Keeping Those Cavities Away!

A few months ago I went to the dentist. I found a coupon and thought, "this is a good deal." So, I packed up the kids, and away we went. Upon a quick examination, the dentist declared that I had FIVE cavities. I'd never had a cavity before and now I had FIVE! "No Way!" I thought. I waited a few months and finally decided that I'd better get a second opinion. Well...guess what! I didn't have any cavities! Zip! Zero!
Moral of the story: buyer beware out there and if something seems out of sorts, get a second opinion. I saved hundreds of dollars by getting that second opinion and now I'm more determined than ever to have good dental hygiene!
The dentist that I now go to recommends a few things to help keep those cavities at bay. Here's his suggestions:

* Floss at night with Glide Floss:


* Rinse in the morning and at night with Act Restoring Mouthwash:

Only One Type of Mouthwash Won’t Rinse Fluoride Away
When you use a mouthwash after you brush and floss, you might think you're completing your daily oral care routine the best way possible. But, you’re not. When you use an ordinary, non-fluoride mouthwash after brushing and flossing you may actually negate the fluoride efficacy of toothpaste. ACT Fluoride Rinses and Restoring Mouthwashes contain the highest amounts of fluoride available in rinse form without a prescription.

Get the Facts
Regular use of ACT Anticavity Fluoride Rinse can:

• Help prevent cavities in children over six as their teeth are developing
• Strengthen tooth enamel
• Prevent white spot lesions in teens with braces
• Help protect the roots of adult teeth as their gums begin to recede

ACT Restoring™ Anticavity Mouthwash adds the additional benefit of killing bad breath germs. That’s why we call it 3 ACTs in 1 bottle.

*Brush at least morning and night with Colgate Total Toothpaste:

Colgate Total^® toothpaste is #1 recommended most often by dentists and the first to be approved by the FDA and accepted by the ADA to fight plaque and gingivitis.

• Complete 12-hour protection fighting a full range of oral health problems.
• It helps prevent plaque and gingivitis — even after meals
• Fights tartar build-up, bad breath and helps prevent cavities.

Available in a variety of flavors and forms. Choose the one that is right for you. Total Advanced Whitening Paste, Total Advanced Clean, Total Advanced Fresh Gel, Total Clean Mint Paste, Total Whitening Paste, Total Whitening Gel, Total Plus Whitening Liquid and Total Mint Stripe Gel.

I Love Foam Soap!

I love Bath and Body Works Hand Soap. But I consider it a luxury and I pride myself in being economical so I always buy the big refill soap at Walmart and use and reuse the dispensers. I stumbled upon this recipe for foam soap...and I love it. It fulfills my need to use and reuse, and lets me have my Bath and Body Works Soap at the same time! I bought the foam soap on sale at Bath and Body and now I refill the foam dispensers with my favorite regular Bath and Body hand soap. However, this will work with anything! It's my new favorite frugal trick!

Foam Soap Refill

Don't throw away your foam soap dispenser or spend extra on the refills when you run out. It's easy to make your own! This also works with shampoo.

1 bottle

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Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons liquid hand soap or Joy dishwashing soap
• 2/3 cup warm water

Directions

1. Gently mix soap with water.
2. Do not shake.
3. Pour into foam soap dispenser.

Reading Suggestion: The I Do Cookbook for the Bride and Groom

I use this cookbook on a weekly basis.
Amazing recipes and great menu planning ideas.
Makes a great gift for newlyweds!
For more information see: www.idocook.com

Reading Suggestion: How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons

You don't need to spend a lot of money on learning resources for your kids. This book is worth it's weight in gold! Very easy to use and I've found it very effective with my kids. You don't have to do the program in 100 days...I just did 10 to 15 minutes a day.

Amazon Review:

SRAs DISTAR® is the most successful beginning reading program available to schools across the country. Research has proven that children taught by the DISTAR® method outperform their peers who receive instruction from other programs. Now for the first time, this program has been adapted for parent and child to use at home. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons is a complete, step-by-step program that shows patents simply and clearly how to teach their children to read.

Twenty minutes a day is all you need, and within 100 teaching days your child will be reading on a solid second-grade reading level. It's a sensible, easy-to-follow, and enjoyable way to help your child gain the essential skills of reading. Everything you need is here -- no paste, no scissors, no flash cards, no complicated directions -- just you and your child learning together. One hundred lessons, fully illustrated and color-coded for clarity, give your child the basic and more advanced skills needed to become a good reader.

Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons will bring you and your child closer together, while giving your child the reading skills needed now, for a better chance at tomorrow.

Reading Suggestion: The Total Money Makeover

I love Dave Ramsey! He changed the whole way I look at money!

