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It’s nearly that time of year again – the dreaded cold and flu season. For most, enduring the sniffles, aches and pains of the common cold is just a minor inconvenience though catching the flu can be more serious. Chances are, if you don’t take proactive steps to prevent it, you will catch it. To help keep you feeling your best and win the war against germs this sniffle season, here are a few suggested tips.

Avoid the Spread of Germs

Germs often spread when someone touches a contaminated item and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth. When in public spaces, try to avoid touching your face with your hands as much as possible. Always make sure you wash your hands thoroughly with soap and warm water on a regular basis and keep alcohol-based hand sanitizers in your purse and in your children’s backpack for added protection.

Disinfect Commonly-Touched Areas

Germs can linger on hard surfaces for hours or days after being contaminated, which is why it’s important to keep high traffic areas like counter tops, door knobs, sinks and faucets clean. You’ll also want to be diligent in disinfecting telephones, remote controls, door knobs and light switches.

Take Your Vitamins to help maintain immune function

To help your body get all the essential vitamins and nutrients to maintain good health, try Vitafusion™ Men’s or Women’s Complete Multivitamin. Each formula is specifically designed to meet the needs of men or women. Vitafusion Women’s includes calcium and vitamin D. Calcium helps keep bones strong and healthy. Vitafusion Men’s contains B vitamins to help convert food to energy.  L’il Critters™ Despicable Me Minion Made™ and Lil Critters™ Barbie™ Complete Multivitamin Gummies are a great way for kids to get a boost in their diet. These fun character shaped gummies are packed with essential nutrients that help maintain good health and provide a fun way to support your kid’s immune function.  Kids will also love the great taste that comes from naturally sourced flavours.

Skip a Workout

If you feel like you might be getting sick but aren’t sure, avoid going to the gym. While it may seem like a good idea to sweat it out, your body needs all of its extra resources to fend off whatever virus or bacteria you’ve been exposed to so it’s important to save your energy.

Don’t Drink Alcohol

Avoid drinking alcohol for a few days if you’re feeling under the weather. Drinking large amounts of alcohol can affect your immune system so stepping back may help avoid coming down with something more serious.

Stay Hydrated

When feeling ill, it’s important to stay hydrated. Plenty of water and fluids may help to minimize the duration and severity of a cold or flu.

For more information about Vitafusion™ and its full line of products, visit gummyvites.ca

It’s no fun being sick. What are some other preventative measures you follow to help protect you and your family against colds and flu?

Much to the despair of our little ones, back-to-school time is fast approaching. The freedom and fun of summer will soon be over and the reality of routines and homework is about to start. While we’re eager to get the kiddies out of the house at last, the reality is that it comes with a few “drawbacks”:

Laundry: Summer comes with its fair share of stains but soon gym clothes and uniforms will take over – big time. If your kids wear a uniform to school, you know the importance of keeping these in good condition. There’s nothing worse than having to replace something mid-year. Then there are the extra-curricular activities…hello hockey jerseys and ballet leotards! These items are pricey and it’s important to care for them properly. What are the odds these items will make it through the school year? Step 1: beg and plead with your kids to treat these items with care (good luck!). Step 2: Equip yourself with a killer laundry arsenal that’s always at your fingertips. For example, stock up on OxiClean™ Colour Shield Liquid Laundry Stain Remover, it keeps colours looking their brightest. And OxiClean™ White Revive™ Stain Remover Powder has your whites covered as it’s specially formulated to maintain whites – without chlorine bleach! For inevitable stains, turn to OxiClean™ Laundry Stain Remover Spray and OxiClean™ Max Force™ Gel Stick to pre-treat in advance of your next laundry day.

Aches and pains: Real life will ramp up again quickly for you too. Whether you’re back at the office and adjusting to sitting at a desk all day or you’re just trying to keep up with your kids, topical pain relievers such as RUB·A535™ Extra Strength Heating Cream are essential to have on hand for those muscle aches and pains. It delivers fast-acting, warm, penetrating relief of muscle, joint, back and arthritic pain.

Cavities: Before you know it, Halloween will be approaching and then the Holidays are not far behind. For you this means an extra-long to-do list. For your kids, it’s the start of a regular diet of candy and chocolate so brushing their teeth will be key! When brushing is fun, your kids will want to brush their teeth! They’ll love the novelty of the moving brush head on Arm & Hammer™ Spinbrush™ Kids Battery Toothbrush and  designs such as My Little Pony™ and Paw Patrol™ will get them even more excited.

When we think about it some more, heading back to school really isn’t so bad! That being said, what are you not looking forward to the most?

I am a brand ambassador for the 2016 year with Church & Dwight. As part of this program I receive monetary compensation as well as products to review. 

Looking at my entry way it seems to be spring again. Spring weather in Calgary can vary a lot so we have everything from vests, to light coats and rain jackets. And we still have all the Winter clothes hanging around too.

It’s definitely time to start putting away the snowpants and sorting through what fits from last year. Kids clothes are expensive so hand-me-downs are one of my favorite things. I always have a bin of too big clothes put away – some that my older kids are passing down and some from other family and friends.

Whether you are keeping your kids’ clothes in the family, giving them away or selling them, it’s important to keep the clothes in good shape. Here are some simple and affordable ways to keep your kid’s clothes in great condition, and hand-me-down ready:

1. Host a clothing swap. Gather all your friends and have a clothes swap. Everybody can bring their kid’s old clothes that they have either outgrown or are simply tired of. It gives you and your friends the chance to catch-up and socialize while refreshing your kids wardrobe and saving money. Bonus: gather your friends who wear the same size as you do for a clothes swap of your own!

