Judy's Bits of This and That: January 2014

Daily Horoscope

General

Friday, Jan 31st, 2014

We're in such a period of change that it's challenging to get a handle on our current feelings. Our fantasies run rampant now that cerebral Mercury is in imaginative Pisces. Meanwhile, the emotionally detached Aquarius Moon shifts into Pisces at 10:44 pm EST to further amplify our dreams. And Venus, retrograde since December 21, turns direct today, freeing our desires from the past. However, it may take a few days to notice any real progress.

Is your relationship on the rocks? Cut through all your romantic anxiety by chatting live with a video psychic now about whatever is troubling you.

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Quote of the Day January 31

Robotic Hugs How A Hug Can Help Your Autistic Child

Autistic children and adults often seek pressure in a variety of ways to calm themselves and cope with sensory overload. Oftentimes, hugs and squeezes from other people can cause more distress because autistic children or adults are often unable to communicate their needs by indicating a particular amount or length of pressure. This is both frustrating and ineffective for both the autistic person and whoever is hugging or squeezing them.

The hug machine was created to help relive this frustration, putting autistic individuals in control of their situation. Both children and adults who suffer from autism sometimes crave pressure to help calm anxiety. Because of this, one woman with autism developed the hug machine, also known as a hug box or a squeeze machine. The hug machine has two padded sideboards connected near the bottom of the boards to form a V-shape. A lever helps push the sideboards together to create pressure; the lever also allows the autistic child or adult the ability to control the amount and length of pressure.

Studies are still being conducted to find out why those with autism respond to pressure and how it can produce a calming effect. The hug machine may affect the heightened sensory perceptions of those with autism who often feels disruptive or distressing behavior. By applying pressure, perhaps the autistic child or adult moves his or her focus to a single feeling-the pressure-which in turn produces a calming effect. For many autistic children and adults, anxiety can be completely incapacitating. Not being able to function with the anxiety is frustrating, and so appropriate social behavior is even more difficult. Sometimes, the only release from such anxiety is through pressure. To this day, the hug machine is used by several programs and researchers studying autism as well as therapy programs.

Remember that hugging or squeezing an autistic child may not help him or her. You may, in fact, increase their senses and cause more anxiety. Though you may not be able to purchase a hug machine, you may be able to create a similar object. Try wrapping the autistic child or adult in a blanket, where they can control how much pressure to apply. You can also look into buying padded boards that more closely simulate the hug machine’s side-boards and perhaps tie or tape some heavy-duty yarn to each side to allow the autistic child or adult control over how much pressure to apply and for how long. Contact your child’s school to see if there has been any interest in purchasing a community hug-machine. This may not be a cure to all your child’s problems, but it works well to help many autistic individuals cope with the wor

Daily Horoscope

General

Saturday, Jan 25, 2014

Although our emotions may be irrational, they still can reveal obstacles as the passionate Scorpio Moon forms six stressful aspects. But it's hard to hide our intentions as we anticipate the changes ahead. However, impulsive tendencies are tempered by mental Mercury's dynamic square with serious old Saturn, blocking our free-flowing thoughts. Thankfully, our spirits soar when the Moon enters inspirational Sagittarius at 10:12 pm EST.

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How To Find After School Activities

Start off by making enquiries. Nothing can beat the power of information.

Approach the school authorities first. Find out if they are offering any

after school activities. Get a list of the various classes that are

available in your school. In case the school does not provide any

extracurricular activities for the child, approach your neighbors. Collect

information about any after school programs, the quality of the courses

taught and the timings etc. Also, check out some of the community

resources. These may include places of worship, community centers,

Museums, libraries, the YMCA, The Boys and Girls Club etc.

After you have colleted all the necessary information, discuss the various

options with your child. Find out what his interests are. The best way to

find out what is most suitable is to ask your child. When little children

are too small, you cannot completely rely on their feedback. In this case,

monitor the development of the child on a regular basis. If the child

shows excessive resistance to an activity, it may be necessary to look for

other options. Always consider your family’s schedule when planning the

extracurricular activities. If it is difficult for you to chauffeur your

child, you may want to employ tutors at home or conduct some activity at

home itself.

