187 http://media.bonnint.net/dado/oss-trav/0/2/255.jpg ToastedRav.com: Metro Moms Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:41:15 -0700 ToastedRav Staff mike@toastedrav.com <![CDATA[Help your kids learn healthy habits for life]]> 26792 Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:28:39 -0700 (ARA) - Teaching kids healthy habits can be tough. From learning how to apply sunscreen to knowing how often to bathe, kids need help from mom and dad on caring for their bodies - including their skin, hair and nails.

Some of the American Academy of Dermatology's tips for parents and their children to care for skin, hair and nails include:

* Use peanut butter to get gum out of hair.

* Avoid using hair styling products near the face to prevent acne.

* Wear sunscreen every day to prevent skin cancer and premature aging. Even on a cloudy day, up to 80 percent of the sun's ultraviolet rays can pass through the clouds.

* Don't use tanning beds. There is no such thing as a safe tan.

* Put an ice pack on a bruise to reduce swelling. If it's a bad bruise, elevate the area above your child's heart for about 15 minutes to keep the bruising and swelling to a minimum.

The American Academy of Dermatology provides information about caring for skin, hair and nails for kids ages 8 to 12 and their parents on its Web site, www.KidsSkinHealth.org.

The children's section of the Web site features interactive games with Sammy the Skin Cell where kids can catch bugs, explore mazes and zap ultraviolet rays. The site also explains how skin, hair and nails work and how to take care of them, as well as fun facts including:

* An inch of skin has 650 sweat glands, 20 blood vessels and at least 1,000 nerve endings.

* You lose between 50 and 100 hairs a day.

* Hairstyles that pull the hair, like ponytails and braids, can cause hair loss.

* Fingernails grow faster than toenails, and nails grow faster in the summer than in the winter.

For parents, the Web site provides additional information on how to help their children properly care for their skin, hair and nails, as well as information about adult conditions like rosacea and psoriasis.

The adult tips are more in-depth and range from how to help your child prevent acne to how to know if your child's insect bite is dangerous and should be brought to your doctor's attention.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

]]> <![CDATA[Power up your cleaning routine when seconds count]]> 26639 Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:08:27 -0700 (ARA) - At one time or another, everyone has found herself racing around the house with an armful of cleaning supplies, scrambling to tidy up for unexpected guests. But the prospect of surprise visitors need not cause a full-scale panic.

Cleaning and organizing expert Donna Smallin offers practical tips for completing a vigorous, efficient cleaning routine when every minute matters.

* First things first. To make a great first impression, start with the entryway and then follow the path your guests will take. Think entryway, living area and bathroom. This is no time to reorganize your sock drawer. If you can, close doors or pronounce the upstairs or other section of the house off limits to guests, and you've cut your cleaning job in half.

* Conquer clutter. An uncluttered entryway is warm and inviting. Do a quick lap around your entryway and living area with a laundry basket and/or trash can, tossing junk mail and collecting out-of-place items to be organized later.

* Speed-dust at eye level. Microfiber picks up dirt like nobody's business. Grab a microfiber cleaner for a quick "dust-busting" of your bookshelves, lamp shades and coffee tables.

* Vacuum just the high-traffic areas. When you want to impress guests, nothing freshens up a room like clean carpet and rugs, and an ergonomically designed vacuum can make spontaneous carpet cleaning easier.

"I'm loving the PROlite Multi Cyclonic vacuum from BISSELL, which offers all the power of a full-sized upright unit, but in a sleek, lightweight design that makes it easier to use, lift and move from room to room," Smallin says.

* Speed clean mirrors. In the bath room, lightly wet a microfiber cloth and squeeze it dry to clean mirrors and glass surfaces.

* Give furniture a facelift. Take just two minutes to fluff sofa cushions and pillows to breathe a little freshness into your living room.

* Make countertops sparkle. Spritz kitchen and bathroom counters with a freshly scented all-purpose cleaner and quickly wipe away spots, crumbs and everyday grime.

* Rally the troops. When time is of the essence, divide and conquer. While one family member is vacuuming, a younger one can follow behind, wiping down baseboards. Or while one is taking out the garbage, the other can load the dishwasher. One way to motivate family members for these situations is to instigate a regular power cleaning competition. Make a game of timing how long it takes to tackle key cleaning chores, and you'll have your own family SWAT team ready to go when guests are on their way.