2. Keep it in the family. At the end of every season, have your children pack away any clothes that are getting too small for them. Label the box with the date and season so in a few years, when your next child is ready for a new outfit, you know exactly where to find them. Make sure to wash everything before you store it away, so that it is clean and fresh when you pull it out of storage. Pro Tip: OxiClean^TM Foam Pre-treat rids your children’s clothes of tough dried on stains – even grease!

3. Embrace the bold colours. Fun, bright and colourful spring clothes can lose their vibrancy quickly during the year – making it hard to pass them on. The right laundry detergent can go a long way in caring for clothes. Pro Tip: Upgrade from ordinary detergents and give your kids clothes a high definition clean with OxiClean^TM HD^TMLaundry Detergent(available in liquid and paks). It will ensure your whites stay radiant and your colours vibrant.

Do you have any great tips for re-using old clothes and saving money?

I am a brand ambassador for the 2016 year with Church & Dwight. As part of this program I receive monetary compensation as well as products to review. 

Did you know that March 6th to 13th is Sleep Awareness Week? Sleep or the lack of it is always something I end up thinking a lot about when I have a baby in the house. My littlest is now 14 months old and I am finally starting to get better sleep. At least some of the time. But now that I’m slightly less exhausted from my baby, sometimes I have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep and he is not to blame at all!

I hope that you never have trouble getting a good night’s sleep but if you do, below are a list of suggested tips that may help sleepy-eyed Canadians get some quality (and well deserved!) shut-eye.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Make simple changes in your life to help develop a more positive state of mind. Organize, prioritize and give yourself a break every so often. When you have less to worry about, your sleep is less likely to suffer.

Get Up and Get Active

Consider adding daily exercise to your morning routine or sometime in your day. Regular physical activity will help you fall asleep faster and deeper.

Create Tranquility

Make your bedroom a sleeping oasis. Avoid eating, working or watching TV in bed. This way your body will start to associate the bed with meaning it’s time to sleep.

Limit Naps or Power Nap

Naps throughout the day can prevent your body from falling into a deep sleep at night. If you need to nap, try to limit your sleep to a 30-minute power nap or less in the afternoon.

Perfect Your Cycle

Going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday can help regulate your sleep pattern. If you need help with sleep regulation, try Vitafusion™ SleepWell* which contains 2.5 mg of Melatonin in each gummy. Melatonin is a hormone your body releases when it gets dark to tell your body it’s time for bed. Vitafusion™ SleepWell* is designed for adults suffering from sleep restrictions or altered sleep schedules (e.g. shift work or jet lag). These gummies provide a tasty alternative to hard-to-swallow tablets. Learn more at gummyvites.ca1

Watch Your Munchies

Take note of what you’re eating and drinking before bed and avoid feeling hungry or stuffed. Stomach and bowel discomfort can make you restless, often causing urgent trips to the washroom in the middle of the night.

Make sure your mattress is comfortable and supportive. The life expectancy of a good mattress is around 9 or 10 years so if your mattress is older than this you may want to consider a new one. Ensuring your bed is inviting for sleep is also important. Use comfortable pillows and keep your bed sheets clean and fresh by washing them weekly. Try using Arm & Hammer™ Plus OxiClean™ Power Paks in Fresh Scent that’s boosted with baking soda for a refreshing clean.

Exercise, exercise, exercise! This can be a hard one, especially for those who sit for long hours at a desk. Rigorous exercise is ideal, but even light exercise, like walking to and from work, is better than nothing.

Soothe sore and aching muscles. While exercise can help some sleep soundly, it may also lead to stiff muscles, aches and pains. To help relieve stiff muscles, try using a topical analgesic cream like RUB A535™ Night Time. It is a fast-acting cream that provides soothing relief of muscle and joint pain. Plus, it’s scented with lavender essential oils.

Do you find it difficult to get a full night’s rest? What are some tips you have to help increase total sleep time and quality?

I am a brand ambassador for the 2016 year with Church & Dwight. As part of this program I receive monetary compensation as well as products to review. 

It is easy to get stuck in a rut. Doing the same routine week after week. Things can seem to busy and hectic that it feels hard to fit anything new in. But this year you have some extra time! Well, sort of anyway. February has an extra day so why not shake things up a bit and try something you haven’t done before with your family?

Snowshoeing or cross country skiing – In many areas you can rent snowshoes or cross country skis for the day making it so you don’t have to spend all the money if you aren’t sure it will be a fit for your family. Both activities are great exercise and if you do invest in the equipment, typically costs almost nothing afterwards.

Build a snow fort – forget about a snowman, build a snowfort in your yard instead. It’ll make the kids want to play outside once you are done and it will be tons of fun to make.

Snow painting – just add a little food coloring to water in a spray bottle and create your own outdoor art. This activity can help even the more ‘indoorsy’ kids want to be outside for a bit.

Go exploring – Find a new outdoor skating rink or toboggan hill. Go to a winter festival or try an attraction in your city that you haven’t before.

Trying to keep up with your kids isn’t always easy – and is often tougher the next day when those aches and pains set in.Topical pain relievers like RUB·A535™ Extra Strength Heating Cream have you covered. It starts to work on contact and provides fast acting pain relief of muscle and joint pain.   Trying something brand new will not only be different and exciting, but will also break up the monotonous schedules we adhere to when juggling work and family. Getting outside is also great for your health!

I am a brand ambassador for the 2016 year with Church & Dwight. As part of this program I receive monetary compensation as well as products to review.