Erin Sluka - Parenting Healthy

Nirvana natural spring water for life-enhancing benefits of HMB

Life-enhancing water with HMB? What could that possibly mean? In my personal trend of eating cleaner, finding better hydration (per my Dr) and exercising, I am a huge believer that water is not all the same and an infused water or an electrolyte water is truly a better hydration from a cellular level. Cellular hydration is exactly what your body truly craves and a .25 cent bottle of plain water won’t include the benefits to make your cells happy (alone). So, I drink plenty of filtered water but include at least 1 bottle of infused water with electrolytes or additives to help properly hydrate me through fitness. And, it always tastes better!

Recently, I was sent a case of Nirvana muscle wellness waters with HMB. I immediately googled this water to learn more and I really did not understand what the benefits of HMB was. Let me share what I learned!

HMB is (β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate), a naturally-produced substance in your body that supports muscle health. Our bodies are always producing, then breaking down muscle protein. As we age, we produce less and breakdown more, creating an imbalance and a slow muscle loss or slow muscle healing. When we are younger our HMB keeps the breaking down of muscle at a slower pace so the older we get, the more need for HMB and scientific research has found that just 2 to 3 grams of HMB a day can reverse muscle loss and improve muscle wellness. Nirvana water gives you that!

If you exercise at any pace, having faster muscle recovery is important for best results. Replacing just one standard water bottle with a bottle of Nirvana HMB water is the hydration your muscles want!

Nirvana also makes a Select water (electrolytes). Shop Nirvana today!

Beauty, Natural Beauty

This Ida Body Care line is clean and natural, vegan, and cruelty free

July 13, 2021July 12, 2021 Erin Sluka

The weather has been so hot and dry this year! In Wa state we got to 109-112 for a few days and in June and on the western side of the state. It is unheard of. We don’t get heat like that in any month and the bit of heat we do get comes in August/September. Many do not have A/C in homes here because it isn’t really needed. So much is affected when weather changes this dramatically. Our skin suffers huge with change of weather and extreme conditions. My hands and even joints, like knees and elbows have never been so dry.

I was sent this Ida Body Care line in the heart of the heat wave and thank goodness I had this in my shower! I keep all but the lotion in my shower because the 4 step process is best done with wet skin. First, I want to share why I love Ida and it has to do with the ingredient list, then we can discuss the 4 steps to skin that is better moisturized.

Ida Body care has 4 items in their shop – a dry brush, body wash (2 sizes available), Body Scrub (2 sizes available), and body Lotion (2 sizes available). Your daily routine uses all 4 products in a particular order. Every Ida product is natural, vegan, and cruelty free. The full list of natural ingredients is here, but I will quickly list some. Their products are based on essential oils, which are plants (not labs).

According to Ida Body Care Founder & CEO Vicki Weaver Payne. “This gentle and creamy body wash is my Mother’s (Ida) special formula to cleanse and revive, designed specifically for ‘skin that’s been doing’.” With ingredients like avocado (the youth mineral), jojoba oil (sealing the skin against water loss), aloe vera (adds a protective barrier to safeguard from free radicals) and argan oil (effective for increasing skin elasticity and provides intense hydration) to name a few, it is everything your skin craves to stay hydrated all day. Keep reading down the ingredient list, you will not find any hidden chemicals added in the end!

Have you ever used a product that worked so well on your skin, you find yourself just caressing your skin for a while after in awe? That is what happens after step 3 of this ida body care routine and step 4 is that extra bonus lotion layer. I can literally see the shower water bead up and roll off my skin by the end. I will step in the shower, do a soap cleanse of my body and shampoo my hair. The last thing I do is begin the routine below, in this order.

Dry Brush my body
Use the body scrub – just a small amount goes a long way as you apply in a circular motion. Rinse.
Use the body wash. Rinse.
Get out of the shower, dry off and use the lotion.

Order your bundle today and give your skin back the nutrients it is craving right now! Visit Ida Body Care.

