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Hi! I’m back! It’s been a while. 
" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> We are just getting settled back down in my family from the new baby, holidays, and winter birthdays. " class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />
So winter is here! Finally! For a while, it didn’t seem like we ever got out of fall here in NC.
While winter is has it’s wonderful moments, let’s face it, it can be downright dull and stressful at the same time. So many things add up. Time change, shorter days, rush of the holidays, holidays over, kids cooped up inside, cold weather, sickness, and the list goes on. But there are ways to jump over these hurdles and make even the gloomiest of days seems sunny.
One thing I am finding that is a constant annoyance for me and my littles is itchy, dry skin and stuffy noses. These can make the most mild-mannered child (or mama. Or daddy.) turn into Bruce Banner. Calm, cool, and collected one minute, a green, raging, hulking beast the next.
But again, thank goodness, there are ways to tame the beast.
For those yucky, pesky stuffy noses, I have found so many simple things to help.
Number 1, a cool-mist humidifier. Not just for times with a cold. Most of time, winter stuffy noses are not caused by the cold air outside, but the warm, dry air inside. A humidifier will add the moisture back into the air that your heating system is sucking out.
Number 2, a NoseFrida. Yup. A snot sucker. I have used it with all three of my kids and IT WORKS! It works much better then a bulb and much easier to clean. Even though it can be cleaned, I personally recommend each child having their own. Something about using the same one on multiple kids grosses me out. (Oh, be sure to get a pack of replacement filters and always keep them on hand. The filters are a one-time use.)
Number 3, LuSa Organics Chest Rub. This is a wonderful, gentle, 100% all-natural alternative to Vicks. Or, if you are concerned about using eucalyptus essential oil on a young one, I have made my own with fir needle and lavender essential oils mixed in coconut oil. (A drop each to a tablespoon of coconut oil. Essential oils are strong!)
To help with the dry, itchy skin, I rely on 3 things. Coconut oil, shea butter, and lavender essential oil. I like making my own winter balm using equal parts coconut oil and shea butter, with a few drops (6 max per tablespoon of carrier oil) lavender essential oil. I simply melt the coconut oil and shea butter together in a double boiler (well, a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. :P). Once melted, I pour the mixture into a glass jar, and then add the lavender eo. Very simple and very easy.
But, if you are not the DIY type, CJ’s Shea Butter Balm works just as well.
These are some of my favorite things for winter. What are yours? Comment and let us know!
Stay warm!
Charity
