Captive Mommies

(CBS) Keeping cool during the summer months can be a daunting task, especially if you’re pregnant. Tricia O’Brien of American Baby Magazine has some tips for beating the heat.

When you’re pregnant, staying cool in the summer isn’t just a matter of comfort - it’s a matter of health. Heat stroke can affect anyone, and it’s especially dangerous in pregnant women. If symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, a bad headache, fever and confusion refuse to subside, seek medical attention immediately.

In the mean time, though, you can minimize the effects of the sun by doing your best to avoid it. If you are outside, try not to get sunburned. “You have more surface area, so you really have to apply more [sun]block,” says O’Brien. She suggests SPF 30 or higher; now is not the time to worry about getting a deep, dark tan.

Sun exposure can also increase the look of melasma, or the “mask of pregnancy”. “Estrogen combined with the sun brings out more pigmentation,” says O’Brien. While many women experience the dark spots of melasma throughout their pregnancy, they can be especially pronounced in the summer time. Try wearing a wide brimmed hat to shield your face and apply sunscreen liberally.

Many women also experience heat rash during the summer months. More commonly known as prickly heat, this rash can develop anywhere on your body that experiences friction, such as your arms, neck or between your breasts. To minimize your risk, O’Brien suggests wearing breathable fabrics and keeping your skin as dry as possible. If the rash gets severe, talk with your doctor or dermatologist; they may be able to prescribe a hydrocortisone cream to minimize the discomfort.

Most importantly, drink lots of fluids! Many heat related ailments are tied to dehydration, so drink plenty of water. Carbonated beverages are okay, too, but avoid sugary things like soda. Try seltzer water instead. Also, avoid caffeine. Caffeine actually acts as a diuretic which can lead to dehydration.

However, many women often experience fluid retention in the summer months as well. This is usually characterized by bloating and swollen ankles or calf muscles. “Your body isn’t as efficient at moving those fluids around,” says O’Brien. Try elevating your legs or submerging yourself in a pool or cool bath to help ease pressure. If your shoes seem tight, try buying a pair of two in a slightly larger size to accommodate your swollen feet. Think of it as an excuse to go shoe shopping!

If swelling becomes a major problem, though, be sure to meet with your doctor. While some swelling is normal, excessive swelling can indicate preeclampsia, a blood pressure condition found in pregnant women. Only your doctor can diagnose it, though, so if you have any concerns, but sure to schedule an appointment.

For more information on staying cool, as well as additional parenting advice, click here to visit www.AmericanBaby.com.

By Erin Petrun © MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

by Angie Wenke

Google Ad Words is a good marketing tool to bring targeted traffic to your site if you can afford the added costs. I know a lot of small businesses cannot afford the additional costs of paying for Google Ad Words each month. With a reasonably small amount of work and effort you should be able to raise the number of unique visitors and sales from your site.

Ad Words is simply based on KEYWORD. Basically people run a search through a search engine for keywords if one of your keywords was chosen your ad will be shown. And you will charged according to your agreement with Google Ad Words. For Example if I was advertising Heartland Marketplace on Google Ad Words one of my keywords might be Craft Mall so every time someone typed in Craft Mall my site would show up in the ads therefore driving customers to my site.

Ad setup is VERY simple:

Headline no more than 25 characters
Line 1-No more than 35 characters
Line 2-No more than 35 characters

The most important part is to get the most content in those two small lines! Second most important part is to hit on every keyword that may pertain to your site. You want to make sure your ad is eye catching, that you gave enough information to spark their interest, so that people will click on your ads.

Here are some links you will need when creating your ad for Google Ad Words

1-Google Ad Guidelines
2-FAQ section
3-Good Overview of the Steps

Once your ad is ready you will want to create a account. You also will need to decide how much you are willing to pay PER DAY to have Google display your ads. They suggest $5 a day but that can be very costly so I recommend start low and see if you see any difference in your targeted traffic before you go for $5 a day or more!

