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If dry January didn’t quite happen for you this year, you still have the chance to make a change in February and take a month off drinking alcohol. As a busy parent you might feel like a glass of wine at the end of the day is a good remedy to your stress, but actually alcohol can be causing a lot more problems than it solves. 

As well as being fattening and full of sugar, alcohol is expensive to buy and you may end up losing sleep and feeling more stressed than before. This is why it is a good idea to learn about sober living for women this year and consider taking a whole month without alcohol to see what benefits it can bring to your life. 

Today we are sharing the things you can benefit from by steering away from alcohol this year. 

It can help you lose weight

Alcohol, red wine especially, has been said to refresh the palette and help with the digestion of food. However, alcohol can actually cause your metabolism to slow down and this can cause you to gain weight. By cutting out your meal drink you can break down food better and your metabolism will speed up allowing you to burn more fat and stay slim. 

It prevents the absorption of minerals 

Did you know that alcohol can kill the cells inside your stomach that are responsible for absorbing vitamins and minerals from food? This means that even if you are eating your greens, you may not be able to reap the rewards because your drinking is stopping this from happening. By taking alcohol out of the equation you will be able to digest your food effectively and the east ail nutrients you need will be able to find their way to your bloodstream and cells. 

Get more sleep 

Although alcohol is a depressant and it will make you drowsy, it will disturb your ability to sleep. Alcohol disrupts the essential stages of sleep and this is something that can have a knock on effect on your health. Without alcohol you’ll be able to rest the body over night and feel energised and happy every single day. 

You'll be hydrated 

Staying hydrated is a crucial thing in life and you need to be absolutely sure that you drink enough water each day. Make sure that you drink plenty of fluids to help with the processes in your body and to keep your skin happy. 

Less fat 

Giving up alcohol for a month can reduce the amount of fat in your liver by up to 15% and this is a huge perk. Be sure to stay away from the wine and stick to water to keep your body happy and healthy, and reduce your overall body fat percentage along the way! 

You’ll take in much less sugar 

Alcohol is packed with sugar, and when sugar is not digested fully it is stored in the body as fat. Hence, by cutting down on sugar you can reduce your fat and stay fit and healthy. If you are looking for a better option for your health and your body size, cut out the alcohol and replace it with water. 

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Being healthy can seem like such an alien concept to some people. It’s really one of those things that either comes easy to you or it doesn’t. But that really doesn’t mean that you have to suffer in poor health all of the time. Instead, you’ll find that you just need to make a few tweaks in order to feel a lot healthier in yourself. Now, as a mom, you know that you’re really busy all of the time and you have a lot on your plate. But, that doesn’t mean that you have to struggle to feel your healthiest. Instead, you just need to work to make little changes. Here are some that will help.

Eating Well

To start with, you’ll find that eating well really helps. And don’t roll your eyes! Because you know that you should be eating healthy but it can seem really hard. However, it might be a good idea to try and give it a go anyway. Maybe you can just add in more fruit? Or aim for five portions of vegetables. It’s little things like this that can make a huge difference, rather than changing your diet completely.

Exercise

Another thing that will help you feel your healthiest is exercise. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to start a whole routine, but you may find that just trying to move your body more will help you. It’s important for you to just get started. And it’s okay to start off slowly and then introduce more as you get used to it. But the idea is just to start moving your body more. You will enjoy much more energy when you do this.

Relaxation

From here, it’s then important for you to make sure that you can be as relaxed as you can in your life. Your mental health is important. And you need to be able to make sure that you’re staying away from anything too negative in your life. You deserve to enjoy a good mindset, so make relaxation a priority.

Toxin-Free

The next thing that you might find really does help you, is for you to work on living a more toxin-free lifestyle. It’s easy to get wrapped up with too much caffeine or alcohol – or worse. Maybe you need to look into options, like the OP treatment, to help you? Or maybe you just need to reduce your intake. Your body will naturally feel more energized and healthy when you do.

Enjoying Your Life

Finally, you’ll then want to make sure that you’re actually trying to have fun in life. As a mother, you’ll know that things can get pretty stressful. But, in order to be happy and healthy you have to try and ensure that you’re not too stressed out. If you feel trapped or stressed or like you have too much on, it can make you unhappy – which affects your overall health. But when you choose to have fun, it can really give you a boost.

