Erin Sluka - Parenting Healthy

I have partnered with Seirus for this feature

It began about 2 years ago. I would sit at my son’s soccer practice and shortly after feel welts on the bottom of my feet and then start itching my neck and arms. I would get these hives that were red and very itchy. I remember sitting in a chair on the sidelines one cold morning game just going nuts! My neck was so itchy and my hands were suddenly so red. It was cold and so uncomfortable. It began happening at practices and games all season. I knew at my upcoming physical appointment I would want to mention it.

My doctor appointment came and I told her my itchy welt stories. They always happen when outside and cold. They occur at my son’s sports events, washing the car and out in the yard. I was told it is Cold Urticaria. This condition is a skin reaction to cold that appears within minutes after cold exposure. Affected skin develops reddish, itchy welts (hives).

I still suffer today! I am physically uncomfortable in my own skin on cold days and nights I have to be outdoors. I no longer sit on the field for any of my son’s outdoor practices as I sit in the car with the heat on. My husband washes my car on cooler days for me. If the house is too cold (for my skin) I am in layers to avoid turning the heat too far up. I refuse to sit out his games so I just suffer through it. I suffer through evening walks with my husband and our puppy!

Now I have some relief! I am seriously more grateful than anyone can imagine for Seirus products! Their all-weather, heatwave and heat touch products are a lifesaver if I have to go outside in the cold. Their snow products keep me just warm enough to avoid the itchy redness. Essentially every area of my body where skin is exposed will break out!

I use the DynaMax Fleece-Lined Neck-Up and it literally keeps all the redness and hives away for an entire practice! Another product of theirs I have is the Heatwave Socks. When my skin is reacting to cold, even with shoes and standard socks I get very itchy welts on the bottom of my feet! These socks got me through flag football clinics for him the other day and I had no welts. I bought myself some Seirus gloves online last spring and they worked so well I knew their other lines would work great and I am so relieved now from head to toe.

Maybe you don’t suffer with Cold Urticaria. Maybe you love snow sports or just hate the cold. Seirus will help you out from heatwave to Gore-Tex and extreme weather wear. You’ll want to see all that they offer at Seirus.com.

Gift Guides, Kids

Easter Basket Ideas For The Kids – Gift Basket Round Up

March 13, 2018March 15, 2018 Erin Sluka

I have partnered with the following brands for feature

Roaming the aisles trying to find something fun and unique for Easter baskets is our favorite sport, right? Not really! I would be a lot more organized and save a lot of time if I knew exactly what I was looking for as I walk into the stores (it saves more time for the shopping I really like such as the kitchen and grocery section)! Here are some ideas that may help you out a bit!

OK! So I wanted to start with something you can find while shopping for the kids! This is My Magic Mud® Activated Charcoal Tooth Powder for Whitening. But we all hear there are some side effects using activated charcoal? By American Dental Association standards, this brand is within range of being safe. My Magic Mud® states that they don’t know of any other activated charcoal brands that have performed the tests they have.

My Magic Mud® has been evaluated in a lab to ensure its safety, however the charcoal you’ll find in supplements and in bulk may or may not be safe depending on the particle size and quality. Because it only takes about 6-14 days to show results, you will have whiter teeth by Easter gatherings. I found it on Amazon for $11.97 shipped!

Now for the toddlers! The Drink in the Box and Snack in a Box are both reusable drink and snack boxes that are better for the environment than juice boxes and individual snack packs and they are both BPA/BPS and Phthalate free. It reduces the risk of mold and they don’t leak or spill. Also available on Amazon.

HABA always has the sweetest games that promote strategy and age-related skill development. Splish Splash Catapult is a game where rabbits have a water fight (not with real water) with their catapult. The skill is to aim well and hit rabbits with the water balloons (again, not real ones). Options to earn extra points too! And you can also shop Amazon for HABA games.

Gears!Gears!Gears!® Movin’ Monkeys Building Set will be a hit! All the kids can stay busy while you get easter dinner ready inventing, building with STEM play in this 136 piece set with moving gears and more. Also available at Amazon!

Playfoam is a hit! Educational Insights has fun options and this 4 pack of no-mess molding fun will occupy them for sure! Playfoam never dries out so creativity is ongoing! Find all options of Playfoam from Educational Insights on Amazon.

InRoad Toy’s Play Tape will turn any space into a car lovers dream! With straight line, long and short track tapes as well as ones for the curves, the hot wheels will get used on Easter! Find it in rolls and sheets and find road signs and more at their website or on Amazon!

ZipIt Animals Mini Pouches are made with one long zipper and are so fun to open and stuff! Clip it to a bag and stuff with keys, chapstick, change and more. These will be a hit hanging off the backpacks. This is the Bunny! I found the 3 pack of all animals on Amazon.

Gift Guides, Reviews

Easter Basket Gift Ideas for Teens – MyCharge Chargers Are A Hit

March 10, 2018May 16, 2018 Erin Sluka

I have partnered with MyCharge for feature

I have 3 boys ages 9, 19 and 26. Let me tell you about the older boys and gifts…MyCharge portable chargers are a hit! When I was sent my first MyCharge charger our oldest was over for dinner and he spotted it getting excited I had a MyCharge. He knew exactly about the brand and I knew it was a hit and filed it in the back of my mind for gift ideas.

Here are 2 chargers I will feature for you. I recently shared about the MyCharge HubXtra and you can read about the HubXtra HERE! Read about the MyCharge RAZOR HERE!

