10 Useful Uses For Vinegar Around Your Home

This short video of 10 uses for vinegar around the house is worth the watch.  I must confess that 9 out of 10 of these uses I had not thought of for vinegar before.  You're welcome for the find.

Vicks Chest Rubs vs. Natural Chest Rub

It's that time of year when many (MANY) mothers are pulling out the VICKS VapoRub to help their little ones breathe easier through the night.  You just may want to think twice before doing it. 

Have you actually read the list of active ingredients in this product?  I have to admit that until my son was born, I really never did. I just took a look at the VICKS Baby Rub that I've used in the past on my children...mostly because they couldn't breathe easily when I had used the VICKS VapoRub. (My girls are now 8 & 10 and I had to use the baby brand back in Spring 2014 for the same reasons.) 

VICKS VapoRub:

Active Ingredients: Label reads: Special Vick medications (camphor, menthol, spirits of turpentine, eucalyptus oil, cedar leaf oil, myristica oil, thymol) compounded by the original Vick process VICK CHEMICAL COMPANY Div of Richardson-Merrell Inc

VICKS Baby Rub:

Ingredients: Petrolatum, Fragrance, Aloe Extract, Eucalyptus Oil, Lavender Oil, Rosemary Oil.

Petrolatum, commonly known as petroleum jelly, is a byproduct of petroleum. Petrolatum is a soft paraffin or wax mixture sold as a topical skin ointment. It is acknowledged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an approved over-the-counter skin protectant and is used in the manufacturing of cosmetic skin care. However the side effects of petrolatum include finding the petroleum byproduct in breast tumors, suffocation of the skin, premature aging and aggravated acne. (LiveStrong.com)

There is NO WAY that I am putting these products on the chest of my girls or son ever again.  The U.S. already out ranks !
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Stretches To Help Alleviate Back Pain

Have you ever stood up and been completely frozen in place because of the pain in your back? Or turn onto your side in bed only to gasp and let out a yell because of pain shooting up your back and down your leg?  If you never have experienced it then I sincerely hope that you never do. It is one of the worst pains and you feel completely helpless.

I have had lower back issues since I was 17. It all started when I was shaving my legs in the shower and tried to straighten back up.  Never before in my life had I experienced a pain like that! One that turned me into a statue in a ridiculous pose and gasping for air while trying to make it all stop.  Who would have thought that something so simple as coming up from a bent position would cause such excruciating pain?

Well, Wednesday night I did it to myself again, but this time it was while playing the Disneyland Adventure game with our Xbox Kinect.  There I was going through the Big Thunder Railroad game, leaning to grab coins, jumping over and ducking under beams when on my way up from a duck  ZAP!  A pain of electricity shot across my lower back and straight up the center, then down my leg.  My avatar ended up getting pushed off the train, whacked by beams and just stood there like a dummy...while I stood there trying to find a position to be able to move toward my bed without collapsing.

The only other time that I have to compare this pain to is when I had my girls...and that pain was manageable since there was an epidural involved.  All of this pain and torment and I don't even get a beautiful little baby out of it!  It isn't fair!!

So, yesterday and today my best friends are the ice packs and my trusted heating pad. Ice, heat, ice, heat...that's the pattern of my day.  And in the middle of it all I'm trying to stretch out the backs of my legs (tighter than I don't know what) and my lower back.  AND IT HURTS!!!

Here are the stretches that a massage therapist taught me to do about 15 years ago.  I still owe her big time for the instruction. We all have so many desk jobs, video game playing, TV viewing...so much that makes us sedentary which causes our muscles to tighten up a be primed for lower back pain.  Watch the video below for instructions on how to do 5 basic stretches to ward off back pain.

Click HERE to view instructional video from WebMD.

I hope that none of you ever experience the pain that I am right now...and with the stretches in the video

Do Your Kids Stick Things Up Their Noses?

I was just watching today’s broadcast of THE DOCTORS and just had to share this information for any mom out there that has a child that loves to stick things up their nose.

Fortunately my little kiddles have never had a thing for sticking anything (other than their finger) up into their nose. That is not the case for so many other moms.

Let’s say that your littleone, for some unknown reason, decides to stick their big sister’s Barbie shoe up their nose…What do you do?!

Here’s what THE DOCTORS have to say about it....

View complete posting: Do Your Kids Stick Things Up Their Noses?

Hot Honey Lemonade

Our family's "go to" when the Sickie's start showing up. A great source of vitamin C and antibiotics in a soothing hot lemonade. The kiddles love it and so do us adults. There's just something comforting about it...and it smells & tastes so good too. (almost like having a candy treat when you're not supposed to)

View complete posting: Hot Honey Lemonade