Watch the Water!

May is National Water Safety Month!  Every year I preach about pool safety and even talk about our pool incident a couple years ago and what we are doing to make sure that never happens again!  In the last three days three toddlers in Orange County have fallen victim to their parent’s lack of pool protection, two of them are currently hospitalized (condition unknown) and one died last night.  This is absolutely ridiculous, what is it going to take for parents of young children to figure out that pools are a death trap if you do not have barriers in place?  Each and every one of these incidents was preventable but yet is still happening.  Time to wake up people and ditch the “it will never happen to us attitude” because eventually it will.  

Kids at Play!

Funny Story:  Never in my life did I think I would be buying one of these…

But the parents live on a cul-de-sac and the kiddo’s love to ride their bikes and play in the street and the time has come that four of the six kiddo’s are on wheels and we can no longer keep track of them all at the same time.  So I had mentioned to Super Mom that we needed a giant green turtle to alert the drivers that there are kids playing in the street.  Everyone agreed since our trusty orange Home Depot bucket in the middle of the road did not really scream “slow down, kids at play”.  Afterwards no one really said who would buy the thing, the parents are always so generous towards the kids that I did not think they needed to purchase the sign so it was kinda up in the air.  Fast forward to yesterday I was lounging on the couch and I saw my neighbors pull theirs out so I hopped on Amazon and bought one in under 6 seconds including the quick Craigslist search for a cheaper one.  In the matter of two clicks I now had a giant green turtle on its way to my house via FREE shipping within the next couple days.  Later yesterday afternoon I headed to the parents house for dinner and mention to my Mom that I bought one of those green turtle things and she laughs and says she bought one too.  Turns out she logged onto Amazon and bought one just hours before me.  I was going to cancel my order but before I could I got an email saying my order has been shipped, doh!  We are now the proud owners of two green turtles and our kiddo’s will be extra safe.  You should have seen the eye roll from Super Dad and the thought going through his head that his garage will never be free of baby/kid stuff as long as he lives.  HA HA!

What a GREAT Year - The Best of 2014!

Another year has come and gone at lightening speed as I look back at the blog some months are sparse with updates, others are full, but all in all we have had a great year and I am so glad I have this silly spot on the world wide web to look back and remember it all.

Last December we spent Christmas in Hawaii, that was awesome, I love Hawaii, I am ready to move there.

January was not nearly as relaxing, Super Dad had major surgery, it was over 6 hours long and there was a period of time were we did not receive any updates which just made your mind wander to a dark place.  Thankfully his surgery went well and we got the results we wanted but the road to recovery was tough the first 16 days.  The Sheriff and I took the kids (Mari, Cole & Mr. Pie) to Knott's Berry Farm, that was a lot of fun and we are looking forward to taking them again next month.

In February Facebook sent me a little reminder of how great my life is, I still watch the video that was created and get a little teary eyed.  Mari had seven missing or loose teeth, Caroline turned three and Grampy was on the road to recovery apparently hula hooping was part of his treatment plan.

March was pretty uneventful, the Sheriff made the local news during the one storm of the year, we went to the Fred Hall Fishing Show, paddling season started and those damn girl scouts started selling cookies again!

April came and went, we celebrated the Sheriff's birthday, I made an amazing banana cake for him.

May was busy mainly because we NEVER stop!  We went to an Angels game with some friend from Mr. Pie's school, we visited the Irvine Regional Park for a little research project for a school project for Mr. Pie and of course there was paddling involved.  May is also National Water Safety Month and we were remind how quickly things can go from from to really scary in a matter of seconds.

June the blog saw a little more action!  We celebrated National Doughnut Day, Father's Day and National Get Outdoors Day.  Mr. Pie and I made a list of all of the activities we wanted to do this summer, we swam at G&G's house, went to another Angel game and got to hang with some of the cousins for an afternoon.

