Starting this week I'm doing a new blog called "Safety Saturdays". The point of this blog would be to raise awareness of all things dangerous to you and your family (mostly children). There are many things that are unsafe in our homes that we are unaware of such as a toy ridden with lead paint. My hopes are that starting this blog will help others to make their homes safer for their families. I've been called the "Safety Queen" before and I guess maybe that is a appropriate name but jokes aside it is important to keep our families safe especially if doing so is as easy as keeping tabs on the website for Consumer Product Safety and checking your home regularly for items that become unsafe over time.
Fellow bloggers are welcome to join in on this blog by doing a "Safety Saturday" blog each week and linking your blog to this one in each "Safety Saturday" blog.
I'll start the first Safety Saturday today, so here it is....
Lead Paint - One of the scariest dangers in the home...especially for our children...
Facts:
Any home built before 1980 may have lead-based paint on the walls....Lead can filter into your water through pipesDirt and soil clings to fingers and hands, on toys, and in things that children put in their mouths. Over time, soil absorbed in this manner can cause poisoning if it holds a high amount of lead. Soil in urban areas usually contains about 200 to 500 parts per million, while country soil contains significantly less. Soil with over 1000 parts per million is considered hazardous. You can test the soil around your home by calling your local health inspector or by using home soil-testing kits such as Lead Check. If you are concerned about high amounts of lead in your soil, you can counter it by planting grass, by paving over the soil or by laying down several inches of pebbles or wood chips.Doctors can perform a simple blood test to determine the amount of lead in a child's system. You can do this when the child is between six months and one year old and then again when the child is two years old. Read more: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11114.html
Type = Play phone
Brand = Discovery Toys
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11094.html
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Thrifty Thursdays
Collect those mini bottles you get for Johnson's Shampoo and soap and rinse them out when you are done and glue the tops back on so they cannot be removed (of course, check them every so often to make sure they are still tight) then they can be used for your children to pretend to give baby dolls baths, much more realistic looking and cheaper than going out and buying those from the store that are totally cheap quality anyways.
Buy some Preemie and Newborn size clothing from resale shops or garage sales for your childs baby dolls or use their own baby clothes if they any small enough to fit their baby dolls. I find that most of my daughters dolls only fit Preemie clothing. We had maybe two things that were that size so I ventured out and looked for outfits that were exactly like hers she wears now and found some! So she can match her dolls! She loves it and so do I, makes for cute pics!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Unlikely Angel
To visit Ashley's Website: Click Here
Picture above is from Ashley Smith's Website.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Thrifty Thursdays
Instead of sharing what I've done to be thrifty this week I'm going to share some ways that you can be thrifty instead:
1) Be aware of discounts you can get because of you or your spouses job (military families get many discounts when they show Military ID places such as Sprint, Sea World, Burger King/Arby's {not all locations})
2) Be a card carrier....yes those grocery store cards and drug store cards are REALLY WORTH IT! Even book stores now offer club cards. Sears has a card now and even a club for people who buy items in the baby section only (you get money back to spend in the store!)
3) Say NO to the credit cards stores offer, signing up for too many of these can effect your credit scores and it's not worth the discounts if you don't shop there religiously, stick with a credit card from your bank that offers great rates and No annual fees if possible.
4) Never pay more than a 3rd of the value of something new when your buying used unless it holds value such as collectibles...another wards if you are at a garage sale and looking at a shirt that is $15 new don't pay more than $5 for it used. As a rule of thumb with clothing though I tend to NEVER spend more than $1 on a item of clothing. People will make comments like, I paid $45 for it new....well guess what it's not new now and I'm using it to make a patch work quilt....so I don't want to pay $10 for a piece of fabric I'm cutting up....Often if you make a offer and it's the end of the day people with take it.
5) Know when to call something JUNK. I've seen things sold at garage sales and thrift stores that just drives me crazy, not sure why these items are not just thrown away. Items that I consider JUNK and should be trashed but often are attempted to be resold:
1) Potty Seats for toddlers
2) Litter Boxes for kitties
3) Used sponges, brooms, mops (lets just say if it were used to clean up someone else's germs why spread their germs into your own home?)
