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Swine flu has hit my school. Yesterday we had over 10% of our students absent, district wide. Today it was only 8.7%. I’ve heard lots of advice, some of it pretty crazy, but no matter who you talk to or what you read, handwashing is the constant advice.

I wash my hands and you wash your hands, but what about your kids? I know I am not as vigilant as I should be. However, the people at www.TheShandle.com have a great new product that helps remind kids to wash hands when you can’t (or don’t…sometimes I’m just lazy!)

The Shandle is a little device that sticks to your toilet seat. It reminds kids to wash their hands. The Shandle has an antimicrobial coating as an additional guard against germs. They have lots of kid-friendly designs and even some modern designs to compliment your bathroom décor.

My girls, ages 3 and 4, were pretty thrilled with The Shandle. We have the frog design, which they adore. They sometimes say, “Goodbye, Shandle,” when they leave the bathroom, after washing their hands, of course.

In my household, we have 3 girls and one boy, my husband, whose mother taught him well. Thanks MIL! We don’t have toilet seat issues. However, my friends with boys all said how much they would love this for the toilet seat reminder-ness! Even husbands might take the hint! I have to say, the thought of kids touching the toilet seat, then not washing, then touching things everywhere…yuck! This would go a long way in solving that problem, especially if you don’t clean your bathroom very often…or ever.

The Shandle is only $6.99 with free shipping. It has a 100% money back guarantee so there’s really no risk. Hey, this could be a delightful stocking stuffer for every man on your list!

If this hasn’t been convincing enough, check out this information from the website. If this doesn’t get your credit card out, I don’t know what will!

These are only a few examples of germs that are derailed by proper hand washings.
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• Streptococcus: Strep throat is a contagious disease caused by the streptococcus bacteria. Strep is most commonly seen in children between the ages of 5 and 16. Although there is no perfect way to avoid strep throat infections, experts agree that washing your hands often is an excellent start.

• Staphylococcus: Staph contains over thirty different types of bacteria and is responsible for a number of illnesses. If staph is present around your kids- hand washing will go a long way to keeping it at bay.

• E.Coli: A sick child who doesn’t wash his hands after using the bathroom can spread bacteria throughout the house in a matter of seconds. Teaching kids the importance of hand washing will reduce the likelihood of germs spreading.

• Shigella Bacteria: Most common during the summer months Shigella typically affects kids 2 to 4 years old. Symptoms include cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. The infection is very contagious and can be prevented with good hand washing practices.

Check out this video:

Are you one of the lucky ladies who’s on the other side of acne, but not quite to the wrinkle stage? Or, perhaps you are like me, dealing with both. Arg! I have tried using a huge name-brand skin care line that Jessica Simpson uses. (Notice how I didn’t name names? Well, if Proactiv is reading my website, life is good! Whoops! I named names.) It feels like everything for acne is for teens and very drying. All of the other products are anti-aging, heavy and thick, often causing more zits. What’s a girl to do?

Well, do you remember the Bioré skin strips? The ones with the commercials where people looked at the results and said, “It looks like trees!” I remember my husband and I comparing nose strips. Yeah, we’re weird like that.

Bioré just launched a new product for The Inbetween Nation. It’s called Bioré Skin Preservation. Basically, at this point your skin is in the best shape it will ever be in. Let’s preserve it! We are no longer dealing with acne (hopefully!) and we’re not quite yet to the anti-aging, anti-wrinkle status.

Bioré is known for its sassiness. Don’t forget those skin strips! They have continued that tradition with fun names like:

• Clean Things Up
• Hard Day’s Night
• See the Future
• Even Smoother and
• Dual Fusion.

As a mom, I also like that is clearly says WASH on the bottle you use to wash, PM on what you use at night. A little less confusion is always helpful.

One question I had was will this really work with “blemished” skin?

**Side note: My two year old recently saw some breakouts on my chin. They were so huge she said, “Mommy, you need to go to the hostipal.” Nice. End of side note.**

The answer is YES! Sometimes, using harsh skincare products can actually strip your face of its natural oils, thus producing blemishes. The Bioré Skin Preservation line is gentle on your skin, not too harsh, yet it cleans thoroughly without being oily. The cleanser even removes eye makeup!

The eyes. Isn’t that the first place you always look on other people? Do you think that’s where others look, too? It’s also the first place that shows signs of aging. The Fortifying Eye Cream is proven to de-puff, hydrate and brighten the eye area. It even has a cool applicator similar to a felt tip pen. Cool!

The moisturizer, Dual Fusion, has one part that hydrates your skin and another with 30 spf moisturizer. After just one use, 91% of women felt their skin was fresh and hydrated. Yep, this information is real. It’s from the Bioré website. Just sayin’.

Seriously, how much is this going to cost me? Money’s tight all around, right? My “previous” brand, rhymes with So Active, is over $100 per month once the introductory price is over. Bioré? The cleanser is $6.99 and the other pieces are $13.99 each. Not bad at all!

91% of women felt their skin was fresh & hydrated after just one use

How about you? Are you one of the 21 million women of the Inbetween Nation? Care to join me on this journey? I’ll be taking “before” pictures and sharing my experiences. Subscribe to my feed to get updates. Lots and lots of updates.

Free Mineral Makeup!

I love mineral makeup, especially foundation. I’ve been using a drugstore brand because…well, because I’m cheap. I like it, but I want to know what else is out there. I recently found out about Everyday Minerals and their offer of a fee sample mineral makeup kit. I was surfing blogs when I found it and I don’t remember where I saw it. I am so sorry to the blog who posted it since I can’t give you credit. Sorry. Anywho…

My Everyday Minerals sample kit arrived earlier this week. When they say sample, they aren’t kidding. The 5 little pots are a little larger than the diameter of a quarter and about the size of a 6 quarters stacked up. Can you tell I’m not very good with actual measurements?

When you go to the website, you can select 3 pots of foundation, one of blush and one of concealer. I selected one foundation that’s very light, so I can use it as a highlighter. That’s the new thing, I hear. I selected one I thought would be a perfect match and one I thought would be a little darker. For my blush selection, I chose a shade that you can use for blush, eyes and lips. I haven’t figured out how to use it on my lips yet, but it works better than I thought for eyes and cheeks. This will be fantastic when traveling!

I also ordered a brush, which is delightful! It has a wooden handle and nice bristles. I’m very impressed.

The shipping is only $3.50. All of their prices are very reasonable, even from my cheap standpoint!

So, are you ready to order?

1) Go to EverydayMinerals.com and click on the Makeup tab, then on the “custom kits” area.

2) Scroll down to Sample kit and at the bottom of that rectangle, click “add to cart.”

3) Go back to the top makeup tab at the top and choose “base.” Select your 3 base colors. Select your concealer and blush, then check out! Easy peasy! *One note…click on the small version on the page and drag it to your cart. It will tell you how many you still have to select.

4) It will take about a week to get your samples. PLEASE comment and let me know what you think!