Vicks VapoRub on the feet to stop coughing...Does it work?

I received this information in e-mail at the most perfect time for my family since everyone is battling bronchitis. We had a great time coating each others feet with the goo and then trying to sleep all night with socks on. Not sure about the rest of you, but I feel like I am sufficating when I sleep with socks on!

Well, all of the claustraphobic anxity was worth it because the Atchison Household had a quiet night last night. There was no coughing, not even a wheeze! We were all sleeping like babies. Plus when you wake up and take off the socks...those rough, dried, and cracked looking feet are all nice and moisturized too!

So, take it from me and try this if you are having a problem with a cough! It really does work.

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AMAZING WHAT WE LEARN!

VICKS VAPORUB...TRY IT, IT WORKS

I wish I'd known this when my family was young during winter colds and coughs. I am going to try it myself. Share with young parents. Isn't life strange. When we had a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it. Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren't sure why.

To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more
effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure. Just happened to tune in A.M.Radio and picked up this guy talking
about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so,I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep
soundly. Polly tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm
blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it.

If you have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.

What A Great Super Bowl!

What a great Super Bowl! I think this is the first Super Bowl in years that I actually spent more time watching the game than eating and analyzing the commercials! As a matter of fact, the only commercial that I really remember is the one about the clydesdale doing the "Rocky" like work out in order to make the hitch team.

Going into the game, I really was not a fan of either team, but especially not the Patriots. There is something about the smug attitude of the entire team that really rubs me the wrong way. Then you read all the stories about the "cheating" going on by the team...video taping the other teams at practice or reading the lips of a coach...come on. Win games on your abilities!

And then there is the Patriots quarterback...Tom Brady. Just seeing him makes my skin crawl. He is a "dead beat dad" that is being glorfied by the media and fans! This sperm donor...cannot even call him a father...has a beautiful baby boy with a former girlfriend. You never see him with his child or even hear him talking about the baby. How selfish and self-centered!?!?! You may not love the mother any more, but your child is innocent. I am so glad that the baby's mother had the common sense to use her last name and not his.

But that is enough of my rant on the Patriots...

I wanted the Giants to win simply because I wanted to see the Patriots lose! And boy did they lose! I was on the edge of my seat watching those last few minutes fly off the clock!



Kyla was so excited to see the Giants win. For some time, she has been talking almost nonstop about Eli Manning and telling us that he is her boyfriend. It really is cute to watch her as she is watching his games. When his face is shown on TV, she sighs and talks about how cute he is.

I had to attach some photos of him so that she could look at him...





And this last photo says it all...

And We Let These People Vote?

Today was the Florida Primaries and I had the following event happen to me. Could not believe that people like this can actually vote for our laws and government leaders!

Before Bryleigh and I picked up Kyla from school, we stopped by the local library to return some items. It just so happened that the library was also a polling place. As we were leaving, I heard someone call out to me..."Excuse me..."

I walked over to the car to see what I could help the young woman with.

She proceeds to ask me if I went into the library to return / check out a book or to vote. I told her that I was returning some items, but that they were still voting inside. She then asked me a question that I am still having a hard time believing..."Can I go inside and vote here even if the person that I plan to vote for is not listed on any of the signs outside?"

I had to quickly suppress my shock before replying that as long as you are a registered voter and that the library is your appointed polling place, then you can vote for the person of your choice listed on the ballot...even if their name is not on any of the political signs outside.

She breathed a sigh of relief, parked her car, and went inside to vote...possibly for the person who could be the next leader of our country...Scary thought, isn't it?

They Really Do Remember Everything!

So I was going through more photos from Christmas and I came across a couple that made me remember something really special that happened...and you know me. I had to share.

Brad is a wonderfully thoughtful husband and father. He likes to take his time to find the perfect gift and he really outdid himself this year. He wanted to combine my "big" gift with special "Daddy" gifts for each of the girls. So he went to a local jewelry store and had three custom necklaces made. Each of the necklaces is white gold with a diamond encrusted infinity circle. Kyla's circle has a Peridot, which is her birthstone. Bryleigh's has a Yellow Topaz and mine had not only a Pearl for my birthstone, but also a Peridot and a Yellow Topaz...basically making mine a Mother's Necklace...something I had been wanting since Kyla was born.

