Cool Mom Picks website
Their motto is, “We find it, you flaunt it.” Cool Mom Picks finds the coolest things on the internet for moms (and dads and kids too). There is a daily post with two or three Cool Mom Picks. Or you can check out the archives for picks by topic or month. My favorite is Maternitywear That Doesn’t Suck and Reads (cool new books out there). There even a category with cool stuff for dads with great Father’s Day ideas.
*Note: Most of these cool things are not cheap. I like to look at them for ideas (clipping a baby blanket to the stroller so it doesn’t get kicked off) and I like to read about the new books and then request them from the library.
Is Your Family Ready for a Natural Disaster?
After reading about Momergency Kits over at ParentHacks.com, I thought I should detail what the modern parent can do to prepare for real emergencies. Although googly eyes can be very important in certain situations, being prepared for all kinds of emergencies is another step towards sleeping easily at night.
Being prepared for a disaster is nothing to sneeze at. We’ve seen so much media coverage of major disasters in the past few years. It is time to think about being prepared for the possibility of losing water or electricity for several days. I am a worrier. Having a 5-day disaster supply kit eases my mind a bit. At least in the “being prepared for a disaster” area.
There are many emergency preparedness websites out there. The Red Cross has an emergency supply list and there are dozens of 72-hour kit websites. My favorite, though, is from the East Bay Municipal Utility District. With this guide, you can assemble a 3-7 day disaster supply kit over a period of 6 months without going bankrupt.
The guide is broken down into 24 weeks; you collect all of your supplies and them rotate them over a six-month period. Each week there is a short shopping list for the grocery store, hardware store or first-aid supplies. You purchase and gather your supplies little by little and at the end of 6 months, you should have a comprehensive collection of food, tools, water and other emergency supplies.
Storing these supplies does take up room. Consider your storage area before beginning the buying process. Our supplies take up a 32-gallon garbage can (with wheels) and a cupboard that is about 3 feet wide by 3 feet tall by 18 inches deep. The water is, in my opinion, the most important supply to have on hand and it definitely takes up the most room. We also don’t keep many of the suggested tools and clothing in our specific emergency supply area. I keep a text document with the supplies that notes where certain tools and clothing can be found in the garage and the house.
Some of these supplies can be stored indefinitely (toilet paper, deodorant, toothbrush, etc.), while others should be used and replaced every 6-12 months. At the bottom of the above plan, there is a handy chart noting the typical shelf-life of your supplies. I have another handy word document that lists when I need to replace food items in my supply cupboard. I also label each box or can with the month and year that it was purchased.
Along with your ‘shopping list,’ there is a short ‘to do’ list for each week. This has suggestions
such as “Have a fire drill at home” and “Make photocopies of important papers and store safely.” There are also reminders such as checking and changing smoke alarm batteries.
In our emergency supply bin (e.s.b. as I like to call it), we have also placed copies of the kids’ immunization records and birth certificates and a list of phone numbers, out-of-state contacts, pet information, and some financial numbers (phone number of credit card companies, bank phone number, etc.) These documents are handy and could easily be tossed in the car if the emergency was such that we needed to leave the house and property immediately. The e.s.b. is on wheels and could (probably in a burst of adrenaline) be lifted into the trunk of the car.
I rest a little easier at night, knowing that our family has taken steps toward emergency preparedness.
Consumer Product Safety Commission Website
The Consumer Product Safety Commission website is a good site to check out once a month or so. Or whenever you are cleaning out your bookmarks. I came across it again the other day and made a mental note to check it out more often. It contains recall and safety information that may affect your family. For example: “Mervyns Recalls Children’s Capri Pants Due to Choking Hazard.” Apparently, the button may fall off and cause a child to choke, should they put it in their mouth. It is not actually the pants that are a choking hazard. Although, I suppose it might be hazardous to put a pair of capri pants in your mouth.
Baby Name Website
To check out really cool graphs of every baby name you can think of, go to Baby Name Wizard
Pregnancy Guide Online
As if you didn’t have enough to obsess about while trying to determine if becoming a single-income family is right for you, you can find tons of info at the Stork Net Pregnancy Calendar. Assuming you are pregnant or are planning to be, you can check out the week-by-week guide for your pregnancy at StorkNet.
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