Author Archives: kirsty

How To Be More Successful When You Play Pet Rescue Saga

There are so many that play Pet Rescue Saga. In fact, we noticed that many mothers play this game when they have downtimes. That is definitely understandable since the game is so colorful and enjoyable, with a premise that is surely attractive: saving pets.

Although the game is definitely great, it does tend to become more complicated as time passes. Because of this, here are some tips that will aid you to be more successful, thanks to this cool site for Pet Rescue fans.

Pay Much Attention To The Pets

Most of the people that play this game are focused on matching blocks. This is not what you should do. Your main focus should be put on the pets you have to save. Think about how you can get the pets down as fast as possible. Try to never place them on those blocks that have just one color since that will drastically increase difficulty.

Plan The Moves That You Make

Obviously, this is common sense. However, it is much more difficult than you may be tempted to believe. Planning moves will make it easier to clear your levels fast and boost scores. According to specialists, the goal should be to try to clear the blocks going up while starting from the bottom. This aids as colors drop and you can plan even further ahead.

Be Extra Careful With The Boosters

In order to increase energy levels in Pet Rescue Saga, boosters have to be used. You need to carefully choose them and take advantage of what they offer at the right moment in time so that you can gain the best benefits. Color pops can be gained for free so do not hurry and spend cash on that. Just spend money on boosters that are absolutely necessary in order to pass a specific level.

Don’t Clear All The Blocks

You will be tempted to do this but that is definitely not the case. In order to be very successful in Pet Rescue Saga, you have to focus on clearing those rows and columns that have pets in them.

Get Free Lives

You do need lives to keep playing the game. You will not receive them as often as you may like. However, the social aspect of the game is great. Remember that when a friend sends a life, you will not receive it if your life quota is full. Wait until you lose a life to get a brand new one. That will help you to play a whole lot more.

Kitchen Tips: Get Your Kids Involved

The kitchen can be a harried place in your home —especially just as you’re preparing a complicated family dinner. But instead of always shooing your kids out of the kitchen, you can learn to involve them in what’s happening there, when it’s suitable. Kids love being a part of something bigger and more important, so get them involved and interested in the kitchen! You’ll not only gain some much-needed helping hands, your children can develop some skills and confidence in the culinary world. Think of how much this will come in handy, when they grow up and need to start cooking for themselves!

Of course, make sure to take safety precautions: children should never be allowed to handle sharp knives or raw meat, and you’ll want them to stay safely away from the hob, the oven, or any hot dishes or utensils. You may also want to keep them away from any delicate, breakable glassware or dishware. But read on for a few ideas on how to get your kids safely interested and involved in the kitchen. Meanwhile, for other kitchen tips and housekeeping advice, click here.

Setting the table — This is an easy task, but it adds a bit of formality which kids can take pride in. Rely on your kids to lay out the individual plates, silverware, and napkins, and they’ll learn a bit of table etiquette along the way. And with such a simple task, even the youngest or slowest child can master the art of setting the table. Just use your judgment when sharp knives or breakable dishes are involved.

Washing and drying dishes — Even though dishwashing can be a bore, it can be made much more enjoyable if duties are split up: one person collects the dirty dishes, another soaps and rinses them, another dries them with a towel. With a dishwasher, kids can play an important role in stacking dishes and running the machine. And don’t forget: they can also do their bit in returning clean dishes to their rightful places, as long as the shelves or cupboards aren’t too high for them.

Helping with cooking—Cooking and baking can be a great family activity together, and kids love playing chef’s assistant. While you won’t want your kids involved in anything dangerous, they can help to stir or mix together food. Or they can measure out teaspoons and cups of ingredients, according to the recipes. This is also a great way for them to learn to follow instructions.

Washing vegetables and fruits — This is another way kids can help out in a safe way. Rely on your kids to wash fruit and veg, or to do simple preparations like peeling oranges or snapping the ends off string beans. They’ll love the hands-on aspect of working with the fruit and veg.

Putting away groceries —When you’ve just come back from a shop, teach your kids to help you put away the groceries to their rightful places in the kitchen and pantry. They’ll learn to be organised, and it’ll give you a bit of a break.

These are just a few ideas, but getting your children involved in the kitchen is a great way to keep your kids active and engaged, while lessening your workload a bit. Here’s to some fun and productive family times in the kitchen!

