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How to Dress Your Kids for Winter Weather

As cooler weather starts to roll around, new parents or those that have recently relocated to a more wintry climate often find themselves struggling to determine the best methods for dressing their youngsters in weather-appropriate attire. While opinions on the subject can be quite varied on the topic, there are a few truths that parents forced with their first real winter weather should consider before the chill sets in.

Layering is Key

Frigid weather can send even the most laid-back parent into overdrive, but it’s important to remember that kids are usually only outside for brief stretches throughout the day. As such, it’s best to dress them in layers that are easily shed in warm classrooms and stores, rather than one or two very bulky items that leave them sweating. For younger kids that attend daycare or elementary school, it’s also wise to attach labels to coats, gloves and hats. It’s easy for cold-weather items to get misplaced, sent home with the wrong child or left behind when little ones are in a rush at the end of the day, but replacing them can also become quite expensive very quickly.

Skip Traditional Scarves

Scarves are a winter-weather staple, but they may also be less than safe for younger children, as they can easily be snagged, slammed in a door or stepped on to present a strangulation hazard. Rather than protecting your little one’s face and neck from icy winds with a standard scarf, it may be better to opt for cowl styles or neck warmers, which have no trailing ends to put him in danger when he’s out of your sight.

Dress for the Occasion

There’s a difference between cold, snowy weather and just plain cold. During periods of snowfall, your child will need to be protected from the dampness of melting snow as well as frosty temperatures, while the drier cold of a day with no winter precipitation may require stronger wind protection to prevent chapping and windburn. Familiarizing yourself with the various articles of winter clothing and their best uses while keeping an eye on the weather forecast is the best way to ensure that your little one is dressed appropriately for every winter occasion.

Opt for Water-Resistant Materials

When the thermometer mercury edges just slightly past 32º, all of the accumulated ice and snow becomes a series of very cold puddles along walkways and across parking lots. Protecting your child from the dampness that can accompany walking across those puddles and dripping from overhanging surfaces is important, but it’s also very difficult if his winter gear isn’t waterproof or, at the very lease, water-resistant. It may be cheaper at the outside to spring for a lower-priced jacket that doesn’t have waterproof construction, well-made products that repel water will keep him warm and dry throughout the winter season.

Know Your Boots

At first glance, most boots are created equal. Upon closer examination, you’ll learn that some boots are more suited to cold temperatures that others. While galoshes seem to be a good choice, due to their waterproof exteriors, they offer absolutely no insulation from cold and can be easily filled with snow if it’s high enough to fall over the wide openings at your child’s calf. Honest-to-goodness snow boots, on the other hand, will have both inner insulation and a top that prevents snow from falling inside.

Hats and Hoods are Your Friend

Though the old adage about your body heat escaping through your head is little more than an old wive’s tale, it is still important to keep your child’s head warm and protected from chapping winds, falling sleet or snow, and simple low temperatures. Look for those without drawstrings that can present a strangulation hazard, with waterproof liners and a snug enough fit to block most of the wind’s chilling power.

While you’re fighting the battle against winter’s chill, don’t forget the sunscreen. Though it seems incongruous to slather your little one with the same sunscreen he uses on the beach to go outside for a snowman-building session, it’s actually an integral part of protecting his skin. Snow reflects up to 75% of ultraviolet rays, which can still be damaging even at winter’s low temperatures.

Reprinted with permission

Surprise! Zach Galifianakis Kept the Birth of His 2nd Child, Rufus, From Public

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You know how there are a few private celebrities out there that do an excellent job at keeping pregnancy and birth news private?  Here is another secret delivery news:

E! News exclusively learned that actor Zach Galifianakis and Quinn Lundberg welcomed their second child, a baby boy named Rufus Emmanuel Lundberg on November 7, 2016.

The comedic actor and his wife of four years are also parents to a 3-year-old son.During a 2014 appearance on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Zach finally revealed their firstborn’s gender an entire year after Lundberg had given birth.

