Fiber has important health benefits for children:

•     It promotes regularity and prevents constipation

•     It helps reduce risk of cancer and heart disease later in life

But how much fiber do kids need? The recommended daily fiber intakes are:

Kids 1 to 3 years: 19 grams
Kids 4 to 8 years: 25 grams
Boys 9 to 13 years: 31 grams
Girls 9 to 13 years: 26 grams

If your kids are picky eaters, it may mean that you have to supplement their fiber intake.   Some kids go through spurts where they are fixated on only one type of food, so while you continue to try and get them to eat healthier foods you're at a loss on how to get the recommended  amount of nutrition values into them.  

When it’s time to look for a supplement, the well known name of Pedia-Lax is there to help. 

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If you have an iPhone, and you don't live close to family, there is a new app that you may want to pick up before Christmas morning.

It's the Ustream Live Broadcaster, available in the official iTunes App Store.  It's the first live broadcaster ever available in the App Store, bringing you the ability to share live the joy of Christmas morning, with family and friends far away.  

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muvee Reveal 8 automatically edits your videos and photos to make the movies you always wanted to make - in four clear steps.

1) Add your video and/or photos.
2) Choose a style.
3) Add music.
4) Click “Play” to preview.

Then all you need to do is rest and take pleasure in your creation!

muvee Reveal features:

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Take along just what you need when you go traveling with this mini travel set by Artistry Essentials, available at Health and Beauty Zone.

You won't want to leave this behind! The Artistry Essentials Hydrating Travel Set is a perfect size for your skin care needs on-the-go!
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Amber is entering her third year of orthodontic treatment.  When she had her Herbst Appliance it wasn't too difficult a job to brush and keep her teeth clean.  The full set of braces on the other hand has made tooth brushing a challenge for her.  After outlaying as much money as we have, we want to try and ensure as much as possible a bright smile when the bling has been removed.

One would not think a 13 year old would get excited over a Waterpik Ultra Dental Water Jet.  Yet this new acquisition of hers is shown off to everyone who walks through our doors.

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Amber is very picky when it comes to clothing.  It must be this color, or that design.  It can't have ribbons, or bows.  And definitely NO PINK.  Through Twitter Moms, I found a fabulous site for her, where she can design her own clothes, and can get just what she wants, it's called Fashion Playtes. 

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Christmas is a time for family gatherings, and that's just what one of the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul books is all about...families that is!  Accept an invitation to read stories, some which might seem familiar to your circumstances, and others will make you appreciate your family a little more I bet ☺.

All in the Family contains 101 Incredible Stories about funny, quirky, lovable & dysfunctional families. 

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I was so excited when I received this amazing and totally personal handmade pendant in the mail the other day!

I would love to be more crafty but I just don't have the time or the ideas to make handmade gifts for people.  

When I had the chance to review Our Handmade Gifts custom pendant service, I knew right away what I would put on a custom pendant.  Amber draws such wonderful characters in her sketch books all the time, and I was so excited to put one of those on a piece of jewelry for her.  (I ♥ handmade items!)
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Meet Norman PhartEphant. He is what you might call a little "gassy machine".  If you give his tail a squeeze, you will hear some "pharting" sounds (and maybe an apology or two!), but thankfully the stink has not quite made it to this toy!

Made by Firece Fun Toys, whose mission is to promote laughter, staying involved in helping others and maintaining the highest quality standards for their products, Norman PhartEphant is sure to get a smile out of the crowd.  And it wouldn't surprise me at all if you know one particular person who would fall in love with this toy.
 
