However, what they fail to understand is that times have changed and there are far more dangerous products that can be found in a home than earlier. In addition to that it is not possible to run around the house behind the child all the time ensuring that he does not get into trouble. If you want some peace of mind and want to be able to sit for a while knowing that your baby is safe, baby proofing is a must. While comprehensive baby proofing can be planned keeping the specific requirements of your home, some aspects of baby proofing that you must consider are provided below.

Childproofing the Staircases

If you do not live in an apartment and have a home, ensuring that your staircases are gated is very important. You will need to ensure that every landing in the house has a staircase gate that has a baby proof latch. In most cases, you will be able to assemble these staircase gates on your own. Do not hesitate to get a custom made one if that is a requirement for your home. Check out the various latches that are available. There are those that have latches at the bottom and can be operated with the foot, something that can be very helpful if you are alone at home and are carrying the baby and some other stuff too and have both hands full.

Safety In the Kitchen

The kitchen is a place that needs baby proofing with care. The task of baby proofing the kitchen is so large that sometimes parents leave out the area completely and just ensure that there is a gate that does not allow the baby to enter the kitchen area. In some homes, however, that is not possible because of the structure. And then again, you are likely to be spending a fair amount of time in the kitchen and therefore may want your child to be playing close to you rather than in another room.

To baby proof your kitchen, ensure that each and every cabinet that is at the low level is latched properly using a baby proof latch. In addition to that latch the cabinet beneath the sink that is used to keep trash in too even if this causes some inconvenience. You do not want your kid rummaging in the trash. This cabinet also tends to contain dishwashing liquid and cleaning agents and therefore keeping it closed is a essential thing to do.

Bathroom Safety

Bathrooms can be slippery when it comes to baby proofing. Make sure that you have anti-skid products that you use in the bath and the floor to keep the baby from slipping. Make sure that you never leave the baby alone in a bath that has water. Even a small amount of water is enough to drown your baby.

Safety Around the Home

Make a small play area for your child that has minimal furniture and padded carpet so that he can play while you watch television or catch up on some work. This will also give you some space when you need to take a break from the hectic schedule.

Have any baby-proofing tips you’d like to share? Tell us yours in the comments below.

Color by numbers are usually like any other page in the coloring book, except they have numbers that coordinate with a color in the white spaces of the picture. For example, the number 1 could be the color blue, the number 2 the color orange, the number 3 the color yellow, number 4 the color green, number 5 the color purple, and it goes on and on and on.

These types of activities are great for teaching kids everything from recognizing numbers and colors to learning how to color things to be more realistic.

If your child already has a coloring book, then you don’t really need any printables because you can easily do this on your own using the ones you likely have just sitting around somewhere.

To convert one of your coloring books into a colors by number book, here are the materials you will need:

A black or dark gray colored pencil
An Index Card
Blue Crayon
Red Crayon
Green Crayon
Orange Crayon
Yellow Crayon
Red Crayon
Purple Crayon
Brown Crayon

Now, all you need to do is on the index card, write the numbers 1 through 8, with 4 on each side. Then, take the corresponding color and color in a little box beside it. If your children are older, you may want to spell out the color and then have them take the right color and color own its spelled name so they’ll have something to use for quick and easy reference.

The next step is to go about converting the pages in your coloring books with the numbers. Using the black or dark gray colored pencil, determine which things in the picture should be blue, and then write the corresponding number in that space. Do this until you have gone through all the numbers and colors and there are no empty spaces to color in left.

Once you’ve converted the book, the next thing you’ll want to do is to show your child how to use it! Your kids will love this simple and easy activity, and you’ll be glad you didn’t waste valuable printer ink or paper by reusing the old coloring books you already have!

The first thing to do is ask yourself this:

Is your family really ready for a pet?

Depending on the ages of your children, you may want to consider if it will add stress to your lifestyle or not.  A dog should not be taken lightly – and it will be yet another person in your family who needs fed and potty trained and attention. All dog breeds need exercise and food and love, and so you have to be sure that you can give your pet those things.

When discussing pets as a family, here are some things to consider:

How Much Time Do You Have? Most of us don’t have a lot of time. But, pets deserve time just like any other member of the family does. If most of the family is away from the house during the day for school or work, what will you do? Hire a pet sitter? Schedule someone to come home?

Are You Active? Even the calmest of dogs need exercise in order to prevent a lot of common pet discipline problems. Taking your dog for a walk or to play in the park are just as important as check ups with the vet.

