Naturally Beautiful Skin

One of the most frequently asked questions I get this time of year is “How do I find a winter moisturizer that will keep me hydrated but won’t make me break out?” If you’re breakout-prone, like so many of us are now and then, the last thing you want to do is use a “heavier” moisturizer – but you also don’t want to be stuck all winter with parched, undernourished skin!  The solution is layering.

By layering a nourishing  face oil with a protective moisturizer, you don’t have to worry about using something that’s too heavy for your skin.  Face oils are the best way to hydrate the skin on a deeper level but alone can be leeched out of the skin in dry, cold environments.  Moisturizers with larger molecules tend to treat on the skin with natural waxes that stay put longer to prevent moisture evaporation.  Together, you get the best of both – a light breathable barrier and deep hydration -  without compromising on either, which could lead to breakouts or buildup.

For best results, I recommend layering during the AM and using a rich nourishing night cream in the PM.

For more information on natural winter skincare, Sara Damelio of Skincando is happy to give free email or phone consultations. She can be reached at sara@skincando.com or 202-215-8991

This guest post is courtesy Yihung Mohs, the owner of  Silver Spring Dream Dinners and the talented writer of the The Silver Spring Dream Dinners Blog.

It should come as no surprise that the most popular New Year’s resolution is to lose weight and eat healthier meals. Is this your resolution? If so, be encouraged that you are not alone. Many people, just like you, are starting today! However, for busy parents who are constantly on the go, creating healthy eating habits while maintaining a busy lifestyle is not always easy. This is especially true when it’s easier to throw a processed meal in the microwave or drive through a fast food restaurant.

But with some pre-planning and getting your family on board to make healthy and tasty meals, you will be surprised that your New Year’s resolution is really not so difficult.

First, start slow and transform your habits over time. It’s unrealistic to change your family’s routine overnight. This can create an unhappy household, which could make it easier to give up your program before your new lifestyle even begins! Start by adding salads with colorful vegetables and substitute cooking with butter to olive oil. Eliminate sugary after dinner desserts and serve fresh fruit and a scoop of sherbet or frozen yogurt. These are simple yet subtle changes that can easily make a difference in your home.

Next, don’t take everything you love off the menu. Why is it when you ban certain foods, you crave them more? Moderation is the key. Start by reducing your portion sizes. Sometimes just a taste of something sweet or salty is really all you need.

Most importantly, enjoy your family mealtimes. When schedules get so busy that eating on the run happens more and more frequently, make it a priority to establish family dinners as often as you can. Savoring every bite, chewing slowly, finishing before you feel full and reconnecting with your family will not only change what you eat, but how you eat.

Finally, get organized. Create and shop for your meal during the weekends or reserve a few hours during your busy week. At Dream Dinners we have done much of the work for you. With classic good-for-you dinners, including healthier versions of Buffalo Ranch Chicken, Pesto Salmon with Cheese Crisps and Kentucky Pork Chops among a few, we provide everything you need, from fresh ingredients, to easy to follow instructions. Once you are home, you can freeze your uncooked dinners and use them to serve when needed.

Simple, positive steps are ready for you to take now. Every change you make matters. Make it a good year to embrace a healthier lifestyle!

Thanks Yihung! Would you like to contribute a guest post to A Parent in Silver Spring? I would love it! Just send me an e-mail with your idea for a post and we’ll talk.

Vanessa Van Petten is the creator of RadicalParenting.com, a parenting website written from the teen perspective to help parents understand them. Her approach has been featured by CNN, Fox News, and Wall Street Journal. She was also on the Real Housewives of Orange County helping the housewives with troubled teens. She is also the author of the parenting book, “Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I’m Grounded?”

When I was 16 I thought it was my Dad’s goal in life to make me miserable. I was convinced that he had a running list of all the ways he could embarrass me in front of my friends, trick me into doing more chores or make my curfew earlier.

Our relationship would have continued to devolve until one day I saw my Dad reading a parenting book. I flipped through it while my Dad was in the bathroom and realized a lot of the things he did that drove me crazy he was getting right out of this book! I looked at the other parenting books on our shelves and realized that they were all written by adults. I wondered—has anyone ever asked teens to write to their parents?

I decided to build a website where teens could answer questions and write to parents called RadicalParenting.com.  I couldn’t believe how quickly it grew and how happy both teens were to get their voices out and parents were to have a new outlet for connecting with their kids! We now have over 120 teen writers who give advice.

