Good Morning, Sunshine!

KIDS'Sleep Classic Toddler Sleep Wake Training Clock

"Mommy! Cow's awake!" I hear this every morning through the baby monitor...my two year old knows that her "cow" is her key to freedom. When my older child would wake up well before the sun came up I searched for solutions to keep her in her bed. I stumbled across this clock and thought I would give it a try; it solved our problems...MOST of the time :) There are still those days when no matter what a silly little cartoon cow may think, our girls want to come downstairs and they do. But, most mornings, the cow is dancing before I hear a peep from them.

So, here's how this little gadget works: You set the time that you want your child to wake up (I have set the time for 7:00 a.m.); at 7:00 p.m. the cow "goes to sleep" (a picture of a cow in a bed lights up), at 7:00 a.m. the cow "wakes up" (a picture of a cow dancing lights up). It's as easy as that. You can also set nap times but I don't bother with that, my Zoe is an excellent napper (I put her down at 1:00 p.m. and don't hear from her until 4:00 p.m.!).

Make sure you explain to your child every night when you put them to bed that they "must stay in bed until the cow wakes up" so that they fully understand and remember to look at the cow in the morning. When first using this for the girls I would set the cow to wake up 15 minutes before they would normally wake up (ex. if your child is normally waking up at 6:00 a.m. then set it for 5:45 a.m.) so that they got excited to wake up and see that the cow was awake. If you want your child's wake up time to be 7:00 a.m. and not 6:00 a.m. then gradually increase the time you have set by 15 minutes every day or two so that they train themselves to sleep a bit longer without even realizing it!

PROS: YOUNG children can use this (like I said, Zoe just turned two years old!), the pictures are big and bright, it is easy to program, choose from pink, blue or green

CONS: Pricey ($30), if you need to put your kids to bed earlier than 12 hours after they wake up then the cow is "still awake" (this happened to us recently when we put the kids to bed 30 minutes before they normally go to bed..."Mommy, why is the cow awake?"..."Um, it's not working right now; go to sleep and it will be fixed in the morning!"

What's in this Stuff?

Environmental Working Group's (EWG) Skindeep Cosmetics Database

As much as possible I try to buy all natural, organic products and food. Having said this, there are a few things that I buy because I have used them for years and like them or because the price is right. When I use a product on myself or my kids I always wonder what exactly is in the product and if I should be concerned about putting it on my children. This website is an amazing resource to learn all about the quality and safety of the products you use on you and your family.

This is taken directly from the website:
EWG's Skin Deep is an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products, launched in 2004 to help people find safer products, with fewer ingredients that are hazardous or that haven't been thoroughly tested. Skin Deep combines product ingredient lists with information in more than 50 standard toxicity and regulatory databases. The database provides easy-to-navigate safety ratings for tens of thousands of personal care products.

Here's the site:

www.ewg.org/skindeep

WARNING: This site can be addicting. The first time I used it I obsessively checked anything and everything I could think of...it took a couple of hours one late, late night :)

In the Clear

MD Formulations Vit-A-Plus Clearing Complex

Five years ago a patient of mine, an aesthetician, told me about this nifty little product. When I'm stressed or...ahem...it's that 'time of the month'...I have a lovely little blemish that pops up in the same place. Over the years I had tried a number of things to get rid of it quickly but nothing seemed to do the trick until she told me about this. This product works quickly and effectively to get a problem spot under control!

My aesthetician patient would perform an extraction on me with a sharp little tool and then apply this to the area. The way that I have found is most effective is to relieve the pressure on the blemish yourself (yes, I mean wash your hands and gently squeeze until all the yuckiness is out) and then dab this gel on. It will tingle, or even burn, and will leave a little white residue. The next morning the area will be quite obviously healing, there may be a little scab that will last a day or two. This little treatment zaps zits quickly!

PROS: Effective at clearing problem skin, fast-acting

CONS: EXPENSIVE! The 1 ounce tube is about $35 BUT I have only had to purchase this ONE time...my current bottle has lasted more than five years!