Fire Departments Seek Community Support for Ed. Programs

Fire Departments Seek Community Support for Ed. Programs

By: Chief Michael O’Brian, Brighton Fire Department and past president of the Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs

Fire departments across the country need your help. Every year fire departments in the United States respond to more than 350,000 home fires, resulting in numerous injuries and deaths. In some cases, we see fire-related injuries that might have been prevented if the victims had received fire safety tips, installed working smoke alarms or practiced an escape plan.

In many cases, a fire department’s first line of protection is educating the community. Each year, during Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 7-13, 2012), many local firefighters will be reaching out to the community with trainings for young children, the elderly and others. But with tight municipal budgets, the supply of the materials they use in these trainings is at risk. With the help of an online tool, fire departments are now able to invite others to purchase materials they need. Reaching kids and parents through these programs is critical, especially for volunteer fire departments, smaller departments and those located in more rural areas of the country.

To combat this problem, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has created an online tool to help community members, businesses and others purchase materials for local departments’ fire education programs. This tool is called Sparky’s Wish List™ and it works a lot like a modern bridal registry. Fire departments register for the items they need (like DVDs, posters, stickers, etc.), and others go online to make the purchases. The materials ship directly to the fire departments.

In short, fire prevention education saves lives. Educational materials are essential for fire departments to spread their message of safety to classrooms and beyond, and this registry enables community members to come to the aid of fire departments asking for help. On behalf of NFPA, we urge your participation, and thank you for your support.  For more information, including how to help, visit www.sparkyswishlist.org/give.

This is a guest post, no compensation was received. 

Whooo's too cute?

When I was Young... I Wanted to be Barbie.

True story. I loved my Barbie dolls when I was a little girl. I was always jealous because Barbie had great clothes and shoes, and and awesome car too. 

I also remember when I first got to start picking out my own clothes. I was in second grade, and I had been begging my mother to let me choose my own clothes for quite some time. Finally I got that freedom...but boy did I make some mistakes! I think my mother would have been much happier if she could have bought me some clothes that were meant to mix and match well. 

Well, the new Barbie Clothing line does just that... fun items that are easy to mix and match! You don't have to worry that your daughter will come out of her room wearing plaid pants with a flower print shirt..LOL (yes, yes, that was me). 

My daughter is very girly in many ways. She LOVES to choose her outfit, and she will even match her pacifier to her outfit! She doesn't always make perfect choices, but she sure loves to dress herself. 

The new Barbie Clothing line is available from Kmart and available in 2T-5T...perfect for that little girl who is learning to be independent! We received two adorable outfits from the Barbie Clothing line to try out.

Annabelle will be two in October, and she just started wearing 2T clothing. We were sent a 2T outfit, and a 3T outfit. These outfits seem to run small, and both fit her very well. I was pretty surprised! So, if you plan on purchasing these for a special princess, I would recommend having her try them on before buying if possible.

Annabelle loved the outfits. She was very drawn to the black sparkly skirt and the frilly pink shirt. Both outfits looked absolutely adorable on her, and she even made her own outfit out of the pieces we received.

Outfit #1-

Cheese!

Outfit #2

"I'm Twirling!"

Annabelle's Choice-

What do you want me to do?

Annabelle really liked the leggings, but she liked the skirt, too...so she wore them both!

I loved that the skirt had shorts underneath, since little ladies aren't always so lady-like!

Here is our little fashion show video. Annabelle loved dressing up, but she thought that the only way to show off her style was to spin... so we took some still pictures so you all can see the outfits better but you'll see her twirl at the end!

Since the clothing seemed to run a bit small, Annabelle did need some help getting dressed. She still really enjoyed wearing the clothing and I think she looked so adorable! We love the TuTu Dress and Leggings! I love that the Barbie clothing allows little girls to embrace their independence and allows for them to have choice, while still making sure that the girls look great. I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Barbie Clothing. I received a sample package to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.

Lunch on the go.....

Oh.My.Goodness.  How many times have you been in need of a fast lunch...only to be faced with choices that either take too long, or are horrible for you? Yeah, me too. 

One thing I hate about my lunch breaks is that they are only 30 minutes long. I personally am not a fan of cold lunches every day. If you actually have to take time to make a warm meal it doesn't leave much time to enjoy a break. Well...what if I told you you could have a delicious hot meal that is actually a healthy choice and it would only take 60 seconds to make. Oh yes.

The new Barilla Microwavable Meals are amazing. I was given the chance to try these 5 new meals and I couldn't have been more impressed.

 

 

Making these great meals are so easy. Open the package, peel back the top corner of the package, pop the meal in the microwave for only 60 seconds, hold the sauce tray with one hand and remove the top and then pour sauce on the noodles! 

I couldn't believe that these cook up perfectly in just 60 seconds, and there are no preservatives, 100% natural ingredients and only 320 calories! There are also two whole grain options, one of which you can see in the pictures above. You don't even need to add water... so all you need is a microwave. You can find out more about all 5 meal variations at Barilla.

The packaging of Barilla's meals allow for the meals to be stored at room temperature for up to 12 months with no added preservatives. No worrying about keeping a meal frozen while on your way to work! Barilla meals also keep the sauce separate, which means if you prefer light sauce you can customize how much sauce meets your needs.  

WIN IT!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Barilla and received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

MAM Perfect Pacifiers are... well, PERFECT!

I have to say, I never thought I would change my mind about what brand pacifiers I purchased for my children. I was brand loyal...and it wasn't to MAM. But, I am always open to trying a different product, so when I was given the chance to try MAM's new Perfect pacifiers I said sure. I'm glad I did.

The MAM Perfect Pacifier is amazing. As most parents know, babies are born with a natural sucking reflex... a pacifier can help fulfill this need and sooth the baby. The MAM Perfect features an orthodontically correct nipple that allows little ones to safely satisfy their sucking reflex while maintaining proper jaw and tooth alignment.  The MAM Perfect has a thinner and softer nipple neck than those of comparable pacifiers. Since the pacifier's nipple neck is extra thin it puts less pressure on the baby's jaw and teeth. 

The MAM Perfect is available in two sizes, 0-6 months and 6+ months and available in blue, pink and green.  The pacifiers are BPA-free, PVC-free, lead-free, CPSIA-compliant and microwave and dishwasher safe. In fact, the package of the MAM Perfect doubles as a pacifier sanitizer!

The box holds the pacifier in place, you simply fill the box with water, clip the pacifier in, close the box and microwave for three minutes. Perfectly sanitized pacifiers! 

I really think Luke likes the textured silicone nipples of the MAM Perfect. I didn't think he'd take to a different brand of pacifiers, so I was shocked when he took them immediately and even seemed to prefer them. Luke keeps the MAM Perfect in his mouth and sucks on it more than his previous pacifiers. We will definitely be sticking with the MAM Perfect.

I received the MAM Perfect Pacifiers free of charge so that I could post this review. I received no monetary compensation and all opinions are entirely my own.