Being pregnant and expecting a baby is an exciting time for any parent to be. Whether this is your first baby or you are adding to your family there is no feeling like it. Every pregnancy and newborn stage is different, and so you may find that you want to document them all the same way, or find new ways to capture those early moments. The newborn stage can often feel like a blur of feeds and sleepless nights, so doing this can be a great way to feel normal. With that in mind, here are some suggestions to consider. 

Image source - Pixabay - CC0 License 

Capturing the newborn stages with photography

The newborn stages when it comes to your baby go by in a bit of blur, and while they feel so small, they don’t stay that way for long. This is why you may want to think about hiring a newborn photographer to capture some amazing images of your baby. They can use cute props, or simply capture the family moments in a more natural setting. It allows you to get some wonderful photographs that will remind you of this period of your life. 

Capturing the newborn weeks in video 

You may want to take things one step further and consider capturing the newborn stages in video format as well as pictures. You could set up your camera and video feeds, capture moments such as windy smiles or general family moments between parents and siblings. You could then edit all the footage together to create a wonderful montage of videos that you can look back on in years to come. 

Embracing the help of friends and family

It may not seem like you are celebrating, but embracing the help of friends and family can be an excellent way to ensure that you keep your sanity and feel good. It might be accepting offers of play dates for your other children, maybe allowing someone to take care of your little one while you catch up on some sleep or even accept food and just the company. It can make a big difference to your mental health which may feel a little rocky in those first few weeks. 

Spending time with your family before the baby arrives 

Another thing you may want to do is to consider spending some quality time with your family before the baby arrives. If this is your first baby, it might be worth booking a babymoon to enjoy some couple time before the baby arrives. Or maybe it could be that you have other children that you want to spend some quality time with before the new baby takes up some of your attention. 

Capturing your bump if this is the last time you will be pregnant

Finally, make sure that you do all that you can to capture your bump in pictures or video, especially if this is your last pregnancy. You may find that you don’t feel your best, but you will certainly want to celebrate the moment and look back on it in years to come. 

Let’s hope these options help you when to comes to celebrate becoming a mom. 

Just like adults, kids have a mental, physical, and emotional point where stress can creep in. It isn't uncommon for children to suffer from stress in modern times. A certain amount of stress is pretty normal, taking big tests, learning new things all the time and of course, worry about family things too. 

Helping children manage any amount of stress is something that many parents want to do. So here are some tips to help you tackle it together. 

Photo by Melvina Mak on Unsplash

Weekly Schedule

Some children do too much. Children are expected to get a high score, perform in plays, give their all in school for 6 or 7 hours a day, complete homework, do chores and then throw in the extra-curricular and you have a recipe for stress. 

Downtime isn't all that common for children; in fact, they get just about the same as an adult with a full-time job. Sure, they don't have money worries or need to cook and clean, but they still do a lot. Take a look at how much they do in a week, and is there space for some real downtime? 

Welcome Naps

Sleep is vital for everyone to be able to recharge and reboot ready for everything the next day is going to throw at them. When children are little, they tend to fight against bedtime but are happy to nap on the couch when the mood takes them. Try to create an evening routine that is as relaxed as possible. This goes for adults too. 

Warm milk or cocoa, low music in the background are both great things for everyone. The Calm app has a range of children sleep stories that can help little ones nod off too. Make sleep something that is important and wonderful. This also means avoiding sending children to bed when they misbehave or as a punishment. 

Bodies

Understanding their own bodies can help a lot. When they have aches and pains from sports, they should rest. When something hurts, they should know that they don't have to soldier on. Ignoring things can be a habit that adults have, and rather than rest when they need, you will often hear 'I don't have time to be ill.' So try to avoid showing that behavior (even if it is true). You can consider things to help, like a baby chiropractor, meditation, or yoga. All of these things help you stay more in tune with your body. 

Your Stress

If you know that you have stress levels that you also need to tackle. Then consider what would help. When parents are stressed out, tempers and patience can be much shorter. And that gets passed on to children really easily. So once a week, try to find time to do something that you enjoy and is relaxing. 

If there is space within that activity for the children to join in, then make it your 'calm time.' 

