Fran's Home & Family Tips

Baby Care Tips Every New Parent Should Know

Parenthood is one of life’s most enjoyable and challenging experiences. As parents, we want to feed them the most nutritious foods, mind-developing activities, and keep them safe. This is why it is vital to be aware of the three ways that we can help enhance our baby’s development. There are particular products and healthy lifestyle changes that can be very valuable. With the assistance of baby learning toys, a Cuisinart food processor, and an excellent car seat, our infants can develop into healthy adults.

A Great Graco Car Seat Will Keep Your Baby Safer On the Road

The National Transportation and Safety Administration reports that driving accidents are the main reason for childhood deaths for children aged two to fourteen. Many of these deaths can be avoided with the proper use and installation of a baby car seat. Select a rear-facing seat that fits babies who weigh up to 20 pounds and then take the seat to your firehouse so a fireman can teach you how to properly install it in your automobile. Over 90% of all car seats are installed inadequately, a mistake that can lead to major so be sure you learn how to install it right! Then, you’ll need a booster seat, which is the last type of car seat that your child will need until they can safely sit using the seat belt.

A Cuisinart Food Processor Makes Baby Food a Snap

The American Pediatric Association suggests that babies are fed plenty of pureed produce to develop properly. Sure, buying packaged baby food is simple, but it can be difficult to afford. Nevertheless, in today’s economy, pureeing your baby’s meals with a KitchenAid food processor is a great way to save money while serving your baby foods that are full of nutrients. Choose organic produce whenever possible and search for bargains on these items in your weekly food flyers. By buying organic produce, your baby will be eating food that has absolutely no chemical pesticides. Several organic food agencies report that being exposed to pesticides in our food can cause cancer.

Learning Toys Help Build Your Baby’s Intelligence

Well-chosen baby learning toys will provide your baby’s brain with stimulation it needs to help their actual brain development. As far as colors go, black and white are perfect for little ones in the early periods of childhood (about 4-8 weeks of age). Lines, squiggles, and zig-zags are all designs for baby to look at and enhance their brain development . Incidentally, science has shown that mobiles such as these actually enhance a baby’s brain development by increasing brain waves. For babies in the age range of 8 to 20 weeks, colors are distinguishable and they crave interactivity. Large books made of soft materials, chunky wooden puzzles, and toys such as plastic doughnut rings that can stack on a central pole are all perfect types of learning toys.

By energizing your baby’s mind with good learning toys, feeding them homemade food, and properly installing a car seat, you’ll be giving them the very best care to get them started in life.

How a Baby High Chair and a Baby Stroller Make Vacationing with Baby Enjoyable

Family trips are welcome occasions, especially in this fast-paced world we live in. With duties such as paying the bills, going to work, and raising a family, a vacation is an excellent way to let go and renew your mind. Even better is a vacation involving the whole family. If you have young children, or even an infant, vacations can be a bit more taxing. Nevertheless, if you apply some simple tips and tricks for making your family vacation easier, your time away from home can be the best getaway you’ve ever had!

Get Out on an Adventurous Trip

First, choose a location that has amenities especially for small children. A portable crib for your hotel room is an ideal start. Additionally, kid-geared group activities with lots of crafts, songs, and dancing are the best answer to the “I’m bored” complaint. If you go to a place like Disney World, you can certainly sit back and let the theme park take care of the entertanment. Nevertheless, if you go somewhere on the coast, for example, you’ll need to plan ahead as far as things to do as a family. Frequently, you can reserve family activities over the Internet when making reservations for your airline and lodging. Be sure to bring a baby stroller along with you for the whole getaway, and you’ll be able to travel with ease and do some sightseeing with ease. It will help you while on vacation and can be the best napping place for your toddler or baby while moving around.

Take Some Time Out for Yourselves

It is possible to make your dream getaway a reality by planning some time doing things that youboth enjoy. No need to leave your golf clubs behind when you get away with the kids! Schedule some tee time for Dad while Mom stays with the little ones. Then, Mom can take time for herself and go to the spa for a relaxing massage or facial treatment. Many hotels have golf courses and spas on the grounds and also have golf equipment for rent (so you don’t have to bring them). All-together time is a ideal way to enjoy your vacation, but it’s also important to unwind with some “me time”.