Kyla was the first to open her special gift. She chose to sit on Daddy's lap while opening it. As soon as the wrapping paper was off and she saw the red leather jewelry box, she quietly exclaimed...and I quote, "He Went To Jared's!" Then she threw her arms around his neck without even opening up the box and gave him a huge kiss!



Now just in case you are not familiar with Jared's...it is the name of a popular jewelry store and all of their commercials use that same catch phrase..."He Went To Jared's"...and in Kyla's young mind, she was just repeating what all of the beautiful women on the commercials said after receiving a lovely piece of jewelry from the man they love.

Brad has to tell her to open the box and look at the necklace. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the necklace, but after he explained that it was her first diamond necklace She couldn't wait to put it on.




The girls and I plan on having our photos taken together wearing our beautiful gifts of love and having it framed for Daddy to keep in his office at work.

Right after Brad asked permission to marry me, my father told him something. He raised my sisters and I to feel like princesses so that we would expect only the best from the men we marry. And it looks like Brad is planning to do the same with Kyla and Bryleigh.

Lord help those boys who decide to love the Atchison Girls!

I Just Want A Good Night's Sleep!

Although Kyla started sleeping through the night when she was around 3 months old, she was never what you would consider the easiest kid to put to bed. She would not go to sleep until she was good and ready, no matter how hard we tried. When she was young, we would let her play on the floor until she crawled under one of the couch end tables, held onto the leg for security, and fell asleep. After she was in a deep sleep, we could pick her up and put her in her crib...and she would stay soundly asleep until the next morning.

As she grew older, it became harder and harder to get her to sleep and many nights, she would still be going strong at 10:30 or later at night. Putting her in her bed didn't help. She would just get up or scream at her closed bedroom door until you were seeing cross-eyed! Watching a movie or listening to bedtime music didn't work either. She forced herself to stay away until it ended and then ask for it to start over.

The one thing that really seemed to work was someone crawling into bed with her until she fell asleep, which meant that you usually fell asleep too. If we were lucky enough to wake up during the middle of the night and stagger into our bed...Kyla usually followed shortly behind. After growing tired of her sleeping in bed between us, we finally broke down and purchased one of those little unfolding sofas that are in the toy department...and that is where she slept until a week ago.

When the February 2008 issue of Parenting magazine arrived in our mail box, I immediately noticed the following words in the upper left hand corner of the front cover..."Turn Any Kid Into A Good Sleeper"...a reference to an article titled "How To Get Your Child TO Sleep (Really)" by Holly Robinson.




How to Get Your Child to Sleep Really! - Parenting.com
http://www.parenting.com/parenting/healthypregnancy/article/0,19840,mGpqoadmrQ==,00.html

So at my first opportunity, I turned to page 106 and read the article to see if it was anything that might work with Kyla. After using the techniques listed, she was sleeping through the night in bed by herself in only a couple of days!



I just wish the the process also worked on Bryleigh. She is still insistent on sleeping on Mommy's chest, between Mom & Dad, or on rare occasions...the sofa in the family room!



Some times, I finally decide that enough is enough. I rock her to sleep, waiting until she is in a really deep sleep. Then as I slowly and quietly go to lay her down by herself...those big blue eyes pop over and she is wide awake again! She must thing that it is hysterical to see Mom & Dad looking like characters from "Night Of The Living Dead!"

New Happenings With The Atchison Girls...

Kyla has been asking her Aunt Micki and me if she can go to Yoga class with us. Unfortunately the class that we attend has a beginning age requirement of 13. Last week, I learned that the Yoga Studio just started to offer a Children's Class. She had her first class today and loved it! Here are a couple of photos from after the class. She was showing me some of the things that she learned...the Tree pose and Downward Facing Dog. She also asked if she could buy a gift for her new teacher...because she loves her so much! I am also thinking about asking her teacher is she would consider starting a Mommy & Me Yoga Class so that I can get Bryleigh involved too!




Bryleigh is 9 weeks and 2 days! Can you believe it? I can't. She is also starting to teeth! She is constantly drooling, as well as putting everything into her mouth and gum-ing it to death! Not such a great thing for her to do with she is nursing, but at least she doesn't have teeth yet!