July was a probably one of the best July's I have had in a long time.  I celebrated the 4th of July with my DOCC friends and participated in the annual "water wars", went wine tasting with some of the Sheriff's cousins, we went to the Mid State Fair, watched Zac Brown Band perform, visited Ostrichland, Mr. Pie tried his hand at Mutton Bustin, we stayed at a very shady no tell motel, visited several community centers and I won $50 as part of the National Parks and Recreation Month for a picture I submitted on instagram.

August saw the least amount of blog posts, but it was because we were out living life!  My friend Summir was in town, we had a beach date and a dinner date while she was here, I miss her!  We spent some more time in G&G's pool and then we surprised Mr. Pie with a trip to Hawaii!  He was shocked, he had a blast and WE will always remember it.

September, the month of doom (my birthday month)!  I paddled in Hawaii, I paddled my way to Catalina with DOCC, Kathy, Shannon and I celebrated our birthday's and the biggest and best surprise was announced on September 8th, Ryan and Shannon found out they are expecting TWINS.

October we gathered the kids together again and took them to the Haunted Trails in Laguna Niguel and celebrated Super Mom's birthday.

November we shared the news that Ryan and Shannon are having two chicks!  We went to the Wild Animal Park, the Sheriff and I celebrated two years of dating, Super Dad had a birthday and my DOCC gal pals celebrated the upcoming birth of a sweet baby boy and his mama Jackie.  And the hardest part was knowing our two chicks were struggling in utero.

December, the Sheriff has puppy fever BAD, I have ring and baby fever BAD, all three will happen eventually but the ball is in the Sheriff's court.  I actually do not want to talk about puppies, rings or babies anymore, it was fun for a minute but now it is just frustrating so I am going to take a break from it (please do me a favor and join me in this break).  The two chicks got a good report at the their last Doctor appointment, so the stress and worry has subsided a little for now, we continue to pray for two healthy baby girls and for them to stay put until at least the end of January.

It has been an amazing year, after looking back at the blog to write this recap I am reminded of how much we have to be thankful for and all of the good times, great friends and wonderful family members we have.  Here is to a great 2014 and the welcoming of what is to come in 2015.  

Winding down from the Weekend!

It is October 5, and there is no sign of Fall here, it was 95 degrees all weekend and more heat is expected this week, at this rate we are all going to be using cactus as Christmas trees this year, ugh.  In an effort to stay cool the Sheriff and Mr. Pie met me down at Baby Beach yesterday after my paddling practice and we finally took out the OC-2 and OC-1 all together and enjoyed a couple hours of "family" paddling.  Mr. Pie has a tendency to freeload when he is on the OC-2, so we put him on the OC-1 where there was no one but himself to paddle the canoe.  Mr. Pie did great the entire time, we ran into a lot of friends out on the water and they were all very impressed to see him out there by himself.  It was nice to paddle with the Sheriff on the OC-2, I wish our schedules would allow it where we could practice and race together during the winter series but that is the life of a single Dad, his kiddo and his girlfriend.  

Yesterday afternoon, I go this text message from Shannon…..

Our family has strong water safety values and does not support the arm floatie industry at all, apparently we have made quite an impression on little Caroline and at the age of 3 she recognizes the danger as well.  Good job!

Today the Sheriff had to work, so I stayed home and finally got to a few things that have been neglected for months around the house.  I had a HUGE pile of random stuff growing on my kitchen counter, my kitchen cupboards were a hot mess, the laundry has been out of control and the frig needed some serious attention.  I spent the morning purging, I seriously had 7 frying pans, who the heck needs 7 frying pans, especially this girl that hardly cooks?  I threw away all of my plastic ware, I hate that stuff, it is a crazy mess, so to the garbage it all went, bye bye.  I also tackled the frig, something in there was stinking things up, so it all went to the garbage.  5 bags of junk later I have a clean counter, organized cupboards and a empty frig, it is wonderful.  After 6 loads of laundry I have declared victory in that department as well and lets not forget I have clean floors.  This is what happens when you paddle ALL OF THE TIME, your house goes to pot.  

