LIFamilies Blog

Tips for Getting To Sleep

There are so many different sleeping tips that fly around journals and newsletters that it’s hard to keep track of them all. What’s worse is that so many of them can be counterproductive if not done properly or taken out of context! Here are a couple “better sleep” suggestions and their contradictions to help your make the most of your nighttime snooze!

Try to keep your current reading obsession out of the bedroom. As much as reading can relax you, be wary of how involved you get before bed. Books are all consuming at times: demanding an emotional connection and intellectual attention, which can cause your mind to stay way too involved long after you want to head to bed. I personally keep a “sleep book” read to curl up with at night. A book I’ve already read, preferably a classic that takes a little more focus to get through. Your mind will tire sooner and you already know the ending so you don’t become too involved.

Exercising regularly will help you sleep better, but just make sure to keep it away from bedtime. When you exercise you help deplete excess energy levels. However, if you schedule in your workout right before you go to bed you’ll find yourself awake for hours. The endorphins you create will act as a stimulant to keep you alert and awake. Make sure your workout is at least a couple hours before you plan on heading off to bed.

Keep your bedroom as quiet as possible, but not too silent. Keep content noisemakers out of your room, such as ticking clocks and whirling electronics. Your mind can focus too closely on the sounds and that will keep you awake. On the flip side, having your room so silent that you can hear a pin drop can cause the opposite: any sound, such as the heat turning on, may cause you to be woken up.

Nap, but nap wisely. Naps can help boost your sleep total, as well as refresh your mind and invigorate your body when you hit that midday slump. Be careful of when you take your naps, however. If you nap too late and too long it’s guaranteed to push off your bedtime routine. It’s suggested that naps be kept to about 30 minutes in length. 

Fall Time Simmer Pots

I know we have a lot of summer fans on the boards, but, even with your dismay of summer being over, it’s hard to be upset for too long about the passing of the seasons: that’s what they're supposed to do! If you're just not in the frame of mind or mood for the fall yet, here are a couple sweet scents that may get you there. I love simmer pot recipes. They're so simple, heavenly, and chemical free! Here are two different early fall simmer pot ideas. All you need to do is put them in a pot with some water and simmer them on low while at home (keeping an eye on the pot to know when to add more water). You can do the same this with your crockpot, too. Just put the crockpot on low with water and your simmer pot ingredients, leaving the lid off to let the scents escape. 

Our first is an orange spice simmer recipe, just combine the following:
- 1 or 2 Oranges Sliced
- 3 Cinnamon Sticks
- 1 tablespoon of Whole Cloves
- Apple peels

For a different twist, here’s a cinnamon clove simmer pot recipe:
- 4 Cinnamon Sticks
- 5 Anise Stars
- 1 Tablespoon of Whole Cloves
- 1 Sliced up Apple

Let either one simmer and fill your home with their delicious scent. It'll be hard not getting into the fall time spirit!

Starting Fall With Healthier Eating Habits

With the new season it’s time to start thinking of refreshing ourselves again along with the weather! I know I’m always looking to try to improve my healthy habit and diminish the bad, but I always seem to get in my own way. We’re too food oriented, and I’m too bad with self-control. I found an article, though, with simple habits that we can use to help control unhealthy eating tendencies. Here are the best tips that I walked away with (and am instituting in my home).

Start by making the healthiest freshest foods your first visual and option. Rearrange your cupboards and refrigerator. Put a bowl out on the counter and/or table. Wherever you can make sure your fresh fruits and vegetables are the first thing seen when you’re feeling hungry.  You’re much more likely to grab or crave something within your line of sight.

Hide the less healthy food, or at least make it inconvenient to reach. The only out and visible foods should be your fruits and vegetable. All other foods should be out of sight, out of mind. Hide them on the top shelf or the far back of your fridge. The less convenient it is to grab the less you’re going to subconsciously want to reach for it.

Serve food away from the table. When you’re sitting down to breakfast or dinner, make sure to serve from bowls on the counter or on the stove, rather than on the table itself. This will make you less likely to just keep going back for more, increasing your serving size exponentially.

Eat and drink from smaller plate, utensils, and glasses.  Serving sizes obviously can be monitored better with smaller sized containers, but it’s more than just that. Just because you’re using a smaller glass doesn’t mean you’re going to have to go back for me. The larger the plate or glass to more apt you are to “fill it” whether you need that much or not. Smaller vessels equal lesser amounts all around.

