One constant in any of our active activities is the value we place on safety. Whether it is wearing a helmet for lacrosse or skiing. Or wearing appropriate shoes for volleyball. Or getting enough sleep before a swim meet. We stay safe.

Underwriters Laboratories and Disney have a list of tips for summer safety — pool, water, and playground safety.

Keep your family safe by reading the following tips:

POOL SAFETY AT HOME
·    If you have a pool at home, install a fence. The fence should be at least four feet high and have a self-closing, self-latching gate that has a locking mechanism beyond a child’s reach.
·    Cut overhanging tree limbs and remove chairs or ladders from the pool area to prevent children from climbing over the fence that surrounds the pool.
·    Keep grates and drain covers in good repair and secured in place. Alert your family and guests to stay away from these devices, as the suction from drain outlets can be strong enough to cause entrapment of hair or body parts, which can potentially cause a person to drown.
·    Make sure you know infant and child CPR if you own a pool.

BE SAFETY SMART WHILE SWIMMING
·    Supervision is a must. Follow the 10/20 rule when you’re at the pool. The 10/20 rule states the supervising adult needs to position themselves to be able to scan the pool every 10 seconds, and reach the water within 20 seconds.
·    Always have rescue devices, such as UL-LISTED life preservers, nearby.
·    Flotation devices, toys and inflatable swimming aids are not safety devices. They are toys and can easily puncture and deflate.
·    Always drain wading pools after children are done playing. Infants can drown in just a few inches of water.
·    Have a telephone nearby and appropriate emergency numbers posted.
·    Remove all toys when you leave the pool. Toys may attract children to the unattended pool.Check out these guys…Timon and Puumba from the Lion King…in a video teaching kids how to stay safe while swimming during the summer, and all year long.

BEFORE INSTALLING A BACKYARD PLAY SET…
·    Make sure your backyard is large enough for playground equipment. The site must also provide good visibility and security. Before setting up equipment, look out for obstacles, such as the garage, tree branches, utility poles and wires.
·    Read and follow the manufacturer’s directions when setting up play set equipment. Be sure your child’s weight and age fall within the manufacturer’s recommended limits for the equipment.
·    Install protective surfacing, such as rubber tiles or mulch under the play set, at least six feed in all directions, to prevent serious injuries should a child fall.

BEFORE HEADING OUT TO PLAY…
·    Carefully inspect backyard playground equipment. Make sure equipment is anchored safely in the ground, all equipment pieces are in good working order, S-hooks are entirely closed and bolts are not protruding.
·    Check for spaces that could trap children, such as openings in guardrails or between ladder rungs. These spaces should measure less than 3.5 inches or more than 9 inches.
·    Always supervise children on play set equipment to make sure they are playing safely.
·    Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, pet leashes or cords of any kind to play set equipment. If used improperly, they can be potential strangulation hazards.
·    Watch for potential trip hazards, such as rocks, tree stumps and concrete footings. Make sure you’re children are aware of them as well.
·    Do a sandbox check. Before letting your child dig in, rake through the sand to check for debris or sharp objects. Also, inspect for any animal contamination or insect problems.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Underwriters Laboratories. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

The rest of the house has been painted. In fact all three children’s bedrooms have been painted 2 or 3 times!

My teen’s bedroom has gone from Winnie the Pooh to Princess to Tie Dye.

My preteen’s bedroom has changed from Winnie the Pooh to Marie the Cat from the Aristocats to purple with wall stickers.

My kid’s room was Winnie the Pooh and is now white with red trim featuring Fatheads from Maryland Terps and the Washington Redskins with a few Manchester United stickers thrown in to recognize our English heritage.

I have had 2 cans of blue paint outside my bathroom door for over a year…waiting for a time when I will have time to paint.

The master bedroom is in need of painting too. Don’t get me started on the hallway and landing with all the scratch marks from baby gates. There are also a hug number of scuffs from kids’ feet while in time out. Who decided to use the bottom of the stairs as the time out spot, anyway??

Stay tunes to see if I paint this summer…or not…

What question perplexes me most on forms and questionnaires? The question I find most difficult to answer is what major city do I live closest to?

