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Caring for your skin in winter

Though most of January has been surprisingly mild up to this point, it is now officially “butt-freezing cold” here in my part of the country. And as soon as that dry, cold air hits, my skin really feels it!  So I need to take extra-special care of my skin during the winter, and my bet is you do too!  Here’s how I use some of my favorite products to do just that.  I’m a die-hard Mary Kay user, and they have some great products to keep your skin protected and moisturized during those harsh winter months.  Here are my tips:

  • Stick to your cleansing routine.  Now more than ever, your skin needs routine care!  I use Mary Kay’s TimeWise cleanser, moisturizer, Day Solution (you still need SPF during the winter!), and Night Solution to keep my skin care consistent.  
  • Get rid of dry skin more often. I am a HUGE fan of Mary Kay’s TimeWise Microdermabrasion set to get rid of dry skin and fine lines.  I use it during all seasons but I add an extra time per week during the winter.  I love the way the Refine step uses advanced exfoliators to smooth & freshen my skin and the Replenish step nourishes my skin.  Seriously, it feels SO GOOD on your face!
  • Add some extra moisture.  I use MK’s Intense Moisturizing Cream to give my face that extra “drink” it needs during winter weather.  It hydrates your skin for up to 10 hours and makes it feel awesome. I LOVE this stuff – it’s addicting!

So, those are my favorite Mary Kay products that I use consistently all winter long to keep my skin smooth and hydrated!  How do you give your skin TLC in the winter?

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Mary Kay sent me a selection of the above products to facilitate my review. However, I’ve been using these products for years and I can’t live without them!  All opinions about the products are my own.

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Baby Food-Making Tips

Several months ago I told you that I was making all of Jonah’s baby food myself with a Baby Brezza One-Step Baby Food Maker. I loved using the Baby Brezza so much, that I contacted them to see if there were any opportunities to work with them.  So back in September, I began writing once a month for the Baby Brezza blog.  Make sure you head over there to check out my posts!  I write mostly about being a mom to my little guy, Jonah.

Now that Jonah is over a year, he’s not eating baby food anymore. He LOVES self-feeding, and is actually the only one of my three kids who is NOT a picky eater.  He will eat about anything!  I credit this at least in part to the fact that I made him all fresh baby food in the Baby Brezza.

Since I’m not using it anymore, I passed my Baby Brezza along to a friend.  Then, another friend, Rachelle, first-time mom to now 7-month-old Conley, started asking me for some baby food making questions.  So my friends at Baby Brezza sent me another One-Step Baby Food Maker to give to Rachelle!  And I made a video for her with one of my favorite recipes and some tips to making baby-food prep easy.  Here are a few of my tips; make sure and watch my video so you can see how easy this machine is to use!

Tips for making your own baby food with the Baby Brezza:

  • Although most parts of the Baby Brezza are dishwasher safe, I find it easiest to just rinse it out and dry it as soon as I’m done with it.
  • Baby food-making is  most easily done if you spend an hour or two making all the food you will need for a couple of weeks. While your first batch is steaming, chop up the fruits and veggies for your second batch.  Rinse the Brezza out when one recipe is done and put your next recipe in.  “Rinse & Repeat” until you are done for the day!
  • Freeze your finished baby food in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop them out and store them in freezer bags until you are ready to serve them.
  • Most foods can be heated in the microwave.  I thawed bananas in warm water because Jonah didn’t like the taste of bananas after they were heated.

I loved using the Baby Brezza!  If I was going to have more kids, I would definitely be planning on using it again!  Hope you and Conley enjoy your Baby Brezza, Rachelle!

You can check out my latest post on the Baby Brezza blog here.

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The Little Things’re gonna GETCHA

Last night I had a stressful night in my vehicle.  It started when the drive-thru at McDonald’s gave Sophie a chicken nugget container full of TARTAR sauce instead of chicken nuggets, and escalated when  I had to go back through the drive-thru and the guy in front of me in the very long line wouldn’t PULL FORWARD enough for me to get to the speaker even though he was done ordering.  For some reason, this enraged me, and as seconds ticked by while he SAT THERE when I could’ve been ordering them to whip up Sophie’s nuggets, I found myself seething and really wanting to get out of the car and go postal on his car with the nearest blunt instrument.  BUT.  Of course, I didn’t.  I mean really, I would NOT do well in prison, and McNuggets are not a good enough reason to get sent up river.  But I was, let’s just say, unreasonably angry.  I always let stuff like this get to me.

When I stress myself to death, when I DIE of a stress attack, keel over from a stress-induced aneurysm, here are the possible straws that broke the camel’s carotid artery:

  • not being able to open a jar
  • not being able to open the frozen doors of my vehicle
  • banging my shoulder on a door frame
  • banging my head on a car door whilst trying to buckle a child in their car seat
  • folding up my very expensive supposed-to-be-easy-to-fold-up stroller
  • when the tab rips off a brand new diaper
  • biting my tongue (literally)
  • grocery cart wheels not turning
  • grocery carts in which the baby seat belt does not work
  • a wrong order at the fast food drive thru
  • people who don’t DRIVE when the light turns green
  • people who DO drive when the light turns red
  • parents who let 11-year-olds terrorize the mall play place
  • My children asking “WHY?” to something I’ve told them to do
  • when I can’t get something to work and then my husband makes it work with no trouble whatsoever even though I am glad he fixed it I hate it that EVERYTHING IS SO EASY FOR HIM!

Steam is coming from my ears just after writing that list!

While I go try to avoid a fatal meltdown, tell me – what makes your blood pressure skyrocket?

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