Drowning is a Silent Killer

You can also find this post on my other blogs, Sensible Cents and Kitchen Conundrum, but because I feel that it is so incredibly important, I am posting it everywhere.

Summer is here and it’s time to head to the pool and to the beach. It’s common that before you go, you check to make sure you have enough liquids, and enough sunscreen. But are you prepared for an emergency?  Sure, you have band-aids, and bug repellant, but are you prepared for a drowning, or a near-drowning incident?

I actually learned this a few years ago, and it really has stuck with me and I remind myself of it every year. Drowning doesn’t look like drowning. If you think that drowning involves wildly flailing arms and loud screams for help, you should think again. Because you are dead wrong. Drowning doesn’t look like you think it would look. It doesn’t look at all like it does in the movies or on TV. There are very few warning signs. In fact, most drownings occur when people are no further away than 20 feet.

According to the CDC, the statistics are staggering. More than one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and younger and for every child who dies from drowning, another four received emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries. Drowning is the second leading cause of death among children in this age range.  And, worse still, drownings are the leading cause of injury death for young children ages 1 to 4, and three children die every day as a result of drowning! The sad part? Drowning is preventable.

I’m going to share here part of an excellent article entitled “It Doesn’t Look Like They’re Drowning” featured in the Coast Guard’s On Scene Magazine (Fall 06, Page 14) written by Aviation Survival Technician First Class Mario Vittone and Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D. There is a lot of bold here, because it’s really that important to pay attention to.

In the article, they describe the typical Instinctive Drowning Response as follows:

(The “Instinctive Drowning Response” are actions that represent a person’s attempts to avoid the actual or perceived suffocation in the water. The suffocation in water triggers a constellation of autonomic nervous system responses that result in external, unlearned, instinctive drowning movements. Commit these to memory!)

1. Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.

2. Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouth of a drowning person is not above the surface of the water long enough to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning person’s mouth is above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouth starts to sink below the surface of the water.

3. Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.

4. Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.

5. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”

Here are some Signs of Drowning to watch for the next time you’re swimming with your kids or others:

  • Head low in the water, mouth at water level
  • Head tilted back with open mouth
  • Hair over forehead or eyes
  • Eyes glassy, empty and unable to focus
  • Eyes closed
  • Hyperventilating or gasping
  • Not using legs or not kicking
  • Body is vertical and upright
  • Trying to swim in a certain direction but not making any progress
  • Trying to roll over on the back

Here are some Prevent Drowning Measures you can take:

Be Aware

Keep your eyes open and watch your children! Do not leave them for a second unattended around water. This is the most important thing you can do to save your child’s life. Even when things seem ok, they may not be. A good way to make sure is to ask your kid or the person you’re swimming with if he or she is all right. If they are rather still, do not answer or have a blank stare, then you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them! As any parent knows, kids make noise in the water. If they are not making noise, find out why and get them out of the water ASAP. One thing I do with my girls, that I actually learned as a SCUBA Rescue Diver is to make a “BIG OKAY” sign with my hand on my head and my arm outstretched like the letter “O”.  They can see me and my “BIG OKAY” from wherever they are in a pool and do it back to me. When they do that, I know that they are okay. If they don’t do it, I then hop in the water and go get them. Every time we go to the pool or the beach, I remind them to make the sign, so I don’t have to drag them out of the water.

Learn CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)

Are you up to date with your CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) accreditation? If you aren’t, go and learn and get recertified every two years. CPR can help a child stay alive with little or no brain damage.

Life Jackets are a “MUST!”

You wouldn’t let your child go un-seatbelted  (hopefully!) in the car so don’t let them go unprotected in the water either. Make sure kids wear life jackets every single time they are in and around natural bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers or the ocean, even if they know how to swim.

Fence the Pool and Cover It

If you have a home pool or are at another person’s home that has a pool, be sure that it is fenced in. Every pool should have a four–sided fence, with self–closing and self–latching gates around the entire pool.  And make sure the pool is covered when not in use. If it’s an above ground pool, make sure the ladder/steps are inaccessible to children.