As a child through my pre-children years, I would have had several answers:

• 0-4 years — Manchester, England
• 5-8 — New York City
• 9-10 — Manchester, England
• 11 — New York City
• 12-15 — Manchester, England
• 16-18 — Milan, Italy
• 19-22 — Philadelphia
• 23-29 — Washington, D.C.

Yes, my childhood was madness personified!

In 1994, my husband and I realized that our tiny townhouse in Montgomery Village was not big enough to accommodate all our stuff let alone a child! I was happily working in Gaithersburg while my husband commuted to Damascus. We were a stone’s throw from the Shady Grove Metro. I had commuted to DC for work each day before finding a job closer to home. I still took the Metro once or twice a week to George Washington University for graduate classes. Occasionally we would visit an art gallery or museum in D.C. In short, we were D.C. people.

In late 1993, we began our search for a new place to grow roots and hopefully start a family. We quickly realized that Montgomery County, MD, was out of the question. House prices were through the roof. We wanted to build our own home. My husband had this crazy notion that he wanted to buy land. He grew up on 3/4 of an acre, which meant he found our townhouse neighbors too close for comfort.

The quest for land took us to Frederick and Carroll counties. The drive out to both was daunting. We drove in nonrush hour times and on weekends. House after house failed to appeal to us. Some were too small…too expensive…too weird (we stumbled in to a community of senior citizen bungalow townhomes with roll-in showers and extra wide doorways)…too near to massive power lines (seriously, the powerline was where I envisioned having a play structure).

Our search was stalled. We were about to give up when my FIL showed us a listing for a new development in Howard county. The drive out to Howard sold us before we even go to the house. We saw not one car as we drove over the Montgomery county line. It was a ghost town — in a good way — that Sunday afternoon.

The neighborhood — a former farm that my FIL recalled playing at — was almost completely developed with only 5 or 6 lots left. Most of the lots had steep, treacherous driveways that would be nightmarish to mow. The last lot we looked at was perfect. Too close to the road for some, but flat enough for us to visualize our “kids” riding bikes down the completely flat driveway. Welcome to Baltimore, hon!

Through some finagling of finances we were able to swing the much higher home price and lot price. In June 1994 we were the proud owners of 3 acres and 1 new home…thankfully no mule…in Woodbine, MD!

Woodbine has changed over the years, but remains a safe place to live. Thanks to some draconian county laws, many of the farms are in historic preservation. I can’t tell you how relieved we were to find that the farm we can see through our kitchen window would remain a farm. Our neighborhood is bordered on 3 sides by county parkland and 1 side by a semi-working farm.

Which brings me back to the question of what city I live closest to. Howard County is in a no-man’s land. Not a part of the DC Metro Area and not a suburb of Baltimore City and County. I have done what anyone would do — I call both cities my own.

When I am in a DC frame of mind I recall visits to the International Spy Museum, reading the Washington Post, and almost meeting Guy Fieri. As a DC Mommy I go here to find out about events, things to do, and places to shop.

But, let’s not forget my Baltimore side. As a pseudo-Baltimorean, I recall fun times at Port Discovery, flying out of BWI, and inflating our Christmas decorations.

Sometimes I think about what it is like to live in Woodbine with my clutter woes and new-to-us holiday traditions.

Woodbine is not famous for anything. It is a cluster of homes and farms with parkland thrown in for good measure. Woodbine is split between two counties. We’re south of the railroad tracks in Howard County, while those north of the tracks are Carroll County.

Searching the brief entry on Wikipedia I know that…

• Woodbine is named after a plant that grows in fields and on riverbanks.
• Lisbon our neighboring town is home to the first traffic circle in Maryland. Lisbon now has two, woohoo!
• During the Civil War, Rebel cavalry crossed the Patapsco River at Woodbine scouting the Union Army that was on its way to the Battle of Gettysburg.

If you are passing through Woodbine, you might want to stop at Larriland Farms to pick some of the best fruit out there or go on a fall hayride, visit the horses that are nursed back to health at the Days End Horse Rescue Farm, or check out the Woodbine Facebook page.

I wrote this post as part of Blogtrotting. For more information about Blogtrotting, go here.