With these 3 helpful tips for vacationing with your kids, you can let the heaviness of daily life go by the wayside and enjoy the vacation of a lifetime!

How to Enjoy Dining Out with Your Small Children

Eating at a restaurant can be challenging with a small child. However, it can be made easy if you follow a few suggestions:

• Have at least one meal at a eatery that also has an arcade - This can make eating out a fun venture for your toddler. Besides, the best incentive to behaving at the table is that they can visit the games and play area afterwards!
• A casual atmosphere is best -Eateries that have lots of commotion with loud conversations are the best place to dine with a small child. A banging utensil will meld effortlessly into the busy ambiance of the room and your family will feel right at home.
• Decide to eat at a place that includes food items made just for kids - Eateries like this usually have crayons and coloring gear, a baby high chair or booster seat, and cups for kids that include lids and straws.

Tips for Entertaining the Kids this Summer

The summer is the perfect occasion for enjoying each day while the little ones are at home during the day. It can get costly taking them to theme parks, water parks, and fun centers, especially if you’re on a tight budget. If you happen to be in a similar financial state as most people are, you shouldn’t be concerned, since there are a lot of inexpensive things you can do right at home. For kids 10 and younger, these activities are perfect. Most of these ideas are centered around learning and activity together.

Using Household Items in Your Games

Use everyday items in your play around the house as props for your pretend news stories. A fun game to play at home is to pretend you run a medical clinic. Have the little ones gather a stuffed toy or other toy and then use things from around your house that can serve as make-believe doctor’s tools. Most homes are chock full of odd and ends that can be imagined into surgical kits. You can also do another take on this game by imagining that everyone is a news reporter. A baby doll or other toys can be used as part of the crazy stories that your child and you are describing to the imaginary viewers.

Escape to the Wild Outdoors

A game that is particularly entertaining is to pretend that you’re on a safari trip in your living room. Take out large bed linens and tuck the ends into chairs, the sofa, or any strong fixture in the room. Drape the bed linens so that thekids feel like they are hidden by large forest trees or in the thick brush where the wild critters can’t see them. If you have a pair of binoculars, give them to the kids to make it feel more real. Have your kids get together all of the stuffed critters and animal figures they can find and set them up throughout the room, mostly hiding from view, and then use the binoculars to discover them. Have the kids shout the names of the animals they find and then you can make the animal noise back at them. They always have the most laughs with this game!

Get Outside and Have Fun

An low-cost, yet really entertaining activity is to get out side for a ride on Trek bikes. If you have little ones, you can tote them along in a trailer attachment where they can be safe in a secure area. For smaller trips, some children might want to use their Razor scooter to get around. To make it even more entertaining, take your time and call out different items for them to spot while you’re out, like a treasure hunt. Things like hummingbirds, butterflies, or chipmunks can all be great things for everyone to call out as they find them. This game also works wonderfully on a stroll in the great outdoors and can teach children about nature and their environment.

Extend the Fun into the Night

When evening comes, the fun doesn’t have to stop there! Set up a tent in the yard somewhere and provide binoculars for they can observe the night skies. If you have a fire pit or a small charcoal barbeque, you can make a wood-burning fire for them. Have the kids gather some branches that can be wooden skewers for browning s’mores. If you have time to take a short getaway this summer, go camping at a nature preserve or forest and extend your time outdoors! These ideas will surely give you and your kids a fun summer break full of imagination, activity, and learning.

Easy Ways to Turn Any Room into a Game Room

Summer is a great chance to make some changes to your surroundings, since the kids will be in the house more. Small alterations can really improve your living room, or even your family room or basement. These changes will bring your family together and will give the kids a great place to visit with their peers. It might even spark a night full of board games, neighborhood friends, and fun! Try these great ideas and turn your home from ordinary to fun in no time!