Does Your Budget Allow for It? Pets, just like kids, are not cheap. An average vet bill can be several hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. You’ll also have to consider purchases such as bedding, collars, food, toys, treats, and more. Some will argue money shouldn’t matter, but if you’re already on a tight budget, you may want to consider saving a little first.

Now that you’ve answered those three questions clearly and you’ve decided that yes, you can give a pet an excellent home, you are then ready to start considering which breeds are best for children.

Should You Consider Hypoallergenic Dog Breeds For Children?:

Many people are allergic to pet dander, so you may want to consider a hypoallergenic breed if that may be an issue your kids. Kid allergies can lead to a lot of sinus problems or ear infections, or even behavioral problems (weird, but true! My son goes nuts anytime he is around a cat!), so it’s important to consider this before committing to a pet for a lifetime – you won’t want your kids to be heart broken that their pet has to go away because it makes them sneeze and have problems breathing! Good options for this include Poodles, Labradoodles, Lagotto Romagnolo breeds, Bichon Frisé (this was my husband’s first dog), Coton de Tulear, Bergamasco, and Irish Water Spaniels.

What are Other Breeds to Consider?

If you are certain that allergies are not an issue with your family, then you have many more options in addition to the great puppies listed above. Beagles, Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, and Labradors are all popular “family dogs”. One of the best dogs we ever had was a German Shepherd/Yellow Lab/Beagle Mix – but shedding was an issue! Mixed breeds can sometimes be nice, but you’ll want to make sure you carefully research the different breeds to make sure each individual one is okay and so you know what you may expect.

What Size Dog Is Best With Kids?

With kids, it will greatly depends on the size and personality of your kids in choosing what size of pet to get. For example, if your children are big and active, they could accidentally hurt very small pets. On the other hand, if you have toddlers, you may not want an extremely large dog because they are also huge and could easily knock a child down by accident.

What Age Should the Dog/Puppy Be?

Many people wonder if they should get a dog or a puppy with kids. Puppies are often best for a family with active kids because it will allow for the dog to grow up with the children, and so many issues can be avoided that you can sometimes get with older dogs who may not be used to children. It will greatly depend on the breed, and what the animal’s past history has been. Obviously, even the best of breeds may not be a good choice if the dog has a history of abuse or is temperamental.

Do you have a dog? What do you think? What kind of dog breed is best for families with kids? Share your thoughts and ideas on best types of dogs for children below!

But how can you decide which one to choose? Here are some things to consider when signing up for a baby gift registry:

Online Access: It is nice to choose one that has online access for two reasons: 1. You can “shop” online to add everything to your list and 2. Your friends and family can check it all out online too without having to mess around with complicated systems at stores.

Can People Get to the Store? I have had many friends register at Babies R Us and other types of specialty stores for baby gear. Unfortunately, while those stores are great for finding and buying baby gifts – if you don’t have one near where you live it can be difficult to get there!

What Should You Ask For?
A lot of people when they start signing up for baby gift registry programs don’t really think a whole lot about what they need to ask for. You should as the very least ask for clothes, diapers (at least size 1-2), a Boppy pillow (they really are nice!), crib bedding, portable crib/playpen, bouncy seats, car seat and an exesaucer. You might also want to add in the smaller stuff, like soap, towels, washcloths, etc. I’m a minimalist mom (I don’t even own a diaper bag!), but some things are definitely worth asking for! Other things you will likely never use: a bottle warmer, stuffed animals, three million blankets, etc. Never ask for blankets – you can’t give them to a baby anyway and everyone buys them for you. I believe I have about 45 baby blankets in my closet!

What Should You Not Ask For?: You’re having a baby, so stick to things that are only baby related. It wouldn’t be appropriate for example to list a lawnmower or big screen TV on your baby shower registry list!

Should You Have More Than One Baby Registry?: Some people wonder if they should register with more than one store or not. Personally, I don’t think there is anything wrong with having a few stores to choose from, since that will make it easier for guests to buy for you. BUT, and this is a very BIG BUT, make sure you don’t ask for the same things on both registries. Otherwise, what will likely happen is that people will go to one store and buy something and people will go to another store to buy another thing.

How to Tell People About Your Baby Registry? If you will be having a baby shower, then it’s certainly appropriate to include a note in your invitation that reads “The parents-to-be (or use your names) are registered at XYZ and TYQ Stores. If you are not having a shower, it’s still fun to create a registry anyway, and then if anyone asks you can just tell them you are registered and they can take a look there if they want but you’ll be happy with whatever.