Teach Your Children How To Swim!

The American Red Cross gives very cost efficient swimming lessons at a pool near you. Take advantage of their classes.

I hope that you and your family and your friends have an awesome, safe Summer filled with laughter and joy and good food!

5 Things I learned at Bloggy Boot Camp Boston

This weekend, I went to Bloggy Boot Camp in Boston. It was so much better than I even thought it would be.  I drove up with my friends  Holly, aka The Culture Mom, and Varda, aka Squashed Mom. We had so much fun chatting along the way despite the long and strenuous drive. It was the first time Holly had driven so far and I, for the first time in dozens of years, actually drove on the highway for the last 40 minutes or so!  So proud of both of us!  We made it unscathed! Exhausted, but unscathed!

Upon arrival, we were starved, so we met up with some other wonderful ladies and headed to dinner near the hotel. It was really nice to be out with so many great ladies- without the kids- and learning about all the wonderful blogs and lives everyone had.  Afterwords, we headed back to the hotel for an evening of wine tasting sponsored by Mirassou Winery. I tried two different varieties but really enjoyed their Pinot Noir and will have to keep it in mind next time I am at the wine shop.  We had had a rather long day and were exhausted so we headed up to bed early. I think I fell asleep by 11pm. That was a really rare treat!

Invisalign recently launched their Teen product line and sponsored a fabulous breakfast Saturday morning at 8. For some reason, we thought the breakfast started at 7:30 so we were fashionably early! But it was to our benefit. We had coffee and a one on one conversation with one of their representatives. We pretty much interrogated him about the product and I am happy to say that now I know quite a lot about their brand and will definitely be looking into it for the girls, who both need braces. (I’ll tell you all about them on Sensible Cents.)

We also had the privilege to meet with several other brands, including Arm & Hammer and Sony. But I also loved meeting other women. It’s always so inspiring to me to meet and connect with really amazing women who are willing to share so much of themselves, their backgrounds and their knowledge. There really is a wonderful sense of community and support in the blogging world.

The sessions themselves of course were incredibly informative.  Each speaker divulged such valuable information and I am so excited to put everything I learned to use.  It really reinvigorated and gave me new purpose and inspiration for both Kitchen Conundrum and Sensible Cents, as well as what I want to do going forward. Needless to say, I have a lot of work ahead of me!

We learned from amazing women; Carol Schiller, Amy Bradley Hole, Lindsey Garrett, Katja Presnal,  Erica Voll, Charlene Deloach Oliver, Amanda (Dumb Mom), Mommy Niri and of course Francesca Banducci and Tiffany Romero.

And while I learned way more than five things, here are my top 5 that I think would benefit every blogger.

5 Things I learned at Bloggy Boot Camp:

1. Be a solution. When you write a pitch to a brand, either to ask for them to sponsor your blog or you, you have to be a solution to their problem.  And you have to be able to show them what value you or your blog will be able to provide to their brand and their bottom line.

2. Use Google Ad Words and Google Trends. Content is King. It’s true. But what good is content if you aren’t reaching anyone.  Just by using these free tools, you can look up keywords that are searched most often and pepper them through your post and in your title.  And if you are stuck in a rut about something to write about, check out Google Trends and pick a topic that is trending. You may just increase your readership with just a few searches. But, by all means, don’t compromise your writing just to get searches. You still must be authentic.

3. Build your brand. Find your niche. This can be anything from your personal brand to your blog’s brand. Take the steps needed to really differentiate yourself from the pack.

4. You are more than just your page views. You have an engaged life- your real life, your community, your friends. You also have a Facebook and Twitter following. When talking about your brand and blog to a prospective client, don’t forget about these.

5. The Internet is forever! Remember whatever you write will be in cyberspace forever and can be looked at by your family, your friends, potential clients, employers and your mom. So before rattling off an angry tweet, post or status comment, take a breath and ask yourself if it is worth any fallout that may occur because of it.