Teenagers, when given a neutral space LOVE talking to parents and often offer some of the best insight because they are going through it themselves. We have also be so excited to help parents who feel like they cannot reach their kids and teens.

I think teens and parents can work together to overcome their differences and learn to work best together. We have just come out with our book: “Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I’m Grounded?” and it is a radical approach to parenting because it is written from the kid’s perspective! We would love for you to check it out—if you are brave enough to see what kids have to say!

What is this book about?
So, you have to forget the old parenting book approach – this book gives parents a totally new way to reach their teenagers because it’s the only book that tweens and teens helped write – so we are hearing first-hand advice that actually works! It gets right to the heart of the problems and offers straightforward prescriptive - and effective advice. This is a very different approach to parenting that tackles these modern problems.

What makes this book different?
Before now there has only been resources written from one side of the family equation….the adults. This is the first book that gets both sides talking. What’s more, the book goes a step further by using techniques that human lie-dectectors use: What does a teenager’s face look like when they are lying? What questions do parents need to ask to get the truth?

Here is what Publisher’s Weekly had to say:

“Van Petten, founder of the popular Web site RadicalParenting.com, offers parents a candid view of the contemporary teen’s world in this eye-opening text. Van Petten uses actual stories about teens and their often anxious, angry, or befuddled parents to introduce each chapter. Pointing out that she is neither a parent nor a teen (nor a doctor, therapist, or counselor), the college-grad author has nevertheless earnestly investigated her subject and includes current research on teens as well as hundreds of “real quotes, interviews, e-mails and advice from actual teens.

Van Petten explores a variety of timely subjects, including peer relationships, teen/parent communication, bullying, technology, and “risky business” (smoking, drinking, sex, and more). Her outlook on technology and “Internet savvy” is particularly incisive, emphasizing not only the hazards of “time-suck” activities (i.e., Facebook, chatting on IM, and texting) but also the many social and academic benefits of the digital universe. Like a crafty spy, Van Petten comfortably segues from parent to teen perspective, and while noting that each adolescent is unique, she skillfully opens doors to the collective teen psyche. “ –Publishers Weekly

To learn more, visit Vanessa Van Petten’s parenting website, RadicalParenting.com.

Disclosure: I was happy to feature Vanessa’s guest post because she is an online colleague in my bloggy world and I am impressed with her effective work with teens and their families. No compensation was received for posting.

This guest post is by my online friend and idol Vanessa Van Petten, one of the nation’s youngest experts on parenting and adolescents, and author of the popular parenting blog, RadicalParenting.com. Vanessa’s ideas and insights for staycation fun are great for a families with any age of kids!

Everyone is tightening their budgets. I think this can actually by a good thing because this economy can be a good opportunity to try new kinds of bonding and activities especially for families.  You do not have to get away to get some R and R…and you get to avoid those pesky airport lines.

1. Movies are the New Vacation

Remember when going to the movies was a huge deal? Make going to the movies an event.  You could pack a picnic lunch, bring a bunch of candy from the supermarket (so much cheaper) and make everyone review it afterwards.

2. Be A Tourist

Have you ever thought about being a tourist in your own city.  This is a great way to rediscover the sites and show your kids or friends around town.

3. Scavenger Hunt

I have actually done these with friends.  You can split up into teams and make them competitive or you can have a family friends create a list of clues for you.  You can do it as simple as around the home or around the city!

4. Pamper

Even boys and men like a little pampering.  Trade massages, make your own steam room in the bathroom and make your own scrubs and washed at home for girls.

5. Sleep in Nature

Another (more scary word for some) would be camping.  Grab (or borrow) some tents and sleep in your backyard or go to a local nature reserve and try sleeping under the stars.

6. Block Party

I LOVE BLOCK PARTIES.  Organize one for your block or building and have everyone bring a different food or activity.

7. Smarten Up

Use this time to take some brain teasers, buy some games for the cheap at Target and have competitions with your family or friends.

You do not have to go on expensive trips to have a good time, bond and relax.  Plan your next staycation and even send out an email auto-responder and change your message so people really cannot bother you.

