Watch Your Children's Intake Of Salt, Sugar, And Fat Before It Consumes Them...

Kids Fed Unhealthy Foods Learn to Prefer Them. Most preschool children develop a taste for salt, sugar and fat at home, and quickly learn which types of brand-name fast foods and sodas meet these preferences, U.S. researchers say. | All things Family, Children, Preschoolers, Toddlers and Parenting!

 

This is so true and something we should all watch out for as we supplement our once so very cautiously monitored meals and snacks with the occasional yummy treat. It starts coming at you more and more and seeping into their diets from places such as school and friend's houses before you even realize it. Our little ones have started preferring the unhealthy choices over the healthy ones and I have to tell you that it is going to be quite an uphill battle turning their preferences around once again. We are facing this uphill battle even though we did everything right in the early years so I implore you to follow the above-mentioned guidelines so that you don't have to go through this same battle but more importantly that your youngsters start out life with habits that will follow them throughout a lifetime.

Free guitar lessons from one of the best guitar players around & they really do work...

We started our two middle daughters ages 7 & newly turned 9 in on these lessons with both my husband and myself knowing next to nothing about guitar lessons or how to play (although my hubby is an excellent drummer by ear and I have a piano background) and so far we love the progress and enthusiasm they are showing. These are just the best learning videos around in an age where anybody can learn anything with the Net and all. I encourage everybody to try these and when they're for free, how can you turn that down!!! http://bit.ly/LV8ek3

It's Not Too Early To Think About Teaching Your Children To Swim

Learn to Swim

Knowing how to swim is essential for personal safety and enjoyment. The Centers for Disease Control says formal swimming lessons can prevent young children from drowning; drowning is the second highest cause of death involving unintentional injuries. Private or group lessons are available year round through the YMCAs, The Red Cross, Vanderbilt University, MTSU and other facilities. Don’t delay in giving your young child lessons. This is especially important for States with year round swimming such as ours, Arizona.

Along with reports of our great year-round weather in the Valley of the Sun often come news reports of accidental deaths by drowning. This makes water safety a high priority for Arizonans where the potential for disaster from swimming pool drownings exists all year long.

On average, nearly 90 people die from drowning in Arizona each year with the majority of those deaths happening between April and August. This comes as no surprise since Arizona summers are known for outdoor recreation including swimming and boating.

Although they make up only 20% of the number of total drowning deaths in Arizona according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, news reports usually center on children who have drowned in their family's or a friend's backyard swimming pool. Most of them, about 75%, were being supervised around water by at least one adult and were out of the sight of those adults for 5 minutes or less.

While less than half of all drowning deaths in the state involve swimming pool accidents, owners of swimming pools must adhere to stringent state and local building codes.

However, the best way to prevent swimming pool drownings is by following simple water safety procedures including these from the National Safety Council:

Never swim alone.
Never leave a child alone near water. If you must leave, take your child with you.
Enroll children over age three in swimming lessons taught by qualified instructors.In addition to water safety relating to swimming pools, you must be aware of other drowning dangers, especially for children, in and around your home. These include bathtubs, decorative ponds, and even mop buckets. It only takes 2 inches of water and a couple of minutes for a small child to drown.

Carelessness while participating in water sports, including boating, tubing, and piloting personal watercraft, contributes to many drowning deaths in Arizona. Following these water safety tips from the National Safety Council can help prevent such tragedies:
Always use approved personal flotation devices (life jackets).
Don't jump or dive into unknown bodies of water.
Always have a first-aid kit and emergency phone contacts handy.
Never consume alcohol when operating a boat or other watercraft.

Arizona is a wonderland for outdoor recreation throughout the year. It's also well known for being consistently above the national average for drowning deaths. Water safety is serious business. Following these few simple rules can keep your outdoor activities fun, and your friends and family safe for many summers to come.

Leprechaun Wall Hanging

Leprechaun Wall Hanging

Difficulty: Easy

Age: 6 and up



What you'll need:

1 miniature paper plate
1 regular paper plate
Acrylic paint in green and flesh (we used peach)
Construction paper: pink, brown, black, green, yellow, orange and light green
White paper
Black marker
White craft glue
Scissors

