Allergies Have Hit Our House. We Have #EyesonVISINE

A couple of weeks ago, one of my first messages of the day was from my oldest daughter. She was asking me if I was having problems with my allergies yet. Her allergies are kind of my barometer for when allergy season has hit. lol Once she gets started, the rest of us fall like dominoes. VISINE®-A® Eye Allergy Relief Eye Drops, as always, to the rescue. My first question to her was, "Have you stocked up this year?" lol No, of course not.

Back in the day, when there weren't any over the counter options for allergy sufferers, I went to the doctor once a week for shots. My oldest daughter started dealing with allergies as a young teen and now my oldest son, a few years ago, started up with season allergies and mostly cat allergies. So far, my two other kids have been kept out of the allergy loop.

My biggest symptom with allergies is itchy, watery eyes. That wasn't an issue for me until I was an adult. Now, it can totally disable me. My eye allergies filter into sneezing and a runny nose and sinus issues. If I can keep my eyes under control, to start with, then the rest is usually...usually...safe.

Allergy is the fifth leading chronic disease in the U.S. among all ages, and the third most common chronic disease among children under 18 years old. This was definitely true for me, and has proven to be the case for two of my kids.

Now, throw in Fred, who has allergies about as bad as my mom's and we're all a fun bunch to hang out with when allergies strike. Did you know eye allergies happen when airborne allergens and other particles land directly on the surface of the eye, causing irritation and redness; subsequently, the body reacts to the substance by flooding the eyes with tears and mucus. Delightful, right? VISINE®-A® Eye Allergy Relief Eye Drops are clinically proven effective for eye allergy relief.

In case you're wondering about allergies, the most frequent airborne allergens include:

o Pollen
o Pet dander
o Grass
o Dust
o Weeds
o Mold

VISINE® ALLERGY TIPS

INDOORS:

• Wash linens and clothes regularly

• Keep windows shut to keep out pollen and other outdoor allergens

• Vacuum and dust often to reduce indoor allergens, such as dust and pet dander

• Run the air conditioner or air filter to sift out allergens. Make sure to keep those air filters clean and replace them regularly

• Put allergy proof covers on pillows, mattresses and comforters to ward off dust mites

OUTDOORS:

• Check the pollen count before going outside each day – pollen counts tend to be highest 5 - 10AM

• Shower after being outdoors to remove allergens that may have stuck to you. Use a sterile saline eye wash to flush allergens out of your eyes

• Do not hang laundry to dry outdoors because allergens can stick to the clothes

• Glasses and sunglasses act as a barrier or shield to minimize allergens from sticking to your eyes

• If you prefer to wear contact lenses, choose a daily disposable lens, which can minimize accumulation of allergens as well. Contact lens wearers can use VISINE®-A® Eye Allergy Relief, but need to remove contact lenses before use and wait at least 15 minutes before reinserting contact lenses after using the drops

For more allergy season tips and tricks, visit http://www.visine.com/understanding-eye-allergies/histamines

Moms’ Night Out In Theaters 5/9 #MNOMovie

Last month I had the absolute pleasure of pre-screening the movie Moms’ Night Out. I’ll admit, I really wasn’t sure what the movie was about. I had seen a quick commercial here and there about it, but hadn’t really picked up on what it was about. All I cared about was the fact that I was out on a date…with no kids. So for me, it was mom’s night out with her boyfriend.

The funny part when we got to the theater was Fred asking if he could go watch another movie (somewhat jokingly) because all he saw was a sea of women walking into the movie. Thankfully, once we got our seats, he saw several other men. heh heh heh

As a mom, I was able to immediately relate to the main character, who also happens to be a blogger. I would say that we weren’t 2 minutes into the movie and I was laughing my butt off! The entire theater was.

Allyson is a young mom of 3. She’s a mom who just needs a break. I mean, if you work in an office, you get to leave at the end of the day and have weekends off. Being a SAHM is a job that’s 24/7/365. Just one night, that’s all she wants. And what I love, her husband is all for it. He really sees what she does as a mom is valuable.

The dads…oh the dads…they’re going to help out. They’re going to pitch in so the moms can have some grown up time. You know THAT’S going to be interesting.