Vanessa Van Petten is one of the nation’s youngest experts, or ‘youthologists’ on parenting and adolescents. She now runs her popular parenting blog, RadicalParenting.com, which she writes with 120 other teenage writers from ages 12 to 20 to answer questions from parents.  Her approach has been featured on CNN, Fox News and in the Wall Street Journal. She was also on the Real Housewives of Orange County helping the parents and teens. Her next book, “Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I’m Grounded?” will launch in September 2011 with Plume Books of Penguin USA.

Jennifer Chambers is the founder and leader of Hiking Along, a hiking and science program that “engages children in exploration of the natural world and encourages them to appreciate and learn about the environment and how humans impact it.” Jennifer leads groups of children, preschool to high school, on hikes of scenic trails around the Metro DC regionand in hands-on science activities.

Do these questions or thoughts enter your mind when you think of a “family hike?”

• How do I fit another activity into my overscheduled family calendar?
• There are dangerous things in the woods.
• I don’t know where to go hiking. Where are the closest and best trails for my beginning family?
• I have never been on a hike before. How do I start?

The word “hike” can be intimidating to parents. Some parents visualize scenes of skyscraper mountains, deep canyons and vast, never ending forests. Big scenes that can be a little scary. Some parents can’t visualize anything because they don’t have a point of reference or connection. Let’s break the word down and use the less intimidating word of “walk.” More parents can visualize this word – a walk down their neighborhood street (with or without the dog), in a neighborhood park, or along the beach. These are known, provide a point of reference, and create a connection. Now, think of a walk in the woods, along a stream, to a pond, in a wetland, or many other possible places.

A hike is synonymous with it takes a long time to do – an all day event. Whereas a walk means a shorter period of time – an hour. Add a family’s perceived notion that a hike is an all day event together with their overscheduled lives, this equals a barrier to hiking on a trail. Yes, families today are overscheduled but let’s dispose of the perceived notion that a hike lasts all day. Instead, insert the word walk and go for an hour long walk on a trail with your family. When does your family have an hour in its schedule? Where is the nearest trail to walk for an hour?

The nearest trail is one click away:

• Montgomery Parks or any municipality’s Department of Parks or Recreation or a state’s Department of Natural Resources or Environment.
• Trail organizations, for example Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) or the Washington (state) Trails Association.
• Trail books and guides – PATC guides or 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles.
• OhRanger, type your zip code or click on a state to find a park with trails near you.

None of these sites or resources is geared to help families navigate which trails or “walks in the woods” are best for kids but below are some.

• Trail Discovery for Kids, learn about trails with great playscapes (e.g. Billy Goat Trail, Section C).
• Books – Family Hiking in the Smokies: Time Well Spent or Vermont, New Hampshire & Maine: Best Hikes for Kids. Search “kids hiking books” on Amazon and you will discover many resources.
• Nature Rocks – type in your zip code and find a park/trail near you.

Don’t feel comfortable taking your family for a walk in the woods because danger lurks around the next tree or you have never taken a hike. Don’t fear, Washington DC and many major cities have organizations that guide families to explore and experience fun adventures on kid-friendly trails. These hikes provide opportunities for parents to feel comfortable in an unfamiliar activity in an unknown place and everyone can participate in unstructured play in a structured event. Check out this family hike opportunity.

Family Hiking 101: Exploration, Safety and Leave No Trace

Sunday, May 15, 2011

2:00 – 5:00 pm

Theodore Roosevelt Island National Monument

Join two expert guides from Hiking Along and The North Face on a two mile circuit hike around the perimeter of Theodore Roosevelt Island. The trail is natural surface and raised walkways through two ecosystems, a deciduous forest and wetlands. The hike is great for children of all ages with fun natural playgrounds: rocks for climbing, water for skipping rocks, and the monument plaza for a game of hide and seek. While hiking, learn about hiking safety, Leave No Trace, and the plants and animals surrounding the trail. Enjoy an afternoon in the middle of the Potomac River engaging in the great outdoors! The cost is $15 per family. To register, email jennifer@hikingalong.com.

This spring, make it a family goal to venture outside of your familiar comfort zone and embark on a hike or a walk, if that word feels more comfortable. Seek out the extraordinary amount of resources available both on the web and with organizations whose mission it is to get more people, including families, outdoors. Hiking isn’t a scary word in your family? Then, step it up a notch and venture to adventure on a new level or outdoor activity.  Happy trails!