Plan Around Functionality

The place to start making a room better by banishing the rubbish. Get rid of everything that doesn’t belong. If you have a office area in the room, organize the filing area, desk drawers and book shelves and throw away trash or old receipts and papers that you no longer need. After doing that, create an organized filing system that will help keep everything in its own place going forward. For example, if you have photographs that had been stored in a drawer, then you could buy a few photo boxes and divide them into spans of time, perhaps 5 years, so each box doesn’t get over-stuffed. Digitizing your pictures is another option that make more efficient use of physical space.

Create a Room that Suits Your Needs

If you use the room for multiple functions, such as a movie room and dining room in one, consider separating portions of the room for each purpose to give yourself as much space as possible. One idea is to cordon off the area with a thick hanging rug and a hanging rod so that the area can be out of sight when it’s not being used. Select a fabric that is more neutral so that the eye isn’t drawn to the separation. A hanging tapestry that is easy on the eyes with threaded designs looks very nice and adds to any room. Buy decorative curtain rod caps to add even more elegance and visual charm!

Use Multifunctional Furniture to Save Space

Buy furniture that adds to the room by doing double duty. For example, a corner television unit with storage underneath can easily stow away your CDs and DVDs out of view. You could also find a coffee table that flips open, such as a treasure chest-tyle, where games and books can be stowed away. Another helpful style for coffee tables is the kind of table that lifts up and can turn into a dining table for eating. This cuts down the need for a dining table and a storage chest.

Novelty and Fun Come Together for Winning Results

Find oddly humorous or original items that add to the overall theme of your room. You might look for a novelty desk lamp to go with whatever theme you’ve selected for the room. For example, a pool-room theme would go great with a cue stick -styled. Also, a good game table can add many hours of entertainment for indoor family fun. Choose a multipurpose game table that has the types of games your family likes to play; many different options are available from air hockey to table tennis.With some imagination, you can transform your basement, TV room, or living room into a multi-functional area that provides you with hours of fun and family time!

How to Transform Your Outdoor Space for Almost Nothing

Summer is a great opportunity to unwind outside and take in the balmy evenings that are a relief from the day’s heat. Parties are even more fun in the lower temperatures of the evening hours. It’s a time for everyone to enjoy some time together laughing and having fun. There are unique things you can do tomake your garden area into a perfect party place without spending too much money. Here are some tricks to help you get the most out of the summer evenings to come.

Get the clutter cleaned up. Space is the key here, so take the time to go through the clutter that’s scattered in your yard. A tool rack, a large storage bin, or a cabinet with doors are all perfect ways to hide the clutter and keep what you need nearby. Once the area has been cleared and you have more space to work with, get out the push mower, cut the grass and edge it to create a manicured and professional look. A landscaped yard gives the impression of order and organization and is vital to any party spot.

Now that your space is cleaned up, decide where everyone will sit. If you don’t have patio furniture, consider purchasing some at a garage sale or second-hand store and sprucing it up with some new, soft cushions and repainting with some rust-repelling spray paint. You can get hundreds of dollars-worth of furniture for a small investment and then transform it to look like you bought it from an expensive design store. If you don’t have a shaded top in your yard, consider buying or renting a canopy gazebo to provide shade for your guests. They are like an extra room and have paneled doors that are easy to come in and out of and provide a great area for socializing. They can also serve to keep the flying insects out if you choose to serve the drinks and food inside the garden gazebo.

Everyone’s favorite part of a summer party has to be what’s to eat and drink. Lemonade with strawberry puree ice cubes is a great way to add color, flavor, and pizzazz to regular lemonade. You can also freeze lemonade into cubes and serve it with ice-cold citrus-flavored soda for a tart and tangy variation!

As the night comes in, the flying insects come out, so consider buying the best repellent you can find to extend your night-time fun. They can really eliminate or repel the pesky bugs and improve your outdoor environment for you and your guests. Additionally, if you don’t have one already, you can get something for making a fire outside for less than $200 from a local discount store. Use a search engine to look for classified ads by families who no longer need their outdoor items in good condition, due to a move or remodeling. This is a great way to get something you need for up to 90% less than buying them brand-new from a store. Try putting up some lights outside to make your party really shine!