“We have a boy!” he shared, adding, “I think fatherhood is just the greatest thing, it really really is.”

The Between Two Ferns host has kept most of the details surrounding his life off screen extremely private. (And he certainly knows how to keep a secret!)

But earlier this year, Galifianakis stopped by Conan with a little bit more insight into his experience as a father.

“I’m strict. He’s 2 and right now I have him on a strict exercise routine. When he gets out of the crib it’s 50 push-ups right away,” the funnyman joked to Conan O’Brien. “To have a really fit 2-year-old and to show that he can kick other 2-year-old’s butts is really important.”

Zach also shared a particular hilarious anecdote about a time his son recognized his dad’s face on the side of a bus billboard. The 47-year-old explained, “I didn’t know what to say because I hadn’t really thought about it. He goes, ‘Who’s that?’ and I don’t know why but I said, ‘Oh, some idiot.’ Thirty seconds later I hear him mumbling to himself, ‘Some idiot.'” LOL!

As for whether or not Zach and Quinn hope to welcome even more little ones into their fam, he shared, “I’d like to have 10 kids.”

Congratulations, you two!

 republished with permission of E!

Tribute: My Fave George Michael Songs and Videos and Why I love Them

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Today, I, like many around the world, am saddened by the news of the passing of singer/songwriter George Michael on Christmas, December 25th. I was a huge fan of this late 80s/90s pop star especially in my teens and early adulthood. The Greek-Brit, full name Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, was extremely attractive, had a seductive dance and a voice that was big, unique and carried every melodic hit that he performed.

I agree with those who say that the overwhelming memory of his legacy will surely be the musical genius that encompassed both his time in UK pop duo Wham! and as one of the great solo artists of all time. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, eight Billboard #1 hits, and a bevy of awards

His look back then was a five o’clock shadow, leather jacket, rugged denims and guitar with one dangling earrings with dark shades. Very sexy!

 

 

 

I played this song to death in college my first year. It’s so jazzy and melodic. Love!

One of my fave albums of his was his second studio album “Listen Without Prejudice Vol 1” (volume 2 was never released) which was very controversial and almost didn’t get put out by Sony Music.

I love that it was full of ballads and showcased his lyrics and voice moreso than the upbeat dance songs on Faith.  It sold 8M copies but was considered a flop for such a big artist given that “Faith” had sold 25M copies. But it was a hit in the UK where it won Best British Album that year in their version of the Grammy‘s, the BRIT Awards.

 “Praying for Time” was an ode to times we live in where there is copious and overindulgence and greed abound with a message of warning to mankind. It is one of my favorite tunes from this album. Love this song.  Given ongoing battles with his record label at the time, Sony, he refused to appear in the videos for the songs on this album so the video is just lyrics on a black screen which is actually ahead of its time, given that lyrical videos are such a big trend nowadays.

“At some point in your career, the situation between yourself and the camera reverses. For a certain number of years, you court it and you need it, but ultimately, it needs you more and it’s a bit like a relationship. The minute that happens, it turns you off … and it does feel like it is taking something from you.”  he told the Los Angeles Times in 1990 about deciding not to do photo shoots or music videos any longer. “I would like to never step in front of a camera again.”

I think Freedom 90!  is one of the sexiest videos of all times and it featured super models at the time in a video directed by the same person who directed Madonna‘s “Express Yourself” video, David Fincher.  It included Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Tatjana Patitz and was inspired by Peter Lindbergh‘s now-iconic portrait of the five models for the January 1990 cover of the British edition of Vogue. Instead of playing someone’s girlfriend, as is common for models in music videos, they each lip synced the song. Brilliant!

More models werking the catwalk can be seen in the video for “Too Funky“.

This remake of Stevie Wonder‘s song is prolific given Wonder sang it recently in tribute to Michael Jackson and it could aptly apply to George Michael today.