* Prepare for future speed-cleaning sprees. Speed cleaning is even easier when you're prepared, so get your supplies in order now. Keep a caddy of cleaning products ready to go, and you can save precious seconds when guests are en route. You may even want to stash cleaning supplies in spaces around your home so you can tidy up on the fly. Small cleaning supplies can easily be hidden behind the TV, behind books on bookshelves, in drawers, or even under your sofa.

Master this fast and furious cleaning routine and you'll always be ready to take on last-minute houseguests. You may even have time to give yourself a manicure before they arrive.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

]]> <![CDATA[Attention Costco Shoppers]]> 26514 Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:39:27 -0700 Costco recently stopped selling Coca-Cola products.  Costco stopped selling Coke because they will not offer competitive pricing.  They will not remove the product from the shelves but they will not restock it.  They will continue this until matters are resolved.  Coca-Cola will not comment on this. 

Click here for more information

 

 

]]> <![CDATA[Thanksgiving Craft Ideas]]> 26410 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:56:22 -0700 It's almost Thanksgiving.  Let you children decorate your house.  Here are some ideas of some crafts you can do with your children. 

Click here for the ideas

 

]]> <![CDATA[Tips for Holiday Shopping on a Budget]]> 26249 Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:34:23 -0700 Christmas is right around the corner.  Here are some tips to help you with holiday shopping. 

- Exchange names with your family.  This is helpful if you have a big family and don't want to buy gifts for everyone.  Draw names and then you only have to buy one gift for them.  Set a price limit for the presents. 

- Find thoughtful presents.  If you put thought into the presents the person who receives the present will enjoy it more.  Don't just buy a random gift.  They might not like it and then the present is a waste. 

- Let your children be involved when picking out the gifts from them.  They will enjoy it and will see the happiness in gift giving. 

- Less is more.  Expensive presents don't make better gifts.  Your children have creative ideas let them make presents. 

 

]]> <![CDATA[Swine Flu ]]> 25766 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:40:26 -0700 The flu season has just begun.  22 million Americans have gotten the swine flu.  This is just under six months.  Of those cases 3,900 people including the 540 children have died.  A normal flu season has about 80 children die.  There is still a long flu season ahead of us so do all the precautions to not get it.  Wash your hands frequently and try not to touch your face.  Watch the attached video about the swine flu and vaccinations.  

 

]]> <![CDATA[Freebies and a Charitable Cause]]> 25709 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:02:19 -0700 If there's anything I've learned about this pregnancy it's that everyone wants to give you samples and wants you to be their loyal customer.  I LOVE IT!  I have so many coupons and samples that it's almost to the point of obscene.  And they all have websites where you can sign up for more free stuff.

Well I was sifting through my Huggies free stuff when I came across this www.enjoytheriderewards.com from Huggies.  You collect points by purchasing participating Huggies items or getting free codes from your free stuff.  You simply sign up, enter the codes in and you can start using these points to enter sweepstakes, get free diaper coupons, crayons, and more.  But what I thought was really, really cool was that you could donate your points back to this charity called KaBOOM!  KaBoom! is a charity that wants to build playgrounds close to every child. 

As soon as I learned about this program I jumped up and started ripping open the only 3 packages of Huggies I have so far, and searching for the codes.  Yes, my husband and I buy diapers and/or wipes every time we do our big grocery shopping so we have a considerable inventory once baby d gets here.  OK so the codes, I find codes in 2 out of the 3 packages I have and immediately put them in.  Then I type in the codes from my free stuff.  I now have 40 points!  So I'm going to start donating them to KaBOOM! in hopes of bettering children's lives in communities across the country.  I hope you do as well!

]]> <![CDATA[Second Annual Teddy Bear Tea Party]]> 25673 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:22:55 -0700 The St. Elizabeth's Hospital is holding its second annual "Teddy Bear Tea Party" this Sunday (11/15).  It will be held at St. Clair Country Club.  The guest story teller will be Mary Lou Herzog, wife of St. Louis Cardinals legend Whitey Herzog.  For more information on this event click here.  

 

]]> <![CDATA[Circus Harmony Presents Fermata]]> 25577 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:16:16 -0700 This event will be at The City Museum this weekend (11/14 & 11/15) and next weekend (11/21 & 11/22).  It will be on the third floor of the City Museum.  It costs $20 for adults, $15 for children, seniors and students.  The proceeds go to support Circus Harmony Scholarship Fund.  For more information on this event click here

 

]]> <![CDATA[Sesame Street Turns 40 Today!]]> 25457 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 06:56:21 -0700 Sesame Street celebrates its 40th anniversary today.  It first debuted on November 10, 1969.  There have now been over 21 million minutes aired.  The show has 122 Emmys and a Lifetime Achievement Award.  The 40th Anniversary episode is on today.  First Lady Michelle Obama will be on the show. 

