Tips for Caregivers of Elderly

Thank you to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield for sponsoring this post. As always, all enthusiasm is my own.

I'm in what's known as the sandwich generation. It's that time in my life where I'm taking care of my kids and my parents, and I'm sandwiched between them.

I have three kids at home, two with special needs, and I'm also the primary caregiver for my mother. She's in her late 60s, so she's not that old, but she has some medical issues, and needs some help in order to live independently.




She functions okay for her daily living, but she needs help cleaning, shopping, going to doctor's appointments, and with managing her finances right now.

She’s my mom and of course I'll do everything I can, but it's hard. I work full time and homeschool my kids, so it can get crazy fitting it all into my day.

If you're part of the sandwich generation, there is help. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicare Advantage plans offer access to healthcare services that I was pleasantly surprised to find out about.

Calendula and Lavender Fluffy Whipped Soap Recipe for Dry Skin

This calendula and lavender fluffy whipped soap recipe is easy to make with melt and pour soap.  It has real calendula and lavender and natural essential oils.  

My skin is dry in the summer from the sun and swimming almost daily.  In the winter, it's dry because of the cold dry air.  Basically, my skin is dry all the time.

I use a moisturizer every day and use moisturizing soaps and body washes.  When my skin gets really dry, it's extremely itchy and annoying.

Two of my favorite herbs for dry or irritated skin are calendula and lavender.  They work well together to reduce itching and help the skin recover.

I used both the herbs to make the calendula and lavender fluffy whipped soap recipe.  This is a fun recipe, and it's great to use as a shaving soap.

It's also fun for kids.  It almost feels like a dry shaving cream.  It's fun to play with while washing hands, especially with kids who like a little extra sensory input.

Most fluffy whipped soap recipes use a base.  I haven't used the base, and I already have a closet full of supplies.

I wanted to make my own DIY whipped soap, so I came up with my own recipe for my mermaid whipped soap from melt and pour soap.

I used the same recipe and technique for this recipe, and I love how it turns out.

Succulent Bath Bombs DIY With a Bath Melt on Top For Dry Skin

This adorable succulent bath bomb recipe is made with coconut milk powder and shea butter to moisturize skin.  It also has a cute bath melt succulent on top for more moisturizing for your skin.

I love it when I can get creative with my DIY projects, like this succulent bath bombs DIY.  I love my succulent mold, so I was brainstorming ideas and new projects to make using it.

I'd already made soap, so bath melts seemed like a good idea.  My daughter wanted some more bath bombs, and I thought why not put the bath melt on top of a bath bomb?

This succulent bath bombs DIY is adorable, so it would even be cute just sitting in the bath.  When you drop it into the water, it fizzes and releases the butters and coconut milk powder to moisturize your skin.

These bath bombs DIY are very moisturizing, so they are excellent for dry skin.  The bath melts have shea butter, cocoa butter, and aloe vera powder for your skin.  The bath bombs have more shea butter and powdered coconut milk for dry skin.

Moisturizing Succulent Bath Melt Recipe With Emulsifier and Shea Butter

This adorable succulent bath melt recipe with emulsifier is made with an emulsifier and shea butter for soft skin.  The oils mix with the water for all over moisturizing.

I'm glad that succulents are trending right now because they are so cute.  I'd love to have them all over my home, but I have cats.

Carly would probably ignore them like she ignores everyone and everything, but Chloe would be playing soccer with them and eating them.

So for now, I use my soap mold to decorate with succulents.  I've made soaps and sugar scrub soaps, and this time I made a bath melt recipe with emulsifier.

Bath melts are easy to make and use.  You just put one or two of them in the bath and they melt, releasing the oils into the water.

I add an emulsifier to my bath melts so the butters and oil mix with the water.  This recipe is great for dry skin, too.

While they are great bath products on their own, I made extras to make succulent bath bombs.  I'm posting those Thursday, so come back to get that tutorial.

Unicorn Sugar Scrub Exfoliating Soap Bar Recipe

How to make a unicorn sugar scrub exfoliating soap bar recipe.  This cute bar is full of glitter and smells like Unicorn Kisses with a natural fragrance oil blend.

I've been making melt and pour soap for something like 15 years now.  I'm not a noob, but that doesn't mean that every project comes out perfect.

I prefer not to say mistakes because I did learn something from the experience.  So we will channel Bob Ross and call it a happy accident.  

A few weeks ago, I picked up an adorable unicorn soap mold.  It was fairly large, so I decided to make some layered ombre unicorn soaps.

I got out my supplies, I melted, and I started pouring.  I was so excited to unmold it, but that excitement left as soon as I saw what it looked like.  

To be fair, Dakota loved the ombre unicorn soaps.  She declared it the best soap ever.  I mean it was purple, glittery, and shaped like a unicorn, so there's that.

It wasn't a total flop.  It was cute, but you couldn't really tell that it was ombre.  I went from clear to deep purple, but it just looked purple.   

I went back and forth on posting it. From the top it was purple and glittery.  It just seemed rather basic.  I want to give you more than just how to pour soap into a mold.

So I turned it into a unicorn sugar scrub exfoliating soap bar recipe.  It's a great bar for the shower, especially before shaving because it exfoliates the skin.