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By Elizabeth Williams Bushey

www.inklesstales.com

Last week I cleared a bunch of shrubbery for my daughter’s Alice In Wonderland party. The backyard looks terrific, but despite the latex gloves I wore to protect myself, the tank top I wore to keep cool didn’t protect my arms from the poison ivy I failed to recognize, due to my city-girl upbringing.

Yes, yes, NOW I know: “Leaves of three, let them be.”

But if YOU’D seen the mess my backyard was BEFORE I started… you wouldn’t have been counting leaves, either. PLUS: I have a new puppy – Tucker’s new younger sister, Sophie – to look out for, so counting leaves was my last worry.

As a result, I’ve got a wicked poison ivy rash up and down my arms.

Friends suggested Aveeno, which is a terrific product, and also the standard calamine lotion – but the VERY best product out there

Tecnu. Weird name, great product. The sooner you begin to use it, the better it works.

Incidentally, meet Sophie: our new Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy.

You apply it to the affected parts of your body (it’s a lotion) – and it actually sucks the oil out of your skin – the oils that cause the rash, and the itch – and rinses them off as you rinse off the lotion.

If you use it once the rash is full-blown, it STILL works: just temporarily. You just use it once a day or so.

This rash is so nasty I’m not even going to photograph it for you – but trust me, this is the absolute best. And, having sensitive skin myself, I’m not hesitating to recommend it for kids.

Run, do not walk, to the nearest drugstore, and pick some up for your family today. For poison oak, ivy, sumac – it simply cannot be beat.

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"What the..."

Play it Cool… Remember: You WANT them to talk to you.

The time comes in every parent s life when SOMETHING shocking comes out of their kid s mouth.

Whether it s the first accidental swear word, or: Mom, I was at a party and there was <insert illegal substance here> there s that sick, tightening in the stomach, the urge to widen your eyes and yodel: WHAT THE .!

Don t.

Now, all your years of womanhood training, playing it cool, are about to pay off. (You think the universe sent you all those jerks in your life for no reason The ones you had to act like you didn t care in front of THAT was all practice for THIS.)

Stay calm NOW, or you ll never hear another thing.

That s not to say there may be no consequences in order, depending on the situation.

But you SO do not want to be that Mom who DOESN T get the call someday when your child faces that terrible choice: call you, or get into a drunk driver s car. What do you want your child to be thinking then Certainly not this:

I can t call home. My parents will FREAK.

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Bike and Scooter Safety Links

Fitting a bike helmet
http://www.helmets.org/fit.htm

http://www.cpsc.gov/kids/kidsafety/correct.html

Bike Safety for Kids,
from the Children s Hospital of Pittsburgh
http://www.chp.edu/besafe/kids/01biking.php

Scooter Safety
http://www.cpsc.gov/kids/kidsafety/scoot.html