How to make it:
Turn both paper plates upside down.
Paint the smaller plate with flesh-colored paint.
Paint the larger plate green. (See photo.)
Print out pattern 1 and pattern 2 and use them to cut the various piece from construction paper.
Green paper – cut out hat, brim of hat, 2 legs, and 2 cuffs. (See photo.) Also cut a strip of construction paper about 3” wide the full length of the sheet. Fold that strip accordion style, and then while still folded cut in half so that you have two accordion style strips for the arms. (See photo.) Also, cut out a simple bowtie (optional).
Light green paper – cut out the shamrock.
Yellow paper – Cut one large buckle and 3 smaller buckles. (See photo.)
Black paper – Cut out hat band, two shoes and cut a 1” wide strip the full length of the paper for the belt.
White paper – Cut out two eyes and two legs (socks).
Brown paper – Cut out pipe.
Orange paper – Cut out 2 eyebrows. Also, cut about 30 strips, 1” wide by 3” long. (See photo.)
Pink paper – cut out the nose.
Create the beard - Take the orange strips of paper and roll each one around the end of a pen or pencil to curl them. (See photo.) Glue the curled paper around the bottom of the small paper plate. There should be enough to go a little more than halfway around the plate. (See photo.)
Assemble and glue the hat pieces, tucking the shamrock stem under the hat band. Glue the hat to the top of the head, overlapping the beard if necessary.
Glue the green pant legs to the bottom of the green paper plate. Glue the cuffs to the bottom of the pant legs.
Glue the shoes to the white legs (socks) and glue a small buckle on each shoe.
Glue the white socked legs to the pants.
Glue the green accordion style strips to the sides of the green plate for the arms.
Glue the long black belt strip across the front of the green plate, a little below the center. You will have overlap on both sides. Fold the overlap under the plate and glue to the back side. (See photo.)
Glue the last small buckle to the middle of the belt.
Turn the accordion arms so that it appears the leprechaun has his hands behind his back, glue them to the back of the plate.
This step is optional, if you like, cut out a large green bowtie and glue to the top of the green plate.
Decorate the face – Glue the orange eyebrows under the hat brim, glue the white eyes under the brows and glue the pink nose in place.
Glue the brown pipe off to the side of the face and draw a mouth up to the end of the pipe with the black marker.
Draw a black circle in the white eye shapes and color in.
Glue the small plate (head) to the larger plate (body) and let dry completely before hanging.

Tips:
Construction paper is perfect for a large variety of projects, be sure to keep plenty on hand.
For a fun game, tape a piece of paper with a word on it behind the leprechaun. Have children guess what is behind his back!
An alternative would be to glue the arms in front and create a pot of gold from black and yellow construction paper for him to hold.

Take Care Of Your Family's Heart By Eating Smart

Smarter And Eating Ideas

Chips and a soda may be a convenient after school snack or quick pick from the office vending machine, but it doesn't nourish our body or give us the brain and energy boost that we are so desperately looking for. There are snack options that not only are good for the body, but also good for the brain. In addition to being nutritious and supplying us with an afternoon energy boost, they taste great too.  For proper brain development and continued brain health, vision, the prevention of heart disease, and to promote growth and development throughout childhood, Omega 3 fats are essential. They are not produced in the body, nor are they found in many foods however. Fish, especially fatty fish are an excellent source of Omega 3s but, most of our family snack ideas and menu plans often do not include fish or for that matter many of the really heart smart selections recommended. The three most nutritionally important omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). 

 

Alpha-linolenic acid is one of two fatty acids traditionally classified as "essential." The other fatty acid traditionally viewed as essential is an omega 6 fat called linoleic acid. These fatty acids have traditionally been classified as "essential" because the body is unable to manufacture them on its own and because they play a fundamental role in several physiological functions. As a result, we must be sure our diet contains sufficient amounts of both alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid. 

Dietary sources of alpha-linolenic acid include flaxseeds, walnuts, hemp seeds, soybeans and some dark green leafy vegetables. Linoleic acid is found in high concentrations in corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, and canola oil. Most people consume a much higher amount of linoleic acid than alpha-linolenic acid, which has important health consequences.  Research indicates that omega-3s may be better absorbed from food than supplements.  

The body converts alpha-linolenic acid into two important omega-3 fats, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA). These fats can also be derived directly from certain foods, most notably cold-water fish including salmon, tuna, halibut, and herring. In addition, certain types of algae contain DHA. EPA is believed to play a role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, while DHA is the necessary for proper brain and nerve development. Recent statistics indicate that nearly 99% of people in the United States do not eat enough omega 3 fatty acids. However, the symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency are very vague, and can often be attributed to some other health conditions or nutrient deficiencies. Consequently, few people (or their physicians, for that matter) realize that they are not consuming enough omega-3 fatty acids. The symptoms of omega-3 fatty acid deficiency include fatigue, dry and/or itchy skin, brittle hair and nails, constipation, frequent colds, depression, poor concentration, lack of physical endurance, and/or joint pain.