She is also growing so fast and changing is so many ways. She has had several nights were she has slept through the night...and that makes Mommy very happy! But most of the time, she is still waking up every 2 - 4 hours to eat...and that makes Mommy very tired the next morning. So the two of us nap on the couch alot. Excuse the bags under my eyes when you see me. That is one of the "Merit Badges" that new Mommies earn and wear proudly.



I also have to say that I am a really lucky mommy. Not only do I have two beautiful girls that I love with all of my heart, but the two of them also love each other. Kyla is always singing to her sister as well as wanting to hold her. Bryleigh just loves listening to Kyla's songs and laughs at all of her jokes. I just hope that their mutual love for each other continues as they get older.

Photos From Christmas...Better Late Than Never!

OK...so it is almost a month since Christmas and I have yet to post any photos...so here you go. Better late than never.

We had a wonderful time at Christmas. My nephew and nieces were in town to share it with us. Both my sister and brother-in-law recently started new jobs and could not get the time off to join us. Since she is a nurse and he is a K-9 officer, they both had to work on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. Kyla and Bryleigh loved having their cousins around, as did the rest of us, but we really missed Aunt Kristie and Uncle Kevin too.

Of the hundreds of photos that were taken, here are some of my favorites...



This photo is of Kadence watching the Santa Tracking website. All of the kids thought that it was so much fun learning where Santa was currently at.



This photo is of Kadence and Bryleigh. My sweet little Baby Mango was just in love with Bryleigh and wanted nothing more than to spend time with her. If Bryleigh was crying, Kadence was there to rub her face, give her hugs & kisses, find a toy to entertain her, or just sing a song. What a sweet pair the two of them made!



The four oldest children wanted to leave notes for Santa, as well as the fresh made cookies and milk for Santa and the carrots and apples for the reindeer. Santa was so impressed by this that he also left a handwritten Thank You note.



Mikey, Kaleigh, Kyla, and Kadence all had a slumber party in Bryleigh's bedroom on Christmas Eve. Mom Mom and PaPa Jan slept in Kyla's bedroom, Aunt Amy slept on the couch, and PaPa Ron knocked on the front door around 6am. We all gathered in the family room a little bleary-eyed to open up our Christmas Stockings and eat breakfast. Thankfully the kids all had enough energy to help the grownups with their stocking gifts!







After breakfast, the anxious children were finally allowed to go into the living room to see what Santa had left under the tree. The wrapping paper shredding frenzy had begun! Kyla is really going to love that wild hair photo! I might save it to put in the yearbook for her Senior year! Someone had suggested that we use the photo as a burglar alarm...instead of "Beware of the Dog" how about "These Premises are Patrolled by a Crazed 4-Year-Old"!

Not sure what the favorite gift was for each kid-let because there were so many to choose from...

Mikey loved his toy grenades, his huge checkers game, and his play army & police men.





Kaleigh couldn't decide between her Hannah Montana doll or her Leapster Gaming Set. She also loved all of the clothes that she received and kept changing outfits.





Kyla was really excited about her shower radio that was just like her Aunt Micki's, as well as the guitar that Santa made sure that she received...and we cannot forget about all of the books...that Great Grandma lovingly read to her.





Kadence loved her "big girl" 3-wheeler, her life-like baby doll, and the Barbie backpack that was filled with doll clothes.





Bryleigh enjoyed her first Christmas too. She received lots of clothes and toys, but her favorite gift was being lovingly held by her Mommy, her Mom Mom, and her Mom Mom Mom.





And because Mikey, Kaleigh, and Kadence all live up in the hills of Tennessee...each one of them also received a nice warm jacket to keep out the cold. Mikey looked so cool in his leather coat and Kaleigh & Kadence felt like princesses in their "fur" coats! What a smart Santa...





Afterwards, Kadence and Bryleigh were exhausted...as was Papa Jan and Mom Mom.



After their naps, Papa Jan and Mom Mom helped prepare dinner...the kids played with their toys, and Mom Mom Mom held a still sleeping Bryleigh with Big Sister Kyla protectively sitting close by.




Well that pretty much fills you all in on Christmas as our house. Hope you all enjoyed the photos.