Humidifier Tip

Even though we are having a mild winter here in the Northeast, the heat is still on at my house. The lack of snow, hasn't meant a lack of dryness from my forced hot air heating system. With a little one in the house, there is a delicate balance of keeping her warm and not turning her into a sweat monster.

Since my daughter started daycare, she has struggled with colds. She has also had a cough on and off since she was small. The doctors and my mom have said repeatedly, keep her nose clear, use saline and a humidifier. I was lucky to have a coworker give me two humidifiers she wasn't using. I had one in the nursery and one in mine. But a few weeks ago, she had a terrible nose bleed that woke her up and scared me half to death. She had a few more after that and it seems that we now have it under control. But I realized that her play area in the house, and likely her daycare, does not have enough humidity.

I plan to have one put on our furnace but I haven't gotten to it yet. The money always seems to go to something else.  Luckily I went down to my grandmothers house, my personal antique and thrift stop, and did some more cleaning up and out. I found a humidifier in the box. I could see it had been used but it wasn't old. So I took it home. after washing it and cleaning it with vinegar,  I used a magic eraser to clean out the hard water deposits. My grandmothers water is very high in iron so you can see the orange residue clearly. I got as much as I could out but when I ran it I could still smell the deposits. So I decided to add some lavender essential oil.

Within minutes the whole house smelled of lavender. When my husband came home from work he commented on how nice the house smelled (normally he calls the humidifier the stinky water machine).

When I refilled the other humidifiers I added a few drops of the essential oil to them as well. No more stinky water machines. The house smells fantastic and we have much needed humidity.

I'm sure with would work with whatever essential oil you prefer but, remember to get high quality pure oils and remember that they are very concentrated. Its better to go lighter and add more later than to overpower with scent.

What does Zika mean for the Olympics?

With all the talk of Zika, what I haven't heard said is Rio 2016. The summer Olympic games are to be held in Rio de Janerio this summer. Few realize that people have already started going down to Brazil for qualifying trials. I know this because one of my best friend's boyfriend is competing. What about these people?  They go down for a few weeks to qualify and then come back. What are their chances of contracting and spreading the virus? Are appropriate measures being taken? We have learned that Zika can be transmitted sexually. So even if these people aren't pregnant, and I assume they are not, they can still bring the disease back with them.  We can't  assume that Olympic athletes wont be pregnant because I believe that the Olympics averages a certain number of pregnant women competing in each games. Not to mention, even if you aren't pregnant it makes you very ill.

As a new mom, I feel very strongly that we need to take an aggressive look at Zika. Transmission, cures, and how to protect unborn babies. I can't imagine the heartache of learning that a mosquito bite caused my baby to have incredible deformities. There are warnings that pregnant women shouldn't travel to infected areas. And, that women in affected areas should consider holding off on pregnancy until 2018. (This is something that is very interesting, telling a woman that may be at the end of childbearing years, that she has to wait. This may be a first world issue and not so much an issue for Brazil, but still, we should think about how this virus is effecting women's reproductive choices.) I am aware that the evidence is not conclusive yet that Zika causes microcephaly, the most linked birth defect to the virus.
Do we have time to wait for the research to conclusively decide when in a matter of months the largest international event will be at the center of the outbreak?

There is an underwhelming article in the NY Times from January of this year that states that 500,000 people are expected at the games this summer. Approximately 200,000 of them will be Americans. You can read this extremely brief article here. It doesn't mention the trials that are going on now. It is silent on the lack of public concern by the International Olympic Committee. CNN also wrote an article, a bit better than the NY Times in my opinion (and I never thought I would say that). It states that there were concerns with Rio hosting the Olympics before the Zika epidemic. They estimate that 600,000 are expected to attend and 16,000 athletes. They ask, should the Olympics be postponed? Can Rio handle hosting the Olympics and battling an epidemic at the same time?  To read that article visit it here.

This a my photo taken during my trip in 2009.

I have my own concerns about Brazil hosting the event. I went to Rio and the Pantanal during law school. I traveled around meeting with different people from different regions, the government, the indigenous communities and just sightseeing. But I was warned, stay away from the edges of the cities and don't go in the water after it rains. That's because the favelas are so dangerous that a blonde haired blue eyed American like myself would be a target in the favelas. As for rain, there is an inadequate sewage system in Rio, so when it rains raw sewage goes into the ocean. did I mention hat when the waves get so high that some of the streets flood? Don't wear open shoes after it rains either. So a city that cant handle it existing sewage, in my opinion, shouldn't be hosting a huge international event because of basic health concerns. Add Zika virus to the mix and by a month after the games we will have an international crisis.

This is my photo taken during my trip in 2009.

Is the International Olympic Committee even talking about this? Have they offered to contribute funds to research? Can they really handle another embarrassment after Sochi? Do they care about the athletes and their families, friends, co-workers, people of the world in general?! One has to wonder.


by Amy Z

How to get Blood out

BACKGROUND: Tomorrow my Daughters first birthday. Sigh, the first year has been wonderful, as I had an angel baby newborn. She has slept through the night since she was 10 weeks old, only getting up when she's sick with a stuff nose or teething. Last week however, one night she woke up screaming like something was wrong but at first I couldn't figure it out. I brought her in my room, it was dark, but I noticed something on her cheek. When I clicked the light on, I saw blood and there was some on the other cheek. At first I thought it was coming from her mouth as it was on her binky but, then I realized that it was a nose bleed. Within seconds both her and I were covered in blood. Scary yes, but a nose bleed I knew how to handle. Once we pinched it off, I got ready to wash our clothes. (I also recently suffered from menorrhagia, a post partum complication that was delayed due to breast feeding. This also required some blood stain removal).

The point is, that these incidents made me realize that I hadn't shared my generations old solution to set in blood stains. Sure getting a new blood stain out isn't so bad, rinse and scrub with gentle soap (I use just hand soap) when fresh and then wash with oxiclean.

But what about a blood stain that's set in? that can be hard to get out. Well, my grandmother told me that her local butcher told her the secret to keeping his white apron clean of blood stains: MEAT TENDERIZER.

 picture from mccormick.com
I don't know why, I just know that this is what they did and this is what I've done. If you have a set in blood stain proceed with trying to loosen the stain with cold water and gentle soap (DO NOT USE HOT WATER). Then once you have done the best you can liberally apply meat tenderizer to the stained area (the powder/seasoning not the tool). I then gently (using the fabric itself if possible) rub it together to get it really in the fabric (I recommend doing this after you have rung out the cold water but while its still wet). Then I let it set, usually overnight.

Next day wash, with detergent and if you want with oxiclean (or other oxidizing cleaner). Something about the tenderizer loosens the stain and will help you get those set in blood stains without ruining the color of your fabric. Good for women issues, sports uniforms, sheets with nose bleeds, you get the picture. Hope this helps save your fabrics!