We’re Living in the Future: Pregnancy Tech That Sounds Strictly Sci-Fi

It’s a great time to be alive. Advances in technology make things that were seemingly impossible a century ago – or even just a few decades ago – a reality. This technology applies to nearly everything in our daily lives, so why should pregnancy be any different? Just a quick look around our homes shows technology that would have been straight out of the pages of a 1950s sci-fi novel.

So, what are some of the most exciting pregnancy-related breakthroughs of the recent past?

Fertility Treatments

Approximately 7.3 million Americans in their reproductive years are infertile, according to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control). This accounts for approximately 12-percent of the total parenting pool in the United States. Until just a few decades ago, there wasn’t much we could do about this.

Now, we have several methods that could potentially help a previously infertile couple conceive a child including fertility drugs, artificial insemination, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Among the most sci-fi of them all is IVF, which involves removing eggs directly from your ovaries, mixing them in a lab culture dish with your partner’s sperm, and then implanting the embryo in your womb. Who would have thought that one day you could conceive a baby in a laboratory glass? In fact, that’s what “in vitro” means – in glass.

Genetic Testing

Equally sci-fi sounding is the ability to learn specific traits of your baby before he or she is ever born. Commonly, this is used in the form of prenatal DNA testing. This is a test that your healthcare professional will typically order for advanced age pregnancies (when the mother is 35 years or older), if there is a family history of genetic defects, or if there is a positive serum screen and ultrasound finding.

The test is done off-site at a lab, and only requires a small amount of blood from the mother in order to deliver a positive result for the presence of trisomies, such as: trisomy 21 (Down syndrome), trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome).

Improvements in Pharmacology

Medical advances in pharmacology have also made it possible for women to greatly reduce the likelihood of premature births, cerebral palsy, and birth defects. By taking Progesterone women are less likely to experience giving birth prematurely, a condition that results often in brain damage or death. In fact, Progesterone has been shown to decrease the likelihood of premature births by 50 percent. Medication, MgSO4, further benefits mothers by helping to prevent Cerebral Palsy, especially in premature pregnancies – a feat that not even a simple medication would have been able to fix 15 years ago.

Greater understandings of supplements have also helped women receive better care and support in recent years. Folic Acid, a type of Vitamin B, has proven itself to be something of a supplement superstar for pregnant women. Taking 400mg of Folic Acid before coming pregnant and taking 600mg of Folic Acid during pregnancy can prevent 70 percent of all birth defects, especially spinal defects.

It’s a great time to be a parent. It seems that the technology surrounding motherhood is increasing faster than at any rate in history, and a future could entail any number of possibilities. If you think pregnancy technology sounds like science fiction now, imagine what will be possible in 20 years.

Points to Consider Before You Upgrade Your Bathroom Shower

You’ve hit the steam showers at your fitness centre and often thought how convenient it would be to have this in your own personal bathroom at home. You may have just begun to consider having one of the available home steam showers installed so that you can reap the benefits of healthy steam whenever you want; but it’s important that you consider some very pertinent points before you rush out and make a purchase. Let’s take a look at some things to consider before you make some upgrades to your bathroom shower.

The construction of your home steam shower must be handled by a professional that is aware of the requirements that will make your shower operate as it was designed. The shower should be enclosed, insulated, and include a water-tight doorway.
You want to make sure that the shower that you buy is at least eight feet tall so that you can be accommodated comfortably. It’s best to take measurements to compare with the inventory held by your supplier so that you can select the shower that works best in the space that you have.
The seat that might be featured in your shower should be sloped so that you can sit and rise easily; this also helps any excess water drain from this area of your shower.
If anti-skid strips do not come with your shower, you will want to purchase some from your supplier so that you can safely and securely enjoy the shower without risk of falling.
You should also ask a local electrician to come and inspect the lighting that you have in your bathroom so that the steam will not interrupt or damage the lighting fixtures that you currently have in your bathroom.
As you shop for the perfect shower for your individual needs, you should visit http://www.jtspas.co.uk/steam-showers-2158-c.asp so that you can review the inventory that is available, the features that showers have, the pricing, and accessories that you can purchase to enhance your showering experience. At this point you’ll want to review warranties that come with your purchase so that you’ll know the proper procedure should you have problems with your unit. You should explore the delivery options, the product options that you have with each shower, and the recommendations from the manufacturers regarding how to have your shower unit installed. Another valuable tool that you should use before you purchase a shower is the customer reviews that help you to evaluate each shower and if it would work in your current bathroom.

