UNDERSTANDING THE SIGNS OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING IN PETS

(Family Features) In most pets, the signs and symptoms of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning are nonspecific and could easily be attributed to other illnesses. To protect yourself and your pets from the dangers of CO, it’s important to keep working alarms throughout the home, test and replace them as recommended and understands the signs. Learn more about protecting your two- and four-legged loved ones at Kidde.com.

SOURCE:
Kidde

SAFETY STEPS FOR SPOOKY FUN

(Family Features) Traditional family activities like trick-or-treating create fun moments and memories, but the effects of COVID-19 on this Halloween will bring about change for the spooky excitement.

You can still ensure a special night for your little ones and all the ghouls, goblins and ghosts in your neighborhood by following safety measures aimed at keeping everyone healthy on All Hallows’ Eve. Consider these tips for safe trick-or-treating from the experts at the National Safety Council and leading candy maker, Mars Wrigley.

Before

• Buy individually wrapped candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters. Fun-size packs are one of the easiest forms of candy for trick-or-treaters to grab and go.
• Create fun, individual candy goody bags for a no-touch option for trick-or-treaters.
• Make sure your yard is well-lit; replace any burnt-out light bulbs.
• Create signs encouraging trick-or-treaters to stay 6 feet apart and display them in your yard.
• Don’t hand out treats if you are not feeling well.

• Consider socially distanced options such as “trunk-or-treating,” during which prepackaged goodies are handed out, or a virtual costume parade. Alternately, you can use a tool like Mars Wrigley’s “TREAT TOWNTM,” an app-based digital experience for families to virtually trick-or-treat for real candy. It offers Halloween fans of all ages the ability to create personalized spooky avatars, customized decorations for your in-app “door” and the ability to “knock” on the doors of friends and family across the country. Visit Treat-Town.com to find more information.

During

• Make trick-or-treating care packs with hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and extra face masks.
• Help little ones clean their hands throughout the night.
• Maintain a distance of 6 feet from other groups of trick-or-treaters, allowing one group to collect candy at a time.
• Wear face masks and reflective tape or clothing and carry flashlights or glow sticks if you’re walking in the dark.
• Do “mask checks.” Stop in a safe place and make sure young children’s masks are covering their mouths and noses.
• Use sidewalks and crosswalks. Don’t cross the street between cars and be as visible as possible as drivers may be distracted.
• Consider setting up a grab-and-go “candy corner” for visitors, inclusive of hand sanitizer and treats.

After

• Wash your hands when you get home.
• Sanitize candy wrappers before eating or let it sit for 24 hours.
• Follow the “when in doubt, throw it out” rule. Throw away any candy that is open, ripped or has torn packaging, an unusual appearance or pinholes. Discard any homemade items made by people you don’t know.
• Watch for choking hazards. If you have a young child, make sure candy he or she collected isn’t a choking hazard. If it is, discard it.
• Keep candy away from pets, especially chocolate and sugar-free gum, which can be poisonous for your furry friends.

Handing Out Treats from Home
If you’re staying home to hand out treats to the superheroes, ghosts, princesses and other little guests that arrive on your doorstep, consider these ideas to encourage safety and fun:

• Minimize the number of hands reaching into a bowl. Find fun, hands-free ways to give candy to trick-or-treaters. You can place candy on your lawn or driveway, so trick-or-treaters don’t have to crowd around your front door, touch handrails or knock.
• Move out of the way any items that children could trip over and keep pets inside.
• Stand outside when handling treats, wear a mask and use hand sanitizer often. Consider keeping a large bottle of sanitizer near you for visitors to use as well.
• Allow one small group at a time at your door.
• Give out one set of treats at a time to minimize hands reaching into a common bowl. For example, fun-size packs of treats like M&M’s and SNICKERS offer plenty of options and are easy for trick-or-treaters to grab and go.

 

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

SOURCE:
Mars Chocolate North America

A FLAVORFUL FAMILY MEAL FOR FALL

(Family Features) Warm, delectable dishes go hand-in-hand with cool fall evenings when the crisp air sends you to the kitchen for a filling meal. Look no further than easy recipes like meatballs that pack fulfilling flavor to feed your family when the autumn temperatures dip.

These Grass-fed Beef Meatballs with Garlic and Herbs can be the perfect solution anytime you’re craving a warm, comforting meal. They’re made with New Zealand grass-fed ground beef, which provides an unrivaled taste. Grass-fed year-round, the animals roam and graze freely over lush green hills and pastures, resulting in lean, flavorful meat that tastes just as nature intended.

Paired with a tomato-based sauce, the meatballs are baked before being topped with Parmesan cheese and parsley then served hot for a dish that warms you from the inside-out. While preparing the meatballs, be sure to wet your hands prior to shaping them as it helps prevent the meat from sticking to your hands.

Find more comforting fall recipes at beefandlambnz.com.