Great Baby Shower Gifts: How About a Baby Stroller Car Seat Or Baby Einstein Gym?

New mom parties are the best way to show appreciation, love, and friendship to any soon-to-be-mom. With all of her friends and family around her, she begins to feel a little less overwhelmed at the prospect of having a new baby. It gets even better when she is gifted with all of the supplies that she needs to get the baby’s room completed so she’s completely ready for the baby’s arrival. Baby showers are also a great way to get the girls together for a fun time of laughing and goofing around.

Baby Shower Gifts to Get Mom Prepared

If you are the friend or loved one throwing the party, be sure your soon-to-be-mom has either enrolled at a department store or Internet vendor to help your guests know what she needs. An alternative to this would be for her to make a list of what she doesn’t yet have, perhaps baby bedding set, a baby activity center, or even a baby car seat. Specify the themes and colors she wants in the invitations and let the guests make it happen! If she needs a Baby Trend car seat, be sure to ask for one that grows with the baby, from newborn through booster seat, for example. If she needs a pram, suggest to the guests a couple of types that will allow for baby car seat to be set on it for easy transitioning from the car to the stroller. A Fisher Price baby swing is an especially practical gift because it allows mom to do things while the infant is being soothed and entertained. The most popular types are ones that have detachable carriers.

Baby Shower Fun With Popular Games

Baby showers are known for their quirkiness and silly games. One game that is particularly fun is “Don’t Say That Word” such as “baby” or “girl” or “boy”. Another popular one is a game involving baby food where the guests smell various flavors of baby food and try to guess what type of food item it is. One game that is really fun as well is to pass a diaper around, just like musical chairs, and the interior of the diaper is a dollop of warm chocolate frosting. This one is sure to get major hoots and hollars from the party guests! Don’t forget gifts for the winning players; choose girly gifts like scented bath accessories, fresh pots of plants or flowers, cards loaded with gift money, or a themed gift bag such as “girl’s night out in a bag”.

Decorations to Make the Party Better

Decorations are wonderful, because they set the festive tone for the entire party. If you don’t know the gender of the baby, choose greens, lilacs, or yellows. This approach creates a fresh color palette and brightens everyone’s mood! The cake can even complement the party theme; add small plastic baby figurines and pacifiers, etc. that can be acquired from a low-cost party store. These items add uniqueness to the dessert table as well as to the purpose of the occasion.

The best showers offer the new mom everything she will need for her new baby. The party is also a great time for loved ones to encourage her and have a great time. Few things are better than your guests saying that the party was the best they’ve ever attended!

How to Live Better on a Budget: Find a Food Processor or Breadman Bread Machine for Less

All expert cooks enjoy having the necessary gadgets to make their work easier. No matter what is most important to you: fast preparation, lower budget, or healthy contents, there’s a helpful gadget for everyone’s kitchen. You can prepare meals ahead of time for people who are crunched for time after a long day at work and a hungry family to feed. Catering professionals have only a short amount of time in which to meet the needs of their busy restaurant or catering business. For people who make a habit out of eating well and preparing healthy meals at home, there are kitchen appliances that can make fixing a meal a snap. Maybe a recent remodel calls for some new appliances in your kitchen. Or maybe you need to purchase a useful gift for a loved one in need of a time-saving appliance. Consider getting them a new food processor, bread maker, or juicer.

How to Make the Most Out of Your Dollar When Renovating Your Kitchen

Internet purchases are a wise choice for working with a limited budget of either time or cash. I especially love finding an excellent price on the item itself, and then finding a vendor that is out-of-state (no sales tax), or that adds to the super-low price by providing free shipping. Avoiding sales tax and shipping costs are easy ways to get the best price possible for your Internet buy. Look for email offers to sign up for to get advanced discounts for your next purchase. Searching for ”discounts” along with the store’s name and you’ll discover codes to enter at checkout for things like free shipping, or a discount on your entire order.

How to Stretch Your Dollar at the Store

For the best discounts at brick-and-mortar stores, look in the newspaper or at their Internet site for discounts and specials you can apply to your in-store purchase. By opening a charge account at some stores, you can also get additional discounts off your purchase. A running charge balance makes me uncomfortable, so I always walk over to the customer service counter and pay off my card after every purchase.. Just for having a credit card with them, most stores will send great discounts from time to time.