]]> <![CDATA[It's Registration Time . . . And I'm Not Talking About School Stuff Anymore!]]> 25412 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:00:37 -0700 Wow I guess you're officially pregnant with your first when you go to do the gift registry.  Now I don't know what the time table is on this, if you should register earlier or later but we went this past weekend which would be week 15 of the pregnancy.

HOW MUCH FUN and how overwhelming!  Of course it was fun to look at all the neat stuff from the smallest things like baby toys to the big things like furniture.  So we show up at Babies R Us (where else would you start?) thinking that we're going to waltz in, grab a scan gun and start scanning away.  Oh no, there's like this mini-class that you have to take and that's after you fill out the registry form to register you for your registry.  Sounds more confusing than it is trust me.  So they go over everything with us, how to scan, how to delete, what items to stay away from, how long the registry is good for, how to update it, etc.  Then they give you this 2 page list of items you'll need which is very helpful but there's so much and where do you start?  That goodness I did some research online and made a list of our own before we went (sad aren't I).

Finally, class is over after about 7 minutes tops and off we go.  Have you ever seen that game show Supermarket Sweeps (I think that's the name), well that's what it felt like when they turned us loose.  So we started with bibs and toys working our way over to bottles.  Now everyone I've talked to says these Avent bottles are the best.  So I tell Lee to scan them, because of course he's the man and has to hold anything that has "gun" in the name.  He then looks and says well what about these Playtex bottles that he obviously, by the way he's talking, thinks are the coolest just because of their shape.  So he scans them without my permission mind you.  He tells me he wants to give everyone a choice.  Now, not to sound like a diva but if you scan an item that we won't use, won't people who want to buy us things pretty much waste their money?  So why scan them.  Needless to say I'll be fixing our registry after I finish this blog :-)  I know his heart is in the right place, and I don't mind using pre-used items and such, but if there's a particular brand of something that everyone recommends well I'm going with that.

Anyhow, after about oh an hour or so we finally finish up our registry.  We couldn't scan all the items since we're not sure if we're having a boy or girl yet (won't know until Dec. 5th hopefully).  But I must say it was an experience I'm glad my husband and I shared.  It got us talking about a lot of things that deal with our first child.  It kind of opened us up more to talking about everything really which is really, really neat.  I highly recommend those first time expecters to take your husband along, you might have a few disagreements while you're scanning, he may have to hold the gun, but you'll get some pretty good insight as to what he's thinking and how you're going to manage this whole pregnancy thing.   

]]> <![CDATA[Local Teen on Jeopardy ]]> 25371 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:50:18 -0700 Kennedy Stomps is a junior at Metro High School in St. Louis.  She appeared on the 2009 Jeopardy Teen Tournament.  Her classmates watched it on Tuesday in the school auditorium. 

Click here to watch the video

 

]]> <![CDATA[Dinosaurs Unearthed ]]> 25067 Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:49:33 -0700 The St. Louis Science Center has a new exhibit that opens tomorrow (11/7).  It is called Dinosaurs Unearthed.  It will have full size dinosaur models and sets.  They will have a replica of the dig site in Zigong, China.  This is the largest dinosaur exhibition ever hosted in St. Louis. 

For tickets or more information on this event click here

 

]]> <![CDATA[Stroller Lock]]> 25007 Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:45:18 -0700 The item is called a Buggyguard stroller lock.  If you have your stroller and cannot bring it into the place you are going but don't want to cyhance it getting stoen use the Buggyguard lock.  It can bee found on buggyguard.com for $24.95. 

]]> <![CDATA[Too Much Halloween Candy]]> 24880 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:01:25 -0700 Did your child or children bring home too much candy on Halloween?  You know they shouldn't eat all of it.  Here are some ideas of how to get rid of it. 

1. Take it with you to work.  Everyone at work will be thrilled to eat candy during the day. 

2. Donate it to food pantries.  They would love it.

3. If you know someone who has a child who's birthday is coming up you can offer your candy for a goodie bag.  Just make sure it isn't too far away from now. 

4. Freeze the chocolate candy.  It will be good to pull out and eat at a later date. 

I hope one of these ideas work for you.  This information was found here. 

 

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