Top Gift Ideas for Girls Aged 10 Years Old

Ten years old is a preteen age. The kid becomes aware of their image and the surrounding world. They are quite picky, hence finding the right present is difficult. Girly gifts are excellent ideas but having some balance is essential and for more ideas check out StarWalkKids. Make her face light up with a gift that is not only entertaining but improves creativity, reasoning and logic skills. Some suggestions of gift ideas that will help a girl explore their personality include:

1. Origami brainteaser 

An Origami brainteaser has ten puzzles which kids can take as much time as they need to master. There are a variety of outcomes for puzzles such as the Flexi twist and Lotus of the Heart. The puzzles are brainteasers with many bold colors that spur creativity and art. It helps the kid master patience, think logically and overcome a challenge. The kid learns to stick to a project until its completion.

2. Spirograph deluxe design set 

Spirographs assist kids in creating a variety of shapes. The endless designs are fascinating to children. The kit has swirls and geometric patterns that make it easy to create any spiral shape imaginable. Children can learn the art of layering and alternating colors to come up with a transformative piece that they can show off to friends. Spirograph brings to life traditional hands-on art that enhances imagination. Kids can design with their friends hence fostering social relationships.

3. DIY wear friends forever jewelry 

Affirming long-lasting friendship is vital for 10-year old girls. Friendship bracelets are a great physical representation of a bond. The kit comes with looms for making bracelets, embroidery floss of different colors, beads, and a beading needle. The gift is perfect for nourishing social relationships and learning teamwork.

4. Hearth song large super soft plush 

Get your child the Hearth song large super soft plush if they love cuddling toys or are big fans of Dazzle the Unicorn. The plush has hearts, a pink collar, and the mane and tail are also fluffy. It is a perfect travel buddy or a bedtime companion for your kid to stroke and cuddle. It is a durable gift and easy to launder.

5. Color your pillowcase

The child can color and design the pillowcase using washable fabric makers. You can launder the pillowcase due to the washable makers. It encourages creativity; a child can draw their favorite their favorite characters or doodle anything.

6. Fabulous flowers hair accessories

The kit is meant to keep the girls busy making great hair accessories. It has crystals, glitter gel, and rhinestones for decorating the hair accessories. It is the perfect gift for girls with an inclination towards art. It fosters creativity as the kids spend hours creating unique patterns and designs.

7. Melissa and Doug friendship stamp set

It is a unique art and craft kit that encourages children to stamp a variety of pictures and then color. The set has colored pencils for sketching and coloring and pads of washable ink. The game promotes creativity and concept. The kids can use it to make cards and various scenes which enhances the motor ability and coordination skills.

Always pick a gift that enhances the kid’s personality or develops their hobby. Do not forget to include something pink and pretty.

Poison Prevention for Pets

As a pet owner, it is important to know and understand the items that are considered poisonous for pets. While there are literally hundreds of things that could cause problems for our beloved pets, there are a few common foods, household items, and plants that are known trouble-makers. We believe that you should know about these items so that you can do your best to protect your pet from accidental poisoning.

Foods Considered Poisonous to Pets

You’ve probably heard of a few different foods that are problematic for pets, such as chocolate and grapes. However, there is a fairly large list of foods that shouldn’t be given to pets. Here is a list of common foods that should never be given to dogs and cats:

• Alcohol: Alcohol, which can also be consumed in the form of yeast in uncooked bread dough, can cause intoxication in pets. Common alcohol poisoning symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, and central nervous problems that can lead to coma and death.
• Candy, Gum, and Xylitol: Xylitol is often found in sugar-free candy and gum. This artificial sweetener can lead to acute liver failure and is considered toxic to pets.
• Chives, Garlic, and Onions: These foods, which are all part of the Allium family, are known to cause upset stomach and red blood cell damage. Cats are more prone to issues with these food items, but dogs can still encounter problems.
• Chocolate, Coffee, and Caffeine: These foods contain methylxanthines that can lead to tremors, seizures, abnormal heart rhythms, and more. 
• Coconut and Coconut Oil: Coconut oil can cause upset stomach and diarrhea. Coconut water should also be avoided because it is high in potassium.
• Grapes and Raisins: Both of these foods can lead to kidney failure.
• Mushrooms: Only a few different kinds of mushrooms are toxic to pets, but it is best to prevent your pet from eating any mushrooms so that they are safe. Poisonous mushrooms can lead to liver failure in pets.
• Nuts: Nuts, especially macadamia nuts, can lead to serious health problems for pets including hyperthermia and pancreatitis.
• Potato Leaves and Stems: Potato greens are toxic to cats.
• Raw Meat: While many people believe that animals can eat raw meat, the bacteria in raw meat can lead to salmonella and E. coli.
• Rhubarb: In pets, rhubarb can cause weakness, tremors, bloody urine, and more.
• Salt: Excess amounts of salt can lead to salt poisoning. Symptoms of salt poisoning include seizures, coma, kidney damage, and death. Salt is generally found in high concentrations in cured meats and paintballs.
• Tomato Leaves and Stems: Tomatoes are safe for dog and cat consumption, but the leaves and stems can lead to weakness, lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Yeast and Yeast Dough: Yeast can cause gas to accumulate in your pet’s system. This can lead to bloat and twist, as well as intoxication.