Getting Kitchen Gadgets to Make Life Easier

If you’re trying to get healthier, like many of us are, consider buying one or more of the following: a food processor, bread maker, or power juicer. A food processor allows you to slice, dice and chop fruits and veggies fast and easily so you’re never tempted to say that it’s too much work to prepare a healthy meal. A bread machine lets you prepare bread without chemicals or added oils, using whatever healthy ingredients you want. A power juicer is another appliance that helps with sticking to healthy eating. Making juice out of fruits and vegetables is a wonderful way to extract all of the nutrient goodness you need.

Eliminate Wasted Time in the Kitchen

If you enjoy cooking or just want to make cooking more tolerable, any of the appliances mentioned above would make your cooking experience even better. You’ll really see the difference in how fast you can get your meals ready. Say goodbye to wasted time getting food sliced, chopped, grated, etc.. These appliances make any type of food, juice, or baked goods a breeze to prepare! Give yourself (or someone you love) the gift of improved nutrition and less wasted time with a fabulous new food-preparation appliance.

Simple Ways to Use a Quilt Set to Make a Guest Bedroom Feel Like Home

Regardless of the size of your budget or the season, a new down comforter, handmade quilt, or blanket can dress a room in splendor. These simple extras can be used as the building block for any room in the house. That’s right; comforters, quilts, and blanket sets aren’t just for bedrooms any more! With just a small investment and a bit of creativity, you can make every room in your home unique and inviting.

Plan Around the Seasons

First, choose the material that you want your comforter set, handmade quilt, or blanket to be made from. This should reflect the season appropriately so that heavier materials and darker colors are reserved for fall and winter months while colors of a lighter hue and coverings that aren’t too heavy are perfect for summertime and springtime. Goose-feather-filled bedding is perfect for those colder nights and helps you and your family stay comfortable inside, regardless of what the temperature is outside. A cotton-lined bed cover with a thinner layer of poly fill or batting is perfect for the spring and summer nights.

Making a Dramatic Change with Little Impact on Your Wallet

If you’re working with limited finances, you can still make any room in your home feel like you’ve spent thousands on redecorating. The best accompaniments to a new down comforter or bed quilt is a new coat of paint and some decorative pillows. Enough paint to cover a standard room will cost only about $20 to $30. Try and choose colors from your down comforter, handmade quilt, or fleece blanket that complement, but don’t exactly match, your wall color. When you force everything to match, it makes the elements meld together into one boring color palette. Nevertheless, if you choose a color for your walls that is in the same color family, but slightly lighter or darker than your bedding accessories, the room will really pop. You can find discount prices on decorative pillows with all kinds of tassels and trims for less than you think! Check online for sets of multiple pillows that will go with your color scheme and you’ll save a ton of money by buying more than one at a time.

Every Room Can be Made Extra Special

Finally, find some great sheets to buy that match your new bed coverings. If you bought a set that came with sheets already, purchase a spare set for each room in a similar color to keep the room looking fresh and new all year long. You can dress up a couch with a gorgeous throw that serves 2 functions; beautification and warmth. A handmade quilt that is a family heirloom can be proudly displayed on any wall to keep fond memories alive and doubles as an interesting addition to the room. With a bit of money and creativity, you can effortlessly make any living room, bedroom, or spare room into a glorious escape.

Yes, Model Sets Really Are Educational Toys

Special things can happen with children and their toys. Growing up, I can’t think of a girl who didn’t own a Barbie or a boy who didn’t run about the yard wielding action figures to conquer classic villains. LEGO sets were scattered all over the floors of every playroom I entered as a youth, including my own. We could build astonishing things with those magnetic building sets; towering buildings for our Barbie doll or stuffed toys to live in, a store for them to shop in; the potential was only limited by our imaginations. While these types of toys don’t neatly fit into the category of educational toys, they most certainly do teach children valuable lessons.

