Tag: #thismommajuggles

Not your Average Sunday!!

This Momma Juggles

What’s your Sunday look like? Does anyone just stay in and spend quality time with family? What is quality time? Does anyone value family? When’s the last time you had a meal together?

Many of my Sundays consist of family time. In my home, it is the day we lounge in PJ’s, bake together, read, play board games, color, or make a craft. It is the day my children look forward to. It is the day they learn how to play a new game, how to be creative, how to relax and learn the importance of bonding. It is the day we hear them say “I love you”.

Yes, many of us have busy lives (including myself) but, that doesn’t mean we can’t have family time. We should dedicate at least one day out of the week to spend with our family. Children enjoy it more than you think. There are many reasons why family time is important. Below are some benefits:

  • Children gain self-confidence by realizing their parents value them. It becomes a win for them as far as building relationships.
  • Children learn to handle stressful situations with ease because they establish relationships with their family
  • Family time nurtures positive behaviors
  • Builds memories
  • Children live healthy life styles
  • Family time conversations help children with stress relief

Today, spending time with our children is a luxury and that is sad to say. We need to make time for the family. We need to teach our children valuable life lessons like kindness and fairness. We need to balance our life and remember that we have children and that our children look up to us. We need to put our children first because they are watching us. We need to be role models. We need to prepare them for the real world.

So, if you can’t remember the last meal you had together or the last time your child said “I love you” please consider this a friendly reminder and give your child some quality time. They will appreciate it. You do not have to do something big. Quality time can just be a simple conversation, dinner at the table, or a movie in your living room, etc…

Don’t forget your spouse too. Your spouse is just as important. Keep in touch throughout the day and do have quality time as well.

Resource
https://www.lifeadvancer.com/spending-time-with-family/

Happy Sunday!

-This Momma Juggles

Keep Baby SAFE with “Lull-A-Baby” NOT!!!!

This Momma Juggles

I came across an ad stating “Keep baby safe with a Lull-a-baby car hammock” and of course, I had to dig deeper. I discovered, that indeed it was a car hammock for infants and was invented in the “1960s”. (Ad Photo above)

I was surprised to see in the advertisement the words “safest, most comfortable car bed ever made.” Really! How could that be? How was that even accepted. I know I could never place my child in one.

Thankfully, times have changed and car seat safety have drastically, evolved and improved.

Did you know:
1900s – car seats were introduced
1930s – available to purchase (for the convenience of the parent rather then for safety)
1962 – invention of car safety seats (thank goodness)
1986 – law on child safety seats were established in all 50 states

It’s scary that car safety laws have been in place for only 33 years. Not too mention that many other countries still do not even have any type of enforcement for car safety seats.

FYI
* Car seats have expiration dates
* Be very cautious with second-hand car seats (you do not know if it was involved in an accident)
* Replace any car seat involved in a car accident
* If you need help installing your safety seat, contact your local health departments, public safety groups, hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and fire departments have technicians or fitting stations to help parents. (If you go to one of these locations, be sure to ask for a certified child passenger safety technician.)

RI Seat Belt Laws & Car Seat Recommendations

Rhode Island has a primary seat belt law (R.I.G.L. § 31-22-22) that encompasses child restraint and child passenger safety.

  • A motor vehicle operator shall be properly wearing a safety belt and/or shoulder harness system while the vehicle is in operation of any of the roadways, streets, or highways of this state per R.I.G.L. § 31-22-22(g)(1).
  • Any passenger eight (8) years of age or older, in any seating position, shall be transported properly wearing a safety belt and/or harness system per R.I.G.L. § 31-22-22(b)(1).
  • Any person transporting a child under the age of eight (8), less than 57 inches (57”) in height and less than 80 pounds (80 lbs.), in a motor vehicle operated on the roadways, streets or highways of this state, shall transport the child in any rear seating position of the motor vehicle properly restrained in a child restraint system approved by the United States Department of Transportation per R.I.G.L. § 31-22-22(a)(1).
  • All infants and toddlers under the age of two (2) years or weighing less than thirty pounds (30 lbs.) shall be restrained in a rear-facing car seat.
  • All children two (2) years of age or older who have outgrown their rear-facing car seat by height or weight should use a forward-facing car seat with a harness up to the maximum allowed by the child restraint manufacturer per R.I.G.L. § 31-22-22(a)(1).

