Children's Claritin Back to School Allergy Tips

Everyone is well into the swing of school now, and the Fall has arrived in many parts of the country. With the changing of seasons comes the dreaded allergy symptoms for moms, dads, and kids alike. Does your family suffer from allergies? We do. And it is no fun. Joey and I both have terrible allergies at peak seasons. Luckily, I am a member of the Children's Claritin Mom Crew, and they help me by sharing lots of tips, promotional products, product samples, and coupons.

The following is a list of tips that I received that I would like to pass along to you, to help your family deal with the nasty allergy symptoms. A few things that I didn't know or think of, and hopefully we can all breathe a little easier thanks to Children's (and adult’s) Claritin.

1. Be sure to have Children’s Claritin, the #1 pediatrician-recommended non-drowsy allergy brand, on hand!
2. Multi-vitamins are building blocks to having a strong immune system. Make taking a multi-vitamin part of your child’s daily routine.
3. Let there be light! Mold doesn't like sunlight, so try to keep your curtains open during the day.
4. Did you know that most pillows trap allergens, dust mites, and bacteria? Monitor the cleanliness of the pillow your child with allergies sleeps on and replace if necessary.
5. Back to school season means lots of laundry for many moms. Be sure to remove laundry from the washing machine promptly. Allowing wet clothes to sit in the washer means mold can quickly grow there.
6. Monitor pollen counts and adjust outdoor before and after school activities accordingly. Dry, windy days can be particularly high in pollen.
7. Showering or bathing at the end of the day as opposed to the morning can be helpful in removing allergens from body surfaces and hair.
8. Stay hydrated! Always send your child to school with a bottle of water. Drinking lots of clear fluids through the day can help get rid of toxins and flush out body.
9. Peak pollen production typically occurs in early morning, so try to plan outside activities at other times of the day.

Disclosure: As a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit. No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Well, we weren't exactly on our way to the forum, more like our house, but the title just struck me as I decided to write this...

After my last blog post I figured it was time for something light hearted, and Olivia provided the inspiration for just that as we walked home from my sister's house this evening.

My children wear Crocs 75% of the time all year round. And I love it. However, these rubber shoes can be as annoying as they are convenient, because it is inevitable that someone will get a rock, piece of mulch, sand, or other foreign object stuck in their shoe while we're out for a walk or playtime, holding up the whole group or activity to remove said object.

True to form, about 20 yards away from my sister's house Olivia shouts at us all to stop as she leisurely sat down so on the curb to remove the mulch from her Croc. Moments after she sat down, she declares in a panic, "I'm peein' Momma!" Sure enough, the curb is wet, and a trickle of urine is streaming down between my daughter's legs. The other two kids stare at me with that "what are ya gonna do now, mom?" look, to which I responded, "At least it was in the street." I mean seriously, what was I supposed to do? Rinse off the curb? I don't think so... Dogs pee all over the freakin' place. And apparently, so does my kid.

And with that, we continued our walk home. Well, Olivia's was more that damp pants waddle kinda walk. ;)

Losing It

I've officially hit rock bottom. I have a secret... -I've been a sleep-deprived, grumpy, impatient monster of a mom for 3 months now, and I can't bear it any longer. With children well past the infancy stage of wakeful nights it is frustrating to me that my 4 year olds have such horrible sleep habits that I would gladly trade them in for newborn twins that wanted to be breastfed every 45 minutes all night long. At least those twins didn't talk back, kick doors, throw things, and scream bloody murder at me for trying to get them to stay in their beds. And at least those twins were containable. At least those twins didn't conspire against me by waking each other up, and then run in to their peacefully sleeping brother's room to see if they could get him on board. (They couldn't, he cried for being woken up, and told me this was "the worst night ever.")

I have done all but install a deadbolt from the outside of their bedroom door. On that note, it's probably a good thing that Home Depot is not open 24 hours because that is what I would be doing right about now instead of blogging about my sleep deprivation at 3 AM if it were.

Prior to starting this blog post I had one of my not so impressive mommy moments. I was so angry at my daughters for keeping me out of my cozy bed for the last hour and a half, and then proceeding to try to wake up my one sleeping child that I ripped their existing sticker charts off their bedroom walls and shredded them to pieces with my bare hands in a fit of rage. Then I got one of those doorknob covers that we have left over from our child proofing days and put it on the inside of their bedroom door. Oddly enough, they never did figure out how to open those suckers. Joey knew at the age of 2 that all he had to do was smack the thing hard enough and it would break in two halves, giving him full access to any restricted area. Anyway... I digress.

After installing said door knob cover I yelled loudly enough that most of our subdivision likely heard me about them being naughty, losing iPad time for tomorrow, and never, ever, ever getting another princess sticker for their aforementioned sticker chart. Ever. I slammed the door, moved Joey to my bed downstairs (where my husband lay getting his beauty rest) and returned to the playroom couch outside their bedroom door to endure the yelling, crying, and kicking of the door. What was interesting to me is that in between the yelling, crying, and kicking, they could have a completely calm and civil conversation with each other. In other words, they are totally capable of turning it off as soon as they think I'm not listening... Little boogers.

So what's a mom to do? I can't do this much longer. I need my children to go to bed on time without delay, and sleep for 11-12 hours a night so I can be a functional human being. I am tired all.the.time. Simple jobs like cooking dinner, grocery shopping, and folding laundry are daunting and overwhelming because I am just too freaking tired. Trying to keep up with my orders for Bugaboo's Closet, and grow my business is next to impossible when I am spending my evening work/sewing time trying to get my kids to stay in bed for 3-4 hours past when we actually said goodnight. I can't do this anymore. I am out of ideas, out of patience, and definitely out of my mind...