Jacketed General Anxiety Disorder

The term “Anxiety disorder” has become a jacket term, covering many unique forms of abnormal anxiety, fears, phobias and nervous conditions. All of these conditions come on suddenly and prevent an individual from continuining daily routines.

Of the several different types of anxiety disorder these are the most popular:

– Claustrophobia

– Social anxiety

– Specific phobias

– Obsessive-compulsive disorder

– General anxiety disorder

– Post-traumatic stress disorder

– Agoraphobia

– Panic disorder

– Separation anxiety disorder

Usually all of these disorders or conditions are chronix, and lifestyle restricting. Alot of times individuals will be born with their condition, but it is also known that they can begin suddenly after a triggering event. Stress is a known factor which will increase in their persistence.

There are several drugs available on the market that treat these disorders. They are drugs like benzodiazepines and antidepressants. A good counselor or behavioural therapist is often able to treat the disorders through use of cognitive therapies.

It is important to know that anxiety is a complicated combination of the feeling of fear and worry. It can occur as a primary brain disorder, but is often times associated with other medical problems. Anxiety is most of the time said to have a cognitive, an emotial, a somatic and a behavioral component. All of these components make up the whole, which is Anxiety. In it’s chronic state Social Anxiety Disorder can be disabling, and prevent individuals from completing daily tasks, although with the help of drugs and therapies many of these individuals can battle the disorder and continue on with their lives.

Quote of the Day January 25

Daily Horoscope

General

Thursday, Jan 23rd, 2014

We may finally have time today to integrate recent events and plan for the future as the gentle Libra Moon reminds us to weigh our options before taking any action. Nevertheless, the Moon shifts into passionate Scorpio at 4:43 pm EST, reawakening our emotions -- not all of which are easy to manage. We receive a bit of late-night assistance as the Moon harmoniously trines imaginative Neptune, enabling us to conjure up reasonable solutions.

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Winter Craft Ideas For Your Children

If it is winter time and your child has been asked to make some winter projects and therefore there are many wonderful possibilities for basic winter art projects and crafts such as cutting out snowflakes or drawing a Santa Claus but in addition there are some other fun things and activities to be done. You can pose the idea of interesting arts and crafts to your children and you shall really be surprised at the creative ideas of your children.

Some fun ideas for winter crafts whereby you can use organized supplies such as:

1. Cotton is very useful in making some great winter art projects and if these cotton balls are a bit colder they can even look like mini snowballs. Your child can also draw wonderful winter scenery and then rip them, fluff them and glue them at the places where snow has to be shown.

2. Winter is always incomplete without marshmallows. Marshmallows is added treats in hot chocolate but can also be used for winter crafts. Your kids can take three big marshmallows and then stack them on top of each other so as to make a mini and tasty snowman. Toothpicks can also be used to hold the marshmallows together and also as the arms. Mini marshmallows can be a great fun when snowballs are attached to winter collages.

3. Plaster of Paris is also used in many great ways and not just for winter crafts and one of such ways is to use it to make “footprints in the snow.” For this, you can fill a box lid with negligible item such as Plaster of Paris. When it settles and dries you can make different footprints in the snow or could be used as the side of fist to look like a baby’s footprints.

4. Birds that stay in place all through winter needs food and during winter children can make a pine cone bird feeder. So you need to cover a pine cone in peanut butter and dip it in the bird seed and then tie a bit of string to one of these pine cones and hung it up on the tree outside.

5. You can also use glitter to add so that any basic winter art project looks even more fancy and beautiful.

The Best Closet Organizers

Most of us can use some assistance and guidance when it comes to organizing our closets. A search on the internet or at your local home improvement store will offer you many different options to choose from. You want the project to look great when you are done as well has keep all of your items well organized. However, it can get costly once you start adding everything up. You can get discounted items to organize your closet, but are they going to hold up over time? So how do you find the best closet organizers out there?

There are pros and cons to every type of closet organizer material. Some of them are very inexpensive but can’t hold large amounts of weight. Others are very study, yet they are also very expensive. You are going to have to access your individual closet and then find quality products that fit your needs as well as fit your spending limit for Operation: Closet Organization.