Before you decide which of the steam showers will meet and exceed your needs, you need to educate yourself about each product, the installation process, and how your bathroom needs to be set up to accommodate this new feature. You’ll be much more satisfied if you learn all of the facts ahead of any work that’s done in your bathroom to upgrade to a steam shower.

The health benefits of organic cotton

It’s safe to say that most of us understand the benefits of organic food and drinks and many people now recoil at the idea of eating food grown in a non-organic environment. For some reason it’s taken us a while to catch up with the idea that the fabrics that we wear and surround ourselves with should also come from an organic environment.

What does organic cotton mean?

To put it simply, organic cotton is cotton which has been grown without depending on pesticides and fertilisers to boost production. There are plenty of natural alternatives to spraying pesticides such as releasing so-called “beneficial insects” that naturally do the job of eating potential pests rather than having to kill them with chemicals. In United States around 12 to 13% of the cotton harvested is grown organically and the figure is rising annually as consumers become more aware of what they’re purchasing.

Why use organic cotton?

For many parents today, a growing problem they are facing is that of childhood allergies. No one is entirely sure why there is such a rise in the number of children suffering from allergies but a common hypothesis is that the huge increase of non-organic and previously alien substances we are exposing our children to is a contributing factor. If you look around your home today you’ll see it surrounded by strange plastics and inorganic material which has probably been cleaned by an array of different chemicals. Although it’s unrealistic to have a home filled with wooden or bamboo appliances, there are small steps we can take to reduce our exposure to non-organic products. If you think about the products you have the most contact with, this is probably the logical place to fix first.

Sleeping like a baby

Although the phrase sleeping like a baby tends to infuriate most mums as it gives us a false sense of hope that we might actually get some sleep, babies do spend a lot of time in their cribs (some of it sleeping). By investing in an organic cotton crib mattress we can ensure that our babies have a sanctuary which is safe from the chemicals and pesticides that end up in normal production mattresses. Companies like Greenbuds Baby offer a whole range of organic products and also have organic wool crib mattresses.

Going green

As well as potential health benefits for your baby, there are benefits to going green for us all. Intensively farmed cotton is not only a massive user of pesticides and fertilisers but also a huge consumer of water. Poor farming methods and an effort to maximise crop yields leads to damage to the environment. While organic growing methods may not yield as much cotton per acre or hectare, they do ensure that the product is grown in a sustainable manner without exploiting the land or local resources. As demand increases for organic cotton, the price will eventually fall and farmers will soon realise that there is a difference between quality and quantity!

3 Ways to Ensure Your Child’s School is Hygienic

Kids can transfer germs very quickly. School classrooms and play areas can house lots of germs that your kids can bring home and catch illnesses from. Ensuring your child’s environment is clean and hygienic can be a tricky task when you have no direct control over one of the places they spend a huge amount of time at: their school. That isn’t to say you can’t do anything though! Here are some tips for ensuring your child’s school is hygienic.

1. Teach Your Child

Instilling proper habits in your children will ensure that they are healthy and clean at school. Not being able to hold their hand throughout the day anymore, you can’t be sure that they’ll always do the right thing. However, you can be proactive in your approach by teaching them while they are at home. Ask your children the important questions and give them the answers they need to understand the significance of hygiene. How do germs spread? Why is it important to be clean? What is proper practice? Why should I wash my hands after using the restroom? Why should I wash my hands before I eat? Why shouldn’t I share drinks or other things with other children? This transfer of knowledge at a young age will help your children to grow with good hygiene and to be safe while you are not around.

2. Speak to the Teachers

Ask the faculty and staff about their procedures on hygiene. Do they teach proper procedures in the classroom? Do they monitor the children to ensure they are following instructions? Are there tissues, hand-sanitiser, disinfecting wipes, or power towels that are easily accessible for children to reach? How often are the supplies used and cleaned? Do the teachers practise what they teach to the kids and lead by example? Ask the teachers, but then also ask your children when they get home. You are trying to keep your children safe, so you want to make every effort to ensure the school you send them to is reinforcing this good behaviour.

