Do-It-Yourself Homemade Herbal Milk Baths

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As stay at home mothers, we spend almost all of our waking hours taking care of the children, cleaning the home, preparing meals and doing the family errands. When was the last time that you did something relaxing just for yourself? If you had to pause for a moment to think about your answer, then it has been too long.

If you have been neglecting yourself for the sake of everyone else in your life, I would like to suggest that you set aside 30 minutes of "me' time for yourself every evening. During this 'me' time, you can take a nice bath and read a good book or magazine.

I would like to share a few homemade herbal milk bath recipes with you that only take a few minutes to prepare and are inexpensive to make.

Supplies you will need:

Blender
Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
Airtight Container
Measuring Scoop (like an old laundry detergent or coffee scoop)
Ingredients listed for each recipe

Oatmeal Milk Bath

1 cup cornstarch
2 cups powdered milk
1/2 cup oatmeal

In a blender container, finely grind up the oatmeal. Add in the dry milk powder and cornstarch. Mix in blender until a fine powder forms. Pour contents into an airtight container. You can use 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup in your bath water.

Tip: This soak is soothing to dry itchy skin.

Lavender Milk Bath1 cup cornstarch
2 cups powdered milk
3 teaspoons dried lavender

Combine cornstarch and powdered milk in a blender container. Blend until a fine powder forms. Add in the dried lavender and stir. Pour contents into an airtight container. Add 1/2 cup of mixture to your warm bath water.

Tip: This soak is great for dry skin. Will also help to you relax after a stressful day.

Honey Milk Bath
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup baking soda
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon honey

Place first 4 ingredients into a blender and blend. Add in 1 teaspoon of honey, stir until combined. Store contents in an airtight container. Refrigerate until ready to use. Add 1/2 cup of mixture to your warm bath water.

Tip: This soak is soothing to dry itchy skin.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Milk Bath

1 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon cream of tarter
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Blend all ingredients in a blender container until it is of fine powder consistency. Pour contents into an airtight container. Add 1/2 cup of mixture to your warm bath water.

Tip: This is a really nice soak that you can enjoy during the fall and winter months.

Vacations Down To The Jersey Shore

Ever since I was a little girl....my family always got together during the summer months and took vacations together down to the Jersey Shore...most of the time it was to Ocean City NJ. There were times that we went Ocean City MD or to other beaches but we always came back to Ocean City NJ.

My grandparents, parents and now myself as a parent to this day continue the tradition and take yearly trips down to the beach. The only thing that has changed is that my hubby and I started our own family tradition about 12 years ago and we go to North Wildwood NJ...which is our favorite Jersey Shore destination.

North Wildwood has their own lighthouse aka Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, the Cape May Zoo is about 10 minutes away. Ocean City NJ is about a 20 minute drive and Atlantic City is about a 35-40 minute drive. We also love taking a day trip down to Cape May which is only a 10 minute drive. As you can see...Northwild is in the middle of it all!

We always stay at one of our two favorite places...the Trylon or the Aloha because they are both ocean front and located in a great location (away from the main action) so it's a lot more peaceful during in-season.

I am looking forward to hitting the Wildwood Beach again just a few short weeks! A vacation well needed for me and my family.

The Importance of Infant CPR Training For New Parents

When a new baby arrives, along comes the responsibility of keeping your new baby safe. If an emergency would occur, are you prepared to handle it? Would you know what to do?

Your first line of defense when an emergency strikes is drawing on your abilities to save the life of your child. You need to be prepared. One way you can do this is by getting trained in Infant and Child CPR and First Aid. (CPR stands for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

If you are adequately trained in life-saving techniques, you can avoid a tragedy. These training courses can help you to:

1. Recognize an Emergency- New mothers are often unsure if a behavior or symptom their child is exhibiting is normal or abnormal. Taking a class can help you to recognize these types of problems before it's too late to do something about it.

2. Obtaining Help and Providing Care- If there is an emergency, you will know the steps that you need to follow to get help. Once you summon help, you will know what to do to administer care until emergency personnel arrive.

Where can you find CPR training classes? You can call your local hospitals, the American Red Cross, community centers and local municipality offices. You can ask your personal physician for recommendations.

With technology these days, you can also obtain your certification via online classes. If you decide to take the class online, make sure it's reputable and Nationally accredited.

What are the costs? The costs to receive training are varied. I have seen free programs as well as programs that cost up to $100.00 so it's best to shop around for one that meets your budget.

What will you learn? You will learn how to recognize the signs of a true emergency, how to summon help, the basics of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and how to save your child if he/she is choking. These classes only take a few hours of your time.

When it comes to an emergency, every minute counts. If you take the CPR training courses, you will be able to handle an emergency quickly and appropriately and perhaps save the life of your own child.

This article was written by Shelly Hill, copyright 2009, All Rights Reserved.

Rain...Rain....Rain.... Please Go Away!!!

For 4 days now we have been pretty much cooped up in our home...why you might ask? Rain! The first 2 days of this we had heavy rain which came in through my one bedroom window and flooded our backyard (which is a mess now). Now for the last 2 days it has been on & off again light rain.

I don't mind rain when a storm comes in & blows out within a few hours...however, I really dislike it when it rains for several days on end...especially in the summertime when I would rather be outside enjoying the sunshine.

So my Pet Peeve for today is all about rain!!! I want it to stop, move on and go away!

Happy Sunday to all of my friends!

Shelly

Wordless Wednesday Featuring Grandbaby!

Daughter J brought grandbaby up to see me a few days ago and Lil G was sporting her new hairstyle look...pigtails!

Zuvo Water Filtration System Review and Giveaway

We just purchased a 65 year old home a few months ago that we are renting out to a tennant for a few years....then we will move into it later on. During this time my hubby has been remodeling it and upgrading it to make it more mordern. Anyway, my hubby had the water tested over at the house and it came back bad. Since that time, we have been using expensive bottled water which we have to lug in and out of the house.

Over on the Moms Wear Your Tees Blog...they are having a Giveaway for a Zuvo Water Filtration System...boy...I would love to win that thing! You can head on over to the MWYT and take a chance in the giveaway to see if you can win one!



Good Luck!

Shelly

Wordless Wednesday - My Little Granddaughter

My beautiful 14 1/2 month old granddaughter! Grrrrr Rawwww! Her growl! LOL