I have to admit, I could relate a lot to Allyson and to Sondra. As a mom, we either feel like we’re failing our kids and family or we don’t want anyone to know any of the problems going on and we just put on a happy face. The way they do it in this move has you laughing about it while taking it in. If you’re a dad, you can relate to your wife’s craziness, too.

What I love about this movie is that it truly IS family friendly. No swearing, no nudity, nothing suggestive, etc. We need so many more movies like this. It would be nice not to have to read the reviews on Plugged In Online every time the boys or I want to see a movie.

Moms’ Night Out is in theaters May 9th, Mother’s Day weekend. Yes, very apropos. Do the moms in your life a favor and give them a good chuckle and a night out. If you’re a dad, suggest your wife get a few ladies together and go see it or make it a family night. If you want more movies like this, you need to get out and see it! You won’t be disappointed, trust me!

My pastor’s wife came up to me last weekend and told me she’s getting a group of women together to go see it! I’m so excited. Wishing I was home to see it with them!

The Love Dare Day 8: A Jealous Bone

So far with a couple of the chapters of the Love Dare, I’ve thought they were going to be about one thing and they somewhat, for the most part, turned out to not be about that one thing.

History has taught me that I have every reason to have a jealous bone in my body. Men aren’t trust worthy (so says my past) so it makes sense to be jealous of any woman who could possibly catch the eye of my guy. Fred has done a really good job at building up my trust in this area, but it’s no where near 100%.

The authors do talk about the kind of jealousy that, if Fred were to have a wandering eye, they’d say I had a legitimate right to feel. It’s similar to God’s jealousy when we turn away from Him towards something else. It’s a justified jealousy.

Then there’s the illegitimate jealousy that just stems from us being selfish. It’s the kind where we’re green with envy. Now this jealousy I don’t struggle much with. I rarely want what others have. There are things I want that other people have, like a 52” Smart tv. I think to myself, “dang, I’d seriously love one of those.” But, I don’t walk away thinking, “Why don’t I have one of those? What makes them so blessed that THEY get to have one?” wah wah wah

I mean, that’s just not me. Ok, well, there are a couple of things where the green streak might come peeking through. If a woman has a gorgeous head of hair, I would probably have all kinds of thoughts like, “Why did God decide to give HER that long thick hair? Look at my dumb, do-nothing hair!” Or if a woman is well endowed, heck if they’re even slightly endowed I wonder, “Why did she get the lion’s share? Where’s my part and why did God see fit to make me like this?” Now, that last one can cause me to have jealousy towards her too, not just be jealous of her, that Fred might prefer her physically. Then my mind is off to the races.

So, yea, Fred gets to deal with that little gem. I’m praying that as time continues on I will gain better trust of Fred in this area. I can’t say that that niggling feeling will ever be 100% gone.

The other part of illegitimate jealousy is that we’re jealous of any success of others. Whether a co-worker gets a promotion or your loved one is more popular, you’re envious of them and it causes anger and division.

I don’t ever get jealous of Fred or anything that’s going on in his life. I think maybe I haven’t been put in that position yet? I can see myself getting jealous of him being pulled in a lot of directions once he becomes a pastor. There could be jealousy if he’s not careful in counseling women as an elder or pastor.

Don’t get me wrong though, Fred knows a couple of my jealousies. I won’t name them here, but he has a lot of control over situations he puts himself in or how he places people in his life. For me, those situations are a mix of legitimate and illegitimate jealousies.

In the end, I definitely want to be Fred’s biggest cheerleader. When he has success, I want to be the loudest person cheering in the room (definitely not an issue of being the loudest person). If my co-worker gets a raise, I want to be the most excited person she knows.

My task for the Love Dare today is to take my negative list from yesterday and burn it. lol I have no way to burn it. I don’t have matches or a lighter so I’ll have to tear it up in to tiny pieces and throw it away. Then I need to share about how glad I am about one of Fred’s recent successes. Definitely not a problem.

How good are you at sharing in other’s success? Are you jealous of your loved one or others in your life?

LiveJournal Tags: Love Dare,Marriage,Dating