If possible, you may want to consider adding a gift card to your registry as well. That tells guests that if they do not buy a gift off of your baby gift registry that a cheque or cash or gift card is perfectly fine. A lot of people worry about baby gift registry etiquette, but usually it does not really matter. I have yet to think that any of my friends or family members who were having a baby were being rude. I LOVE buying gifts for people who have babies, especially because I’ve had three and I know how nice it when someone gives you a gift, even if it’s not something you exactly needed or had on your wish list.

So, Where Can you Find a List of Baby Gift Registries? Right Here, of Course! Here are some of the ones we’ve used before:

Amazon – You Can Sign Up or Search Here – They have all the baby stuff you could ever need! This is also great if you have a lot of friends and family who are out of town or won’t be able to make it to a shower.

Target & Walmart - These two box chain stores are always big ones that I see a lot. Their registries aren’t too complicated to use, though Wal-mart is a little clunky. You can also go to the store nearest you with a scan gun and scan for things which is always fun, too. Sometimes it helps when you can see all the things in the stores to help you decide what you like.

Babies R Us & Baby Depot: These two stores are slightly better as far as selection goes compared to the big box chain stores for things for having a baby, since that is all they sell! You’ll want to make sure if this is your only registry place however that it is convenient for people to get to or that they can order stuff online, otherwise it can be tough.

Do you have any suggestions for other places to create a baby registry? Share your comments below!

1. Clean Out Your Closet & Clothes:  If you love clothing, then there’s a good chance you already have quite the selection in your closet but may have forgotten about what you already own. The best bet for organizing your clothes is to first drag it all out and then lay it out in piles where you can see everything. You might just be surprised how much you have and what new combinations you can make. Set a special pile for clothes that no longer fit you or you don’t really wear too much anymore.

2. Organize a Clothing Swap: Organizing a clothing swap can not only be a great free way to update your look but also can be a lot of fun to do as well. Invite up to as many friends as you’d like and tell them to bring a bagful of clothes they no longer wear. Then lay it all out on a pile and let everyone fight for what they want. (Hopefully there really won’t actually be any fighting!) You may want to set a few ground rules such as all trades final. If you find that there are leftover clothes, you can always donate the to thrift stores or charities near you.

3. Choose Solid Basics: The cliche of the little black dress remains true: having a few solid anchor pieces can greatly stretch any wardrobe. Rather than buying all new clothes, consider having just a few basics that can be dramatically changed just by a few accessories.

4. Look for Designer Trends in Cheaper Clothing: If you look at what styles you like, the prices of high end designer items can be daunting. However, many times you can find comparable items and styles shopping at most discount retail stores. Nobody is going to realize or notice that what you’re wearing isn’t the name brand designer label.

5. Thrift Shopping is Cool: A lot of people roll their eyes at thrift shopping or second hand and consignment stores, but there is a lot to be gained by going to these types of stores. Often times you can find the designer labels if you have the patience to look – you can also almost always find something that imitates the style as well.

6. Set a Spending Limit: It’s important that you set a spending limit if you want to save money when shopping for clothes. Try to stretch the dollar as far as you possibly can – you can either buy one pair of jeans for $48 or you can go to a discount or thrift store and get 5 or 6 items for the same price. Keeping a budget will help you make sure that you are getting value.

7. Avoid the Temptation of a Sale If something regularly $159 is on clearance for $79 it sounds like a great sale, doesn’t it? However, tempting as it may be, think about how else that money could be spent or if you could find something similar somewhere else for less. If you’re spending money, you’re not really saving it.

8. Read the Care Labels: Clothes that require dry cleaning, steam cleaning, or other special care can cost you money in the long run, or you may even not wear it that often because it does require special care and that extra effort in keeping it clean. If something can be washed in the washing machine instead that can save you much more than taking it to the dry cleaners.

Do you have any frugal fashionista tips you’d like to share? Tell us what you do to save money on clothes and fashion in the comments below!

A lot of the different things you can do together as a family will greatly depend on the ages of everyone in your home and the number of people as well. To make our list of family bonding activities, we tried to make it so that they only require a minimum of two people but can be expanded for larger groups as well. We also tried to come up with as much as we could that is all ages friendly. Want to plan something with a two year old, a grandma, and a teenager? We’ve got you covered here.