Grass-fed Beef Meatballs with Garlic and Herbs

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Beef Meatballs:

• Oil
• 1 pound New Zealand grass-fed ground beef
• 1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3  tablespoons milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs, such as parsley, thyme and oregano
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Tomato Sauce:

• Oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2  cloves garlic, sliced
• 1  can (14 ounces) chopped tomatoes, in juice
• 1 1/2-2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

To Serve:

• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped parsley leaves

1. To make beef meatballs: Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Lightly oil deep baking dish or skillet. Mix beef, breadcrumbs, garlic, egg, milk, Worcestershire sauce, mixed herbs and salt and pepper, to taste, then shape into eight meatballs and place in prepared baking dish.
3. To make tomato sauce: In heavy saucepan over low heat, heat dash of oil and add onion and garlic. Cook until onion is soft, about 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, sugar, bay leaf and salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Simmer 10 minutes to allow flavors to mingle and liquid to reduce. Remove from heat, cool about 5 minutes and remove bay leaf. In food processor, process until sauce is smooth.
5. Pour sauce over meatballs and bake 25 minutes, turning meatballs after 15 minutes.
6. Serve hot sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

SOURCE:
Beef + Lamb New Zealand

AN OUTSIDE-THE- BOX, DIY HALLOWEEN COSTUME COMBINATION

(Family Features) Even though Halloween may look a little different this year for many families, there are still ways to make the most of popular seasonal traditions, like costumes, spooky decor and festive treats.

Rather than venturing out to look for a costume, get creative at home with everyday craft supplies and delivery boxes to make unique, low-cost costumes – or “boxtumes.” Not only are boxtumes a simple way to save money by upcycling delivery boxes you’ve accumulated, but making them can be a fun activity for the whole family.

Your creations can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like. Turn an everyday hero into a Halloween superhero this year with a DIY Fire Truck Boxtume, or make it a duo costume perfect for siblings by adding a DIY Fire Hydrant Boxtume to match. With Amazon Prime’s fast, free shipping, any crafting supplies or candy you may need – and the box for your DIY creation – could be just one order away.

Share your upcycled box creations on social media using #Boxtumes, and find more inspiration and simple how-to guides at amazon.com/boxtumes2020. Members can also extend their spooktacular fun with Halloween-themed movies, books and music available through Amazon Prime’s entertainment benefits.

DIY Duo Firefighting Boxtumes

Projects courtesy of Michelle Nhu

Fire Truck Supplies and Instructions:

• Amazon Prime boxes, variety of sizes
• Scissors
• Paint brushes
• Red acrylic paint
• White acrylic paint
• Gray acrylic paint
• Hot glue
• Hot glue gun
• Markers, variety of colors (optional)

1. Have your child sit in different size boxes to find one that fits comfortably. Save other boxes for later.
2. Using scissors, cut out top and bottom of box to create truck shape.
3. Using reserved boxes and scissors, cut out two ladders, six medium circles and six smaller circles for wheels, rectangles for front and back windshields, six small squares for windows and equipment doors, four circles for headlights and seven thin rectangles for grill.
4. Using paint brush, paint large box mostly red or get creative and use separate paint brushes to paint white stripes down sides of box and half of front gray for grill. Then paint ladders, grill pieces and medium wheel circles black. Paint small wheel circles and equipment doors gray and windows and lights white.
5. Once paint dries, use hot glue and glue gun to adhere each piece to fire truck as desired. Use markers to outline windows and add dots to small wheel circles and equipment door handles, if desired.

Fire Hydrant Supplies and Instructions:

• 2 Amazon Prime boxes 
• Scissors
• Hot glue
• Hot glue gun
• 3 empty tape rolls 
• 1 cotton headband
• Red acrylic paint
• Black acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Blue pants or skirt
• Blue tulle (optional)
• Blue felt pieces (optional)

1. Select box that fits around your child’s torso.
2. Using scissors, cut box into eight equal-sized rectangles.
3. Assemble rectangles vertically into octagon and glue together using hot glue and glue gun.
4. Using scissors, cut holes for arms on two sides of octagon. Glue two empty tape rolls to outside of arm holes and one on front to mimic nut on fire hydrant.
5. On flat piece of another box, draw dome shape that will fit your child’s head. Use scissors to cut it out then glue bottom to stretchy, cotton headband.
6. Using paint brush, paint cardboard pieces red. Use separate brush to paint black stripes on corners of octagon.
7. Once paint dries, boxtume is complete. On blue pants or skirt meant to mimic water, glue pieces of blue tulle and blue felt pieces to look like water droplets, if desired.

 

Photo courtesy of Amazon

SOURCE:
Amazon

HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA!

 

Sending you my warm wishes from home to home and from heart to heart to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving! May this day be a beautiful reminder of the wonderful things in life.

 Disasters often strike without warning. Is your home prepared?

 🍁 Fall is a great time to sell.

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK: OCTOBER 4 - OCTOBER 10, 2020

Did you know cooking is the #1 cause of home fires and home fire injuries?! Fire Prevention Week is here and the theme for 2020 is safety in the kitchen. 👨‍🚒👩‍🚒🚒 #FirePreventionWeek #Firefighters #FireSafety #homesafety

 

GET PRE-APPROVED BEFORE BUYING A HOUSE

Getting pre-approved doesn’t just give you an idea of how much house you can afford, it also lets sellers know you’re a serious buyer. With more houses receiving multiple offers, a pre-approval letter can be a key factor in a bidding war, and you don’t want to miss out.