Bath Junkies

Right now we are all recovering from a nasty cold virus. Scout came down with it first, then Sawyer, followed by Matt, and it saved me for last. Chills, fever, congestion, sore throat that feels like razor blades, swollen lymph nodes and a general blah-ness and cough that last for about two weeks. Right now Sawyer and Scout are on week two, but still with runny noses and coughs. Matt's finishing up week 1 and I'm only 4 days into it. One thing that has helped all of us though has been taking baths! I've been putting epsom salt and lavender essential oil into the water and it is super soothing. I've never been a huge fan of soaking in the bath, but lately after work I've been known to relax in the tub after the kids have gone to bed. I put my laptop on a chair next to the tub and watch a Netflix show while I soak. Matt even brought me in a bowl of ice-cream to eat the other day while in the bath when my throat was starting to get sore. What service! I could get used to that :) 

Another reason that there has been a lot of bathing going on around here is that Sawyer has developed eczema in the past 6 months and after taking him to the allergy clinic last week we found out bathing for 15-20 minutes a day helps to lock in moisture and keep the dry skin at bay.  I noticed a nickel size patch of red, dry skin behind his left knee during the summer.  We tried to keep him slathered in coconut oil or lotion, but the patch just got larger and larger as the fall and winter months rolled in. Soon the whole area behind his knee was raw and sore and other patches were popping up in his armpits, his groin, stomach and back. I was worried it might be a food allergy so we had him tested, just with a skin test first at his first allergy appointment. We were both relieved AND surprised when only two things came up as an allergy: cats and dogs! We both never would have guessed those. Looks like the Koprowski household will continue being pet-less, at least as far as hairy animals go....I hear bearded dragons are quite affectionate pets though :)

And the third reason we are always running water for baths is because of Miss mess we call Scoutty. She loves to eat and she loves to feed herself so each meal turns into quite the clean up afterwards. Sometimes it's just easier to fill the sink and give her a bath in the kitchen after dinner.

The photo below you can see her four top teeth and her three bottom ones. They make me laugh every time I see them! And this photo especially cracks me up because she looks like a little gremlin.

Sawyer took the bottom two photos with filters on and I thought they turned out pretty cool.

And lastly, I had to snap a pic of this frame I saw the other day because I love cheesy play on words. And it pretty much sums up my feelings on our little bathing buddies....