Education

Kids learn best through play and safe game sites offer the best practice

July 12, 2021July 13, 2021 Erin Sluka

If you have watched your kids grow and learn, it is easy to see what motivates them best. Play that encourages learning is such great practice at subjects, skills, concepts and retention. I know that video games are great for strategy and role play, but we want to limit their time they have on the web. Monitoring their access can be overwhelming. Finding games such as board games, card games and even non-subscription play on-the-go is a great tool at home.

My youngest just became a teenager, so games are still a great way to keep that brain going. We have many board games that help master certain skills for his age and the repetition of some online safe game sites are a great tool as well. I recently discovered one such tool that does require a computer, but not any ads, subscriptions or that will take him outside the platform while playing. Plays.org is such a simple game site that brings together some classic games with engaging characters and all you need to learn and grow.

They have so many categories listed in their footer so it is easy to jump right to a particular genre, subject or skill base. I work in the school district and was a bit excited for the kids as I browsed their Math games. If you have an elementary student, you know that they are huge Among Us fans. It is all they talk about, draw and play on the playgrounds. Guess what? They have an Among Us adding game! Tell me they won’t love learning math now!

One of my favorite classic games for strategy and critical thinking is Chess. Plays.org has a few chess games to choose from like this beginner chess game that helps your child navigate through all the rules of chess with hints, tips and they will learn to play so easily. You can see, we needed the practice and tips on our screenshot above. We did not do so well on our first game. Before long, they can sit with the family and work hard through real chess time on family game night.

I love that these are not ‘saved’ games. There are no tiers, leaderboards or extra add-ons eating at your wallet. Just simply head to their site, choose a game and stop when you want. You don’t even have to give any info at all. It’s just there, like the old-fashioned pick-up game with hundreds of game choices and more added daily. If you love family game nights or card games to play and learn from, having screen options is great when everyone else is busy and they are bored of how they are learning. Grab a deck of flash cards, open up a game box or find a category in Plays.org for them this afternoon!

Parenting

Benefits of Speech Therapy for Children

July 8, 2021July 8, 2021 Erin Sluka

Some children need help regarding speech improvement. Once you realize that they don’t reach certain milestones as they get older, they’re a red flag. The good thing is that you can always ask for help from experts for providing through interventions like speech therapy for children. And here are the benefits of speech therapy.

It improves children’s ability to express ideas

Speech problems can be due to several reasons. Some children have physiological issues. For other children, it’s an emotional problem. If it’s the latter, speech therapy can be of significant help. The process helps children improve their ability to express their thoughts and feelings. Once they get used to the process, they will start to speak up.

Clarify intelligible speech

Some children are eager to express themselves. You might hear them talking all the time, but they’re unintelligible. It’s challenging to understand what they’re saying. Speech therapy teaches children to speak slowly and clearly. They will enunciate the words well until they become intelligible.

Able to solve problems independently

While speech therapy assists children when speaking, the goal is to teach them to be independent. The coaches will be there to help correct the mistakes. Eventually, they will learn to express ideas without someone offering prompts. The focus of the therapy is only on improving communication, but the concept of independence also applies in other areas.

Improved swallowing function

Speech issues may also be due to swallowing functions. The problem might not only revolve around talking. Several body parts are part of the speech process. Some of them are also part of other bodily functions, such as digestion. Hence, correcting the speech problems could also lead to improvement in other areas.

Prepare children for school

Children should be capable of talking clearly as they get older. When they reach school age, they won’t have a problem communicating with others. Ask speech therapists to help as early as possible to deal with the problem. Otherwise, it might be too late. These speech problems could also be the reason for getting bullied at school.

Release frustration

Children also get frustrated. We might not be aware that they feel enraged since they have different means of expressing emotions. Most children talk if they dislike something. The problem is if they’re unable to express themselves clearly. They become even more frustrated. Speech therapy allows them to release their feelings.

Always be there

While speech therapy helps children improve their ability to speak, you have to continue the process at home. Learn from the experts on how to practice at home. With the appropriate techniques, your children can speak clearly. You might also feel frustrated when you don’t see improvements. It takes time, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Even adults have speech issues since they didn’t get help when they were young.

Keep an optimistic spirit and continue encouraging your children. Once they overcome the challenges, it feels satisfying. They might even excel in other areas after knowing the best techniques to learn.