I sent this picture to the Sheriff, I told him he was lucky he was at work cause who knows what projects I would have tasked him with. 

While I was at it, I decided to do a little Halloween decorating, this is about as festive as it gets around here.  

Oh and I finally got my Skinnytaste cookbook (thank you M O M), hopefully I will find some healthy dinner recipes's for us that do not require more than one frying pan since I got rid of the six other ones, lol.  

Now it is time for some more Scandal, goodnight. 

It almost happened to us - A tale of a very close call!

May is National Water Safety Month.  Year after year I preach about how people need to watch their kids in the pool, how dangerous water wings are and pool fences are a must.   Well, after all of that preaching let’s just say that pool tragedy almost happened to us.  A few days after Caroline’s 3^rd birthday, Ryan and Shannon had a little family party for her at the parent’s house, Cole was sick, so the only kids in attendance were Mari, Mr. Pie and Caroline.  The kids were having a great time in the backyard running around, playing with the dog, etc. as all of the adults were sitting in the house chit chatting just a few feet away from them but just out of our line of sight.  As we adults sat back and laughed I caught Mari out of the corner of my eye running on the pool deck, I freaked out, jumped up and ran outside only to find all three kids playing on the pool deck inches from the pool.  Freaked out I yelled at them to get out of there and proceeded to lecture them about how kids are not allowed to open the gate and play on the pool deck.  Years ago (when Mari was baby) I caught Cole dragging a step stool over to the gate and attempting to pull the top knob up to open the gate and at that moment we made a rule that children are not allowed to open the gate and to this day Cole still asks before opening it when swimming.   Mr. Pie was the one who opened it, it was not his fault we never told him the rule and the natural curiosity of water probably drove him to do it and Mari and Caroline followed him in there.  Now the good news is no one fell in and all three children know how to swim, even little Caroline who has been taking swim lessons for two + years.   The bad news is that all of the adults were just a few feet away and had no idea what was going on, all we knew was the kids were playing together and there was a fence around the pool so no need to worry, right?  WRONG.  There is a lock and key on the gate that we were not using assuming that the kids knew the rules and we did not need to lock it.  The fence and gate are only good enough when used properly with all of the safety features.  The what-if’s still haunt me.  What if Caroline did not know how to swim and she fell in, would we hear her or would the other kids come and get us?  What if there were other kids there that were just friends and we did not know their swimming abilities and one of them fell in?  What if there were younger siblings of Caroline or Mr. Pie that were just learning to walk and we thought they were safe playing with the older kids.  Seriously, the what-if’s that night made me crazy and two months later I still feel the panic and anxiety I did that day when I think of what could have happened.  Ever since that day every time the kids come over the gate is locked and the key put in a spot that even I do not know where it is located, in a sense I am glad this happened, it made all of us more aware of how accidents can happen in a blink of an eye.  We were lucky that is was just a “close call”, but the next time we might not be so lucky and for another family this just might be their tragedy.  Now that the weather is getting warmer it is time to brush up on your CPR skills and take a refresher course; Ryan, Shannon, the Sheriff and I are lucky that our employers pay for and provide this for us each year, but not everyone is so lucky.  Please please please watch your kiddo’s and make sure the gate is locked, closed is not good enough as we found out. 

Probably one of my all time favorite photo's of this girl.

Don't you just want to jump in with them?  

Please share this post with your friends, you just might save a life.

www.nationalwatersafetymonth.org

www.redcross.org

Children Drown without a Sound - A Harsh Reminder!

This is my yearly rant, yes it is a little late this year but yet it is a necessary one and I will rant on until the end of time if I need too.  This past 4th of July I am sure the majority of you were out celebrating poolside and enjoying the great weather, I know I sure was, I never miss an opportunity too be out by the pool. Well, there was a family in RSM that was enjoying a day at the Beach Club (an awesome fake beach/pool that is tons of fun for families) and within an instance tragedy hit their family; their 3 year old son drowned.  I know kids are quick and they can get away from you in a blink of an eye, but this was such a preventable accident and it makes me crazy that it happened once again.  So once again I am preaching the ABC's of swimming......