Here are our ideas for family bonding activities:

1. Make a Collage: This can be a really fun activity to do with each other that might even become an addiction over time. It’s a great way to spend time with each other and you’ll be able to talk about almost anything. All you will need is a few magazines (at least one per family member), a piece of poster board or cardstock, and scissors and glue sticks. You can decide whether you’ll choose a theme, make the picture into a story, or cut out all of your favorite quotes and phrases. When you’re finished, you can hang it up on the wall, the fridge, or make smaller ones to save in a special book you make.

2. Play Cards: Card games have been a longtime means of entertainment for families and can also be a lot of fun. Younger children can play memory, go fish, old maid, uno, spoons or war. Older children and adults will like games like Rummy or maybe even pull out a few of your college drinking games (minus the drinking of course!)

3. Take a Walk: This is not only a great way to spend quality time together, but gives your whole family a great way to get some exercise as well. Even younger children may enjoy riding in a stroller and taking in the sights and sounds. You can walk in your neighborhood, the park, and many other places.

4. Family Movie Night: Pop some popcorn, pick a movie everyone in the family will enjoy and watch it together. Make sure that everyone gets a chance to watch something they enjoy to avoid fighting. Some might not think that watching tv together makes a difference, but it does – make sure you talk about the movie afterward.

5. Cook Together: Even younger children can get into the fun by measuring, mixing, and pouring ingredients into the bowl. Family dinner night is important but with our hectic lifestyles it is easy to overlook and forget about this classic way for spending time together.

6. Play Catch: Yes, this might sound like something from the fifties, but it’s a classic way to get to know your kids better. Catch doesn’t have to be reserved for just fathers and sons – moms and daughters can get on it as well. You can all stand in a circle and throw a large ball to one another or go with the old baseball and glove if you’d rather do that. If this is something you want to try and do on a regular basis, consider switching it up each time – maybe throw a frisbee or water balloon.

7. Go Shopping Together: While yes, it can be a lot easier to shop by yourself, taking a shopping trip together can mean a lot. Children can feel special and important helping you make choices, read labels, and push the cart around. The more you shop together the easier it gets and you’ll have time to talk to each other out of the busy schedule.

8. Family Makeover Night: Something that can be fun to do is to have everyone in the family get a makeover – this means where clothes they wouldn’t normally wear or wear their hair in a new way. While yes it’s likely girls will like this one more (especially if you involve non-toxic nail polish) you can still get the boys and Dad involved by spiking their hair or making them try on some silly clothes.

9. Karaoke Dance Party, Anyone?: All you need is a stereo and some speakers for this one. Dance around or sing to your favorite songs together. Go ahead and break out that air guitar.

Do you have any ideas or suggestions for what family bonding activities you can do together are? Share them in the comments below!

To help you decide what you should wear and get a beautiful family picture together, here are some tips below:

1. Timing is Everything: If you will be going to a professional photographer for the portrait, you’ll want to make sure that it’s a time when you and the other members of your family are not stressed. Make sure the kids are well fed and rested since this usually helps them be the most cooperative. If you go when you are all feeling rushed or stressed out, you’ll end up with pictures that show it.

2. Choose a Color Scheme: A color scheme is very important and can help determine what all of you should wear. You can stick to just one color, or choose several colors that compliment together naturally. Having the same colored shirts or shirts that are complimentary to one another will help you get the best looking picture.

3. Minimize Logos, Writing, Etc.: Your family portrait should not be an advertisement for your favorite clothing brand. Make sure that whatever you are wearing it doesn’t have any writing or emblems on it. The only exception to this rule would be if you are going for a sports theme and everyone in the family will be wearing their favorite team’s jerseys.

4. Avoid Patterns: Too many patterns of different clothes can make it difficult for one to determine where they should focus when they look at the picture. Choosing solid colors may be the most simple way, but some can be successful with mixing and matching patterns if you have a good eye for it.

5. Pick the Right Background: The backdrop of the photo will be another important determination in deciding on what you should be wearing. If you are going to a studio, most backgrounds will either be blue, gray, or white. Some photographers also have the ability to change the background. If you’ll be having the photo done outdoors, you may want to consider what colors will contrast well against the sky or the greenery.

6. Look at Galleries for Inspiration: Most photographers will have an online gallery of their work, or you can always spend some time surfing the internet by searching for images. Looking at examples of what others have done and what you like the best can also help with deciding how you should all dress for a picture that will look professional and be memorable.