All toys can be important to children, even those that parents may not first think of as educational toys. This is as true today as it was decades ago when I sat playing card games with my sister. Youngsters learn a lot of things by playing, and they expand their imaginations and their critical thinking skills. While one may tend to think that only learning toys have the ability to teach a child anything, that would be a misconception. In essence, most toys are educational games when you realize that a child learns from free play.

Classic board games, while supplying hours of entertainment, also work on cultivating a child’s thinking skills as well as coping skills. Everyone doesn’t win when we play classic board games, and occasionally losing at something is as important for a child to learn as winning is. When one player wins and the other loses in a board game, one player is humbled while the other, hopefully, learns to be a gracious winner. With the assistance of a focused parent, children will develop these skills. So popular are certain board games that they are now being made in ways that they can be played in the car. Travel games may not be as exciting as the original board games, but it sure keeps a child engaged in the car!

Over several decades, parents and children have spent hours of quality time over model sets. The wonderfully colorful blocks in a Lego set bring out the very best in a child’s imagination, and keep them engaged for days. What is so great about model sets is that just one set could produce many of different items, from a dinosaur to a village. Over the years, Lego sets have grown to where there are now sets specifically for girls, such as the Belville line. Naturally, boys love Lego sets like Star Wars or Bionicles. But youngsters can practice deftness and resourcefulness through Lego sets, and that’s what really matters.

Need convincing of the value of Lego sets as an educational toy? Studies have shown that children develop new brain connections when working with model sets. By merely playing with their Lego set, kids also learn spatial concepts, cause-and-effect, and fine motor skills. There’s no better way to learn!

See How New Gourmet Knife Set and a Gourmet Outdoor Grill Can Help Make a Cook’s Life Easier

Plenty of magic occurs in the kitchen! You probably have memories that include the aroma of pastries baking in the oven before a main holiday, or of your father carving the turkey with the electric knife on Thanksgiving after it has been done cooking in the oven.

The kitchen is not all about creating memories; it is simply a place to be comfortable while cooking up great dinners to enjoy with the family. It just so happens that certain tools, such as that perfect gourmet cooking knife set or the nonstick roasting pan that creates chicken nice and juicy, can add to the functionality of your kitchen. While specialty items like an electric roasting pan weren’t found in many kitchens of the past, these items have become supplies that no passionate cooking aficionado is able to do without.

We may ask ourselves how our grandparents did without these items? In simple terms, they make life a whole lot easier. For example, when cooking up a smaller meal, using a roast pan that uses a standard outlet may save time and money on the electric bill when comparing it to heating an electric oven. You may find that not all roasting pans are electric, even though this is the type that seems most efficient. Some roasting pans are the regular ones that we used in the oven. Calphalon roasting pans, for instance, have been used for decades. They don’t weigh a lot and are easy to clean, which shows why nonstick roasting pan are still some of the most popular kitchen tools around.

An important cooking tool is the outdoor cooking grill. Outdoor grills are great for meals such as steak, fish or chicken, but can even be used to grill vegetables or breakfast foods. People like to cook in the outdoors so they can take in nature and enjoy the fresh air while making the family meal.

Outdoor grills are available in 3 different versions: charcoal, electric and gas. The nice thing about this is that between those three types of outdoor grills is a grill for each budget. Many people have a outdoor BBQ grill to use at their house, as well as a outdoor cooking grill that they use for camping trips or day trips to the local beach or mountains.

A good gourmet cooking knife set is certainly a requirement if one is to really enjoy a meal that needs some preparation. Throw away that old knife set and splurge on a nice gourmet cooking knife set. You can be sure you will enjoy this investment for many years. A gourmet cooking knife set, just like with outdoor grills and even the roasting pans mentioned in this article, come in a range of prices to fit every budget. As important as it is to have the right tools to work on your car, it is just as important to have the right tools in the kitchen. Without them, completing tasks in the kitchen can take more of your precious time.

By implementing the right tools in the kitchen as well as in the dining room, all meals can become something exceptional. You want the best for your family and for yourself, so buy a nice set of dinnerware that makes you feel good and create a great meal. You just may notice a different feeling at the dinner table!