Mistakes

No one gets through life without making mistakes. The key to being okay with it is knowing that tomorrow is a new day - and there is almost nothing that can't be tackled when done together. 

Bad decisions, bad scores, arguments with friends or family. Teaching children than making mistakes, and how to deal with it in a healthy way really helps too. 

When hosting a dinner party, you always need to think about catering for the majority and when you have dietary needs to accommodate, that can make it harder. There are certain dessert dishes that will be a winner for all. So here are four desserts that everyone around the dinner table will love.

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Fruit Cakes

Fruit is one of our five-a-day and so that makes any fruit that’s in a cake or dessert in general, healthy right? And while we keep telling ourselves that, fruit cakes tend to be a good hit with most of your dinner party as it’s a nice sweet treat to enjoy with a hot coffee or maybe another glass of wine. This is the best cherry pie recipe if you’re after some ideas but anything like a summer fruits sponge or a winter berry topped cake will go on a treat. Perhaps pair it with some ice-cream or a hot option like custard and you’ll be onto a winner.

Ice-Cream Sundaes

As much as they seem to be made for the kids, they are also just as liked by the big kids too. This is the type of dessert that’s easy to assemble and can be made somewhat from scratch too. You might want to get some sundae float glasses so that you can really transform it into a traditional sundae but you can also keep it in a bowl format. Make sure you provide a load of different toppings so guests can top off their own sundae and make it unique to them. It’s a nice way of getting your dinner guests involved in the process and it can certainly be a nostalgic throwback to your childhood.

A Cheesecake

Cheesecakes are the more classy dessert and there’s plenty of variations out there to choose from. You might want to keep to the classic american cheesecake or a standard flavour with not too much fuss going on. This can be paired with a single cream or with some flavoured sauce like chocolate or strawberry flavour. Cheesecake can also be a more savoury dish compared to most sweet treats. It’s the perfect accompaniment to coffee.

Chocolate Pudding

And finally, who doesn’t love a bit of chocolate? Chocolate pudding is the ultimate in comfort food when it comes to desserts. There are two common types when it comes to chocolate pudding, one is usually boiled and then cools down to the texture of custard. The other is a steamed or baked pudding that resembles the consistency of cake. It’s up to you which one you pick but either one will go down well. Pair the sponge version with custard or ice-cream and that will work well with it. Chocolate pudding is pretty basic but it goes down a treat.

Desserts can often be a tricky one to decide on when you’re throwing a dinner party but these four desserts are a great place to start when finding some to offer to your guests. For dinner parties, offering two desserts is recommended.

Many of us will have elderly relatives in our lives, and often we can be left with the responsibility to help them out and enable them to continue living independently. However, a lot of us can be unsure on how to do this effectively. After all, it can be easier to just do things, but yet an eldelry person may still be able minded or bodied to do things for themselves. Here are some of the ways that you can make life easier for any eldelry relatives that you care for.    

Image source -pixabay - CC0 License

Adapt their home

One of the first things that you could consider doing would be to adapt their home to make things easier for them moving forward. This might be things like handrails to help them in the bathroom or to get off seats in the living room. It could be specially designed beds that have options to raise the head or feet or chairs that can lift to help someone stand. Small changes can help an elderly person stay in their home for longer, which will ultimately make them happier. 

Making mobility easier for them

Another thing to think about would be to make mobility easier for them and it can often be a great way to help them stay mobile and give them some independence. For example, scooters and wheelchairs can make it easier for people to head out to the shops and be outside to enjoy fresh air. Often poor mobility can really alienate elderly people, so giving them the option of alternative can help them to enjoy a quality of life greater than what they experience now. 

Buy in the food shopping or seek out the help of a meal service

Food can often be a big thing when it comes to an older person. Handling food, buying it and also preparing it may become much more difficult for them when it comes to old age. So making this part easy would be very helpful. You could meal plan, batch cook and create meals for them so it just requires one simple act of putting something in a microwave or an oven. Or even think about things such as meal service which will deliver meals to their doors. 

Allow things to be accessible

Another thing to think about would be to make things accessible. So you could look into low level storage, or having things at eye height to make it a little easier for them to find items in their home. Storage cupboards with high sleeves may no longer be suitable, so coming up with alternative storage options could be the way forward. 

