Recommendation Wednesdays

The safety of your home is not always at the top of peoples' lists during the holiday rush, but if you are planning on traveling this holiday season and will be leaving your home unattended, follow all or even some of these recommendations below to help ensure that you are not a victim of holiday thieves.

1) Give your contact information to at least one neighbor and let them know when you will be gone. Also, if you have a maid service or other service provider entering your home when you are out of town, let your neighbor know who they are and when they are coming.

2) Stop your mail delivery, but continue to receive your papers. Ask a neighbor to collect the papers for you so that they don't accumulate in the driveway. Not all paper delivery people are cleared the way postmen/women are so it is better to let them continue to deliver the paper, instead of alerting them to the fact that you are gone.

3)Place a few lights onto timers so that they light up key parts of your home and give a lived in look to the place. Also, ask a neighbor to park their car in your driveway for a day or two here and there so that it looks like someone is home and coming and going frequently.

4) Ask a neighbor to put your trash cans out on trash day so that it looks like someone is home.

5) Consider plugging a radio into a timer and have it set to an all talk radio station. When turned down low the sound of the radio appears to be people's voices and can deter criminals from trying to break-in.

6) Make sure that your extra house key is not hidden outside of your home somewhere. Criminals are very resourceful and will search gardens, door frames, mailboxes and potted plants in an attempt to find a spare key.

Employ these home safety guidelines this holiday season and keep your home safe from criminals.

Going Green and Saving Some Green

It seems that the topic of green- either saving some green or being green- is on the forefront of everyone's minds this holiday season. With the recent passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) and talk of a bailout in the auto industry, everyone is watching their budget and trying to save some money where and when they can.

Of equal popularity is discussion of ways to be green this year and do more to help preserve our natural resources.

Below I have listed a number of holiday-related green tips that will either help save you some green or will help you be more green. Enjoy them and pass them along. Remember that if we all make an effort to do just one of the things on this list, we can make a big difference in the long run.

Green Holiday Tips:

1. Go to the EPA website at www.epa.gov/ecycling for more information on how to recycle your old MP3 players, laptops and cell phones.

2. Instead of wasting money on wrapping paper this year, wrap your gifts in grocery bags or newspaper. To jazz up the exterior of the packages, get your kids involved and have them paint the paper or decorate it with pine cones or pressed leaves from your yard. Not only does this save money, but it involves a craft project as well which is great when its cold and rainy outside.

3. If you put up Christmas lights this year, only turn them on at night and be sure to turn them off before you go to bed in order to cut down on energy consumption.

4. Recycle bows, bags and as much tissue paper and wrapping paper as you can. This saves money and its a great way to recycle.

5. Consider getting your kids involved in making gifts this year, instead of spending a lot of money to buy gifts. Possible options for kids crafts/gifts are: 1)making ornaments for others to hang on their trees 2) baking cookies, breads, granola or other types of holiday treats 3) making personalized CD's 4) decorating a plain photo frame or trinket box with festive paint etc. (these types of plain gifts can be found at most craft stores for minimal money).

6. Don't send Christmas cards this year. Look into sending e-cards or emails with photos attached. This is a great way to do something great for the environment and it cuts down on your holiday bills.

7. Run your ceiling fan clockwise at a low speed this winter to circulate the warm air in your home and push it downwards where it can be enjoyed.

8. Use clay cat litter, sand or ashes from your fireplace to de-ice your steps and walkways. This keeps chemical de-icing products from running into storm drains and public water supplies.

9. Turn your thermostat down during the day when you are not home and use a fireplace or wood burning stove to heat your home when possible.

10. Try turning the temperature down on your thermostat a few degrees and opt to wear a sweater and slippers while you are at home. This will help to reduce your monthly bill, and it's better for the environment.

Green is the theme this holiday season-Go Green and Save Some Green. Pass it along!

Recommendation Wednesdays

Here is a little tip to help soothe your child's cough this winter.

After he gets out of the bath tub at night, rub Vick's Vapo Rub on his feet, instead of on his chest or back, then cover his feet with socks. The rub gets absorbed into the bloodstream faster through the feet than it does when placed on the chest or back and it will not make your child's eyes water.

