Stay at Home Wife and Mother

Home and Family from a SAHWM's Perspective

Coupons for Good: Finding Body Care Products Your Teens Will Love

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Stocking a bathroom for teens is no small task. You want to find products that will keep their skin healthy and clear without spending a fortune on the latest trending lines. Use the following tips to find affordable products that suit the needs of teens in your home.

Work With Skin Types

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Skin care. Image by Kizzbeth.

Although teens tend to have more oily skin than adults do, you may mistakenly assume that all teenagers need skin care products that emphasize oil control. Work with your teen to identify the skin type your son or daughter has. Small pores and red or scaly patches are characteristic of dry skin. Individuals with combination skin typically have oil along the nose and forehead, but drier cheeks. Open pores and a shiny complexion indicate oily skin.

Most products specify which skin type they are best for, so check the labels. Look for both a cleanser and a moisturizer. Moisturization is important, even for oily skin types. Try Burt’s Bees Natural Acne Solutions Daily Moisturizing Lotion if your teen is prone to oil and breakouts. Bare Minerals moisturizing products are a great choice for people with a troublesome T-zone. Experiment with Dr.Jart+ Ceramidin Cream for a dry face.

Select Sweet Scents

Help your teen find a signature scent and pick up a matching set of lotion, body wash, and body spray for a fun gift. When you use Bath & Body Works coupons, you will find assorted great scents for both young men and women. Look for sales to cut back on your spending on toiletries. When you put coupons and deals from Bath & Body Works to work for you, you can get these outstanding scents for low prices that make them comparable to off-brand choices.

Seasonal scents add a fun twist to your options. If you find a smell your teen loves, you can stock up on hand soaps and easily portable PocketBac Hand Sanitizers to help battle back-to-school colds or winter flu bugs.

Provide Pimple Control

Pimples are a common problem for teens, and even the smallest blemish can seem overwhelming. Help your teenager build an emergency zit kit that includes everything needed for pimple prevention and control.

Include a gentle exfoliator to keep skin clear, a blemish treatment cream or gel, and a soothing face wash with ingredients such as tea tree oil that will calm inflamed skin during a breakout. Stash these important items together in a cute cosmetics bag so that they are easy to find. Coupons from Walmart can help you save on items you need to build a comprehensive kit for less money.

Offer Subtle Cosmetics

If your teen is itching to dive into makeup, but you are not ready for the heavy stuff, opt for a nude palette of several subtle coordinating colors, such as COVERGIRL Enhancers 4-Kit Shadows. Go for an eyelash gel instead of heavy mascara, and try tinted gloss before lipstick. Do not forget eye makeup corrector swabs to fix mistakes from early experimentation. You can stock up on all these items for less using deals you can score at Bed Bath & Beyond.

With the right approach, you can build a comprehensive skin and body care kit on a budget to keep your teens looking their best without putting a big dent in your wallet.

Renovating Our House

Have you worked on some DIY projects for your home? Recently, my husband and I renovated our house by ourselves. Yes, we performed some DIY projects and among the improvements that we did was installing laminate floor on the existing tiles.

I’m not sure what brand we used but it was easy to install the laminate flooring. No wonder they are called floating floors – you just place them on top of the existing floor (ours was previously tiled) after putting some padding on the floor. They snap into place, too. Definitely, DIY material.

Our next goal for our home will be installation of solar panels. This is definitely not a DIY project but we are already comparing various plans from different solar energy companies so we can reduce our carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources. Having back-up power generators, like generac generators houston, would be a nice addition for our home, too and, hopefully, we can have those next year.

Have you tried renovating your house by yourself? It is exciting but can be a bit nerve-racking experience if you are not really sure about what you are doing, right? Anyway, I would love to hear about your DIY renovation; care to share about it?

Keep Unwanted Pests Out of Your Home

Your home should be your sanctuary. It should be a place to which you come after a hard day’s work to be able to sit and relax. It is a place where you can enjoy the company of family and friends. It can be many things. One thing that it should not be, however, is a home for unwelcome guests in the form of pests like insects and rodents. To help you keep these pests away, companies like Arrow Environmental Services can provide residential pest control Tampa. If you live in other regions, help is available there too. These companies can rid your home from a variety of pests.