Do you own your own house and need to make it feel more like HOME? Casting married couples who want their home to reflect their lifestyle. If you want to add more style and comfort to your home and don’t know where to start, then this is the hit home show for you! Major cable home show is now casting
its 7th season and looking to help families tackle their domestic
challenges. Our expert chef, designer, and handyman will help you create easy living by sprucing up decor, tackling simple handyman projects, and creating quick, easy meals for the family! EMAIL your name, contact number, and picture to lacastingcall@live.com.

My house would be a complete disaster except for the junk drawer. The junk drawer in the kitchen is neat as a pin. Want a screwdriver? Take your pick in the junkdrawer. Batteries? D? AA? Gotcha covered. Those right-angly steel screwy things. What are they called? Wait a minute my husband just walked in to the room. Allen wrench! I have 35 Allen wrenches ready for a marathon session of assembling furniture.

The junk drawer is a masterpiece of organization. I often open the drawer when I am feeling particularly overwhelmed with the mess. In the junk drawer everything has a place. The rubberbands are in one section. The clips have a little corner, too.

I wondered about testing out the Rubbermaid drawer organization set. I was sent a set by Rubbermaid. My junk drawer is a calm sea in the turbulent waters of our messy house. Would the 6-Piece Set make that much difference?

The drawer set was an improvement over my existing organizer. The 6-piece drawer set I tested consisted of 6 separate drawers. Each drawer has a nonslip surface on the bottom of the drawers. The 6 drawers can be interlocked. The drawers can be arranged in different configurations as the sizes of each drawer section varies. I can fit the 6-drawer set and a tray of assorted batteries as well as a small container of highlighters. I was able to change the configuration a few times until I got it right.

Full disclosure: I love Rubbermaid. Rubbermaid is the type of company I love. To illustrate…I purchased two trashcans in 1990 as a newlywed new home owner. The trashcans were coddled at our townhome…kept in a closet in our tiny fenced in yard. Our trashcans had a rude awakening once we moved in to our new home in the country. Every trash day our trashcans would blow off the driveway and roll in the street. The wind was fierce. It was a new neighborhood with few trees. After 15 punishing years, the two Rubbermaid trashcans were lidless, handless, wheelless, and in the case of one trashcan bottomless. After a call to Rubbermaid customer service I received a check to buy two new trashcans. Now that is a company that values customer service.

Rubbermaid has graciously given me a 6-piece drawer set to give away to one lucky Musings from Me reader! Leave a comment for a chance to win the 6-piece drawer set. One comment = one entry. Enter now!

• Subscribe to this blog via reader. Leave a comment.
• Subscribe to this blog via e-mail. Leave a comment.
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect. Leave a comment.
• Follow me on twitter. Leave a comment.
• Fan my blog on Facebook. Leave a comment.

I was given a 6-drawer set from Rubbermaid. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends March 31, 2010, at 11:59 p.m.

Berf darts on my bathroom floor...note blue bath mat natch.

The title of this post says it all. After almost 20 years of marriage I still refer to the master bedroom as “my bedroom.” I chose the bedding color, the furniture (with input from the husband), and the wall art. What was my husband’s input? He insists on having a small TV with FIOS box in the bedroom — nonnegotiable. Don’t even ask!

The bedroom is not super girly as the bedding is blue — it is always blue. We have not painted the walls so the builder’s grade beige paint is in evidence…grimy handprints not withstanding.

The carpet…let’s not talk about the carpet shall we? Let’s not even look at the makeup stain from the time my 2-year-old drew a circle using eye liner while I was showering. And perhaps don’t look too closely at the doorway with the Amoxycillin stains from preschoolers who fight taking medicine with every fiber of their being. And the milk — who thought it was a good idea to let a baby walk around upstairs holding a bottle?

My — or rather our — bedroom has felt the brunt of 14 years of grime and grit from the Musings for Me family. I’m not exempt as all coffee stains are my fault.

The bedroom is also a laundry folding area or rather laundry dumping area to be more precise. The laundry hamper is always overflowing. A few years ago I purchased some inexpensive storage and shelving products from a catalog where all products cost $14.99. Let’s just say you get what you pay for…the laundry hamper is all I have left. Oh, and I purchased a small hamper thinking I would empty it more frequently. Uh, who am I trying to kid??

