Inside Cardiac Arest

Heart disease will kill one in four women in the United States. Women need to understand the warning signs of cardiac arrest and understand more about the heart to prevent becoming a statistic. If you want to learn more about the reasons for a Heart Attack or learn more about the human heart, visit St. Jude Medical's site, Inside Cardiac Arrest, for lots of helpful information.

Preschoolers Need Rest

My preschooler is not a fan of sleepy during the day. He started getting away from a nap almost one and a half years ago. We discovered that when he napped, he was up until ten o'clock at night or later. So after a few tests days, we stopped laying him down.
It was harder on me than on him. Those precious hours of quiet! But I was not wanting to be up late into the evening with him.

While napping is not important, rest time is. He still needs some downtime during the day. Otherwise, we will all pay for it in the end. And every few days, he gets sleepy and we let him sleep for an hour or so. It makes the evenings more bearable.

Now my toddler is looking like she is moving away from naps too. At school, they let her sleep as long as she wants- not good for us in the evening. She needs her sleep, but not as much during the day so she can go to bed at a reasonable time.

Here are some facts on sleep:
Children 2-3 years old need approximately 12 hours of sleep a day. Ages 3-5- they need approximately 11 hours a day.Sleep patterns change. A 2 year old sleeps about 1 hour during the day and 11 at night. A 4 year old sleeps 11 hours at night.

The problem with that is that my son would have to go to bed at 5 o'clock in the evening to get 11 hours at night- not likely since he would wake up at 10 o'clock after his evening "nap."

But that does explain how come he gets grouchy!

Keep in mind, every child is different. See how your child does with out a nap and change the bedtime accordingly.

We all need to be well rested and happy to get through our day!

Vacation Idea- Key West

If you are living in a cold region, nothing may sound better than taking a trip to the sunny south. Key West is as southern as you can get in the United States, and it is well worth the trip. This time of year, Key West is about 70 degrees and there is little rain and NO hurricanes! My family and I have taken vacations to the Keys and have gone to Key West a few times. The best thing is the atmosphere, especially at sunset. The street artists and performers are wonderful to watch while the sun dips into the ocean. It is fun, entertaining, and breathtaking. There is great shopping, great food, and a great people. If you are going to travel to Florida, why not travel to the real part of Florida- not the theme parks and orange groves, but to the beach and the sun. You will enjoy all parts of the Keys and can even drive into Miami if you want.
Trust Tours & Attractions offers information and sales on vacations and sightseeing tours to many different cities. Right now, if you sign up for their newsletter, you will be entered into a drawing for a hand held GPS.

A Great Little Scooter

My son asked for a scooter for Christmas this year. I was a little concerned with his ability to balance on it, but decided to look for one anyway. I found a great scooter that was geared just for preschoolers- it is called Orbit. It has a large back cylinder wheel that makes balancing easy. He scoots around the entire house (we have tile floors) without falling, unless of course he looks the wrong way and tips!). We found it at Ross, and I Amazon is out of stock. It may be discontinued now, but if you find one, grab it up. It is the perfect scooter for those little ones (and under 50 lbs). Scooters are great for gross motor skill coordination since they have to move and balance.

Postcards for your Family or Business

Have you ever thought of making your own postcard for your family or for your business? Using Vista Prints postcard design service, you can create your own postcard with your own design or picture or use one of their design templates and have them shipped directly to your home. This is a great idea for a birthday party, thank you cards, or your business. With so many options of the easy to fill-in design templates, anyone can make a great looking postcard. I uploaded my own picture (using the specified diminsions) and made a personalized card. My husband took a fantastic picture of the lake one afternoon. It looks so much better than a cheesy Florida postcard you can get at the store. It will be perfect to send to our friends and family up north in the snow, with a "Wish You Were Here" greeting! For your business, Vista Print offers so many designs to select from. You fill in the blanks on the design of your choice. It offers a great opportunity to spread the word on your product or service without hiring a design or marketing firm to create a product for you. Vista print is the leader in postcard printing. With some imagination, you have a great looking postcard for your business or your family.

Cooking With Your Preschooler- Valentine's Cookies

Since I got my Kitchen Aid for my birthday, I am now looking for ways to start using it! I am going to have my preschooler help me make cookies. Here is a simple recipe from All Homemade Cookies:

Sweetheart Chippers
by All Homemade Cookies

Make a batch of these delicious heart-shaped cookies to share with your favorite Valentine.

These cookies are great for Valentine's Day, but you can make these cookies for any occasion simply by using various shaped cookie cutters.

To make these cookies, you will need the following ingredients:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 12 oz. bag M&Ms (or other candies for decoration)

Mix the powdered sugar, margarine, vanilla, almond extract and egg in a large bowl until well blended. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Preheat your oven to 375. Divide the dough into halves. On a lightly floured surface, roll each half about 3/16 inch thick. Use various heart-shaped cutters to cut out the cookies. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet until the edges of the cookies are lightly browned, about 7 to 8 minutes. Remove to a wire rack. Cool completely and spread with your favorite glaze or frosting and then decorate with the candies. (For Valentines' Day, you can use the red M&Ms.)

Yields about 4 dozen 3-inch cookies.

If you live in altitudes above 3500 feet, bake the cookies 8 to 9 minutes.

Hair Emergency! What to do?

As a mom, you often have times when there is no time to wash and dry your hair. With me, it always happens when the baby did not take a nap, your scheduled shower time, or someone calls and you have to run out quickly. You are in debate... wet hair with no style or try to make your hair work without washing it. Or as a last resort, throw on the ball cap and hope no one notices!

Now, there are no worries! Salon Grafix's Dry Shampoo line is a mommy's dream come true! Instead of jumping in the shower and leaving with a wet head, you can use the dry shampoo and have instantly clean hair. The Salon Grafix Spray Powder Shampoo, with its color match formula, is perfect for cleansing and refreshing your hair between normal shampoos or when you just don't have time to wash your hair the old-fashioned way. It easily brushes off, leaves hair revitalized, without white powder or oily residue, plus it leaves hair clean and shiny. A dry shampoo will solve all of your problems since you can style your hair and skip the blow drying. Think of the time this product will save and the happiness it will bring you... without the hassles!