It was a jammed packed day of learning. I would highly suggest Bloggy Boot Camp to any blogger who has an interest in building their blog and taking it to the next level. I am so glad I attended and look forward to attending the conference again next year. And I might even drive on the highway again!

P.S. I am going to add a #6. Because this learning point is also important. While you may not think about it, or maybe you do, you can-Use your influence for good. We have an incredible opportunity now to “use social media for social good”. With everything going on in the world, it’s important to remember that there are those less fortunate than ourselves and we really should try to make the world we live in a better place for all, and for future generations to come. I want to point you to an amazing blogger, MommyNiriCares, to learn how to get started.

Missing the Sweetness Of the ’70′s

My oldest needed to memorize the Preamble tonight for a test tomorrow. I sang the Preamble as I remembered learning it from Schoolhouse Rock. Then we watched the original version on You Tube about 50 times and by the end, she had it down pat. She was happy and went off to bed humming the tune.

Then I sat down and watched about two hours worth of various School House Rocks. They were great! I was instantly transported back to 1975 (or thereabouts) and to an era of time when life was simpler. Maybe it wasn’t so simple in reality. But it sure seemed that way.

In those days, we had only three channels, and maybe 2 more that came in variations of  fuzzy or less fuzzy, depending on the tin foil balls you put on the antennas and their respective directions. There weren’t any music videos that showed every part of everyone’s bodies and there certainly wasn’t Hannah Montana and her parent-less friends teaching bad attitudes and smart alec retorts. We actually had to sing the songs and make up our own dances and scenes to go with them. We used our imaginations. And we never would have dreamed rolling our eyes or flipping our hair to our parents for fear of a smack or being grounded “for life”.

We used to play outside, for hours, unattended, only to be called in at dinner time. Now, I would never dream of letting my kids out of my sight because of who might steal them or hurt them. Or maybe they might get hurt all on their own. And you can forget riding your big wheel up and down the street with all the cars around or playing kickball under the street lights glow. It’s not going to happen. That carefree era has long been gone.

But I wish it weren’t. Because it would be good for them. Those days, it gave us strength, and confidence. And we learned so much.

I wish they could have the same kind of carefree days I had as a child. But they can’t. The world is so different now. So we’ll keep watching Schoolhouse Rock and that will have to be as close to the 70′s that they will get. Until I crochet them a multicolored hat.

Food Blog Camp. It was amazing!

Because I am so excited about my long weekend away and still trying to shake the sand out of my shoes, I am going to ask you to come visit me over at Kitchen Conundrum.  I’ve been posting there with more regularity. There are a lot of changes over there! I think you will like it! And you can read my recap of our little trip to the tropics. And watch my video. It was so much fun to make!

I’ll be back here soon. Once the laundry is done.

Thanks so much!

Resolutions

Each year I have a few resolutions that I make, but you know how that goes. You make them and you break them. They really just don’t work. So this year, I thought rather than have the strict New Year’s resolutions, that I would just try to do a few things differently next year. Just try to be more conscious of the things I want to do and the goals I want to achieve. And if I stop and think about them, like maybe not having that extra bite of chocolate cake rather than no cake at all or maybe supporting one cause that’s dear to my  heart rather than trying to support them all or trying to be more present and focused while playing with my children in small time increments rather than being only half there and half with the millions of other things that “need” to be done,  then maybe, just maybe, the resolutions I made in the past, may actually come true this year afterall.

Wishing you all a wonderful, happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

So Much Has happened! What a Month!

My goodness it has been quite a while! We have a lot to catch up on.

First, I am excited to tell you about my upcoming trip to Mexico. Rivera Maya just south of Cancun to be exact. To join some of my favorite food bloggers for an extended weekend at Food Blogger Camp!  Both me an my dh will be travelling from Wednesday, January 5 through Sunday, January 9th. And let me tell you, it will be a much deserved vacation/learning experience! I really, really can not wait.