These are just a few tips and pointers that will help you achieve the best possibly family portrait. Remember the most important part: Smile and Have Fun!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

1. Get Rid of Everything: Okay, well this may sound a little bit extreme. But it is true. If you get rid of everything, you don’t have very much to put away or dust and clean. We don’t have knick knacks on a coffee table. Heck, we don’t even have a coffee table. The kids have a few toys, probably more than I would like them to have. However, I usually purge through all of the things they get and either donate it or toss/recycle anything that is broken, worn, or missing pieces. It’s just a lot easier to clean up when there is not a lot of stuff you don’t use or need laying around everywhere. If you’re a packrat, this can be really hard to do. But once you get in that “simplified life” kind of mentality you’ll realize it’s a heck of a lot easier.

2. Establish a Routine: I try to keep a pretty consistent routine with the different household tasks I do. Obviously some days will be better than others and maybe sometimes I can’t always do my usual schedule. But by having a typical schedule of “Tuesday is laundry day” or my usual routine of doing the dishes right before bed is a good way for keeping the house a cleaner place.

3. Never Leave a Mess: Cleaning up after yourself seems like common sense, but most of the time if we get distracted or have a lot of things going on we might forget to put the peanut butter back in the cabinet after we made a sandwich or the kids might want to play with a different toy before cleaning up with the one they already had. By making a conscious effort to try and put things away as soon as you are done using them it will really help. (Note: Hopefully you already have some closet organization systems already in place for where things belong.)

4. Delegate: No one person can do all of the housework alone, unless maybe they are a maid and it is their full time job. (And even then, who is cleaning his/her house?) You have to delegate chores to other household members if you want to ever have a little time for yourself – otherwise they’ll be able to go enjoy everything and either your house will be a disaster zone or you will be stuck doing all the dirty work while they have fun, which can certainly add up a lot of resentment. Even young kids can have fun dusting or wiping down the bath tub, so getting them involved in it early will help them stick to it for a longer time.

5. If All Else Fails, Cheat: There will be times when you have unexpected company coming and you don’t have time to do a whole lot before they get there and arrive. When this happens, it is perfectly acceptable to cheat. Make the beds, light a richly scented candle to make the house smell nice and fresh, pick up everything off the floor and throw it in a box until you have time to return the items to their rightful place.  (Just be careful you don’t let it go for too long, otherwise you’ll have worse problems!

These are just a few of the things I do that help our house stay nice and neat. A lot of people cannot even believe that we have kids – many of them are people without kids who say my house is cleaner than theirs! If you do these few simple things hopefully you’ll notice not only a difference in how good you feel about your house but also how much more simple your life seems as well.

I’ve decided today, since it’s a busy day filled with visiting hubby’s mom and of course my own mom, to spin off an article I wrote and published last year, so hopefully you will enjoy it.

The 10 Things I Love About Being a Mom:

1. An Excuse: Kids are wonderful excuses. Showing up late? It’s the kids fault. There’s chocolate all over my shirt? That’s from all the sticky hugs and kisses I get. Want to get out of somewhere you don’t want to be? Oh geez, the kids are really getting tired/hungry/restless – we gotta go!

2. On Demand Hugs: While this might change as my kids get older, for the time being I can always get a hug or a kiss anytime I ask for one.

3. Handmade Gifts: Who needs fancy store bought gifts when I get the best presents of hand drawn cards and dandelions picked out of the backyard? This year for Mother’s Day my son wrote a book all about me. Apparently he loves me the most because I go trick or treating with him. (Hard to believe he’s thinking about that in May!) He also wrote that I was a few years younger than I actually am and only weighed 95 pounds. Smart kid.

4. Watching the Kids Sleep: No matter how much your kids annoy the crap out of you during the day or what they’ve managed to destroy or make impossible to do, when you tuck them in at night and they fall asleep, there’s just nothing cuter or more rewarding.

5. All the Great Books: If I didn’t hae kids no doubt I would miss out on reading fantastic stories such as IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE and others.

6. Great Movies: It’s always relaxing to snuggle up with the kids watching a good movie or cartoons. We just watched Meet the Robinsons which ended up being a great little movie I liked more than the last 10 adult movies I’ve watched.

7. A New Language: Kids teach you all kinds of new words that you wouldn’t know otherwise. I doubt few people beyond moms would understand words like Boppy, binkie, bubba, gamote (remote) and elegator (elevator).