This recommendation was passed along to me from my mother-in-law and I tried it and it REALLY works. The first time I did it, my son coughed less that night and the rub took effect faster (within minutes of application) than it did when rubbed onto his chest. Also, my son has very sensitive skin and avoiding putting the rub on his chest helped keep him scale and dry skin free.

This is one of those tips that may seem a little hokie or "out there" but believe me, it works. Combine it with a teaspoon of honey before your child (make sure it is safe to give your child honey, based on his age) goes to sleep and you will notice a reduction in coughing, congestion and night time wakings.

Have a healthy winter and pass this information along.

Its been too long

It has been so long since I have posted a blog that I hope I remember how to do this. I apologize for my slacking, but things have been extra crazy at the Butas household as we enter the final countdown phase for baby two's arrival-only ten more days!

In addition to forgetting how much it sucks towards the end of pregnancy (everything hurts and I am tired, but sleeping totally escapes me most days and nights) we have been fighting off a series of nasty viruses that have left all of us, at one point or another, either hanging over a toilet or bed ridden.

Here are a few tips for the holiday season, which is already in full swing, to keep you healthy and to help you mind your budget.

1. Make sure you wipe off your purse and diaper bag at least once a week with some type of sanitizer. It is amazing how many germs can collect on the bottom of your bags when you put them down on the floor at the mall and at restaurants etc. Be sure to clean the straps and the underside of the bag. Also be sure to get the zippers and buckles because germs love to hide there also. When you are at the mall or another public place, try to hang your bag from hooks or place it on a spare chair instead of the floor which tends to be the most germ infested place of all.

2. For holiday shopping this year many people may be thinking of buying gift cards for friends and family. These items are still great gifts, but make sure that the gift cards will be honored after the holidays, because many stores are set to close and go out of business for good right after this holiday season. For example, all Talbot's, Ann Taylor's Pacific Sun, and Eddie Bauer stores are set to close their doors after Christmas so they are trying to get rid of all their merchandise, which means they are having great sales now, but it also means that they will not be around come January 1 if you have a gift card to cash in.

3. To help manage your money this holiday season and to not overspend, get a bunch of white envelopes and write one person's name on the outside of each envelope. Put the amount of money (in CASH) that you want to spend on that person's gift inside the envelope and write potential gift ideas for them on the outside of the envelope. This not only saves time and makes you a more efficient shopper, but paying for everything in cash with a designated amount for each person, helps prevent overspending.

Be safe, healthy and happy this holiday season. Please use these tips and tricks and pass them along to others.

FYI-Halloween Candy

I have received multiple emails from people saying that there is a recall on Sherwood Brand Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate coins, sold at Costco and other bulk stores as well as at dollar stores, due to the fact that they contain Melamine, an ingredient in milk products that has caused deaths in China.

I verified this information on snopes.com so I encourage you to spread the word, check your children's Halloween treats out before they dive in and check your own household supply of Halloween treats so that you do not accidentally give out these toxic coins. Let's keep our kids safe and healthy this Halloween.

TGIF

It's been a long week here at the Butas household, thanks to a long string of pre-school illnesses that have plagued my son since he started school in mid-September.

For this Friday's tip I wanted to tell you about how easy it is to go and do an absentee vote prior to election day. Virginia is expecting a record number of voters this year and it is predicted that there may be too many voters to handle, meaning that voters could spend hours waiting in line to cast their ballot.

Voters can go and cast their ballot early this year to help cut down on the amount of traffic predicted for election day. Check out Virginia's local government website to see what locations are closest to you.

For example, I live in Falls Church and there is a location on Columbia Pike that is two miles from my home. They are open until 8pm during the week and I breezed in there the other day and voted in no time.

Check it out and tell your friends so that you are not stuck in line on Tuesday.

TGIF

Here is a great website to check out www.babyplays.com. It's kinda like Netflix for toys. You can try out different toys each month and send them back when you are finished with them.

Not only does this save you money and keep your kids interested in the toys you have at home, but it is a real space saver. For example, if you live in a small apartment or condo and do not have a lot of storage space, this is great way to keep things interesting for your kids while keeping the parents sane. Of course a mommy thought of this website.

I encourage you all to check it out.