Termites

Termite infestation can result in significant structural damage to your home. As these insects begin to eat away at things like floor joists, rafters and wall studs, your home’s structure will be weakened. Termite control is one of those things about which you should be proactive, and prevent a problem before it happens. You should not wait until you see signs of damage or termite swarms to react.

Mosquitos

Mosquitos can be irritating. They can leave places on the skin as they bite. Many times, you don’t even realize you have been bitten until you see the raised places on your skin. Sometime, they can even bite through the clothing. With all the concern about mosquitos carrying diseases like the Zika virus, many people are more concerned than ever before about controlling the mosquito population around their homes.

Bed Bugs

Bed bugs are known to bite people while they sleep as they feed on blood. They can be carried into your home by items like clothing, and, because they are so small, may very easily go undetected. That is why you need to enlist the help of professionals. You can be certain that you have exhausted all measures to get rid of bed bugs and to keep them out of your house.

Other Insects

Ants, cockroaches, beetles and other insects can cause quite a bit of aggravation to you when you see them crawling around. No one wants to sit at home with a can of bug spray by the side. In addition, no one should have to worry about what diseases may be carried by these pests.

To make sure you do not have a hidden pest problem, you should schedule a home inspection to be conducted by your local pest control specialist. If there is a problem, it can be dealt with before it causes you harm.

Five Ways to Jazz up Your Backyard

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Are you tired of looking at the same backyard through your kitchen window? Do you dream of a better, cleaner and more functional place for your children to play? If you are ready to make some changes to your property, here are just five ways to breathe new life into your backyard.

1. Install Fun Features

Maybe you have always dreamed of having your own pool. Maybe your kids would die for a brick fire pit where they can roast marshmallows and tell scary stories. The easiest way to add excitement to your backyard is to install a new feature that everyone can enjoy, so go ahead and splurge on something fun!

2. Add Color

If you do not have the funds for a big-ticket item like a backyard pool, you can still lighten the atmosphere without spending a lot of money. For example, a bright red garden will look striking against the green of your grass, and multicolored throw pillows on your patio seats will make the area “pop.”

3. Bring in the Birds

There is nothing like waking up on a beautiful morning to the sounds of birdsong. It is easier than you might think to attract them to your yard, too; a simple fountain or bird feeder will encourage them to fly down and investigate. You could turn your backyard into an aviary if you play your cards right!

4. Tweak Your Porch

Could your deck use a pressure wash? Would your screen door look more attractive with a new screen spline? You do not have to make crazy changes to your backyard porch in order to bring out its full potential; you just have to be willing to try something new. Make little adjustments before big ones and see if that helps.

5. Cultivate Flowers

It’s okay if your thumb is more black than green. While gardens are a fun way to bring flowers into your backyard, they are not the only way; you can always decorate your deck or fence with potted plants or vines. If you are not good at growing things yourself, let someone else do it for you! It will still look great in your yard.

Backyards do not have to be boring. In fact, if you take these suggestions and let them inspire you to even greater things, you can have one of the most amazing yards in your entire community. Just remember to have fun while you make changes!

Tips for Planning the Best Backyard Party Possible

Throwing a backyard party is an amazing way to get friends, family and even co-workers together for a fun day or night. The problem is that organizing one and actually doing the planning isn’t always so fun.

While you may need to roll up your sleeves and do some real planning, you can throw an excellent outdoor party without stressing yourself out too much. Use these tips to help you do it.

Invite Guests Early

A backyard party without guests isn’t very much fun, but if you don’t invite people early, that’s very well what you might have. The fact is that adults have busy schedules, and even if they want to attend your party, they may have to juggle some things just to get there.

Plan parties at least two weeks in advance. Even the most casual affairs often require planning for adults with jobs and kids.

Get a Head Count

Without an early head count you’re not going to have any idea what to buy for your party. Are five people coming or are 50 going to show up last minute when the food is all gone?

Get your head count at least a week in advance. That way you can plan the party properly and ensure that guests actually have a good time.

Shop in Advance

One of the worst things you can do when having a backyard party is to run out of food. A close second is spending excessively on food because you did not take advantage of specials and sales in your area.

