the way home I must add) that 2 buttons had unbuttoned on its own sometime during the play group which I hadn't realized, exposing my bra and a whole mess of unnecessary cleavage. It was pretty embarrassing to think about. Anyways, my boys are pretty active so I made sure to wear sneakers and stretch pants . Also, you might want to wear layers or short-sleeves under your clothing- a)so you dont make the same mistake I did and b) it gets hot chasing after little toddlers in a room full of other little toddlers
-bring extra clothes for your son or daughter just in case: Kids get dirty/wet so easily
-most group play dates offer drinks and snacks: if your child has a food allergy let them know ahead of time.
-most toddlers haven't quite mastered the concept of sharing toys (mines included): frustration is bound to happen make sure you are around your son and daughter to help regulate

Shabby Chic BABY bootie favors TUTORIAL

I made these for my friends baby shower.. aren't they cute?

Items Needed:
-cardstock paper (you should be able to fit 3-4 booties on one 12inchx12inch piece of scrapbook)
-glue gun
-scissors
-pencil
-embellishments (ribbon, lace, puffy paint, buttons etc)

1) Print and cut out the bootie template- I originally found the link here, but I enlarged mines and made 2 bottom sole pieces.

this is my enlarged template

2) Trace your template onto some cardstock and cut out

one bootie frame and 2 sole bottom pieces

For the tutorial I just traced everything on one sheet but when I made the actual favors, I used a heavier card stock for the bottom sole. I had a bunch of small scrap pieces that I bought by the pound and just used that. It worked out perfectly because it was much sturdier and easier to glue the tabs onto.

3) Fold along the dotted lines and roll the bootie up.  Glue the flap to hold the frame. It should start to resemble a baby bootie by now

glue side flap onto the back of the bootie

4) Insert one of the bottom soles and start gluing tabs down one by one. **tip: glue the 3 front tabs and back tabs first** 

 gluing top front 3 tabs first- helps hold the sole in place while working on the rest of the bootie

this is what it should look like when finished

5) Glue the second bottom sole piece to the bottom of your booty- covering all your tabs.

 

bottom piece

6) Glue the bootie buckle/strap to finish. How cute is that?! You can go right ahead and embellish at this point. Ribbons, buttons, tulle, flowers, puffy paint, markers, even stickers are a few things that you can use. Be creative and have fun!!

Last step before decorating

options are endless!! each one has its own uniqueness 

Thank you for visiting! I hope you found this helpful.