8. My Mini Van: I can’t believe I drive a mini-van and love it. It is seriously scary to me, since I thought as a teenager I would never drive one. But as the guy at the car dealership said, “Nobody wants to drive a mini-van, but you’ll be glad you do!” It’s super comfortable, the kids love it, and it’s got a built in DVD player to entertain them and lull them to sleep on those long car rides.

9. Let’s Play: I get to play with all kinds of cool things all the time. Legos, play dough, tea parties, pirates. I doubt if I didn’t have kids I’d be enjoying those things half as much.

10. I’m never lonely: Kids like to follow you everywhere and getting a minute to yourself can be tough. It’s good to know that even when I want to be alone I usually never am. I can’t even take a shower or go to the bathroom without some company usually!

If you’re a mom, share what you love about being a mom in the comments below, or what you love about your mom. Have a good one everyone!

I don’t remember exactly when I started hating mosquitoes, but I do know that it started pretty early. In the eighth grade I wrote an essay about how much I hate mosquitoes. It was our first writing assignment of the year and I was sitting in class itchy as could be.  Here is a short little excerpt of what I had written as a 13 year old girl:

“I hate mosquitos more than anything in the world. They must see me and somehow mistake me for the central blood bank. In the summer, it looks as if I’ve caught some strange contagious infectious disease from the pink polka dots of calamine lotion.”

Not much has changed since then, except I now no longer leave my house without bug spray. There’s a small bottle of it in my purse, the kid’s diaper bags, the trunk of my car, and I also keep it nearby on our porch and in the medicine cabinets. This probably seems like a little overboard, but it’s seemed to have become a necessity – without it I would be one itchy miserable mom!

Anyways, if you are like me, even with the best prevention methods you still end up getting bit from time to time, especially in unsuspecting situations such as while grocery shopping or taking a shower. So here are some things you can try for quick fast relief. Some of them worked for me, but not others – others I know swear by methods that were a total failure for me. Remember that this is no substitute for medical advice in any means  – I’m not a doctor, a nurse, or specialist of any sorts.

Calamine Lotion: My dear Calamine. (Y’know, Calamine could actually sound like a pretty girl’s name if I didn’t associate it with one of my biggest pet peeves in the world. ) What can I say about Calamine? It’s pink and so a lot of times it will get all over your clothes. It feels good for about 5 minutes and then the itching starts all over again.

Benadryl: Benadryl in both the over the counter oral medicine and the spray is always good to have on hand, though it only works about 75% of the time for me. When I have been attacked by mosquitoes sometimes taking benadryl medication will provide some relief for about an hour or two. Make sure you follow the dosing carefully – it will make you sleepy.

Witch Hazel: I’ve tried this one a few times, with and without baking soda mixed with it. This is usually best only for the mildly irritating single bite – not so good when your whole leg is covered in them and you are going crazy.

Deodorant: Someone suggested this to me once and I tried it. Unfortunately, the kind I use may be strong enough for a man and ph balanced for a woman, but it doesn’t stand a chance when it comes to battling bug bites. I haven’t tried other kinds or brands, which I’m sure may have different effects since they all have different ingredients.

Toothpaste: If you use a toothpaste with fluoride and baking soda in it, this may provide some very temporary relief. It works much better at making acne disappear than bug bites unfortunately.

Asprin: Supposedly if you rub an aspirin over the bite immediately after being bitten it will prevent it from getting all swollen and itchy. Haven’t used this one enough to say it works.

Aloe Vera Gel: Hey, while you’re rubbing a bunch of other weird things like toothpaste all over your skin, why not try aloe vera gel? Sometimes that cool soothing feeling helps.

Salt Water: Mix a solution of salt and water and apply to skin. Warning: If you’ve scratched the bite to the point where it is bleeding this is going to burn a LOT! The pain will make you forget how itchy it is!

Now that you’ve read all of these crazy concoctions and supposed cures for itchy bug bites, you may understand why mosquito bite prevention is the best thing and why I have a ridiculous supply of bug spray. There are two kinds of bug spray I have used that do actually work pretty well most of the time – they are Avon Skin So Soft, which even now comes in a spray bottle and is DEET free, as well as OFF! Skintastic . The Off! Shouldn’t be used on small children however, since it is believed that DEET is bad for them, which makes the Avon Skin So Soft a better choice if you have small kids.

Anyways, have any thoughts on mosquitoes? Anybody have an experience with a mosquito magnet? What crazy home remedies for mosquito bites have you tried?