NOTE: Vehicle operators are responsible for compliance of sections (a), (b), and (f) for all passengers. The fine for a child riding in the front seat and/or over 8 years old not in a seat belt is $85. A violation for transporting a child not in a child restraint system requires an appearance in court.

http://risp.ri.gov/safety/vehiclesafety/seatbelts.php

Resources
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812451

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx

https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/auto-baby-toddler.html

Thanks for stopping in!
-This Momma Juggles

$ Ibotta in your Wallet $

This Momma Juggles

Thanks for stopping in!

As promised in my About Me, I am going to share with everyone my first money saving tip. For the past 5 years, I have been using a rebate app called Ibotta. Ibotta is an app that you can download for free to begin earning money on items you purchase. It’s simple, all you need to do is:

* Visit the app store on your cellphone or tablet
* Search “Ibotta”
* Download
* Create an account using an email
* Invite friends
* Begin unlocking offers

How is works

Before your trip to the store, visit the Ibotta app to add offers on products you will need. For example, need bananas click bananas offer on app to unlock offer.) Go shopping, buy what you need and please keep the receipt. (app will not work without a receipt.) Get back home, redeem your offers by snapping a photo of the receipt and Ibotta will do the rest. They will match the items you bought to the offers you selected and give you cash. Ta-Ching, Ta-Ching! Cash is now deposited into your Ibotta account. (Cash can take up to 48 hours, most times I have received cash within 10 seconds.)

What Next?

Once your account reaches a certain amount, you will then be able to withdraw cash. This can be in the form of gift cards listed on the app or cash sent via money transferring services like PayPal.

Yes, the app requires a little bit of your time, but who doesn’t need extra money or who doesn’t want to treat themselves with “free money”. You can also earn money by shopping online from the Ibotta app and earn even larger offers. In addition, they offer cash bonuses on top of the offers you receive.

I encourage everyone to explore other apps like this and start earning free money.

Get started today and click the link below (To Date I have earned $372.48)
http://ibotta.com/r/cpoweyc

Opps! I forgot to mention you can use coupons.

Again, thanks for stopping by!
-This Momma Juggles






Water Safety in the Winter! Yes

This Momma Juggles

“Cheers to the New Year’s” is what thousands of us were just saying last week. Well, that wasn’t the case for myself, my family, and a huge part of the Cape Verdean community living in the U.S and Cape Verde. Last week, two young healthy brothers and a cousin, all took a trip to the ocean and unfortunately, became lost at sea. Days later, the two brothers were pronounced dead. I can only imagine how terrifying this news was for the parents and family of these three young men. On my Facebook newsfeed, bad news,  was all I saw on this drowning incident that happened back home in Cape Verde. I quickly noticed how many people in the U.S. were impacted by this. For this reason, I have decided to create a post on Water Safety in the Winter! Yes.

Most times, many of us only think of water safety in the Summer. Sadly, we should honestly be preparing our children and maybe ourselves in the winter. Learning, how to swim could be the first step we all take. It is very important, attempting to get to safety,while, near large bodies of water, whether that be at the beach, lake, river, pools, or bathtubs.  Water safety in our own homes is often overlooked. Sometimes we don’t think that leaving a little one unattended in the bath tub could be dangerous or forget to properly secure our backyards with pools. As we know, shit happens unexpectedly, and the worst feeling is not being prepared.

I encourage everyone to check in with their local community centers, Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, Parks & Recreation Department, and search for private water safety facilities, organizations, and associations dealing with water safety.

Below are some resources in Rhode Island & surrounding areas offering swim lessons and water safety

https://northprovidenceri.gov/recreation-department/pool-fitness-center-programs-info/
https://www.teamunify.com/Home.jsp?team=neses
http://www.cranstonri.com/generalpage.php?page=64
http://www.podsswimming.com/
https://www.ymcagreaterprovidence.org/
https://bgcprov.org/
http://www.jaycethehealer.org/
http://ndpa.org/

Take it further and please educate yourself on all water safety precautions by visiting some of the websites above.  Hope this Water Safety blog post could help.

Thanks for stopping by! -This Momma Juggles