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Only three of the 34 studies in the review directly compared shots and drops and, the investigators say, more head-to-head comparisons may shed better light on the comparative effectiveness of the two treatments. However, the researchers add, the results of the 31 remaining studies they looked at indicate both oral drops and allergy shots can successfully rid children of coughing, sneezing, runny noses, itchy eyes and wheezing.

While the drops have met with success in Europe, they have not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration which means they are hard to come by in the United States, although some doctors here are making them available to their patients.

Read the whole story at Science Daily.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130506094901.htm

Father’s Day comes in late spring, just before the summer solstice. This is a very special day to celebrate our dads, the often-unsung family hero. Moms seem to get most of the attention, so showing your dad how much you care by making him a special handmade gift can mean the world to him.

I have made many Father’s Day crafts over the years, from toddler friendly to ideas for teens. My most recent project here in Ganz Parents Club was these Father’s Day Salt Dough Magnets, which are so fun to make!  Out of all of the crafts I’ve made with dad in mind, there will always be some favorites that I hold dear.

Here are my Top Five Favorite Father’s Day Crafts:

Sports Ball Ornaments
This project is great for older children, ages 11 and up. It does take some time in the beginning, mostly for drying, but the results are so fun!

Dad Rocks Paperweight
This is such an easy project, great for any age. With a little help, even a toddler can enjoy making this sweet craft for their daddy.

Salt Dough Dad Magnets
This is my newest Father’s Day creation and I just love the colors. This is great for any age group, though the painting is more suited to kids aged 9 and up. Younger children may want to skip the polka dots.

Duct Tape Wallet
The ever popular duct tape wallet! This is an ideal gift for dad, kids aged 7 and up will love making this for their dad.

Father’s Day Uniform Shirt Card
There were many shirt & tie type cards out there, but my husband was a mechanic. So for our kids, a uniform shirt card made more sense. That’s why I came up with this project.

I hope you all have a wonderful Father’s Day, and remember to give your dad a hug and kiss!

Chili

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• salt and pepper

How to Make It:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.
2. Saute beef, onion and garlic until beef is browned and onion is soft.
3. Stir in tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, green pepper, kidney beans,  water and chili powder, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
4. Bring chili to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

Ganz Parent Club Tip:

A sprinkling of grated cheese makes this chili even better.

Buffalo Wings

Recipe Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 lbs chicken wings
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup hot sauce

How to Make It:

1. In a plastic bag, combine flour, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and salt and shake well to mix.
2. Rinse wings and pat with paper towel to make sure wings are completely dry.
3. Add chicken wings to bag and shake to coat. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, coat with cooking spray, then spread wings on baking sheet and refrigerate for one hour.
4. Preheat oven to 400° and bake wings for 45 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.
5. While wings are cooking, combine butter and hot sauce in a large bowl.
6. Remove wings from oven and cool for five minutes before tossing in hot sauce.
7. Serve with blue cheese dressing for dipping.

Blue Cheese Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 8 oz blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/ 2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

How to Make the Blue Cheese Dip:

1. Combine ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.
2. Serve with chicken wings and crudités.

Turkey Burgers

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon spicy mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• 4 burger buns
• Your favorite burger toppings (lettuce, tomato, condiments)

How to Make It:

1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Shape into 4 balls and flatten to ¾ inch thickness.
3. Broil burgers 3 inches from heat for about 7 to 10 minutes per side until juices run clear.

Decorated Pencil Cup

This is a super simple craft that’s perfect for little ones to make for Dad’s desk at work.

Craft Supplies:

• A clean, empty tin can
• Construction paper
• Glue
• Scissors
• Stickers
• Markers or crayons

How To Make It:

1. Cut a piece of construction paper the same width as your tin can.
2. Wrap the construction paper around the can and glue down the edge.
3. Decorate the paper with stickers or use crayons and markers to draw pictures or write a special message for Dad.

Duct Tape Tie

A fun variation on the classic Father’s Day gift, this tie is the perfect present for any dad with a great sense of humor – or a wacky sense of fashion!

Craft Supplies:

• A roll of duct tape (the colored Duck Brand tape is perfect!)
• Duct tape sheets (again Duck Brand is great) or stickers
• Scissors
• A pen
• A real tie (for tracing only)

How To Make It:

1. Unroll a piece of duct tape as long as the real tie and lay it down, sticky side up.
2. Unroll another piece, the same length, and lay it beside the first piece (sticky side up), slightly overlapping it so that the pieces stick together.
3. Do this again with one more piece of duct tape.  Note: This works best as a two person job.
4. Unroll another piece of duct tape, again the same length, but this time place it sticky side down on top of the other pieces.
5. Place two more pieces, sticky side down, on top of the other pieces so that no sticky sides are exposed anymore.
6. Lay the real tie on top of your duct tape and trace the shape with a pen.
7. Cut out your duct tape tie.
8. Decorate the tie anyway you want!  Duck Brand duct tape sheets work well because you can cut out any shape you want (stars, flowers, etc.) and then just peel off the backing and stick them to your tie.  I cut out stripes and crisscrossed them to make a diamond pattern.  You can also use regular stickers to decorate your tie.