His career started off as part of the two member pop music band, Wham! The preeminent 1980s big band sound was loud and apparent in this song and it peaked in the era of music television when MTV just launched. The video for it surely sold the song even more than the appeal it already had as a really awesome song:

 This song, “I’m Your Man” also takes me back to a carefree and less stressful time of my life, my late teen years.

 Another great hit from Wham!

My son loves “Last Christmas” and it has played almost twice an hour this past month on our local radio station that plays Christmas songs from Thanksgiving to Christmas non-stop. Even my 11-year old was shocked and upset to know one of the guys who sings a fave song has passed.




The biggest song from this album was “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go 

As a solo artist, George Michael performed some awesome duos like this one with Aretha Franklin, another fave of mine:

With Elton John, this song just makes me feel good every time I listen to it

And Queen (at a tribute concert for the late great Freddie Mercury)

And finally with the late great Whitney Houston, “If I told you that” 

Thanks for the music, George Michael.  You will be missed but your legacy will live on!

Transform the Interior of Your Home on a Tight Budget

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Photo Credit: BeeYoutifullife

When most people hear the words interior design, they imagine work being done in the home by experts who are handed blank checks to transform the design and layout. Interior design in the coming year is all about more for less, meaning more functionality on a more efficient budget. The following home decor tips are from the online interior design retailer GoHaus and will help you completely change the look of your home and interior design while not busting the bank.

An affordable way to change the appearance of a living or dining room is to change the color of the blinds covering the windows. Traditional wooden or white mini blinds are common in a majority of homes still, but you can make a huge difference by just changing the to color. Painting wooden blinds one of the accent colors in the room helps to tie everything together while giving it a fresh look and costs a fraction of doing a full replacement.

Blending Room Colors

One cool interior design trick that will look like you spent a fortune is painting your kitchen with blended colors. To pull off this home decor trick, you need to start with the solid color you want to use in that space, then mix a gallon 50% lighter and one gallon 50% darker. Now you can paint the walls the solid color with strips of light and dark shades to accent. Stools can be painted in one color while the seats or legs a blend darker. Cabinets can be painted with the solid color, with the trim and knobs the shade darker or lighter. Not the best when it comes to color matching? Check out this tool from Adobe to find the perfect compliment, triad or monochromatic color to any shade in your home.

Transform Open Kitchen Space

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Photo Credit: Budget Dumpster

That open space above the kitchen cabinets is a perfect pallet for giving the room some real character. Think themes here, so if you are going with a mid-century modern theme in the rest of the house, utilize that open space to help blend the kitchen with the rest of the home. Place different accessories and lighting fixtures that reflect the mid-century modern design. Stick with neutral colors when you accessorize here so it doesn’t become the focal point of the room.

Install Vinyl Plank Flooring

Having new hardwood flooring installed in the kitchen, bedrooms, hallways, dining room, or living room, can be extremely costly, time consuming and often require professionals to do the job. Look for budget friendly flooring choices like vinyl plank flooring. Often it is a fraction of the cost and you can get the vinyl flooring in a click and lock construction to make installation extremely do-it-yourself friendly. Vinyl also comes in every color, grain pattern and size that you would want. You can find the perfect color to accent your color scheme or match a previous flooring in another room. Vinyl is also significantly more durable that hardwood. Making it the perfect budget friendly install for any room.

luxury penthouse apartments living room with designer features

luxury penthouse apartments living room with designer features

Faking Square Footage

One of the ways to increase the size of the bathroom is to simply fake the increase of square footage. While most bathrooms have shower curtains or frosted glass showers, this cuts down the size of the room to the eye. Clear glass shower doors add instant square footage to the bathroom and really open things up. Making this one change in the bathroom makes the room feel larger instantly.

Now you know some of the tips for transforming the interior of your home on a budget. Sometimes the simplest home decor tricks can have the biggest overall impact, so give one a try and see how your home interior improves right before your eyes.