Common Household Items Considered Poisonous to Pets

You probably have a variety of chemicals and cleaners around your home that you don’t think much about. However, many of these products could be extremely dangerous to your pet. Here are a few of the most dangerous household items for pets:

• Antifreeze: Antifreeze, even in small amounts, can be deadly to pets. It contains ethylene glycol, which can cause vomiting, intoxication, lethargy, coma, and acute kidney failure.
• Batteries: Many batteries contain alkaline, which can cause ulcers in the mouth, stomach, or intestines. Signs of alkaline poisoning including drooling, fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and inability to defecate.
• Bleach and Cleaners: Household cleaners can lead to mouth ulcers, drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, and squinting of the eyes.
• Citrus Acid and Oil: Citrus oil is a common ingredient found in potpourri. Both citrus acid and oil can lead to nervous system depression in large quantities.
• Deicers: Deicers contain chemicals that your pet may lick off of their paws. These chemicals can cause illness. 
• Detergents: Household detergents may cause drooling, vomiting, burns in the mouth and throat, inappetence, lethargy, and difficulty breathing. 
• Lawn and Garden Chemicals: Both fertilizers and pest sprays contain chemicals that could lead to drooling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, discolored gums, abdominal pain, and difficulty breathing.
• Medications: Many human medications can cause problems for our pets. Pets should never be given human medications without prior consent from your veterinarian. Symptoms could include vomiting, seizures, hyperthermia, low blood pressure, and death.
• Mothballs: Mothballs can lead to life-threatening symptoms such as lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, fluid accumulation in the body, tremors, seizures, kidney damage, and coma.

Plants Considered Poisonous to Pets

Many people love having plants in and around their homes because they are pretty and help clean the air. Some of your favorite plants could be hazardous to your pet, however. Here are a few of the most common poisonous plants to pets:

• Aloe Vera: Aloe Vera gel is edible, but the plant itself is not. It can lead to lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea.
• Azalea: Azaleas can lead to weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, and cardiac failure.
• Chamomile: While humans consume things like chamomile tea, the plant is dangerous for pets. It can cause dermatitis, anorexia, diarrhea, and vomiting.
• Chrysanthemum: Chrysanthemums contain a variety of toxins that can cause vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, dermatitis, and incoordination.
• Daffodil: These flowers can cause gastrointestinal problems, convulsions, tremors, low blood pressure, and cardiac arrhythmias. While the whole plant can cause problems, the bulbs contain the highest concentration of toxins.
• Daisy: Daisies can lead to dermatitis, vomiting, diarrhea, hypersalivation, and incoordination.
• Geranium: These plants contain toxins that can cause vomiting, dermatitis, depression, and anorexia.
• Hydrangea: These flowers contain cyanide, which can be problematic in large quantities.
• Lilies: Most dangerous to cats, lilies can lead to kidney failure. All parts of the plant are considered dangerous, and almost all varieties of lilies are harmful.
• Poinsettia: These plants can irritate the mouth and stomach, which can cause vomiting.
• Sago Palm: These palms can lead to vomiting, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, liver damage, liver failure, and death.
• Tulips: Tulips can cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, and hypersalivation. Remember that the bulbs contain a higher concentration of the toxins that cause problems for pets.

Preventing Accidental Poisonings

While it is impossible to prevent all cases of accidental poisonings, you can do your best by knowing the items that could be a cause for concern and keeping them away from your pet. If you believe that your pet has gotten into a toxic substance or item, you should immediately contact your veterinarian or an emergency veterinarian.

None of the above lists are exhaustive, but the items listed are some of the most common poisonings that veterinarians see. To see a full list of items that are harmful to pets, check out Pet Poison Helpline’s Poisonous List.

Be Prepared for Winter Driving by Doing These 5 Things

Today's conversation is sponsored. All opinions are my own as always. 

With cold weather on the way in many areas, it is essential to prepare your car, truck, or SUV for the winter months ahead. You also need to do this if you will be traveling through cold weather. If your vehicle is not ready for the drop in temperature, you could pay the price for not being prepared.

What should you do to get your car ready? Here are a few top tips.

1. Get your battery checked

There is nothing worse than being stranded during the holiday season at a shopping mall or on the side of a highway. It is important to get your vehicle’s battery checked, especially if it is over three years old.

An expert will see if there is any corrosion around the battery’s connection points and if it is up to the task of keeping your car going during winter.

2. Antifreeze

Your vehicle should have a 50-50 antifreeze and water mixture inside its radiator. Antifreeze may even “look healthy” but still need replacing. The antifreeze’s important additives could be worn out, which means it won’t protect your vehicle.

