a blog for women… I'm just sayin'

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Medical Guardian. All opinions are 100% mine.

The National Safety Council states, “Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among older adults 73 and older and the second leading cause of death from ages 60-72.” Clear cut statement, I’m just sayin”.

Medical Alert systems provide 24/7 Round The Clock UL approved live emergency response monitoring. I am certain you have heard all the tag lines and jokes surrounding them. Trust me this is no joking matter.

My mother in law fell in July 2008.  Being elderly, heavy, and ailing, she lay on the floor with her dog at her side in excess of 12 hours. Her son arrived to find his mother in shock, shaking violently on the living room carpet. Understand, she did not live alone even though she thought she was able. Mom was to be alone for just that evening.  Needing a drink of water late at night, she walked through the dimly lit living room and tripped over her own shoes.

Later we found, in addition to shock and a blood sugar higher than the hospital meter could read, she had broken her hip. Mom was hospitalized for three months. The surgeon warned 73% of the people who fall and break a hip do not live a full year. I found this nearly unbelievable. Unfortunately, it turned out to be true. My mother in law passed away one year later almost to the day.

Do not think this could never happen to your family. It can. Do you remember the old saying hindsight is 20-20? In hindsight, which does not make the outcome any easier, I remember briefly discussing a medical alert system with my mother in law. She protested, using the defense her daughter lived with her and worked nights while she was sleeping. Her position was that our suggestion was ridiculous. She laughed, we dismissed the idea.  Given the same opportunity, you should not dismiss it. Hindsight does not relieve guilt or sadness! Medical Guardian alert buttons provide protection for loved ones, help to maintain independent living, and most importantly, save lives.

When I learned Twittermoms was teaming up with Airwear to find out how moms ensure a healthy, safe, and successful school year for their kids, I had to answer the blog call. A child’s vision is close to my heart; you see my youngest son wore glasses from the age of fifteen months. I cant tell you how important safe, durable lenses are for children, especially those who like to play sports and those who push their lenses to the limit, like Red!  Of course, Airwear offers all of the above and then some. OK, back to my story…

I remember it like it was yesterday. My cousin Anna went along with us to the ophthalmologist appointment for moral support. Finding that my son’s vision was estimated at 20/200 at best was incredibly upsetting. The child really could not see much of anything from one eye! Outside both Anna and I cried while Red looked at us rather puzzled.

The day Red put on his first pair of glasses was even more unforgettable. The nurse tried to fit the glasses but had no luck, Red was squirming like crazy. I pointed to the flowers across the street and told him to try looking at them through HIS NEW glasses. Aaahhh that phrase worked well. The expression on his face was as though a light finally shone in on the darkness! His eyes were big and his smile wide. That night when I tried to take them off he resisted immensely. It took quite some time to convince him they would be waiting for him in the morning.

Having two grown son’s hubby and I learned (through good and bad experiences) how to ensure a health, safety, and successful school year. These are the ten most important things hubby and I incorporated into the boys’ school years.

1. Physicals – I always made it a point for the boys to have their physicals just prior to the start of school. This included vision and hearing exams too. It is truly amazing how bad vision can have an extremely negative effect on early learning skills.My youngest son struggled when he was in the lower grades due to his poor vision, even while wearing his glasses. It required great energy and concentration for him to focus all day long. After speaking with his teacher, she decided to administer his afternoon testing orally. The combination of being so young and having bad vision had a direct effect on his tests. By not having to read and write the answers, the results were greatly improved.
2. Open house - I always attended open house with the boys. Parents and children both need to be informed and know what to expect. This is vital to a successful school year.
3. Breakfast - I insisted the boys eat a good breakfast regardless of the circumstances. They were taught and frequently reminded that breakfast was the most important meal. My analogy (when they were young) was they needed food in their body just as a car needs gas. Cereal, hot or cold, along with juice or milk was the typical breakfast. I had yogurt, granola bars, and fresh fruit on hand as well and did give them a choice. My youngest liked veggies or leftovers for breakfast when he got older which was AOK with me. The boys love to eat anyway so breakfast was really no problem. In fact they never missed breakfast even when they entered high school and had to fix it themselves.
4. Standard bed times – Rest is an import aspect of life, period. Regular bed times, and rising times for that matter, offer a stable routine as well as allowing the body time to recoup. Additionally, the kids know what to expect, get the rest they need, and gives Mom some quiet time too.  Hubby and I would read or tell stories at bedtime when the boys were young. This really built confidence and strong relationships with our kids.
5. Dinner time – Dinner time is family time. I prepared dinner 6 out of 7 nights. There is nothing more rewarding than sharing your day with your family and having them do the same. Yes, there were times when sports or other activities interrupted dinner however, most of the time we sat down and ate together. The boys are grown now and have told me they looked forward to our dinner time as well.
6. Volunteering – My husband and I always volunteered at school. Whether it be sports, dances, or carnivals one of us always supported what our boys were involved in at school. This really helped build their confidence and self esteem.
7. Transportation – Making a plan in advance and sharing it with your kids will relieve a great amount of stress, especially if you have children in different schools with different times. Know bus drop off and pick schedules, bus stops, or car pool parents along with phone numbers. Write down the information and be sure your children have access to the information in the event you are not available!
8. Washing hands – A parent can not stress enough to the children that hands carry germs. Talk to your kids about appropriate ways to interact with others along with how germs are transmitted. Pack a hand sanitizer or wipes in the back pack or lunch box.
9. Back to School Tradition – We had a back to school shopping tradition. Every year after the supply lists were published we would set a time for school supply shopping. The boys and I would shop for supplies and afterward stop for pizza or a burger. They looked forward to it every year.
10. Back Packs – Be aware of what your children will have to carry on a daily basis before buying a book bag or back pack. Both of my boys carried almost all of their books once they reached middle school. What a load to carry all day long! Consider a rolling bag if this is your child’s situation, they will be thankful you did at the end of the day.