Fabric Paint Tee

This craft will give Dad something special to wear on Father’s Day and gives kids a chance to let Dad know how great they think he is!

Craft Supplies:

• A t-shirt (buy an inexpensive one or use one of Dad’s old ones)
• Fabric paint

How To Make It:

1. Decorate a t-shirt with fabric paint – it’s that easy!
2. Personalize the t-shirt to Dad’s interests.  My husband is into super heroes, so I made him a “Super Dad” tee.  You could make one for “Mr. Fix-it”, “The Grill Master”, “The Golf Pro”, “Mr. Encyclopedia”, or the classic “# 1 Dad.”

Moore explains to Nair that recognizing the individual needs of each of her children, as well as her own, are key to avoiding the ‘mommy-guilt’ that plagues many working mothers. Moore is careful to make sure that she is selective when it comes to scheduling activities for her family and prefers to spend time engaging with her family directly, rather than structuring their lives around planned activities.

Young children do not need piano lessons, art classes, soccer or French tutoring. Individuals have their whole life to choose things they love and put effort into becoming accomplished at a skill. It is just not necessary to over-schedule young children, particularly if parents are away from them during the day. Parents who are at home like to enrol their children in activities to help enjoy the day, but for families where the parents work, really consider if a particular activity is improving the relationship.

Read the whole story at Yummy Mummy Club.

By Andrea Nair

For this contest, we are giving away 20 one month Webkinz World Deluxe Memberships!  Just imagine, for one month you will have exclusive access to challenges, daily activities, arcade games and so much more.

For more information about the Deluxe Membership Top 10 Contest on Ganz Parent Club, click here!

Get the May Birthstone Gem Lamp on Ganz Parent Club today!  Look for a floating lamp on your screen while on Ganz Parent Club and click it!

For more information about Ganz Parent Club’s Floaty Clicky event, click here!

We think May 5^th is the perfect day to introduce your children to the Mexican culture with a Cinco de Mayo themed evening in your own home. Served up tacos, guacamole, quesadillas, and pick up a bottle of margarita mix to blend with some ice.

Here are some more ideas to bring a fiesta feel to your family dinner.

Whack a piñata

Pick up a piñata from your local supermarket and fill it with treats and toys from the dollar store.

Dress Yourselves Up:

Have the boys wrap a colorful blanket or beach towel around their shoulders and wear over sized sunhat as a sombrero. Girls can put on a colorful dress or skirt, and drape a wide scarf over their shoulders as a shawl and put a flower in their hair.

And Dress Up the House:

Festive banner

Decorate your home with Mexican themed items based on the colors of the Mexican flag. A paper banner made with paper cut-outs in red, green and white is a simple craft that is fun to make with kids.

Craft Supplies:

• Red paper
• Green paper
• White paper
• Scissors
• String
• Tape

How to Make It:

Fold and cut each piece of paper into two triangles of about 4 x 8”. Alternating between red, green and white, tape the flat end of triangle piece to the string to create a banner you can hang in your dining room.

Create a Cactus Centerpiece

Craft Supplies:

• Two cucumbers
• Toothpicks
• Bowl or planter
• Sand

How to Make It:

Break toothpicks into 1 ½ to 2” pieces and push into cucumbers to make cactus spikes. Fill the bowl or planter with sand and place in the center of your table. Cut one cucumber about 2/3 of the way down so that you have two pieces of different lengths. Place the uncut cucumber and the two cucumber pieces upright in the sand in the bowl, with the cut sides down.

Sombrero Place Cards

Craft Supplies:

• Paper plates
• Paper cups
• Ribbon
• Pompoms
• Markers
• Hot glue gun

How to Make It:

Using one paper cup and plate for each guest, paint cups and plates yellow or orange. Hot glue a piece of ribbon around the top of a paper cup. Invert cup onto paper plate and glue in place in the the middle of the plate.  Glue pompoms around the edge of the plate and with a marker write each guest’s name on a plate and set it at their place around the table.

Mosaic Placemat

Craft Supplies:

• Black or brown construction paper
• Brightly colored construction paper
• Scissors
• Glue Stick

How to Make It:

Pressing lightly with a pencil, draw a simple pattern on a piece of brown or black construction paper. We went with a chili pepper, but you could draw a cactus or a sombrero, or whatever you like, as long as it’s not too detailed. Cut brightly colored construction into strips about ¼” wide and then cut strips into squares ¼” x ¼”. Using glue, stick squares to your paper, following the pattern.

You can create the same placemat for each guest or do different patterns for everyone.