Keep the memories alive

Finally, try and keep the memories alive as much as you can. You can do this by regularly talking to your relatives and older members of the family. Go through picture,s indulge their stories and generally enjoy communicating. It can make a huge difference to their day and how they feel. 

Let’s hope these tips help you when it comes making life easier for your elderly relatives. 

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Buying second-hand items is a great way to make sure that less stuff gets thrown away into a landfill. We live in an increasingly throw-away society, and whenever you buy a new item to replace something that you already own, you are contributing to the effect we are all having on the environment and world around us. 

By selling your old unwanted items, and buying second-hand whenever you need something that you don’t already own, you’ll be making sure that unwanted items are living their lives to the fullest before being disposed of.

Buying A Second-Hand Printer

With many people upgrading their printers often, there is often a lot of very cheap second-hand printers out there. Having a printer in the home is very useful because it means that you can quickly print off any paperwork you ever need to send anywhere. If you need to scan a document, having the right printer handy means that you can do this. 

But one of the main problems with buying a printer is knowing that you can buy the right ink or toner cartridge for it. A website such as 123Inkjets.com.au will be able to help you out here as you can search by make and model and buy ink for countless different printers.

Buying A Second-Hand Computer

Computers can be a bit more challenging to buy second-hand, but that does not mean that you should not do it. First of all, decide what you need your computer for. Whether you want to just use it at home, or if you will be taking it out and about. A desktop computer can often be found at a reasonable price on a site like eBay.com. If you are only going to be using it for basic work with documents and internet browsing, you don’t need to have all of the best graphics chips and processors that many computers have. And with cloud storage, there may not be the need for a big hard drive on the machine either. 

Make sure that the computer you are buying has a fresh operating system installation. Any drives should be cleared before you buy it, as you don’t want any personal information from the previous owner on there. If at all possible, ask to see the machine running before you buy it.

Buying A Second-Hand Washing Machine

White goods such as washing machines will wear out over time through heavy use. If you need to replace your machine, why not look at buying second-hand? With many people continually upgrading to make sure that their machines have all of the latest features if you just want something a bit more basic, then you could get a washing machine for next to nothing, or even for free on a site like Freecycle. 

Ask to see the machine in action and make sure that it does not move around when it is being used. As long as there are no signs of too much vibration or movement when it is being used, you may have a bargain.

Image by midascode from Pixabay 

​If you're thinking of buying new doors for your home but you don't know where to begin then don't worry, you have definitely come to the right place. ​Whether you're looking to completely renovate or you're simply replacing doors that may have broken, you need to be sure you're buying the right ones and not ending up out of pocket. Luckily, there are lots of questions you can ask yourself to ensure that doesn't happen. With that in mind, here are 5 things to consider before buying a new door: 

What Is Your Budget?

One of the first things you need to consider when it comes to buying new doors is your overall budget. Whether you’re replacing a broken door or upgrading all of the doors in your house, you need to have a clear idea of how much they’re going to cost you. It may also be worth bearing in mind the quality, the style and the fit, as these will all affect the overall cost of your doors. For a guide to buying new doors, you can visit this site here. 

Which Room Are They For?

Another important thing to consider is the room your buying your doors for, as this might make a difference to the style and fit you’re purchasing. 

For example, if you’re buying doors for a bedroom, you’re going to want to ensure as much privacy as you possibly can. If you’re buying doors for a kitchen, you might be okay with them being a little open plan. For a guide to the best doors for your bedroom, you can visit this site here. 

What Style Do You Want?

Once you know where you’re going to be putting your doors, you need to think about the best styles for them. In most cases, this will either depend on the style and decor of your interiors or the budget you have available. If you’re unsure, it might be worth speaking to a professional. For more information when it comes to interior doors, you can visit this site here. 

Have You Measured The Space?

Now that you know what type of door you’re going to be getting, it’s time to think about the size that you need. Although it would be much easier if it was a one size fits all operation, buying a door is often a lot more complicated than that. The best thing to do is to measure the space you have and then find the closest fit. If you find there’s nothing similar, it might mean you need to get something custom made. 

Do You Have A Guarantee On Them?

Finally, you might want to consider getting them guaranteed. Although doors are built to last for long periods of time, you never know what could happen. 

Are you looking to replace the doors in your home? What do you need to consider when looking for the perfect replacements? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.