Taking the time to read product reviews is a great way to find out the value of each one. You can find these reviews on the internet from people who have purchased them. You can also find so great reviews on closet organization products from Consumer Reports, a magazine that gives you reviews on most anything you can possibly thing of buying including items for your home and vehicles.

A recent review by Consumer Reports involved a test of nine different closet organization kits. The price of the kits ranged from $210 to $670. Some of the closet organization kits did quite well in this study while others proved to be difficult to install or being of poor quality with drawers that don’t open and close properly. Some of the closet organizer kits they tested didn’t come with all the required parts to assemble it properly. However, customer service for all of the manufacturers were very friendly and willing to send out the missing parts to complete the project.

The top ranking closet organization system is from Rubbermaid. It is also one of the least expensive closet organization kits on the market about around $300. It can be purchased online, at retail stores including K-Mart and Wal-Mart, or at some home improvement stores.

Stanley is another very popular brand of closet organization products. They are more expensive than the products from Rubbermaid but of equal quality. You can purchase Stanley closet organization products on the internet or at the popular home improvement store Lowe’s.

Make your dream of having an organized closet with everything in place a reality! Don’t be in too much of a hurry to purchase the cheapest products out there. You will likely be disappointed with the results when it comes to quality and durability. However, the highest priced closet organizers aren’t any better than some of the more reasonably priced products.

To save yourself money and get products that will last, compare different brands and read information about the pros and cons of each one. You can also purchase an entire custom closet organizer system from a particular manufacturer to save money.

Organizing your closet can be fun as well as beneficial to you on a daily basic. Ensure that you get the best products at the best prices by seeing what the market place has to offer you. Don’t get caught up in name brand hype or trying to cut corners or you will be disappointed.

Make Your Own Baby Food The Easy Way

Is your baby about to start solid foods? Are you thinking of making your own baby food?

When you make baby’s first foods, you can save money and reduce waste. You also can choose more nutritious options. Fresh foods are typically more nutritious than canned, and you can purchase organic food to prepare for baby if you wish. You can also avoid unwholesome ingredients that show up in commercial baby food.

Making baby food doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. In fact, the easiest and cheapest way is the best way!

The easy way to making your own baby food:

1) Don’t bother with buying one of those baby food grinders. They’re hard to clean and too much hassle.

2) If you wait until your baby is 6 months old to start solids, you can almost always just mash with a fork to the desired consistency.

If you’re breastfeeding, you can even wait until baby’s “pincer grasp” is developed and offer him small finger foods like peas, bits of grated apple, and the like. The pincer grasp is developed when baby can pinch small objects (like those bits of carpet fluff or food on the kitchen floor!) inbetween his thumb and first finger. In fact, if you have a family tendency towards food allergy, waiting longer to start solids may be preferable. No matter what baby’s age, always offer one food at a time and wait several days to watch for signs of allergy before offering another. Take it slow.

3) Start with fresh single ingredient foods like:

Banana

Steamed carrot, turnip, potato, yam

Avocado

Ripe pear, peach, melon, plum

Cooked squash

Grated apple- raw or steamed

Peas

Well cooked beans

Hard cooked egg yolks (avoid the whites until 1 year)

Some of these foods could be served raw. Others are lightly steamed (steaming retains more nutrients than canning), to make them softer for baby.

4) It’s not necessary to make a big deal of preparing baby’s food.

If you want to take a lot of time blending food and freezing them in ice cube trays, you could certainly do that. But I’m all for the easy approach!

Although you do want to avoid giving baby salt and sugar (and spices that may upset the tummy), you can usually just take an ingredient from your own menu and “make” baby’s dinner.

For instance, if you’re steaming veggies to serve at dinner, take a tablespoon of them out of the pan before you add butter and salt. Put this in baby’s plate and mash away. Voila! Instant baby food with no extra work. Or take a bit of beef from your roast and mash mash mash until it’s very soft.

Even when you’re at a restaurant, you can either bring an apple with you and “grate” it finely with a spoon at your table, or bring along a banana or other portable food. Any restaurant with a salad bar would have cooked beans or avocado. Or give baby a bit of your baked potato (before you add the goodies on top).

Life with a new baby is challenging enough. Keep starting solids simple!