A - Adult supervision, this is a must.  Never take your eyes off of your child until you have communicated to another adult that they are now in-charge of watching the child.

B- Barriers!  Fences, nets, whatever you choose, use them!

C- Classes!  CPR, First Aid & Swimming lessons, sign-up today.  Everyone in your family should know how to swim and be well educated in how to handle an emergency.  I am guessing it was no coincidence that our CPR class filled up today after such a bad thing happened down the road from us.

You can read about the accident here and just remember.... 

SAY NO TO ARM FLOATIES!

They are dangerous and should never replace adult supervision.  The provide a false sense of security for both parents and children.  If you have to use a flotation device make sure it is Coast Guard approved. 

Sweet little Caroline is only 2 years old, but has been in survival swim lessons for over a year!

Barriers!! Say "yes" to a fence around your pool!

Gracie's first swim lesson, even the dog had to be taught how to get out of the pool safely.

Cole at 4 months, never to young to start!

What would we do if we lost one of these sweet kids to a drowning?  

Life would NOT go on!

Please feel free to share this blog post with all of your people!!

Have a safe summer!

Sparky!

I LOVE this.....

The Little's

I have been busy posting what I have been up too and there has been very little mention of what my three favorite little's have been up too!  Cole was seen here on Saturday night......

Cole & Zac last Saturday night at the Clippers game!

What the heck, how does a 7 year old and his buddy score almost front row tickets?  Can you say JEALOUS? I must be hanging with the wrong crowd!

Caroline had her first survival swim test and she passed with flying colors!

And Mari, I have no idea what Mari is up too, probably just being Mari, the sweetest girl in town!

Tipsy Tow is the way to GO!

Happy New Year's Eve!  While I am working hard and freezing to death the majority of you will be out partying like the rockstars you should of been, so as always just a friendly reminder that AAA will be offering their towing services for free again this year!  Please Please Please use their services if you have been drinking, there is no good reason to drive home drunk!

Midweek Maddness

Yesterday at work a little old lady closed her arm in her car door and got a nasty cut on her arm, she got really upset and felt light headed so naturally we called in reinforcement from Station 45.  My my has the staffing level changed a bit, looks life they got some young good looking blood running through there instead of the old guys, no complaints from me!  Looks like our victim did not mind either as she pranced around with one on each arm after they fixed her up, I hate her!!!  I was so ready to fake an injury, so I could have one on each arm as well, never in a million years would I thought I would ever be jealous of an old woman, so not fair.  

They were holding hands just seconds before (that should be me)!

Look, she is totally grabbing his arm and checking out his muscles (that should be me again)!

Then she went after Cody, total cougar!

I needed to add a hole to my belt, I used these tools to get it done........

And the funniest thing of all was this noticed posted on my door, looks like they really do listen to customer feedback and they do not want to be slapped with a $25 doggie daycare bill, read bullet point #4.  Yep, they showed up unannounced last week and I could not leave Gracie at home cause she would bark all day, so I took her to camp and then informed Pilot Painting (see nothing good ever come from a Pilot) that they owed me $25 for doggie daycare since they gave me no warning they were coming and I cannot get another barking dog letter.  After some haggling, I told them they could paint my front gate for me and we would call it even, they agreed and all ended well!  Well, I came home to this and it appears as if Gracie can bark her little head off all day Thursday and all day Friday and we cannot get in trouble, AWESOME!  But really, they HOA needs to pick the final color, cause I am sick of moving all of my crap so my unit can be the test unit, hmmmm, I wonder if somehow I can negotiate the moving of all my stuff somehow?

That's it for now, happy Wednesday!

Thoughts for Thursday!

