CPRMom

A while back I wrote a post about my new Road ID. As I begin training for this year's race season I made sure I had my Road ID and am doing my best to remember to where it. Why do I feel that I need to wear ID when I work out? If you follow the link in my previous blog post you'll read about the bicyclist who was found unresponsive on the side of the road, with no ID. No one knew who he was for at least a day. That was a wake up call for me. I walk pretty regularly. I'm not a runner, but I began competitive race walking last year. I enjoy it and it's good exercise. Yesterday I walked on a road I'm not normally on, but had time to kill while my van was being repaired. It's a road heavily traveled by very large trucks. What would have happened if the truck swerved into the shoulder? What would have happened if I tripped and fell when traffic was heavy? I don't carry my wallet or purse when I walk. My Road ID has my information and my husba

Bright shining decorations make the Holiday season colorful and festive. These same decorations can also be dangerous if they are damaged or used incorrectly. Before putting up electrical strings of lights check them for exposed and frayed wires or cracked light sockets . Replace any damaged wires with new UL approved light strings. Don't put up electrical light strings with nails or staples . Use clips or hooks that are designed for holiday decorations. Don't use indoor holiday light strings outdoors . Indoor light strings are not designed for outdoor use and may not hold up to the outdoor weather. Check the packaging or directions on light displays to see how many strings you can safely connect together. Some brands may have a limit on how many strings you can safely connect. Lastly if you are using outdoor electrical decorations make sure they are plugged into a properly installed outdoor outlet and any extension cords you are using are approved for outdoor use. For more inf

Halloween is only a few days away. Different towns have Trick or Treat on different nights. Irregardless if you have children out that night or not, we all need to exercise extra caution during Trick or Treat. If you're driving at dusk or later watch carefully for kids darting out between parked cars or crossing the road. While many costumes can be bright and colorful, some are dark and may not be reflective. It can be easy to get distracted looking at bright Halloween displays, but keep your eyes open for costumed kids near the roadway. Like most parents I’m finishing up my kids' costumes. When you look at your child's costume think about how it will look at night. If it is a dark color does it have any reflective striping on it to help them appear more visible at night? You can make your child's costume more visible by adding reflectivity - reflective tape is sold at most fabric, craft and pet supply stores. They can also wear glow sticks and carry a flashligh

One of the taglines I miss this time of year is "Change your clocks, change your batteries". Now that the change from daylight savings time has moved it doesn't coincide with Fire Prevention Week . This year we will return to Standard Time on November 1st. Fire Prevention week has just ended, but have you checked your smoke detector batteries? Have you tested your smoke detector? This is a good time to do so. In many parts of the U.S. and Canada the weather is really getting colder, we are turning on our heat or using our fireplace or wood fired stoves. A working smoke detector and working carbon monoxide detector are important to have. Unfortunately I know this first hand, we almost had a fire last winter. Fortunately I smelled the smoke, but discovered that we had malfunctioning smoke detectors in our basement. In my brief smoke detector research this morning I found this neat website will all sorts of Fire Facts, in fact it is www.firefacts.org . The site h

This morning my husband was showing me a brochure and a video of a new table saw. He's a Firefighter and has been slowly renovating our house. So when he saw a video of a safer table saw at our local woodworking store yesterday he was really excited about it. We've all heard the sad and horrible stories of accidents involving power tools, especially saws. However this company has patented a new technology that stops and retracts the blade when it senses skin. I have no idea how this works, but I understand the general principal and I think it is amazing. Disclaimer - I do not have this saw and I have not personally seen this saw. I am expressing my opinion solely on the brochure and video on their website . However if the folks at SawStop, www.sawstop.com, want to lend us one to review my husband would be thrilled and I'd be excited to see some movement on our home improvement projects. The website states: SawStop saws detect contact with skin . The blade carries a s

While I was planning on blogging exclusively on nutrition this month I thought I'd share our little emergency today. The interesting picture is what Laerdal Little Anne mannequin bags look like after they've melted from extreme heat. Yup, we almost set the house on fire today. Not a proud thing for a CPR & First Aid Instructor to admit. While picking up the basement I put the bags on top of my pellet stove so the kids could ride their tricycles in the basement. The stove was off, was cool to the touch and the burn chamber was empty because I had cleaned just a little while beforehand. When the kids started fighting over toys I took my youngest upstairs for snack leaving my 3 year old playing downstairs. I never would have imagined that he would open the little door on the side and turn up the thermostat on the pellet stove. He turned it up high enough that it loaded pellets and ignited. I smelled the burning plastic and found him hiding in the basement. The basement