4) Pots and Pans (okay you got to know what you are looking for here, NEVER buy used Teflon pans because normally they are already scratched and no good)
5) Painted bowls, painted pottery pieces (Be careful here, if things were made in the early 70's or before they likely contain lead paint)
6) Puzzles in boxes with more than 30 pieces (Unless you plan on counting all the pieces I wouldn't bother if the box isn't sealed your likely missing a pieces, don't want to get home and put it together to find you can't put the last piece of the puzzle together)
7) Used pacifers, bottles, sippy cups (this is just plain gross to me and if you read the labels on most of these products it says to replace often so they don't wear out and pose choking risk, if you buy it used who knows how many days are left in them- these things are cheap anyways buy them NEW)
8) Bathroom Rugs- (Do I need to say why?)
9) Car Seats - Car seats are not meant to be re-used because the safety standards change quickly and if the car seat were to of been in a wreak with the previous owner the frame can be bent and unsafe without you knowing it.
10) Mattresses - These aren't even aloud by law to be re-sold. Crib Mattresses are especially NOT SAFE to re-use this can raise your child's risk for SIDS! A crib Mattress can cost $60 or more but really if you can't afford a $60 mattress what are you going to do when the baby gets here? You have more than that per month to spend on that child. A NEW CRIB Mattress is a MUST HAVE! Target has great firm mattresses for around $80 on the mainland and $100 here in Hawaii. The mattress needs to be firm and fit the crib properly to be safe.
Good things to buy gently used:
1) Clothing (whether it be for babies, children or adults this saves alot of money) - Always inspect clothing well for holes, stains, and too much wear
2) Toys (Always be sure you can clean if before use and check for recalls before giving to your child)
3) Books (Always skim thru the inside of the book to make sure all the pages are there and no markings will keep you from reading it)
4) Baby Gear Items (high chairs, strollers, and play pens) Make sure to look for recalls before using these items used, smell the play pen if you can since you can't wash it make sure it's doesn't smell of smoke since this could put your child at risk for SIDS and ALWAYS put a fitted sheet in the playpen when buying one used.
1) Be aware of discounts you can get because of you or your spouses job (military families get many discounts when they show Military ID places such as Sprint, Sea World, Burger King/Arby's {not all locations})
2) Be a card carrier....yes those grocery store cards and drug store cards are REALLY WORTH IT! Even book stores now offer club cards. Sears has a card now and even a club for people who buy items in the baby section only (you get money back to spend in the store!)
3) Say NO to the credit cards stores offer, signing up for too many of these can effect your credit scores and it's not worth the discounts if you don't shop there religiously, stick with a credit card from your bank that offers great rates and No annual fees if possible.
4) Never pay more than a 3rd of the value of something new when your buying used unless it holds value such as collectibles...another wards if you are at a garage sale and looking at a shirt that is $15 new don't pay more than $5 for it used. As a rule of thumb with clothing though I tend to NEVER spend more than $1 on a item of clothing. People will make comments like, I paid $45 for it new....well guess what it's not new now and I'm using it to make a patch work quilt....so I don't want to pay $10 for a piece of fabric I'm cutting up....Often if you make a offer and it's the end of the day people with take it.
5) Know when to call something JUNK. I've seen things sold at garage sales and thrift stores that just drives me crazy, not sure why these items are not just thrown away. Items that I consider JUNK and should be trashed but often are attempted to be resold:
1) Potty Seats for toddlers
2) Litter Boxes for kitties
3) Used sponges, brooms, mops (lets just say if it were used to clean up someone else's germs why spread their germs into your own home?)
4) Pots and Pans (okay you got to know what you are looking for here, NEVER buy used Teflon pans because normally they are already scratched and no good)
5) Painted bowls, painted pottery pieces (Be careful here, if things were made in the early 70's or before they likely contain lead paint)
6) Puzzles in boxes with more than 30 pieces (Unless you plan on counting all the pieces I wouldn't bother if the box isn't sealed your likely missing a pieces, don't want to get home and put it together to find you can't put the last piece of the puzzle together)
7) Used pacifers, bottles, sippy cups (this is just plain gross to me and if you read the labels on most of these products it says to replace often so they don't wear out and pose choking risk, if you buy it used who knows how many days are left in them- these things are cheap anyways buy them NEW)
8) Bathroom Rugs- (Do I need to say why?)
9) Car Seats - Car seats are not meant to be re-used because the safety standards change quickly and if the car seat were to of been in a wreak with the previous owner the frame can be bent and unsafe without you knowing it.
10) Mattresses - These aren't even aloud by law to be re-sold. Crib Mattresses are especially NOT SAFE to re-use this can raise your child's risk for SIDS! A crib Mattress can cost $60 or more but really if you can't afford a $60 mattress what are you going to do when the baby gets here? You have more than that per month to spend on that child. A NEW CRIB Mattress is a MUST HAVE! Target has great firm mattresses for around $80 on the mainland and $100 here in Hawaii. The mattress needs to be firm and fit the crib properly to be safe.