-Three more practices till we paddle to Catalina, omg!  I am not as nervous about it as I was the other day, man I had a momentary freak out.

-The produce fairy (aka Mom) stopped by my house with a bag full of homegrown tomato’s, boy were they good!  However, I do not recommend eating three of them in one sitting on an empty stomach, I’m Just Saying!

-I am still thinking of more things to add to my birthday wish list, so far I have come up with sewing lessons and maybe something cute from this etsy shop.

-It has been at least ninety freakin three degree’s every day this week in RSM and nothing says cooling off when you leave work at 8pm and is still 85 degrees outside.  One only knows that when you get home it is about that same temp inside my house, let’s just say if there were burglars in AV they would have a field day at my house with all of the open windows and unlocked doors.  Thankfully, I have my K-9 security system that will bark at all hours of the night protecting me from scary intruders, you don’t want to mess with the GRACE, she will bite ya!  BTW, I don’t think burglars read blogs by blonde girls, at least that is what I tell myself, so I am not worried about possible break-ins after I announce my lack of locked up doors on the world wide web! 

Proof it is HOT!

-My name made it into the OC Register today, if only they could get the facts right and not make me sound like an idiot things would be great!

-Did you know that you can mail objects weighing 13oz. or less in the mail without a box?  All you have to do is address it, put a stamp on it and send it.  So if you wanted to mail a friend or a niece/nephew an easter egg  or a beach ball you totally could!   I have a feeling in the near future my mailman or women  might start to hate me! Don't believe me, go here!

                     

-This just pisses me off, seriously people, there is no need for anymore children to drown!  Watch you kids, teach them how to swim, lock doors and put a fence around the pool.  Children drown without a sound! 

-I think I walked through every spider web in AV this morning, errr, its like the spiders spin their webs just waiting for me, I sure as heck hope they don't get me like they did last year.  Dang, 20+ bites and on my way to a staph infection, no bueno! 

-I got a great haircut last week, however no one would no, I have dried my hair once since I got it cut, the rest of the time is has been up, I can't wait for it to cool down so I can use my hair dryer.  

-We are short staffed on Thursdays now that the Rec Leaders have gone back to school, so it is all me tonight after 5:30pm (partay!), they guys thought it was funny to put my name on the work duty sheet for tonight, I did not laugh!  Let's just say the moment Zumba is over, I am kicking them out and going home, gosh I sure hope I remember to lock all of the doors.  

-I got to sleep in this morning and I start work at 10am, one would think with the extra time this morning I would not be late to work, ya, I think I am still going to be a few mins late, oops!

-And.......I am sure looking forward to tomorrow!  It is my Friday off/pay day and I cannot wait! 

Happy Thursday!

Hope you enjoyed my mindless rambling today!

I have got something to say!

Welcome to my yearly rant!  I feel it is important so I do it on a yearly basis just to remind all of my faithful readers of what I feel they should know.   Yesterday was the first day of summer (woo hoo) and the weather is nice, so that means we are all headed outside to enjoy the sunshine and summer time.  All of the sunshine and summertimeness usually brings us to the pool, so I am going to say it again……..

“WATCH YOUR KIDS!”

“Say NO to ARM FLOATIES”

“WATCH YOUR KIDS!”

“Say NO to ARM FLOATIES”

Parents put arm floaties on their kids cause they think they are protecting them, do you really think two little plastics things are going to keep them safe, what happens if one of them pops or slips off and you are not paying attention?  How about a watchful eye, never turning your back on your child and holding them when in the water?  Ya, that sounds a lot better!

OMG, it makes me crazy going to my pool with kids there and irresponsible parents, last summer I pulled a 2 year old child out of the spa because the Mom was too busy talking to a friend to notice that her child was under water, ya, I yelled at the Mom, made her feel like a complete idiot in front of her friends and walked out.  True story!

This week I have heard of two near drownings in Irvine and one that has left a 1 year old baby in very critical condition in Coto de Caza, and to think it all could have been prevented.