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Underwriters Laboratories, the world’s oldest and most-trusted product safety testing organization, knows that money savings will come in the form of reusing old decorations, shopping at thrift stores or deep discounters, and celebrating and cooking more at home. But if not done carefully, seemingly cheerful activities could quickly put a damper on holiday spirits – December and January are peak months for home fires, deaths and injuries.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while doing your holiday decorating:

1) If you decorate using a real tree - A fresh tree is key:  If the needles are not fresh, it can lead to a greater risk of fire. Remember to ask your tree lot attendant to make a fresh cut to the base of the tree and place it in water as soon as you get home. Place tree in a tree stand that holds at least one gallon of water and check moisture level frequently. Read the full story

The following giveaways listed November 24-29 have ended and here are the winners:
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MoZella defined in a couple of words.  Animated.  Pleasant to listen to.  (Okay that was more than just a couple of words, I could go on and on...)

Unknown by name to me before (and perhaps you as well), MoZella's appealing voice has been on the t.v. for the new Verizon android phone, Nivea, Mercedes Benz....chances are you've heard her too.
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Be A Dental Inventor!

Dr. Fresh® Sponsors Fourth Annual Toothbrush Design Contest In Honor Of February’s National Children’s Dental Health Month

Imagine a toothbrush so much fun to use that kids would brush your teeth without a single reminder from Mom or Dad.

Dr. Fresh is asking second through fifth graders across the U.S. to dream up just such a toothbrush with “Be A Dental Inventor” – the fourth annual toothbrush design contest celebrating National Children’s Dental Health Month this February 2010. www.drfresh.com.
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That being said, a while ago, I won a package of books on someone else's blog from Hachette Book Group, containing a whole bunch of "spooky" books.  One of the them was Bram Stoker's Dracula, with the foreward written by Elizabeth Kostova. 
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I received Qwirkle from Growing Tree Toys which is an online store that sells educational toys.

Qwirkle is a tactile wooden block game that combines the logic and strategy of Set® with the creative multi-maneuver game play of Scrabble®. You'll be creating columns and rows of matching colors and shapes in no time! Look for opportunities to score big by placing a tile that touches multiple pieces and matches both shapes and colors; the player with the most points wins. 108 blocks.

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Ojolie.com contacted me to use and review their E-Card site, which features the hand painted works of Frederikke Tu.

I was especially interested in this, as I generally wait too long to send cards for occasions to my friends and relatives in Canada, and then they usually don’t get acknowledged for their birthdays or other occasions at all (oops).

Frederikke Tu spends weeks designing the ecards, and you can tell.  There is great attention to detail in her work.  After she hand paints many of the parts, they are then scanned, combined with Flash animation and voila, you are presented with a visually stunning story.

What sets Ojolie.com apart from the other dozens of E-card sites out there, is the originality of the flash cards they offer as well as the designs.  These aren’t your basic e-cards that most of the other sites offer, they are truly artistic and when you view them you will see what I mean.

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I have a lot of things on my list every year that I want for Christmas, sometimes I get them, sometimes I don't, but they are on my list every year.

A few years ago, I started adding more "comfort" things to the list.  Items that were fuzzy, warm and comfy.  My family knows that they will have a happy girl on their hands if a gift contains all three of those things.  So imagine my delight when I was asked to review the Chenille Lounge Socks from PatientStyle.com.
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God's love and grace covers unexpected pain in life.  What He does reflects how He created pearls to be formed.  He uses the grit and dirt to make a pearl, much like He transforms the pain in our lives into victory.

Margaret McSweeney recognized that many of us can relate to being Pearl Girls, because we've been there ourselves, or we're currently going through it, or we'll be there in the future, and so she put together a selection of stories written by women, many of which you may already be familiar with, to share their "pearl" story.
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Oh my only 12 more days until Christmas!!  I thought it would be fun to showcase some quick and easy gift ideas you can give to friends, neighbors, co-workers, and oh yes…even your family! You can enter to win eBooks from www.YouCanMakeThis.com and learn some fun new techniques, tips, and ideas not only for the people on your list, but also creative ways to decorate your home!
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Ugh, I have charging cords all over my home.  One in a kitchen drawer, a couple around the computer, one on the bookshelf, and who knows where else.  Whenever I need to charge my cell phone, I have to remember where I last shoved placed it.

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