We had a busy week of dress-up, introducing the idea of potty training to Mia and Everly and it was Beau’s fifth birthday! Have a peek behind the scenes in our busy home.
Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to Nesting Story’s You Tube channel. I am going to be sharing a lot more behind the scenes videos of our family.
Caring for six different people’s skin can sometimes feel like a full-time job. Although each of us are members of one family, we have very unique skin types with entirely different needs.
Being a mom to four young kids has taken its toll on my body, especially my skin. Not only do I try to pamper my body’s skin after all of the stretching it has gone through during my pregnancies, but I find that my hands can get very dry, especially during the winter.
I spend a lot of my day washing dishes, bathing kids and washing my hands, especially during cold and flu season. Pair that with the dry winter air, and it creates a perfect storm for dry hands. As a consequence my hands can get rough, sore and chapped.
I’m not the only member of our family that can get dry, chapped skin at this time of year. My 6-year-old son, Holden, has very sensitive skin. His lips and face get very dry and chapped from both from the cold air while he’s playing outside, and from his attempts to moisturize his lips by licking them.
Mia, one of my 18-month-old twins has had extremely dry, sensitive skin from the moment she was born. In fact, if I don’t moisturize her skin daily, it can become so dry, it feels rough to touch.
Mia’s twin, Everly, and their 5-year-old sister, Beau, each have olive skin that doesn’t get as dry as their siblings’. They take after their Dad, who also has this type of skin.
So how do I care for all of these unique skin types? I recently switched our family over to Vaseline’s skin care line, which includes a variety of lotions, created for a variety of skin types and needs.
Here is the best part, not only do Vaseline® skin care products give you instant relief and softer skin, but each lotion contains micro-droplets of their Vaseline® Jelly that heal from within.
So, which products do I use, and what family members do I use them on?
For my hands, I love Vaseline’s new Intensive Care Repairing Serum. Not only does it repair my severely dry skin, it also smells incredible. I have started to protect my hands more by wearing gloves while I wash dishes, and I keep this non-greasy moisturizer on my desk so I can moisturize my hands throughout the day, while working. In just a couple of days, I’ve experienced some much-needed relief from my sore, dry, cracked hands.
For my body, I am obsessed with Vaseline’s Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Lotion. This non-greasy lotion not only brings out your skin’s natural glow, but the cocoa smell makes me feel like I am on vacation.
For Holden’s chapped face, we use our family’s number one, go-to product for years: Vaseline’s Original Petroleum Jelly. He typically applies the jelly before bed each night, and by the morning, the redness on his face has cleared up.
For Mia’s dry skin (as well as the rest of our family), I give her daily massages using Vaseline’s Intensive Care Advanced Repair lotion. This unscented and non-greasy lotion is rich and heals very dry skin.
When I massage Mia, she suddenly goes very still, which is rare for a toddler her age. Mia’s body relaxes and her breathing slows each time I apply this lotion on her skin, while giving her legs a feet a little rub. I always apply Mia’s moisturizer after her bath in the evening, and then I dress her in cozy pajamas for the night. Her skin has never been so soft!
Vaseline not only creates tried and true products that our whole family loves, but has also started to give back in an effort called The Healing Project. Here’s how it works:
1 Vaseline purchase = 1 Donation Towards Healing – the purchase of any Vaseline® product will support the partnership with Direct Relief to deliver dermatological care, medical supplies, and Vaseline® Jelly to those living in crisis and disaster.
Disclaimer: Vaseline® donates a portion of the proceeds towards The Healing Project up to a maximum of $100,000.
Taking care of our family’s different skin types doesn’t have to be a full time job. Now that we know which product works best for each member, I can’t see any of us suffering from dry skin any time soon. That’s the healing power of Vaseline.
Vaseline® believes that with deep-healing moisture you can transform dry skin into healthy-looking skin. We know this because we are one of the original skin experts, helping to safely heal dry skin for over 140 years in North America. Today, micro-droplets of our Vaseline® Jelly can be found in all Vaseline® products. Vaseline® doesn’t just make skin feel soft and smooth instantly, but absorbs deeply into dry skin and moisturizes to heal it from within. For more information about our product offering and The Healing Project, visit www.vaseline.ca.