If you know you are having a party in a month, go ahead and look around for special deals. Buying cases of soda or beer? Why not buy them when they are on sale?

The same idea applies to buying in bulk or making trips to stores you know are cheaper that just are not as close. Do not kick yourself when the party is over and you check your bank balance.

Don’t Forget the Games

Most people come to backyard parties for the food and friendship, but games can make an afternoon or evening more exciting. Whatever you like, game paraphernalia like cornhole boards, horseshoes and even a football or two can make the party a whole lot more fun.

Just make sure you put games in a separate area away from the grill.

Turning a Tired Country Home into a Showpiece

There will always be those that crave to build and reside in a brand new home, but the more eclectic in taste tend to choose older homes that offer distinct character and style. Purchasing an older home in the country in need of a little TLC might seem intimidating, but you are only a few renovations away from having what might be classified as a showpiece.

Electrical and Plumbing

The first order of business will be to make sure that all electrical and plumbing are intact, safe and operational. These are the arteries of your home and you will depend on them to live comfortably. You can get home remodeling estimates for free that will include having a look at possible electrical and plumbing issues.

Aluminum Roofing

If the roof needs replaced you might want to consider a high-grade aluminum product. The panels are quickly installed and with proper care can last 50 or more years. You will never have to worry about the roof again.

Updated and Insulated Windows

Losing the outdated look of old, worn and broken windows with double pane insulated will save energy and look great. It will give your quaint country home an updated look. This is an affordable upgrade you will be glad you did.

Vinyl Siding

Standard wood siding homes require painting every 4 to 5 years. Consider replacing this with vinyl siding that can be cleaned using a small pressure washer or hose. It will reduce maintenance costs and time remarkably.

Upgrade Flooring, Counters and Cupboards

To make an older country home a true showpiece you will need to consider upgrades to the flooring, counters and cupboards. New carpeting, tile or laminate floors can dramatically improve the looks of the interior of older homes. Adding granite counters and fine grain wood cabinets will make any kitchen or bathroom look fantastic.

Salvage What You Can

Older wooden banisters, brass fixtures, chandeliers and other antique fixtures in the home can be refurbished to look as good as new. Keeping remnants of the past and blending with modern touches will provide a one-of-a-kind home that everyone will love.

Call on home renovation and repair professionals like renovationexperts.com to begin the process of making your country home look as good as new today!

Parents and Children Working Together to Build Strong Teeth

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From the moment parents see their child’s first tooth erupt, they realize that they have a responsibility to help their child maintain good oral health. As most parents realize, encouraging a child to brush teeth, floss, and to stay away from foods that can be damaging to the teeth is a challenge. This is because children literally want to do just the opposite. Most children would rather do something else than brush their teeth before they go to bed or when they wake up in the morning.

For someone who has gone through the frustration of having multiple root canals, tooth extractions, and crowns, adults understand how learning good oral health at a young age goes a long way in protecting the teeth as you age.

The steps that children need to take with the assistance of their parents to maintain healthy teeth are the same ones that adults need to take. The first step in maintaining healthy, cavity free teeth is to brush and floss regularly. Dentists recommend that you brush and floss at least two times a day. If it is necessary, you can brush your teeth even more. If you do not brush and floss your teeth regularly, plaque will begin to form and eventually this will lead to cavities.
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Parents can help their children maintain strong teeth by encouraging them to have regular dental exams. Research has shown very clearly that if children are not accustomed to visiting the dentist multiple times throughout the year, when they become adults, they will not visit the dentist. Having cleanings done every six months can help the dentist identify problem areas in advance. The dentist can teach you and your children how to prevent cavities from forming in the first place.

Diet plays a vital role in maintaining healthy teeth. One does not need to read the Journal of Dentistry to understand that if you eat a lot of sugar, you are going to form plaque on your teeth quicker. Sugary snacks and sugary beverages not only lead to plaque formation, but the bacteria that feed on these sugars produce acid, which causes tooth decay.

Finally, parents can help their children by encouraging them to get the vitamins and minerals that they need. A person with vitamin deficiencies has weaker teeth and teeth that are more susceptible to cavities. Parents can consult with their physician to make sure that their child’s diet has sufficient vitamins and minerals to keep their teeth strong for the rest of their life.