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Preparing for an Emergency: Ready NYC & Giveaway!
On September 2nd, New York City is kicking off National Preparedness Month. If any city has learned how to be prepared for the unimaginable, it’s New York City. But you don’t have to live in New York to learn how to prepare your family and home in the event of an emergency or crisis situation. As someone who has always lived in areas prone to earthquakes, I know how incredibly important it is to have an emergency kit and a strategy plan to help keep my family as safe as possible. No matter where we live, no one is ever completely safe from the possibility of a disaster or emergency situation. From fires, earthquakes, and floods to terrorist attacks each and every one of us is vulnerable. And, as parents, we must be especially responsible in ensuring that our family is as safe as possible should the unthinkable happen. Believing that your family can just “wing it” in an emergency is irresponsible and potentially life-threatening.
The Ad Council and the New York Office of Emergency Management (OEM) have joined forces to create Ready NYC , an excellent website devoted to helping people prepare for any type of emergency. Check out the Ready NYC website and, if you’re on Facebook, make sure to “like” the New York Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Facebook page. Both of these sites are excellent resources and will help parents and families everywhere prepare for any type of emergency in three steps:
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Prepping for the First Day of School
I’m a guest again over at the fabulous Tight Bod with a Pod website!
The lovely ladies behind the website asked me to contribute an article about preparing your preschooler or kindergartner for the first day of school. As a mom to a toddler that will start preschool in a matter of a few months, I felt more than compelled to write about this topic. These prepping tips are something that I will be doing soon as well.
If you have a child starting preschool or kindergarten soon, please check out my article for a few helpful tips! If you have any other suggestions or tips, please leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
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The Mother/Sister Role
My father, my half-brother and my half-sister flew in from the the East Coast for a visit last week. My half-brother is 14 and my half-sister is 10.
I was 20 years old and away at college when my brother was born. I was in graduate school when my sister was born. Since we’re decades of age apart, didn’t grow up together, and live across the country from each other, I obviously don’t have a normal sisterly relationship with them. I love them as I do the sister and brother I grew up with, but it’s a very different relationship. Over time, I have developed a dynamic with them that seems half-mother/half-sister. When you’re old enough to be the mother of your siblings (and often get mistaken for the mom…ugh), it’s easy to find yourself playing the mom role just as easily as it is to be the sister.
During our visits, I find myself shifting between this mother role and the sister role. I can ask my brother and sister to help with dinner, stop running down the hardwood stairs in slippery socks, or clean up after themselves just as easily as I can find myself on the couch with them playing DJ Hero, teasing and giggling with them as if I were their age. At the same time, I need to monitor myself like I would with any other kids around, like watch my language and avoid inappropriate topics. And when topics come up that aren’t necessarily inappropriate, but definitely on the serious side, it can be confusing as to how to handle it. For one thing, my sister and brother aren’t even half as sheltered as I was growing up. It’s not because of how they are parented but rather it’s due to the world they and their friends live in. Their access to the world is staggering and their precociousness is reminiscent of my young adult self and certainly not my tween and teen self. (continues…)
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A Boy And His (Future) Dog
Ready to go play with the pool guy's dog
We don’t have a dog yet, but we would like to have one soon. The Monkey will be 3 in October and I think 3 is a great age to welcome your first dog.
The process to find a perfect dog for our home has already been challenging. We joined two wait lists with local agencies to adopt a rescue dog quite a while ago. We knew the wait would be long, but the reality is that it might not happen at all. Both agencies told us that it’s difficult to place a rescue dog in a home with a very young child, even if that dog came from a family with young kids. So we waited. The question is, nearly two years later, do we still wait? I think we’ve waited long enough.
Since we won’t buy a dog from a pet store or from any other puppy mill, it’s time to start looking for a good breeder with a reputable history. Now comes the hard part – what type of breed will work for our family? The Dude was raised mostly with Golden Retrievers while I raised with a few different mutts. We both love Golden and Labrador Retrievers, but I’m concerned about their size and shedding issue.
Here’s a few other considerations. The majority of our home has dark maple wood flooring that can scratch easily. I know what you’re thinking – yes, we were dumb to install flooring like that with a toddler. Not only is it getting scratched here and there but it is, by far, the most challenging floor I’ve ever had to keep clean. And I’ve even had white carpeting! I have to break out the Bona cleaner at least once a day, but I also blame that on my OCD cleaning habits. All of this is to say that we’ll need a dog that doesn’t mind getting his nails clipped regularly and doesn’t shed that much. I believe that may rule out the Retrievers.
More importantly than shedding and cleaning, I want a friendly dog. A dog that can be trained easily. I want a dog that will play with my son but not be too aggressive or jumpy. I also want a dog that won’t bark all the time, like when the doorbell or phone rings.
I have many concerns simply because I want a dog that will fit most of our needs. But my biggest priority is what dog will be best for a toddler and for our family. So, now my question goes out to all my readers out there who grew up with dogs or who many have a family dog now:
What type of dog is your perfect family dog?
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Let’s Talk About Lead: What Every Parent Needs To Know
I was recently contacted on behalf of the Ad Council, the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, the Environmental Protection Agency and Housing And Urban Development (HUD) in the hope to help spread more awareness about lead-based poisoning. These four agencies have joined forces to create a new website devoted to the dangers of lead. It’s called Lead Free Kids and I urge every parent and caretaker to check it out to learn more.
Lead is a very toxic metal that affects more than one million children today. It can be especially harmful for children under the age of six. It’s important for every parent and caretaker to know the dangers associated with lead, where to look for it, and the symptoms of lead poisoning.
Where lead can be found:
- If you live in a house or apartment that was built before 1978, there is a very good chance that it was originally painted with lead-based paint. This is important to know because even though there may be several layers of new paint over the original paint, paint chips and dust from deteriorating paint may contain lead.
- Lead can be found in the soil around your home and in your drinking water.
- You can also find lead in older playground equipment, artificial turf made from rubber, and older or antique toys.
- Although there is a U.S. ban on the use of lead in the manufacturing of children’s products that does not mean that all toys and other children’s products are guaranteed safe. There have been recent recalls associated with lead in certain toys, jewelery, and other products for children. Keep an eye out for all recalls, including children’s products at www.recalls.gov.
Symptoms of lead-poisoning in children: (continues…)