Disclosure: This post was brought to you by Vaseline via Mode Media Canada. While product samples and compensation were provided, all opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily indicative of the opinions of positions of Vaseline.
Hello from sunny Florida! We had a very fun, but low key Christmas while on vacation. We started our Christmas opening stockings, then opening presents with all four kids and grandparents. From cool socks, to a Mip, purses and everything Inside Out, we had some pretty happy kids.
After opening the presents we headed off to the pool to cool off in the Florida heat.
After Mia and Everly’s naps, some down time and a chance for the kids to play with their new toys, we decided to go out and grab some ice cream before our Christmas dinner.
I took this opportunity to snap some photos of each of our kids, and I feel like I was able to capture their personalities in each photo.
Holden…
Beau…
Mia…
and last but not least, Everly!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
Don’t forget to follow Nesting Story on Instagram under the hashtag #nestingstorychristmasvacation for lots of additional vacation photos!
Last week, illness entered our house. It took hold of our twins one by one and then circled back to each of them once more.
My husband Mike and I know exactly what to do when our kids are sick. After more than six years of being parents and having four kids, we have figured out what medicines to use, how much to give, how to hydrate, when a cry is a “sick cry,” who cleans the sick child while the other changes the sheets and at what point they need to see a doctor.
But when your child is only sleeping in 30 minute intervals, and has you awake for most of the night, it can feel like you are in a pressure cooker.
For the first part of the night, we usually have our rhythm. But then this point hits, where we would start to snap at each other and fight about things that don’t even make sense.
Over the years we have learned that it is so important, (especially when an illness lingers), that we communicate with the other person when we feel like we have nothing else left to give.
A few days into our outbreak, Mike was unravelling. In fact, he was telling me about things that were irritating him that didn’t even make sense to me. It reminded me of when I get really bad PMS and my nerves feel raw.
I took charge and told him that I was taking over. I did all of the night waking, medicine administering and comforting. He slept and recharged.
But by Saturday morning, although Mike was back to himself again, I was the one who was crashing. Only for me, it was a physical toll the stress and lack of sleep was taking.
He immediately jumped into action, took over with the kids and let me hide in bed all morning. I knew that the house might be a mess when I emerged, but I was okay with that.
Eventually the days passed and everyone is healthier. Although we each feel a bit ragged, there is this sense of victory that we feel.
If you and your marriage are going to survive parenthood, and yes I am using the word survive, then you need to not only master the art of “survival mode,” but of also “trading off.”
That includes communicating with the other person when you are DONE and avoid picking meaningless fights, or snapping at the other person. This also means that when the other person is in charge, you give up control. You don’t micromanage or judge if other things fall by the wayside.
We all go through it. Having sick kids sucks. But there is something incredibly rewarding when your little one turns the corner, starts smiling again and life returns to normal… at least until the next illness hits.
Here is a video of me emerging from my Netflix cocoon on that Saturday morning…
Every few years our family changes it up for Christmas and we drive (yes you heard me right) from Toronto, our home, to Florida. This is a tradition that started when I was young. My parents would drive all six of us in our station wagon and head to Sanibel Island, Florida for a couple weeks. Although the drive can be a big crazy, long and stressful, we see it as part of the adventure.
My siblings and I in Florida in 1987… I am the cool thumb-sucker in the front.
Mike also loves this tradition and we have continued it with our kids. We have made the two day drive with our older children, but never all four. This should be interesting.
So, on December 14th we will be leaving our home just outside of Toronto at 3 a.m. and making our way through, Ontario, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and then Florida. We will be spending one week at Disney World and then head on to our family’s favourite spot, Sanibel Island.
Sanibel Island to me, is Christmas. It’s just beautiful filled with Christmas lights. I will include a lot of videos, photos and blog posts with everything from packing to travelling and our vacation.
So, I won’t be doing a gift guide this year, or a lot of Christmas decor posts like previously. We are going to shake things up a little and make sure we share everything from tips, meltdowns and lots of memories!
Don’t forget to follow along on Facebook and Instagram so you don’t miss a thing!
This post and trip is not sponsored, it’s been years in the making. As always, I will let you know if sponsors are added.