 

This Holiday House Cleaning Guide is Right on Time (INFOGRAPHIC)

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In many homes across the globe, the holiday season is a time for intense cleaning and straightening up of the home in preparation for visitors and decorating the home. The folks at Butler Home Products hooked us up with a complimentary complete kit of cleaning products including a Mr. Clean Breeze Mop , Mr. Clean Bliss GlovesDawn Scrubtastic Sponge, and  Dawn Dishwashing brushes that will be just perfect and right on time for this weekend’s thorough house clean down.

We are also packing for a short winter vacation so, I’ll be taking advantage of the  Evercare Belle Vie Lint Rollers and the Evercare Sweater Cleaning Stone I also received in the kit to make sure the older clothes look pristine and closer to new. I’m a staunch believer in not wearing too-worn out looking clothing.

Also, I cannot wait to put these tools to use and utilize this below handy infographic from Butler’s offering  some great guidance on getting the job done before family arrive this Christmas.

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Check out the unvoxig:

At Age 73, Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger Welcomes 8th Child

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Congratulations to 73-year old Rolling Stone founding band member Mick Jagger on the birth of his 8th child with his ballerina girlfriend Melanie Hamrick.

“Melanie Hamrick and Mick Jagger’s son was born today in New York and they are both delighted,” a rep for Jagger told New York Post‘s society column “Page Six” on December 8. “Mick was at the hospital for the arrival.”

The rep added that both Hamrick, who is more than 40 years Jagger’s junior, and the baby are “doing well,” and noted, “We request that the media respect their privacy at this time.”

The couple started dating in 2014 after Jagger’s partner of 13 years L’Wren Scott committed suicide in 2014.

Jagger is also a grandfather. He shares children with exes Marsha Hunt, Bianca Jagger, Jerry Hall and Luciana Gimenez Morad.

His children, Georgia, James, Jade, Elizabeth, Lucas, Karis and Gabriel, range in age from 17 to 45. The baby has a 45-year old half sibling in Kari! Wowza!

Jagger is also a granddad to five children and became a great-granddad in May 2014, when his granddaughter Assisi, daughter of Jade Jagger, gave birth to a baby girl.

h/t Page Six

‘The Walking Dead’ alum Steven Yeun and wife are Expecting First Child

Congrats to newlyweds The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun and his new bride, professional photographer, Joana Pak on expecting their first child together, US Weekly confirms.

During a recent lunch date outing on Monday, December 5, Pak was seen cradling her bump. It was the first public sighting since the couple tied the knot last weekend in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, December 3.

Yeun’s sister took to Instagram to share a “just married” photo of the duo with Yeun outifitted in traditional Korean attire.  The wedding took place at  L.A.’s historic Paramour Estate before many of Yeun’s former co-stars from the hit AMC Television show:  Norman Reedus, Andrew Lincoln, Melissa McBride, Sarah Wayne Callies, Chandler Riggs, Emma Bell and Alanna Masterson.

 

Congrats!

Editor’s note: Personally since the show killed off Yeun’s character, I haven’t been back to watch a single episode as he was beloved and one of few non-stereotypical, heroic, romantic, all-around good guy of Asian descent that is rare in Hollywood these days and ever! So with him gone, I’m really struggling to catch up on the last few episodes though I probably will when things settle down in my life some and I have some more leisure opp to binge watch. Still, I wish they wouldn’t have offed “Glenn” but I am hopeful the success of that role can be quickly replicated and more than once!

 

wedding ready….

A photo posted by Sarah Wayne Callies (@sarahwaynecallies) on

 

‘The Walking Dead’ Alum Steven Yeun and Wife Are Expecting First Child

Congrats to newlyweds The Walking Dead alum Steven Yeun and his new bride, professional photographer, Joana Pak on expecting their first child together, US Weekly confirms.

During a recent lunch date outing on Monday, December 5, Pak was seen cradling her bump. It was the first public sighting since the couple tied the knot last weekend in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, December 3.