Experts say you should replace the antifreeze every two years, which should prevent any problems. It is always best to get your antifreeze checked when you get an oil change. Then, it can be replaced as soon as any signs of breakdown are identified and you can avoid any larger problems.

3. Tire pressure

When snow and ice hit the ground, it is difficult to get good traction on roads and highways. Having the correct tire pressure allows your vehicle to have the best possible traction in snow and ice.

With colder weather comes a drop in the air pressure of your tires. Look in the owner’s manual of your vehicle to see what the correct pressure is and make sure you top it up.

4. Oil change

It is important to make sure your car has the right oil for colder months and getting it replaced as the seasons change is important. Certain types of oil perform better in certain conditions. Your mechanic can let you know if a change is recommended. You need the correct thickness of oil as colder weather makes oil run thicker. Your vehicle’s life-blood can’t work properly if it is too thick, so make sure you get it changed if you are due.

5. Wiper blades

It seems simple enough, but if you can’t see the road or vehicles in front of you, there’s a great risk of an accident. The more it rains, snows, and sleets, the more use your wipers will get. Extreme weather situations make it increasingly important to have wipers that have a significant amount of life left.

Experts say that wiper blades should be replaced after just one year. So, make sure you have new ones ready to go. Just a few steps can keep you safe during the winter months. It may cost a little bit of money up front, but it will save you much more in the long run.

Breakfast Idea: Blueberry Lemon Bread

Every day is a struggle when it comes to finding new meal ideas. Breakfast is usually a challenge for the working adults in my household since no one is trying to get up early time is valuable. Having easy, grab-and-go options work well. We all prefer something that is homemade over prepackaged, of course. I purchased some blueberries for snacking the other day, and sadly they were too soft to enjoy. Just like when you have over-ripe bananas, you simply must make banana bread. This time around, I made a scrumptious blueberry lemon bread. You probably have most of the ingredients on hand already, so this one is a winner. 

Ingredients: 

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar (you can use less if you prefer less sweetness)
2 large eggs
1 tbsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract (optional)
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

Heat oven to 350° and grease loaf pan or use parchment paper if you prefer minimal clean up.

Lightly toss blueberries with 2 tsp flour to coat (set aside).

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Mix in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and extract. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture alternately with the milk. Fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. You can test with a toothpick to know if it is baked through. Cool and slice. This bread is best enjoyed when it is cooled down all the way.

Check out these other recipes: 

4 Ingredient Greek Pasta Salad
Shelly's Easy & Moist Meatloaf

Thanks for stopping by today!

Bringing Back Style to Your Mommy Wardrobe

Unfortunately, not all mothers today are known for their fashion sense. After all, moms are generally perceived to be ‘behind on the times’, or too exhausted from childcare to care about their own sense of style. Well, it's long past time since society ditched these stereotypes, even if there is a very faint ring of truth to them.

A mom’s self-esteem can have resounding effects on their young daughters, so if you are wanting to get back in touch with your groove, do it! There’s no reason as to why mothers shouldn’t look as good as anyone else, so it’s time to get to work.

Here’s how you can bring back some rejuvenated style to your mommy wardrobe.

Colors That Pop…And No Flowers!

Bold colors are more than just bright and vivid. They scream energy, youthfulness, and fun – words that moms aren’t typically always associated with. Moreover, by wearing clothing with brighter colors, you show a strong sense of style too, demonstrating that you’re happy to be seen around town and away from your duties for the day.

That said, stay away from floral designs and busy patterns at all costs. These literally shout ‘Mom’ to the world, as do faded and muted colors. Go for something contemporary – not from the Junior's department (unless you’re a young mom), but at the same time not too mommish. There is a balance involved there, so take the time to really comb through your options and pick out something that’s most ‘you’. When in doubt, you should ask the store clerk for assistance.

Figure Hugging Clothes

Baggy sweatpants and vests should head straight into storage; it’s time to slip back into something more flattering. Many dresses, jeans, and other pants and t-shirts out there are finely crafted to really accentuate the wearer’s figure, so don’t be afraid to venture out on these kinds of clothing.

Remember, such clothes will make you feel much less like a bum, and perhaps get you back in touch with your more trendy and feminine side. Figure-hugging outfits make you look confident within yourself as if you have nothing at all to hide; and why should you?! Treat yourself and flaunt what you’ve got!

Accessories

Accessories are a key part of completing any ensemble you throw together. They can just be those neat finishing touches, or alternatively, simply give your hands something to do and hold if you’re anxious about getting back out there. For example, a cool wallet from Radley merges both things together very well, giving your outfit an extra boost in the casual department.

As a mom, try not to be afraid to incorporate some practical features into your wardrobe. Being stylish isn’t always about being ‘flash’, sometimes it’s about being prepared and hands-on too, whether it’s for spending at the mall, or picking up the bar bill with your besties. If you’ve got all your bases covered, which a wallet largely helps with, you’ll certainly be more of a cool-looking mom!