Lastly, when you’re eating a meal, be sure to focus on only your meal. We’re too multitask-oriented, and when we eat and do an activity (even as simply as watching TV) we have a tendency to over-eat. We end up eating mechanically (on mindlessly) because our attention is split, and we’re less likely to know when we’re actually full until it’s too late. 

Mmm... Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Ok, it’s officially hit! This cooler weather is making me slap happy for fall and all I’m craving are pumpkin flavored and scented everything. Of course, the top of my list is Pumpkin Spice Lattes: I'm already getting a little too friendly with my favorite barista around the corner! I went on the search and found another awesome homemade recipe that’s a little healthier, a little easier and a whole lot more fun than waiting in line at the local coffee shop!

You’ll need:

• 1 cup of milk, divided
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (or sweetener of choice)
• 1 tablespoon of pumpkin puree of choice
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• ¼ cup of brewed espresso

In a small saucepan whisk together ½ cup of your milk and your sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract over a low heat. Let it simmer for about 5 minutes (stirring occasionally), and then whisk in your remaining ½ cup of milk. Next pour your milk through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pumpkin pulp. Put the milk mixture back onto a low heat for about 2 minutes, simmering and whisking. Add your espresso and whisk until foamy. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Play Dough

I found an awesome and easy project that is a great sensory play for the kids while also priming everyone for fall! It’s 4 ingredient Pumpkin Pie play dough that’s also safe if they decide to take a chomp! All you need are:

• ½ cup of brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ cup of plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup of flour

Pour all your ingredients together in a big bowl, mix them together well and then knead it into dough with your hands. That’s it! If not in use, keep your dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Take it out and let it warm up for a couple hours when they're getting ready to play! Use a side of cheerios and a small cup of cinnamon as additional fun tools to use with the dough. Use household items, such as popsicle sticks and plastic utensils, to shape and mold with and to keep your playtime super simple. 

(Image Source)

Simple Eye Cream/Makeup Remover

I’m always looking to make my life a little easier with simple and fast alternative to store-bought products. Here’s a great easy one. Make your own nighttime eye cream/moisturizing makeup remover with just a few simple ingredients. All you need are:

• Vitamin E capsules
• Organic Coconut Oil
• Lavender Essential Oil
• A needle or pin to prick through the vitamin E capsules
• A small (4 ounce) mason jar

Start by melting about ½ a cup of coconut oil in the microwave. Pour into your mason jar, filling to about ¾ full. Prick and squeeze 5-6 vitamin E capsules into the melted oil. Add 6-7 drops of lavender essential oil and stir well. Stick in the refrigerator for about an hour, or until completely hardened, and your makeup remover/eye cream is ready to use!

Keep Kids Healthy as They Start the School Year

The kiddies are all back, if not heading back, to school this week and I know it’s hard to let them go. If it’s the first time heading to kindergarten or Pre-K I’m sure you’re having a hard transition, but we know it can be the same for parents with children going into first, second, or third grade and beyond! Not only do you miss your little ones, you also need to readjust to a new year and calendar. This transition is tough on you, but can be even tougher on kids. Here’s a little list to help them and their immune system keep up with the new changes (and germs).

~ Be sure to start help boost your child’s metabolism and immune system with a new healthy school year menu. Breakfasts and lunches of whole healthy foods will help them trudge through the tough initial weeks (if not the whole year).

~ Establishing and enforcing a bed time is very, very important. You probably were a little lax over the summer, but sleep is too important to be lax during the school year. Limit activities after school that cut into their wind down and relax time, as well.

~ Send in packed lunches as often as humanly possible, and encourage your kids not to share their them. Also send your children in with multiple reusable water bottles. You not only want them drinking throughout the day, but you also don’t want them relying on water fountains.

~ Whenever it’s permitted, send in markers and crayons for children to have their own, and not just the community pot. Often teachers have community art supplies for all kids to work with. If you're able to, make sure to have a private set available.

~ Start strict homework and reading routines immediately so that they quickly become habit. This sounds more like tyrant than nurturing, but a good routine keeps your children on track with all of their assignments and cuts down on your stress, as well as theirs.

~ Try to keep extracurricular activities to a minimum per season, as least for the early years. So many sports and after school activities may be enticing to your little one, but try to limit it down to one or two per season. Too much running around after school will not only affect emotional health/stress levels, but physical health, too by wearing down immune systems. 

(One of my BFFs, lorich's Natie, on this first day of kindergarten!)