Good things to buy gently used:
1) Clothing (whether it be for babies, children or adults this saves alot of money) - Always inspect clothing well for holes, stains, and too much wear
2) Toys (Always be sure you can clean if before use and check for recalls before giving to your child)
3) Books (Always skim thru the inside of the book to make sure all the pages are there and no markings will keep you from reading it)
4) Baby Gear Items (high chairs, strollers, and play pens) Make sure to look for recalls before using these items used, smell the play pen if you can since you can't wash it make sure it's doesn't smell of smoke since this could put your child at risk for SIDS and ALWAYS put a fitted sheet in the playpen when buying one used.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My Love for Reading...
I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. I think my mom inspired me by buying me a new book every week, the bookshelf I had was floor to ceiling full of books! Of course I am doing the same thing for my daughter and she loves reading as well!
My current reading list:
Unlikely Angel
By Ashley Smith
- I am almost done with this book and so far I am loving it! It's a true story about a mom from the South who was held hostage and she herself wasn't exactly an angel but she was trying to better herself, as you read you feel connected with her and even more if you are a mom. This book has led me to want to read another book that I've been looking at reading for sometime (The Purpose Driven Life)
The Purpose Driven Life
By Rick Warren
-Just went out and got myself and mother a copy and can't wait to start reading it! You are suppose to read this book with a partner and my mom is choice for a partner for this, it's a great way to connect far away and a great way for us to keep each other reading our devotions each day.
A Child Called It
-I read this book before and I have all the books in the series and I didn't have my copy for a couple years because I loaned it out and didn't get it returned. (this is why I don't loan out books anymore) I went and got another copy and I will read it as soon as I get done with the other too...I need to remind myself of what happened in this first book before reading the others after this. This book is great for people going into social services careers where you may be working with child abuse cases. This child in this story has one of the worse abuse cases ever reported in the state of California. From what I remember in this book it completely disgusted me but it opened my eyes to what some go thru or what some have went thru in their lives and it gave me much empathy for others.*
*You never know what someones situation is and why they may act like they do. I feel it is good to always try to understand others and their ways and not judge them, we are all here on this same earth with something in common we are all humans and we all have our own differences but those differences shouldn't make us hate one another but to add interest to each other lives...I often don't get mad at people when they do things I dislike, I just start to wonder why? why? why? this takes me from the awful place of hating someone and to the place of just figuring them out (likely why I choose my field of study -psychology) some people say they would be scared to work with people who are so called "crazy" well guess what we run into these so called "crazy" people in our everyday life and well they are able to reek much more havoc on our lives than a patient in a mental facility.
My current reading list:
Unlikely Angel
By Ashley Smith
- I am almost done with this book and so far I am loving it! It's a true story about a mom from the South who was held hostage and she herself wasn't exactly an angel but she was trying to better herself, as you read you feel connected with her and even more if you are a mom. This book has led me to want to read another book that I've been looking at reading for sometime (The Purpose Driven Life)
The Purpose Driven Life
By Rick Warren
-Just went out and got myself and mother a copy and can't wait to start reading it! You are suppose to read this book with a partner and my mom is choice for a partner for this, it's a great way to connect far away and a great way for us to keep each other reading our devotions each day.
A Child Called It
-I read this book before and I have all the books in the series and I didn't have my copy for a couple years because I loaned it out and didn't get it returned. (this is why I don't loan out books anymore) I went and got another copy and I will read it as soon as I get done with the other too...I need to remind myself of what happened in this first book before reading the others after this. This book is great for people going into social services careers where you may be working with child abuse cases. This child in this story has one of the worse abuse cases ever reported in the state of California. From what I remember in this book it completely disgusted me but it opened my eyes to what some go thru or what some have went thru in their lives and it gave me much empathy for others.*
*You never know what someones situation is and why they may act like they do. I feel it is good to always try to understand others and their ways and not judge them, we are all here on this same earth with something in common we are all humans and we all have our own differences but those differences shouldn't make us hate one another but to add interest to each other lives...I often don't get mad at people when they do things I dislike, I just start to wonder why? why? why? this takes me from the awful place of hating someone and to the place of just figuring them out (likely why I choose my field of study -psychology) some people say they would be scared to work with people who are so called "crazy" well guess what we run into these so called "crazy" people in our everyday life and well they are able to reek much more havoc on our lives than a patient in a mental facility.
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