The master bedroom is screaming for a bedroom makeover. How would I decorate? For one, I would change the color scheme. The blue was our chosen color on our wedding registry at Woodies. I guess it was a color we could both agree on, but we need a change and so does “our” bedroom.

We have two largish windows with sheer curtains and valances. Functional but not elegant. 

The toys? Yep, we have a huge bag of stuffed animals piled up in the corner. Now why would I have toys in my bedroom? The toys were pulled out of the death grip of a teen who collects and hoards stuffed animals. I think she is breathing easier now that the dust- collecting creatures are out of her room. Of course, I think I may be a little wheezy…

Thanks to Twittermoms for the idea for this post!

As a new mom I was hyper concerned with safety. Danger lurked around every corner for my baby. I sterilized bottles and pacifiers. I kept medications out of reach. I safety-proofed the house top and bottom. I thought I was on top of everything until I saw a recall for blinds.

We had installed window treatments throughout the house with pull cords to raise and lower the blinds. This particular recall warned that pull strings that were one looped string were a strangulation hazard for babies and toddlers. I quickly snipped all our cords to make each pull string two separate strings. I had no idea that I had neglected the safety of my baby by not looking at the blinds.

In light of the recent news surrounding corded miniblinds, Blinds.com is educating parents all over the United States and Canada about child safety with window blinds. Blinds.com’s exclusive Cordless Top-Down Bottom-Up Cellular Shade is as safe as can be while helping you maintain privacy and light control. Your little one will sleep better due to its light-blocking properties. You’ll sleep better knowing your child is safe and sound.

Child Safety with window blinds is a very serious issue. Installing cordless blinds in rooms where children play and sleep is strongly recommended, and Blinds.com would like to help you do so.

Check the product out here and read the customer reviewss.

As a newish blogger, I read with interest all the posts about BlogHer and the other blogging conferences. The sessions. The networking. The swag. Not so much the fighting and bad behavior of some bloggers. But, everything about these conference sounded right up my alley, but then there was the sticky, shall-not-be-talked about issue of money. I’m earning a little. Now if we’re talking winning stuff — I’m on fire with that, but the earning of big $$? No, haven’t found the Midas touch yet. So, a blogging conference registration, air fare, hotel, and other expenses = way too expensive for me

Enter Kelby — my boss at TypeAMom. Kelby set up the inaugural TypeAMom Conference for mom bloggers, social influencers, marketing professionals, and guess who? Little old me! That’s right Kelby extended an invitation to the conference to TypeAMom editors. With conference registration squared away I was set except for the nagging travel and hotel costs. It’s always about money isn’t it?

I sent out a call for sponsorship to a few PR people and hoped for the best. The TypeAMom conference is my ticket to becoming a better blogger. Period. I needed to find a way to get to Asheville.

Enter Blinds.com. Blinds.com answered my call for sponsorship. I think I may have heard angels singing…or possibly I was up late again blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and I was tired. Anyway, Blinds.com is sending me to the TypeAMom Conference! I could not be more excited. I am thrilled to be representing Blinds.com at the TypeAMom Conference! 

You can connect with me at the conference by following me on twitter or by finding me at the conference. I’ll be the one wearing a lei and a Blinds.com t-shirt. Find me! I have coupons for $10 of Your First Blinds.com order!

My answer:  I’m a consigner. I might even call myself a master at consigning! After 4 years, I know what to consign, I know how to make sure that my items are accepted for consignment, and I know how to resubmit an item so that it is taken.

Clothes: I check all clothes for stains, tears. I place outfits on the corresponding hanger from the store showing size of clothing item. I even match up a Gap item with a Gap hanger showing the correct size. It helps to be a packrat with everything including hangers.

When I send my items to consignment, I will place my best item next to a second best item followed by another best item. I have noticed that a so-so item will be taken if placed next to a fabulous item.

Toys: I match up all the pieces of a toy or game. I place all loose
pieces in ziploc bags.

I replace batteries in toys, so that the consignment owner knows that the toy works.

Do you have a idea that has saved you time or helped you “mom” better? Leave a comment here or enter the challenge over here.