And I will tell you why-

This month has totally sucked! From Thanksgiving- where my sister in law went all psycho to the our ReThanksgiving at home on the Friday after where I spent the day in excruciating pain- until now. It turns out, that pain I had that ruined our ReThanksgiving (I couldn’t even eat!) was KIDNEY STONES! I suffered through the weekend, and finally Monday night I texted a friend who is an EMT to ask which hospital was cleanest and would get me in and out the fastest. He gathered his troops and took me via ambulance to the ER, totally bypassing the waiting room and the seven hour wait.

In the emergency room, they did a CT and other tests confirming that I did indeed have two kidney stones, but worse than that, they told me that I may have Multiple Myeloma. They found lytic lesions on my spine when they did the CT. I needed to go ASAP to have an MRI and more testing. I was also told to not dare google it. (Are you kidding me?) So I asked several friends to do that for me and doom and gloom abounded. By the third day, I finally had to know for myself and was thrust into all kinds of panic, terror, and holy crap’s, not to mention the huge list of all the things I still needed to do- like  finish the children’s scrapbooks and write them letters for the future. It was really torment.  Caught in the early stages, people generally only live for a year-three at best. I could not have been more devastated. I ran to my GP the very next day.

Thankfully, the blood tests and the MRI all came back normal. I love my GP. He said from the day 1 that it that it didn’t make sense. My blood tests are always normal. The MRI radiologist determined the tumors to be hemangiomas. Benign tumors that people are born with. WHEW! So it seems that I will live a full life until I die by being hit by a bus or some other terrible thing- like KIDNEY STONES. And these kidney stones, turned out to be much larger than first thought. They were not going to pass on their own. Another thing the first radiologist got wrong.

So a week of my life spent dealing with that craziness and not dealing with the pain in my right kidney. Oh right, pain in the kidney. Back to that. And back to the hospital in pain yet again. This time, I was in and out in just a few hours because I had an actual appointment with a Urologist. This was on Friday, December 3. He said that I would need a stent put in the following week, but if the pain became too much I should just go to the ER and they would do it as an emergency. Well, the pain, the fever and the vomiting that ensued forced me to the ER the very next day and the stent was put in on Sunday, December 5.

I was also glowing! I had 2 CTs, 8 X-Rays and and MRI by this point.

The major pain seemed to be over with the insertion of the stent. As uncomfortable as it was, it was far better than how I had been feeling. That lasted for ten days and yesterday I finally had a procedure called a lithotripsy which blows up the stone in my kidney and I had a laser break up the other stone and then a new stent was put into place. This will be in for two weeks to give all the stone fragments time to pass.

It will come out just in time for our trip to Mexico. Which I really can not wait for!

The Beauty of Different. A new book by Karen Walrond.

You Are Beautiful!

You are beautiful. It’s true!

 

And this new, beautiful and stunning book by Karen Walrond, (who blogs at chookooloonks)  was just released.

 

The new book, The Beauty of Different is available from Bright Sky Press and Amazon. You should definately get a copy. And go read her blog. She is truly amazing!

 

To learn a bit more about this book go here and read this post.  Karen really has a way of insipiring and lifting people up. It’s really refreshing. And her photography, well, simply beautiful. Just like you.

 

A good, yet crappy week!

So, good news, my dh has a new job already. He starts Monday! Yipee! I hope this one goes well and even though the pay is less than he was making, his commute will be about a half hour shorter, so that’s a plus! I myself took on two projects that I am actually really excited about but I have not been able to work too much on them with the focus and devotion they need, because I have the FLU!  All week, I have been laid up. (I did drag myself to a few events though, but right back to bed afterwards!)  My attention span and awake hours are few and far between. And please don’t ask me to add any numbers! It’s just not happening right now.

Also, my little guy turned 3 yesterday! He had a little party in preschool and we sent cupcakes and treat bags filled with chocolates for all his little friends. He had a great day! This weekend we are planning on a small (very small!) family party with cake and balloons. Mostly because I want cake! LOL! (and the pictures of course!)

