Hello Kitty has become a true phenomenon over the last few years, and is a favourite amongst girls of all ages, from 5 and 6 year olds through to pre-teens and teenagers.  And lots of adults love her retro cool look too!  The cute Japanese bobtailed cat with the bow in her hair (sometimes a red bow, sometimes pink, and occasionally green!) has become a familiar sight around the world; hospitals have sprung up in her name in places such as Taiwan, and you can even your hands on a Hello Kitty Bank of America Bank account, should you wish to.  She has been immortalised in a pop song sung by Avril Lavigne, and the 40 year old cat, first designed and created by Yuko Shimizu for the Sanrio Corporation in 1974 appearing on a coin purse, has become a true modern cartoon classic.  Her name comes from Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s book ‘Through the Looking Glass’ in which Alice calls a cat ‘Kitty’.

Hello Kitty’s phenomenal popularity is thought in part to be because she has a certain ‘retro’ cool – she is part of ‘kawaii’ culture in Japan, which means cute or pretty, and is associated with Manga comics and anime, both amazingly popular amongst Japanese kids and teenagers (and lots of adult too!).  And as all things retro and vintage are so popular right now, Hello Kitty is certainly bang on trend!

There’s been much debate about Hello Kitty’s lack of a mouth, some quite outlandish ideas have been put forward, but the most likely explanation is that her designer wanted the Hello Kitty character to be empathetic, and so you are able to express your emotions through her.  You feel happy, she feels happy, you feel a bit blue, so does she and you’re not alone.

Hello Kitty lives happily with her mum, dad and sister Mimmie – who is only distinguishable from Kitty by the yellow bow on her right ear, rather than the red bow on Kitty’s left ear.  They live in London, and Kitty’s favourite food is her mum’s home baked apple pie.   She rarely sees her boyfriend Daniel as he is often on safari in Africa.

So, your daughter decides she would like you to throw a puurrfect Hello Kitty party for her birthday.  With all the Hello Kitty merchandise around, nothing could be easier.   And if you are feeling creative, or would like to do things on a budget, Hello Kitty’s simple shapes and colours mean doing it yourself is well within reach, and you and your daughter can have great fun planning and putting party things together, unless you and she would like it to be a surprise.

• Invitations – simply print a Hello Kitty template from http://hagiographic.com/hello-kitty-printable-coloring-pages/hello-kitty-face-coloring-pages-template-57646-2/ , transfer the shape to white card, and decorate with a red bow.  Maybe tie a red ribbon bow around the envelope if you are handing out the invites to your guests.
• Decorate your venue in red, pink and white using streamers, balloons, and Hello Kitty bunting, banners and scene setters available from www.partybagsandsupplies.co.uk.  Ask your guests to come in fancy dress, or at the very least with a bow in their hair!
• Games and crafts.  Set up a Hello Kitty craft table with some plain white paper plates, felt tip pens, glitter and sequins for your guests to create the perfect Hello Kitty face mask.  Cut out a large Hello Kitty face shape from white paper or card, a large red bow, attach to a door or wall and blindfold your guests for ‘Pin the Bow on Kitty’.  It’s not too tricky with themes like Hello Kitty to adapt traditional party games to make them a perfect match.
• Food – if you’re feeling creative, create cupcake toppers from white royal icing, mix some pink or red food colouring in, and create a cute bow for each cake.  Apple pie may not be traditional children’s party food, but it is Hello Kitty’s favourite…. And a Hello Kitty birthday cake can be created from a round sponge cake, white and red and black royal icing and some liquorice laces.
• Party bags – to save you time and money you can find pre-filled Hello Kitty party bags at http://www.partybagsandsupplies.co.uk/themes,  along with lots more Hello Kitty party goodies – tableware, banners, balloons and fillers if you wish to select and fill your own bags.

And, enjoy!