The following conditions or symptoms may indicate a need for more food high in Omega-3:

• Depression
• Cardiovascular Disease
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Fatigue
• Dry, itchy skin
• Brittle hair and nails
• Inability to concentrate
• Joint pain

Foods high in Omega-3 can:

• Reduce inflammation throughout your body
• Keep your blood from clotting excessively
• Maintain the fluidity of your cell membranes
• lower the amount of lipids (fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides) circulating in the bloodstream
• decrease platelet aggregation, preventing excessive blood clotting
• inhibit thickening of the arteries by decreasing endothelial cells' production of a platelet-derived growth factor (the lining of the arteries is composed of endothelial cells)
• increase the activity of another chemical derived from endothelial cells (endothelium-derived nitric oxide), which causes arteries to relax and dilate
• reduce the production of messenger chemicals called cytokines, which are involved in the inflammatory response associated with atherosclerosis
• reduce the risk of becoming obese and improve the body's ability to respond to insulin by stimulating the secretion of leptin, a hormone that helps regulate food intake, body weight and metabolism, and is expressed primarily by adipocytes (fat cells)
• help prevent cancer cell growth                                                                             

In its 2002 guidelines for omega-3 fatty acid intake, the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences declined to establish a Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for omega-3s. However, research was cited showing increased risk of bleeding and hemorrhagic stroke in a few studies following supplementation with omega-3s. Individuals who have disorders involving bleeding, who bruise very easily, or who are taking blood thinners should consult with a medical practitioner before taking supplemental omega-3 fatty acids.
Here is a great link to some great recipes and healthy snack ideas!

 

I decided to share this to explain our blog purpose!

Sugar is my friend!

Hi there & welcome to our family's newest addition to our HOUSE OF RIEBESEHL empire (:o) Good one huh!!!) This blog originally was planned to support my MOMMYKOGGIBOO FAIRYTALE STORIES LINE but our family (more specifically our children) helped mommy design the site and wanted it to be all of ours to add all the ingredients that go into making home what home is to all of us and family what family is to all of us so that we can not only share all of our many adventures and experiences with our friends and family but also all the little helpful tidbits such as ideas, special notes, instructions, highlights in our travels, deals, finds, freebies, coupons, etc. We hope you enjoy your time with our family and that you feel the warmth, love, and laughter that we try and share with everyone we meet on a daily basis!!! WELCOME! :o) & now that I got that out of the way, here is one of my little ones whom will be either sharing content or the cause of me sharing future content!:o)

Hi there and welcome to our newest blog!

Image via Wikipedia

I am so very happy to welcome you to our little corner of the Blogoshpere! I am a WAHM whom wears many many many hats (just like all the rest of you amazing mommies out there!!! I am really excited and blessed to be hanging out in some of the places I've been lately here on the Internet! Never before have I imagined a world where I would feel so empowered as a mother, wife, family, woman, business owner, artist, educator, friend, writer, caregiver, supporter, promoter, advocate, etc. as I do right now being amongst so many very special talented beautiful and giving people! There is INSPIRATION in the air everywhere & I truly believe that as we all just might save this world of ours as ONE after all and LOVE it beautiful with all of our creations and efforts! As you can see I am A)a really out there in a groovy kind of way trippy hippy flower power child B) am crazy in love with my husband and our children living a once in a lifetime magical fairytale adventure journeying together toward our happily ever after with just a few extra twists and turns in our yellow brick road (OMG! WHERE OH WHERE DID TOTO GO NOW FOR GOODNESS SAKES? AND THE CHILDREN? We did leave home with all of them didn't we?:o) ) or C) have been on my own little Odyssey through a great deal of health & personal trauma & loss and ended up spending a little too much time in the house and watching WAY too much TV plugging me into the whole Death, Doom, Devastation, Disease, Destruction..... and so on and so forth until I was just about to go outside and start digging our family underground safe haven all while raising the backyard chickens, growing veggies, storing rice & grain, water, & emergency supplies and plotting & planning what Food And Drugs Store I would HIT for necessary supplies like Flintstone's Chewable vitamins (what?) with my son's teenie weenie purple water gun (Did I mention I had been couped up with little people and their TV way too long too!:o) ) but I finally turned off the TV and then took a shower & a long walk outside, went to bed and D) I'm all better now!!! If you selected any of the above answers or all of them, you'd be right! I am indeed back to normal and seeing the world through Tony Robbin eyes again and I've got a lot of LIVING LOVING & LAUGHING to do so let's get this party started!