Beautiful Day

Today was a beautiful day! I went outside and worked in the yard  a bit. I was able to pick raspberries and gooseberries with my little girl. Of course, she was more interested in eating them than picking them. I can't say that I blame her they were really yummy! I am hoping to save up enough of these berries so I can try canning them. It is such a liberating experience to be able to pick your own berries and then can them. How wonderful to be able to know exactly where your food comes from. I love it! I have learned so much since I have been here!

My little girl and I topped the day of with admiring the lightning bugs or as we like to call them "blinkings".She was so excited when one of the blinkings decided to land on her. She didn't know if she should be scared or laugh. I told her baby the blinkings like you. After that she laughed and decided to play with it. So, that gave me the idea to go back into the house and get her bug cage. For the next half our we ran all over the place looking for blinkings to catch. After catching the blinkings to our hearts content we decided to run back into the house and show daddy.  Once daddy got a good look we took our new friends back outside to be released. I was such a special moment to share with my girl. She is already looking forward to the next time we can go out an catch some more blinkings. I can't wait!

Storms, Storms and More Storms

They have a saying here in the hills,

“Thunder roars stay indoors”.

 

I find that thunder and lightning storms are a lot more frequent here than on Guam. Yes, on Guam we had our fair share of storms, typhoons, and tropical depressions; but lightning and thunder storms there seem to be a rare occurrence in comparison to here in West Virginia.

I remember as a kid they had all these rules for safety in case of a thunder and lightning storm. On Guam, I never really had to bother with the rules because I always seemed to be indoors during a storm. Here my chances of being caught outside are a lot greater. So, for the safety of everyone lets go over some the rules if you should ever get caught in a storm such as this:

The Rules

1. Never. I repeat never ever stand under a tree for shelter. It might be great for keeping you dry; but trees are fantastic lightning conductors and your chances of being struck by lightning are greatly increase.
2. Try to seek immediate shelter. Your vehicle with the windows rolled up is a great place to hide if you are miles away from any shelter. If your vehicle is nowhere near you try to seek a cavern or a ravine.
3. If you are found out in the open during a storm with no means of shelter you need to assume a “lightening ready position”. This means you need to get down in a crouched position with both feet touching the ground and your hands over your ears.
4. I do realize I am not the first person to ever write on the topic; but I do hope you will find my entry helpful. Here are few websites that might help answer some of your storm questions. I have also included a C.P.R. website for emergency purposes. Please watch it; it could save a life one day.

http://www.fema.gov/kids/sabrina.htm  

http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/how-to-survive-a-storm.htm

http://www.wxdude.com/page5.html

http://www.weather.gov/os/lightning/outdoors.htm

http://handsonlycpr.org/

Children and Storms

Last night during a lightning and thunderstorm my two year old was frightened. This was the first time she had ever shown fear because of a storm. As a mom I wanted to make her feel better and assure her that everything was fine; but the more assurance I gave her the louder she cried. I was at a loss of what to do for her; but as a mother I feel I need to have all the answers. So, I decided to do some research on how to better handle the situation for the next storm. In reality as a mother, we don’t have all the answers seek out sites such as “Moments of Motherhood” of “Circle of Moms”. These sites are created for moms to band together for the common good. Well, the things I have learned from these sites are:

Storm Days Fun Days

1.    Make a game of it! Come up with a silly reason as to all the commotion. Say something like, “What’s that? Oh, I think the giants are moving again. Oh dear, I believe the baby giant spilled their toys all over the floor”.  

2.     Put on your best face. Don’t show your child that you are concerned about the storm, even if you are. Your child is super smart and can sense when something is wrong. They can also tell when you are worried. Showing that you are worried will cause your child to worry as well.

3.    Make it a family time. Grab the flashlights, dim the lights and have a shadow puppet show. Read a storybook to your child. Do some arts and crafts. Show your child that storm days can be fun days too!

You never know, you and your child may end up having so much fun that you might forget that there is even a storm outside!