Radio talk-show host and bestselling author Ramsey (Financial Peace) is less a financial analyst and more of a preacher, which explains both his popularity and the appeal of this book, which just might gain a wide audience. The bedrock of his system is simple: work hard, pay what you owe and stay out of debt. His main commandment is "Pay cash." He first exhorts the reader to take "baby steps," which are designed to build on each other: first, save $1,000 as an emergency fund; then, pay off all debts from smallest to largest; save a larger three-to-six-month emergency fund; finally, start to save for college and pay off your home mortgage. Ramsey understands the difficulty in putting these steps into action, and therefore packs his book with personal testimonials from everyday people who have used his system and have become debt free, with obvious struggles. The key is what Ramsey calls "Gazelle intensity," which is to live a financial life the way a gazelle saves itself from an attacking cheetah-"outmaneuver the enemy and run for your life." While Ramsey provides some helpful charts and graphs so readers can keep track of their efforts to follow his steps, the strength of this book is that it is a straightforward motivational tool. He provides the brutally direct truth about the hard work it takes to become free of debt, and his directness is a great part of the book's charm.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Reading Suggestion: The Tightwad Gazette

This is a must read! Tons of great ideas!

Amazon.com Review
Though tightwad seems like a derogatory term, author Amy Dacyczyn wants to assure you that it's okay to be a penny-pincher. This self-styled "Frugal Zealot" wrote and published The Tightwad Gazette for over six years to spread the frugal gospel. Each issue contained tips from her personal experience and from her many readers. The wealth of information contained in all these issues has been compiled into one volume for the first time. You'll find literally thousands of ideas for saving money, from the simple or practical to the difficult or bizarre. On the simple, practical side, Dacyczyn advises would-be tightwads to keep track of price trends at several stores in a "price book" and to buy in bulk when prices are low. Other, stranger offerings include tips for turning margarine-tub lids into playing-card holders, old credit cards into guitar picks, and six-pack rings into a hammock or volleyball net. More helpful are inexpensive recipes for making homemade versions of pricey, well-known products and ingenious ways to fix broken or damaged items. The book's disorganization encourages browsing, but the detailed index will point you to the exact page for specific items. Dacyczyn's occasional "thriftier than thou" tone is balanced by the friendly support for frugality that infuses every page. She even reminds her readers that it's okay to "sweat the small stuff"--because this small stuff is the essence of frugality. --C.B. Delaney

Product Description
At last--the long-awaited complete compendium
of tightwad tips for fabulous frugal living!

Amazon.com Review
Though tightwad seems like a derogatory term, author Amy Dacyczyn wants to assure you that it's okay to be a penny-pincher. This self-styled "Frugal Zealot" wrote and published The Tightwad Gazette for over six years to spread the frugal gospel. Each issue contained tips from her personal experience and from her many readers. The wealth of information contained in all these issues has been compiled into one volume for the first time. You'll find literally thousands of ideas for saving money, from the simple or practical to the difficult or bizarre. On the simple, practical side, Dacyczyn advises would-be tightwads to keep track of price trends at several stores in a "price book" and to buy in bulk when prices are low. Other, stranger offerings include tips for turning margarine-tub lids into playing-card holders, old credit cards into guitar picks, and six-pack rings into a hammock or volleyball net. More helpful are inexpensive recipes for making homemade versions of pricey, well-known products and ingenious ways to fix broken or damaged items. The book's disorganization encourages browsing, but the detailed index will point you to the exact page for specific items. Dacyczyn's occasional "thriftier than thou" tone is balanced by the friendly support for frugality that infuses every page. She even reminds her readers that it's okay to "sweat the small stuff"--because this small stuff is the essence of frugality. --C.B. Delaney

Product Description
At last--the long-awaited complete compendium
of tightwad tips for fabulous frugal living!

Stain Removal

Stain Removal

Usually, I just use some of my homemade laundry soap and scrub it in, and throw it in with the wash.
But for the stubborn stains, try this:

HOT WATER (enough to fill a big, clear plastic tub) , equal parts(about a cup of each) BIZ and the blue DAWN LIQUID DISH DETERGENT.

I throw all the stained clothes into the tub of hot water ( make sure the clothes are all the same color, don’t mix colors and whites) and let it sit for a couple days. if the stains are still there, I leave them in the water up to a week. then I dump the entire tub of clothes and soapy water into the washer. If there’s still stains, I repeat the process. (THIS FORMULA IS VERY SLIMY SO WEAR GLOVES)

For heirloom pieces, the only difference is rinse it well and then lay the item on a big towel, roll it up like a long snake, and then wring the excess water out. Hang it to dry.

It’s worth a try, the fabric/clothes are ruined anyway so why not try it out!

I’d love to get some comments on this subject, so let me know what you think! (success? bad experience? I want to know!)