Parent Stuff Archives - 'lil Burghers

5 Things You MUST Spring Clean in 2021

Out with the old, in with the new. Spring is here and it is time to rid our homes of the stale, stagnant funk that the winter of 2020 has left behind. I know it isn’t just our house – the past twelve months have left so many things feeling “ick”, right? Listen, you’re a busy parent juggling virtual school, working from home, keeping up online social connections. We get it! But there are 5 things you must spring clean to start this new season off sparkling. And even better, what we’re suggesting is a list of chores perfect for your ‘tweens and teens!

Spring Cleaning with Enzyme Cleaners

Before that list, it is important that we address the need to safely clean your home. In this house, we are fans of trying to be as non-reliant on chemicals as we can be, but let’s be honest – with 6 humans, 2 fur babies, and the occassional frogs, cave crickets, and snails inhabiting our rooms, sometimes we do need to clean with more than water and our elbow grease.

That’s why our family is spring cleaning with enzyme cleaners this year. These cleaners break down stains that come from proteins and bacteria – like human and pet bodies. We are not ashamed to say that we live in our home and that involves some funk, bloody noses, sweat, grass stains, and more.

5 Things We MUST Spring Clean

Hand me downs!

Not only do we need to wash the size 5/6 six bins of summer clothes we’ve saved for seven years to hand down to the twins, we need to organize them! Anyone else struggle with their kids keeping the rainbow-organization that you fell in love with while binge watching pandemic Netflix? Sigh.

The twins’ hand me down summer clothes will simply go in our HE washer with 1/2 a scoop of Biz powder. Even though the clothes have been in totes in our attic, the blend of enzymes will help to dissolve those odors and even stains.

Sports Gear

With three kids in soccer and one in softball, the grass stains are real. Before our seasons begin next week we will be putting together a solution of some Biz powder and water to scrub the mud and grass from the fall season (hey, it was a busy time for us) and get ready to sparkle on the field.

The Entry Carpets

Pittsburgh winters bring salt, water stains, and mud onto our entryway carpets. It took the days of abundant sunshine recently for us to realize just how stained these areas have gotten. We’ll be spraying the foot and paw prints with KidsNPets Stain & Odor remover!

Beach Towels

We are more than ready to plan a getaway to the beach. Our beach towels will need a good run through the washing machine to freshen up – they are stored in our kids’ bathroom and have been known to smell a little mildewey at the start of the season.

Bath Towels

It seems redundant, but with the spring weather, we are washing towels far more often…and with more sun we have more sweaty days. Adding Biz to every few loads of towels helps keep that fresh feeling in our active lives.

Our Tools of Nature

We need cleaners ready to tackle these messes, so we’re armed with two stain fighters (Biz and KidsNPets) that help speed up the stain fighting process. These products are natural and non-toxic (making them safe for our humans and pets). They are part of a family of household products that consumers know and trust. Both are part of how we’re tackling the things we must spring clean this year.

Our blog has partnered with them in order to bring you this information, but as always we are open to hear your best cleaning hacks. Make sure to comment below with one thing you will be spring clearning this season.

A Mama Moment: Detox Bath

Moms. Women. You need to do this for yourself. Don’t just pin it, like I did. Do it. Give yourself a detox bath. (Enter disclaimer text)

A few years ago, I had my first spa experience which included an aromatherapy shower, massage, and wrap. The experience was amazing, expensive, and quite the treat. When we went to Vegas, I had a similar experience, but that’s really the last time I treated myself to a nice bath. Being a busy lady is hard work, yinz.

So, I pinned a detox bath “recipe” and set it aside. After a week of dealing with a stomach virus and a husband with the same, I figured it would be the perfect time to take one this weekend. But, life happened and we ate late yesterday, so there was no way I was stepping right into a hot bath. Plus, I needed to grocery shop.

STOP what you’re doing and grab the ingredients now. I made it convenient and linked the ingredients, order them and don’t get stressed about the grocery store. Pamper yourself a little more and let them be delivered. (And if you are not an Amazon Prime Member with free shipping, how about we change that and get you signed up with a FREE 30-day trial: Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial.)

Detox Bath

Ingredients:

3 handfuls of Epsom Salts
1/2 a box of baking soda
2 bags of ginger tea (mine was Yogi Ginger Tea)
1 cupful of Dr. Hauschka’s Lavender Bath

I simply poured the salt and baking soda into a very, very hot bath, tossed in the tea bags, and added the Lavender Bath when the water was done. Some lit candles, and it was time for 40 minutes of alone time. During this time, I put on a very relaxing meditation/yoga playlist (that I found on Amazon for free) and tried to read (check out the top books of the month here if you’re not sure what to go for). Oh, and I lit candles and found my “ocean breaths”–that water was HOT!

Notice, I said I tried to read. I read two chapters of my book and was sweating so hard I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. After 40 minutes, I rinsed off, applied an in-shower lotion and headed to my room to continue the detox in my nice, warm pajamas.

Seriously, do this for yourself. The water is disgusting afterwards, but don’t look at it. Keep the lights off and drain the water. It will all work out. This bath is said to pull the germs, grossness, and toxins out of your body. I may be 30 minutes out it, but I am sold. And I’ve chugged down two bottles of water and need more. What a good feeling.

By the way, that Lavender Bath was a staple around here. I discovered it at the end of a hot yoga session at Inlet Yoga (in Murrells Inlet, SC) and promptly bought some from their esthetician at Elements Day Space back in 2013. We used it for headaches and sleepless nights–a ‘lil bit goes a LONG way. It has since been replaced with Dr. Hauschka Skin Care Moor Lavender Calming Bath Essence, 3.4 oz. I haven’t tried this new version, but it sounds just as amazing!

