- You slather on the hand lotion and fifteen minutes later, your hands are dry again.
- You go to lovingly apply some of that same lotion to your daughter’s itchy arms, and she complains that your hands are “snagging” her.
- And finally, your son wakes you up in the middle of the night because he itches so badly. He is madder than a little hornet and he’s not going to take it anymore. Do something, Mommy! And so I stagger off to find the children’s Benadryl….and some lotion….and some peace.
You would think that—savvy Minnesotans that we are—we would own a humidifier. And we do, a huge industrial-sized behemoth that we purchased at Sam’s Club several years ago. It is ugly. It is broken. And it has got to go.
That’s it.
I’m off to the store to spend some money.
And who, may I ask, would blame me?
Oh, I hate that dry feeling! Even in our mild winters, we get some really dry spells, and I whip out our little humidifier and set it on the kitchen counter….
Makes all the difference!
I used to run a pot of boiling water with cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom in the kitchen on those days. The house was humidified AND smelled good at the same time!
And no, can’t blame you at all. Spend whatever it takes for family peace!
Oooh, a humidifier right there on the kitchen counter! What a good idea! Goodness knows we spend most of our time here.
And Kristen, I had all those ingredients on hand. Our kitchen now smells wonderful!
We do the pot of boiling water too, and the kids then love to draw pictures on the wet, steamy windows! I am going to have to add cinnamon sticks, thanks Kristen! We just went Sunday to buy some “Gold Bond” healing lotion for my daughters skin! I think I might give them baby oil baths tonite! Wait…maybe I will do that!
I have been known to use my electric steamer in a pinch to humidify the house.
Have you tried some of those lovely table top fountains? We have pretty dry winters and the static electricity in the air is awful. I used to put little cups of water in the corners of rooms but then I had kids and went to the fountain. My mom keeps one in the living room and her house is noticeably more comfortable. Ours broke so I am off to get one of those. Much more attactive and fit in with the decor.
I’ve been reading (and enjoying) your blog for a while and just had to comment, here. We vent our dryer inside the house in the winter: extra heat and humidity from energy you’re using already! We have some friends who do this and they’ve noticed that they get fewer illnesses with the added humidity.
You know it’s winter when you hands are so rough you could start a fire by rubbing them together 🙂 Eucerine dry skin therapy and Zim’s Crack cream help. So does slathering your hands w/vaseline and sleeping in cotton gloves. Dh might laugh though!