Finding out you are pregnant can be one of the greatest moments of your life. You can’t wait to share the news and revel in the excitement with your friends and family. But those joyous moments can come to a screeching halt when faced with some of the most common symptoms.

There are enough possible pregnancy complications to make your head spin. It is important to remember that you’re acting for two and anything ingested or applied to your body will also affect your baby. Ideally, you want to use products that are natural and tested so you know they will not harm your child. When dealing with common ailments of pregnancy, there are plenty of natural solutions.

Morning Sickness

Morning sickness is a complete misnomer as it lasts not only all day, but sometimes through the entire pregnancy. More than half of women experience some form of morning sickness. Often, it is can be remedied with some simple changes. Be sure to eat and hydrate often. You may have been fine skipping breakfast, but baby disagrees and it’s important to provide the nutrients. Keeping gum and crackers on hand can help quell nausea. Ginger naturally aids in digestion and nausea and is even available in gum format. Acupressure bracelets may also help ease the symptoms.

Acne

Pregnancy causes a dramatic shift in hormones and for many women this means unsightly acne. Unfortunately, many products contain chemicals that could be harmful, such as benzoyl peroxide, so many doctors advise against most OTC treatments. Look for natural cleansers and make sure you keep all hair off of your face. A paste of baking soda and water rubbed gently into the skin works very well and has no harmful effects. If you wear cosmetics, make sure they are oil-free.

Swelling & Blood Clots

Believe it or not, swelling is actually your body’s way of nurturing you and the baby, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t come with some painful side effects. Spending long periods of sitting or standing can cause a lot of pain in the ankles so rotate often and keep your legs lifted. Excessive swelling can lead to preeclampsia so contact your OB-GYN if symptoms persist. You may want to look into an anti embolism stocking, which can help prevent blood clots from forming as well.

Back Pain

All of these physiological changes cause a complete shift in how we carry our bodies and often times this leads to back pains. Wear comfortable shoes with a slight heal and maintain correct posture. Side sleeping can alleviate pain and use pillows on high pressure points. Exercise is a vital aspect of a healthy pregnancy. Make sure your activities won’t harm the baby. Yoga is great for stretching and relaxation. Many professionals also recommend prenatal massage and chiropractic care.

Constipation

Constipation is a subject no one enjoys talking about, but it is very common in pregnancies and can exacerbate hemorrhoids. Most problems are caused by dehydration and bad eating habits. Drink at least 1.5 liters of water a day and eat high fiber foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Avoid diuretics like tea or soda. Smaller and more frequent meals may help with digestion. Physical activity such as light walking or swimming may also help.

The best way to treat pregnancy symptoms is proactively. Proper diet and exercise will alleviate most problems without the need for potentially harmful medications. Taking care of you means your baby will be properly taken care of as well.

As homeowners’ and parents’ top priority, home security, or a lack thereof, is of major concern. There are simple, effective ways to bring home security into your house that take little time and money in order to keep your family safe.

Here are the top six:

1.  Security System

A home security system is one of the best security tools, for the alarm alerts you, the alarm company, and the police that someone has broken into your home while alerting the burglar that the police are on their way. One of the best ways to find a great deal on a security system is to do an online keyword search such as security systems in Waltham or something of the like. You’ll find information on the best products, installation guides, and the best companie

2. Dog

Even if your dog wouldn’t actually hurt a fly, if it has a good bark, burglars will stay away. Dogs add a layer of protection to the home, because most burglars do not want to risk being attacked by a dog. To burglars, the home is not worth the hassle of having to fight a vicious dog. Some of the best friendly yet protective breeds are German Shepherds, Bernese Mountain Dogs, and Saint Bernards.

3. Doors and Locks

Replace old or hollow-core doors, for they are easy to kick in or break through. Solid wood doors or metal-clad doors are a better option, for they are nearly impossible for someone to kick in. And, change the locks in your house, especially if you recently moved in. This ensures you and your family are the only ones with keys to your house.