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Angie Wenke is a WAHM who is the proud owner of
Heartland Graphics and owner of a
WAHM podcast Frugal WAHM’s Talk Radio.
Angie is a Married mother of two who lives near St Louis, MO and loves writing
new articles and helping her fellow WAHM’s on their dreams to own a successful
WAHM business.
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Ingredients
Dough:
1/4 cup warm water (105° to 115°)
1 (1/4-ounce) package active dry yeast
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
3 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest
1 1/4 teaspoon. salt
4 to 4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

Filling:
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Topping:
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) coarsely chopped pecans

Directions
1. Make the dough. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine warm water, yeast and 1 tsp. sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add milk, butter, remaining sugar, egg yolks, orange zest, salt and 3 cups flour. Mix on low speed until blended. Switch to a dough hook and then, again on low speed, slowly incorporate the remaining 1 cup of flour. Increase speed to medium, kneading dough until smooth and slightly sticky (adding a little more flour if too wet), 3 to 5 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large, buttered bowl. Turn dough over in bowl to coat with the butter from the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour (or 2 hours if not in an entirely warm place). After the dough has risen, punch down. Turn out onto a lightly floured cutting board and let sit 20 minutes.

2. Make the filling. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter; keep separate.

3. Roll dough out into a 12″ x 18″ rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Starting with the long side, roll dough into a cylinder. Place seam side down on a flat surface and cut crosswise into 15 slices.

4. Make the topping. In a 1-quart saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, honey and corn syrup over low heat; stir until sugar and butter are melted. Pour mixture into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan and sprinkle pecans on top.

5. Place dough slices, flat side down, on top of prepared topping. Crowd them so they touch. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving room for the buns to rise, and refrigerate overnight.

6. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and let stand at room temperature while the oven pre-heats. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake buns until golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove pan from oven and immediately (and carefully as not to spill hot topping on your toes!) invert onto a serving tray or baking dish. Let buns cool slightly and serve warm.

Recipe found at Simply Recipes

by Alyssa Dees Avant

Whether you are a SAHM, a WAHM, a mom who works outside the home or just a lady who longs to keep it all together and going smoothly then you could benefit from making an appointment with yourself.  Each week set aside about an hour give or take a little and get together a few key organizing tools to help you organize your time and the many things that are coming up in your week.

The purpose of this appointment with yourself is to plan your week.  A weekly planning session can do you more good than you ever imagined, leaving you with a plan as well as a feeling of accomplishment before your week even begins.

You will want to choose a time for this appointment that is either at the end of the week, or at the beginning of the week because you will be planning your week, you will want to do it before the week actually begins.  You will also need a calendar or planner, some paper, a pencil and thoughts of what you want to accomplish in mind.

Once the time for your appointment with yourself, or weekly planning session rolls around sit down with your calendar, pencil, paper and thoughts and create yourself a killer plan for your week.  Begin by writing down a list of goals or things you would like to accomplish this week.  Write down as many things as you can think of, you don’t have to be realistic and list only a few write as many as you think of, later you will have to weed this down in order of importance.

Next, you will want to look at your calendar.  Hopefully as appointments were made or events were added to your schedule you have them noted on your calendar but if not try to remember all your events and appointments and pencil those in first.

After you have the important events and appointments on your calendar you will then want to take a look at your goals, determining which are most important, and then creating another list of what it would take for you to accomplish all of those things.  This list you will break up into manageable portions to place on your to do lists for each day of the week, which is your final step.

Take your tasks list and divvy up the task onto the times and spaces that you have left in your week as a goal for accomplishing them.  You will be using your calendar your daily to do lists and your goals sheet to keep yourself on track.  The tasks list that you created can be discarded as hopefully this is now divided into more management parts on your to do lists and calendar.

After experiencing a week where you have taken the time to make an appointment with yourself and have a plan in place that you have followed you will realize how much more you can truly accomplish than you ever thought you could!
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Alyssa Dees Avant is a Christian author, blogger, podcaster, speaker, and business owner, when she is not speaking to audiences of young girls and their mothers, she is writing as a freelance and ghostwriter. Whether she is sharing her passion with girls on the topics of beauty, modesty, and etiquette or with their moms on time management and organizing Alyssa has a true passion for helping others.  Visit her on the web at http://beautybydesignonline.com or http://organizedlifebydesign.com
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Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com