3. Research the School’s Hygiene/Safety Policies

Schools should have in place a health and safety policy that outlines the proper steps and procedures for emergencies and day-to-day activities. Obtain a copy and familiarise yourself with what the guidelines say. Is the policy adequate and have you seen evidence of it being implemented in the school? Challenging a policy can be difficult, especially as a parent, but don’t be afraid to speak up if you feel an insufficient policy is putting your child and others at risk. The school’s hygiene policy should also mention what procedures they follow in terms of keeping the school clean. You can feel confident that your child’s school values hygiene as much as you do if they use a professional cleaning company that specialises in school cleaning, such as AMC Cleaning.

School is where your child will spend the majority of their day during the week, so it makes sense to want to make sure the environment is as safe as can be. Do you have any extra tips you could share with other parents who want to do so? Comment below.

Online Foodies: A Closer Look At Ordering Food Online

Source : Gourmet Labs

3 Tips To Protect Kids From Social Networking Threats

Kids are inherently social beings. Take a glimpse outside and you’ll see children practicing their social skills and interacting with each other. It’s only natural that they would want to use a social network. After all, their classmates have their own accounts.

Pew Research Center points out that more than 55 percent of American kids ages 12-17 use social media sites. In the UK, 25 percent of kids ages 8-12 have a profile on Facebook despite clear age restrictions. The stats depict that social networking sites are the new playground for kids.

However, there are dangers of using social networking sites that parents and children need to be aware of and address, such as:

Inappropriate content: Kids using Facebook and Twitter may come across shocking content. In March 2013, a video showcasing child pornography was shared 16,000 times and liked by nearly 4,000 users. Shocked users tweeted out their rage, and the news spread like wildfire. It took 8 hours for Facebook’s team to remove the video and all traces of it. The question: how such a video was uploaded without being detected? And what if your kid sees such a video?

Anonymous strangers: You may have heard of the ‘stranger danger’ term, but kids may be threatened by those who are familiar to them. However, social networks make it easy for perpetrators to pose as others, or leave anonymous private messages. Pew Research Center reveals that 32 percent of online teens were contacted by someone with no connection to their social circles, and 7 percent said they felt uncomfortable with the initiated contact.

Social networking stalking: Posting images can reveal a lot of information about what your child’s private life looks like, including the school they attend, what their place looks like, or information about their family. Social networking stalkers may even approach your child and use techniques to lure them into real-life meeting, or steal some private data of your kids to torture them online.

Protecting kids against social networking dangerous

Luckily, parents have a several tools and options to protect their kids from social networking threats and increase security on devices kids use to access social networking sites. Here are some of them:

Configure privacy settings: Most social networks have privacy settings. Ask children what social networks they use, and talk to them about the importance of privacy, both online and offline. Set their personal information to private and explain them that you’re trying to help protect their information. Parents also have the option of purchasing internet security software that scans privacy settings on Twitter, Facebook and other networks to ensure there are no security lapses. Some of these offerings may also offer a secure web browser to ensure safe web surfing for children.

Discuss social media use: Have the conversion about dangerous of using social media sites with your kids early on. Tell them what is appropriate to share online and what isn’t, and most important whom to share the information with. Teach them not to engage in conversations with strangers, especially those older than the kids. It’s also a good idea to teach them about how to report abuse on Facebook and other social networks. Refer them to the Family Safety Center on Facebook, where there is a wealth of advice for parents and children alike. If you need any more tips that you can pass onto your children, have a look at this article on chattoday.com about online activities that you should refrain from doing.

Keep regular checks: That’s the rule of thumb. If your kids are going to use social media networks, they must allow you in their social circles and you must be diligent in monitoring what they share/post and following their activity. Making kids agree to be followed can be an uphill battle, so try appealing to them by reminding them that what they post online can be seen by anyone. In order to protect their online reputation, they must allow a parent/guardian to monitor their social media activity.

Why Toys Are Essential for Your Dog’s Wellbeing

Pet superstores are crammed full of toys and amusements for dogs but are they really necessary? After all, you feed them, take them for walks and love them. That’s enough, right? Just as humans require mental stimulation, so do animals. Environmental enrichment is the key phrase that’s heard around zoos, animal parks and shelters. We’ve all seen those poor zoo creatures that do nothing but pace back and forth. The main reason for this is that they have no mental stimulation. The reputable zoos now give their animal’s toys and puzzles to solve, including working out how to get their food. This has made a significant difference to their wellbeing. Your dog needs enrichment too, especially if it’s at home alone. Here are a few ways to give your pet the stimulation it needs.