Yeun’s sister took to Instagram to share a “just married” photo of the duo with Yeun outifitted in traditional Korean attire.  The wedding took place at  L.A.’s historic Paramour Estate before many of Yeun’s former co-stars from the hit AMC Television show:  Norman Reedus, Andrew Lincoln, Melissa McBride, Sarah Wayne Callies, Chandler Riggs, Emma Bell and Alanna Masterson.

 

Congrats!

Editor’s note: Personally since the show killed off Yeun’s character, I haven’t been back to watch a single episode as he was beloved and one of few non-stereotypical, heroic, romantic, all-around good guy of Asian descent that is rare in Hollywood these days and ever! So with him gone, I’m really struggling to catch up on the last few episodes though I probably will when things settle down in my life some and I have some more leisure opp to binge watch. Still, I wish they wouldn’t have offed “Glenn” but I am hopeful the success of that role can be quickly replicated and more than once!

 

wedding ready….

A photo posted by Sarah Wayne Callies (@sarahwaynecallies) on

 

5 Simple Yet Brilliant Family Cold & Flu Management Tips

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I am a big believer in holistic medicine and limiting the use of medicine and active chemical solutions to health problems, especially for babies. I’ve been looking for some cold and flu tips for newborns to pass along to a friend who just had a baby . It was thus superb to get in my inbox these awesome and timely tips from the  renowned Little Remedies pediatrician Dr. Sue Hubbard. These suggestions are perfect for helping moms (and dads) protect their kids and family from the cold and flu this year. A few of her tips include:

  1. Opt for a Flu Shot: All children over the age of 6 months should receive a flu vaccine. During the first flu season a baby is vaccinated, they need to receive two flu vaccines which must be separated by at least 4 weeks. Your baby is not fully protected until they have received both vaccines.
  2. Go Back to Basics:Old-fashioned hand washing with soap is still preferable to hand sanitizers whenever possible. Have your child sing “Happy Birthday” to make it effective and fun!
  3. Spot the Signs:The flu looks different in newborns than in older kids. In newborns, look for a fever, a cough, respiratory stress, dehydration and sometimes vomiting.
  4. Don’t Panic:You can’t shield your baby – nor should you. Your baby’s immune system is robust and does a great job fighting off germs. Every time babies get sick, it boosts their immunity and makes them stronger.
  5. Be Prepared:Babies are going to get sick, and it’s important to keep them comfortable when they do.  To relieve stuffy noses in newborns and older, I recommend Little Remedies® Saline Spray/Drops, and for coughs in children above the age of 1 year, Little Remedies® Honey Cough Syrup is a great solution.

Little Remedies provides families with safe and reliable formulas, using only the necessary ingredients to support the health and well-being of infants and children. Very nice! We have several Little Remedies products in our bathroom cabinet as well!

So the Hanukkah Tree and Stockings Continue to be a Thing

A Pew Research survey released  in 2013 found that 32% of Jews said they had a Christmas tree in their home the previous year.

It’s common especially in interfaith families among Jews married to non-Jews.  The survey found that 71% said they put up a tree.

More and more Jewish families are adopting Christmas holiday traditions like  putting up Hanukkah bushes and trees, and even Menorah trees in their homes.

With Christmas being such a major celebrated holiday and season in the United States, many parents of Jewish children have found a way to meld the festivities with their own religious practices.

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You can get a Menorah tree for about $300 on Amazon.com

Recently, we’ve noticed many Jewish families hanging Hannukah stockings, and integrating the traditional festival of lights with the customs of Christmas. After all, much of the traditions aren’t really related to Christianity and some elements of Christmas trace back to pagan practices.

My mother is Roman Catholic and my father Muslim and more than anyone in the family, he looked forward to decorating the tree and exchanging presents.Over the years, it could easily be argued that the Christmas season has become secular to a certain extent.

That’s exactly what those who are critical say.  The reason it’s easy for non-Christians to adopt Christmas traditions is because the holiday has become  an excuse to get caught up with the consumerism that has taken over Christmas.

It has become less about the birth of Jesus Christ and more about an excuse to go crazy in the mall. Well….

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