tips. and tricks.

01:: I hardly have very many apps on my iphone {it is kind of embarrassing actually!} but one app I do love is the dragon dictation app.  You can dictate something and then send it via email to yourself or someone else.  I have started using this app for blogging recently.  When I am away from my laptop {or too lazy to turn my laptop on} I use this app to dictate some ideas for blog posts or even a good portion of a post I have been thinking about.  I then email this to myself and later when I am in front of my computer I can copy and paste the text directly into my blog post.  Voila!!  Remember this post?   Looks like my dream sort of came true!!

02::  About six months or so we started putting a capful of bleach in our toddlers bath water.  He {and myself} suffer from bouts of eczema from time to time, especially in the winter.  Believe me when I say between the two of us we have tried every potion and lotion to help regulate and relieve the dry, itchy skin.   My good friend Cronan read an article in The Week last spring about how bleach can help relieve some of the symptoms related to eczema.  I was kind of skeptical at first so I asked both my son's allergist and dermatologist.  They both gave me the go ahead and since then we have been adding a little bit of bleach to Noah's bath water.  We ocassionally have to use steroid creams on his skin when his eczema really flares up but the bleach seems to help keep his eczema to a minimum.  The bleach simulates an atmosphere similar to a chlorine pool.  If you aren't quite sure about the bleach you can also add sea salt to your bath water to achieve a similar result.    Please consult your doctor before you try this at home!!  For more information about using bleach in your bath water check out this article.

03::  Whenever my hands or feet get a little dry I pamper them with some intense hydration.  I take a few drops of Vitamin E oil and rub it into my hands/feet until it is absorbed.  Then I place a generous amount of Aquaphor or Vaseline onto my hands/feet and massage it in.  Next I put on a pair of cotton gloves or socks so that my hands and feet can absorb all of that moisture and get really hydrated.

Do any of you use Vitamin E oil?  I started using it when I was pregnant with my first son.  It works great for avoiding stretch marks on your belly.  And it also works wonder on your cuticles!  {You can find Vitamin E oil at Target near the supplements.}