Kong is King

There are a number of hollow, rubber chew toys on the market but Kong is the most popular. Collars and Tags have a great selection in their on-line shop. Although dogs enjoy chewing and fetching a Kong as is, they particularly enjoy working out how to get to the tasty treats you can stuff it with. Dog biscuits are fine or try spreading peanut butter inside. If you think that’s too easy and need the game to last longer, load up the Kong with treats, then hide it somewhere safe or put it inside a cardboard box. Your dog’s sense of smell should take over and they’ll work hard to find that food. If you’re available to play with your dog, tie a string to the loaded Kong, then slowly move it around and stop. If you repeat these actions, Fido will concentrate and learn stalking techniques.

Tug of War

There are numerous tug of war toys out there which dogs certainly enjoy, however clear ground rules must be established. Dogs will growl and look like they’re being aggressive, however it’s usually just play. If the dog gets over-excited and snatches the rope from your hand, then play time should end. The rope should always be put away after each session, so the dog knows it’s a treat. If real aggression is exhibited, then this activity is not suitable.

Dogs with Visual Impairment

Don’t think your blind dog has to miss out on the fun. They will rely heavily on hearing and smell, so toys that can be stuffed with strong smelling treats are suitable, as are toys that make noises, such as a chiming ball. Most blind dogs will play ‘hide and seek’, just like a sighted animal, and you’d be amazed at how accurately they can follow a squeaky toy.

Play is absolutely essential for your dog’s overall well-being and if you leave your pet for extended periods, then it’s of paramount importance to provide environmental enrichment to alleviate stress and loneliness.

Keeping Your Volunteers Interested

When you want to be a Volunteer English Teacher in Thailand or reap the rewards of volunteering in some other field, what factors will ensure you really do enjoy the fruits of your labour and drive you to continue volunteering?

Image by Louisiana Sea Grant College [flickr]

Here’s what organisations should be doing to really engage their valuable volunteers.

Understanding

Organisations need to understand their volunteers – what their needs are; their expectations and what skills they possess or could enhance. Such understanding will help to create truly meaningful volunteering opportunities. It’s also important to offer a range of opportunities.

Creating the Bigger Picture

Volunteers like to understand how their contributions will fit into the bigger scheme of things which helps them to gain better understanding of what they’re doing and why.

Be Grateful for Your Volunteers

Whether someone is a Volunteer English Teacher in Thailand or working with the community in other ways, they’re not only offering their time for higher recognition. By simply thanking them for their hard work and dedication, you show volunteers that they are appreciated, their work is acknowledged and they will feel better valued.

Engaging the Community

By helping volunteers to engage their communities, you show support and the desire to ensure their efforts not only don’t go unnoticed, but also have the ability to keep on going. Help volunteers by providing avenues to engage the community and get people talking about their efforts. This can be done via word of mouth, social media and local newspapers and radio stations.

But don’t just rely on volunteers, donors and current members to spread the word. Use community channels, local online platforms and reach out to your community with your needs, your mission and how they too could become a Volunteer English Teacher in Thailand.

Making New Friends

Volunteers, and even donors, don’t just live in a volunteering vacuum. They too have families and friends and their own communities, so why not help them to reach out and engage with their special people – those who likely share interested and passions. Social media, and helping volunteers to stay in touch can open up your organisation to an entirely new audience who might just want to get involved – be it donating time, funds or innovations or even resources and expertise. Simply encouraging your volunteers to keep in touch and letting them know their friends and family are important can help encourage volunteers to be better, work harder and stay involved.

Image by Suzanne Schols [flickr]

Promoting Volunteer Work

Many volunteers, especially today’s youth, could be scared off by reams of contact forms or bustling fairs. While most people know which cause they want to support, or have always wanted to be a Volunteer English Teacher in Thailand, they may not know how to turn their burning drive into action. Find ways to advertise active needs within your organisation and communities in a non-threatening manner and make the sign up process really simple.

A Call to Serve

Emergencies can happen in the blink of an eye and arranging staff and volunteers timeously can be quiet the challenge. By having elements like a phone tree and emergency plan in place, as well as social media, volunteers can be rounded up as quickly as possible. But don’t just contact them when you need them, engage them regularly, appreciate them and keep them interested. Encourage their friends and family, too, to keep in touch and sign up in the event of an emergency and keep striving to expose more community members to your mission.

Revolution Mother