Healthy Living

Managing Cold Urticaria hives and rashes

Managing Cold Urticaria hives and rashes

It started a few years ago. I would sit out on my lawn chair watching my son at soccer practice and start itching. I would stand up and feel like there were lumps on the bottom of my feet that itched and hurt to walk. As time went on the rashes would appear in the cold on any exposed skin of mine. If it is cold and wet outside I am literally uncomfortable in my own skin. My Doctor told me it was cold urticaria and it can stay forever or go away. They really do not know.

Heat Holders

You cannot prevent the itchy rashes that sometimes hurt from appearing, all you can do is manage the itch. This requires certain medication and lots of layers and blankets on hand if I am going to be outdoors or in the cold. Forget polar plunges (not my thing anyway), but those can bring dangerous whole body reactions.

Until I found my favorite leggings and hats from Heat Holders, I would feel like a big marshmallow under all of my layers of shirts, sweaters and heavy coats.

For my past birthday my Mom had gifted me some Heat Holder tops and gloves she found on Amazon. It was so fantastic the day of my son’s next game when I had these on hand and they kept me warm enough I could wear less layers. When I was just approached to promote Heat Holders in this post, I was more than happy to help them out and even acquired more items that will be great as fall comes and soccer begins again.

My arm (above) after washing my car on a cold fall day

Once the hives hit, managing cold urticaria sometimes requires taking an antihistamine and even having to go watch him from my car with the heat on. I hate those bad days when I have to pack up and watch from a distance, then I see him looking for me on the sidelines and when I am not there his eyes wander to the parking lot towards my car. Since I have my Heat Holders I can tell you that I have been able to get through entire games when I have my top and leggings on under a coat and the hat, socks and gloves as well. I even have a heated neck wrap that is amazing on the bitter days.

Heat Holders blanket

Heat Holders was originally created to be the warmest sock, then added other products to their line. Heat Holders uses a specially developed thermal yarn that provides high performance insulation against cold with superior moisture breathing abilities. Step 2 is their innovative knitting technology that produces unique, extra long looped cushion pile to hold in more warm air, increasing the TOG rating. Last of the process is the expert brushing process maximizes the amount of warm air held inside each sock for total warmth and all-day comfort.

Whether you are trying to stay comfortable in your own skin and avoid hives or just dislike the cold, Heat Holders is so fantastic to have on hand for outdoor sporting events, cold camping nights, outdoor work and more! Find at retailers such as Amazon and at HeatHolders.com

Home, Reviews, Tips and Tricks

Tips for Small Guest Room Spaces that Entertain

Tips for Small Gust Room Spaces that Entertain

When we bought our home we finally had enough rooms to not have to share spaces. No more sharing a guest room with my office or game room in a bedroom which was always a constant mess. When we settled in and I started decorating for our new home, I really took pride in our guest room. It was a small room, but I worked with the space and made it a small guest room space that entertains.

guest tv

I took a small dresser and I made sure they are 100% empty to use as guests wish. The TV is small and not overwhelming, but enough. Because we don’t keep cable in the guest room, I have our Jetstream HD TV Box With Voice Control Search Remote by Ematic.

Let me stop a moment and talk about having an HD TV Box. It is 2019 and that means most people are used to their favorite streaming shows and sites. Whether there is a sports game or TV series they are into, an HD TV Box will bring all of that to your guest room. Our Jetsream AGT418 is available at Walmart and gives your guests access to over 450,000 movies and TV episodes on over 4,500 paid or free channels, including Netflix, Hulu, and PBS Kids. Showcase all the favorite entertainment including movies, TV shows, games, sports, music and much more all from your Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Chromebook or TV! Chances are they brought their tablet or laptop so this is a great piece to have in the room!

Google TV

Back to more tips for small guest room spaces! When it comes to electronics I keep the remotes on or right at their given devices. When I have a guest over the remotes are not all stacked on a table. The TV remote is at the TV, HD TV Box remote with the box, etc. This makes guessing what controls what so much easier. I also keep the TV input set back to the right Smart TV input so when the guests turn on the TV it is ready to stream correctly.

electronics for guests

Other touches are easy to handle if you think like a hotel. Have towels, soaps (I get mine from leftovers at hotels), a clear closet that is 100% empty, trash can and an outlet strip if needed for use. I also have a new bottle of water on each nightstand and a fan.

guest room essentials

On my walls I made sure there was a mirror somewhere, so I bought a large framed mirror to hang. I also began collecting brochures when at lobbies and hotels to use on my walls. This is a fun decor idea. In the photo below, notice I also included a sheet with our Wi-Fi info to have easily available for guests. I arranged on clipboards by adventures: Seattle (our local town), mountains, sea, local and more. Do what makes sense for your area or find brochure templates guests can sit and go through as they get to know the area.

guest room wall

I think that about covers it. From the photo below I have all my guests need in one small space. I can also mention that my guests get a Queen Sleep Number bed because my husband and I upgraded to a King so we passed the queen down. Now our guests can position the head fully up to sit and work or watch TV.

Did I miss any tips? Share yours below!

Guest room decor ideas
Education, Toy Reviews

Codi the Educational Robot for Kids

Codi the Educational Robot for Kids

Looking for screen-free, educational toys? They are hard to find these days. Codi the educational robot is an educational robot that plays songs, tells stories, teaches habits, sends messages and answers questions. Also, Codi helps put your kids to bed at night and at nap time!

codi robot

Below is a video showing all of his best features and how when you load the free Codi Parent app you can do so much more. The app is available in Google Play and Apple store. Just download, connect Codi and he will be at his full potential.

Codi comes with a blue and white outfit, but there are more additional outfits you can buy separately to personalize Codi.

codi outfits

I love how customizable Codi is for parents!

  • Control what you want or do not want your child to listen to
  • See what your child has been playing
  • Set volume controls
  • Set guided routines when it’s time to clean up, brush their teeth, etc.

See more about Codi on the Pillar website and he is also available from Amazon.

Healthy Living

Welly premium bandages and first aid tools

Welly premium bandages and first aid tools

As we have raised our boys, we have been through the evolution of bandaid designs and styles. One of our boys could walk around with blood oozing and not be bothered or even cover it up. Our youngest will see a small scratch and want creams and bandages to cover his “bad wound”. Whether it was a bandaid for a real cut or bandaid for comfort, the flexible bandages with fun designs were always the hit!

flexible bandaids

Welly not only has assorted flexible bandages in pretty colors and designs, but you can also get other first aid tools in colorful tins for better storage. No more squished boxes with bandaids spilling out! I love this purple leaf design (much better than sporting a Transformer on my finger at age 42)!

first aid tools

The Welly first aid bins are stackable and available in all the sets you need to finally revamp that first aid cabinet in your home, office or RV. I have some tins of items in my home and others in the RV for camping. They fit on narrow shelves and stack well.

welly first aid

Some of the tins have all you needs for cut or blisters and even larger wounds with scissors and gauze packs. Find all the available sets at GetWelly.com