So here are some safety tips…..

       -Never leave a child alone in the pool area to answer the phone or do some other errand. If you must leave the pool, take your child with you and remember to lock the gate. Keep your eyes on your child at all times.

       -All children should learn to swim especially if you live near water or have access to a pool. Your local YMCA or Red Cross offers swimming classes.

       -Do not depend upon personal flotation devices such as "water wings" or toys to protect your child. These devices can lose air or slip out underneath the child. You should not depend upon the fact that your child has had swimming lessons. Kids panic and forget necessary training.

       -Limited access to a pool is mandatory in many states. A four to five foot fence with a locked gate surrounding the pool may be required. Even when not bound by law, if you have a pool, you should install a fence and gate.

       -A door or gate alarm can be lifesaving. This adds another layer of protection.

       -Never dive into a pool that is not at least 9 feet deep. A serious head or neck injury could occur if you should strike the bottom.

-Keep toys especially those with wheels away from the pool as it is too easy to drive a tricycle over the edge of a pool.

       -Learn CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) and post CPR instructions near the pool.

       -Keep rescue equipment such as a pole, rope, or flotation device near the pool.

       -Have a phone with emergency numbers posted near the pool.

A just because I can, here is a picture of my latest swimmer boy, I know his mama won’t EVER put floaties on him, that is if she wants to remain friends with me!

We start lessons tomorrow morning!

And since I am on my safety throne, this is not acceptable either……

This was all over the internet a couple weeks ago and they interviewed the Mom and posted her lame ass excuses, really you buckeled the gas can in the carseat not the child?

And, please please do not leave your children or pets in the car alone EVER!!!!!!  It gets really hot really quick and can be fatal, but yet so preventable!

Thank You, I have now gotten off of my throne!

Happy Safe Summer Everyone, my rants come straight from the heart, I love you guys!

Take Note!

Such an amazing video, looks like this mama dog has better parenting skills that a lot of human parents who take their children to the pool. All human parents should take note from this dog on how important it is to watch your kids when near swimming pools or any body of water for that matter.

Look at the cute picture of Gracie and her first swim lesson......

Ahh, the horror of some of the puppy memories, good thing there were cute ones like this!

Just a Reminder & some FUN too!

My annual public service announcement and reminder from the Auto Club......

Tipsy Tow Service is Available

Statistics show that traffic-related fatalities increase significantly around the holidays. As such, the Auto Club sponsors a complimentary Tipsy Tow service on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, which offers free rides to drivers who have been drinking. Avoid becoming a statistic and help guests stay safe by following these tips:

• Ensure all guests have a ride to and from their destination in a car driven by a non-drinking designated driver
• Plan activities that take the focus away from drinking, and make non-alcoholic beverages readily available
• Serve high-protein snacks to slow down alcohol absorption
• Stop serving alcohol at least 90 minutes before a party ends, and serve guests coffee or dessert
• Take car keys from intoxicated guests who plan to drive home

Tipsy Tow service provides a complimentary ride and vehicle tow up to seven miles from the point of pickup to drivers who have consumed alcohol on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. Tipsy Tow service is available to members and non-members. Ask for a Tipsy Tow by calling....

1-800-400-4222

And if you are looking for a fun safe event for your kiddo's, the City of Rancho Santa Margarita is putting on their 11th Annual Celebrating Family & Friends New Year's Eve Event tonight from 5-9 pm at the Bell Tower Regional Community Center.  The FREE Magic Show starts at 5pm along with games, bouncies, crafts, etc. for $5 per child.  Hope to see you there! Oh, and if you love the event, it was all my doing and if you hate it you can blame my boss! 

Happy New Year Everyone!!! 

Just Cruising!

Every bike needs one of these....

and every bike rider needs one of these....

I swear my dork level just went up 1000% when I put this thing on!!!  Oh well, here is to happy riding and a protected head (still wondering if $34.99 was too much to spend on protecting the contents in my head?).