My hope is that hubby and my parental experiences will give you some ideas to ensure your kids have a healthy, safe, and successful school year.

Before I close, this is one more exciting excerpt from twittermoms I’d like to share – “Airwear and your fellow TwitterMom, Beth Aldrich, are sponsoring an essay contest for consumers, encouraging parents and care-givers to share how they plan to help their kids live a healthy, safe and successful school year. Families can submit their thoughts by visiting LighterSaferGreener.com. One grand prize winner will be awarded $1,000, while 10 first prize winners will receive vouchers for Airwear lenses valued up to $400.”

And the legal stuff: “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Airwear blogging program, making me eligible to get a $25 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, visit http://airwear.twittermoms.com/about. “

Rambo Alert – TwitterMoms – Glue Dots Oh My!! I was so excited to be a part of the Glue Dots Summer Craft event!

The Glue Dots Project immediately brought to mind my niece Erika. There is a story behind my excitement so please indulge me, as a share my parenting story first.

You see I have a wonderful, loving niece who as a teen, had a passion for scrap booking and crafts. We spent many nights scrap booking together. Today,  Erika loves to do crafts with her three year old baby girl. Of course that makes Lulu, as well call her, my great niece. I am so pleased with and darn proud of my niece; she is a wonderful mom and has a beautiful, well behaved, and charismatic daughter. No one in the family would have ever imagined her life would turn out this way. You see, my niece was one of those unruly teens and I was the wicked aunt who took up the challenge of taming her. She lived with our family for some time, and after moving out continued working in our office until she graduated from high school. With due diligence we kept her close, rallied for family support, and expelled more love than could be imagined. My niece went on to married a fine man, further her bookkeeping skills, and give us precious  Lulu!

When I told Erika about the Glue Dots Summer Bonding Project she was excited too! “Another project for Lulu and I, oh yeah we can do that!” Without further delay I would like to share with you Erika’s quick and inexpensive Glue Dots Summer Bonding project, suitable for boys and girls alike. These cute canisters serve an abundance of purposes, including a lovely way to store just about anything, fun and economical project to create with kids, and a great way to recycle cans, jars, or boxes.

Materials:

glue dots (craft size)

crystal light can

12×12 scrap book paper (on hand)

green ribbon (on hand)

buttons (on hand)

Assembly

Clean a crystal light canister (or any can you have lying around) dry well

Cut paper to size of can

Using the Go dispenser, roll glue dots along the edge of the paper.

Apply Glue Dots to container and continue to do so every 2 inches.

Be sure to use glue dots along the paper crease.

Apply ribbon to cover paper crease.

On the opposite side of ribbon use one glue dot to hold ribbon in place, wrap around the can and tie.

Decorate as desired based on use or by theme

The buttons and foam letters spelling out “buttons” were attached with one glue dot each.

Try using an empty Grated Parmesan Cheese Canister to use as a Ribbon Dispenser!

Erika authors  Deals I have Received, sharing coupons, matching deals, and frugal tips.

Glue Dots Go Dispenser is quite convenient for younger children to roll onto paper. The glue dots have great substance and the adhesive is very durable. The spacing of Glue Dots make placement easy and consistent.

I would like to thank Glue Dots and Twittermoms for this opportunity. I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here for Twittermoms or visit Glue Dots Facebook fan page.

The great majority of older adults would prefer to live out their days in their own home. This is also known as aging in place. The key to successful aging in place is making the home safe and obtaining the right support before a health crisis or other emergency strikes. Often times this is not an option, leaving parents to rely on their children. This is our current situation.

The hardest part of this situation was convincing Dad he needed help. That task took us more than one year. The continued increase in the cost of living was the deciding factor for him. I found this rather unbelievable. To us, my siblings and my family, the most important factor was his ability to care for himself and his ever growing loneliness, neither of which he admitted to. At any rate, he finally moved in last week. The first step we took was to prepare in advance, a safe room that would feel like home.

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Are you a Mom of all boys? If your answer is yes, you have to check out the interview with author Sharon O’Donnell! My boys are grown now however, had her book been published while I was raising them, I would have bought it in an instant! This is too real and very funny!

To give you some insight, this is an excerpt from the front page of her website, momsofboys.org: “Lost in a world of bathroom humor, sports, and Mt. Everest-sized piles of laundry, moms often lose their identity as a woman and their sanity as a human being. Moms of Boys have long forgotten what it’s like to go to a ‘girls’ movie or to the theatre or ballet or to have time to paint their toenails or even shave their legs.”

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