Enter disclaimer text

If this sounded like too much work for a relaxing bath, there are a few packaged up detox baths that could work the same way. I’ve yet to try them, but these are some I’ve found on Amazon and all under $20: seaweed detox bath, foaming bath, or SF Salt soak. Which type of soak works best for you?

10 Must-Have Items for Pregnancy

This post, 10 Must-Have Items for Pregnancy, contains affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

These are the top 10 items for pregnancy that I would recommend. I’ve had three pregnancies – all so very different – and am not a motherhood or pregnancy expert, but I do love to share things that worked for me. This post was originally written when I was pregnant with my second child, but I’ve added to it since having twins. If you enjoy this post, please share it on Twitter and tag us so we know it helped. Once you read through to the end, leave a comment about what item you found a must-have while pregnant.

Ten Must-Have Items for Pregnancy

1. Preggie Pop Drops – These drops were a lifesaver to me during both pregnancies as I suffered from severe and constant nausea. They were easy to carry around in my bag or pocket and actually had a good taste. The raspberry (red) was my favorite. Personally, I picked these up at Motherhood Maternity, but you can get them on Amazon and not even have to leave the house.

2. Comfy T-Shirt Any t-shirt would’ve done, but my favorite would have to be this extra soft sleepish shirt, again from Motherhood. As you can see, I was wearing it on my way to the hospital to deliver Evan. I only wore a few maternity pieces while pregnant with Ari, so it was nice to have a few things I really loved this time around.
When I got pregnant with the twins, I was a completely different size + I was pregnant for what seemed like the longest winter ever but comfy t-shirts were still a must.

3. Jeans, Dress Pants – Most people are really comfortable in maternity yoga pants, but for me it was the Secret Fit Jeans and dress pants from Motherhood. I rotated two jeans and 3 dress pants through my wardrobe of hand-me-down maternity shirts and frankly felt even more comfy than I felt in sweats, running pants, or yoga attire. This one particular pair even made my “shelf” look smaller, win!

With the twins, I lived in those yoga pants and leggings that I found less comfy in when pregnant four years before. I highly recommend these from Motherhood Maternity (but available on Amazon)…you’ll never want to get out of them! Remember, every pregnancy is different! You might feel just fine in jeans with one baby and it might be a NO WAY with others.

4. Tummy Sleeve – With Arianna, I was so sick that I actually lost about 20 pounds while pregnant with her, so I stayed in regular jeans and wore this sleeve nights when I felt the zipper was just too tight. This also helped when I was pregnant with the twins – my legs and bottom still fit my skinny jeans, but once that belly popped I needed extra help in the tummy area.

5. Zofran or Ginger – Without my prescription for Zofran (for nausea), I would never have been able to function in my pregnancy with Evan. I WAS SO SICK. While I am not the first person to jump on a medicine bandwagon, this teeny pill really helped me get through my days. Getting rid of the nausea was key. Phew. (I know now that this might not be one of those items for pregnancy that everyone agrees with, but it’s what worked for me.)

With the twins, I had found a love for essential oils and relied on ginger to help with the tummy troubles (that weren’t really that bad with these two). Whether I was diffusing it or snacking on it, I found a quick calm.

6. Craving Foods – I didn’t really have cravings (except that one night I really, really wanted chicken, waffles, and gravy with Evan and a can of coke with Arianna…okay and ice cream with the twins). Frankly, I couldn’t really eat or drink with my first two pregnancies. Water was extremely heavy on my weak stomach, and I was in the hospital on IVs several times for dehydration. Popsicles became my nutrition of choice in both of those pregnancies. Either way, you always should have foods you’re craving prepped and ready!

7. Exercise – Some form of exercise got me through each pregnancy:

Line-dancing: While pregnant with Arianna, I line danced almost every Friday and Saturday night. That might be why I lost the weight like I did!
Swimming: This was my way of exercise when the summer days were way too hot to walk. It felt so nice to just lay back and let the water support my body. A few weeks before I had Evan, I even got to swim while we were on a visit to Oglebay. My tummy was so heavy with Evan that it felt amazing. Nothing else could relax me like this!
Walking: Even though it made me so mad, I walked a lot with the twins. At that point, I’d become a runner but was not allowed to run with them because 30+ and pregnant with twins = high risk. I walked a race and got first place for my age group with the start of my baby belly at about 18 weeks, too!

8. Contraction Calculator App – My contractions with Evan started 3 weeks (almost to the minute) before I had Evan. Yay for smartphones because this way, Greg didn’t have to worry about keeping track.

9. A good body pillow – With the first two, I relied on Boppy’s Total Body Pillow Love my husband dearly, but he is not exactly pillow shaped. 🙂 This body pillow helped me through the sleepless nights, giving tired legs and feet a well deserved break.

With the twins, it was the Twin-Z Pillow because I knew it would come in handy later down the road while nursing them. Oh, was I right!

10. Friends and Family Through both of my pregnancies, there was nothing more important than my friends and family! I always had someone I could lean on and complain to. 🙂 Thanks!

*Bonus!* One more app I found really useful was the ‘Pregnancy and Medicine Safety’ app on my Droid. There wasn’t much I could take to help out with the sinus issues, colds, and random issues I encountered while pregnant, but this little app saved a call or trip to the doctor.