4.  Lock Your Doors

Now that you have a new door, lock it. It’s a simple concept, but when distracted it can be an easy habit to forget. Most burglars are looking for a quick and easy entrance into a home. Most robberies are not well thought out, and a burglar is looking for some quick cash or expensive items he or she can pawn off. If the doors are locked and the blinds are drawn at night, burglars will most likely skip to another house that is more accessible.

5. Join a Neighborhood Watch Program

Most neighborhoods have a program like this that helps to build a community-oriented neighborhood and reduce crime in the area. Often times neighbors notice something unusual happening at a neighbor’s house, but because they do not know the neighbor personally, they ignore it in order not to inconvenience anyone. Getting to know your neighbors can save your house from a break-in, especially while on vacation. Ask them to keep an eye out on your home, pick up your paper, or grab your mail.

6. Upgrade Your House Number

When there is an emergency, it’s important the police and fire department are able to see your home’s street number easily in the dark. Many fire departments, city, or county governments sell inexpensive reflective street numbers, which makes your house number much more obvious to officials.

Image Source: www.theguardian.com

Managing built up stress had become somewhat of a favorite subject for scientists, media and various lifestyle gurus lately. In fact, it is mentioned and referred to so often that the word “stress” itself had come to signify stress overload and health problems related to it as well, which is one of the reasons we tend to relate it solely with its negative physical and psychological outputs.

In order for a parent to tackle problems related to it and teach their children how to do the same, it is necessary for us to understand its inner workings to the best of our ability.

What exactly is stress?

Stress is nothing more than an instinctive reaction of our body to any type of challenge. In other words, stress is an “all hands on deck” sign to all of our internal mechanisms that helps our body to prepare for the challenge we are faced with.

Seeing thoughts and emotions play a big part in the way information and stimuli from the outside world is processed by the human body and, consequently, the brain, it is not that uncommon for those information and stimuli to take a wrong turn somewhere and end up transformed to physical discomfort and anxiety, or worrying almost arbitrarily about just about anything. To put it simply, instead of helping us be more alert, energized and to access all of our physical and mental capacities, stress can have the opposite effect if not handled properly.

The same happens when we are faced with too many unwanted challenges – the body is unable to translate stress into positive action and it simply turns it into negative energy.

Inspect and introspect

Solving your child’s problems in most cases must start with our solving our own, or at least carefully examining how some of our actions or lack thereof affects our kids in everyday life. Amazingly, adults tend to forget how keenly and instinctively kids feel and copy everything we do, right down to the subconscious mechanisms for dealing with challenges we ourselves are most often not aware of. It may be an obvious point, but it is worth repeating that you cannot trick a child unless he or she desperately wants to believe you, and even then you cannot outflank their instinct. Our kids are programmed to read us like an open book and consequently memorize and apply that knowledge to a letter, just as we are programmed to care for them and protect them. They will simply know in their bones if something is not right, even if, on the surface, it seems you have tricked them into believing otherwise.

Where to start

In order to maximize the positive effects of stress and minimize the negative ones, it is best for us to start from the outside, so to speak. Experts agree that healthy nutrition, regular meals, physical activity and overall balanced and orderly lifestyle are the prerequisites for us to be able to handle challenges as smoothly as possible.

This is even more important for our little ones, as their young bodies are going through bigger and more violent chemical and hormonal changes than us adults and their chemical balance is that more easily disturbed.

The other part of the equation is coaching our children to properly reroute the stimuli into positive action, to recognize the right moment for blowing off some steam as it is up to us to provide them with a healthy way to do so.

Excitement vs. Anxiousness

Anxious kids or kids that tend to transform stress into fear, worrying and feeling of great pressure, think differently to other children. Their first reaction is thinking about everything that can go wrong in a certain situation, which, in essence, is worrying by default. In order for us to reverse that trend, we must first teach out kid the difference between thoughts and feelings and how first in most cases leads to the latter.

