Choosing the Perfect Maid of Honor Gift

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When most people think about weddings and the gifts involved, they think of the gift registry and all the gifts the couple will receive.

However, there’s another set of wedding gifts that take some thought too.

The groom will be buying his groomsmen thank you gifts for participating in the wedding and the bride will do the same with a maid of honor gift as well as gifts for her bridesmaids and flower girls.

While typically the bridesmaids all receive the same gift or a variation of gifts, the maid of honor may receive a slightly nicer version of the same gift. For example, the entire female population of the wedding party may receive simple but pretty necklaces for being in the wedding, but the maid of honor will get a pearl necklace and matching earrings. It’s just a bonus perk of the job.

One of the popular gifts right now is a spa treatment. You could treat all the bridesmaids to manicure and pedicures and give the maid of honor a facial too. Or, you may get the girls a massage at the spa and the maid of honor gets a massage towel wrap that is engraved with her monogram. This gets everyone relaxed and in a pampering mood and promotes female bonding time too.

Another cool idea for a gift is tote bags with their name on it. They come in various colors and themes and can be purchased with individual tastes in mind. This will come in handy on the wedding day for toting all the various items to the church to get ready.

Jewelry, as mentioned before, is great as a maid of honor gift. You can pick out earrings that match the dresses used in the wedding and can also be used later on. Matching necklaces also make great gifts. To go along with this gift are personalized silk jewelry pouches to put the jewelry in.

The bridesmaids and maid of honor will use them for many years to come and remember your thoughtfulness at the same time. You may also consider giving a monogrammed silver compact mirror. Again, they’re very useful and not something most people are likely to buy for themselves.

Buy early so you don’t feel rushed to make a decision as your big day approaches. You don’t want to be running around trying to decide at the last minute as hasty decisions are often times regretted. Enjoy your day and the people around you will enjoy being in it with you.

Is it Safe to Eat Barbecued Foods When Pregnant?

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Pregnant women have become accustomed to seeing long lists of things they should and shouldn’t do while pregnant. One of the biggest areas for concern lies in the area of foods and how they are prepared. Even though you normally don’t want to ingest things that are bad for you, and don’t want to make yourself sick due to poor food preparation, there is simply a lot more at stake when you are pregnant. A lot of women wonder if it is safe to consume barbecued foods when pregnant.

So, are barbecued foods safe to eat while pregnant? Most medical professionals agree that barbecued food should not be a problem for pregnant women, as long as it is prepared properly. The biggest risk when barbecuing is that improperly prepared food could contain E Coli, salmonella, and campylobacter. When you are pregnant, your immune system is not as strong as it normally is, and you are more likely to be affected by even a small amount of bacteria. Keep in mind that even though these bacteria can make you seriously ill, they will not cross the placental barrier and harm the baby.

One somewhat unusual condition to be aware of that you might encounter if you consume barbecued foods when pregnant is toxoplasmosis, which is a parasite-caused infection that usually feels like a mild flu. Even though you may not get very sick, this can cause brain damage and eye problems in the unborn baby. Keep in mind that this is fairly rare, however.

If you wish to consume barbecued foods when pregnant, here are some tips for you to follow to ensure that you stay as healthy as possible. One important thing to keep in mind whenever you are handling raw meat is to make sure you store it separately from other foods. Make sure it stays chilled and covered until you are ready to cook it. It’s especially important to keep raw meat away from foods that won’t require cooking, like salads. Also make sure that meats are completely thawed before cooking.

If you consume barbecued foods while pregnant, some other ways to make sure that they are safely prepared is to make sure that they are thoroughly cooked. If you are using charcoal, make sure it is white before cooking. Cook meat until it is no longer pink in the middle and use a meat thermometer to verify that the meat has reached a temperature of at least 160 F/70 C for at least two minutes in the thickest part. If you consume barbecued foods when pregnant, they can be quite safe, as long as you follow the proper precautions.

So, to answer the question: are barbecued foods safe for a pregnant woman, it seems that, as long as you follow the correct procedures when handling and cooking food, you shouldn’t have any problems. These rules apply, not just when you consume barbecued foods when pregnant; it’s important to prepare it safely and correctly for you and your family’s health in general.

Fashionable Snow Boots

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In the past, if you wanted to make sure that you kept your feet warm in the winter while at the same time providing yourself with as much comfort as possible in icy conditions then you had to buy a pair of ugly snow boots. However, luckily times have changed and you can now buy snow boots are not only keep your feet warm but also look great at the same time. Unfortunately this has meant that there is a new problem of people buying snow boots is not because they are going to keep her feet warm but because they think they are going to look good on them.

While you can buy some Ralph Lauren boots it as much for important to make sure you have comfortable feet that are kept warm while in snow conditions. That isn’t necessarily to say the Ralph Lauren snow shoesaren’t of high-quality, but it is a general point to make sure that you understand that snow boots are not meant to be fashionable but instead to make sure that your feet are kept safe.

The most important thing when you are buying a pair of boots is that it fits well and is comfortable. For this reason it is even more important to make sure that you get your boots fitted correctly by a professional before you buy them which mean it is unlikely to be a good idea to buy them online. Snow boots need to be fitted even more carefully than any other kind of shoe because you’re going to be spending a lot of time with an especially if you’re going to go skiing. Not all snow boots are of the same quality which you need to remember when buying them.

Cloth Diapers for Sensitive Skin

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If you’ve read about the environmental impact of cloth diapers, you’ve read about all of the chemicals used in disposable diapers. It is a known fact that babies tend to have more sensitive skin than adults. It’s why you see so many soaps and lotions marketed for babies. The chemicals in disposable diapers can cause serious allergic reactions in some infants and minor irritations in many others. Many babies are sensitive, if not allergic, to these chemicals. The superabsorbent polymers (SAP) have a chemical reaction with liquid and turn into a gel, which helps contain the liquid. That’s right – there’s a chemical reaction in your child’s diaper.

In early 2010, Pamper’s launched their new Dry Max line – marketed to have a high-powered gel that holds 5 times more liquid than before. Proctor and Gamble, the makers of Pampers, were charged in several class action lawsuits due to skin changes (irritation and rashes) and chemical burns sustained after using the new Pampers with Dry Max. This is not an isolated incident where one child had a reaction. Many, many parents have complained that the chemicals used in today’s modern disposable diapers, while absorbent, are way too strong. There is no reason that a child should be made to wear a sopping wet diaper for hours just because it can absorb that much, but that’s exactly how the disposable diaper manufacturers market them.

Another health concern of many parents is diaper rash. Diaper rashes are generally caused by wetness when a diaper is not promptly changed. The most absorbent disposable diapers can absorb several times their weight in liquid without leaking. This can lead to less frequent diaper changes and longer exposure to wetness and chemicals, especially overnight. In general cloth diapers are changed more frequently and therefore your baby is not exposed to prolonged wetness and is at less of a risk for diaper rash. With cloth diapers, you’re able to control any laundry soaps or additives that are used on your diapers, which also decreases your child’s chance of a rash.

In general, if your baby has overly sensitive skin, reacts poorly to the chemicals in disposables, or is prone to diaper rash, cloth diapers are almost always a better option. Cloth diapers are much gentler on the skin and since you can control the detergents and other laundry additives that your baby is exposed to, you greatly lessen the risk of diaper rash.