Category Archives: Parenting & Family

How To Play “Jacks”

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WHAT YOU NEED
• A small, bouncy rubber ball
•  10 jacks
• A hard, smooth, level playing surface (floor, sidewalk, patio, or blacktop)

HOW TO PLAY
Sit on the ground and toss the jacks gently onto the playing surface.

Using one hand, gently toss the ball into the air, let­ting it bounce on the playing surface. With the same hand, pick up one jack and catch the ball before it bounces again.

Repeat until you have picked up all ten jacks. This round is called “onesies.”

Toss the ten jacks on the playing surface again.

Toss the ball into the air, letting it bounce once on the playing surface, and pick up two jacks at the same time. Repeat until you have picked up all ten jacks, two at a time. This round is called “twosies.”

Increase the number of jacks you pick up during each round until you pick up all ten jacks at once and catch the ball.

If you fail to pick up the correct number of jacks, fail to catch the ball, or drop the jacks from your hand, your turn is over and the next player goes.

When you get another turn, con­tinue where you left off. If you went out during “threesies,” toss the ten jacks, and start with “threesies.”

To make the game more chal­lenging, forbid players from touching jacks other than the ones being picked up and require players to place the jacks in their free hand before catch­ing the ball.

The first player to complete “onesies” through “tensies” wins the game.

For a variation on the game, require all play­ers to go from “onesies” to “tensies” and then back down to “onesies” again.

Poison Ivy, Poison oak, Poison Summac

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Well, I am getting over my worse case of poison ivy I have ever had. I have never experienced much more than a mild traveling rash that goes away in a few days. This time however it has covered my body and literally made me go nuts from the constant scratching and itching. So I thought I would gather information to help others who are going through an experience themselves.

Itch Relief

-Calamine and Caladryl lotions are essential for drying and relief from the itching.

-Take repeated hot showers and spray directly on the itchiest places… the hotter the better and the hotter the longer your itch will subside when you are done. This seems to release the antihistimine your body produces that make you itchy and or confuse your nerve endings from an itch to a burn. But it does give valuable releif and you should make sure you do it especially before you go to bed.

-Benadryl.. this timeless medication will help the itch from the inside out.

-Aloe Vera gives a soothing relief that is instantly cooling and will help rehydrate your skin from its very dry condition after you treat your skin with everything else. You can find this in the sunscreen area… it is usually a green (hair gel) type of product.

Medical Treatments

-Pregnisone – this has been the lifesafer I have been waiting for… two days in and it is almost over for me…. but some have reported that their is no benefit from it for them. It is a timed steroid perscibed with a certain number of pills for a certain number of days then another amount of pills for the next few days and so on. it is meant to tapper you off of it because this is a potent steroid.

-Cortizone shots seem to be a hit and miss depending upon your doctor who is treating you and the severity of your rash. My doctor said that pregnisone was strong enough medication with the other medications I am already on and she wouldn’t give me the shot and pregnisone so I had to choose.

Poison Ivy

Poison Oak

Poison Sumac

The pictures above are typical pictures but you should know that the coloring, size of leave and thickness of the branches can change from one part of the country to another and also from spring to fall which may bring yellow and red shades to the leaves.

Halloween PET Safety

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HAVE A PURRRRR-FECT HALLOWEEN

Halloween is such an great holiday! However, it can be more than scary to our little furry friends. Practice some safety tips to keep your pets out of danger from witches and goblins.

TIPS:

1. Keep all pets indoors on Halloween if at all possible. There have been many animal cruelty cases that have taken place on Halloween.Pets will freak out from all of the kids in costumes coming at them.

2. Do not feed them candy. As most of you know, chocolate is fatal to dogs, so no matter what, do not give your dog chocolate or any candy for that matter. Be sure to keep your children’s candy off of the floor and throw away any foils or wrappers. Animals could eat them and cause them to have serious digestive distress leading to high veterinary bills.

3. Be aware of how your animal reacts when dressing them up in costumes, remember it’s not normal for them to be wearing costumes so it may cause them to be highly agitated.

4. Keep lit pumpkins out of their tail swishing area, and away from curious kitties. This is a huge fire accident waiting to happen!

5. It might be an old wives tale, but if you have a black cat, keep it inside. Mean people have used this holiday to torture black cats and even kill them.

6. Why not pick up some treats for the animals as well as for the trick-or-treaters, that way they won’t be tempted to eat the candy!

Halloween Tips For Little Ones Safety

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!!!!!HAPPY SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!!! 

Planning For Trick-or-Treating

1 Choose costumes for your child that fit properly. Kids can easily trip and injure themselves if the costume drags on the ground.

2 Make sure all costumes are made of fire-retardant material.

3 Apply makeup instead of having the child wear a mask. If she insists on wearing a mask, make sure there are sufficient air holes around the nose/mouth and large openings for the eyes.

4 Look for  a costume with reflective pieces on them, especially on the back. You can also apply reflective tape to the costume yourself.

5 Arm your child with a flashlight and cell phone, so she can easily be spotted and reached.

6 Plan ahead and discuss with your child which routes you will take and where to meet if you get separated.

While You Are Trick-or-Treating

1 Make sure children, generally under 12 years old, are accompanied by an adult at all times.

2 Remind kids of importance of walking instead of running. Don’t allow kids to cut through yards or alleyways.

3 Teach children to only go to houses with a porch light shining and to never enter a stranger’s house under any circumstance.

4 Make certain kids know to walk on the left side of the road, facing oncoming traffic when sidewalks are not available.

5 Check all candy for possible tampering when you return home. Check for open wrappers and seals broken and discard these!

!!!!!HAPPY SAFE HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Child Safety On The Way To School

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On any given day students board school buses to travel to schools. Statistically, school buses are the safest way for students to travel to school — even safer than riding in the family car.
Many students walk to school or to bus stops.
In either case, parents can help to make the trip to school as safe and easy as possible for their children just by discussing a few basic rules:

Walking or riding a bike to school or to a school bus stop:

– Parents should show their children the safe walk path to use and encourage them to fol
low that path.
– Obey all traffic signals, signs, and/or crossing guards. Use crosswalks where available. H Walk bikes through intersec­tions
ffl Walk with a buddy, if pos­sible, and be aware of the sur­roundings.
– Never talk to or respond to strangers. If a stranger ap­proaches or tries to get a child to come to him/her, the child should run home, to a neigh­bor’s house, or another safe place such as a business, and ask an adult for help.
–  Reflective material makes walkers and bicyclists more vis­ible to street traffic. B Always wear a helmet when riding a bike (grownups too).

At the bus stop:

– Know your school bus number.
– Get to the bus stop at least five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive. Running to catch the bus is dangerous and can lead to injuries.
– While waiting for the bus, stand at least five giant steps (10 feet) away from the curb and line up away from the street.
– Wait until the bus stops, the door opens, and the driver says it is OK to board before getting onto the bus.
– Students crossing the street in front of the bus should walk on the sidewalk or along the road to a point at least 10 giant steps ahead of the bus before crossing. (Better yet, cross at an intersection and use the cross­walk if one is available.) Be sure that the bus driver can see you and that you can see the driver when crossing the street, and watch for traffic com­ing both ways.
– When you are dropped off at school or at the bus stop, walk 10 giant steps away from the bus. If you need to cross the street, wait until the driver tells you its okay and cross in front of the bus. NEVER walk behind a bus.
– Use the handrail to enter and exit the bus.
– If you drop something near or under the bus, tell the bus driver. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PICK IT UP because the driver may not be able to see you.
– School buses are loaded or unloaded at established school bus stops only, unless an emergency dictates otherwise.