In order to do so, encourage your child to speak openly about his or hers concerns and to write them down, preferably connecting a particular thought with a corresponding feeling.

Then teach them to rationally examine those causal connections by writing down questions that will help them to determine their internal stress pathways and to build a mechanism for recognizing, singling out and confronting those thoughts before they transform into emotions. Be patient and allow enough time for this process to become a reflex, automatic response to a challenge.

Tempo

Although right approach to challenges is imperative, there comes a time for us all when we have to relax.

Recognizing that moment and applying the preferred method of stress relief without hesitation is a delicate art that is to be nurtured throughout our whole lives. It is important our pride and joy has a way of blowing off some steam and they will naturally rely on your guidance in that regard, especially while they are in the single-digit years. If we adopt healthy habits in stress relief, our little one will do so, as well.

It would be great if every parent could include yoga, some type of sports activity and meditation in their daily life. Contrary to what most people assume, most children take up meditation effortlessly.

Breathing exercises are also an extremely powerful tool for achieving almost instant relief and you could perform them just about anywhere and anytime. Half an hour of video games is also great for children to blow off some steam, but not more than an hour.

Last, but not least, it is advisable to provide your child with a physical stress-remover appropriate for studying and mental effort in general. Stress balls are a great example, as they provide another way of channeling the energy stress provides us with without having to stop with what we are doing in order to take a breather.

The right approach to handling stressful situations is a crucial tool for overcoming challenges in any area of human endeavor. Stress is a formidable force, but it should not be feared. We should respect it, learn to utilize its good sides and avoid the bad ones as much as possible. The sooner our little ones learn how to handle it, sooner they will be able to harness it, use it to their advantage and to enjoy its numerous benefits.

It seems there are a lot of children’s TV shows and a lot of grown up family shows. But what about those TV programs you used to watch as a child? You know, the ones that seemed daggy at the time, but in retrospect were full of wholesome values? Your parents would gather you around the TV every Saturday night for some classic family bonding coupled with the latest Warner Bros release.

There are a stack of great TV shows to show your children – but can you remember the names of any off the top of your head? That show you used to watch every afternoon? The programme you laughed to? Cried to? Grew up with? Check out these classics that you and your children will love!

Little House on the Prairie

The simple life. A family that works together, plays together, lives together, laughs and cries together. Set on the backdrop of the American frontier, your children will marvel at the Ingalls family as they struggle and succeed in this harsh environment.

The Wonder Years

Who could forget this classic coming of age TV series? We all joined in teenage angst with Kevin, Paul and Winnie as they navigated the stormy waters of growing up. From first kisses, parents, school troubles, driving and a liberal dose of humour, The Wonder Years had it all. Look past the classic 80’s clothing and your kids will discover that some things never go out of style!

The Cosby Show

The Huxtables brought us into their Brooklyn home and into their hearts. We could all relate to and laugh with the whole family. Based on classic values, the Cosby Show brought down many racial barriers in US television, showing a normal, loving, clean-living family into our living rooms. What made the Cosby Show a great program for your children? It’s hilarious! Bill Cosby’s seamless humour and candour will certainly resonate with your children.

MacGyver

No-one, but no-one can look at a paperclip, gaffer-tape or Swiss Army knife the same way after watching an episode of MacGyver! You were amazed at the way MacGyver could get out of any situation using his bare wits and simple gadgets. Your children too will be amazed at how MacGyver used smarts to get out of almost any situation. A classic TV series that shows violence is not the answer to problems, and that clear thinking, education and a paperclip can get you out of any difficult situation!

There are heaps of classic shows that are perfect for you and your children to watch. Shows that you don’t need to worry about covering your children’s eyes or ears. Shows that won’t give them nightmares. Classics you can snuggle up together and spend a night in front of the TV with. As any parent will attest, there are so many programs that don’t support those values you hold close too. Why not check out some of the classics to enjoy together?