I have to say, I am having a bit of trouble this week keeping up with three blogs, four facebook pages, three twitter accounts and six email addresses. I really need a magical dashboard that handles it all on one screen. Anyone know of a product out there that can do that????  Does Hoot Suite make a desktop version? I wonder. Well, it would be helpful if I can intergate everything in one big pile. I have actually created a check list form for each review and post so I am making sure that I am following through with everything I need to be doing. AND, I have been lax about reading other blogs, which I love to do too!

I have three more posts to publish today and I will be all caught up! I tend to over write when doing a review or event wrap up. I like to be thorough though. What do you think?

So, I am running out of steam and have to crawl back into bed soon with a box of tissues and some more cold medicine.

In the meantime, check out my other blogs, Sensible Cents and Kitchen Conundrum… there seems to be a lot going on over there!

P.S. I am having Theme design  issues with Sensible Cents and am really looking to spice it up. And I am thinking about changing Kitchen’s theme as well but I like it a lot better than Sensible’s. What do you think? Ideas, thoughts and opinions are gladly welcome!

The Big Apple Circus! A Fun Family Day!

I am not usually a fan of the circus. But with just 1,619 seats, and none farther away than 50’ from the single ring, The Big Apple Circus, is an intimate and captivating affair.  Unlike the large circus’ with their overwhelming glitz and sensory overload from all the commotion imbued with multiple rings and simultaneous acts, The Big Apple Circus is wholesome and uncomplicated.  It is truly my favorite circus and I am thrilled to have been able to share it with my children this past weekend.

This year marks The Big Apple Circus’ 33rd year, its presentation aptly named Dance On!  The talented, and delightful comic Mark Gindick who stars as the Man Who Dances along with Barry Lubin,  who portrays the infamous Grandma The Clown, made the show complete withtheir lively and lovable antics, hysterical for both young and old alike.

Under the artistic direction of Guillaume Dufresnoy, this event featured performers from all around the world.

The versatile and charming ringmaster Kevin Venardos, led us through a little more than two hours of laughs, hilarious routines, and dazzling feats.

My kid’s faces lit up with excitement and awe for all the acrobatic acts, such as The Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Troupe from China who performed a tantalizing lasso act and an acrobatic ensemble all while riding monocycles! 

 

The African Acrobats/ Acrobats Internationale pumped up the fun with a high-energy dance to the rhythms of world beat music and then climbed a single pole with feats of incredible strength and agility that makes climbing trees seem like something for amateurs. The beautiful Regina Dobrovitskaya, who hails from Russia, entranced the audience with her flying trapeze way above our heads. From Bulgaria, performer Andrey Mantchev gave us a stunning hand–balancing performance and stood literally on his head on top of a balance pole no larger than a palm.

 The five young women from Mongolia, X Bud Roses Troupe, wowed and amazed us with contortion acts of strength and flexibility leaving us spellbound! (Although I am not so sure their dentist is pleased! Look closely at the ladies on the bottom! OH MY!)

They were astonished with, Girma Tshehai a charming performer from Ethiopia who excited us with an act of juggling that was simply delightful!

My personal favorite was Rob Torres who played the sweet and playful International Man of Mirth. With simple props he pantomimes and engages the audience in his witty and uproarious behavior. I loved one of his sketches that just used a suitcase, two wooden jewelry boxes and an oversized alarm clock. It was so entertaining!

The pinnacle of the show was when Jenny Vidbel filled the ring with a playful chorus line of 12 white mini-horses and showcased the talents of many adorable pooches and a few endearing goats! I had no idea that goats could be trained so well!

The Big Apple Circus, in the words of my children, was “the best day ever!” I would have to agree.

 “The Big Apple Circus is YOUR circus, Big Apple is back in town!”  And it should not be missed!