These two I am featuring are the MyCharge AdventureMax and MyCharge Amp-ProngPlus portable chargers. Both are about the same size and weight. Both has the USB end for your charging cord you will need to connect from the charger to device. Both are portable and both will charge 2 devices at once. But there are some differences….

The MyCharge AdventureMax is a must for the rugged, outdoor type. It is built to be rugged. It boosts 10500mAh of power and 2 USB ports. It extends the life of your tablet, smartphone, bluetooth speaker or another USB device up to six times on full charge. In the box includes the charger, recharge cable, Carbiner clip and quick start guide.

Add this one to the basket for your Boy or Girl Scout, Skier and Outdoor Adventurous teen! Also available on Amazon!

Below is the MyCharge Amp-PronPlus. This charger is the ultimate powerbank for charging two devices simultaneously. It has a 2.4A output that will charge tablets and smartphones up to 65% faster than other powerbanks. Also has collapsible wall prongs and operates like a standard USB wall charger for your phone, tablet, or other USB devices. Pass-through charging technology prioritizes the charge to your smartphone or other USB devices, and then chargers the AmpProng+ itself.

This is great for the teen that has multiple devices being used frequently! Also available on Amazon!

These will be a hit in the baskets for sure! They will definitely get used and especially for traveling. I always take my MyCharge portable chargers on vacation with me when I ill be out all day taking photos and navigating where I wear my phone battery frequently.

Education, Parenting

New Teenage Drivers – 3 Things To Go Over with Them Before Their First Solo Drive

February 23, 2018 Erin Sluka

This is a sponsored post for Cars.com. Thoughts and topic are my own

The third boy is 6 years away from driving while the older 2 have been driving a few years already. A teen learning to drive is about the most nerve wrecking of our parenting phases. It can be bittersweet as we fear them hitting the roads solo yet we now have an extra driver for errands and pick ups which is nice. Having taught 2 boys and eventually the third, I can look back and know that they not only survived the teen years, but survived driving through the teen years.

Drivers Ed teaches them the bulk of hat they need to know as drivers, but as parents we have to finish that off with a few rules and tips of our own before their first solo drive. Before this day even comes we have some tasks such as finding the best and safest cars for our teens. Cars.com has the Best of 2018 Car Awards to help you get a feel of what makes these the best cars to own right now. Here are 3 things to go over with them before their first solo drive!

Driving is a privilege NOT a right

We used this phrase from their practice drives to their solo drives. Driving is a privilege and NOT a right! It can easily be explained with less eye rolling from them if you help them visualize their expectations and consequences like this.

We would tell the boys our honest feelings, that we are very nervous and a bit scared letting them go. We assured them we love them “…and because we want to protect them handing over keys is like handing you the end of a rope. On one end is US and and the other end is YOU. YOU get so much slack to start off and as long as you obey curfew and rules, the slack will be there for you. But, as soon as you break the rules we get to pull in that slack. If it gets pulled in enough, we control both ends of that rope and you hand over the keys. Obey often and keep within the rules and we can let even more slack out giving you more freedom as time goes by.” This type of conversation is a great analogy for them and typically they should respond well if they understand why the rules are most important (because you love and protect them) and that there is a potential to earn more freedoms yet there is a point you may need the keys back for a bit.

Technology Is On Our Side

Before you think I am going to make your child feel like a prisoner of being watched and tracked by their every move, understand that we have the ability to track their every move! When the middle son began driving this technology was just coming out and we used it. The 2 important options you can use with your new driver are: tracking and online usage viewing from your cell providers app. Tracking is a great tool to not only feel comforted you know where your teen is but it is a great way to send them off with a constant reminder that driving is NOT a right but a privilege. I would never track your child without their knowledge and let them know you respect them enough to never do that without being transparent about it, however have rules up front if they turn their phones off at certain times to disrupt the tracking. No teen ever turns off their phone unless absolutely necessary so if it is 8pm and they are “out with friends” and their phone is off? Hmmmm?! Make sure they know you just pulled in a lot of slack on that driving rope and another incident means the keys are yours!

The second piece of technology is your cell providers app. Why? Here is how we used it when they were new drivers. It’s simple-when you set your rules the most imperative is distracted driving like no cell phones, crowded car or blaring music so they can concentrate on the roads. So when I knew my ‘bonus’ boys were (say) leaving their Mom’s house to drive to ours which was about a 20 minute drive, a little peek at the app once their arrival time is noted will show you if they sent a text or message during their drive time. There were those moments we got to pull in slack because they had no good excuse for the text sent outbound 10 minutes into their drive home?!

Weather

In helping the boys through drivers ed, I noticed something. Weather was a very short mention in the book. Please take the time if it is harsh weather to remind them about distance and stop time. Not to mention that the biggest concern for them needs to be OTHER drivers so they need to remember to keep their head up and stay alert for others who may be having issues and keep distant. Also, remind them to NOT get out of their car in trouble spots unless very necessary because if they had problems on that road then others will too and they are sitting ducks for a car coming along that loses control near your child standing in the way. It sounds like common sense, but remember their age and ability to think these things through in an instant are not as sharp as it is for us adults!

For more car buying and driving advise, visit Cars.com. It is so great to have these sites to guide us and make sure we have checked all our parental boxes before our teen hits the roads.

Author: Erin Sluka

My Cold Weather Skin Reactions Reduced with Seirus Innovations Products