Ticket Information

Performances of Dance On! began on Thursday, October 21st and will run for 123 shows through Sunday, January 9th under the Big Top at Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center (62nd Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues).

Tickets for Dance On! start at $15 and are available by calling (888) 541-3750 or at www.bigapplecircus.org. The Circus Box Office, located in front of the Big Top, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM, and Sunday and Monday from 10 AM to 6 PM.

For groups of 15 people or more, for inquiries about wheelchair-accessible seating or for any additional information please call the Ticket Info Line at (800) 922-3772.

Disclosure:  I was not compensated to write this post, however, I recieved tickets to see The Big Apple Circus to provide you with this review.

A Great Find-Digital and Interactive Book Apps For Kids

Every now and again you come across a really cool and innovative product that you just want to share with everyone. Especially ones that have your children enthralled in great books at a very reasonable price.  That’s how I feel about these apps for kids.

Ruckus Media Group, launched by Rick Richter, former president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, has positioned itself as a global family entertainment company specializing in Digital and Interactive Book Apps for kids and features some of the most inspired talent of our time narrating and musically accompanying such classic tales as The Velveteen Rabbit, Tom Thumb and the Knights of the Round Table and John Henry. At just $3.99 per download, these apps are very affordable for all the cool features they offer.

Among one of the first apps to be released by Ruckus Media is my favorite classic tale, The Velveteen Rabbit. Narrated by Meryl Streep and featuring the music of George Winston, this heartwarming tale is sure to become a story that children love to hear and interact with for a very long time. I had the pleasure of downloading this wonderful book onto my iPhone and letting my youngest daughter read it aloud from the back seat of the car while I was driving. It was soon confiscated by my 3 year old son who has perfected the finger swipe and turned the pages with ease. These apps are distinctive in that not only is there wonderful narration, but you can read the stories on your own or even record your own voice reading the story making sure you are never too far away from your children and can still read them their bedtime stories. With these apps, the stories come alive for the children who are turning the pages, touching the words and drawings, and hearing the readers voices.

Look at this adorable screenshot from The Velveteen Rabbit- 

I was also able to ask Mr. Richter some questions about Ruckus Media Group and these groundbreaking apps.

The press has been overwhelmingly positive for this venture. It seems to fill a niche that has not been satisfied with the standard book readers. What makes these apps unique?

What makes our apps unique is we are using top notch talent including authors, celebrities and illustrators and merging them with great content. Our orientation is to make each app the best we can make. People have figured that out in the way we have presented ourselves in our initial launch.

What devices are they are available for?

Right now they’re available for the iPad and iPod Touch, and they’ll be available for Android devices in the near future.

There is quite a roster of talent reading the books! Do you have a favorite voice and a favorite title that will be released?

It’s like picking a favorite among children. There are some wonderful performances and each stands on its own merit.

Do you have any plans to expand the library to include Middle grade and YA titles?

Yes, we absolutely do. The same kind of quality we bring to ages 3-10 now is what you can expect that we will bring to older children. We want to do it away in a way that forms a story. We have some exciting projects under contract that you’ll hear about soon.

While the apps are competitively priced at just $3.99 with free upgrades, will you also be considering any free apps (such as a “Lite” version with less interactivity) so that consumers can try the app before committing to purchasing?

Great question. Right now our free apps are on a promotional basis, rather than on a permanent basis, but we are looking for input from parents and viewers on that and are considering all our options.

Will you be expanding to offer companion licensed products that would complement the apps?

Its’ hard to know where this is all going, but we listen to our customers. We hope that they suggest directions and we’ll take their lead. Parents are valuable in providing direction.

These are the first five apps released by Ruckus Media Group:

To celebrate the launch of these wonderful tales, Ruckus Media Group has generously offered to giveaway ALL FIVE APPS to one Sensible Cents reader! So head on over there and enter to win!

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this post. I received one download of The Velveteen Rabbit to review. Ruckus Media Group is providing promo codes for the 5 apps listed in the post to be given away to one Sensible Cents reader.